Articles
Before reading Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, (the greatest series ever), I didn’t understand why so many teens were becoming obsessed. My friends at school constantly talked about it to the point where it became incredibly irritating, and I swore to myself I would never read the series and become a pathetic Twilight devotee. However, with nothing [...]
Cory Nagelberg has an essay in the NJJN about Christmas and Hanukka: He wants equal time. Read it here.
Are newspapers obsolete?
I spoke last week at Schechter Upper School in West Orange at the induction ceremony for the National Honor Society. Here’s what I said:
Thank you so much - it’s an honor to be speaking here today, and I am flattered by those who thought to invite me. I don’t know if you [...]
As thanksgiving break approaches us, we are also getting closer and closer to the single most busy shopping day of the year: Black Friday. Notorious for its great sales, black Friday traditionally attracts millions to malls and department stores around the country in search of holiday gifts. In a recent November 14th article, the Star [...]
Change is upon us, embrace it.
UJA blows the roof on Sunday, Dec. 7, with a Teen Calling Session, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., in Whippany.
Everyone who participates will have the chance to win a 50″ flat screen TV and the evening will end with a pizza party.
Email supersunday@ujcnj.org, call 973-929-3010, or visit www.ujcnj.org/supersunday.
I stayed up last night, watching the returns come in. Needless to say, I am scared of what will happen in the next four years. I’m not quite sure why America voted for Senator Obama, and I’m particularly confused on why Jews voted for Senator Obama. As a patriot, I’ll love my country no matter [...]
I’m writing this piece at at 10:20 A.M. on Sunday, November 2nd. The big day is two days away. Most polls will close in 59 hours and 40 minutes. The next 4 years are instantly changed by the numbers that will roll in on Tuesday; maybe even the whole cosmic balance will be changed by [...]
I happen to veer more towards Obama than McCain being that my political views are heavily geared towards socialist (yes, Obama is a socialist). Despite that, I came across this very interesting piece on Yahoo Message Boards which really puts “redistribution of wealth” into (oversimplified) practical terms.
Today on my way to lunch I passed a [...]
Last week, many schools in our area had “spirit week” a week of themed dress up days and lunch activities desinged to unite a grade and bring a week of school pride to the community. At Newark Academy, we have a four day spirit week- followed by homecoming that Saturday.
Usually spirit week is all in [...]
I love music. But real music - rock music. Not hip hop, or pop, or techno, or rap, or many other genres that I just can’t stand. I listen to rock music, as well as many of the subgenres of rock music: punk rock, ska punk, metal, hardcore, alternative country (yes, that exists), classic rock, [...]
We the People - when every American here’s that phrase, they know it comes from the Constitution. I pledge allgiance to the flag - come on, I’m sure you all know the Pledge of Allegance. O say! can you see - obviously, this one’s from the Star Spangled Banner. Now, I’m gonna put a really [...]
I’m really disappointed that so many of my fellow Nu board members say they haven’t informed themselves about the issues because they’re only 16 or 17.
So you can’t vote this year. Neither can I, but that doesn’t mean that I lock myself in my room, cover my head with a pillow, and refuse to come [...]
I write because I have to - not because I want to. No, no one is forcing me to write or even asking me to, but for my own sanity, I need writing. Emotionally, writing allows me to open up to the one person that I can trust - myself. With writing, there is no [...]
There have been some pretty crucial elections in American History. The race between Stephen Douglass and Abraham Lincoln in 1860, which determined the fate of slavery in America. The race between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960 included the first televised debates, and brought the Presidential campaign a whole closer to the American people. However, In [...]
Being 16, going on 17 I am not eligible to vote in the 2008 Presidential Elections, thank G-d.
The upcoming election holds monumental weight for our distraught country. Given, since I am not eligible to vote I haven’t exactly made it my business to research each side and follow the particular issues, rather I view it [...]
“Fight for Your Right”
That’s correct - Mike D was wrong. You don’t have to fight for your right to anything nowadays. Pretty much anything is allowed. This election is important for two - the economy and national defense. Those two things have nothing to do with rights. There are no rights to be won or [...]
Just yesterday, one of my best friends turned 18. A huge milestone for him — and just in time for one of the most anticipated and intense elections we’ve ever had. I keep asking myself whether or not he’s lucky to be eligible to vote. Having just turned 17 in July, voting for me is [...]
The burden of summer reading lists
With another school year in the works, I want to discuss something that happened to me over the summer — something involving two words that teachers and administrators use that should never be put together: “summer” and “reading.”
Dear Diary:
Today I spent the afternoon at Borders, picking out the summer reading for my classes. I am so excited — I think the two I chose have the right combination of categories: not too long but not too short; not too loaded down with literary elements that the kids won’t finish it; a fast-moving plot (perhaps even the threat of violence — they seem to enjoy that)…
In defense of procrastination
“Procrastination is the thief of time,” says a philosopher — Edward Young — from the 1700s.
Often, procrastination is portrayed as a detrimental attribute when in truth, it is a talent. A good procrastinator can put a task off until the very last minute and still complete it on time.
Amidst perpetually rising gas prices and fears of depleting oil reserves, an American-Israeli entrepreneur has set out to revive the electric car industry, whose failure to gain corporate and consumer support was lamented in the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?
The Capitol Steps lampoon the political scene
A devoted Dane Cook fan, I had always been stubborn about branching out and listen to other comedians. However, when taken by my grandparents to see Capitol Steps perform, a whole new world of satirical comedy opened up to me.
The case against the Democratic nominee
This fall, toss out your political affiliations. The presidential election is not a matter of who’s a Republican and who’s a Democrat. It is a matter of who will best protect this country from harm and restore its economic power. And I’m here to tell you why Senator Barack Obama is not that man.
On education, healthcare and the economy, Obama’s the man
At the Republican National Convention, John McCain questioned Barack Obama’s patriotism and referred to him as being a part of the “me first, country second” crowd.
But although McCain’s wartime heroics affirm his dedication to the United States, does that qualify him to be president?
Picking the wrong role models, and seeking new ones
Fall is a time to study — not textbooks, but the foibles of society. I watched a camp talent show over the summer. The first skit consisted of three 10-year-old girls complaining that they had eaten “two M&Ms” and had cheated on their “eat nothing diets,” which resulted in each feeling “fat.”
Self-learning v. formal education
When I was in elementary school, I could not imagine disliking going to class everyday. What else was there to do? But now, entering my junior year, high school has become more than tedious. Many people share this sentiment, but maybe not for the same reasons; I am largely a self-learner. I don’t need a textbook or teacher to teach me; I’m motivated to learn on my own.
How I spent my summer vacation
Last summer I participated in the Szarvas Fellowship (pronounced sar-VASH), an experience like no other.
Similar to summer camp, the program brings Jews from all over Europe and North America together for a camp experience outside the small town of Szarvas in eastern Hungary.
An Ethiopian teen’s leap from the Third World to the First
One might not expect an Ethiopian Jew and an American Jew to have much in common except religious beliefs. My experience was different.
Caught between under- and upper-classmanship
There are two completely different perspectives about sophomore year; one, that it is a brutal year, and two, that it is one of the best years of high school.
How can there be such polar opposite opinions?
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