The Bronx Junior Fighting for Equitable Schools
Does your high school have lots of clubs to choose from? Do you have art and music classes? Sports teams? Are there guidance counselors to support you when you need someone to talk to and to help you apply to colleges? For many New York City students, especially those who are black or Latinx, the […]
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The Brooklyn Teen Making His Community Safer
Aaron Hoagland grew up surrounded by violence. In his community in Flatbush, Brooklyn, shootings are common. “A lot of my father’s friends [were] stabbed, shot, killed,” Aaron says. “We have a lot of candle lightings, we have Rest in Peace t-shirts.” The neighborhood’s 67th Police Precinct reported 10 shooting incidents in 2018 and 5 as […]
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Remembering the Terrorist Attack Near Stuyvesant High School
On Halloween in 2017, I was looking forward to dressing up as a zombie police officer and going trick-or-treating after school. But during 10th period, a voice came through the loudspeakers: “We are now in a shelter-in-place. I repeat. We are now in a shelter-in-place.” My friend and I looked at each other and groaned. […]
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Misogyny Is Everywhere, Even in Me
When I was in middle school, I wanted more friends who were boys because I felt like girls were too much drama. If a girl wore makeup, or seemed more focused on her physical appearance than her inner qualities, I’d say things like, “You should be natural” or “Don’t wear makeup to impress a boy” […]
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