The Rivers Edge - October 2008 - The Rivers School

October 31, 2008 The Rivers Edge Page 5
Letters to the Editors
Do the bus schedules
keep students in mind
Dear The Rivers Edge,
I am contacting the school paper in regard to my feelings about
the Boston and Northeastern bus schedules. Bottom line: the school bus
schedule in the afternoon needs to change, specifically on Wednesdays
and Fridays. For those who are not familiar with the schedule, there is
only one Boston and Northeastern bus that departs at six o’clock p.m.
sharp on those particular days. Ironically, these are the days that Rivers
students get out the earliest. The truth is, if there were an earlier bus on
Wednesdays and Fridays for students not doing an activity after school,
bus students would have more time to get home earlier and accomplish
what needs to be done outside of school.
When asked the question, “Why is there only one late bus on early
release days,” a faculty member responded by explaining that the reason
is that, on those game days, students who take the bus should spend
those long four to five hours watching the Rivers games taking place
on campus. What confuses me is that if the students who take any of
the two buses have to stay to “watch games,” why are other Rivers
licensed drivers allowed to leave when they please if they have no priorities
after school on campus Why don’t they have to stay from one
forty p.m. or two thirty p.m. at least until six o’clock Don’t get me
wrong; I believe that showing school spirit and supporting our school’s
teams are important throughout this high school experience. Although,
it isn’t guaranteed that these sports games are always going to be home
on game days. In general, it is quite unfair that students whose only option
is to take the bus don’t get the choice to leave when we please.
The school’s decision to have just one late bus for each bus route
on early dismissal days affects students’ schedules outside of Rivers,
limiting their time for activities outside of school. For instance,
a sophomore who takes the Boston bus has traditional dance rehearsals
throughout the week, including Wednesdays. However, not always
guaranteed a ride from the Rivers School to Back Bay Station by a generous
driver, she would have to attend a later rehearsal that goes from
eight o’clock to ten o’clock. Therefore, she would risk taking the train
at night and getting home at eleven o’clock. On another note, there is a
junior who has free time after school and would love to get a part-time
job. However, because his only option is to take the bus on Wednesday
and Friday, he cannot get hired due to the fact that he gets home so late.
I personally would enjoy visiting The Badger & Rosen Squashbusters
Facility daily because t hat is the place where I am most productive and
can complete my school assignments thoroughly. However, taking the
six o’clock bus would get me to that building around six fifty p.m. It’s
hard enough getting home at seven thirty p.m. on these late days and
getting up at five o’clock in the morning, every morning, and leaving
home at six twenty to take a stuffed MBTA bus and train, rushing to
catch the bus in the morning.
On days when students are dismissed earlier, almost everyone
claims that we who have to wait for the bus should use that time to get
homework done at school. Once that time is taken up, what else is there
to accomplish The scenery is beautiful but would you enjoy staring at
a tree for more than two hours I think not.
Another issue is the cost of buses, which is another claimed reason
for one late Boston and Northeastern bus on game days. Honestly, the
school doesn’t need an entire bus for the kids who would like to leave
early. Instead, something as simple as a van would be efficient and
would take the driver less time to get to the destination than it would if
he were driving a large bus.
An earlier ride provided by the school on Wednesdays and Fridays
would make the lives of those who take one of the two buses much
easier and less stressful, and that would make future school years run
much smoother.
- Rochelle Galvao ‘10
Clubs need more time
Rivers should designate more time to clubs. Sophomore year I
traipsed through the club fair enthused by the prospect of participating
in a great array of activities. Within a week, I realized that it is impossible
to be involved in all the clubs that I’m interested in. In fact, even
with only two clubs I often face conflicting meeting times. Now that
Rivers has cut club block to a mere once a week, students are forced
to limit their participation in clubs, or run the risk of being overscheduled.
Other high schools allow much more time for club meetings
which strengthens their sense of community.
