November 29, 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act, a landmark legal act issued by the U.S. government in 1975 that guaranteed children with disabilities received the proper services as part of free public education in the “least restrictive environment” (LRE). 

“This anniversary reminds us that the road to educational rights was hard-won by families who refused to accept less. We honor their advocacy and recommit to protecting and strengthening these vital rights for all students,” said Margarita Baldeo, PHS Superintendent of Special Service. 

PHS is home to nine special education programs, each designed to meet students’ individual needs. Though some of the offered programs are designed to accommodate academic challenges, others address developing life skills, such as the “School-to-Work” and “Adult Living” programs. 

 “In society, [special education students] have to conform to the expectations that are set for [them],” said Crystal Riddick, Supervisor of Special Education at PHS. “Instead of us setting the expectation that the kids have to meet, we need to meet the kids’ expectation by planning to support them.”

The process begins with the child study team, which is in charge of evaluation and classification of students who may be eligible for special education services. 

“We get a referral that can come from a parent or the school or physician, and then we meet with the parents,” said PHS Social Worker Michelle Kotch, who is part of the Child Study Team. “If we determine that evaluations are warranted, that’s when we conduct the evaluations.”

Over 90 days, the team collaborates to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a legal document renewed every three years that provides recommendations for the type and level of special services that can be provided for the student.

“In PHS, we strive to ensure that we [have] an environment that’s least restrictive,” said Principal Cecilia Birge. “If you are a student with certain learning needs, we want to make sure that you are placed in an environment that gives you access to [a similar] curriculum [to] all other students.”

 In order to do this, many PHS classrooms have In-Class Resource Programs (ICRP), where there are two teachers, one general education teacher and one Special Education teacher, who provide additional support to students with an IEP, and modify the curriculum to their level if needed.

“In an ICRP class, you might sit next to a student [or] some of your friends might have an IEP, and you don’t even [know] they’re receiving support,” said Riddick. “That’s the structure that we promote ... because kids should be inclusive and accepting of all students.”

PHS also offers resource classrooms for students with higher levels needs. These classes are taught by a Special Education teacher but retain many of the aspects of the standard curriculum. There are  also  classes that focus on teaching the core subjects with a focus on the development of real world skills.

“I don’t follow algebra, geometry, or anything for my LLD or my MD math,” said Danielle DeCroce, a Special Education teacher specialized in MD and LLD math, English, and social studies classes. “It’s all functional math skills — right now we’re working on coupons ... and saving money versus spending more.”

For students who require a supervising adult with them, PHS hires aides to stay with them throughout the day. Maurice Tigget has served as an aide in Princeton Public Schools for 12 years, prior to which he worked in a similar position at a residential facility for teenagers who have court orders. 

“The ability to see the change and the growth in a student ... to watch them come in angry [with] whatever they got going on ... and see them and their mindset change, grow and they start to learn and understand ... is what makes this job wonderful,” said Tiggett. 

In the case of Riddick, her passion for special education was rooted in her experience with her own child, who faced struggles receiving the same quality and level of education as his general education peers. 

“It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn ... they [just] couldn’t meet his needs. That inspired me, once I got in[to] college ... I got into Special Education, and ... I found my purpose,” said Riddick. “When I say that, I smile ... my light bulb went off in Special Education, and I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

However, despite the wide range of services and accommodations that the special education program at PHS offers, many students still encounter gaps that the current system does not  yet completely address. 

 “[There are some special education] students, who will probably never attain a driver’s license, [who] are being made to take driver’s ed,” said DeCroce. “I feel that there should be more adaptive classes, elective wise for them, [and] adaptive PE, where it’s just those kids with their peers. I think it would be more comfortable for them.”

But regardless of the program, a common theme shared amongst the various people in Special Education is to approach all students with understanding.

“You can’t force people to interact with all individuals, but I would just like to see people approach everyone with ... empathy,” said PHS Special Education and Autism Program teacher Jeremy Reilley. “Whether it be my students or just any other individual you see here at Princeton, have a little bit more empathy for each other. We’re all kind of trying to navigate this crazy world together.”

Photo: Charley Hu

Members of the Buddies Program participate in a game of Uno.

PHS’s Special Education Program

This year, PHS has seen a rise in phone pouches — pockets 
where students are required to put their phones in before and 
throughout classes. The implementation of phone pockets 
has risen along with growing concerns about phone usage 
from the community; pushed by community feedback and 
research, discussions in the district for a concrete phone 
ban or restriction policy are underway. 


“We're hoping to work collaboratively to come up with 
a policy that students understand and can get behind. The 
research [shows that] getting off ... your phone and really 
focusing with your teachers ... is what is important,” said 
Susan Kanter, a Board of Education member on the policy 
committee. “There’s a collaborative project that we hope will 
happen in the next few months with the administration.”


The potential phone ban, according to Dr. Michael 
LaSusa, Superintendent of Princeton Public Schools, 
could take one of two forms. In a bell-to-bell ban, all high 
school students would be required to store their phones in 
a compartment when entering the building and pick them 
up at the end of the day. The more lenient option would be 
a consistent ban on phone use during instructional time 
in all classes, permitting students to access their phones 
during lunch or study hall. The district purchased the phone 
pouches that now hang on the walls of all classrooms last 
year, though it is currently up to teachers to decide how 
strictly to enforce the policy. 


“I feel that it's better for more students to not have 
access at all to their phones any minute of the school day,” 
said LaSusa. “But I also think that in terms of logistics, 
management, and resources, it's much easier and more 
pragmatic in certain ways to have a [phone] restriction 
only on classroom instructional time.”


In addressing concerns that a phone ban could endanger 
students if they need to contact someone, such as their 
parents, during an emergency, LaSusa cited Jonathan Haidt’s 
book “The Anxious Generation,” which argues that phones 
have fundamentally harmed the mental health of teenagers.


“Jonathan Haidt makes the case that students are safer 
in an emergency without access to their phone because 
they should be listening to the teachers and following 
instructions,” said LaSusa. “In my last district, we did the 
type of restriction where students still could access their 
phone in an emergency from [phone] pockets.”


LaSusa also cited the New Jersey Department of 
Education's (NJDOE) policy guidance regarding phone 
bans. On October 1, 2025 the NJDOE launched the state’s 
first phone ban grant, which provides extra funding to 
schools if they enact a bell-to-bell phone ban.


“[NJDOE] recommends, essentially a bell-to-bell ban 
completely, and then, short of that, some type of restriction 
on cell phones; so with the state guidance and with all 
that we know now about cell phones and how distracting 
they can be, I think it's likely that the [Princeton Board of 
Education] will adopt some type of district level policy,” 
said LaSusa.


Principal Cecilia Birge has said that she’s received positive 
feedback from teachers regarding the phone pouches, but 
also said that she would support a phone ban if approved 
by the district.


“If there are significant offenses, and then that causes 
disciplinary action, then that gives building administration 
more authority to act upon it. For that reason, I support 
it,” said Birge.


Daniel Spitkosky ’27 is skeptical that a bell-to-bell phone 
ban would significantly improve academic performance. 


“If I had no phone, just my computer to work on an 
assignment, and I really was not interested in working on the 
assignment, I think I would find methods to procrastinate 
on the computer despite not having my phone. I think that 
not having it would potentially increase my productivity, 
but not to an enormous extent,” said Spitkovsky.


Though a final decision is likely still several months away, 
LaSusa remains confident in the success of any potential 
phone ban.


“I think that if there were to be a bell-to-bell [ban] ... 
instituted [at PHS], there'd be more social interaction 
among students, and students would come to appreciate 
that type of policy,” said LaSusa. “If the policy was more 
lenient and it was just a restriction during classroom time, 
I think most students would really have almost no problem 
with that at all, and I don't think that it would materially 
affect the culture of the building. I think either type of 
policy will actually only probably enhance the culture in 
the building.

Paula Kutin ’27 puts her phone in a phone pouch during Joyce Jones’s period 5 health class.


PPS administration considers phone restrictions or ban for 2026-2027 school year

This year, the three mental health 
counselors at PHS — Bethzayda Matos, 
Michelle Simborski, and Ryan Stingel — 
have rebranded the Student Assistance 
Program from last year to Resilience, 
Intervention, Support, and Empowerment 
(RISE), which will consist of confidential 
counseling services, classroom visits, and 
evening events centered on topics such as 
depression or substance abuse.


“There’s a lot of pressure here at PHS, and 
the school district saw a rise in numbers 
of students coming to see counselors for 
anxiety, depression, stress related concerns. 
And so the district, being very proactive, 
wanted to build a comprehensive mental 
health program for students and families,” 
said Simborski.


In 2022, the district conducted a survey 
that revealed stark disparities about how 
different racial demographic groups felt 
about belonging, safety, and support in 
PHS. Though 56 percent of PHS students 
overall said they felt like the school was a 
welcoming and safe space to be, only 28 
percent of Hispanic students felt that way. 
Further, only 44.2 percent of PHS students 
overall agreed with the statement “when 
something is really bothering me, there is 
at least one adult that I can go to and talk 
about the problem.”


“I think that the difference in the 
percentages ... and feelings come from a 
space of maybe not understanding the 
support that is available,” said Matos. “If 
you don’t know what’s available, then you’re 
not going to seek it.”


Through introducing herself in 
classrooms, interacting in the hallways, 
and having consultation meetings with 
students, Matos hopes to make them aware 
of the available support and close that gap. 
Given that she is the only Spanish-speaking 
counselor in PHS, Matos regularly visits 
English Language Learning classrooms to 
educate students about mental health and 
the numerous resources that the school 
provides.


