Cold temperatures, Christmas songs, and family gatherings. That can only mean one thing: it’s list season. Here’s Youth Radio’s top science stories of the year.
10. Liquid Nitrogen Makes Ice Cream "Cooler": A classic science-room experiment teaches students to make kick-the-can ice cream by shaking it in a bag. But maybe the kids of the 21st century will skip the shaking and reach for a tank of nitrogen.
9. The Color of Green Chemistry: The things you eat and the things you wear are full of obscure, unpronounceable and potentially harmful chemicals. Learn about healthier living through “green chemistry.”
8. Artists Create Music You Can See and Touch: Meet a musical maker who invents instruments and transforms sound waves into a dynamic, planetarium light-show.
Read more...
By: Karen Hu
Trying to legalize Gay marriage has been a continous war for quite a while now. Recently, California has overturned Prop 8 which means it will be on the ballet for people to vote. For those who want gay marriage to be legalized, this overturning on prop 8 is just one step closer to doing so.
Everyone has different opinions on gay marriage. There are a lot of people who do not agree to it, but a good portion of people do agree. I for one, agree to gay marriage. I don't see anything wrong with it and I think it's perfectly fine for a man and man or a woman and woman to get marry. The reason why people get married is because they love each other, so does it matter if it's the same sex or opposite sex? No, I believe it doesn't. As long as they love each other, that's enough and they should be allowed to marry.
16 year old Shawnanis McCune agrees to gay marriage as well. "I believe that love isn't just for male and female, People deserve to love who they want to. Just because you fall for someone who's the same sex as you, It doesn't mean that it's wrong." She believes that everyone deserves to marry whoever they're in love with. McCune also believes there isn't anything "wrong" it same sex marriages. "I think it's wrong, to be called wrong or bad for being who you are."
There are different reasons on why people think that gay marriage is wrong. "Religious reasons mostly. It's something they're not used to. They feel that it'll influence other people into thinking that it's okay, Like their children." said 20 year old Sharon Truong. She feels that marriage is marriage, "I feel the same way about it as straight marriage. It's just marriage."
We're all equal, aren't we? We should all be treated the same. We're all the same in the first place anyway. People act like homosexauls arent people but another species or something. They're still people who have feelings and have a heart. So think about it, Is it really that wrong for homosexuals to get married? Is it really that wrong for two people, of the same sex who love each other, to get marry?
By: Rod and Rasam Aminzadeh
One of the most important issues that education is facing here in California, is Budget Cuts. Schools throu out the Bay Area are facing the possibility of being closed. California, the most-populous U.S. state, is going to lose an $18.6 billion budget through June 2011.
Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts are spread over many public programs, but the largest would eliminate the CalWORKS welfare program and do away with child care funding except for preschool and after-school programs, saving the state $1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
The upcoming cuts will affect Students. 16-year-old Karen Hu is one of those students who is going to be affected by budget cuts. She's a junior at Galileo High School. Hu says, "Learning is going to be a lot harder bacause they are going to lay off some of the teachers, classes are going to be crowded, and we are going to have less supplies to study with." Hu added, "It's not right bacause government is spending more money on wars than schools and education." Hu is trying to just make the best out of the situation, but others aren't as tough as she.
16-year-old Bao-An Voung, A junior at George Washington High School worries about how these budget cuts will affect his future. "I'm worried about cuts because it will affect my education and it will take out some after school programs that I'm interesting in," said Voung.
George Washington High School is one of the schools that won't be affected by California's budget cuts. Ms. Jackson, one of the principle's assistants at GWHS said the school is doing very well and has not been affected by the cuts. She credits the school's principle, Mrs. Lovrin for the work she has done to get the school's budget back during the summer from different divisions. George Washinton High School is looking forward to see nothing different compare to last year.
