Jaya Flanary - Journalist of the Year Portfolio 2016 by Jaya Flanary

jaya flanary

journalist of the year portfolio

table of contents

essay

design: covers - double trucks - feature pages

writing: features - news - editorial - opinions

planning

social media

Last year as a section editor, my responsibilities included editing features, managing reporters, and one thing I was not familiar with: design. Staring at two blank InDesign pages is very intimidating, especially when you have no experience. Through a ton of Googling and struggling, I taught myself the basics of InDesign. I also fled to a piece of paper in order to plan out my design, because a pencil is much less intimidating than a mouse. Looking back at my section’s spreads now, I can clearly see my improvement throughout the year. I began to play around with different design techniques such as unique image cropping, graphics and infographics, interesting headlines, and text wrap. In addition to designing the features pages last year, I also designed many covers and double trucks. I enjoy making the covers because they are the first thing readers see when they pick up the paper. The cover must persuade a person to open the Talisman up, and I had the responsibility to tailor this persuasion through fonts, colors, and images. Double trucks are also fun to design because they have so many different elements. The ‘focus’ pages often include graphs, surveys, intriguing images, and quotes paired with headshots. When I was promoted to Editor-in-Chief my senior year, I could not have been happier. Though I

left behind designing the features section, I could now focus all of my attention on the covers and double trucks. This was not the case. As Editor-in-Chief, my attention is not focused anywhere specific. I am constantly doing something in class, after school, and over the weekends regarding the paper. As we near distribution day, I begin to dream — literally — about editing pages. I have an abundance of responsibilities. Not only do I write two articles every issue, I also contribute to the editorial and the double truck article, design the covers and double trucks, manage editors and reporters, plan the issue, and organize everything. It’s extremely stressful and time consuming and energy draining, and I absolutely love it. Being on the Talisman has not only improved my writing and designing, but also my planning and organizational skills. This year I have learned how to lead a group of people that are not on a movie set. I love my job as Editor-in-Chief, because I love leading a group of people to create a product. This year, I have dedicated myself to making our student newspaper the best it can be. Though I don’t plan on pursuing a career in journalism, I do plan to be on the newspaper of the college I attend. I will continue to tell people’s untold stories like the ones I have written about in the Talisman.

Myself (left) and my co-editor Tess Harstrick (right) count student surveys in preparation for designing our next double truck. We distributed and collected about 400 surveys. It took us six hours to count the surveys and organize the data. The information was later portrayed through infographics.

essay

’m quite creative, but I’m also a planner. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and though I’m not the best artist, I gravitate towards innovative projects. Throughout high school, I have realized that what I appreciate the most, above the creative aspects of making a product, is leading a group of people to make that product. I first noticed this as a filmmaker — rather than taking on technical jobs, I leaned towards a producer’s responsibilities. To enhance my creative mind, I became the Features Editor of my school paper, the Talisman, as a junior. At the time, my only experience in journalism was a semester long class I took my sophomore year called ‘Intro to Journalism.’ In the class, I liked writing feature stories the best, so the class’s teacher and newspaper adviser, Mr. Smith, thought Features Editor would be a good fit for me. As Features Editor, I fell in love with one thing: telling stories. Unlike short interviews for news articles, a feature story allows a reporter to interview someone for an hour long without the conversation getting boring. I enjoy taking a person’s experiences and organizing them into a story for the reader. To me, features are the most creative articles. They remind me of documentary filmmaking — my goal in each is to take a bunch of moments and put them together to make some sort of sense.

D E S I GN

This was the first cover I ever designed. One of our photographers had recently captured this great moment of our quarterback, and since our school had just been deemed a 3A school in our state, it was a perfect design opportunity to have him pointing the team ‘to 3A.’

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cover

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published 10.24.14

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cover

published 12.18.14

After many recent incidents directly related to gun violence, we decided to find out how effective our school’s emergency response plans were. I designed the teaser to pair with the caution tape outside of our school in order to call attention to the gravity of the situation.

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cover

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published 01.23.15

Our double truck this issue concerned the comparison of drug and alcohol policies between general students and those who partake in clubs, extracurriculars and sports. Since we noticed an ‘uneven standard’ we chose an ISPY theme. I wanted each item to pop and I wanted to stay true to original ISPY photos I used as inspiration.

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TALISMAN JANUARY 23, 2015

VOLUME 97 ISSUE 3

ballardtalisman.com

the student newspaper of Ballard High School

Y P S I

N E V E N AN U DARD STAN

THE DIFFERENCES IN OUR DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICIES

Schedule shakeup

Conversations that start with scars

Looking in on AP art

The rise of fiber internet

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cover

published 02.27.15

Our first multi cultural assembly gave students and staff the opportunity to present their cultures through song and dance. I had to choose an interesting teaser and present it in a way that complimented the detail in the photo.

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This issue’s cover was less conventional because it didn’t have a focus teaser. I chose to have the signs in the photo to act as their own teasers, which I think led to a more powerful image.

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cover

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published 05.06.15

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cover

published 06.02.15 Many past ‘senior issue’ covers featured a student in a cap and gown walking out of the school. We wanted an image more appealing to the eye, so we chose flowers to compliment the gown. I chose a simplistic teaser that popped but wasn’t distracting.

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TALISMAN JUNE 2, 2015

VOLUME 97 ISSUE 7

ballardtalisman.com

the student newspaper of Ballard High School

SENIOR LOCATOR MAP

Class of 2015 postgraduation plans p. 10

Kayaktivists protest oil rig

Soccer heads to state with determination

Retiring teachers’ future plans

A look into a student’s journaling

This year, Ballard became the largest school in the Seattle district. One aspect I wanted to focus on was how the increase in students impacted teachers. I came up with this image of students running at a teacher to show how overwhelming oversized classes can be.

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cover

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published 10.27.15

TALISMAN OCTOBER 27, 2015

VOLUME 98 ISSUE 1

ballardtalisman.com

the student newspaper of Ballard High School

SUPERSIZED 1,711 students: impacts of a crowded school

Fifty security cameras installed

Football transfers bring success

Chemistry teacher’s background in science

p. 8

Student band emerges

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cover

published 11.20.15

Our school went into lockdown in early November when a student was allegedly seen with a gun. Police searched the student and the building but never found a weapon. We wanted to portray the idea of a weapon being reported but never found, so we added a gun with dashed lines to a student’s hip.

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This issue’s double truck regarded student finances, specifically what teenagers pay for with the money they earn. I wanted to show the items bought inside a vending machine. A staff cartoonist created the images with Photoshop. I made the teaser a part of the vending machine in a creative but realistic way.

cover

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published 01.29.16

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TALISMAN JANUARY 29, 2016

VOLUME 98 ISSUE 4

ballardtalisman.com

the student newspaper of Ballard High School

Student finances in high school and beyond p. 10

Classes discuss race after MLK assembly

Fan group brings spirit to the court

History teacher to retire after 34 years

Percy Boyle, band play Vera Project

double truck

published 10.27.15

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Our editorial board discussed the impacts of being the largest school in the district. I tried to think of graphics to portray many effects of one main idea. A ‘family tree’ came to mind, because the variety of effects branch out from having 1,711 students. After a staff cartoonist drew a tree, I placed the impacts on different branches. I wanted the main image to separate the block of text and the student/staff quotes.

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double truck

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We had already planned a double truck idea, but then the lockdown happened. It was an unexpected yet newsworthy event that immediately became our focus. The incident happened on Nov. 5, when a student was allegedly seen with a gun. We published Nov. 20, so we had 15 days to gather all the pieces for the spread. I wanted to fill every possible space on the pages to make the spread feel cramped, just like our gym was during the lockdown. Images were difficult to acquire — we only had phone photos because we weren’t prepared. Many local news stations reported false information during the lockdown because they weren’t in contact with students. I wanted our spread to feature student perspectives, so I included Tweets and short anecdotes.

published 11.20.15

double truck

published 01.29.16

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This student finances spread was my idea. I wanted to find out what students paid for and how they earned their money. We wanted the spread to be infographic based rather than text heavy. We surveyed about 400 students in order to represent the student body accurately. Counting and organizing the data took my co-editor and I six hours, and making the infographics took me about nine hours. I wanted the colors to compliment each other and keep the graphics separated. I think this is our most reader-friendly spread for students because it is both relatable and easy to read.

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As Features Editor last year, I tried to write about aspects of students no one knew much about. I’ve always been interested in scars, because each scar tells a story, so I went around at lunch asking random students about their scars. I printed a variety of interesting experiences, from sports to surgeries to accidents. I chose to crop the photos in a circular shape to put the focus on the scars. I followed up this feature with ‘Tattoo Stories’ in our next issue.

