From the Classroom
Opinions Archive
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Administration experiments to cope with AP stress
This Staff Editorial is the Official Opinion of the Oakton Outlook The fear of swimming through shark infested waters as a tsunami threatens you from behind while lightening crackles as cold hard rain pours down on you is no different then what you might feel while taking your first AP class. Sure, this may be [...] -
With summer looming, 2.Oakton too late be effective
By Allen Luethke AP Exams are over. Finals will be over on June 18. School is essentially done for many students, and yet, the school calendar extends to June 24. It is understood that days need to be made up from all the time we missed due to the snow this year, but I have [...] -
A’s for Fives on AP exams undermines course credibility
By Chris Papas Imagine for a moment that you have not done a single piece of work this year in your AP classes (which, of course, is not true, since you’re a good student). Not one project, not one homework assignment, nothing. Your grade is a nice fat goose egg. You realize your idiocy in [...] -
Sounds of Gray plays live at Jammin’ Java
Irresponsible CD Release Party featuring Kid Architect and Sounds of Gray -
Opus’s Coffee House proves to be modest success
By Charlotte Dobry As with anything, the Opus Coffee House had its ups and downs in coming together. A subcommittee of the Opus staff, composed primarily of people in the business, marketing and music departments and headed by music editor Sandra Bocharnikov, had a lot of work to do, culminating in what I believe can [...] -
Sounds of Gray: humble beginnings
By Andy Reed As the cacophony of the sounds of my heart beats out of my chest, the crowd and the roar of feedback mixed together to form one moment: the beginning of “Dark.” I started to count the beats in my head as the guitar played the intro. I hovered one stick over the [...] -
Next year’s schedule provides a second “home” for homework.
The Staff Editorial is the official opinion of the Outlook Oakton is eliminating Break. That prized 13 minutes set aside for students and teachers to socialize, snack and study. Idolized and appreciated by all, Break has become an institution in Oakton’s schedule so important to students that should not be tampered with lightly. But could [...] -
Texas makes radical right changes to student textbooks
By Matt Steele A part of the Texas State Board of Education voted to make radical right-wing changes to their textbook curriculum on March 12 by a 10-5 republican majority vote. In some areas of the textbook, one of America’s most influential and important philosophers, Thomas Jefferson, has been removed and replaced with French Christian [...] -
Teens feelings of infatuation are mistaken as love
By Michelle Chu Love, affection and devotion. In teenage language, these terms can all be translated into one word: infatuation. The word love is used far too casually in modern day; it’ used to describe nearly all relationships, including teenage ones. There are several words to describe teenagers. Youth, innocence and immaturity are all words [...] -
Teens are capable of feeling complex adult emotions
By Morgan Harwood We’re supposed to grow up, yet retain and cherish our youth. We can’t vote even though we have a more informed opinion on political thought than most of the country. And though for many of us adulthood is only a year or two away, our full rights as an American citizen remain [...] -
Get a Room: There is no escape from teenage PDA.
The Staff Editorial is the official opinion of the Outlook We’ve all been there. You innocently stroll down the hallways, unknowingly headed straight towards a couple that, in an evolutionary miracle facilitated only by massive quantities of teenage hormones, has morphed into an eight-limbed face-sucking creature. Public Displays of Affection, or PDA, plague on the [...] -
Senior lunch line needs a bouncer to sort out students
By Matt Steele Ah, the senior lunch line. Designed to provide the oldest students a way to quickly get their lunch without having to deal with the typical length of the lines. This year, it was said that improvements would be made.Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to have been any effort made to keep younger students [...] -
Valentine’s Day should be seen as a day of true love
By Shayda Shabhazi February 14 is cynically regarded as a “Hallmark Holiday,” though all should see it as a day for true love. Whichever way this holiday is observed does not necessarily impact its significance. Looking past all the boxes of chocolates, love letters and Sweethearts, Valentine’s Day is to celebrate love. Because Hallmark has [...] -
Super Bowl Monday should be a national holiday
By Conner Dick The biggest day of the year for the NFL is the Super Bowl. Fans get to see the two best teams in the NFL go head to head, in a clash of the titans. Last year, more than 97 million people watched the Arizona Cardinals battle the Pittsburgh Steelers, in what was, [...] -
Hunting animals for recreation can’t be justified
By Michelle Oh Hunting by definition is an animal, human, or a thing that pursues other animals, human or things with the intention to capture and kill. Many prolific people have been known to hunt, but that does not mean hunting is a beneficial activity. Hunting may be a survival skill among species, but today, [...] -
Hunting is a necessary and exciting hobby
By Spencer Conely According to the most recent US fish and wild life survey 12.5 million people over, sixteen in the US. Hunting has become one of the leading recreational activities throughout all of America and continues to gain popularity. Hunting is part of human nature. People needed hunting to survive and has evolved from [...] -
All You Need Is Love: World Peace Day
From one human to another, the reality of the way things are going on Earth sucks. The current state of our planet is that we are in great turmoil from all these events spawned from hate and malevolency. There are civil wars, economic plagues, and world leaders speaking to other leaders with such animosity they [...] -
Teenagers are never too old to enjoy Trick-or-Treating
Fall hits us, and everything seems gloomier as school picks up again. After roughly two months of vacation, we plunge back into chaos, bombarded by a combination of sleep deprivation and work. It feels as though we were never gone, like one school year has blurred into the next. At this time, we all seem to turn to Halloween [...] -
Year-round school increases finacial defecit
Obama’s proposed educational reforms started out sounding good. That changed fast, when it moved beyond education reform to encompass school-year extension Of course, the foundations of his plan make sense. Obama, like most parents and children, wants American students to succeed, especially as compared to international students, a competition in which the US has undoubtedly [...] -
Youth Leadership Program proves beneficial for Juniors
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority,” as Kenneth Blanchard once said. So how well are you able to influence your friends or other people around you? Not in the sense of altering their own individuality, but being able to introduce them to new views and realize the bigger picture, something beyond [...]
