By Chris Acampora and Kristen Plahn

In December, students were given the gift of no homework assignments on Tuesdays. But, was this a rip-off? Tuesdays in December are limited and that makes homework-free days hard to come by. If the school system wishes to continue with “No Homework Tuesdays,” as they are dubbed, then they should consider having more than the two half days in December that we had this year. The combo of a half day with no homework almost creates a day off, a day that is free to do things with friends and family.

Superintendent Matthew Ferron started “No Homework Tuesdays” across the district this past December to give students “family time.” But the policy actually reduced it. Because of Tuesday’s lack of homework, many teachers gave homework on the weekend to make up for it. The weekends are prime time for being with family; a Tuesday, not so much. In addition, “No Homework Tuesdays” could actually be counterproductive, and increase student workload. If you look at the five Tuesdays we had in December, you might realize that Christmas break was one week and some teachers gave homework during the first week in the month which. That reduced our “No Homework Tuesdays” to a mere three days. Since Tuesdays are mid week, teachers who can’t assign homework that day just push plans back a day.  If there are five school days in a week, and only four days to give homework, where does the last one go? The weekend.

A possible solution to this dilemma is a “Work-free Weekend” policy in the month of December. This would benefit teachers as much as their students. Students are going to put more effort into homework on the weekday, rather than the weekend, where most homework can be rushed through late Sunday night or early Monday morning. This means teachers will have a higher success rate on homework, increasing test grades and students’ final grades. It’s truly a win-win for teachers, because it gives students and teachers more family time. Teachers also can move ahead with teaching with a full week available, rather than feeling they have to skip Tuesday nights.

We propose the idea that, in the 2016-2017 school year, “No Homework Tuesdays” are replaced with the “Work-free Weekends in the Month of December” policy. This idea will benefit students and teachers simultaneously, making the busy month of December better for all. We hope this idea is seriously considered by administration as a viable option for the student body next school year.

Every day at Hanover High, students are free to use the water fountains. I find the fountains we have here to be very clean, unlike many offered in other schools. But one time when I was about to fill up my water bottle, I noticed an (almost) empty chocolate milk bottle left on top. I thought to myself, “that’s disgusting,” as I tossed it into the trash can, located not even 10 feet from the fountain.

About a week later, I noticed a wrapper with crumpled up chocolate chip cookie pieces crushed inside it right on top of the same fountain. I shook my head in annoyance, thinking about the horrific fact that some students at my school don’t even have the consideration to throw away their trash where it belongs. They leave it right on top of something we should all be taking care of for the sake of its purpose, as we are lucky to have these high quality fountains.

One morning, I was minding my own business while going for a bathroom break in the middle of Digital Media class, and noticed something else lying on top of the water fountain — this time, it was two sharp nails most likely used for some kind of woodshop project. I was furious to see that a high schooler would have the ignorance to do something like that, probably thinking it’s funny and would not affect anyone. Someone could seriously get hurt accidentally touching those nails by not noticing them, as they blended in with the color of the fountain pretty well. Many people such as myself are against littering, and those same people are sure smart enough to respect the property they live on, or go to school or work in. Once you think about it, it isn’t that hard to do.

I strongly believe that it is important to recycle and throw away your trash when needed to do so, and also to keep your belongings used for whatever purpose in the appropriate places; tools aren’t to be left out on drinking fountains, HHS. After reading this, hopefully more students will be aware of this problem I encountered, and
I won’t be seeing any crumpled bottles, wrappers or unusual belongings left on the fountains for quite some time. You can always make a difference by putting things in the right place.

By: Chris Acampora and Kristen Plahn

Trump was a Democrat?

According to CNN, in 2004 Donald Trump told them that, “In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat.” What is most shocking is his response to whether Hillary Clinton would do a good job in making a deal with Iran over their nuclear weapons program. “Hillary’s always surrounded herself with very good people. I think Hillary would do a good job,” he told CNN back then. It’s surprising to hear this especially when headlines like this come up: “Clinton, Trump trade insults as rhetoric heats up between front-runners.”

Trump’s Addiction to Twitter!

Donald Trump has recently been sending at least 40 tweets a day! Trump is definitely “high energy!” Jeb Bush, who Trump has considered, “low energy,” tweets less than 10 times a day.

