Hunter College High School

Hunter College High School (Hunter High School) is one of the top high schools in New York City, rivaled by Stuyvesant High School, and the Bronx High School of Science. Hunter is administered by Hunter College, a division of CUNY, rather than the NYC Department of Education; there is no tuition fee and it is publically funded. Hunter sends a disproportionate percentage of students to top-flight colleges and universities. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hunter is currently the public high school that sends the most students to the top 3 Ivy League Schools of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

Student Culture

As in most high schools, Hunter College High School has developed its own unique culture (as well as several subcultures.

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• Important locations inside the school include (but are not limited to):
• the G.O. Office, for the student government, is used by student officers.
• the so-called "freak hallway", branching off from the junior hallway on the second floor, providing a temporary home for fans of computer games and anime alike.
• the arched entryway in the courtyard colloquially referred to as "the arches," within which upper-termers often celebrate the end of the school week.
• just below "the arches" are "the steps," which lead down from the arches into the main courtyard area. The steps are also a popular spot for lounging during lunch and free hours.
• the computer lab, located on the 4th floor, is often over-crowded during peak "free period" hours, as many students fail to complete homework at home and instead choose to do so at school in between classes or in the morning before first period.
• the library, which features several computers and a printer, is similarly flooded during peak hours.
• the recently created Senior Lounge is shunned by most for its unattractive appearance and uncomfortable bargain furniture, but provides an alternate eating space for those still discombobulated by the "food-free hallways" policy.
• Outside of the school, various eating establishments and stores have their own "local legends" and culture, as well as fixtures of the Upper East Side landscape:
• The perenially popular Falafel Express features a board upon which students' outdated school i.d.s are tacked, and regular customers are referred to by nicknames.
• Carnival, as mentioned above, is an end-of-year activity that involves the hiring of various third-party entertainment services (to provide such attractions as the "bouncy castle," cotton candy machine, and "human bowling"). Carnival is usually themed to add variety and cohesiveness to the event, and features both live and recorded music, food, and merchandise sold from stalls run by the school's own organizations and clubs. Carnival is mainly a fundraising operation, and the only legitimate currency consists of paper tickets, hand stamps or admission bracelets.
• Mascot presentation and, traditionally, Big Show, are part of Carnival. Mascot presentation is an introduction of the junior year's democratically chosen mascot for the next academic year, by way of songs, matching outfits, etc., as a means of raising school spirit and grade-specific spirit. Big Show is a performance (now tentatively banned) in which juniors parody seniors and recount notorious Hunter events in the form of a skit.
• Spirit Week consists of "themed" days as designated by the G.O., usually consisting of retro-themed days, which culminates in...
• Spirit Day, a school-wide excursion to a recreation spot such as Bear Mountain or Rye Playland, or, in case of funding or weather problems, Central Park. Participation in Spirit Day requires a permission slip signed by parents or guardians. This long-standing event was recently plagued by issues involving underage alcohol consumption and alcohol poisoning.
• Seventh grade picnic is an orientation and welcoming event held in Central Park near the beginning of the school year, in which the seventh-graders play various sports and become more familiar with each other.
• Senior Walkout is traditionally carried out on the first day of snowfall. During years without great snowfall, Senior Walkout was translated to the first day of the year in which the temperature topped 90° Fahrenheit. Walkout consists of seniors (and occasionally juniors) leaving class for the day to engage in snowball fights in the courtyard, or pursue other activities outside of the school. Students from other grades generally avoid going outside during Senior Walkout, for fear of mistreatment from the seniors.
• The annual ski trip is parent-chaperoned and held, traditionally, at Gore Mountain. Upper-termers regard the event as an ideal opportunity for partying with friends in a relatively adult-free situation, while lower-termers take the opportunity to make new friends and learn how to ski or snowboard.
• The annual ACS ski trip is a chaperone-free, student-organized alternative to the school-run ski trip. ACS (an acronym for Asian Cultural Society) is one of the most active clubs at Hunter College High School, in part because of the relatively large Asian population at Hunter.