By Ankhbayar Begzsuren (Alex)
Everyone has a dream of traveling around the world but it isn't that easy as you say or imagine. I am from Mongolia and it's my native country. When I was younger my dream country to go to was the United States. I wanted to get a better education and go sightseeing for big buildings in the cities. My image of the United States was as a place of opportunity where I could establish a good future. Now I've realized my dream country is my native country of Mongolia. I knew everything better there since I lived there for majority of my life. I had a lot of friends there and we always knew where to hang out without spending money.
I've been in the US for two years but I still miss my country. Two years seems like twenty years. It's hard to live in new world where everything is new like the culture, language, people, places, friends, and mindset.
Thinking about traveling made me curious as to what countries other people dream of visiting or moving. According to 15 year-old Rasam Aminzadeh he dreams of moving to France if he was able to. He belives France has a lot of friendly people and several places to visit like the Eiffel tower, Disneyland Paris-- Europe's most popular tourist site--Loure Museum, Place of Versailles, and beaches. Aminzadeh would be sad if he left his coutry's culture but hes open minded to having a new experience. Aminzadeh says " he won't forget his own culture no matter how long he lives in France." He also believes that France has more oppertunities for him to become a professional soccer player.
But for 17 year-old San Francisco native, Brianna Gaxiola, a country has to feel authentic in order for her to go. "i would like to go to India because it is a very cultured country that has a lot to offer." What attracts her to India is the town's size, "I would like to walk around the small towns and not the big cities because it would seem more authentic then living in the major cities," Gaxiola said.
Meanwhile, 16 year-old Dequan Carter wants to explore Japan because of its history. The city he wants to go to is Hiroshima. He thinks the city would be "beautiful with a lot of lights." But his trip wouldn't be complete without his significant other. "I would like to go with my girlfriend and spend our honeymoon there."
But my friend Karen Hu says her decision will be based on where she can have the best experience. "I want to travel to Bejiing, China.... to go sightseeing, shop, and make some friends.
But for me, moving to a country varies on my favorite sport, soccer. My dream country to live in, besides wanting to back to Mongolia, would be Spain. I would specifically want to live in Barcelona because I can go to the soccer games and watch my favorite players. I wouldn't mind living there forever.
By Saba Javakhishvili
Teen smoking had been on a sharp decline since the mid-late 1990's, but a recent data shows that the adolescent smoking rates are rising slightly.
According to a 2005 study done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 23 percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes in the last month. This is compared with a previous study that was conducted with high school students that showed 21.9 percent are smokers (in 2003). While this data is somewhat discouraging it is far better than the rate in 1997. The study also showed a rise amongst White and Hispanic teens while the rates of teen smoking declined among African-american teens.
16 year-old karen Hu thinks smoking is bad, "smoking is bad for lungs, it can give you a heart and breathing problems, it can kill you. Also, when you smoke it affects people around you," she said.
According to a study by the American Lung Association, 90 percent of smokers begin before the age of 21.
No one has to tell you about the health risks of smoking. You know that quitting now is the single best thing you can do for your lungs, for your heart—for your life. For many, fear of illness, even death, is a primary motivation for quitting. Maybe your motivator is to look better, to feel better, to have more jingle in your pocket. The key is to find the reasons to quit that mean the most to you.
via - iVillage Health
According to 15 year-old Rasam Aminzadeh, young people smoke because they want to be liked at school. "They [young people] think smoking is cool and if you smoke you're mature." He thinks smoking is viewed as a cool, because of older people do that.
But not everybody thinks smoking is cool. "Smoking turns your teeth yellow, fingers smell like a burn, and you start to loose sense of smell," says 16-year-old Jackie Tan. According to him, smoking helps reduce stress. "People start smoking because of family problems, they are stressed," he said. I agree with Jackie. Young people are stressed so early because they have probems with their parents.
It seems as though smoking is a stress alleviator for teens, 17-year-old Ankhbayar Begzsuren agrees, "...they would like to make theirselves feel better by smoking" Begzsuren says.
