French environmentalists are promoting an end towards the country’s nuclear program.  However, France is the world’s most pro-nuclear country, proven by the 58 nuclear reactors.  France largely exports nuclear power; treating nuclear waste from around the world.  The prominence of this pro nuclear policy, contrasts the new measures enforced by Germany; shutting down eight of their older reactors and voting to shut down the nine remaining nuclear plants by 2022.  This was prompted by the disaster at the Fukushima power plant.  These new measures didn’t influence President Nicolas Sarkozy pro-nuclear policy; insisting that France will stick to their plan of investing euro1 billion ($1.37 billion) in future nuclear reactors.

However, whether or not to have nuclear power plants is not as simple as countries strive for.   Though countries are shutting down these plants as the growing hysteria of nuclear proliferation increases, one must also recognize the positive aspects plants have currently.  This being a positive alternative source for no greenhouse gas emissions; making the US and other countries less reliant on the Middle East for oil.  Nuclear power plants generate a huge amount of energy in proportion to a small amount of fuel.  Still, the earth has a huge amount of waste amassing and one cannot abruptly stop a plant, and planting windmills; for wind power which would be costly and take up much space for the same amount of power as a plant.  Then there is the possibility of building more dams for hydropower, which would also be damaging to the environment; changing the ecosystem for animals habiting in the lake.  An example is Glenn canyon; a beautiful natural canyon sunken in a dammed area of the Colorado River.  When questioning what is a better solution a windmill, dam or smokestack, environmental lawyer, John D. Echeverria says, “Any kind of energy development is going to have environmental impacts that are going to concern somebody- or the aesthetics of this environmental alternative. “Windmills are large and hideous” said environmentalist Vincent Collins.  Could the problem concerning the best option for environmental sustainability be achieved by comparing the aesthetics of each environmental alternative?

Environmentalists will always seek be perfection, yet, when is there ever a perfect solution for an unnatural problem.  Idealists strive for this perfect society, but this can’t be attained, new events always cause people to rethink old solutions.  Just as each part of the earth is beneficial for different causes, same is attributed to renewable energy.  In our modernizing world, one cannot ignore the lasting effects nuclear power has on our globalizing society by creating a sustainable world for the future.

Kyleigh’s Law originated from the death of a 16-year-old who died in a car accident at the fault the teenage driver that she was with in 2006. As an attempt to minimize fatalities in teen drivers, the state requires that the driver must attach the red decals on the license plates of the car(s) that they drive. The purpose is to make young drivers more identifiable to the law enforcement. In the United States of America, New Jersey is the first state to enact a law that recognizes a certain demographic in this manner.

The identifying pair of stickers cost $4 and the failure to use these stickers results in a $100 fine. However, are these markings attracting the wrong kind of attention? Many teens and young adults feel discriminated against these markings that clearly show that they are new drivers.

In a survey hosted by NJ.com, over 88 percent of the votes out of 13,427, felt that the “decals as part of Kyleigh’s Law [discriminate] young drivers.” Defenders claim that this system works because some other countries including England, Australia and Canada use similar systems. Those against this law are encouraging online petitions.

Attorney Gregg Trautmann of Rockaway, NJ believes that this law is not only unsafe but unconstitutional.

“The decals would serve as magnets for police to pull over young people and would let others, including sex offenders, easily identify and victimize teens,” Trautmann said.

Currently, the “New Jersey Against Kyleigh’s Law” petition has reached 7,248 signatures and is still growing. There are even 17 Facebook pages against this law.

“To stick or not to stick: that is the question.”

Gym this year was not what I expected.  Since I participate in sports after school, I always found gym in elementary school and middle school to be a waste of time.  The teachers made it intense, the games weren’t that great, and to get changed for a 45-minute period just didn’t make sense.   However, in high school, my attitude has changed.  Although changing for a 30-minute time frame still feels like a waste of time, the class is fun and actually enjoyable. 

