Embedded Files
Old WHS yearbook photo on the right and photo of METCO student with Weston friends(1982) courtesy of Weston Historical society bulletin
The METCO program means more than you think it does
We've finally gotten to my favorite article. METCO is the desegregation program that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime by allowing me to go to one of the best schools in the state, even though i'm from the city. I wrote this article my junior year, and it became my favorite firstly because I had never written about something so near to me and had to draw from experiences so personal in an article before. Secondly, this article is my favorite because I was so passionate about it that I began writing it months before first draft. It ended up becoming my most researched and supported opinion piece ever. The article tells a story of struggle and triumph, it draws from personal experience and connects it back to history in order to portray the idea that these problems are rooted in something bigger than just a single METCO student. At the end of it all it, it connects the METCO student to the rest of the school through the idea of struggle, and most importantly; it encompasses what the METCO progarm is truly about. I hope you enjoy it.
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We as students must work to promote social inclusivity
When writing this article my advisor challenged me to be specific because it is very easy to speak in generalities in an article like this. In this article I tried to avoid holding back. I called out many specific examples in the school where I believed were representative of the work that had to be done to promote inclusivity in the WHS social setting. The result of this ended up being my most impactful article. Not only did students begin to avoid sitting with the same people at lunch, but the example i introduced about school assemblies inspired a "DEI assembly" which aimed at celebrating the diverse cultures of the school. The picture i got was almost perfect: two kids sitting on the same couch but in two different worlds. While I was lucky to capture a moment like that, similar situations are very common in our school cafeteria.Another aspect of this article i like is how i set up my quotes to ensure that the identities of each of the interviewees was expressed. I found that organization to be quite beautiful and I wanted to do it that way to disprove the notion that our school had no diversity.
Students in cafeteria organized by friend group
Carefully choose the people around you
Many students enter high school and allow their circumstance to choose what friend group they end up in. I made this article to argue that in high school something as important as what friend group you end up in should not be determined by chance. This article wasn't the conventional Op-Ed because its tough to prove a topic like this with concrete stats and research. However I wouldn't go as far as to say there was no evidence or that nothing was proved. In this article the proof was in the pudding. In fact, I received feedback from students that this was the most relatable article they've ever read. I've always felt passionate about reporting about some of the things that we as students talk about in friend groups but don't have the courage to say outside our circles. Topics like these generate the most genuine passionate quotes that are drawn from personal experiences. In this Op-ED more than any I've ever written, the students truly encompassed the basis of my opinion; it was like i was co-writing with them. I believe that this type of journalism, while unconventional, is powerful once mastered. Articles I've read on topics like love and family have inspired some of the most personal quotes I've seen in journalistic works.Â
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