There are many video games that have a boring story line or bad graphics, but there are also bad paintings or sculptures; video games, in my opinion, are a work of art. Video games take talent to design, and it’s hard work to design a video game.

Art, in my opinion, is all about perspective, like the way some pieces of art featured in a gallery can be weird or different, and some people don’t think they should be considered works of art. According to Oxford Dictionaries, the definition of art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

The expression or application of human creativity, skill or imagination really sticks out to me because that is what video games are. Video games are based on imagination and creativity and are meant to entertain and impress the people who play them which is basically the point of any sculpture or painting.

Great video game examples are Skyrim, the Kingdom Heart series, the Far Cry series, and the Assassin’s Creed series. The art in these video games is expressed through the architecture of the buildings, the design of the monsters, vehicles, weapons, and clothes and even just the random characters. Facial details on all the characters and the details in the story line and around the map all show the creators’ imagination and skill.

A dress code in its original definition is a set of rules for the sole purpose to limit distractions and focus on learning. Some schools maintain a strict dress code with uniforms, while others struggle to keep it enforced.

I think a dress code should be enforced but not strictly, with students only getting called out for wearing something severely breaking the code. It is not a surprise that the rules come down a bit harder on girls than they do on boys, with rules regarding shorts not being past the fingertips and spaghetti-strap shirts.

Yes, students probably shouldn’t be wearing super short shorts, but the rule here about no shoulders showing is absurd. “If the student can wear it in front of their parents, they should be allowed to wear it at school,” is something commonly said, and I partially agree. I think that if the parents are comfortable with it, then it shouldn’t be a big deal, but not every parent sees their kid walk out the door in the mornings. In this case, the school should step in and say what is appropriate.

Schools have to have some standards to maintain a responsible environment, like not allowing profanity or advertising drugs and other substances on clothing. In a recent study done by Fresno Pacific University, 80% percent of girls and 62% of boys liked wearing a uniform. A reason for this maybe the stress being taken off the kids to be “fashionable” and stay in style with the new trends, ultimately trading freedom for less stress. However, a looser dress code would also be less stressful for students because there would be less struggle to comply with a strict dress code.

I think that a reasonable dress code for schools should be put in place, but it should be discussed with the student body, open to suggestions and revised as time goes on.

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? This a very common saying that you’ve most likely heard more than once — without realizing the truth of the saying. Harvard University researchers hypothesize that remaining in a fasting state after your sleep is stressful and makes the body work harder, causing metabolic changes. You may not realize it at the moment, but regularly skipping breakfast can have a long term effects on your health.

Studies from Harvard University showed that men who skipped breakfast had a 27 percent greater risk of heart attack or heart disease. Another study on women who regularly didn't eat breakfast showed they have a 20 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Not only can skipping breakfast affect your physical health, but it can also affect your mental state throughout the day. These health problems can also lead to fatigue and memory problems throughout the day.

A similar study tested how those who skip breakfast perform on a memory and fatigue level at noon. Not surprising to hear, those who skipped performed worse on the memory test and had the highest level of fatigue at noon. These effects of skipping breakfast can throw off your entire day — from simply being tired to struggling to remember things

These effects make skipping breakfast not worth it. For students, it may result in a bad test score or not being able to stay awake during class, which will lead to poor grades. Students should make sure they eat breakfast in the morning to prevent these problems. Skipping breakfast is not worth the risk of a bad days that can lead to possible regrets. Prevent all these worries by simply eating breakfast.

When do pranks cross the line and become bullying? One example of this is from five years ago when two NFL players of the Miami Dolphins were suspended for pulling pranks on freshman players. According to The New York Times, a rookie player was pressured into paying over $15,000 for a trip that he didn't even get to go on, was called the “big weirdo” by the upper players, and was even threatened. Later he ended up leaving the team from all the pranking.

