Up until the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, the predominant stereotype surrounding Asian Americans was that of the model minority. This narrative emerged after World War II as the economic success of many Asian Americans led them to be viewed as the “ideal immigrant of color”. This being said, there is a long history in the United States of exclusionary...
The issue of voting rights was easily one of the most important and publicized aspects of the 2020 election, with politicians arguing ardently in support of or against provisions expanding mail-in voting and laws that add additional barriers (voter ID laws, signature check, etc).
On August 9, 2020, one of the largest protests in world history began in New Delhi, India. Tens of thousands of farmers took the streets, forming blockades to five major highways leading into the capital and setting up camps outside the city limits to protest new agricultural regulations. To show their solidarity, over 250 million Indian citizens participated in a...
This past week, national attention has shifted to the state of Texas, which has been suffering from a deadly mismanagement of winter storms. The crisis began on February 10th and has continued throughout the month. While the extremely cold temperatures experienced this month are uncommon in Texas, what has been more shocking is the dismal government response and the underlying...
Stacey Abrams has been at the forefront of public attention and praise for her work during the 2020 campaign to combat voter suppression, and many argue that her grassroots organizing in Georgia secured Biden’s presidency and the Democratic control of the Senate. However, Abrams’ work extends far beyond this election; she is also a small business owner, celebrated author (even...
Biden started his presidency purposefully, with 17 executive orders signed on the first day. During the long campaign for presidency, Biden made many promises for change to which we must now hold him accountable. Among those 17 executive orders was an order that “Prevent and Combat Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.” We will discuss Biden’s...
Over the past two weeks we’ve written about the structures of homelessness in Philadelphia — what they are, who they affect, and what government policies and social pressures have brought us to this point. Today, we look at the ways in which we can address the homelessness epidemic, looking at prevention, rehousing, and rehabilitation.
As COVID-19 cases rose and GFS transitioned to remote school, many winter sports teams were forced to switch to all-virtual, individualized training. However, the winter track team took on a different training approach to preserve a sense of community: Head coach Conrad Haber designed a hybrid winter training program to allow for a balance of both safe, in-person practices and...
With the winter in full swing, the city’s frigid temperatures can be a health hazard due to the risk of hypothermia. It is during months of extreme weather such as these that shelters and housing infrastructure become even more vital for a community’s homeless population. However, even in austere conditions, many individuals choose to stay out of shelters for various...
With the holidays coming up and the temperatures dropping, many of us are looking forward to spending the next few weeks inside with family and food. However, this week we want to focus on a group of people who might not be able to have that experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness has skyrocketed in Philadelphia, leaving many people on...
Despite frost in the air and streets lined with lights, rising COVID-19 cases have made it very difficult for families to gather together as they normally do this time of year. Usually, in my family, our Thanksgiving dinner includes over 75 people. This year, we decided to find a new way to uphold our traditions and make the best out...
This past Thursday, December 3rd, was International Day for People with Disabilities. First introduced in 1992 by the UN General Assembly, the day aims to recognize and further promote the rights and well-being of people with disabilities on an international level by increasing the awareness of their situations in political, social, economic, and cultural life.
Diversity Dialogue Day on October 22, 2020, was a day the entire Upper School dedicated to meaningful dialogue, inspiring speakers, and interesting workshops.
Sports this fall season have been far from usual. Because of the collective decision of the Friends School League (FSL), all competition for the foreseeable future is postponed.
It is Thanksgiving week and November is Native American Heritage Month, so we wanted to bring a focus to the indigenous people in and around our community this week within our work. As you may know, we stand on the land of the Lenni-Lenape tribe; we hope to amplify their voices in sharing the history, their struggles, where they are...
Yesterday, I came across my dream home. I was browsing on Zillow through a slew of Washington Heights two bed, one bath, 500-to-700 square foot, 4th floor walkup apartments for rent in the $800 to $1500 price range, when I found the perfect fit.
This week we are talking about racism and discrimination within the healthcare system, with a particular focus on how it impacts Black people.The complex, vast, and numerous systems of inequality in U.S. healthcare demonstrate the tangible impacts of discrimination within our society.