Here are a few of Donald Trump’s recent memorable quotes!

October 26: Remember that Carson, Bush and Rubio are VERY weak on illegal immigration. They will do NOTHING to stop it. Our country will be overrun!

October 25: Ben Carson has never created a job in his life (well, maybe a nurse). I have created tens of thousands of jobs, it’s what I do.

October 24: @JebBush had a tiny 300 person crowd at Senator Tim Scott’s forum. I had thousands, and they had real passion!

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If Donald Trump cares so much about the people of America, then why does he want to eliminate vaccinations that keep thousands of people from getting sick? He says, “It happened to somebody that worked for me recently. I mean, they had this beautiful child, not a problem in the world, and all of the sudden they go in and they get this monster shot . . . they pump this into this little body and then all of the sudden the child is different a month later.” In reality, vaccinations, or, the ‘monster shot,’ save millions of people. Despite assurances from the CDC and research in scientific journals debunking any link between autism and vaccines, a movement opposed to existing vaccine protocols has taken root in the U.S., and Trump supports it.

But despite not wanting vaccinations in America, Trump still has been able to provide jobs to people who need them. Does that give you enough courage to vote for him though? We need a president who we can count on as a good and strong leader, not one who speaks of change for the better and the outcome is worse than before. Can we count on him?

Informal Poll: To Trump or Not to Trump

We asked some people around HHS if Donald Trump would make a good president if he won. Though our sample was small, the majority said that he would not be a good POTUS. Of the 12 students we surveyed, 10  said no, with one answering yes and one conceding “possibly.”

Of the 12, 10 said that they wouldn’t want Trump to win, one said yes to Trump, and one said possibly because, he “wanted to see how fast America will go downhill.”

A question for you is, who do you agree with? The yes group? The no group? Or, if you dare, the possibly group?

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Trump also has some good things going for him. He says what others candidates are afraid to say and speaks his mind. He also has lots of business experience that could boost the American economy. But what most voters need to realize is that the next president will affect Americans for the next 4-8 years! So maybe he’s fun to laugh at now, but American politics is no comedy! In the long run, a Trump presidency would likely turn our laughter to tears.

Have something you want to say, let your voice be heard in the comments below

Submitted anonymously by an HHS student

Growing up is a hard thing for many kids to do, especially when  life they seem to get everything handed to them. Moving to a new town showed me that no matter where you go, or no matter who you know, there are always going to be ignorant people.

All my life I’d lived in Marshfield, moving from house to house within the town. I always wished we would move out of the town, just to get a fresh start and not really know anyone. Unlike most teenagers, not knowing anyone and switching schools didn’t scare me or make me nervous. I saw it as okay. These people wouldn’t know me, I wouldn’t know them. I thought people would just mind their business and not really worry about me and what I’m doing. Well, I thought wrong.

Moving to Hanover, I figured people don’t know me or anything about me so they can’t really judge me or say anything that will offend me. Once again, I was very wrong.

I didn’t know until my first day of school that basically everyone drives to school or has friends/family to give them rides. I don’t have my license, I didn’t have friends here, and my mother works a 9­-5 job. So when the bell rings at 2:16, everyone’s running out to get in their cars and I’m starting my walk home. At the beginning, no one really taunted me about walking, but as time went on there would be the occasional beep of the horn at me, and people waving a d laughing. No matter who you are or what people know about you, it won’t protect you from some people. If making fun of you is what will make those people cool, then that’s what they are going to do.

Ignorance is lacking knowledge or awareness in general, being uneducated or unsophisticated. Just about all teenagers nowadays are very ignorant, especially ones who are not exposed to real world everyday struggles. I matured at a very young age, if I do say so myself. I get complimented very often about how mature I am for my age or just get mistaken for being much older than I really am. It’s not very hard for me to speak in an adult manner to people who are just the same age as me. I’ve had experiences that most teenagers are not exposed to, especially in seeing my family struggle. Now I’m not saying no one else has gone through these struggles, or no one else is mature. But from what I’ve been exposed to, not many teenagers are really aware of the things they say and do. I expect teenagers between the ages 16­ -18 to have matured past the age of 15. They should be aware of the effects they will have on people and their surroundings from the things they say and do.

