Free Press: Issue 3b, Edition 25 by FSJournalism

The

Free Press

Winter Sports pg. 6

Firebird Farewell pg. 10

Noodles & Company, pg. 4

Issue 3 March 10, 2022 Edition 25

Table of Contents 4 Noodles & Company 5 Firebird Art 6 Winter sports 8 Mitchell Finds a Match 10 Firebird Farewell 11 Style Spotlight

MK’s Book Corner, 13

12 Winter Photo

Mitchell Finds a Match, 8

13 Columns 14 Cartoon 15 Opinion

FSJ Staff Editors in Chief

Isis Norris

Photographers

Reporters

Gracie Coleman Emma Hardesty Maya Lee Lady Ortega-Perez Isabelle Prô Baya Burgess Karmina Douglas Addison Driscoll

Maya Pavlyak

Ridwan Firman Alicia Narum Leilani Bidwell Nate Ankenbauer Allison Mayhew Olivia Nagel

Designers Lola Cloud Evan White Madison Base Hannah De Guzman

Copy Editors Nisa Khosh Natasha Torkzaban Jake Hedges

Business Laura Kinsch Lauren Tao

Featured on the Free Press Online Graber Announces Retirement

Note from the Editors in Chief Readers may notice this issue is shorter than previous editions. Recently, the Free Press newspaper has changed printing companies. Due to this change, there are 16 pages instead of the typical 32. Scan these QR codes to visit the rest of the Issue Three content on fsfreepressonline.com.

Style Spotlight, 11

Photo Gallery: Winter Rewind

Birds’ Word: What Class Do You Recommend?

Limit on Learning

Photo Gallery: FS vs. LHS Basketball

CDC: New Mask Guidelines

Free State’s Name Origins

Infographics: Black History Month

Interview: Attendance Answers

Have a story idea? Contact us by filling out the form below!

Free Press Online

The Free Press is an open forum that accepts letters to the editor and guest writing which must include the writer’s name and telephone number. Letters may be edited due to space limitations, libel or inappropriate content. Submit letters to Room 203 or mail to the Free Press in care of... Lawrence Free State High School 4700 Overland Drive Lawrence, KS 66049 FSJournalism@USD497.org The opinions expressed in the Free Press are not necessarily those of the Free Press staff, the school administration or that of the USD 497 Board of Education.

Noodles & Company Celebrating Asian Culture Story by Alicia Narum During a food day, junior May Gao laughs with her friend.

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or the last five years, Asian Culture Club has brought out a community of students embracing Asian culture. Copresidents, junior Grace Xie and senior Maggie Li, are taking on the legacy of the club. “I was friends with the previous president, Rebecca Feng,” Xie said. “She told Maggie and I, ‘You guys need to keep the legacy of my club.’” Social studies teacher Aimee Landwehr sponsors the club. Feng had asked Landwehr to be the sponsor. At the time she was teaching East Asian studies and felt it would be a good role to take on. “I like hearing about their experiences,” Landwehr said. “I’ve learned quite a lot from them over the years.” All activities are student-led.

The club often watches Asian films and has game days. Time is also spent learning about calligraphy, dancing, different languages, origami and other cultural elements. “The regulars that come end up becoming acquainted with each other,” junior Erica Feng said. A highlight of the club is food days. Trying new foods allows for participants to appreciate new aspects of culture. Cooking and eating has also become an enjoyable experience in the group. “I love seeing the enjoyment on people’s faces when they try different cultures’ food,” Xie said. Other food days have included ramen, dumplings, octopus balls called takoyaki and sushi. Prior to COVID-19, students were able to share the food they made. PHOTOS BY ISABELLE PRÔ

