Opinion based pieces. Curated by The Golden Falcon Social Issues Editors.
By: Gefen Selchen The holiday we now know as Halloween has quite an interesting history. Its origins date back to the 9th and 10th centuries when a festival called Samhain was commonly celebrated in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and … More The History of Halloween
By: Emily Lindzon Minutes into his new Netflix special, The Closer, Dave Chapelle follows an antisemitic joke with the words “it’s gonna get worse than that.” Oh boy, did it get worse than that. After sitting through a confusing hour of hateful ‘comedy’, I feel the need to break down some especially problematic aspects of … More OPINION: Punching Down: Why Dave Chappelle’s The Closer is Worse Than You Think
By: Kyle Williams TORONTO – It was recently Orange Shirt day, and it came to my attention how little orange shirts were worn during such an important day. Even I myself was not aware to wear an orange shirt despite the multiple announcements at school in the past days. Also, my attention span, that of … More OPINION: The Problem with Orange Shirt Day, and Why No One Takes It Seriously (and how to fix it)
By: Ellaha Salehy June 15, 2021 June is known internationally as Pride month, a time where members of the LGBTQ2+ hold celebrations and recognize the heroes of the past that made it possible for everybody to be themselves. There are a lot of people that bring up the question “Why is pride month important?” or … More Pride Month 2021!
By: Ellaha Salehy On February 26, 2021, Sick Kids hospital released a study showing how COVID-19 has affected youth mental health. The researchers surveyed over 1000 parents of kids and teens from 2 years to 18 years old. The study focused on six different categories of mental health; depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, irritability, attention span, and … More Teen Mental Health During Quarantine
By: Maha Omer Every year on May 21st we celebrate Diversity Day, officially known as Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. This international holiday recognizes multiculturalism, ethnic backgrounds, and races. We commemorate Diversity Day by acknowledging different cultures and deepening our understanding of the importance that cultural diversity holds. The 1965 Immigration Act gave us … More Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development: Importance, Origin, and Forming Strong Connections
By: Sonika Humar On May 27th, 2021, President Joe Biden ordered U.S. intelligence officials to reinvigorate their efforts in determining the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, this time aiming their focus on the possibility that COVID-19 could have been produced in a Wuhan Laboratory. This order came months after he dismissed it as a fringe … More Biden Orders U.S. Intelligence to Further Investigate COVID-19 Origin
By: Daria Draskovic On Tuesday, April 20, Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer arrested for George Floyd’s death, was found guilty of all charges, which included second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. In May of 2020, 46 year-old George Floyd was arrested by Chauvin for allegedly trying to use a fake 20 dollar … More Derek Chauvin Found Guilty Of All Charges
By: Sonika Humar On April 12th, 2021, a leaked video catching flashing, triangle-shaped objects flying around a US warship has been confirmed to be authentic, as said in an official statement made by the Pentagon. They also confirmed that the video was taken by US Navy personnel, although they declined to officially label the objects … More Leaked Footage of ‘Pyramid-Shaped’ UFOs is Real, Pentagon Says
By: Ellaha Salehy Yukon recently took a progressive leap and extended health care coverage to include more surgeries and procedures, most notably including changes to the body to match an individuals’ identity. According to CBC, this seems to portray Yukon as a more socially progressive territory than the provinces and signals growth for Canada as … More Yukon Puts Out New Gender Inclusive Policy
By: Francesca Chernous Trigger Warning: discussions about suicide On March 7, 2021, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which provided some insight into The Royal Family in Britain. The couple officially left their royal duties last March. They now live in Canada with their son, Archie. One of the most crucial things that … More “I Just Didn’t Want To Be Alive Anymore” Harry and Meghan’s Explosive Interview With Oprah
By: Daria Draskovic International Women’s Day falls on March 8th, every year. However, this event is more than just a date. It represents the millions of women around the world fighting for gender equality, and recognizes the amazing contributions women have brought to all fields of society. This all started in the early 1900s, a … More International Women’s Day: History, Meaning, and the Continuing Fight for Equality
By Cagla Hatun Arslan, Tatiana Clarke, Gabriela Ribeiro-Oliveira A victim. George Floyd was a victim. There is no “but”. There is no explanation for his murder. There is nothing to doubt about his character. There is no excuse for George Floyd’s death. Stories of victims have been told, and that is not recent. There is … More Op-Ed: Confronting Injustice Beyond Black Squares
By: Tatiana C. What is a hidden talent or skill of yours? I am a jazz percussionist. It is the ultimate source of meditation. What were you before you became a teacher? I continue to be a playwright, a librettist, a songwriter, a musician, an undercover cop, a music critic, a dance maker, a … More Teachers of FHCI: Ms. Roca
By: Chris G. and Owen M. Grade 12 is one of the most stressful school years, as students work on gaining their credentials for post-secondary programs. Many prestigious programs require averages upwards of 90%. Achieving such grades requires a lot of effort, right? Well, not for everyone. Most students toil many hours with their heads … More Grades: Earned or Bought?
By Hasti K For as long as I can remember I have been working to provide for the people I love. It started when I was as young as three years old, I’d sell cigarettes to the workers on my family’s farm. That was until I was old enough to pick tea leaves. I remember … More Humans of Toronto #HardWorkingMan
By Ana O It was 2011, when my husband moved from Greece to Canada. He came alone, me and our daughters stayed back because we did not have a visa yet. We were seeing that employment was decreasing in Greece, so we decided to find a better place for our daughters to have a better … More Humans of Toronto #ImmigrantExperience
By: Tatiana C. On October 16th, the day of the Chamber Night began as the last few parents trickled into the auditorium, taking their seats. As Mrs. Simas stepped onto the stage to open the show with a little speech, the crowd burst into applause. You can feel pride and joy in the air as … More Chamber Night
By Lydia M My name is Bruce and I have a Chinese culture name called Zongmao. In 2016, around August, my family moved to Toronto, which was nearly three years ago. When I entered to Forest Hill, the first thing I decided to do was to start a club called “Go Club”. Go is a … More Humans of Toronto #FamilyLove