If you prank someone and it doesn't harm them, for example like hiding someone's planner and making them find it, then its not considered bullying, but if you hide every day, and it starts to bother them, then that could lead to bullying. Pranks like the Miami Dolphins players did that make someone so miserable that they feel like they have to quit something they love, then that is considered bullying. If you prank someone with intentions to hurt them, it’s not pranking, it’s bullying.

It's important for us to realize the difference between pranking and bullying and when pranking leads to bullying. We can have fun with pranks without hurting people; we just need to know when to draw the line and what pranks are okay to perform. You also have to think about if pranking someone could harm them or if it could affect their life in any way before doing so. Pranks are practical jokes; they are not meant to torment or ruin people’s lives.

Can money buy happiness? There is an apparent relationship between money and happiness, but I don’t think that you have to have money to be happy. Results from a recent survey organized by Scott Bilker said that 48 percent of adults said that money can't buy happiness, and the other 52 percent said it could.

I think it boosts your happiness to be able to provide for others or spend money on something you want. If there is a struggle to provide basic needs, it can cause anyone to stress. Plus, money seems to make you want more and more and become greedy.

Even if you had all the money in the world and you had everything, then what do you do? That stuff might satisfy you for the time being, but the feeling will go away. Money can’t buy relationships with people that actually care about you. Some might say more money brings more stress, like the possibility of being robbed or held for ransom. You might even start to care about maintaining money more than your family or your friends.

The best things in life for me are free; you have to find happiness on your own. It is something no one can buy or give to you. I would definitely choose a relationship over a material thing.

This question is a hard one to answer; everyone’s preference is different for how you fill that void, whether it’s money or relationships. I think it really does depend on the person and how they grew up and what they want to do with their money. I believe that you should find happiness in your family or a hobby, not compulsive spending to fill a hole in your life.

        Unless you have been isolated from the world of politics and Hollywood in the past months, you are no stranger to the abundance of sexual assault allegations flooding our nation. The domino effect began with a single article in the “New York Times” detailing multiple accusations against movie director Harvey Weinstein, and since then, there have been more than 50 women come forward in his case alone.

Unfortunately, sexual harassment does not limit itself to politicians and Hollywood stars. A major issue that needs to be addressed is sexual assault on college campuses. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in 5 women and one in 16 men will be sexually assaulted while attending college. Not only that, but 90 percent of these assaults will go unreported.

    Regardless of gender, age, race, or religion, I believe that we can all agree on one thing: sexual assault, harassment and abuse is a problem not only in America, but in the world today.

You may be wondering, what can we do to put an end to these crimes? We can begin by believing the women who make these claims. According to the NSVRC, “the prevalence of falsely accusing someone of rape ranges from two to eight percent” so the whole “she is lying to get money” narrative is statistically unlikely. Eliminating this factor could encourage more victims to come forward and give them a stronger support system when they do.

Another positive step to take would be keeping students informed on precautions to take when feeling threatened or uncomfortable. Although it seems unfair to make victims adjust to the actions of perpetrators, it could be an effective way to lessen sexual violence. These precautions range from how you wear your hair to the usage of the “buddy system” when in an unfamiliar environment.

Due to the recent abundance of sexual assault claims, I believe that there needs to be greater efforts taken to try and decrease these numbers. I believe that as a nation, we have recognized the problem, but we all know that actions speak louder than words.

We have all heard of the Bermuda Triangle, the range of sea that is from Florida to the Bermuda Islands to Puerto Rico (where the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea meet) and the scientific theories and the supernatural conspiracies that go along with it. The supernatural conspiracies are a long stretch from facts; people should look at facts besides looking into stuff that isn’t there.

There are many scientific theories out there. According to Livescience website, one of the theories for the boats wrecking is that a rogue wave that will appear in the middle of the ocean and engulf the boats. A rogue wave is a very large unexpected wave that reaches the surface of the ocean that can be very dangerous to even large ships such as ocean liners. The area that the Bermuda Triangle is located is a very common area for rogue waves. One of the theories for never finding remains is that in the area in which the Bermuda Triangle is located, the current is so strong that it is almost impossible to dive to look for the remains, and it is so strong it could move the remains of any ship or plane.

