Issue 2: The Budget 2016-2017

BUDGET

Lawrence High School

06 Students head to the polls to vote for first time

10 Prevention

efforts lose grant support

12 Condoms made available in nurse’s office

Volume 124, Issue 2 — Oct. 20, 2016

2 • THE BUDGET News

IN THIS ISSUE

06

20

Students plan to vote for first time

08

Intertribal Club seeks sponsor

10

Prevention efforts lose grant dollars

BUDGET

Gymnastics on its way out

Lawrence High School

Volume 124, Issue 2 — Oct. 20, 2016

22

Art students prep for Portfolio Day

24

Students selected for national choir

06 Students head to the polls to vote for first time

10 Prevention

efforts lose grant support

12 Condoms made

Condoms added to nurse’s office

16

College prep class offered

available in nurse’s office

29

12

Language classes ON THE COVER — Drug need materials prevention efforts no longer have the support of a parttime prevention specialist A Day in LHS and grant. Meanwhile, the cartoon district is putting condoms in the nurse’s office. Photo

by Hannah Gaines

30

lhsbudget.com STORIES

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BY NIKKI AQUI

STAFF WRITER

PSAT TEST CHANGES

Solar Powered Phone Charger

Confusion has ensued as rules regarding who can take which PSAT have changed.

The College Board this school year reworked how the PSAT works, and as a result, sophomores no longer take the regular PSAT and instead are offered a different test.

“The College Board came out with a PSAT 10, which is allowing students to practice taking the PSAT,” counselor Natalie Konkel said.

Sophomores also may no longer qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. They can only qualify during their junior year.

Juniors took the PSAT Oct. 19, and sophomores are scheduled to take the PSAT 10 in the spring.

“And actually we are testing a lot more students,” Konkel said. “By the way that we do it, we have 100 juniors doing it in the fall, and I guarantee 100 sophomores will be taking it in the spring.”

Free State chose to have their sophomores and juniors take the PSAT together but fewer students will be able to take it as a result.

STUDENTS ADOPT ELEPHANTS

BY SYDNEY PRITCHARD

STAFF WRITER

The Geography Club has been raising money to adopt baby elephants in Kenya.

The elephant nursery is located within Nairobi National Park, a small rehabilitation center that takes care of abandoned baby elephants and keeps them safe from the dangers of poachers.

Senior and Geography Club member Raj Patel said the club doesn’t have a financial goal. Members want to collect as much money as possible so they can adopt and help as many elephants as possible.

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER

Each elephant’s adoption fee is $50. The club is doing fundraisers to help, such as selling buttons for $2 at games, which raised $150 to adopt three elephants.

The Dunkin Donuts on 23rd Street allowed the club to set up a tip jar on the counter to help collect money for the elephants. Dunkin Donuts doesn’t benefit from the tips collected, and all proceeds go toward the adoption of more elephants.

“It’s a great idea,” senior Lillian Khan said. “It raises awareness and lets people know the seriousness of poaching.”

The club is sending the money to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

News THE BUDGET • 3

CREEPY CLOWNS District addresses worries about evil clowns near schools, saying no claims had been substantiated in Lawrence

“THIS IS A CALL, QUITE FRANKLY, I NEVER ENVISIONED MAKING. I WANT TO INFORM YOU OF NUMEROUS REPORTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY OF SO-CALLED CREEPY CLOWN AND ARMED CLOWN SIGHTINGS.” —JULIA BOYLE, USD 497 COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

TEACHER DONATES BONE MARROW

BY ZOIE GERMANMARTINEZ

OPINION EDITOR

Teacher Valerie Schrag discusses her recent bone marrow donation.

When did you donate bone marrow?

“I donated what are called peripheral blood stem cells on Sept. 7.

I went to the Washington, D.C., area to do the donation.”

Do you have a match?

“I was preliminarily matched with this woman who is battling leukemia in late January and went through additional blood testing to determine whether or not I was the best possible match. A lot of other people were, at the time. Then later, I was chosen as the best possible match.”

Photo by Hannah Gaines

What made you decide to donate bone marrow?

“It’s the right thing to do. I would hope that if someone close to me or I, myself, needed something that somebody would step in and do it for me. This is something that the way I was made and the way I was created can help this woman because we are matched at this very minute level.”

How does it feel to know you may have an impact on someone’s life?

“It’s a pretty amazing experience, and a very humbling experience as well. My donation took place just over a month ago, so I still don’t know whether it has worked or not. It feels amazing to have this connection with another person that I’ve never met. I hope I get to meet her someday.”

SAVE THE DATE: 5 EVENTS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

By Sydney Pritchard

1

OCT. 21 No School

2

OCT. 26 Winter sports forms will be handed out.

Forms will be due on Nov. 7.

3

OCT. 22-29 Lady Lion’s LHS Youth Basketball (K-8) Clinic.

4

NOV. 9 FYI Talent Show begins at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

5

NOV. 14 Winter tryouts begin

PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER • OCT. 20, 2016

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Features THE BUDGET •5

Features

PARKING PASSES HELP STUDENTS IN NEED

Heart of the Lion fund helps students pay for field trips, other needs

BY KANSAS GIBLER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

W

hen parking tickets land on students’ windshields, they might not understand paying those tickets actually

helps classmates.

Every August, students head to the finance office to pay the standard $10 fee for their numbered parking pass sticker without realizing what that $10 is spent on. Unbeknown to them, the money goes to the Heart of the Lion fund, which helps students in need.

“Mostly what it goes for is if they need a shirt or something for a job interview and they can’t afford to get one, things like that,” bookkeeper Amy Flohrschutz said. “Or to pay for their

activity ticket if they honestly do not have the money to do that. Field trips that cost money, that sort of thing.”

This year, the Heart of the Lion took in about $2,500. The money will be used for what Flohrschutz estimates to be anywhere from 20 to 30 students.

“Rather than tell a student who can’t afford it, ‘You can’t go,’ that’s what we use it for,” assistant principal Mark Preut said. “To help out students to do different things like that.”

Flohrschutz said students probably aren’t familiar with the fund because the donations are confidential.

“They don’t ask for it,” she said. “It’s usually recognized by a teacher and then referred to a social worker or a counselor, and then they request the money for the student.”

Preut said he wasn’t sure how long

PARKING FEES EXPLAINED WHERE DOES OUR MONEY GO?

$ $

the fund had been around, but knows that it serves a unique function.

“It’s used for a variety of things where it doesn’t really fit into a budget line item, or there isn’t funding for something so, ‘How do we make it happen?’ Well, we can use that funding,” Preut said. “And it’s always directly tied to, directly for students. So it’s not like we’re handing cash out, it’s making things possible for students that would not be available [otherwise].”

Flohrschutz said that she hopes students see the importance of paying the permit price in order to support the fund, as opposed to parking off-campus or without a permit.

“Being a Chesty Lion, we’re all in this together,” she said. “And even though it doesn’t benefit them personally, it might benefit a friend.”

KIDS IN NEED HEART OF THE LION FUND Hear t of the Lion

CAR TAG

PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER •OCT. 20, 2016 Graphic by Ian Jones

6• THE BUDGET Features

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TAKE ON EDUCATION

Trump, Clinton offer different takes on college, K12 education

BY KYLEE BROEKEMEIER

STAFF WRITER

A

s voters head to the polls next month, they’re looking at two very different futures for education.

One of the most talked about debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has been their opposing views on education and the funding that goes toward it.

While only a handful of students will be voting in November, all students will be affected by who is elected, especially those going to college in the next five years.

Clinton plans to make college debt free. For families who earn $125,000 or less each year, she plans to eventually make in-state college tuition free while also pushing colleges to control costs.

Senior Julia Randolph likes that

the plan would allow more people from different backgrounds to attend college.

