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Congratulations to our 2023 Op Ed Contest finalists. We loved reading your passionate and compelling essays, and this was a very difficult decision to make. Thank you to everyone who entered! The three winners have been announced, but here are some more exceptional pieces!
The Willow Project Will Destroy Our Earth(Natalie Chen ’25)
Our Earth is on the path of dying. Forests are burning, polar bears are starving to death, and we are doing nothing to fix it. Occasionally, you’ll use a reusable straw to feel as if you’ve slightly impacted the environment, but is it really helping? Is it really helping when President Biden recently approved the Willow Project, where millions of barrels of oil will be drilled from Alaska’s North Slope, a region home to hundreds of wildlife species that are already on the road to extinction?
On February 9th, 2020, when President Biden was just a mere presidential candidate, he stated these words to a woman curious about his thoughts on oil drilling: “No more drilling on federal lands, period, period, period.” These words apparently hold no more truth as the project was granted to the ConocoPhillips refinery by the Biden Administration just this month. The project is already facing legal challenges from environmental activists and Alaskan Native groups, feeling as if it is a violation of their land and home. Environmentalists aren’t the only ones feeling troubled by the project. Politicians such as Senator Jeff Merkley–a Democrat–claimed that it was a “complete betrayal of Biden’s promise.” Several weeks after becoming president, Biden signed orders pertaining to climate change, making many environmentalist groups optimistic about their new president. It’s undoubtful that they feel the same anymore, as the drilling and burning of the Alaskan Slope’s oil would result in an estimated “239 million metric tons of carbon dioxide during the project’s 30-year lifetime,” according to the Washington Post. The Willow Project, along with many others, must be stopped and you can help make this happen.
The next time you see news pertaining to the Willow Project, don’t bat an eye. Sign petitions and spread awareness to everyone you know. Once the project goes into full effect, its changes will be irreversible in our future and we will be living with its consequences. Economic gain is not an ethical excuse to destroy the land and life that inhabits our Earth.
Works Cited
Puko, Timothy. “What is Willow? How an Alaska oil project could impact the environment.” The Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023. The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/17/willow-project-alaska-oil-drilling-explained/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
Bowe, Rebecca. “The Willow Project Has Been Approved. Now What?” Earth Justice. Earth Justice, earthjustice.org/article/willow-project-federal-fossil-fuel-leasing. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
Affirmative Action in Educational Institutions: Fighting Oppression, or Racism Under New Management?(Mackenzie Greenawalt’24)
Affirmative action is the quota of marginalized groups that must be met within a workplace or university. It’s been a controversial topic in politics for a long time, and is generally upheld by Democrats. The liberal consensus is that affirmative action helps prevent racial discrimination against minorities in admission processes for colleges and universities. Although the idea of inclusion is noble, many minority students find the idea of them being accepted into colleges based on their race, rather than their intellect and actual qualifications, discouraging and offensive. The idea that minorities need extra help because of the color of their skin and aren’t capable of making it into college on their own, is racist.
According to Pew Research Center, 74% of Americans believe that race shouldn’t be a factor in deciding college admissions. This survey was given to Democrats, Republicans, and all racial groups. Although college is romanticized as the most liberating years of your life, as a diverse, enriching experience, the reality is that students are there to learn. When applying for colleges, individual achievements should be the factors for admission – not your race/ethnicity. Diverse opinions and experiences do not only come from a diversity in race. However, many colleges across America have decided to implement affirmative action into their admission policies for the sake of diversity. Does this policy meant for minorities really help, or is it reinstitutionalized racism?
Any way you look at it, affirmative action implies that there is a superior race and an inferior race. Candace Owens, a black political commentator, says “If you support affirmative action, you are basically saying that black Americans cannot do it on their own.” This is the truth for all racial minorities. Alex Chen, an Asian Yale student, says, “I wish it didn’t mean that my work didn’t count in the same way as other people’s work.” Affirmative action invalidates the students’ hard work done to secure their future, if they are accepted into college simply to fit colleges’ quota. Common sense dictates that no university should credit nor discredit a student simply based on their race.
Sources:
New York Times Magazine, “Where Does Affirmative Action Leave Asian Americans?”
Minnesota Government, Human Resources – Affirmative Action.
