Lawrence High School's The Budget, Issue 4, Dec. 13, 2019 by LHS Budget

LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL

LAWRENCE, KS

VOLUME 127, ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 16, 2019

THE BUDGET

PACEMAKER 2019

THE BUDGET NEWS

IN THIS ISSUE

LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL

LAWRENCE, KS

VOLUME 127, ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 16, 2019

Be thoughtful online in the new year page 5

Athletes with injuries should be more careful page 9

Teachers are assigning too much homework page 6

Tougher rules make school less welcoming page 10

Plastic bag ban will clean up our city page 7

Billionaires create problems for society page 12

Problematic historical figures shouldn’t be praised page 8

Journalism staff brings home top national awards page 15

THE BUDGET

PACEMAKER 2019

LHSBUDGET.COM STORIES

School board members approve late-start plan.

PODCAST

Students can apply for free hot spots through USD 497.

ON THE COVER — It’s time to say goodbye to 2019 and hello to a muchneeded break. Our cover graphic reviews highlights of the school year. See the story on page 3 for more details about the items featured in the graphic. ILLUSTRATION BY RILEY UNEKIS

THE FESTIVUS ISSUE: WE’VE GOT A LOT OF PROBLEMS BY TONY RACY

OPINION EDITOR

Festivus is upon us! With this wonderful holiday season comes the jolly tradition of the “Feats of Strength,” putting up the undecorated aluminum Festivus pole and most certainly the “Airing of Grievances,” and we sure have a lot of problems with you people. Debuting from “The Strike” episode of Seinfeld, Festivus is certainly a holiday all can enjoy, and what better use of the latest issue of The Budget than to make it a rant about everything around us and live up to the expectations of the “Airing of Grievances?” It’s exactly what Frank Costanza would’ve liked. That’s why this issue is full of opinion pieces rather than our usual

focus on the news of Lawrence important, now more than High. For that, you can still go ever. It is our job as journalto our website, lhsbudget.com ists to represent our student — and by the way, our online FESTIVUS population, not only through editors are annoyed more of events, but ideas too. It matCheck out this you don’t know about it alters to us that we show what YouTube clip LHS students are passionate ready. (See, more grievances.) from the Seinfeld Festivus issue. about, even if that means Now is the moment to complaining a little. focus on our wide variety If you want your voice of problems. With Shawnee to be heard, write your own Mission North’s refusal to opinion piece for The Budget. change mascots, our city being Drop by the journalism room trashed with plastic, digital in Butler 2 to discuss your misuse, unnecessary homeideas with our editors. Just work, problematic historical be prepared for the freezing cold figures being praised, athletic injuwalk. (We’ve got problems.) ries or powerful billionaires, there If our grievances aren’t heard, couldn’t be more problems to get then how do we expect change to angry about. It’s a Festivus miracle! happen? Making a positive impact But seriously, we believe it’s on the world around us would be important to produce newspaper the perfect gift for the season. issues like this. It’s a Festivus for the rest of us! Students voices are extremely

GRAPHIC BY ALEX LANE

DEC. 16, 2019 PAGE DESIGN BY SAMI TURNER

NEWS THE BUDGET

ROCKIN’ LIBRARIAN

“WE WENT ON TO PLAY WITH A LOT OF NATIONAL TOURING ACTS LIKE THE POLICE AND IGGY POP AND ECSTASY AND A NUMBER OF OTHERS.” —STEVE WILSON, LIBRARY MEDIA ASSISTANT

LHSBUDGET.COM

FROM THE COVER

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2019 BY MERIEL SALISBURY

Track wins state

FEATURES EDITOR

As 2019 draws to a close, the cover of this issue features elements from some of the biggest news stories of the year. Among them:

Swimming wins state

In May, the girls swim team finished its undefeated season by winning the state championship. Senior Morgan Jones took third in the 500 freestyle, and Marian Frick finished third in the 100 breast. The success of the team overall allowed it to remain ahead of Shawnee Mission East and win state for the first time since 1994.