Everyone knows that tobacco is bad for you. You learn it in school, you read about it in newspapers, and your parents have probably told you a thousand times not to smoke. It is good to know what you are up against before you decide to start smoking, and even better to never start at all. Here are few suggestions to not to start smoking by young people themselves. "if you start smoking its hard to stop and it will be late when you find out that it can damage your health," says Rasam Aminzadeh. "Smoking is bad, because it wastes your money, your health" and "makes your life shorter," added Begzsuren.
By: Rasam Aminzadeh
For a lot of people moving to a country they are not familiar with can be difficult. That's what 17-years-old Alex Begzsuren found out after moving from Mongolia to the United States two years ago. Begzsuren moved to the United States for a better education. He is currently a senior in high school and wants to attend UC Davis because his family suggested him to go, and also one of his friends is going to that university. He wants to study computer technology and become a computer technician.
When he arrived to San Francisco, he thought it was going to be a lot better than his hometown in every way possible, but he was wrong. Being thousands of miles away from home, he found out just how much he missed his hometown of Ulaanbaatar. “I missed all of my friends, all the places I used to go in my hometown and hangout with my friends.” Begzsuren thinks nothing can compare to his hometown of Ulaanbaatar.
He thinks that no one would like another place more than their hometown because they have lived there more. People know more about their hometown, and they can communicate better with the people there. He sees no similarities between the two cities, “There are a lot of differences. Everything is different even the people,” Begzsuren said. He sees his country better than San Francisco in a lot of ways. He thinks the weather in his town is better because you can actually feel all four seasons opposed to San Francisco. He loves his country, and he wants to go back to his hometown.
He loves to play soccer, but he says, “there aren’t too many public soccer fields to go. You have to have permission to play.” He also added, "There aren't a lot of soccer fields in Mongolia, but most of the ones I go to don't need any permission for playing in there."He is a good soccer player, but he doesn’t aspire to become a soccer player. He’d rather watch his favorite team, Barcelona and his favorite player Lionel Messi on TV.
Although he misses his hometown, he says that he's slowly getting more comfortable here in San Francisco and hopes to pursue his college dreams.
By: Karen Hu
Meet 16 year old Rod Aminzadeh. He was born in Iran but moved to San Francisco about two years ago. Aminzadeh currently attends George Washington High School and is an upcoming junior. His favorite subject is Math, because he's really good at it. He also has 1 younger brother, who is 15 years old. Aminzadeh's number one favorite food is Spaghetti! It doesn't matter on what kind of spaghetti it is, he loves all kinds!
He resides in the Richmond District of San Francisco. He thinks of it as a nice, quiet, clean and he likes how there are lots of play grounds to go to, but doesn't like how there are lots of homeless people on the streets. He still loves his homeland Iran and likes it better than San Francisco because he had more friends there and he had more fun. In Iran, they have the 4 seasons. In the summer time, It's really hot and when It's winter it snows. Too bad San Francisco doesn't have all 4 seaons like Iran does! If Aminzadeh were to help his neighborhood in any way possible, he would try to get the homeless people off the streets and give them a place to stay.
Aminzadeh has many hobbies and interests. He really loves soccer and taught himself how to play. The positions he usually plays are forward and midfield. He also likes to go to the theatres and watch action or adventure movies and he enjoys playing sports, action, or shooting type of video games. He generally goes to the movies or plays soccer with his friends during his spare time and he really enjoys it. Aminzadeh's talent is playing soccer. He's an amazing soccer player! He's also a very quick learner.
By: Rod and Rasam Aminzadeh
There are a lot of programs in the Fillmore district that support youth, children with their families. Sharol Davis is the director of one of those programs, "Mo-Magic". Mo-Magic is a non-profit organization that provides many programs like child improvement, field trips, science activities, and etc for children and youth. Davis's job is to make sure those programs fullfill the needs of the people in the Fillmore community.
