Web blogs

Real Clear Politics
If what you are looking for is simply a vault of material all grouped into one website, Real Clear Politics assembles the most current political news and opinion into time frames. These link you directly to other sources, so you can stay most up to date.

SF Gate
For more geographically relevant information, the San Francisco Chronicle offers a blog based political website that covers national events and how they relate to us Bay Area citizens on a regional level.

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
Though sponsored by the print based Los Angeles Times, the Top of the Ticket news web blog features extensive political commentary, humor and creative cartoons discussing the most recent turn of events.

Web-based

The Huffington Post
“A daily web journal specializing in news and opinions, updates multiple times per day on topics that span the entire political spectrum, as well personal perspectives from professionals and public figures.”

Additionally, the Huffingtonpost offers political blogs, often from the perspective of celebrities and specialists.

Print-based

The Economist
“Provides brief informative articles on the most recent political events, as well as live bloggers sounding in with their perspective.”

Time Magazine Web
“Orchestrates an impressive website, with a political section that is conveniently divided into the categories of 2012 Election, the White House, Domestic Policy, Foreign policy, and other important arenas.”

Boston Globe
Though it is known for its coverage of New England, the Politics portion of the Boston Globe website actually features news from the entire nation, and is currently focusing on the 2012 election.

Happy reading!

Although his performance was not perfect, Obama spoke eloquently and effectively pinpointed specific policies he hoped to enact–instead of the vague ideas that have garnered criticism in the past.

Economic Policy

While he has been criticized for the bailouts during his presidency, Obama was able to walk the fine line between admitting that he made a mistake and angering those against his policies in his speech.

Instead, he defended his actions by citing the fact that after the auto industry was bailed out, they created 160 thousand jobs. At the same time, however, Obama said that in the future there would be “no bailouts, no handouts, no copouts.”

This was both politically smart and a good point. While the auto industry is a major part of the American economy and a bailout was necessary, that doesn’t mean that the government is responsible for saving a company every time it faces trouble. Besides making a compelling argument for the bailouts, Obama also made it clear that they shouldn’t become common practice.

By doing so, he simultaneously emphasized that he was not backtracking on his actions and articulated the idea that governments should intervene only when absolutely necessary.

Education Reform

When it came to education, Obama made some of his most interesting points–such as suggesting that states should make laws outlawing students from quitting school until they graduate or turn 18.

Nearly everyone agrees that keeping students in school is in the best interest of both ourselves and the economy. Having a well-educated workforce will be imperative to not only our continued global success on a national level, but also lucrative and meaningful careers on an individual level.

Consequently, by preventing students from dropping out early, the government would ensure that all youth would receive at least a high school education.

Obama also acknowledged the inevitable presence of ineffective teachers in the classroom, but countered by suggesting that even if schools receive the increased funding he advocates, they should still be able to release subpar educators.

By covering the often-overlooked problem, Obama successfully asserted that no matter how much money we pump into our schools, none of it would do any good if it was used to pay bad teachers. Giving schools more power to maintain an effective staff is a more realistic solution than simply hoping more money will solve the problem.

Foreign Policy

The one area where the speech lacked was in foreign policy. The Obama administration has had a great record abroad, most notably the killing of Osama bin Laden. Because Obama has shown marked strength in this area, he should have focused on reviewing all that he has done and simultaneously admitting that we nonetheless still have work to do.

In the past few years, it has been widely reported that the United States is losing its international clout with the emergence of nations like China onto the world stage. Obama, however, simply brushed off the notion by claiming that the United States is “the one indispensable nation in world affairs.”

There has been clear evidence that US power and influence has indeed been on the decline, and Obama would have delivered a more effective speech by acknowledging the problem and stressing the fact that we should be willing to work with other powers to achieve our interests abroad.

Given all the accomplishments that Obama has achieved, he should have had no problem discussing foreign policy. Instead, the view he gave was far too idealistic and naive.

Overall

Obama’s speech, though lacking in some aspects, was filled with ideas and a sense of energy to tackle future problems. Although the President succeeded in offering reasonable solutions for the economy and education system, his idealism took over when he talked about foreign policy. If Obama stays on this track and avoids the pitfalls he faced when talking about the United State’s place in the world, he will be setting himself up to do very well in the upcoming elections.