Stereotypical gym class goes like this: The boys take over any game, and the girls get pushed to the side.  The games are dull and not everyone gets to participate much.  Some girls are afraid of the ball; others, like me, wish the ball would get passed to them more.  Arguing occurs, and the teachers make a big scene to resolve it.  Except for a rare occasion, gym is not fun. An occasion where gym was fun was in middle school, when we played “Capture the Flag” as a Learning Community.  There were four teams, and every team wanted to capture the others teams’ flags.  There were not endless rules associated with the game, and each player wanted to help his or her team, so camaraderie drove the game.  Unfortunately, this game was only played a few times a year.

In high school, gym actually becomes fun.  This most likely occurs because the teachers lay off the game, the boys respect the girls, and the games are fun when participating with friends in a game where everyone gets involved, like volleyball.   Now that I think about it, because circumstances such as these occur in high school, they lead to my enjoyment in gym. For example, my class began the semester with a volleyball unit, and our team consisted of two boys and six girls.  The boys obviously still made more of the plays, but the girls got to participate and make a difference in the game, too.  Even though a couple girls weren’t that good, they improved, and whenever they made a nice play, my team cheered and congratulated them. There was camaraderie; everyone wanted to have fun. 

I have heard from many people repeated phrases such as “Wow, gym is actually fun this year.” The teachers don’t constantly criticize each player, and they trust us enough to work out disagreements on our own.  This makes gym fun.  Not only do students stay healthy, but we get to make new friends and new memories with our teammates. 

Although gym has had a bad rap for decades, it doesn’t have to be like that forever.   Once students get to high school, camaraderie grows and there is more freedom to work out disputes, and gym actually becomes fun.   Although in grade school game choice and instruction isn’t up to the student, if one hangs in there long enough and keeps an open mind, one will find gym to  eventually be enjoyable.  Maybe with an open mind, students will stop complaining about homework…

At any other school, students have access to their courtyards. In college, courtyards are often used as shortcuts in-between classes to avoid the hectic traffic in the hallways. However, at East, students are forbidden from using the courtyards. In fact, they need to have permission from supervisors to enter them.

For years students have pondered the existence of the courtyards since they are not used for anything. Many freshmen assume that people are allowed to just wander into them whenever they please; however they eventually learn that is not the case.

These freshmen soon realize that the courtyards serve no purpose, a common fact known among the students at East. The amount of area occupied by the courtyards is about the size of four or more classrooms. In general, students do not care about the courtyards, as they only acknowledge them when they admire the colorful cow standing in the center. It would be nice to walk to class outside when the weather is suitable, but honestly, that might take even more time to get indoors from outdoors.

Here’s another thing: Students cutting through the courtyards during school would cause even more traffic. It’s bad enough when people stop in the middle of C-wing intersection to have a brief conversation- can you imagine how much worse it would be in a spacious, yet crowded courtyard?

While using the courtyards as pathways would cause traffic, the courtyards could be beneficial in other ways. Cherry Hill East is not taking enough advantage of them. Students should get together and spruce up the courtyards by planting trees and shrubs. Overall, the school grounds at East are lacking in décor so an outdoor makeover would do more good than harm. Then, if the courtyards were clean, teachers would be able to take their classes outside in the nice weather to give students a break from the classroom.

Students should also be able to access all of the courtyards during free periods like lunch or study hall. Don’t want to eat inside?  Eat outside under a tree!  Want to play your ukulele somewhere peaceful and quiet? Go out to the courtyard! Yes, students can go outside of the lunchrooms, but many times the tables get filled quickly and other students are stuck inside. If students had access to all of the courtyards, more students could be outside during free periods.

There are countless possibilities for the future of the courtyards at Cherry Hill East. If faculty and students alike combined ready to make a change, the courtyards could be one of the most beautiful features East offers.

But do students actually take advantages of these opportunities?

            Arun Reddy, (‘13), a library regular, says that he sees the library as just a place to do homework and hang out; the thought of check out a book has never crossed his mind. When most East students think of the library, computers and relaxation comes to mind.   Very few students think of the library predominantly as a place to read.  When asked to rank computer use, relaxing, studying, and reading in terms of library usage, students unanimously chose reading as the lowest usage for the library.  Jishnu Desai, (‘13), says that the library is often too noisy to read and complains that the selection of books doesn’t reflect what all students want.  The library is not a place that prompts students to borrow books or read, but rather a place for a number of other activities.