For the second time in a row, the girls track team won the state championship to kick off the summer. Seniors Hannah Stewart and Evann Seratte contributed valuable points to the Lion’s 11-point lead over Leavenworth.

New Principal at LHS

This school year, Lawrence High welcomed Dr. Cynthia Johnson as interim principal, and she began welcoming students to school many mornings with her megaphone. Johnson is known in the school community as Mama J and has an unmistakable presence in the building. This year, she has sung with the orchestra and at other school events, and has helped to oversee the construction process.

Construction kicks off

After finals in May, construction immediately began at the school, launching a $50 million overhaul of the building. After asbestos was found and a tornado delayed electrical work, the start of the school year was pushed back six days while workers tried to catch up. LHS was still 36 classrooms short, which meant classes moved to make-shift locations.

PACEMAKER 2019

Pacemaker winners

The Budget won its second Pacemaker award in November, marking the second time in three years that the publication has received the honor. Out of the 49 national finalists for the award, the student newspaper was one of the 19 winners.

SAVE THE DATE: 5 EVENTS YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

DEC. 17-19

FIRST DAY OF FINALS FIRST HOUR FINAL WITH REST ON THURSDAY & FRIDAY

DEC. 19

GIRLS BASKETBALL V. SM NORTH 7:30 PM GYM

JAN.8

BACK TO SCHOOL CLASSES RESUME

JAN. 10

BASKETBALL GIRLS-5:30 PM IN GYM BOYS-7:30 PM IN GYM

JAN. 26-26

WINTER PRODUCTION AUDITORIUM

PAGE DESIGN SAMI TURNER DEC. 16, 2019

Join the

FIVE STAR TEAM today!

Offering part-time positions. We are looking for caring, qualified individuals to serve our senior adults in a professional manner.

APPLY IN PERSON Human Resources: 501 Inverness Drive Lawrence, KS 66047 EOE/ Drug Free Workplace APPLY ONLINE http://careers.fivestarseniorliving.com Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer: MIN/FEM/VETS/DIS

GREAT FUTURES START WITH

GREAT MENTORS Now hiring group leaders and front desk staff! Work after school, no nights or weekends — and get paid! Kids in Lawrence look up to you. Help make an impact in their lives!

Apply at bgclk.org/careers

OF LAWRENCE

Order senior yearbook ads early for the best prices. The final deadline to guarantee your spot in the yearbook is Jan. 10! Don’t miss this special tradition!

Final Deadline

Friday Jan. 10

OPINION THE BUDGET

OPINION

CAREFUL CLICKS

Be purposeful with the time and likes you give on social media more incentive to be genuine in this era of activism. Companies have found success by selling their goods through an activist-tinged filter, and this clearly has its benefits. Our online presence can keep their intentions honest. Nike featured Colin Kaepernick, Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling guns, Starbucks across America closed for an afternoon of racial bias training and Apple pledged $2.5 billion to California’s housing crisis. With some thought, the way that you interact in this economy through the internet (maybe without even buying anything) can act as oversight instead of passive support for politics you dislike. Poor online stewardship has contributed overwhelmingly to the current political climate in our country. Complacency about what information is sought after or shared creates the magnifying effect that our polarized country knows too

BY MERIEL SALISBURY

FEATURES EDITOR

he majority of times I reach for my phone I am not looking for something in particular. I rely more than I like on the distraction when I’m putting something off, feel uncomfortable or don’t want to think about real life. But that’s when the true discomfort begins because my distraction from real life, for those moments, is my reality. Before 2020 begins, it might be helpful to reevaluate your relationship with what you ingest on the internet. Never before have so many people simultaneously juggled being both the performers and the audience in this unprecedented age of influence, and the stimulation is exciting, impossible to ignore and addicting. Becoming more aware of what media is absorbed is a powerful tool to feel more in control of one’s place in this world. By being more purposeful with how you distribute your sought-after views and likes you can help push businesses to be better. Brands have

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well. Society benefits from you being more purposeful with your scrolling. Finally, think about how what you see online makes you feel. In the moments when scrolling through social media feels like some desperate attempt to fill a momentary void, our time is probably better spent doing something else. Delete the apps for a couple of days. In the stress of finals season, we could benefit by clicking on fewer headlines and by being really cognitive of how what news we read affects our mental health. Deciding where to send online energy makes for a more empowered, conscious media consumer.

