By Michelle Pitcher
Editor-in-Chief

Amid the tweets about the rumored Free Burrito Day at Chipotle (Feb. 14 if you kiss someone in the restaurant), I saw something rather surprising on my twitter feed. Several of my peers were live-tweeting last night’s State of the Union Address, and, much to my surprise, they were not just commenting on the slip-ups and glazed-over eyes of the politicians onscreen.

For the first time, social media was serving as an outlet for political discussion and commentary. This differed greatly from the heckling and name-calling I saw in the days leading up to the 2012 election (don’t even get me started).

Twitter and Facebook are powerful tools. With one look, I can (at least somewhat) accurately determine someone’s interests, political views, religious beliefs and educational background. Far too often, I see my peers representing themselves inaccurately or inappropriately on these sites. Now, however, it seems more high school students are using these sites as media for expression of serious beliefs.

I would encourage everyone to not hold back. If you have something insightful to say, say it. Do not tweet only to get favorites; tweet because you want your ideas to be heard.