2017 was a progressive year filled with controversy. Many events that will shape the future took place in these 52 weeks.

The 45th president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, was inaugurated in January. Several BHS students traveled to D.C. to watch this historic moment. “It was cool experiencing the inauguration, especially with a guy like Trump,” said junior Charlie Clark to Insight last year.

At the same time, people around the world marched for women’s rights. According to the Washington Post, The Women’s March on Washington was most likely largest single-day protest in U.S. history. BHS’s own English teacher and Anti-Defamation League member Martha Swinder traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to participate in the movement. “The were women and men of all races and religions. It was about human rights,” she said.

In February, The New England Patriots defeat Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI in a fourth quarter comeback making for their fifth win. This year, however, they lost to the Eagles 41-33. “It didn’t feel good that we lost considering how we won last year. At the end of the game, it felt like we were gonna win again but we didn’t,” said football player and junior Conner Baldasaro.

In early April, Pepsi’s commercial starring Kendall Jenner was met with outrage and disapproval by many for trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement. Pepsi later said in a statement, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize.We did not intend to make light of any serious issue.”

On Aug 21, millions of people all over North America gathered around to see the moon pass between the sun and Earth. More than 17 million viewing glasses were sold on Amazon alone.

A couple months later, in an event that touched millions more, actress Ashley Judd publicly accused director Harvey Weinstein of raping her to the New YorkTimes. Her bravery inspired other women to break their silence and  address their abusers. Since then, the #MeToo has dominated the media, being supported by several celebrities, like Oprah and Lady Gaga.

Also, US Olympic doctor, Larry Nassar, was sentenced for up to 175 years of jail time for sexually assaulting hundreds of women, including the gymnasts he treated. Many his victims, such as Simone Biles and Aly Raisman spoke on their trauma during his hearing.