October 2022

DISTRACTIONS DURING CLASS

Teachers fight for students’ attention while social media increases its strain on students’ education.

BeReal

strikes the

media game

ATTACKING ATHLETES OR HARMLESS HUMOR?

Unaffiliated high school Barstool Sports twitter accounts have become a favorite amongst students, the question arises whether Barstool sports is a comedic or harmful way for students to keep up with school sports.

News

created

for

Jeni Daley jdaley@usd497.org

15 YEARS OF THE UNDEAD

15th annual Lawrence Zombie Walk marches through downtown

Story by Becky Coston

Marching

from South Park, up Massachusetts Street and back, the annual Lawrence Zombie Walk trudged through downtown Lawrence for the 15th year. Hosting food vendors, makeup and bloodbath stations, and fun photo opportunities, proceeds for the event went to the Lawrence Humane Society.

The Zombie Walk started in South Park, with festivities and contests preceding the event for attendees of all ages. Children flocked to Aunt Nancy’s Face Art, waiting in line to get zombie makeup, while teenagers spent their time in groups with friends, enjoying the music and atmosphere.

Teen Annika Vermooten attended the Zombie Walk because of her mom, but enjoyed the experience regardless.

The event isn’t only a gathering at South Park, but a spooky parade around downtown. Many gathered to see the elaborate zombie costumes, ranging from a zombified Cruella de Vil and dalmatian to a cosplay zombie corpse bride.

Ayala recounted costumes she’s seen in the past.

YEARS OF HAUNTING

Even adults enjoyed the Zombie Walk, some bringing their kids and going all-out with their costumes.

Zombie mom Jocelyn Oyler enjoyed the opportunity to intermingle with the members of the community.

“I love Lawrence and the community, I love seeing everybody,” Oyler said.

Originating in 2007, many teens can’t remember a time without the Zombie Walk. Teen attendee Ava Ayala recalled going as a timid young child and jokes about the eerie memories from the experience.

“This one zombie, when I was seven, screamed at me and made me cry so I’m here to get revenge,” Ayala said.

“My mom brought me, but I’m genuinely having a good time,” Vermooten said.

“There’s some that go all out,” Ayala said. “[A girl] had a baby doll and she would eat out of the head of the baby, and one dressed up as Colonel Sanders and his wife but as zombies.” Attendees look forward to continuing this undead tradition next year.

At the 15th annual Zombie Walk, costumes ranged from a zombie bride to bloody witches. A zombie face paint station allowed participants to add to their costumes, and all proceeds from the event went to the Lawrence Humane Society.

Photos by Dru White

DEE’S PUMPKINS

Groups pull together to collaborate decorating pumpkins for Life House Child Advocacy Center

After Topeka schools were unable to help paint pumpkins this year for the Life House Child Advocacy Center, security guard Demetrius “Dee” Kemp quickly stepped in to make the donation possible. Art Club, StuCo, and IPS combined to make it happen.

The Life House Child Advocacy Center assists children in Shawnee and neighboring counties who have been subjected to sexual or physical abuse or who have been witnesses to other violent acts.

Kemp invited ceramics teacher Bryan Lloyd, art teacher Rachel Downs-Doubrava, and IPS teacher Elaine Hendrickson and their students to participate in this project.

Story by Laura Kinsch

“They were just having fun painting the pumpkins and knew it was for a good cause,” Lloyd said.

Many of the fun pumpkins highlighted popular characters from children’s movies in hopes to bring smiles to the faces of the children at the center.

This act of kindness is hoped to deliver a well needed feeling of happiness to the children at the center.

IPS ORGANIZES TRUNK OR TREAT

More than 15 groups participated in the community event with elaborately decorated trunks and dozens of bags of candy

Photos by Mallory Thompson & Chloe Cook

“It’s real to see them smiling and happy and seeing characters they like,” Kemp said.

OPINION: THE PROBLEM WITH HOOKUP CULTURE

Within the past couple of decades, a trend has developed. As the current generation becomes more permissive and progessive, so do their ideals on sex. Hook up culture has taken hold of the current generations views on dating, and as the cultural phenomenon blossoms on college campuses, so too does it take root in high schools.

For many, high school is the time in which sexual awakenings occur. These feelings and changes are complicated for sure, and for most, quite confusing.

Within this day and age, it seems that much confusion surrounds sexual, and romantic relations. Sex is arguably a healthy, and normal experience to have. As pubescents we all have some idea of sexual attraction.

As required by state, all highschoolers must have a completed credit for health class. The class is usually taken by freshmen, and typically the “sex talk” only lasts about a week. Unfortunately, it seems Kansas’s current sexual education lacks the aknowledgement of the idea of sexual attraction. In Kansas, some students may feel that sexual education pushes for abstinence and does not cover how to practice safe sex.

We know teenagers are having sex. We’ve all heard about the students having sex in the gender neutral bathrooms, or in their cars. In fact according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 60% of highschoolers have sexual relations by the time they graduate.

Sexual education has to be more than a week long lesson where the educator puts a condom on a banana and talks about STI’s and getting pregnant. There’s a lot more to sex than STI’s and bananas. Sexual education should include discussions on sexuality and gender identity, as well as a conversation on safe sex, and consent.

Consent is a subject that many educators feel is a sensitive topic, and discussions of consent can get pretty confusing for the student body. As a woman, I’ve been taught that consent is up to me.

Unfortunately, even if I say no in a sexual setting, how I dress, how many partners I’ve had, and my sobriety will impact whether society accepts my lack of consent, or dismisses it. This is one of the many inherent problems with hookup culture.

Since hookup culture is entrenched in promiscuity, the likelihood of assault is high, and in a highschool

Opinion by Cici Hunter

setting, common. Yet rather than holding the accused accountable, we look to the accuser and blame them instead.

This is due to the failure that is our sexual education. The lack of conversation around sexuality, gender identities, and consent sets up our youth for failure. And because our current sex education treats sex as an frowned upon topic, it magnifies a double standard that exists within hookup culture.

