Mt. Vernon schools have been the only ones I have attended for my 12 years of public education. Looking back on years past, I have noticed that a decline of overall student voice has swept the halls. Now that I am a senior, I found that the school is lacking a lot of important things that attribute to student expression.
The first thing I noticed was kind of weird was the removal of senior quotes from the yearbook. I understand that quotes need moderating and it may take time, but how difficult would it be to just simply green light a few hundred phrases every year?
I think this change really does just boil down to a lack of effort. Senior quotes are one of the most famous and cherished high school traditions for many people. I think that it is a little heartbreaking to not have them.
Graduation at Mt. Vernon is another tradition that is as bare bones as it gets. Decorating one’s cap and or gown is strictly prohibited. Students are also not allowed to wear any custom tassels. So many other schools nationwide allow students to paint the top of their cap and wear it in pride. It is a shame Mt. Vernon will not take the time to implement such a fun tradition.
National flags are also not allowed to be flown when walking the stage. This along with the lack of custom tassels really makes graduation all about the school and not about the student. I think the focus should be on celebrating the student and not the school.
I understand that the administration is afraid of students using these privileges as a way to incite chaos or make a political statement, but the smallest amount of moderation could fix this. If other schools can find a way to implement these things then a moderate sized school like Mt. Vernon can also.
If they wanted to allow students to use their voice they could. A prime example of this can be seen in the newspaper. The newspaper is one of the most hidden and forgotten about extracurriculars in the whole school. I love the newspaper, and I really wish there was more publicity for it.
I mainly attribute this to the fact that there is just no advertisement at all. The funny thing is that there used to be. The newspaper used to be a physical piece of paper sent out across the school but now it is all digital. This by itself would not be that bad of a change if it was not completely forgotten about.
The newspaper was once emailed out to the student body as a way to get the student voice out to the masses. Now the newspaper is rarely ever spoken about and many do not even know how to access it. The only real way to find the newspaper is through the Mt. Vernon High School website, but even then it is still hard to get to due to the number of links people need to click on to find it.
It’s even worse that there are bulletin boards put up across the school that students are not allowed to use. Those would be a great way to advertise the newspaper if sending out an email is too much.
After having a short interview with Mrs. Evans, she said it was a shame it was not broadcasted more as it was interesting to see what students were talking about. I just wish the administration would try a little harder to advertise the Newspaper.
It also seems like the newspaper itself is not as student run as it once was. Satires and comedy articles are no longer allowed. Also student surveys are very hard to get sent out. Three times now I have gotten a survey declined because the email fell through the cracks.
It is a little sad to see how little voice the student population has. Hopefully one day Mt. Vernon will become a little more aware of itself and give their students the voice they deserve.
