Article featured in Avatar - Volume 4, Issue 2 (August 2010). U.S. Bill of Rights By Casey (Casey.) In the United States, we have the Constitution, and in the body of the Constitution is the U.S. Bill of Rights, which is comprised of the first ten amendments. Many democratic countries have a Bill of Rights, which are the rights that the people of that nation are entitled to. There are ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. The first is the most commonly known amendment, but...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 2 (August 2009). Neda: A Symbol of Freedom By sushi_error On July 20th, 2009, 26 year-old Neda Agha-Soltan was participating in a peaceful protest against the Iranian election when she was killed by a single bullet. Within hours of her murder, images and videos of her last moments spread across the internet. She instantly became a symbol for democracy and freedom in the eyes of millions of Iranians around the world. Dear Neda,

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 6 (December 2009). The Holidays: From Creation to Commercialization By Katrina It's that time again! In 2009, the holidays are a time of waking up at wee hours of the morning to go shopped for loved ones, a time of resting from school or work and drinking eggnog or hot chocolate, a time of painting your nose red and dressing up like a reindeer to go door to door and collect donations for the Salvation Army, and a time of the sheer smiles...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 4, Issue 2 (August 2010). World Cup Fever! By Brittany (.Brittany.) The 19th FIFA World Cup took place from June 11th to July 11th. Even though it was hosted in South Africa, you probably heard many screaming fans cheering their teams on as well as the heart break and devastation when their favourite team lost. There were many heated moments, especially as the clock was running out of time, or when there was a penalty kick; whether or not they missed...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 8 (February 2010). January 2010 in Review By Jessie (Asylum) Despite its exciting name, we all know that news can be boring. Let’s face it; wading through websites knee-deep in articles on topics you don’t care about is a daunting task any day of the week (unless you like that sort of thing.) For those of you less inclined to dig up the stories on your own (and even those of you who enjoy the hunt), now you have nothing to worry about! Check...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 1, Issue 12 (May 2008). Choosing a Candidate by Vessol It's hard to write a news article for a monthly issue. Why, you may ask? It's hard mainly because the news changes faster than the weather. What's up-to-date one day is old news the next, and lets not even get into months. When I was thinking of writing an article, I turned on the TV to get a brief idea. As many of you know, the dominating thing in the media lately is the 2008 Elections. As...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 4, Issue 1 (July 2010). News that Affects You: June 2010 in Review By Brittany (.Brittany.) and Jes (Asylum) While enjoying summer it can become increasingly difficult to commit time to keeping up with the current affairs of the world. In case you missed the headlines, here’s a glimpse of what people were talking about (or should have been!) in June 2010. Mental Health

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 9 (March 2010). News that Affects You: February 2010 in Review By Jessie (Asylum) From entertainment to new health studies, our world is a rapidly changing one. But the news can be so boring! When you find yourself thinking "what a drag, the news is on again," never fear! If you don’t like the news, can’t be bothered with the paper, and would rather not spend your time on CNN's website, check out this section for synopses of news events from...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). News that Affects You: April 2010 in Review By Jessie (Asylum) Absent in April? Would you rather spend your spring outside than indoors reading the news? In case you missed the headlines, here’s a glimpse of what people were talking about, or should have been, in April 2010! Mental Health

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 2, Issue 10 (April 2009). Model United Nations: impacting the world on a small scaleBy sushi_error Recently, I attended my first Model United Nations Conference at a local university in my town. Model United Nations is a simulation of the United Nations and draws over 400,000 middle school students, high school students, and college/university students worldwide. High school and college conferences are usually held at large universities/colleges....

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 12 (June 2010). News that Affects You: May 2010 in Review by Emily (bringontherain), Jessie (Asylum), Stephanie (Konstantine) If you’re digging the warming weather (and we know you are) you may have gotten behind on breaking news from this past May. If you missed the headlines, this is what people were talking about in May 2010! Health

The Troubles in Northern Ireland By Gareth (Catharsis.) Northern Ireland has endured a history of political and social instability. As a disputed constituent country of the United Kingdom, ordinary residents of Ulster have long lived in everyday fear. The worst stretch of violence that ever occurred in Ulster is known as "The Troubles". Two factions decided that enough was enough, and took to violent measures to profess their loyalty to either the Crown, or the Irish freedom fight. Widely...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 5 (November 2009). Obama's Nobel Peace Prize by Mai (sushi_error) With only eight months under his belt, the announcement of President Barack Obama being named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize recipient stirred praise and controversy around the globe on October 9th, 2009. According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Obama was awarded the prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. In a...