The school is one of the greenest schools in the Bay Area. The school has been Green Certified for years, and the entire MVLA district gained Green Certification status earlier this year. Although the school placed first in a major recycling competition last year, it can still do better.

A vast majority of the items that students regularly throw in the trash are actually recyclable. The trash cans at our school currently encourage bad habits, offering students a place to incorrectly throw away recyclable material from their lunches.

“Literally 85 percent to 90 percent, often up to 95 percent or 98 percent of the stuff that you find in a trash can is either recyclable or compostable,” Green Team president senior Adron Mason said. “So at the moment all the trash cans do in most cases is to offer a wrong place to put things.”

Almost every trash can in the quad is accompanied by compost and recycling bins, so access to the correct bins is not the problem. Despite the large number of recycling bins available in the quad, students still end up trashing recycled items. Items like plastic bags, cups and containers are the most common items that are incorrectly thrown in the trash.

As of now, the biggest challenge for the school is to ensure that students actually use the recycling bins.
“Some of it is they don’t know, some of it is that its easier to throw it in the garbage, and some of it is habit,” Green Team advisor Greg Stoehr said.

We’ve all been in that situation: as you walk through the quad with the waste from your lunch, it’s easy to throw everything into the trash without a second thought. Students have grown up with trash cans and simply haven’t gotten in the habit of using compost bins and recycling bins, despite Green Team’s advertising.

“I think its very hard to inspire and tell people to recycle,” Green Team member sophomore Wendy Wu said. “I feel like most people just walk up to the trash can and think that it’s easier to just throw it away.”

While publicizing what can and can’t be recycled will help students make the right decision, it isn’t enough to completely eliminate all of the needless waste in the school.

Removing trash cans from the quad is the most effective way we to completely eliminate wrongly trashed items. Without access to trash cans, students won’t be able to resort to poor recycling habits.

Thanks to the efforts of the Green Team, students have the knowledge of what is and isn’t recyclable. Removing trash cans will force the issue, giving students the opportunity to exercise their knowledge without the opportunity to slip back into bad habits.

As for the 15 percent of our trash that isn’t recyclable—the recycling plant that manages the school’s recycling program sorts through the bins and will be able to separate the trash from the recyclable material.

The Green Team does not plan to completely remove trash cans from the school, instead it will offer a place to dump items like styrafoam that are not recyclable.

“We [hope] to keep the trash cans on the edge of the campus,” Adron said.

In addition to the waste that we will save immediately, we will cut down on future waste through the habits that we can instill in students.

When we encourage and enforce recycling at school and are able to break bad habits, students will be able to build positive recycling tendencies in the future.

In order to make this plan successful, the administration must make sure that there are enough recycling bins around the quad to make the plan feasible. In addition, students will have to be willing to change habits and spend a few extra seconds separating trash from recyclables.

These are small inconveniences for the amount of trash that we can save through such a program. The vast majority of garbage is recyclable, and by removing the opportunity to throw away recyclable material, we can cut down on waste at the school and improve students’ recycling habits in the future.

I like to call it the switch: going to bed on October 31 and waking up the next morning only to see Halloween decorations being replaced with winter holiday ones.

At first, I think it’s just the result of a “candy coma,” but soon I realize this switch is extremely real.
Not only has my street transformed into a giant, colorful light bulb, but holiday cheer has invaded the human mind and marked its territory, making it clear that it won’t be leaving for a while.

This sort of holiday cheer seeps into my mind right after Halloween, and doesn’t completely drain out until after New Year’s.

I turn on the television and it appears, I turn on the radio, it’s there too, and as I walk down the street, it magically shows up there too. Every store has bright red and green overflowing from its glass windows.

And no matter how much I can’t stand those commercials with Santa Claus and his little helpers, there’s a sense of “holiday cheer” that rushes over me, preventing me from actually pressing the fast-forward button. I mean, the little elves are reasonably cute, right?

