Should Senior Prefects Campaign? Two Views.
Halle Livermore '19 and Katie Reveno '20
June 2, 2018
Filed under Groton, Opinions, Showcase
Yes. by Halle Livermore '19 Imagine a presidential election in which campaigning is prohibited. Upon voting, you are provided a list of all eligible candidates, and from this list you must choose the leader of the free world. Your favorite actors are eligible, so you circle them and proceed to circle othe...
The Scourge of Fortnite in Lower School
June 2, 2018
The gaming industry, rapidly increasing in size, surpassed 100 billion dollars in revenue in 2017. The impact of this growth has started to seriously affect Groton students. Usually, gaming at Groton has not been too problematic, but the game Fortnite has become an epidemic in the Lower School boys’ dor...
Where We Need Work in the Exchange Program
May 30, 2018
This past spring break I traveled on a Global Education program to India. We saw classic sites like the Taj Mahal and the Ganges, but we spent the bulk of the trip at boarding schools in Dehradun – the girls at Welham Girls’ School, and the boys at The Doon School. During my exchange, I recognize...
Where Groton Failed in the #NeverAgain Movement
May 30, 2018
Filed under Groton, Opinions, Politics
When Annabelle Mata, a close friend and former teammate of mine, walked into school the morning of February 14th, 2018, she didn’t expect anything other than a normal day of classes. She didn’t expect to hear screaming and gunshots while making Valentine’s Day cards in her freshman English class. ...
To Snitch or Not to Snitch: On Cheating and Trust
May 30, 2018
have cheated at least once in the past year. This shocking number suggests an increased pressure to get good grades and enter top universities. Especially in a school as competitive as Groton, most students feel the need to earn the best grades possible as they are given high expectations by their pare...
Yes, Mandatory Afternoon Activities Are Important
May 30, 2018
Most everyone, at some point in their Groton career, has wished that they were not required to participate in an afternoon activity. Sometimes there is nothing worse than the feeling of trudging to a sports field or the Performing Arts Center to practice something that you are not passionate about. F...
Chelsea Manning: The Best Senate Opinion?
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions
Perhaps the strangest match-up in the upcoming 2018 Senate elections will take place in a Maryland Democratic primary, between transgender activist and former leaker Chelsea Manning and epitome of the deep state establishment, the incumbent Ben Cardin. The election reverses the usual national security iss...
Trump’s Visit to Parkland Only Added Insult to Injury
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions
On Valentine’s Day, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz pulled the fire alarm of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and fired his AR-15 rifle as students and faculty fled into the halls. Seventeen people died at the Parkland, Florida high school in the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012. &...
A Not-So-Balanced Budget
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Politics
Oh where, oh where have the deficit hawks gone? I can tell you this much: they’re certainly not on Capitol Hill or in the White House. On January 31, 2010, Representative Paul Ryan said the following about the federal budget: “the debt and the deficit is just getting out of control. And the ad...
Why Slut-Shaming Is Still an Issue
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions
Generally, Groton culture emphasizes treating one another with respect. After all, how many schools still have students shake teachers’ hands every night? But there is one significant exception: slut-shaming. How many of us have been in conversations where a specific girl was described as a “slut...
Medical Marijuana Shouldn’t Transplant Patients on the List
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions
This past March, the Bangor Daily News reported on Garry Godfrey, a father of two, who suffers from Alport disease. His condition eventually resulted in renal failure, and his case rose to prominence across Maine. After waiting eight years on the organ transplant list, he was promptly kicked off. The ...
A Joint Korean Team is a Step Toward Unity
March 2, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Politics
On January 17, North and South Korea agreed to march together under one flag and field a joint women’s ice hockey team in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Koreas’ agreement to field an Olympic team under a flag of unity is a tiny step towards a peaceful resolution of tension on the peninsula. The a...
The Right Way Out of Hookup Culture
March 2, 2018
In a society that is very conducive to a thriving hookup culture, Groton has done a remarkably good job in fostering relationships that are constituted by an attraction greater than one that is solely physical. Despite the world and culture around our community, Groton is not a place where hookups ar...
Essential Enviro
March 2, 2018
The yearlong Environmental Science course is often overlooked by Groton students. Many never step into Dr. Black’s classroom, opting for courses that are more popular and sometimes considered more useful. This year, for example, only 12 students take Environmental Science – far fewer than, say, Chemis...
