{ SCHOOL DAZE }
TEENS HAVE THEIR SAY
In a candid conversation, a dozen rising high school seniors talk about socializing, cheating, vaping, playing sports, worrying about college—and much, much more. By Rita Guarna What if a computer catches you for plagiarism but it’s wrong? Should school safety officers be armed? And your chosen ways to relax after the pressures of studying, playing sports and worrying about college—would fighting fires with a volunteer fire department be among them? These issues all came up recently when BERGEN, observing a yearly tradition, gathered a dozen rising high school seniors from around the county and asked them questions. Our annual purpose: to find out what the kids are experiencing—and thinking. A scientific sample of typical kids? We claim no such thing. Truly typical kids are much too swift to be lured into a protracted sit-down for a magazine’s “third degree.” No, this group skews toward the achieving—not to say overachieving. But they’re articulate, and they’re keen observers in a position to observe. We all think we know teenagers, and we’re partly right. They are impatient with the imperfection of adult authority, and they do sprinkle their sentences with unnecessary “like”s. But BERGEN found out once again this year that high MODERATOR: schoolers can’t be comfortably pigeonRita Guarna, holed. They’re individuals, and they editor in chief, sometimes surprise. BERGEN magazine
OUR FORUM MEMBERS
Asli Celik, New Milford High School
Marisa Flores, Immaculate Heart Academy
Shahd Ibrahim, Cliffside Park High School
BERGENMAG.COM
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Max (Maximilian) Ingerman, Mahwah High School
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Eleeza Kapadia, Emerson Junior-Senior High School
Gabby (Gabriella) Marchetti, Mahwah High School
AUGUST 2023
7/17/23 4:04 PM