I am a proud adherent of Reform Judaism. However, my God is not the God that the sign alludes to. Neither is it to the God to whom my Muslim friends worship. And of course, it is simply an offense to my peers who have decided that faith should have no role in their lives. In fact, it is not an allusion to the God who most of my Christian friends worship. To all of us, this sign alludes to a God only supported by ultraconservative Christian fundamentalists, whose God vilifies any person who intends to create a separation between church and state.

Moreover, this sign is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Manifest in the words “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” the Establishment Clause prevents government from favoring one religion over another. This sign is a clear establishment of religion, offending all of those who are protected from government interference with their respective religions.

However, even if this sign alluded to a God who I believed in, it would have no place in a public school that contains adherents (and non-adherents) to a multitude of religions.

I can’t believe that students as diverse as those at AHS must be subjugated to such a God every day.

In June 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals banned the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance from all public schools. Shortly thereafter, on July 1, 2002, the Virginia legislature passed a set of laws that required schools to “prominently display the national motto ‘In God We Trust.’” Thus was the birth of the sign that haunts us today.

I am ashamed of the fact that I live in a state that prides itself on marginalizing minority religions. Whether through the endorsement of days of prayer (passed in 1997) or the inhibition of students’ religious freedom, Virginia seems to pride itself on being “God’s state.” However, I hold a hope that the culture of Richmond has changed in a decade.

To those fundamentalists who might be reading this column, I write that you have every right to worship such a God, but not to impose such a God on others in a public building. I have worked in political advocacy to ensure, no matter the degree of interpretation, that you have a fundamental right to openly worship such a God. But I have fought against attempts to invoke such a symbol over the heads of unassuming students, and will continue to do so.

At an institution that prides itself on fostering diversity (the reason for which the First Lady visited us), it is simply ironic that Virginia facilitates such a law. While it would be illegal to take down the sign that holds a dark reminder of the perpetual violation of our precious separation between church and state, it is necessary to make a change. Such a course of action can only occur through legislation in Richmond. Therefore, because it is legislative season the year before an increasingly important election, such a change can and should be made.

Otherwise, Virginia might continue to live up to its self-proclaimed reputation as “God’s State,” which casts a negative image on us all. However, there is still time. As students, we are told that we have limited access to politics. Contact your representative, and tell him or her that the God you believe in (or do not believe in) belongs in your personal life, not as a framed motto in the entryway of a public building. In doing so, you will defy such fallacious social constraints.

Our right to religious freedom, ultimately, depends on it.

As a teenage girl, however, I think I’m more likely to ignore these words than anyone else.

I’ve never had an issue with my weight before. I was always healthy, but this slowly started to change once I began having a thyroid problem in seventh grade that threw off my metabolism. From there, this inner battle between myself and the mirror seemed ongoing, as after losing the weight, I entered high school with a weight gain that increased my size 4 jeans to a size 12.

I joined field hockey my freshman year thinking that I could find myself there, but soon discovered that it would be better not to continue it than deal with boys supporting the rival team making sumo wrestling noises at me whenever I ran by.

I was better at faking sick, staying cooped up in my room and tuning out the world by blasting songs and dreaming of the day when I could finally be out of here and really start my life than dealing with people at school. I didn’t want anyone to have to see me when I was secretly so unhappy with myself. I found that what I used to love to do—sports like swimming, going to friend’s houses, taking pictures and performing the songs I wrote onstage—became a burden because I didn’t want anyone to have to see me when I was secretly so unhappy with myself. I wasn’t putting in as much effort as I was used to in school. Instead, I took a lot of this effort and somehow put it into dwelling on myself.

Every day I said I would do something and finally follow through on what I wanted to do and accomplish, but I’d find myself waking up feeling horrible and going to sleep crying. I even tried one of the worst things you can do for any amount of time: not eat. But pushing my plate away at dinner and only packing a piece of fruit for lunch made my family catch on, and the worry built up for them as well as the problem persisted.