10 FEATURES ballardtalisman.com

SCAR

Jaya Flanary

Features Editor

Off balance

unior Sophie DeGreen’s scars -- two on her right forearm, one on her elbow -- are not even a year old yet. As a sophomore, DeGreen’s athletics and academics took a turn for the worse when she misplaced her feet on the balance beam while setting up for gymnastics practice and fell off, causing her bone to break through the skin of her arm. Her original surgery consisted of inserting a rod into one of the bones to hold it together as it naturally healed. Later, when DeGreen was still in pain, she returned to the doctor and was told a second surgery was necessary because the bone was not healing alone. “For one of the bones they put a plate and screws in it,” DeGreen said. “For the other bone they took bone marrow from my elbow and put it in the break and then screws to hold it in.” While in a cast, DeGreen’s daily activities and lifestyle changed dramatically. She wasn’t able to write and was on painkillers. “I had no idea what was going on in school for a month because of it,” DeGreen said. Although the incident had a negative impact on her life, she keeps a positive attitude about her scars, primarily because she enjoys telling others the story. “Sometimes they’re annoying because you can see them in pictures but they’re cool to talk about,” DeGreen said. “Sometimes I wish I just had one scar instead of two, but I’m pretty okay with them right now.”

Appendix explosion

wenty four more hours of just hanging out at home and I would have been dead,” senior Hawk Ticehurst said. Ticehurst was eight years old when he first began having stomach problems. The doctors found nothing wrong, but after two weeks of “excruciating pain” and a night spent in the bathroom puking, he returned to the hospital. Ticehurst’s appendix had exploded. Doctors had missed it two weeks prior because his appendix was located in an abnormal place: under the rib cage. He had to have surgery immediately. “Usually they do like an incision on the side where the appendix is just to take it out,” Ticehurst said. “But since it had exploded they had to do like a whole clean up crew kind of deal.” Ticehurst isn’t self conscious about the vertical scar beneath his abdominal hair. “It’s just part of me,” he said. “I just pass over it, I don’t think about it anymore unless I’m asked about it.”

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January 23, 2015

Sliding into trouble

STORIES

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features

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published 01.23.15

reshman Zach Colligan had a plate surgically inserted into his leg approximately two years ago. While playing soccer for a recreational team, he broke his leg by sliding into a player who was taking a shot. Since the incident, Colligan has been more conservative with his actions while playing. His leg is now healed and he can still play soccer, but his scar shows his past in the game. “It reminds me of not being careful,” Colligan said.

A vacation gone wrong

enior Hugh Hankins broke his arm during a family vacation to Hawaii when he slipped and fell on rocks. The next day, his family took him to the nearest hospital, which was islands away in Honolulu. “The TSA guy was really rough with my arm,” Hankins said. “He kept moving it around and I was like ‘please stop!’” The doctors decided it would be best if he returned to Seattle to treat it. “They were like, ‘Yeah it’s broken. We’re gonna put some bandages on that and get you out of here,’” Hankins said. But his family didn’t return to Seattle immediately. Instead, they finished their vacation. “It was awful,” Hankins said. “You know how much I missed out on? My whole family, all my cousins, they just left me.” As the family swam in the hotel’s seven pools, a bandaged up Hankins sat at the poolside watching the fun. “It was really a bummer,” he said. “I hated it.”

Toddler toss

Bathroom blunder

At the age of three, Freshman Hailey Carter’s mom and sister picked her up in a blanket and swung it back and forth, telling her to not sit up. Carter didn’t hear the direction, so she sat up. “I flipped out of the blanket and I fell onto the concrete right on my chin so now there’s a scar there,” she said. “It [the scar] reminds me of my family and how interesting they are.”

Freshman Nick Lang’s older sister spilled water on the bathroom floor after a bath when they were young, causing him to slip and land on his chin. Lang’s chin scar evokes nostalgia. “I kind of think about how much fun being younger was,” he said. “I feel kind of happy because it just reminds me of when me and my sister were younger.”

Halloween coincidence A faded visible scar lies on senior Katy Graham’s upper forehead from an incident in fourth grade. At a school Halloween bash, an older kid slammed the playground zipline and it split Graham’s forehead open. “It was Halloween and I was covered in actual blood but I looked like a zombie,” she said. Graham was bandaged up by the school nurse and a parent. “I was too scared to go to the hospital,” she said. As a child, Graham thought she was like Harry Potter because of the scar. Today, she feels positively about the experience. “Honestly, I think it’s pretty cool because it could have turned out a lot worse and it didn’t, I’m fine, and it’s a cool story to tell,” she said. Photos by Greta Rainbow

features

published 02.27.15

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A fellow staff member and I wanted to feature the extensive preparation for a musical. We noticed it was a multitiered process involving the actors, tech, orchestra and director. I wanted the spread to feel like a behind the scenes look at the theatre department’s operation, so I included song lyrics, an actor’s notes and a Q&A.

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Many features published last year did not have portraits, but I had a magazine-like design in mind for this page. After a photoshoot with Rachel, I chose my favorite, and paired it with two action shots of her on film sets. Rather than the usual black text on white background, I flipped the colors and made the background transparent to add depth to the portrait.

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features

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published 04.02.15

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features

published 04.02.15

An important aspect of featuring a student artist is drawing focus to the art itself. I placed the cutout of Lachlan so that he was facing the text, and I wrapped the article around the cutouts of his ceramic pieces as well. I wanted the reader to look at the page in a clockwise direction, beginning at the headline, moving towards the pieces, then to Lachlan working and up to the ceramics teacher helping him.

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features

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I knew my spread this issue would be text heavy since my article was so long. I tried to break up the text with graphics — the very large cutout of Jerry looking towards the text, an image of the plaque creating a ‘U’ shape in the right hand page and the old Talisman issues Jerry used for his research. I also broke up the text with subheadings and pull quotes that could help the reader navigate to any parts of the article that intrigued them.

published 05.06.15

W R I T I N G

feature writing news writing editorial writing opinions writing 23

feature writing 24

Vietnam vet explores the unfortunate ‘Ballard 18’ BHS graduate revisits his war experience and the past

fter graduating from BHS, Jerry Smith enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served in Vietnam for a year beginning in 1969. Now, over four decades later, the experiences he had there have compelled him to write not only about his own war experience, but about 18 other BHS graduates that served in Vietnam as well.

Jerry Smith’s past

“I flew a Braniff jet to Vietnam. Braniff was one of those goofy companies that liked to use all of those psychedelic colors. So it was orange and purple and I thought, ‘oh we’re going to get shot down for sure.’ These are the thoughts that are running through your mind … They do a real steep approach so they can’t get fired [at]. But I thought ‘we’re in this orange and purple plane, this is not good.’” Jerry Smith grew up in Loyal Heights, where he had “some tremendous kick the can games at night in the summer” with the neighborhood kids. He attended Oak Lake, Webster, and Loyal Heights Elementary; James Monroe Middle School and then Ballard High School. Smith considered BHS “a nuthouse.” Full of baby boomers, the three-year high school was rumored to be the largest high school west of the Mississippi, containing about 2,500 students. Smith worked from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. because the school had five different start times, lunchtimes and end times. “I didn’t want to be drafted into the Marine Corps so I enlisted in the Army. I graduated in June of ‘66 and was in the army by December,” he said.

Smith was served orders while staying with the Army in Germany, where he had lived for a year prior to his Vietnam tour. He was to report to Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, for pre-training. “They’ve got these little mock Vietnamese huts and all this stuff but it snowed and some of it got destroyed … it was pretty funny,” he said. The training was cancelled, but he wasn’t worried. At the Vietnam Orientation Center, soldiers are trained again in appropriate weather conditions: “hot.” “Because I didn’t want to go in the Marine Corps, God had a sense of humor. When I ended up in Vietnam, I ended up on a Marine base,” Smith said. “So you may think you’re getting away with something for a while, but ultimately you don’t.” Located in Chu Lai, about 55 miles South of the De Nang base (the farthest North base in South Vietnam), Smith’s air base provided aviation support to the ground troops. Being so close to the North, the base undertook heavy conflict: plenty of activity and casualties. “I didn’t think I was going to make it back,” he said. Smith recorded the action in his diary, which was against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He wrote at the end of every day from March of 1969 to March of 1970. “One of the things that’s in my diary is Sharon Lane … she was a nurse, the only woman killed in hostile combat … She was probably 100 yards away on the morning when we had Russian rockets come in that the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese were firing … I think I

recorded that there were eight rockets that came in. Because you can kind of hear them. They make a distinct noise, especially when they’re flying over your head. Seven of them went into the South China Sea and the eighth one hit Sharon Lane’s ward,” Smith said. “That was June 8, 1969. And I’ll never forget it.” Letters to home and about 250 photos also tell Smith’s war experience. He felt obligated to do something with his records. Smith decided to compile his past into a book. He’s now transcribed every entry and letter. He plans to match photos to the text and then put it all in chronological order. Smith’s records are intriguing, ranging from famous people on his base and Neil Armstrong’s visit in 1969 on the Bob Hope Christmas Show to “bunker duty” and procedures when under attack. “It [revisiting diary entries] brings up a lot of memories,” he said. “I encourage people to keep a diary … because when you see your own handwritten notes, it just opens up everything all over again. You can smell and hear and feel what was going on all over again.” During research, Smith made a discovery that went beyond his own story. “I ran across the plaque on the 18 Ballard young men that were killed in Vietnam, and that started it … People need to know who they were and what they did and what they did before they went into the service … I don’t need more people to know about me, I need more people to know about them.”

