THE RETURN OF THE EYE

By: BHS Features Staff

February 19, 2025

Each year, the World Cancer Research Fund organizes Cancer Prevention Action Week, aimed at helping to prevent cancer by supporting and encouraging individuals to change their daily bad habits to reduce their risk of preventable cancers. 

This year’s Cancer Prevention Action Week looks into the effects of alcohol that can potentially lead to cancer.

Many people do not know the effects that alcohol has with cancer, specifically seven types of cancers due to the consumption of alcohol.

• Breast Cancer
• Bowel Cancer
• Head Cancer
• Neck Cancer
• Oesophageal Cancer
• Liver Cancer
• Stomach Cancer

The goal of Cancer Prevention Action Week is to encourage people and the government about the effects that alcohol has and to gain more awareness on the matter.

Why is the government involved with this? Well, that’s because most governments’ strategies on alcohol are outdated, and they need to improve their strategies by applying better labels, changing the taxes and prices, and tightening regulations.

Many people drink for fun and may not know the effects on the body. The effects of alcohol can cause cancer because when alcohol is inside the body, compounds are formed that may damage DNA, and when the DNA is damaged, it causes a high risk of cancer. Drinking can also damage the liver, causing cirrhosis. 

Drinking too much can damage numerous organs such as the liver, heart, and brain. Drinking can also damage the immune system, causing a person to be more attractive to harmful viruses and illnesses. Additionally, the brain’s communication pathways can change a person’s mood and behavior and worsen overall coordination. Drinking too much can also put one at higher risk for strokes. 

Nobody wants cancer, but cancer wants everybody else, especially if you are an alcoholic. So, eliminate or cut down on the partying and go get yourself a nice ice-cold glass of water. 

If you aren’t an alcoholic, show your support and donate to the World Cancer Research Fund.

Be smart, and stay safe! In the words of Tim McGraw, “This ain’t nothing to die for.”

{Information sourced from Awareness Days, WCRF, CPAW, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.}

By: BHS Features Staff

February 12, 2025

Valentine’s Day is perfect for giving mediocre chocolates and flowers to someone you love or care about, but who or what started this annual tradition?

Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, but most of this day’s history is unknown. What we do know is that February has been celebrated as a romantic month. This holiday has both Roman and Catholic traditions, but who was this Saint Valentine who has been tied to this day?

Most Catholic churches recognize three different individuals named Saint Valentine or Valentinus. All three of these Saints were martyred. One legend states that Valentine was serving as a priest in Rome. He was on a mission to have couples keep the right to marry each other when Emperor Claudius II decided that marriage should be outlawed for young men due to single men performing better as soldiers. Valentine was not happy with this and continued to perform private marriages for young lovers. Eventually, Valentine was caught and was sentenced to death by Emperor Claudius II. 

Other legends suggest that Valentine was not killed for performing marriage but for helping Christians escape the harsh and abusive Roman prisons. Some stories suggest that Valentine was imprisoned and sent “Valentines,” greeting himself to a young girl who he was in love with. 

Before his death, he allegedly wrote a letter and signed it with “From your Valentine,” which is an expression still commonly used today. Although most of these legends are hard to prove, these stories emphasize Valentine as a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic figure.

Some believe that the Valentine’s Festival started as a way to memorialize Valentine’s burial. Others believe that the middle of February was chosen to celebrate Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival dedicated to the Roman God of agriculture. Roman priests gathered in a sacred cave and got carried by a she-wolf. The priests would then sacrifice a goat or dog for fertility and purification. 

Valentine’s Day is most known for Cupid, but who is he? Cupid is the Greek God of love, named Eros. Details of his birth are unknown, but many believe that his parents were either Aphrodite and Ares or Nyx and Erebus. According to the Greek poets, Eros was a handsome god who loved to play with other god’s emotions. He used golden arrows to make one person fall in love with another. During the Hellenistic Period, Eros was perceived as mischievous and later renamed Cupid.  