It would take a long time before I could finally realize what I was doing to myself, and this summer I finally was able to do something about it. After all of the wasted time taking this energy and pitting it against myself, I worked hard, educated myself on the proper way to maintain myself and carried out what I always wanted to do: come back to who I am through shedding the layers (both physical and emotional) that had held me in the state of not feeling worthy of anything.

At times I still find myself slipping back into that twisted mentality where I’m not good enough, or pretty enough, or thin enough to let people see me—especially people that I’m afraid will judge me if I lose myself again. Even though I may want to throw my blanket over my head and take a “sick” day at times, I have to tell myself how hard I worked through this everyday struggle to maintain the confidence I’ve found in myself again.

I have to remember how I battled through those moments when friends would eat ice cream or other treats in front of me and I had to refuse them with a polite “No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” I have to remember the times when I was so unhappy with myself that I skipped out on pool parties or wore baggy shorts over my swimsuit just so no one would judge me and I wouldn’t have to focus on judging myself.

But I know who I am now and have come to accept all of the qualities that make me, me. I am big-boned, caring and have a big heart. I’ve found a way to tune out what I thought defined me–what other people think or say–and have finally found the beat to my own drum.

But I’m not asking for a pity party. Instead, I want the rest of us to find it in ourselves to believe that we are worth it and that we owe ourselves the confidence and acceptance that makes us who we are. Variety and difference is what makes the world beautiful, especially as teenagers trying to discover who we are in it.

After all, it was William Shakespeare himself that wrote, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women are merely players.” And now when I step on that stage, I know it’s the real me looking back at the world, eye to eye, never to turn away again.

While that is not always true, I discovered over the winter break, D.C. residents take on a very giving spirit during the holidays.

My family and I decided that we wanted to do something useful with our time. We took about an hour out of our day and made ham and cheese sandwiches along with some cookies to give to the homeless.

That night we drove into D.C. with Christmas lights wrapped around the hood of the car with high spirits, wanting to help anyone who looked the least bit hungry. Thankfully, it was very difficult for us to locate people sleeping on the streets.

After asking a police officer to point us in the direction of known areas where the needy congregated, we found people lining the streets with their trash bags in hand. Our first attempt was an Asian couple who looked hungry and cold. As we approached them we could see them smiling.

The bags we were handing out contained one sandwich, a cookie or two, an iced tea and a McDonalds gift card for $10 with our hopes that they could stretch that to at least three more meals for a later date.

My mother stretched out the bag asking the couple if they would like a meal along with a gift card. They began to laugh as my mother stood there confused.

“We don’t eat McDonalds! Too fattening!”  they said.

We continued walking through city and found groups of people who seemed very much in need of a meal.

A few people that we approached were being given wrapped gifts from other people. Cars were stopping near the homeless’ belongings and leaving large packages and bags full of treats and sometimes money.

This winter season, my family and I realized how the holiday season should not focus on what you are getting but instead on what you are giving. It was wonderful to see those in need receiving help from good Samaritans. While we were not nearly as generous as other citizens, we thought something would be better than keeping it to ourselves.

Because others are giving back to the community, that should not mean that you make that an excuse not to. Do not think that someone else is giving so you should not. Instead, see this as an opportunity to contribute to what is already being done.

So maybe next holiday season, instead of sitting at home playing your new Xbox, take a few minutes out of your day to give whatever you have whether it be a big or small amount. Even a Christmas candy cane could lighten someone’s spirit and give them that holiday cheer that they have needed all along.

However, it seems as if FCPS is falling behind in one important front for students: technology-loan programs. Many school districts in the nation already foster programs that loan computing technology to students. Some, such as Virginia’s own Hernico County, boast programs that lend over 20,000 laptops to students each year.

More importantly, all of these programs are funded by the counties’ respective state governments. In fact, Virginia recently agreed to contribute to the $400,000 that Arlington County Public Schools used to purchase iPads to distribute to students, initiated last year.

FCPS should join this growing trend in order to best serve its student population. In AHS half of students live under poverty. For such students, it is a burden to complete homework requiring technology. Public education should ease the financial burden of American families.