Dr. Phil, Season 21, Episode 122. “Discrimination: A Two Way Street?”
Pew Research Center, “As courts weigh affirmative action, grades and test scores seen as top factors in college admissions”
Physical Education Needs More Attention(Armaan Gugneja’25)
Did you know that physical education (PE) increases concentration and focus while also relieving stress and anxiety? PE is sometimes not a class in some schools, but it needs to be. This is an issue that I am concerned about, and I think other people should also be concerned about as it doesn’t get much attention, and obesity is a growing problem globally. Also, when I came to IA, there was no official PE class which made me feel personally that schools needed PE, and inspired me to care about this issue.
A very important reason physical education needs to be in all schools is that physical education can help keep students healthy and can increase physical activity. Since obesity is a growing problem around the globe, this is very important. Summarized from the 2022 article Physical Education | Physical Activity | Healthy Schools | CDC, “PE helps students get physical activity without negatively affecting academics.” This is very important as some people may
think PE negatively affects academics.
A great reason PE needs to be in schools is students can increase their concentration and focus while also relieving stress and anxiety. Summarized from the 2019 article Why is It Important to Have Physical Education in School? “PE will improve skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, and make students feel more refreshed and relaxed.” This article shows how PE can benefit students in class, while also relieving stress and anxiety, two great
benefits.
Clearly, physical education has many benefits. It can improve concentration and focus, relieve stress and anxiety, and improve physical activity without negatively affecting academics. This issue of PE not being in some schools needs more attention, and physical education should be implanted in all schools in the upcoming few years.
Works Cited
Physical education (2022) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/physical-education.htm (Accessed:
January 10, 2023).
Why is it important to have physical education in school? (2019) Healthtian. Available at:
https://healthtian.com/important-to-have-physical-education-in-school/
Impacts From Influencers and Social Media (Meghan Shea’25)
Over the past two decades, social media has revolutionized the world, captivating millions of users worldwide. Many individuals find themselves constantly scrolling, often falling into its alluring trap. Unfortunately, a prevalent consequence of this addiction is the detrimental habit of comparison. Comparison has become the epitome of today’s society, particularly among the adolescent. Social media provides exposure to hundreds of photos and videos each day, often including celebrities and fitness models, perpetuating the internalization of beauty ideals and standards that are unattainable for the average person.Consequently, this type of comparison results in heightened dissatisfaction with body image and weight.
In most cases, the models and influences portrayed on social media are often far from reality. They frequently use filters and editing techniques to create an idealized appearance, concealing these manipulations from the public eye. These filters accentuate features such as small noses, small faces, big eyes, tan, and freckles, presenting an unrealistic goal for young children and teens, especially teenage girls. Moreover, across all of social media, most people only post their best photos and videos, which fail to represent their daily appearance and lives. This distortion further contributes to the negative body image and increases the risk of mental health issues.
Furthermore, social media significantly impacts self esteem and confidence. According to a research conducted by Pew Research Center, 59% of kids have experienced cyberbullying at some point in their lives. This widespread issue creates a hostile online environment with an enduring effect on the well-being of children.Despite the negative aspects to social media, it is important to acknowledge that not everything is bad. Certain groups and communities promote positive body image and self-love, fostering a sense of support and empowerment. However, in the grand scheme, the bad outweighs the good. Time and time again, social media has proven itself to be a toxic platform , yet people continue to overlook its dangers. It is imperative that we collectively strive to transform social media into a safe space free from hate and unrealistic beauty standards.
https://psychcentral.com/health/how-the-media-affects-body-image#negative-effects
The Threats of AI(Daniel Syed’26)
Artificial Intelligence: Is it a threat to the human race? AI has grown rapidly over the past few months especially with the use of new technologies. One that’s on the rise is known as ChatGPT, a language processing tool driven by AI technology, and is able to answer questions on any topic. However, many risks arise from AI, such as disinformation, cybersecurity, and its negative impact on individuals.
As students continue to use AI for daily tasks like school work, soft skills severely decrease amongst the population. Students don’t use problem solving or critical thinking skills when working on assignments as they can use AI for solutions. In the long-term, this results in individuals being less suited for jobs that require creativity, as those jobs force people to think instead of using AI. This creates decreased productivity amongst the workforce.
