Current Events – The Emerald

The First Black Hole (Messier 87)

May 8, 2019

Black holes have always been a theory that has been studied and researched for decades. Albert Einstein used his general theory of relativity and was the first to propose the idea that black holes existed. The theory of general relativity suggests that a substantial amount of compact mass can puncture spacet...

What is Brexit?

Kaya Richards ‘22

April 2, 2019

You have probably heard of Brexit before, but you may not know exactly what it is or the current politics surrounding it. The term Brexit refers to the exit of the UK (Britain) from the European Union. The EU is a collection of 28 European countries that work together to trade, determine laws and tra...

Why the United States Is Detrimental to Stopping Climate Change

Frank Woods ‘20

December 12, 2018

Almost one and a half years ago, on June first, 2017, President Donald Trump announced he would pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, a worldwide treaty for countries who participate to make an effort to lower the carbon emissions, reduce the increasing temperature of the Earth to bel...

Indonesian Catastrophe

Adrienne La ’22

December 3, 2018

On Friday, September 28, 2018, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Sulawesi island is a province located in the Indonesian Islands; this province, in particular, is one of the poorest according to The Economist. The province is less advanced than other parts of Indonesia...

The Lowdown on the Supreme Court and Justice Kavanaugh

Stephen Ira ‘21

November 13, 2018

Recently, the media has been flooded with headlines concerning the Supreme Court and the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, who is one of the new Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. With all the conflict and heat surrounding the Supreme Court and Brett Kavanaugh, one may feel overwhelmed. You may b...

The Balboa High School Shooting: A Student’s Perspective

Julianne Risslen '20

October 17, 2018

“I’ve never genuinely been scared for my life; nothing has ever put me in that much danger,” says Balboa High School student Mila de la Torre after the incident that occurred at her school in San Francisco on Thursday, August 30, 2018. It was an average school day for teenage students at Balboa High...

Australia’s Disorganized Political Cycle Continues

Anya Bernan '19 and Summer Bolcerek '19

October 17, 2018

Politics in Australia are dysfunctional, to say the least. A prime minister hasn’t lasted a full three-year term in a decade; as of August 24, 2018 Scott Morrison is the fifth prime minister in five years. But before diving into the chaos of it all, we’ll give you a brief rundown of how the poli...

Resistance From Within – What does it mean that the White House isn’t all on the same page?

Summer Bolcerek '19

October 15, 2018

On September 5th, 2018 an editorial was published to The New York Times titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration”. The author, remaining anonymous, was cited as a senior official in the Trump administration, whose identity is only known to The New York Times. In this ...

Kavanaugh Hearings

Summer Bolcerek '19

September 20, 2018

DAY ONE: Judge Brett Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, September 4th. The hearing was supposed to begin at 9:30 AM, but it was delayed after the Democrats on the committee called for the hearing to be postponed. Democrats including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Amy Kl...

Federal Transgender Protections Revoked by Trump

Jacob Gamez-Mendoza '18, Staff Writer

March 9, 2017

President Trump tackles his first major social issue during his term. The President repealed Pres. Obama’s federal mandate protecting transgender bathroom access according to their identified gender. The administration explains that it is best to leave the decision up to the states. The Departments ...

The Light at the End of the Tunnel for Democrats

Lucas Beard '18, Sports Editor

February 2, 2017

On November 8th, 2016, the Democrats suffered a heartbreaking loss in both the Presidential and Congressional elections. Republican candidate Donald Trump won the Presidential election in one of the greatest political defeats in U.S. history. As this improbable reality culminated, Democrats across th...

Breaking Down the Debate

Patrick Pan '18, Staff Writer

September 30, 2016

On September 26, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump squared off against each other in the first of three presidential debates. Hosted by Lester Holt, this debate was the first time the American people got a chance to compare each candidate side by side. The debate lasted approxi...