The taunting became more frequent and a little bit more humorless. The first time when someone actually got to me and bothered me happened just a couple weeks ago. I was walking down the street on my way home minding my own business. One car drives by, then a couple more, but then one car didn’t just drive by. They had to slow down, stick their head out the sunroof, and scream “Nice ******* car” while beeping the horn and laughing.

Now I was more than ready to punch these kids in the face, but then I realized that would be just as ignorant as them yelling at me, even though they really deserved it. The rest of my walk home, I could not stop thinking about why they thought that was okay. Or did they think I wouldn’t recognize them when I saw them in school the next day? But I did, and it was very hard for me to not stoop to their level and confront them about it. But I wasn’t going to do it, I was the bigger person and just continued to mind my own business. Even though those kids don’t even know my first name, this was all an act to make their buddies laugh. Never did they think of why I was walking or anything in the general idea. To them it was funny, and it gave them a good laugh. That is pure ignorance, not being aware of the situation and continuing to laugh at and ridicule people. These boys are 17­-18 years old, and still find it funny that someone is WALKING. It blows my mind that seeing someone walking home is this significant to their life. Me walking down the street has no impact on their life, made no change in the road they drive on, nothing at all. These boys will one day run into the wrong person, and really learn their lesson. That may not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen.

Even though you may have things other people don’t have, and that may make you think you’re better, you should always think before you speak. You never know what someone is going through, or the situation someone is in. You will never really grow up and mature unless you put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

As of this week, I’ve been at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a month. Honestly, summer in Hanover working at my friend’s company seems like it was a lifetime away at this point. RPI is in Troy, NY, a suburb of Albany about 3 hours from Hanover. An apt comparison for people around here would be Boston and Cambridge, albeit a little more industrial and gritty. Troy is a very fun city to live in and it’s nice to walk around Downtown at night with still many businesses open and running. Orientation Week went by slowly, but as soon as classes started, life picked up pace dramatically. I find myself staying up until midnight consistently in order to get everything done and still have time to get out and be with friends. It’s been fun to make all new friends and have a sort of fresh start at everything. I have met people from all over the country and even a fair number of international students. It makes you realizes how small Hanover really is in the grand scheme of the world and it’s given me a whole new perspective on people. Suffice it to say, my experience at RPI so far has been quite a ride.

Even with taking only four classes, the workload has surpassed anything Hanover ever assigned me. Though that is probably the case at any college, no one realizes how easy they have it in high school. At the risk of sounding cliche, taking a senior year schedule with real classes does make a difference in being ready for college. For instance, the Calculus 2 class I’m taking right now literally picks up right where Mrs. Gallotti’s Calculus AB class left off with integration by parts. Physics 2 at RPI also overlaps Doc’s curriculum extensively, especially in the spring when he gets into electricity and magnetism. I know both of those classes can be hard and, at many times, extremely frustrating but it’s worth sticking with them because that’s the level that my college courses expect you to have from day one.

Outside of classes, I’m amazed by the sheer number of things happening on campus at any time.  There are so many clubs you can join, both professional and more fun-oriented. I’ve gotten involved with RPI’s student newspaper (The Polytechnic), Pep Band,  Symphonic Band, and even the RPI branch of the IEEE (my major is Electrical Engineering). The Poly (www.poly.news) covers the events occurring around campus and also seeks to keep RPI administration accountable by reporting on their major decisions. It’s a great model for The Indian, in my opinion. Pep Band performs at home football and hockey games and travels away to a couple of hockey games every year.

Yes, this is college and there are parties and other “extracurricular activities,” as I’ve always jokingly referred to them. Part of the experience in the first month is to find the perfect balance between having fun and getting work done, something that I am still trying to find. I find making that balancing act is a part of growing up and becoming a real adult.

College has been very fun so far and I encourage all seniors to get away from Hanover and experience the world outside of Southeastern Mass. Being away from your family and current set of friends lets you find out who you really are and really grow as a person. I’ve only been at RPI for a month and I won’t be back to Hanover until Thanksgiving, so I have bit of time for “personal growth” still ahead of me.