Ms. Davis says Mo-Magic's summer programs aren't only for youth and children but it's for all ages. She said, "We do a lot of different things; we give them programs as individual children’s books. We provide an art teacher and a reading teacher, science activities, field trips, we help organize the transportation." Ms. Davis added, "We make just a lot of opportunities to get out and be active and stay busy during this summer and keep your mind growing."
Providing all of these progroms can help empower the community but if teens aren't willing to participate then it's waste of time."If they don’t do it, it’s just waste of money. It’s important to talk to the young people and do things that they want to do," Davis said. "The Young people are everything. It’s all about the young people,"Davis said.
One of their important goal is developing relationships between youths and their families. In order to reach that goal they are working together with various organizations like the Boys and Girls club, YMCA, Booker T. Washington, and the Cultural Center.
Sharol Davis is looking forward to see a couple of things in the future, "I would love to see like a youth court or teen court in the neighborhood where young people are actually helping solve issues in their community." She added, "I love to do more work with a neighborhood youth counsel where youth can come together and do more problems solving before the bad things happen."
Davis dreams that one day youths and kids will be in Booker T. Washington or somewhere else in that area and have their own radio show or TV show so they can talk about what's going on in San Francisco.
By: Rod Aminzadeh
In the Richmond District of San Francisco, which has been remodeled in the last few years, you can find a girl who's 16-years-old and is attending one of the best high schools in San Francisco, Galileo. Karen Hu is the youngest of four. Hu was born in San Francisco and she has lived her entire life there. She likes to draw and paint, and has been doing art since first grade.
Her favorite place to hangout is the ocean beach. "I love to be in the beach because I think it's very relaxing in there," Hu said. She goes there once or twice a week, usually on weekends. She thinks Richmond is very quite, nice, and friendly but the only issue is the high prices of the houses. According to Hu, Richmond District has changed a lot in the last few years. "There are more bigger and better housings and most of the buildings are remodeled as well, also more stores are built through this time," she said.
Hu likes a lot of things about her neighborhood. She likes how quite and clean it is, but at the same time it's very boring. "Nothing really important goes on and it's often like you do the same thing everyday." One of the improvements that Hu thinks should be done in the area is lowering the prices of houses because she thinks the houses are over price.
Besides art, she has been playing volleyball for the past three years. Hu's favorite food is sea food especially sushi. Hu's talent is typing fast; she can't type about 100 words per minute. She goes to Galileo High School and her favorite subject is English. Hu said, "I like English because I'm really good in writing and reading."
Hu considers herself as an indecisive person. She's constantly struggles with deciding what to do, like whether she wants to be a doctor or a veteranian in the future.
By; Ankhbayar Begzsuren (Alex).
I'm from Mongolia and I've been in the USA for two years. I'm a permanent resident here and I'm just like a new born baby. Everything's new for me and I have to reset everything all over in my brain. One thing I love to do is download music and adding to my iPod. One day I asked my friend Jimmy to tell me where I can download music but he told me that downloading music from the internet is illegal here in the United States. When he said this I laughed at him because I thought it was ridiculous. I had never heard of downloading music being illegal. I asked my friend what would happen if I get caught downloading music illegaly? He said " you would go to jail."
In Mongolia, all the people who have internet are downloading music from the internet because there is no law saying downloading music is illegal so it isn't a big deal there.
There is a big difference between downloading music legally and illegally. Many people download music illegally through the internet because they don't want to spend money on CDs. The music industry is strongly against illegal downloading because artists depend on their albums sales.
Everyone listens to music, but ask yourself how would you feel if someone was stealing your songs and making CDs illegally to sell them on the street? this would all mean that as an artist you would be losing profit for your creative art.
A lot of artists have spoken out against their music being downloaded. Metallica sued Napster because it allowed people to download music without having to pay a penny. Now, federal copyright laws block Napster users from downloading. I don't think that people are going to stop downloading music for free when programs like Limewire and Ares continue to be available.
