Top five opinion stories of 2024

RubicOnline Staff • January 10, 2025

From school-wide to nation-wide, The Rubicon and RubicOnline had 101 opinions in 2024. Here are the top five opinion stories of year.

OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO. “Third places” are defined as social environments separate from the home and school or work. With teens’ social lives existing largely online, the third place is becoming a relic of the past. (Image by Aarushi Bahadur using ©perfectdezigns via Canva.com)

1. In defense of the third place

Aarushi Bahadur discusses the loss of “third places,” places where social interactions happen outside of home and school. Bahadur supports her opinion using graphs and data sampled from 41 students.

PROTESTING FOR GENERATIONS. Protests are disrupting and attention catching. That is why it is a powerful tool for change that can be used by everyone, including students. (Annika Kim)

2. [STAFF EDITORIAL] Bring back student led protests

The right to protest is protected by the First Amendment, however students are exercising it less. The RubicOnline Staff discusses why this might be and calls for more involvement from youth and students to fight for the causes they believe in.

STAR POWER. Celebrities’ and influencers’ political stances can overshadow politicians. Their statements have power to influence an audience, so they must recognize the danger in spreading information. (Amanda Hsu)

3. Celebrity politics have power

Following the Harris and Trump presidential debate, Taylor Swift’s Instagram post endorsing Harris made big waves. Amanda Hsu analyzes the pros and cons of influencers and social media in politics.

“The Sift” is a weekly opinions column focused on the impacts and implications of new technologies.

4. Elon Musk wants your health data. Seriously.

As AI expands, it has finally seeped into the medical field. Billionaire Elon Musk aims to improve his AI system, Grok, by obtaining medical images. Huxley Westemeier questions the ethicality and legality of this use of AI.

INPUT IGNORED. The implementation of the new phone-free policy, despite overwhelmingly negative feedback from students, has contributed to a loss of trust in the administration. In order to repair this relationship, the administration must show that they value student voices and use the data collected in surveys when considering policies. (Annika Kim)

5. [STAFF EDITORIAL] Phone policy reveals disregard of student input, lack of trust in admin

Following a survey and presentation of student reactions to the no-phone policy, The Rubicon Staff spotlights what the administration got wrong and what the next steps should be.

About the Contributors

RubicOnline Staff

Annika Kim, Mixed Media Editor

Annika Kim (she/her) sets a goal to produce one animated short film per year. She loves learning how to use new programs to make different forms of art, and is constantly amazed by people who create solo with limited resources. Her favorite activity when watching a movie is to overanalyze the deeper meaning behind the camera angles and color schemes of the shots. Kim is the Mixed Media editor for The Rubicon. She can be reached at [email protected].

Amanda Hsu, In Depth Editor

Amanda Hsu (she/her) is a talented and hard worker who gets down to the details in all aspects of her life, including but not limited to artwork, volleyball, academics, and journalism. She works as In Depth Editor on The Rubicon and can be reached at [email protected].

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