“On Sushi Day, we were able to make and share our sushi creations, and it became a very memorable experience,” Li said. Creating a safe space for exploring culture was an important goal, not only to educate others, but to also be able to appreciate the essence of Asian culture. The environment gives students a place to respect and cherish each other’s values and traditions. “In such a large school with a myriad of cultures, beliefs and identities, it’s important to have common ground where students can comfortably connect with one another,” Li said. Asian Culture Club meets in room 336, every other Wednesday. “The room is always full of fun,” said Li. “It’s always a space to de-stress after school.”

h S o t wcas r A e Art Collected by Nate Ankenbauer

Perry Bonner

“I made these ornaments with the intention of decor and creative freedom. I free handed and used stamps to make different shapes and designs. None of the pieces are the same, they are each unique and have different colors and designs. My favorite part is the freehanded doodles, it’s my favorite to create.”

ART ART

“I mostly express myself in art through characters of mine, and this piece is based off of a recent Dungeons and Dragons campaign I played in. I played the yellow tiefling named Hero (on the right), and she became friends with a mermaid (left), so I drew the two on a picnic. I used this piece as practice with drawing backgrounds, lighting, and interactions in the environment. My favorite part is honestly the water, I don’t have much experience in drawing it and I’m happy with how it turned out.”

ART

Brooke Smith

Takoma Lees “My goal of this piece was to make something that is functional, looks cool, and holds a bunch of liquid. I actually made it for my older brother cause he wanted a cool mug to drink out of. My favorite part of it is either the glaze I put over the entire thing or that the details make it look wooden.” PAGES BY LOLA CLOUD

- freshmen Ashley Lanello

“I feel like our team is improving a lot. You know, maybe the scores of our games don’t say so. But we are improving in practice [with our] fundamentals, attitudes ,and stuff like that.”

Girls B

tb e k as

“We’re doing really good right now. Every grade, from freshman to sophomore, JV to varsity. We are all doing really good. We are all getting along. We are all playing as a team having a lot of fun.” - sophomore Wesley Edsion

Boy ll s Basketba

- senior Mady Gray

tli ng

“You’ll hear a lot wrestling is a lifestyle and it really is. You just got to commit 100% [of your life] to wrestling. Honestly I would say it probably saved me in a way… It gave me something that I can work through and process with stuff. It’s kind of like art. Somebody uses art to express themselves, I use wrestling to express myself.”

es r Girls W

PAGES BY EVAN WHITE

r e t n

B Girls

- senior Ashley Edwinson

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Spo

“I would really like us for to qualify for State. There’s only five of us so it would be really hard, but I couldn’t see us doing it. A lot of our girls are really good this year. We may be small, but we are great.”

Bo - senior Max Bates ys S wim & Dive

- senior Jacob Goos Bo ys Bow ling

PHOTOS BY LADY ORTEGA-PEREZ, ADDISON DRISCOLL, KARMINA DOUGLAS AND ELLA MARSHALL

SPORTS

“I’m a senior. I’m definitely coaching the younger guys more. They want to know what I had to say. Especially the kids I haven’t been bowling with for a long time… then in general, I’m a lot closer to the kids this year. My teammates this year than mostly seniors which I really like. We have a really good chemistry this year.”

in g

SPORTS

tl s re W s Boy

- junior Gordon Vaeano

SPORTS

“It’s fun hyping up the other wrestlers before their match.…… it’s not like one person hyping one other person. It’s the whole JV team. It’s pretty big and we try to get louder than the other team.”

SPORTS

“The team means so much to me. It’s the biggest reason why I swim in high school. Winning stuff is fun, but the friends I’ve made as a part of the swim team really improved my high school experience.”

d n s i F l l e h h c c t it Ma a

Be the Match educates students on bone marrow, stem cell transplants

Scan to find out how you can help others!