“It would really impact students because not only would it impact the students that would now be able to get that education, but people that outside of that would be more exposed to socioeconomic racial cultural diversity that they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise,” Randolph said.

A Trump adviser has said the candidate wants student loans to originate with banks and not the federal government.

Trump intends to cut Common Core and No Child Left Behind using $20 billion in federal money to leave the choice up to parents on which school they would like their children to attend, making private schools an option for more students.

“I don’t see how it’s feasible,” junior Jackson Hoy said. “There’s no way to standardize private schools so a lot of

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS TO VOTE?

By Macy Landes “I think it’s important for everyone to vote, but it’s especially important for young people because, currently, the lowest voter turnout group in the United States are 18

to 29 year olds. They have a pathetically low turnout at elections which, as elected officials, we know that. So what ends up happening is, when younger people come

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER

the private schools would just be jokes.

It would just be that if you can’t pay enough for a good school then your screwed.”

The question of who could best lower the percentage of dropouts and help students go to college was put before students.

“I suppose Hillary because her plan is encouraging to students,” senior Devin Van Schmus said. “Trump’s is more proving he doesn’t want to regulate schools or be bothered with it.”

While Clinton’s ideals for education may relate more to the mind of millennials, Trump’s plans may perhaps entice some adults. The future of education casts significantly upon which candidate is elected, along with the politicians voted into the House of Representatives and Senate.

The future of education now lies in hands of those eligible to vote.

City Commissioner and government teacher Matt Herbert offers his insight

to you with concerns, they have less weight because, ultimately, these are people less likely to be voters. At the point of which young people take a stand, and they show

up and they get that number elevated and they get to have a greater say in their own country. So if not for you, vote for everyone around you that does care.”

Features THE BUDGET •7

FIRST-TIME VOTING TIPS The League of Women Voters share tips for new voters

By Macy Landes

What should students bring?

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND

What issues in this election are important to you?

By Kylee Broekemeier

Bring a government-issued photo ID to the polls. A drivers license is most common, but the list of acceptable photo ID’s and exemptions is here: www.gotvoterid.com/validphoto-ids.html#idlist

What should students expect?

Poll workers will ask each person for their photo ID and to say their name. They will find the voter in the poll book (either paper or electronic). The voter will be handed a paper ballot (in Douglas County) and a pen and be directed to the polling booths. After the voter fills out the ballot, the voter feeds it into a vote counting machine.

What are the registration deadlines?

In Kansas, the voter registration deadline is three weeks before the election. Tuesday, Oct. 18 was the deadline for the Nov. 8 election.

Is there anything else you’d like me to know about voting?

Graphi cs b y cia Ali Ruder

OTHER RACES TO WATCH US SENATE & HOUSE Some voters who prefer a check on presidential powers like to have the opposite party in charge of the Senate or House. Currently, Republicans fear they’ll lose the Senate and House if Donald Trump loses in a landslide.

Make a plan for voting. Don’t leave it to chance. If there is a possibility that you may be out of town, be in school or activities between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, either apply for a ballot to be sent to you early, or vote early. Times and places for early voting are posted on the Douglas County Clerks website.

By Macy Landes KANSAS HOUSE & SENATE In recent years, the Legislature has been dominated by conservative Republicans who helped champion the policies of Gov. Sam Brownback. This year, some are hoping to return control to a coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats.

“Right now, especially as a senior going to college, the cost of college obviously is a big part.

But also I would say green energy which they addressed on a little in the second debate.”

—Noah Mercer, senior

“I just really want a president who will follow in Obama’s legacy...

I want somebody that has a similar view on healthcare and immigration. That person would be Hillary Clinton. With ideas of education and the more open conversations about racism, discrepancies, and social class.”

—Vera Petrovic, sophomore

“I think it’s important that we have a president that tends to lead the way and set an example on what to do vs. what not to do. So far to me Hillary has shown that she is setting examples on those kind of topics on diversity and including others.”

— Brian Myers, junior

PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER •OCT. 20, 2016

8 • THE BUDGET Features

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY CADE BURGHART

Features THE BUDGET • 9

INTER-TRIBAL CLUB FINDS SPONSOR

Club finds sponsor in the midst of important current events

BY MACY LANDES

NEWS EDITOR

For months, longtime extracurricular Inter-Tribal club was without a sponsor.

The club, though lesser known to the general population of students, had been a staple and outlet for Native Americans attending Lawrence High. Each year members looked forward to organizing fundraisers, going on trips, and hosting their annual powwow.

It was also a safe space for Native American students to discuss the adversities they faced.

“Everyone would state their opinion, we’d just go around the circle,” senior Kaitlen White said. “[We’d] talk about what’s going on in our community with Natives and the problems that have been happening and stuff. So it was really nice, everyone was just outgoing, they felt safe, and it was just a nice environment for everyone.”

While Inter-Tribal club isn’t active now, science teacher Andrew Bricker recently agreed to sponsor the club. But before he signed on, students said they keenly missed the group.

“I wanted to join this year because I was so busy last year with school and stuff, and I wasn’t able to attend a lot of meetings,” sophomore Hunter Yellow Bird said. “I was looking forward to this year because I got it together finally. I was going to go to a bunch of meetings and really be active this year, but since they canceled it I can’t.”

Former club members were upset, too; some had trouble finding places to discuss the challenges Native Americans face daily.

“For me, I don’t really have anybody to talk to but my sisters,” Kaitlen’s brother, sophomore Derek White, said. “I miss that communication that we had. We were really good friends, all of us, but I don’t really talk to them anymore.”

The students speculated that, if Inter-Tribal club still met, more students would be informed

A FAMILY EFFORT — Senior Kaitlen White stands with her brother, sophomore Derek White. The two played active roles in the search for a new sponsor. Photo by Ian Jones

about current events pertaining to Native AmerWHY IS INTERicans, like the protests at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Since midsummer, TRIBAL CLUB thousands of people have gathered there to halt IMPORTANT? the construction of an oil pipeline, called the Dakota Access Pipeline, that could potentially harm “IT’S IMPORTANT the water sources of the reservation and many FOR STUDENTS, other regions of the Midwest.

“You don’t hear people talk about it [the pipe- INDIGENOUS line] throughout the week or throughout the time STUDENTS, it’s been happening,” Kaitlen White said. “Like STUDENTS the only people I’ve heard talk about it is just like IN ANY Natives coming up to me, asking me like, ‘What do you think about it?’ ‘What side are you on?’

MARGINALIZED ‘Should it or should it not be there?’”

GROUP TO HAVE Junior AJ Holder traveled to the site of the protests with a group of Haskell students to lend SAFE SPACES support and bring supplies to protesters.

TO DISCUSS “It’s like nothing how the media depicts it at all,” Holder said. “It’s not violent, and it’s just THEIR STORIES like a camp, like any other camp. There’s people talking and laughing, and it’s a really good environ- OF WHAT THEY ment.”

EXPERIENCE Holder said she thought, if the club had been IN SCHOOL sponsored, it would have done something to assist AND IN THE protesters.

“I think we would have probably raised donaCOMMUNITY.” tions to get stuff to go up there, I don’t know if —ANDREW BRICKER, we would have like went up there,” she said. “But NEW SPONSOR I think we would definitely be pretty mad about what’s going on, and how people are treated.”

Bricker stressed the importance of Native American students having this club available to them.

“As I understand it, this is a historic time where treaties are being violated by the US government, people from multiple tribes and multiple native nations all over America and from Central and South America as well are coming together to protect water, to stand up against oppression and institutional racism,” Bricker said. “So this is a historic time where this is happening, and that alone is a huge topic that needs to be discussed.”

Ultimately, Inter-Tribal club members say they need a safe space to talk about relevant issues.