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By: Dequan Carter
What is family to you? For me family is a group of loved ones that care about and help guide me toward the right path for my future. My family is so important to me because they're always there to support me. We even have our traditional summer reunion every year where we play games like play football, Twister, Bones, egg toss etc.
The typical food we always have is barbeque and potato salad. For dessert there's always sweet potato pie. I must say that after so much barbeque I have no taste for it anymore. At these reunions we all get together and talk about our family tree and the stories of our ancestors. My age group usually reads or writes poems or we sing if they ask us to. As we start to close the reunion the oldest adult in the family, which this year was cousin Buck, takes a long rope type string and as we sit and watch he ties it together to symbolically show we our unity.
These reunions are special because I get to meet family members I've never met before, since we have family from all over the country that comes over. This year I met cousins from Georgia. I plan on always attending the reunions even when I have my own kids since I want them to grow up with the same family tradition that I did.
Cold temperatures, Christmas songs, and family gatherings. That can only mean one thing: it’s list season. Here’s Youth Radio’s top science stories of the year.
10. Liquid Nitrogen Makes Ice Cream "Cooler": A classic science-room experiment teaches students to make kick-the-can ice cream by shaking it in a bag. But maybe the kids of the 21st century will skip the shaking and reach for a tank of nitrogen.
9. The Color of Green Chemistry: The things you eat and the things you wear are full of obscure, unpronounceable and potentially harmful chemicals. Learn about healthier living through “green chemistry.”
8. Artists Create Music You Can See and Touch: Meet a musical maker who invents instruments and transforms sound waves into a dynamic, planetarium light-show.
Read more... By Ankhbayar Begzsuren (Alex)
Everyone has a dream of traveling around the world but it isn't that easy as you say or imagine. I am from Mongolia and it's my native country. When I was younger my dream country to go to was the United States. I wanted to get a better education and go sightseeing for big buildings in the cities. My image of the United States was as a place of opportunity where I could establish a good future. Now I've realized my dream country is my native country of Mongolia. I knew everything better there since I lived there for majority of my life. I had a lot of friends there and we always knew where to hang out without spending money.
I've been in the US for two years but I still miss my country. Two years seems like twenty years. It's hard to live in new world where everything is new like the culture, language, people, places, friends, and mindset.
Thinking about traveling made me curious as to what countries other people dream of visiting or moving. According to 15 year-old Rasam Aminzadeh he dreams of moving to France if he was able to. He belives France has a lot of friendly people and several places to visit like the Eiffel tower, Disneyland Paris-- Europe's most popular tourist site--Loure Museum, Place of Versailles, and beaches. Aminzadeh would be sad if he left his coutry's culture but hes open minded to having a new experience. Aminzadeh says " he won't forget his own culture no matter how long he lives in France." He also believes that France has more oppertunities for him to become a professional soccer player.
But for 17 year-old San Francisco native, Brianna Gaxiola, a country has to feel authentic in order for her to go. "i would like to go to India because it is a very cultured country that has a lot to offer." What attracts her to India is the town's size, "I would like to walk around the small towns and not the big cities because it would seem more authentic then living in the major cities," Gaxiola said.
Meanwhile, 16 year-old Dequan Carter wants to explore Japan because of its history. The city he wants to go to is Hiroshima. He thinks the city would be "beautiful with a lot of lights." But his trip wouldn't be complete without his significant other. "I would like to go with my girlfriend and spend our honeymoon there."
But my friend Karen Hu says her decision will be based on where she can have the best experience. "I want to travel to Bejiing, China.... to go sightseeing, shop, and make some friends.
But for me, moving to a country varies on my favorite sport, soccer. My dream country to live in, besides wanting to back to Mongolia, would be Spain. I would specifically want to live in Barcelona because I can go to the soccer games and watch my favorite players. I wouldn't mind living there forever.