The Case for Ending Fourth Form Study Hall
January 19, 2018
It’s 7:55 on a Thursday night. After a long day of classes, sports practice, dinner, and a club meeting, you realize you have a math problem set due tomorrow and virtually no idea how to solve it. If you are in fourth form, instead of seeking out peer or teacher help, which would be the most time-ef...
When the FCC Got Its Way, We Lost More Than Net Neutrality
January 19, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Politics
What is the Internet? It is a tool for discovery. It is a tool for creators. It stimulates and facilitates modern human progress. The Internet is not only wonderful, but also a necessity in this day and age. This necessity led the net to be classified as a Title II service under the Obama administration,...
Under The New Tax Bill, Everybody Loses
January 19, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Politics
The recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is remarkably equitable in its effects. If you live in a high-tax blue state, you lose, because you can no longer deduct your state and local taxes from your federal tax return. If you are a teacher, you lose, because you can no longer deduct teaching-related ...
A Chapel Talk for Every Sixth Former
January 19, 2018
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
The chapel talk is arguably the most important tradition at Groton. It is the one time when a senior has the attention of the whole school, free of any prompt or guidelines beyond basic decency. It gives each student the chance to reflect, open up to their peers, and inspire others — certainly an opportu...
The Wrong Way to Acknowledge Yom Kippur
October 26, 2017
Filed under Opinions
Groton’s website asserts that the “Groton Difference” is that “the School’s intimacy and ideals foster inclusion.” The overlying ideas of diversity and inclusion that produce this “Groton Difference” have gained immense notoriety in recent years. However, even though the School has stri...
Taking Shots at the Gun Lobby
October 26, 2017
Filed under Opinions
Charleston, South Carolina; San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida; and now Las Vegas, Nevada. These sites were subject to some of the deadliest mass shootings known to man, all in the last 3 years. Time and time again, we send our thoughts and prayers, fly flags at half mast, and barely get in...
The Damaging Legacy of an All-Boys School
October 26, 2017
It’s the morning: you wake up with enough time to have a quick breakfast, so you head over to the dining hall. And at the dining hall, you look around. You see the portraits, and they’re all of men. If women are featured, they’re sitting down in front of their husbands. You look at the senior section,...
The Case for a New Religous Service
October 26, 2017
Filed under Opinions
Tradition is one of the many pillars Groton School stands for. But should we keep certain facets of the school just for the sake of tradition? Well, we certainly haven’t in the past. From an all-boys Episcopal school, Groton has evolved into a co-ed, ethnically and religiously diverse community...
Addressing the Gender Divide
October 6, 2017
Filed under Opinions
Before attending this school, you must accept that there will be no prom, no Friday Night Lights. No one will pick you up for a date in a car during your time at Groton. We can complain all we want about the never-ending major commitments, but doing so is pointless: we can’t change that. I will...
It’s Not My Job to be Your Conscience
October 6, 2017
Filed under Opinions
More and more people, especially this generation’s youth, are becoming socially conscious – “woke,” to use a common term. Often this is done by willfully educating oneself about the different issues and experiences of others. The educators are often women of color, such as social media personalit...
Locked Up: Why We Shouldn’t Lock Classrooms
October 6, 2017
Filed under Opinions
I’d guess that most of the student body has had a similar experience with classrooms in the Schoolhouse: you try to go study only to find your desired room locked at an obscenely early hour. Groton’s Honor Code begins that “Groton is a small community in which trust and honesty are of the highest ...
In Defense of Antifa
October 6, 2017
Filed under Opinions
After Charlottesville, I was greatly surprised by the reaction to Trump’s comments. Liberals widely took offense at his statement that blame for the violence belonged to “both sides.” Bill Maher, a liberal TV host and comedian who had called antifascists “babies” in April, did likewise. Mitt Ro...
The Great Weight Room Debate, Revisted
October 6, 2017
Filed under Opinions
Over the past few years at Groton, there’s been a lot of controversy about our weight room. For the most part, this talk has concerned feelings of judgement or intimidating in the gym. While the issue is in many respects universal, girls in particular discuss their feelings of discomfort in the weight roo...
The Case for an End to the Résumé Arms Race
September 11, 2017
So, how many of you did something this summer because you thought it would look good on your college applications? Unanimous show of hands? I thought so. In applying for colleges, students are often told by parents and counselors to do what they feel is right. However, this advice is much easier sai...