Matos says that last year, she and 
Simborski saw an average of 90 students 
a week. However, she also noted that the 
amount of risk assessments decreased from 
the year prior.


“There’s no shame in seeking support. It’s 
not a sign of weakness. It’s actually a sign 
of resilience,” said Matos. “We are here to 
support each and every student however 
we can, but we don’t know what you do or 
what you need, unless you come to us for 
assistance.”


Ryan Stingel, who joined PHS as a mental 
health counselor earlier this year, is also 
the advisor of the Lock In Club, which is 
dedicated to helping students learn mental 
techniques to perform better under pressure 
and regulate emotions.


“I think for a lot of high schoolers who 
are motivated, hard working and want to 
do their best, it can be frustrating if you’re 
able to do something in practice, but you’re 
not able to replicate it or do it as well in in 
the test room or on stage or whenever it 
matters,” said Daniel Haiduc ’26, leader of 
Lock In Club.


Throughout his meetings with students, 
whether as their club advisor, during oneon-one meetings, or through the classroom, 
Stingel strives to relay one core message to 
all students.


“I hope that every person that reads this 
takes away the message ... that no matter 
who you are, you deserve to feel comfortable 
being you,” said Stingel. “You deserve to 
feel comfortable living in your own skin

Photo: Charley Hu


PHS mental health counselors plan RISE initiative


PHS mental health counselors plan RISE initiative

On August 21, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Kimberely 
Tew released the results of PHS’s New 
Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment 
(NJGPA), which revealed disparities in 
pass rates between Asian, White, Black 
and Hispanic students. The NJGPA is a 
graduation requirement administered 
annually to 11th graders, though alternatives 
exist if a student does not pass the test. 


Though PHS has been known for its 
testing disparities since at least 2005, when it 
was the subject of a New York Times article 
titled “The Achievement Gap in Elite High 
Schools,” district officials, teachers, and 
students say they aren’t giving up.


This summer, the Princeton Board 
of Education approved a five-member 
Affirmative Action team tasked with 
updating the Comprehensive Equity Plan, 
a two-part document mandated by the state 
law that outlines the district’s plan to combat 
inequalities within the education system, 
including achievement gaps. 


“The work never ends; we have to explore 
and dive into data all the time. The data 
should help us make decisions about 
[whether] there are more programming 
or services that we can provide, and ... 
when we provide it. I think one of the 
foundational pieces of all of this work is 
building relationships with our students 
and with our families. [And] the more we 
know about our students, the more we can 
... excite them in their learning,” said Angela 
Siso Stentz, Assistant Superintendent for 
Human Resources and a member of the 
district’s Affirmative Action team.


The 2025 NJGPA data showed that 74 
percent of Black students and 50 percent 
of Hispanic students at PHS met the 
graduation requirements — compared 
to Asian, White, and students of other 
ethnicities having a 92 percent pass rate 
or higher. The report did not detail the 
NJGPA scores by income level. However, 
one of the priorities for Dr. Andrea Dinan, 
the director of the IDEAS center, is for all 
students to be able to access free, highquality tutoring — a service that can be 
unaffordable for many families.


“We’re working with the Pace Center 
[for Civic Engagement] at Princeton 
University, and we’re going to have five to 
seven tutors from Princeton University on 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” said 
Dinan. “They’re going to provide SAT [and]
ACT help and AP prep, and we’re going to 
target lower-resourced families, but it will 
be open to everyone. I think that’s one of 
the ways that it really works well — if it’s 
open to everyone, but we make sure that ... 
lower income students ... know about the 
opportunities.”


In solving an issue as complex as the 
achievement gap, teachers are playing a 
role in changing the culture within the 
classroom. PHS Social Studies teacher 
Dr. Katie Dineen is an advocate for an 
educational philosophy known as the 
Universal Design for Learning (UDL). First 
designed in the 1990s based on research 
in neuroscience, UDL advocates for a 
curriculum in which students are provided 
with multiple ways to acquire information 
and multiple ways to demonstrate what they 
know. Dineen is also working to make her 
classroom more culturally inclusive.


“You know, regardless of where [students] 
come from, and especially with AP [World 
History] being such a transitory and 
international community, there’s so many 
opportunities for students to bring their 
own family’s artifacts into the classroom, or 
their family’s perspectives or speakers,” said 
Dineen. “I think I [have] created a place for 
each student to feel as though their story 
and their origin are important enough to 
be centered in that curriculum.”


Furthermore, many clubs at PHS are 
also working on fostering a supportive 
community among underprivileged 
students. This includes Generation 1, a club 
focused on helping students who would be 
the first generation within their family to 
pursue higher education.


“I know from my personal experience, 
my mom didn’t get to pursue a further 
education, [so] I struggled a lot trying to 
figure out resources for SATs or college 
[applications] or just finding things in 
general to help me throughout my school 
journey,” said Aimy Solares-Zacarias 
’26, who serves as the co-president of 
Generation 1. “Our main goal is to just 
help provide those resources for kids who 
are [first-generation students] on their 
pathway to [higher education].”


Solares-Zacarias recalls a period of 
academic isolation within her own journey 
where she was afraid to ask for help. Today, 
she encourages her fellow students to follow 
a path similar to her own by contacting 
Generation 1 to find a community of 
academic support. 
“If anyone is reading [this] and they’re a 
[first-generation] student, I want them to be 
able to reach out to us because I know it’s 
not embarrassing or a weakness to want to 
ask for help,” said Solares-Zacarias.

Graphic: Katherine Chen

NJGPA passing versus not passing rates for different races at PHS.

The achievement gap at PHS

## Dia Beri

On June 30, less than two weeks after
PHS graduation, Dia Beri ’25 will begin
Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point, a six week long
program known as “the beast,” designed
to ensure that cadets are prepared for their
next 12 years in the army — four years at
the academy, five years of required activeduty service, and three years in the reserves.


“I’m really excited, but at the same time,
I’m terrified. For six weeks, they take away
our phones, and we’re going to be out in the
field learning how to use rifles for the first
time,” said Beri. “We’re going to be dirty.
We’re going to be stressed. We’re going to be
running on only four hours of sleep every
night. And the upperclassmen are going to
be yelling at us.”


In her four years at West Point, Beri will
train to be an officer in the U.S. military
while earning a Bachelor of Science degree.
Beri first developed an interest in West Point
during freshman year, motivated by a desire
to find satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
“I feel like everyone has their purpose
on earth,” said Beri. “For me, it’s defending
a nation that has given my family and so
many other immigrant families so much
to work with.”


Beri’s high school experience has, in
her words, “revolved around” her goal
of getting into West Point. West Point
requires applicants to not only submit their
GPA, SAT, and essays, but also secure a
recommendation from a U.S. Congress
member (in Beri’s case, Representative
Bonnie Watson Coleman), and complete
a six-part Candidate Fitness Assessment.
For Beri, the intensepreparation leading
up to it required not only physical, but also
mental, growth.


“I’ve never [put] as [much] dedication
in my life as [I did in] preparing for the
West Point fitness test. Then mentally, my
mindset about becoming better at things
completely changed. I thought that there
were some things that you really couldn’t
change about yourself, and then I realized
that if you worked hard enough ... you can
change those things,” said Beri.


West Point requires students to follow a
rigid schedule throughout the school year:
the day begins at 6:30 a.m., includes several
classes, military training, mandatory athletic
activity, and an 11:30 p.m. curfew.


“I don’t really enjoy the athletic part as
much as the academic part, but I know that
there are certain things that I [will] enjoy,
like teamwork with friends,” said Beri. “And
my favorite saying that I learned from this
process is ‘two is one and one is none.’


Because when you have two people, you have
someone that’s always having your back, and
if you have one, you’re alone; there’s no one
that has your back, you’re basically dead.”


Following graduation, Beri will be a
second lieutenant, leading a platoon of
around 30 to 50 soldiers in operations
concerning aspects such as cybersecurity,
military intelligence, or infantry.
However, for now, Beri is focused on what
lies just a few weeks ahead.


“I think one of my goals is to not give up
when the going gets really tough. I feel like
once I tackle that fear of not knowing how
hard something is or what’s lying at the end,
I’ll really be able to do things that I never
thought I could do,” said Beri.

## Yael Dveer


This past year, Yael Dveer ’25 moved
from Israel to Princeton with her family,
following political instability in Israel.
This coming year, Dveer plans on moving
again — this time, taking a gap year for a
backpacking and volunteering trip around
the United States and South America instead
of attending college.


“We moved here, [in] a very quick
decision ... because of the war in Israel.
And when we decided to move, I told my
mom that I’m not going to be ready to go
to college right [after] I finish high school
... [the gap year] will also [give] me more
time to go volunteering ... in South America
— which is something I wanted to do for a
long time — and a few [more] months for
me to live in the U.S. and get more used [to]
American culture,” said Dveer.


In Israel, it’s mandatory for high school
graduates to enlist in the Israeli army for
several years. Following this, it’s common for
Israelis to go on a backpacking trip (literally,
“the big hike”) for several months. Though
Dveer won’t be in Israel, nor serving in the
Israeli army, she still wanted to experience
this Israeli rite of passage.


“For a person to develop and grow, they
have to travel and explore the world not
only in the U.S. or rich countries,” said
Dveer. “I’ve been wanting to travel for [as
long as] I can remember, because in Israel,
backpacking and camping is a really big part
of the culture there. I wanted to continue
that tradition in my own way.”


Though her plans aren’t finalized
yet, Dveer plans on participating in an
environmental volunteer program in
the Amazon region in Peru and then go
backpacking independently, all while
practicing her Spanish.


