"WELCOME TO THE april EDITION OF THE OSA JEDI NEWSLETTER – YOUR UPDATE ON THINGS RELATED TO JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION. THIS MONTH, WE're talking about the xenophobic treatment of tiktok, climate activism, AND MORE!" -- THE TELEGRAPH STAFF
That damn Tic Tac: The embarrassing US hearing about the security of the TikTok app -- Elias Dickey, 10th grade
The word “grilled” came up in almost every article written about the testimony of Shou Zi Chew, CEO of Tiktok since 2021, who testified before Congress about the app’s security features on March 23. The reality is that the majority of the event consisted of baseless loaded questions asked out of pure xenophobia. Amidst practically shouting conspiracy theories about Tiktok, skeptic officials questioned the Chinese-based video sharing app’s terms and conditions, mainly what data they collected on the users, and if Tiktok shared this information with the Chinese government. The catch is that the data harvested was almost identical to that collected by various equally popular American social media companies, Instagram and Youtube included.
Many try to justify this hypocritical interrogation as protecting the country from potentially dangerous foreign media. However, Chew wasn’t treated with the slightest bit of decorum, interrupted at almost every turn and never permitted to answer any of the questions he attempted to, so we have to question what aspect of the US lawmakers’ behavior was necessary for “safeguarding the nation”. Chew was accused multiple times of being evasive of the questions, when in reality he was forced to move on every time the congresspeople couldn’t elicit the incriminating responses they wanted out of him. Almost all of the American concerns about the platform were addressed and resolved, but officials continue to motion for the all-out ban of the service. Since the lawmakers do not seem to have been dissuaded by Chew’s testimony, the future of American access to the app is in question. Hey, at least the justice system is protecting us from children’s apps while climate-killer bills get approved.
***
Local Climate Action You Can Take -- Viv Mansbach, 9th Grade
For my main article this month, I wrote about how we can take the power back and fight for climate justice in affordable, local, and fun ways. Of course, donating money is always very important, if you have that resource, but I wanted to compile a resource for local organizations, businesses and volunteer opportunities, as well as tips for how to incorporate eco-friendly life into your life in an engaging, enjoyable way!
Firstly, and I can’t stress this enough: the Sogorea’ Te Land Trust. Sogorea’ Te is an urban Indigenous collaborative organization that focuses on Land Back through rematriation; moving towards restoring the balance of the land before colonization. They have volunteer opportunities including helping to prepare underserved communities for climate and man made disasters, as well as planting native plants at the community garden. It’s a great opportunity to make an impact and bring awareness back to the original stewards of this land.
Secondly, there is the SF Department of Environment, whose mission is ‘to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment, and to promote San Francisco’s long term environmental well being’. You can volunteer to support the cause in various ways, including delivering food and supplies for those hit by climate based disasters, offering resources to the unhoused, and even fostering puppies. The organization focuses not only on the state of the world, but on the impact it has had on Bay area residents. This means that helping the effort can include working a text crisis line, and providing tutoring.
In terms of how to make your day to day life more eco-friendly, there are many small steps that you can take. These include using solar power and making sure to recycle properly, but the way that we eat also impacts the climate directly. Living in the Bay Area, we have great access to a variety of local produce, which is a blessing because of organic availability, eating what’s in season, and being able to eat without having to expend fuel on transportation, are all ways to reduce our impact on the environment.
Another great privilege we have in the Bay is access to soil and plants. If you have access to a garden, or even just a potted plant by your door, planting flowers that bees love is a beautiful, often great-smelling way to encourage bee health, an integral part of the biome we live in. Here are some native plants that bees love:
***
Dylan Mulvaney and The Bud Light Deal -- Bee Ahlers, 10th grade
Transgender actress and TikToker, Dylan Mulvaney, recently partnered with Bud Light and people are going crazy. First, Kid Rock posted a video of him using a machine gun to destroy the Bud Light cans with her face on it posted April 9th, a few days after the campaign was released. Then Megyn Kelly said BudLight has offended “real women” all over the world by mocking their womanhood since Dylan is “not a real woman.”
For the amount of hate that Mulvaney has gotten over the past few years for sharing her journey on TikTok as a Transgender woman, it is nothing compared to how much hate she has been getting recently. Although, many don’t think it will last for long because events like this tend to be the big talk for only a month or so in the social media realm. People will forget about it and it’ll blow over.
All the haters are doing is trying to bring Dylan down just for being herself—when in reality, her gender identity doesn’t have anything to do with them. Transgender people all around the world get hate, but it’s much different when you’re very open about your gender identity online because it gives people the ability to hide behind a screen and say hurtful things.
In the end, we’re all human and there's no point in making someone else feel awful about themself. All of the hate Dylan gets pushes her to continue spreading awareness and creating a space for the Trans community. She’s helping others know that they’re not alone and they have a community just like them.
***
The Incoming Ethics Issue of ChatGPT -- Declan McMahon, 10th grade
Chat GPT just got more useful. And more dangerous.
