Brawn, Brains and Beauty

Should boys and girls be able to be on the same sports team? My opinion is that girls and boys should be able to be on the same team. Boys bring brawn and girls bring brains to sports. Both bring beauty. What I mean by this is that boys are aggressive and fast while girls are strategic and focused. Girls make smarter passes than boys. Both bring beauty means each gender brings something special to the team or sport. There is a girl named Jaden Newman who wants to play in the NBA, which is a boys league. If you go to YouTube and search 11-Year-Old Basketball Prodigy Jaden Newman’s Sick Crossover Tearin’ It Up, this video will convince you that girls could be as good as boys are when playing basketball.

Click on Jaden's name below to see YouTube video referenced in argument.

Jaden Newman

Should boys and girls be on the same team? by Nathan Kwon

Boys and girls often enjoy playing on the same team. Some people believe that boys and girls should be able to play on the same team, but some disagree. I believe that both genders should be able to play on the same team. The boys or girls might make the team much better. During the baseball season, Micah—a friend of mine--had a girl for a teammate, and the girl was one of the best players on the team. Also, girls might have certain strengths that boys lack, and vice versa. A girl might have a good technique against an opponent, and the boys could bring aggression to the game. Both boys and girls being on the same team could bring a powerful lineup to a team.

The risks are the reward by Micah Lee

I think boys and girls can be on the same team. But what if girls want to play on the same team with boys and the boys or administrator refuse? How will the girls and the parents react? It is the same thing with boys. I understand that girls and boys may get hurt because the opposite gender may play too aggressively. Then, again, some players--boys and girls--may be up for the risk.

Like the Under-Amour active wear campaign insists, "No pain, no gain."

Risks are begging to be taken when involved in sports. Sometimes those risks are worth being taken, as is the case with boys and girls playing on the same team. I understand that the administrator has the authority to overturn that decision; but, for the most part, boys and girls should be allowed to play as members of the same team.

Don't judge a girl by her looks by Hogan Kim

I believe that girls and boys could play on the same team because girls have some things that boys don't have. For example, most girls are taller than boys. Boys are usually small when they are young. Girls hit their biggest growth spurt between the ages of 10 and 12. Boys are typically much older when they start getting tall. Traditionally, boys were more involved in sports. Boys were faster, more aggressive, and even better all around in sports than girls were But not anymore. Sometimes girls are more aggressive. Sometimes they are even better than boys. Don't judge a girl by her looks!

Let the games begin by Zoe Ramirez

I believe that boys and girls should be able to play the same sport on the same team. I believe this because boys and girls together can create a really good team. I am speaking from personal experience.

I played in a co-ed league for about one year. With girls' aggression and boys' offensive skills, the team was very good. We won the championship with a co-ed team, and there was an even mix of boys and girls.

Boys complain that it's not right to be aggressive toward a girl. But girls can be aggressive toward anyone. Even though girls can be aggressive, girls are not necessarily good playing offense in basketball. The boys are usually better playing offense.

The most common complaint among girls is that girls can get hurt playing against boys. But the truth is, girls can be more aggressive than boys. This means that even if girls played in an all-girl league, they could still get hurt.

Overall, I think girls and boys should be able to play on the same team.

Girls and Boys on the same Sports Team by Jalen Bayani

I believe girls and boys should be able to be on the same sports team because both genders have different strengths in different parts of a sport. For example, in both basketball and soccer, girls are good at offense, while boys are good at defense. In addition, girls are good at guarding, while boys are good at shooting. I might be wrong because girls can get hurt if boys play a little more rough than the girls are expecting. But, overall, I think girls are tough enough for that.

Girl Power!

So, can girls and boys be part of the same sports team? My answer is a definitive yes.

My first dance performance by Jalen Bayani

My first dance performance was at The Theater in Cal Poly. Our dance group was sitting in the crowd until it was our turn to dance. Backstage, we were practicing our dance right before we went on. Finally, when we went on stage, I felt the feeling of when you see a lot of people and you are about to perform for them. So, we started dancing and I felt so confident doing one of the moves, and I fell. I fell because I lost balance on my foot. Of course, I was in the front, but luckily, after my fall, I transitioned to the back. When the dance was over, we went backstage and my friend Brooklyn asked me, “Why did you fall?” She was giggling. I said that I had lost my balance because it was true.

This was my first dance performance, and I fell. I lost my balance, and I fell. Why did you fall? That was the easy question to ask. What I will remember most about that fall is that I got right back up and finished the dance. I learned an important lesson at that performance. Maybe one day Brooklyn will have to learn how to pick herself up after a fall. Then, she will understand the better question to ask.

An Interview of Anna by Madison Pfeiffer

When I was interviewing Anna, she actually did not want to talk about most of her experiences of life behind the Iron Curtain, especially after the death of her brother Peter. So, I wrote down all of the questions she did answer.  Fifty-five years later, Anna still thinks that if she says the wrong thing she will get in trouble.

Q.  What emotions were going through your head when Gerda told you she was sorry about your brother (Peter)?

A. The emotions that were going through my head at the time were probably that my best friend knew that my brother was going to West Berlin.

Q. Were you scared about what might happen to you if you went to the West?

A. Yes. I was scared, but I knew that if Gerta was going to do it, then I was going to do it, too.  She also talked me into it.

Q. Was there a point when you regretted what you said to Gerda about the tunnel?

A. Yes. I regretted always almost all of the words I said to Gerta, from the time I found out about my brother, to the time I climbed into the tunnel.

Q. Did you ever think about what might be going on in Gerta’s head or how she might have been feeling?

A. No, I was worried about myself and about my family.  I was really scared, and I did not care about Gerta or about what she was going through.