The double standard highlights that if you’re a woman engaging in sexual acts, you’re a whore, slut, thot, or hooker. If you’re a man engaging in the same activity, you’re a player, bachelor, hustler, or a pimp.

This double standard negatively impacts our youth as we grow into adulthood. Victims should not be shunned for sex or blamed for rape and assault, when the things that should be held responsible is our failed sex education and of course, the assaulter.

Seeing the likes of Andrew Tate on social media, teaching young men that woman are nothing more than objects of sexual gratification and women are whores for engaging in sexual activities, is disgusting and clouds the already limited education we have currently established.

Failure of a sex education magnifies the harms of hookup culture

As a society, we have to educate our youth bettera bout sex, sexualities, consent and the many nuances that come with growing up in a progressing society. Only then can we begin to address the misogynist driven double standard that exists in hookup culture.

Although it may seem unimportant, this conversation between two teenagers is sometimes a relatively casual approach for them to initiate a hookup

FENTANYL SWEEPS KANSAS

Lawrence battles with the Fentanyl crisis

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], Kansas saw over 600 overdose deaths reported due to fentanyl in Kansas in Sept. 2021; a 48% increase.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and can be up to a 100 times stronger than morphine. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA], two milli grams of fentanyl, depending on body weight, can kill a human. The issue is not just its deadly potency, but that it’s also becoming increasingly more common due to its easy production and being highly addictive.

The drug has been mistaken for other highly harmful but not as deadly substances and has led to many deaths. A pharmacist that has been working on opioid prescription and storage for the last 15 years, James Lichauer, ex plained the recent increase in accidental fentanyl related deaths.

“We’re finding that illegally manufactured fentanyl is on the streets and [is] killing most people in a poisonous situation because they’re not intending on taking fentan yl,” Lichauer said. “They’re thinking they are taking other drugs and they’re overdosing and dying.”

While many believe they are safe from fentanyl since they do not directly consume or inject it, reports have shown that many other drugs, like oxycodone pills and tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] cartridges, are being laced with fentanyl.

Lawrence Police Department officer Jared Hedges ex pressed the prevalence fentanyl is beginning to have.

“One of the issues we’re having now is we are finding fen tanyl in everything,” Hedge said. “We found fentanyl in synthetic marijuana a few months ago, and pretty much any type of drug that we deal with in Lawrence has had fentanyl mixed in with it.”

While fentanyl related cases have taken over the jobs of LPD, it’s also plagued the lives of students. Last year, at least three students in NE Kansas died of fentanyl over doses, including Cooper Davis of Mill Valley, whose fami ly has begun the “One Pill Can Kill” campaign to publi cally advocating for awareness to prevent future deaths.

Story by Stella Mosier with contributions by Grace Lichauer

“During my sophomore year, I was sold a THC cartridge laced with fentanyl by a local plug [drug dealer,]” an anonymous student reported. “I had multiple seizures and I experienced permanent memory and sensory issues as an effect of careless and rapid consumption.”

When fentanyl is ingested even in small amounts, it can cause serious damage. According to the DEA, overdose effects include respiratory failure, coma’s, stu por, changes in pupillary size, and discol oration of the skin.

On Tuesday Oct. 18, school admin held a Current Illegal Drug Trend Night for parents.

what it is and where it comes from, accord ing to the school’s information night.

2MILLIGRAMS

FENTANYL CAN KILL A HUMAN DRUG RELATED DEATHS IN LAWRENCE ROSE

Many times, people in drug related inci dents are afraid to notify authorities for help due to possible legal implications.

“Oftentimes they don’t report [overdoses] because they’re worried about if the police show up,” Hedge said. “And that’s not a good way to do it; We don’t care, we just want to save the life.”

To combat an overdose, police officers and first responders typically use Narcan, an opioid antagonist medicine in the form of a nasal spray. This easy to use medicine can be bought by the public and can instantly reverse the effects of an overdose. SRO officers at the school carry narcan. School nurses do not currently carry it but have discussed moving in that direction because of the current situation. However, in an emergency always call 911.

Disclaimer: In order to interview parents attending the Current Illegal Drug Trend Night, associate principal Amanada Faunce requested that all parents remain anonymous for this story.

“I am concerned because it’s so unexpect ed,” a parent said. “And when [an over dose] happens to someone, it’s almost too late already.”

The most effective way to prevent an overdose is to not put anything into your body unless you are fully informed as to

IN AN EMERGENCY CALL:

“ I am concerned because it’s so unexpected. And when it [an overdose] happens to someone, it’s almost too late already,” a parent said.

Percocet, oxycodone, and THC cartridges are some of the most common drugs unknowingly laced with fentanyl. Photo by Lady Ortega-Perez

“A lot of students are exposed to unsafe drug use,” an anonymous student said. “Not because they want to search for a ‘higher’ high, but simply out of unknowingness and lack of control over what they are being sold.”

Office administrators collect students’ vape pens and lighters. Most items are turned over to School Resource Officer Kacey Wiltz. “Last year, we collected items daily; this year, the numbers are much lower,” said Officer Wiltz at the Current Illegal Drug Trend Night. Photo collected by Braedyn Clover

KU LEGEND TO FIREBIRD BASKETBALL COACH

Sherron Collins fills head coach position for boys basketball

FormerNBA player and Kansas University [KU] alumnus Sherron Collins is taking on the position of boys head basketball coach this year.

Collins played for KU from 2006-2010, including the 2008 championship team, before going on to play professional basketball for eight years. Playing for KU at Allen Fieldhouse was an amazing experience for Collins.

“It’s the best venue out there, loudest gym I ever played in, and I think it’s the best atmosphere out there,” Collins said.

Collins wanted a coach who had more experience when he was in high school, so after playing professionally he knew he wanted to coach.

are going to show up. ”

There has already been a lot of attention on the team even before the season starts because of Collins’ experience on the court. The players are also looking forward to a former professional stepping into the coaching role.

“He has a lot of experience in basketball so he can teach us a lot that our coach last year really couldn’t, “ senior Jailen Thompson said.

