With the new Texas Heartbeat Act, the debate on abortion has been brought to the forefront of news in America again. 

First signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 19, 2021 and coming into effect on September 1, 2021, the bill makes any member of the public able to sue anyone who preforms an illegal abortion for a minimum of $10,000 USD. 

The Texas Heartbeat Bill, also known as the Six Week Abortion Ban, bans an abortion from being preformed after the detection of a heartbeat. The Texas law defines a heartbeat as, “a cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.”

BHS students have a variety of opinions on this new bill.

“I feel like women should be able to make their own choices regardless of somebody else’s opinion and I would rather have a choice than be told what to do,” Radina Kalatchev, BHS junior, said.

Made by the Texas state legislature, they are all older white men who will never have to go through a pregnancy or have any medical experience. 

“When you have a baby,” said Radina, expressing her concern over the lack of female and medical input on the act, “Then we can talk about it.” 

Regarding the other side of the argument, Flowerjoy Burly, senior at BHS, expressed her excitement for the act saying that she, “believe[ed] the right to life should be granted to everyone regardless of circumstance or situation.” 

A concern many people have with the bill being enacted is the state of the foster system. If women are going to be giving birth to children they do not want to keep, this is most likely where most of them will be going. 

“I believe that if we’re going to stop abortions, can we please focus on the ways in which we can fix the woman’s situation not just for her, but for her future and for her child?” Burley said.

When discussing the Heartbeat Act with the one male perspective, Alex McGillivery, a sophomore at BHS, when asked what it must feel like for the women to have the choice to decide what’s best for themselves, to have that right taken away from them. 

“I think it’s best that they see trained professionals like doctors who can figure out if the abortion would be best, rather than listening to politicians and people who have less knowledge than doctors,” Alex McGillivery, BHS sophomore, said. “Seeking medical advice is always important when it comes to things like [abortion]. This isn’t something that should be political.” 

Burlington High School is looking like it is almost back to normal for the 2021-2022 school year, and teachers, staff, and students are all seeing the benefits!

  As you know, the pandemic made quite the difference on the way the school was run in the past year. From cohorts and social distancing to no buses for sports, Burlington High School definitely had a strange new approach for the school year. 

This year, however, many of the previous COVID protocols have been altered or removed due to the fact that much progress has been made not only in our local area, but in the country as a whole as more people are getting vaccinated and cases are declining. 

The lessening of restrictions is seen as a strong benefit to students on academic levels from all around perspectives; teachers, staff, and students themselves.

“I have been learning much better this year with everyone in school full-time,” Grace Meehan, a BHS sophomore, said. “Because the desks are closer, I can reach over and ask a friend for help without having to shout and disrupt the class, and I am already grasping materials better.”

Students are clearly understanding the curriculum of their classes better with being back fully in-person this school year; it was a challenge for many in the previous year as a lot of students learn better in a hands-on manner and last year was nearly completely virtual.

“I think from an equity perspective, having everybody in school with a kind of equal playing field where there is access to teachers and resources really helps a lot of kids out.” Mr. Sullivan, the principal of BHS, said.

It is much easier for students to ask each other for help as well as communicate any concerns with teachers when everyone is in the building at once as there are simpler and more natural ways to communicate.

The fewer protocols also strongly benefit the mental health of students as they are able to be with people, take part in more activities they enjoy, etc.

“Having kids in a routine and being back in-person everyday compares positively to last year when there was a lack of social interaction as well as a lot of anxiety and depression in students.” Sullivan said.

There was a lot of anxiety formed due to the way last year was run. Whether that was from struggling to get to remote classes on time, talking and being seen on the video calls, not having much social interaction, extra curriculars being limited, or other restrictions of the same sort. 

“It is nice to see the hallways filled, and students back with their normal schedules and being able to do after school sports again,” Mr. Larkin, Assistant Superintendent of BHS, said. “I think from a mental health perspective that’s really great.” 

Although nobody wants to consider it, the possibility that cases will rise is still there so there has to be some level of preparation for this despite the fact that there are many benefits seen from lessening restrictions.

“We don’t have a well-articulated plan, but we know that we can go fully virtual or scale back if having so many bodies physically together in a close setting became a problem,” Larkin said. “But there are no concrete conversations to do that since nothing has happened yet.”

Despite the fact that there is no current plan in place of what would be done if cases were to skyrocket at the moment, the experiences of what BHS did in the past show we are capable of retreating back to some form of hybrid or full remote learning if it came down to it. 

There is nothing simple about this pandemic, but there are two simple things which can be done by individuals in an effort to preserve our current school environment which has been positively affecting many: getting vaccinated and keeping your masks on!

“I miss being able to proceed without having to worry about restrictions,” Mrs. Anderson, a BHS business teacher, said. “For instance, we have a DECA leadership conference coming up where there is the question of an overnight, and we have to take into account COVID in deciding what students will or will not be able to attend.”

If the effort is put in now to keep our school on the right track, such as always keeping your mask above your mouth and nose when in the building as well as getting vaccinated, BHS can continue to progress with lessening restrictions/protocols to get as close to fully normal as possible. 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Education, if a school has an 80 percent or higher vaccination rate, students and staff in the school who are vaccinated will no longer be subject to the DESE mask requirement. 

With this, it is likely more opportunities as well as experiences will open up in the long run such as field trips, world language trips, dances, etc. So, if you would like to see these things, as well as not have to wear masks, make sure to follow all protocols, stay safe, get vaccinated, and keep your mask on!

The month of November has finally come to a close, igniting and ending the season of one of the most controversial academic events of the year: Poetry Out Loud (POL). POL is a dynamic recitation contest among high school students across America. 

According to the POL foundation, “Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 4.1 million students and 68,000 teachers from 17,000 schools and organizations in every state” since 2005. Despite being a widely influential and powerful program, why does the vast majority of the student body have a strong resentment for the contest?

Considering POL beyond the stress it may bring upon students, others see POL as a learning experience and opportunity to build and expand their public speaking skills and self-confidence through the art of performing poetry.

“Personally, in freshman and sophomore year [Poetry Out Loud] was very taxing and stressful,” said Serena Hawkins, a senior and Writing Fellow leader at Burlington High School. “In junior and senior year, I enjoyed the process more and I felt that it was a healthy amount of stress.”

Poetry Out Loud is notorious for causing Burlington High School’s students stress. Many students not only complain about its uselessness for their education, but also how much pressure and anxiety it brings upon them. 

“I get a lot of anxiety,” said Josie Toland, a senior at Burlington High School with an avid distaste for POL. “It literally is so scary when you go to the front of the room. It is a lot of stress, especially when you’re an introverted person. Your introvertedness is not something you can control, which I think is unfair to the students who are.”

Oftentimes, Poetry Out Loud is assigned to be practiced at home or in students’ free time. Many students don’t have the opportunity or time to dedicate to memorizing their poems, as they can be busy with work, sports, or extracurricular activities.

“There is literally no point,” said Toland. “For me, and many other students, it does not add to my learning. It’s just a lot of added stress and cramming the night before– overall, a waste of my time.” 

What is most daunting about Poetry Out Loud to students is how threatened they feel by the severity of it, and the impact it has on grading and their education.

“You are not allowed to opt out,” said Toland. “Reciting the poem is already very stressful… but the biggest anxiety-inducing factor is how intensely our recitations get graded. It’s harmful to students that aren’t as extroverted or confident… you get judged for not being able to give a theatrical performance when most people are scared or uncomfortable to go up there in the first place.”

So, the big question is: what do we do now? Is Poetry Out Loud something that students are willing to work together in order to improve for all-inclusive benefits, or is Poetry Out Loud something that should be completely wiped from the education system?

“If grading for recitations was loose and considerate across the board, I think more students would be open minded towards the event” suggested Hawkins.

In order to improve Poetry Out Loud, the education system needs to be considerate of even the smallest of factors– beginning with providing students more freedom with what poem they can recite, and allowing them space to decide whether they even feel comfortable reciting at all.

“I feel like the general culture around the idea of POL needs to change, as many people see it in a negative way when it comes around every year,” said Bella Gill, a senior and Poetry Out Loud finalist at Burlington High School. “While I don't necessarily see it as a huge necessity, I understand that there is an immense amount of people that enjoy POL, including myself. I feel like certain individuals should be given the opportunity to opt out if it truly is anxiety-inducing. However, I feel like it is really beneficial for students, as many people will have to get up in front of people one day and deliver some sort of memorized speech or proposal. Additionally, I feel like POL allows students to look at, analyze, and recite a very unique form of art, and that is something that should not go away.”

For those confident within their skills, they seek Poetry Out Loud as a way to express their character and identity.

“For me, POL has always been sort of a creative outlet,” said Gill. “I know this may seem crazy because a lot of people see it as a stressor, but I see it as a unique way to express myself. I love public speaking, especially when it’s something that I am passionate about.”

Gill, and many other students, also seek POL as a safe space to express themselves beyond their identity, being granted the opportunity to further emphasize their moralities, values, and ideals within the world in order to voice their opinions on the societies around them.

Gill reiterates the importance of her freedom to be able to perform, “I am to choose a poem that really showcases who I am every year. I pick poems that are important to our world today. My goal is always to showcase who I am and what I stand for.”

As of May 31st, 2022, Burlington High School has introduced a new pass system. This system requires students to use a sign-out sheet which includes their name, the date, where they are headed, and the time they leave and come back. 

     As well as filling out the sheet, students are required to bring with them a laminated pass which is specific to whatever room they are leaving from as it has a room number written on it. These passes are color coded based off of the hallway the classroom is in (ex; English Hall - yellow) in order to ensure students are using the correct bathroom for their classes’ location.

     There is only one of these passes per classroom, meaning only one student is allowed out of the room at a time for using the bathroom or getting water. However, when a student needs to go to the nurse or another destination, they will use the sign-out sheet as well except instead of using the classroom’s designated hallway pass, they will get a traditional pass in which their teacher signs showing approval for where the student is going.

     There are a few reasons why this new pass system has been added, the main one being that there was a great number of students wandering the halls every class period, every day, all year long. On top of this, there are often large groups of students smoking in the bathrooms, vandalizing bathrooms, or hanging out in there with friends for long periods of time.

     These often occurring scenarios in the bathrooms affected other students who were genuinely planning to use the bathroom as they would avoid certain bathrooms in order to steer clear of the massive groups of students.

     Understandably, administrators and staff seemingly got sick of all of these factors and decided to do something more about it. Many students are unhappy with what they chose to do. There are good points on both sides when it comes to the positives vs the negatives of the newly added pass system.

     Looking at the positives, there will be a better grasp on where students are in the building which is vital for safety, there will ultimately be less wandering and less large groups in bathrooms, and there will most likely be less poor behavior in bathrooms as every student’s whereabouts will be accounted for, leaving them more likely to get caught than they have been up to this point.