By: Karen Hu
Meet 16 year old Rod Aminzadeh. He was born in Iran but moved to San Francisco about two years ago. Aminzadeh currently attends George Washington High School and is an upcoming junior. His favorite subject is Math, because he's really good at it. He also has 1 younger brother, who is 15 years old. Aminzadeh's number one favorite food is Spaghetti! It doesn't matter on what kind of spaghetti it is, he loves all kinds!
He resides in the Richmond District of San Francisco. He thinks of it as a nice, quiet, clean and he likes how there are lots of play grounds to go to, but doesn't like how there are lots of homeless people on the streets. He still loves his homeland Iran and likes it better than San Francisco because he had more friends there and he had more fun. In Iran, they have the 4 seasons. In the summer time, It's really hot and when It's winter it snows. Too bad San Francisco doesn't have all 4 seaons like Iran does! If Aminzadeh were to help his neighborhood in any way possible, he would try to get the homeless people off the streets and give them a place to stay.
Aminzadeh has many hobbies and interests. He really loves soccer and taught himself how to play. The positions he usually plays are forward and midfield. He also likes to go to the theatres and watch action or adventure movies and he enjoys playing sports, action, or shooting type of video games. He generally goes to the movies or plays soccer with his friends during his spare time and he really enjoys it. Aminzadeh's talent is playing soccer. He's an amazing soccer player! He's also a very quick learner.
By: Rod Aminzadeh
In the Richmond District of San Francisco, which has been remodeled in the last few years, you can find a girl who's 16-years-old and is attending one of the best high schools in San Francisco, Galileo. Karen Hu is the youngest of four. Hu was born in San Francisco and she has lived her entire life there. She likes to draw and paint, and has been doing art since first grade.
Her favorite place to hangout is the ocean beach. "I love to be in the beach because I think it's very relaxing in there," Hu said. She goes there once or twice a week, usually on weekends. She thinks Richmond is very quite, nice, and friendly but the only issue is the high prices of the houses. According to Hu, Richmond District has changed a lot in the last few years. "There are more bigger and better housings and most of the buildings are remodeled as well, also more stores are built through this time," she said.
Hu likes a lot of things about her neighborhood. She likes how quite and clean it is, but at the same time it's very boring. "Nothing really important goes on and it's often like you do the same thing everyday." One of the improvements that Hu thinks should be done in the area is lowering the prices of houses because she thinks the houses are over price.
Besides art, she has been playing volleyball for the past three years. Hu's favorite food is sea food especially sushi. Hu's talent is typing fast; she can't type about 100 words per minute. She goes to Galileo High School and her favorite subject is English. Hu said, "I like English because I'm really good in writing and reading."
Hu considers herself as an indecisive person. She's constantly struggles with deciding what to do, like whether she wants to be a doctor or a veteranian in the future.
By: Brianna Gaxiola
Shopping has evolved into a hobby for most young people worldwide. It is an activity that most partake in. Some people do it in groups while others do it alone. I personally love to shop; it stems from my love for fashion I've held since I was born. Now in my teenage years I must ask myself the question: Has my love for shopping turned me into a shopaholic? I love to shop and if I could I would all the time.
The word reeks of someone with a problem. Like alcoholics have a problem with alcohol. I wouldn’t call my shopping a problem BUT isn’t the first step in admitting you have a problem denial?
The Dictionary defines shopaholic as "a compulsive shopper," while a teen slang site, Urban Dictionary, cleverly states that it’s a slang term to describe oniomania. A disorder that describes peoples urges to shop till they drop. People, who have been diagnosed with the disorder, experienced significantly negative life changes. They spend money until there is nothing left to spend. They can not stop-even if they try. A lot of people with oniomania can directly link their shopping habits to their emotional situation. If you’re sad ... buy a bag? Not the healthiest way to deal with depression but many say that it does indeed help to spend cash to make them feel better.
That most definitely does not sound like me. First of all, I can only spend if I do indeed have the money to do so. I personally can walk into a store and successfully walk out with nothing purchased, something a shopaholic would not be able to do. While shopping makes me happy it is not the first thing I do when I am upset. Shopping has only brought me joy and happiness; it has never negatively effected me in any way. I don't think we can blame the misconception of the word shopaholic, I mean we do live in a consumer society.