ELLAN

PAGE DESIGN TREVOR ARELLANO DEC. 16, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

OPINION

FAREWELL FAREWELL TO PLASTIC PLASTIC TO Lawrence should lead state in banning plastic bags BY NADIA SANBURN

ONLINE CO-EDITORIN-CHIEF

f you stroll one of Lawrence’s parks, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll see trash at some point during your visit. The ground is home to abandoned soda cups and crumpled paper, but if you look skyward, there’s a chance you might catch sight of ripped-up plastic bags adorning the trees. These single-use plastic bags from grocery stores and shops are a huge issue when it comes to the health and wellness of the environment. Lawrencians have taken notice, and recently, brought it to the City Commission, which is currently debating implementing either a fee or ban to businesses in Lawrence. Many cities across the nation have implemented a 5- to 15-cent fee or an outright ban of plastic shopping bags.

This has helped curb to recognize that a ban the overuse of plastic on plastic bags won’t solve “THESE SINGLE for many of these cities, the problem entirely. We USE PLASTIC which opt for paper or all must take steps to rereusable bags instead. duce our plastic consumpBAGS ... ARE This could be a simple tion, and recycle what we A HUGE ISSUE way to decrease the do use. This doesn’t just amount of plastic used WHEN IT COMES entail bags. It’s smart to in our city. invest in a reusable water TO THE HEALTH bottle and find reusable If Lawrence was to model the fee after AND WELLNESS alternatives for items that other cities, customers are single-use and often OF THE would be expected to thrown away. bring an extra few cents ENVIRONMENT.” We must also elect to the store to pay for politicians who care about a plastic shopping bag. our environment and can This would make it so that long term, change things on a larger scale. A it would be more affordable to invest large amount of the pollution plaguin a cloth reusable bag. In the case of ing the world’s environment is the a ban, store owners can opt for proresult of corporations cutting corners and mass producing items for sale. viding paper bags, or can completely Let’s set an example for surroundstrike bags from their budget and rely on customers to bring their own. ing communities and become the first While this policy would be beneficity in Kansas to ban or place a fee on plastic bags. cial to our community, it’s important Photo by Katherine Williams

DEC. 16, 2019 PAGE DESIGN ELIJAH PADEN & TREVOR ARELLANO

OPINION THE BUDGET

ASSIGNMENT REFINEMENT Students should earn an education, not just a grade BY KATHERINE WILLIAMS

PHOTO EDITOR

f homework is really supposed to be a tool to positively affect students and not merely a form of punishment or busywork, then educators should treat it that way. Lines have been blurred and homework is often less of a thing to help students improve and more of a dreaded task that adds weight to teenagers’ already heavy shoulders. For many, homework is at the bottom of their to-do lists. Should their grades be affected because of that? Students dedicate seven-plus hours to school every day, and at times we simply do not have the extra time to give. High schoolers don’t get enough credit for the things they do after the bell. Many are expected to balance school, a job, extracurriculars and social lives all while making sure their mental health doesn’t deteriorate. At some point, something has to give. If it happens to be that you have to just take the ‘L’ on the 10-page study guide that you have never benefited from anyway, then so be it. Arguably, the most frustrating part of all of this is when teachers disregard any excuse for incompletion they deem invalid but don’t hold themselves to the same standard. Although I do sympathize with educators having a sizable workload with assignments needing to be graded for each one of their classes, we are right there with them. It is frustrating to hear things like, “I’ve been busy,” as an excuse for things being left ungraded for weeks or even months

