Marblehead Schools Flag Policy by Teagan Freedman, Sophomore
The Marblehead school’s flag policy has been under debate recently. Many people thought that the old policy had too many restrictions, calling it “flag censorship policy”. The students wanted to have a say in what flags could be hung around the school. Being an active part in the community is important, and if the students want to have a say in what they will see on a daily basis, that’s important. The students want the school to be a safe space for everyone by showing flags that represent them. The new proposal for the policy allows students to put in requests for flags and banners to be hung around the school. The others have to represent the district’s mission. Many people are worried about legal issues surrounding the policy and changing it. The school committee has indicated that legal advice is being taken when making the new policy. There will be another meeting to read the new policy, along with making refinements if necessary. This new policy will then be put to a vote to decide what will happen with the policy.
Vacation Time!!! …Or Is It? by Evan Eisen, Junior
School vacations are days that high school students look most forward to. It is a time when they can sit back and relax either at home or on a beach somewhere far away, but in Marblehead, the teacher’s union and school committee had other plans. Now students and staff are supposed to report to school on what would have been their vacation days with no other breaks to balance it out.
During February break many students did not show up for classes with around a less than 50% attendance rate. I was one of those students who wandered the empty hallways and sat in classrooms that had almost no one in it. The one positive thing to come from this was that there was hardly any school drop off and pick up traffic on Humphrey Street so I didn’t have to worry about being late. My teachers had their hands tied as they couldn’t give out too much work since most of the class was absent and were prohibited from handing out assessments. I basically was allowed to do whatever I wanted for the whole day. Many students decided to not show up for that Thursday and Friday leading to an even lower attendance rate. If there was hardly anyone who showed during February break April break is likely to be even worse.
Compared to February more families tend to go away during April vacation as it is spring and much warmer and it’s almost the end of the year. Many parents and other community members have expressed their anger about the makeup days and how stupid and pointless they are. With even less students likely not to show teachers will have even more reason to not give any work making it a waste of everyone’s time.
Some other parents have shown support for the schools claiming that the makeup days aren’t a waste of time and are doing what they’re supposed to, which is educating the minds of the future. While this is a fair point it is also important to see what is lost by not having some sort of school vacation during the year. Students lose the opportunity to explore new interests and hobbies, not have as many social opportunities, and damage to their mental health as they will constantly worry about school.
To even have a mandate of having students attend school for 180 days is ludicrous and serves to benefit no one. Teachers have to work a whole subject into 180 days and in unique circumstances like the one we find ourselves in they are pointless and make the faculty and remaining students forfeit their only reprieve from school. Learning is of course highly important, but what is more important is to live, especially not a life dedicated to sticking our heads in books or staring at a screen all day. Only so much can be learned from a book which is why being around others and having new experiences shape us into our best possible selves. It will be interesting to see how many people decide to show up during the makeup days and how it will compare to February. See you then! … or will we?
Taking out the signs and bullhorns, by Grey Collins, Junior, Assistant Editor
“We’ve had students whose parents have been taken by ICE,” remarked one Salem teacher as he held up a sign at the packed anti-Trump “Hands Off” rally in Salem on Saturday, April 5. He was just one of hundreds of angry Marblehead and Salem residents who gathered in Downtown Salem to share their opposition to the policies of the Trump administration. The crowd of roughly four hundred protesters filled Riley Plaza in downtown Salem with speeches, chants, and songs.
Marblehead is a relatively insulated community, so most students haven’t felt the effects of the Trump administration’s policies yet. However, just a few miles away, students are already being impacted by the budget cuts, the deportations, and the attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.
The protests kicked off at 12:00 pm on Saturday, and about four hundred people marched downtown and gathered at Riley Plaza. The crowd was filled with frustrated people from Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, and other surrounding communities. Most were arguing against the current funding cuts in the Federal Government, the administration’s immigration policies, and the tariffs that are affecting the world economy, but there were no shortage of grievances.
A sea of hand-painted signs filled the plaza, reading “Hands off our national parks,” “Trans people exist,” “Hands off our student loans,” “Resist Dictators,” “My Dog is Smarter Than Trump,” and “Eat the Rich” with illustrations of a molotov cocktail and a guillotine. The air was filled with the sound of speakers addressing the crowd through a bullhorn, and the singing of “We Shall Overcome.”
The protests in Salem were only a part of a wider nationwide protest movement against the Trump administration. On Saturday, the “Hands Off” protests occurred in almost every single major city in the US, and included well over three million people. In Boston, just twenty miles to the south, almost one hundred thousand people took part in protests against the Trump administration. Senator Ed Markey led marches and mayor Michelle Wu spoke to the crowds.
But the frustration isn’t contained to city streets and public squares anymore, it has made its way into suburbs, classrooms, and lecture halls. Marblehead High School students are becoming very concerned about how these policies are going to affect them and their future opportunities.
“As a student who is going to college soon, I’m scared that Trump’s budget cuts will harm my education,” said one MHS student who wished to remain anonymous. “As the youthful generation, we have to make our voices heard and fight for our future.”