The word shopaholic can be defined as a "woman's" problem. I think we can all agree that Women enjoy shopping more than most men. But men generally enjoy "collecting" things, be it cars or tools or even stamps. Isn’t this just buying a lot of something? So can I label myself a collector of shoes and clothes? It sounds so much better than a shopaholic. I shop a lot but as far as having a clinical disorder, I do not believe I have gone that far.
From a shopping lover to another, here are some tips on how to avoid excessive shopping. One, Pay in cash. You’ll be more aware of how much you are spending then just using credit. Two, Make a shopping list. Only buy what's on the list and nothing else, I mean nothing else. Three, window shop. You'll enjoy browsing the latest things while keeping your wallet in a safe place.
By: Karen Hu
Trying to legalize Gay marriage has been a continous war for quite a while now. Recently, California has overturned Prop 8 which means it will be on the ballet for people to vote. For those who want gay marriage to be legalized, this overturning on prop 8 is just one step closer to doing so.
Everyone has different opinions on gay marriage. There are a lot of people who do not agree to it, but a good portion of people do agree. I for one, agree to gay marriage. I don't see anything wrong with it and I think it's perfectly fine for a man and man or a woman and woman to get marry. The reason why people get married is because they love each other, so does it matter if it's the same sex or opposite sex? No, I believe it doesn't. As long as they love each other, that's enough and they should be allowed to marry.
16 year old Shawnanis McCune agrees to gay marriage as well. "I believe that love isn't just for male and female, People deserve to love who they want to. Just because you fall for someone who's the same sex as you, It doesn't mean that it's wrong." She believes that everyone deserves to marry whoever they're in love with. McCune also believes there isn't anything "wrong" it same sex marriages. "I think it's wrong, to be called wrong or bad for being who you are."
There are different reasons on why people think that gay marriage is wrong. "Religious reasons mostly. It's something they're not used to. They feel that it'll influence other people into thinking that it's okay, Like their children." said 20 year old Sharon Truong. She feels that marriage is marriage, "I feel the same way about it as straight marriage. It's just marriage."
We're all equal, aren't we? We should all be treated the same. We're all the same in the first place anyway. People act like homosexauls arent people but another species or something. They're still people who have feelings and have a heart. So think about it, Is it really that wrong for homosexuals to get married? Is it really that wrong for two people, of the same sex who love each other, to get marry?
By: Rod and Rasam Aminzadeh
One of the most important issues that education is facing here in California, is Budget Cuts. Schools throu out the Bay Area are facing the possibility of being closed. California, the most-populous U.S. state, is going to lose an $18.6 billion budget through June 2011.
Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts are spread over many public programs, but the largest would eliminate the CalWORKS welfare program and do away with child care funding except for preschool and after-school programs, saving the state $1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
Via The Christian Science Monitor
The upcoming cuts will affect Students. 16-year-old Karen Hu is one of those students who is going to be affected by budget cuts. She's a junior at Galileo High School. Hu says, "Learning is going to be a lot harder bacause they are going to lay off some of the teachers, classes are going to be crowded, and we are going to have less supplies to study with." Hu added, "It's not right bacause government is spending more money on wars than schools and education." Hu is trying to just make the best out of the situation, but others aren't as tough as she.
16-year-old Bao-An Voung, A junior at George Washington High School worries about how these budget cuts will affect his future. "I'm worried about cuts because it will affect my education and it will take out some after school programs that I'm interesting in," said Voung.
George Washington High School is one of the schools that won't be affected by California's budget cuts. Ms. Jackson, one of the principle's assistants at GWHS said the school is doing very well and has not been affected by the cuts. She credits the school's principle, Mrs. Lovrin for the work she has done to get the school's budget back during the summer from different divisions. George Washinton High School is looking forward to see nothing different compare to last year.
