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?
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.
Binge drinking: The bridge to Alcoholism
by: Kelly Maggi - printed on 09-26-2001
I like to drink beer. I like the smell, taste, and texture of it; I like to go to bars and restaurants that serve it; and I like to be with friends when I drink it. I like to get a small buzz going sometimes. I am happy to say that this is the way I feel about beer, because I’m responsible when I drink it. I never get behind the wheel after drinking, I never drink alone, I drink in moderation, and there have been few instances in my life in which I have been drunk to the point of losing complete control of myself.
Struggles in the European Union - Spain
by: Mono Vergara - printed on 02-20-2002
Spain: Integration and Isolation
One of the Spanish governments biggest concerns is that people in Spain lack interest in their membership in the European Union. The euro was adopted in Spain last January and will be fully adopted at the end of February, and it seems to be one of the only signs and reminders that Spain belongs to the EU. Another important and often ignored fact is that the current president of the EU is Spanish - President Aznar acts as the head of the European government.
Beer, wine, cigarettes and other dispatches from Spain
by: David Miller - printed on 02-28-2001
My flight from Portland to Madrid, Spain had a layover in Newark, New Jersey. As I had four hours to spend in Newark, I bought a premade, mushy Philly-steak-and-cheese sandwich and sat down to collect my thoughts. I was on my way to Spain to spend the next four months studying there, in Spanish, all in Spanish. It wasn’t like I hadn’t ever traveled before, I had. I wasn’t worried about that. It was the 15 credits of college courses .
Service for a year, service for life
by: Andy Sherwood - printed on 02-20-2002
'It is so funny that I'm involved in a year of faith based service.'
That is exactly what I was thinking about during the President's state of the Union Address last month. When the President asked every American to give to years of their lives to service.
At first I gasped and thought to myself, 'please, not another year.'
But then I realized that GW was talking about making a life-long commitment to service.
Defining the Environmental Goal
by: Meghan Molenda - printed on 01-23-2002
As I passed the curb and saw the rejected bins of recycling that sat in front of my house, I had to think for a moment about what it actually means for me to be an environmentalist.
I get the label all the time especially on trips back to my hometown, but it is one of those labels that has harsh connotations.
Most people are kind of weary using the word "environmentalist" because it has a particular stigma based on an entire set of beliefs, values, and political stances that go along with that word.