Author: Madison Smith

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To my fellow students (re: COVID-19)

I’ve been putting off writing this for some time now. Mainly, because every week, every day, and every hour, some circumstance changes regarding the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. I, as a sophomore in college, of course, find this terribly frustrating; but, in my gut, I also know this frustration is privileged. I know well enough that as students in the year 2020, we are incredibly lucky to be able to continue learning online as a result of the modern advancements in technology.

On the flip side of that coin, there is a small part of me that also lives with my peers and knows that living life behind a screen certainly isn’t fulfilling. However, rather than whine and moan about the moments which will not come to fruition, I am going to choose instead to use those initial feelings of frustration as a motivator to appreciating what it is about college that translates into the cliché “best four years of my life”— and urge my classmates to turn this pandemic into a moment of appreciation as well.

As I sat on the couch with my father last night, we spoke about his favorite memories from his time at West Virginia University. While watching his face light up at the mention of studying with friends late in the library or eating cold pizza for breakfast, I was able to identify my own value in what I thought was freedom. However, after a second thought, I realized it was simply the connection and the endless possibilities to connect with students, teachers, strangers, and friends. These relations cultivated in the library, or even on the street, are what sets the college campus’ apart.

Although I, and many others, may not get those opportunities for connection this year, I can appreciate them more now knowing that they may be gone. How many times in your life have you stopped to think about how wonderful something was only after it was gone?

If anything, this pandemic has brought us all an opportunity for reflection and evaluation of the things we hold dear.

Although students across the country will experience this school year from behind a computer screen, we must all remember that
we are still a part of something bigger than ourselves. If I could only say one thing to my peers, it would be to remember this: every face mask you wear, every cancellation of your favorite school event, and every time you find yourself missing the sight of raised hands next to you — those sacrifices are part of something bigger, and that selfless connection between you and others will be worth it in the long run.

Stay motivated, and stay safe,

Madison Smith

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Youth sports persevere in spite of pandemic

There’s a reason why “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is one of the most easily recognized songs in America. As a tribute to our national pastime, the tune holds relevancy as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens sports across the country.

From leagues as large as the NFL, to as small as Parkland’s Little League, players and fans recognize the impact sports have on wellbeing, education, and morale. The quarantine we all struggled with has proved the importance of sports as parents tried to find ways to entertain children without organized team activities.

This fall, Parkland hopes to deliver to the community a sports season that incorporates a variety of social distancing practices.

Richard Walker, a Parkland city commissioner, is spearheading the plan to accommodate new guidelines throughout a variety of Parkland leagues.

“Kids need social interaction and the opportunity to listen and learn from their coaches. There’s an element of learning outside the classroom that is definitely valuable,” Walker said.

While he maintains the situation is “fluid,” Parkland plans for fall leagues to continue under Broward County guidelines. This includes socially distancing viewers around the field, as well as spreading individual games farther apart across fields.

Local baseball has continued successfully this summer during the pandemic, and Parkland parents proved they were willing to follow all necessary steps to allow their children to compete.

However, if schools choose to reopen classrooms this fall, it may become more of a challenge for sports to continue if cases rise, specifically with indoor contact activities like basketball and wrestling.

What’s so threatening about a potential shutdown isn’t just the loss of everyday structure, but also how young athletes may have to work even harder next year just to return to the level they competed at before their training time was interrupted.

Demi Snyder, a South Florida local and member of the Harvard women’s tennis team, recently received news that all fall sports at her institution would be canceled. The cancellation affects her preseason training while she awaits a decision for the 2021 spring season.

“Because we missed our last season due to the pandemic, I may only get two seasons with my team to represent my school. After putting so many hours into my sport, it’s hard to know I might not play my first tennis season until I am a junior. It’s tough because there’s no one to blame. It’s just the situation that we’ve been dealt.”

As the future of sports has been threatened indefinitely, it remains important to listen to the voices of our sports community, who all convey their determination and willingness to adapt during tough circumstances.

So long as our community is willing to listen and propose new solutions, athletes this fall can be given the opportunity to prove they are capable of tremendous endurance, beyond the physical feat of passing home base.

 

By Madison Smith

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Rampant Allergies? The eyes have it

This summer, your immune system certainly isn’t the only part of your body you should be looking after.

As residents of South Florida, taking care of our eyes should certainly remain a top priority as people begin to flock to the beaches and their backyards. Summer weather and activities, in particular, can cause excessive strain, irritation, or permanent damage.

Luckily, there are a plethora of practices we can follow to combat these effects, while still participating in a summer of fun. Dr. Adrienne Florczyk, an optometrist in Coral Springs, offers a few tips that families everywhere can follow.

A mask shouldn’t be the only protective accessory you’re investing in.

Wearing sunglasses that are 100% UV protection polarized are the most efficient in blocking out harmful rays to make sure you don’t get a sunburn of the eye. A broad-brimmed hat can also be helpful for shading your eyes from direct sunlight. Additionally, shoppers can order UV protection contact lenses if they are contact users.