GRAPHIC BY ARIANNA MYERS-ARENTH

because the fact of the matter is that it would be unacceptable for us to pull that card if the roles were reversed. I have had to put homework above family time, sports practices, sleep and much more. So, asking me to value an assignment or project and not giving the same energy in return is frustrating. I understand that when students choose advanced or AP classes, they are signing up for the extra work-load. But when on-level classes pile on the homework, I see a problem. Many teachers will make the argument that piling on homework will better prepare students for what they will face in college, but especially in on-level classes, college is not always what students are working toward. Educators need to ensure assignments truly have an educational purpose, or students will respond accordingly. Assignments that don’t seem to hold any educational value to students leave more excuse for them to just look up the answers online, copy off someone else, etc. In this case, no one learns anything, and grades in PowerSchool are not based on anything meaningful but how well students can fabricate information to make it look like their own. A study conducted by Mollie Galloway at Lewis and Clark College shows just how expendable the majority of homework is. In fact, only 6 percent of 4,000 students found their homework “very useful.” If a student must make time for an assignment, make their time worth something. I am not anti-homework by any means.

When homework is utilized correctly, it can be a great thing, but when abused, the negative effects quickly outweigh the positives. As teachers look to second semester, here’s a homework assignment for them: Emphasize quality over quantity. Make every assignment meaningful, and show students the time they’re investing matters by grading the work promptly.

PAGE DESIGN TREVOR ARELLANO NOV. 25, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

OPINION THE BUDGET OPINION

Excusing History GRAPHIC BY RILEY UNEKIS

Some of nation’s heroes aren’t the heroes we thought they were evidence fairly. One of the greatest examples of this is American icon Thomas Jefferson. He NEWS EDITOR is idolized because of his famous words that “all men are created equal, that t’s the role of historians and journalthey are endowed by their Creator with ists to create a vivid and well-roundcertain unalienable Rights, that among ed picture of the events they are these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of describing. Happiness.” Often times, when we seek to Even so, Jefferson was a slaveholder, highlight and share the whose livelihood was rooted accomplishments of in the subjugation of hundreds certain influential people “THOMAS of human beings, including within our nation’s JEFFERSON members of his wife’s family and history, we are quick his own. He didn’t believe that DIDN’T to excuse or downplay all were created equal. He was a narratives that might ACHIEVE racist, incapable of rising above put a blemish on the the thought of his time and place GREATNESS IN “hero” label that we have willing to profit from slave ascribed to them. HIS PERSONAL and labor. Yet this sort of excuLIFE.” Thomas Jefferson didn’t satory mentality is not achieve greatness in his personal only pervasive, it’s also life. He had a slave as mistress. dangerous. He lied about it. He once tried to bribe When we don’t recognize our historia hostile reporter. His war record was cal leaders as whole people — with many not good. He spent much of his life strengths and many faults — we fail to do in intellectual pursuits in which he our job. We create perfect human beings excelled and not enough in leading his who never actually existed, and portray fellow Americans toward great goals by a false sense of reality. It’s unfair to example. justify the evils done by our forefathers Jefferson knew slavery was wrong and by putting their accomplishments on a that he was wrong in profiting from the pedestal. We must describe their actions institution, but he didn’t have the cour— good and bad — with the same gravity. age to lead the way to emancipation. Otherwise we are not presenting the

BY ZORA LOTTONBARKER

DEC. 16, 2019 PAGE DESIGN RILEY UNEKIS

He thought abolition of slavery might be accomplished by the young men of the next generation. To be a slaveholder meant one had to believe that the worst white man was better than the best black man. If you didn’t believe these things, you couldn’t justify yourself. Jefferson could condemn slavery in words, but not in deeds. At his magnificent estate, Monticello, Jefferson had slaves who were superb artisans, shoemakers, masons, carpenters and cooks. But like every bigot, he never said, after seeing a skilled African craftsman at work or enjoying the fruits of his labor, “Maybe I’m wrong.” He ignored the words of his fellow revolutionary John Adams, who said that the Revolution would never be complete until the slaves were free. Yet he is loved, commemorated and admired for the famous words that he wrote, words that he didn’t even follow in his personal life. We cannot continue to allow these influential figures to remain untainted by the wrongs that they have committed, especially as we fight to expand our knowledge of the past, and to diversify the sources that we use to describe events. It is truly important that we work to look to find new voices rather than celebrating those that do not deserve it.

