our voice.
our future.
Quaranteen
Quaranteen: 2020 Election
As for the election I’m really glad Trump will no longer be our president. I hope that Biden becoming president doesn’t stop the momentum of activism happening right now or have people think everything will be fine now. While Biden in office is better than Trump we should still hold the people in office accountable for their actions. I believe Biden will be easier to swing compared to Trump when it comes to policies and such. I think this election was really something else because I feel like it really encouraged more people to vote. I know a lot of people don’t vote because they feel like their vote doesn’t matter or they simply didn’t have access to information about it.
I saw a video comparing ballots from California to a ballot in another state and compared to ours it was really confusing and didn’t explain any of the propositions. Speaking of propositions, the results of the California propositions really disappointed me. California is seen as this liberal progressive state but I think the results of our don’t match up to this title. Prop 22 being voted on really shows the power institutions like the media has over the people.
They were constantly airing commercials especially about Prop 22. The ads being aired pushed voters to vote yes on Prop 22 which makes app-based drivers contractors instead of employees. This means they are considered self-employed instead of employees under a company which in turn means they won’t get benefits like healthcare. California also voted no to change commercial property tax (prop 15) which was most likely swayed by the abundance of commercials about this proposition too. This proposition would provide funding for schools, community colleges, and other government services by taxing large properties based on their market value. This doesn’t affect small businesses and homeowners. If properly informed without the influence of institutions I believe this is a proposition that many would vote yes on. The only people who could afford these commercials are the people who wouldn’t benefit from this proposition. Not only that, as someone who is 17 and wants to be able to use their voice and vote, I was extremely disappointed to see that prop 18 (allows 17-year-olds to be primary voters) was rejected. Youth voices are on the rise and young people are advocating and educating themselves more than ever now. I expected a lot more from California but I am aware that this is partially due to the lack of information being put out about the propositions and the biased ads that were being put out.
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Quaranteen: Virtual Learning
Virtual Learning was a big shift for everyone, students, teachers, and parents. The space we once used for relaxing and rest is now being used for work. We had to adjust to different learning styles. Virtual learning has negatively affected students in many ways including their mental health. Just because we are home does not mean we don’t have any other responsibilities other than school. Plus not only are we dealing with school we are also trying to deal with a pandemic. Students may be dealing with grieving a loss and financial/home issues. Some may have newfound responsibilities at home like taking care of younger siblings or chores. Many students at Logan have been bombarded with loads of homework with the sole reason being that we are at home and “have more time”. This left a lot of us feeling stressed, tired, and overwhelmed without time to take a mental break or rest.
I experienced large amounts of stress due to not only school but college applications and issues at home. I felt so overwhelmed and had mental breakdowns from all the bottled up stress. Teachers were assigning work and it seemed the workload only increased, especially during college app season for the seniors. My mental health started to take a toll on me and I couldn’t remember the last time I truly just set time aside for self care. I was getting less sleep, eating at later times, and always felt numb or moody. I’m so glad that due to the email campaign held by students and participated in we were able to have finals not affect us negatively and not be assigned work during dead week.
Since we only meet each of our teachers two times a week (excluding the 30 min periods on Monday) We haven’t met with our teachers for a full year and havent been taught as much as we would in a regular semester. Not only that, due to the virtual circumstances it is also hard for us to learn in this setting. A final being given with barely any curriculum being taught and with the students at the school failing at a higher percent than ever would be distressing to many students. I felt like giving finals with our circumstances right now would be unfair.