Story by Ridwan Firman

f the 3,500 children diagnosed with Leukemia each year, only 30% that need a bone marrow transplant are able to find an eligible donor within their family, leaving the remaining 70% to find a lifesaving treatment from a stranger. Olive Mitchell, the 10-yearold daughter of social studies teacher Phillip Mitchell, has found several despite having no familial matches. However, there are still thousands who struggle to find a single donor. Finding one can prove to be an arduous task, as the people who have the highest chance of being successful donors are direct

siblings. Even so, the chances of a sibling’s compatibility is one in four. Be the Match, a nonprofit organization, helps patients like Olive find and receive the lifesaving transplant they need. Founded in 1987, Be the Match has facilitated over 100,000 transplants and provides patients access to a registry of over 39 million donors from around the world. After Mitchell heard about the organization, he contacted them and orchestrated a “swab drive” in order to raise awareness for patients that still need matches. “It’s about paying it forward and appreciating this is something people can do,”

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ALICIA RUSKIN

Mitchell said. “If we can match a few folks with some donors, it’s totally worth it.” Cortni Lind, Kansas and Missouri Be the Match recruitment coordinator, spoke at the drive. “Many people do not realize how easy it is to join the registry and how they can save a life through stem cell donation,” Lind said. “I’m very proud of the students who took the time out of their day to hear about Be the Match and how they can save lives.” During the drive, students were given kits that included an envelope and two swabs. By simply swabbing the inside of

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the future of Be the Match is that it continues to be the largest and most diverse donor registry in the nation and has a donor willing to say yes for every patient in need of a life-saving transplant,” Lind said.

“It’s about paying it forward and appreciating that this is something that people can do,” Phillip Mitchell

PAGES BY EVAN WHITE

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later this year to access more students who have turned 18 and are eligible to join the registry. While Leukemia continues to affect children across the globe, Be the Match’s goals remains the same: finding and providing donors for as many people as they can. In their vision, the ability to cure Leukemia lies within the hands of ordinary people. “My hopes for

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their mouths, placing them in an envelope and mailing it to Be the Match, they would become part of the registry and possible donors, provided they were at least 18 years of age. Senior Noah Dittmer was one of the students who attended the drive. Despite not being able to swab due to him being underage, he remained adamant on getting informed. “I wanted to attend because it was a subject I knew very little of and I wanted to be more aware,” Dittmer said. “I wanted to do my part regarding being a donor for those who need it.” Be the Match plans to come back

After roughly three decades of teaching, English teachers Sam Rabiola and Theresa Martin announce their retirement

FEATURE

Story by Olivia Nagel

Helping out, English teacher Sam Rabiola lends a hand to students in his English 10 class. After 62 years of teaching, Rabiola has decided to retire at the end of the year.

Leading the way, Theresa Martin gives instruction to her Science Fiction class. Students enjoy taking her class because of the fun topics they cover.

ixty-two years of teaching experience will walk out the door on May 26 as English teachers Sam Rabiola and Theresa Martin retire. Working in the school since the first day of classes provides the faculty with experience in their content and institutional knowledge. This leaves big Birkenstocks to fill. “You don’t replace experience; you have to make up for the knowledge and experience they have working with students within their content and their understanding of their content,” Principal Myron Graber said. This loss of experience affects their department significantly, as both Rabiola and Martin taught rigorous, time-consuming courses for both students and instructors. English teacher Kylee Johnston, who studenttaught with Rabiola, is up for the challenges of the next school year. “We’re going to have to figure out who is going to teach the classes that they used to teach,” Johnston said. “I also need to step up and be a leader.”

Decades of mentoring and teaching impacted thousands of students’ academic lives. In Rabiola’s case, he has taught almost everything in the English curriculum; meaning he was partially responsible for how Lawrence Public Schools prepared students with language arts skills for careers and higher education. For class of 2021 alumni Lily Pickard, Rabiola helped her through her first year of college by encouraging her writing abilities. “I learned more about how to write at a collegiate level in [Rabiola’s] class than I had in any class before,” Pickard said. “ I am incredibly thankful for having had that support.” Having students read and analyze literary works is a vital part of Martin’s classes, and for senior Evan Darrow exploring academic reading was essential in preparing him for the future. “She’s prepared us by exposing us to more academic readings,” Darrow said. “Things where it takes us two or three times to read and annotate it in order

