Commentaries Archives - The Summer Times at PEA

Gender Equality: Come as You Are

July 30, 2022 2:03pm | Gregory R. Schwitzgebel

Gender Inequality has always been an issue in the United States. In the 19th century, many women began to protest for women’s rights. Some of the most notable are Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and many more. This movement picked up steam in the 20th century, and in 1920, women’s right to vote was passed into law by Congress. This lets them have all citizenship rights, but this was not the end of the movement. We have had many events that women’s rights activists have had to stand up …

Get Involved, For a Better World

July 29, 2022 1:43am | Mirae Do, Garima Biyani, Caitlin Morrow, Tim Kulmanochwong

Civic engagement, by definition, is “individual and collective actions designed toidentify and address issues of public concern.” Whether it is through voting, activism, orvolunteer work, it is a significant factor in today’s society and has always beenthroughout history. Out of the countless historical events involving civic engagement,the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the US serves as an exemplar. Simply stated, thegoal of the Women’s Suffrage Movement was to gain the right to v…

Not All Jews Are Alike But All Antisemitism Is

July 29, 2022 12:48am | Amanda Katz

It was my first sleepaway camp--a ballet intensive program, 5 weeks long. I was thirteen years old, and the butterflies in my stomach were a confirmation of both my fear of not being a talented dancer and my excitement to prove myself in this competitive world. The camp was located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and about ⅞ of the girls there fit the skinny, white, blond dancer aesthetic. I met my roommate about 1 hour after checking in. She was medium height with gentle dirty blond locks…

Behind Bars for No Reason

July 29, 2022 12:10am | Regan Coco, Aadya Raja, and Mercedes Sanz

They are the people who spend years in jail, or theirlives in jail, for a crime they never committed. They are wronglyconvicted criminals. We are Access Exeter Leadership students who areworking on spreading awareness for wrongful convictions. Have you ever heard of criminal justice? It is givingjustice to people found guilty of committing crimes. Wrongfulconvictions are a part of criminal justice, and they happen whena person is found guilty of a crime he or she did not commit.According …

A Brush With Greatness

July 13, 2021 11:13pm | Claire Dinh, Guest Contributor

Pens (笔), ink (墨), paper (纸), and inkstones (砚) are the four treasures of a Chinese scholar, and have been for over 1,400 years. The Intermediate Conversational Chinese class got to try out these treasures during a Chinese calligraphy lesson on Saturday, July 10th. The class, taught by Mrs. Fontaine, wrote their Chinese names and some phrases with Chinese brushes and ink on pieces of paper. Chinese ink, which comes in the form of a stick, must be dipped in water. Then, the end that…

When a Child’s Toys Aren’t Child’s Play

July 13, 2021 10:57pm | Rafaela M. Pires, Guest Contributor

I was a kid who liked to play with toys which were not toys. Toys which were not crafted or designed by mankind; toys which could have easily shattered; playthings which were not supposed to be played with. Why did a child, even with almost a trillion other options, decide to play with such elements of creation, like water, fire, air, earth and space? The child had no monotonous routine, for everything was newness. Every day must have been a lush of shine and wonder, the latter an …

Global Warming Threatens Turtles

July 31, 2019 5:09pm |

By Aurora Zhang, Guest Contributor Global warming has many severe effects on our blue planet including coral bleaching, native species dying, and invasive species thriving. One effect, however, remains hidden despite its great potential for harm—the rise of an unstable sex ratio within the sea turtle population. When female adults lay eggs, the sex of the turtles is not predetermined; instead, the temperature of incubation determines the sex of the turtles which …

That Yellow House? History Lives Here

July 31, 2019 5:07pm |

By Yizhou Zhao, Guest Contributor It is just one of the ordinary buildings you see in Exeter every day; it is just a five minute walk from school; it is just a house of a family. Yet here we are, Ms. Parris's Exploring American Culture class, at the American Independence Museum. It indeed once belonged to a family, but no ordinary family—it belonged to the Gilman family, who fought bravely for the Revolutionary War. From outside, the Independence Museum is simply an old, yellow buildin…

Europe: The Heat is On

July 31, 2019 4:20pm |

By Fred Fink, Summer Times Staff Writer If you hear the word summer, what comes into your mind? Probably that there is always sunshine, warm temperatures and that you can enjoy the time at the beach or the swimming pool. Summer is the season of the year, that most people like. However, in Europe, it got extreme. Never in recorded history, has Paris been hotter than it was last Thursday when the temperature neared 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.6 Fahrenheit). The same was true of Belgi…

Africa: I Call It Home

July 31, 2019 4:18pm |

By Ruth Ogechi Udeh, Summer Times Staff Writer Africa happens to be one of the continents most people have misconceptions about. Surprisingly, Africa is just like every other continent with people from different countries with their distinct cultures, accents, languages, food and dressing style. “Africa is not what the media portrays it to be,” said Michael Mitchell, 17, from Tema, Ghana in Soule Hall. “It is a region filled with happy people, not people suffering all…