The New York Times Learning Network 2021 Student Editorial Contest Finalists ( in alphabeticalorder by the writer's last name) Winners America Betancourt- Leon, age 16, MakingWaves Academy, Richmond, Calif.: “ Cheap for You. Costly for the Environment . Ruiyang Chen , age 16, Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy, Shanghai : “Fast & Furious 2021: Sushi's Dilemma Ju HwanKim age 17, UnitedWorld Collegeof SouthEastAsia - EastCampus, Singapore: “Why Singapore's “ Buildings Should be Conserved Lauren Koong, age 17, Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School, Houston , Texas: “It Took a Global Pandemic to Stop School Shootings Angela Mao, age 17 and Ariane Lee, 17, Syosset High School, Syosset, N.Y.: “ The American Teacher's Plight: Underappreciated , Underpaid and Overworked Evan Odegard Pereira, age , Nova Classical Academy, Saint Paul, Minn.: For Most Latinos, Latinx Does Not Markthe Spot Norah Rami, age 17, Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas: “Teach Us What We Need ShivaliVora, age 17, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, N.J .: “ It's Just Hair MadisonXu, age 16, Horace MannSchool, Bronx, N.Y.: “ We Cannot Fight Anti-Asian Hate Without DismantlingAsian Stereotypes Sheerea Yu, age 15, University School of Nashville, Nashville, Tenn.: Save the Snow Day: Save TeenageEducation” Runners-Up Tala Areiqat, age 17, NorthernValley RegionalHigh Schoolat Old Tappan, Old Tappan, N.J.: How American High Schools Failed To Educate Us On Eating Disorders ” Emily Cao, age 17 Glenforest Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario: Look on the Dark Side: The Benefits of Pessimism ” Abigail Soriano Cherith, age 17, North Hollywood High School, Los Angeles.: “ We Need More Maestrason the Podium RaquelCoren, age 18, Agnes IrwinSchool, BrynMawr, Pa.: “ The White- Washingand Appropriation Behind Trendy Spirituality Asia Foland, age 14, Wellesley Middle School, Wellesley, Mass.: “ Private Prisons: It's to Take Back the Key Jun An Guo, age 17, St. George's School, Vancouver, BritishColumbia: “ Eat Ugly! It MightJust The New York Times LearningNetwork Save The World . ” CharissaHoward, age 16, LowerMerionHigh School, Ardmore, Pa.: Why I Wantto Be a Foreign Exchange Student 30 Minutes Away" Sean Kim age 16 Fort Lee High School, Fort Lee, N.J.: “ Classroom Monopoly: How the Same Calculator Has Been $120 for 17 Years " Sonya Kulkarni , age 16, Bellaire High School , Bellaire, Texas : “ Face Masks : A Roadblock in Communication for the Hearing- Impaired Patricia McDonald , age 16, Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas, Texas “ The Poetry Unit : How Our Curriculum Smothers Art Lily Miro, age 16, The Archer School for Girls, Los Angeles, Calif.: Where are the MEN in Menstruation ? " Mary Schnautz , age 15, ASPIRE Academy for the Highly Gifted at Grapevine High School , Grapevine, Texas: “ The Adverse Pitfalls of AP Classes" NachikethanSrinivasan, age 18, The HaverfordSchool, Haverford, Pa.: “ Accordingto , Critical Race Theory is Anti-American'. Here's the Truth . Grace Wong, age 16, The King's Academy, Sunnyvale, Calif.: Appreciatingthe Powerof Quiet Samantha Wu, age 15, Richard MontgomeryHigh School, Rockville, Md.: Comprehension, Clarity, and Consistency: The Case for the Oxford Comma” Bill Zhang, age 17, The Shanghai SMIC Private School, Shanghai: “ Cyber-athletes: The Future is Here" HonorableMentions IshaniBakshi, age 12, WoodrowWilsonMiddleSchool, Edison, N.J.: A HistoryFull of Georges, Alexanders , and Benjamins Isn't Benefiting Women Rachel Bong, age 16, Phillips Academy Andover , Andover , Mass .: “ Our Toxic Love ... for Phones ” Julia Buchanan , age 16, Glen Ridge High School , Glen Ridge, N.J .: “ Historical Denialism Needs to be Absent from the Classroom Alissa Chen, age 16 GuilfordHigh School, Guilford, Conn.: Uncoveringthe UnspokenYellow Peril Aruna Das, age 16, Hunter College High School, New York, N.Y .: to the Handkerchief Quinn Dooley, age 16 Germantown Academy, Ft. Washington , Pa .: “ Everyone Deserves Equal Peaceof Mind; GenderImbalancein ConcussionResearch” Olivia Fan, age 16, PlanoWest Senior HighSchool, Plano, Texas: Cry About It. Really Maya Honda-Granirer, age 16 Sir WinstonChurchillSecondary, Vancouver, British Columbia: American Politics Needs Less Talking and More Listening Logan Hu, age 13 Lusher Charter School , New Orleans , La .: Why It's Our Job to Take Down HatefulSchool Names The New Times LearningNetwork Ify ljeli, age 18, GwinnettSchoolof Math, Science, and Technology, Lawrenceville, Ga.: The Terrifying Reality of Giving Birth While Black Cheng-yu Kang, age 15, The SMIC PrivateSchool Shanghai International, Shanghai: “ Elegies: Dealing with Death and Loss Evelyn Li, age 14, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va .: Think Outside the Box of Stereotypes Matthew Lin, age 15, The Head- Royce School , Oakland, Calif.: “ Longing for the Lemonade Stands of Investing Stella Lin, age 16 Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon, Calif: “ Combating Climate Cynicism ” Cassie Liu, age 16, The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas: Please Defund the Police: Handcuff a Racist Institution Shaun Loh, age 17, Raffles Institution , Singapore : “ American Dream ( s) ” Patrick Lou, age 13, The Dorris-Eaton School , San Ramon , Calif.: “ Veganism the Cat- Vegan Diets and Their Effects on Your Pets ” Feier Ma, age 16, Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy, Shanghai: “ Dear Diary: Writing Just Isn't Enough" Madeline Mau, age 14, West Windsor- PlainsboroHigh School North, Plainsboro, N.J.: “ Remote Learning Failing Blind Students Leaving Us Behind Regan Mading, age 16, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana , Calif.: “ The Lack Education Regarding Epinephrine is Nuts” Arfa Momin , age 17, Stephen F. Austin High School, Sugar Land , Texas: “ The Woman's Pandemic is Boldand Bald Mia Penner, age 17, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Bronx, N.Y.: “ Born Again : How Gen Z Reinventing Faith and Spirituality Kaitlyn Tchang, age 15 Castro Valley High School, Castro Valley, Calif.: “ The Quiet Strength in Simply Not Knowing Aaron Tighe, age 16, Patrician High School, Carrickmacross , Ireland: Don't Let Beijing Become Berlin . PaigeWilliams, age 18, DowningtownSTEM Academy, Downingtown, Pa.: “ It'sTime to Respect Menstruation . Period . ZacharyWu, age 15, NapervilleNorthHighSchool, Naperville, “ Unearthingthe Forgotten Story of Asian America Round4 Finalists Zelda Abramovich, age 14, CaseyMiddleSchool, Amherst, N.Y “ Inevitable: WhyThere Needs to Be More Female Supervillains” The New Times LearningNetwork LillianAli, age 16, CentervilleHigh School, Centerville, Ohio: Raqqa, Syria: A CaseStudyIn The Language Of War Zoe Alsfine, age 15, The Leffell School , White Plains, N.Y.: “ Barbie : Life Outside the Dreamhouse Michael Ashton, age 16, West Port High School , Ocala, Fla .: at Me and Assume Tristan Atreides , age 17, Great Neck South High School , Great Neck, N.Y.: “New York Needs Safe Streets Yasmine Azmi, age 17, Northern Valley Demarest , Demarest , N.J.: “We All Still Have Work to Do Benjamin Balodis, age 15, Stuyvesant High School, New York , N.Y.: the Republican Party Cared About Fiscal Responsibility, They Would Invest in Climate Action” Laura Barbieri, age 16, Fair Lawn High School, Fair Lawn, .: “ The Lack of Importance of Body Norms inthe Ballet Industry” Hollis Belger, age 16, Redwood High School, Larkspur, Calif.: “ How Purpose will Save Gen Z and the Rest of Us ! NayaBen -Meir, age 17, The ArcherSchoolfor Girls, Los Angeles: Givingthe Cold Shoulderto DressCodes Tyler Bennett, age 18, Ellington High School, Ellington, Conn.: “ Mom , Dad, Listen Up Joshua Berg, age 18, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, Mass.: “Why Colleges Should Embrace Virtual Reality for Online Learning Abraham Borst, age 15 Ellington High School, Ellington, Conn .: The Unmentioned 32 Million - How Food Allergies Change the Lives of Families Across America ” Serena Brown, age 16 Evanston Township High School , Evanston , II.: Why Bill Gates Could Have Never Been Black Sofia Byun, age 16, Sierra Canyon High School, Chatsworth, Calif.: Letter Writing in the Age of CovidandAlienation Haley Casey, age 16, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, III.: “ The Biggest Hits of the 1700s” Karan Chakravarthy, age 14, American International School Chennai , Chennai, India : CockroachesDeserve More Respect Avery Chang, age 16, Carroll High School, Southlake, Texas: Flex Time: The Simple Cureto an Epidemic of Stress” Brian Chen , age 15, The Harker School San Jose, Calif.: “ The COVID Era Ends Then What ?" Kim Cherlin , age 15, Seoul International School , Seongnam - si, Korea : “ Hagwon Craze in Korea Begins in Kindergarten ? " Alexandra Chernoff, age 18, Harbord Collegiate Institute, Toronto : “Why We as Individuals Cannot be Expected to Solve Climate Change ” Andrew Chu, age 17, The Nueva School , San Mateo , Calif. “ The Politics of Humility Karina Chung , age 16, Hunter College High School , New York , N.Y.: “ Gen Z is Entering the Workforce. Here's How We Can ConvinceWall Streetto be ClimateConscious. Debaleena Das, age 16, and Hannah Zhang, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, Calif.: The New York Times LearningNetwork ModifyingHighSchoolCurriculato CombatGenderDisparitiesin ComputerScience” Isabella Del Castillo, age 15, Kent DenverSchool Englewood, Colo.: “ The Case for Curly Hair” Athena Deng, age 16, HinsdaleCentral High School, HinsdaleCentral, Whitewashing: Why It's Worse Than You Think Zander Deutch, age 12, Menlo School Atherton, Calif.: "Gerrymandering: The Unspoken Problem DestroyingUS Democracy” Elizabeth Dinh, age 17