Viewpoints

From Our Editor:

By Josh Rosenblut Recently I had the opportunity to speak with John King, CNN’s Chief National Correspondent. I asked Mr. King for some advice, one journalist to another. Mr. King related that, when he began his work in journalism the field was quite different from today. 25 years ago journalism was primarily disseminated on paper, the radio, and morning and evening news programs on the 3 major television networks. He noted that today people get their news from reading the paper (mostly online on one’s computer, tablet or phone), watching the news (again, on one’s tv, computer or phone), or listening to the radio/a podcast. People used to generally have one primary source of news, now it is multifaceted. Mr. King shared that he needed to learn to pivot to this new manner of fractured media. Now, to be a successful journalist, one must know how to write for all types of media sources whether it be speaking on television or the radio/a podcast, or writing an article for a newspaper, magazine or blog post. This makes the occupation of more challenging. Journalist’s need to be able to have a viewer read their article while simultaneously being able to present it to them over a screen and broken down into soundbites. Mr. King also told me that he sees his job as a journalist not to mainly convey breaking news, but instead to help his viewers/readers digest the news and understand why it’s important, and how the news affects them. He noted that most days when people turn on his news show they already know what is happening in the world from seeing the headlines on their phones, crawls at the bottom of their television screens, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts. People watch his (and others’) show because they want to learn why what is happening in the world is important to them. As Editor-in-Chief I take this to heart, FOCUS is not a newspaper that comes out daily, so we are unable to convey breaking news. Instead, we take relevant topics every few weeks, bring them back to life and dive deeper into what has occurred, as a way to help the Blind Brook community understand why it is important to have a deeper understanding of these matters. Speaking with Mr. King was an excellent reminder that as journalists, it is vital to remember we are not doing this work primarily to break news, but to help our readers digest the news and understand why it is important to them.

By Natalia Terentiev Vladimir Putin has been the president for over twenty years. Putin is attempting to hold his name in history forever and expand Russia. He is doing so by unjustifyingly attacking an innocent country by creating a false narrative about Ukraine. Putin invaded Crimea, a small peninsula on the southern portion of Ukraine in 2014. He began threatening war on Ukraine in late 2021, with the goal of preventing Ukraine from joining NATO. As Ukraine is on the border of Russia, it becoming a part of NATO would interfere with Putin’s future plans of invading and controlling the mainland of Ukraine. During this difficult time, Ukrainians need our support. Many Blind Brook

Ukraine-Russia Crisis

students, including myself, have family in Ukraine, and spreading awareness of what is happening in our homeland is critical in order to show our support to Ukrainians. February 23rd is Russia’s national celebratory day for their military. Early morning of February 24th, 2022, the first attack with a missile was made at Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Out of the twenty four oblasts (provinces), eighteen were attacked by missiles from Russia, in the first week of the conflict. Missiles have been bombing Ukrainian cities, as well as the personal homes of the citizens. The Russians conducted over two hundred fifty missile strikes on cities, as well as military units inland. At this time, Ukraine has not returned any attack on Russian ground, and continues to defend themselves by military action on their own territory. No one expected Ukrainians to put up such an impressive defense to a much stronger enemy. The world unified rapidly in their response to support Ukraine by putting stringent economic and financial sanctions on Russia, as well as speaking publicly about the issue. Sanctions included a freeze on substantial Russian cash reserves, as well as cutting off Russia’s bank from the SWIFT messaging system. This has already resulted in a significant devaluation of Russian currency. Russia’s president attempts to evade responsibility by making his actions out to be something other than what it is, an uncalled for invasion. Putin also fails to inform the young soldiers drafted to the Russian army the reason for their attack. His effort has grown beyond keeping Ukraine from NATO, his current mission is to reassemble pieces of the former Soviet Union. Ukraine is an independent country which chose democracy, and has been violently attacked for this decision. Supporting Putin is the equivalent of allowing an aggressor to land grab and invade another independent state without incident. If you’d like to help support the people of Ukraine, contribute to the Ukrainian Red Cross at:

Josh Rosenblut Editor-in-Chief

Should Community Service be Required?

