YOU DECIDE: Safety-First Playgrounds?
When your parents were growing up, it’s likely that when they went to the playground, they played on asphalt, jungle gyms, merry-go-rounds, high monkey bars, and tall metal slides. But the playgrounds of that generation look very different than the playgrounds of today. In the past 20 or 30 years, there has been a movement […]
YOU DECIDE: Guaranteed Basic Income
The city of Stockton, California is trying a new program to help out some of its poorest residents. It’s called Guaranteed Basic Income, or GBI. Stockton will be the first U.S. city to try it. Here’s how it works: a few dozen of the poorest households in Stockton will receive a check for $500 each […]
YOU DECIDE: Space Mission to the Moon
In December, President Trump announced his administration’s plans to send American astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The directive, called Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1), was signed on the 45th anniversary of Apollo 17’s landing on the moon on December 13, 1972. In his speech, Trump said that the goal […]
YOU DECIDE: The NFL Anthem Protests
Should NFL Players Be Allowed to Protest the National Anthem? Last August, Colin Kaepernick–then a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers–remained seated during the national anthem performance that precedes each National Football League game. Later in the season, Kaepernick began to kneel silently during the anthem. When asked about his actions, Kaepernick explained that he […]
YOU DECIDE: Mastery Learning
By now, most schools around the country are back in session after summer break. Are you feeling excited or are you worried about the school year to come? What if you didn’t have to worry about grades and could learn all of the material at your own pace? How would that change your feelings about education? […]
YOU DECIDE: Cell Phone Towers at Schools
Turns out, bake sales just aren’t cutting it anymore. As many school districts around the country face budget and funding cuts, many are struggling to make ends meet. In a lot of places, this means looking for alternative sources of revenue generation. Recently, some districts have made deals with telecom companies, allowing them to build […]
YOU DECIDE: Georgetown University’s Slavery Past
Georgetown University is a prestigious institution located in Washington, D.C. Many prominent politicians and lawmakers (including former President Bill Clinton) are graduates. Founded in 1789, Georgetown once relied heavily on the trade of enslaved workers to finance its operations. Heavily in debt by 1838, the university arranged the sale of 272 slaves to plantations in Louisiana, […]
YOU DECIDE: The Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla Incident
On May 28, a four-year old boy climbed through a barrier to the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio and dropped fifteen feet into a water moat. In response, a 450-pound male gorilla named Harambe jumped into the water with the boy. The young boy was injured in the incident and was […]
YOU DECIDE: Should Apple Assist the FBI’s Investigation?
Last year, btw brought you news of a shooting that took place in San Bernardino by married couple, Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook. As part of the investigation, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been unsuccessful in unlocking one of the shooter’s iPhones that it collected as evidence. It has asked Apple […]
YOU DECIDE: Should Soda Come With a Warning Label?
Last year, btw brought you a story about the state of New York’s failed attempt to ban sodas larger than 16 ounces in the state. . Now, one city (Baltimore, Maryland) and two states (New York and California) have introduced legislation that could require certain drinks to be sold with a warning label. It would […]