STUDENTS GET REAL
In a candid talk, 12 new high school seniors reveal that their feelings are genuine, their thoughts sophisticated—and their “writing” often fake. BY RITA GUARNA
If a genie appears and offers to restore your youth and whisk you to high school, think twice. As BERGEN’s annual forum of rising 12th graders shows, life is complex for students today. There’s not only homework pressure, lockdown drills, social media, stress, vaping and the college admission process, but also the suddenly ubiquitous artificial intelligence (AI), which promises to write your papers for you instantly without charge and possibly even without egregious error. Time is scarce—what if you don’t use this tool but that classmate you’re competing with does? (See page 40 for a Special Report on AI in Bergen schools.) The admiration our panel members express for parents and
MODERATOR: Rita Guarna, Editor In Chief, BERGEN Magazine
siblings is notable, as is their unabashed “thumbs up” for social media. They’re no typical sample; they tend to be the standout scholars, athletes and leaders of their schools. (What other teens would sit still to be questioned by a magazine?) But their candor can help us understand a population that often seems inscrutable. After all, these—cliché alert!—are the adults of tomorrow, and either they or the computers they program will be running the country soon. Our text has been edited for length and clarity, of course. Last year we made a big deal out of kids’ use of the word “like” as a conversational tic 434 times in the unedited transcript. But in 2025 we have, like, larger concerns, so we won’t, like, bother about that.
OUR FORUM MEMBERS: From left: Caitlyn Avgerinos, Waldwick High School, Jack Saint-Germain, Paramus Catholic High School, Nathan Silverstein, River Dell High School, Cole Boruta, Mahwah High School, Massimo D. Randazzo, Ramsey High School, Aidan Kang, Don Bosco Preparatory High School, Ramsey, Brooke Maddalena, Hasbrouck Heights High School, Evan Fonseca, Becton Regional High School, East Rutherford, Elliott Daniels, Immaculate Heart Academy, Township of Washington, Dylan Lozano, Bergen Catholic High School, Oradell, Jillian Smith, North Arlington High School, Maia Boyd, Leonia High School
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