When new questions arise

Seven years ago human society set a milestone in its scientific history – the Human Genome Project had been finished and scientists had mapped and sequenced all the genes encoded by the genome of Homo Sapiens, our own species. The results of this international research, lead in parallel by state- funded international research team and by the private company Celera Genomics have asserted the existence of 20,000 to 25,000 human genes, their genetic markup and their respective functions. Researchers have also created a database of the most common genetic variation that distinguishes one person from another. Inevitably, this knowledge is bound to mark the beginning of new medical treatments; however, its social, political and environmental implications raise new and somewhat unusual questions.

For one, if less expensive, more effective and reliable techniques that sequence the human genome are devised, one’s medical chart would start to include one’s own genetic blueprint. Consequently, we would be able to read our genes and discover the anomalies in our DNA, thus learning which diseases we are predisposed to. With this valuable information, each of us would work at lowering the risk for disease, and similarly, disease treatment could be personalized for every individual. For the time being, this has only been done for Craig Venter, the owner of Celera Genomics, who already had his genome sequenced only to find himself predisposed to Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and macular degeneration; he has been taking cholesterol-lowering drugs ever since. Additionally, gene therapy could turn from the dream that it is today to reality: in 30 years from now it would be commonplace to replace disease-causing genes with normally functioning ones. In that manner, we would be able to cure and prevent many (if not all) genetic disorders from the most benign ones like colorblindness to the lethal ones like Huntington’s disease. Moreover, genomic research may prove crucial to exploring programmed cell death, which causes aging and uncontrolled cell growth – cancer. Although these scientific breakthroughs would certainly mean saving more lives, the extra weight we would quite consciously and willingly put on nature’s shoulders would be immense. With population of nearly 7 billion, we are already facing major problems such as water deficit, pollution, and climate change. A dramatic increase in human population would disrupt our already precarious environmental balance, exacerbating all problems connected with overpopulation. Furthermore, if we learn to control the mechanisms that regulate cell death and aging, our society would have to limit human lifespan, rather than attempt to extend it.

With so much information on our genomes available to us, a genomic library would surely have to be set. Yet the challenge lies in deciding who, besides medical personnel, would be granted access to our personal genetic information, and to what extent. If, for instance, employers have access to a job applicant’s genome, they might base their hiring decision on the risk of this person to develop certain conditions. Similarly, an insurance company might offer different policies based on various genetic markups. Unless society imposes clear regulation and legislation regarding the usage and access to individual genomic information, carriers of abnormal genes might be stigmatized, and bio-piracy would be unrestrained.

Another tantalizing aspect of genetic research is that we, humans would overtake the role of nature. By replacing abnormal genes with gene therapy we would act directly on natural selection, narrowing down the gene pool and reducing variation. This would work perfectly if environmental factors on Earth were essentially stable; yet, this is not the case. Tremendous variation is hidden in every gene pool, and it can be expressed by selective pressures; in other words, populations are so diverse because some genes that are disadvantageous in one particular set of conditions, could turn out to be quite advantageous if the conditions (the environment) change. Nature has its way of preserving variation in humans with sexual reproduction, heterozygous advantage, random mutation, etc. Severely reducing variation could jeopardize the entire human race in the case of a sudden environmental change when the genes that we find useful and important today would turn to be disadvantageous.

Although important breakthroughs have been made, scientists still strive to understand all the interactions between genes themselves, genes and the non-coding DNA sequences, and finally, genes and the environment. In this respect, the 21st century might even unravel the answer to the everlasting question of nature vs. nurture. Or perhaps, with all the genetic information stored in computerized genomic libraries we will witness the birth of the first synthetic human, whose parent would be the computer itself? One is for sure: these new questions call for scientists across all disciplines to chart the new, unknown territories.

IRON LION ZION

February 6th, the BOB MARLEY DAY, is never celebrated solely by Rastafari practitioners. Over the years, the date of Marley’s birth came to be celebrated by all lovers of reggae music. Wearing Bob Marley t-shirts, distinctive red, gold and green hats or having their hairs dreaded, reggae fans all over the globe flock to cafes where they hear the familiar tunes of Marley’s hits. However, while humming along his laid-back tunes, many fail to notice the spiritual and religious shades of Marley’s lyrics. Namely, Bob Marley was one of the greatest proponents of the Rastafari movement, a monotheistic religious movement, or perhaps more accurately, an entire way of life, which developed in the 1930s among the poorest classes of Jamaicans. By spreading his music to a global audience, Marley had also spread the Rastafari ideology.