continued on next page

Ballard 18

Only one of the 18 served in the Navy. His name was John Michael “Mike” Riordan, ‘62, and he was lost at sea in an aircraft. “They don’t know what happened, if it got shot down or what. They found wreckage but the four people on the plane didn’t survive,” Smith said. Richard Mark Jarvis, ‘65, U.S. Army, is listed as an accidental homicide. “He was shot in the barracks by a guy that was cleaning his rifle. That’s what they’re telling me. They won’t release any documents, so I don’t know,” Smith said. “I’ve never heard that in the military where you can accidentally kill somebody. You got to go serve time. That’s manslaughter here.” Intrigued by the Ballard 18 who died in Vietnam, Smith set aside his war experience book to write a book on the boys. “I’ve spliced together everything I can find about them prior to going into the service [and] after they’d gone into the service … Some is limited because there is no information or there are no living relatives.” Keeping track of his bibliography has been the hardest part, though it contains many resources. Wednesday visits to BHS allowed Smith to look through every Talisman and Shingle between 1952 and 1968, the span of time the boys graduated. He also referred to the Ballard News Tribune, the Seattle Times, and the Texas Tech University Vietnam archive and wrote letters to the Navy, federal government, Army, Marine Corps and Air Force requesting records. “I had two classmates that were killed in Vietnam. So it meant something to me,” Smith said. One was Smith’s Loyal Heights newspaper boy before high school. One was his class-

A fellow editor and I approached Jerry in the library because he had cool patches. Next thing I know, we’re in the middle of an hour and a half long interview with the Vietnam vet. Talking to him, and later transcribing the entire conversation, was like going back in time. He is by far the most interesting person I have ever met, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to write about his story — it made me fall in love with writing features. I learned about my school and our paper in the 50s and 60s, and we found out that Jerry and I grew up on the same block. In addition, I learned about the touching stories of Ballard graduates who served in the Vietnam war, which directly related to my history studies at the time.

He also obtained valuable verbal skills in service that were useful while making arrests. “You always want to treat people respectfully and politely but you have to stay in control and command of the situation as well,” he said. “But you don’t have to degrade people, you don’t have to call them names, you don’t have to physically hurt them for no reason.” “I hung up my bullet launcher in ‘03, because I was 55 then,” Smith said. For the next five years, he was project manager for the King County jail remodel. Though he retired in 2008, he remains a King County Fire Commissioner. He’s in his 18th year of the duty and plans to continue as long as his health allows.

Jerry Smith visits classrooms

U.S. History teachers, whose curriculums are currently covering the Vietnam War, have asked Smith to visit their classrooms to speak on his war experience. “I was really excited that I met somebody that was not only a Vietnam vet but also a Ballard alumnus,” Dina McArdle, U.S. History teacher said. McArdle plans to brainstorm questions with her students prior to Smith’s visit so they can have an open discussion with him. She wants him to talk about his experience and his research. “We are doing the junior paper and that part was fascinating to me. That he’s just a civilian, he isn’t a historian at the university. He’s a guy that is doing this and I thought that was really cool,” she said. “I thought it was really interesting that there’s somebody from the community that wants to use data that’s here in the school as part of their research. It made me feel really excited but also really sad that we don’t do that … We should be doing that.”

published 05.06.15

cont.

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mate’s brother. But all 18 are important to Smith. All 18 went to his high school. All 18 have taken precedence over his past during the last two years of research. Now, the first-time author is almost ready to share their stories, planning to send the book to publishers in about six months. The book, “The Ballard Eighteen,” begins with a forward: a paragraph of random yet shocking facts about the boys. The following 18 chapters, one for each boy, are in order of when they fell. The first death was in 1964 and the last was in 1970. “Both [books] mean a lot to me. But the 18 need to be honored [with] more than just a plaque with two little screws,” Smith said. “They were people that wanted to live, but chose to serve.” Jerry Smith’s post-war experience “If the war hadn’t been continuing, I probably would have stayed in the service.” Smith was 21 years old when he left Vietnam in March of 1970. “At that time, you didn’t know how long it was going to last.” He used the GI Bill to study at the University of Washington and became a motor messenger for Seafirst Bank. When he graduated as a political science major, Seafirst offered him a management position. He eventually became the vice president. The company expected its leaders to perform community service, so Smith became a reserve police officer. After three years, he shifted to full time law enforcement for 21 years. His Vietnam experience was beneficial to him during this time. “It [Vietnam] really changed my outlook on fear. You spend a year in combat like that … You’re just more cautious. Because you know. And you’ve seen,” Smith said.

feature writing

Beyond ‘just say no’ Experts advise parents to start a conversation about substance use

n Monday Nov. 30, less than 15 parents gathered in the library to learn how to talk to their children about drugs and alcohol. Lisa Davidson, Seattle Public Schools Prevention and Intervention Manager, prepared her presentation on 2014 Healthy Youth survey data about substance use in the district. Every two years, students are asked to respond to questions about their opinions and habits regarding substance use. Four different informational packets were available at the door. The projector failed, and after multiple attempts to get it to work, the presentation began without graphics to display the data. After an introduction from Brita Bowman about the notMYkid non-profit organization, Davidson was introduced and began with an explanation of the survey.

Survey findings

The survey’s purpose is not just to collect data, but also to

published 12.17.15

help people like Davidson form their educational services based on what kids already know and think about drugs and alcohol. A parent asked if new laws regarding the legalization of marijuana and alcohol being sold in grocery stores have had a noticeable impact on student responses. Davidson said that while the numbers haven’t changed significantly, teenagers’ views on the substances have. Since marijuana was legalized, it has been viewed as less harmful. The majority of teens don’t think substance use will adversely affect their health; only 13 percent of seniors think weekly use of marijuana is harmful, and 55 percent of sixth graders agree. Alcohol is the most used substance in the district, with marijuana coming in second, followed by tobacco. While most teenagers access these things through their friends and at parties, some are exposed to substances at home by their parents.

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Davidson talked about Dr. Leslie Walker at Seattle Children’s Hospital, who believes parents who supply their children with alcohol at home, or buy into the myth of “teaching your kid how to drink,” are only validating their consumption of alcohol outside the home. Parents who let their kids drink in the safety of their home believe that they are teaching them how to drink responsibly, but others believe that this will only lead to the child developing potentially dangerous drinking habits elsewhere. “Families are very important,” Davidson told the attending parents. “I can go all day and make [students] take their drug education classes, and have wonderful counselors in there to help them understand the realistic effects of drug and alcohol use in their lives, but what’s going to be most important to kids is the message that they receive at home. Parents are the number one influence on whether or not kids use drugs and alcohol.”

continued on next page I originally attended this meeting to write a news article about it, but when a fellow reporter and I arrived, we noticed the lack of parents attending. We decided to write a lengthy feature after learning about the importance of open communication between teens and their parents regarding drugs and alcohol. The article’s purpose was to inform students about drug and alcohol use while simultaneously teaching our parent readers what they missed by not attending the meeting. We split it up into four main sections: survey results, communication, usage and a conclusion.

Parent-child communication

Davidson brought data and information about trends from the district level, and Kathryn Korch, a drug and alcohol counselor at Ingraham High School, was there to provide a school level perspective, since she works closely with students. Korch, like Davidson, emphasized the importance of communication between parents and their teenagers. She talked about safe words and phrases: establishing a word or phrase for a teenager to use when talking to their parent to let them know they’re in a situation that is unsafe or that they’re not comfortable with, and they need to leave or be picked up. She practices refusal skills with the students she sees, going beyond “just say no” to “no because . . . ” having them practice giving her reasons. Korch also brought up the Good Samaritan Law, which provides legal protection from prosecution for people who give assistance to anyone injured, ill, in peril or incapacitated. This means that if a student needs to call for help for a friend who is intoxicated, and they are also intoxicated, they will not face consequences if they stay with the friend until the police arrive. When a parent asked about how to turn their child’s hangover into a lesson, Korch said, “You don’t need to. Natural consequences are a brilliant learning lesson.” She also pointed out that not all substances have natural consequences, and kids won’t necessarily get hungover every time they drink. When Korch talks to students, she tries to put the consequences of substance use into a realistic perspective by asking the student about their goals or plans, and how using substances can get in the way of achieving those things. Korch also explained the difference in substance use across different demographics. Schools in wealthier neighborhoods, like Ballard, tend to have higher substance usage. “A lot of homes here [in Ballard] have more access to [substances] because a lot of parents have . . . a liquor cabinet and they have things stockpiled away for if

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they have friends over or maybe they want a glass of wine at dinner, versus parents coming from a one-parent household or lower income who don’t have the luxury of having a stockpile or a liquor cabinet,” Korch said. Usage in the community The percentage of students at this school that use marijuana is higher than both the state and district average. Ballard is also the only school to have twelfth grade drinking rates at over 50 percent. This could be because the community is primarily white and of higher socioeconomic status than some other schools. This leads to both students and parents having more money to spend on alcohol, and many families have liquor cabinets that are always stocked and easily accessible to their teens. The Healthy Youth survey found a recent drop in eighth grade drinking; this comes after the mandatory drug and alcohol education that has been introduced at middle schools in the area such as Whitman, Salmon Bay and McClure. The lack of education in surrounding middle schools up until recent years could be the cause of such high usage rates in high schools. The recently introduced education diverges from the familiar teachings of “just say no” and fear tactics. It’s now more realistic, addressing real consequences and presenting facts rather than trying to scare kids with extreme examples. This education may be tailored based on survey results from each school. Teen Health Center Nurse Practitioner Karen Boudour was in attendance and spoke briefly, mentioning that while she’s only been at Ballard a short time, she’s seen more anxious students than when was working at Ingraham. She believes this could be because of students coming from families of higher socioeconomic statuses with more pressure to get good grades and to get into a good college. Boudour also has noticed that students here with different mental health disorders or problems are using marijuana to cope.

