"Destinations"

This Friday, the Seniors at New Trier enjoyed their last day of High School. Neon-dressed soon-to-be graduates paraded in the hallways as other students looked in awe and envy. Another item was making its way around the halls of New Trier: the annual New Trier News Destinations Issue. The two-page special shows all of the students who reported where they are going for college. They also gave facts for the most attended public and private institutions.

I know many people who are fascinated by this list (including myself). However, I know many more people who hate this list. Some of my junior friends say it's lists like these that give them such unhealthy stress; one day, they too will be on the list, and they need to study hard enough so other classmates don't look at the paper and say "Oh, he's going there...".

The editorial of the paper addressed the controversy over this issue.

"We simply can't understand how anyone could say this is a poor reflection of the News or New Trier as a whole...Ivy League schools, larger state universities, small liberal arts colleges, and community colleges are all represented". They also go on to say that this practice is very common, with parents adorning their children's colleges on their cars, and schools having days where students wear their college's clothing.

I think the Destinations Edition is a little different from the aforementioned examples. I've heard friends laugh as they look through the paper for the "Oaktons": Seniors attending Oakton Community College. Not only is this search mean-spirited, but it doesn't take into account the actual people themselves, just their names. These lists begin to take the personalities out of students and replace them with a overly-simplified name-to-college comparison.

Even the name itself is stressful. The word "Destination" shares the same root as "Destiny", which is defined as "The events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future". This implies that people's colleges are part of their fate, and thus part of their being.


Do you enjoy the destinations issue? What would you change? Have you found any interesting patterns or occurrences on this year's list? Let me know!