     As for negatives, it is fairly gross that the same pass is brought into the bathroom by each student who uses the bathroom from the same classroom; some people are not going to use the school bathroom again due to how disgusted they are. It is also unclear what the option is for students who simply need a break to clear their heads; it is no longer acceptable to take a couple laps around the first floor so the solution may be something like the bridge room, but not all students want that level of support as a quick walk after a stressful test is all they need.

     Also on the negative side, if someone takes a long time in the bathroom, another student may suffer as only one person is allowed out of the room at once. Signing out is sort of useless when it comes to getting water because depending on what part of the building a student is in, doing this can take less than thirty seconds.

     The pass system is extremely new so there is much time for change and improvement depending on its success. A couple ideas being having two passes per room and having a sanitization of some sort for the passes each time they are brought back. Evidently, this will be a work in progress getting everyone used to following the new rules at BHS, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

     With summer beginning, everyone's favorite activity is just around the corner; AP summer work! Well, not exactly, but how great would it be if summer work was enjoyable? My goal today is to get you to change your outlook on summer work, give you some helpful tips on completing it, and to motivate you to do it.

     The majority of students will groan in annoyance at the thought of summer work; it is supposed to be the time where there is nothing to worry about after all. Being annoyed is completely understandable, but before you call it pointless let’s acknowledge its importance. 

     Yes, the summer is a time for your brain to relax, but it still needs some stimulation. Think about sports for a minute; players do not just jump onto the court for the first game of the season, they have pre-season practices to get prepared and bring back skills. Compare those pre-season practices to summer work; it is preparing your brain and easing you into the workload that is to come when the school year begins.

     Taking an AP class is a commitment that goes beyond the school day as it is a college-level course which is preparing you for the future. These classes have a vigorous curriculum and expect you to have some prior knowledge of the subject matter before walking in on that first day. That is why summer work exists.

     It is easy to stress and get down thinking about your summer assignments, so if you find yourself getting overwhelmed looking at all of the work you have to do, take a moment to think about all of the assignments you normally do in three months, about the length of summer. You will quickly be met with relief because you will see that the average amount of work you do in three months during the school year is much more than the amount of summer work you have, meaning you are more than capable of completing it.

    Despite knowing you are capable of doing the work, it can still be overwhelming to think about all of the assignments you have. Something that can help calm you down and allow you to see what you have to do from a different perspective is creating a schedule. Make a list with all of your assignments, purchase any items needed to complete the work, designate the order of how you want to complete your assignments, and use a planner or a wall calendar to write down each assignment on the date you want it completed by; seeing things written out like this will help you to stay on task and realize that you have more time than you think.

     Keep in mind that you can incorporate summer into your summer work, you do not have to miss out on a beautiful day because you have to finish an assignment. Read on the beach, do math in the backyard, summarize a piece of history in a sunflower field; nature is your best friend!

     Even if you understand the importance of it and have a schedule laid out, it can still be hard to find motivation to complete your work. A way to find this motivation is by rewarding yourself. Every time you complete an assignment, make it a priority to do something you love such as eating your favorite dessert, watching your favorite movie, or going out with friends.

     If you are really struggling to do the work and find yourself continuously procrastinating, you can even give an item of yours to a friend or family member and have them give it back to you as a reward once you finish an assignment. This way, even if you have not even the slightest desire to do an assignment, you will find motivation to get back your item.

     Now that you hopefully have a different outlook on your summer work and are less overwhelmed about starting it, you can get to it! It is better to start soon than wait until the last minute; you will thank yourself later!

Burlington High School proudly commits itself to its core mission of “respecting differences in an increasingly diverse society.” Thanks to clubs like the African-American Student Association, Multicultural Club, and Gay-Straight Alliance, and events like Culture Fest, the school certainly demonstrates its efforts to include diverse voices in our community. However, it seems that one group of students is often not included in these efforts: English language learners. 

The ELL program has flourished in recent years, not just at BHS but throughout the district. As Kerri Lamprey, Director of English Learner Education, explained, the program’s growth has not just been in the number of students enrolled but also in the number of languages represented.

“When I came [to Burlington] it could be described as a low-incidence program, meaning there were not as many students. There were about 8 students at the high school when I first came…and the total was about 85 students across all the schools,” she said. “Now we have about 257 students across the district…Growth has been around numbers of students and the change in languages that we currently have represented.”

Indeed, once the ELL classes had a majority of students who spoke Gujarati or Hindi as their first language, but now our halls have a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, and Arabic speakers. With this growing and diverse population of students, it is crucial that the school does not let language barriers prevent them from incorporating the English language learners in the community. This all prompts the question: Is BHS giving enough support to the ELL program and students, and is there more to be done? 

One of the ways in which the school has helped these students is through the multilingual partner group, a program that paired an English language learner with a native English speaker. For the students who took part in this program, it was instrumental in helping them acclimate to a new environment.

“This group really helped me to meet new people as a freshman and as a non-native English speaker,” Serli Jabnian, junior at BHS, said. “The group was a judgement-free zone, which allowed me to ask for help about so many different aspects around the school, including classes, clubs, and every other social aspect of high school.”

Although the program temporarily stopped due to the pandemic, there are plans for its return next year, and Jabnian played a key role in this. 

“I find it very important for ELL students to be able to have a safe place where they can meet and learn from other people and, at the same time, show their cultures to others,” she said. “It is very important for ELL students to feel included in the community and valued between peers and classmates.”

Beyond the partner group, ELL students have also been welcomed by their peers who use the tools around them to connect across any language barrier. 

“I used to get lost going to different classes during the first two weeks of school, and I had no idea what to do because I did not understand or speak any English,” Emerson Perez, a BHS graduate, said. “One of the students who was learning Spanish helped me get to my classes on time and showed me how the lunch system works…Students used Google translate to help me with instructions when we were doing group project work.”

Whether it is through translation programs or their own language skills, teachers and staff, too, play an instrumental role in including the ELL students and supporting them as they balance school, work, and other obligations in a new country.

“It was really hard to focus on all three things well—going to school, helping my family, and doing my job—and it’s really hard to have energy in all of those things and to do your best in each one,” Jeu Ajcac, recent BHS graduate, said, as translated by Ms. Lamprey. “Ms. Gloria [Wojtaszek, BHS counselor] was always encouraging me to come to school and always supporting me, saying you need to do this, and so I did graduate.”

While community support is important, it does not always go far enough. It is easier for students to get involved in clubs because the meetings have a set schedule and typically last thirty minutes a day or two after school. What about the students who wish to get involved in athletics but struggle with the particulars of how the program works? 

“There are hurdles that for you and I in America might see them as little hurdles, like some of the normal paperwork…and talking about tryouts, the announcements are in English and the students don’t understand,” Adam Chiocca, BHS ELL teacher, said. “There is more to it than just making the tryout day. As an American kiddo used to going to sports things, they would have an idea of how many tryout days you would have.”

The problems continue from there. If the team does not practice at the high school, that can be difficult to communicate to parents. For sports the ELL students are not familiar with, there is another challenge in wanting to try the sport but being unfamiliar with the equipment needed. 

In addition to all of that, friends typically participate in extracurriculars like athletics and theater together, and so for ELL students who have yet to form friendships with their classmates who are familiar with these activities, that may be a deterrent to getting involved. 

Moving to a new country, surrounded by unfamiliar customs and an unfamiliar language, is a struggle that not everyone experiences. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone, learning a new language, getting involved in a new school, making new friends—these are risks made easier by a supportive community willing to listen and make accommodations. As a school, we made a commitment to be a respectful, welcoming, and empathetic community. If we want to truly live up to that, we must make sure no one gets left behind.    

With course selections underway, many students are looking for insight into AP classes.

At this time of the year, students are beginning the course selection process for next year. Students are currently looking at and considering different options in hopes of trying to find what classes will be the best fit for them. For many, some of those options may be AP classes.

Advanced Placement classes, or AP classes, are offered by an organization called the College Board. They define AP classes as “college-level courses” with a cumulative exam towards the end of the year. The college board says that some benefits to AP classes are that you get a taste of the college experience and that you can stand out when applying to colleges. Additionally, they mention that the classes can boost your GPA.

However, it is ultimately the students who are taking these classes and forming opinions of some of the possible benefits and setbacks. A survey about AP classes with the intent to gather the opinions on the classes was sent out to all AP students on February 16. It garnered 77 responses. 

When looking at their options, some students may look for AP classes that generally have a reputation of being easy. However, there isn’t really such a thing as an easy AP. It is true, though, that some are more universally seen as difficult while others are more opinion based.

For example, the AP English classes (AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition) were a bit divisive among respondents. 11 respondents said they struggled the most with an AP English class, while 27 students said they struggled the least with an AP English class.

A collection of 27 students said that they would recommend taking an AP English class. Multiple respondents referenced that the classes help enhance the writing of students. Junior Megan Ohol said, “the class drastically improved my skills as a writer,” in reference to AP Language and Composition. 

Similarly, when it comes to the AP Histories (AP US History and AP World History), respondents had largely varied reviews about the difficulty of the courses.

12 students said they struggled the most with AP US History, while 5 said they struggled the least with the class. 8 students said they would recommend the AP US History. 14 students said they struggled the most with AP World History, while 8 said they struggled the least with the class. 9 students said they would recommend AP World History. Ohol recommends AP World History “if history is interesting to you.”

This variation in numbers seems to suggest that the difficulty of the AP Histories is not constant for every student. Essentially, particularly in the history APs, the student’s personal interest in the subject seems to be a key factor in determining how challenging the course feels.

This is true for all subjects as well, however. One anonymous respondent simply wrote that they would recommend any class that a student “has strengths in.” They discourage students from taking classes that they will likely do poorly in just to take more AP classes.

While, other AP classes seem to be more broadly considered difficult, as seen in the survey. For example, 14 students listed AP Chemistry in their brief lists of AP classes that they struggled with the most. Only 4 listed it as one of the AP classes that they struggled with the least. 

But, that’s not to say that these courses which are seen as more difficult should be written off immediately. Of the 77 respondents, 10 said that they would recommend AP Chemistry. Junior Mike Woodilla added that AP Chemistry is “really hard, but when you get used to it, it becomes rewarding.”

When determining which AP class you may want to try, consider that some courses may be more of a challenge. But, these courses also likely cause you to learn a lot about the subject.

It is clear that personal strengths and preferences play a definite role in how students perceive their AP classes. Senior Tommy Ryan recommends “any class that a student is interested in,” and advises against taking a class “purely for a GPA boost.” 

One class that was overwhelmingly recommended was AP Psychology. 17 respondents said that they would recommend the class.