Coming together

As the meeting neared its end, Brita Bowman reminded parents that it isn’t always realistic to ask their children to never use substances, and to always say no, but that delaying initial use can decrease the risk of addiction later in life. This kind of conversation can also be more palatable for the teen because it’s less concrete. “It’s not saying no, it’s not saying never,” she said. Delaying initial use is also important because adult brains are fully developed, unlike adolescents, and are better equipped to handle substances. Davidson also warned against parents trying to teach their kids lessons about their own experiences, saying that it is often ineffective and that teenagers sometimes have “selective hearing,” meaning if a parent tries to tell them a story about substance use gone wrong, all they get out of the story is that their parent used substances when they were younger, so it’s okay for them to use now. There are also some parents who don’t try to warn their kids against substance use, and don’t think it is harmful because of their own experiences and because they were never harmed by it. Bowman again reinforced the importance of communication and parents letting their kids know that they can call them if they’re in a situation they’re uncomfortable with and need to get out of, saying that this should be extended not only to parents’ own children but their children’s friends and others as well. “It’s important to be there for not just your own kids but other people’s kids,” she said. By the time students are in twelfth grade, only 29 percent say their parents talk to them about alcohol. “It’s not too late to talk about things, and [parents] can have an impact on whether their kids do use. It’s not going to be the only thing, but they really can make a difference,” Davidson said. All three women stressed that this is not just an issue within families, but the community needs to come together to address these issues and provide support as well.

feature writing

Homeless for the holidays

Locals volunteer to create a special holiday for the homeless at nearby church Arriving at Trinity United

t’s the holiday season, and people from the community are cooking at Trinity United Methodist Church in Ballard. Christmas is in six days, but rather than doing last minute shopping, these volunteers are bustling about in the kitchen. A young child mixes ingredients into a KitchenAid and a woman stirs food inside seven large, metal pots, as Cheryl Gohndrone, a Saturday Soup Coordinator, tells us the meat is in the oven. Gohndrone is in charge of the bigger annual events, while another coordinator, Gord’n Perrot, organizes the weekly events. In total, there are six coordinators who organize volunteers to meet at 9 a.m. on Saturdays to prepare the average meal of soup and sandwiches for anyone who shows up. Everyone is welcome, and sometimes elderly people come for the company, but most guests are homeless or low-income, and need a substantial meal or just a safe place inside for a few hours.

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Today, however, will not just be soup and sandwiches. A holiday feast will be served just before noon to approximately 100 guests who are gathering around circular tables in the gym. Sunlight fills the room through the windows and above the old floor hangs two beat up basketball hoops on either side. The air is potent with a mix of the kitchen’s aroma and stale cigarettes. Guests toast bread for themselves at a nearby table and grab cups of coffee as a low chatter rises. On each table is a Saturday Soup Kitchen sign with their mission statement and rules. “We provide a meal, encouragement, kindness, and respect to our guests.” The rules include respect, no drugs, no violence and keeping the area clean. Volunteer Susan Helf takes us to a back room, where five women practice Christmas carols. Three volunteers sign cards for the guests’ gift bags that Gohndrone has organized. The gift bags huddle in a group

I was asked to attend the Saturday Soup Kitchen at Trinity United Methodist Church in Ballard. I was planning to write a feature about the volunteers there, but I ended up going to the holiday feast on the Saturday before Christmas, with a staff photographer, Chelsea. We met people who were very different than us and had stories to share. It was quite the experience, one I can’t put into words, because I was staring Seattle’s homeless epidemic in the face. We even talked to Tyler, who was suspended from Ballard and has been homeless for a year now. It was a challenge to approach people who don’t like their picture being taken, and interviewing the guests was troublesome because not everyone wanted to share their experiences. I got home, and went through my notes, listened to my recordings and went through Chelsea’s amazing photos, and I felt obligated to do as much as I could to tell these people’s stories. I ended up with the longest feature I’ve ever written, one that changed me forever.

on the floor; slices of pie sit on a nearby table, waiting to be eaten later. Helf joins in song as she shows us the gift bag items. “Christ is born in Bethlehem,” they sing. Helf takes out two pairs of socks, one hat, one washcloth, one pair of gloves, a scarf and playing cards. “Glory to the newborn king,” the women continue. The bag also contains two Ziploc bags, one full of toiletries and one full of snacks. The gift bags, each about $15 worth of items, and the food, are funded by year round donations and proceeds from the spring auction. We make our way back to the gym to talk to a few guests. Many are interested in the camera, but prefer to not be photographed. Gohndrone and Perrot point us in the direction of a circular table of men, who hassle each other about who will be interviewed. The group elects a man named Mel as their leader, who I gladly sit down to talk to.

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published 12.29.15

Meeting the guests

Mel is a funny guy. When I sit down he tells me, “I’ll answer the questions like I do the Republicans and Democrats, okay?” He tells onlookers we’re doing a photoshoot, and insists we shake hands for a photo, so we do. Mel comes to the Saturday meals at Trinity United on a regular basis, or what he likes to call passing through. “I do come here,” he says. “But I don’t have no plans on being here.” I have a hard time understanding Mel’s answers, because when I ask how it feels to be provided with a consistent meal, though he does say he’s appreciative of this specific program, Mel tells me about the county and taxes and charity, and I get lost in all the information, until he finally finishes and says to me, “Okay, now, next question.” The table we’re sitting at has candy canes as decorations and in the back of my mind I know the carolers and gift bags will be out shortly, so I ask Mel about the holiday feast, and how it’s different from the regular Saturday meals. “The only difference is we get the holiday dinner instead of the soup and sandwich,” he says. He clarifies his gratitude for the regular meal. “I tell [people], if they don’t like it, they can go down the street and go buy it for a change. There’s some people that do have money, and can go buy their own food, you know. But there are people who come up here and don’t have no money, that needs a meal.” Though it’s obvious he’s appreciative, when I ask Mel about his favorite part of the program, he simply says, “Nothing,” and the surrounding men laugh. “Absolutely zero. Zero.” I try to clarify by asking, “You don’t like anything at all?” He tells me he just passes through to visit and socialize. The men listen in, and they’re getting quite a good laugh out of the situation. Despite the group’s previous banter about who their leader is, when I ask if they’re his friends, Mel says, “I just see them from time to time . . . Everybody’s got their own specific ways

cont.

of doing things throughout the week, they got their own schedules to follow and most likely you won’t see them.” In between questions, Mel says, “Next question. I’m like a politician.” I ask about his story; I ask how he got here. But before he opens his mouth, I do my best to banter too, by warning the very literal Mel to not tell me that he got here by bus. Mel came to Seattle from Portland for medical reasons, because back then we had better medical up here. He didn’t want his three surgeries to be performed in Oregon because according to him, “Oregon doesn’t give you nothing.” “This was supposed to have been a three hour trip. Like Gilligan’s Island? A three hour trip,” he says. “I said, ‘I’ll be back in three years.’ Those three years has turned into almost 20 years.” Mel doesn’t like it here. “You can have Seattle if you want. I’ll give you Seattle,” he tells me. “I don’t particularly care for the people. Never have, never will. The only thing Seattle is good for is medical.” But he is thankful for the volunteers cooking in the kitchen. “I always say I thank them all the time,” he says. “If it wasn’t for [them] we wouldn’t be here.” Next we meet one of the few women, Debbie. When I sit down with her, she tells a fellow guest that they can have her autograph later, and jokes about her picture being taken. “They won’t recognize me,” she says. “I used to be gorgeous.” Debbie comes here consistently on Saturdays for the soup and sandwich meal. It’s her first holiday feast at Trinity United and she’s looking forward to the presents. “My friend said that they give sleeping bags and stuff and I could really use a sleeping bag,” she says. “I’m living in my car. But my house just sold, so things will be looking better.” Her mother passed away in the spring, and Debbie was forced out of her childhood home in Ballard, becoming homeless in April. “I don’t handle this homeless thing well. I’m too old. If I was young, it might be kind of adventurous,” she says laughing.

The house was home to her family for many generations: her grandmother, her mother, herself and her children all lived there. She remembers Ballard when it was a much smaller community, full of fishermen and Norwegians. Now, she’s a part of the homeless community, and here at Trinity United, she’s able to socialize with old friends she hasn’t spoken to in a while. She’s grateful for both the opportunity to socialize during the holidays and the volunteers. “I love each and every one of [them] . . . I’m not the strongest person in the world and I’m too old to do this homeless stuff, but without them I don’t know what I would do,” she says. “All these people are wonderful. I can’t say enough. Not just here, but all over . . . It almost makes me cry. There’s still good people in the world.” The carolers, equipped with silver bells and lyric sheets, come out and start singing “Jingle Bells.” Listening in on my conversation with Debbie is an old BHS alumn, a man who prefers not to be identified. He and Debbie bond by talking about how Ballard used to be compared to how it is now. They’re both angry, or maybe disappointed, I can’t quite tell, since Ballard’s population has changed so drastically; the man calls this a fight between cultures. Debbie says it’s a sin that we can’t take care of our own people, the ones that have been here forever, and I assume she’s referring to her own family. Debbie leaves, and the homeless man left at the table asks what we think about food programs like this. I’m not sure how to respond, because It seems like common sense to appreciate them, and to praise the volunteers who are currently working so hard in the kitchen and the others who are singing “Joy to the World” behind him. But I soon learn he has quite a different perspective on food programs, and starts to talk to us about a vicious cycle he’s identified. He believes these programs start out as being good, but become negative when people take advantage of them.