One theory for the aircraft malfunctions is the theory of the electronic fog; it is a grayish cloud of electronic magnetic fields that form over the ocean and causes the aircraft to malfunction, according to the Bermuda-Attractions website.

The supernatural conspiracies are a stretch to the reality of the situation-- science can at least put up a logical explanation. People just look into things a little too much rather than thinking logically about the situation.

With hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe and even more stars and planets in those galaxies, isn’t it closed-minded of us to think that we are the only intelligent life in the universe? There are numerous instances that have led us to believe that are “aliens” in the skies.

The idea that aliens come to earth is harder to believe than that they are real. There are hundreds of planets believed to be just like earth. NASA is taking steps to figuring out if there is a possibility of other planets hosting life. According to NASA’s website, “[NASA is] also turning the Space Launch Systems attention to exploring the possibilities of food crops grown in controlled environments for long-duration missions to deep-space destinations such as Mars.”

The conversation goes into a gray area, especially if the question,“why haven’t they contacted us yet,” appears. That is where a lot of people start doubting life outside of earth; they mistakenly assume they have had time to evolve and get technology, yet haven’t contacted us.

There is also a religious argument that God only created the heavens and earth, clearly stated in the Bible. In my opinion, the Bible is just stories that people have written down. It was passed through the oral tradition and translated time after time--stories change. It’s science versus religion in a lot of these arguments.

We see on Earth that most places on this planet have life, even in extreme conditions from the deep, dark, oxygen-deprived ocean trenches to the hot acidic springs in Yellowstone National Park to the driest desert known. There could be life on Mars that either originated there or here and ‘hitchhiked’ there on space rocks. Jupiter's moon, Europa, could have life that originated independently underneath the ice shell where there is strong evidence of a liquid water ocean. We are beginning to find planets around other stars that have similarities to Earth and they could have oceans, atmospheres and probably life.

Even with research, this is one of those things that will likely remain inconclusive. However, that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to find an answer.

How much homework is too much? The Washington Post says that there is too much homework given out in the high schools across America. I’m sure most students would agree with me that most of their nights are spent with hours of homework. According to Health Line, the current amount of homework does not give students the amount of time they need to eat right, sleep, and socialize; in other words, to live a healthy life.

Besides the fact that students have homework, they also have other things on their plate. Many students have a job or a sports practice after school, which can take up several hours after school each day. Varsity practices are often three or four hours long, and adding an extreme amount of homework to the top of that can cause many students an undue amount of stress.

Many students have even developed social disorders from not being able to handle relationships and homework. This can cause students to fall into a depressed state, and all solutions to help depression requires time to participate in hobbies or hang out with friends-- time students just do not have.

Teachers also need to be aware of this issue. They need to understand that students don’t just have homework in their one class; they have homework in several other classes, and if these classes are upper level, that accounts for an even greater amount of homework. Even if teachers don’t decrease the amount of homework, they can help by placing their tests on different days than other classes or scheduling big group projects throughout the semester instead of just as finals. Some of the most stressful days that students have are when there are three or even four tests in one day.

It is understandable why teachers give homework: it gives them an estimate of where students are individually. However, maybe instead of giving so much homework, they should let the students work a little in class. This allows them to ask questions and seek help if necessary while also giving them time later in the day for other work.

Some students say that they don’t have too much homework, or even not enough homework, but this does not represent the student body as a whole. The students that say this may not participate in sports, have a job, or even be an active member of a school group. Many student at Conway Springs High School play at least one sport and participate in many groups such as Scholar’s Bowl, the school play or Student Council. Many students also have a job; whether it's a job they chose, a job on a family farm or business, or maybe even a job to help support their family. This is why I believe that homework is a good thing, but only in moderation. Students do need to learn how to study for college, but not to the point that their whole high school career is dominated by stress.