With the 2020 election wrapping up, we thought it would be important to talk about campaign financing, what it is, who it affects, and why we need to change the system.
Theoretically, phone banking seems simple and straightforward: you call up prospective voters, tell them how important it is to vote, and convince them that they should cast their ballot for a particular candidate. How hard could it be?
Earthquake has highlighted five student-led initiatives that continue to serve as spaces for conversation, donation opportunities, and courses of action for all friends of GFS.
As someone who is prone to overthinking and stress, it’s no surprise that quarantine gives me an adequate amount of anxiety. At first, I spent my quarantine lying in bed and enjoying the fact that I had nothing to do. But for me, like for most people, not having anything to do got old pretty quickly. So, I decided to...
My mother stormed up to her room one night, almost in tears. My brother and I don’t help enough with the dishes, with the laundry, with anything, really. It’s totally our fault. No, honestly. I’m not trying to come off as sarcastic. We don’t do enough. But we do try.
This piece was originally written as a personal essay for a Junior English class assignment. I fell off of a balance beam once. I was at my friend’s birthday party at a gymnastics gym.
With social distancing guidelines extended indefinitely, we could all use some outlets to stay in touch. Here are three great social distancing apps that will make you feel closer to one another during isolation.
When shopping at Urban Outfitters, Uniqlo, or Pacsun, it’s rare to consider the meaning of the art on a piece of clothing. Art and Social Change, a J-Term course I took taught by Megan Culp and Robin Friedman, made me actually think about the designs on a T-shirt and the artists behind them.
Wandering through a French cathedral on your way to get a hot chocolate at an outdoor café with your best friends is the solution to all of life’s problems. I’m not religious, but I’ll admit there’s something special about Cathedrale St. Gatien in Tours, France.
People either love or hate pickles; there’s no in between. No matter your feelings toward them, pickles seem to have always been around and we don’t often think about the process that it takes to make them.
I first started mountain biking over two years ago when my dad’s friend, Mahesh, took me on my first ride on Thanksgiving day. And boy, am I thankful for that ride, because mountain biking has become an integral part of me.
What makes the sophomore perspective on college unique is our lack of knowledge. Most of our knowledge of college is what seeps down from older siblings and upperclassmen, little of it based in fact. This deficiency adds a level of stress and panic to many minds in the 10th grade.
All my life, I’ve been told by my friends, “you’re so lucky to have no siblings” and “I wish I was an only child like you.” Although I understand where they are coming from, I truly believe that being an only child is over-glorified.
With so much information in so many subjects being pushed my way in school, it is rare that I am curious about something. However, over this spring break, I felt the curiosity to learn more about something on my own for the first time in many years.
A day after Christmas 2019, the GFS varsity basketball team set out on a five day trip to Orlando. In the days to come, the team would play three games in the KSA Invitational, and see if they could bring home the coveted trophy.
After weeks of guessing whether school would be canceled or not, I was pleasantly surprised when it was announced that we would get three days off, a reaction that I’m sure was shared by many of my classmates. As days turned into weeks of quarantine, my attitude changed dramatically.
I was able to team up with an organization I love called Philly Young Playwrights (PYP) to mount the “PYP Quarantine Challenge,” which solicited submissions from Philadelphia students, and culminated in a livestream of three winning plays performed by professional actors.
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) has been a national historic landmark since 1965, but in recent years, the institution has been making a concerted effort to include issues in contemporary prisons as a part of their tours and guided programming. Their updated mission reflects this, stating, “Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site interprets the legacy of...
The clock strikes ten. At the front of the room Biology teacher Gen Nelson is answering a question from the thermochemistry review packet. Behind her, students exchange furtive glances, waiting for someone to stand up, to leave class. Someone stands up and is quickly followed by a shuffling stream of students. It’s March 14, and...
In the wake of the election, there has been intense debate around whether or not to do away with the filibuster in the Senate. The filibuster is when a minority (41%) of senators block the vote on legislation.
