The Beacon Beat

Getting Involved: A NYC High School Student’s Guide to the Midterms

By Adrian Flynn It’s no secret that the midterm elections just under a month away will be enormously consequential for the future of the country and this administration. Democrats seem to be in a good position to win a majority in the House of Representatives, as many Republican representatives are in vulnerable positions and the…

Beaconnected

Beaconnected is a weekly column that focuses on getting to know the distinct personalities, styles, and lives of Beacon students. You can nominate students to be featured in the column and/or suggest questions for interview subjects here: https://goo.gl/forms/AySjSNxTXtdC01cn1. Written by Kate Jeffrey 11/2: AAYUSHA DUWADI NAME: Aayusha Duwadi GRADE: Junior What is your favorite TV…

World Series or Not, the Yankees Still had a Remarkable Season

By Andrew Najjar & Adrian Flynn On October 9th, the New York Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs in a best of five Division Series by the Boston Red Sox, three games to one. They got notoriously blown out in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium 16-1, and then were edged out in Game 4…

A Modern Tale: Why Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” Feels More Relatable Than Ever

by Sophie Steinberg The show opens with a couple speeding away from the authorities, with their daughter in tow. The car crashes along the side of the road, leaving the family with no choice but to run into the surrounding forrest. Questions immediately fill the viewer’s head– where are they going? Why? Based on the…

Cynthia Nixon Should Not Be Governor: An Op-Ed by Jude Messler

by Jude Messler Cynthia Nixon will not be the Governor of New York. The latest polls have Andrew Cuomo ahead by at least thirty points, a gap that all but ensures that he will clinch the Democratic nomination next Thursday. From the moment of its inception, a Nixon candidacy was a longshot. Taking on the…

Added Value Farms: A Red Hook Hidden Gem

by Ruby Paarlberg Across the street from Ikea and surrounded by sidewalks and parked cars is a flourishing and beautiful green farm. Added Value Farms is a 2.75-acre urban farm located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This site contains both the NYC Compost Project and the Red Hook community farm. Together, these parts of the…

What’s There to Talk About? What “13 Reasons Why” Doesn’t Show

By Anne Isman If you haven’t already seen it, you’ve definitely heard people talking about it; the second season of the viral Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” was recently released, consisting of thirteen new episodes revolving around the students of Liberty High as they testify in Hannah’s trial against their school. Just as the first season…

Beacon Seniors Organize a Youth-Led Climate March for July 21st, 2018

Seniors in Global Environmental Politics sit with their Subcommittee groups in class, organizing for the Zero Hour NYC Youth Climate March taking place on July 21st, 2018. For the last few weeks, Beacon seniors in History teacher Bayard Faithfull’s Global Environmental Politics course have dedicated their last unit to organizing a Youth Climate March in…

All Politics Is Local: Council Member Brad Lander Comes to Beacon

By Adrian Flynn Photos by Kareem Sidibe & Adrian Flynn On Wednesday, May 16th, NYC Council Member Brad Lander spoke to Beacon students about his experience in city government as part of an event organized by Model Congress minority leader Divine Ndombo. In her opening speech, Ndombo noted Lander’s support for youth involvement in politics,…

Let’s Be Awake: The Benefits of Starting the School Day at 9am

Op-Ed Contest Winner #1 By Leonardo Elie “Everybody learns better when they are awake,” observes Mary Carskadon, Brown University Professor of Human Behavior. Unfortunately, this cannot be a reality at The Beacon School in New York City, where many students trudge through the day like zombies, their brains and bodies unable to meet the requirements…

Increasing School Spirit Means Uniting the Student Body

Op-Ed Contest Winner #2 By Camilla Ffrench There is a beauty to standing in a cheering crowd and celebrating the final goal, to standing on stage with your classmates and basking in the glory of the lights and applauding audience, and to walking through the doors on that first day of school to be welcomed…