Towards the end of the year, typically around May, the AP exams take place. They cover all of the material of the curriculum and are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Generally, a 3 is considered a passing score, but a 4 is a more concrete passing score. The exams are a large part of what makes an AP class, and can be stressful for students. 

“Generally, if you put the work in for the class, you won't have a problem on the exam. But, wanting a 5 on an AP exam is a really, really bad reason to take an AP course. You need to like the subject and be willing to fail (sometimes literally),” Woodilla said. “The exam should be a byproduct of the effort you've put into the class. That's not to say you shouldn't study, though, and the studying can be quite a lot. Like the rest of the course's aspects, you have to commit to it.”

The exam scores can be sent to colleges, though it is optional. Not all colleges look for AP exam scores, though.

“I believe that [the exams] are pointless and do not capture our knowledge of the content, rather our ability to study for convoluted College Board style questions,” senior Sean Gallagher said. “They are absolutely not worth it and most colleges only take 5s, which are extremely difficult to get.”

However, some students, like Ohol, see benefits to AP exams. Ohol admitted that “there is a lot of stress involved,” but added that it is worth it in the end if you “spend time studying and preparing for your exam.” She also recommended that students “should use stress as a motivator, not a reason to procrastinate.”

Ultimately, students have varying opinions on AP classes and exams, but it is undeniable that they differ from CP and Honors classes in many ways.

That doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect in a certain subject in order to take an AP class, however. An overwhelming 88% of students who responded to the survey felt that their AP classes have challenged them to become better in the subject area. 

AP Classes also require responsibility and self determination. 67.5% of respondents felt that AP classes are a big step in regards to responsibility. An anonymous student said “Generally, AP classes genuinely expect a lot out of students.”

Ultimately, students agree that AP classes are meant to be a challenging opportunity for those who feel that they are interested in the subject matter and want a more in depth understanding of that subject.

     Going back years and years, kids, teens, and adults have always wanted the latest, greatest, and trendiest items, especially clothes. This craving is still present today and it has never been easier. With online shopping, you can find just about anything you want and oftentimes for very cheap prices. 

     Although it seems great to have inexpensive and trendy clothes right at our fingertips, grave damage is being done the more often people participate in this type of shopping; there is an extremely large risk of encountering a fast fashion brand during your seemingly innocent browse on the internet.

     Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. More stores and brands than you think participate in this; I can nearly guarantee that at least one store you know and love is fast fashion. 

    Online shopping is not the only form you can encounter this on, but that simply just adds to the problem as it allows people to have easier and quicker access to purchasing clothes made from these conditions.

     It is also not the average consumer's fault if they happen to buy from fast fashion brands. However, you should do your best to limit the amount that you do purchase from these places as overconsumption and disposing of the items as soon as the trend is over causes great damage to our planet.

     Fast fashion comes with extreme consequences. In order for these clothes to be made quickly, cheaply, and in large quantities, the industry has its production take place overseas in poorer nations for cheap labor. This action is done to avoid the labor laws and taxes in place within countries that have more developed governments. 

     The clothes are produced in extremely poor working conditions where so many are overworked and underpaid. Fast fashion is a very messed up system; our trends should not be somebody else’s blood, sweat, and tears. There are clearly ways around this problem as many brands do not produce their products in such a way, so there is no need for it to still be going on.

     Not only are people put in danger and overworked, but fast fashion is detrimental to our environment. Just about 20% of worldwide water waste is due to the fashion industry; it takes approximately 3,000 liters of water for one cotton shirt. 

     There are many toxic chemicals used in fabric dyeing which eventually end up in our oceans. Since most areas of production are in countries with underdeveloped governments, the contaminated water goes untreated to the point where it is no longer able to be safe again. 

     As these fast fashion brands produce such cheap clothing and at fast rates, consumers are getting used to the process of getting rid of their clothes after just a couple of wears because it does not do much damage to their wallets. And rather than donating clothes, they simply throw them away which ironically does not have a simple outcome at all.  

     The excess amount of clothes that are thrown away creates massive landfills and massive amounts of landfills. Once these pile up too much, they are relocated to where they can be burned. This recurring cycle endangers public and environmental health as toxic gases are released into the air from the burning landfills, polluting our air.

     With these just being some of the dangers of fast fashion, you should be able to see just how horrible the impact this industry has on the entire planet. Even though the problem of course goes beyond individuals, we can do our best to help.

      There are simple ways to avoid feeding fast fashion such as doing a quick google search on the brands you buy from, buying from small businesses, thrifting, not buying excess clothing, and donating old clothes. If enough people take action, great differences will be made to help our planet!

What is your name and what are you teaching this year?

My name is Michayla Hogan and I am teaching freshman biology and physical science.

To start, what are some of your interests and hobbies outside of school?

Outside of teaching, which is one of my favorite things ever, I also teach Irish dance. I've danced from the time I was three and I competed through college. Now I teach it at the McHale school in Woburn, so it’s pretty close by and I love doing that. I also play piano and flute to try to keep up with my musical skills.

Where did you go to college?

For my undergraduate, I got my bachelor's in science at UMass Lowell. I did nutritional sciences for my undergrad. For my graduate school, I went to Leslie University, and I did my master's in education.

What inspired you to want to be a teacher?

Ever since I was super little, even pretty much before I knew what a teacher was, I was teaching my stuffed animal [or] my younger siblings. For the holidays, I wasn't looking for dolls and stuff-- I wanted a projector and world maps and things like that because I was so enthralled by the classroom and teaching. So, I always kinda knew I wanted to do it. I also love science a lot, so I was inspired by some of my own teachers I had through the years. One of them was Ms. Sturtevant, who is a sixth grade teacher [at MSMS]. I had her and she was one of the best teachers I ever had. I wanted to be just like her. So, that was my goal-- because I love science, I decided, I might as well teach science.”

So, biology and physical science were among the subjects that interested you most?

Yeah. I’ve always especially loved the human body and that's why I kinda went to nutritional sciences. I love chemistry and biology, so I love a little bit of all the sciences. Which is kinda nice because I get to teach biology which is very different than physical science.

I understand that you were a student teacher at BHS two years ago. How did you like that experience? 

I loved it. I was very lucky to be placed in Ms. Cheever’s classroom, she's a very inspiring teacher. She’s very innovative and likes to try out different techniques with her students. She let me kind of start teaching very early on, which, if you go to education school, a lot of the mentors don't let you teach their classes very early on. But she let me kind of jump right in and get that hands-on experience.

Last year you taught at Wilmington. How was that experience and what made you return?

When I heard about this job opening up, I was like I'd love to be back at Burlington. Even with COVID shutting things down that March, it was still such a great experience up until then. I loved it at Wilmington, I had a great experience, it was definitely tough to leave. But, teaching in Burlington was always my goal, I always wanted to end up back here because I had such a great experience. I mean, I'm from Burlington, too, so that extra piece as well.

Now that you are an official teacher with your own classroom, what has proved to be a new challenge for you?

Grading. Grading’s my biggest challenge. I do love planning, and I spend a lot of time outside of school planning activities, stations, and labs, so sometimes my grading can kinda get left behind and eventually pile up!

What have you enjoyed most so far about teaching at BHS?

I love the Burlington community, I think it's such a strong, close-knit community of both students and teachers. I think the science department is a really good group of teachers, everyone helps each other out, which is important to have [as a] new teacher. And I know a lot of students from when I used to teach preschool, so some of them come on up and I think ‘Oh, I had you when you were four years old, and now you’re in my science class!’ So I know the families, as well. I’ve always been a part of the Burlington community, so it’s really fun to be a part of it in a different role.

What was it like teaching preschool?

I loved preschool-- it was definitely very different. I taught it while I was going to college to become a teacher and I started kind of working in a preschool since I was a freshman in high school. Very fun, very different. I still teach a preschool dance class on the weekends, so I get my fill of little kids and I also get the big kids during the week, too.

What is something new that maybe you haven't experienced yet that you’re looking forward to at Burlington?

Going forward, I would love to create my own science class. There’s a couple of areas, like maybe a nutritional science course, that is what my specialty is. So, I could definitely see myself in the upcoming years creating a curriculum to go into the deep biochemistry of nutrition, which would be fun.

Is there anything else you want to add at all?

I also signed up to be the freshman class advisor, so I am working currently with the student government, and we are starting to think about our fundraisers and future dances and stuff like that. So, that’s been really fun to be involved with because I get to meet new students and do more work for that grade. I’m excited to kind of follow the freshman class as they go up through graduation.

So, is it safe to assume that you can see yourself staying here for the foreseeable future?

Yeah, absolutely. That is the goal! I love being here and I hope that I will still be here in ten years, that’s the goal.

From costume parties to trick or treating, Halloween is a great holiday where everyone can be a kid again, or really, be anything they want. 

   Children, teenagers, and adults can dress up and celebrate in countless ways. There is Screamfest, Witch’s Woods, and Ghost Tours in Salem for those with the desire of a thrill. For the less spooky side, there are events like public costume contests with prizes such as the Halloween Ball in Salem. And for the kids, there is your classic trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treat, and many fun other places to go such as corn mazes!

   These are all super fun and classic ways to get into the Halloween spirit, but every so often, there becomes the problem of Halloween being on a Sunday. Most, if not all, of these events listed only take place at night which is where having commitments the next day becomes a conflict. 

   With work or school the following morning, it leaves many at a loss of what to do or leads to people having to completely change their plans. Yes, there is the option of staying home and being festive in ways like pumpkin carving and watching scary movies, but the options of what to do are limited. 

   Trick-or-treating usually does not start until the sun sets which will leave kids with limited time to participate in activities if they have school the next morning since they will need to get their costumes off, get ready for bed, and sleep. This goes for teens and adults as well since activities like Witch’s Woods and costume parties can leave attendees to get home extremely late, even past midnight.

   So, Sunday night Halloween’s are no fun for anyone. This is where the light bulb comes in: no school the day after Halloween!

   They do it for all other popular holidays like Easter and Christmas, so why not Halloween? It actually makes more sense to give the day off after Halloween since the two listed above are holidays specific to a religion while Halloween is celebrated by people of all different religions; it is more widespread so there are likely more kids in a school celebrating Halloween than say Easter. 

   It is likely that some parents feel that giving the day off after Halloween is opening the doors for bad choices of their teenagers since it could give them the option to stay out later at a party, but this would not be the majority or necessarily anyone at all. Yes that is a possibility, however having no school after this holiday would benefit all school age kids who celebrate it since they could do anything from trick-or-treating for longer to staying at Screamfest for hours!

   If schools would give the day off, why not work too? Adults deserve to have a night of fun where they do not have to go to work the next day just as much as kids do! 

   Halloween should be a stress free and not rushed experience where people of all ages can have an amazing time; afterall, it is the night where anything is possible.

