Wise Monkey News is here to provide young people an opportunity to discuss the issues that affect their lives. We hope that, through your participation, this website serves as a forum for the development, exchange, and expression of ideas that will prepare us to assume our positions as the leaders of tomorrow's world. Have something to say?
Students speak out: An interview with Daoud Chaaya
by: Ryan Bemis - printed on 11-03-2000
“As a kid, I remember coming home from the airport in my home in Lebanon. There were so many terrorist scares [because of the tension between Arab nations and Israel] and the security was so tight. Officers would sometimes ride with us and escort us home. There were endless “check point” booths along the road. It took us 3 hours to get home. Now, because the security is not as tight, it takes us like a half hour! This tight security sometimes was an invasion of privacy.
Have a Self-Centered Christmas!
by: Bill Dailey, C.S.C. - printed on 11-28-2001
From time to time, crotchety cultural cranks (such as the author of this piece) lament our culture’s self-centered values, our unwillingness, in politics or personal aspirations, to consider the common good. Indeed, recent articles in the pages of this venerable publication have lamented our collective apathy and self-absorption here at UP. Where are the leaders who will challenge us to ask not what can be done for us, but what we can do for others? Not me.
Can Religion justify Terrorism?
by: Asima Ahmad - printed on 10-10-2001
Was the atrocity of September 11th following the repetitive theme that plays throughout history in different parts of the world? Based on the presumptions of the media, this act was committed by the Islamic world of terrorists. However, the networks are trying to make it clear that the war is against terrorism, not followers of Islam. United States citizens of all ages are becoming aware of the Arab world in a way that was never seen before in the history of U.
Breaking stereotypes: A fangirl speaks up
by: Kattie Gardner - printed on 04-24-2002
Growing up, the naive little girl that I was, I used to think that comics were nothing more than a bunch of boys running around in tights, shooting at each other with rays coming out of their fingers. The thought of picking up a comic book and actually reading it seemed silly and childish. I pictured comic readers as being nerdy little fan-boys who lived in their parents? basement and spent hours debating the finer points of D&D.
Do animals feel pain?
by: Peter Singer - printed on 11-07-2001
Excerpted from Animal Liberation, Peter Singer, 2nd
Edition, New York: Avon Books, 1990.
Do animals other than humans feel pain? How do we know? Well, how do we know if anyone, human or nonhuman, feels pain? We know that we ourselves can feel pain. We know this from the direct experience of pain that we have when, for instance, somebody presses a lighted cigarette against the back of our hand.
ETA continues to terrorize Spain
by: Peter Eicker - printed on 02-02-2002
On September 11, 2001, a new word entered the American vocabulary. Before this, the word was really only used by news anchors and politicians to describe a far-away problem in a far-away land. This new word I speak of is terrorism. It is now on the tip of every American?s tongue, and it is the prime focus of the government?s actions. But before September 11 most Americans were basically oblivious to the existence of any form of terrorism within U.