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Volume 74, Issue 4
November 6th, 2025
A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School
Students Lead Annual Turkey Drive for Local Families By Adrian Chen ’28 Panel Staff This year marks the 16th anniversary of the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive, a cherished Belmont Hill tradition that connects students and members of the broader community. The Drive supports local families during the holiday season. Each year, countless students and faculty work together to provide Thanksgiving meals to local families in need—families that might otherwise go without such meals. This tradition emphasizes the importance of our school’s commitment to service and community. This year in particular, food scarcity is becoming an increasingly striking issue in the Greater Boston area. In 2025, food insecurity across Massachusetts reached a record high, affecting an estimated 37% of households, according to WCVB. This figure has only risen since 2019. Hampden County, in Western Massachusetts, faces distinctly high rates, with one in two residents experiencing food insecurity. Several factors contribute to this worsening insecurity, such as the rising cost of living, high inflation rates over the past couple of years, and the uncertainty of federal support. Additionally, these concerns
Thanksgiving Turkey Drive 2022 have been compounded by the impact of the ongoing government shutdown. On November 1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expired, leaving thousands of families without a source of sustenance. With this rising instability, the Belmont Hill Turkey Drive is more necessary than ever. The turkey drive is a student-led initiative that collects contributions from the Belmont Hill community in every form (including cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing mix, potatoes, etc). Together, members of the Bel-
BH Communications mont Hill community from Form I to VI work together to compile enough food to serve hundreds of families (with over 500 meal boxes created) across Belmont and the Greater Boston area. This food is provided to both individual households and larger organizations such as church groups, schools, etc. This year, we have already seen the Turkey Drive in action, with Form III students gathering to create boxes that will hold the Thanksgiving food items. Other sessions will occur, where Form III students will transport and consolidate all food donations and
Sustainablility Club Update Government By Justin Li ’26 Panel Staff
By Jack Ramanathan ’26 Panel Staff
The Belmont Hill Sustainability Club has revamped its structure with one clear goal: to accomplish more and create a greater impact at school. Recent accomplishments include successful cleanups, collaboration with Belmont High School on their Miyawaki forest project —a dense, native forest designed to maximize biodiversity —and launching composting campaigns on campus. The club is now tackling even bigger challenges. In partnership with GreenerU, the club is conducting a comprehensive carbon audit of the entire school to identify opportunities for reducing our environmental impact. Other notable initiatives include utilizing data on our energy spending to identify areas for improvement and developing a Climate Action Plan for the school’s next five years. The club recently took a field trip to Codman Farms, a local farm dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices. Students learned about regenera-
The federal government has officially been shut down for more than a month, making it currently the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. The standoff began on October 1, when Congress failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government for the new fiscal year. Government shutdowns occur when Congress can not agree on how to appropriate their budget, thus leading to federal agencies running out of money to operate. Without a deal, much of the federal government has come to a halt. Around 900,000 federal employees have been furloughed, meaning they have been temporarily let go without pay, and many others are still working but not receiving pay. Services such as airport security, the military, and mail delivery are still operational, but delays and shortages are accumulating. Throughout the week of October 26, more than 8,000 flights were delayed nationwide as air traffic control
Sustainability Club
BH Sustainability
tive farming techniques that enrich the soil while producing both livestock and crops, without the use of harmful pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The farm’s approach to rotational grazing and crop diversity creates a thriving ecosystem that supports local wildlife. Several students were so impressed by the fresh, sustainably grown produce that they purchased vegetables and herbs to take home, directly supporting the local food system. Whether you’re passionate about environmental issues or simply curious about making a difference, Sus Club welcomes new members. Join us at Y block on Tuesdays in Mr. Sullivan’s room to build a more sustainable future for Belmont Hill! ☐
A Look Inside The Panel Page 2: Charlie Kirk Review Kai McCallum ’28 reviews the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk, discussing the impact he made in the political sphere during his life.
Page 4: Politics and Disney In two captivating op-eds, Will Achtmeyer ’26 and Sam Leviton ’28 discuss Political Discussion Club and Disney’s role as a corporation, respectively.
Page 6: The Village Pilote Initiative Reviewing the impact of Village Pilot, Will Sandor ’26 discusses the organization’s mutualistic relationship with BH. Will Hennigar ’26 adds his opinion to US government cuts in relation to this amazing Senegalese institution.
Page 11: Rivalries Tyler Grossman ’27 vividly describes the most memorable Belmont Hill games against St. Sebastian’s. Read on to relive these one-in-a-lifetime, nail-biting moments.
carefully package them into crafted boxes. Then, Form III students, alongside parent volunteers, will drive to individual households and other organizations to deliver these Turkey Drive food boxes. This year, the drive has seen an enthusiastic response from students, faculty, and families alike. As the school as a whole is gearing up, preparing for the Turkey Drive, we are already seeing students promoting the project, with plans to set up collection boxes, coordinate events, and make announcements to encourage school-wide participation. We hope to see the Turkey Drive continue to expand in the coming weeks. Given the past couple of years’ trends of increasing Turkey Boxes, with around 500 boxes delivered last year, this trend is likely to continue. As the holiday season approaches, Belmont Hill students continue to embody the school’s values of leadership, responsibility, and service through this meaningful initiative. The Belmont Hill Turkey Drive serves as a reminder that even small acts of generosity can have a significant impact. Through this long-standing tradition, the school not only provides essential support to local families but also instills a lasting sense of empathy and civic engagement in its students. ☐
Shutdown
centers struggled to stay fully staffed. However, the impact goes far beyond Washington, D.C. Millions of Americans rely on federal programs that are now in danger of running out of money. The SNAP program, which provides food assistance to more than 40 million citizens, is expected to stop payments by November 1 if the shutdown continues. Other programs—like energy aid for low-income households and preschool funding—are also at risk. The main disagreement causing the shutdown is due to the extremely polarized political climate of today. Senate Democrats are pushing for changes to healthcare and social programs to be included in the funding bill, while Republicans argue that the government should reopen first and negotiate those changes later. So far, neither side has budged. If Congress doesn’t reach an agreement soon, the consequences will keep spreading. For everyday Americans, this shutdown is a real-time lesson in how government gridlock can have very real effects on people’s lives from the price of groceries to the time it takes to get through airport security. ☐
Letter from the Editor:
Welcome to Issue 2 of Volume 74! This month, our news and arts sections spotlight our teachers, including two faculty sabbaticals from Mr. Harder and Dr. Tift, as well as featuring Mr. George as our Faculty Artist of the Issue. Meanwhile, our sports section features a Jack Bartlett ’26 as our Athlete of the Issue, as well as providing a scoreboard of our Fall teams and a preview of our upcoming Winter athletics season. Our news and ops sections highlight several broad topics like politics and a DOTI on taking the SAT Vs. ACT. Finally, the centerspread of this issue
highlights a timeline of Village Pilote, a non-profit organization that protects the rights of at-risk children and young people in West Africa. We would like to give a big thanks to everyone involved in the process of publishing this issue. As a final note, if you are a student interested in writing articles or editing for The Panel, please reach out through our email address: thepanel@ belmonthill.org. We are always open to new writers/editors to join the staff and contribute to the making of one of the school’s biggest student-led publications. Thank you, and enjoy the issue!