“[There are] so many countries that I want
to go to ... Chile and Argentina, to Bucha,
to the Patagonia Mountain range, and to
Brazil, because I love Bossa Nova music
and Portuguese,” said Dveer.


Dveer eventually plans on settling
in the United States after a few months
of backpacking, adjusting to American
culture and preparing for her studies in
higher education as a physics major at the
University of Maryland in the fall of 2026.
For now, though, she’s focused on taking
a step back before diving into academics
again.


“There’s no rush to get us a head start
in your career — everything’s going to
be here in 10 years. I think taking some
time after high school, especially [after]
Princeton High School, where everything
is so stressful and unnecessarily competitive
... is a good [way] to discover yourself — at
the end of the day, that’s what’s important.
You’re living your life. You’re learning the
American dream. You’re not living anything
else,” said Dveer.

Photo: Charley Hu

Dia Beri will join West Point as one of 4,500 cadets.

PHS seniors not attending traditional academic institutions this fall

With the baseball nestled in his glove, James Schiavone ’25 adjusts his stance on the
pitcher’s mound for the final time, grounding his feet. Taking a steady breath, he pitches
a fastball, watching as it cuts through the air, slipping past the batter, and landing in the
catcher’s mitt with a solid thump. Strikeout.

Schiavone began his baseball journey at age four, when he played his first tee ball game.
Growing up, Schiavone played both baseball and basketball, but ended up choosing to
focus on baseball. His brother Kenneth Schiavone ’22, a former baseball player, was one
of his biggest inspirations growing up.

“My older brother, Kenny, who played for the high school team for four years, taught me
when I was younger how to play,” said Schiavone. “Even now, whenever he comes home
from college, he comes to my [games] and gives me different tips.”

For Schiavone, baseball is a year-round dedication. Not only does he serve as one of the
co–captains of the PHS baseball team, but he is also one of the pitchers for Princeton’s Post
218 American Legion team over the summer. The American Legion is a broad organization
overseeing multiple baseball teams in all fifty states. Many players participate in the American
Legion to improve their skills and as a stepping stone between high school and colllege.

“We play about 25 games in two and a half months, and then I go straight into Legion,
which is another 20 games in 30 days,” said Schiavone.

However, even with the large amount of time and energy that baseball demands, Schiavone
is able to find a balance between his athletics and his life as a student.

“I enjoy every minute of baseball, so I
don’t see it as an obligation anymore, so
that once I’m done with baseball, I still
have a lot [of] energy,” said Schiavone.
“I’m still ready to go, still [doing] all my
school work, just got to find the balance.”

That mindset proved especially
important to Schiavone after he suffered
an elbow injury in sophomore year.

“We get in a thing called a slump.
You’re not even supposed to say the word
[it’s]—bad luck— but when you’re not
hitting well, it’s really hard to break out
of it, because it starts getting mental,”
said Schiavone. “You start thinking
about if you’re good enough. Then you
need toughness, and just got to keep
practicing [and] keep working.”

Through patience and hard work, he
returned strong as a junior, earning a spot on the varsity team. That season, Schiavone
helped the team defeat Hopewell Valley for the first time in over ten years, ending the
game with a 2.33 earned run average, which prevented the opposing team from gaining
runs and kept Princeton in the lead.

Like any sport, mastering baseball requires a diverse range of skill sets. Schiavone is
always looking for ways to refine his game.

“Baseball is a game of failure. You can always improve,” said PHS boys baseball Head
Coach Dominic Capuano. “We’ve worked on his hitting and how to stay more balanced
pitching-wise. He [has] worked really hard to stay healthy the last two years and throw more
strikes and be commanding. And the mental side of the game, we’re always working on.”

Schiavone’s drive for constant improvement and dedication has made him an effective
leader on the team according to many of his teammates and coaches.

“He’s always been a hard worker. He’s always been someone who’s had success on the
mound and at the plate, and he’s always shown leadership qualities, which have really been
accentuated this year,” said Capuano. “He leads by example, he does all the right things. He
really truly cares about the success of everybody around him in the program.”

Not only is he devoted captain according to his coaches, Schiavone’s positive attitude and
encouraging words during games have also made a lasting impression on his teammates.

“My first year, when I was a freshman, [I was] really scared and I didn’t really know
anybody, and James made me feel
super welcome to the team,” said
Matthew Akey ’26. “He’s always
been the positive guy … and he’ll
definitely push you to be better.”

After becoming a co–captain of
the team this year, Schiavone hopes
to continue acting as a role model
for his team members.

“I just want to do everything I
can to help the team and continue
being the leader,” said Schiavone.
“I hope that I can be a reason we
are doing well.”

This year marks Schiavone’s
fourteenth year playing baseball
and his final year on the team.
Reflecting on his high school career,
Schiavone has not only grown as an
athlete but also in mindset, and he plans to continue that passion in college.

“I want to, if the opportunity comes to me, play baseball in college,” said Schiavone. “If
not, I would just like to play club baseball.

Photo: Jasur Agzamov
Schiavone, who has been playing baseball for 14 years, looks forward to his final season as one of the team’s pitchers, spending it alongside his friends and coaches.

James Schiavone ’25: baseball 

### The Courtyard

In 2023, Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, Board of Education members, and PHS staff and students gathered in PHS courtyard to celebrate the completion of a multi-year revitalization effort, with new gardens and space for activities such as reading or yoga. However, the project never quite reached the level of engagement that was hoped for.  

Then, in 2024 former PHS Science Supervisor Dr. Joy Barnes-Johnson received a climate literacy grant to revitalize the courtyards. This year, physics teacher Dr. Insu Yi and several other faculty members and PHS students are using the grant to clean up the courtyard and restore the gardens and research activity.

“The greenhouse was used a little bit for the horticulture class, and the courtyard for research. But they weren’t in great shape, let’s put it that way,” said Yi. “I began getting involved in a team that was formed based on our district grant. [The] initiative was to turn the ... courtyards into spaces for everyone — meaning classes, community groups, even outside groups — but most of the time we spent on cleaning up.”

Yi was initially hesitant to include PHS students, though he eventually began recruiting through his research and physics classes. In the future, he hopes to also include ESL and special education classes.

“I’m really interested in turning something as simple as a garden into a science project. For example, we have solar panels, but the solar panel is placed in the wrong way, so it doesn’t get sun[light],” said Yi. “I calculated with students what angle we should [have] from the horizon to the solar panels inclination, which we calculated to be about 30 degrees.”

The project has now grown to include several organizations. This includes a Generation Green team led by Dr. Andrea Dinan, director of the IDEAS center and community service programs at PHS.  The team uses the courtyard as a way to teach elementary school students about sustainability, and the collaboration of the PHS facilities and custodial staff.

“From a logistical standpoint, if you want to transport 60 bags of soil to the courtyard, you have to navigate it through the school building to get into there. The spaces had kind of fallen into a little disrepair, so there was a lot of cleaning that happened,” said Jacqueline Katz, PHS’s current Science Supervisor. “We [worked] with facilities and custodians to help us move some of the trash.” 
Katz hopes that the courtyards can continue to be accessible to PHS students in the future, whether for research projects or educational initiatives.

“We have some students interested in fruit trees, so we’re going to try to bring fruit trees into the space. And we have a student interested in vertical gardening, so he’s going to build some vertical gardens up in the greenhouse,” said Katz. 

PHS students recently celebrated the work they’ve already accomplished at a recent sustainability symposium at Monmouth University.

“It was really exciting. We got a chance to have a conversation with Tammy Murphy, who’s the governor’s wife, and she mentioned us in her speech, which was surprising and exciting,” said Raya Kondakindi ’26, a student involved in the project. “We got to communicate with people with similar sustainability goals, and it was a really engaging experience to talk with people who had experience in areas we’re looking into.” 

### The Lower Basin

As PHS students pass by the lower basin near the tennis courts, the bare patch of land is often overlooked. However, a new restoration project led by the Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW) and PHS students aims to bring the  basin back to life. 

The basin was first planted with turf grass to help reduce flooding in the area, and was later overplanted with native upland prairie vegetation in an attempt to transition the basin into a prairie-like ecosystem. However, due to the poor environmental conditions, the prairie system didn’t form, and the basin was instead dominated by invasive species. 

FOHW submitted a project proposal last summer for the wet meadow basin in response to Princeton Public School’s request for plant care in the area. They are now working with the PHS environmental science class to restore the basin and re-establish native species in the wet meadow. 
“We provide support. They provide us with an orderly opportunity to understand that invasive versus native [plants], and what a wet prairie is,” said James Smirk, an environmental science teacher at PHS.

The July contract grants FOHW around $6,000 for upkeep, workshops at PHS , and new signage around the basin.

The restoration process began with the removal of invasive species, including plantain weeds, and in the coming months will proceed to the over planting of native grasses like little bluestem, soft rush, and ironweed, and various wildflowers. Smirk estimates that a self-propagating basin is still around 20 years away.

Until then, the basin will be maintained through a partnership between FOHW and PHS’s environmental science classes, who use it as a resource for learning. 

“Before, I didn’t really know a lot of wetlands and how important they are to nature, and just in general to us,” said Amelie Kraft ’26, a student in Smirk’s environmental science class. “This class has definitely opened me to that, [and] I have a lot more knowledge about wetlands [and] preserves.”

PHS students play an active part in collecting ecological data and conducting their own experiments. This data–including information on native species’ distribution and location–will contribute to a long-term database helping track restoration efforts and biodiversity in the area. 

