The Beacon Beat has formally decided to begin hosting “roundtable discussions” between members of both the newspaper staff and the public on specific topical issues. Below is a transcription of a conversation that occurred on March 13th. The transcription has been edited for clarity and grammar. Initially, the topic of discussion was “Family Politics vs….
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Coping With Test Anxiety
By Ruby Paarlberg Most high schoolers know the suspenseful silence as a test is being handed out all too well. The silence continues until the test is over when everyone can breathe again. Exams are proctored in sterile environments amongst a sea of nail biting and fidgety students. It is difficult to remain calm and…
We Need to Fix the Subway: The MTA’s Current Problems and Potential Solutions
By Tess Olmi and Jadan Harsch Photography by Boo Elliot The subway. The MTA. Whatever you know it as, chances are that either you or someone you know uses it daily. And, although it has been around since 1904 and runs through all five boroughs, including Staten Island, there are still so many problems that…
A Nice Little Twist of Fate: ‘The Other Josh Cohen’ (Review)
By Mira-Rose Kingsbury Lee You might have seen the bright yellow signs on the way to school, if you take the unbeaten track down West 43rd. They’re certainly difficult to miss: “The Other Josh Cohen” displayed in star-studded red letters next to pictures of a cast dressed almost entirely in flannel. Intrigued, I decided to…
Barbie, Dora, You, Me, and Us.
By Sophia Gomez Magazines, TV commercials, Subway ads, and pictures frames; if you have not noticed all feature some of the same faces. You will most likely find the face of an American White citizen front and center. But what is so ideal about this group of people? Are they truly going to make you…
A Modern Tale: Why Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” Feels More Relatable Than Ever
By Sophie Steinberg The show opens with a couple speeding away from the authorities, with their daughter in tow. The car crashes along the side of the road, leaving the family with no choice but to run into the surrounding forrest. Questions immediately fill the viewer’s head– where are they going? Why? Based on the…
Cynthia Nixon Should Not Be Governor
By Jude Messler Cynthia Nixon will not be the Governor of New York. The latest polls have Andrew Cuomo ahead by at least thirty points, a gap that all but ensures that he will clinch the Democratic nomination next Thursday. From the moment of its inception, a Nixon candidacy was a longshot. Taking on the…
Added Value Farms: A Red Hook Hidden Gem
By Ruby Paarlberg Across the street from Ikea and surrounded by sidewalks and parked cars is a flourishing and beautiful green farm. Added Value Farms is a 2.75-acre urban farm located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This site contains both the NYC Compost Project and the Red Hook community farm. Together, these parts of the urban…
What’s There to Talk About? What “13 Reasons Why” Doesn’t Show
By Anne Isman If you haven’t already seen it, you’ve definitely heard people talking about it; the second season of the viral Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” was recently released, consisting of thirteen new episodes revolving around the students of Liberty High as they testify in Hannah’s trial against their school. Just as the first season…
Even Outspoken Students Struggle to Listen in English Class
By Esme Laster For most students, the importance of listening has been tactfully drilled into our minds by teachers, administrators, parents, and even some deceptively instructional television series. In kindergarten, you begin to hear catchy phrases you never forget instructing you to put on your listening caps, and to stop, look and listen–to which you…