By Emma Kron and Katelyn Faustino Emma Kron:

Community service has been an add-on to the graduation requirement at many high schools like Blind Brook and also plays a role in college admissions. Making community service a necessity has created students who are not genuine in their want to help the community around them. It would be much more impressive for students to show their involvement and commitment to community service as a choice instead of as a mandate, and I’m not alone in this sentiment. 12th-grade student Kira Tannenbaum says, “I just think that making community service hours required leads to more resume padding and people are doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s another insincere thing to submit to colleges.” She sees community service as a false application booster for students who aren’t deserving of the credit. Other seniors have the same opinion. 12th-grade student Lilly Kleinhandler says, “Requiring community service takes away the meaning of doing it, people are only doing it because they have to, and not because they want to.” Making it a requirement also makes students feel less excited to engage with the community. Jenna Kamin, a 12th-grade student at Blind Brook, illustrates this idea, saying, “It causes a negative connotation to community service; it seems more dreadful than it’s meant to and becomes a required assignment.” Student Amanda Drazka agrees, mentioning that “requiring community service forces kids to be extrinsically motivated because they only participate because they have to, and not because they want to better the community.” Other seniors consider additional consequences that come with this requirement. Keith Konigsberg mentioned that “later in life, people won’t be as likely to participate in community service because of the negative association they have from high school’s requirements.” Jackson Campbell even mentioned that the process of logging the community service hours makes it less rewarding, and reinforces the idea that it is an assignment rather than doing it for the good of the community. The fact that students need to display a certain amount of community service hours in order to graduate makes it feel like a check-off of their to-do list instead of a personal desire to better the world around them. Students that feel committed and interested in community service should be able to impress the community and stand out from the rest of college applicants and their graduating class. These students should be able to shine in doing something meaningful for their community instead of blending in with the group of students who did community service only because they had to. Instead of community service requirements inspiring students to give back, it instead has had the opposite effect, as most students stop participating in community service once the necessary 80 hours are complete. It is critical that community service hours are not required so that students can learn the importance of helping others in a natural way.

Katelyn Faustino:

Graduation is a day highly valued by students, signifying the end of their high school experience. To attend this treasured event, every student must complete certain requirements, including 4 credits of English and 3 of math. At Blind Brook High School, along with many other schools nationwide, there is one additional requirement: fulfilling a specific amount of hours of community service work. Blind Brook began the 80 hours of community service requirement in 2003 and has been consistent since. As long as you complete 80 hours by the end of your four-year period in high school, you’re set. The thought of having to complete 20 hours of community-based learning per year is fairly manageable. While one could argue that the requirement is time-consuming for students who have a myriad of other responsibilities on their plates, I believe that service-learning or community service hours should be necessary to graduate high school. This obligation promotes being a good citizen and helping a group larger than yourself. Many advantages come from participating in events to benefit your community through volunteering. For one, it shows that you are an active member of your community and that you attempt to be a helpful citizen. Some of the volunteer activities I’ve been involved with range from raising money for good causes to teaching young kids sports. It feels good knowing that I made a positive change to the world, no matter how small it may be. Senior Giacomo Mejia agrees and feels accomplished having known he contributed to the school play through his volunteer work. “It feels really nice to help others in need, and in the plays’ case, to see the final product and know I was a part of the creation.” Volunteer opportunities can also help you form friendships and connections you might have never expected before. They can furthermore lead you towards a passion you might not have anticipated. One student, senior Jennifer McKay, shares her positive experience with me. She says, “I had never really been into nature or wildlife. After I volunteered at an invasive vine removal near Oakland Beach, I realized that I had a newfound love for the outdoors. I brought my friends and carried this on at Crawford Park, the high school, and in Port Chester”. McKay not only discovered a new fascination with nature, but she also continued her volunteer work on a larger scale. Making community service a requirement ensures students will at least spend the minimum time volunteering in their community. Without this mandate, volunteering would not be prioritized and instilled in every single student. Through volunteering, one can develop new skills in integrity, leadership, and empathy. Plus, they can carry these meaningful experiences and skills onto their professional lives where these students will be engaged citizens. Dr. Dorothy Height, president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, says: “Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop”. Blind Brook must keep the community service hour requirement to ensure students learn the importance of helping others.