Category: Miscellaneous

Feature, Science, Space

Satellite Mega-Constellations, Hampered Science, and a Cluttered Orbit

Valene McInerney, journalist

Long ago, people would look to the night sky and observe only natural celestial bodies. Artificial lights did not blot and blur their sights, and human-made satellites did not crowd their horizons. Both of these phenomena factor into modern astronomy, but it has only been in the past 19 months that satellites have become a threat to astronomical observation. With the recent surge in satellite launches and the construction of satellite mega-constellations, hobbyists and professional astronomers alike are witnessing what can be a dangerous disruption and distortion of their cosmic viewing. 

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Arts, Feature, Reviews

Mankind’s Crucible: What Arthur Miller’s 1953 Masterpiece Taught Us

Nastia Goddard, Arts Department Co-Editor

The Crucible is one of those titles that almost everyone is familiar with or has at least heard of- and for a good reason. Arthur Miller’s 20th-century classic drama tells a brazenly timeless story, though few truly recognize its candid relevance in the modern world. As society becomes increasingly polarized in the digital age, it is easy to brush off the lessons of the past as inapplicable historical lectures. Such thinking is inherently flawed: how can we move forward if we refuse to acknowledge our past? The answers to some of today’s most pressing questions may lie in the text of a play that most high schoolers begrudgingly skim.

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Feature, US News

Women Face the Brunt of Unemployment, Making Up 100% of Job Losses in December

Danielle Chan, Newsletter Co-Editor

The Covid-19 pandemic has driven many out of the workforce and into unemployment. Despite both men and women facing a drastic loss of jobs and economic instability, women have been disproportionately taking a much more devastating hit in the labor force. As opposed to the Great Recession, in which 70% of men working primarily in manufacturing and construction industries lost their jobs, the economic and financial crisis created by the pandemic is nearly two times as worse as what America faced from 2007-2009.

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Miscellaneous, Uncategorized

Why Your Smoke Alarms May Not Go Off During a House Fire

Paige Putnam, journalist

Note: This topic is very important to me, as I recently experienced a significant house fire and our smoke alarms did not go off. 

Take a moment and think to yourself: when was the last time you checked the batteries of the smoke alarms in your home? Did you ever wonder if by some off chance they may not go off if your house was on fire, even with brand new batteries? Believe it or not, this does happen, and more often than you might think. There are actually two different types of smoke detectors, ionization detectors, and photoelectric detectors. Ionization smoke detectors detect particles of fast-paced open flame fires and photoelectric detectors detect smoke particles from fires that smolder for a long period of time before turning into open flames. Depending on where in a house a fire starts, how fast it spreads, and the type of fire it is, it could take up to hours to see or smell smoke. If smoke alarms do go off, individuals will often see or smell smoke before they hear the alarm. The type of fire alarm and its location in a house also affects the likelihood of whether it will go off or not.

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Miscellaneous

English as a Second Lifeline

Emma Dumitru, Arts Department Co-Editor

Imagine you are an immigrant who has arrived in the United States. You do not know how to communicate in English, and as a result, you are not able to fully integrate yourself into American society. One day, you learn about the English as a Second Language classes being offered at a local nonprofit organization, The Connection in Summit, New Jersey. Once there, you discover a warm community that welcomes you with open arms. 

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History, Miscellaneous

The 1920s- Looking Back a Century Ago

Beatrice Layton, Journalist     

 12 Dec. 2020

As 2021 approaches, many of us are looking to the future. Amid a pandemic and worldwide fear of what is to come, it’s hard not to hope for a better tomorrow. However, perhaps taking a step back into the past could be more beneficial. Enter the roaring twenties, when fashion and culture thrived and when change was imminent.

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Miscellaneous, School

GWUOHS Holds Decision Making Assembly

(Image by Ela Freeman)

Emma D., Arts Department Co-Editor

On Dec. 4, the George Washington University Online High School hosted an assembly on the topic of making good decisions. The lecture was presented by academic advisors Ela Freeman and Chelsea Crawford. While they navigated the audio glitches that occurred in Newrow, Freeman and Crawford provided students with advice on evaluating decisions. 

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Health, Miscellaneous

Cabin Fever: What it is, and How You Can Avoid It

Beatrice L., Journalist

As millions of Americans stay at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, you might have noticed that you’ve developed feelings of isolation, whether the longing for interaction, feeling bored or unmotivated, or even feeling yourself losing touch with reality. What you might not realize is that these feelings have a name. What you’re experiencing is an age-old phenomenon known as cabin fever.  

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History, Miscellaneous

It’s Christmas Time In The City

Ava P., journalist

Bright colors light up a green tree against the dark sky that is now sprinkling down small snowflakes. Skates zip across clean ice, horns honk, people bustle by, and the cold crisp air fills your lungs as the city comes alive. This scene attracts thousands of people every year to New York City during the holiday season. With 125 million people visiting each year, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has become a staple for NYC and a “World-Wide symbol of Christmas,” according to the Rockefeller website. While people come from all over to enjoy the tree, many do not know the history of this annual tradition. It all started in December 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression. Workers at Rockefeller Center decided to pool what little money they had together to buy a Christmas tree in an effort to raise spirits. This tree was a 20-foot high balsam fir Christmas tree decorated with garland made by their families. Two years later, it was made an annual tradition and the first official lighting ceremony was held. Although, this was always the most famous public Christmas tree in NYC, it was not the first. In 1912, Madison Square Park put up the first official public Christmas tree as part of a social event to make a Christmas tree available to those who couldn’t afford one.

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