Players expect Collins to bring a new approach by letting them have more freedom on the court during practices and games.

“He’s just gonna kind of let us play freely how we want to,” Thompson said.

Collins was hired this June by a committee of administrators, including new Athletic Director Jered Shaw. Shaw mentioned reasons Collins was hired other than his experience with the sport.

. ”

This basketball season will feature a new coaching team for the first time in seven years. Assistant Coach Jamar Reese is already anticipating changes to the program.

“You know, everything’s changing right now,” Reese said. “With the fan mail, the media, the interviews, the prestige that’s been brought to our program. I think a lot more people

“More than anything, what’s attractive about Sherron is his ability to reach kids, help kids, build solid young men,” Shaw said.

Collins is working to build a system of support for his athletes on and off the court, and reaching out to help with grades and attendance.

“It’s more than just about basketball, it’s about how they can be successful all throughout school,” Shaw said.

KINLEY VANPELT WINS STATE

Sophomore Kinley Vanpelt won the 6A singles state title for girls tennis on Saturday, Oct. 15. Vanpelt finished her season with an undefeated record of 29-0.

“You don’t ever know you’re gonna win [state] because, people can come back because there’s no time limit or anything,” Vanpelt said. “Once I saw the ball was going out, I got really excited because I won state.”

Vanpelt joins the 2 other singles state champions in school history, 2002 and 1999.

Moore/KSHSAA

“ We didn’t have a lot of guys who played college or play professionally come back and help us,” Collins said. “So I always wanted to be that guy to be back and give.

STUDENT ATHLETE COMMITS

Firebird athletes are continue their athletic and academic careers at the college level.

CLAIRE BERQUIST

Golf

University of Nebraska-Kearney

CALVIN CLEMENTS

Football

Baylor University

SAWYER THOMSEN

Volleyball

University of California - Berkley

RYLEE UNRUH

Volleyball

Washburn University

.

“The environment is going to be about the same, knowing [what it’s like] being on a high school team and knowing the college team I’m going to be on. They definitely both have a family-centered environment, which is good, . Berquist said.

“The ultimate goal is to go to the NFL,” Clements said. “I want to be a professional player, making good relationships, getting my degree and playing a lot of good football. h

“Mainly, schooling is the most exciting thing for me. I’m kind of a nerd, you know, that always helps,” Thomsen said. “I’m excited to play volleyball as well. .

“[Volleyball] is kind of my whole life,” Unruh said. “Growing up, I played since I was eight or nine and since then I just fell in love with it.

. ”

Senior Claire Berquist announced her commitment to the University of Nebraska during this past summer. Berquist is excited for University of Nebraska-Kearney’s competitive medical program and the positive team environment. Berquist finished 2nd at the state golf tournament Oct. 18.

After being recognized as one of the top offensive lineman prospects in the country, senior Calvin Clements is committed to Baylor University for football. When asked about long term goals, Clements said the end goal is to be in the National Football League [NFL], and is taking steps to reach it.

. ”

Senior Sawyer Thomsen committed to the University of California-Berkeley this past July with the intention to major in data science. Thomsen is excited to be playing at a top university.

.

. ” . ”

After competing at state championships with the Firebird volleyball team in 2021, senior Rylee Unruh announced her commitment to Washburn University. Unruh shared her passion for volleyball and her enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

.

“My favorite moment from this season is our first home win of the season against Shawnee Mission South and the celebration after with friends and teammates,” senior Adam Coup said.

“My favorite moment this season has been beating Olathe Northwest at Olathe Northwest, we were behind and Sawyer had a great serving run to help us win the game,” senior Myla Nover-Estes said.

VOLLEYBALL

“My favorite moment this season was getting to play doubles with Ava Holt,” sophomore Sofia Bourdo said.

“There have been many hardships but we are starting to work together better and find our rhythm,” senior Suyash Kumar said.

BOYSSOCCERGIRLSTENNIS

FIREBIRD FALL SPORTS

“My favorite moment has to be when we went to Braums after a meet in Emporia…we all bonded a lot that night,” junior Josephine Warrior said.

“We’ve been short staffed this year but our 3 coaches have really stepped up, along with upper classmen taking charge and leading the team,” junior Ryan Whittlesey said.

FOOTBALL GIRLS GOLF

“The season has been good, I think we all have improved as the season progressed,” sophomore Merrit Hale said.

GYM? BRO.

Gym Bro’s Jaime Patzel, Leo Regalado, Spencer Doan, and Kaleb Stewart set out to review popular gyms in Lawrence.

“I really liked the machine selection they had there, along with the range of dumb bells they had,” Patzel said. “The thing which I disliked the most was how busy it was, but this also increased the environ ment and energy in the gym.”

GENESIS HEALTH CLUB

Leo Regalado Review:

“Most of the time it’s empty so I can work out peacefully without waiting for ma chines to open up,” Regalado said. “But it’s expensive and also doesn’t have many machines—at least the ones I like—and the lighting is not good.”

“It’s a great gym for beginners and for people who are looking for a cheaper gym, but their equip ment is very sub par,” Stewart said. “I also think some of their strategies to make people feel more welcome end up backfiring—mainly speaking to the Lunk Alarm, which is an extremely loud alarm that will go off if you do things such as grunt or drop a weight too loud. I feel like [this] keeps a lot of people from pushing themselves.”

OLYMPIC IRON GYM

“Olympic Iron is a great gym for in termediate and advanced lifters, it has a late 90s Ronnie Coleman/Jay Cutler vibe,” Doan said. “While the equipment selection doesn’t match Crunch or Gen esis, they have the essentials there. It is a smaller gym, so if Crunch feels too busy it is a great place to be.”

Jamie Patzel’s Review:

Spencer Doan Review:

Kaleb Stewart Review:

Safety in State

Story by Gabriella Kellison and Stella Mosier

Since the beginning of the school year, the security team, Student Resource Officers [SRO], and administration have been implementing numerous new surveillance measures and precautions.

These include two security desks at both ends of the 200s hallway, mandatory check-in when returning from off-campus lunches, as well as an increased number of security guards spaced throughout the building.