“[The] student role is always going to be data driven,” said Smirk. “We’re [going to] collect data on invertebrates, because [they] are a good indicator for the overall health of the system.”

The basin project is a smaller part of the large sustainability goal throughout Princeton, which is to build an Emerald necklace made up of interconnected green spaces and trails.

 “We would like to see that [the] emerald necklace has a component that every school is connected to,” said Smirk. “We want to build a green pathway through every property that eventually connects.”

Though vision for the emerald necklace in physical connection between nature in Princeton, Stephen Hiltner, the president of FOHW, emphasized the importance of a connection between nature and people.

“I’m hoping [the project] will spark an interest in students to start getting to know nature and all the tremendous diversity — nature is very complex, and for some people, that’s intimidating, but for me, it’s fascinating. If you love something, you want to find out as much as you can about it. I’m hoping to spark some of that,” said Hiltner.




Photo: Emily Kim

From left to right: Andrew Rivera ’25, Elizabeth Chorba ’25, Julia McGoldrick ’26, Bhavya Yaddanapuddi ’25, and Arnold Zacarias ’26 prepare soil for a garden bed.   

PHS works to bring courtyards and lower basin back to life

The PHS community celebrated the
18th annual Asian Fest on March 21, with
performances to showcase the diversity of
Asian culture. Featured events included
Chinese yo-yo, a rendition of the story of
Diwali, and cultural dances. PHS Mandarin
teacher Shwu-Fen Lin and students from
several of PHS’s language programs and
cultural clubs organized the event.
Asian Fest, the result of months of
collaboration and preperation, held
unique significance for each of the student
performers.


Jessica Zhang ’26 performed in both
C-pop (Chinese pop) and K-pop (Korean
pop) dance routines. For Zhang, Asian
Fest was an opportunity to discover how
different cultures express themselves
through the arts.


“I think music is one of the major
art styles that can best express a certain
culture because instruments, music, [and]
lyrics contain deep meanings [about each]
country’s history, [and] how they evolved
into the people they are,” said Zhang.


Lisa Jin ’25, a performer for the Japanese
Club, emphasized that Asian Fest was a way
to challenge stereotypes about the Asian
identity. In covering performances from
anime and K-pop, PHS students showcased
the cultural impact of all Asian traditions,
encouraging a wider understanding and
appreciation for their culture.


“We wanted to highlight how vibrant and
creative the community is,” said Jin. “I know
some people feel a bias [against] people who
watch anime [and] the anime culture[in
general]. After seeing our performance
and dancing, I want to show [people] that
we can actually do something that can be
shown in public.”


While these performances were a
celebration of Asian culture for the entire
PHS community, they also provided an
opportunity for Asian student performers
to connect to their own roots.


“I’m Korean, and so my Korean culture
has always been very important to me,
especially in America,” said Kyuyoung
Chung ’26, a performer for the Asian
American Club and Korean Cover Group
Club. “In Princeton, the Korean community
isn’t very large, so it’s nice [to] have this club
to be able to share that piece of that culture.”


In addition to the performances,
student-led clubs set up cultural stations
across the gym, offering food, lessons, and
traditional activities. Those who attended
could practice calligraphy, create origami,
experiment with musical instruments, and
participate in traditional games to connect
further with Asian cultures.


“I think one of the most important things
about Asian Fest is exploring, especially
since we have so many different stations,
food stalls, [and] game stations,” said Zey
Oral ’25, a performer for the Korean Club.
“You can explore [the] different aspects of
other people’s culture.”


To prepare, students spent hours at
rehearsal, developing activities, and
designing posters. The theme for Asian
Fest is chosen in November, followed by a
poster competition open to all artists at PHS.
Mandarin teacher Shwu-Fen Lin expressed
thanks for all those involved in the event.


“I really appreciate the students who
dedicated their time to this program.
Throughout the 18 years [of Asian Fest],
I’m just very surprised. Our students have
so many talents. They did really wonderful,”
said Lin.

Photo: Emily Kim

William Chen ’26, William Liao ’26, Carson Lew-Williams ’27, and Sebastian Su ’27 perform a traditional Chinese lion dance during the assembly.

PHS students reflect on Asian Fest

On January 8, the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) appointed Dr. Michael LaSusa as the district’s new superintendent. LaSusa will undergo a six-month transition process before officially replacing current interim superintendent Dr. Kathleen Foster on July 1.

LaSusa is currently superintendent of the Chatham school district, and before that began his career as a history and Spanish teacher at Chatham High School. PHS Principal Cecilia Birge believes that his tenure demonstrates a strong commitment to education.

“When someone stays in the district for that long, especially coming from the teachers ranking, [they] know what our students and teachers feel,” said Birge. “His district respects him and has enjoyed the long tenureship that he has given to Chatham.”

LaSusa’s appointment comes after years of turmoil in the PPS district, with the district going through two superintendents and six PHS principals in the past five years. In making the decision, the Board of Education hired the consulting firm School Leadership LLC and held a series of student and parent forums. In addition, the PPS adinistration distributed a survey designed to provide a platform for the community to request characteristics and prerequisites that they want to be considered for the superintendent.

“The process started with a pretty wide-cast net. The consultants [and the] search firm, hired by the board, opened it up to the several unions in the district,” said Birge. “Each group had a chance to meet with the consultant.”

Throughout the interview process, LaSusa emphasized the importance of providing equal educational opportunities to all, according to Kathleen Foster, the interim superintendent.

“[LaSusa] really talked about the importance of making sure that every student is known and valued,” said Foster. “[He] encouraged [students] to flourish in the way that they choose. Not everyone has to go in the same path. There are lots of [different] paths after graduation.”

LaSusa has received considerable recognition for his work in improving the learning experience for students. In 2019, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators awarded LaSusa New Jersey Region 1 Superintendent of the Year.

“He is [a] very forward-thinking, compassionate leader, he is very student-centered, and actively makes decisions that will benefit the students’ experience,” said Mary Donohue, Chatham’s assistant superintendent. “He wants to create an environment, a learning space where [students] feel supported [and] to help them grow as people and as learners. In an interview with The Tower, LaSusa highlighted his student-centered vision for the district, committing to supporting all students regardless of their background.

“There are students who are underserved or don’t have the [same] resources of some of those higher performing students,” said LaSusa. “I want to do what I can to ensure that every single student, regardless of their background, what their first language might be, or any other challenges they might have, can all thrive and reach their full potential by the time they exit the [education] system.”

LaSusa is now preparing for his transition from the Chatham district to Princeton Public Schools. Over the next six months, he will work to familiarize himself with Princton’s background by meeting with school administrators, the Parent Teacher Organization, and staff members.

“I’m going to interact with as many people as I can,” said LaSusa. “I’ll be listening and absorbing for my first months in the district, and hopefully from there, relationships will form, and I’ll get to have a greater sense of Princeton as each month passes.”

Photo: Emily Kim

Michael LaSusa listens at his confirmation hearing with the PPS Board of Education.

Board of Education approves Michael LaSusa as superintendent 

On December 19, Princeton High School held its 79th
annual winter concert at the Princeton University Chapel.
The event featured performances from the three orchestras,
Repertoire, Sinfonia, and PHS Orchestra, and the five choirs,
Chorale I and II, Cantus, PHS Choir, and Chamber Choir.

The orchestras performed pieces by various composers
from England, Germany, Czechia, Argentina, and Italy.
The Sinfonia and Repertoire Orchestras opened with
pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Gustav Mahler,
while the PHS Orchestra played pieces by composers such
as Astor Piazzolla and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among
the selections, Piazzolla’s works stood out to performers.
“My favorite piece is ‘Oblivion’ by Astor Piazzolla, because
I like how the orchestra is connected [with] each other in
providing the base beat,” said Helen Yu ’27, a violinist from
PHS Orchestra. “The sound of the flute sings above the
orchestra, with the harmonies making the piece delicate
and beautiful.”

The choir groups also performed music from various
languages, styles, and periods, featuring Christmas carols
and unique sacred songs from Italy. Their concert selections
were influenced by their upcoming trip to Italy, where they
will perform music reflecting the country’s rich traditions.

“Many of our songs are in different languages, so they
require some extra time to learn [the] words,” said Chamber
Choir member Maya Halcomb ’25.

To prepare for the winter concert, the choirs and
orchestras started rehearsals in October and practiced four
days a week, in addition to preparations with friends and
individually outside of school.

“There are some extra [rehearsals] here and there when
there is an upcoming event,” said Jessica Carrera ’27, a
member of Cantus. “Overall, practice [ran] smoothly, and
learning new songs is always rewarding.”

While the concert at the chapel is an annual event,
featuring the same format communal compositions every year, each performance still provides a distinctive
experience. 

“It is the different personnel, different repertoires, and
the audience there that evening that make it very special,”
said orchestra director Robert Loughran.

The blending of all of the choir’s voice parts was essential
to the style of music they performed.

“I hope [the audience] appreciated the work we put
in and gained an ear for the style of music we perform,”
said Halcomb. “While it may not be pop music, there is
something to be said about the harmonies and magic of
singing with so many people.”

The winter concert is shaped by the audience. Every year,
these performances aim to create memorable connections
between the music and the listeners.

“I hope the audience enjoyed our performances and came
out with a personal connection, like a new perspective,
inspiration, or curiosity,” said Carrera. 

Choirs and orchestras unite to fill Princeton University Chapel with music

At PHS, bathrooms have slowly become
the center of disruptive student activity
during instructional periods. While these
issues have been present in past years, their
increasing frequency has raised concerns
about student behavior and the learning
environment. In response, administrators
have introduced more rigid disciplinary
and preventative measures to reduce
inappropriate behavior.

