Campaign ads are irrelevant but you can’t avoid them no matter how hard you try. It’s like that kid that confidently shouts the wrong answer every day in class. No matter how hard you try to ignore them, they seep into your life. Half the time they spout false information. Did you know that Nancy Pelosi is a Nazi? Nazi Pelosi? Obviously they’re not this extreme but they are more often than not incredibly inaccurate. The point of these ads should be to spread information about the candidate featured in the ad. Instead, the ads use slander, propaganda, and vicious lies to make their favored candidate look better. How mature that the people empowered to change our way of life act like schoolyard children who are angry at each other. Oh wait, no, that’s horrible actually.

This isn’t a recent insurgence of ignorant info, this has been happening since the advent of campaign ads, which accompanied the rise of television. It seems people find it easier to paint others in a negative light rather than just say the true facts of how they want to change things.  As Election Day on Nov. 4 approached, the ads never stopped, ever. Nonstop I was told how bad Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley are as candidates for governor. EVERY SINGLE SECOND. With both people being portrayed as evil, big-business loving, heartless monsters, why would I want to vote for either? People become desensitized to the over-saturation of these two politicians that no one really cares or wants to take the time to figure out who they feel strongly about.

It’s not limited to the governor’s race, either. Every campaign, no matter where in the country, big or small, reverts to this trash talking. Time magazine and other media have compiled long lists of the bad, worst, and cheesiest ads circulating this election season. (Google it)

An easy way to fix this would be to, I don’t know maybe, TELL THE TRUTH. People want the truth, not some fabrications, and it is ludicrous to think that this is what our politicians are presenting to us. I have the right to vote since I’m 18 but both Coakley and Baker are children in my eyes, unable to settle things rationally and instead reverting to the behavior of apes, throwing #$%&#$ at each other and hoping it sticks.

So, to Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley, you both lost my vote.

Every year at HHS, the halls are flooded with new faces, the innocent eyes of freshmen scanning the crowds of upperclassmen. When you’re catapulted into high school so suddenly, everything can seem overwhelming. It’s hard to pinpoint what new things you want to try or experience when so much is being quickly thrown at you. With high school comes endless new opportunities — new clubs to join, new events to attend, new groups to get involved with. Being a freshman, or rather, any high schooler, can be daunting when you consider how much goes on around you. You might be so enthusiastic about all of these potential opportunities that you’re afraid to miss out on something, and yet you also might be nervous to step out of your comfort zone and try something you never have before.

But on graduation day, when you step up to receive your diploma and take one last look back on your high school career, you want to be sure to have no regrets. I’ve compiled a list of experiences you definitely do NOT want to miss out on during high school. Whether you’re a freshmen, sophomore, junior, or even a senior, I hope you attempt to check off a few items on this high school bucket list before the bell rings on your final day and it’s too late.

1) Go to Homecoming!
Many people are intimidated by the idea of Homecoming; with hundreds of kids packed into a hot gym, it’s hard to know what to expect. But every high schooler needs to experience Homecoming at least once in their life, as sort of a rite of passage. As a freshman especially, students might be scared off by the prospects of dancing in a crowd of strangers. But I promise you, whether you attend Homecoming and hate it or whether you find that you love it, you won’t regret checking it out. Homecoming is a high school event that you can’t miss out on; even if you only go for one year, definitely try it out. If anything, do it just for the pictures!

2) Dress up for Spirit Week!
In conjunction with homecoming, HHS initiates a Spirit Week every October where students dress up according to crazy themes. Every day brings a new theme and new possibilities! Spirit week is an amazing way to bring unity and spirit to the students, and don’t regret not participating. Be creative, be spirited, and definitely don’t miss out.

3) Go to prom!
Prom only comes once a year for juniors and seniors; don’t regret missing out on what many students consider to be the greatest night of their high school career. Tickets are expensive, this is true, but whether it be senior or junior prom, definitely attend at least one before you graduate. It’s always a memorable evening with friends, food, and dancing. It’s also a chance to get dressed up and take some amazing pictures that will last your lifetime!

4) Join a sports team!
Throughout the fall, winter, and spring, there are countless sports teams that are always looking for new athletes. There truly is opportunity for those of all athletic abilities — cross country and track are the easiest sports to join, and have the biggest group of students who participate each year. Most sports at HHS require you to try out before playing on the team, but tryouts can be a great way to meet friends who are interested in the same sport as you. Joining a sports team is an awesome way to get involved in something you enjoy, and is something that will leave lasting impressions on you.