Lunch time check-in has been a big change for students this year. Security aims to use this precaution to ensure the safety of students.

“Our first goal is to make sure the students are safe,” security officer

Phoebe Morris abides by the school’s new precautions set in place this year, which includes every student manually checking in coming back from lunch. Freshmen have more freedom regarding off campus lunches compared to middle school, but some have struggled to get back to class on time because of the bottleneck of the new system. Photo by Amelia Wiles

Firebirds adjust to new safety measures attempting to better secure building and locate students throughout the day

73% OF STUDENTS FEEL SAFER WITH THE NEW RULES

According to an Instagram poll of 121 votes

Chris Goulter said. “Everything else is secondary.”

According to administrators, the goal of the new security enforcements is to provide a more safe, controlled and transparent environment. Therefore, students’ whereabouts have become an important piece of information that administrators need to have access to. The lunch check-in and new security desks both provide access to this information.

Along with lunch check-in, the security desks are one of the more evident additions to the security team, yet many are unaware of the reason for their use.

“I think having the security stations in the commons and on the east side of the school have helped quite a bit this year,” Goulter said. “Having us in those locations and creating a consistent presence has done a lot to quiet down those areas, which were some of the worst last year.”

One of the major factors being addressed this year is attendance. The security desks hope to eliminate some of the attendance issues from last year due to ILT. Beyond Free State students frequently skipping class, last year some non-Free State students came into the building without clearance or consequence.

“What we tried to do was curb access to the building for people who weren’t supposed to be here… it’s a deterrent,” Student Resource Officer Kacey Wiltz said.

National conversations regarding school security reemerged following

the Uvalde shooting in Texas last May. In August, Free State received its own threat, with a student being arrested after not complying with police officers. The district hosted a series of community talks called “Let’s Talk Safety” from July to September, led by Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis.

“As a School Resource Officer, my function is to protect the students, first and foremost,” Officer Wiltz said. “Secondly, I’m here to build relationships and highlight that police can be seen in a positive environment.”

Although the security team says the changes have been put in place for the benefit of students, some students feel that security staff and officers have not made this point clear enough.

“It’s weird to have someone who’s trained as a police officer just

chilling in your school building,” senior Solie Edison said. “The SRO’s can make people feel uncomfortable and that’s a situation that needs to be addressed.”

Despite the uncertainty of some students, the security staff believes they have decided to further dedicate themselves to the betterment and safety of the environment.

Although the idea of a trained officer in the building may feel strange to Edison and other students, he does understand the need for precaution.

“I think that in the world we live in, it’s never a bad thing to take precaution, and it’s never a bad thing to be proactive, especially when it comes to student safety,” Edison said. “Everybody deserves to be in an environment where they feel safe.”

Security guard Dee Kemp observes the school through multiple lenses. With new security measures, administration and support staff like Kemp monitor the hallways during school hours. “[Security] should be strong because of easy access and availability of weapons, drugs, and anything illegal,” Kemp said. “When people send their kids to school, I want them to receive them back the same way.”

Photo by Amelia Wiles

DISTRACTIONS DURING

When you walk into a classroom students should be doing any number of things. They could be working on homework, taking notes, but more often than not they are on social media. Over the past few years, teachers have noticed social media becoming an increasing distraction for students during class.

Between Snapchat, Instagram, Tiktok, and BeReal, these app’s algorithms are enticing stu dents to spend more time scrolling through their feeds.

Science teacher Wendy Haas ponders whether students spending time on social media affects productivity in classrooms.

“There are days when I feel that social media has very little impact on what we’ve been able to ac complish as a class, and days where I get dismayed by the amount of distraction,” Haas said.

Haas believes that this increase in social media use could be a potential effect of the COVID-19 pan demic. For nearly two years, students were taught online and had more reliance on their devices.

“It became people’s lifeline to the outside world during lockdown and during remote and hybrid school,” Haas said.

“We’re all still retraining ourselves [on] how to be around a bunch of people again.”

According to Haas, the abrupt transition from fully online school, to hybrid learning, to in-per son school, has left students dependent on social media.

Teachers fight for students’ attention while social media increases its strain on students’ education.

Story by Maura Langland

Even during ECT it can be difficult to focus on work instead of looking at your phone and seeing what’s new on Snapchat, Instagram etc. Here, senior Sam Girard is on his phone but is still maintaining a fine line of what work there is to do and what is finished. Photo by Keat Hockenbury

DURING CLASS

“The pandemic totally changed reli ance on phones,” Haas said. “I used to have just a few kids who struggled with controlling phone use, now I have a lot more.”

The increase in social media has forced teachers to adapt their teaching to cater towards students’ attention spans. Students using their phones in class is not a new concept for teachers, but has become a larger factor.

Ceramics teacher Bryan Lloyd finds that social media has become a much bigger issue during class in recent years.

“Social media is the main [distractor] from students focusing in class because there’s always notifications that go off and they feel like they have to get to it right away,” Lloyd said.

As new apps emerge and algorithms strengthen, social media addictions continue to be a constant battle with educators.

TO A PEW RESEARCH POLL

OF TEENS SAY THEY HAVE ACCESS TO A SMARTPHONE

THEY ARE “ALMOST CONSTANTLY” ON THE INTERNET

QUICK, BeReal!!

BeReal strikes the social media game

Earlythis year, rising social media app BeReal rapidly caught tens of millions of teenage eyes across the nation. Unlike other social media apps, BeReal stands out by encouraging users to show their “real selves” by spontaneously notifying them once a day to take an unfiltered selfie and photo of what they are doing at that specific moment.

For full transparency, the app utilizes the front and back cameras simultaneously, resulting in a photo displaying a selfie and what the user is doing doing. The user chaotically scrambles within two minutes to post their BeReal before it becomes late and they won’t be able to view their friends’ BeReals until they post theirs.

BeReal also stands apart from other social media apps since it lacks algorithms, unlimited scrolling, and direct messaging. Many believe the simplicity of the app keeps people engaged.