“I don’t know, I feel like I need to talk to other people…[It’s] heartbreaking,” Derek White said.

PAGE DESIGN BY CADE BURGHART •OCT. 20, 2016

10 • THE BUDGET News

News

CONDOMS ADDED TO HEALTH OFFICE

State and county health departments bring condoms to Lawrence High School after approval of school board

BY KANSAS GIBLER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

C

ondoms are just steps away from students now, after the district agreed to place them in the nurse’s office bathroom.

The move was a combined effort of the Douglas County Health Department (DCHC), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the school board. Condom dispensers were to be installed in the nurse’s office bathrooms during the weekend at both high schools.

The condoms are an extension of the comprehensive sexual education program implemented in 2013 that school board member Vanessa Sanburn has participated in and advocated for.

“Part of my work on the school board has been to improve sexuality education that students receive and so it was something obviously that I was particularly interested in,” Sanburn said.

The DCHC’s health promotion specialist, Michael Showalter, spoke to the board on Sept. 26 in support of condom availability in public high schools. The condom project is among other projects the DCHC has worked on with Lawrence Public Schools.

“We have an ongoing collaboration with the school district,” Showalter said in an interview. “We work with them

on a number of different programs and initiatives within the community and as part of the district’s comprehensive sexuality education that they adopted in 2013. They were just looking to expand the sexuality education that they already provide. And one thing that they approached us about was making condoms available to high school students at both high schools here in Lawrence.”

Showalter believes that taking money and travel out of the equation will allow condoms to be used more often as those barriers will no longer stand between students and barrier birth control.

“One thing we talk about with making condoms available in the high schools is kind of, preventing those additional barriers to access,” Showalter said.

“So, we know that youth already have a lot of trouble getting condoms, and just sexually active youth — people who are already choosing to have sex — have a lot of difficulty getting condoms. If it’s embarrassment, or cost, or they don’t have transportation to go to the store to buy them, and even though we make them available at the health department, how many people are going to travel to the health department just to get them?

So, having condoms available to students who are already having sex just makes sense.”

The condoms are available in the health office restroom in a plastic container mounted on the wall to allow

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER

students to access the condoms privately. The containers were supplied by the KDHE, but the condoms themselves are being provided by the DCHD. Nurse Carol Casteel said the ideal times for students to get the condoms will be before and after school.

“We’re going to be meeting in the next few weeks to kind of just get the specifics of where exactly they’re gonna be,” Casteel said. “But I was pretty sure they were just gonna be here in the health office restroom. So probably something like before school and after school, because a lot of students need to use the restroom, some with wheelchairs or [who] come in here for their medications.”

Though hormonal birth control, such as the pill, can prevent pregnancy, it cannot protect against sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Showalter said that though teen pregnancy rates are going down, rates of STD’s and STI’s, specifically chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, are rising.

“That’s actually a statewide trend and actually a national trend,” he said.

“Nationally, they’re continuing to see decreased levels of teen pregnancy, but STD’s and STI’s are increasing in ages 13-24, and pretty dramatically in some places. Northeast Kansas, I can say, in this past year alone saw a record number of syphilis cases, in particular amongst youth.”

News THE BUDGET • 11

Beyond Sanburn’s work to further comprehensive sexuality education in Lawrence Schools, she teamed up with DCHD nurse Cori Green recently to start an organization to teach students about safe sex. The pair have been working together to educate teens for three years at Lawrence High, and, after expanding to Free State High School one year later, began doing their presentations at Tonganoxie High School this year.

“I have a masters degree in social work and I think we help provide a good balance between the types of questions or concerns that students were having,” Sanburn said. “It’s not always medical questions, sometimes it’s social and emotional questions where students want help kind of working through. We provide a good balance of helping students figure out and contemplate some of the

pinnacle decision-making things that they need to think through when they’re contemplating relationships and all sorts of things in addition to sexual experiences.”

Sanburn said that parents have expressed discomfort about condom availability, but that the data shows that communication can ease this discomfort.

“Studies show that parents who have conversations with their kids about values and about remaining abstinent from sexual activity, that really makes a difference and it helps students to make healthy choices and to delay their sexual experiences,” Sanburn said. “So I would encourage any parents with any concerns about access to have those tough conversations and explain their values and expectations to their students because that is going to help their students more than anything else that they might do.”

Though parents have expressed concerns about the school board enabling sexual activity by providing condoms, even prompting a letter to the editor of the Lawrence Journal-World, Showalter said that providing condoms increases the number of students using them, not the number of students having sex.

“We know, as a public health department — and this is how we presented it to the school board as well — that condom availability does not increase sexual activity, and we know that nationwide it’s been proven for the last 30 years, actually, they’ve been collecting data on that,” he said. “The only thing you see with condom availability programs is an increase in the number of students using condoms, so students who are already choosing to have sex are going to continue to have sex. Students who are not having sex don’t increase in sexual activity just because they have access to condoms. ”

QUICK TAKE Average cost of a single condom

45¢

Teens who use condoms as well as a second form of birth control

Male teens who used a condom the first time they had sex

20%

82%

Female teens who used a condom the first time they had sex

68%

Number of times sex is safer against HIV while using a condom versus not using one

10,000

Source: Planned Parenthood

PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER •OCT. 20, 2016

12 • THE BUDGET News

QUICK TAKE

Douglas County 12th grade students who reported using marijuana at least once in their lifetime

43%

PREVENTION FUNDS LOST Funds not pursued, could be difficult to regain

BY KANSAS GIBLER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Douglas County 10th-graders who reported using marijuana at least once in their lifetime

29%

Douglas County 12th-graders who reported using psychedelics at least once in their lifetime

9%

Douglas County 10th-graders who reported using psychedelics at least once in their lifetime

6% Source: 2014 Kansas Communities That Care survey

S

tudents at Lawrence High use drugs more than average Kansas students yet the district decided against continuing to pursue grants that helped bolster prevention efforts.

Prevention work continues in other ways but lacks the support of a prevention specialist with time dedicated solely to preventing drug use as well as bullying and other issues.

And the ability to revive those efforts in the future would only be harder because schools no longer collect the data they need to make the case they have a problem.

“At the district, we felt we could do it in-house,” executive director of student services Kevin Harrell said. “So that’s when we spoke with buildings about what are the specific programs and activities that are useful and that need to be done. And the building looked at that and decided to make sure that those things happened at the building with existing staff.”

Existing staff, however, does not include former prevention specialists like Diane Ash, who worked with students in FYI, taking panels of high school students to elementary and middle schools.

Her career in the district and the grant money fund-

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER

ing the district’s prevention program ended simultaneously, after USD 497 declined to allow a coalition of community members to pursue leftover City Alcohol Tax funding. It was funding the district had used to pay for the program Ash led at LHS and another at Free State. The district wouldn’t have had to write the request, as the coalition offered to do that work, people involved in the effort said.

Throughout the program’s history, the grants were written and administered by the Douglas County Citizens Committee on Alcoholism (DCCCA), a non-profit organization often pronounced “decca,” which has expanded its services to bordering states and now works with many issues beyond alcoholism. Jen Jordan-Spence, a former DCCCA employee and current grant-writer for the city of Gardner, Kan., was taking care of the paperwork and just needed the go-ahead from the school district to bring it to the city.

“I was writing the grant,” Jordan-Spence said. “I was the one writing it. They would then though be financially responsible, which is what DCCCA did for five years.”

The school district and DCCCA had long been able to make the case that the extra efforts were needed. In 2014, 43 percent of 12th-grade students in Douglas County reported using marijuana at least once —

seven percentage points more than the state average. The county also surpassed the state average of students who had used psychedelics at least once by two percentage points.

Such data, which was compiled as part of the annual Communities That Care (CTC) survey, helped justify prevention efforts. But that data is longer being compiled — a change that could endanger future prevention efforts.

