Simone Veale ’17

We are lectured on the necessity of balancing our immensely busy lives from the moment we have the ability to bear the weight of responsibility. It is important to balance our family, friends, athletics, school, leisure time, and let us not forget one of the most important, sleep; however, as the years have progressed in high school, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a balanced life. Our focus has shifted from the importance of spending time with family and friends to our obligation to school work. Because of the amount of school work we are assigned every night, we have to put school first and decide if we want to sleep or sacrifice sleep for other activities needed to ‘balance’ our lives. The amount of work we are given is unnecessary, unfair, and detrimental to our mental health.

Studies show that adolescents, ages 13-18, should be getting, on average, between nine and nine and a half hours of sleep per night. However, on average, due to school work, adolescents only get seven to seven and a half hours per night (Nationwide Children’s Hospital) Personally, I only get around six hours of sleep a night. After a long day at school and a two hour-long sports practice, it is extremely tiring to go straight into doing school work all night. Many students, myself included, find it difficult to get to bed before eleven every night. This school-wide sleep deprivation can be damaging to our mental and physical health. Sleep deprivation can not only lead to increased irritability and increased engagement in dangerous activities, but it can also lead to slowed cognitive ability and sluggish athletic performance (Nationwide Children’s Hospital). Another serious concern with sleep deprivation in high school students is drowsy driving. Statistics show that new drivers are more likely to get into accidents when compared to experienced drivers, and driving tired puts new drivers at an elevated risk. Drowsy driving occurs most commonly in the middle of the night and in the mid-to-late afternoon, when students are driving home. I have almost fallen asleep at the wheel on multiple occasions after a long week of school and a sleepless night. I have also experienced the fear of not wanting to drive somewhere because I was too tired.

I should not have to sacrifice going for a run or spending time with my friends for sleep. I should be able to go to school and practice, have a nice dinner, and do my work all in enough time to get to bed at a reasonable hour. I know that it is not realistic to outlaw all homework, but the amount that is given is too much. We are told to enjoy high school and have fun, yet we find ourselves wishing away the years in order to finally get some time to relax. When it comes to the point that the amount of work assigned is affecting our learning ability, athletic ability, and physical safety, enough is enough.

Matt Tornek ’17

The upcoming presidential race for the White House in November has been one plagued with controversy, pandering, and schoolyard insults. Many Americans are hesitant to voice their true support for either candidate, as both picks have an increasingly long list of faults. In fact, people haven’t turned out for one candidate or another in droves in a long time, as only an estimated 57.5% of eligible Americans voted in this past election. To me, it seems like more and more Americans are settling every year for candidates they don’t like, but at least “they’re not a republican” or vice versa.

The problem is the lack of diversity with the candidates. With both parties becoming increasingly extreme in their own respective direction, it is becoming harder to get things done, and harder for many independent leaning voters such as myself to argue for either side. This problem will not be fixed quickly either. As each candidate put forth is more intolerable than the next, the Democrats and Republicans are not going to be able to turn their parties around magically. The change we need as Americans can start with a legitimate third party to vote for. While people can vote for an alternative candidate right now, everybody knows it is nothing more than a protest vote with the way our current system is set up. The voters and politicians too often forget that the Democrats and Republicans haven’t been around forever, and they’re replaceable. It’s time we stop voting for one candidate because we are preventing the other from taking office. With a third party to get behind, voters with ideals other than the ones brought forth by the Democrats and Republicans could feel good about their ballot cast in November. In turn, the two existing parties would have to work hard to make sure their supporters are happy with their candidates and policies, because winning the election will be that much harder.

To those saying that having multiple parties is “unamerican” because we’ve always had a two party system, we can look to one of our founding fathers for a response. George Washington stated in his farewell address, “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.” Washington could not be more correct. Politicians and citizens of the USA generally think of the opposing party as an enemy, and place their allegiance with one party no matter what. Placing a real third party in the election would stop the talk of one party versus the other, and make Americans just want what is best for their country again. Let’s stop voting for one candidate instead of the other because it’s “damage control”. It’s time for politics to become serious again. Let’s vote for what we believe in, for people who put our American values into action, and for people who want to create a better America tomorrow than it is today.