The music I listen to always seems to project onto my mood. If I listen to slow or calm music, my mind tends to ease and I become more relaxed. If I listen to upbeat music, I get super hyper out of nowhere even from having zero energy prior.

I am definitely a frequent listener of music and it is often that I develop emotions from songs that I was not in any way feeling before listening. I have always wondered to myself just why this happens. As in why can I, someone who has never been in a relationship, feel like I just experienced the most extreme heartbreak after listening to certain songs?

Well, it is proven that music is capable of bringing us to tears, moving us, and conveying deep emotional messages within us. But how? Recent studies of a branch in music psychology have shown that music may convey emotional information by activating the mirror neuron system within our brains.

When people are having a conversation it is natural to subconsciously mirror each other's movements; I am sure you have found yourself doing this at some time or another. This action is caused by the mirror neuron system. 

Also, emotions are contagious. For example, in the case of seeing someone upset, it is likely you will start to feel bits of sorrow. This is another natural reaction caused by the mirror neuron system.

Music has been reported to induce a full range of human emotion of anything from sorrow and nostalgia, to happiness, calmness, and joy. This proven fact is what made scientists create the hypothesis that music gives off emotional expression within its structure. Elements such as its pitch, tone, and volume, are mirrored by the brain which creates internal bodily rhythm in the listener that then corresponds to an emotion.

In short, music is capable of stimulating the brain in ways that can establish extreme emotion. 

For example, my mom is a caregiver for an elderly woman with Parkinson’s disease who is often down and does not have the best outlook on life. She listens to upbeat salsa music and it has been known to continuously lift her spirits. According to my mom, the change in her mood is remarkable from before and after listening.

Due to the strong impact music has on emotions, people have the option to use music and psychological connections to their advantage for things such as getting work done or relieving stress.

So next time you’re working on a project or writing a paper, don’t just listen to your favorite songs, take a few minutes to figure out what kind of music will stimulate your brain in a way that will help you focus!

     Schooltime has recently sprung up again, with the Covid-19 pandemic still occurring. Unfortunately, in these difficult times, back-to-school has been a rough transition for both new and returning students alike. Whether students had returned to school via hybrid learning or remote learning, a schedule had to be put in place to accommodate every grade level and background. In this manner, an upheaval to the previous scheduling system was put in place to assist students in ensuring a safer and more productive learning environment.

     This new schedule was already planned in advance and was supposed to be in effect last year, only to be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. Grade rotations, lunchtime, ending times, and many more factors went into this change, with both the time of the faculty and the time of the students at the front of the scheduling committee’s mind. 

     Mrs. Whitcomb, a teacher at BHS and one of the members of the committee, commented on her thoughts about student reception of the new schedule. “As always, students are amazing,” Mrs. Whitcomb said. “It is definitely a bit confusing at the beginning, but students have taken it in stride and seem to be adjusting well.”

     She also states that the “most important [part] was designing a schedule that maximizes positive learning experiences for students and builds in time to address social emotional needs,” along with other miscellaneous issues that may come up with scheduling. A modified schedule was soon created to attempt to fill the needs of all. 

     However, for those who are still not used to this unfamiliar environment, navigating the schedule in general is still a great challenge. Justin Hollis, a freshman at Burlington High School, is one of those who have these trifling issues. 

     “I don’t like it because it’s an odd change from middle school”, Justin said. “I think that it would be confusing for other students, too. All we can do is adapt.” 

Justin would also much rather prefer a standard schedule, similar to other freshmen, where periods would go from 1-3 one day, and 4-6 on the next day.

     The hustle and bustle that comes with issues of scheduling and personal student time constraints are rarely avoided with any school schedule. In spite of this, the structure and thoughts about BHS’ version still remain clear. A new challenge of unfamiliarity comes with the solution of exposure and adaptation, which this schedule attempts to do. It is only a matter of time before more thoughts and opinions are gauged for the creation of an even more effective variation.

Streaming services have changed society massively. This is something made clear by Netflix's 209 million users, Spotify’s 165 million users, Hulu’s 42.8 million users, and YouTube’s staggering 2 billion users. It should come as little to no surprise that it has had an effect on students.

“I think the problem with streaming services, is that if you have them downloaded on your device and you’re trying to do schoolwork you can get very distracted,” Ella Tedesco, a junior at BHS, said. 

Seeing that ADHD rates have climbed by nearly 30% in the past eight years according to BlueCross BlueShield, it is no surprise that these streaming sites have become a distraction for students. Music streaming especially can be a common distraction. Just by walking through the halls during period changes, it is easy to estimate that about a third of students have earbuds in their ears streaming music.

“Sometimes, I’ll stop and go watch an episode of a show on Netflix or I’ll start playing music and then it takes me longer to get my work done,” said Tedesco

Listening to music may not seem as distracting as other streaming services. In reality, it can really inhibit a person’s ability to complete work and problem solve. The issue is that music can be seen as less distracting than other forms of entertainment. And while that may be true to some extent, it is still hindering one's ability to work efficiently.

YouTube also is a common distraction. The ease of access and the over 800 million videos on the site makes it so. 

“There definitely is that temptation when I’m sitting next to my laptop and I’d much rather be watching YouTube than doing my homework,” said Emma Naddaff, a junior at BHS.

While it’s clear there are distractions that can be caused, there are definitely positives if one can manage their time. For starters, YouTube can be used as an educational tool with channels like Khan Academy and Crash Course. Other streaming services, like Disney+ or Hulu, can be used for entertainment as well after work has been finished.

“I think that my use of streaming services is not during the day so it doesn’t really distract me from the work that I’m trying to get done,'' said Mike Woodilla, a junior at BHS. “I really see the positives in it. I think it’s a nice way to not be working and just relax and not focus your mind on something.”

While it is clear all this content at the hands of teens comes with a risk, there are many positives if managed well. The key is learning proper time management, something that is not easy but very attainable.

 How has coming back full time to in-person school affected freshman students at BHS? The 2021 school year has started up quickly, and students at Burlington High School are already busy with schoolwork, sports, studying, and more. Many of the students here at BHS walking through the crowded halls each morning may seem happy and ready to learn, but how are they really feeling inside?

 Managing schoolwork on top of sports and other activities is not an easy task, especially after learning over a computer screen for several months due to COVID-19. For freshmen students, the transition can be stressful and overwhelming, while some have found it easier to learn and more enjoyable. This year, freshmen students at BHS are busy with learning where their classes are in a new building, meeting new people, getting much more schoolwork, transitioning from middle school to high school, and keeping up with sports and other after-school activities. 

The difficulty of this transition from middle school to high school during a pandemic has been noted by professionals. Studies show that academic stress can increase the chances of becoming depressed or developing anxiety. A new and recent national survey called the “JED Foundation” ran a study on freshmen students and found that about fifty percent of freshmen students feel stressed with school and time management, while the other half is able to manage without any stress. 

“Being back to in-person school has been better than remote,” Olivia Floyd, BHS freshman, said. “This year has been different from last year with coming to a new school and making new friends.”

During quarantine, minimal amounts of homework were given each day, along with a minimal amount of schoolwork, which led to students losing motivation and beginning to develop the mindset that school was no longer important. Coming back from remote learning and into in-person school has been a big jump, but despite the transition, students and teachers feel it is easier to focus. 

“I think it’s been easier to manage my time,” Marissa Ulmschneider, freshman at BHS said. “When we were remote it was harder to focus. We have had enough time for homework and teachers have been helpful.”  

With being fully back, students can feel stressed and overwhelmed, even with after school activities like sports and clubs, but students are finding it very helpful that teachers, friends, parents, tutors, guidance counselors and more are willing to help them through it.  Tutors and counselors are always willing to help struggling students and are very easy to talk to.

“My classes this year are pretty manageable,” Marissa Ulmschneider says.

For the past two years, classes were difficult to follow along with, especially over technology. For example, the Google Meet app would glitch and there would be moments where the sound would not work or the video would appear blurry. With school finally being almost completely back to normal, we are all learning better.

“Some students are doing better and some doing worse and I saw the same thing last year,” Mrs. Emily Minty, BHS guidance counselor said. “I had some students who thrived in the remote or hybrid model because it gave them more downtime and flexibility who suffered with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.” I have others who felt disengaged not being here every day and are loving being back. Neither model is perfect for all students.”

The return has been different for all students, with some enjoying being fully back and having no problem completing their homework class work, while others have found it stressful and challenging. If you are struggling, contact a guidance counselor, talk to friends, or reach out to teachers. We are all here for each other to make the 2021 school year great!

Jonathan Taylor is a running back for the Indianapolis Colts. He came into the NFL last year and did amazing. Everyone knew that he was something special. He posted 1,169 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, and had a 5.0 yard per carry.

He was the clear centerpiece of the Colts offense. This amazing rookie season led him into the playoffs in which he ran for about 70 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Definitely not bad for a rookie’s first playoff game. Jonathan Taylor knew that coming into this season he was going to get more volume. He knew that he would have more production shares on the field, and he prevailed.

The Indianapolis Colts have one of the best offensive lines in football. Quinten Nelson is a multiple time pro-bowler and a great player. While the Colts do deserve a lot of credit for Taylor’s success, his running ability is truly something to keep an eye on. He averaged about 5.0 yards per carry in his rookie season, but this season it’s on a different level. In his second season, he is now averaging 5.6 yards per carry!

Jonathan Taylor has had eight games this season in which he ran for over 100 yards. He is leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,518, 17 rushing touchdowns, and 270 rushing attempts. Earlier this season, he surprisingly wasn’t getting a lot of touches. He went nine straight games in which he didn’t eclipse 19 or more carries, and was still among the top five in rushing yards.

What makes Jonathan Taylor so special is his ability to run the ball. He isn’t involved in the passing game. Despite his usual 36-40 receptions a season with about 300-400 receiving yards, he isn’t actually a good route runner. He’s not among the top receiving backs, and honestly, is far from it. It’s Jonathan Taylor’s ability to use his strength, speed, and freakish awareness to swift and sway away from defenders.

Many believe Jonathan Taylor to be the MVP. Because of what he’s doing, and because there’s distance between him and every other running back, it might just be true. It’s extremely rare for a running back to win the MVP award. The last running back to accomplish this feat was LaDanian Tomlinson back in 2006. He had close to 2,000 rushing yards and over 25 rushing touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor is in his second season. He is immaculate, and will definitely be one of the best running backs in the league in a matter of years. His contract is far from over, and the Indianapolis Colts are actually a young team. They have multiple young players who have immense potential.

There are two more games left in the regular season, and if Jonathan Taylor can keep this hot streak up, there’s no reason why the Indianapolis Colts can’t advance to the playoffs once again.

The NBA has been very disappointing over the past decade. All of the rules that have been implemented to make the game pretty much impossible to play have gone on for far too long. 