“Since you don’t talk to anyone on it and it’s just photos, it’s a lot more fun,” freshman Addie Hoover said.

Many students at school have noticed that the daily unplanned two minute timer puts an emphasis on authenticity. “[It’s] the whole thing about ‘being real,’” senior Perry Bonner said. “You can’t post what you’re doing at any given time, with other social media apps, you don’t have just two minutes to post .”

Story by Lilly Wall

As the app became bigger, users began to use its purpose in different ways. Bonner believes the app’s audience growth has resulted in it becoming less genuine when people wait to post their BeReal until doing something worth seeing.

“Just waiting till you’re doing something interesting defeats the purpose,” Bonner said.

However, the rise in popularity swiftly gained its negative effects as well. Many say BeReal impacts teenagers’ FOMO [Fear of Missing Out], specifically when seeing your friends hang out without you.

Ceramics teacher Bryan Lloyd believes the app adds another reason for students to scroll on their phones, and ultimately has made teenagers increasingly preoccupied with phones in class.

”It’s a way that just ties people even more to their phone because they’re checking to see if it went off with every vibration in their pocket,” Lloyd said.

The simple notification may cause distraction and ruckus for classes with a lecture-based atmosphere, but for choir teacher Joshua East, he finds the app relatively harmless because of the natural atmosphere of his class.

“I’ve posted on BeReal and I’ve had a friend see that we’re hanging out… It just impacts how they feel in that moment,” Hoover said. An added complication is many BeReal notifications come during school hours, prompting students to pause their work to take their BeReal.

Seniors Claire Berquist and Natalie Schmidtberger pose for a BeReal following their varsity golf tournament. Photo submitted by Claire Berquist

Freshman Addie Hoover snaps a BeReal in her 21st Century Journalism class featuring teacher Jeni Daley. Photo submitted by Addie Hoover

In choir, phones are not accessible and are kept away during class to keep students hands-on which eliminates issues with BeReal usage during class.

Students predict that BeReal will remain popular due to the app’s simplicity and lack of social media pressure.

“Your post is up for a day, then it goes away, and then you just do it the next day,” Bonner said. “There’s not as much pressure to have the perfect picture.”

“It demands presence for such a short amount of time. It’s less disruptive than a lot of other types of social media,” East said.

Choir Birds pose for their BeReal taken by choir teacher Joshua East. Photo submitted by Perry Bonner

Junior Abby Chappel takes a selfie with Student Council Advisor Debra Ziegler on homecoming week’s jersey day. Photo submitted by Abby Chappell

Homecoming Candidates capture their time on the sidelines before coronation. Photo submitted by Londyn Miller

and

‘BE

Nation

Student Council’s

Monster

Raelynn

Photo submitted by Raelynn Keefer

During recent years of the increasing social media presence in schools, Barstool Sports twitter accounts have become a prevalent way for students to keep up with school sports programs.

Barstool Sports accounts are unaffiliated with schools official sports teams, though run by multiple students within the school.

Senior Will Young, a member of the varsity football team and avid participant of the hype club, says it amplifies school rivalry.

“[Barstool] makes a great competitive nature between schools, gets people going, and makes everyone bring the hype back to sports,” Young said.

Although many feel these accounts are helpful in building school spirit and bringing excitement to games, some feel they have also grown into harmful platforms—with many student athletes experiencing a new form of local public cyberbullying that we haven’t seen in the past.

Barstool social media accounts are notorious for their lack of filter and comedic hostility,

and accounts from other schools in the district have used this excuse to make comments some students deem as inappropriate and unwarranted.

“I think [the accounts] sometimes attack players, but for the most part Barstool is supposed to be funny,” Edison said.

Many athletes who are subject to being posted don’t seem to mind the negative comments, but with recent posts made by Olathe West’s twitter account, a different reaction has been sparked among students.

On Sept. 2, the Olathe West Barstool account made a derogatory post regarding the Firebird spirit squad. Many students in the school saw this as completely unwarranted, but one of the cheerleaders in the post, freshman Emi Stone, sees it as a reflection of those running the account.

As devastating and humiliating as these posts may seem, many athletes at school have remained in good spirits regarding the use of Barstool accounts.

Junior quarterback Wesley Edison believes Barstool amplifies school rivalry during the week leading up to the game.

“My personal opinion is if you have to make a comment about the cheerleaders, then your football team must suck,” Stone said.

“Some schools take it way too far, there’s some things that really shouldn’t be talked about or shouldn’t be brought into sports, [such as] private issues or things someone is really insecure about,” Young said.

High school Barstool Sports Twitter accounts have become a favorite amongst students, but are they a comedic or harmful rivalry?

BARSTOOL SPORTS: ATTACKING ATHLETES OR HARMLESS HUMOR?

Story by Gabriella Kellison

SOCIAL MEDIA 3 DAY CLEANSE

Junior Stella Mosier spends three days with no social media

OPENING THOUGHTS:

Last week, I spent 11 hours on Snapchat, 7 hours on TikTok, and 5 hours on Instagram. And, even though this may seem like a lot, I know many other students who spend way more time than me on social media. In all honesty, I don’t really see the issue with a high social media screen time. I find social media to be a great way to entertain myself in my downtime. Some students worry that social media has become addictive, and that it takes time out of their day that could be spent doing more productive things. So, I dedicated three days to see what my life would be like without social media.

DAY 1:

My first day without social media was not too bad. It was a Sunday, so I got up in the morning to go to work, and I spent the entire rest of the day with friends. I was so busy and distracted the entire day that it wasn’t even an issue that I didn’t have the option to scroll through Instagram or watch TikToks. However, it was a bit frustrating to not have the option to talk to my friends through Snapchat, because that has become one of the biggest ways of communicating for many people.

DAY 3:

DAY 2:

My second day social-media free was a bit more frustrating, but definitely not unbearable. I had a lot of downtime, so instead of watching TikToks, I watched Netflix instead. Also, I did end up doing a bit more homework than I would have normally done because I didn’t have much else to spend my time on.

