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?
It's time to stop short sighted policies
by: Ryan O'Connor - printed on 04-11-2001
The environment has no checkbook. Polar bears cannot vote. The ozone is unable to write an incensed letter to the editor.
Given this it is remarkable that two of the three major presidential canidates in last fall’s election were considered friends of the environment. A stark change from any previous election—last year’s campaign featured discussion of the Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming, tax credits for polluters, the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the horrible symptoms of our nations addiction to fossil fuels.
New York Attack causes mixed emotions
by: Meighan Doherty - printed on 09-26-2001
Photographs capture moments in time unlike any other artistic medium. Throughout history there have been many images that have spoken volumes about memorable events from the past, such as photographs from the Great Depression, Watts, Columbine, and the Oklahoma City bombing.
The photographs from the recent attacks on America are no different from any other historical photographs in that the images one sees in those pictures will leave a lasting impression on us for years to come.
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.
Chimpanzees and compassion
by: Christy Scheuer - printed on 09-26-2001
Jane Goodall, the famous Chimpanzee reseacher and founder of the “Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation,” was in New York when two planes flew into the World Trade Center.
So when Goodall stood up to lecture at the University of Portland on Saturday, September 22, she spoke not only of love and concern for her chimpanzees, but of her compassion for the human species as well.
VITW Stands Against Iraqi Sanctions
by: Tom Frieberg - printed on 11-03-2000
On Monday, November 11 the University of Portland Offices of Volunteer Services and Campus Ministry will host peace activists from the group Voices in the Wilderness. The group’s mission is to end United Nations economic sanctions currently imposed on Iraq (which have been in place for a decade, since the Gulf War). This is a valuable opportunity for the campus community to study and reflect on a critical issue involving ethics, US foreign policy, nonviolence, military dictatorhips and human rights, the merits of various ways to influence public policy, and more.
Bush & Blair: Future Nobel Laureates?
by: Casey O'Connor - printed on 03-27-2002
A little over a month ago a member of Norway?s parliament, Harald Tom Nesvik, nominated Mr. George W. Bush (our president) and Mr. Tony Blair (Britain?s Prime Minister) for the (rather) prestigious Noble Peace Prize.
"The background for my nomination is their decisive action against terrorism, something I believe in the future will be the greatest threat to peace. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to use force to secure peace," said Nesvik.