Watch out for water parks

Waterparks, pools, and beaches can all contain bacteria or chemicals that irritate the eyes. Wearing waterproof goggles is one way to protect your eyes, but if you have children who aren’t so fond of them, Dr. Florczyk recommends buying preservative free artificial tears that flush out the eyes after spending some time in the water.

Yard work can put your eyes at risk

While any outside activity can dry out or trap bacteria in your eyes, yard work, especially, requires some attention. If you are spraying sunscreen, bug spray, or other chemicals that may get in your eyes, you should wear safety goggles or polycarbonate sunglasses that won’t break during landscaping. They also act as a shield from any falling brush or debris.

Spending your relaxation time inside? Your eyes still need protection!

A lot of our down time is spent staring at a television, computer, or phone screen. Unfortunately, it can cause excessive eye strain, especially from the blue wavelengths emitted by these devices.
If you’re staring at a screen, follow the 20-20-20 rule—every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break, and look 20 feet away. This gives your eyes a needed break to keep them healthy. Blue
light glasses, a newer product, also filter out the blue light from screens by using anti-glare coating. Because blue light has been proven to disrupt your natural sleep cycle, this type of eyewear is growing increasingly popular.

By Madison Smith

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Non-native species in South Florida: Harmful, or helpful?

As the community of Parkland continues to urbanize, it can be easy to forget how close the wild, thriving world of nature is — until those plants or animals end up dominating your backyard.

Because of our close proximity to the Everglades, Parkland’s wildlife system is interconnected with the “river of grass” and all of its ecological complexity. In recent years, residents and scientists have noticed and studied the lingering effects that non-native plants and animals have on the delicate balance of the food chain here in South Florida.

When a non-native plant or animal is introduced to an ecosystem, it often does not have any natural predators in the area. This may lead the species to become invasive, meaning it will cause ecological harm due to its rapid ability to reproduce. The Burmese python is one of the most notorious interlopers to our area, although not by its own choosing.

History.com reports that pythons, native to Southeast Asia, were first brought to the United States as exotic pets. “When the exotic pet trade boomed in the 1980s, Miami became host to thousands of such snakes,” the website reports.

“Because pythons can grow to such unmanageable sizes, it was inevitable that some irresponsible owners would release the snakes into the wild. But most experts believe the pythons established a reproducing population in the Everglades sometime after Hurricane Andrew—a category 5 storm that devastated the state in August 1992.

“It was during that storm that a python breeding facility was destroyed, releasing countless snakes into the nearby swamps.” History.com asserts.

The consequences of these human mistakes are alarmingly clear. As pythons continue to exist near the top of the food chain, the populations of small, warm- blooded animals have become noticeably absent. This disruption to the balance of animal populations is worrying because it can have disastrous effects on even more species if the pythons are left to wreak havoc.

What’s more, researchers recently discovered that Burmese pythons are responsible for spreading a parasite known as “tongue worm” to other native Floridian species of snakes.

The Palm Beach Post reports that “While pythons have developed defense mechanisms to keep the parasite in check, Florida snakes are naïve to the intruders’ methods with a biology unequipped to defend against them.”

As time has revealed that invasive species are capable of causing chaos which trickles down into many different aspects of the ecosystem, the call to eradicate and monitor the introduction of non- native species grows stronger across the media. However, what most residents aren’t aware of is the fact that non-native animals have also been used in a number of beneficial ways here in South Florida.

One non-native species that was introduced, ironically, to biologically combat another dangerous invasive species is the thrip bug. Thrip bugs, which are native to Brazil, can be used as a biological control to feed on the Brazilian pepper tree, which has invaded over 700 thousand acres of Florida and crowds out native hammocks, pinelands, and mangrove forests.

According to CBS Miami, officials specifically chose thrip bugs for this task because they were proven to not be of harm to Florida’s natural ecosystem, and are successful at weakening the invasive tree species.

What’s more interesting about this phenomenon is that scholars like Carey Minteer (assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida), who spoke to Local 10 News, claim that they have “a very long and successful record of using biological controls in Florida,” which may come as a surprise to some who perhaps made up their mind that non-native species should never be introduced to a new habitat because of creatures like the python.

Researchers tend to argue that as long as the biological control is experimentally tested and proven not to be an invasive threat to its new environment, then the introduction of a non-native species is actually quite beneficial. Oxitec, a British biotechnology company, was just approved by the Florida department of agriculture and consumer services to release a swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes across the Florida keys in the fight against disease carrying mosquitoes, even with the outcry of over 200,000 petition signers that claim Oxitec has not done enough research on the effects the mosquitoes may have on such a fragile ecosystem.

“The distinction between native and non-native species does not disappear over time,” smithsonianmag.com reports.

At least two of Florida’s main agricultural products, for example, citrus and sugar cane, are and always will be non-native. Sugar cane was introduced in the 1760s and citrus between 1513 and 1565.

And since there is no time limit, there’s at least one more non-native and arguably invasive species that has had an overwhelming
impact on Florida: Us.

By Madison Smith

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