As of now, vaping is one of the main
issues identified in bathrooms, with
administrators focused on addressing the
health concerns associated with vaping.

“We don’t know who manufactures
those things. We don’t know what’s put in
them [or] if the new things have been out
there long enough for the harmful effects
on our bodies to be fully analyzed and
researched,” said PHS Principal Cecilia
Birge. “[Vapes] can also have marijuana
[and] THC products in [them], and that
clearly is connected to depression, ADHD,
and other kinds of health impacts.”

Beyond vaping, large social gatherings
have become a growing issue. The
main concern is that socializing in the
bathrooms creates overcrowding, making
the space uncomfortable for students who
are trying to use the bathroom.

“Whether you’re a freshman or you’re
in your senior year, [if] you go to the
bathroom and you see 10 to 15 people or
less standing around, it’s a little awkward
and unfortunate. So what we’re trying to
do is to clear out the bathrooms just for
bathroom usage, and not as a [place for]
socializing,” said Scott Goldsmith, one of
PHS’s building monitors.

To solve this issue, PHS staff have
increased the number of bathroom
sweeps, in which building monitors and
administrators routinely inspect the
bathrooms to check for inappropriate
behavior.

“Personally, I usually do it every period.
If not every other period, every day. With
some of the other guys, they do it every
other period or whenever they get a
chance. Same thing with administration,
whenever they get a chance, they pop their
head in,” said Goldsmith.

When students are caught vaping
or inappropriately socializing in the
bathrooms, they are required to meet with
their Assistant Principal and can face a
variety of disciplinary actions, ranging
from detention to suspension.

“If students are using or are in
possession of substances at school,
[then according to] our handbook, it’s
an automatic suspension. Then, [it]
depends on the number of infractions,”
said Birge. “[It’s] three to five days out of
school suspension [for the] first offense.
A second is five to 10 days. And the third
is another five to 10 days. When students
are suspended more than 10 days during
any school year, it raises the question [of]
whether this building is the best fit for
the student.”

But while routine sweeps are performed
to minimize such disciplinary issues,
emphasizing education ensures students
understand its risks and make informed
decisions.

“Our goal is to help students rather
than penalize students,” said Birge.
“Don’t promote the so-called ‘coolness.’
Recognize the harm that it does to your
body and your mind.”

Though the work of the PHS
administration has made progress in
minimizing these activities, student
reports are very useful for the main office
and can help minimize the occurrence
of vaping and other bathroom activities.

“Report it. You don’t have to report
it right away,” said Goldsmith. “But
whether it’s adults, students, staff, visitors,
bathrooms are meant to be used as
bathrooms.”

PHS Investigates: bathrooms

From perfect GPAs to Ivy League
acceptance letters and abundant
extracurriculars, characters on
screen seem to glide through the
college application process, all
while balancing several romantic
relationships and some serious
personal drama. The media’s
glossy depiction of the college
application process disregards the
late-night cramming, weekend
shifts, and lunch meetings
with teachers that make
up real students’ lives.
Protagonists in “Gilmore
Girls” and “Never Have I
Ever” are all living an idealistic
illusion of a stressless senior
year and college application
season. As viewers, we can’t
help but feel drawn to these
characters who seem effortlessly
intelligent, accomplished, and
goal-oriented.

Many high schoolers dream
of attending a top university, yet
the reality of getting accepted is far
more challenging than popular TV shows
portray. In “Gilmore Girls,” the journey to
a prestigious college appears deceptively
easy, creating an illusion of guaranteed
success for any hardworking or
successful student. The protagonist
Rory Gilmore is an overachiever
who excels in academics and is
involved in many extracurricular
activities. Throughout her high
school journey, she doesn’t
encounter many struggles and
ends up only applying to and
getting accepted into her
dream colleges: Harvard,
Princeton, and Yale.
However, “Gilmore Girls”
fails to acknowledge the
difficulties and complex
feelings high schoolers
often face during the
admissions process. Real-
life college admissions are
often full of uncertainty and
rejection. The reality is that
even high achieving students
may not be accepted to their
top choices.

The media’s narrative of the college
application process glorifies prestige.
Time and again, TV shows and movies
only mention the names of Ivy League
or top 20 universities, as if attending
one of these institutions is the
only acceptable route to success.
In “Never Have I Ever,” Devi, a
smart and driven student, only
applies to Ivy League schools.
When college acceptances come
out, she is left with only one
waitlist and considers waiting
another year to reapply to the
Ivy Leagues if she is denied
from that school. Devi’s
story is a prime example of
the media’s romanticization
of prestigious schools.
This unhealthy portrayal
creates misguided beliefs
among students, where one’s
hard work in school becomes
automatically pointless if denied
admission to top universities.

However, the media is
overlooking the thousands of
other colleges all around the
world that also provide quality
education for students to pursue what they
love. College admissions should be about
finding a place where one can thrive, not
simply aiming for the name that looks
best on a bumper sticker.

Not only are there a wide range
of excellent colleges, but some
students may not realize that
college is not the only suitable
path after high school. While
attending college can provide
opportunities and a degree,
high school graduates can
also find joy and achievement
through working, training, or
pursuing other experiences.
Additionally, some students
choose to take a gap year and
travel, volunteer, or work to
help shape their goals and find
their interests. It’s important
to remember to embrace your
own journey as there is more
than one path to success.

For PHS students, the college
admissions process can be much
tougher and more stressful than
what we see on screen. However,
success isn’t defined by one
decision, and the college journey should
be a time for us to explore who we are and
find where we belong.

Debunking college admissions in TV

Vending machines have long been a
staple in high school, providing students
with easy access to snacks and drinks
during busy school days. At PHS, however,
recent changes to the snack and drink
options in vending machines have caused
varying opinions and discussions among
students and faculty. This shift in snack
choices comes in part as a result of working
with PPS’s new food provider, Pomptonian
Food Services, and a stricter adherence to
state nutrition guidelines.

As administrators strive to balance state
regulations with student preferences, PHS
vending machines have become a testing
ground to find the right mix of health
guidelines, pricing, and taste.

The decisions regarding what goes in the
vending machines are complex, involving
both the school district and third-party
providers who stock the machines.
Pomptonian manages the food in the
cafeteria, but is not directly responsible
for stocking the vending machines.

“It’s just the transition between one
school food service and the next. This
piece of the vending machine has kind
of fallen into a vague area that we are still
trying to figure out,” said Dean of Students
Diana Lygas, one of the main coordinators
between PHS and Pomptonian.

For now, a third party vending machine
company continues to replenish snacks
based on sales trends and overall
availability.

In addition to a change in providers,
state regulations limiting the grams of
sugar in the vending machine products
have resulted in alternative snacks and
drinks such as baked Cheetos, zero-sugar
Gatorade, and reduced-fat Doritos being
stocked in the machines. However, as long
as the food adheres to the regulations, the
school is working to provide what the
students want.

“We are trying to get enough data [for
what] our students’ preferences are,”
said PHS Principal Cecilia Birge. “We
can still bring some of the favorites back
while meeting the guidelines; [those are]
improvements that we’re hoping to make
together with Pomptonian.”

In an effort to gain student input on
the vending machines, Lygas recently
conducted a Canvas survey. In the survey,
many students have expressed that they
would like to see non-diet gatorade, chips,
and fruit snacks back in the machines.
PHS will be working with Pomptonian
Food Services and a third-party vendor
to provide food in the vending machines
that meets everyone’s needs.

“What is popular, what’s not, it takes a
little time for the company to get used to,”
said PPS Business Administrator Matthew
Bouldin. “So we’re definitely listening
to the feedback. We want to hear what
[people] like and what [they] don’t like.”

PHS Investigates: stocking vending machines

Art is a reflection of the times, constantly
evolving alongside modern technology.
Today, we find ourselves in the middle of
yet another major transformation with the
rise of digital art, which uses technology to
give artists more tools and opportunities to
take their artwork to the next level.

Over the past few decades, the popularity
of digital art has skyrocketed due to the
advancement of technology and the
increasing popularity of social media.
This growth has allowed artists including
cheriise.art and haranikala to promote
digital art by creating posts on apps like
TikTok and Instagram. Furthermore, digital
art has become a popular medium for artists
thanks to its portability. Unlike traditional
art, such as painting, which requires
numerous supplies, including paint, paint
brushes, a water cup, and a pencil, digital
art only uses two instruments: a device and
a stylus. Digital art softwares also offer
customizable settings
that allow users to easily
adjust their brush size,
brush type, opacity, and
canvas size with just the
tap of a button.

While digital art is
gradually changing the
creative world with its
flexibility, traditional
art remains a vital pillar
to the foundations of
art. Traditional art
forms, such as sculpture, print-making,
and painting embody techniques and
a historical significance that will last
throughout human history. Art movements
such as the Renaissance, Impressionism,
and Cubism are all tied to centuries
of culture and societal
reform. Traditional
artworks from different
artistic movements
remain a way for people
to admire, study, and
understand the past.

Digital art and
traditional art, just
like how one might
compare handwritten
letters to emails, are
two unique ways to
express oneselves — neither can replace
the other. Both may communicate the same
message, but the experience and creation
processes for each are vastly different. While
traditional art may hold the weight of art
history and craftsmanship, digital art has
opened artistic creation to new realms once
thought unimaginable. The efficiency and
mobility of digital art is often disregarded
with a lack of time, effort, and heart. But
in reality, digital art is just a different form
of creative expression.