Since, as evinced by the Hernico County program, Virginia is willing to commit money to foster such loan-programs, there is no apparent reason that FCPS should not partake in such programs.

As outlets for education become increasingly digitized and reliant on technology, it is clear that it is increasingly necessary to provide students with the means to access such outlets. Last school year, the student-to-computer ratio was 2.4:1. Ideally, in a changing world, the ratio should be 1:1. If FCPS wants to remain competitive with the rest of the nation’s top-performing school districts, it should plan on initiating such technology-loan programs soon.

A major focus of Ron Paul’s campaign, and something his supporters rant about, is the media. Paul claims that the media is ignoring him, an act he says is a conspiracy. While in several debates and interviews, most notably a recent one with CNN’s Gloria Borger, Paul has been cut off or attempted to walked out, that in no way is a media conspiracy against him. The CNN interview, in Paul was questioned about an old newsletter with racist statements, cut off when Paul started ignoring the questions about his comments. There have been other instances, such as in GOP debates, when Paul has been cut off.

Based on what has actually has happened, it seems that Paul is ignoring the media. Quite a contradiction, huh?

Maybe Ron Paul is the one who’s too afraid to confront his past. If he admits to what he wrote in those newsletters, some of his voters would support a new candidate. Maybe he’s afraid of losing important voters, ones that might not be aware of his news letters. However, I believe truly that most of his supporters, some of whom are conspirators, would claim that the media is conspiring against him for several reasons: the media doesn’t believe Paul is electable (which, for America’s safety, he is), his ideas are ridiculous (some of them are, in fact), and the media can’t handle “the truth”. The latter is that Paul has been espousing the same lines since he became a congressman: Less Regulation! Liberty! The Constitution! Government is bad! While in fact Paul has been saying this for quite a while, his followers still preach it, and believe it is the solution to America’s problem.

If Ron Paul despises the media for being “ignored”, he should take action. be the one taking action. It is totally up to him and his campaign to organize and set up interviews on radio and national television. If he is going to keep playing the “media hates Ron Paul” game, then so be it. All it does is turn Paul followers into blind believers unaware of reality. I call on Paul, apparently the “only honest man left in Washington” to some, to go on national television and explain why the media is supposedly biased against him. After all, he is the one who is hiding behind the scenes.

However, despite the initial feelings of contempt and resistance from students, this is a bill that should be welcomed. The timing of the school year, not the length. This would give high school students and teachers ample time to prepare and review material for standard tests that come around June.

This has been due for a long time. Schools can apply for waivers from the Board of Education to let them start school before Labor Day. Many schools apply annually for these waivers; 77 of the 132 school districts in Virginia received a waiver for the 2011-2012 year. This law would eliminate the need for applying for a waiver, allowing the school districts and school boards to focus more on the students rather than the schools.

The main reason that the Kings Dominion Law was first proposed in the 1980s is because amusement parks thought that only high school students would be willing to work there, and these businesses needed high school labor. Now, with the recession, there is a huge spike in unemployment. There is high doubt that amusement parks will not be able to meet their employment quota when so many Americans are left without jobs. High school labor is no longer quintessential to the amusement park business, so this law is outdated and should be reformed or removed.

Another beneficial result from the repeal of the law is that Labor Day would no longer be part of the summer break. Labor Day would now be a school holiday, giving students more rest during actual school weeks where they need a reprieve from the arduous classwork. This would be helpful for students that have to manage their time well, especially for those in their senior year that are swamped in college applications.

In regards to college, most colleges start school before high schools do. Many AHS students have had to say goodbye to their graduated friends in mid-August. Why is there a couple week period between high schools and colleges? Having the schedules of high schools and colleges sync up would not only give high school students a better sense of what to expect in college,  but also it would give them the mentality that they are not different from college students and empower them.

In addition to the change in school year opening dates, McDonnell also is proposing that the state allow more charter schools, and that officials move toward lengthening both the school day and school year. This is where the real battle will be fought. If this is approved, the board can expect huge resistance from parents and especially students.

