WE HEAR YOU
Hopkins
My Experience on the Wrestling Team
I had been wanting to join the wrestling team for a while, but my schedule made it seem impossible because of the frequency and timing of my extracurriculars. At the end of sophomore year, though, I decided that it was time to make the necessary changes to make it work. So, I talked to my cello teacher and my martial arts instructors and explained to them that from November to February, my time and commitment to them would be severely limited. Thankfully, they were understanding and supportive of my endeavor into something completely new, as were the wrestling coaches.
I never felt singled out by the team or any competitors (there were actually quite a few other female wrestlers). Yes, it was clear that I was the only girl, but that fact never interfered with my learning, or anyone else’s. I’d say the hardest part had nothing to do with me being a girl - it was being totally new to the sport, and then getting injured for the last month and a half of the season. Despite the setbacks, the team welcomed me, and I made many close friends. I’m excited for next year’s season, when I will hopefully be injury-free and able to get fully involved!
~ Izzy Melchinger '21
Why We Should Have Super Bowl Monday Off
Yes, it’s that time of year again. After a two week lull without any meaningful football, the world (well, about 100 million people) will sit down in front of their TVs with wings, chips, and drinks to watch the Super Bowl. The parties we will all inevitably go to will be fun (and hopefully have some good food), but nothing kills the fun of a party like the dread you feel knowing you have to get up early the next morning to take a test or hand in an essay. No one wants to “be a loser” and watch the Super Bowl at home with their parents, so we all go to our friends’ houses, but going to a Super Bowl party can have dire consequences. The Super Bowl will end around 10 pm (at the earliest), and if you are at someone’s house, you will likely not get home until at least 10:30, meaning, in the best case scenario, you could be in bed by 11. We all know, however, that the best case scenario rarely comes to fruition, and it is possible that the game won’t end until 10:30, 11, or potentially even later. This means that some teen drivers (which many of the juniors and seniors are) will be driving home late at night, potentially distracted by the exciting game they just watched, and creeping dangerously close to the legal curfew of 11pm. Going to bed late on a Sunday night is never a good idea, as it sets you up to be tired for a whole week. The night is even later for the student, and the parents, who host the party. They will have to stay up late cleaning up food, reorganizing couches, and collecting dishes, but with the day off on Monday, they could relax after the game and clean up the following day. Now look at it from the teachers’ perspective: I’m sure teachers would prefer to have one fewer class in a week, but have their students fully paying attention, than have a roomful of tired, uninterested students who are paying more attention to the clock than the Google Slides presentation on the board for the entire week. Finally, given the state of the climate (it’s 50 degrees in January!), it appears unlikely that we will have any more snow days, so giving the day off after the Super Bowl could just be seen as a replacement snow day. Though I know this request probably won’t be granted, I urge everyone to consider the issues with having school after the Super Bowl and the benefits that the day off would provide to students and teachers alike.
~ Evan Alfandre '21