The Rastafari movement developed in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1930s. As the Rastafari movement evolved from Chiristianity, the Rastas came to be monotheists and to believe in a sinular God they call Jah. They also healivly rely on the Book of Revelation from the Holy Bible. Furthermore, they have kept the belief in the Holly Trinity. However, they claim that the holy spirit is present within all humans, and that thus, all humans are equal. This is exemplified by their usage of the pronouns “I and I” instead of “you and me” to express equality of all before Jah. The Rastas worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as their messiah, second to Jesus Christ. The name of the Rastafari movement is derived from the title that Selassie held before becoming an Ethiopian emperor - Ras=Head, Duke - and his given name - Tafari. This Ethiopian ruler was perhaps the only African ruler to be recognized by the European leaders at that time. Haile Selassie worked towards the modernization of Ethiopia and managed to bring the country to the League of Nations and the United Nations. He was the first black African to appear on the cover of Time Magazine in 1930. 5 years later, he was named Time magazine’s person of the year. More importantly, he worked for African unity and world peace. The Rastas believe that he would form and lead the perfect world they call ZION; Zion has come to mean the paradise of Rastas, a place they believe to be situated in Ethiopia. Moreover, this land is believed to be their promissed land. On the other hand, Rastas refer to the societies of whites as BABYLON, and percieve them as utterly corrupt.


Although the wearing of dreadlocks is not unique to this movement, Rastas dread their hair as a religious act. The dreadlocks came to signify the mane of the Lion of Judah (another name for Haile Selassie), and the Rastas’ symbolic rebelion against Babylon. Even so, many other groups such as the Sufi mystics and early Kenyans dreaded their hair as well. Furthermore, the 3 colors usually present on Rastafari hats and t-shirts, red, green, and gold, are also featured on the Ethiopian and the Jamaican flag. Red symbolizes the blood of Black Jamaican martyrs, green the lushness of the Ethiopian and Jamaican countryside, and gold the wealth of Africa. Another inherent aspect of the Rastafari movement has always been music; indeed, the world got closely acquainted to it through the several famous reggae artists. Another interesting aspect of Rastafari ideology is the role that ritual smoking of cannabis plays in their worship. This spiritual act is often accompined by study of the Bible; indeed, Rastas claim that smoking cannabis purifies thier souls and minds, and brings them closer to Jah. However, Rastas render cannabis as the only means for cleaning the mind and the soul; indeed, they feel that alcohol and other drugs destroy the mind. Interestingly, Rastas explain the illegality of canabis as another form of persecution of Babylon against them.

Over the years, the Rastafari movement has attracted followers from all over the globe. Rasta ideology has attracted not only black Africans, but also many others who feel passionate about the ideas of the movement. Therefore, Rasta communities are spranging up in various countries and are gaining much prominence. Of course, there is much more to Rasta way of life than described above; however, I hope my attempt to bring a few segments of their powerful ideology closer to all reggae and Bob Marley fans who did enjoy their resent celebration of February 6th, can be rendered a success.

Ode to August

August. The end of the long hot summer. A month when languidness seem to takeover even the most energetic of people. Is it the nearing of the new school year that makes sluggishness our normal state of mind during this time of the year? Perhaps it is the temperature, which in our country usually culminates in August, rising well over the 40th degree Celsius. August’s temperature-rage evokes an unreasonable and unexplainable wish in me. Well aware of its impossibility, walking barefoot on the boiling-hot asphalt at noon, when the sun heats it up the most, has always been something that I’ve wanted to try.


* * * * * * * * *

Awake from my daydream I brood over the last month of August; what joy and what problems did it bring this year? To begin with, in our microcosm of the NOVA community, August is traditionally the month when we open the gates to newcomers during the Orientation Day, this year held on the 31st. An exciting day for our new classmates, and even more so for us, volunteers and Student Council members who are always eager to meet the people, that from that day on will share the chairs and desks of our NOVA classrooms with us. The more the merrier, they say: this year’s Orientation Day brought a new reality to the school, as a record number of students are attending NOVA. Nonetheless, this change has led to the filling up of our school’s capacities, and until the primary school students were relocated, library space became a hot-topic in NOVA.