Regardless of how cute the elves are, there’s a different reason that I secretly enjoy all of this holiday cheer. It’s tradition, and I expect it every year.

I look forward to the peppermint hot chocolates and seeing the windows of the shops in downtown Los Altos be transformed into an art canvas covered with holiday decor painted by the elementary school kids.

The holidays bring joy to many. I’ve noticed that people are always a bit more generous when the holidays come around. I blame it on the holiday cheer, and the combination of latkes, eggnog and pie.

I look forward to getting gifts, getting a break from school, and spending time with family and friends. Thinking about holidays sends my mind to big tables filled with the people I have known ever since I can remember, all smiling.
I think of warm pumpkin pie with my father’s side of the family while we give thanks on Thanksgiving, and bright lights shining from the tips of the candles with my mother’s side during Hanukkah.

I’m thankful for the feeling that appears at the beginning of November, sticks with me, and doesn’t finally disappear until the ball has dropped on New Year’s.

Because without it, the holiday season wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be able to have the same traditions and see the same smiles.

So don’t forget to spread your holiday cheer and to take advantage of it. Before you know it, the Christmas lights will be taken down, the menorahs will be put back on the shelf.
So don’t let it pass you by.

For any industry, this was far too much death. These three men were just some of the victims of a string of suicides. Sports knit together communities and right before our eyes, those same threads began to unravel. If these tragedies aren’t a screaming wake up call for an issue that goes deeper than sports, lives will continually be lost to such puzzling circumstances.

“These cases remind you that no one is immune, that a sound body does not mean a Teflon mind,” said Antonia L. Baum, Vice President of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry.

What can we do about this growing problem? These deaths, along with head injuries across all of contact sports, give light to an issue that needs attention immediately. The human brain, suspended in fluid within the skull, is not built to withstand the head trauma that results from repetitive collisions. Such trauma has now been linked to some of the most misunderstood mental illnesses, including dementia, ALS and severe depression.

Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology at Boston University Dr. Ann Mckee has been studying the brains of deceased football players and has noticed a pattern: the repeated hits to the head cause shocking damage.
“I would call it incredible chaos in the brain,” Mckee said.

Mckee has found that many football players, from the high school level to the NFL, suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). She also believes it to be likely that this is a distinctive disorder and may not develop in the general population.

“In fact, I have never seen this disease in any person who doesn’t have the kind of repetititive head trauma that football players would have,” Mckee said.

The school’s football team, having just limped to the finish line of a forgettable one-win season, has seen more players injured this year, a direct result of making the jump from the less competitive El Camino Division to the brutally fast-paced De Anza Division. Stocked with top tier talent that alone physically outmatch the Eagles’, De Anza schools like Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Homestead and Wilcox were able to scorch Los Altos on the gridirion.

Having already lost last year’s starting quarterback, junior Steven Mclean, to concussion-related issues before the season and two more players going down to such injuries during the season, the football gods have clearly spoken.
If an undermanned football program in a small Californian town is being ravaged by concussions and other injuries, imagine the magnitude of such trauma on a national scale. In football hotbeds like the South, where high school football is practically religion, the risk will only amplify.

As the line between amateur and professional athletics blurs further, it only makes sense to believe that the ramifications of the concussions that ended the futures of both Cavanagh and Duerson are becoming increasingly important for high school athletics. The school, therefore, has a duty to make sure its athletes, particularily its football players, are safe from this incomparable foe.

The evidence points in a clear direction: limit head shots in contact sports. Both the NFL and NHL have been doling out an increased number of suspensions following rule-breaking hits. As players have only gotten bigger, faster and stronger, the leagues are attempting to keep up in terms of safety. The quarterback is an extremely vulnerable position and rules have been implemented to protect pocket passers.

In the NHL, the infamous Rule 48 has been expanded to penalize head shots. Both leagues are attempting to combat the increased speed of the game and force generated by the players while not sacrificing the nature of the sport.
High school athletics should follow suit and penalize excessive hits to the head. Fundamentals in tackling should be taught as well so players learn not to lean with their head, no matter how awesome the cracking noise made by their shiny, plated helmet may sound.

