November 2018 (67, 4)

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A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill and Winsor Schools

Volume 67, Issue 4

November 19, 2018

Groundbreaking Midterms Usher in Diversity By Ellisya Lindsey ‘19 and Katie Tsai ‘19 Panel staff

These past midterm elections have been a hot-button issue since candidates were initially announced. Many people anticipated these midterms as they wanted to see which of the two main political parties, Democrat or Republican, would have the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the end, the Republicans maintained control of the Senate while the Democrats secured the House. The election results highlight not only the clear divide between Democrats and Republicans but also America’s desire to increase diversity in its government. Last week, we saw many “firsts” in the representation of racial and religious minorities, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. After these previous elections, there will be more representation of marginalized groups in the government than ever before. The past midterm election results demonstrate that the people want a diverse set of representatives. Deb Haaland, representative for New Mexico, and Sharice Davids, representative for Kansas, will both serve in the House as the first Native American congresswomen. As a lesbian, Davids will be also be the first openly LGBTQ congressperson to represent her state. Additionally, Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes will the first black women to represent Massachusetts and Connecticut, respectively, in Congress. Similarly, Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia will be Texas’ first Latina congresswomen. Also groundbreaking

are Ilhan Omar, representing Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib, representing Michigan, who are the first Muslim women to have been elected to Congress. Omar will also be the first Somali American congressperson. Last week’s elections also had impressive results for women. For the first time in history, more than 100 women will have seats in the House. At age 29, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, representing New York, is the youngest woman to have been elected to Congress. Marsha Blackburn will be Tennessee’s first female senator. On the state level, both Maine and South Dakota Business Insider UK elected their first female governors, Janet Mills and Kristi Noem, respectively. Additionally, Lourdes “Lou” Leon Guerrero will serve as Guam’s first female governor. Clare Westerman ’19, one of the heads of SAGE (Students Advocating Gender Equality), shared her opinion on the importance of these recently-elected women: “I think the past few months have been a difficult time for many groups in the U.S., women included … While the results of this election cannot erase recent events, any shift toward equal representation is a win for women in America. Furthermore, I’m especially thrilled to see the success of women of varying cultural identities! It’s a huge step forward for intersectional feminism, and though we still have plenty of room to develop, I hope that this result will be a catalyst for female political empowerment— and, ultimately, for a better reflection in our government of the diverse people and views that make up the United States.” Washington Post Continued on page 3. Elected congresswomen Pearl Kim, Lauren Underwood, and Debra Haaland.

Op-Ed: Belmont Hill Needs to Crack Down on Mass Mediocrity of Clubs By Matt Smith ’19 Panel Staff

In November 2017, Seth Israel ‘18 and I wrote an opinion piece on extracurriculars at Belmont Hill. We argued that all clubs should be approved annually by the Student Senate to receive funding or special equipment. Now, I’m back to double down on my stance. Belmont Hill extracurriculars, for the most

disbanded) and, while some of these are very important and impactful like Student Senate, Peer Leaders, and Sustainability Club, a lot have little to no reason to exist. So, how can Belmont Hill fix its club crisis? In addition to severely re-

stricting the creation and existence of clubs (requirements should include meeting every week for a full period, actual plans for the content of meetings and the purpose of the club, and structures in place to prevent lax participation), Belmont Hill must require stu-

“Belmont Hill extracurriculars, for the most part, are an absolute joke.” part, are an absolute joke. Very few students regularly participate in clubs and, when they do, they usually contribute the bare minimum to justify its place on their Common Application. If students are still struggling to find activities to pad their resume, don’t worry. They can very easily create their own club (bonus points since they are now a founder and head) that serves little to no purpose and hardly ever meets. There are currently forty-seven extracurriculars listed on the Belmont Hill Student Portal (although I’m pretty sure there are at least Illustration by Elias Hyde ‘20 eight have no student leaders or have

The Harvard Lawsuit Page 5 ABC Action News

The Hate U Give Page 8 TheLily.com

Costs of ISL Dining Page 11

dents to participate in extracurriculars (just like sports) and limit the number of clubs in which they can join. Not only would this provide much-needed participants to clubs like The Panel, which is forced to spread twenty or more articles per month across far fewer writers, but it would also prevent students from joining a bunch of clubs in name but never actually attending or contributing. I think, ideally, the school would require every student to participate in at least one but not more than three. This way, students would have room to explore multiple passions while being prevented from casting too wide a net. When I was younger, I felt the need to jump into a lot of activities, far more than I should have. I was absolutely not alone in this perception and, as far as I can tell, it has not diminished from the minds of middle schoolers in the past few years. Looking back on my experiences, I now know that devoting significant time to meaningful clubs is far more important, both for the college process and for the development of life skills and passions. I strongly urge the Belmont Hill administration and the Student Senate to consider adopting this policy if they want Belmont Hill clubs to be more than words on an application. ☐

Playlist of the Issue Page 19


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