In 2014, the Legislature passed a bill that inhibits the ability of schools to survey students on substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Under the new law, schools must now get parental permission before students can be surveyed about morality, family life and risk behaviors. Participation in the CTC plummeted in many areas of the state, and Lawrence High no longer participates.

But by opting out of the survey, the district will now face difficulty in getting grants in the future. Those grants require quantified evidence of need and without the survey data, LHS won’t have proof of the need.

“Especially if there are grants that are being applied for, usually a grant will require reports that use some sort of a measure and the Kansas Communities That Care is a recognized instrument for measuring change,” CTC survey coordinator Nancy White said.

News THE BUDGET • 13

PROBLEMS — For years, LHS benefited from the work of a prevention specialist who helped address the school’s high rate of drug use. Photo illustration by Hannah Gaines

According to data from the CTC survey, from 2000 to 2014 — while the survey was still being administered in USD 497 — the percentage of Douglas County 10th and 12th grade students who had used marijuana at least once was consistently higher than state averages for each year. Data like this allowed the DCCCA to prove to organizations with grant money that Douglas County did, in fact, have higher instances of marijuana and psychedelic drug use, proving a need for funding for prevention.

The survey also showed where efforts had been successful, including a drop in binge drinking during recent years.

Over 25 years, Ash said as many as 18 prevention specialists were funded at one time through grants, including one from the federal Drug-Free Communities

Act and one from the City Alcohol Tax via the Lawrence Social Service funding advisory board.

“The district has not ever funded money for prevention,” Ash said. “Different people in the district, starting 25 years ago, thought it would be a wonderful idea to have a position completely focused on developing prevention programs around alcohol prevention, around bullying, around a lot of different issues that concern young people.”

The prevention program, which had money for counseling for students with addiction or at risk of addiction, has an uncertain future. FYI has continued to carry on a few of Ash’s programs, but students have fewer opportunities to talk to peers and younger students as they did when Ash worked at LHS. Because she didn’t have a teaching schedule, she was available to spend the bulk of a school day off LHS campus or wherever needed.

Assistant principal Mark Preut has stepped in, along with English teacher Kelsey Buek, to continue

some of Ash’s programs, such as the Bullies to Buddies and Cultural Diversity programs. Buek is the club sponsor.

“My role is facilitating Ms. Buek’s, what she’s doing with kids, then contacting Tracy Urish as the secretary to contact the elementary schools to start arranging times,” Preut said. “The mental health team, actually, goes out to the various presentations. We feel like it’s important to have somebody that has that training because issues come up through the course of a conversation and having somebody with that mental health training background there to facilitate and help out.”

Although many have stepped in, Ash played an incredibly active role that is difficult to truly fill.

“Obviously, filling Diane Ash’s shoes, it’s huge,” Preut said. “And she did so much stuff, above and beyond, that was part of FYI, that I don’t know that we’ll find somebody to fill those shoes. But, we have lots of people who have stepped in to help provide those prevention services.”

PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER •OCT. 20, 2016

14 • THE BUDGET News

PAYING FOR COLLEGE

Financial aid, scholarships available to help with costs Information compiled by Connor Schmaus Sources: Barb Williams, Avid teacher; affordability.ku.edu/ financialaid; Natalie Konkel, counselor; and student.collegeboard.org

FINDING SCHOLARSHIPS How can I find scholarships?

Check the LHS Student Services website early next semester for local scholarship information and applications. Students should apply for as many scholarships as they qualify for. Apply for scholarships with essay requirements because fewer people apply and your odds improve. Pay attention to scholarship deadlines and have someone proofread applications and essays. Never apply for scholarships that ask for money because it’s likely a scam. Visit the homepage of every university you are applying to and search for scholarships on that university’s financial aid website.

Other popular websites for scholarships include www. dellscholars.org, www.fastweb.com and bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search.

LETTERS

FINANCIAL AID TIPS What are deadlines for applying for the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)?

In the past, the FAFSA application was not open until Jan. 1.

However, starting this year, the window to apply is October 1-June 30. April 1 is the deadline for priority consideration, so the sooner students can apply after Oct. 1 the better.

What are the basic things that students should know when applying for aid?

You will need your social security number and your parents’ tax return info from the previous year.

You should fill out the FAFSA even if you think that you may not qualify for financial aid.

What kind of financial aid is available?

•Federal loans •Subsidized loans •Unsubsidized loans •Federal grants (don’t have to be paid back) •Federal Work Study Program (a work program through your University where you earn money to pay for school) •Find more details at studentaid. ed.gov/sa/types.

Give your counselor/ teacher ample time to write a letter of recommendation — at least a week. There is a recommender packet in the student services office that you can fill out. Provide a resume of activities/honors in and out of school.

WHAT YOU’LL PAY Estimated cost to attend for a year of attendance on and off campus according to collegeboard.org

ON CAMPUS OFF CAMPUS

$26,041 $25,215

$23,740 $22,252

$14,607 $7,895

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY CADE BURGHART

$19,190 $19,187

$3,790 $15,790

$20,408 $23,133

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16 • THE BUDGET News

NHS ACCEPTS JUNIORS

Fall service project kicks off with the addition of juniors

BY EMILY GORDON-ROSS

STAFF WRITER

F

or the first time in Lawrence High history, juniors will be included in National Honor Society.

In October, these students got the opportunity to be involved in a program that provides students with a source of scholarship, leadership and character. NHS also helps students develop their talents and connect with others within their community.

“The National Honor Society is an organization at this school, and it has four pillars that it supports,” senior Alexis Kriegh said. “Character, leadership, scholarship and service. It just promotes students that have those four characteristics and wants them to get their leadership out and promote community service and academics.”

With the addition of the freshman to the high school in 2010, having only seniors involved meant the club wasn’t reaching it’s full potential, according to senior and NHS president Bryce Dunn.

After looking at the guidelines for

their club, they realized the addition of juniors was a possibility.

“We realized that we were still operating under the rules before we had freshman in the building, which of course was just seniors, but with the addition of freshmen we also were able to add juniors into National Honor Society,” Dunn said.

This decision had been a topic of discussion for about a year, and with the support of the administration, the change was made at the end of the 20152016 school year.

NHS also promotes community involvement in as many ways as possible, especially through service hours. For the application process alone, students need to complete 15 hours of service, consisting of 10 for community service and five for district service. After that, if they’re accepted into the program, they will need to complete 30 total hours before they graduate.

As well as individual hours, the National Honor Society also participates in service projects.

“In October and I believe in February we’ll have a month-long, school-wide

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ABBY PERCICH

COLLECTED — Items donated to the fall service project “Cure the Cold” sit in Michael Carriger’s classroom. Photo by Hannah Gaines

service project,” Kriegh said. “The October service project will be ‘Cure the Cold’, [a] winter clothing for children drive.”

NHS is collecting donations of new or gently used hats, scarfs, gloves, mittens, coats, blankets, boots and sleeping bags, and well as new socks and underwear for families who can’t afford winter clothing. The drive started on Oct. 3, and will continue through the end of the month.

Service projects are just one aspect of the good that NHS hopes to do. NHS sponsor Shannon Carriger hopes that students will continue applying and serving their community.

“We believe NHS has the opportunity to be a leadership organization in the building comprised of the strongest academic and service-minded students at LHS, and we wanted to encourage all students to apply,” Carriger said.

News THE BUDGET • 17

COLLEGE PREP

QUICK TAKE

New class prepares students for college applications, tests Average ACT score at LHS

22.7

Average ACT score in Kansas

21.9

BY ABBY PERCICH

MANAGING EDITOR

A

nxiety and hours of preparation go into finding colleges to apply to and perfecting college applications and essays.

