From the Evidence Bank of Student Anonymous, On What We Really Think

Place: Study Hall
Time: 3rd Period
Infraction: "Responding in a rude or impertinent manner."

So close to escaping that study hall, just a few more steps before you're out the door...

"Where are you going? I haven't signed your pass yet."

A small obstacle. You hadn't expected to be stopped.  You stand still and turn around. Writing out a pass was a waste of time, and frankly, a waste of paper. It's not like you'd ever been stopped in the halls before. You've done this loads of times.

"I don't need one," you say. "I'm just going down the hallway."

Frankly, this was all a chore. You'd never been stopped in the halls before, pass or no pass.

"No, you need to have a pass."

Well, if you needed a pass, you would ask for one, wouldn't you? Who was it this rule applied to? Students, correct? You would think that after a year or two you would know what rules to bend and break, and this was one of them.

"No, I don't. It's not like they actually check passes."

On one hand, you do really want to leave. On the other hand, you're fed up with this nonsense and want to give someone a piece of your mind. The other students seem to have their attention fixed on you...Dare you go on?

"Just come get it signed."

You relent, filling in the little boxes with ink that could have been better used elsewhere. The crime isn't worth the punishment. You've already lost two minutes. No need to lose a Saturday morning as well. Everyone returns to what they were doing before you caused a small commotion. Nothing to see here.

Another teacher walks in.

"Can you believe this?" asks Teacher 1. " Have you ever heard this before? I don't need a pass."

You exit quickly, and if that conversation continued, you'll never know.

(And for the icing on the cake, you actually do end up in that same study hall again, leaving without a pass...)

Place: Insert Subject of Choice Here
Time: Whenever
Crime: 10/10 Violatoin

"Miss, may I go to the bathroom?"

A fellow student has his hand raised, asking the tried and true question sure to ruffle feathers with teachers everywhere.

"Wait a few minutes, 10/10 rule."

He fills out his pass, waits for the appointed time to come, then leaves.

But this bothers you a bit. You've talked with your friends, you've come to a consensus. The 10/10 rule makes no sense.

You can only leave during the first and last 10 minutes of a period? For what purpose? To keep students out of the halls? If anything, you'd be more suspicious if someone tried to leave in the middle of the period, like 10/10 wants them to. That's when the class actually does any work. No one's still getting their things together, and the homework's been checked. No one's itching to leave, either.

And another thing too. If 10/10 was looked at mathematically, there is a period of 20 minutes where student's aren't allowed out of the room at all. Twenty four, actually, because let's face it, no one actually has time to go to the bathroom during passing and still make it to class on time. And of course, you're not allowed to leave during the constraints of 10/10 because you're teacher's giving a lesson.

So why...?

You sigh, brush it off, and add it to the ever growing list of things that don't make sense.

'And they wonder why we challenge their authority,' you think. You're still smarting from that study hall, and from all the other rules that just don't add up.

Place: The hallways, most likely.
Time: When you should be in class
Crime: "Class Cut"

You're not one to skip class. You go where you're supposed to go when you're supposed to be there, and everyone's happy, right? Wrong.

On the topic of class cuts and tardiness you have a whole separate list in the works...

Some teachers just don't care. Everyone is "always" there.

Others don't care for tardies. You've never actually gotten one, and if you walk in when everyone is still getting settled down, even three or four minutes after the bell, you know almost for certain that you weren't missed.

But your biggest peeve is (unsurprisingly) study halls. There are so many different attitudes from all the teachers in the school that you can't begin to comprehend what is fact and what is fiction.

"I don't care what you do, just don't get caught with your cell phone out if the principal walks in."

"You'd better pretend to work if you have nothing else to do."

"You're late."

"Go to guidance and see if you can get a class this period. This is just a waste of time, on your part."

(And between one telling you you'll be counted tardy and most of the rest telling you that it's unimportant, you're ready to pull your hair out, because it seems these rules are made up at the teacher's own discretion. And if the students try to do that? Detention. ISS. OSS, in some cases.)

What is this?

'We have our duties, and you have yours,' you think. 'We're young and impressionable. How can we hold up our end of the bargain, if you won't hold up yours?'

Place: Lunch
Time: Anywhere between 4th to 7th Period
Crime: None, Just Daydreaming

You finally have some down time with your friends. You discuss the usual nonsense for a bit, then start your rant on your day's struggle.

For a little bit, it's all complaining, but then things take a more unexpected turn, and you wonder what it's like to defy authority. You entertain those fantasies of talking back without consequence, of meaning what you say and not taking it back for anyone.

And what are you gonna do about it? Give me a detention? You will never crush the rebellion. I am just one of many, and this is not the end. We will not let it end.

Come on. Come at me. Give it your best shot. Ask us why we just won't listen, and then you listen to us. Don't just hear it. Understand it too.

It's quite nice, in your head. But your brazen lunchtime fantasies die off as the motions of eating take over, and you calm down to think of other things.

Place: Bus
Time: After hours
Crime: None, Just Thinking

With each subtle infraction of the rules, you wonder if next time, you'll actually get in trouble. Not that anyone actually follows what's written down.