In comparison to the other years, the NBA hasn’t lived up to being the global entity that it once was. Many long-term fans haven’t felt the urge to watch their teams play because of how soft the league is. These new rules have completely changed the game. Some rules include the takeaway of hand-checking, offensive players being able to hook their arms into their opponents to draw fouls, and being inside a players “landing zone.”

Hand-checking was defined as a defender being allowed to use one or both hands to steer his opponent wherever they wanted to go. It was the ultimate key to why it was so much harder to score back then. Despite your athletic ability to do whatever it was on the court, you literally had to fight your way to almost every possession to put the ball in the basket. Hand-checking has been removed ever since the 90s ended. It is now illegal to hand-check and if a player commits this, it could lead to serious trouble.

This is being looked at as a huge deal because when players lose their temper and talk back to the referees, it’s the players who get in trouble for it. The amount of money that players get fined in the NBA for bad behavior is ridiculous. An NBA fine for getting ejected is anything higher than $1,000, and that’s the bare minimum. An NBA fine for getting a technical foul is anywhere between $5,000-50,000. It never exceeds that much, but there have been cases where players have come close.

The ejections and technical fouls that these players face is astronomical. The money being put on the table is one thing, but the impact the players have on the game when they’re being escorted out of the arena is another. The pace of the game is much faster in today’s NBA. This makes for more possessions on the court, and it seems like players wouldn’t have restrictions, but they do.

The average amount of fouls drawn in the 90s was around 22 per game. That’s not a bad sample size. Well, now the NBA has more than 48 fouls drawn on a per game basis. That is double the amount of fouls drawn on a per game basis, making the game much more stressful. It’s not a surprise at all how many ejections and technical fouls players face all the time because basketball is being played in Candy Land.

NBA players do have to understand their emotions. They don’t have to control their emotions, and they should take the time to view them from different angles. All of that is true, and better yet, it makes sense. However, that is next to impossible when their emotions are in jeopardy every single night they play basketball. They should just be able to go out there and do what they love to do. There should be absolutely no restrictions on anyone.

Everything that comes into play with these new rules all come together to prove how unwatchable the NBA is. In terms of how many views the NBA gets on a per game basis, and when it really counts, the NBA Finals, it has dramatically changed since the 90s. The difference between the two is actually millions of people.

One of the most heavily anticipated NBA Finals ever was in 2016. The number of viewers that watched game 7 were 31.02 million people. That’s amazing, but it doesn’t compare to how many people watched the 1998 NBA Finals. In game 6 of that series, 35.89 million people tuned in to watch Chicago battle it out with Utah.

Out of the 10 most watched NBA Finals games in history, eight got viewed the most in the 80s or 90s. 80% of the most watched games all come from back in the day. There were only two instances in which any game from the 2000s or 2010s got more views. That is absolutely ridiculous.

During this year's finals the viewership was down, but higher than the 2020 turnout. The 2020 NBA Finals has been the least viewed series in history averaging 7.45 million who tuned in. This year the average was 9.89 million viewers, a 33% increase from last year, but a drop from the 2019 15.14 million viewers.

The recent decrease in viewership of the NBA has been caused by the constant fining, the excessive fouls, and all of the ejections that occur throughout the entirety of games. Fans are no longer watching because these actions have made the game uninteresting and repetitive. The NBA losing money is due to the decrease in viewership.

All of the fines, unnecessary calls, and the amount of views all speak to why these new rule changes are extremely important. It is the most anticipated thing to occur since hand-checking was implemented in the 90s. Players will now be able to do what they are physically capable of, and the views over the next couple of years should go up tremendously.

These new rule changes will completely reshape the game of basketball and will be a worldwide phenomenon for all of the fans around the world. No one should be against these new rules, and the NBA will finally resume with more consistency in the next two weeks.

Saquon Barkley not only tore his ACL, but he also managed to injure his meniscus and his MCL, all in the beginning of the 2019 NFL season. According to many NFL analysts, Saquon Barkley was at the top of the running back hierarchy when he was healthy. His impact on the New York Giants was absolutely amazing, and he was just getting started. However, his injury prevented him from missing a season and a half, and in terms of the impact he brought on the Giants, they again ranked in the bottom of offensive efficiency.

The Giants greatly benefited from Saquon while he was on the field. In other words, when Saquon was playing the Giants would move the ball consistently on offense. While he was off the field and was resting, their production on the offensive side of the ball wasn’t even comparable.

“Saquon’s impact on the rushing game will be felt; however having the worst offensive line in football will derail his production,” Kenny Kilfoyle said about Saquon Barkley’s impact. 

Saquon Barkley averaged five yards per carry. To put that in more simpler terms, Saquon got the first down every time he ran the ball twice. Five yards per carry was first in the league among the top five running backs, however his offensive line wasn’t always there for him.

In 2019, the New York Giants ranked 16th in offensive rating. That’s a pretty good sample size considering that’s nearly better than half of the league. However, they also ranked 23rd in defensive rating. In totality, this made the Giants a below average team in the NFL. 

“I think the question would be how healthy he is,” Mr. Wong BHS Help Desk Teacher said. “As long as the offensive coordinator can institute a running game, he will have a very good impact on the Giants.” In terms of what he did in the running game, Saquon Barkley ran for 1,307 yards and got 11 touchdowns. He ranked second in yards and fifth in touchdowns.

Although the numbers in the running game were excellent, it didn’t totally define who Saquon was as a football player. Yes, Saquon Barkley was a good “pure runner,” but what made Saquon Barkley so effective was his ability to get involved in the passing game. Running backs that catch the ball, on a per game basis, more than their own contemporaries are called “dual threat running backs.” This means that they also had production shares in which they ran routes and caught the ball similar to what a receiver normally does. Because of this, it makes that particular running back even more difficult for defenses to contain.

In terms of receiving among running backs, Saquon Barkley was able to come down with 91 receptions, 729 yards, and four receiving touchdowns. He ranked second in receptions, third in yards, and sixth in touchdowns. Another fun fact is that Saquon didn’t fumble the ball once that entire season. In totality, he had over 2,000 yards and 15 total touchdowns.

“It depends if they get an offensive line. His skills are right there, but the offensive line is key,” Vincent Mohan-Monestere said about Saquon Barkley’s likelihood of him ever being the same again. 

Saquon Barkley returned to the NFL on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. It was his first game back since the start of the 2020 NFL Season. He ran the ball 10 times and got 26 yards for an average of 2.6 yards per carry. He got the ball thrown to him three times, caught one, and only had one yard. Saquon was being limited throughout the game and played when there wasn't really any tension.

Week 2 of the NFL Season began last night on Thursday. The game was between the Washington Football Team and the New York Giants. Saquon Barkley did play. Saquon looked really good throughout the course of the game. He is still getting his legs back, but this can be a really positive development for the Giants as a whole. He ran the ball 13 times and got 57 yards, and he was targeted three times, caught two of them, and had 12 yards. He averaged about 4.4 yards per carry. His contribution to the Giants was great. Although the Giants lost the game and it was really close, this still provides insight to what Saquon Barkley has in store for the remainder of the season.

Saquon, throughout the course of the training camps this off-season, has kept everything quiet. He hasn’t been open about his injury. This left so many questions for how he will start to become his former self.

His contract that he received in 2018 goes for four years worth $64 million. This holds many questions about Saquon’s future simply because next year will be the end of his rookie deal. His injury will limit him throughout each week, but he’s still talented enough to facilitate the Giants offense and be that dominant presence that he was. As long as the Giants go at his own pace, there is no reason why Saquon Barkley shouldn’t rise back up to the top.

As of August 26th Mac Jones is the new quarterback after the team dropped Cam Newton. The team was given the choice of 3 time pro bowler, and 2015 MVP, Cam Newton. Or they were able to start their first round draft pick, rookie, Mac Jones. With all of summer training done, the NE Patriots chose to go with rookie Mac Jones. 

Mac Jones has played two weeks so far with the Patriots and has shown why he should be the starting quarterback and why he should not be a starter. He has been showing a great completion percentage (73-74%), which has been the highest for a rookie as of week 2 for all rookie quarterbacks. He has also been showing that he is able to throw the ball and can find the open man when he needs to. 

Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, had to make a tough decision choosing either Cam Newton or Mac Jones. 

“Because it is too early to put in Mac Jones as a starter because it is his first year in the NFL and they have no fall back and the only backup is a terrible player,” Khael Alcider, BHS junior, said. “Cam has been in the league for a long time and has more skill and knowledge.” 

Belichick could have gone with the quarterback that had more experience and a lot more playing time, but he decided to go with the rookie, who looked a lot better in summer camp compared to Newton. According to some reports, Newton was messing around at some points. Rather than getting the practice that he needs, he decided to do a dance or sing a song. 

The Patriots had a really tough season last season, and they are trying to redeem themselves to both their fans and for themselves. With the loss of quarterback Tom Brady, they were in desperate need of a different quarterback and did not have a draft pick to get a good one from college. They had the option of taking Cam so they took it. He didn't have any time to get any chemistry with the team and was kind of just thrown into things. 

Based off of their last season they didn't look like they were going to ever be as good as they used to be “because once the players are comfortable with the new situation they will play good, and once they play good they will be good,” Nick Barrett, a student at Burlington High School said.

All of the players need to be on board with what Mac Jones and Bill Belicheck want to do with the team. If they aren't going to cooperate then they shouldn't play. Anyone who is skilled enough and smart enough should be able to play with them.

With the past year in mind most students are wondering what will happen to the sports at BHS. Now that Covid numbers are back on the rise, what measures are being taken in sports to prevent the spread of COVID?

BHS does it’s best to protect its players and stop the spread. 

“Indoor sports masks are on for everyone, spectators and players,” Shaun Hart, BHS athletic director said. “Transportation-wise, it’s masks on for players and coaches. Locker rooms you must wear a mask. If you’re outside, you don’t need masks.” 

These protocols make it possible for the sports to have a full season with buses and spectators which has already impacted the teams spirit. 

“Buses and spectators have encouraged us to play better, especially with a fan section,” Nicole Pellegrino, BHS varsity volleyball captain, said. Nicole is one of Varsity Volleyball captains and saw what it was like to play in a COVID year.

Last year’s COVID protocols made it a hard year all around for students, from virtual school to sports.

”It was a change for everybody,” Mr. Hart said. “It was scary and confusing at times but athletically we made the best of a bad situation. We played 200 varsity games last year during COVID. Our kids, coaches and staff took everything seriously to ensure that we could play.” 

Mr. Liljegren, the boys JV soccer coach, had a similar view. For him, it was an awful time and it didn’t feel like we're a team. “There was no connection between the players; it was blank.”

The real question is when will things finally get back to normal. 

