On Thursday and Friday of this week, the sophomores gathered in the media center to give a summative presentation of their year-long research paper on a topic of their choice.

With PowerPoints, Prezis, and poster boards, students spread out across the media center with presentations that included a variety of topics, ranging from compulsive hoarding to youth in sports to Rosa Parks.

One student even gave a critical review of pop music. “Pop music has a negative effect on teenagers because of its violence, intense sexuality, and relationship with compulsive behavior,” said sophomore Perry Bruder.

Upon entering the Media Center, reviewers were handed a sheet on which to give positive and critical feedback to the presenters.

Some students went so far as to bring props to add to their presentations. One student brought in steel drums, another brought in finger paint for her project on art therapy, and another even designed a device to solve the problem of the rising concentration of harmful fluoride ions in ground level water. “It’s simple, sustainable and affordable,” Chetana Guthikonda said of the device she designed.

At the culmination of the project, students commented on their experience. “At the beginning it seemed like lots of work, but I was excited to learn about compulsive hoarding,” commented sophomore Kayla Blanek. “It was a lot of work, but it helped that it was broken up into stages.”

While the project received critical reviews at first, students and teachers have admitted to having had a positive experience with the Passion Project. “I thought it was a good idea to teach us how to properly do research and write a research paper,” commented sophomore Sunita Walker.

“Through the Passion Project, we’ve seen students who traditionally are not over-achievers do great work,” said Pre-AP English teacher Fred Cheng. “I hope that doesn’t go ignored.”