Winter, Winter is cold. And I ain’t talking about the weather. She’s a girl, a fierce young adult....who’s all about herself. Winter, the cold one. She’s stuck on Midnight. And I ain’t talking about nighttime. I’m talking about a tall, dark, and handsome one. And he doesn’t pay Winter any mind. Winter, freezing cold. Had everything she ever desired. Winter was spoiled and rotten. Ricky Santiaga got her anything she ever needed. But she kept wanting more and more. Then, day after day... Night after night… She ended up with nothing. Hopeless...and in trouble.

Why Some People of Color didn't send sympathy cards to France after the Terrorist Attacks  Not everyone hoisted the French flag on their Facebook page after the November terrorist bombings and shootings in Paris that ended up killing 130 people. Across social media, there was a backlash from some people of color who felt the international rallying cry #prayforparis underscored a double standard of sympathy for their own recent series of killings by police and others in this country. “Notice how white people easily empathize w/victims of international terrorism while denying the domestic terrorism inflicted upon us,” one black activist tweeted. Other postings pointed out France’s involvement in the slave trade, such as this one that wondered how “black people are praying for a country that is responsible for the enslavement of their ancestors.” Young people interviewed, including teens of color, said they understood the anger directed at the French but felt it was misguided. “Just because we’re not being supported doesn’t mean you guys shouldn’t be supported,” says Sarskiyya Wallace, 16, from Margarita Muñiz Academy. Seventeen-year-old Amina Mason, who goes to school in Jamaica Plain, says blacks should have mourned for the Paris victims despite France’s racist legacy. Staphanaika Janvier, 16, from Muñiz Academy, feels that people in America were right to be there for the French since they helped the US after the attacks of 9/11.

Public schools should teach sex ed to inform young people about human reproduction, lower the risk of spreading diseases, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and encourage healthy relationships. Opponents say that teaching sex ed in school will encourage young people to become sexually active before they are really ready. Furthermore, they say that teaching children about sex is for parents, not schools. But every public school student should have access to sex ed because it’s a way of maintaining a healthy society and lowering the risks of poverty.

Malyun Hassan, a senior at the John D O’Bryant School of Math & Science, says she wants to be fluent in Arabic as part of her college experience because she already reads and writes it. “The college’s majors, in particular the language portion, is what I focus on,” she says. The mindset of students when looking for colleges is varied. Seniors can focus on everything from location to enrollment, diversity to range of courses. Eric Thomas, a senior at the O’Bryant, says he has already pinned down his first choice from the endless options: Northeastern University. “They have majors in criminology, and programs providing you with internships,” says Thomas, who aspires to be an FBI agent. Many teens are faced with the difficult choice of whether to leave their childhood neighborhoods for far stranger ones. With an already challenging atmosphere in college, some students don’t want to add to the stress by leaving their family obligations. It can also be a financial hardship to live on campus. “I want to stay close to home,” says Heven Wolde, a senior at the O’Bryant. “One, it will reduce the spending in food and room. But also my mom needs me around for certain things because she can’t speak English well.” This article was prepared in collaboration with 826 Boston.

THE QUEST FOR EQUALITY IN EDUCATION The issue has continued to swirl around young people: whether all those in the Commonwealth should receive reduced in-state tuition to attend public colleges. Critics say that it is an unfair burden on taxpayers to foot the bill for those who are not here legally. Supporters counter that it is only fair to support all hard-working students and that it would be a revenue boon to state schools, as well. Here, in letters to state officials, students make their passionate case for what they feel it really means for every immigrant to live in the self-proclaimed land of opportunity.