Freedom Theatre fosters growth in performing arts

Students in a performing arts class at Freedom Theatre prepare to hit the stage. Photo by Nicholas Trawick.

By Asia Lambert

New Freedom Theatre is the oldest African-American Theatre in Pennsylvania. Founded by John E. Allen in 1966 and now directed by Patricia
Scott Hobbs, Freedom Theatre is running a great training program for the youth. The theatre offers training, acting, dancing and vocal arts. Freedom Theatre focuses on African-American history, pride, culture and heritage, while experimenting with performing arts.

Freedom Theatre has a variety of teachers, with all different types of talent. They all love to teach their students what they have learned and watch them grown as actors, actresses, dancers, singers and an all-around better people. The theater is known for helping the youth do better and be better by giving them the confidence they need to pursue whatever it is that they want to do with their lives.

Jerry Mondesire shares the success story behind The Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Jerry Mondesire talks to Temple University High School Press students.

By Sankie Fineboy

Jerry Mondesire is a man who fights for the rights of African Americans. Mondesire, a former editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, is the President of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

While working at the Inquirer during the 1970s, he noticed that 80 percent of what was written in the paper was geared mostly toward a white readership. He came in contact with racism on a daily basis, as there were few other African Americans working at the Inquirer at the time.

Agriculture students spend summer brightening hospital grounds

High School students from W.B. Saul High School spend their summer working on the grounds at Pennsylvania Hospital. Photo by Nicholas Trawick.

By Shaquil Taylor

The Career and Technical Education Summer Employment Program in Philadelphia is designed to put teens in companies and businesses and give them experience in certain fields of their interest.  Many of the teens may not be so eager to work, but the program helps show teens where they fit in and what they are good at.

The Pennsylvania Hospital has a six-week agricultural program in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia and W.B. Saul Agricultural High School.  Saul High School sends out four students to work for the summer in the gardens of Pennsylvania Hospital.  The agricultural program is for students at Saul High to gain more training in the agricultural field.  On the job, the students are weeding, planting, gardening and trimming plants.

The hospital also offers some of the teens a chance to work in the gardens full time after they graduate.

Student prepares for chef career with hotel internship

Monee Lawry (l) tallks about her summer internship at the Holiday Inn Express with interviewer Brianna Watss-El (r). Photo by Tarea Sumter.

By Brianna Watts-El

Monee’ Lawry, a high school intern at the Holiday Inn Express, said she likes it there, but wouldn’t want to work there.

Joanne Bongart, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express at 13th and Walnut streets for 19 years,  said her four high school interns execute  a variety of different tasks and demonstrate how eager they are to work there.

Leonard Clark, who works at the hotel as a bellhop, said that he enjoys working with the high school interns.

Embarrasment can lead to runaways

Khalil King

By Khalil King

What people should do is talk to people about their problems instead of running away from home.

Some people might run away from home because they are embarrassed by their parents.  Most parents might embarrass their teens because they might be scared that their children might get hurt, but they still shouldn’t embarrass them no matter what. Being embarrassed isn’t healthy for a good lifestyle.

Being embarrassed could make a person want to run away from home, but they shouldn’t, because they could get their family worried about them.  If a person runs away from home, then they might get lost or they might not be able get back home if they go far.

Say, “No” to underage drinking

Shaquil Taylor

By Shaquil Taylor

Underage drinking is very common now, and the rate of underage people drinking seems to be rising.  It’s better than smoking, some people will say, but the law is the law.  Why don’t as many people get arrested for underage-drinking?  Underage people smoking marijuana get arrested way more often.  All such items that are illegal for minors should be enforced the same.

You must be 21 or over to buy drinks, and 18 or older to buy tobacco products.  I see people underage get busted for smoking tobacco products all the time, but I rarely see a young person get in trouble for drinking.  Drinking is easier to hide than smoking.  With smoking, you have to put the product to your mouth out in the open, but you can always pour an alcoholic drink into another bottle.

Laptop suveillance an invasion of privacy

Laura Esperidon

By Laura Esperidon

How much do you value privacy? How will you feel if your computer was secretly recording your online activity and snapping pictures of you, your family your friends and your home? Well Jailil Hasan, a senior at Lower Merion School, found out that his school laptop security software took 469 webcam photographs.

Hasan’s mother is now suing the school the district. Now the District has to change the way it handles its laptops by this September. The district already made some arrangements, like banding the Theft Track that was only supposed to have been activated when a laptop was reported lost or stolen, district officials have said.