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?
The Gift of Conscience: A Blessing and a Burden
by: Candace Cook - printed on 03-28-2001
When considering military service from a Christian perspective there is a tendency to dichotomize between pacifism or nonviolent resistance and military participation. In fact, Christianity has historically considered both positions licit at various times.
The Jewish people viewed fighting for a just cause as acceptable, and God would be with the people in the fight. The early church, from the death of Jesus until the advent of Constantine in 312 CE, was largely pacifist however, and martyrs like Maximillian of Theveste died because they refused to don the military garments of the legions.
Holiday Feasts have been proven to cause cancer in rodents
by: Kelly Maggi - printed on 11-28-2001
As a college student whose daily diet consists of Taco Bell, frozen food entrees, grilled delights from the student union, and candy, I sometimes worry that I may develop a brain tumor or colon cancer from eating all of those preservatives, artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors, pesticide residues, and other synthetic substances that my diet has in abundance. When the holidays roll around, though, I breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of eating healthy meals for a while.
El Salvador: A Country of Beauty
by: Emilio Lopez - printed on 11-15-2000
Lying in the southwest corner of Central American, bordering Guatemala and Honduras, rests a country not commonly know by many people. It is a small hidden paradise about less than half the size of the State of Oregon. With a population of about 7 million people, El Salvador is the smallest and second most populated country in Central America.
Unfortunately, many of the few things people have ever heard about this country are related to war.
Stem Cells: Just the basic facts
by: Heather Thibodeau - printed on 09-12-2001
Stem cells. Two seemingly simple words that have incorporated themselves into common conversations with everyday people. These words however, bring one of the hottest controversies to the table.
Most people now know what they are and to some extent how they work. The controversy though, lies from where the stem cells originate. There are many places that stem cells are found. For example (if you had x-ray vision) look inside your own bone marrow, or look inside a petri dish filled with frozen babies (or the scientific word, embryos) and my personal favorite, umbilical cord blood of newborn babies.
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.
American Politics: Three's a Crowd?
by: Jon Reitzenstein - printed on 11-03-2000
International Students at University of Portland who watched the presidential debates in the Cove the last couple of weeks must have felt they were at a Ping-Pong match. Maybe they wonder how the United States figures they can accurately and fairly represent the majority of American's with just two political parties. The ball is going back and forth between two people while millions sit back passively and watch until it is time to stand in line and pick one or the other.