How to Have a Better Summer: Don’t Volunteer
September 11, 2017
As summer rolls around, an influx of well-meaning teenagers takes off to whatever Third World country is in vogue this year to volunteer. The students usually stay for two or three weeks, and often work in schools or with animals. This combination of traveling and volunteering, dubbed “voluntourism,” is o...
Six Strikes, You’re In! (For the Rest of the Year)
June 2, 2017
It is a universally-recognized truth that seniors will not work as hard in their spring term. The School, however, does not want seniors to lose their drive in their final days on campus. In order to combat this nonchalance, the school adjusts the demerit policy so that senior privileges can be lost b...
All Gender Dorms: Tolerant or Too Far
June 2, 2017
Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy, two boarding schools similar to Groton, plan to introduce all-gender dorms in the next school year. Each of these dorms will house around twenty students, all in singles. These dorms are meant to make students who are transgender or identify as non-...
An APpalling Waste: How AP exams lost their way
Charlie Vrattos '18, Columnist
May 11, 2017
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
As the spring term approaches its end, fifth formers face a major obstacle between them and summer break: APs. These dreaded “advanced placement” courses are the bane of any fifth former’s existence and come as the conclusion of a long year of studies in one course. While the popularity of these terr...
Hitting the iron ceiling: the weight room and gender
Nina Norton '18, Columnist
May 11, 2017
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
Here at Groton we pride ourselves on two things: our diversity, and our inclusivity. We care about those two things so much that at least twice a year we have a day devoted entirely to them. And yet, you only have to look as far as our athletic center to find exclusion. When you walk into the weight room, ...
Kim Jong Three, Two, Un: A Nuclear Countdown?
Rajit Khanna '19, Reporter
May 11, 2017
Filed under Opinions, Politics
In another of a series of miscues regarding the Trump administration’s North Korea foreign policy, Trump claimed that he was sending an “armada” to the Korean Peninsula. North Korean officials probably had a laugh when news leaked that the “armada,” which included the USS Carl Vinson aircra...
Liberté, égalité, and fraternité win out over malignité
Brooks Anderson '20, Reporter
May 11, 2017
Filed under Opinions, Politics
On May 7, the rising wave of populism was halted in its tracks by a crushing loss for the far-right nationalist candidate, Marine Le Pen. Ms. Le Pen, whose ideology, rhetoric, and style parallel that of Dutch politician Geert Wilders and U.S. President Donald Trump, worried many around the world. Sh...
Venezuela, socialist dream turned nightmare? Not so fast
Leo McMahon '19, Reporter
May 11, 2017
Filed under Opinions, Politics
Despite what is commonly believed in the United States, Venezuela’s economic and political crises are not the fault of socialism, but the result of incompetent state capitalism and the sabotage of the opposition. In fact, Venezuela is not socialist in the least. Socialism is “social ownership and...
The grocery store from The Interview?: Revisit Day
Andrew Porter '20, Reporter
April 19, 2017
With the admissions season having drawn to a close, newly admitted students came to Groton for Revisit Day. As Mr. Gracey said, it’s a way to help students get a “feel for the culture of the school.” But just how legitimate is Revisit Day? Revisit Day is a way to increase the yield of admitted st...
A little less terrible: the fallacy of Obamacare-worship
Leo McMahon '19, Reporter
April 19, 2017
Filed under Opinions, Politics
“Ryancare” (or “Trumpcare,” depending on whom you ask) may have failed to pass the House, thereby saving twenty-eight million Americans from losing their health insurance and between 270,000 and 500,000 people from dying in the next decade, at least according to Vice News. But that doesn’t mea...
How does that make you feel?
Nina Norton '18, Columnist
April 19, 2017
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
Given the high rates of depression and anxiety suffered by high-school students--especially at a place as demanding as Groton--it is little surprise that the counseling office is a frequent topic of conversation here. And, more often than not, that discussion turns critical. Many of us have had some...
Undermining Spring Athletic FSAs: a bad call
Charlie Vrattos '18, Columnist
April 19, 2017
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
Spring sports are, without a doubt, one of the highlights of Groton’s favorite term. On a warm day in April or May, students can amble between the baseball diamond, tennis courts, and lacrosse fields or walk down to the boathouse to watch the crew team racing on the Nashua River. In recent years, howeve...