OPINION THE BUDGET

INJURIES? CAP Injuries are not a joking matter and can ruin your career

BY HENRY DEWITT

and some of the long-term damage is yet to be discovered. Concussions are not the only injury people think are cool. People love bragtudent athletes are some of the ging about their severe knee injuries. most outspoken people in high ACL. MCL. Meniscus. school. If you tear one of those, you The work that goes into automatically become cool. However balancing practices, games and these injuries take a long time to heal workouts with school work is difficult. and sometimes never do. A torn knee If someone is able to be a star athlete on ligament from high school sports highly the field and keep good grades, that is an increases the likelihood of early onset impressive feat worth bragging about. osteoarthritis or arthritis in the knee, But a culture that celebrates athletic which is currently what star Los Angeles injuries is damaging to kids who are far Rams running back from hitting their athletTodd Gurley is suffering ic primes. “WHEN TRYING TO through. It could possiOne of the biggest bly mean an early end to injuries student athletes PLAY THROUGH his career. brag about is concusINJURIES, ATHLETES When football or volsions. Young football leyball players post their players, wrestlers or soc- ARE RISKING THEIR knee braces on their cer players thinking it is FUTURES.” Snapchat stories, that cool that they sustained is not something worth a concussion. Concusbragging about. sions are one of the most dangerous In addition to learning about the injuries an athlete can get, and everyday long-term effects of injuries, physical we learn more and more of the longtherapists are finding how preventable term effects that concussions have. injuries are. We now know that concussions can Injury prevention goes way beyond lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopjust stretching. The best ways to prevent athy or CTE. CTE is a condition that an injury is being properly conditioned. occurs in someone who has sustained Injuries in the knee are almost always repeated concussions in their lifetime. originated in the glute area. Having Former NFL players are desperately proper glute strength can mitigate the seeking assistance, pleading for someone risks of hip, knee and ankle inflamto test them and give them help. CTE mation as well as strengthen the knee comes in stages with stage four being ligaments. Preventing concussions in the worst. People with stage four CTE sports comes down to playing smart. commonly have dementia, Parkinson’s Not lowering your head in football. Not and severe delusions. The worst part is, using your head as a tool in other sports. a new study found that 21 percent of When trying to play through injuries, former high school football players suffer athletes are risking their futures. When from CTE. athletes choose to play through injuries These results are astonishing. Sustainat a risk of reinjury, that is not selfless. ing a concussion is never something to It is selfish. Injuries are serious. No one brag about. Not having proper treatment should put one game over the rest of the and trying to “tough it up” and play conseason. Let alone their career. Especially cussed can cause lifelong brain damage,

SPORTS EDITOR

not high school students. It is hard to tell your team you are too injured to play in a game. Games mean a lot. But if you want any chance of playing in college or even at a professional level, risking your career for one game is not worth it.

GRAPHIC BY RILEY UNEKIS PAGE DESIGN RILEY UNEKIS DEC.16, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

DEC. 16, 2019 PAGE DESIGN ELIJAH PADEN

OPINION THE BUDGET

OPINION

FENCED IN School has become too restrictive, resembling a prison

BY DANIEL DAVIDSON

ONLINE CO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ith the cost of school resource officers under question by current and incoming school board members, it is a good time to reconsider the program’s value in the first place. One does not have to look hard to find out the impact SROs can have on Black and brown students, especially those who are not hetereonormative, are poor or display neurologically atypical behaviors. Countless examples across the nation have shown that normal adolescent behaviors, such as back-talk or fighting can quickly escalate and turn into criminal matters when police officers are on site. By establishing a constant police presence, punishment that would otherwise be dealt with by administrators is instead handed over to the police, contributing to a phenomenon called the school-to-prison pipeline. That criminalization pulls students out of school and throws them into a racist carceral system that is hard to get away from. Although the Lawrence Po-

