OPINION
PRESSURE THROUGH THE GENERATIONS The academic pressures that our generation experiences differ from those our parents experienced. BY ELLIE STINGLEY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
bizarre to them. Let’s just say when they tell me I need more sleep, I laugh. Often times a choice must be made between sleeping or finishing school work to attain the desired GPA. One thing that seems to define our generation is academic pressure and pressure to succeed in the real world. This pressure is thrusted upon us immediately as we enter high school, if not before. Earn perfect grades in high school. Get an exceptional score on the ACT. Attend a high-level college. And once you get there, earn a respected
I sit on the stool at our kitchen counter with a thud and sigh from fatigue. I close my laptop out of defeat and start watching my mom prepare dinner at the stove. Taking note of my tired body language, she asks me what’s wrong. Rubbing my exhausted eyes, I tell her about the seemingly endless struggle of my research paper for English class. As much as I hate to admit it, I begin complaining. My mom then reminds me of how different her day-to-day struggles were at my age. When she was in high school, research papers meant going to the library and finding the perfect book among thousands. She couldn’t turn to Google. My mom was right. For one thing, I’m lucky to have the opportunity to even have English class and access to something as amazing as the Internet. And I would rather be tired from looking at a computer screen than from wandering a library, searching for the (Cartoon by Elizabeth Arroyo) perfect source. But something my mom also pointed out was the academic pressure she sees degree. And finally, land the perfect, high-paying inflicted on our generation. Both she and my dad job in our poor economy. Our generation strives have agreed that my backpack’s load every night is to fulfill these expectations as adults and the much heavier than they carried around the halls of media inform us that flawless report cards and an high school. And the amount of obsessive studying acceptance letter from a prestigious university are teenagers endure during the school week seems the keys to success.
With these pressures to succeed come piles of schoolwork. This leads to endless nights of studying, memorizing and perfecting the knowledge necessary to score an A. At Sion, this stress to achieve is magnified and students are held to an academic standard the previous generation didn’t necessarily experience. This obsession with being the best comes with health problems some ignore. In addition to limited sleep, high concern to reach society’s standards has caused a spike in anxiety and high blood pressure in teenagers, according to emaxhealth.com. Holding our generation up to high academic standards is fantastic and can lead to remarkable leaders of tomorrow. But if those standards are drilled so deeply into our minds, we may crack under the pressure and the expectations of a promising future will be unattainable. Yes, our generation has a high expectation of success and that can lead to problems of its own. However, it is important to remember how the generations before us struggled just as much if not more than we do. Technology has made our lives 10 times faster and it’s hard for many of us to believe there was ever a time before Google or wifi. None of us have to worry about being drafted into the war. We girls are given the opportunity to attend school and don’t have to depend on marrying rich to live a comfortable life. Our generation does not have it the worst. It’s a new generation, new blessings, new curses. And it is our job to discover a way to turn these curses and obsessions with making the perfect life into motivation for a better future, one that we can call our own.
THE FATE IS IN THE COURT
College sports actually add to the appeal of the school. BY SARA WATKINS REPORTER
College basketball can either make or break a school. It can give a school the confidence to build up their team, or it can break down the school, become a money-sucking vacuum and discourage students and players. But when a team is great, the greatness spreads throughout the entire city. There is a sense of legacy that comes along with a great sports team. Kansas, for example, the players graduate, the coaches come and go, but the team aspect hasn’t changed. In 2009, the year after they won the National Championship, the team lost seven players. Despite losing some of their most important players, the team still managed to win their fifth Big 12 Conference Championship, proving it is not just the players. It is more. The love for the team and the town never went
8LE JOURNAL ISSUE 3
away. Six years later, Lawrence is still one of the most desirable college towns in America according to bestcollegereviews.com, and was voted the best college basketball arena by athlonsports.com. I have never met a person that walked into the doors of Allen Fieldhouse and came out not loving it, no matter what school they pledge their allegiance to. I was born and raised a KU fan, but that is not why I am in love with it. In my opinion, the school is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The fieldhouse has an atmosphere that no one could ever imagine without experiencing it first hand. Some people attribute the atmosphere to the fact that the arena is considerably small, some attribute it to the fact that the student section takes up almost half of the crowd seating, but it is more. Nothing but goosebumps and smiles. That is all that happens when I am in the ‘Phog’. There is nothing like the screams that occur when the players storm out onto the court. The newspapers that are thrusted in the air when the visitor team runs out. At last, a shower of confetti is thrown into
the air to welcome our home team back, ready to play and ready to show their school what they are here for. I think that sports in college are played not just for the students, or for the alumnae, or even just for the players. Sports are played for the school. College sports are played for all of these elements, and the community that supports them, and cheers for the them every step of the way. It is known as the Flutie effect, when a school succeeds in a sport, everything changes for the town it encompasses. In 2008 when the Jayhawks won the National Championship in men’s basketball, the town of Lawrence skyrocketed in all aspects. Businesses grew, the school became more appealing to future college students, and the basketball team gained more devoted fans, and those fans who already loved them only deepened their love. It is not just the team that attracts the love of the city, it’s not just the coaching, or the mascot, or the success of the team. It is all of it combined.
