St. Robert CHS Student News
Zoe Chakraborty (9) | STAFF REPORTER
Most fictional works have their necessary villains; for example, the evil genius Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes or the corruptness of society that is featured in the Squid Game. It’s what gives these stories their special ingredient that lights a spark in the arc, the characters, and the thoughts of the readers. But should there be restrictions on the portrayal of immorality in creative works?
Sissi Li (9) | STAFF REPORTER
When parents think about their children’s play, the first thing that pops into mind is their safety. If they are going on a bike ride, they must need helmets and be in sight at all times. If they are playing tag on the playground, they are warned not to climb up too high or run too fast. Yet, little do they know that allowing limited amounts of risk in activities is actually beneficial to children’s development in the long run, even if it may give parents a scare in the present. Risky play should be involved in children’s development because it helps them become independent, acquire important life skills, and develop good characters.
Aase Ade-Akhani (9) | STAFF REPORTER
Guns, bombs, synthetic media and more are weapons that humans have created and used to either help or attack the people around them for better or worse. For most, if not all, of human history, we have used weapons like this to help liberate our fellow humans in dire situations like the liberation of the German- occupied Netherlands in WWII, but we have also used it to unnecessarily exert power over other countries like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII.
Sophie Erenberg (11) | STAFF REPORTER
Many of the plants we consume today are the product of genetic changes that would never occur in nature. In recent years, however, the opposing views on the use of genetically modified crops and organisms have provoked significant controversies surrounding the issue. In today’s society, do the economic benefits of GMOs outweigh the environmental setbacks associated with them?
Sara Khan (9) | STAFF REPORTER
The justice system has always been a controversial subject, now more than ever. While many debate the integrity of the system that puts people in jail, many others debate how the criminals should be dealt with after their trials. Currently, ex-convicts aren’t permitted to do many things after release, and must state that they have been to prison when applying to jobs. This makes many aspects of life much more difficult, and people are now questioning if this is the way to go about it. Should ex-cons be punished for their actions, or be given a second chance to live normally in society? Or is the right answer a mix of both?
Sara Khan (9) | STAFF REPORTER
Vaccines: seen by many as a life-saving invention, and by some others as a dangerous conspiracy made by the government. The purpose of vaccines is to reduce the symptoms of certain viruses, but some wonder if that is their true purpose. If vaccines truly are what they’re claimed to be, general vaccine mandates would save millions of lives and prevent the spread of many diseases. However, if they aren’t, many students would be put at risk. The question is: who is right?
Sophie Erenberg (11) | STAFF REPORTER
Remote learning ━ a seeming solution to providing safe, distanced schooling to students worldwide amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. But are there drawbacks to this new and supposedly improved education system?
Zoe Chakraborty (9) | STAFF REPORTER
Junk food is detrimental to health and has a number of negative effects. Yet it is still sold everywhere: at street side stands, restaurants, grocery stores, and now people can no longer resist the allure of unhealthy foods with its wide availability. In fact, obesity is so common that one in four adults in Canada suffers from it.
Sissi Li (9) | STAFF REPORTER
On November 25, 2018, two new voices joined the chorus of newborn babies of this world. They were the perfectly healthy twins Lulu and Nana. There was only one difference: the two baby girls are completely immune to HIV/AIDS. While they were still in their mother’s womb, scientist He JianKui and his team used the gene-editing technology CRISPR to cut out CCR5, the gene responsible for infection from HIV. Thus, the first-ever genetically modified babies were born. Of course, this caused an uproar in the science and medicine community and the Chinese scientist was heavily attacked for violating medical conventions and disregarding the safety and health of his patients. However, many more regarded this as an inevitable first step heralding the dawn of a new era.
Aase Ade-Akhani (9) || STAFF REPORTER
On October of 2021, The New York Times published an article detailing a the recent scientific breakthrough of transplanting a kidney grown in a genetically altered pig to a human and found that it worked normally. Although this was a significant leap in science and medicine in general regarding organ transplants, it raised the question of whether it is ethical to genetically modify animals for the sake of growing organs to then be transplanted into human.