Actually, Legacy Preference Is a Good Deal
Brooks Anderson '20 and Andrew Porter '20
February 5, 2019
Legacy preference, the practice of an institution giving admissions preferences to children and relatives of alumni, has recently come under fire in the media, especially because of the ongoing litigation surrounding the admissions practices of Harvard University. Legacy preference is oft lambasted for...
Catastrophic Global Warming: President Trump, Just Stop It
Brooks Anderson '20, Columnist
December 18, 2018
Wildfires. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Flooding. The consequences of climate change and global warming are nigh. It’s impossible to claim that only in a few decades this will be a real problem. It’s a real problem right now. We are killing ourselves. Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be up...
Politics at Groton: A Classless Debate
Brooks Anderson '20, Columnist
November 10, 2018
There is a crisis of free speech at Groton. More and more, student’s views and opinions are being stifled, especially in classrooms in which politcs are a consistent topic of discussion. After the election of President Trump, many teachers began infusing more politics into their curriculums. If done...
Democratic Victory: Blessing or Curse for Left?
Brooks Anderson '20, Columnist
October 19, 2018
Although seizing control of the House of Representatives is the primary goal for the Democratic party this November, such a victory would actually have some unforeseen repercussions going into the presidential election year of 2020. Currently, the Democrats have a roughly 80% chance of retaking the House...
Kavanaugh: Disaster or Opportunity?
Brooks Anderson '20, Columnist
September 13, 2018
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
The Supreme Court is arguably the most powerful national institution; justices’ immense authority coupled with lifelong terms allow a small group to influence American society for generations after their time on the bench. Any change in its makeup consequently has far-reaching effects – the future of the S...
Finding Your Space in Third Form
Halle Livermore '19, Columnist
September 13, 2018
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
After sports and dinner, a pack of third formers plop down on the mall couches. It’s 6:30, so there is plenty of time before study hall. What better way to spend it than crammed among new friends? Spending time in the mall is a rite of passage for third formers. It is where they introduce themselves...
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...
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...
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 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 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, ...
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...
Concussions and the NFL: A $13 Billion Headache
February 23, 2017
With another exciting Super Bowl in the books and a growing fan base for the event overseas, it would seem that the National Football League has nowhere to go but up. In fact, according to the latest estimates by Forbes Magazine, the organization is set to make upwards of thirteen billion dollars thi...
Nancy Pelosi, America’s most embattled Democrat
Charlie Vrattos '18, Columnist
December 14, 2016
While much of recent political news has been speculation about the effects that a Donald Trump presidency will have on the Republican Party, perhaps just as important is the current battle being waged among Congressional Democrats. Although House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently defeated her co...
Want to survive Groton’s winters? Chill out.
Nina Norton '18, Columnist
December 14, 2016
You come back home for Thanksgiving break filled with relief: exams are over. The next time you’ll have to do work is the beginning of winter term. Slowly, the feeling of relief drains from your body and is replaced by a sinking sense of dread as you realize that Winter Term is coming. Why i...
Explosion in number of clubs: a good thing?
October 21, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
A. Wei Over the past two years there has a been a drastic increase in the number of clubs at Groton. I’m not entirely sure what is to blame for this recent explosion in the number of clubs, but my personal theory is that it is at least in part due to the institution of Fall Jam at the beginning of th...
And years to go before we sleep
October 21, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
It’s 10:30 at night after a long, busy Monday, and after check-in all you want to do is brush your teeth and crawl into bed. But you have an English essay due tomorrow—and you haven’t even started it. I don’t care how brilliant or organized a student you are. One day—perhaps in the middle...
Trust me, you’re wrong
October 7, 2016
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
At Groton there are three different types of students: Students who are extremely democratic/liberal, students who are highly republican/conservative, and students who still think Bernie is a candidate. I have no problem with being political—in fact, I think it’s very important for us, as adolescents,...
A taste beyond the Groton bubble
Nina Norton, Columnist
September 13, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
This summer I went to The Gambia, an extremely small African country surrounded almost completely by Senegal, for two months at an medical research council camp where my godmother worked as a malaria research scientist. While I did have an amazing time, the food was frequently an issue. Though the local...
A saving “GRACE” for new Upper Schoolers
Charlie Vrattos '18, Columnist
September 13, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
At the beginning of July this past summer, while most Groton students were busy with summer fun and pushing off summer reading until August, a sizeable group of rising Fourth Formers returned to the campus to participate in the first summer of the GRACE program. Devised largely by the program director...
John Oliver: a Journalist, a Propogandist, or Neither?
June 5, 2016
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
Since its inception in April of 2014, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has attracted remarkably large numbers of viewers—among them many Groton students—with its comedic commentaries on a variety of issues in America, ranging from the "NSA’s detailed programs" to "putting a cowboy hat on a c...
Ironing Out the Dress Code
Nina Norton, Columnist
June 5, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
The dress code at Groton has always been a controversial topic. Many feel that there is an unfair disparity between what girls are allowed to wear and what boys are allowed to wear. But there is a reason behind that difference. Boys’ clothing is usually not form-fitting, and have far simpler styles than ...
Hipstermination
May 13, 2016
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
Judging by how much we all make fun of Langa Chinyoka’s '17 mason jars (out of which she dares to eat brownies), I would have expected her to give it up at some point, but there she goes, either scooping our newest baked feed into her clear blue mason jar or drinking water out of the jar with a straw....
An Open Letter to My Third Form Self
Hanna Kim '17, Assistant Opinions Editor
April 22, 2016
Dear Third Form Hanna, Hello, little insignificant Third Form Hanna. I hate to break it to you, but you are going to look back on yourself a couple of years from now and shudder in embarrassment. Everything you do now is going to seem awkward, embarrassing, and ridiculous, but it’s okay, because...
Curing Democracy’s Headache
Rand Hough '17, Assistant Opinions Editor
April 22, 2016
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
A few months ago, I saw the trailer for a movie called Concussion. It is about the NFL scandal (circa 2007) over the effects of frequent and forceful blows to the head. Will Smith portrays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian forensic pathologist whose research caused the scandal. I doubt I will ever forget...
It’s Okay Not To Be Happy
Hanna Kim '17, Assistant Opinions Editor
February 9, 2016
Filed under Columns, Groton, Opinions
Please feel free to peel your smile from your mouth and rub the sleep back into your eyes for a little while. You don’t need to cry into your pillow every night or listen to “Marvin’s Room” alone in your room while your roommate is at late practice. And you don’t have to answer my “how are...
The Conservative Case for Bernie Sanders
Rand Hough '17, Assistant Opinions Editor
February 9, 2016
Filed under Columns, Opinions, Politics
“All accumulation, therefore, of personal property, beyond what a man’s own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice, of gratitude, and of civilization, a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came.” - Thomas P...
The Gift of Kindness
October 31, 2015
I think kindness is one of the best qualities to find in someone. I don’t mean the selfish and hollow kind of kindness, nor the type of kindness that is only displayed to certain people, but the kindness that is like a tiny campfire being lit or the kindness that makes you smile even days later. A...