America’s Best Participators!

America’s Greatest School! There are more than 38,000 high schools in the United States, both private and public. They include, but are not limited to magnet schools, science and technology institutes and college preparatory schools. Many of these schools have abnormally high SAT scores and offer rigorous curriculum, yet none of these schools share the unique programs offered only at Irvington High School. Quest, UN, Change, CCA, Shape, and ITA all help students prepare for their future careers. IHS also boasts a diverse student body and a wonderful staff. Considering that we are already a very well-rounded school, is the administration justified in further forcing students to vote Irvington as America’s greatest school?

Mr. Murchison’s morning announcement featured strong language, such as “I am very disappointed in you. If you aren’t up to the challenge, you should be ashamed of yourselves.” Many students believe that it was much too harsh and maybe even borderline threatening.
“My cousin goes to [Irvington], and he was gonna beat me up if I didn’t vote for the school,” commented Aly Le.

I think the administration clearly means well and just wants the best for our school. However, it seems like the contest does not measure America’s “greatest” school but simply determines America’s best voters. Irvington is known to be an outstanding school, so we really don’t need the title to brag about. Perhaps there are other incentives here. Take the $20,000 grant, for example. The single check can provide $10 for each student, the equivalent of a single, hardcover book. It can also help mitigate the costs of remodeling the burnt 80-wing from last year.

Personally, I think the contest is a sham but agree with the administration and its announcements, anyway. After all, we students do tend to forget things quite easily and often need to be reminded.