By: Emma Hersh & Marina Stuart

Staff Writers

The Rocket Press 

This week's "Man on the Street" question was: What's your favorite food to eat in and around school? 

 Maxime Damis, 10th Grade

"That Stand; bacon, egg & cheese."

Dario Rainone, 12th Grade

"I usually eat lunch during class otherwise I'd  probably get it across the street."

Ms. Bowers, Librarian 

"TamPoPo; I the tuna bim bim bop."

 Ayanna Robinson, 10th Grade

 "Scoop De Ville, it has the best ice cream ever."

James Seward, 11th Grade

"The school store, I get noodles." 

By Theodora Farah

Staff Writer

The Rocket Press 

  I’m one of those preachy vegetarians.  You know what I’m talking about.  That girl who gives you a nasty look while you eat your burger?  That’s me.  The one who lectures about living conditions in slaughterhouses when you order the chicken?  Me again.  The crazy chick that cries over the turkey sandwich you brought for lunch today?  That’s an exaggeration.  The point is I’m always looking for new recruits.

    One thing worth noting is that I call myself a vegetarian, but some people would say that I don’t “count” as vegetarian.  I feel that fish and shellfish lack the intelligence to enjoy life, so eating them is alright from a moral standpoint.  There are actually a number of types of vegetarians, and I am what is sometimes known as a pescatarian—someone who eats seafood, but no meat.  Most people, however, don’t know what that is, and the word “pescatarian” is considered a misspelled word by my spelling checker.  For the sake of clarity and to avoid those annoying red squiggles, I refer to myself as a vegetarian.

    I became vegetarian in second grade, when I was seven.  It was a snap decision, something I did on impulse, but I stuck with it.  While my mother assured me that I was simply “trying out” vegetarianism for a little while, and could stop if I wanted to (since I’m pretty sure she thought I would quit within the week), I knew that I had made a permanent decision.  I was far too stubborn to do anything but stick with it.  Not only that, but vegetarianism was surprisingly easy.  While I was—and still am—often tempted by meat, which I did love the taste of, I had chosen to abstain from meat because I felt that killing animals for food if it wasn’t necessary for survival was cruel and immoral.  If ordering the pork meant that some innocent pig would lose its life, then unless I had been stranded in the Himalayas for seven years and was about to drop dead from chronic pig meat deficiency, it wasn’t something I could do in good conscience.

    A lot of people ask me how I could live without meat.  When I try to explain why eating meat is morally wrong, the most common counterargument I get is, “But it tastes so good!”  I can’t say I disagree.  But living without meat is far easier than a lot of people think.  I have grown used to meat simply not being a part of my diet.  After seven years without it, I skip over meat dishes when I read menus and I pull the pepperonis off my pizza without even thinking about it.  I eat tofu—no, seriously, and it can actually be good—and other protein-rich foods to make sure I get the protein that I would otherwise get from meat.  I trade vegetarian recipes with my other herbivore friends.  I even made a website for vegetarian teenagers, which I presented as my project for my interview at SLA.

    Being vegetarian isn’t just a way of keeping my conscience clear, either.  It makes me feel good.  I feel accomplished for having stuck with my commitment for so long, I enjoy having a “cause” that I support by simply living a certain lifestyle, and I know that I’m much healthier for it.  I won’t go into full preach-mode now, but I do strongly encourage anyone and everyone (unless they have some kind of dietary condition that makes it a problem) to at least give vegetarianism a try.  You don’t have to be the typical, “regular” vegetarian.  There’s good old pescatarianism, as well as “flexitarianism” (eating meat occasionally but not regularly).  There are also more diets that are more extreme than vegetarianism, like veganism (eating no meat or animal products—i.e. no eggs or milk), raw veganism or raw food-only diets (nothing that has been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit), and the macrobiotic diet (only unprocessed foods).  Even simply cutting down on meat will do great things for both you in terms of health, and the world around you in terms of supporting animal rights, keeping your money out of the hands of greedy corporations, and helping reduce your impact on the environment.  Vegetarianism might seem like a huge commitment, but I know from experience that it isn’t half the challenge it seems, and the benefits are well worth it.

 By: Thea Farah & Manna-Symone Middlebrooks

Staff Writers

The Rocket Press 

Not many high school seniors could likely spell “omnifarious”. Even fewer could probably define it. Cameron Harris, however, cites it as the first of three words he uses to describe himself—the other two, “silly” and “quiet”, both showing just how omnifarious—that is, varied or differing greatly—Cameron is. He’s quiet in school, he says, but once he gets out he’s the opposite. He’s also laid-back, citing “Hakuna matata” (meaning “don’t worry, be happy”) as one of his favorite quotes, and saying that he is inspired by “everyone”—like when he sees someone dancing in public, or doing something they don’t like.

His childhood, he says, was “fun” and “simple”. He talks about learning to appreciate the little things as a child, such as freedom. “My biggest fear…” he says, “I guess not—not being able to do what I want to do… not being free.” Sometimes he feels too exhausted to work toward his goals, but usually his desire to accomplish his goals in life is enough to keep him moving.

 By: Jennifer Wright

Staff Writer

The Rocket Press 

Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, are the names of just a fewprescription amphetamines to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  Cropping up is the abuse of these and many other medications used to treat a legitimate medical problem. These cause afeeling of ‘high,' suppression of appetite and providing alertness and concentration. High school students and college students alike are known for the abuse of these medications. Pills are taken orally, crushed into power to be snorted, or injected. These drugs are being sold illegally for up to $10 a pill.