There is more to contact sports than the contact. The bone crunching hits do not define the game. If we allow them to, we may be looking at tragedies like Peterson, Cavanagh and Duerson coming closer and closer to home.

It is difficult to understand the position and policies of each of these candidates. Which candidate believes in what? And what are they planning to implement? Who is electable?

Herman Cain

Over the past few months, Cain has become a recognized GOP candidate. Whether it is because of the sexual harassment charges or through his proposed policies, Cain has made a impact on the GOP elections.

His most prominent proposed policy is his 9-9-9 tax plan. The tax plan would completely revamp the tax system and institute three flat taxes: nine percent income tax, nine percent corporate tax and a nine percent federal sales tax.

Though Cain calls this plan a step towards rooting out class warfare, in reality, the plan simply significantly lowers the tax paid by the top 10-20 percent while forcing the majority of Americans to make up for the difference. Simply put, this 9-9-9 plan provides a more regressive tax system—something America does not need.

Cain has contradicted himself on many issues, making it hard to understand his actual opinion.

Though he supposedly joked about putting up a “20 feet high” electric fence across the American border, he continually implies his willingness to do so. His stance on immigration even begins to intrude on some of America’s basic principles. He stated that he supports a constitutional amendment to stop children of illegal immigrants from attaining citizenship.

Though Cain has gained a sizable reputation, his ultra-conservative policies and views and his lack of political experience limit his ability in the general election. Cain, previously a corporate businessman in the pizza industry, lacks the much-needed political experience expected from a presidential contender. Ultimately, this combined with his inability to compromise his right-wing beliefs make him an unelectable candidate.

Newt Gingrich

Like many GOP candidates, Gingrich has seen his share of ups and downs. But recently, Gingrich has seen a sizable increase in the polls. His ability to maintain his composure in debates may contribute to this increase.

One topic that he constantly brings up is his plan business and employment. Specifically he plans on lowering the corporate tax to 12.5 percent while denying the tax raises in 2013, which in reality simply sets the rate back to before the recession. To substantiate his tax policies, Gingrich has pointed to similar rates in China and India, citing the fact that both countries are experiencing an economic boom.

However, he fails to realize, or at least explain, that in these countries, a main contributor to said boom is from the outsourcing of American companies seeking cheap wages resulting in poorer working conditions.

Gingrich has also called for the repeal of many major pieces of legislation passed during Obama’s administration. Reform bills such as Dodd-Frank laws and replacing agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency are part of Gingrich’s plan to help businesses.

These attempts to repeal laws and reform major agencies are specifically methods to facilitate weaker government oversight so businesses are better able to turn profits.

Gingrich is not completely unelectable. His stances on major issues resemble those of the majority of the GOP and his chances of securing the GOP nomination is looking better. Because his views lack the extremism of Cain, Gingrich is slightly more electable than Cain.

Mitt Romney

With the constant rise (and eventual fall) of many “anti-Romney” candidates, Romney has held a reasonably stable position, remaining a consistent leader or contender for the GOP nomination.

Also unlike the other GOP contenders, many of whom often attempt to “out-Republican” each other, Romney’s views, proposed policies and actions seem more thought out and politically correct. To be blunt, Romney is playing the game while the others play each other.

Romney’s anti-Obama campaign with his suggested “Day One, Job One” plan is a more moderate and more viable solution than dramatic cuts associated with many of the other candidates.

His goal to foster job creation through economic growth also requires a corporate tax to 25 percent, a much more modest change. His plan would also require implementing trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea, ending Obamacare, sanctioning China for unfair trade practice and cutting non-security discretionary spending among other more conservative policies.

Many of these proposed solutions such as the cut in non-security discretionary spending not only are more moderate than the 9-9-9 plan or reforming major agencies but are also more viable than the latter.

Because his solutions are more moderate, Romney is constantly volatilite, switching stances from state to state. His fickleness singles him out as the politician playing the game.

While many GOP candidates may rise and fall, Romney continues to preside as the one true contender to Obama’s re-election campaign.

His more moderate policies, lack of fire from the press and less forceful proposals makes him the most likely nominee for the GOP.