However, the idea of opening schools earlier than Labor Day should be supported. All that it would do is give school boards the flexibility to better conform and create a conductive environment that would better suit each of their unique needs, and nothing else would be acceptable. It’s as simple as that.

For years the United States’ rather old drinking age of 21 has sparked much controversy throughout the nation. In the 1970’s the legal drinking age was lowered to 18 in many states. But, in 1984, the high number of deaths caused by drinking and driving led to the federal government’s decision to enact The National Minimum Drinking Age Act. This act required the states to raise the drinking age back to 21 or have the states lose a chunk of their funding for transportation systems.

It is time that our government lowers the drinking age back down and starts treating our 18 year olds like actual adults. By lowering the drinking age teens will be less inclined to partake in dangerous drinking behavior and be overall be more responsible with alcohol.

Teenagers are constantly thrilled seeking by breaking the rules. One of the reasons why teenagers find alcohol so appealing is because it is their “forbidden fruit”.  Since alcohol is illegal it gets this “cool factor” from many teens. By lowering the drinking age to eighteen, you can eliminate this taboo temptation.

The experience in Europe has been that teenagers who are exposed to alcohol by their parents at a younger age are less likely to put themselves in dangerous situations with alcohol compared to teens without this exposure. If the drinking age was lowered, teens could get taught by their parents how to drink responsibly and not be so tempted to binge drink.

Binge drinking which is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting is a major health hazard among teenagers. According to the Camp Recovery Center, about 90 percent of teens who drink in the United States binge drink.These alarming numbers are probably due to the fact that they weren’t exposed to safe drinking at a younger age.

Officials are worried that lowering the drinking age back to 18 would increase drunk driving rates, as seen in the 1980′s. But, when The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put in place adults were responsible for many of the drunk accidents as well as teenagers. Drinking while driving was looked at in a much more casual manner several decades ago. It was a lot more common to see people drinking alcohol while driving, as seen in many popular television shows from the time. Back then, people were not as aware of the dangers of drinking while driving as they are now. Our knowledge on drunk driving has expanded greatly and people are much smarter about drinking.

Many of the drunk driving related accidents that occur currently are due to under aged drinkers. After a night of drinking, under aged teens are often too scared to ask for a ride from their parents, so they typically find themselves driving under the influence to avoid getting in trouble. But, if the drinking age was lowered these under aged drinkers would feel more comfortable asking their parents for rides. Also, they would be able to use  designated driver services which would keep more and more intoxicated drivers off of the roads. Safe-T-Ride is a designated driving service with affordable rates that helps keep drunk drivers off the road and safe.

Some may point out that teens mixed with drinking can lead to no good. But if the government gives teenagers more responsibilities such as being allowed to drink, they will be more likely to act responsible.

Why the big hullabaloo over Rep. Paul? According to Harvard’s Institute for Politics, out of all of the candidates in the GOP field, Paul is the most popular among my generation.

I cannot find such a statistic more troubling.

Paul’s administration is the one that would benefit my peers the least. Why? The answer is that he is a libertarian. His rhetoric, which praises a lesser influence of government over corporations and businesses, is attractive to the anti-establishment, idealist tendencies of the youth. However, what I truly believe makes Paul so popular is our generation’s lack of understanding of the true nature of libertarianism.

Paul is a libertarian running under the Republican name. According to Paul, he is doing so because running under a third party label would not give him a viable chance to attain the presidency. So, what is libertarianism? Here’s a little political philosophy 101.

Someone who is a libertarian adheres to a strain of political philosophy called libertarianism. Libertarians believe in a school of thought that creeds an absolutely limited government whose function it is to solely facilitate the honoring of contracts, protect man’s unalienable rights and maintain a sense of law. According to libertarians, everything else should be a private function.

This school of thought is attractive to those who have money due to its lack of any sense of social welfare. Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid would be scrapped in such a government. Under libertarianism, where there is no form of government regulation on any entity whatsoever, the rich would be able spend their money (the form of influence in a libertarian society), and grow the amount they have, in whatever way they choose.

