OPINION

Bye Bye Beaches

Beaches need to go.

By KEIRRA McGOLDRICK, OPINION EDITOR

When you think of summer, you may think of something along the lines of dirty, sweaty beaches that are filled with bloodthirsty seagulls. If you truly think about it, there are absolutely zero reasons why a person could make a conscientious decision to go to the beach.

“Chemists from the University of Hawaii recently learned that levels of fecal bacteria in beach sand can be up to 100 times higher than in the water nearby,” Correspondent Erin Blakemore of The Smithsonian Magazine said.

gets everywhere and in turn, that means the same bacteria is on everything you own for the next few days.

while listening to the sounds of the ocean or walking along the boardwalk browsing the shops there. But when you really think about it, the cons outweigh the pros.

Nine print issues. That’s how many we have produced in our time managing the Knight Writers staff together over the course of the last two years. So here’s a toast to our final one before we head off to IB exams, graduation and life beyond high school.

In this print issue, we allowed the new managing editors to take charge and get a feel of what it takes to lead a newspaper staff and observed from the sidelines what the new Print Managing Editor, Cecilia Cheng, had up her sleeve. While we’re sad to say goodbye, it is incredibly reassuring to know that Knight Writers is in good hands.

Last issue, the Knight Writers took a look at what’s to come for the spring season. In Issue 4, we’ve covered all things prom, caught up with some of the spring sports and took a look at the highly anticipated Taylor Swift Eras Tour. While it may seem like the year is quickly coming to an end, there’s still plenty happening around campus. And while this may be the final print issue of the school year, coverage of Robinson events and news will continue on knightwriters.org until the end of the school year.

We’re sad to let go of course. So we’ve signed off with our fellow senior staffers on the back page with a special goodbye. Thank you for reading the fourth issue of Knight Writers Vol. 63. Knight Writers will return next school year with Vol. 64 led by a new set of editors. Sayonara!

Obviously, there’s the fact that random people urinate in the ocean water, but if that isn’t reason enough to not visit the cesspool disguised as a nice place to vacation, think of the sand.

Disgusting bacteria everywhere is one thing, getting sand quite literally everywhere is another. You name it and sand is stuck there for the time being. On bags, shoes, hair, skin, everything. I mean connect the dots. There are bacteria in the sand, then the sand

Not to mention how hard it is to actually find an adequate beach to visit. Clearwater beach, for example, is ranked number 12 among the best beaches in Florida, but have you ever actually been there? If you have gotten the displeasure of attending, you’ll know it’s a crowded mess filled with either drunken college students or small children running everywhere.

In a way, I somewhat understand the hype about beaches. Being able to just lay and soak up the sun

A possible solution to this monstrosity would be to go to the pool. With a pool, especially a private one, they have chemicals that regulate and clean the water. Even with a public pool, although there still can be children and college students, there are still regulations to monitor what goes on there.

So next time you’re weighing out the options of places to go this summer, the obvious choice is definitely not the beach.

Why College Rejections are Happening More Than Past Years

Many above average students are getting the unfortunate news of college rejection. Why is this happening and how does it affect you?

By MCKAYLE McGOLDRICK, STAFF WRITER

It’s that time of year again. Seniors who plan on applying to universities have to brace for the impact. To up the anxiety, many students are finding that a suspiciously large number of universities are rejecting them despite their above-average scores and grades. Now, someone could say maybe they just aren’t good enough for the universities in question, but let’s look at the statistics.

“Duke’s ED acceptance rate dropped about 5%, and the University of Georgia’s early acceptance rate decreased by almost 10% compared to the 2021-22 application cycle,” Forbes said.

Taking the information that we have from this year’s early applicants so far, we can expect that after all results are out from schools, we will see a continuation of the trend of acceptance rates dropping.

There are a few reasons why this is happening. There has been a major increase in the number of early applicants from the previous year. For example, Brown University had an increase in applications this year by 10%. Since there are more people applying with more confidence, that could explain the increase in denials for these universities that are notoriously strict on their applicants.

I know people getting denied from major universities like Brown and Stanford isn’t at all out of the ordinary, but universities like the University of Florida and the University of South Flor- ida which are much less prestige have also been denying many applicants for what seems like more than past years. Many people, including myself, were told these schools would be given more leniency since students of the graduating class of 2023 have had to deal with COVID-19 and the switch to online school, which was completely out of their control. It is upsetting to think that some schools don’t care about how coronavirus affected the 2023 graduating class’s most vital years of high school.

I think most people can agree that college acceptance rates dropping is one of the most stressful things for a senior to witness. But I think it’s important to mention that in contrast, there have been universities that do take the pandemic into consideration. One school I applied to even asked me to elaborate on how my life and grades were impacted by the virus, which I appreciated. Therefore, the acceptance rates dropping shouldn’t dissuade you from applying to these schools. The overall message I’d provide to anyone applying to universities is to try your absolute best as well as take your time with your applications.