“New Year's maybe,” Mr. Liljegren said. “The vaccine will hopefully get better and everyone will get it.” 

This also brings up the question of did COVID change what we call normal.

 “I don’t know if there will be a ‘back to normal through Covid’,” Mr. Hart said., “I think that we’ve learned new things and we can do things better. I think some things will stay the same.”

However long it takes for COVID to subside, it’s also a matter of question if it will get worse before it gets better. 

“I think they will become more strict because everyone will be inside,” Mr. Hart said. “But if things stay the same they may become more lenient.” 

Although some people think things will worsen before they get better there are two sides to a story. Mr. Liljegren on the other hand believes things will get better.

Upholding a 4-year long tradition for over a thousand students is not easy! But every year, BHS seniors come together to do just that. “Devs Nation” is a student run account that keeps students informed about all of the sports offered at BHS. 

Through various social media platforms, students have created a sense of community through representing and promoting Burlington Athletics.

This year, seniors Sam Moreira, Gabbi Gillis, and Becca Ferguson are responsible for running the account and keeping it up to date. They encourage all students and staff to follow the account.

Senior Becca Ferguson explained why students and staff should follow the account, “Well, 1. To be informed about games. 2. Get some school spirit. It also kind of includes everyone even if you’re not a student athlete.”

“It's important to stay updated on BHS athletics and all that might be happening. It’s not only athletics it’s also school-wide events and stuff like that,” the account's other owner, Sam Moreira, added. 

Devs Nation started as an Instagram account in August of 2018, but the accounts previous owners had moved it onto different platforms. 

“Right now, we have accounts on Instagram and Twitter,” Becca Ferguson said. “Our Twitter platform isn’t as strong because Instagram has a different audience. Who knows? Maybe Tiktok one day. I feel like, with the incoming freshmen, maybe it will be on Tiktok. I don’t think we’ll make an account on Facebook.” 

So how often would account followers expect updates?

“We try to post every day,” Gabbi Gillis said. “At least every day. Weekends are off though. We use canva to edit pictures. We reach out to team captains to like, send in pictures and game information.” 

Some feel as though, in years past, the account lacked equal representation and promotion of all sports teams. When asked if the account represents all sports fairly now, Ferguson answered, “Yes and no. I feel like in the past it kinda didn’t. I feel like it was mostly based around football, but we're changing that now.” 

It’s not always easy to get a hold of student athletes and pictures of them playing their sports to post on the social media account. 

“Some sports seem under-represented but we just don’t have pictures and stuff,” Gabbi Gillis said. “Cross country is a fall sport but they haven’t had any meets yet so there’s some conflicts. Some sports are hard to get pictures of.” 

School spirit and student involvement are crucial for sports. The owners of Devs Nation feel as though the account gets everyone excited and involved to some degree. 

“I feel like being able to reach out to everyone to tell them when games are and stuff like that, it gets more of a crowd there,” Becca Ferguson said. “People also get excited when they’re posted on Devs Nation! Ever since my freshman year I wanted to do it. I never had friends who ran it, but I was always excited for my senior year just to run the Instagram. It was something we looked forward to. The account brings out our school spirit. It makes things a little bit better.” 

A lot of students feel as though Devs Nation unites the community and creates a sense of school pride. 

“I feel like it’s a good way to bring everyone together. I like making the posts because it gives me something to do,” Gabbi Gillis said.

Since the account is strictly run by seniors each year, ownership changes frequently. Moreira explained the transition from one owner to another, “The previous owners from last year reached out and asked if I was interested in running it,” Moreira said. “I guess the owners now will be looking at the junior class and choosing who’s very involved in athletics and the BHS community.”

The Devs Nation account has been going strong for four years now. 

“I feel like it’ll go on for a couple of years,” Ferguson said. “As long as athletics are important and people stay engaged.” 

Bruno Mars is back! After a long hiatus from releasing music his newest musical group Silk Sonic, co-formed by Aanderson Paak, released their debut album “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” Their long-awaited album landed at number two on the Billboard 200 chart.

In February of this year, Bruno Mars and Aanderson Paak announced that the two formed the band “Silk Sonic” and they were locked in on making an album. They originally formed the group in 2017 as a joke with no intention of making music for the public to listen to. 

But one day, Mars stepped into a studio and called up Paak to to actually work on one of the songs they started so long ago. For a long period of time Mars and Paak spent their time just making music for fun because it’s what they loved. Their chemistry was like none other.   

“This wouldn’t happen if it didn’t make sense and it didn’t feel natural and organic,” Mars said. The two obviously had a connection that not many others could match and they continued to work together on their album for the next couple months.

On March 5, 2021, the duo dropped the first song they made for the album “Leave The Door Open.” The song was an instant hit. Rolling Stone magazine described the song as “feel-good music” because that's exactly what it was. Mars brought back his old funk style of singing along with Aanderson Paak's spectacular singing voice to tease what the rest of the album would become. 

“That song was our mission statement,” Paak said. He wanted that song to shape the entire album and tease the audience to want more.

To make the wait for the album even more intense, they released another gigantic hit “Skate” with a more upbeat rhythm showcasing the duo's ability to produce a funky disco tune with enticing vocals. Mars and Paak sing “Don't be shy, just take my hand and hold me tight,” almost as if they're telling the audience to get ready to dance once the final product is released because they have much more in store for them. 

Finally, after months of anticipation and the best advertisement Bruno has done for any of his other albums, An Evening With Silk Sonic finally released. After release the album had a perfect 5 star review on Google. 

“One of the best first listens of an album I’ve ever had,” said Betoya Bundu, a BHS senior. “The song that most stuck out to me was Smokin Out the Window. With all of the songs he released beforehand he left such a masterpiece to be left on the final release date, the planning used for this album was phenomenal.” 

This album perfectly represents Bruno Mars as a performer. Every lyric he sings sounds genuine and from the heart. There is so much emotion poured into this album, it feels like he never even left the business.

Bruno Mars is the modern funk genius. Every time I listen to this album I expect Marvin Gaye to start singing “Let’s get it on” half way through. He loves bringing us back to the old school setting whilst also including modern hip-hop along with his songs. 

This album was no doubt bound to be successful when the groups first single “Leave The Door Open” reached platinum two times. Without a doubt an album to be remembered, and it leaves the audience wondering what will come in the future

BHS on Cancel Culture: Good, Bad, or Something In-Between?

According to BHS students, cancel culture can bring a lot of good, but it can also bring a whole load of bad. Cancel culture has the ability to bring down some of the internet’s most infamous names: for better or for worse. 

Ellen Degeneres. Shane Dawson. Jeffree Star. These are just a few of the names of people who were “cancelled” online last year in 2020. Cancel culture has taken the internet by storm over the last few years, causing what some call a movement, and what others call cyberbullying. 

“There are many forms of cancel culture,” Rishabh Bagmar, a sophomore at BHS said. “There are those that are politically motivated, culturally motivated, and there are always these social movements and impacts that revolve around a person and idea. If someone disagrees with that person or idea, it gets them cancelled.” 

Bagmar has mixed opinions on cancel culture; in some ways, it can wipe away the so-called “stains on society” that are microaggressions against minorities. However, its power can also be majorly misused. 

Cancel culture often results in trending hashtags on Twitter and local internet infamy for only a few days, up until the internet moves onto something “bigger and badder.”

“I think it’s kind of pointless in general,” Sofia Hom, a sophomore at BHS said. “What are people going to learn if you just “cancel” them?” She believes that cancelling people doesn’t make any meaningful, long-term change. Instead, those who make mistakes online should be educated so that there may be positive change towards becoming a better influence on the tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of followers some of these celebrities have.

However, when it comes to influencers with larger platforms, there isn’t always “positive” change in the end. 

“If they have a bigger platform and they get cancelled,” Hom said, “I don’t think they’re going to take it seriously. They can make up a fake apology and broadcast it and everyone will believe it.” Because of this uncertainty, she believes in being extremely careful when “cancelling” someone. 

Cancel culture catches on like wildfire because of its nature, making it possible to end an influencer's career overnight. 

“It’s not a sense of deciding whether a guilty person is innocent, it’s deciding whether an innocent person is guilty,” Jonathan Joseph, a student at BHS said. “Personally, I don’t think that the guilty decision should be made at all before hearing everything about that person’s story.”

However, this is not to say that cancel culture is always a net-negative. According to Bagmar, cancel culture can be used to help minorities fight for their rights.

“I think it’s necessary when someone’s being homophobic, transphobic, racist, or anything that’s against sexual orientation,” Bagmar said. According to him, cancel culture can be incredibly powerful as a movement when used against people who, in his eyes, need to be stopped before they cause any more harm.

“I think it’s mostly a waste of time. Although, there are times it works,” Bagmar said.

Then the question remains: How do we know when someone deserves to be cancelled, and when they deserve to be forgiven?

“We don’t,” Joseph said. “That’s the simple answer.” 

Each year, Anna Wintour holds an annual ball at the Metropolitan Museum of New York commonly known as the Met Gala. With the theme of In America, September 13 saw an A-list of celebrities and others who hold great influence walk to the venue in extravagant fashion. From the average suit to a four piece outfit, each individual used their interpretation of the theme to portray their identity in America.

To attend the Met, one must be invited (or spend an astronomical amount of money for a single ticket). Only the celebrities with great influence or notability can attend. The Kardashian family, AOC, Rihanna, and other stars were among the invited celebrities.

The Met has been known for being the elite. However, YouTube and Instagram have recently had tables where they could invite their own guests. With this, many influencers have been appearing at the Met: Emma Chamberlain, Eugene Lee Yang, and NikkiTutorials had the most attention put on them.

“I understand wanting to diversify the pool of celebrities, but I don’t think internet influencers qualify,” Nora Crossman, sophomore at BHS, said.

Overall, people have mixed feelings about influencers at the Met. They are not famous to the general public. 

“I don't know if she [Addison Rae] should be there... but everyone who showed up had some sort of identity in media and pop culture,” Henry Estes, BHS sophomore, said.

However, the core subject of the Met is the theme. And this year, the subject matter was In America or American Independence.

Surely, many guests dressed in red, white, and blue; some wore sports-inspired garb, others wore historically inspired clothing. Although, the theme was so broad that it could encompass anything, truly.

“America has its flaws. I think choosing America as a theme, especially considering the state of our nation, is bold. These looks should be bold, too,” Crossman said.

America is about identity, and how our celebrities and citizens are able to morph the ideas surrounding normalcy.

“The way I interpret it is that you have to represent yourself,” Estes said. “… America itself is a mixing pot… I liked when people took their culture into an outfit… you can form something and be who you are and be something else.” 

America is not just an identity, it is a cultivation of culture - a melting pot of ideas that each individual is able to identify with in some way.