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He thinks of these programs as an enabling process, or just Band-Aids. Though it’s important the basics are met, it’s hard for the homeless to take the next step when only provided with the basics. Rather than taking initiative and moving forward, many just come back for these basics each Saturday, never actually getting anywhere. I’m saddened by his claims, because up until now I’ve only heard good things about places like this. Also, five or six carolers are standing not too far behind him, caroling about “Heaven and nature singing,” and the juxtaposition of merriness and failure is disappointing. “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground,” the carolers sing. “He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.” The man mentions the idea that, even if the people in this gym had the money to go rent an apartment, many wouldn’t be able to because of the laws regarding poor credit. Listening in is a man named Mark. He is much less cynical and enters our conversation. “It’s not enabling . . . The people that are served here don’t have a better place to be. They don’t have other choices,” Mark says. “Who’s going to be here if they have a better place to be? Who wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I can’t wait to go to the soup kitchen,’ you know what I mean?” The carolers have left, and the meal will be served in about half an hour, and the men start to argue about the purpose of that food. They talk about choices and opportunities, addiction and medical conditions. Mark appreciates the way our homeless are dealt with locally. “[The problem] needs to be dealt with in a humane way and in a meaningful way. And I just think that all this kind of stuff is fantastic. It helps,” he says. “It’s so wonderful that there’s places like this and it would be good if there were more places like this.” Mark compares Seattle to other cities in the nation that don’t treat homeless as kindly. He considers Seattle as a role model, and the men agree

that this city is a step ahead of many other places, regarding both homeless and other problems. The more cynical man still brings up housing, work and other larger issues, and Mark disagrees again. “I think that if somebody’s hungry, you should feed them,” Mark says. “Sometimes you have to deal with the basics before you can move on to those kinds of things.” We talk about depending on the basics, and Mark brings up how many people can easily get stuck in a rut. As Mark tells me more of his story, it seems Debbie is a person stuck in a rut, and Mark is doing his best to help her. They’ve been friends for a long time, and are now living together in a car. When he found out about her situation in the spring, he took her and her cat in, and has helped her throughout the entire process of selling her Ballard home. The men agree to disagree, and at 11:35 a.m. Gohndrone leaves the kitchen to introduce the meal. She tells the crowd there’s turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and other various holiday feast sides. There are murmurs about how good the food sounds and smells, and one guest cries out, “We love you!”

The feast, the gifts and Tyler

The guests form a line that circles around half the gym. Four volunteers stand behind the serving table, each putting food on the guests’ plates. Some continue to carve the meat in the kitchen. Other volunteers, including many children, bring out the gift bags from the back room, and pass them out to the guests. Many guests go through what’s inside the bags as they eat, even opening the Ziploc bags and looking at each item inside. Gohndrone asks if everyone received a bag. One man approaches her, saying he didn’t, and when she hands him one he says, “Merry Christmas, ma’am, and thank you for the food.” Gohndrone makes her way back to the kitchen, keeping an eye on the volunteers. While most guests eat and

socialize in the gym, a few eat alone in the hallway. We take the opportunity to talk to a familiar face: Tyler, a 19-year-old boy who attended Ballard. Tyler was suspended for smoking marijuana, and the suspension led to a fight with his family. He was kicked out and has been homeless for about a year now, never returning to school. He doesn’t generally eat much, but if he wakes up early enough, he comes to most of the Saturday meals. Today he’s not eating the feast because he likes to train his body to not need food every day. He tells me about life as a homeless person in Ballard, and I come to understand the homeless community and his own morals. Since Tyler has an ID, he’s able to “do returns” for other homeless people. He returns items others obtain, and gets a cut of the money back from stores. He likes to help others like this, and it seems he takes pride in the support he provides. “If you’re hungry, we will literally steal you food. We actually put our own freedoms on the line to help people,” he says. “If you need help, you can come up to me anytime and ask me for help. If I ever need help, I want people to help me.” Tyler has a job at Taco Bell now, where he works three or four days a week. He’s saving up to move to a cheap apartment in Brier with friends. When he’s not working, he’s spending time with his friends and his “street family,” making sure everyone is healthy and safe. “Pretty much, I’m the homeless community peacekeeper,” he tells me. He stays in Ballard, because the homeless people here are generally better people than in other areas he’s stayed in. Living on the streets in many areas has taught him to be on guard. “Out here, you have to worry about people trying to jack your blankets when you’re asleep,” he says. “Back when I was living with my parents, it took a long time for me to wake up. Nowadays, if I feel somebody even so much as move my blanket I’m up in three seconds and hitting them in the face.”

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cont.

have a cigarette. We’re still with Tyler, and I begin to wonder how he feels about food programs, since he seems to be all about helping others. I ask him, and he’s a bit indecisive. “I have mixed feelings about feeds. I do like feeds because it does give me food, but I do not like feeds because most of these people in here are fine, upstanding homeless people,” he says. “Yeah, I do think that they should be open, but I do not think you should go to each and everyone one of them each and every time that they happen.” Tyler reminds me of the cynical man I met earlier, because both are worried about the dependency on food programs, yet they’re both here at one. Tyler seems to be a bit more judgmental about the attendees of the program, rather than the structure of the program itself. “We’re homeless, we’re scavengers, we know how to take

care of ourselves. We know how to get ourselves food, we know how to get ourselves water,” he says. “If we know how to get ourselves our DOC, drug of choice, I’m pretty sure we know how to get ourselves food. We don’t need to come to feeds every time they happen.” So I ask him why he comes to Trinity United weekly. “I do come to most of the Saturdays,” he tells me. “The reason that I do, is because they let me. I’m not going to turn down free food that somebody is offering.” Nonetheless, I ask him about his appreciation of the program and the volunteers. “I guess it feels good to know that somebody cares. Somebody other than the other homeless people around here,” he says. He’s thankful, and asks for the volunteers to keep doing a good job.

cont.

A street family is a collection of homeless people who watch out for each other and keep each other safe. There are seven people in Tyler’s family, who he put together. The family started when Tyler first became homeless, and “Momma Victoria” took him in. She noticed he wasn’t doing too good living on the streets and asked him what was wrong. When she realized Tyler didn’t really have a support system, she told him, “I’m your street mom.” Originally, he didn’t know what a street mom did. But he soon learned a street mom’s responsibilities: to introduce him to important people in the community, tell him all the rules and help him out in any way possible. “People mess with you less if you have a street family,” he says. It’s close to 1 p.m. and many people are leaving, gift bags in hand. Some are just going out to

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e Mel was the first guest I talked to. He helped me relax by making me laugh. He was charismatic, confusing and cordial. Interested in my recording device and notebook, he acknowledged my professionalism. When I read his quotes in my article, I can hear his voice in the back of my head.

cont. 32

A coordinator’s idea of what Christmas is about

We finally notice Gohndrone isn’t running around coordinating anymore, so we pull her aside to talk. In 2008, she was looking for a volunteer opportunity with flexible hours, and she learned about this program from her friend, Perrot. “I very much believe in everybody having the basics. People pitching in to take care of each other and everybody contributing,” she says. “And there’s such a need in this community, and [volunteering] just fills me up.” Five years ago, Christmas fell on a Saturday, and while the coordinators planned the weekly Saturday meals, they knew they couldn’t close for the holiday. Instead, they embraced it, and prepared an entire feast for the guests. Since then, they’ve made it a tradition to serve a holiday dinner the Saturday before Christmas. “This, to me now, is more of a Christmas than my family Christmas,” Gohndrone says, as her eyes well up with tears. “Without this — and I get teary just talking about it. This is Christmas to me. This is what [Christmas is] about.” As a volunteer for the food program, Gohndrone has met many different people, and now knows the regulars pretty well. When the economy crashed, she saw many working people attend the meals, who didn’t know about how Saturdays at Trinity United worked. “So many people are one paycheck away from needing this,” she tells me. “For me, I try to let our guests know that they’re

not forgotten, that they’re important. That they are respected.” Sometimes, homeless people she has met through the program approach her in public, and surrounding people are often confused as to how she is known to them by name. It’s important to make the holiday feast special because the guests are reminded of happier times during this time of year. The volunteers use family recipes and try to make the meal as they would make it for their own families. “I think being alone and struggling can just really weigh on people,” Gohndrone says. Anyone can volunteer on Saturdays, any time from setup to cleanup. High schoolers are encouraged to help because they can learn to interact with people who are different than them in a safe environment and they can learn basic cooking skills. “I think it is a really good perspective,” Gohndrone says. “So many high schoolers have so much and don’t realize it, and when you see this you realize what you have.” I can’t help but think about what I have, and then I think about going to school with Tyler, and his mixed feelings about food programs. I think about the cynical man I met, and about the basics being BandAids, and about Mark, the optimistic one, who values those BandAids. I think about Debbie, because she used to be gorgeous but now lives in a car; and about Mel, the politician, who told me he’ll give me Seattle, if I want it. So finally, I ask Gohndrone about the different opinions in

that gym, because she seems so caring and I’m starting to feel a bit bad. She tells me about how, a few years ago, she called local restaurants for donations to the spring auction she organizes. One manager answered and Gohndrone gave him her spiel. “He goes, ‘Oh my gosh, when I was down between jobs I came to your soup kitchen. What do you want? I will give you whatever I can give you,’” she tells me. “And I was ready to burst into tears because it was just like, ‘Oh my gosh! Somebody that we helped and remembers us.’ So that was really cool, so you do know there are people that you help.” Gohndrone admits that the meals may not give motivation to do more, and some may take advantage of the program, but overall she thinks that is bound to happen with any social program. Despite the few that may take advantage, and despite the regulars that just keep returning, she has seen guests need and appreciate the help. They’ve used the program to help them get sober, get their family back or get their lives back together. I feel more hopeful when she explains this, and I begin to wonder what will happen to the people I met today, especially Tyler and his street family. “We’re not trying to enable them,” she reassures me. “I think that there are people that don’t have the resources to get off the street. We’re just trying to make sure that people have enough to survive. And ideally enough to thrive. No one should go hungry.”

