Poetry Out Loud: the competition where poetry is recited and interpreted by students from J-DHS and many other schools. People consider this a great experience for all high school students, but there are some who disagree. 

There have been complaints of Poetry Out Loud being too loud. One student who dropped out of the competition due to loss of hearing in their left ear said, “I can still hear ringing in my right ear from listening to another competitor reciting Shakespeare.” After the interview, they walked out of the room unknowingly proceeding to repeat the line, “To be or not to be” from Hamlet. 

It’s rumored that the big boom that Onondaga County experienced in December 2020 was a result of two Poetry Out Loud competitors who just so happened to be practicing their lines at the same time.

Anka Chiorini, an unfortunate sophomore who witnessed Poetry Out Loud last year, came in for an interview. I tried to ask her some questions about the contest but she didn’t seem to be able to understand what I was saying due to the fact that the hearing aids she got after viewing the competition weren’t working. The only quote I could get out of her was, “No, I would never buy a mongoose from Aveline Chocolat!” 

The noise complaints are piling up and who knows what will become of Jamesville Dewitt High School students once Poetry Out Loud is over. We may all be deaf before this school year is even over.