With this consensus, many outfits present at the Met were designed with the guest’s background in mind. For example, the aforementioned NikkieTutorials, a YouTube makeup artist, used her background as a trans-woman to uplift her history. 

Her dress [pictured here] was inspired by Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman who helped to begin the Stonewall Riots, a key turning point in LGBTQ+ rights.

Mrs. Rose, an English teacher, complimented Nikkie’s look and felt it was extremely thoughtful as it is Nikkie’s history.

Another outfit that was interpreted from identity was Kim Kardashian West’s. 

Wearing an all-black, full-body coverup, Kardashian-West walked up the stairs to the Met almost expressionless.

“Do people care too much, is she highlighting something, is she making fun of the fashion world for looking up to and relying on people?” Mrs. Rose said about Mrs. West.

Kim Kardashian symbolized her role in America by wearing essentially nothing. Her outfit was plain, but you could tell it was her. She is such a staple in American culture that she did not have to wear a flashy outfit, it was her; an interpretation by Estes.

Interpretation is the end of fashion. How one looks at fashion and sees its symbols creates conversation. Especially at the Met, when there is a theme, celebrities must interpret how they affect society.

Naomi Osaka wore a dress inspired by her Haitian and Japanese descent, symbolizing her identity. Billie Eilish was portraying an old Hollywood look; Timothee Chalamet made a more casual yet formal appearance. Amanda Gorman, who shook America with her poem The Hill we Climb, took inspiration from the Statue of Liberty, walking into the ball as a symbol of America. 

These people were the chairs of the Met Gala, and they hit the nail on the head because In America can be interpreted as so many things; these people capitalized on that.

“The Met Gala is fascinating,” Mrs. Rose said.“It’s American in itself; people interpret the theme how they want. It does not matter the theme, the looks can be so widely different. This year being America highlights the American Individualism found throughout our society.” 

     Evidently, much progress has been made since the past school year when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is known about the virus and vaccination rates are much higher, leaving it safer to attend all in person school.

     Despite the new advantages, people are ultimately still getting sick. The difference is students are no longer given the option to attend classes virtually when testing positive for the virus as they were last year. Personally, I see this as a big problem.

     I do not believe that it should be an option to go fully remote or even hybrid just by choice, but I do think that there needs to be an online option for students who come down with COVID and are required to stay out of school for at least five days. Yes, five days is much less than the 14 day quarantine which was required for most of last year when the option was available, but five days is still a significant amount of time to miss.

     It is not the students' fault that they are missing school as it is a very understandable requirement for the better health of the school and community. However, it is also not fair to the students because they fall very behind by missing classwork, tests, homework, and all of the other things that go on throughout the time that they miss. 

     Personally, I view missing five plus days of school as detrimental to the education of a student. Especially in the case where there was so much of last year missed, I think it is just lazy to not offer kids the opportunity to join their classes to stay caught up on what is going on in the case that they contract the coronavirus.

     This online tuning in would not have to be anywhere near as involved as it was in the last year however. I think it should be just that, tuning in. Teachers would not have to create a lesson plan for the students on the call or even address them; it could be as simple as just having it set up so students could log on and get the information everyone else is receiving to be able to complete their work, prepare for a quiz/test, and just simply stay caught up.

     Also, it would not be something that can be used as an excuse to take vacations or days off; it would be a strictly covid related system where a student that is required to not attend school and is eager to stay caught up can log on and receive their lessons. And since online school is not counted as real school time in Massachusetts, students that contract COVID and attend these classes online would still be considered to have an excused absence.

     I am not saying this should be a forever thing, but I strongly believe that having this opportunity to attend classes online should be implemented into schools while the pandemic is still prominent. We are all living through this global crisis together and all efforts possible should be made to help everyone out.

The year 2020 was really rough for a lot of people for very obvious reasons. The COVID-19 virus hit the world by storm and forced people all over the world to stay inside and do their day to day tasks at home. One of the biggest groups of people affected by the virus were students. Students benefit from in person learning so it took a lot of planning and hard work to keep kids in schools, because remote learning comes with lots of technical difficulties it makes it hard to learn, and the last thing we would want is to have to go to remote learning because people don’t wear there masks properly.

It is up to each and every one of us to keep ourselves safe and the best way to do that is by wearing masks, and wearing them properly.  At the end of the day wearing a mask is simply about the safety of yourself and the students around you.  Not to mention if you get the virus you could easily pass it on to a family member, and that family member shouldn’t have to deal with a virus just because you didn’t want to wear a mask.

Although almost 60% of students in Burlington High are vaccinated, there is still a large number of students who are unvaccinated and at risk of getting the virus. Keeping a mask on prevents you from getting COVID through your respiratory system which is the main source of getting the virus.  

There are also numerous studies proving that even if you have the COVID vaccine you can still be a carrier and pass on the virus to others.  An article from the CDC states, “Vaccinated people can still become infected and have the potential to spread the virus to others, although at much lower rates than unvaccinated people.” So regardless of BHS’s vaccination rate, COVID still poses a risk and spreads from person to person, and not wearing a mask puts everyone at risk.

The other problem that has sprung up recently is the new variant, the Delta virus. The delta variant is everything COVID is but a lot worse. The CDC has stated that, “The delta virus is 2x more contagious than the previous virus and causes a more serious illness.” 

With the number of unvaccinated people still at a large percentage, the delta virus still poses a major risk to all people’s health and security. It is very important to ensure we do not go through another major outbreak like we did in 2020, in order to do so we all need to follow the guidelines laid out for us. We have all of the materials and right planning to make sure we keep each other safe, we all just have to follow along and work together a little longer. 

We as a community have gone through a very tough time in the last few years, but the more we work together to get rid of this deadly virus the more hope we can have for our future. The world may never go back to the way it used to be but we can learn to live with the way things are now. Remember that masks are not also a replacement for social distancing and to keep 6 ft. away at all times.

From the perspective of two high schoolers with jobs, the answer is yes! When you have a job, it teaches you to be more responsible, able to manage time, and able to learn the value of a dollar. Not only does a job help you with all that, it also gets you money! If you ask any person, from a toddler to an adult, they will say that the more money the better, and the same applies for teenagers. When you look beyond high school you may see college, a house, an apartment, or a car, but there’s one key component to get all these and it all comes back to money. 

According to CNBC, "In 1979 about 60% of American high schoolers had a job, and this number has dramatically decreased in the past years; now about 35% of teens have a job." We understand that the workload in high school has also increased since 1979, but a job doesn’t mean all day everyday; it could be 2-4 hours on a weekend, or maybe a job for summer. If you get a job at a younger age it teaches you how to budget and handle money in the future which can be really beneficial when you’re living on your own.

Many teens may say, “but my parents can pay for that shirt, food, or college.” Have you ever wanted to buy something and your parents say “NO why do you need it?” or “You won’t ever use/wear that”? If you have your own money, you have the freedom to buy anything you want without your parents saying anything because you can say back to them “It’s my money and I earned it.”

Also, when you have a job and you earn your first paycheck you get this feeling of being proud of yourself. When you buy something for the first time with YOUR money, you can say “I put my hard work into this clothing, video game, hamburger, etc.”

In the state of Massachusetts, there are laws that you can attend school, do homework, and not be too stressed. They are made to make sure that you can still be doing adequate work in school. The laws are broken up by age, 13-15 and 16-17. For kids under 16:

•  they may work only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m during the school year 

• only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m during the summer.

      Kids 16 and older:

• They can only work between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. (on nights preceding a regularly scheduled school day). 

• They can work between 6 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. (on nights not preceding a regularly scheduled school day).

•  Exception for restaurants and racetracks: only between 6 a.m. and 12:00 midnight (on nights not preceding a regularly scheduled school day).

Some people may say that work adds a lot of stress on top of the stress we have about school, but if you're feeling stressed with school then you can get a weekend job or a summer job. You may think a job for the summer isn't worth it, but if you work a few shifts a week you can get around $108 if you work two hours a week for four weeks; minimum wage in MA is $13.50 an hour.

Having a job will teach you to be more responsible in life. It will  teach you how to be a better family member by learning different skills that you can use to help your family. Also, having a job at such a young age could teach you to be more responsible when you are living on your own and how to manage your time. It can show you how to work with money and teach you how to be able to do different things that your parents never taught you.

If you find yourself struggling with homework and mixing up different policies for every class, you're not alone. The new homework policy for the 2021-2022 school year is causing many students to procrastinate more, fall behind, and ultimately confuse policies. 

Some feel as though the grading scale for the different departments is unfair as homework takes up the majority of their time for such a small portion of their final grade. However, almost every class has a different grading scale, which can cause confusion. For example, during the 2020-2021 school year, homework for an honors history class counted for 5% of the students final grade, while the 2021-2022 school year has increased many classes’ homework percentages up to 20%. 

As for the English department’s grading policies, many teachers do not include homework as a crucial part of a student's grade. Instead, they have categories like speaking and listening, language, critical reading, composition, and learning process. 

Obviously with COVID, many teachers and departments decided to lower the value of homework to ease stress for students during unprecedented times. With coming back to school full-time, many students are still in the mentality that homework has barely any value after having a minimal amount of work that was being required after remote learning.

Another new addition to homework policies is the “no zero” rule. This isn’t necessarily a school-wide policy, but instead specific to different departments. This means if a student fails to complete an assignment, it will be put into Aspen as a 50% instead of a zero. This policy was established in hopes of helping students stay above a failing grade letter, but instead it has caused students to lose motivation to complete their homework because they know a zero will not be put into Aspen and ultimately sink their grade. 

Most students dread going home and doing their homework every night, especially after sports, clubs, and other after-school activities. Many have the mentality that homework is too stressful, especially for AP or honors classes that often come with several hours of homework. This has been a reoccurring issue over the years, not just recently with the new homework policies. For example, according to a study conducted in 2018 by the Better Sleep Council, homework stress is the biggest source of frustration for teens. 

To prevent students losing motivation and skipping homework, each department should make their homework policies similar, if not the same. The “no zero” policy can be beneficial to many students, but students should understand that they still need to submit their work regardless of the fact that they won’t receive  a zero. As a community, it’s important to change the connotation around the “no zero policy”. 

Note: This article was written before the bathroom policy was changed.

Take this for example: a student will ask their teacher to go to the bathroom, scan the QR code (assuming it even works), then fill it out as they depart on their search for an open place to relieve themselves. Sometimes it takes five minutes just to get into the bathroom! And other times, no bathroom is even open. All students want to do is use the bathroom, which is a human need!

The BHS bathroom policy is the most infuriating system at this school. This policy was instilled for COVID, but it has stayed even as guidelines have eased. 