“

Teachers picket outside schools on anticipated first day

united sea of red walked the corner of BHS today. Rather than welcoming their new students, union teachers equipped themselves with Seattle Education Association shirts, strike signs and positive energy. After days of attempted negotiations with Seattle Public Schools regarding a new contract, SEA members interrupted last night’s school board meeting to announce their official strike. Teachers then gathered today outside Seattle schools in hopes of making an impression in their communities. While all teachers picketing on NW 65th Street shared a common enthusiasm, many wished that they could be inside teaching. “It creates this tremendous outpouring of energy that I’d rather spend on my students,” Language Arts teacher

“

April McKenna said. “But I feel that due to the district’s intractability that it was something that we couldn’t avoid . . . Unfortunately withholding our role as educators is the only thing that we can really do to show our strength.” Science teacher Noam Gundle was asked to be a strike captain because of his connections to the wider school community. “I couldn’t be prouder of the educators in Seattle Schools,” Gundle said. “We’ve stepped up and organized and communicated with one another, and we are united more than we’ve ever been to support a strong contract for the schools students deserve.” The union’s vote to strike, which took place at Benaroya Hall on Sept. 3, was unanimous. According to today’s bargaining update published by the SEA, the vote was “virtually unprec-

edented” because it was the largest turnout in history and teachers don’t remember a past unanimous strike vote. According to Joe Kelly, Language Arts teacher and member of the SEA Bargaining Team, teachers have a variety of requirements they want written in a new contract. These include major issues such as a larger focus on our special education programs, proportionate discipline for interracial students and teacher compensation. “We work really hard as teachers. I know that I put in probably double the amount of hours I’m contracted for on a regular basis,” Language Arts teacher Taryn Coe said. “That takes away from my own family. Living in an expensive city like Seattle, I would like to be fairly compensated.”

news writing

‘Democracy in action’

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published 09.09.15 We were supposed to start school on Sept. 9, but our teachers were on strike, so we didn’t. My co-editor and I still ended up at our school, pulling teachers away from the picket line for short interviews. We knew this story was important to publish the day of, to inform students who wanted to know when summer would truly end. Many news stations were favoring the district in their reporting, so our goal was to focus on the teachers’ stories.

”

cont. 34

Tricia Lepse, Kindergarten teacher at Loyal Heights Elementary and mother of three, has one child at Whitman Middle School and a junior at Ballard High School. “I was actually a little teary this morning, because I was not able to send my girls off to school,” Lepse said. “You get their outfits ready, you get the backpacks packed, and then all of a sudden, I realize that my action is keeping them from doing what they need to do.” Nevertheless, Lepse was out picketing on 25th Avenue NW and NW 80th Street today, showing her support for the union. “[My children] know that it’s important and they support me. We are asking for things for all children, and that includes my children too. And if the union supports me then my children benefit from that . . . Unions go back a long time in my family. My dad was an electrician for Seattle City Light and I remember him going on strike and wanting fair wages.” Lepse is not the only teacher who treats the strike as somewhat of a family affair. Coe brought her children with her to picket on NW 65th Street and 15th Avenue NW. “I thought it was a great opportunity for them to see democracy in action, and to come out and see what it’s like when a group of people who believe really strongly in something [gather],” Coe said. “I come from a long line of educators. [My dad] told me that when he was on strike he would carry me

around as a baby on his arm.” One of the few issues the bargaining committee has resolved is that of recess time. Recess time in SPS is far from consistent. Originally, teachers wanted 45 minutes, though they negotiated it down to 30 minutes district wide, which they received. “Our issue is that we want it [recess time] to be equal for everybody,” Lepse said. “If I was to sit and lecture to a kindergartener all day I could probably be sure that 50 percent of what I was trying to teach would not go in,” Lepse said. “If they don’t have that break time for recess, where they have their own play and their own creative energy, then it’s really hard for them to come back and focus.” “I just want to teach,” Leslie Norman, a special education instructional assistant at Loyal Heights Elementary, said. “I’m a little bit sad that the school district is not willing to work with us. It doesn’t seem like they’re willing to meet us in the middle . . . it’s hard to work for an employer that treats you that way.” SPS Superintendent Larry Nyland had been considering along with the rest of the district to take the teachers union to court for striking. Norman believes this illustrates the district’s resistance to work towards an agreeable contract for the teachers. Community response to the strike has been positive for the teachers union. Parents brought food to strikers on NW

65th Street and to the bargaining committee. “The district is not going to listen to the teachers, they will listen to the parents, and they will listen to the community,” said Newman. “Parents have a lot more power than we have, so if we can get the parents to talk to the district and strike with us, it will have a big impact.” The community has shown their support through the negotiation process and today’s picketing. Cars and trucks honked in support of teachers striking and even held up signs that read “we’ve got your back” and “we love our teachers.” Local parents created an online petition to support teachers. Kelly also sees the communities response as positive. “I think the public generally supports us, I think school families very much support us.” While as a whole, teachers conveyed a preference to be working within school walls with their students instead of picketing outside them, the teachers union has stated in the Sept. 9 SEA bargaining update that they will continue the strike until they reach a tentative agreement with the district regarding their demands. “I wanted to be in there today,” Kelly said, gesturing to the brick facade of Ballard High School behind him. “I don’t have any interest in striking . . . I really do think we’re a lot closer than most people think.”

October 27, 2015 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA) TA L I S M A N P O L I C I E S M i s s i o n Statement

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Cartoon by Mallery Perry

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Bargaining Team, yet they make up nearly two percent of Seattle Public Schools employees. Counselors are only represented by one member on the team. Yet their demands weren’t met, making us wonder: whose voices were most heard and respected? Similar to our teachers, counselors and nurses have unmanageable workloads within their designated schools, ours consisting of 1,711 students. Our counselors must understand the limitations of each student and be prepared to write college recommendations for desiring seniors. Nurses, too, have entire schools to tend to daily -- not to mention the nurses that rotate from school to school, leaving some schools with a nurse present few days out of the week. But the vast majority of gains made within the contract only regarded teachers. Nurses and counselors are district employees in their own right. They follow the same schedule and receive similar salaries. They serve the same student bodies and have the same

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Editor

Ruby Stauffer

Photographers Jackson Croy Chelsea Leingang

Business Manager Maeve Gallagher

ur educators not only marched for themselves this summer, they also marched for us. Their seven day strike and day-through-night bargaining with the district was, all-in-all, effective for teachers and students. But the contract agreed upon on Sept. 20 did not meet all the educators’ demands. Nurses and counselors were irrevocably neglected. Yes, educators made great strides in negotiations. Recess was guaranteed extension, policies to reduce over-testing were implemented, test scores no longer impact teacher evaluations and salaries were adjusted to cost of living and increased, though not to the original amount demanded. Additional staff was added to reduce workloads, race and equity teams were created at 30 schools within the district and teachers will be compensated for additional work. But nurses and counselors didn’t receive their requests regarding salaries and workloads. There is not one nurse on the Seattle Education Association Bargaining Team, yet they make up nearly two percent of Seattle Public Schools employees. Counselors are only represented by one member on the team. But both groups’ demands weren’t met, making us wonder: whose voices were most heard and respected? Similar to our teachers, counselors and nurses have unmanageable workloads within their designated schools, ours consisting of 1,711 students. Our counselors must understand the limitations of each student and be prepared to write college

recommendations for desiring seniors. Nurses, too, have entire schools to tend to daily — not to mention the nurses that rotate from school to school, leaving some schools with a nurse present few days out of the week. But the vast majority of gains made within the contract only regarded teachers. Nurses and counselors are district employees in their own right. They follow the same schedule and receive similar salaries. They serve the same student bodies and have the same supervisors. Though they’re the minority, their demands are equally valid. We can all agree that teachers are an indispensable part of our lives as students. They demonstrated truly admirable effort and dedication to their cause. Our teachers deserved everything they received in the new contract, and probably much more. They’d been neglected about their conditions for 30 years and finally took a stance. They opened themselves up to potential hostility and risked postponing school for us when they took to the streets to picket. But was it really advisable to only fix one part of the problem? Aren’t we only forcing nurses and counselors into the same cycle? The Union may not have another chance to make real change for another 30 years. And for the time being, counselors and nurses continue under extensive work loads and insufficient aid. Next time, let’s do better.