As for the poor? Well, for lack of a better expression; they are screwed. Public education does not exist in a libertarian society, nor does the concept of subsidized housing, minimum wage standards or union bargaining rights. Basically, if you’re rich, you’re going to stay rich, and if you’re poor, you’re going to stay poor.

Ideally, a libertarian might tell you, a poor person could accumulate wealth by successfully navigating the market. By successfully holding a job, he or she could receive a salary that is based off the standards of the market.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

An example would be the 2008 financial crisis. By no means was the U.S. government operating under a libertarian system, but in essence, Wall Street was. Investing companies enjoyed a regulation-free system in which they could handle their funds in any way they chose, so long as investors saw positive returns. The rest was history. Companies bought tens of thousands of sub-prime mortgages that made vast amounts of money in the short-run, only to fall flat in the long run.

And now my generation is telling me that they want a president who will attempt to deregulate America’s financial system? Does history not repeat itself? Give me a break.

We might be young, but we are not blind. In fact, many of us will be voting this coming fall.

We have also seen the unfortunate result of passing legislation too slowly. Citizens of Northern Virginia have been furloughed and laid off while the idea of compromise has become foreign in the halls of the Capitol Building.

It is increasingly harder for us to find jobs during the summer, or after-school, as those that are filled by Americans who must live off such low salaries.

More importantly, it is harder for us to pay our way through college. For some members of our generation, it seems that the words of financial magazine Accountancy Live’s Pat Sweet, are coming true: unlike generations past, our generation might be poorer (after inflation) than the preceding generation. But we still have time.

Clearly, there is no panacea to all of these woes (or if there is, not one that can be brought about in a day, month, or year), but we have grown up in a decade of fruitless rhetoric while watching our parents desperately search for jobs.

And we are ready to give you an earful about it.

Some people are even listening to us. The idea of a powerful third party in the 2012 elections (be it for president, or for Congressional districts) is becoming increasingly real. Our generation has seen a back and forth bicker between two parties that cannot seem to work together.

In fact, some of these parties have raised millions of dollars before nominating a candidate.

Americans Elect, just one of these groups, has received support and signatures from nearly 2.8 million Americans.

Statistics also support the notion that Americans are tired of the political culture they have seen.

According to the Reason Foundation, Americans would seriously consider voting for a third-party presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential elections

What does all of this mean? Change up, or be changed.

The Occupy Movement has demonstrated that the educated youth of this nation are ready for a cultural change.

Social networking sites, which our generation has developed, allow for an even more candid conversation about politics than has ever before been seen.

So, Congress, speed it up. We want to see legislation that will reduce wasteful spending and curb our carbon footprint.

If it sounds like political rhetoric, then do not be surprised to find someone who will be parroting it and robbing you out of your district seat.

Of course, culture change does not happen within a single election, as history has shown us. But, it can start somewhere.

Simply put, conduct yourselves honestly, before we head to the polls with a grudge against the status quo.

With the recent flourishing of smartphones, each with one more app or megapixel than the next, there has been an unhealthy union between people, most commonly teens, and their phones. Phones have a bizarre power over us, with the ability to invade our thoughts and interactions with a vibration, like a dog with a shock collar. Although an iPhone may be able to tell you the weather or have Siri find the closest restaurant, it takes away your ability to interact with people on a personal level. Whether it is at the grocery store, at dinner, or in your own home, the only interaction you see is that between someone and their digitalized touch screen.

Meanwhile, there are only the occasional few who spend time with friends and family, although even that time is spent taking pictures to post to Facebook or sharing their activities with Twitter.

“I think they control me a lot because I am always checking Facebook,” sophomore Theresa Nguyen said.

Some may point out that phones are centered around the purpose of contacting others and that these phones only help personal communication. However, although they do connect people, they reduce the need to connect in person and hinder the social skills that stretch beyond their heavy texting vocabulary. In short, I am worried about our generation’s future, now visualizing the scene from Wall-E in which people sit in a recliner with a phone and endless food but without any sense of human interaction.