Freedom Forum Newsletter December 14, 2020

December 11, 2020

Should School Start Later Than Usual?

School starting and ending later would be better for students Shyam Patel, journalism student Many students around the country come to school feeling tired, and may not perform at their very best many days of the week, but this might not be entirely their fault. This occurrence is most likely due to the insane high school and middle school starting times that are too early for teenagers who require around 8-10 hours of sleep according to The American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

In order to fix this issue teens are facing, schools should change their start and end times to actually follow the recommended start time for schools which is 8:30 am according to The Center for Disease Control.

There are health risks that come along with the lack of sleep teenagers are getting.

The CDC and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have noted that a lack of sleep might

contribute to health issues such as obesity, depression, suicidal thoughts, and even substance abuse. These substance abuse risks include the abuse of alcohol, and tobacco which are illegal for minors, and might lead them to use other outlawed drugs. All of these risks might lead a teenager to have serious mental and physical health issues down the line.

Research done by The RWJF which The CDC also agrees with shows that adolescents go through a certain type of development in their teen years where they have a need to stay up longer even though they know that they have to wake up early in the morning. This will cause the students to be deprived of the 8 hours of sleep they should be getting.

Many other studies referenced

by The RWJF have shown that better sleep schedules for teenage students result in better

grades, test scores, and focus.

Behavior has also been observed to improve among students with more sleep compared to students with less.

Better behavior also means less suspensions which has been associated with educational inequality.

This will also show to be great in the long term, because this will lessen the amount of students who perform poorly in school due to their grades and performance, and lead to an increase in more students getting better jobs in their futures.

So how should schools go about changing their schedules to better fit with their students’ recommended sleep schedules?

Well, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teenagers should get 8-10 hours of sleep to stay as healthy as possible, so the best way to make sure that students get their sleep

is to follow the advice of The American Academy of Pediatrics who state that schools should start at 8:30 or after.

Many schools around the country have failed to follow this advice. The CDC reports that a majority of public middle schools and high schools in at least 42 states start their classes before 8:30.

So, the first step and final step for all middle schools and high schools across the country would be to change their schedules to start after 8:30 and end at 3:30 or any other time they see fit.

All schools across the country should take the advice of the many health specialists who recommend that they start their classes later. If they do not then many middle and high school students will suffer the numerous health risks and long lasting consequences.

SHORT TERM REMOTE LEARNING December 14-22, 2020 HOLIDAY BREAK December 23, 2020-January 3, 2021 SHORT TERM REMOTE LEARNING January 4-8, 2021 RETURN TO HYBRID MODEL January 11, 2021

December 11, 2020

The Scary Reality of HBO Max HBO Max may be the final nail for movie theatres AJ Minnich, Editor-in-Chief Warner Bros and HBO Max have recently confirmed that ‘Wonder Woman 84’ will be coming to HBO Max at no additional cost to subscribers. It will also have a theatrical release in select theaters, but with the current situation and the fact audiences can access it at home, the vast majority will experience it at home.

For some this may not raise any suspicions as it is just one movie, but this year, multiple blockbuster movies have been straight to home including ‘Onward,’ ‘Mulan,’ and ‘Scoob!’.

So with what is realistically the biggest movie of the year coming straight to a streaming service also, it raises concerns over the already struggling theatre industry.

Furthermore, on December 3, Warner Bros and HBO Max announced that their entire 2021 film lineup will be coming to HBO Max the same day they are released in theatres. This includes ‘Dune,’ ‘The Suicide Squad,’ ‘Mortal Kombat,’ ‘Tom & Jerry,’ ‘Godzilla vs Kong,’ ‘The Matrix4,’ and many more. So with this in mind, this sets a

worrying precedent for other movies in and after 2021. Yes, these movies will still be released in theaters, but with many ways to obtain HBO Max for free, the vast majority of people will use HBO Max to access the movies instead of visiting theaters.

Considering Disney has already put ‘Mulan’ on Disney+ and will put ‘Soul’ on it for Christmas, it seems like Disney will follow a similar path for the coming year with both their in-house films and those from FOX, Lucasfilm, and Marvel Studios. With this in mind and the fact that movie theaters have already

been struggling with the pandemic, it could be the end of major theaters for the time being.

Now all hope may not be lost because retailers have started coming back despite closing all stores a few years ago, and because in 2019, there were multiple films that broke the billion-dollar barrier in the box office which shows there is still demand for movie theaters. But for now, the future looks grim for the time-honored tradition.

Batman Arkham Origins: Christmas Game How the most overlooked Arkham game may be the best action-Christmas story AJ Minnich, Editor-in-Chief In 2013, Batman Arkham Origins released to an okay reception with most saying it was good but nowhere near as good as its predecessor Arkham City. Now that statement may be true but that does not mean the game does not have anything to say about the character or does not provide a good Christmas and Batman story. Unlike most action stories set around Christmas Time, Arkham Origins thoroughly provides explicit “Christmasy” themes such as family and humility.

Batman starts the game as a brash and angry man who shoves all those in his life away.

In the very first cutscene Alfred advises against going out and for Bruce to stay home and Bruce dismisses him which becomes a reoccurring issue.

As events through the night continue to escalate and the tension and stakes grow increasingly higher Bruce becomes increasingly more strained and he pushes his allies farther and farther away until it comes to a breaking point.

After constantly dismissing Alfred to go on his angry, lonely crusade, Bane attacks the Batcave and nearly kills Alfred.

After the attack and almost losing his adoptive father, Bruce finally realizes the error

of his ways and finally lets those closest to him in. Like classic Christmas stories such as ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ Batman learns the importance of friends and family and how to let them in. After Batman’s revelation, Alfred states“they need you” to which Bruce responds “no they need us” which shows the growth he’s experienced across the game.

This game effectively serves as the death of Batman the vengeful vigilante of the night and the birth of Batman, the compassionate hero.

The story throughout the game may be unconventional for a Christmas story, but the themes thoroughly display Christmas-like themes such as the importance family akin to most other Christmas stories like ‘Home Alone’ or ‘Elf’ even if it is covered in the veil of an action video game where Batman beats the pulp out of supervillains.