published 10.27.15

Website Editor Eli Wolk

Staff Artists Rachel Halmrast Mallery Perry Leo Rauf

R e p o r t e r s

Alison Aiken Bella Anderson Ceci Atkins Henry Burreson Carter Fitch Regina Gavryushchenko Henno Kublin Liam Moore-Tobiason Megan McAlister Christine McManigal Lily Rehfeldt Laura Rude Taylor Young

A d v i s e r

Michael Smith

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supervisors. Though they’re the minority, their demands are equally valid. We can all agree that teachers are an indispensable part of our lives as students. They demonstrated truly admirable effort and dedication to their cause. Our teachers deserved everything they received in the new contract, and probably much more. They’d been neglected about their conditions for 30 years and finally took a stance. They opened themselves up to potential hostility and risked postponing school for us when they took to the streets to picket. But was it really advisable to only fix one part of the problem? Aren’t we only forcing nurses and counselors into the same cycle? The Union may not have another chance to make real change for another 30 years. And for the time being, counselors and nurses continue under extensive work loads and insufficient aid. Next time, let’s do better.

The district fulfilled many of our teachers’ demands so the strike could end and we could all return to school. Our editorial board discussed the strike, and we noticed a major problem in the resolution of it: nurses and counselors were neglected during negotiations. While our teachers’ demands were met, other district employees’ demands were not. We wanted our editorial to acknowledge this mistake.

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editorial writing

Forgotten but not gone

opinions writing

Something ventured, nothing gained Potential change to a modified block schedule

ur current schedule meets the district’s temporary requirement of 1,027 hours, and yet our staff is planning on voting to change the schedule this April anyways. The new requirement of 1,080 hours goes into effect in September for Washington State public high schools. But the state also compromised with some districts, including Seattle, to take an average of the 1,000 hour requirement in K-8 schools and the 1,080 hour requirement in high schools, for a total of 1,027 hours. This will most likely take effect in two years. Principal Keven Wynkoop presented three new schedule options to the main department teachers in an informal vote. He came to the conclusion that the majority of our staff is in favor of Option C, a modified block schedule with 80-minute periods. Although the schedule doesn’t have to change, he decided to execute a vote because

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he noticed an interest in a block schedule from the staff. The Seattle Education Association staff (including BHS teachers, instructional assistants and clerical staff) will vote in April on whether we should keep our current schedule or switch to Option C. In order for the schedule to change, Option C must have two-thirds of the SEA staff’s vote. Administration is currently informing teachers on both the positives and negatives of Option C. “Right now over the course of the next month we’re really trying to kind of get into some of the finer details [of the bell schedule] so the teachers can make an educated decision about what it is [they want],” Wynkoop said. But there are many complications with this staff vote. To begin with, Option C, like our current schedule, does not meet the state requirement of 1,080 hours that will take effect

It is very rare for our double trucks to have opinions articles in them, but it seemed appropriate for this issue. Our double truck focused on our school’s potential schedule change. Administration was trying to pick between three possible schedules, but I thought there were many distinct reasons why the proposed schedules would be ineffective. Because this article was going in the double truck, and many students weren’t aware of the possible change, I wanted it to be very informative. The opinionated aspect of this article was to advocate for the students, since the staff was voting for the change.

when the 1,027 hour compromise with the district is no longer in place. It also contradicts another new state requirement of 24 credits to graduate that takes effect in September of 2017 for current sixth graders in the district. If we switch to Option C, we will have to change our bell schedule again in two years to accommodate both these state laws. Furthermore, it’s a staff vote. Our school has 121 SEA staff members and about 1,655 students, but the staff, that 7 percent of the building, will choose what schedule fits both them and the students. Is this fair to the students? Is this fair to the individuals sitting for 1,080 hours and receiving 24 credits by graduation? Is this fair to the ones with daily homework and tests from six different classes?

continued on next page

published 04.02.15

that follows student and staff feedback, there is not an option that accommodates everyone’s suggestions and preferences. And there never will be. Our current schedule works for now. We should keep it for as long as we can, most likely for the next two years, and then switch once the state requirements take effect. When we do change the schedule, it should follow both state requirements and meet everyone’s expectations. Everyone’s extremely contradicting, passionate expectations. Junior Aaron Fandel wants to eliminate reading period but keep two lunches because of the large amount of students. But sophomore Cole Detels and freshman Yasmeen Chatelle enjoy reading period because it gives them time to do homework. Yet Detels prefers Option B and Chatelle prefers Option C. There will never be a schedule that satisfies every person. “Honestly I feel like it’s kind of a waste of time,” sophomore Brian Shinn said. “The schedule is fine the way it is.” In the Talisman poll, many students wrote similar things on their surveys. Students either asked why the schedule was changing, wanted to keep our current one, or didn’t know the change was a possibility at all. It’s concerning that students are unaware of the primary reasons a schedule change will take place at some

point. Despite the various opinions on the options, there is a more effective modified block schedule that should make the list in the future, assuming we stick with our current schedule over the next two years. A reasonable modified block schedule would have eight periods instead of six. Each day would consist of four classes, each long enough to meet the 1,080 hour state requirement. Having two more classes would also help students meet the 24 credit graduation requirement. In addition to meeting both requirements, an eight period modified block would acquire the common advantages of a block schedule. Teachers would have enough time for a full lesson and students would have enough time for homework and studying. Students would also get involved with more academics and electives, helping them gain more experiences, friends and knowledge. Though a block schedule is helpful to both teachers and students, the change should take effect when the state requirements do. What’s the point in waiving the requirements without waiving the change? And when it does take effect, although we’ll never satisfy everyone, an eight period modified block schedule should be considered, because it meets more conditions than any of the options do now.

cont.

In a recent Talisman poll of 737 students, more students were in favor of Option B over the other two. The votes for Options B and C were almost equal, with Option B actually receiving eight more than Option C, yet the latter is the schedule proposed in April’s staff vote. Though the entire staff’s votes are important for such a dramatic change, students should have a voice as well. Administration took a staff prevote to get accustomed to their opinion, but didn’t attempt to present the specific options to the students. Instead, Wynkoop based the options off of feedback from a leadership meeting in the beginning of the school year. A block schedule seemed to suit the students’ requests because longer periods give more time for homework and students can only have up to three tests per day. From a teacher’s perspective, a block schedule is also appealing because it gives the opportunity to teach a full lesson and have time to analyze the results. While students seemed to prefer the 105-minute periods in Option B, teachers shifted away from it because, according to Wynkoop, the periods were too long. All three options presented to the SEA staff don’t do our school justice. Although they all have at least one aspect

opinions writing

Welcome to the real world How adults discredit teenagers’ problems

t seems as if every time I tell an adult about a hardship — no matter what it entails — they say something like, “You think life is hard now? Just wait until you’re in the real world.” A response like this not only discredits a teenager’s mental health and dismisses our reactions to hardships, it also implies that teens are living in a fake world. I am not living in a fake world just as adults are not living in a real world. Both sorts don’t even exist because there is only a universal world. There is no special birthday upon which a person’s world is suddenly considered real. Yet adults often attempt to persuade teenagers into thinking that our problems are meaningless — an idea that is simply not true. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services claims mental health affects how a person thinks, feels and

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acts, and “helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices.” While adults and teenagers think, feel and act differently, teens are managing life and developing simultaneously. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, “During adolescence, the brain undergoes significant developmental changes, establishing neural pathways and behavior patterns that will last into adulthood . . . Adolescents’ developing brains, coupled with hormonal changes, make them more prone to depression . . . than either younger children or adults.” Adolescent mental health is a serious issue, so discrediting us by deeming our lives fantasy is a lousy way of guiding us into adulthood. Dismissing a teen’s potential mental health issues is a dangerous way of forcing them into not seeking help. The problem isn’t that teenag-

This opinions article stemmed from a stressful beginning to my last year in high school. Dedicating my time and energy to the newspaper and video, while simultaneously working and applying to college, generated many conversations with adults about my future. A pet peeve of mine has always been when adults tell me about the ‘real world.’ This article was intended to enlighten adults who use this phrase when speaking to teenagers, and help them understand why our problems are legitimate.

