Steroids Amongst Athletes

Steroids have become a large issue in professional sports today. Steroids can give an athlete a large advantage over other athletes with minimal work. Therefore, all large sporting leagues create many penalties and fines for athletes using steroids. Despite this, it is predicted that 55-60% of all professional athletes still use these drugs (Dr. Lehman, US center for sports medicine). This percentage is only an estimate, given that not all athletes that use steroids are caught. In fact, one source predicts that over 95% of NFL players use steroids, as it is almost a requirement to succeed in professional football. Click here to read more on this issue.

Some people argue that steroids should be legal so that every athlete can be on a level playing field. That way, the 55-60% of athletes that use steroids wouldn't have an unfair advantage over the rest of the athletes. Personally, I think allowing steroid use would be a bad idea because it would change the nature of every professional sport in a way that would be less exciting. It is more exciting watching someone hit a homerun based off of talent rather than the drugs they put in their body. What do you think? Should the use of steroids be allowed in professional sports?

Safety At Home

Defense in the U.S is always a pressing issue in politics. In the past Obama has been more lenient in putting money into missile defense programs. That being said, recently 1 billion dollars was just invested into interceptors for missiles. Why? It's because of North Korea. North Korea has been testing missiles, and they recently sent a missile as far as the Philippines. This is about half the distance from North Korea to the United States.

Although it seems improbable that North Korea will develop a missile that can effectively reach America within the next few years, the threat still looms over our country. As long as this threat remains, I believe our government should do as much as possible to ensure our countries safety. If that means investing billions of dollars into defense systems, then that’s what it takes. What do you think should be done? Has Obama invested enough money into missile defense? Or should less money be invested into this program? Post below. (to read more on this topic click here)

Quick Decisions

In California, an elderly woman recently died at a nursing home. Although sad, this event would not have been news worthy if it weren't for the circumstances in which she died. After having a heart attack, the nearest nurse called 911. The operator told the nurse to begin CPR, which the nurse replied was against protocol, and therefore she couldn't. As a result, the elderly woman died. Click here to read more about the story. 


In my opinion, this nurse made a big mistake. Instead of following protocol, she should have followed our most important right as U.S citizens: the right to life. If she began CPR on the elderly woman, her life could have possibly been saved, and no one would have been angry towards the nurse for 'breaking protocol'. What do you think? Is it more important to follow the rules, or do what you think is best under pressure situations? Comment below.

Rodman, The Face of the U.S?

In communist N. Korea, Leader Kim Jong Un has made many threats against the U.S. Additionally, he has violated many basic human rights for people in N. Korea. This being said, he invited former NBA player, Dennis Rodman to go to N. Korea and talk with him. Kim Jong Un is a big basketball fan, and wanted the chance to talk to one of basketball's greatest players. Click here to read about Rodman's experience, and watch an interview with Rodman. 

After watching the interview with Rodman, I began to think whether it was beneficial or not to have him go and meet with Kim Jong Un. Rodman has many tattoos and piercing's (look above), and is not very educated. Additionally, he has had issues with alcohol, domestic violence, and interfering with cops.

For these reasons, I don't think it was in the best interest of The United States to have Rodman travel to North Korea, especially because relations are very tense (and serious) between the two countries. He went as a private citizen but to many in North Korea he may represent more.  What do you think? Was Rodman's trip to North Korea beneficial to the U.S?

Safe Driving?

This weekend, as I was driving to Ohio, we suddenly had to stop because of a lot of traffic. The traffic was caused by a large crash on the highway. As hundreds of cars stayed in one spot for hours people started to complain, so I decided to do some research and figure out what was happening. According to one report I read, the accident was believed to be caused by a driver that was also texting.

This massive accident is just one of many that has been a result of texting and driving. In fact, I learned many facts I didn't know previously about texting and driving from this awareness website.






So if texting and driving is extremely dangerous, then why haven't more laws been passed preventing people from doing it? In other countries many laws have already been passed like that. Do you think there should be harsher laws for texting and driving in the U.S, and if so, what should they be?

Racism and Violence

In one of Mr. OC's more recent posts' "Proclaiming Emancipation, Part II", he poses the question, "are we any closer to equality?" As I thought about this question more and more, a story appeared on the news that seemed very relatable to the question. On a recent Delta flight, a 60-year-old man slapped a 19-month-old baby across the face and told the mom to "shut that n-word baby up". The slur was then used again towards the infant. Click here to watch a video and read more about this incident. 

This action by this older man seems very relatable to some of the hate crimes committed during the late 50's and 60's. Slapping a baby across the face seems to be one of the most appalling, and offensive crimes someone could commit, and it was done within this last week. So in my opinion the answer to doc OC's question seems very apparent. If this type of hatred and violence is being committed, then I do not believe we are any closer to equality. It seems apparent that there are some very big gaps that still need to be fixed for racial equality to improve. Certainly this one man needs to learn a lesson, and face some punishments. What do you think? Are we any closer to racial equality? And what type of punishment does this older man who slapped the baby deserve? 

Dress Codes

In class a few days ago we held a discussion on dress codes, and whether New Trier had one or not. As a result, I began to pay extra-close attention towards focusing on what students tend to wear. A few years ago it used to be North Face jackets. Now, it seems to be more of a 'preppy' north-shore look. It seemed very obvious that everyone (for the most part) chose to wear similar clothing styles.

Although I did notice this trend at New Trier, I would still argue that there is no such thing as an 'unwritten' dress code. Every student has the choice to wear whatever they want each day, and no rules can stop them (within reason). Although they may not fit in as well, students can express themselves by wearing different types of clothing. Simply, for that reason, I believe there is no dress code at our school. What do you think? Does New Trier have a dress code?