For our REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, the 12th of August brought the friendly soccer match with Spain. After many scandals with ticket selling, the stadium was lined up with fierce soccer fans as well as with a shockingly great number of Macedonian females who, somehow, seemed to cheer for… Spain? Luckily, this was only the effect exerted on them by the blond presence of Fernando Torres on the soccer field of Gradski. After 2 brilliant goals scored by Pandev and a result of 2-0 at half-time – Torres ran out on the soccer field and, well, … did his magic. In 4 minutes Spain scored 3 goals, thus establishing the end result: 2-3. At the end of the match all seemed to be happy and satisfied: the Spanish guys won; we claimed how despite the loss, we have proven a worthy rival; and the Macedonian females… they were satisfied with getting a glimpse of Torres’s hair. ☺

Undoubtedly and inevitably the events that will mark the month of August in the BALKAN REGION are the two equally fantastic U2 concerts in Zagreb, Croatia, that took part on the 9th and the 10th. To my utmost pleasure, I had the privilege of being one of the 60,000 people on Maksimir Stadium who unfortunately lost their voice the next morning due to singing their hearts out on the concert. Even so, I witnessed something majestic, as I saw the 50-meter-tall state-of-the-art stage, his ‘space junk’, as Bono called it. The opening act, the Irish rock band Snow Patrol was also fabulous as I am a fan of their music too, but when I heard the sound of The Edge’s guitar playing the familiar chords to ‘Breathe’, I found myself in desperate need of air from all that excitement. My mind was in an euphoric state as I danced to the beat of ‘Vertigo’. I felt the beauty in the wave of emotions which absolutely took over me as I screamed ‘It’s a beautiful day!’… The audience was electrified as the spectacular show unfolded in front of its eyes; the musicians were selflessly pouring themselves into the performance, producing ‘intimacy on a grand scale’, as Bono said, and transforming the spectacle into an intimate affair. Then, for a minute, they stopped. Bono introduced the next song, ‘One’, by dedicating it 'to everyone in this region who's had their warm hearts broken by cold ideas.' The song summed up the entire evening. The mere statement made its way to the hearts and souls of all the fans. It certainly made its way into mine.

As a socially engaged band, U2 has condemned the Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest and ongoing trial, which nonetheless ended on August 11, with her being sentenced to three years with labor, reduced to 1 ½ years’ home detention. Suu Kyi’s arrest and subsequent trial won WORLDWIDE condemnation. On August 18th, the American president Barak Obama asked the Burmese military leadership to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Moreover, critics have argued that her continued detention is imposed on her only to prevent her from participating on the Burmese elections in 2010.

* * * * * * * * *

As these events shook the public worldwide, it became evident that the lazy summer days were soon to be over. The boiling-hot asphalt still remains in my memory now, and I reason, and yes, I understand: August’s charm resides in the awareness of summer’s imminent end, and the remembrance of the days past.

Alienation required?

Alien. ALIENATION – a broad term which has gained several different meanings in different contexts. Over the years, the term alienation has been utilized to describe various situations from our existence. The term has gained its place in the writings of several well-known philosophers, of which most famous Karl Marx, who spoke of workers being alienated from their work and the products under capitalism. In modern law, alienation came to signify the transfer of ownership of property rights. However, ALIENATION is mostly associated with a demoralized state of the soul due to isolation, or difficulties in relating to the society. It is widely recognized as the state of estrangement or separation from one’s environment, or self. Consequently, it has gained its negative connotation instilled in the head of every high school student familiar with the plethora of literary works that contain some form of social or self- alienation as an underlying theme.

However, the other side of the coin reveals an important aspect of alienation that has been overlooked. It is the impartiality that comes with estrangement. Devoid of emotion and bias, to which no human is resilient, one could cool-headedly pass the right judgment and eliminate the tendency to be swayed and driven astray by one’s mood, circumstances, or relationships with others. An emotional distance is required to reflect on a situation in an objective way. Detachment often gives a clearer view on a situation and thus, better understanding.

In many ways this is similar to being an audience of a play: one critically observes the situation, yet, tries not to identify with the actors and to pass right judgment on their actions. However, even when a part of an audience, humans tend to bond emotionally to some characters; thus, even in the theatre, the need for estrangement has been recognized by some of the playwrights. The 20th century German playwright Bertolt Brecht used the term ‘Verfremdungseffekt’, with is often translated as the ‘alienation’ or the ‘distancing effect’ in English to explain this need for isolation. He believed that some devices must be instituted in the play that would, as he says, "prevent the audience from losing itself passively and completely in the character created by the actor, which consequently leads the audience to be a consciously critical observer." Hence, various techniques, such as addressing the audience, have been employed to disrupt the stage illusion and allow the audience to be an “analytical spectator” of the play.

