Remember those classic American High school movies? You know, the ones with the overly muscular jocks that would pick on the scrawny little nerds. The nerds with their trademark retainers, suspenders, and glasses became relics of the American intellectual, and how glamorous it was to be considered one of them. Perhaps you don’t remember. Maybe you were too focused on the empty minded cheerleader with the bodacious breast. The same cheerleader that would humiliate the flat-chested girls who worried less about make-up, prom, and Brad’s new convertible and more about calculus, college, and Curie’s Nobel Prize. You could not have possibly forgotten when the football team pulled down Eric’s pants during pep rally. Or how about that one scene, when Eric’s motionless body was found hanging from a noose in the middle of his bedroom? Oh you don’t remember? Well of course you don’t, you see my generation found that script old and tiring, so we decided to up the ante. We gave the defenseless nerds automatic fire arms to spread terror throughout the school, that is what you wanted after all, wasn’t it? I mean who isn’t a fan of the slit wrists and climbing suicide rates? This is what you gave us to work with, this is what you wanted, and this is what you are getting. Are you not entertained?











The media needs to start taking responsibility for the effect they have on the youth. Things certainly have changed over the years and we have the media to thank for the direction we are heading in. I do not recall Henry David Thoreau ever advocating underage drinking and sex. He recognized his virginity as something sacred. Watching Jersey Shore, that is not the message being conveyed. Today losing your virginity is a rite of passage into the top tier. How did that happen? To those in the media, whether you know it or not, you are contributing to the mayhem. I would go as far to say that it you who is fathering these bullies. All of the rules and social conventions established by the most influential Americans, you have abandoned. Likewise, the golden rule I learned in kindergarten, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated”, was thrown out the window, and my world was shattered.





I propose that we bring it all back. Redefine the High school experience, this time without all the drugs and sex. Treat it for what it truly is; a chance to interact with a variety of people who, yes, will have many differences from us that we must learn to accept. Whether it’s as simple as their music preference or as complex as their religious beliefs and sexual orientation, we must learn to cope. Acceptance should be promoted, not rejection, equality, not division. Let us highlight the traits that will help society progress. And can you please assign a word that does not describe our future doctors and engineers as, according to dictionary.com, “stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive”.