for you to be able to understand what you are reading fully.” Students and teachers were both mentored by Martin and Rabiola. Having a helping hand is essential to a new teacher’s career. “What I’ve always attempted to do with our new folks is to give them that experience to help them feel supported because it’s easy not to feel supported when you start teaching,” Rabiola said. This support was critical for Kylee Johnston during her student-teaching years with Rabiola. “I learned so much about how to study and prepare for teaching your content, treating students with respect, organization, and being considerate of your colleagues,” Johnston said. Similar to Rabiola, Martin also taught and mentored a considerable number of new teachers through her twenty-seven years of teaching; and with this came many proud moments. “There have been kids who have just done absolutely brilliant things,” Martin said.

PAGE BY HANNAH DE GUZMAN PHOTOS BY GRACIE COLEMAN

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

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senior

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What does fashion mean to you? How would you describe your style? Fashion to me means self Colorful. I wear a lot of bright colors but I also expression. I think fashion is like darker colors too. I wear clothes that whatever someone wants it to be kind of speak to me; ones that are out of the ordinary. I like clothes nobody else has.

A go to outfit I wear a lot would probably be an oversized t-shirt with a skirt and a bunch of accessories.

Personally, I am a big fan of ‘70s because of all the bright colors… It seems like it was such a peaceful, groovy time for clothing and just a more expressive time.

I’m a big fan of the subtle smoothness… I want to stick out but not too much… [I’d] do a kind of dark brown velvet suit. The button up will be a silk cheetah print…maybe some cheetah print Converse. Break the norms a little bit.

What advice would you give to students trying to find their style? It definitely takes time. It’s not necessarily something you can rush.. When it comes to trying to express yourself through your clothes, it’s just whatever you feel looks the best…whatever you feel most comfortable in... . [What] makes you feel the most like yourself is your style. Own it.

PHOTOS BY LADY ORTEGA-PEREZ PAGE BY EVAN WHITE

STYLE

What is does your go-to What would you wear to the outfit look like? Met Gala? I’ve always been obsessed with the alternative style since I was a little kid ... I’m happy I’m finally dressing how I wanted to when I was little.

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What is does your go-to What is your favorite outfit look like? fashion trend?

Photo Finish

A. Senior Jack Keathley-Helms twirls senior Max Bates on the dance floor at Winter Formal on December 11. Bates and Keathley-Helms wore bow ties crocheted by senior Avery Qualseth. Photo by Emma Hardesty. D. Senior Logan Claassen-Wilson leads the band just before the basketball game began. Photo by Baya Burgess.

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C B. Free State Chamber Singers perform at the winter choral concert on December 8. Many students joined choir for it’s fun dynamic and to make new friends. “Everyone is so supportive and we have such a great community,” junior Olivia Goeser said. Photo by Isabelle PrÔ. C. Senior Ben Shryock starts the beginning of his 1600 meter race in lane one on January 30. Shryock won the race at the high school indoor KU track meet. “I am so grateful to have these opportunities to race because I learn something new every time,” Shryock said. Photo by Isabelle PrÔ.

E E. Posing in front of the stage, senior Gabriela Carttar performs in “She Kills Monsters” on January 4. Carttar took on two characters during the show; one of them being Lily, a demon queen. “It was a really exciting challenge to embody two characters who were such polar opposites.” Carttar said, “I saw different parts of myself in each of them.” Photo by Addie Driscoll.

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Review by Olivia Nagel

Black Country New Road’s sophomore album, “Ants From Up There,” is a bittersweet triumph. With an unexpected announcement of frontman Isaac Wood’s leaving, the band’s trajectory is determined. The new release takes a different direction than their debut album. “Ants From Up Ther” leaves behind the anxious, paranoid, dissonant sound of their debut but a more grand production. The emotion in this album is like no other, expressed through vocals and melodies. In particular, the last three songs express intense emotion and songwriting- building minor, understated riffs into colossal, anthemic songs that almost seem to collapse into themselves in a wave of drums, guitars, horns and frontman Isaac Wood’s vocals. “Ant’s From Up There” is indeed an album to remember and one that will define music for years to come.

