Dear Mr. President, Eight years ago at the Democratic Convention, you told the world “there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America.” If I have been disappointed with you these past four years, it is because more than anything else you have forgotten those poetic words. The nation…

Perhaps I am mistaken to believe there was a time when athletes represented the best of the country. Perhaps I am wrong to remember the likes of Lou Gehrig, who served as an example to the youth of the day not only in terms of his work ethic on the field but also as moral…

I used to be the kind of girl who dreamed about auditioning on American Idol and becoming a real singer on television. But that was when three well-known, well-respected artists and producers gave real advice, and the winner was selected based on his or her talent alone. That was back when American Idol was a…

When I was little, my favorite movie was Cinderella. It seemed to six-year-old me that this fairytale ideal was correct: it is always the guy’s responsibility to choose his princess at the ball. But that movie was produced over sixty years ago. Now, I would be criticized if I believed in princes and princesses and…

President Obama began his second term on Monday, January 21, 2013, but this time, the message has changed dramatically. No longer do “hope” and “change” dominate the headlines. The optimism of 2008 is gone. We are in tight gridlock, having just endured the least productive Congress in our nation’s history. More battles loom just beyond…

Texts from parents flooded Academy high school as teachers locked doors, turned off lights, and shut shades. Students looked around, curious whether the emergency warning signaled a practice. But this was no drill.

12:40. . .12:45. . .12:50. . . and the doors remained shut. On Friday, the Columbus Academy stepped back in time over 200 years. In front of the dining hall, we witnessed the second coming of the French Revolution, one of the most violent and volatile periods in modern history. The sans-culottes roamed freely through…

If you were skeptic about climate change before, Hurricane Sandy is more than cause enough to change your mind. Leaving over 8 million people without power, the storm inflicted its most widespread damage ever to New York City’s 108 year-old subway system. For the first time since 1888, the New York Stock exchange was forced…

I voted for the first time Tuesday and cast my vote for Governor Romney. I was an undecided voter very late in the game, balancing my strong disapproval for Romney’s religiously-driven social policies and my belief that the President has failed to do what he promised four years ago: unite the country. The election now…

Early in his campaign, Romney announced his abandonment of 47% of America in his cutting statement: “They believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled . . . My job is not to worry about those people.” Now America has reason to…