While at its base, new release GPT-4 is still a chatbot, its developments in knowledge show capabilities beyond a simple input-output machine. Whereas GPT-3.5 (the current model available online for free) scored in the 10th percentile on the Bar exam and an average of 3.33 on all AP exams, GPT-4 scored in the 90th percentile of the Bar and an average of 4.33 on AP exams. This shows a greater capability for problem analysis and human-like solving, which can serve users greater, but is concerning to many AI ethicists and scientists.
An AI ethics group recently penned an open letter to the U.S. government asking it to “Pause Giant AI Experiments Now,” which has been signed by many giants in the industry including Steve Wozniak, according to a recent article by Fast Company. The article wasn’t all doom and gloom though, closing on a high note: “Humanity can enjoy a flourishing future with AI. Having succeeded in creating powerful AI systems, we can now enjoy an "AI summer" in which we reap the rewards, engineer these systems for the clear benefit of all, and give society a chance to adapt. Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society. We can do so here. Let's enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall.”
On ethics, the final question is: why? Why is humanity so obsessed with creating dangerous things without looking back until it’s too late. AI is progressing too fast, and needs to halt until we as a species can find a way to successfully limit it. Some may argue we already have limited it, with the content moderation software on Chat-GPT. However, as fast as GPT updates, internet sleuths are finding ways to circumvent it. It’s an endless cycle, and someday someone's going to use the moderation evasion cheats to learn and act upon something illegal. It’s only a matter of time.
***
I Am Tired Of The Politicization Of Trans People -- Orion Songster, 9th grade
As the movement for trans rights becomes more and more complex, trans people become more and more annoyed. Trans people are facing a plethora of anti-trans laws and bills that just keep coming: making trans healthcare inaccessible to youth, and then ramping it up to 21. Requiring privacy-violating examinations on anyone joining women’s sports. Forcing teachers to report to parents if anyone has suspected a child is queer, no matter what.
As a trans youth myself, I’ve thought about this a lot. I feel like my existence, my tangible body, has become nothing more than a topic for politicians to combat. I am a human, not an argument. “We shouldn’t let trans people into the bathrooms!” I just want to piss without hating myself. “We shouldn’t let trans people get surgery!” I just want to walk around without hating the body I’ve been placed in without my choice.
I am transgender, but I am also so much more. I like to draw and play guitar. I have two cats, named Rosie and Paulie. I like music, my favorite band is Vundabar, and my favorite bird is a crow. I just got new shoes, they’re platforms, and I love them so much. When people begin to speak of trans people in a political manner, they seem to diminish us, from human beings to just transgender. It’s so dehumanizing I worry people don’t even see me as capable of having thoughts and feelings. I don’t want to be listed alongside political arguments like “Should we invest in electric cars?” and “What do we do to stop the spread of COVID?” I just want to be human. I just want to exist.
The word “grilled” came up in almost every article written about the testimony of Shou Zi Chew, CEO of Tiktok since 2021, who testified before Congress about the app’s security features on March 23. The reality is that the majority of the event consisted of baseless loaded questions asked out of pure xenophobia. Amidst practically shouting conspiracy theories about Tiktok, skeptic officials questioned the Chinese-based video sharing app’s terms and conditions, mainly what data they collected on the users, and if Tiktok shared this information with the Chinese government. The catch is that the data harvested was almost identical to that collected by various equally popular American social media companies, Instagram and Youtube included.
Many try to justify this hypocritical interrogation as protecting the country from potentially dangerous foreign media. However, Chew wasn’t treated with the slightest bit of decorum, interrupted at almost every turn and never permitted to answer any of the questions he attempted to, so we have to question what aspect of the US lawmakers’ behavior was necessary for “safeguarding the nation”. Chew was accused multiple times of being evasive of the questions, when in reality he was forced to move on every time the congresspeople couldn’t elicit the incriminating responses they wanted out of him. Almost all of the American concerns about the platform were addressed and resolved, but officials continue to motion for the all-out ban of the service. Since the lawmakers do not seem to have been dissuaded by Chew’s testimony, the future of American access to the app is in question. Hey, at least the justice system is protecting us from children’s apps while climate-killer bills get approved.
***
Local Climate Action You Can Take -- Viv Mansbach, 9th Grade
For my main article this month, I wrote about how we can take the power back and fight for climate justice in affordable, local, and fun ways. Of course, donating money is always very important, if you have that resource, but I wanted to compile a resource for local organizations, businesses and volunteer opportunities, as well as tips for how to incorporate eco-friendly life into your life in an engaging, enjoyable way!
Firstly, and I can’t stress this enough: the Sogorea’ Te Land Trust. Sogorea’ Te is an urban Indigenous collaborative organization that focuses on Land Back through rematriation; moving towards restoring the balance of the land before colonization. They have volunteer opportunities including helping to prepare underserved communities for climate and man made disasters, as well as planting native plants at the community garden. It’s a great opportunity to make an impact and bring awareness back to the original stewards of this land.