Many of the everyday conflicts require from us the role of an analytical spectator that Brecht wished for the audience of his plays. The objective assessment of situations has a key importance in our lives. Yet, distancing is much more difficult in the real life, because the human tendency of emotional attachment is added to the equation. And with the addition of human nature, the equation rarely results in impartiality, which is needed not only in everyday activities, but more importantly, as an important aspect of some professions.

Health care professionals, for example, are widely considered as the ‘caregivers’, the ones that need to deeply and genuinely care for their patients. I disagree with this assumption, as these professionals need only be benevolent and act in a caring manner, but not to get emotionally attached to their patients. In this case, care becomes the vice of health care professionals as it impedes their reasoning and decision-making skills at work. A distance between the patients and the health care professionals need to be kept for objectivity in health care is of essential importance.

Another important field, in which this ‘self imposed distancing’ and ‘alienation’ would prove to be of great use, is our own journalistic one. In the time, when information is reaching the homes of thousands peoples in less than a minute, the threat of mass disinformation and manipulation is immense. A responsible journalist would not let his/her feeling interfere with the way in which he/she reports a story; on the contrary, an individual like that, aware of the responsibilities that his/her job brings, should be able to build the required distance from the subject and be able to approach it objectively. Same applies to judges and other arbiters.

But perhaps the most important type of required alienation is the time of self-estrangement that one should experience in order to assess one’s own actions clearly. It the fast – paced world we live in, most of us rarely have time to be contemplative about their lives. It is highly important to be able to critically evaluate not only situations and other people’s actions, but also one self’s – something that only few are able to do.

The same distancing from the topic of study and its accepted definition that I strive to promote is what led me to write this article in the ‘Alien Issue’ of our newspaper. Despite the negative connotations that ALIENATION has acquired, I sought to present you our desperate need for estrangement in some social situations: a need that should be recognized as an inevitable aspect of human life.

OUR RECYCLING ACTION PLAN

Have you ever thought about the load of paper used for daily handouts, quizzes and tests? How about the plastic bottles of water that you buy from the school cafeteria? What about the Coke cans - have you ever wondered how much metal is needed for all the world’s aluminum cans, which we eventually throw away?

It is important for every one of us to understand that our seemingly trivial activities have a great impact on mother earth. Therefore, NOVA’s student council members (including the discourse detectives), after a discussion on this urgent matter, have decided to take steps towards the conservation of earth’s resources by acting on a local level – in our school community. Firmly believing that no matter how insignificant our efforts are, we can still make a difference, we carefully crafted down our action plan for recycling two of the most abundant recyclable materials: paper and plastic.

Have you ever noticed the big gray plastic bin inside the cafeteria, and several more of those in the school? Those have been put there for containing the used recyclable plastic bottles that we throw away every day. At the end of every week the plastic bottles are collected in large bags and picked up to be recycled.

In addition to these large plastic bins, we have made sure that there are two cardboard boxes intended to serve as plastic bottle and paper containers respectively, in every classroom. In this way, the teachers, as well as students could dispose of the load of used paper in an appropriate manner.

But why recycle? Why bother walk several more meters when you could throw the plastic bottle in the nearby bin?

Taking just a moment to put your newspaper, soda can and ‘Rosa’ plastic bottle in the recycling bin will save everyone years in environmental harm from production of new materials, over crowded landfills and the depletion of our natural resources.

Recycling 1 plastic bottle not only saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill but also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle. (http://www.chevroncars.com/learn/wondrous-world/recycling-facts)

For every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled we save the equivalent of 2 people’s energy use for 1 year, the amount of water used by 1 person in 2 month’s time and almost 2000 pounds of oil. (http://www.chevroncars.com/learn/wondrous-world/recycling-facts)

Still not convinced?

Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough energy to power the average home for five months. (EPA, 2008)

Recycling paper instead of making it from new material generates 74 percent less air pollution and uses 50 percent less water. (EPA, 2008)

Producing recycled paper requires about 60 percent of the energy used to make paper from virgin wood pulp. (EPA, 2008)

Now that you know these important facts and our determination to the cause of creating an environment friendly school environment feel free to join us. And do not hesitate to spread the word about our new recycling action plan – the change needed must be in our actions today. Only in that way will we be able to ensure a bright tomorrow.

* factual information taken from: www.environment-green.com
* for more information visit: www.environment-green.com/www.recycling-revolution.com/www.oberlin.edu/www.recycling-guide.org.uk.