5) Attend a student council meeting!
Student council may not be for everybody, but at least once throughout your four years at HHS you should try to make a meeting. Student council can have a huge impact on your future as a high schooler since the group plans so many school events (such as Homecoming and Spirit Week), and it can be very rewarding to have your voice heard at meetings. Not to mention that meetings, which are on evenings twice a month, are packed with fun and positive energy that gets everybody in a good mood!

6) Find a club that fits you!
If you’re looking for an easy way to make friends that have the same interests as you, definitely step up and join one of the countless clubs offered here at the high school. There is a club offered for a huge variety of interests, and if there isn’t, then why not make a club of your own?

7) Go to a football game!

Attending home football games is an incredible way to join in on school spirit; what better way to spend a Friday night than cheering on your school’s football team surrounded by your classmates, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to the great music provided by the band? Every student should see the football team play at least once during high school. After all, it wouldn’t be a quintessential high school experience without Friday night football!

8) Buy class T-Shirts!
Every fall, classes work diligently to produce a creative class t-shirt sporting your class color and year of graduation. But there’s only one chance to buy them every year, and if you let that time pass without getting one, you’ll most likely regret it.

9) Get your art displayed!
High school wouldn’t be complete without taking an art class — and if you do take an art class, strive to get your art displayed in the art wing of the high school! Seeing your artwork displayed for the public’s viewing pleasure is something that can always brighten your day.

10) See the hypnotist!
Every year, the seniors hire a hypnotist to cast his spell over a selected group of seniors one evening in the spring. The night never fails to bring loads of laughs to the student body, and it’s a night that students of all ages should not miss out on. Better yet, if you’re a senior, sign up to be hypnotized! Who knows? Maybe you’ll get picked!

11) Eat lunch in the courtyard!
When the warm weather rolls around, the cafeteria doors are opened up at lunch and the sunny courtyard is opened up for students at lunchtime! Whether you bring or buy your lunch, don’t miss out on a chance to eat outside with your friends. It’s a great opportunity to get some fresh air in the middle of the day, and take advantage of this chance as many times as you can before it’s gone!

12) See the school play!
From Romeo and Juliet to the Crucible, HHS has put on fantastic productions throughout the years. You definitely do not want to walk out of the doors on graduation day without seeing a drama production, especially when so many of the school’s students are so skilled when it comes to performing. If you are indeed one of these skilled performers, what are you waiting for? Audition for HHS’ next production before it’s too late!

13) Girls: Play in the Powderpuff game!
When you’re a junior, Thanksgiving always brings about the Powderpuff football game for girls. This is something you definitely want to take part in. Even if you may not be gifted athletically, join the team to help spread school spirit!

14) Participate in the senior Lip Dub!
Want to be remembered by all of the future students that make their way through Hanover high? Take part in the Lip Dub when you’re a senior! It’s a fun way to unite with your class before you graduate and make lasting memories that will live on forever — on Youtube and in your memories!

15) Buy a yearbook!
This list would not be complete without the final thing to do before you put on your cap and gown: buy a yearbook! Without one, you won’t be able to cherish your high school memories or look back on all of the fun times and experiences you had throughout the past four years. High school may seem long at first, but without a doubt it flies by, and before you know it, all of the opportunities you had to make high school memorable will be gone. So take advantage of the time you can before it’s too late!

Absolutely they should, phones are a part of our world, they are useful tools, and students use them anyway. If you were to walk through a public space, regardless of where, you will most likely see people using their cell phones. They are everywhere, absolutely everywhere, and they are not going away. According to Pew Research’s article, released in January of 2014, 90 percent of adults own a cellphone. Obviously cell phones are everywhere and a part of adult life, so shouldn’t schools prepare students for use with them as they do with anything else in life? Schools could teach students how to use cell phones respectfully, how to moderate usage, and how to not get into trouble with them. Students should be taught  social etiquette with these devices, such as not using cell phones while someone else is talking, or during a class lecture. Why not teach kids about the times they can use their cell phones respectively? During the free moments in class and times of boredom, there should be no reason why a student should not be allowed to use their phone. Teachers who have a stigma against the usage of cell phones should adapt to the changing world and technology in school the same way they have in the real world. Students should also be taught to safely use their cell phones, understanding there are risks that come with them. We should be educated on how to change our phone’s settings to make certain aspects anonymous, and we should be taught certain important facts, like phones aren’t as safe from viruses as computers. Students need to know the precautions about what they send and with which apps, so that they understand what is safe and what is risky. Most importantly, students should be taught how to use their phones as the invaluable tools that they are.