Day three, I found it much more difficult to stay off of Snapchat. After 3 days, I felt very tired of only being able to talk to people through text because Snapchat allowed me to send videos with people which I prefer over texting a lot of the time. I felt more out of touch with a lot of my friends because I couldn’t communicate with them as well as I normally could.

OVERALL REVIEW:

I am not sure I would recommend a social media cleanse. For me personally, it did not really benefit me in any way. To a certain extent I was more productive than usual, but I would not say the changes were anything that benefited me, and the cons definitely outweighed the pros. However, social media impacts everyone differently, so maybe it is worth a shot!

Finding the humor in these derogatory posts and maintaining a sense of lightheartedness and competitiveness comes easily to some athletes.

“I see [Barstool accounts] to be more humorous than helpful or harmful, I see myself on there sometimes and I kind of think it’s funny,” Edison said.

As social media consumers, it is important to consider the effects these accounts can have on athletes’ mental health as well as the athletic environment.

STYLE AT STATE

For senior Nate Grant and junior Maizee Wopsock,fashion cultivates passion and interest. Both of their fun,unique styles serve as a form of self expression.

Senior

Q: Where’s your favorite place to go shopping?

Grant

A: “My favorite shop is a place in Wichita called Uptown Cheapskate, but in Lawrence it’s Arizona Trading Company - but they’re kind of a hit-or-miss. Wildman Vintage is good for like, I don’t want to say statement pieces, because that sounds pretentious, but...”

Q

: What’s been your favorite fashion trend this year?

: “I don’t really keep up with trends but I have been sort of going for not quite cottage core but more a ‘Frog and Toad’ sort of thing recently.”

: Least favorite fashion trend this year?

“Just like the Adam Sandler day. I hated that. I didn’t care for that day.”

Where do you find your style inspiration?

“Thrifting has been central to every improvement I have made to my fashion now, it gives you a ton of exposure to different styles so you can see what you like.”

by Gabriella Kellison

Junior Maizee Wopsock

Q: Who is your celebrity style inspiration?

A

: “JWoww (Jenni Farley) from Jersey Shore and Paris Hilton. Oh, and early 2000s Kim Kardashian.”

Q

: Where’s your favorite place to shop for your clothes?

“I don’t want to say Urban, but I do get stuff from Urban - and Garage. I don’t really shop in person, I like all my online stuff. Online, I really like OhMighty, iGirl, Unif, Lip Service, and Tunnel Vision.”

Q

: What fashion trend gets the “Maizee Stamp of Approval” in 2022?

: “I like studded beltsjust anything studded and I like low rise jeans.”

Q

: What fashion trend could you live without?

: “Jorts - but really long jorts.”

BOOK REVIEW

Review by Olivia Nagel

BACKMAN’S “ANXIOUS PEOPLE’’

is a highly witty, hilarious, and unique novel about how a group of people’s lives are not so different as they think. The book opens with an investigation of a 39-year-old woman, Liv Holmberg, down on her luck, who mistakenly attempts to rob a cashless bank. After the heist, Liv flees to an apartment viewing, where she and eight highly anxious people initiate a pretend hostage situation to save her from being caught by the police.

The book not only focuses on the dramatic scenes of the heist and investigation but also intertwines the backstories of each prospective buyer through interogations conducted by moronic police officers.

By the end of the book, the series of peculiar events is connected and the buyers all share a bond over their own unique narratives. The story weaves humor and sorrowful tones with exquisite ease, along with the author’s trademark mellifluous style and grace. “Anxious People” injects poignant observations about life and death, love and marriage, parenting and divorce, and social and economic stress amid the humor. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who need a shed of light on their stressful lives.

ALBUM REVIEW

RATING: 5/5

Review by Lilly Wall and Evan White

After many long, sleepless nights of self-reflecting, music artist Taylor Swift dropped her tenth studio album on Oct. 21 titled “Midnights,” at 12 a.m. EST. After backto-back release of albums and rerecordings, this album shows Swift’s experience with self-reflection surrounding childhood fame.

The album is similar to her sixth studio album “Reputation” in the sense of tempo, and her seventh studio album “Lover,” sharing lyrics with themes of relationship love, heartbreak, anger and yearning.

Three hours after the release of “Midnights” Swift dropped seven more songs as her “Special, very chaotic surprise,” titling this album “Midnights (3 a.m. Edition).”

Tracks like “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” and “Dear Reader” highlight the infamous bridges that Swift is known ‘all too well’ for constructing. The 3 a.m. Edition incorporates the iconic sadness many people search for in Swift’s songs, which amplifies the overall feel of the album.

After 20 sleepless nights, Swift takes listeners through her selfreflection and guides them through the time we missed since her last studio album. The album’s diversity in implementing a range of emotions, lyrical complexity, and musical design prove that Swift is a ‘Mastermind’ of songwriting for this generation.

TEACHER TROUBLES

District Teachers jungle pay freezes increased class sizes, and workload lingering effects of COVID-19

Whileany job has its own set of challenges, a poll from the nation’s largest teachers union said 55% of teachers are hoping to leave education earlier than planned. Locally since the start of the school year, students have seen an increase in their class sizes, a lack of substitute teachers, and other teachers covering classes. While this may be a slight annoyance for students, it’s only part of the difficulties teachers now say they are facing.

Due to the USD497 budget crisis, in addition to some student programs being cut, other financial woes are impacting teachers as well. Despite this year’s 1.8% increase in pay, budget issues have caused staff members to experience vertical pay freezes.

Teachers are paid based on where they land on the salary schedule. On the matrix, they can move to the right to receive more pay for additional education (for example, earning a master’s degree), and they can move down to receive more pay for additional experience (a slight bump in their salary each year). However, because of the vertical freeze this year, they will not receive the additional compensation for an additional year of experience as expected.

While social studies teacher Blake Swenson has only been teaching at Free State for six years, he has already experienced two consecutive pay freezes. That means instead of being on step six on the salary matrix, he is currently on step four.

“[The district has] been pretty much living paycheck to paycheck,” Swenson said. “The financial benefits aren’t as great [which] creates all these other problems.”