Only one thing is certain about the high school experience, the fact that the end of senior year and graduation come all too soon. You go from being kings of the school to being thrust out into the real world having to make your own way in life. It’s a scary thought because while you have accomplished much to get the fine achievement of graduation, everyone is all of a sudden equalized by the school of hard knocks. All faux-philosophy aside, I want to be able to formally say good bye to a group that has given me so much over the past two years.

Being the senior Editor in Chief this year for newspaper has been one of my best high school experiences. I have watched newspaper grow immensely this year. It is the perfect continuation of what started my junior year. Officially, I was the News and Web Editor but I couldn’t just silo my efforts to those two things. We started off using a third party host and while it was good initially, it quickly failed to meet the needs of our growing club.  Halfway through the year, The Indian transitioned to being hosted internally at the high school – on the same server that hosts our sister publication Hanover Literary Magazine as well as the Hanover Public Schools website – using a server that was found literally collecting dust on the floor in the school’s main data closet. Mundane technical details aside, I am proud to say that The Indian has enjoyed the full support of the Hanover Schools. District and high school administration have answered our questions and have fully supported our efforts to report on the myriad of issues affecting the life of the student body here in Hanover.

This year, The Indian has gotten to the point where we write new articles on a weekly basis. We’ve also introduced a Teacher Spotlight and Student on the Street section. Matt Barresi, with the help of Peter Palmer, has led a very comprehensive sports section and every school sports team was covered at least once. Our social media footprint has greatly expanded to include a very active Twitter account, Facebook page, and Instagram account. We’ve also done a number of publicity stunts, whether it be giving away free hot chocolate or candy canes to students coming in the morning. You’ve all seen the mini frisbees we had made with the school logo on them and have probably used our pens. Our staff has also gone on two trips: one to a Celtics game to hear their media staff give a panel presentation and another to the New England Scholastic Press Association conference at Boston University where we won an “Excellence in Publishing” award for this website.

I have to thank the small, but dedicated staff of The Indian for really committing to such an aggressive schedule. First, I can thank Andrea Bilton for being willing to take over in my role next year and for being the junior Editor in Chief this year. I know I’ll be leaving The Indian in the hands of amazing leadership. I also thank the rest of the staff: seniors Mackenzie Welch, Matt Barresi and Eric Carey; juniors Cate Marchetti, Jill Drummy, Callie MacDonald and Peter Palmer; sophomore Lauren Bilton; and freshmen Kristen Marchetti and Pierce Ghostlaw. Without their diligent efforts there would be nothing to publish. Finally, I would like to thank Mrs. McHugh for her invaluable professional journalism experience and unwavering support as our adviser for the past two years.

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Andrea Bilton and I got a number of pictures together and I figured this goodbye piece would be woefully incomplete without collecting them all. I’ve purloined them from a variety of social media sources including the HHS Indian twitter and various Instagram accounts.

Well, it’s that time that I honestly did not see coming, it was pretty much like a slap in the back of the head. I won’t go long with my introduction other than to thank you for tolerating my strange writing style and it’s been a delight writing for this newspaper. Lastly, this article isn’t just my advice, I asked some of my dear friends what they wish they would’ve known and I’ve included their advice in my article. Here ya go, fair winds HHS Indian.

Things we wish we would’ve known before entering high school:

1. High School Musical is a LIE

2. Don’t take high school too seriously

3. Take Risks. Join clubs, audition for plays, try out for a sports team, etc

4. Don’t be friends with people only in your grade

5. Be cautious of some of the cafeteria food

6. One grade is just that: one grade

7. Don’t become romantically desperate

8. Be friendly with your teachers, or at least learn how to get along with them

9. If you don’t understand something, immediately ask for help, don’t just sit there in utter confusion

10. Do your best to stay focused but it’s OK to take a break every once in while

11. Don’t overwork yourself

12. Love yourself. Seriously. And a good way to improve self love is to love the people around you.

13. Your friends will change a lot, and so will your friend groups

14. Time management makes a difference

15. You will argue with your parents, but don’t make them your ultimate enemy

16. It’s okay to spend time alone

17. Follow what you like, rather than what is cool

18. Don’t slack off your junior year