Art is never a competition between
different styles and media. Every new art
form draws inspiration from previous
styles, such as how digital brushstrokes are
made to mimic traditional paint brushes,
and how the emphasis in contrast and
shadow in digital photography art is a model
of traditional still lives. Despite the rapid
growth of new art styles and movements,
art cannot be replaced, only transformed.

The rising popularity of digital art

For someone who is just getting into them, there are so many podcasts in the world that it can be
incredibly overwhelming. After all, with so many options, how do you know which podcasts are high
quality and line up with your interests? If you are a new podcast listener, here is our guide to navigating
the podcast world, including how to pick accurate and reliable sources.

As we’re in the middle of election season, podcasts are a great way to have information presented
to you in an understandable and condensed way. However, it’s hard to know where to find unbiased
information about the election, a topic that’s incredibly polarizing. One place to start is seeing if a
news site you trust also creates podcasts. Many newspapers and channels, like The New York Times,
CNN, and The Washington Post produce audio content in addition to written articles. Alternatively,
if you find a news podcast, but are unsure about its reliability, searching up the person or group that
creates it online is a good way to see how they’re likely to approach the subject. Finding the podcast’s
bias rating from listeners is also an effective way to determine its reliability.

Once you’ve found a reliable source, there is a diverse range of podcasts to explore. From investigative
journalism to historical comedy, here are our top picks of reputable podcasts to check out from each
genre. 

### Political Podcasts

One informative political podcast we recommend
is “Left, Right & Center,” which is a discussion of
recent political news with guest speakers from the
three main political perspectives: conservative,
moderate, and liberal. Additionally, “On the Ballot”
is a facts-based, nonpartisan podcast that helps
listeners learn about politics, provides facts, and
allows its audience to establish their own opinion

### True Crime Podcasts

Another classic genre of podcasts is true crime,
which is a favorite among teenagers for its thrilling
and suspenseful content. With over 300 episodes,
“Rotten Mango” is one of the best-known true crime
podcasts, diving into two different cases every week.
Through detailed and illustrative language, podcast
host Stephanie Soo structures her episodes like a
movie, which helps listeners empathize with the
victims and also learn more about cultural nuances
across the world. For example, in Episode 261, which
covered the Sewol Ferry Tragedy in South Korea, Soo
explained the deeply ingrained respect for authority
and Han grieving culture in South Korea, immersing
listeners into the victim’s experiences. Soo does not
simply recount the tragedies, but spreads awareness
on important issues in today’s society. 

### Comedy Podcasts

For those looking for a witty and lighthearted
listen, comedy podcasts offer the perfect way
to cheer you up. One of our favorites is “Mike
Birbiglia’s Working It Out.” In this podcast, Birbiglia,
a renowned comedian and storyteller, interviews
fellow comedians and creatives, giving listeners a
behind the scenes look into creative life and the
entertainment industry. Each episode is filled with
humorous and heartfelt reflections and contains
insightful conversations with featured guests. 

### Educational Podcasts

Of course, we can’t forget about educational and
news podcasts. This genre branches into a variety
of different types, from purely informative to
investigative or storytelling. Among the informative
podcasts, you can learn history lessons on “You’re Dead
to Me,” and random fun facts on “Stuff You Should
Know.” If you’re looking for a podcast that combines
both storytelling and investigations, “This American
Life,” is a thought-provoking choice. Ira Glass, the
host, centers each of the podcast’s 800 episodes around
a spontaneous theme. Split into different “acts,” the
episodes explore each theme through true stories,
interviews, and investigations. Recorded since 1995,
Glass talks to different people each week: Palestinian
exchange students, strangers visiting the Iowa State
Fair, or two girls who were switched at birth. You
never know who or what to expect.

Plug in: a beginner’s guide to podcasts

This summer, 23 PHS students visited
cultural sites in Peru as part of the annual
PHS Spanish language department trip.
Organised by Sra. Idania Rodriguez and
Sra. Martha Hayden, these trips to Peru
are part of a long-standing tradition in the
Spanish Department.

The trip consisted of two groups: one
tour group and a homestay group. The tour
group left Peru after nine days, while the
homestay group stayed behind for another
12 days. Students in the homestay group
attended a private school in Lima alongside
their “exchange siblings,” who were paired
with them based on shared interests and
self-evaluations.

“It was really fun because they really
treated you like their own,” said Mila
Trkov ’27, a student part of the homestay
program. “Anything that you [wished] to
do, they would try and make it happen
regardless of if it was inconvenient for
them.”

Beyond being provided an opportunity
to practice their Spanish every day,
participants in the homestay program
were also able to experience complete
immersion into Peruvian culture — eating
breakfast, watching the news with their
host families, and going on guided tours
of famous sites — an experience near
impossible to come by in the United States.
“I think [students] learned more
than they even [expected]. Our tour
guides [were] people who live and love
their culture, and they love to share. So
educationally, the history of it and seeing
it, eating the food, it’s something that’s
not really measurable. [They learned] life
lessons a lot, I think, more than anything,”
Rodriguez said.

Apart from Peru being Hayden’s native
country, Peru was selected due to its
diversity and variety of cultural sites for
students to visit. In Lima, students toured
La Plaza de Armas, a quintessential feature
of Latin American city centers.

“In every Latin American country,
you’re going to find plazas. It’s like [a]
park ... And around the plaza, there are
churches. There are historical places that
people can visit, museums and things like
that,” Rodriguez said.

In Cusco, students spent days in the
Sacred Valley of the Incas, where they
hiked the iconic Machu Picchu and
toured the town of Ollantaytambo, a
historical fortress of the Incas. They rode
motorcycles 16,000 feet up Vinicunca, the
Rainbow Mountain.

“You go there and you feel like you are
in a different world. It was a very spiritual
experience. And we all just started singing
and dancing,” Rodriguez said.

This year, for the first time in the
history of the trip, the students also visited
the San José de Monterrico school in
Lima, where they were welcomed with
activities and celebrations. PHS students
experienced life as a private school student
in Peru, visiting classes and playing games
alongside their Peruvian peers.

“When we left, they were all crying
because they got so attached to the people
that they stayed with,” said Hayden. “[It]
was funny because the kids were chasing
our bus as we were going to the airport.”
Reflecting on her decades of organizing
these trips, Hayden emphasized the
personal investment she puts into making
the experience more memorable for her
students.

“To me, it’s a labor of love,” said Hayden.
“It always has been, and that’s why I put
so much love and passion into my trips
every year.”

PHS travels to Peru for its 24th annual trip

   Can you name one detail about Unit 731, the WWII research program with thousands of casualties? Probably not, but unfamiliarity with this tragedy isn’t your fault. Rather, the surprising lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in the outreach programs at PHS is to blame. 
   In order to understand why we don’t often learn about these topics, it is important to acknowledge the root cause: the marginalization of AAPI individuals in the United States. One source of this oppression is sinophobia, the fear or hatred of China, which spiked to an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic. The branding of the disease as primarily the fault of Chinese people caused a rise in racist name-calling and violent hate crimes against millions of Asian Americans, including those who weren’t of Chinese descent. One of the most horrific attacks was the 2021 Atlanta spa shooting, in which eight women, six of them Asian, were killed. This tragedy rattled AAPI communities across the country, serving as a stark reminder that they could be the target of a prejudiced hate crime. The Princeton community held a vigil honoring these victims and acknowledging anti-Asian racism, but initiatives like this do little to combat structural ignorance of AAPI people and history. 
   Historical programs at PHS often commemorate tragedies within western countries, such as the Holocaust, but overlook the suffering that people in Asian countries have faced throughout history. We have never once had an assembly or event about Unit 731, a Japanese research program during World War II that performed unsedated vivisections and purposely gave victims frostbite and the plague. It is estimated that Unit 731 killed up to half a million people, but United States authorities provided operation officials with legal immunity from these crimes in exchange for research information. Due to Japan’s destruction of evidence, the United States’ compliance, and its exclusion from our history awareness initiatives, few people in the United States learn of this brutal mass murder. To state another event that is overlooked by educational outreach programs at PHS is the Manila massacre, also known as the Rape of Manila, which took place during WWII. During the Manila massacre, the Imperial Japanese Army brutally murdered at least 100,000 Filipino civilians and raped hundreds of young girls and women. Though both of the above events undoubtedly caused significant trauma to the groups targeted, these cruel violations of human rights may become hidden away and slowly forgotten one day. Worsening this situation, PHS has failed to even acknowledge these horrific war crimes in Asian history during AAPI history month. 
   In defense of our school’s curriculum, there is only so much our teachers can show us in the vast expanse of history. However, that is exactly why we should be supplementing these parts of AAPI history through speaker events, much like the assembly for Jewish Heritage Month. When we invite knowledgable scholars to share information about Unit 731, they commemorate and pass down this important piece of world history down to future generations. After all, if we don’t know about the past, how can we stop ourselves from repeating it in the present? 
   Education, in the face of discrimination and political tensions, is crucial in the fight for AAPI representation. As an already marginalized group, AAPI communities need to see their history portrayed in outreach programs to both teach AAPI individuals about their ancestors and promote understanding within the broader student body. Through awareness, we acknowledge the struggles faced by cultural groups, work to prevent such atrocities from happening again, and celebrate the AAPI individuals within our community. It is time for PHS to take steps towards shedding light on the important topics ignored by our current outreach programs and fostering a greater culture of empathy and understanding of AAPI history in our school community.

