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Running to End Discrimination

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Ohio teen, Noor Abukaram, was recently disqualified after running her best time in a race, because she wore a hijab. Her time from this race allowed her to go to regionals, but the officials did not count her race because she did not have a waiver to wear her hijab during the run. The Ohio High School Athletic Association originally instituted this rule, but since Noor’s incident, they’ve received backlash and are considering changing the policy. ( CLICK HERE to read about how the OHSAA justifies the disqualification.)  Abukaram states that being Muslim interferes with athletics for people of the faith all over. Wearing religious coverings tends to make Muslim athletes feel alienated, and the waiver doesn’t help. She shared that this was not the only incident in her family regarding conflicts with religious garb and sports, and that her sister has also been asked to change for soccer. After being forced to sign a waiver for wearing a hijab, Abukaram’s story was heard all over, an
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What is Indigenous Peoples Day?

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For over 100 years, Columbus Day has been known and celebrated as a federal holiday. However, this is likely to change in light of recent discussions. The question surrounding this holiday is whether Christopher Columbus should be celebrated on this day or not. Since this has surfaced, many public schools, including New Trier, have voted to abolish this holiday. In addition to this, the DC council has even voted that the name be replaced with “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Columbus Day is likely to change to “Indigenous Peoples Day” because of the harm that Columbus caused the Native Americans and the controversy surrounding his moral character. Columbus spread diseases, enslaved and killed many Native Americans, and this has not been forgotten by society today. For some people, Columbus Day is a reminder of the suffering that their ancestors endured and it should be ended. Leila Fadel from NPR says that, “By bringing Indigenous Peoples' Day, we're bringing awareness that we'
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My Family’s History

    To begin the journey into my family’s history, I decided to call my grandfather (or as I call him, “papou”,) to talk to him about how he came to America. His former name, Stelious Kitsos, had been changed in 1951 at Ellis Island when he became what I know him as, Stanley Ketsios. He grew up in a small village in the Peloponnese region of Greece. At sixteen years old, his town was being occupied by Guerillas, so he was separated from his mother and he and his sister were placed on a plane to America, starting their new lives as orphans. He was taken in by his uncle who lived in Chicago, and he hasn’t left the city since. Being a young immigrant in America, there were struggles. He barely knew English, had almost no money and little education. My grandfather told me that when he started school in America, at sixteen years old, they placed him in the second grade because of how far behind he was. Since then, my grandfather has come far and, despite being born in Greece, he now consi
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