            This reflects that the library is truly fulfilling its duty as a “multimedia center”, and that books are quickly becoming less and less relevant to students, especially for pleasure reading. Other than the usual formulaic teen lit books that cover front displays, students seem disinterested in borrowing books.  Jenny Gao, (‘14), complains that she has no time to read because her schedule is already filled with assigned readings. 

            However, others are optimistic about books being an important part of the library.  Mrs. Greenblatt, one of the librarians at CH East, is confident that though most students use technology, they still read for pleasure.  Greenblatt says that technology even bolsters book circulation; when students come to the library for any number of reasons, such as using a computer, they are more likely to check out a book. 

            Though certain students might borrow and devour books, this is a very small demographic.  Students do not see the library as a place for reading, or getting books.  They see it as a place to use the computer, relax with friends, and get some last minute work done.  The students’ shift away from printed media is inevitable, and the library should shift with students towards more technological interests.

            The library, rather than ordering the same teen lit books, should spend money in more technologically progressive ways.  The sign in the library directing students to the library’s eBooks says it all; a larger collection of eBooks would be much more beneficial.  These eBooks would be searchable, portable, and would have no return date stamped on it.  Furthermore, even though some may cite an unforgiving budget, the library should constantly seek ways to upgrade and update its computers, as well as purchasing more. Any student who has come into the library to print something and can not find an open computer can understand this need.

            Though printed media is great, and words on a screen may never compare to a physical book, the benefits to digital media are huge; digital media is much more portable, convenient, and searchable.  The library should not stop buying books, nor should students stop enjoying printed media, rather the library should focus more on the digital types of media that students want to use in their everyday lives.

“When teachers make students use turnit.com, it shows that they obviously do not trust them, which is not fair,” said Dan Peterson (‘13).

Primarily, turnitin.com checks for plagiarism. Papers submitted through this website are scanned through a database of journals, periodicals, books, web pages and previously submitted papers. The website highlights any parts of the paper that match sources in its database, tell the source that was matched, and produce an “originality report” showing the percentage of the paper that matches other texts. 

While the website has some positive aspects, its negative aspects far outrun its positive ones, making it a website that should not be utilized by the Cherry Hill School district.

Turnitin.com violates students’ intellectual property rights. With only a teacher’s permission, and not necessarily the student’s permission, other website users can see students’ papers. When the website deems that a scanned paper is identical to another students’ paper, which is already a part of turnitin’s database, a teacher may request permission from the original teacher, to whom the copied paper was originally submitted to, to see the copied paper. As the academic owner of this paper, it should be the student’s right to determine who reads it, not the teacher’s. Turnitin.com violates this right.

Students sign an agreement before creating a turnitin account that notifies them of how their paper can and will be used. However, even if students do not fully agree with the terms of this agreement, it is usually mandatory for them to sign this agreement to use the service. Their teacher will most likely penalize the student if he/she does not subject his/her writing to this website.  Hence, unless turnitin.com installs a feature that allows others to read papers only with the author’s permission, use of the website should be discontinued.

Our school district pays to use turnitin.com, and is supporting iParadigms, the for-profit owner of the website. Each time a student paper is submitted through this website, it becomes a part of turnitin’s database. The more papers turnitin.com has in its database, the more successful and effective this service can claim to be, and the more money it can charge subscribers. 

When asked how much the Cherry Hill School district pays to use Turnitin.com, a representative of the district wrote in an e-mail that the rates can be found on the product’s website. However, turnitin.com does not openly provide a listing of its prices; it instead offers free customized price quotes.

“It’s pointless to use turnit.com., because not only do [students] have to turn in their papers twice, to the website and then to the teacher, but also because it’s not hard to check for plagiarism, [a student or a teacher] can check for his or her self,” Bill Potts (‘12) said.

The price of turnitin.com must be revealed to the public, since the public has a right to know how much the district spends on each service it offers. 

It cannot be denied that plagiarism is wrong and must be prevented. Academic integrity must be enforced, but it must be enforced in an ethical, judicious way, which Turnitin.com does not provide. 

