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?
What Role does the U.S. play in the world?
by: Hank Smith - printed on 09-11-2002
I remember a conversation I once had with a fellow American and a Swede. We were discussing movies, and the Swede mentioned that his favorite film was from the United States - American Beauty. Another American I was with could not believe it.
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.
Eating away at perfection
by: Christy Scheuer - printed on 03-27-2002
It begins quietly
in certain female children:
the fear of death, taking as its form
dedication to hunger . . .
Louise Gluck, "Dedication to Hunger"
"I don?t think that you can judge who?s struggling and who?s not struggling," Lisa Herring reflects. "People used to say to me, 'You have straight A's. How can you do something like that?' But eating disorders are most common among high stress people.
Wage peace, not war
by: Matt McAuliffe - printed on 09-11-2002
War is terror. This reality was made horrifyingly real to all Americans a year ago when members of al-Qaeda flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
Following the sunset: A call to travel
by: Andrew Noethe - printed on 03-27-2002
I find myself living in a world of sunsets. Each day ends under the long shadows of an Indian sun that steadily stretches past majestic forts, palaces of former maharajas, ancient temples, and the sleepy desert hills of Western India. As the distant red sun falls behind the horizon, life comes to a halt, thus granting me a few precious moments to appreciate my life in India and the life I have left behind.
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.