Welcome to our final issue of Verbatim for the 2021–2022 school year. This was a year of big changes for our student publication, as we transitioned from Google Sites (used last school year) to our WordPress site hosted by SNO. All year we’ve tried to include a balance of stories from a wide range of categories, covering everything from on-campus events to major issues occurring around the globe to reviews of the media (movies, books, music, video games) that we think our readers are most interested in.

In the second half of this year we also began our first podcasts, which is an aspect of Verbatim that we hope to continue and expand in future years. We’re also looking to add more video and other multimedia stories, and any students who want to contribute to this aspect of Verbatim are strongly encouraged to join our staff.

For this issue, we take a look back at the Community Voices feature, which has been a mainstay going back to last year, and one of the most consistent ways that we are able to share the ideas and insights of BT’s students, faculty, and staff. In addition to reflection on the types of questions asked and answers received, this story is also of interest because so many of the “mug shots” include individuals wearing masks, which are still certainly apart of our campus and daily lives, but not to the same extent as they were all of last year and at the beginning of this year.

This issue also includes another podcast with Mr. Smith, in which he shares his insights on the ongoing controversy with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, and what the future of this controversial topic might entail in America. We also have retrospectives on our outgoing senior Verbatim staff, updates on the school’s track team, advice from Dear Susie, and several more reviews of poetry, video games, and an area restaurant.

In some ways this year has felt even longer and more trying than last year, but our community has made it through hopefully even stronger than before. The Verbatim staff is grateful for being a part of BT’s campus culture, and we look forward to hitting the ground running when school starts again next year!