For the last 8 months, the media has been the center of political struggle. Newscasters and journalists have focused much of their time on the recent economic crisis and rivalry between the two presidential candidates. Stories about ex CEO’s losing millions have been the main headlines as Americans fight for economic survival. National security and terrorism appear to have taken a back seat to the constant updates of the struggling Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq exchange. Although the downward spiral of the economy must be identified, dealt with, and fixed, should we ignore the remaining threat to our national security and the War on Terror?

This summer, I attended an economics course at Columbia Business School. Students shared their stories and experiences with us and told us about future internships at various financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs. The three-week course allowed my peers and I to participate in a virtual stock exchange that dealt with trading real stocks, bonds, and options. I continued to read every business/news article I could in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. I traded Sports Illustrated for Forbes magazine and instead of reading the sports section, my mornings were filled with a bagel and the business section.

“You can’t join Mathletes. It’s social suicide.” And yet at my middle school, the Math Team was one of the most widely participated-in extracurricular activities. Perhaps we were all mavericks, or perhaps our school failed to inform us that our actions constituted walking the metaphorical “plank.” Maybe doing math for fun wasn’t a faux pas until Tina Fey said so in Mean Girls. Or more likely still, maybe the social pressures eliminated by attending an all-girls’ school made these supposed taboos irrelevant.

Despite our many efforts to assert gender equality within the Horace Mann community, the fact remains that it has been decades since this school last saw a female student body president. While the exact causes of this trend are impossible to pinpoint—whether it is because the male candidates truly are more qualified, or if there is indeed covert sexism within the pool of voters—one factor we believe is largely overlooked is the skewed gender ratio among the candidates that run each year. The probability of our electing a female student body president is infinitesimal when there are consistently only one or two females in contention. And so why don’t more girls run for office? Is it because we recognize our inferiority and concede in advance, or is it simply that we find the thought of voicing our opinions in front of a huge audience too frightening to bear?

The arts at HM are underappreciated. Performances have low attendance rates, galleries are passed by without a look inside, and now the arts requirement itself was questioned. In order to fix this problem of lack of recognition and importance of the arts, the best solution is to give students interested in the arts the same opportunity as students in athletics have: namely, receiving credit for arts “teams” outside of school.

During last week’s assembly, each fall athletics team that had a recent event was acknowledged and applauded. Some teams were discussed at length, concerning their win-loss record and the pride and effort of its members. More than thirty minutes later, the “One-Acts” were mentioned. No specifics about the hard work of the actors, the amazing student-designed sets, the individual plays performed, or the actual name of the production, “Double Plays & Triple Plays” were mentioned. Collectively, the arts have become an afterthought for those not involved, and now the only common discussion concerning it has been about shrinking the arts requirement.

The editorial in the November 14, 2008 issue, concerning changes in the requirements placed on students in performing groups, posits several inaccuracies that need correction.

The requirement of students in Chamber Choir and Girls Ensemble to take private lessons is not new; that requirement has been in place for over 15 years. The same requirement is made of instrumental students and that requirement precedes my tenure at this institution. The co-requisite cited concerning participation in the UD jazz ensemble is also not new. When these groups were first formed the requirement was put in place; that was 15 years ago.

Arguably two of the most important classes that students take during their years at Horace Mann are Health and Physical Education. The lessons imparted regarding our sexual, psychological and physical health are imperative. P.E. provides an excellent opportunity to exercise, enjoy the fresh air, and just run around. Too often, however, these opportunities are limited to the forty-five minutes we spend in class; we might preach good health but we are rarely given the chance to practice it.

Testing days, limited graded assignments at the end of the term, frees, more dedicated lunch periods all already help overall well-being. The Communal Meal is a phenomenal idea both for building community and unity and for giving students, faculty and staff a welcome respite at the end of a grueling ten weeks. Everyone, however, needs to keep in mind one another’s health during the other sixty-nine days of the term. Some changes might help us do that.