If students were instructed on how to find reliable information quickly and easily using their phones during English class, research papers could become a breeze-through item in daily class. Students could also be shown how to use their phones in science classes to instantly create data tables and graphs right on Google Drive, without ever having to use an individual computer. Understanding the ins and outs of smart phones could make school and workplace tasks easier. This is especially important.  In the workplace you are expected to have knowledge of your phone and be able to use it competently for practical uses. Whether its making conference calls or sending out an email blast, you need to be self-sufficient in using your phone, and no employer wants the person who can’t keep up with the rapid pace of technology.

Finally, students use their cell phones anyway, so why not just simply allow them to? Why should we punish students and give them detentions for using their phones in class? How does this help them learn more productively? Sure, by taking away their phones you prevent them from being distracted by them, but would this serve any real purpose to their learning? All that this teaches them is that their lives will be controlled and that they will have no responsibility for their own actions. People need to learn that if they don’t pay attention and use their phones instead, then they are the only ones to blame; don’t make it the teachers’ responsibility.

This all leaves us at a sort of tipping point: do we allow people to get punished for doing wrong, or do we preemptively ban any possible wrongdoing? I say we let people make their own decisions as we try to get them ready for the job market.

Many students my age have been frequently told that we have nothing to worry about. Teachers, parents, coaches, or whoever tell us that we are just kids. We supposedly have it easy. We do not have mortgages to pay, or a nine to five job. We get summers off, we go to football games, we sometimes cause a little trouble, and we have fun doing it. The only thing we have to focus on is being young and wild and free. (Or at least that’s how the song goes.) We should have nothing to stress over, right? Wrong.

Let’s start with grades. It is no secret that career opportunities are not currently running rampant through the streets of the US. In the “good old days,” you only needed a degree to land a reasonable paying job, but now graduates are having a tougher and tougher time finding a job. Now, in order to land our dream career, we not only need to have a college degree, but this degree has to be from a top notch university if we want to compete with all the other job-hungry graduates out there. This naturally leads to the question of how do we get into these remarkable academic schools? By having a distinguished transcript, of course. For that reason, most high school students push themselves to get good grades so they can make it into one of these prestigious colleges.

It would be manageable if the only thing we needed to stress over were grades, but they are no longer enough in the era of the “well rounded student.” You may ask, “What is a well rounded student?” It is commonly defined as a high schooler who in addition to having exemplary grades plays at least two different sports, is probably captain of one of those sports, holds an office position in student council, stars in the school play, twirls the flags in the marching band’s color guard, and spends all of his or her spare time volunteering at the nearby homeless shelter. While high school students do not need to pay a mortgage or go to a nine to five job, they do have to try to schedule time between soccer practices and play rehearsals to finish their homework. Homework is important because if it is not completed correctly it could deflate your grade in that class. If you do poorly on the homework and subsequently your classes, then you will not have a well paying job to support your future family. And then all of the hours spent cooking soup for the homeless while writing your speech for class treasurer and twirling flags until your fingers were numb were a total waste because your dream school cannot get by those grades.

For years Hanover High School has had a highly attended school Science Fair. Yet this year it has come to the attention of a few of the students at our school, and myself, that there will be no Science Fair this year as far as we can tell. Science is a fundamental thing that we need, something that does take some work getting kids interested in, and what better way than the School Science Fair?

The Science Fair at HHS has previously been a mandatory thing for all honors courses, something that truly makes sense when you consider the experience one gains through doing a Science Fair, but recently this has been pushed away. As the years progressed, I assume that at some point it was decided that to have already burdened honors students do a Science Fair was something that was too demanding. From this it was decided that the only students who would have to do a Science Fair would be the freshman honors  students, and with a class of more than 150 every year, this wielded a sizable number of participants. Yet due to the freshman honors Biology teacher’s medical complications in 2012, the long-term substitute at the time did not enforce that the students would be required to make a Science Fair project. However, as one of the attending members at that Science Fair, I can attest to the fact that there was a very sizable amount of students who participated.

The following year, however, is where the Science Fair really ran into its first real problems, starting with one simple change to the student handbook not requiring honors science class students to attend the Science Fair. To put it plainly this Science Fair had a measly attendance. There were so few projects that HHS was able to have the Science Fair held inside the Library. There were less than 20 projects, not at all a reasonable thing. Now to make matters worse, we HHS students have no way to attend a Science Fair this year at all. The previous teacher who ran Science Fair, Mr. Newton, is far too busy this year with the arrival of a new baby in his family, and this is acceptable obviously. However every Science teacher I talk to says that they are not going to run the Science Fair either. Now I know many of you might not particularly think that Science Fair is a thing that is really all that important but let me assure you that it truly is.

