Algebra II Honors students Alex Franklin, Avani Lakkireddy, and Carlos Salazar teamed up to uncover the tragic truth of corporate greed in their STEM presentation named “America’s Drug Problem.”
Every year, Algebra II Honors students work hard to create presentations regarding science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). Ever since October, groups of students have been researching, creating presentations, and building websites. And finally, these students have presented after months of hard work.
Although these presentations are usually in person during student flex time, this year it has looked a little different. Students shared their presentations online via Zoom, and while it did take away the human aspect of an in-person presentation, it means anyone at any time can watch any presentation here.
Alex, Avani, and Carlos’ presentation explains the relationship between the privatization of the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid epidemic. They argue that while pharmaceutical companies are supposed to provide a beneficial service to those in need, business tactics have furthered drug addiction by making it more difficult to prescribe pain-killers other than opioids. Opioids are a highly addictive drug that have pain-killing properties, and while other pain-killers exist, it is profitable for doctors to prescribe opioids because the more they prescribe, the more money they get.
Students had the choice to do whatever they wanted as long as it related to STEM and was approved by Mr. Thurman. Group member Alex Franklin stated that “we chose to do our topic mainly because it was something we were interested in and had some prior knowledge on.” The presentation includes an extensive amount of relevant information in a concise manner, making what would normally be a complicated topic into a 15-minute digestible presentation. Franklin later explained this process, “I’d say the project took 7 plus hours to complete, the most difficult part was the research but overall it wasn’t extremely difficult.”
As Barstow continues to adapt to the pandemic, students and teachers have persisted by finding clever ways to continue traditions integral to the validity of the school.