Turnitin.com violates students’ intellectual property rights. Unless the website is revised in a way that no longer violates students’ rights, and unless the price is revealed to the public, turnitin.com’s vices will continue to outrun its virtues. Until these things are done, use of turnitin.com should be discontinued in the Cherry Hill School District.

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(Comic by Leena Lari (’12)/ Eastside Staff)

In society, government is one of the most important parts of a community. Throughout most of the world, all communities, from small towns to large cities, government takes precedence in all of the decisions and actions.

In Cherry Hill East, the Student Government Association is made up of elected students that make “decisions” for the school. They meet, like any other club, and are run by an advisor like any other club. But unlike every other club in East, SGA meets, once a month, during the school day to make their “decisions.” Seeing as how these decisions are nothing more than where to put signs up and how to spread the word about the next dance, they are really no different than a club that organizes a bake sale or puts up posters in the halls about their next meeting. And yet, the Robotics Club, or any other club, cannot meet during school hours to discuss their upcoming event or go through the halls putting up flyers.

“I think every club should have the same rights, so if SGA can meet during school, other clubs should be able to meet during the school day to work on things as well,” said Iftikhaar Ali (’13), a member of the Future Engineers Club and Robotics Club.

The exemption that SGA gets would not be much of an issue if they had a role in running the school. Aside from picking the theme of the dances and the design of the blood drive shirt, SGA has virtually no hand in the actual planning and execution of these events. The administration and teachers are the ones that govern the school, not a group of students.

The only logical explanation for meeting during school would be because of members’ scheduling conflicts.

Preet Parekh (’13), a vice president for the sophomore class, said, “It’s necessary to meet during school because everyone is available that time. After school students have sports and activities, and before school not everyone may have rides.”

Other clubs may run into this issue, but the members of the clubs work out their schedules to accommodate after-school meetings. Since the school provides late busses to students who do not have rides home after school, there is no reason a student can’t find transportation home from a club meeting.

SGA should have to follow the rules like all other clubs, and schedule their meetings before or after school. Having students excused from class to talk about the colors of the balloons they are going to have at the Freshman Dance is unfair to all other clubs.

For one, a large percentage of Student Government members take part in other clubs and sports that take place regularly after school, this meaning that only a fraction of members would be able to attend meetings. This may not seem like a big deal, but in reality, it can cause a sort of a chain reaction. Our meetings run about 35-40 minutes and are jam-packed with information regarding upcoming events, reports from the Board of Education, and other aspects that can affect every student. This information is taken in by the homeroom representatives, and then relayed to every homeroom in the school. If only a fraction of members can attend meetings- that means the homerooms they are responsible for receive either little information, or no information at all regarding upcoming events and school wide updates. With meetings during the day, we can assure that almost every member will be in attendance and obtain full information.

Also, Student Government does not advocate missing important classes, as we inform members that they must have permission from their teacher to miss a class for a meeting, and cannot, under any circumstance, miss a quiz or test for a meeting or refrain from handing in any assignment due that day and period. Every member is also responsible for making up any work that he or she may have missed that period. Also, many other clubs and organizations take students out of classes with much less notice and more often than do SGA does.

In many courses, specifically Science and Math, there is a curriculum requirement that every few chapters a benchmark must be given (on top of the final in June which tests on information learned throughout the entire year).

 Though the Board of Education may say that such a test should be a requirement, they should examine the time consuming, pointless studying hours the test offers.   

Many students fail to remember all of the material that will be on their benchmark. Therefore, teachers must review the material that was previously tested on, although some teachers do not go back and review thus causing frustration for their students. 

“Benchmarks cause extra stress and are unnecessary to administer,” said Alyssa Warren (’12). “It’s like a final every marking period.”

In classes, there are those students who excel and those who do the opposite. No matter where one might fall between the two, being tested on material 2 or 3 times is ridiculous.

Requiring students to remember information three separate times, once for the first test, once for the benchmark, and once more for the final, proves nothing about their ability to actually understand it. One may excel on the test, but completely fail the benchmark. Practice does not always make perfect.

But, until a solution is found to better improve the curriculum, benchmarks will remain as they are. So for now, students will be tested on information three times, and two times too many.