Hope For the Hopeless: A Parent Within Reach

Jocelyn Sheffield, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

There are roughly 150 million orphans worldwide, 90 percent of which will never be adopted. According to the Missouri Heart Gallery, Missouri alone has at least 1,400 orphaned children.  In the U.S. as a whole, this number amounts to more than 130,000. The number of parentless children in the U.S. sadly... Read more »

Dousing Drought with Opportunity

Scott Rupprecht, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

As we plan to soak away our sadness in a long hot shower from a day consisting of tryouts, practice, school, and parties, we use a lot more water than many people in a developing country do in a day. Water is imperative to survival and in America, it is a very abundant resources. In other foreign countries... Read more »

Trying To Meet the World’s Standards

Jessica Johnson, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

Thin, young, and beautiful, teenage girls all over the world see those as the three qualifications they must meet to be accepted by today’s society.  Teenage girls all around the world compare themselves to unrealistic images that they see in magazines.  Every image in a magazine has the ability... Read more »

To Nurture or Neglect

Elise Hearne, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

Everyone has seen the commercials. Sarah McLachlan’s slow, mournful voice spilling out of the speakers as pictures of adorable animals in distress flash across the screen, forcing watchers to change the channel to avoid bursting into tears. It is easy to roll eyes and dismiss the whole “Save the... Read more »

Poverty Chain

Eli Parham, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

A little girl sleeps. Her bed is no more then a funky mattress. The walls and ceiling surrounding her are weak, constructed of scrap wood, metal from broken down cars, tarps, and cardboard. When she wakes up, she must go with her siblings to an unfamiliar family so that her mother can find work which... Read more »

Mercenaries: A License to Kill

Peter Duell, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

Adventure stirs deep in the marrow of youth, and before they had low-cost airfares, backpacks and student discounts, most people got their first trip overseas in uniform.  Things have changed. What can well-trained adventurers do to make this world a better place and tell stories to their grandkids? ... Read more »

Here Comes the Bride, Stripped of her Pride

Jill Coyne, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

Just four days after her wedding, a thirteen-year-old child bride from Yemen was abandoned at a near-by hospital. The young girl’s internal organs were ruptured due to sexual intercourse, causing her to bleed to death. Though her husband promised to wait until her body was physically ready, he carelessly... Read more »

Inside the Disregard of the Outside

Erin Bognar, Staff Writer
March 20, 2012

Studies concluded by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation prove that one in three American children are obese or overweight and one of the main causes is that families are spending less time outdoors. Parents can either make or break the physically active sector of their children’s life. If the parents stay... Read more »

Through the Lens of a Photographer

Meg Smith, Staff Writer
February 21, 2012

Mrs. Goeke’s photography class was challenged to capture, in one picture, the contribution of a well-known African American. They had one week to complete the project and their work will be on display in the Grand Entry during Black History Month. “The guidelines were for each student to find an... Read more »

Wee Wildcats

Elie Straub, Editor in Chief
December 12, 2011

On Saturday morning, December 3rd, Kim Doyle, Director of Community Relations, and student volunteers led the fourth annual Wee Wildcats event.  This event gives Westminster faculty with children under the age of 10 the opportunity to drop their kids off for free childcare and spend the morning doing... Read more »