To help prepare students for the college application process, LHS has adopted a college prep class taught by Jeffrey Lyster.

Only five students are currently enrolled due to late district approval.

“It wasn’t advertised very well because the district approved the class literally in the fall, right before school started,” counselor Lori Stussie said, “so there wasn’t time to really advertise the class. It was pretty much word of mouth.”

Junior Grayson Houk is enrolled in the college prep class and hopes to gain knowledge on all aspects of applying to college.

“We learn how to write college essays, apply for colleges, apply for scholarships, properly take the ACT and SAT tests so you can actually get into college,” Houk said.

Standardized tests can influence a student’s chance of acceptance and the amount of financial aid they receive for college.

“Research shows that students that take the ACT more than one time score higher the second time by a point or two based on just having seen the test before,” Stussie said.

The college prep class holds covers all important aspects of college preparation, not just prepping for standardized tests.

“Students need time to explore their options

SEARCHING— Jeffery Lyster and Stephan Teska work together during Lyster’s new first-hour college prep class. Photo by Allie Fischer.

and familiarize themselves with the competitive, and at times stressful, process of being accepted into college,” Lyster said. “With the rising costs of college placing additional stress on graduates, I feel it is our duty as a school to inform and support our students in planning for the financial expectations of college and remind students of the importance of their decisions now in placing themselves in the best light possible in order to stand out to admissions committees.”

Stussie said the class is good for students who feel unprepared and need guidance when it comes to college preparations.

“I would encourage kids who are college-bound, or think they might be college-bound who feel like they could just use a little bit of extra time to focus on studying,” Stussie said. “I wouldn’t recommend that a student drop out of choir, band, debate, any of those kinds of activities, that look good on a college application, in order to study for a test.”

The class is tailored to the needs of the students, which allows them to focus on their own needs.

Lyster describes the class goal as getting students into a college “that best fits their needs in achieving their goals beyond high school.”

“The course isn’t simply standardized test prep with day after day of testing and strategies practice, but involves students in the deep reflection of their career interest being matched to competitive colleges that will best suit their needs,” Lyster said.

National Merit Scholars at LHS

1

Average yearly in-state tuition for a public four-year college

$9,410

Average yearly out-of-state tuition for a public four-year college

$23,890

Percent of students who stay in-state for college

72%

PAGE DESIGN BY ABBY PERCICH•OCT. 20, 2016

18 • THE BUDGET Sports

Sports

ARM’S LENGTH

BY GARRETT PRESCOTT

GUEST WRITER

I

t was Oct. 1, a beautiful fall morning at the Seaman Invitational cross-country meet.

Although a little nervous, as one always is before a race, I felt physically and mentally prepared. I knew the terrain well, as we already walked through the entire course to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings as well as the direction turns.

We all individually stretched, and seven minutes before the start our varsity ran out to the starting lane, as we always do, to initiate our traditional chant and pep talk.

Many of the other teams have similar rituals to ours. Our races can have anywhere from 70 to 300 runners, but this one in particular had roughly 80. I made my way through this throng of people to the starting line, got myself in starting position and waited for the sound of the gun. I was poised and ready.

Boom. When the gun goes off, it’s like a stampede trying to get in your BOUNDING — Senior Garrett Prescott runs in position. In large races like these, it is the Oct. 8 meet at Johnson County Community important to establish your position early College. Prescott ran the 5k in 17:05. Photo by on. After the first mile or so I began to settle in, but at the same time my body Gary Schmidt began to feel tired. You have to make

Athlete describes his run from start to finish

sure you keep your running form correct with your chest up, eyes forward, and a wide stride to maximize your running efficiency. You also have to mentally tell yourself to keep up the pace so your body doesn’t take over and slow you down like it wants to. All of these things I executed perfectly.

After several grueling minutes, we approached the final 800 meters. Although I couldn’t see the finish line 800 meters ahead, I knew I was close because I already surveyed the course before the race. This was the moment I felt like the race was almost over. I pulled on every last bit of energy I had, and pulled myself through the finish line. When I finally crossed the finish line, I yelled “That felt so good!” I said this not just because the conditions were good, but because I knew I pushed myself to run the best race I could’ve ran.

While participating in this activity may seem like a challenge, with having to run six to eight miles every day for practice and running a 3.1 mile race every Saturday morning, it is definitely rewarding and motivating. This motivation comes from running for yourself as an individual and at the same time running for the good of the team. The better I do in my own race, the better it is for the whole team. This is why I run cross country, and why I enjoy it as a sport.

UP TO DATE FOOTBALL RECORD: 5-2 HIGHLIGHT: Trey Moore ran for 180 yards and three scores on Oct. 7 against Olathe South.

COMING UP: Free State on Oct. 21 on the road

BOYS SOCCER VOLLEYBALL RECORD: 6-7-1 RECORD: 9-21 HIGHLIGHT: The team HIGHLIGHT: Team net seven goals on Oct. 11 sweeps SMN and Leavenworth at Leavenwort. on Sept. 27.

COMING UP: Final home COMING UP: Substate on game is Oct. 20 at Shawnee Oct. 22 at Olathe North Heights

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY KYLE BREY

GIRLS GOLF HIGHLIGHT: Beatrice Lopez and Emily Johnson qualify for the State Tournament with Lopez placing 14th and Johnson 21st at regionals on Oct. 10.

SO RACE OVER TO SEE THEM Tell me what you’ll remember from this year. Will it be first

butterflies? That club you finally got the nerve to join? The job that kept you busy?

Whatever it is, the Red & Black yearbook staff is making it their job to tell your stories. Order now for the best price! day of school

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HOW TO BUY YOUR YEARBOOK

1. Purchases with credit card or check

Go to www.yearbookordercenter.com. Select our book order number 3076 or school name and location to place your order.

2. Cash-only purchases or installments

These purchases may be made in the school finance office.

PRICING SCHEDULE $60 $65

Through Jan. 20 Through handout

20 • THE BUDGET SPORTS PIROUETTING — Junior Eliana Seidner does her routine on the balance beam at the Sunflower League Meet at LHS on Oct. 8. Seidner finished the event in 17th place and tied for 14th in vault. The team took fifth. Photo by Olivia Percich

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER

SPORTS THE BUDGET • 21

WALKING ON A TIGHTROPE

Gymnastics in question as other districts cut their programs

BY GARY SCHMIDT

SPORTS EDITOR

F

or 44 years, gymnastics has been offered as a 6A sport to girls wishing to compete.

As soon as next year however, it may not be around.

In the past few years, talks of cutting the program have been discussed, due to lower numbers of athletes and lower numbers of schools choosing to participate in the program, according to Cheryl Gleason, the Assistant Executive Director for the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA). Last summer, talks were held between administrators of the Shawnee Mission School District and the Olathe School District regarding the future of the sport. Those two districts represent nine out of the 13 schools that compete in gymnastics, and if they decide to not participate, gymnastics for the entire state will be finished.

“The Activities Association is going to offer the program as long as schools want to participate in them. If the schools choose to not participate, then when we get to eight schools or fewer, then that program will probably not have a state championship series,” Gleason said.

As recently as a few weeks ago, both districts notified their programs that this would be the last year of gymnastics.

And if these districts decide

to drop the sport, that would also mean the four remaining schools, Emporia, Newton, Free State and Lawrence High would have to drop the program.

Gymnasts at Lawrence High are not taking the news lightly.

Canceling the program would mean that many athletes, such as junior Eliana Seidner, would have to miss out on the opportunity to compete in their senior seasons.

“I have done gymnastics for 12 years, so it is really hard for me to not be able to have a senior year.

I guess I am just going to have to find something to replace it,” Seidner said. “I don’t know that anything can replace the love for the sport I have.”

Despite the dismal outlook on the program, coaches and athletes alike are looking for alternatives to invest their time in, assuming the sport is cut.