would do little to stop it anyways. lice Department has long been in That logic includes the chain-link Lawrence high schools and middle fences and unreliable security-badge schools, it is important to remember systems that welcomed students back where this form of the education-pofrom summer break. These measures licing relationship began. will never stop a determined person. The Columbine shooting sparked Building relationship with a nationwide move toward greater students is an affective way police presence in to prevent school violence. schools, and those safety concerns remain “THE BEST WAY We saw this last year when students spoke to trusted a justification for TO PROTECT about students having SROs today. While the STUDENTS IS TO adults guns in the building. thought of a school But those relationshooting seems scary, MAKE THEM we cannot be blackships are undermined by FEEL LIKE THERE rules that make students mailed by these hypotheticals into allowing a IS NOTHING TO feel untrusted. Constant questioning of where criminalization of our ATTACK.” you’re going, police in the students. hallways and the inability to In fact, instead of do something as simple as go to the having the police in our schools, why bathroom when needed can cause not just have the army? Certainly students to lose trust. bulletproof vests and rifles will kill The best way to protect students a mass-shooter quicker and with is to make them feel like there is less casualties. The point is that it’s nothing to attack. By fostering a hosimpossible to ensure violence never happens. tile environment, students will never The mass shooting in Parkland, feel like this is home. Florida, showed having police in the school doesn’t keep children safe. LOCKED DOWN — Behind the chain-linked Instead of always turning to more sefence, students make their way to class. New security measures have been implemented curitization, we must recognize that across the campus this year. it is impossible to guarantee violence PHOTO BY KATHERINE WILLIAMS never occurs and current measures PAGE DESIGN ELIJAH PADEN DEC. 16, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

OPINION

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AREN’T YOUR MASCOTS

It’s overdue for Kansas high schools to retire racist mascots

QUICK TAKE SMN Year LHS removed a banner from the gym lobby displaying the “Indian” mascot of SMN, later replacing all Sunflower League banners with more generic designs.

2017

Year SMN initially received communication from the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma indicating permission to use the mascot. That permission was formally rescinded in 2017.

1992

Kansas schools that still used Native American mascots as of 2016.

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BY NOLA LEVINGS

version of Indigenous culture into the school’s mission. On the school’s website underneath the tab “Principal/Mission,” the text reads “SM North HS is a uniquely, amazing place where students can be themselves and yet While at the National Student Press Assoalso be part of something much larger than ciation’s fall convention in Washington, D.C., themselves — The Tribe.” I attended a session for reporting on sports This is where problems arise. “Indian” with Indigenous mascots and implicit bias. tribes are groups of Indigenous people who These sessions made me think more in-depth live in or are from the same area. about Shawnee Mission North, its It is unacceptable for SM North mascot and the way the Shawnee Mission district handled the banner “... THEY MAKE use that term to identify its student body, whether they are Indigenous issue that took place in 2017. US INVISIBLE or not. Two years ago, Lawrence High’s AND TURN The argument that removing the Intertribal Club requested our mascot would be too costly ignores administrators remove a banner US INTO the fact that there is no price too displaying Shawnee Mission North’s STEREOTYPES.” high when it comes down to making mascot, which was a chief in a headpeople feel sale and welcome. dress. Administrators then replaced An example of appropriately honoring all banners with ones showcasing only the Indigenous people in a school setting is the school’s name. Replacing the mascot banners name change of South Middle School to Billy only brushed the deeper issues aside. Mills Middle School. Billy Mills is an actual In response to this action, former director Indigenous person and not a generalization of of communications for the Shawnee Mission my people. The school changed only the name School District, Erin Little, said that school and kept its mascot, the Cougars. This action mascots were a symbol of “strength and admiwas pursued by newly-elected school board ration” and that their mascot was a tribute to member and parent, Carol Cadue-Blackwood. the people that first occupied the land their When you see people as less-than people, school is on. The problem with this is that you treat them accordingly. That leads to the their mascot does not represent the Shawnee very core of this issue: they make us invisible Nation or an individual Indigenous person. It and turn us into stereotypes. is a stereotypical Native American head. The use of this “Indian” mascot and the Research conducted by the American traditions associated with it has caused mulPsychological Association, which is the largest tiple problems and should have been retired scientific and professional organization of after the 2017 banner change. psychologists in America, concluded that the In order to make our schools a better continued use of Indigenous mascots, logos, place for Indigenous students, Shawnee images, personalities and symbols has a negMission North and all Kansas public schools ative effect on Indigenous people, especially need to take this issue seriously and should Indigenous youth. This dehumanization of Inimmediately begin the process of removing digenous culture in schools leaves Indigenous their “Indian” mascots and finding a new ones children feeling unwelcome and unsafe. that don’t include racist caricatures. SMN has incorporated an inaccurate