Furthermore, AI will force many jobs to get “killed off” resulting in workers being pushed out of important jobs that require human assistance such as counselors or therapists (The Guardian). While some experts argue that AI will offset the loss of jobs by enhancing the ability of existing jobs, the question is what kinds of jobs will they add to, and where will workers go? One expert, Anu Madgavkar says, “These workers [of white-collared jobs] will have to work with it or move to different skills,” (The Guardian). Many workers will feel “misplaced” amongst a society, as their area of specialization has been taken over by AI. As these new workers find jobs that are outside of their specialization, a decrease in output as well as wide scale unemployment will occur.
Ultimately, there are many threats with AI, especially dealing with aspects of productivity and unemployment. Numerous studies have found that AI poses a threat to traditional learning, creating huge implications. The best solution to this growing issue is to ban AI in all schools. This will result in students using creativity and problem-solving skills to solve problems. In the long-term, productivity will increase and unemployment will decrease, contributing to the betterment of societies.
Tribalism in Nigeria: Tanure Ugbosu(’26)
Tribalism in Nigeria is such a prevalent issue within the country, but it hardly gets any media coverage. This is especially obvious with the last presidential election that took place. A 2015 research showed that Nigerians lack trust in institutions, including the electoral system protecting their interests. This mistrust has caused Nigerians to vote for those with similar ethnic backgrounds and religions to them. In addition to this, politics in Nigeria are dominated primarily by dominant tribes, such as the Yoruba. Minority tribes, such as the Ibibio, Kanikon, and many more, as Nigeria does have over 250 ethnic groups, get very little representation in the government. In the 2023 election, the winner was an Igbo man by the name of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. After he won the election, Onanuga, the director of media and publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, posted a tweet saying “Let 2023 be the last time of Igbo interference in Lagos politics. Let there be no repeat in 2027. Lagos is like Anambra, Imo, or any Nigerian state. It is not No Man’s Land, not Federal Capital Territory. It is Yoruba land. Mind your business.” This trend of tribalism has been rising since the Biafra War in 1967.
Nigeria’s tribes have been people with close relations, similar languages, as well as clothes, foods, and customs. During European colonization, close tribes were forced to separate and enemy tribes were forced to co-exist within the borders that Europeans locked around them. The main causes of tribalism are amalgamation, resource control, marginalization, constitutional reform, religious intolerance, and a lack of vision. In order to rid of tribalism in Nigeria, we must first accept that each tribe has their own unique culture and differences. Rather than following blindly to stereotypes, people must learn to see the positive contributions that each and every tribe makes to Nigeria. Everyone is a Nigerian, and in the differences of every tribe lies the strength that is needed.
Chat GPT: Reasoning behind the machine: William Zhang (26’)
Nowadays, more and more people are getting fascinated with the idea of AI. From Chat GPT to Microsoft
Bing, AI becomes more and more relevant in our era. With this new technology becoming free to use in
the public, many people – students and workers alike – are driven by the urge to use this free tool to their
advantage. This recent surge in cases of cheating and plagiarism has now developed into a full-on
epidemic of AI usage in the school environment. As a student myself, I must say that many of my peers
have used Chat GPT to great lengths as a supporting tool.
The problem, it seems for most, is that Chat GPT and other writing-based AI fosters academic dishonesty
and decreases critical thinking and other problem-solving skills used later in life. For years students spent
hours on end studying and working out complex problems, only for an AI to solve them in seconds in 2020. Now in 2023, you can plug in any science or math equation, or an essay prompt, and get a detailed
solution or a complete essay.
But this shouldn’t be a problem. Why combat a super-efficient tool when you could work with it? “If you
can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Instead of fighting against Chat GPT, students and teachers should learn to use
Chat GPT to their advantage, in complementary ways. From teachers using Chat GPT to grade – I knew
one teacher fascinated by Chat GPT’s response – to students using Chat GPT to learn more about many
topics, this tool is useful in more ways than we could have ever imagined. Instead of thinking that Chat
GPT is just a shortcut, it actually provides a massive database that benefits students and teachers alike.
From learning more about Mansa Musa of Mali to the Columbian exchange, Chat GPT digs up
information from all over the web, from the 1st search of Google to the 100th. We could use AI in so
many more ways to study, than cheat. If only we were taught this in class…
The Overachiever 