Cities across the United States have turned to hostile architecture to curb the homeless population within their cities. Hostile architecture is anything that makes a place less hospitable, such as spikes under an overpass or ridges on a bench to prevent sleeping. These are seen as a quick fix and could potentially benefit businesses by making the cities seem cleaner and potentially deter crime. However, the architecture does nothing to help the homeless, actively taking city funds that could be directed towards helping these people better their lives.

The arrival of postmodern art has brought with it many controversial pieces of art. Some of these art pieces have included physical harm to people, the death of animals, and the destruction of ancient art. These led to an international debate over what is art and what should be limited. If art is limited, it could potentially protect certain thoughts, ideals, or even people and animals. However, if art is limited, it restricts the avenues that artists can use in order to convey a message.

Students applying for college are not submitting their race at higher numbers than ever seen before because of its consideration in admittance. Proponents of not including race into acceptance consideration believe that these factors stereotype and discriminate against certain groups, such as Asian-Americans, whose race can be harmful to their acceptance. Those in favor of race-based admittance believe that it allows people to further express themselves and allows universities to understand their applicant pools.

Dogs have long existed as man's best friend, and with 48 million American households owning a dog, they will continue to hold this title. However, because dogs are typically pets instead of workers, people have started to question the need for purebred dogs. Purebreds are genetically predisposed to certain conditions that lower their quality of life. Purebreds are, however, still used for many necessary reasons, such as guide dogs, protection, and hunting. Not all purebreds are guaranteed to have genetic conditions, and if breeding is done away with, these dogs will no longer be born to be adopted, having no life at all.

Nick, Tyrone, Grasyon, and Zack have known each other since Kindergarten and been good friends since Middle School. Recently, Zack's girlfriend Della has been joining them for their High School lunch break. One day, Della is invited to game night, but is unable to go because of her self defense classes. All the friends are excited to learn more, and impressed by what she is able to do. When Della said that she wanted to learn knife throwing, Nick jokingly warns Zack, and jokes that if she ever pulls a knife on him, all he needs to do is pull out some bread, mayo, and ham and her instincts will kick in. This offended Della, and Nick was forced to defend his joke.

It has become more common than ever to share or borrow accounts to different streaming services, such as Netflix or Hulu. It is estimated that this account sharing is costing these streaming services over $2.7 billion dollars. Many of these shared accounts are families where children have become adults and kept using their parents accounts. These companies wonder if they need to enact stricter restrictions to limit this sharing, which to them constitutes stealing.

James loves to host parties at his house to celebrate with friends or coworkers, and alcohol is almost always involved in these parties. He believes that alcohol can be used to make people feel better, make conversation flow, and allow for more intimate relationships to form. However, the many risks involved, such as inappropriate jokes, undesired sexual contact, and even the potential of drunk driving.

African countries, including Rwanda, have effectively banned the importation of secondhand clothing in order to protect the industry and integrity of their citizens. In Rwanda, secondhand clothing can be found for so cheap, potentially free, that it has devastated the textile industry. Not only has it had economic impact, but it also forces Western dependence upon Rwanda because of their inability to produce their own clothing and the threats against Rwanda for banning these imports, such as being excluded from a U.S. trade deal.

In many poorer countries, such as Nigeria, people will seek to earn a medical degree in order to better their chances to immigrate to richer countries like the United States. This causes "medical brain drain," which is the act of medical professionals leaving their home country for better living conditions. This can be problematic, as it leaves countries like Nigeria without necessary healthcare workers, worsening the medical needs of the nation. Still, these doctors are seeking better lives for themselves and their families, taking advantage of the immigration system of richer nations.

The documentary Tiger King tells the story of many eccentric big cat collectors and their community as a whole. This doumentary pitches Joe Exoctic, the owner of many big cats against the Animal Rights group Big Cat Rescue and its starter Carol Baskins. The presentation of the story sparked controversy, as it portrays Exotic as a sympathetic figure even though he abused his animals and employees, and Baskins as an antagonist even through her conservation efforts. There is no body that dictates how a story must be told in filmmaking, which has led to the makings of ethically dubious shows such as this.