Model European Parliament 2009 - Cyprus

It was such a relief when after what seemed an interminable 15 minutes of passport scrutinizing and visa issuing by the airport police officer, we finally set foot on Cypriot land. We made it… at least that is what we thought at the moment. But arriving in Cyprus was only the ticket to the fun ride called the Model European Parliament.

On the 29th of March – 5th of April this year, a delegation from our school, of which I was honored to be a part, represented Macedonia on the 30th international session of the Model European Parliament. Iskra Dzundeva, Ana Angelovska, Mina Netkova and myself, accompanied by our Public Speaking teacher Mrs. Irena Filkova, were the first international delegates on behalf of our country at MEP, this year held in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The session was attended by delegates from all the European Union member states and the candidate countries Macedonia and Croatia. We were all divided into 10 committees, each concerning current and ongoing issues such as the present economic and financial crisis (my committee) or the Middle East conflict (Iskra’s committee). Working with young people with similar interests and ideas from all over the EU in order to build a new, better world and sharing our opinions and youthful ideals was a unique experience for us. We have had previous debates in our school during the MMUN (Macedonian Model of United Nations) meetings, but none of the same format. Imagine our puzzlement, and later agitation, when the committee presidents explained us the entire process of writing introductory and operative clauses and casually dropped into the conversation that we need to do all of that in 3 days, and then defend the resolution and answer questions in front of the General Assembly, a gathering of all the delegates in the Cypriot House of Representatives.

This trip was a great opportunity for us not only to learn a lot about international politics by actually experiencing it, but also to explore a completely different country independently. We uncovered the mysteries and hidden charms of the legendary island of Aphrodite – Cyprus. While experiencing the life of the Cypriot families during our stay with our kind hosts, we also got acquainted with the division of the small island. Participating on such a gathering in the last divided capital has made us all eager to bring effective solutions to the problems we were addressing. And the fact that 8 out of the 10 resolutions of the separate committees have passed on the General Assembly was a proof enough of our arduous work the passed couple of days.



The General Assembly per se, was perhaps the most interesting part of the whole process. All delegates were seated within their delegations in the House of Representatives and were given signs with their country’s name to hold up when they want to pose a question. We were also given red cards, which we got to know as ‘points of privilege’ and could be raised whenever the speaker was not clear enough in order to rephrase his/her statement. The examined committee was seated in the front, on a platform facing the assembly. Scary. Especially if it is your first time and you need to give a speech or present the entire resolution on behalf of your committee. The tension and agitation were growing as they called on each of the committees to the platform. I can only remember the feeling, the feeling of excitement, yet uneasiness and anxiety when I stood up there and read through our resolution. I have never had stage fright in my life, still my hands were trembling before I began talking into the microphone. Luckily my voice did not give away these feelings, as Ana told me that I seemed quite confident. I can only suppose she and Iskra felt the same when they passionately gave their opening speeches. After we got used to the procedure and the formal address, we were free to ask questions and openly debate even the other resolutions. The uneasiness faded away.

On this one-week trip we have made many friends, from different nationalities and origin, but all keen on debates and discussions. When the schedule allowed that, we had fun in some of the cafes and clubs in Nicosia. I am sure that we will meet them again and that these friendships will last for life.

I would like to point out what I, personally, found best during our stay in the sunny Cyprus and our partaking in the simulation of the European Parliament. The mere opportunity to voice our thoughts and opinions on important topics, such as the global economic crisis, and to discuss and debate them in a manner similar to that of great dignitaries is something I regard utterly precious.

Whenever I ponder about the resolutions we have made and how they will be sent to the real European Parliament this is what comes to my mind: I contributed to the writing of that resolution, my thoughts will be read by our counterparts in the real European Parliament, a place where we might one day work and discuss issues as passionately and as fervently as we did the past week in Cyprus.

Hope

I have always been aware of the different personalities that we all posses. I also understand that each and every single one of us has distinct values instilled within, against which we weigh and process the abstract ideas and concepts. Hence I know that every individual would define hope in a different, intimate and very personal way. And that fascinates me. Pondering on the topic, I found myself dwelling upon two quotes on hope, each conveying a drastically different message from the other, and each being not at all far from the truth. “Hope is a dream of a soul awake” - says an old French proverb; “Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man” – states Friedrich Nietzsche. I found myself wondering, what is it that made them think so differently? What indeed was that only ingredient left in Pandora’s box?