Michele Bachmann

Besides being deemed the tea party Republican, Bachmann has lost basically any momentum she held after briefly being the front-runner in the GOP polls. In debates, her constantly misguided perceptions of the other candidates, Obama and American legislation and the nation, has all but destroyed her as a real runner in the GOP election.

Aside from her controversial comments on the other GOP candidates, Bachmann, like many of the other candidates, has her own tax plan. Her plan, the “everyone-pays income tax plan” focuses on the fact that an estimated 46 percent of households would pay federal income tax. Her plan would lower the amount of brackets from six to three but has yet to define what these brackets are. Though from recent interviews, Bachmann’s tax plan seems to just lower the amount of taxes the rich will pay.

Like other GOP candidates, Bachmann also focuses on repealing many so-called “job killing regulations” which kill small businesses. Dodd-Frank, Obamacare and other related environmental and energy related legislation would be on the cutting block under Bachmann. When put into perspective, these policies benefit the large corporations much more than aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Bachmann, with her twisted logic and unappealing proposals, is ultimately an unelectable candidate.

Jon Huntsman

Huntsman is a second Romney, right? The overly simplistic answer is based on their Mormon religion refuses to look at Huntsman’s personal policies.

Like many of his rivals, his tax plan calls for a lowering of the individual tax rate to three tax brackets in which the progressive system remains intact. With this proposal, Huntsman’s tax policy for individuals is probably the most fair in that it understands the benefits of a progressive tax bracket.

Huntsman also intends to help businesses by lowering the corporate tax rate 10 percent to 25 percent. While this is the standard “help small business” view taken on by Republicans, Huntsman’s intention to shift from a worldwide system of taxing businesses to a territorial system might actually help the restore the American economy rather than allowing big business free reign.

But Huntsman is still a Republican, and as such, he also calls for the repeal of many pieces of corporate-hindering legislation and the reform of agencies such as the EPA, which also enforces many business-limiting policies.

Huntsman, with his experience as an ambassador to China and economic plans, is a suited candidate to win the GOP nominee and is ultimately an electable presidential candidate.

There, I said it. I’ve come out of the wardrobe and nerded all over everything.

I do not play dress up with ornate purple robes to better suit the role of my level 12 sorcerer (let’s be honest, he’s only level 7).

I do, however, have a rather tall stack of books in my closet that account for years of investment in a game I have come to love.

There is a reason those books are where no one would discover them. Nightmares of a hysterical finger-pointing peanut gallery haunted my ever careful steps.

Nothing screams “awkward turtle” quite as much as the moment your friend’s girlfriend walks in on the two of you playing Dungeons and Dragons.

She looked at me as if I had casually tossed her first born child out of a 12-story building.

It’s incidents like these that led me to a deep-seated belief that it would be devastating if “my secret” ever got out.

There are certainly a substantial number of upturned noses when it comes to DnD (that’s what the pros call it), but the worst I could have received would be the glimpse of a few social boogers and maybe a joke or two at my expense. The bigotry is there, but it’s nothing near what I once feared.

Looking back, it seems incredibly self-obsessed to think that anyone would bother caring that I’m a nerd in the first place.

For me, it is simply a matter of fun, and I can see no reason to steal that sort of joy from someone unless it affects me personally. I may think football is a barbaric sport, fit only for slavering animals, but would I judge someone else for enjoying it? No, not really.

Whether you collect stamps, Pokemon cards or Sacajawea dollars please proceed. Because frankly, my dear, I don’t give an aerial fornication.

Obviously there’s a difference between a joke and an assault, but it’s basic childhood morals to avoid emotional battery.

With this in mind, when a friend of mine asked if I had any anything that would embarrass me in my room I felt comfortable enough to tell him about those books. Now he plays DnD.

Honesty and courage, in whatever form they may take, are seldom rewarded with spite and hatred, but rather with the relief of owning up to who you are.

For those who have the heart, mind and bravery of a real nerd, congratulations.

The beast hath been slain.