OPINIONS ballardtalisman.com

ers live harder lives than adults, the problem is that our issues aren’t always acknowledged as legitimate. Adults are primarily stressed by money, the economy and work, while teenagers are stressed by academics. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation found that main sources of stress for teenagers are grades, tests and college. Our school related worries stem from planning our futures — a burden that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Preparing for what lies ahead determines who we are and how we will contribute to society, which is something that adults should take seriously. These problems we face are different than those adults face, but are not by any means imaginary. We may not pay the bills, but our issues remain significant and valid, and we don’t deserve to believe they aren’t.

published 11.20.15 November 20, 2015 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)

A false sense Are our security policies truly effective?

he influx of school shootings in recent years is undoubtedly tragic. My heart goes out to all of the famiDylan Mehrer lies who have been Guest Columnist affected. I do not think preventing school shootings is a matter of security. Our security guards are locking the side doors of our building so that they can claim they have done “something” to prevent these tragedies. In reality, if someone wanted to commit a school shooting here at BHS they could simply walk in the front door like everyone else. These types of attacks are thoroughly thought out. Walking an extra block and a half to the front door is not going to change the mind of a mass-murderer. Anything short of a TSA style security checkpoint at the door is nothing but a PR stunt, designed to give students and parents a false sense of security. I think that our prevention strategies should focus on the root cause of these incidents, which at this point is unclear, but seems to have something to do with mental health. These mental health issues can stem from a lot of things, but in many cases they stem from marginalization and bullying within the community. If we want to prevent school shootings, we need to foster an open and

supportive community at our school, a firearm on a school campus is to be and in our nation at large. We also taken seriously. The more prevalent need to give people the access to these shootings become, the more mental health false alarms there services that If we want to prevent school will be. This just they need. shootings, we need to foster comes with the Even then, it an open and supportive com- territory. isn’t likely that This is what this problem munity at our school, and in our world is comwill go away ing to. School age our nation at large. anytime soon. kids in America There is something else going on here. are just going to have to get used to We may never know why our nation, lockdowns, SWAT teams, and news and our nation alone, is having such helicopters. a widespread mental health crisis. Don’t fool yourself. A school is a It isn’t just marginalized high relatively easy target. The security school kids doing this. Adults with no obvious motives, such as the Sandy Hook shooter, are going on killing sprees all throughout the country. It’s scary that we don’t really know what’s causing this. The incident that happened on Nov. 5 at BHS was unsettling for all of us. Though no weapon was found, and the initial report appears to be entirely false, the reaction of our administrators and SPD was justified. In this day and age, any potential situation involving

Welcome to the real world

t seems as if every time I tell an adult about a hardship — no matter what it entails — they say something like, “You think life is hard now? Just wait until you’re in the real world.” A response like this Jaya Flanary not only discredits a Editor-in-Chief teenager’s mental health and dismisses our reactions to hardships, it also implies that teens are living in a fake world. I am not living in a fake world just as adults are not living in a real world. Both sorts don’t even exist because there is only a universal world. There is no special birthday upon which a person’s world is suddenly considered real. Yet adults often attempt to persuade teenagers into thinking that our problems are meaningless — an idea that is simply not true. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services claims mental health affects how a person thinks, feels and acts, and “helps determine

guards here are meant to find that joint in your backpack, not prevent school shootings. Locking the side doors of the building will do nothing but make more kids tardy on their way back from lunch. We need to come together as a nation and figure out what is really going on here. Maybe we need to be nicer to people, maybe we need to give people access to free mental health services, or maybe there is nothing we can do but damage control after the shooting starts.

How adults discredit teenagers’ problems

how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices.” While adults and teenagers think, feel and act differently, teens are managing life and developing simultaneously. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, “During adolescence, the brain undergoes significant developmental changes, establishing neural pathways and behavior patterns that will last into adulthood . . . Adolescents’ developing brains, coupled with hormonal changes, make them more prone to depression . . . than either younger children or adults.” Adolescent mental health is a serious issue, so discrediting us by

deeming our lives fantasy is a lousy way of guiding us into adulthood. Dismissing a teen’s potential mental health issues is a dangerous way of forcing them into not seeking help. The problem isn’t that teenagers live harder lives than adults, the problem is that our issues aren’t always acknowledged as legitimate. Adults are primarily stressed by money, the economy and work, while teenagers are stressed by academics. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation found that main sources of stress for teenagers are grades, tests and college. Our school related worries stem from planning our futures — a burden that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Preparing for what lies ahead determines who we are and how we will contribute to society, which is something that adults should take seriously. These problems we face are different than those adults face, but are not by any means imaginary. We may not pay the bills, but our issues remain significant and valid, and we don’t deserve to believe they aren’t.

P L A N N I N G

google drive

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Our staff uses Google Drive to turn in articles to section editors. My Talisman folder has many folders within it — ranging from brainstorming to grading. Google Drive is a way for us to organize content, share and edit articles and keep track of what is being written for each issue.

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While each section editor edits articles for their section, I edit every article that is written (up to 50 articles per issue).

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brainstorming

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This year, I created a chart on Google Drive to keep track of what articles are being written. We color coordinate the boxes according to articles that are missing or turned in late. This chart is accessible to editors only, who can change the details of an article at any time.

Each issue is made up of two cycles. At the beginning of each cycle, we brainstorm article ideas as a class. Brainstorming as a group allows us to make a list that includes a variety of school events. Reporters and editors sign up for one or two articles, which have a rough draft and final draft due date.

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grading

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Grading is by far the hardest part of running a student newspaper. Our editorial board grades our reporters together, while my co-editor and I grade section editors. We try our best to grade everyone based on the quality of their work and the effort they put in, while also giving them encouragement. My co-editor and I created this grading checklist that allows staff members to list everything they did for an issue. We then review their sheets, give them comments on the back and give them a percentage grade.

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surveys

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We often distribute and collect student surveys so our double trucks include student perspective. For our most recent issue, we surveyed about 400 students on their finances.

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After collecting and counting the surveys with my co-editor, I organized the data on a Google Drive chart. This allowed me to easily create the infographics for our double truck that can be viewed on p. 16.

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tips & tricks 44

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Last year, I taught myself many Adobe programs that helped me design in a creative way. I wanted this year’s section editors to have a resource to help them design, so over the summer I created a four page ‘Tips&Tricks’ Google Docs. It includes a variety of how-to’s such as: wrapping text around a photo, whitening cartoons and typing a long dash in InDesign. Whenever editors have a question, I recommend them to see if their question can be answered with this.

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Talisman Style Guide 20152016

Headlines Font: Georgia Regular or Bold Size: depends on page design Dominant article needs dominant position (top, left page) & biggest headline Decks Font: Myriad Pro Italic Size: depends on headline size & design (smaller than headline) (Switch up versions: italic, bold, etc.) Info Graphic Fonts Font: Myriad Pro Size: depends on design (Switch up versions: italic, bold, etc.) Captions Font: Myriad Pro Size: 10pt At least 3 sentences long Photo attribution: Staff photographer: “(Name)” at the end of the caption Person not on staff: “Photo courtesy of (Name)” at the end of the caption Headshots Font: Myriad Pro Size: 10pt No photo attribution, use school photo found in network Example: “Tess Harstrick, 12” Body text Font: Century Schoolbook Size: 10pt Ragged right Paragraph indent: 1 pica Bylines Name Font: Mission Gothic Bold Name Size: 11pt Position Font: Mission Gothic Italic Position Size: 10pt Drops Caps Size: 3 lines Pull Quote Quote Font: Georgia Regular Size: 14pt17pt Attribution Font: Myriad Pro Regular Size: 12pt Attribution includes name and grade (or position if they’re a teacher) Example: Tess Harstrick, 12 or Michael Smith, Language Arts teacher Ellipsis separates parts of quotes, space between each period (. . .) Justify text box, equal space around the text box

style guide

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My co-editor and I mutually agreed to make this year’s style guide more strict, so pages compliment each other. These guides are posted around our computer lab to help editors as they design.

calendar

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Publishing a newspaper depends on perfect planning. This online calendar allows us to plan each cycle, with set due dates and meeting dates. Since our upcoming issue, issue five, is going to be our longest one, I made this document with the calendar and an important dates box. I printed out a copy for every staff member and posted them around the classroom. So far, it has helped our reporters a lot — we have already seen an improvement in due dates being met.

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KEY

C1 = Cycle 1 (All staff writes) C2 = Cycle 2 (All staff writes) C3 = Cycle 3 (Reporters write) E = Editors R = Reporters

IMPORTANT DATES

2/12: C1 drafts due at 3pm 2/19: C1 finals due at 3pm. All staff game night in SW122 2/26: C2 drafts due at 3pm 3/2: C2 finals due at 3pm 3/11: C3 drafts due at 3pm 3/18: C3 finals due at 3pm 3/19: State competition 3/22: Rough pages due at 8pm 3/25: Final pages due 3/28: Send pages 3/29: Distribute

S I M D

O C A L E I A

website

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Not only is our online presence important to our readers, it is also important to us. Our website allows students to read articles online at any time, even if they didn’t pick up a copy of the paper. It also allows us to publish more news, since we have a surplus of articles and not enough room in our print issue. As Features Editor last year, I was responsible for posting features articles. As Editor-in-Chief this year, I am responsible for posting our double trucks and editorials.

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twitter

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Our Twitter, @BallardTalisman, allows us to inform our student body of events immediately. Every editor has the account’s password, allowing us all to have access to posting news.

During the lockdown in early November, we Tweeted updates about the situation. This was especially helpful to parents since local news stations were reporting false information about our student body being evacuated when we were still in the building.

During the teacher strike, I took to Twitter to update students about the picket line and when school would start back up.

We like to Tweet any updates regarding the school and our paper, such as school board votes and distribution dates.

instagram

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Similar to our Twitter, our Instagram is accessible to all of our editors. Our posts often direct followers to articles on our website. We also keep it updated with sports photos and scores, and newsworthy events such as the lockdown.

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