high school

Last month marked the fortieth anniversary of one of my most favorite films: Ridley Scott’s Alien.  It’s one of the most perfect science-fiction and/or horror movies in the history of anything.  It’s one that often there is some detail that I missed during all the dozens of previous viewings.  Like, it was a mistake for Dallas to let the Nostromo lift off from LV-426 without its systems fully working on the lower decks: they could have detected the creature that much faster and without any further loss of life!  Patience is a virtue, kiddies.

A few months ago in March, Alien may have been given its greatest tribute ever.  A group of students and their instructors at North Bergen High School in New Jersey premiered their production of Alien The Play.

And these young men and women… yowza!!  They pulled off the impossible.  And with a dire minimum

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And their mad skillz with the legendary Star Wars weaponry garnered wild applause for Tom Costello and Ryan Angco! Unfortunately while their classmates were thrilled with the mock combat, the principal of Westfield High School in Massachusetts – perhaps seduced by the Dark Side – suspended seniors Tom Costello and Ryan Angco and declared that they wouldn’t participate with their classmates at graduation!

But thanks to a groundswell of support from a Facebook group, Principal Raymond K. Broderick has turned back to the Light Side and rescinded the suspensions, so Tom and Ryan get to walk at graduation and get their sheepskins after all.

Here’s the story from WHDH and here’s the report from WWLP…

This story gives me a new hope that ridiculous “zero tolerance” policies will once and for all be thrown over the railing and into the abyss where they belong! Principal Broderick, my hat’s tipped ...

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