• Department-specific international trips include the bi-annual Advanced Placement Art History trip, the Shakespeare Etc. club trip, and trips taken by various school-run musical groups (such as Jazz Band or Chorus). As of recent years, the Art History trip has required an application process, during which teachers eliminate some applicants and choose others as eligible for participation. Trips include visiting important landmarks and historical sites, as well as performances given by Hunter students (in the case of musical groups and Shakespeare).
• Annals is the annual yearbook publication. As of late, the publication has come under criticism and newly reinforced faculty control, for being too vulgar or derogatory. Previous issues of Annals were rife with drug, alcohol and sex references, as well as many inside jokes. In recent years, the publication also became particularly cruel towards individuals. Annals was especially criticized as being an elitist publication, intended primarily to serve the purposes of those involved directly in its production and excluding the rest of the student body population. For this reason, at least one group published their own yearbook (See Freak Hall). Annals differs from the standard yearbook, as it features student-drawn art and commentary and allows graduating seniors to provide their own "half page" instead of posing for identical studio shots.
• Other annual school publications include Argus (literary magazine), The Desk (lower-termers' literary magazine), Radicals (mathematics magazine), Tapestry (science fiction/fantasy magazine), and thedeepend (humor magazine). Periodicals include school newspapers The Observer and What's What. Weekly circulations include What's G.O.ing on, a joint presentation of the G.O. and What's What. There is a long-standing rivalry between the administration-run What's What and the student-run Observer.
• Senior Tea is an event in which students of the graduating class are presented with white carnations and served refreshments by their teachers.
• Senior Barbeque is an event in which students of the graduating class serve lunch to the faculty.
• Homecoming is held in December, and is an event in which the previous year's graduates return to the school.
• Prom is a similar event to many proms held all across the United States, consisting of formal dress and a sit-down dinner. Being an urban school, a smaller number of students opt to rent limousines, but the choice is still fairly popular. The event is usually followed up by an after-party at a student's house.
• "MORP" was an underground prom that was held during the eighties, when the administration banned prom for that year.
• Semi-formal is the "junior prom", held for eleventh graders. The event is usually followed up by an after-party at a student's house.
• Lower-termers have their own annual dances, including dances for Valentine's Day and Halloween, as well as ninth and tenth grade dances.
• "Killer" is a game that draws many participants (especially those in the upper terms) each year. Played annually, Killer consists of the division of players into teams, whereupon each team "hunts" the others with plastic tracer guns. The aim is to remain the last team standing, upon which surviving participants receive the sum of money collected from each player at the start of the game. The game is more or less based on an honor system, as impartial witnesses are rarely present at the time of a "killing." If there are disputes, matters are brought to a panel of judges. There is a detailed rulebook that circulates through e-mail. During gameplay, students camp out at other students' houses and prepare easy getaways in order to avoid getting caught unawares. One major rule of the game is that having one foot on the school block (a safe area) gives you immunity, but the moment you step off the curb you are fair game for any rival. Students often try to leave school property at odd hours (or not leave at all, in the case of one participant who slept on the roof) to avoid detection. Students also dress up in disguises, as one senior notably dressed very successfully in his father's work clothing and avoided recognition for an extended period of time. Due to the supposed "dangerous nature" of the game, the school administration bans the playing of Killer and promises to take severe actions against any student caught participating. However, teachers generally don't concern themselves with finding active participants. Hunter lore has it that, during the eighties, one student playing a similar game called "Assassin" was nearly shot in a subway station by a NYC transit officer, who mistook the student's water pistol for a real gun.
• School Productions
• Annual club-run shows and fundraisers include the SAYA (South Asian Youth Alliance), AACS (African-American Cultural Society), HOLA (Hunter's Organization of Latin Americans and ACS shows, which feature dancing, skits and performances connected to the clubs' respective cultures. Fundraisers include bake sales and luncheons.
• Musical Repertory ("Rep" for short) is a theater group in which pre-established musicals are produced and performed.
• Brick Prison Playhouse is a theater group in which student-written and student-submitted plays are selected and performed. It is usually the case that several short plays are selected, and during performances are interspersed with "Jammies," approximately five-minute performances intended primarily to provide comic relief.
• Hunter Theater Ensemble (HTE) performs plays written by non-Hunter playwrights.
• Shakespeare Etc. performs much smaller yet enduringly popular productions of (usually abridged) Shakespeare plays.