Have you ever heard of STEM? STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These are fields, according to Rodney C. Adkins, senior vice president of IBM’s Systems & Technology Group, in which we desperately need more students. His reasoning is that while only 5 percent of U.S. workers are employed in STEM fields, STEM fields at the same time make up about 50 percent of our sustained economic expansion. Now knowing this, consider the fact that only 15 percent of the world’s scientists and engineers reside in the United States. Beginning to see my argument? The California Science Teacher’s Association has said that “Science projects prepare students for life.” This is important… REALLY important. Science Fair projects give students the kind of hands on, energizing science exposure that they need to gain a lifelong interest in science. Hanover High School students need to learn the 21st century problem solving skills that doing Science Fair Projects can teach them in order to be successful for life.

A point which has been thrown about by some of the STEM teachers in the building is that we run a Science Fair this year, but non-officially. I say that this is a terrible idea. Doing Science Fair shows students the real world competition of life, that if you don’t work hard on something and innovate enough, your idea will not be always the best one. Competition is a fundamental aspect of the Science Fair. The fact that students will be judged not only by their peers, but also by the rest of the state is an idea that drives students to put their absolute maximum effort into their Science Fair projects. Truly it is undeniable that the Science Fair is an important thing for the HHS students to have the option to experience in their high school career.

I know that this year we may still have the Science Fair, and truly I hope that we do because I strongly believe that Science Fair is something that increases the education of the average student beyond that which a classroom can. I think that we at HHS owe it to ourselves to show that we are the quintessence of studious life, that we are dedicated to things that are demanding yet rewarding, and that we are among the best and brightest minds of generation. We can do all this through the innovation and academic ability we demonstrate through our Science Fair.

As an American society we are constantly being pounded with media. It is in front of us, on our laps and in our pockets. The problem with this is that we are provided with examples of what to buy, how to live, how to treat others and one of the most important, how we should look. Although this is difficult pressure for all of America, I believe that this pressure is increased for the high school population. This portion of our country is trying to find out who they are and are seriously susceptible to the media messages that are surrounding all of us. Teenagers frequently are being told what beautiful is, and this beautiful is something only attainable to a miniscule portion of the population.

This leaves the rest of us on the outside, with the terrible belief that whatever we have isn’t beauty. Body image can be a problem for both boys and girls, but I’m going to focus on how it affects teenage girls in particular because that’s the experience I have lived.

It truly is everywhere. On television, the pretty, thin girls play the love interest. They are the leading ladies that we root for and, quite honestly, wish we were more like. The non-supermodel girls
are typically the ones that play the quirky best friend. Sometimes they will get the leading lady role.  However, this is just about always in a comedy or a story about how the boy looked past how the girl
looked on the outside. So what’s that supposed to tell us? Our only hope of that dream guy falling for us is that he may somehow choose our plainness over the other girl’s beauty? Basically, this is just
reinforcing the idea that we are not beautiful.

In a similar manner, the fashion world has plus-sized models. These women, despite their beauty, are placed into a separate group from the other beautiful women. So separate, that they need to have their own magazines and stores. I don’t know about you, but when I walk through a mall I only see stores with skinny girls advertising clothing. It is rare that I see a store that has plus-sized models. This is once again showing teenagers the correct way to look.

I can clearly see how this is affecting the girls at Hanover High School. I frequently hear girls complaining about their (perfectly healthy) weight. Even more, I see girls questioning why they can’t look like someone else. From personal experience I can say that seeing oneself as inferior to the next girl is one of the worst and most painful ways to lower your own self-esteem. I can remember this feeling. It gives a deep pain in the back of your stomach that lasts all day. All day, through the hunger from refusing to eat lunch and it later accompanies the overwhelming guilt when lunch is made up for
with after school snacks.

This needs to stop and this can be stopped, thanks to plus-sized model Robyn Lawley, who is breaking many barriers by being the first curvy model to appear in several major magazines such as Vogue, GQ, and Elle. Through her work and that of several other models, including Mia Tyler (daughter of Aerosmith singer Steven and actress Liv), the media can perhaps one day change to show that there is more than one kind of beauty.