We should have had an AAPI month assembly

   In 2023, the internet was flooded with videos of Black children’s joy while watching Halle Bailey, a Black actress, play Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.” The choice to cast a Black actress as Ariel was a result of Disney’s efforts to increase representation in their movies. 
   However, despite these wholesome videos, changing the Little Mermaid’s race and other similar choices by entertainment companies are far from enough to promote diversity. True representation comes from characters who fully resonate with people’s culture and origins, not just their appearance, and who give children the opportunity to celebrate themselves inside and out. 
   Along with the call for more racial inclusivity in media, there is a growing demand for mainstream media to be more diverse in its content. Large entertainment studios like Disney often prioritize rebooting and remaking existing stories with casts featuring actors of color, rather than creating new characters and stories. Many of these remakes featuring actors of color are received far less positively than the originals. In the case of remakes such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Lord of the Rings,” much of the public’s negative response focused on the “inaccuracy” of an actor’s racial background in relation to their character. 
   However, recent backlash over casting in a TV show adaption of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” revealed deeper prejudice, particularly when it came to the roles of Grover and Annabeth, both of whom were white in the novels. There was significant public outcry when a Black actress was cast as Annabeth, a character known for her intelligence, strength, and beauty; however, there was little to no backlash when an Indian actor was cast as Grover, a silly and nerdy character for the same adaptation. The difference in these reactions to casting choices that on the surface seem very similar is due to pre-established norms of what types of roles actors of color play; it’s easier for audiences to accept actors of color in undignified roles like Grover than admirable roles like Annabeth. 
   Moreover, in the western film industry, darker-skinned actors are consistently the victims of negative stereotypes, being cast as criminals, villains, or individuals of lower social status, while lighter-skinned characters are often portrayed in more positive and desirable roles, such as heroes, love interests, or successful executives. 
   These prejudices aren’t confined to just the film industry; PHS’s theater productions have also played into stereotypes in the past. Specifically, PHS Spectacle Theatre’s production of “Anything Goes” in 2019 featured Chinese characters, the only non-white characters in the show, who were based on outdated stereotypes and the subject of many racist jokes. In addition to the fact that “Anything Goes,” and the majority of PHS productions, are centered around white characters, the production showed that even administrators and the director saw no issue with the racist caricatures that appeared in the show. 
   These instances are part of a larger problem of prejudice in casting and how people of color are portrayed in the media. To counteract this issue,  actors should be given roles regardless of the status or personality of the character, so that audiences see that actors of color and white actors are equally well suited for all types of roles, from villains to heroes. 
   While a color-blind approach to casting is helpful for promoting inclusivity and representation, it’s even more important to create new, authentic roles for actors from underrepresented cultures. This approach ensures that actors of color have opportunities to portray characters whose experiences resonate with their own identities, rather than being confined to roles originally written for white actors. For example, the movie “Black Panther” features a cast of talented African-American actors and depicts many African cultural traditions. From the language and music to the costumes and set design, this film brought African culture to the forefront and gave young African and African-American children role models to look up to. This movie demonstrated true progress towards diversity by creating an original story that represents African and African-American culture, rather than pasting African-American actors into a white roles. New stories allow actors to portray their identities through their roles and provide viewers with accurate and comprehensive representation — not just racially, but also culturally.
   At PHS, play productions and drama classes should all have opportunities for students to showcase their culture. While PHS Spectacle Theatre’s productions feature student actors of many different ethnicities, new stories from different cultural backgrounds should also be encouraged in our productions. By expanding our play selections, PHS can take concrete steps to introduce performances centered around different cultures, rather than continuing to mainly produce plays and musicals that are centered around originally white characters. To truly bring diversity into theater performances at PHS and media worldwide, there needs to be more roles with cultural representation and more authentic and contrasting narratives.

Current media diversity — how can we do better? 

Corporate behemoths don’t only sell products — they sell concepts. Companies tell consumers that their products will make them cool, productive, and successful; this is mainly achieved through the use of social media. The modern era has made teenagers, a demographic that has always been easy to influence, even more vulnerable to companies dictating their lifestyles and more importantly, their personal worth.
   The influence of social media advertisements is undeniable. Ads are everywhere online, but they also often cross over into real life. Companies do their best to make teenagers think they need whatever it is they’re being sold in order to be up to date with current trends. This is only amplified by seeing influencers with those same products. According to Forbes, companies create advertisements by following four basic precepts: a successful advertisement must be memorable, meaningful, strongly tied to a specific brand, and able to “communicate how the product … makes [the consumer] better.” These messages often pressure viewers into purchasing these products to achieve the “ideal” life.
   Aside from extensive advertising, companies promote consumerism by engaging in a phenomenon known as planned obsolescence, where they purposely design their products to age poorly, so that people feel the need to buy the newest version. According to France24, multiple countries are investigating Apple for intentionally installing software updates that harm battery life and make repair difficult. 
   Overconsumption not only impacts a teenager’s wallet, but also the environment. In today’s age of social media advertisement, companies push out new trending products at staggering speeds; more often than not, these mounds of products end up being improperly disposed of. This results in substantial amounts of mismanaged waste sitting in landfills. A prime example is the electronics industry, which, according to The World’s Counts, makes up 70 percent of overall toxic waste. The majority of a phone’s carbon footprint is derived from its manufacturing processes, which involves the usage of rare earth minerals. In order to extract these minerals, the mining process creates a huge amount of toxic waste, such as mercury, which can flow into nearby waterways and pollute marine ecosystems and drinking water. Gold and tin mining have also contributed to deforestation in the Amazon, which stores 150–200 billion tons of carbon. According to a 2022 study by Lövehage et al., the representative carbon footprint of a smartphone is estimated to be 50 kg of carbon dioxide. In 2021, Apple generated 52,490 tons of highly toxic waste. With social media encouraging people to replace their phone every one or two years, both the emissions of production and the impacts of waste are exacerbated. 
   While it’s easy to acknowledge the current climate crisis and the role that consumerism plays, it’s much more difficult to take action and break out of our current cycle. In our generation of teenagers specifically, a herd mentality is highly pervasive. Breaking free from this pressure starts with separating overconsumption from social status — overconsumption isn’t “cool,” and there’s no reason to get rid of an older but still functional gadget just in order to replace it with the latest model. There’s a lot we can do to combat corporate schemes, even ones by powerful companies, such as switching to more responsible brands with products that are known to work well for many years. Buying the latest gizmo isn’t the way to a happy life, so the next time you think about buying an item you see online, ask yourself: do you truly want this, or is it a manufactured need? 

Consumerism is being  advertised as self expression, and it’s killing the planet

   At PHS, our cramped hallways and stuffy classrooms exacerbate an already stressful four years. It’s all too easy for students to go all day sitting in a room with only a window to remind them of life beyond school. Around the world, outdoor classrooms offer a credible solution to these problems, helping students to stay engaged and connected with the environment around them. In the outdoors, teens perform field studies observing ecosystems and biological interactions, use nature as inspiration in outdoor creative writing classes, and even organize outdoor-themed conversations in their foreign language classes.
   The “waldschule,” or forest school, was introduced in Germany in the early 1900s as a way to mitigate the spread of a tuberculosis epidemic. These classrooms provided fresh air and freedom from often cramped school-houses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PHS brought some of their classes outdoors as well. These outdoor classes allowed students to engage in a more immersive environment while social distancing, which proved to be very successful in science and language classes. However, outdoor education has more value for the modern student than just preventing disease. 
   More diverse learning environments help people break free from a negative cycle of self-doubt and increase mental clarity. According to neuroscientist Dr. Elizabeth Croften, the crowded areas we encounter at school lead to an overload of environmental and social stimuli that increase the concentration of stress hormones. Worse still, these stimuli largely come in only two senses: sight and hearing. A study conducted by Dr. Loren Johnson and Robin Randall in 2017 found that outside learning diversifies the way we process information by cultivating other senses, such as smell and touch. This is extremely crucial for non-traditional learners, whose sensory needs are often not taken into consideration in indoor learning environments.            
   As the world turns increasingly indoors, outdoor education is even more important. Longer school days and a precipitous rise in screen time causes students to spend less and less time in nature, leading to a disconnection between younger generations and the environment. Unsurprisingly, we are more likely to appreciate our environment when we are spending time in it. In a representative model of American students, Dr. Kyle Knight of South Dakota Mines found in 2022 that those who frequently engage with and enjoy outdoor activities are more likely to take action against climate change. At a time when students rarely voluntarily spend time in nature, outdoor education in schools can act as a force to reintroduce a curiosity and love for the outdoors.    
   There are legitimate reasons why outdoor education isn’t the norm. One response, from students, parents, teachers and administrators alike, is that it’s simply impractical. While this may be true in places such as New York City, suburban areas, such as Princeton, have the resources and space to make an outdoor curriculum not only feasible but also practical. At PHS, we are lucky to have many courtyards, fields, and nearby wooded areas that offer a quiet environment to teach and learn. Outdoor education is also not an all-or-nothing endeavor, and even weekly interactions with nature can bring positive change.    
   Though it may be unconventional, PHS should not be afraid to experiment with outdoor education. What traditional learning settings lack,  natural learning environments can make up for, with potential for the implementations of creative class workshops that benefit students and teachers alike. 