Features:

Firefox and Chrome both are open source browsers meaning they both allow developers to create add-ons for the browser. Firefox, however, has a slight advantage in this aspect because many of its earlier release date, which allowed the browser to attract developers before Chrome. Add-ons such as Ad Block Plus, which allow the users to block unwanted advertisements on any web page, or Greasemonkey, which gives developers the opportunity to write their own scripts is one of the main reasons Firefox has attracted nearly a majority of web users. While Chrome does attempt to incorporate these scripts to its code, Firefox still has a huge advantage with the wide variety of add-ons available.

One of the nicer features of Chrome is its unique tabbing system. Unlike the rigid compartmentalization of Firefox, Explorer or any other browser’s tabbing system currently available, Chrome’s tabs allow users to drag and drop tabs to create new windows, rearrange tabs with only the mouse or even duplicate tabs. Not only is this feature efficient, but the tabs also run independent of one another, meaning that a problem which occurs in one tab will not ruin your entire session; a feature which becomes exponentially more helpful when 20 or 30 tabs are open at once. Because Chrome is developed by Google, it also has the drag and search feature which allows users to drag highlighted text onto the taskbar to run an instant Google search.

Regardless, Firefox with its plethora of add-ons still outmatch Chrome’s more gimmicky features. Though Chrome will probably catch up in this aspect, Firefox with its myriad of add-ons is just that much more useful, especially for experienced users.
Winner: Firefox

Convenience:

Many users, when deciding which browser to use, will only consider this. Firefox does a fairly good job at being user-friendly. Its layout is fairly intuitive, resembling much of the late Internet Explorer. The windows, tabs, toolbars and add-ons, while simple in nature, can become slightly cluttered when used in excess. One of the nicer features that work for Firefox is its automatic session restore which greatly reduces the difficulties of errors which occur during browsing.

Chrome; however, really exemplifies the definition of convenience. Its interface, which is built around the idea of unclutteredness, is probably the most clean and organized among all browser interfaces. The frame around Chrome is thin, there is no task bar on top and the loading bar is even integrated into the url bar.

Chrome’s homepage is one of the most convenient features; when Chrome is started, it displays the top eight most viewed pages, understanding the idea that users tend to browse with a pattern. The tabs discussed earlier are designed to make browsing efficient. Though seemingly gimmicky, the ability to reorganize tabs and windows when attempting to multitask Facebook, Youtube, Tumblrs, emails and even the occasional school related site is surprisingly useful.
Though Firefox does a great job of creating a simple enough interface with relative optimization, Chrome reveals the next generation of web browsers with its revolutionary tabbing system, ease of essential tools and accessibility without cluttering the browser.
Winner: Chrome

Speed:

Both Firefox and Chrome claim to be the fastest browser on the web. The reality is that these few tenths of a second do not matter. Firefox, on the initial startup, is noticeably slower than Chrome, especially when running numerous add-ons. However, after the first use, any difference between browsing speed is reduced to meaningless split seconds. Neither experiences any substantial problems when loading Flash, HTML5 or any other web application.
Winner: Draw

Aesthetic Appeal:

Firefox is not visually stunning with its grey borders, generic tabs, labeled dropdown menus or blocked icons. Though there themes which Firefox users may use to customize their browsers, Firefox definitely does not specialize in graphics. Its interface works and that’s the only thing this browser requires with the majority of its appeal in features.
Chrome, on the other hand, has its appeal in the simplicity of the interface. The lack of toolbars, borders, frames and any other noticeable block creates a trouble-free interface which does not attempt to interfere with the browsing experience. The truly stunning aspect of Chrome is Google’s decision to refrain from attaching unnecessary features or visually intricate designs.

Winner: Chrome

Verdict:

Firefox, while still the leading browser on the market in terms of user statistics, still represents a different generation of user browsing. The internet is no longer confined to the technologically experienced; it is now integrated into our everyday lives. As such, Chrome’s aesthetic appeal and convenience will help it attract the growing base of casual users, despite its lack of add-ons. Though Firefox is still better for the hardcore users, Chrome will definitely lead the next generation of internet browsers.

Final Winner: Chrome

The English classes are considerably more objective than students immediately assume. Despite being based on more informal grading than other subjects, English is not as subjective as people think.