Until that day, it is up to us teenage girls to fight against these predetermined definitions of beauty. If there is anything certain about beauty it is that it is subjective. No one has the right, or the true ability to rate the way we look. That job is up to ourselves. We need to have faith that we are absolutely, unquestionably, utterly,
stunning, because we are. I promise.

Recently, as a part of my Senior Humanities project, I wrote an original play portraying what it feels like for the average kid who is bullied either on a daily basis, or to the point where he breaks and loses all rational thought. Yes, this is somewhat common among children. I have read that at least 14 percent of kids end up committing suicide because they cannot handle the animosity that comes with their bullies. Think about that for a moment. I was shocked when I read that statistic as well.

The play itself wasn’t a total burden to write, but I just felt exhausted at one point. Saying that I didn’t want to write it anymore, seeing as how it sucked almost all of my positive energy out of me. But, obviously, I didn’t let this get to me as I continued to write it. Most insults that I used for one character, I found online. And they were all incredibly hurtful. Reading them to myself before I placed them into the character’s dialogue made me sick. What was worse?

Studies show that 58 percent of bullying happens out of revenge, or the bully thinks that the victim deserves it. That made me lose a bit of sanity inside of myself, as I ranted for at least a half hour about how angry it made me. Who deserves the animosity that comes with some people? The vicious hatred? No one. But, apparently, in this world, people think that others need to be bullied. And you know what? It made me reflect as well. I was bullied before, and I never chose to do anything about it.

Yes. I have been in this sort of position. Not to where I would want to commit suicide . . . Not even close. But, to where I didn’t want to go to school? To where I hated looking at myself? Yes. Last year was the worst for me. Because I was different (and had a pretty cool low voice), people called me all types of things. Each of them made my self esteem crumble down. But then, I realized . . . What do their petty words matter to me? Absolutely nothing.

It’s a horrible experience, and I commend you if you’re staying rather strong through it. No one wants to be bullied, but people think that you might deserve it.

Why did I call this a play from the heart? Well, like I said, I’ve been bullied. So, in a way, I can connect with the character in my play. Again, nowhere near committing suicide, but hating myself day after day. So, do me a favor before you bully somebody . . . Think about how much your words could really hurt someone else.

Sticks and Stones? That’s a lie. Words are etched in forever.

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I am sure that I am not the only student sick of it, sick of the constant lecturing on bullying.  Always, teachers, guidance counselors, and outside “specialists” having us sit together in large groups and listen to the definition of “cyber bullying,” and what it means to be a “responsible bystander.”  By now, I have begun to tune out these lectures.  This is not because I think that bullying isn’t something important to discuss, but because it has been approached in the same black and white manner since I’ve been in the third grade.  Another reason I’m turned off by these lectures is because they clearly are not working.  A few weeks ago I witnessed the biggest display of bullying that I’ve seen in all my years in Hanover schools.  Through the app Yik Yak, things were said about students that were so revolting that I cannot even discuss them now.

 Recently I had discussed this issue with Dr. Raab, who made the decision to get the police involved in the matter.  My first question for him was what, in particular, made him call the police.  He responded by saying that he wanted to be sure he could trace the posts back to the phones they came from.  This would become even more of a necessity if the situation escalated, like it did in a high school in Marblehead, Mass. There, a bomb threat posted on the website caused a school-wide evacuation.  Other schools across the country have reported bullying with the app as well. Dr. Raab wanted to be sure that this would not happen at Hanover.  Additionally, I had asked him how he felt these posts effected the environment of the school.  He said that it caused to students to become paranoid.  Paranoid that someone was posting about them or that they would be caught for what they posted. 

For me, there were several things that seriously upset me about the day this notorious yak came charging into our school.  First of all, I was disturbed by how other students reacted to the posts.  Of course, there were many who were as troubled as I was about the day’s proceedings, but I was perturbed by the number of students that thought it was merely something to laugh about.  When it was discussed in class and others could see that I was upset by it, many of them turned to me and said, “Oh my God, you need to learn how to take a joke.”  It is not a joke and this kind of viewpoint is what makes this kind of bullying a frequent thing.  As they laugh, it’s giving power to whatever insanity was posted on the feed.  Lastly, whoever wrote those kinds of things on the Yik Yak wall must not understand what it does to people when they read posts like that about themselves.  I can’t imagine them writing it if they did.  They could not have known that it would send a girl home from school crying, a girl who isn’t able to tell her mom why she’s crying because she is too ashamed to say what others are saying about her.  They definitely could not have known about the boy who would dread going to school because he knows what people are going to think as he passes by.  If they did know what they were doing, then that is a cruelty that I’m not sure I can understand.