What Would You Do? Friendship Edition

Fanta Dabo - Co-Editors-in-Chief - Andrea Gill

Two Mainstream writers take on the concept of “What would you do?” and offer their unique thinking on a number of questions that test how they see the world.

Scenario: Your friend invites you to eat out for the 3rd time this month. Even though you’ve paid for the previous dinners, they seem reluctant to pay for this one. What would you do?

Fanta: In this situation, I would nicely ask the friend why they invited me out if they couldn’t even pay for themselves. If they genuinely cannot pay for it, I would pay this time, but would tell them that I am not going out with them again if they continue to depend on me.

Andrea: I would take the pattern of this behavior as a sign of disrespect in our friendship. If we are as close as I thought, they could talk to me about any struggles they have. We didn’t have to always eat out if money was an issue and could have engaged in other activities. Until they notice their fault, our relationship will slowly become distant.

Scenario: Your two best friends are dating each other. You find out one of them is cheating on the other. What would you do?

Fanta: In this situation, I would confront the cheater, and tell the friend that is being cheated on. I have loyalty to both, so I owe them both the truth, regardless of the outcome of their relationship. If I was in this position, I’d want to know the truth, so I would respect them enough to tell them, as well.

Andrea: I would have not mentioned anything even if it’s hard to close my mouth. Though my best friends are dating, I’m not part of the relationship between them. I would be extremely disappointed in the person who cheated and lose trust in them, but I would leave it up to them to tell the truth. If I did confess, I would be included in the problem that I was never in.

Scenario: Your friend expresses their passion for becoming a rapper. They truly believe they will become successful, but it is the worst music you’ve ever heard. What would you do?

Fanta: In this situation, I would try my hardest to push them in another direction for their career. I would advise them to rap as a hobby, but not as a career. It would be gentle, but I would let them know that their music is not it, so they should start thinking about plan B for their future.

Andrea: I would tell them the truth straight up. If they are an important person to me than their future is also something I care about. Even if the truth will hurt them, I would have to admit that their music is horrible and that the stability of a career in becoming a rapper will be lacking. They can be good at many other things.

Scenario: Your sibling invites their friend over, and you quickly find out they lack manners. They jump on furniture, speak very loud, and leave messes everywhere. What would you do?

Fanta: In this situation, I would speak directly to the friend and let them know that they either act correctly, or they can see themselves out of my house. They aren’t my friend, so I don’t need to sugarcoat what I say to them. Having manners at people’s houses is the bare minimum, so if they can’t do that, then they don’t need to be out at all, and I would let my sibling know that they won’t be coming back.

Debate with Friends

Andrea: I would talk to my sibling first before anything else. It’s my sibling’s job to deal with the guests they have brought over to the house. Also, my sibling can’t start any arguments with me about disrespecting their friend when I’ve asked them first to handle the situation.

Staff Writer

hat is a book? For most, books represent something between a form of entertainment, an escape from reality, a form of expression, or something you’re forced to read for school. You’ve all encountered a set of written words one way or another in our lives, and no matter how or when we’ve seen or used a book, it may have indirectly shaped your perspective on the world around you.

However, across the nation in recent years, leaders have taken the extreme step of banning certain books in schools. The primary focus of these bans has been books that involve content about racism, history, assault and domestic violence, and LGBTQ+ issues or characters.

The idea that banning books is “protecting” or “sheltering” innocent minds of students from large and heavy topics such as racial oppression is false. Removing these topics from the library shelf or the classroom is only silencing the stories of those who have gone through struggles unimaginable to most. Students become more naive the more they are unaware of the differences and disparities in the lives around them.

As schools remove and cut down on book content, students miss out on not only possible social enrichment but also opportunity. Books can teach us, starting from a young age, about differences in our communities; books are a pathway to learning about cultures, differences in lives, and real-life experiences.

In Barbara VanDenburgh’s article “Book bans are on the rise. What are the most banned books and why?” she notes that, “In 2021, the ALA recorded 729 book challenges targeting 1,597 titles. That’s more than double 2020’s figures and the highest number since the organization began recording data in 2000.”

With the number of banned books increasing, students become blinded to the real world and the issues are seen every day. VanDenrugh also lists some of the most commonly banned books in school systems across the nation, which reveals that some of the top bans have been for some of the most renowned books in school curriculums including “To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, and The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck.”

It is important that we keep the discussion active about these issues, even if they are a lot to unpack, and books are a way to do so. Students gain a different level of knowledge the more they read. Students can gauge a different perspective the more they read, and it can introduce them to diverse groups of people and cultures.

The more people read, especially adolescents, it helps adolescents overcome systemic barriers. By reading these banned books, students will grow to be understanding and welcoming to people from all backgrounds and walks of life. The ban on books for secondary schools (middle and high schools) needs to be lifted in order for stories to still be told and the truth to never be forgotten.