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR/AD SALES MANAGER

NOV. 25, 2019 PAGE DESIGN TONY RACY

OPINION THE BUDGET

PAY UP NOW

BILLIONAIRE Billionaires don’t do enough, and should be taxed to the max BY TONY RACY

OPINION EDITOR

P G RA

ncome inequality isn’t something you’d think about most days, but it’s something that dominates the world we live in. In 2019, three men will control more wealth than 50 percent of America’s population. While millions of Americans are plagued with debt, remain without food or shelter, or are forced to work multiple laborious jobs that don’t even pay them enough to survive, billionaires will pull out new clubs at the golf range and see where they land on the Forbes 400. I absolutely despise billionaires. They provide nothing for the well-being of society and continue to tell us that we should look up to them as our country’s most virtuous and successful leaders. They are the reason for a plethora of issues facing our society. They proclaim that anybody can become a billionaire like them, but they often have never faced the same obstacles 90 percent of the population faces everyday. They assert laissez-faire economics as the fuel to democracy’s fire, yet they buy their interests into office, subverting the people’s interest and transforming our government into an oligarchy. They promote policies of deregulation, austerity and privatization despite the negative impacts on poverty, politics and the environment. Some cite Bill Gates as an example that billionaires are inherently philanthropic and deeply charitable. This could not be more wrong. Bill Gates is a rare anomaly, donating roughly $41 billion of his net worth since 2000,

according to Business Insider. While it’s a whopping 45 percent of his net worth, almost all billionaires won’t commit more than 6 percent of their wealth to charity. But even his remaining wealth is way too much for him to keep. His net worth has doubled within the past decade, leaving him with more than $100 billion. This is way more money than anyone should have, and the fact that this “generous” billionaire refuses to be taxed more than $20 billion clearly shows that something must be done. This is exactly why we need the super-progressive billionaire tax proposed by politicians like Bernie Sanders. According to the Tax Foundation, his tax would generate $13.6 trillion over the next decade to help fund important programs like education, healthcare, welfare and so much more. This added revenue would boost the economy tremendously. Many billionaires like Bezos will try to tell you that tax plans like this will hurt you. However, under Bernie’s

tax plan, those who make less than $250,000 will not have to pay more taxes whatsoever. This wouldn’t be a burden for more than 95 percent of the population, and you would pay less for certain things in general due to trillions of dollars being inserted back into the economy from the tax. Even if you make a ton of money, your quality of life is still going to remain the same. Bill Gates’ complaints on paying more than $20 billion in taxes are absurd. If you pay up $105 billion of your $106 billion, you’d still have a billion dollars left. Your quality of life isn’t going to change whatsoever. The rich will only get richer while the poor will get poorer. Until we eat the rich, wealth inequality will continue to tarnish society. Something must be done, and if that something is taxing billionaires excessively, then so be it.

