Opinion

Students experimenting with taking multiple science courses and multiplying their math courses by two have long been prevalent at Saratoga High. Multiple English classes, however? Frailty, thy name is the SHS English Department’s concurrent AP enrollment policy.

Big Brother, a fictitious character created by George Orwell in his book “1984” as a representation of a totalitarian system seems to be making a return appearance in our own government.

America is the land of the free, the home of the brave-- that is, until people come forth and admit they’re gay. Then they often get ostracized, embarrassed and kicked out of the armed forces.

Muffled pleas for help were once heard from the Northeast sector of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, where 50,000 civilians had been trapped within a four-square mile area, held as human shields by a few hundred of the most deadly terrorists in the world—the Tamil Tigers.
Government plans for the Tigers’ destruction began earlier in the year when it started a major offensive against the rebels. The Sri Lankan government began taking control of the situation, pushing the rebels farther and farther north while flushing out resistance from the South. These rebels wanted the Tamil minority to be independent from the socially and politically privileged Sinhalese, who make up the majority of the Sri Lankan population.

By now, most students have probably heard of the expulsion and suspension of several students around campus for drug-related issues. The expulsion of one student in particular for dealing drugs on campus has sparked an outrage among some, and even stirred students to create an online petition that was widely circulated on Facebook, asking the administration to reconsider their decision.

Typically, the election process for ASB has been held in the classrooms and administered by teachers. This year, voting was held in the quad in an attempt to lower the burden on teachers and find a more democratic election method; however, this new routine resulted in a dearth of student participation.

Muffled pleas for help were once heard from the Northeast sector of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, where 50,000 civilians had been trapped within a four-square mile area, held as human shields by a few hundred of the most deadly terrorists in the world—the Tamil Tigers.

After a confusing lecture in physics, a student returns home with a problem set. He doesn’t have any idea how to complete it, but he doesn’t panic. He pulls out paper and his textbook, and then hands it over to his dad. After 20 minutes, the dad hands back the completed problem set, and the student shoves it into his backpack, ready to turn it in tomorrow.

The headlines of newspapers around the world are all screaming one term: swine flu. Scientifically known as the H1N1 influenza virus, this disease is spreading around the world and is currently just one level below a full-blown pandemic according to the World Health Organization. More than 100 people have died from this new virus, yet many are not worried.

By now everybody (with the exception of some clueless Saratogans) has heard of the notorious Somali pirates and their increasingly daring exploits. Embarrassingly, this news is surprising to many.

Think about the situation as a whole for a second. Somalia has lacked a competent central government since as early as 1990 due to civil war.