Opinion – A Student Publication of the Roxbury Latin School

Editorial: Making Sense of This Moment

By Hari Narayanan I, Editor-in-Chief

Welcome to the first virtual Tripod in the publication’s 125-year history. So far this year, I’ve spoken to you about mental health, student activism, and humor in our discourse at RL. This time, however, I think that to highlight one particular issue would be to miss the big picture and pretend this is a normal Tripod in a normal time. Instead, I am going to try my hand at a challenge facing all of us in different ways: making sense of this moment.

Before I do that, I need to give some context for the Tripod you’re about to read. In April we found out that we would not be returning to campus this year. Heading into the production of this issue, Mr. Pojman and I were concerned that for several reasons, a virtual newspaper would not be possible. For one, a newspaper requires things to have happened in the community. For another, it requires people to write about those things.

In Boston it’s do as I say but not as I do

By Willem Santry II

For the most part, Bostonians fit into two camps: those who follow the rules (mostly not from here) and those who don’t; there is no in-between. Since the Coronavirus took hold of the City in March, this division has become even more pronounced. Take, for instance, a couple of weeks back, the Mayor’s just announced a 9 pm curfew – no man, woman or child allowed out on the street except for essential business. I’ve got to walk the dog, it’s 10 pm, and I figure that this has got to be “essential” business. Of course, the curfew doesn’t apply to me. The street is eerily quiet, the usual sounds of cars and planes completely absent.

Multitasking Madness

By Jonathan Weiss I

Disclaimer: Before reading this, please know that I’m a total hypocrite. Me writing an article on multitasking is like Ronald McDonald preaching healthy eating. My morning routine consists of me brushing my teeth, doing laundry, listening to Flying Lotus, and plotting world domination. All at once. However, addressing my multitasking habit has made me a much more mindful person, for reasons I’ll explain.

What will a coronavirus summer feel like?

By Ben Chang-Holt II

As Roxbury Latin boys looked ahead to the summer of 2020, they were worried about what was to come. Was there any chance of getting a paying summer job? Could they still be selected for that coveted research internship they had been hoping for? Would they be able to travel around the world? Most RL boys gave up, only making plans to sleep in until noon, play video games all day, and binge-watch The Office for the 14^th time. Many resigned themselves to the inevitable: their summer would, sadly, be utterly “unproductive.” Then, COVID-19 arrived.

Tactics of big-spending candidates raise questions about campaign financing

By John Harrington I

The fight for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020 included a very interesting and diverse race. The initial field was massive, including young startups Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang, experienced moderates Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar, progressives Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, tenacious representative Tulsi Gabbard, along with a full cast of relatively minor players who dropped out along the way. Perhaps the most notable pairing in this array were the two billionaires, businessman Tom Steyer and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The Nevada Democratic Primary Debate on February 12, 2020

Reflections on education in the age of the coronavirus

By Ben Crawford II

The coronavirus pandemic has upended many of our daily routines, from the way we socialize to the way we do our homework. However, COVID-19 has also prompted dramatic innovation: the introduction of online learning for high school students represents a major shift in modern schooling, and the new system is forcing us to re-evaluate several aspects of education we previously took for granted. Three changes in particular deserve our consideration.

Biden’s VP pick is the key to his lock on the presidency

By John and Robert Balson II

As Covid-19 has dominated the news cycle for the past 2 months, the once incessantly followed 2020 Presidential nomination process and election has been largely an afterthought. Joe Biden continued his strong performance after his domination of Bernie Sanders in South Carolina and again the following week on Super Tuesday. Seeing no clear path to the nomination, Senator Sanders dropped out of the race on April 8th, guaranteeing that Vice President Biden would be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020. He will be running, of course, against the incumbent President Donald Trump. One of the last major questions that is yet to be answered is who Biden will select as his running mate. He previously guaranteed he would select a woman, meaning his choice will likely be one of the following: Stacey Abrams, former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018; Kamala Harris, senator from California and former-Attorney General of California; Amy Klobuchar, senator from Minnesota; Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan; Catherine Cortez Masto; senator from Nevada; or Elizabeth Warren, senator from Massachusetts.

Advice for dealing with quarantine

By Christo Velikin VI

Some stay inside and play video games all day long. Some are outside all of the time. Some are creative with things, and come up with their own fun. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. So what should you do during lockdown? Well, in this article, I will give you a couple of ideas about what to do when you are bored at home, which for me is probably 80% of the time.

Should we have a May Day in October?

By Ben Brasher II and Max Hutter II

Ben’s view:

With Governor Baker’s announcement that all Massachusetts schools will be effectively closed for the remainder of the year, many RL students are feeling a wide range of emotions. Seniors may be feeling sad about the abrupt end to their high school careers, while others might just be feeling annoyed to be locked up in the house with their younger siblings. But one thing we’re sure we can all agree on is that we would all rather be at RL hanging with the boys right now instead of being stuck in this whole quarantine mess.