Public Attention
The school gained notoriety in 2002 for its "Senior Scavenger Hunt", a student-organized contest that featured theft, vandalism, illegal drug use, and various sexual acts committed by the graduating seniors in exchange for points. Universal Studios owns the rights to a movie based on the incident, co-written and directed by alumnus Eli Roth.
In October 2005, Newton South's theater program (South Stage) performed a production of The Laramie Project. The performance of this play was scheduled to be picketed by Reverend Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church; articles about this have appeared in The Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and The Newton Tab. However, the three sold-out performances of the production passed without incident.
On April 11, 2006, Howard Zinn visited the school to talk to the members of the Social Awareness Club of both Newton South and the Social Justice Academy. Also on April 28, 2006, Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee for President, visited the school to advocate political participation among the school's students. Noam Chomsky spoke on April 11, 2007 about the War in Iraq and American policy in the Middle East. Alan Dershowitz, at the invitation of the Social Awareness Club and the Jewish Student Union, spoke to students on June 5, 2007 on the Arab-Israeli conflict and American foreign policy. Jodi Picoult, author of many popular young adult novels, spoke to a small group of students in February 2007 before the release of her book Nineteen Minutes.
On February 8, 2007, the Newton South STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition chapter organized a Darfur Benefit Concert with the well known band, State Radio, raising over $23,000 for Save the Children and the Genocide Intervention Network.
On March 28, 2008, for the first time in Newton South's history, the Mock Trial team became the Mock Trial state champions. Mock Trial is a program of the Massachusetts Bar Association. The team advanced to the national championships in Delaware, where it finished in 22nd place.
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