US News

An Introductory Guide for Understanding Black Lives Matter

Alexa W., Senior Reporter

As a white person, I understand that I will never understand, but I stand with you. I want to preface this article by saying that this piece is intended for white readers.  It is not black people’s jobs to educate us about systematic racism, white privilege, police brutality, or any of the racial issues affecting them, and they shouldn’t have to.  Right now, black people are leading a fight for their rights to life, justice, and equality.  My intent in writing this article is to educate you all in the same ways that I have been educating myself–by providing you with information about white privilege, systematic racism, police brutality, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and ways that white people can help support this movement.  My goal in doing this is to amplify black voices and support their fight

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Miscellaneous, School

Student Guide to Academic Writing

Emma D., journalist

Are you the kind of student that does not look forward to having to write academic essays? If so, you might think that this type of writing requires skills that only the best writers possess. However, this could not be further from the truth. As a member of the George Washington University Online High School’s Finer Things Club, I was given the special opportunity to present a writing workshop to my school. Being a GWUOHS student for four years has given me countless opportunities to write a variety of academic essays, and as such, about a month ago, I shared my knowledge of how to approach academic writing with staff and students in a formal presentation. Now, I would like to pass on the content of my presentation to you, our GW Chronicle readers, to show you how academic writing assignments are not as hard as they seem.

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US News

Protests Erupt Across the US After the Death of George Floyd

Nyma E., Senior Reporter

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. Although Floyd and multiple bystanders repeatedly told Chauvin that Floyd was unable to breathe, Chauvin did not get off of Floyd’s neck, which led to Floyd suffocating and dying while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. Protests have erupted across the country due to racial injustice demonstrated by this incident and many others. Many of these peaceful protests have turned very violent, prompting the police and National Guard to get involved. 

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Miscellaneous, School

GWUOHS Debate Team Enters its First National Tournament

Alexandra Saffa-Hoethke, Editor

Mon. May 25, 2020

The George Washington University Online High School’s Competitive Debate Team is making history, not only within the school but also in the online school world. The GW Debate Team was established in September of 2019. Since the beginning of the current school year, the GW Debate Team has been determinedly training to achieve their goal of competing in a national debate tournament. As an online school, the GW Debate Team has faced several obstacles. Brick and mortar schools have had several advantages over the online debate team, such as meeting weekly together in a classroom and having the ability to travel together as a school to competitions. With the GW debaters located all across the nation, they have faced challenges in working as a team in the traditional manner. However, despite several obstacles, the team has creatively developed strategies to work together as an online team. 

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Opinion

A Masquerade Of Inconsistencies Within The WHO

Julian-Alexandre W., journalist

Recently, serious questions about the World Health Organization’s intentions have arisen. Camouflaged actions that remain to be uncovered ignited a feud between President Trump and Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). When pandemics infiltrate world populations, this specialized agency’s job is to defend, assist countries, and ultimately lead the global effort to extinguish the disease. Yet, the WHO appears to have misinformed countries about COVID-19 and, at the same time, contradict itself. Were there in-house biases that eroded the WHO’s aggressiveness in recognizing the makings of a pandemic?

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Miscellaneous, Science

Are Bilinguals Smarter than Monolinguals?

Nyma E., senior reporter

Forty-three percent of the world’s population can speak two languages fluently. Bilingualism presents obvious benefits, such as being able to communicate with many more people. However, does being bilingual actually make one smarter? Bilingual people have a stronger executive function which results in a heightened ability to switch between tasks, a more efficient monitoring system, and a heightened cognitive ability. Adults aren’t the only ones who experience these benefits; infants, children, and the elderly can benefit as well.

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Environment, Science

Coronavirus and the Environment

Emma D., journalist

Life before coronavirus is a nostalgic memory. While this pandemic has taken a toll on countless lives, the coronavirus has been quite a relief for the natural world. In the past few years, climate change has arguably become the single largest effect on the environment, resulting in Earth’s temperature rising “about two-thirds of a degree Fahrenheit”[1]. Even though the coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on human life all over the world, it has had an unexpected positive impact on the environment.

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US News

Exercising While Black Should Not Be A Death Sentence: Ahmaud Arbery’s Story

Alexa W., senior reporter

On February 23 of 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man–was chased down by two white men–Gregory and Travis Michael–while on a jog in Brunswick, Georgia these men then shot and killed him. Between February and April, two prosecutors recused themselves, the second one doing so after finding no reason to charge the men with anything. On May 5, a video of Arbery’s death surfaced on the internet, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation decided to take over the case. It was not until May 7, nearly three months after Arbery’s death, did the local police make an arrest. The case is still under review today.  

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