One of those problems includes district-wide staff shortages, as some teachers have completely left the profession and others are drawn to districts with slightly higher pay. Without the ability to attract, or fully compensate teachers, class sizes have significantly increased because not every position is filled.

Science teacher Wendy Haas typically teaches an

Story by Alicia Narum

average of 140 students. This year, she has around 160 students, the equivalent to an additional full class. With her largest class being 31 students, she said it has proved a difficult environment for both her and her students.

Increased class sizes also add additional time commitments for teachers who do not have a lot of time to spare. During the week, teachers are in charge of creating lesson plans, grading assignments, giving feedback, attending training and more. While teachers are given four hours and 15 minutes of plan period a week, many teachers find themselves working after hours, on weekends, and even holidays trying to complete their work.

Aimee Landwehr is a former history teacher who left Free State two years ago. She is currently pursuing a new career in UX design.

“When you’re in this space it adds a level [where] the kids aren’t as relaxed…which I totally understand, there’s a lot of people in there,” Haas said. “I am a little concerned when we start doing more cellular and microscope work. I mean, they’re gonna be kind of shoulder-toshoulder looking.”

Helping senior Talyn Nichols, social studies teacher Blake Swenson juggles the workload of a teacher. With recent budget concerns, Swenson stayed frozen at step 4 on the salary schedule rather than moving to step 6 to increase his base pay this year. Photo by Keat Hockenbury

Adding to the plan time responsibilities, a lack of substitute teachers has also infringed on that time, asking teachers to fill in for coworkers. With some teachers being pulled away from classes, either for sports or personal reasons, others are being asked to give up their plan time to help cover.

According to Haas, teachers are receiving about three to four emails a week with requests from administration to cover a class. While Haas feels guilty, she has to prioritize her own class.

“I try to help but honestly my plan period becomes especially [important] since I have a lab class,” Haas said. “I have to have that time to set up a lab.”

However, issues caused by the USD 497 district budget crisis only scratches the surface of troubles educators now face. On a daily basis, teachers have been working to tackle challenges caused by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After being online for almost two years, many teachers have noticed gaps in student’s learning. Whether it’s struggling with academic concepts or difficulties with adjusting to a high school environment, many teachers are seeing it manifest in an increase in student anxiety, depression, and lack of motivation.

“Anxiety has been a big challenge for a lot of students and helping them navigate their anxiety, and feel good

about being at school, has been big,” Haas said. “It’s been hard.”

While teachers are working to handle these challenges, some believe they stem from a larger issue.

For Swenson, the most impactful way to help teachers starts with increasing the Kansas’ education budget. For this to happen, he said, more advocates for education must be elected onto the Kansas’ state legislature.

“There’s a political party, or political advocacy, that just doesn’t want the government to be involved in education. So they’re going to continually fight against it,” Swenson said. “That’s where teachers got to think… How can we work at the political level to change what the makeup of Congress is? How can we get more people that advocate for schools?”

Despite all of these challenges, teachers still show up to school each day ready to face whatever comes. For Haas, teaching has allowed her to form great relationships with both fellow staff members and students.

“I like that I get to keep learning things myself,” Haas said. “I go home with stories every day. So the relationships that I have with my colleagues and my students, I mean, that’s what keeps me in it.”

“There was just never enough time to do everything that needed to be done and do it well,” Landwehr said. “Let’s imagine a teacher who has 125 students on their roster. If that teacher [allotted] one minute to provide feedback for every student every single week, that’s two hours [or] 40% of their plan time devoted just to that one minute. [It’s] not really adequate enough to give proper feedback and that’s only one time a week.”

“As a society we haven’t really decided to value education,” Landwehr said.

“There’s a lot of lip service [about] valu ing education, and valuing students, learners, and valuing teachers. But un fortunately, when it comes time to re sourcing education as a pursuit, we just generally don’t do it.”

While working on a biology project, Ms. Haas helps students with the next step.

Photo by Keat Hockenbury

BUS SCHEDULE FORCES TEAMS

TO LEAVE EARLY

Buses taking athletes to away games are forced to leave extra early due to USD 497 bus driver shortage

During the fall sports season, buses have been forced to leave early due to the Lawrence Public Schools bus driver shortage, causing teams to leave up to five hours prior to competition time and miss afternoon classes so the driver can get back for their after school route.

In previous years, there were enough bus drivers to accommodate both sports and everyday routes. However, the same drivers are driving the sports routes this year. That means volleyball, for example, often leaves at 1 p.m. for a 5 p.m. game 30 minutes away. Freshman football and boys soccer have run into the same problem, causing athletes to simply sit at the opposing team’s field or gym for hours before even getting dressed for competition. Freshman football coach Zach Wormsley said this has caused issues for his athletes.

“It causes [a] lack of focus. Mentally, they seem to not be able to pull it together ‘till later on in the game,” Wormsley said.

Leaving class early has also affected some students academically. With athletes being pulled out of school as early as noon, they miss out on important lectures and homework assignments for their last three classes of the day. While some athletes have tried to do their assignments while waiting for their game to start, many of these facilities do not provide wifi, leaving students to resort to their phone’s hotspot or not do it at all.

“It makes me miss school and classes so I have a lot of absences,” freshman and football player Gavin Thompson said. For varsity head coach Jamie Savage’s team, she has seen it affect player’s mental health.

This is not a problem exclusive to Free State, however. Nationwide, there is a bus driver shortage. According to a HopSkipDrive poll, 88% of schools across the country are suffering from a bus shortage.

Although this is a problem both nationwide and locally, there are hopes for it to be resolved by the next fall season.

“We just don’t have the bus drivers to handle all of the routes,” Savage said. “So we are hoping that we’re able to hire more bus drivers.”

“I’ve seen a little rise in anxiety just because they don’t want to miss things and they want to ensure that they don’t fall behind,” Savage said.

