One of the most interesting things about the Round Table is our extensive archive of past publishings. Whereas today we’re  a completely digital news source, back before the internet was a household word Stamford High used to print monthly editions of their newspaper for sale. I recently took on the task of digging through the past, and was completely surprised at some of the fascinating things I found in The Round Table’s December 1989 issue.

Did you know that at one point in time it was okay for staff to smoke in the building? Staff and students would clog up bathrooms with their smoke, and hide in the parking lots to have a quick smoke break. This action was targeted in a lot of Round Table articles, and many even brought up the idea of constructing an area designated for students to smoke. Although that never happened, it was a huge deal for SHS at time, especially ones discouraging smoking as a whole. Nowadays, smoking seems so minor because of all of the laws prohibiting it in public, and the fact that very few people choose to smoke cigarettes. But back then, this was a huge deal as it was the beginning of a reform, in which smoking was seen as an unhealthy, dangerous thing. It also was an interesting Round Table topic, as we were able to cover a change in history, where we shift from smoking in classrooms, to actually restricting it in public.

Looking through our past archives was definitely a fascinating experience. The Round Table has done so much in the past that’s often overlooked, and with little highlights such as this one, we can see all of the interesting things that made this paper what it is today!