Many of the girls plan to try other sports, such as cheer or pom, while others may continue gymnastics, competing for local club teams, according to Seidner.

Better yet, due to the efforts of Free State and Lawrence High gymnastics coach, Brooke Santee, girls may still have some way to compete and represent their schools, independent of KSHSAA. Santee is one of the leaders for a prospective

program called AHSAGA, the American High School and Adult Gymnastics Association, which would offer gymnastics to girls in a model similar to the current program, however it would be run independent of the high schools.

And if this were to fully come through, perhaps at least some aspects of high school gymnastics could be saved.

“When I told the girls about it after they talked about canceling the high school program, all of them raised their hands to continue doing it through a different program,” Santee said.

BALANCE — Sophomore Eden Kingery performs her floor routine at the Free State invitational on Sept. 17. The Lions finished third. Photo by Clara Severn

PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER •OCT. 20, 2016

22 • THE BUDGET Art

Art

SHOWCASING STUDENT WORK

Students pull portfolios together to impress colleges on Portfolio Day

BY CHLOE BOARD & ETANA PARKS STAFF WRITERS

S

tudent artists spend their entire high school careers preparing a portfolio to present to the colleges of their choice.

Lawrence High Portfolio Day is today, and it’s all that’s on the minds of art students and teachers alike.

National Portfolio Day, which takes place this weekend in Kansas City, is a yearly event where high school students and adults who are interested in studying art share portfolios with the schools they wish to apply to. LHS hosts representatives from art schools for informational sessions and portfolio reviews in the lead up to that event.

“My portfolio is mostly self portraits, because that’s mainly what I’ve done for the most part,” junior Elijah Jackson said.

Jackson said that he plans to go to the California Institute of Arts, so he’ll present his portfolio to them during the event.

Representatives from universities from around the country are at LHS to give presentations about their programs. Students will be able to ask questions and receive feedback on their art and portfolios.

how they will discuss the thought All of the art programs prepare process behind their work,” jewfor National Portfolio Day essentially the same way. Teacher Wenelry and ceramics teacher Deena Amont said. dy Vertacnik prepares her drawing Senior Evondi Weston said and AP portfolio students by she is ready to show what she has having them bring forward some learned. of their best pieces to present in “I’m using this opportunity their portfolio. to show what I’m capable of,” “My students will be bringing Weston said. “I try to have a in their portfolios with no more variety of artwork that I put [in than 20 of their best pieces to my portfolio], pieces that show show the art school representaskills and techniques that I can do, tives,” Vertacnik said. “They will but also showing my own unique be working on an artist statement, art style.” describing themselves and their Students use art style, so that this opportunity they’re comfortable “I’M USING THIS to be critiqued talking about their OPPORTUNITY TO by professionwork to the representatives from the als in order to SHOW WHAT I’M art schools.” prepare them Photo teacher for art school.

CAPABLE OF.” Angelia Perkins pre“My portfo—EVONDI WESTON, SENIOR lio includes pares her students by my doing critiques and portrait work helping them formulate questions and a couple of paintings, but I in advance. mostly do photography,” senior “I have a list of questions Storm Auchenbach said. “Hopefulthat are good things to ask the ly on NPD I will be getting some representatives,” Perkins said. “I good feedback on my some of my prepare the students to ask what best photos and other artwork.” they can do to improve their work, to ask for critiques. I want them to build a relationship with the LINED UP — Junior Sabrina Holrepresentatives.” loway marks her paper in Wendy Jewelry and ceramics students Vertacnik’s seventh hour portfolio similarly prepare for this day. art class. Students in the class have “I have my students choose been preparing for Portfolio Day their best works and think about today. Photo by Hannah Gaines

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ABBY PERCICH

Art THE BUDGET • 23

QUICK TAKE Six schools are taking part in Lawrence High School’s Portfolio Day today. They include:

Emporia State University, 1st Hour

University of Kansas, 1st Hour

Memphis College of Art, 3rd Hour

KCAI

Kansas City Art Institute, 5th Hour

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 5th Hour

Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, 7th Hour

PAGE DESIGN BY ABBY PERCICH•OCT. 20, 2016

24 • THE BUDGET Art

CHOIR STUDENTS JOIN NATIONAL ENSEMBLE

Students from across the nation form new choir, three from LHS

BY ZOIE GERMANMARTINEZ

OPINION EDITOR

O

n Nov. 10-13, three students from Lawrence High will perform in Grapevine, Texas, at the All-National Ensemble

Concert.

Students from across the country will come together to form not only choir groups, but orchestra and band groups.

Seniors Cameron Stussie and Bryce Dunn and junior Gavin Jones are part of the 2016 All-National Honor Mixed Choir. They were part of the state choir last year and will make up a third of the representatives from Kansas.

In May, Stussie, Dunn and Jones submitted videos of themselves performing a piece. Responses to acceptance were all variations of shock, surprise and joy.

For Stussie, it was disbelief.

“I didn’t believe it when I first got the email saying it, so I called my director and asked him if it was really true,” he said. “I had the audition on my birthday, so that was probably one of the best late birthday presents I’ve ever got.”

In Texas, the trio will be under the guidance of Anton Armstrong, a music professor from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Choir teacher Dwayne Dunn will also be accompanying as the official chaperone.

Stussie, Dunn and Jones begin gearing up for the event this month, practicing the songs which they received the sheet music for earlier this year.

“We have nine songs we’re performing, ranging from the Romantic era up on the new common literature,” Stussie said.

Bryce Dunn sees it as a great opportunity to represent LHS in a 20-singer choir, with six others from Kansas.

The choir program isn’t unfamiliar

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ZOIE GERMAN-MARTINEZ

EXPANDING HORIZONS — Senior Bryce Dunn performs in a choir concert on Oct. 3. Dunn will be part of a national choir in November. “Being in so many groups and being a part of these experiences such as All-State and All-National Choir has really expanded my horizons,” he said. Photo by Cooper Avery

with success. Last year, A Cappella Choir performed at the Kansas Music Educators Association convention in Wichita. Choir students are regularly accepted into the All-District and All-State choirs and have received top rankings in the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival, as well as State Large Ensemble Festival.

“I am so proud of the choral program at LHS, and this is just one more opportunity to showcase the high quality of our students to the nation,” Dwayne Dunn said. “This is yet another way our students have demonstrated their excellence.”

Opinion THE BUDGET • 25

Opinion

MAKE EVERY DAY A BLOCK DAY

Block facilitates active learning, creates well-rounded students

BY WILLIAM YANEK

STAFF WRITER

W

e all know how it is: go to class, unpack, listen to your teacher talk for a full 45 minutes, and head into a chaotic five minute passing period three out of the five days of the week.

This is a reality for about two-thirds of American high schools today. However, the popularity of block scheduling — the educational theory of less classes and more class time — continues to grow.

The school district would obviously not put these two days of block scheduling in place if the traditional schedule was working just fine. The most effective solution to the problems of the traditional schedule is to adopt A/B block scheduling every day of the week, not just Wednesdays and Thursdays.

One problem with the traditional schedule is it encourages behavioral and disciplinary problems. About 1,500 kids are released into cramped hallways seven times a day. It’s a little frustrating trying to maneuver through hundreds of people, especially that many times a day.

Having block schedule every day would reduce these issues. It’s basic math: less transitions and more class time equal fewer opportunities to misbehave and creates a more orderly school environment.

Our current system is similar to what you see in a factory: a glorified assembly line. I don’t know if it’s just me being behind the times but I don’t believe we have become cyborgs just yet.

The fact is every individual student learns differently and is unlikely to

understand a concept just through being told about it. Blended learning is just somebody on the internet telling me how to do something instead of my teacher.