The bathroom policy comes in three parts. First comes signing out of class, which is pretty easy. Secondly, teachers are put on ‘Bathroom Duty’, where they spend a class period sitting in front of the bathroom and make sure there isn’t any ‘funny business’ (i.e. vaping and vandalism) going on. Thirdly, and most importantly, some bathrooms are locked, leaving only the Main Lobby, History Hall, Math Hall, and Cafeteria bathrooms open. However, the latter two points in the policy have loopholes and internal issues that cause larger problems that students are upset about.

This issue of the bathrooms is not only a student body issue, but a faculty issue as well. During each period, there is at least one teacher watching each set of bathrooms. They are there only to monitor activity, and to make sure that there are not too many students in a given bathroom at one time.

Teachers are contractually given both a preparatory period and are supposed to take a period for a duty each day, examples being study hall and the bathroom monitoring. However, the new BHS bell schedule can drop teachers’ assigned prep time. Since it is in their unionized plan, the teacher can drop their duty period to take their prep. This can lead to a certain bathroom being locked, and all of the issues included with that. This is all according to the newspaper advisor, Ms. Eshelmen

The bathroom issue spans the entire school, is unnecessarily difficult, and it is overall a waste of precious time for students and teachers alike.

Furthermore, for a student who is scrambling to get to a bathroom for some much-needed relief, having a bathroom be restricted for them is an indescribable nightmare. When you need to go the most, seeing the opportunity being denied to you is comparable to nothing else in this world. However, for countless BHS students, it has become a reality. The general consensus is that going to the bathroom at school is a no-go for the vast majority of BHS students. Ask around in the hallways and you will find that many dread going to the school bathrooms, whether it be for the long entry wait times, the crowdedness during popular hours such as lunchtime, or the fact that they’re inaccessible for a good portion of the day. 

In spite of this, it is not as if students hate the bathrooms! It is an agreement that going to the bathroom when you need to go is an absolute must. The natural process we go through, for every student, is too crucial to be disregarded because of one incident. Regardless, with current bathroom regulations in place, these processes are impeded in a manner that is nearly torturous to students.

Every person needs to use the bathroom. It is as simple as that. Literally. One human need is being constricted and taken from us students, while the small prep period is being taken away from teachers. It is extremely harmful to both a healthy community and a healthy learning experience.

BHS, keep the bathrooms open and trust the students. Have them sign out with working QR codes, then let them use the bathroom. How are we supposed to trust your policies and moral grounds if we cannot even use the bathroom?

The Burlington High School 2021-2022 bell schedule is extremely confusing for students, and we have also heard staff members express their confusion about it. Not only is it confusing because it changed from last year, but because of the structure of it as a whole. With the class times, lunch periods, and the new Advisory/homeroom periods alternating day to day, it is the perfect recipe for disorientation.

As of this year, BHS started a new aspect of the schedule which leads class times to alter each day: red and blue days. This makes the schedule extremely confusing to follow because it makes it very difficult to memorize what the timing surrounding classes are.

In other years, we have been able to go day to day knowing exactly when each of our classes begins and ends without having to refer to the schedule, but that is not the case this year. Having different days completely over-complicates the process as it is making students and staff follow multiple schedules which just creates extra stress where it is not needed. 

For example, if the order of classes goes 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and it is a red day, period seven would begin at 8:35 AM and end at 9:45 AM, then period six would begin at 9:49 AM and end at 10:55 AM, followed by the next class or lunch (depending on if the student has first or second lunch). However, if this rotation of classes were to be on a blue day, period seven would begin at 8:35AM and end at 9:39AM, followed by flex at 9:43 AM - 10:13 AM, and period six would be from 10:17 AM -11:17 AM. 

Though these changes are not huge, they are unnecessary time changes that cause a lot of confusion. If this was a change that happened every once in a while, it would be understandable as we already sometimes switch around our days for different occasions such as common planning days or half days, but these two time frames switch back and forth everyday causing it to be nearly impossible for us to ever feel completely used to the schedule.

Lunch is also a widespread source of confusion for the BHS student body. Lunch is supposed to be a time where students interact with each other, but many students would rather sit in the library, a hallway, or in a classroom because they don’t know anyone else during their lunch period. With the alternating day colors and schedules it only adds to the confusion as students have different lunches on different days. Those who have first lunch always mention how much longer the afternoon feels, while students who have second lunch wish they could have it every day. 

Homeroom and Advisory are also sources of unnecessary confusion and distaste, with flex time only happening twice a week, and only one of those times being an actual “flex” period, it defeats the entire purpose of the time altogether. It can also be confusing because on our blue days - Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have the built in 30 minutes of “flex” period. On Tuesdays, we go to homeroom, while on Thursdays, we go to Advisory. This can be confusing because it, once again, makes it nearly impossible for us to ever feel completely used to the schedule. 

Though there will always be some confusion no matter which schedule is being followed, there are a few main things that we think would improve the distress caused by the current one. First off, get rid of red and blue days. Having every other day alternating class times is extremely confusing, unnecessary, and adds extra stress to our days. It over-complicates day-to-day school life; it would be much easier to just follow and be able to get used to/memorize one schedule.

The next thing we believe needs to change is lunch. Holding two lunches is fully understandable as it would be very hectic having everyone in the Cafeteria at once, but having to switch between lunch one and lunch two depending on the rotation of the classes causes much confusion and distress to students.

Many of my classmates, as well as myself, have gotten worked up and very worried over not knowing which lunch we have. Even to the point of going to our next class to figure out if we have class then or not, causing us to miss time out of our lunch. There is also no clear way for students to be informed of which lunch they have; we feel it should have at least been added into our personal schedules on aspen so there would be an idea of where to go. 

We feel that every student should have the same lunch period every day; all freshmen and sophomores should have lunch one and all juniors and seniors should have lunch two. With the current schedule, this cannot occur due to the constant rotating of the order of class periods. So, we think the schedule should potentially change to where we have all seven periods each day without rotating to avoid the confusion over interchanging lunch times.

Another change that could be made to address the confusion over lunch would be having one period locked in during the middle of each day which other classes would rotate around. This change would make it so every student has the same lunch each day therefore limiting the confusion of switching day-to-day solely based on the rotation of the classes.

The final thing we believe should change is the homeroom/advisory situation. These cause much confusion as they are inconsistent and happen only once a week each. To avoid confusion I think there could be a change where we have homeroom/flex block occur everyday at the same set time and have advisory in place of that for one day each week. 

This would be much more understandable than having two random times out of our day every other day where on one day we go to homeroom and the other advisory. It feels unorganized and almost like a waste of time as it is just causing extra confusion and adding another thing to our plates.

We took a poll for students asking them about their experience with this year’s schedule. Only 22% of those who responded said that they totally understand the current schedule and many expressed their confusion with the rotating days when asked what they do not like about it. One student even said, “[they] still don’t know where [they’re] going half the time”.

 It says a lot that students still do not know when their classes are even though we are about six weeks into the year. This just goes to show that many students find the 2021-2022 bell schedule extremely confusing and something needs to be done about it in order to benefit everyone.

Recently due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ability for seniors to head down to the library for study without a pass has been restricted. This restriction is inevitably going to cause more harm than good, as busy seniors need as much downtime in productive areas as possible due to schoolwork, college prep, and much more. 

Picture this: you’re a senior in high school, sitting in your English class. You have college essays due, work after school, and hours worth of homework. You have a busy schedule, and there’s nothing you need more than time alone, in peace, to get some work done. 

You plan to spend the period in the library for senior study. However, as you look at the new email notification that was just sent out, you realize that senior study in the library is no longer an option. Unless you have a pass, of course. 

For many years, the seniors of BHS have looked forward to their senior study in the library. It’s been a tradition for seniors to go down to the library freely, with attendance being as simple as signing in online. But this year is different; with an influx of non-seniors sneaking into the library, library rights have become much more strict. 

Last year, the library was not open at all, so this year would have marked the re-implementation of the policy. But because students who weren’t seniors spent time in the library during studies, and other students skipped class to go to the library, the ability to go freely has been taken away. A lack of staff free-time with the new schedule has made it hard to regulate where students are at all times. 

“As you know, we have study in the cafe,” Assistant Principal Northrop said. “In previous school years, we allowed seniors to go to the lower library during study.”

 According to Assistant Principal Northrop, however, they found that this year students were going to the library without permission or without checking in. 

Now, passes are required for all students if they want to go to the library, regardless of whether or not they’re a senior. 

The question is this: should the misbehavior of a few students result in the restriction of everyone?

The cafeteria definitely isn’t the worst place to have a study hall. The tables are bigger, which makes it easier to complete projects and it’s safer to social distance since there is the whole area to spread out. However, these perks can hardly be used because of how loud it is in the cafe. 

However, studying in the loud cafeteria is hard, especially for the seniors who have complicated, hard work. With preparing for college on top of their other work, it’s incredibly hard to focus. 

We also can’t forget that for some students, study is held in the auditorium. The auditorium is dark, crowded, and has no table space. There’s no desks or tables, so you have to prop your homework on your legs. The library is simply the best alternative, with open tables, more free space, and a quieter, calmer atmosphere. 

But now, in response to the school’s inability to manage the location and attendance for underclassmen in the COVID-19 crisis, the right has been altogether restricted instead of worked around. 

Burlington High School was a pioneer when it came to the library policy; allowing seniors more freedom during study was a privilege that every underclassman would be excited about for years prior. By filling in an online form, all seniors could have some down time in the library to unwind and relax. 

“I understand why they don’t want a million people in the library at one time,” Mrs. Tharp, a math teacher at BHS said, “but I know it’s frustrating for seniors because you’ve waited four years to be able to do what you want to do.”

Another issue comes into play with the fact that some teachers refuse to give passes at all. Though students might not need to go to the library, it is a much-needed and deserved downtime that is surely well-earned after three previous years’ worth of restriction during study. Requiring passes is the easy solution. But it is not the right or the best solution.

COVID-19 has caused an incredible toll on the mental health of students globally. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “The shuttering of the American education system severed students from more than just classrooms, friends and extracurricular activities. It has also cut off an estimated 55 million children and teenagers from school staff members whose open doors and compassionate advice helped them build self-esteem.” 

Students, especially seniors who have incredibly high workloads, deserve a much-needed break. The last thing seniors need right now are more steps, rules, and restrictions when it comes to spending time in a quieter and more comfortable place. 

“It used to be just electronic,” Mrs. Tharp said, “and now they went back to paper, so there might be a more efficient way to do this electronically.” 

It is important that we are cautious during these trying times. But after years of new, flawed policies in response to COVID-19, we have to do better when implementing new rules; there is no more time for half-baked policies that cause more problems than they solve. 

“I think we’re working on it now, trying to figure out and problem-solve how to get a teacher to be there at all times, because then they can check the study sign-in,” Assistant Principal Northrop said. 

COVID may not be going away any time soon; it is time that we start solving problems now.