Q1. What are your thoughts on climate change this past year?/Has it had any impact on you?
Olive Friederich, sophomore: First off, yes, climate change has affected me this year because Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina. That’s where my grandmother lives, and she wasn’t expecting it, and it knocked out her clean water for weeks and weeks and weeks. Also, she had no power for like ten days and I think [climate change has] gotten worse.
Anonymous: I feel like in past years we’ve talked about [climate change] more, and this year I felt like it kind of went into the back of our minds. But since we’re going to be starting a new year, it’s definitely in our heads that we have less time to get to Net Zero. We’re really trying to do the little things that we need to do, even if it doesn’t make a big difference. [The student body] helps fundraise and we have clubs who help fundraise, and it kind of helps bring attention and awareness.
Q2. How do you think the results of this past election, with Donald J. Trump as the new president, will affect the world?
Olive Friederich, sophomore: After the election, and after Donald Trump’s win, I think that the economic crisis in the country isn’t going to get better because of the tariffs he’s putting on people. Also, the other tax breaks that he’s giving to the ultra wealthy are going to heavily affect the middle class and the lower class. I think people thought he was going to help, but he will make it worse. He’s really going to affect the climate crisis, due to the fact that pulling out of the Paris Accords will dramatically increase our emissions, which I don’t know is something the international community can come back from.
Isaac Volpe, sophomore: I think, overall, other countries that rely on our protection in Europe will be greatly affected, as Donald Trump has outlined a plan to leave NATO. However, I think that living in New York, or any other state that has legislation for certain laws independent from the federal government, will be fine. I think the world will be greatly impacted, especially if we start to impose sanctions due to his America First policy.
Q3. How much power do pop stars have, if any, on current events like politics?
Follow-up: (If the interviewee believes pop stars have power) How do you think these people should be using their power? Do you think current pop stars have used their power for the greater good this past year?
Benjamin Levan, sophomore: I think pop stars have huge sway over things like politics. I mean, people like Taylor Swift, with a single tweet, can just totally change millions of people’s views of the election or over current events. I feel like pop stars, influencers, and brands in general nowadays feel like it’s kind of mandatory to comment and say what they have to say about any certain situation. I think there’s a balance between pop stars using their power to tell people what they think and telling people what they should think. It’s a huge difference that I think needs to be kept in mind.
Anonymous: I think popstars have power over people’s opinions and trends. I feel like if a pop star openly expresses a belief, their fans will be more inclined to follow them. Maybe they won’t be able to change their beliefs completely, but I think the pop star’s belief will definitely influence them [the fans] in some way. I think a lot of pop stars use their power to advocate for issues they believe in, which I think is a good use of their power. Although some potentially may abuse their power, in that they promote either violence or like extreme beliefs through their work. I understand they’re allowed to do that, but I think that that has negatively impacted people’s lives in some ways, and I think that maybe they shouldn’t have that much power.
Q4. How has technology shaped the learning experience in 2024? (Applies to learning about all types of subjects: politics, pop culture drama, school…)
Anonymous: Well, I think ChatGPT has definitely shaped a lot of the school environment, especially with assignments. I mean, I feel like there’s a lot of negative and positive aspects to it that you can find. I know in our English class, a lot of times our teacher tells us that we can look up vocabulary, like we can write out a list of vocabulary and ChatGPT can give you the definitions. So it can be very useful and beneficial for some things, but then again, you can also use it to, obviously, forge an assignment. I feel like there’s advantages, but there’s also disadvantages.
Anonymous: Technology has permeated like every single subject that we’re learning about. For instance, if you’re having a lesson up at the board, there’s always a slideshow presentation you’re taking notes on. Every single essay is typed, it’s not handwritten anymore. Even like Art projects, you have to upload pictures of your art. I remember in elementary school, it was such a reward to use technology, like Raz Kids and those other math games. It would be like, “oh my god, we get to watch a video.” Now we literally have like seven hours of school, the majority of which has some technology basis. And then we’re going home and completing more assignments on screens. It’s definitely a lot more than what it used to be.
Q5. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from 2024?
Anonymous: Putting in a small amount more of work than others will bring you a lot farther.
Jake Andrus, senior: The biggest lesson that I think I’ve learned from 2024 is to put in the time. You want consistency over quantity.
Q6. How do you think 2024 has been, compared to other years? Better? Worse? Why?
Anonymous: I think that overall, 2024 has been both a step up from what’s happened in the past, but I think there’s also room for improvement. Internationally, and even in our nation, a lot of people are struggling with poverty and inflation. I don’t think that’s great, but it’s growth from like four years ago.
Nico D’Andrea, senior: I would say for the school, 2024 was definitely a better year, especially from what I’ve seen from my peers and my friends. It’s been a year where we are finally coming out of our shells; some people are really realizing who they are. We’re figuring it out; we’re molding into adults. And that’s just from me, and people I see – my peers. Then I see the freshmen coming up, the sophomores – there seems to be a lot more enthusiasm coming in than in previous years, especially then when I was a freshmen. When I came, or the grade below me, there was always a bit of excitement, but there was a lot more nerves, it was a lot more introverted. As time has gone on, it’s definitely, I think, been very sociable. So I think it’s been good, it’s been a good year.