Senior Captain Ming Da Zhang steps onto the bus for the team’s trip to Gardner-Edgerton. Although the varsity Boys Soccer team did not play until 7 p.m. they had to conform to the difficult agenda of bus routes, leaving at 1 p.m. With over five hours of downtime before playing, student-athletes have to find productive ways to spend their time. Photo by Amelia Wiles

Story by Ember Klein

JV Player Greyson Heiman, boards

for the team’s match against Gardner-Edgerton. Although the Junior Varsity team plays at an earlier time than the varsity team, they still have a considerable amount of time between leaving school grounds and game time. Photo by Amelia Wiles

COACHES “BLINDSIDED” BY INCREASING FACILITY RENTAL FEES

As the district reviews facility rental fees, sports teams may now have to pay the district the same fees charged to outside groups for their summer workouts and camps, in accordance with a new fee schedule drafted this summer.

Under the proposal, any Free State or Lawrence High sports program charging for off season training would be required to pay anywhere from $20 to $50 per hour, plus a potential $30 per hour custodial fee (if custodians are not already on duty).

Some coaches charge athletes to participate in summer workouts or camps. For example, volleyball charges $100 to participate in summer camp, which covers two hours worth of camp, a t-shirt, insurance, and adds to the scholarship fund for athletes wanting to attend but unable to pay. Football charges $50 for summer workouts five days a week all summer. The new facility rental fees drafted this summer could mean the district takes a cut of those profits, which several coaches have not previously been charged for or have been charged significantly lower rates.

On July 1, varsity volleyball coach Jayme Savage received an invoice for $1,800 for one week of camp using two gyms, charging court usage at a rate of $30 an hour. Savage said this came as a surprise, as the team previously was charged $20 to $25 per day total, adding up to approximately $100 for the full week.

“We had never seen these kinds of fees before… with that kind of money being charged, we would lose money,” Savage said.

After addressing her concerns with the district, Savage said the volleyball’s invoice was reduced to $480. Dr. Larry Englebrick, Executive Director of Facilities and Operations (who has held the position since March 1, 2021), said the newly drafted fee schedule was passed on to him from his predecessor and part of a normal fee review process. He acknowledged that coaches had come to him with concerns.

“We’ve attempted to keep our fees, number one, in line with neighboring districts and in line with what we’ve charged in the past,” Englebrick said. “ What really started this was they [coaches] sent in facility use agreements, we sent them back with the fees. [Coaches responded,] ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ …And then we had discussions with each individual that sent those in.”

Englebrick said as of now, the district has put most of the invoices on hold and told the coaches they don’t have to pay them, unless a coach thought the fee was fair and then they expected them to pay.

The fee rates alarmed some coaches and could have potentially restricted the team’s ability to host summer camps or workouts. Because school sports teams cannot apply for 501(c)3 nonprofit status, most coaches would have to reallocate money from their general sports fund or participate in additional fundraising efforts to pay the for-profit rates, which is typically used to fund team resources, competitions and gear.

Although some coaches have expressed the new fees would dampen their summer preparation, Athletic Director Jered Shaw believes that holding camps over the summer is important and didn’t think the new fee schedule would have a big impact on summer offerings.

“It’s a massive competitive advantage if you have a significant or a robust system in place for summer workouts,” Shaw said. “And more physically, even, it gives you camaraderie as a team. It gives you extra time together, which is the best part.”

At Free State, four additional head coaches were interviewed, who said they were glad that this issue is being reported on but were hesitant to go on the record with exact numbers, citing not wanting to cause conflict between their program and the district. Journalists from The Budget at Lawrence High are also reporting on the issue from their school in collaboration with FSJournalism.

Englebrick said KSHSAA summer rules and regulations dictate the fee schedule, and could not definitively say if summer workouts would be charged or only summer camps. For example, if a team does not host an official camp but

“We just never saw the list of what those individual fees were and how they came about, so we were kind of blindsided,” volleyball caoch Jayme Savage said.

Confusion among sports coaches stirs discussion with district after a new Facility Use Fee Schedule was released in July with increased rates

offers weekly summer workouts for a set fee, Englebrick thought that might mean all workouts throughout the summer fall under the “camp” umbrella, leading to hourly facility fees for each individual workout. That means if a program hosts six hours of workouts a week, that could amount to anywhere from $120 per week (tennis courts) to $450 per week (football or soccer fields).

Savage believes the Facility Usage Fee rates may affect athlete participation as teams may be forced to increase participation fees if the facility rates are also increased.

“I think it definitely impacts smaller programs,” Savage said. “And for some if scholarships are not available, it could hinder their ability to participate.”

Savage organized a meeting with other coaches in the district from both high schools to discuss these new fees with Englebrick.

“Confusion set in and so we wanted to get on the same page… [in order] to benefit high school coaches and programs,” Savage said.

The meeting led to a series of further meetings discussing how to make these fees more equitable for coaches and teams. When asked about the history behind these fees, Englebrick expressed that he did not know how these fees were managed prior to him being the Executive Director of Facilities and Operations.

“I don’t know what they paid in the past, I don’t know what they were invoiced in the past, I don’t know if they paid their invoices in the past,” Englebrick said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get this resolved, and that’s what we’ve been working on.”

On the fee schedule, classroom, auditorium and building space fees are listed. When asked if Student Council or other student groups would be charged to use spaces during for-profit activities like school dances where $10 admission is charged, Englebrick said no because, “we can’t put them under school activities because of KSHSAA rules.” Student Council is an official KSHSAA-regulated activity (along with debate, music, scholar’s bowl, and more), but it doesn’t have a designated “season,” meaning they wouldn’t be charged for “offseason” activities.

District administration is now working on creating a revised Facility Use Fee Schedule that would answer the concerns of coaching staff across the district. Englebrick hopes for the process to be complete by February in order to provide clear rates to the coaches and prepare for the ‘23-’24 school year.

Englebrick expressed that the district does not intend for complications amongst the district’s teams and coaching staff. He also said although facility rental fees were brought up during the budget conversations last year, he does not believe any fee collected would provide profit for the district.

“We’re are not the big bad terrorists you thought we were,” Englebrick said.

Read more and see the draft schedule here: