Category: Opinions

What’s the Best Time to Have Your Free Bell?

Posted on by

By Teddy Kraus ’25

Everyone loves their free bell. Whether you’re feeling productive and looking to get some homework finished, you’re eager to catch up on conversation with a friend, or you’re tired and just want some time to relax, free bells are objectively awesome. 

The big question is, when’s the best time to have one? With the current schedule, there are five possibilities: the first bell in the morning, the long bell, the bell before lunch, the bell right after lunch, or the last bell of the academic day. After polling over 30 students using a ranked-choice voting system (1st place vote gets 3 points, 2nd place gets 2 points, and 3rd place gets 1 point) here are the results:

First BellLong BellBefore LunchAfter LunchLast Bell
455939533
As you can see, the most popular responses were the long bell, the first bell, and before lunch. Here are the cases for why each spot is the best:

Picture this: you had a busy night and couldn’t get all your homework done for the next day. Lucky for you, you have a long bell free bell. An hour and a half of freedom to get your work done for the day. “When I see a long bell free bell on my schedule,” says Finn Ruderman, ‘25, “I can’t explain the feeling of elation that courses through my body. I can finish a whole movie, I can write a whole essay, or even hit the court with my boys. The possibilities are endless within an hour and a half.” Students love having the extra time to do whatever they want.

When you’re dismissed from class at noon, and all you want is lunch, it’s a dejecting feeling to see such a long line in Fleck Hall. With the free bell before lunch, you don’t have to worry about that line at all. Since lunch opens at 11:10, and everyone else has class, you essentially have the whole lunch room to yourself. “It’s like a long bell, but with food,” says Lucy Ruiz ‘25. Students can eat lunch before the crowd hits and then have until the next class at 1:10 to get some work done. 

What’s better than more sleep? With the first bell free, you can sleep in for an extra 50 minutes and feel energized. John Redington ‘26 strongly agrees: “It sets me up for a productive day. With the extra sleep, I feel like I can conquer the world. It’s like a slingshot.” You also miss the morning rush and don’t have to worry about traffic, avoiding the stressful situations that can come on other days without the first bell free. 

Every time has its perks, but it’s up to you to make the most of them. So, what’s the best time to have your free bell? That’s up to you to decide. 


What Are You Listening To?

Posted on by

By Erica Zhu ’23

As the 2022-2023 year comes to a close, an important question remains: what are the cheerful dwellers of Wyoming Seminary listening to? Opinator interviewed both the students and faculty on Sprague Avenue to uncover their music tastes:

Christian DeBellis ‘24: Wildflower Wildfire – Lana Del Rey

Ari Froehlich ‘24: California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and The Papas

Mr. Logan Chace: “Sorry, too busy.” & the new album by The National

Andrew Tulo ‘24: All For You – Amaria and Destin Conrad

Peyton Popple ’23: “Sound of Dino crying.”

Kate Soreth ’20: I bet on Losing Dogs – Mitski 

Moira Poepperling ’25: Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Roll

Rita Kupstas ’23: “Yes.” 

Ms. Alexa Eidam: It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over – Lenny Kravitz 

Xavier Tereska ’27: Becoming the Last Names – Will Wood 

Ben Carron ’23: “The Sweet sound of bus on pavement.”

Drew Mauriello ’23: “The lacrosse game and a Joji leak.” 

Ms. Rachel Bartron: Thank God For You – Kane Brown and his Wife: “Music changes the atmosphere all the time.”

Paul Stevenson ’24: I Fought the Law – Bill Jean and Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna 

Olivia Sekel ‘24: Illicit Affairs – Taylor Swift

Nicholas Shin ’23: Despacito – Luis Fonsi and Stay – Justin Beiber 

Molly Kopetchny ’24: Crosby Stills, Nash, Stevie Nicks, and Joe Cocker

Tommy Majkowski ’25: “Classical Hip Hop.” 

Alex Smulowitz(as Elvis) ‘25: “My own music of course.”

Mrs. Ellen Sherry: The Carpenters and other 70s music!

Ainsley Eidam ’23: Name of The Game – ABBA

Jacob Hamilton Nivert ’25: Me! – Taylor Swift x Brendon Urie and Hamilton Soundtrack

Helena Prusak ’23: “Beyonce.” 

Leaf Hancuff ’23: You Ain’t Nothin but a Hound Dog in French

Mr. Floyd Bussie: Losing my Religion in French

Arthur Wang ’26: Raincoat – Kieron Lee and Chloe Ho

McKayla Williams ’24: Angelina – Lizzie McAlpine

Lily Roberti ’24: Mine – Taylor Swift

Bao “Bow Toza” To ’26: It Started to Rain – Shook

Xavier Flory ’24: “Tyler the Creator.” 

Francesca Ramos ’23: “N-nothing?”

Gabe Rampp ’23: Dear Mr. Fantasy – Traffic 

Ethan Burns ’27: “I’m listening to Freaks by Surf Curse.”

Brad McGinty ’25: Through The Fire and The Flames

Ian Poole ’22: “A lot of Billy Joel!”

Paige Kenewell ’24: Audiobook of Project Hail Mary 

David Guetz ’24: Movies – Andromeda

Muriel Shaefer ’23: Don’t Stop The Music – Jaimie Cullum

Erica Zhu ‘23: Killshot(Slowed + Reverb) – Magdalena Bay

Sem students have good musical taste…or do they? As the summer rolls in, check out some of these hot songs and artists.

Favorite Faculty Books

Posted on by

By Helena Prusak ’23

Ms. Miller

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

“Tom Jones is a humorous novel written in the 1700s. It’s about an illegitimate son of a servant who is adopted by a squire. Everyone is convinced he is the legitimate son of the squire. Jones falls in love with his virtuous neighbor, Sarah. He goes on a variety of adventures that show the contrast between his naive nature, the virtue of Sarah, and the evil of his half brother. It’s my favorite book because everytime I read it, I get something new out of it.”

Mrs. Shafer

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“I read it sophomore year in high school and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world. My teacher let me keep it, even though it was the school’s copy, and I still have it to this day! I’m actually going to reread it again after I finish Mad Honey.”

Ms. McLaughlin 

Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger

“Why is it my favorite? I guess because it’s interesting. Like most high school kids, I was assigned The Catcher in the Rye, and from there I became interested in the guy who invented Holden Caulfield. Salinger was a brilliant and eccentric man; he lived almost all his life as a recluse, and refused to let his works be commercialized or reinvented in any way—to the point where every single book cover was exactly the same. No art—nothing. He was intensely private, and he didn’t churn out a ton of work…but the work he did put out is so captivating. Much of it is about a family he imagined, the Glass family. If you’ve read “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” then you already know the fate of Seymour Glass. But the books are quirky and playful and also smart and illuminating. It’s not the kind of book I’d ever want to teach, but one that I’d highly recommend.”

Mr. Chace

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
“As I tell my Love Gone Wrong class every year (we read the book in this class), The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is my favorite book of all time. The writing is beautiful, subtle, haunting, and heartbreaking, and the story revolves around memory and missed opportunities, either due to personality clashes, conflicts between personal and professional lives, or societal constraints. The idea that two people who clearly love each other can never make it work, can never even fully express their love, and can’t ever change their past is devastating, and I guess I would much rather be devastated by art and literature. As a result, Ishiguro has also become my favorite author.”