The important piece here is involvement, and that can’t happen with limited class time.

That’s not even mentioning the absurd amount of homework students receive every day for the time allotted to them.

They aren’t given enough time to live balanced lives.

According to a University of Phoenix School Education national poll in 2014, high school students get 17.5 hours or more of homework each week. That’s two hours of homework every night, and if you do a sport or any other extracurricular, that cuts into your time significantly.

Extracurricular activities are important — not just because of college benefits you may receive from them — but also because they create well-rounded individuals. Our education system needs to enable kids to achieve at their very best, and assigning two hours of homework is not the answer.

Block scheduling better fits around the well-rounded high schooler’s

schedule of multiple extracurricular activities per night, which allows them to get more of their work done.

A/B block scheduling encourages what is commonly referred to as “active learning.” This is a way for students to learn material through engagement, whether that be doing an experiment in science or writing an essay in English.

In 1995, a Georgia professor named Carl Glickman did a study of 820 high schools and 11,000 students and found the schools which predominantly used active learning had the highest test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The only way active learning is applicable is through longer classes. Activities that implement active learning take a lot of time so extended class time would support it perfectly.

A new revised schedule of A/B block scheduling needs to be coupled with teacher training that focuses on student involvement and an emphasis on active learning. A schedule that serves the needs of the student is possible, but it will take more in-depth thinking on how students learn and will require a reevaluation of what the ultimate goal of our education system is.

Graphic by Ella Denson-Redding

PAGE DESIGN BY ZOIE GERMAN-MARTINEZ •OCT. 20, 2016

26 • THE BUDGET Opinion

NOT A GAME — With their fist up, sophomore Baxter Spielman (top) holds a sign reading “THIS IS NOT A GAME,” at the Standing for Standing Rock March in Lawrence on Sept. 30.

“I researched [the issue] and felt like displacing people was inhumane,” Spielman said. “I feel like people should be able to stay where their roots are.”

Photo By Hannah Gaines

SHOWING SUPPORT— Lawrence High teacher Andrew Bricker wears a Standing Rock T-shirt as he attends the march for Standing Rock. Photo by Hannah Gaines INFORMATIVE— A cardboard sign localizes the Dakota Access Pipeline issues at the march in Lawrence last month. Photo By Hannah Gaines

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY PAIGE BELLMYER

Opinion THE BUDGET • 27

STANDING WITH STANDING ROCK

People need to support Native Americans in their fight for clean water JAZZMIN MATCHETTE

STAFF WRITER

S

ince the beginning of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas back in the 1400s, Native Americans have been struggling to fight for land that was rightfully theirs to begin with.

Through the genocide of their people, the killing of buffalo and stealing of their land, they have been fighting for their right to live for hundreds of years.

Now, they are gathering in mass protests to say enough is enough.

Since the beginning of August, protesters have worked to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) near Cannon Ball, N.D, where the Sioux Tribe Reservation is located.

The pipeline is a 1,172-mile-long channel that would be responsible for carrying more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil from North Dakota, passing through South Dakota and Iowa before connecting to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Ill. During the course of several weeks through August and September, members of several other tribes across the country have shown up in support, including thousands of other people attending the protest in solidarity. The Sioux have claimed that the pipeline disrupts sacred sites, burial grounds and deeply infringes on tribal sovereignty, or the ability of Native Americans to govern themselves. Many protesters have also said that the pipeline puts the reservation’s water supply at risk as it passes multiple times underneath the Missouri River — the main source of water for the Sioux reservation.

The themes of the fight aren’t

new. The tribe’s land and water is endangered by people who stand to make an unfathomable amount of money off of the pipeline, from major corporations to big banks.

In responding to the protests by the Sioux tribe, law enforcement has been cruel and brutal. While protesters were praying peacefully for the protection of their water, police surrounded them with military vehicles and armed weapons. Officers drew their arms even though protesters were defenseless. Access to the internet was cut off and phone signals were blocked to avoid getting out word about what was going on.

The most unfortunate and upsetting day of the protests was on Sept.

3, the anniversary of the Whitestone massacre of 1863, when the US Army killed more than 300 members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The protest ended with law enforcement responding violently, pepper spraying more than 30 protesters and allowing police dogs to bite six people, including a child.

Finally, there was a moment of hope for protesters. While a federal judge refused to block the project, the Department of Justice last month halted work in some areas while deciding if it needed to reconsider if previous approvals follow federal law. Further, the DOJ said the case highlighted “the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.”

It’s time for more people to acknowledge that change is needed and then follow through with actions.

These events have been a result of not only corrupt politics, but deeply embedded racism. Native Americans

have been marginalized and ignored in inaccurate history books, created by generations of people who weren’t taught about the atrocities inflicted on tribes. As a result, many Americans don’t understand the frustrations behind Native Americans and are dismissing the severity of how they are being treated.

Native Americans have been limited because their land is, and always has been, money in someone else’s pockets.

As of now, the Sioux people are widely outnumbered financially and physically, and it is up to us, everyday people, to speak up and tell our government this is wrong. It is the people’s responsibility to stand up and speak out against tyranny on the American people. And no one is quite as American as these people, who have been fighting for the land that was stolen from them hundreds of years ago.

Media coverage is often scarce but it’s important to make it a priority to educate ourselves in this age of information. Protests are still happening in North Dakota and all across the country despite the lack of coverage.

During the period of these protests, more than 200 tribes have shown up in support, considered by some to be the largest Native American protest in this country’s history.

The only true solution is everybody — yes, everybody — standing up and speaking out against what is morally wrong and disrespectful to an entire race that has been almost completely eradicated due to a genocide on their people, culture, land, burial grounds, and now, water. One person can’t do everything, but everybody can contribute to put an end to what has been a war fought too long.

PAGE DESIGN BY HANNAH GAINES •OCT. 20, 2016

28 • THE BUDGET Opinion

SITTING FOR CHANGE

Athlete steps out to make change

BY GARY SCHMIDT

SPORTS EDITOR

C

olin Kaepernick is a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, a team in the National Football League. When Kaepernick led his team to the Super Bowl during a playoff run, he became a household name.

Recently, the player has fallen out of favor with his team, being relegated to a backup position. He had faded out of the media until a bold, yet subtle action changed how athletes use their fame for advocacy.

In the Aug 26 game against the Green Bay Packers, the world saw Kaepernick sit down during the national anthem, a silent protest with thundering ramifications. In an interview with NFL. com, Kaepernick revealed more of his intentions for protesting.

“I am not looking for approval,” Kaepernick said. “I have to stand up for people that are oppressed.”

The initial reaction to Kaepernick’s protest was shock. Despite the prestige that comes with being a professional athlete, it is not typical to see athletes speak out on civil rights issues. This is something that has to change.

In light of all the civil unrest the nation has seen recently, a protest of one of the most recognizable and celebrated American symbols may seem unpatriotic — however, the utilization of a constitutional right by a major sports figure is something this nation has long needed.

Sports have a profound impact on society. From the revenue that the industry creates to fan bases that avidly support their team of choice, sports drive many elements of modern society.

This puts athletes in an interesting, often unwanted position of being in the spotlight.

Every action made or word spoken

from an athlete is scrutinized down to the letter, causing many athletes to choose to shut themselves out of issues they believe in. Kaepernick chose to set a new standard that athletes everywhere should follow: using their platform to bring about change.

The influence that athletes hold provides them a chance for advocacy to a mass following. For example, Kaepernick, with nearly 1 million Twitter followers, has the ability to be a leader for people who support the same issues as him. Advocacy at this level is able to make real, tangible change.

This is true patriotism: exercising fundamental rights to bring change. Yes, Kaepernick is a patriot.