Rivers loves sports. Most groups of friends originate and revolve
around sports teams. Why Athletic teams bring together students with
a common passion. Clubs could do the same thing. From my experience
with Model UN, clubs can be a great way to meet new people
that have the same interests as you. Often times, these are people in
other grades with whom you may never have had the chance to interact
otherwise. Creating these connections is what builds stronger
communities.
With the addition of more club time, Rivers students could pursue
more of their interests. All together, we could construct a stronger
community.
-Leslie Sachs ‘10
Your trash is now my treasure
b y La u r a Bl a c k e t t ‘09
Co n t r i b u t i n g Wr i t e r
The night before trash day is
my favorite night of the week.
Every Tuesday after I return
from school my mom asks with
wide eyes and a look of childish
excitement if I’m ready for
another “midnight requisition.”
This, I learned at a very young
age, is code for our patrolling
the neighborhood claiming our
neighbors’ wrongfully discarded
“trash.” We love the rusty and
barely functional, the decrepit
wooden furniture, and the outdated
and faded things that most
people overlook.
At ten o’clock (which, for my
mother, might as well be midnight)
I hear a tap on my door.
“Laura,” she whispers, “it’s
22:00, time to roll out.”
“Okay, Mom. I’ll be out in a
sec.”
“Roger that.”
I emerge and see my mother’s
petite frame dressed entirely in
black. She scolds me.
“You know you’re supposed
to call me Jack Bauer!”
I try to explain to her that
Jack Bauer fights terrorists, he
doesn’t root through people’s
garbage looking for home décor,
but she’s already on her way to
the garage.
Our minivan crawls at hearse
speed through our neighborhood
as we examine the piles of garbage
at the end of each driveway.
On most nights we only spot
trash and the occasional moldy
reclining chair, but if we’re
lucky, we find broken wooden
furniture, dusty boxes, and rusty
metal things. We find objects
with potential that most people
overlook – beautiful pieces with
character that are just waiting for
sandpaper and stain.
Once we return home with
the various discards from our
neighbors’ lives we clean them,
repair them, and find them a
place in our own house.
Now, before you conjure a
false image of our home as a
cluttered pit filled with garbage,
let me assure you that everything
that enters our house will have a
purpose. Sneaking around with
my parents after curfew is only
half the fun. The other half is the
process of restoring old beauty
and finding an entirely new function
for these neglected items.
The planters in our garden are
repurposed pig troughs; we use
a wooden toolbox for kitchen
storage, and an old ammunition
case to hold CDs. The bookshelf
in our living room is a recycled
shoe rack from a shoe factory…
from a time when shoes actually
were made in the US.
Enormous effort is invested
in finding and renovating these
items, but then we have to hide
them. We can’t invite our neighbors
into our home for fear that
they will spot our re-upholstered
ottoman. Which used to be their
ottoman. Whenever we have
dinner parties, we must urge
Mrs. Forte away from the back
room where we have hidden her
old wooden desk as if it were our
hostage, and we can no longer
make eye contact with the couple
that lives across the street after
they returned home from a late
night out and caught us maneuvering
their dresser into the trunk
of our van.
A more important result of
our midnight requisitions is my
love of junk – a love that is more
than my inner bargain hunter
trying to save money or my inner
environmentalist trying to reduce
waste. To me there’s something
special about filling my room
with things that have more history
than anything you could find
at Ikea, and I enjoy approaching
what other people consider trash
with creativity and innovation.
I slam on the brakes and
enter a state of giddy excitement
whenever I pass a junk
shop or even see a “free stuff”
sign on the side of the road, and
on Tuesday nights my mother
and I peer out the window with
anticipation, trying to spot
anything worth saving. We patrol
town, collecting the forgotten
fragments of our neighborhood,
and if we’re lucky enough to
find that perfect thing, we take it
home and store it in the garage,
knowing that in a week we might
not be able to have the Fortes
over, but we’ll be surrounded by
the character and beauty that we
restored. Then, after sunrise on
Wednesday, the Dumpster divers
in us go home, and we return to
our cover as a well-behaved New
England family.