            I believe that rules governing the prescribing of the medications and the precautions taken to stop abuse need to be tightened. The Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) classifies a household name, Ritalin, as being a Schedule II drug. This means that it has a high potential for abuse and is currently used to treat alegitimate medical issue within the U.S. On the downside, it also states that “Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence” according to the DEA. The big problem we are facing is that it is relatively easy to attain the prescription because of the lack of testing to prove ADD or ADHD. The only way to diagnoseis comprehensive evaluation by doctors, which includes attention span tests andinterviews with parents and teachers, but there is not a yes or no answer.Another problem is whether to form an opinion saying, ‘Is this a medical orpsychological issue?’ Maybe they are the same thing.

             The abuse is especially dangerous because of the extreme addictiveness of Ritalin and Adderall. Because of this, the use of Ritalin and Adderall as a study aid is unsound. Focusing is not worth the long-term effects. Also, some use it as a weight-loss tool because of the suppression of appetite the meds cause. Common dosages are controlled from 5-60mg a day. The dangerous reality is when someone other than a doctor or pharmacis tprepares the drug for injection, dirt and dust enter the liquid making it extremely toxic when it enters directly into the bloodstream. Dangerous short-term effects of taking Ritalin are increased heart rate and blood pressure. Scarier though, are effects like hallucinations and psychosis reported when abused.

            All too often the diagnosis of ADD and ADHD is used as a cop-out to other non-related problems sometimes purposely and other times not. In our society it has become easy to blame issues on medical problems beyond one’s control. I believe there are people out there who have legitimate issues that need to be dealt with using medications and treatment, however; there are also people who take advantage of the system and technologies provided in our healthcare system. Iagree it is almost impossible to weed out the amount of people who do not havean actual need for these medications, but it is extremely important to find away because we are paving the way for the criteria of any medication to be widened to suit the needs of everyone.

            To sum itall up, help other than downing a few pills must be given to people who feel like they cannot concentrate or need to lose weight. Writing off problems with walking into a pharmacy with a piece of paper or worse buying a pill that you have no idea what is, is not a way to go about life. It is too dangerous a risk to be taking a drug that could seriously harm you. This is such a difficult topic because its hard to draw the line where what is correct and incorrect,and who has the authority to draw that line. The only fair ultimatum to me isif you need a study aid, wait until the FDA says that ‘this drug is safe to useas a study aid,’ or ‘this drug is safe to use as a weight loss aid.' If that day never comes, I think we have our answer. 

By: Thea Farah

Staff Writer

The Rocket Press 

Cognitive-enhancingdrugs (CEDs) are different things to different people.  For some, they may be a godsend; amuch-needed way to keep from constantly losing focus.  For others, they can be a painful medley ofside effects and health hazards; including addiction.  But for huge numbers of Americans, studentsin particular, they’re an abused substance, something gained illegally andtaken for convenience or a competitive edge rather than for medicalpurposes.  As the number of peopleprescribed CEDs—usually for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, thoughsometimes for other conditions such as depression—grows rapidly, so does thenumber of people who obtain CEDs illegally by buying them from friends.  What should be done about this?

            Having attention deficit disorder myself—I was diagnosed in third grade—I understandall too well how necessary CEDs can be to simply function like a normalperson.  I have taken the drug Adderallnearly every school day for six years now, and it makes all the difference betweena productive day at school (or even a Saturday spend doing homework) and a dayof twirling my hair, daydreaming, and claiming to “not have heard” the questionwhen I get called on by an observant teacher. Another aspect of ADD I’m familiar with is being tested—both theoriginal testing and occasional “check-ups” I still get from time to time—andsomething that always strikes me is how inaccurate and easy to manipulate thetests are.  Though parents and teacherscan testify to a student’s attention problems if need be, much of the testingis really just the honor system.

            The factthat these tests are so inaccurate means that it is all too easy for someonewho wants legal access to CEDs to lie and get them.  However, once that someone has them, becausethey do not actually need them, they are vulnerable to addiction.

            Using CEDsfor non-medical purposes (that is, using them for something other than treatinga condition) is considered abuse.  Manypeople without such conditions, college students in particular, get or buy CEDsfrom others and use them when writing a long paper, taking an important exam,or even on a daily basis.  Most CEDs arehighly addictive, leading many people to argue for tighter regulations onthem.  A better way to combat CED abuse andaddiction may be through education and medical care rather than legalrestrictions and punishments.  Tighter rules or not, people the world overwill still find a way to illegally obtain and abuse CEDs.  A better option, then, may be to make CEDsmore easily—and legally—available for those who do not have a diagnosis.  If someone wants the help of CEDs, it is farbetter for them to be able to go to a doctor who can provide them withimportant information—such as safe doses and health problems that may maketaking CEDs dangerous—as well as control and limits to prevent addiction, andhelp for the patient should they become addicted.  As well as addiction, CEDs can cause majorcomplications and even death for patients with certain health conditions, andit is important that anyone who tries to obtain CEDs knows such crucialinformation.  They will be much morelikely to get this information if we as a society can get past our overlyparanoid fear of drugs and make laws and restrictions that are balanced andreasonable.