Issues & Ideas – The Panther

The difficulty of standing up

Remy Farkas, Editor-In-Chief

April 30, 2016

For many women, being assertive is a difficult and daunting task. This holds especially true for teenage girls who are still developing an identity and self-confidence. In a commercial recently released by Secret Deodorant, a businesswoman is depicted looking into a bathroom mirror rehearsing her pitch to ...

The pivotal shift in the presidential debates

Marlowe Starling, Insight Editor

April 27, 2016

On television stations across the country, the new wave of presidential candidates stand before wooden podiums wearing business attire and masks of confidence. Nearly every American history buff could go on for hours talking about presidential debates throughout the years, both during and before their ow...

Redrawing the line between pro-choice and pro-life

Carmella Jimenez, Copy Editor

February 19, 2016

In July of last year, many pro-life advocates seethed with reenergized hatred towards Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health services, including abortions. The Center for Medical Progress, a self-described group of citizen journalists for the advancement of ethics i...

Why is there no Miss Panther?

Emily Diez, Report Editor

February 10, 2016

Every year, Palmetto hosts the annual Mr. Panther mock beauty pageant for men and every year, the question arises: if there is a Mr. Panther, why is there no Miss Panther? Some speculate that girls do not have their own version of Mr. Panther because of common stereotypes, e.g. being catty, compet...

Puppies, monkeys and babies – oh my!

Marlowe Starling, Insight Editor

February 10, 2016

To the most hard-core football fans, commercials act as unnecessary interruptions, but even they can enjoy the classic entertainment Americans look forward to once a year at the end of an oh-so-short football season. Each year brings a different mix of commercials: the cameos, the heartwarming an...

An open letter to all second semester seniors

Annabel Sanz, Print Editor-in-Chief

January 28, 2016

It’s a strange feeling when the moment you have been waiting four years for arrives and it is not what you expected it to be. I am highly certain that the words, “I can’t wait for second semester” came out of my mouth more times than I have failed a Vargas quiz this year but now that sec...

Say no to participation awards

Emma Seckinger, Print Managing Editor

January 10, 2016

An MVP and a benchwarmer play two different roles on a team. One holds the responsibility of delivering commanding performances consistently in order to help their team win. The other sits on the sidelines and offers encouragement to the other players. These two roles, both important to the overall team...

Why Free the Nipple became this generation’s most exclusive clique

Claudia Vera, Online Editor In Chief

January 7, 2016

In the 21st century, we have watched the terminology of a female breast transform from anatomical dialect to the symbol of a modern day movement. Free the Nipple – a campaign that fights against the criminalization of female nudity in the United States – encourages women to wholly embrace their anatomy...

You have been Blocked

Remy Farkas, Feature Editor

November 30, 2015

90 minutes… 45 minutes… 30 minutes… Finally the bell rings signaling third period and students shove to get out of the classroom they spent more than two hours in their first period class. After six days of block scheduling, students have expressed mixed reviews on the new schedule which consi...

Confessions of an Advanced Placement student

Victoria Arguelles, Online Managing Editor

May 6, 2015

Entering high school, students learn the three things most critical for getting into college: maintaining a high grade point average, being involved in countless extracurricular activities both in and outside of school, and taking challenging courses. The last factor, taking challenging courses, often po...

An altered state of reality

Ava Gruener, Insight Editor

April 16, 2015

“Nothing bad can come from only smoking occasionally… Drinking once a week does not result in any permanent damage” – wrong. In the same way that Coach Carr in “Mean Girls” argued sex will result in pregnancy and death, students spread and cling to common fallacies about the effects of drugs...

What do we know.

Kurt Panton, Adviser

March 22, 2015

What do we know? A teacher at Palmetto High School has been arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with a student. What do we know? The relationship went on for months until it was finally reported last week. What do we know? The teacher in question has resigned while an investigation into...