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Mary Retta

Mary Retta is the education columnist for Teen Vogue. She writes about Black feminism, youth movements, and internet culture. Her work has been featured in VICE, The Nation, Bitch Media, the Columbia Journalism Review, and more.
Government

What Happens When a Community’s Schools Are Closed Down?

“There’s been no evidence that closing underserved schools will help students in any way.”
Justice

Students Have a Plan to Make Their School Districts Listen

Chi-RADS is building community and student power.
Politics

Parents Face Punishment for Keeping Kids at Home During COVID

“I am not willing to sacrifice my child’s health for the sake of the economy.”
Justice

Autistic Students Want to Be Seen As Their Full Selves At School

Neurodivergent students deserve more than the bare minimum.
Culture

On TikTok, Food Foragers Bring History Into the Present

“It’s in our blood, and I think reconnecting with that brings a deep sense of satisfaction.”
Politics

The School Board Fights Are Just Getting Started

2022 could get ugly.
Politics

What’s Really Behind the Housing Crisis at Howard

Students say their conditions are unlivable.
Politics

Why RAs at Stanford Are On Strike

“Stanford is failing us.”
Politics

Students Face Eviction After COVID Moratorium Expires

“I am at risk of being houseless.”
Politics

School-Bus Drivers Have Had Enough

Drivers are quitting and retiring at an astonishing rate.
Justice

Disabled Students Worry About Return to In-Person Learning

“I’m absolutely terrified.”
Politics

So Many Teachers Are Leaving Their Jobs

"Too much is expected of teachers without the pay or benefits to back [it] up.”
Politics

This Organization Is Fighting to Get Cops Out of Libraries

“Their presence does not make people feel safe.”
History

Teachers See Bans on Discussing Race in School As a ‘Political Ploy’

“[Lawmakers] created a problem that did not exist.”
Justice

Thousands of Student Researchers Are Unionizing

“Many of us are living paycheck to paycheck.”
Culture

For Black Women on LeftTube, Success Is a Double-Edged Sword

For years, Black women creators have called attention to racism in YouTube’s audiences and algorithms. Now, they’re thriving — but that success is multifaceted.
Politics

How You Can Help Abolish Campus Police

#AbolitionMay is underway.
Politics

What Anti-Trans State Laws Are Doing to Trans Students

“It’ll make living in my actual body frightening and hard.”
Environment

17 Young People on the Moment the Climate Crisis Became Real to Them

From watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ to living through Superstorm Sandy.
Politics

Schools Are Pressuring Students to Get Back to ‘Normal’

“It feels like they have moved on.”
Justice

Stanford Students Finally Win an African American Studies Department

“This was not a gain that was granted, it was a gain that was demanded.” 
Justice

For Students in Prison, Remote Learning Has Been a Disaster

“There is no way to compensate for the lack of human contact.”
Politics

Students Pushed Harvard to Cancel Course on Policing

Black and Latinx communities aren’t “laboratories for experimentation,” one student said.
Government

A $15 Minimum Wage Would Be Life-Changing for Students

It’s currently only $7.25!