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PAGE DESIGN TONY RACY NOV. 25, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

OPINION

Sorry had to have this done before Decembe r :)

GRAPHIC BY RILEY UNEKIS

DEC. 16, 2019

OPINION THE BUDGET

JOURNALISM STAFF MISSION STATEMENT The Budget newspaper is committed to providing the Lawrence High community with objective, inclusive news coverage that ensures relevance to its spectrum of readers. The staff devotes itself to the exercise of First Amendment rights and upholding the highest of journalistic standards. While the paper is a tool to publish student voices, it also works to help students grow as journalists and help readers access 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. STAFF Benjamin Alan Allgeier, Trevor Arellano, Cam Bohmann, Ashleigh Brown, Carly Cooper, Cuyler Dunn, Josefine Graven, Elyssa Hancock, Jon LaRue, Andrew Liebegott, Addie London, Nancy Mai, Morgan Marsh, Caitlin Mooney, Arianna Myers-Arenth, Elijah Paden, Arien Roman Rojas, Iris Sherron, Kate Tilghman, Ari Wilke, Elyzebeth Workman THE BUDGET NEWSPAPER EDITORS Sami Turner ��Editor-in-Chief Katherine Williams �� Photo Editor Riley Unekis ��Design Editor Zora Lotton-Barker ��News Editor Meriel Salisbury ��Features Editor Tony Racy �� Opinion Editor

Alex Stark ��Assistant Photo Editor LHSBUDGET.COM EDITORS Daniel Davidson ��Editor-in-Chief Nadia Sanburn ��Editor-in-Chief Mia Robinson ��Video Editor Jackson Yanek ��Video Editor RED & BLACK YEARBOOK EDITORS Megan Drumm ��Editor-in-Chief Sophia Kaufman ��Editor-in-Chief McKenna White �� Photo Editor Alex Lane ��Design Editor Kenna McNally ��Managing Editor JOURNALISM EDITORS Henry DeWitt ��Sports Editor Nola Levings �� Marketing Manager/ Social Media Editor Barbara Tholen �� Adviser

STAFF TAKES NATIONAL AWARDS The 2019 staff of The Budget received the Pacemaker award from The National Scholastic Press Association last month in Washington, D.C., in addition to nearly a dozen individual national awards. The Pacemaker is widely seen as the most prestigious honor available to scholastic publications. Just 19 schools nationally received the newspaper Pacemaker at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention. The Budget staff won the award in 2017 and was a finalist in 2018. In addition to the Pacemaker, the journalism staff had 11 national finalists for awards from the National Scholastic Press Association. Among those recognized were senior Sami Turner, who finished in third place for Design of the Year-Information Graphic and Designer of the Year. Senior Mia Robinson took third place for Broadcast of the Year-Broadcast Commentary. Zora Lotton-Barker and 2019 graduate Freeman Spray received honorable mention for Design of the Year-Literary/Specialty Magazine Cover.

Competing in the National Student Media Contests, Turner received an excellent rating for commentary writing. These contests were conducted during the convention. Receiving honorable mentions in that contest were Nola Levings, yearbook copy/caption for student life; Henry DeWitt, sports writing; and Nadia Sanburn, editorial writing.

WINNERS — Members of the journalism staff receive the Pacemaker award at the high school journalism convention in Washington, D.C., last month. Pictured are senior Nola Levings, junior Zora Lotton-Barker, senior Henry DeWitt, junior Nadia Sanburn, junior Sophia Kaufman, National Scholastic Press Association executive director Laura Widmer, senior Alex Lane, senior Sami Turner, junior Riley Unekis and adviser Barbara Tholen. PHOTO COURTESTY OF NSPA DEC. 16, 2019

THE BUDGET OPINION

PHOTO OF THE MONTH FAMILY PRIDE — Showing the love, senior Ryan Lauts gives his mom, teacher Charlie Lauts, a hug during Pack the House on Nov. 26. Lauts yelled to the crowd, “That’s my mom,” after she performed in the 3-point contest during Pack the House. “It was her last Pack the House,” Ryan Lauts said of his mom who plans to retire later this year. “I figured it was my chance to embarrass her back.” PHOTO BY MCKENNA WHITE

NOV. 25, 2019