Nature is the natural learning environment

   All teachers and staff members are tasked with the responsibility of fostering a positive learning environment for their students. Whether that be allowing students to go for walks when they feel anxious in class, asking students what they did over the weekend, or opening up office hours for students to ask questions, a major part of teaching is creating a space for students to feel comfortable in. However, this comfortable environment can begin to crack as students and teachers delve into more sensitive subjects. Body image is not always an explicit topic in our classes but it tends to come up far more frequently than we may realize. A simple comment on a character in a book’s described appearance, the analysis of the human form in an art piece, or even a seemingly harmless joke about the body stirs up the discussion of body image in the minds of students. Discussion of body image can be incredibly triggering to some students leading to body dysmorphia, unhealthy eating habits, and mental health issues. Considering how quickly a discussion of looks can turn into one of body image, it seems that avoiding the subject of bodies all together could be beneficial at PHS. 
   Gym and health classes contain a large majority of the insensitive discussions surrounding body image that happen in school. It is understandable that a class that is intended to encourage health and fitness would bring up the body as a topic, but these discussions are often not handled particularly well. Each year as the holidays come around, our gym and health teachers remind us not to eat too many carbs over the holidays and to make sure we walk off the extra calories. While these reminders to students before the holidays can be helpful, they can also be incredibly triggering. They also fail to take into account the fact that dieting and weight loss may not be healthy options for some students. These comments also perpetuate a harmful norm that weight loss is the ideal solution to body image issues. By idealizing this solution, teachers continue to push that assumption on to students creating even more harmful standards through which students assume they should view themselves.  
   Insensitivity to body image discussions are oftentimes unintentional, speech rooted from previous stereotypes regarding specific body types. For instance, art teachers’ comments on the ideal body figure in sketches, discussing what they think is a “good” or healthy figure or, teachers undermining student’s knowledge on certain “healthy” products because they don’t look fit; these are all instances that one may come across. The idea that weight was an indicator of status comes up in every single history class at least once. However, pointing such a fact out in reference to a historical figure in front of students living in an environment without those body standards can harbor internalization and self comparison. Even the media that teachers chose to show to students can be harmful by implicitly pushing body image standards and harmful norms. It is important to make use of a diverse array of representations to ensure that students do not feel singled out or pressured by the implicit displays of body image in the classroom. 
   Although a comfortable learning environment does stem from our teachers, maintaining respect between students, especially surrounding body image, is the key way to ensure that students feel good in their own skin. Walking through the main intersection at PHS makes every student privy to hundreds of harsh comments, jokes, and implicit ideas that can be incredibly harmful to mental health even by stirring up harmful ideas in students’ heads. It is important that students take even a second to think about the consequences of what they say and how things could be interpreted. In a perfect world, we would eliminate all comments about others’ appearance including compliments on clothing or hairstyle as those comments bring attention back to the body rather than highlighting the merit of those around us. However, this kind of respect between students stems from our teachers leading by example by eliminating harmful comments and opening up the more difficult conversations surrounding body image in a sensitive way. 
   Going forward, our teachers should put a greater emphasis on sensitivity surrounding body image. Before a sensitive lesson, teachers should give students a trigger warning and allow students to leave the room if they are struggling with a certain subject so long as they check in with her before the end of the period. That reflects a level of trust and mutual respect between the teacher and their students. Additionally,  Teachers should also work to include greater representations of all body types so as to not push harmful body image standards on to students. We must speak cognizantly about body image — no one knows what another person can be going through and what even back-handed compliments can trigger.

We must eliminate insensitive body image discussions in schools

The teacher has just asked a question and the answer that was so clear in your mind is now clouded by questions: What if it’s wrong? What if everyone laughs at me? What if I trip up my words and embarrass myself? The hand that you were about to raise goes back to your lap. To a teacher, this lowered hand could automatically lead to a lower grade, an assumption that you didn’t do the assignment, or an overall sour feeling about you. Very quickly those questions about your participation become questions about your grade leading to a new anxious spiral from a want to participate to the fear holding you back. 

Quiet people are often perceived as uninterested, unopinionated, or even disrespectful as they tend not to engage in large groups. Although we have this assumption in schools that quieter students can be coaxed out of their shells, the participation grade incentive that schools use to get students to open up does not work. This incentive leads to greater anxiety as the desire to bring up this grade is overshadowed by the anxiety that comes along with raising it. In general, participation grades are an inaccurate representation of students’ academic performances that ought to be replaced with a more inclusive analysis of students’ understanding of the material.

The desire to remain quiet comes from natural parts of peoples’ personalities such as shyness or introversion. While both traits can coexist, it is critical to make the distinction between the two. Shyness is fear of social judgment. Everyone has shyness to some extent and that is how the initial fear of raising your hand comes out in the first place. Introversion concerns how individuals respond to stimuli. Extroverts typically need more stimuli, while introverts thrive best in low-key environments. Our society tends to idealize extroverts as outspoken people who are often those with the greatest power or influence. PHS is guilty of this idealization as well. This is reflected in our participation grades, who we elect to student government, and even the people that we view as the smartest in our grades. We wouldn’t be placing our more extroverted peers on a pedestal if they didn’t make us believe that they deserved to be there through their outspoken tendencies. However, this idealization of more talkative students completely minimizes the work that quieter students do to maintain their grades, their positions in extracurricular activities, and their efforts to create a social presence at PHS. 

Having established the difference between shyness and introversion, we can dive into why shyness is impacting students’ participation tendencies in the first place. Researchers at Northwestern University theorized that “kids face a social stigma for publicly making an effort to excel”. This stems from a school’s overall academic based culture. We would like to assume that given the pressure to take AP courses, apply to top colleges and fill our plates full of extracurriculars, PHS would fall into the “cool-to-be-smart” category of schools, however this is not the case. It is always incredibly awkward to be the student who breaks the silence in class when it seems that no one knows the answer. In that situation, it is far easier to keep your hand lowered rather than draw attention to yourself for being the know-it-all or the dumb one if you get the answer wrong. Although the chances of that actually happening are incredibly low, human’s inherent shyness creates that narrative within our minds which makes it easier for us to follow the masses. Rather than penalizing people for their inherent shyness, shouldn’t our teachers be understanding of that fear and encourage participation rather than enforce it?

Modern-day teaching needs to embrace all types of learning, listening, and communication styles. In an inclusive learning community like PHS, we should encourage introverts and quiet students to reach their academic potential using a multitude of ways to demonstrate mastery of learning material. A more equitable participation grading technique could help to make it easier for quieter students to demonstrate what they know. The canvas discussion boards can be an effective way for students to interact virtually with a way to edit what they say to feel the most confident about their responses while also maintaining conversations with other students. This would eliminate the overwhelming stimuli of in-class discussions that can be daunting for many students. Regardless of the volume of their voice, every student has one, and it’s time we learn to listen.

Hands down — quiet people, speak up

Social media has only intensified our obsession with romanticizing school and studying. The hashtag #romanticizeyourlife has garnered over 131 thousand posts on Instagram, with #studyaesthetic marginally beating it with 198 thousand posts. These posts are composed of anything from flawlessly organized desk set-ups to vlogs of cafe study dates. As fun and harmless as all that may sound, oftentimes these idealized studying mindsets set unrealistic expectations for school and contribute to hustle culture, a societal pressure to remain productive and on-task at all times. 
It is understandable that students may feel as though without some method of motivating themselves, they cannot focus on their schoolwork. This is why many people turn to romanticizing their tasks to persevere through the workload. Yes, it can put a fun twist on otherwise mundane activities, and for some students that may be a good enough reason to adopt this as a motivational technique. However, what these students do not realize is that the negative effects of this tactic may outweigh the positive ones. At first, building a pleasurable routine around studying — which may include perfecting your handwritten notes, lighting a candle, or color-coordinating your supplies  — can be overwhelmingly tempting. But after a while, one begins to notice the overall toxicity that these behaviors conceive. The high standards for the aesthetic of it all can be unrealistic, and the push to always be constantly and diligently working creates unnecessary pressure, which breeds a destructive collective mindset surrounding the trend.
Romanticizing studying creates an image of the perfect way to study for tests, review notes, and complete homework. However, it is sometimes difficult for students to achieve such “perfect” study sessions. Not all people have the time, energy, and financial resources to buy all of these supplies that are often tied to romanticizing school and studying. Through general media, fancy stationery, and other aesthetic supplies are promoted almost everywhere; this sets materialistic standards that are quite exclusive and unrealistic. Students that participate in this trend most likely get the idea from films and videos that present often unattainable studying routines and environments. When we realize that reality is different from the expectations formed when watching these characters we idolize, it often results in disappointment, shame, and an unnecessary pressure to work hard toward unreasonable standards in order to imitate these online or fictional personalities. 
Not only does romanticizing studying set unattainable standards for students, but it also acts as a form of procrastination. It has granted students a way to slack off from actually studying, yet still feel as though they are accomplishing something. By creating an aesthetic to-do list and adding calligraphy titles to our notes,  there is an illusion of accomplishing productive tasks, but are any of these add-ons as important as actually studying? The strive to make our studying environment perfect and ideal may end up leading to a decrease in productivity because of all the time spent on unnecessary tasks and distractions. 
Another distraction that may come up when one romanticizes their studying is external noises and sounds. Some people recommend listening to a studying playlist while completing schoolwork, as it creates a certain ambiance that is helpful for some individuals. However, that may be extremely distracting for other students, and having outside noises while trying to focus on work can be very off-putting and unhelpful. The same is true for people who find it difficult to study in public spaces. There is a branch of this trend that fixates on studying in coffee shops or bookstores, but all the external sounds that go hand-in-hand with such places could be  very overwhelming and distracting for some students, and may lead to poor quality work being produced.
As students with already stressful and rigorous academic lives, we shouldn’t push ourselves to not only excel in school, but to also do so in an aesthetic manner. Romanticizing study routines and sessions may work for some, but it shouldn’t become the norm, as it’s financially and practically not fit for many students. While study methods are  ultimately up to personal preference, elaborate routines do not work for everyone, and treating them as the standard does more harm than good.

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