Pathway to Development or Complaining Club?

Mr. Massaro, along with a few other teachers in the high school including Mr. Conlon and Ms. Kurek, have begun a new project this year: Town Hall meetings. The idea of these meetings is to create a space in which high school students can freely state their opinions and views about different aspects of the school to teachers and administrators, so that teachers will be able to truly understand what the students want and think. By collaborating with the student population, teachers and our very own principal hope that they will be able to make Cresskill high school a better place for all, student and staff, to enjoy. Called Town Hall meetings, these conferences between students and faculty to discuss anything and everything about the school take place once a month during high school lunch in the auditorium.

When members of The Communiqué staff made their appearance at the first meeting, they were greeted with a PowerPoint slide being projected onto a large screen at the front of the auditorium for all to see. It displayed the title “Student Town Hall Meeting”, and various goals (students voicing their various concerns), expectations (be respectful, one person speaking at a time), and outcomes (to understand student perspectives and consider repeated problems).

After protocol was explained by Mr. Massaro, the meeting began; Mr. Massaro asked students to introduce themselves and what grade they were in before handing the microphone to the first eager student. Jacob Hamburger- tenth grader, football player, and now the very first CHS student to speak at a town hall meeting- expressed his concerns over recycling habits in the school.

Hamburger was quickly followed up by a friend who voiced his frustration over hall monitors during lunch and how students should be able to go to their lockers during sixth period for forgotten items. Mr. Massaro explained in response that hall monitors are posted because of a supervision issue for the school and to prevent students from bringing food around the building in order to avoid getting pest problems. Other issues expressed included the unfair treatment of special needs students in the school, disrespect toward substitute teachers, the new rule that all students must enter the building in the morning via the front entrance, inappropriate comments made by teachers, and whether or not sports uniforms were allowed to be worn during class. For those curious, with the exception of football jerseys the day of a football game, they are not.

Another student, Dylan Distell (‘19), announced his interest in starting a lacrosse team. Apparently having already discussed it with Ms. Del Vecchio, Distell now only needs members and interest in order to make his idea an actual club sport which, if all goes well, can officially become a JV sport at our high school next year. Brianna Gil (‘19) believes that the curriculum for the sex education class for juniors may need to be revised and widened, while Ashley Kim (‘19) conveyed her frustration with the many racial, sexist, and anti-semitic comments that she has heard in the halls and in class. After the meeting ended, Mr. Colon actually approached Kim with information regarding the possibility of a new class next year in the high school. If all goes well and the class gets enough support, Race in America will be a new elective next year.

Throughout the first town hall meeting, it was evident that many students were using this opportunity to voice opinions about the school to instead voice complaints. While there were many interesting and thought provoking ideas and concerns expressed by students, there were just as many mainstream criticisms. Will these meetings eventually lead to school wide changes inspired by students’ ideas, or will they just become another forum where students get to complain about things that they don’t like?