Valentine’s Day is also about giving gifts. In the middle of the 18th century, it was common for friends and lovers to give gifts as small tokens of affection. By the 19th century, however, as the printing industry improved, handwritten letters were replaced by prewritten cards. In the present, an estimated 145 million cards are sent out each year, making Valentine’s Day the second-largest card-sending holiday with Christmas as the largest.

Now that we are on that topic, let’s take a look at the three most popular gifts to give on Valentine’s Day.

*Number 1: Cards

It was expected that this would be the number one since, as stated before, Valentine’s cards started as a tradition during the 18th and 19th centuries. In today’s world, Valentine’s cards are the easiest gift to give on this day, as it is estimated that around 145 million cards are sent each year.

*Number 2: Personalized Gifts

Personalized gifts are just as popular as the overrated premade cards. Customized gifts are the better way to show affection because they show that you care about something the receiver likes and enjoys.

*Number 3: Chocolate

Chocolate? Why not! Most people think of the iconic red heart boxes filled with chocolate. This decadent treat is a great gift to give when you feel unsure of what to purchase.

As this lovely holiday is getting closer, you better find a partner. If you do not, well, it sucks to be you! You can always dream about marrying your celebrity crush. 😍

{Information for this article sourced from Smart Wills and History Channel.}

By: BHS Features Staff

February 5, 2025

We are five days into February, which means we are also five days into Black History Month. Therefore, we decided to explore the origins of Black History Month instead of writing an article about important individuals.

Black History Month started in 1915 in Chicago, Illinois. Carter G. Woodson, an alumnus of The University of Chicago, traveled from Washington, D.C., to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation. Thousands of African-Americans from everywhere traveled to celebrate and highlight the progress people have made since the destruction of slavery. On September 9, 1915, Woodson met four individuals to form the Association for the Study of Black Life and History (ASNLH).

Woodson wished for the world to popularize the accomplishments of African-Americans, which he added to the Journal of Black History, his creation in 1916. He asked black civic organizations to promote these achievements. In 1924, they responded to Woodson by publishing Black History and Literature Week, which was later named Black Achievement Week. 

In the 1920s, Black History Week spread and became a tradition in schools. Due to the uprising of black people migrating to the South, black literature and culture spread rapidly. This caused black history groups to form, and teachers prepared all of the needed materials.

The reason Woodson picked February for BHM is because it is commonly stated that February holds two important figures who helped shape black history. Those people were Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas, whose birthdays fell on February 12 and February 14. The other important reason why February was selected was because of traditions since Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. The black community and many others celebrated the fallen president’s birthday, and since the late 1890s, they have celebrated Douglas’ birthday as well. Woodson was also aware of pre-existing traditions, so he made Black History Week around some of those traditional days of commemorating black history.

Woodson never liked that it was originally a celebration of Lincoln and Douglas. Although they were important to black history, he believed that history was made by the people and not simply just by two great men. He believed that it should be focused on the countless men and women who contributed to society. 

In the 1930s, Woodson made sure that teachers, black and white, had better education and had a greater education than the students. Any speakers who the teachers brought in also had to be knowledgeable. Books that were published by black people slowly started showing up in schools and markets. 

In the 1940s, schools in the South slowly started to teach Black History, often by black teachers. Black history was a topic that was eventually added to U.S. History. This did not mean that every teacher accepted this new curriculum, though. There was a report of a teacher hiding all of Woodson’s textbooks under the desk, making sure the principal would not find out to avoid conflict. 

In West Virginia during the 1940s, many African-Americans started to celebrate February as Black History Month due to Woodson often giving speeches there. By the 1970s, Black History Month became an annual celebration, nationally. 

Before Woodson’s death in the 1950s, he pushed for schools to use Black History Week to show what the students had learned all year. He also made sure that adults could learn about their past with a black studies extension program.

Anyone can celebrate Black History Month, regardless of their cultural background because as American citizens, we are a melting pot of societal contributions.

“No man knows what he is capable of until he tries,” Carter G. Woodson.

{Information for this article is sourced from ASALH.}