ETHS has long since prided itself on not being mainstream, on working to make a change in the community. From providing free meals to students all throughout the pandemic and bringing guest speakers in order to work towards becoming an antiracist school, ETHS definitely cares about making the world a better place. Of course, the work that ETHS does is important, and its impact should not be minimized. However, given the influence of the school and the resources available, ETHS should be working to create more change, spreading its influence beyond the walls of Evanston. Evanston itself is a liberal bubble, one where most people share similar beliefs and morals, and, in a place like that, it is difficult to make progress, as people do not want to sacrifice the perfect version of Evanston that they have fabricated in their mind. 

“ETHS needs to instill the values of service and social justice in its students by relating our education and the things we learn to work to improve the world,” senior Maia Roothan says. “Our society can be so individualistic, but we need to realize that we are in this together. … ETHS can do better by setting expectations for its students in leadership positions. Often, I think there is too much emphasis in giving students less responsibility, meaning that they disengage from important work. I think that service needs to be made a larger part of how we operate as a school. I propose that we have school-wide service days each year, which would help make service a larger part of students’ lives.”

“Personally, I think that ETHS has a lot of room to grow. Evanston has always been a bubble, [and] ETHS, in particular, has created a safe environment for the students,” senior Ava Daye says. “However, this community has neglected to educate students on the harsh realities of the world. Having faced racism, I know this issue will become more prevalent once I step out of Evanston. Schools need to prioritize contributions that minorities made to impact history, to teach all students the reality of what has happened in the past. No matter the class subject, students need to have discussions on problems like racism, homophobia, sexism and more. ETHS needs to uplift the minority students and also push out antiracism.”

In the end, ETHS is a fixture in the community that has made its fair share of progress; there’s no denying that. Still, Evanston is a liberal bubble that is far too often viewed as a utopia instead of being actively improved for the benefit of all. There is also no denying the ways that we can be doing better to make more of an impact and work to make the greater community a better place.