The Golan Heights: An International Blunder
Robert Phillips ’20
April 11, 2019
President Trump recently signed a presidential proclamation that the United States will acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights - something past administrations and the international community have avoided. The Golan Heights is a controversial region strategically located along Israel’s...
Taking Control of the United States’ Immigration Crisis
Fernando Elizondo-Junco ’19
April 11, 2019
Immigration is a hot topic in today’s political world and for good reason. The United States has a severe problem with illegal aliens crossing its southern border. If this immigration crisis is not addressed, the country will continue to suffer, both economically and socially. The argument I hear...
Border Security: An Unnecessary Distraction
Reece Yang ’21, Editor-in-Chief
March 7, 2019
President Trump first uttered the now infamous “build the wall” line in the fall of 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona, before he won the presidential election and placed his left hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States, ready to serve the nation. But now, after two yea...
Improving Administration-Student Relations
Charlie Comfort ’21
March 7, 2019
In the past year, the administration has made changes to the inter-dorming policy, the sleepover policy, Taft Week, the policy on vaping, and the disciplinary process. Each of these changes was in response to an event or cultural habit at the school. Although some of these changes may have been justifie...
Democrats: Plan, Don’t Dream
Claire Wang ’21
March 7, 2019
The controversial new member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th District), often referred to as AOC, unveiled a new resolution with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) that vows to tackle climate change and economic inequality. Although climate change is a pressing issue that the government must take ...
Misinformation Is a Disease – and It’s Highly Contagious
Walker Perrenoud ’22
March 7, 2019
Vaccinations have been widely demonized since a deeply flawed study claimed they caused autism. Out of fear, children are being vaccinated far less frequently than they have been in the past. This drop-off endangers not just those who choose to reject vaccines, however. Anti-vaccination advocates jeo...
Declaration of National Embarrassment
Carter Moyer ’20
February 17, 2019
After a month-long shutdown and three nail-biting weeks of negotiations on a new budget, Congress finally agreed upon a deal to fund the entirety of the government. Not everyone got what they wanted - Democrats had to walk back requested restrictions on ICE detentions, and Republicans did not get the...
Make the Mueller Report Public
Lily Yang '21
February 14, 2019
President Donald J. Trump is controversial due to his immature language, behavior, and shady history. News sources have noted suspicious communication with foreign governments, lying to government officials, and misuse of public funds. Robert Mueller, appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstei...
Ask a Bearcat: The Most Difficult Year at Hotchkiss
Brother Bearcat '07
February 14, 2019
Dear Bearcats, I was recently asked to write about the year at Hotchkiss that I believe to be the most difficult. This is a tricky question; I am a firm believer that the quality of a challenge is subjective and relative to our own personal experience. What is difficult for one person might come as ...
How Social Democracy Can Save Us
Carter Moyer '20
February 14, 2019
Nobody should be forced into debt due to a cancer diagnosis or an unforeseen accident. Nobody should need to work two jobs just to make ends meet. And nobody’s zip code should determine their destiny. Unfortunately, across the United States, the cost of living has continued to climb, outpacing wage growt...
Speaker Pelosi Holds All the Cards
Carter Moyer ’20
January 31, 2019
Until recently, the government was shut down for over a month. During that time, over 800,000 federal government employees missed not one, but two, paychecks. These employees have families to support, groceries to buy, mortgages and credit card bills to pay; their health insurance was even put on hold....
Trump and Irony of Troop Withdrawal
Cyrus Farmaian ’21
January 31, 2019
On Wednesday, December 19, President Trump announced his plan to evacuate the nearly 2,000 United States troops stationed in Syria, saying, “We have won against ISIS.” This abrupt announcement rattled allies such as Britain and Israel, who have been working closely with U.S. troops to battle the...