Personally, hope for me represents the anxiety of wishing upon a star, fully in expectation, despite knowing that the chances for the wish coming true are extremely slight. After all, slight does not imply impossible per se. Hope is the invisible energy that rules our world, a force that alerts us, stirs our thoughts, makes us rather strive for improvement and achievement, aim at success and happiness when we could just remain satisfied with the current situation. It is the spiritus movens of every human being: once you choose to hope, anything is possible!

Moreover, it is an unwritten rule that people who do hope for something and wish for it hard enough, have their wish miraculously accomplished. A person without hope would lose the human part of his being and would thus merge with an endless dullness and gray dismal. It would mean that this person does not yearn to anything, no matter what! A person like that, in my opinion, is much like a dog: having only black and white vision, never experiencing all the colors and the various tones and shadows that they form.

However, hope can be shattered and burst as a fragile bubble into a million pieces. Hope may fall on earth in the form of meteor shower: glimmering and shiny from far away but disastrous if too close. Many times false hope has proven only to be mendacious to the one that hopes, tormenting the people and even maybe preventing them from seeing the real situation and facing the truth.

This is why I believe hope represents much more than the mere dictionary interpretation of “a feeling that what is wanted is likely to happen”. It is a universal, supersonic force that drives our world and us, its inhabitants, towards the never-achievable perfection.

Freedom of speech in a classroom

Having always been profoundly driven to disputable and most arguable topics, and felt an almost voracious urge to state my opinion, sometimes, (I admit), just for the sake of stirring up discussion or maybe ticking off couple of brains, I found the tackling of the issue of freedom of speech in the classroom environment to be absolutely inevitable. Being a high school student for two years now, having encountered a great number of teachers as well as students who have different opinions on this issue, and taking into consideration my own ambivalence towards it, I had already known that writing this article might be an delicate and disobliging task.

However, I decided to go with the topic, thus did my homework and researched a bit on the internet, founding some basic info available. As every 12-year-old after his social science class would proudly tell you, freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely, without any censorship or limitation. This is a basic human right protected by the First Amendment, which, as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court, contains the idea that the government, and therefore any school, has no authority to restrict expression of thought because of its message, ideas, subject matter, or content. In addition to this the 16th article of the Macedonian Constitution states that:

”Се гарантира слободата на… и јавното изразување на мислата. Се гарантира слободата на говорот… Цензурата е забранета.”

The question is: To what extent does this apply in schools? What are the limitations of the freedom of expression of thought within a classroom? And most importantly: Are they justified and productive?

To begin with, there are many factors pointing towards why a limitation of the freedom of speech in a classroom, as a school policy, is widely accepted and implemented and proves effective and productive both for the school and some of the students. High schools strive to instill the values of human decency within the students; trying to help them develop as upright and benevolent persons; to be appreciated not merely for their academic success, but also for their manners and ways of expression of thought. Such a restriction of the use of obscene and scurrilous language, might lead in the development of other speaking skills, since students will be obliged to express even their anger in a more subtle way.
In addition, such an environment would be healthy and civilized, thus no other human rights would be endangered nor discrimination on whichever basis encouraged. What’s important for the high school is that such a policy would show that it cares for the civil rights and equal dignity of all persons. The high school in question would most certainly strengthen its integrity among the unfortunate plethora of those advocating similar ideas.

Nowadays, school policies, laws, ethical codices seem to be merely imposed and taken as such without any thought. An utter freedom of speech in a classroom would only stir up debates and discussions, wake up the sleepy faces in the back benches, enable a disrupted traffic of thought and make the classroom what the schools have long tried to make it, a sanctuary of unfettered exchange of ideas. Any regulation of speech disrupts the truth-seeking process, inhibits the sharing of knowledge and encroaches on academic freedom.

As for those fearing the use of hate speeches and verbal harassment, one should be made clear: any code of speech would not stop such practices. The name-callings are never done in the open, but are stealthy, and will continue to be. However, once a freedom of expression of thought is established the harassers will no longer have the impression of doing something sinister and secret and will gradually lose interest in those actions, since it is in human nature to always be drawn to the forbidden fruit. An absolute freedom of speech would by no means encourage such practices, quite the opposite, it will show that we all are humans and are aware of our ability of sympathy and ill-treatment, and will not permit harassment in neither in secret nor in the open.

Perhaps Soren Kirkegaard was right when he once said, that “people demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” However, it is on us, the young generations fueled with ideals to try to change the world we live in. Let us indeed think more, hoping to bring order to a ‘methodical chaos’, as I like to perceive the world.