As a New Haven Student

By Malakhi Beyah, 2025

Published 4/17/2024

I live in New Haven. So do twenty-one other students at Cheshire High School. “Why?” many people naturally ask. Why do we go through all the trouble? Why would we travel so far to go to school? Why can’t we just go to school in New Haven?

We all attend Cheshire High School for the same reason the other thousand-or-so students do: education. We sought a different education than what was offered to us in New Haven, and we knew that Cheshire High was the ideal place to obtain it. Yes, we were aware that attending Cheshire High as a student from New Haven would make us a very small minority in the school. And yes, the hour-long bus ride to school sucks sometimes. We knew what we were signing up for, but we signed up anyway.

We signed up for boarding the school bus every day long before sunrise. We signed up for being tardy for our first period classes more often than we should be. We signed up for not having anybody know our names. We signed up for being treated differently than our peers. We signed up for being left out and singled out. We signed up because we knew it was worth it.

Coming from New Haven does not mean we do not contribute to the Cheshire community. We chant at the football games, lead the cheerleading routines, perform in the school musical, and sell brownies at the bake sales. We have won the school awards and recognition in sports, robotics, academics, and more. We take trips to educate and inspire Cheshire’s elementary and middle school students. We have promoted inclusivity through new clubs like the POC Coalition Club. We hold leadership in a variety of the school’s existing clubs, including this newspaper. We serve in the student government and leadership committees. We do all of this just like any student from Cheshire would. Why wouldn’t we? 

Yes, we live in New Haven, but we are proud Rams of Cheshire High School. And we're not going anywhere.