It’s become a tradition for DHS to showcase both academic and personal achievements through the art of bulletin boards. There are the names of student government members hung up alongside differing drama club productions and National Honor Society fundraisers. Keeping the general student body up to date on the latest happening is a staple in school society.

For three years, I have seen each senior class go through the hurdles of college applications, teacher recommendation requests, and scholarship searches. The most that come to mind would be the honorary bulletin boards displaying student acceptance letters accompanied by their name in a yellow sash with thick, chunky black letters. As the months draw nearer to graduation month, it’s common to see the adjacent boards filled with acceptances.

In my household, I grew up learning to keep any news, good or bad, to myself in order to maintain privacy and discretion. My family holds the idea that when you reveal news too early, say a college admission without putting your deposit down, then other people’s jealousy and bad energy could hinder that. This cultural belief has never really influenced my decisions. However, it’s always in the back of my mind and has made me wary of sending in my letters.

While seeing groups of students going on to a new chapter in their lives, there are some who feel the need to make note of where everyone else is going on to.

DHS senior Shannon Mills said, “I didn’t get to do it yet, but I’m not opposed to it. To be honest, I never really notice where anyone’s going though. It’s just kind of there for me.”

Whether or not others truly get to take a glance at each name and granted admission, there is a sense of celebration as a whole in the board. Since freshman year, there has been that expectation to finally let the rest of the building and its inhabitants know of your accomplishment. A rejoiceful moment that lasts for the rest of the school year.

It could even sway a few students into making the plunge in handing in their letters for display.

“I had walked by it so many times before senior year,” said senior Megan Lizotte. “It made me feel like I should put it up, and feel like I’m finally leaving Dartmouth High.”

As a whole, there is that overarching ideal that once you’ve been accepted into anything from a top choice school to a safety school, the announcement should be made. There is, however, the question of how many letters may be too many.

Senior Rebecca Condon said, “I’m just going to put up one letter, which I still need to do. Once you have more than five up there, I think it might be too much.”

With a plethora of seniors making plans to graduate and go straight into their first semester of college, it comes with the decision of choosing the right university to belong to. During that decision come the copious letters being handed in that could cause more space to be taken up and could discourage others.

“I like the premise of the wall, and I do want to put mine on there,” said senior Nicole Ponte, “but realistically, we only have two boards. How can we put everyone’s letters on there?”

The current senior class has a little over 250 students either awaiting letters, keeping them private, or handing them in one by one. The issue of space and abundance on the wall has to be taken into consideration if every student wishes to partake in the public celebration and pride.

In the age of technology as well, more and more students are posting their acceptances on social media such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram.

As for now, the days will draw nearer to June and with that comes the elation and nostalgia in ending a monumental chapter in our lives. Whether or not students want to reveal their future to their peers is ultimately their choice.