Dear Editor:

I'd like to begin by quoting a letter that appeared in the last Reporter. "Embrace your football team because from where I sit it is the only thing the school has going for it." As a current Hoboken High School senior, this statement not only offends me but makes me want to jump out of my desk and scream. If football were the only thing that made Hoboken High great, then I'd surely grab my books and pens and move elsewhere faster than you can say TOUCHDOWN!

I'm sure that all Hoboken High students are tired of being downplayed. In my eyes, Hoboken High is a hidden treasure. It's a small school, but it's filled with some amazing, dedicated teachers and students with talents that range from outstanding academics to an amazing gift in the arts. The International Baccalaureate program is an intense, two-year college level curriculum that brings great recognition and respect to our school; I'm proud to be a part of this program, surrounded by hardworking peers who challenge each other everyday. Our award-winning Drama program is filled with students with the potential to reach Hollywood status. Those are just to name a few.

I agree we should have more enthusiastic cheerleaders. The marching band should make its appearance at every game. The administration should make these issues a priority. But if you get wrapped up in everything that's wrong with our school, you miss everything that's right. Fear not, we are not headed in a downward spiral. What I see when I go to the football games are my friends who play their hearts out on the field, making their last year as Hoboken High football players one to remember. I see an avid audience who manages to cheer even though it's 30 degrees out. The fate of Hoboken High School does not hang in the balance. If you ask me about the great aspects of Hoboken High, I say, from the outside looking in you can't understand it, from the inside looking out, we can't really explain it.

Forever a Redwing,
Amarylis Marrero