Friday, June 10th, 2016
Knightly News — Eximius College Preparatory Academy
Issue 2, Volume 2
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For the students, By the students.
Students talk: the color spectrum
By MICHAEL REID
Editor-in-Chief
Sashee Caraballo,
18(Puerto Rican)
Kevin Carmenate, 18
(Dominican)
Imagine beYokaris Rodriguez, 15
ing told that you
(Dominican)
were “too black,”
Henry
Kavon
“not black enough,”
Vargas, 17
Austion, 18
(Dominican &
or you “act light(African
Samantha
Dylan Rhys,
Puerto Rican)
American)
skinned.”
Rosario, 18
16 (Belizean)
(Dominican)
Virginia Luciano remembers
Larry Chisolm,
well a day she was
17 (Jamaican,
riding home from
Majesty Cleland, 18
Dominican &
high school on the
(West Indian)
African American)
train with her friend,
a darker-skinned
Dominican girl like
herself.
“These SpanSerwaa Dompa,
ish girls — the ones
17(Ghanaian)
everyone thinks are
Cristina Leiva,
Spanish with light
15(Salvadorian)
skin and dark, long
hair — talked a lot
Mariam Trawally, 17
of crap about my
(Gambian)
friend and I,” she
Photo by SAMERA MOHAMMAD
recalled. “When I
Twelve
Eximius
students
(representing
many
nationalities)
create a color spectrum to illustrate the varieties of skin tones the world over.
responded in Spanish...they were surIt roots back to white suprema- races (especially the black race) and
skinned slaves, for example, were given
prised.” Luciano explains that “in the
cy, the belief that Caucasians (white
should, therefore, dominate society.
household duties, while dark-skinned
Spanish community, if you’re dark,
people) are superior to those of all other
This mentality gave birth to
slaves were given the grueling outdoor
then you’re not seen as fully Spanish;
slavery and the long battle for
labor. Records of this kind of thing are
it’s believed that you are mixed with
equal
rights
between
white
peowell documented in many texts, includ“Our ancestors have already suffered as a
something.”
ple and people of color. In the
ing The Narrative of a Slave by the aboliresult of their skin color. Why do we put days of slavery, people with
Unfortunately, this way of
tionist and former slave Frederick
thinking is something that is prevalent
each other through the same trouble?” lighter and fairer skin were
Douglass.
within society and several cultures,
-Ndeye Fofana, 12th grade
treated better than those of a
See COLORISM, Page 6
namely the African-American and Latidarker complexion. Lightno communities.
Can you find true love online?
attractive.
More often than not,
these seemingly innocent online
Fifteen-year-old
conversations result in setting up
Kadyann Blake met 16-year-old
dating arrangements that either
Tyler Laing when they both entered Eximius College Preparato- go surprisingly well or incredibly
awful.
ry Academy as freshmen.
According to sciAlthough the rising junence.opposingviews.org, an estiiors have now been dating for a
year and a half, it was the several mated 71% of teenagers have
weeks of talking they did online some sort of online profile, and
that helped to kindle the roman- 69% of those teens have received
messages from people they don't
tic spark.
know. Depending on the level of
“I just knew with her,”
interest, one in four teens soon
Laing said.
pursue these strangers and invest
Today, social media
websites and various apps make themselves in an online relationit easier for strangers to connect, ship. They even go as far as labeling them their boyfriend or girlespecially if they find them
By ALEXA CARCANO
Staff Writer
friend, sometimes without even
getting any solid proof of their
identity.
"Why would anyone
want to date a random person
online?” asked Destiny Rivera, an
Eximius junior. “What if the person you’re talking to doesn't look
like their pictures?"
On the other hand, Mr.
Mark Leff said, "I think it can
work out very well if you're
smart and safe about it.” After
all, he himself was successful at
finding love online. He first messaged Erica, his now wife, online
because they shared a common
interest in the show "Doctor
Who.”
See ONLINE DATING, Page 6
ACADEMIC
Does the education system
need a makeover? (p. 2)
COMMUNITY
Teen Mom’s Struggles (p. 3)
LIFESTYLE
Fashion Show (p. 4)
OPINION
Photo by EMONEE POWELL
Eximius junior Tyler Laing romanced
classmate Kadyann Blake online in
the early stages of their relationship.
Zodiac Signs (p. 7)
INSPIRATION
Senior Advice from Top of
the Class (p. 8)