For English assignments, instructions can be very straightforward, with clear guidelines and expectations.
“There are pretty objectively describable guidelines,” English teacher Galen Rosenberg said. “And if you’re experienced in reading, essays, poetry, whatever, you recognize those characteristics easily. You can then say, ‘this paper does these things better than that paper.’”

Many English teachers also actively work to clearly define assessment guidelines. When they assign an essay, they almost immediately distribute a rubric describing the specific qualities of an A or B paper. The rubric demonstrates what is required for a high grade. Some teachers even spend time with the students drafting an original rubric as a class.

“I think through things like rubrics, what we’ve been trying to do is show students there are actual concrete things we are looking for in the work, and students can recognize in sample papers which is the better written paper,” English teacher Keren Robertson said. “This eliminates a lot of the uncertainty in the writing assessment.”

In addition, one of the things teachers in the English department have been doing for many years to try to combat the idea that writing assessment is subjective and based on the individual teacher’s own opinions, is calibration.

“[Calibration is where] we’ll bring a stack of our papers, and we each grade each other’s and then we talk about if we’re giving the same grades or not,” Robertson said. “It’s where the difference between the A-, B+ distinctions come out.”

This certainly contradicts the idea that many students have about the differences in grading between teachers. If both teachers of the same class are grading the same papers and discussing the grades they each assign, much of the ambiguity in assessment is eradicated.

It is also unlikely that teachers are forever prejudiced against a student based on class behavior or previous work.

“It’s very rare that I’ve seen someone grade somebody’s paper and say, ‘oh this is just a B kid they’re going to get a B,’” Roberston said. “People do try to grade those things without paying attention to the name.”

Despite their many efforts to address the subjectivity in English, the department is aware that many difficulties still exist. Communication is key in getting through to students what is required of them. However, this can be the hardest to establish.

“For me as an English teacher, the challenge is how to make the process of what ‘A’ work looks like as explicit as possible, in articulating to students those expectations in a more clear format,” Robertson said.

There is nothing worse than thinking you understand a book, only to receive a low grade on your analysis, or write an essay you believe is truly insightful and wind up with one more mediocre grade in your repertoire. However, students should realize that English is not exclusively subjective, and give teachers credit for working to make the assessment process as fair as possible.

But I doubt it’s God’s doing because here’s the thing: I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in the man upstairs any more than I think Santa throws presents down chimneys or that Chuck Norris slams the revolving doors of the magic school bus whilst reading rainbows with John Lennon.

And then some family member, some friend, has the audacity to die. It’s times like that when I wish that I believed in some greater purpose. An uncle I hardly know kicks the bucket and I watch the next 30 years he should have lived slosh onto the rocks.

Cancer is a bitch.

I am at Chef Chu’s with my family sitting around me.

All but one.

They spin food across the table. My mom chokes down a Mai Thai and her face turns beet red as the alcohol seeps into her blood. My grandpa swigs three, but you wouldn’t know it. Everyone tries to forget why we’re all there.

My cousin’s eyes are vacant, she’s been growing older by the second since her father died. She’s pale and she’s rubbing the migraine from her head. I want to shake her. I want to scream that every moment we waste grieving is a moment of life we squander. But instead I pat her on the back and say, “I’m sorry.” I tell myself it’s the best I can do.

Silence falls on the table as if no one could see each other through the thin steam rising from the food. No one has anything left to say; I watch the second hand of the clock bounce idly between the numbers. Time goes on even when life stops.

Then the chef comes to the table with an enormous smile on his face. He recognizes my family and thanks us for coming year after year. He makes idle conversation. We smile. He hears about my grandmother’s upcoming trip to Hong Kong and recommends a Peking Duck place.

He points to my seat and says that Justin Bieber sat there next to Jayden Smith. I snort. My cousin takes her hand from her temple to rub her eyes, and her chin lifts a little. He banishes the shadow of death.

My grandfather raises his glass and after a moment’s thought says, “To family.”

Ice clinks against the sides of our cups as the arms of generations rise.

Eventually the rain changes everything.