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?
A unique student shares her global perspective
by: Christy Scheuer - printed on 01-23-2002
"What do you mean, 'crazy'" Asima laughs at my word choice, and then pelts me with questions about the incongruities of American diction and slang. "You say 'crazy' and it means so many different things. Also, 'slick.' What does that mean? None of these words mean the same here as they did in my English classes. Like 'cool' ? people don't use it to mean cold!" She looks at me inquisitively, automatically adjusting her cranberry colored headscarf, and then her face erupts into a smile.
Ancestral Voices: Rediscovering two cultures in ruins
by: Ben Muse - printed on 09-11-2002
In the thick, green jungle of the Peten region of northern Guatemala lies one of the great cities of the worlds memory; Tikal, once a bustling city with towering pyramids housing the bones of deified leaders and a burgeoning acropolis, sits half excavated form the decay of the jungle.
Will the EU open the gates to Turkey?
by: Casey O'Connor - printed on 02-20-2002
Since the Republic of Turkey?s creation in 1923 by Kemal Mustafa Ataturk, the pursuit of Western-style modernization and prosperity has never been easy. Coups, violence and political assassinations have plagued the state, which straddles Europe and Asia. Currently, Turkey is trying to move one step closer to western integration by attempting to become the first majority Muslim nation to gain membership in the European Union.
Research, diversity and prospects for herpetological survival in Costa Rica and the rest of the world
by: Eron Osterhaus - printed on 04-24-2002
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the number of species of amphibians and reptiles in Costa Rica that have been identified has increased significantly. Although new species are occasionally added to the list of Costa Rican herpetofauna, the rate of discovery has slowed considerably. One might, therefore, expect that contemporary research efforts would be directed towards studying the biology and natural history of the already-identified species, particularly since current understanding is far from complete and, in many cases, has been derived solely from the examination of preserved museum specimens.
Visiting The Bird Parliament
by: Mono Vergara - printed on 09-25-2002
Fellow sailors, It was in an island a few minutes from Portland, the city we fail to leave because we are scared to give up our comforts and the way fake paintings look over the scars of the walls. I thought I could share this with you. You are probably used to my political columns, but this is more political than what you think...
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.