Secondly, there is the SF Department of Environment, whose mission is ‘to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment, and to promote San Francisco’s long term environmental well being’. You can volunteer to support the cause in various ways, including delivering food and supplies for those hit by climate based disasters, offering resources to the unhoused, and even fostering puppies. The organization focuses not only on the state of the world, but on the impact it has had on Bay area residents. This means that helping the effort can include working a text crisis line, and providing tutoring.
In terms of how to make your day to day life more eco-friendly, there are many small steps that you can take. These include using solar power and making sure to recycle properly, but the way that we eat also impacts the climate directly. Living in the Bay Area, we have great access to a variety of local produce, which is a blessing because of organic availability, eating what’s in season, and being able to eat without having to expend fuel on transportation, are all ways to reduce our impact on the environment.
Another great privilege we have in the Bay is access to soil and plants. If you have access to a garden, or even just a potted plant by your door, planting flowers that bees love is a beautiful, often great-smelling way to encourage bee health, an integral part of the biome we live in. Here are some native plants that bees love:
- milkweed
- wild bergamot
- snapdragons
- sunflowers
- cow parsnip
***
Dylan Mulvaney and The Bud Light Deal -- Bee Ahlers, 10th grade
Transgender actress and TikToker, Dylan Mulvaney, recently partnered with Bud Light and people are going crazy. First, Kid Rock posted a video of him using a machine gun to destroy the Bud Light cans with her face on it posted April 9th, a few days after the campaign was released. Then Megyn Kelly said BudLight has offended “real women” all over the world by mocking their womanhood since Dylan is “not a real woman.”
For the amount of hate that Mulvaney has gotten over the past few years for sharing her journey on TikTok as a Transgender woman, it is nothing compared to how much hate she has been getting recently. Although, many don’t think it will last for long because events like this tend to be the big talk for only a month or so in the social media realm. People will forget about it and it’ll blow over.
All the haters are doing is trying to bring Dylan down just for being herself—when in reality, her gender identity doesn’t have anything to do with them. Transgender people all around the world get hate, but it’s much different when you’re very open about your gender identity online because it gives people the ability to hide behind a screen and say hurtful things.
In the end, we’re all human and there's no point in making someone else feel awful about themself. All of the hate Dylan gets pushes her to continue spreading awareness and creating a space for the Trans community. She’s helping others know that they’re not alone and they have a community just like them.
***
The Incoming Ethics Issue of ChatGPT -- Declan McMahon, 10th grade
Chat GPT just got more useful. And more dangerous.
While at its base, new release GPT-4 is still a chatbot, its developments in knowledge show capabilities beyond a simple input-output machine. Whereas GPT-3.5 (the current model available online for free) scored in the 10th percentile on the Bar exam and an average of 3.33 on all AP exams, GPT-4 scored in the 90th percentile of the Bar and an average of 4.33 on AP exams. This shows a greater capability for problem analysis and human-like solving, which can serve users greater, but is concerning to many AI ethicists and scientists.
An AI ethics group recently penned an open letter to the U.S. government asking it to “
On ethics, the final question is: why? Why is humanity so obsessed with creating dangerous things without looking back until it’s too late. AI is progressing too fast, and needs to halt until we as a species can find a way to successfully limit it. Some may argue we already have limited it, with the content moderation software on Chat-GPT. However, as fast as GPT updates, internet sleuths are finding ways to circumvent it. It’s an endless cycle, and someday someone's going to use the moderation evasion cheats to learn and act upon something illegal. It’s only a matter of time.
***
I Am Tired Of The Politicization Of Trans People -- Orion Songster, 9th grade
As the movement for trans rights becomes more and more complex, trans people become more and more annoyed. Trans people are facing a plethora of anti-trans laws and bills that just keep coming: making trans healthcare inaccessible to youth, and then ramping it up to 21. Requiring privacy-violating examinations on anyone joining women’s sports. Forcing teachers to report to parents if anyone has suspected a child is queer, no matter what.
As a trans youth myself, I’ve thought about this a lot. I feel like my existence, my tangible body, has become nothing more than a topic for politicians to combat. I am a human, not an argument. “We shouldn’t let trans people into the bathrooms!” I just want to piss without hating myself. “We shouldn’t let trans people get surgery!” I just want to walk around without hating the body I’ve been placed in without my choice.
I am transgender, but I am also so much more. I like to draw and play guitar. I have two cats, named Rosie and Paulie. I like music, my favorite band is Vundabar, and my favorite bird is a crow. I just got new shoes, they’re platforms, and I love them so much. When people begin to speak of trans people in a political manner, they seem to diminish us, from human beings to just transgender. It’s so dehumanizing I worry people don’t even see me as capable of having thoughts and feelings. I don’t want to be listed alongside political arguments like “Should we invest in electric cars?” and “What do we do to stop the spread of COVID?” I just want to be human. I just want to exist.