You recall, vaguely, some quote you'd read about rules. That if rules made sense, they wouldn't be rules. That they exist only to keep someone in power. You know that some rules really do keep you safe, but when you've heard stories of the others told, "Because I said so," you can't help but wonder if that person was true.

Some Thoughts on The Egyptian Revolution

Since major protests started in Egypt on January 25, 2011, many of the country's problems have not only come to light internationally, but become more pronounced at home as well. As protests went on,  long-standing grievances and social and labor demands suddenly exploded in the face of the government, and the collapse of the police and ever worsening security situation were only adding to the problem. Those who were associated with the regime of the former President Hosni Mubarak fell out of power, leading to the loss of many major economic figures.

Among Egypt's more pressing problems include their  need to stabilize and expand the economy and government, as well as the long present water deficit. Because of this, I feel that Egypt's biggest challenge is an economic one that is tied deeply to solving the problems of the government. Some Egyptian politicians, analysts, and businessmen have responded to Western news station BBC along the lines of "I really do not know" when asked about current President Sisi's policies. So far, it seems that Egyptians will have to learn  more about the President's motives, personality, and policies into the future. The problem, as I see it, isn't that Egyptians are uninterested in their new President and what actions the government will take: The revolution of 3 years ago made that much clear. However, after forcing President Mubarak out of power and President Morsi in 2013, it's remained hard to put faith in the government's actions.

 Still, input into problems such as repairing infrastructure, working on the Suez Canal zone developing project, and stimulating the economy require government assistance to come to fruition. According to columnist Wael Nawara, by preparing and planning national projects, including work on the Suez Canal zone,  would appeal to investment partners in the  Gulf area and help strengthen Egypt's international relations with other Arab countries. If Egypt continues to rely on foreign aid without fixing its own problems, aid will eventually stop coming into the country and problems will continue.

In terms of how involved the U.S. should be, I think that we should be lightly to moderately involved in order to reestablish good relations with Egypt, but not to the point where they become dependent on our aid or to where they become suspicious of our motives. Current President Sisi has already said (regarding the U.S. and suspension of aid: "You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that." So I have mixed feelings about what the U.S. should do. I think that because Egypt does need incorruptible leadership and money right now, it makes sense for the U.S. to try to offer help, but it's not that other countries and organizations are unable to do that, and combined with Egypt's past refusals to offer military aid in Afghanistan, if we try to collect on the aid offered to Egypt later, it could make relations worse between the two countries.

Some assumptions that the West seem to be making about Egypt is that President Sisi seems to be secretive, or at least not open enough to more clearly have others understand what he's trying to do, that his goals are too ambitious, and that the military is corrupt, inadequately trained, and arrogant. There is fear the the government might over reach with its powers, and a general concern for what will happen in Egypt concerning the power of the President and the power of Parliament.

Some things I want to know:
1. How closely do Egyptians follow the news, if at all? How easy is it to access political news or to share it?

2. Why, despite the high levels of support among the voters, did only around 30-40% of registered Egyptian voters vote during the last election? Were people unaware of the vote going on, were they unable to vote, was it not safe to vote, etc.?

Where I'm From

Where I'm from,
That has no answer.
My birthplace?
My heritage?
From which school I hail?
All this and more
To where I'm from
I answer

If where I live
Is what you seek,
Then here in Norwalk
Take a peek

To me, it's not that special
Where I live, I just reside
And "home" is but a word
I've acquired

I don't know much about it here.
There's an Oyster Fest each summer, right?
And an aquarium
And those everyday stores,
And yet no mall within 10 miles.

There's the Wheels bus system,
and along the 13 Route is where I live
and along the 41 Route if I'm going to Stamford

But if I want to pay a visit
To friends both old and new
A two-hour trip is in order
To Bridgeport
Woo-hoo

And I suppose that I'm
From there too,
And yet the feeling of belonging I'd had
Left also when we moved

If my answer is
My heritage
Then I'm Filipino
Half, to be exact
And on that note
I'll tell you all about it

Birthed in my imagination
From the bedtime stories of my mother
I thought of people swimming through the streets in the summertime floods
Of how hard it must be to carry your toga to church as you swam,
And of people in boats floating along in the flooding.

Everything was close together,
And from vague childhood memories
I thought of houses right alongside each other,
Of trains running through your back lot,
Of roosters in the morning
Rats as large as cats in the walls

And more recently,
I see the trash in the streets,
Rivers green from who-knows-what kind of pollutants
A day that ends when the sun disappears
A day that starts before the sun rises,

Where the wires are hung haphazardly,
Where Facebook costs less to use to use than wifi
Where food is bought day by day
And eaten meal to meal
And the cats and dogs get the scraps

And yet everyone is happy
My ate works hard to support her family
My kuya studies to become a nurse,
Begging his aunts to fund his schooling

And even where their parents have grown lazy,
The youth work hard for a better tomorrow,
And if you do ask where I'm from,
Perhaps I'll answer the Philippines,
Because it means more to me than a tropical island
You've never heard of.