His protest of the anthem means no disrespect to what the flag may stand for to some people. Kaepernick is not against American troops, nor is he against this country. His protest

continues because he believes in a flag that represents an equal nation for all people within. His act displays what this country is founded on: liberty and justice for all.

He protests a freedom that he believes is not equal.

Kaepernick’s move is brave not just for the cause that it represents, but for setting a precedent in an area new and bizarre to the country: athletes being active and involved in social issues.

Sports are more than just games; they are filled with real people with real ideas and initiatives, which affect individuals across the nation. Kaepernick is setting a new standard that revolutionizes preconceived notions about athletes as a whole. No longer is it just what happens between the lines of a field.

Now athletes will be leaders in change, role models for those who want to make things happen.

Graphic By Ella Denson-Redding

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY PAIGE BELLMYER

Opinion THE BUDGET • 29

RESOURCES NEEDED FOR LANGUAGE CLASSES Students, teachers of world languages need new materials

BY ZOIE GERMANMARTINEZ

OPINION EDITOR

A

t Lawrence High, faulty technology is as common as seeing cockroaches scuttle across the floor.

Every student has experienced the wifi cutting in and out. But when you’re in a class the relies on that technology working in order for you to see your teacher, the problems are compounded.

For the Chinese students, the only way they communicate to their teacher, is through Skype. Unfortunately, the time spent learning is cut down because of computers not working.

This widely-known issue is one of many slights to foreign language classes. Studying a foreign language may be important to being successful in college, but foreign language classes have consistently fallen to the bottom of the priority list for the Lawrence school district.

Among the problems faced by students, French classes were promised new textbooks last year but didn’t receive them. German 4 students have no textbook, only using other resources such as novels and other literature.

All across the board, supplies such as workbooks take weeks to be delivered by the district.

The lack of proper, useful resources for foreign language students turn them away from continuing in the courses.

As the district puts these classes at the bottom of the priority list, students do that as well. Learning a foreign language

becomes a two-year chore, full of watching movies instead of actual lessons and calling the class a joke.

When schools don’t take these classes seriously, they risk having students not take them seriously either, which is a national issue. A reporter for The Atlantic learned at the 2015 Language Advocacy Day conference in Washington, D.C., that not even 1 percent of American adults today remember how to speak or read in the foreign language they learned, which is ironic, considering that in a 2008 national survey, 93 percent of high

language credits to graduate from high school or be admitted to its colleges — even though the College Board recommends those classes.

Those who do make foreign language classes a priority in high school need good resources to overcome their late introduction to the subject. When a lack of resources combines with students who don’t recognize the importance of these classes, problems build. It would be unfair to blame teachers for not putting in enough effort to overcome all the obstacles. If you don’t have the correct, effective education materials, it isn’t easy to create a curriculum.

If the district wants to provide a better education, they need to provide more resources for foreign language classes. Teachers say they are hopeful that some problems can be addressed as the district works toward putting an iPad or MacBook in the hands of every student. But considering how the Chinese class is going with its technology, that might bring more issues.

When searching for a schools g n i d ed job, we’re told companies offered on-R Dens a l l like to see someone who is bilinforeign languagE y hic B es. So Americans gual. Universities stress the importance Grap have access to the classes of learning a language because of this, but aren’t learning the languages. yet high school teachers are left with In Western Europe, however, it’s a poor resources. The district needs to different story. Schools begin teaching move quickly to address the holes in languages earlier when brains are more educational materials either through adaptable to learn the information. Stuthe implementation of technology or through new textbooks. It’s only a dents are required to take at least one downwards spiral of poor resources language class and are enrolled in one by leading to an education that could be so the time they’re 11, according to a study much better. conducted by Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, Kansas doesn’t require any

PAGE DESIGN BY PAIGE BELLMYER •OCT. 20, 2016

30 • THE BUDGET Opinion

READ MORE: Find more of “A Day in LHS” at lhsbudget.com.

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER

Opinion THE BUDGET • 31

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

THE STAFF

MISSION STATEMENT The Budget is committed to providing the Lawrence High School community with objective, inclusive news coverage that ensures relevance to its readers. The staff devotes itself to the exercise of First Amendment rights and upholding the highest of journalistic standards. While the paper is a vessel to publish student voice, it conjointly acts as an educational entity holding the intent of bettering student journalistic ability and reader’s access to information.

ABOUT US The Budget is published every four weeks and distributed free of charge to students and faculty at Lawrence High School, 1901 Louisiana, Lawrence, Kan. 66046-2999.

The Budget is produced by students in the Digital Journalism and Digital Design and Production courses with occasional contributions from 21st Century Journalism and guest columnists.

The newspaper’s goals are to inform, entertain, and present a forum of expression for students, faculty, administrators and community members.

The newspaper is financed through advertising and staff fundraising.

The editorial staff is solely responsible for the content of this newspaper, and views expressed in The Budget do not necessarily reflect those of the administration of Lawrence High School or USD 497.

BY KANSAS GIBLER

Photo by Hannah Gaines

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

W

hen I first started planning this issue, it was meant to be about education.

And then I found out about the condoms, and about how the school district didn’t fight to keep a prevention program that seemed to be working. Our focus turned to these issues and other stories, including the group of students who found themselves without a space to discuss the Standing Rock protests, which are incredibly important and relevant, especially to them.

While condoms didn’t initially seem like front-page worthy coverage, the fervor students showed after finding out commanded a

full-length piece about why they’re bringing condoms to the nurse’s bathroom. And, to add another substance abuse story to my portfolio, the issue of a prevention program that seemed to dissolve when funds were available made it necessary to rethink what this issue would include.

Now, sex and drugs can be found in a mix of stories about Lawrence High’s academic side.

The Budget staff spent the last four weeks working on ways to showcase programs, classes and a club that represent Lawrence High. Beyond that, we’ve worked to achieve the level of journalism and our goal of informing students about the world ­­— or community — around them.

EDITORS Kansas Gibler.......................................... Editor in Chief Alicia Ruder................................................Design Editor Hannah Gaines..........................................Photo Editor Abby Percich.......................................Managing Editor Macy Landes............................................... News Editor Zoie German-Martinez..........................Opinion Editor Gary Schmidt..............................................Sports Editor Trey Hulse..................................Assistant Sports Editor Veda Cobb....................................................Copy Editor Abigail English.................................... Captions Editors Krista Hopkins..................................... Captions Editors Meredith Chapple.................... Online Editor in Chief Kira Auchenbach.................... Online Assistant Editor Ian Jones........................................ Online Photo Editor Griffin Nelson...............................................Video Editor Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre ��������������������������Video Editor Noah Kucza.....................................Ad Sales Manager Alison O’Trimble.............................Ad Sales Manager STAFF Nicole Aqui, Cooper Avery, Paige Bellmyer, Kyle Brey, Kylee Broekemeier, Cade Burghart, Anna D’Ercole, Ella Denson-Redding, Harrison Easley, Allie Fischer, Emily Gordon-Ross, Isabella Hedges, Vanessa Hernandez, Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre, Jazzmin Matchette, Griffin Nelson, Etana Parks, Olivia Percich, Sydney Pritchard, Emma Howard, Kate Rettig, Inez Robinson, Aidan Rothrock, Connor Schmaus, Chandler Sells, Clara Severn, Nolan Smith, Skylar Steichen, Luna Stephens, Addisson Thornsbury, Jacinda Warren, William Yanek.

PAGE DESIGN BY KANSAS GIBLER •OCT. 20, 2016

32 • THE BUDGET

PHOTO OF THE MONTH FLIGHT — Sophomore Josie Hickerson competes in the vault at the Sunflower League meet hosted by LHS on Oct. 8.

Hickerson finished 18th in the event with her strongest event that day being floor, where she took sixth place. Photo by Cooper Avery

OCT. 20, 2016 • PAGE DESIGN BY ALICIA RUDER