American Dirt, a novel about the journey of a mother and her son seeking refuge in the U.S. was released to mixed reviews. Many immediately attacked the book upon release, saying that it was stereotypical and did not accurately show the challenges Latin Americans face, and that it lifted the voice of a white person who has never experienced these issues. Those in support of the book believe that it may be able to reach a wider audience than other books on the same topic.

Protests erupted in the summer of 2020 over the killings of two African-Americans at the hands of the police. This led to a national call to "defund the police." This desire to "defund the police" has those in favor split into two groups: those who want to abolish policing, and those who want to take money from the police and put it into other community initiatives. There are still many Americans who do not want the police abolished or defunded, citing worries about safety and a lack of an alternative.

In July 2020, Harper's Magazine published an open letter saying that the ability to freely exchange ideas is currently being constricted. This is due to what has become known as "cancel culture," the practice of preventing certain people from being able to freely exchange information because of the negative or derogatory nature of the content. While some see this as an attack on democracy, those in favor of "cancel culture" attest that some ideas should not be allowed to be spoken to create a better society.

Jeremy and Ayla are both involved in the Heritage High School PTA, which is trying to decide on a better way to prevent teenage pregnancy at school. One person proposed the idea of providing condoms in the bathrooms for the students, destigmatizing sex and allowing the students to partake safely. Jeremy believes that providing condoms is a bad idea as it would encourage students to have sex who may otherwise not, thus bringing more problems to the school.

Antoine and Jack recently sat down and talked about what dating was like after being released from prison. Antoine went to prison at eighteen for a crime he didn't commit, while Jack admits to committing the crime, but has changed his ways while in prison. When the two of them are looking for a relationship now that they are free from prison, they struggle with when and how they should tell their dates, or even if they should since it does not define them as anymore.

The aim of discipline has often been to punish a person for wrongdoings that they have committed, but this has a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged students. Instead of punishing students to discipline them, many schools have turned toward wholesome discipline. Rather than punish for something done, schools try to rehabilitate the aggressor to understand their actions and return them to a state before they commit a wrongdoing. This leads to a more supportive environment with accountability, but makes academic and disciplinary outcomes worse.

Fast fashion, the practice of large companies producing trendy, low cost items, has become more controversial with the more clothing waste that it produces. Many major fast fashion brands, such as H&M and Gap, produce items at high rates to keep costs low, but at the expense of quality and major environmental impact. These brands do however provide nicer clothing to those who may not be able to afford sustainable and designer brands.

Since 2014, Korean pop music, or K-Pop, has become increasingly popular all over the world. Many see this rise in popularity as a good thing, as it allows for the rest of the world to experience and connect with new cultures. However, many K-Pop artists are forced into grueling contracts, and experience everything from long hours and high demands to forced plastic surgery and sexual exploitation. Many still see K-Pop as a net good since performers willingly sign their contracts and because a high work ethic is valued in South Korea.

A pastime of Megan and Andy's before the COVID-19 pandemic was to explore new restaurants. When COVID hit, and the government shut down all non-essential businesses, they were unable to do this. When restrictions started lifting, Megan and Andy continued to explore while following safety precautions. Megan was worried that what they were doing was too risky, putting the workers and their families in danger. Andy assured her that what they were doing was ok: with so many unemployed, it was good that people were going back to work and to support the businesses that did not permanently close.

Across America, many universities and other institutions have struggled with the racial inequality in America's past as it relates to the namesakes of many buildings. Many universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have found it within their best interests to change the names of buildings whose namesakes were directly involved in enforcing racial inequality. Many people argue that these buildings should keep their namesakes because they are not as bad as their contemporaries, while others argue that it is demoralizing to see these racist names on campus.