MK’s Book Corner

Indestructible Object by Mary McCoy

Rating: 3/5 stars

ndestructible Object follows recent high school graduate Lee as she navigates an uncertain future with her boyfriend, unravels her parents’ secrets leading up to their divorce, and makes podcasts in her attic. I can see why “Indestructible Object” was praised

so highly—it has a spark. The storytelling jumps back and forth between regular narration and, in a bold move for a paper medium, podcast transcripts. Reveals about both the characters and the book’s family-drama-mystery are spectacularly handled. If you asked me how to write a good book—from a structural and creative standpoint—I would tell you to go read this one. But that doesn’t save it from, well, the rest of the book. I never quite clicked with Lee. I’m all for messy protagonists, but her actions are brash and sometimes entirely unacceptable. Her lack of respect for others is made so much worse by her attitude: she’s distinguished or exempt from any moral shame because she’s making art. In “Indestructible Object’s” defense, despite not loving the narrator, I did finish the book. It captured the strangeness of graduating high school and not knowing exactly what is coming next. It conveyed the fluidity of identity and the complexity of relationships—both romantic and familial. Like I mentioned, there is a charm to it. A romanization of little things and the less-than-ideal circumstances we find ourselves in. An embrace of the uncertain periods of our lives.

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editorial

Buildings Over Budgets Board delays difficult decisions Opinion by Isis Norris and Brooke Burgess

he responsibilities of a board of education member are incredibly important. They are elected by the community and entrusted with the wellbeing and future prosperity of Lawrence’s children. Recently, however, the board has shirked its responsibilities to the community. Due to a ~500 student decrease in enrollment, the district is dealing with a $3.2-$3.85 million decrease in state funding. On top of this, the board wants to raise all employees’ salaries by 1% and add to their reserve fund. This brings proposed budget cuts to almost $7 million. To compensate for this budget loss, the board established a committee to find surpluses in the district’s budget. This group, the Budget Program and Evaluation Committee, came back to the board with a proposal that included closing five east-side schools and consolidating them into the Liberty Memorial Central Middle School building. In rebuttal to the plan created by BPEC, Save Our Schools, a group founded after the announcement, took on the

responsibility of ensuring the schools’ survival. Through dramatic demonstrations - such as walking two miles from Woodlawn Elementary, a school to be closed in the proposal, to LMCMS in 14 degree weather - Save Our Schools advocated for the preservation of the history and convenience of their neighborhood schools.

“By conserving the nostalgia of a building, the district will lose more long-term by the sacrifices that will eventually have to be made.” For weeks, the group barraged board meetings and email inboxes with claims closing their neighborhood schools would be detrimental to the community as a whole. While it’s easy to understand why walking to school makes morning commutes easy, comparing a 15-minute walk to a 15-minute bus ride is absurd. In a Feb. 14 emergency work

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session, board members vowed to keep every school open for the coming year. This decision was cowardly and dangerous. It was made emotionally. By conserving the nostalgia of a building, the district will lose more long-term inevitable sacrifices eventually have to be made. Instead of closing five schools and saving $2.17 million, the board caved to a vocal minority. Now, the board’s only choice is to cut the programs each and every student interacts with. Students will soon see larger class sizes, less elective classes and less support for marginalized groups. Essentially, the board chose buildings over their students’ quality of education. While this decision may agree with Save Our Schools protestors now, the hard choice the school board must make will equally upset others. The school board made a promise with no set alternatives. Whatever decisions the board makes, students will be affected. If the board is waiting for an easy way to reduce the budget without upsetting anyone, they will never reach a solution.

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