By Saba Javakhishvili
Teen smoking had been on a sharp decline since the mid-late 1990's, but a recent data shows that the adolescent smoking rates are rising slightly.
According to a 2005 study done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 23 percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes in the last month. This is compared with a previous study that was conducted with high school students that showed 21.9 percent are smokers (in 2003). While this data is somewhat discouraging it is far better than the rate in 1997. The study also showed a rise amongst White and Hispanic teens while the rates of teen smoking declined among African-american teens.
16 year-old karen Hu thinks smoking is bad, "smoking is bad for lungs, it can give you a heart and breathing problems, it can kill you. Also, when you smoke it affects people around you," she said.
According to a study by the American Lung Association, 90 percent of smokers begin before the age of 21.
No one has to tell you about the health risks of smoking. You know that quitting now is the single best thing you can do for your lungs, for your heart—for your life. For many, fear of illness, even death, is a primary motivation for quitting. Maybe your motivator is to look better, to feel better, to have more jingle in your pocket. The key is to find the reasons to quit that mean the most to you.
via - iVillage Health
According to 15 year-old Rasam Aminzadeh, young people smoke because they want to be liked at school. "They [young people] think smoking is cool and if you smoke you're mature." He thinks smoking is viewed as a cool, because of older people do that.
But not everybody thinks smoking is cool. "Smoking turns your teeth yellow, fingers smell like a burn, and you start to loose sense of smell," says 16-year-old Jackie Tan. According to him, smoking helps reduce stress. "People start smoking because of family problems, they are stressed," he said. I agree with Jackie. Young people are stressed so early because they have probems with their parents.
It seems as though smoking is a stress alleviator for teens, 17-year-old Ankhbayar Begzsuren agrees, "...they would like to make theirselves feel better by smoking" Begzsuren says.
Everyone knows that tobacco is bad for you. You learn it in school, you read about it in newspapers, and your parents have probably told you a thousand times not to smoke. It is good to know what you are up against before you decide to start smoking, and even better to never start at all. Here are few suggestions to not to start smoking by young people themselves. "if you start smoking its hard to stop and it will be late when you find out that it can damage your health," says Rasam Aminzadeh. "Smoking is bad, because it wastes your money, your health" and "makes your life shorter," added Begzsuren.
By: Rasam Aminzadeh
For a lot of people moving to a country they are not familiar with can be difficult. That's what 17-years-old Alex Begzsuren found out after moving from Mongolia to the United States two years ago. Begzsuren moved to the United States for a better education. He is currently a senior in high school and wants to attend UC Davis because his family suggested him to go, and also one of his friends is going to that university. He wants to study computer technology and become a computer technician.
When he arrived to San Francisco, he thought it was going to be a lot better than his hometown in every way possible, but he was wrong. Being thousands of miles away from home, he found out just how much he missed his hometown of Ulaanbaatar. “I missed all of my friends, all the places I used to go in my hometown and hangout with my friends.” Begzsuren thinks nothing can compare to his hometown of Ulaanbaatar.
He thinks that no one would like another place more than their hometown because they have lived there more. People know more about their hometown, and they can communicate better with the people there. He sees no similarities between the two cities, “There are a lot of differences. Everything is different even the people,” Begzsuren said. He sees his country better than San Francisco in a lot of ways. He thinks the weather in his town is better because you can actually feel all four seasons opposed to San Francisco. He loves his country, and he wants to go back to his hometown.
He loves to play soccer, but he says, “there aren’t too many public soccer fields to go. You have to have permission to play.” He also added, "There aren't a lot of soccer fields in Mongolia, but most of the ones I go to don't need any permission for playing in there."He is a good soccer player, but he doesn’t aspire to become a soccer player. He’d rather watch his favorite team, Barcelona and his favorite player Lionel Messi on TV.
Although he misses his hometown, he says that he's slowly getting more comfortable here in San Francisco and hopes to pursue his college dreams.
