LT staff responds to recent tragedy LION reveals how administration, crisis team handles student death by Gaby Sabatino @gabysab8
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ver the course of the past six months, the LT community has suffered the devastating loss of two students. Dylan Buginas passed away on April 7, 2015 and Neyla Soriano on Sept. 14, 2015. Due to the catastrophic tragedy that LT students have experienced, the administration is working behind the scenes to provide extensive support to those who are greatly impacted by these deaths. After a death has occurred, the LT crisis team, made up of around 30 psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, public relation coordinators and other administrators, meets frequently in order to discuss what actions must be taken and what support must be put in place. Therefore, their response is two-fold: the actions taken within an initial response period of a death and the long-term response period as well. “Whenever we lose a student, for whatever reason, it’s tragic,” Principal Dr. Brian Waterman said. “We look at it from a proactive perspective and also from a reactive perspective.” Within the initial response period, all social workers and guidance counselors are contacted after information has been released about a student passing. Then, in order to inform the faculty at LT, the school must receive permission from the family of the student who has passed to confirm the individual’s death. When this permission is given, the faculty is officially informed via email. After this, the crisis team compiles a list of students, based on knowledge from teachers, counselors and the family, who may be directly impacted by the death of their friend. This includes students that are in the same classes of the student who has passed. “There is a research protocol our guidance director, Donna Bredrup, takes the team through,” Waterman
This is a photo illustration of a grieving student receiving support from a peer in the counseling office at NC. (Izy Scott/LION) tinue to check up on, according to Waterman. said. “We first take a look at what students will be directly Then, during the long-term response period, a select few affected by such tragedies.” administrators attend the services (wakes and funerals) put LION reached out to Bredrup as well as Student Assistance in place to provide further support during those difficult Program Coordinator Jeanne Widing and school psychologist Morgan Anderson. All three declined to comment. times. The list of students who initially talked to counselors Counselors and social workers then closely monitor these will continue to be checked up on in the weeks following students. the death. “We have a counselor and social worker that will follow “The work that the crisis team does is always based on the students schedule, usually for at least the first two days research,” Waterman said. “The research, historically, has [following the death], and then on a needed basis after that,” pointed schools to act in a certain way when any student Waterman said. death occurs. That research has certainly driven our communication protocols and our crisis response.” In the case of Soriano’s death, there have been about 162 students who the administration has met with and will conContinued on page 4
Ambiguity surrounds course FAFSA changes Many unknowns remain regarding potential required civics course by Phil Smith @phil_ip_smith
After the mandatory civics course was signed into law by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner this summer, Global Studies Division Chair Paul Houston immediately began preparations for the new class. “I’m excited about it because I think the spirit of the legislation is good,” Houston said. “At the same time, I’m worried about it because of how messy it can get.” This apprehension is due to the widespread uncertainty about details concerning the class. An amendment is on the table in the Illinois Legislature to let all current high school students out of the requirement, according to Houston. If passed, the course would become mandatory for the class of 2020 and beyond. This uncertainty has not prevented optimism from spreading about this class. AP U.S. Government teacher Jessica Lee is hopeful about the future civics class. “I think it’s a good idea,” Lee said. “I do believe it is necessary for people to know and understand the voting process in America, understand how the government works, understand how elections work.” Lee sees the class as filling a gap in education about how politics works. “My friends are all intelligent, my friends have all grad-
Editorial
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Can we solve the migrant crisis in Syria? Turn to page 9 to find out what the LION staff thinks. North Campus
uated college, my friends are all professionals, and a lot of them don’t know or understand our democratic system works,” said Lee. “I think part of it is that they were never taught.” There are some issues with the implementation of the class. It is still unknown if the class will be offered at South or North Campus, if it will count as a Social Studies elective and other details about class structure, Houston said. Teachers and administrators are also wondering if some e x i s t i n g classes may cover the civics requirement. AP U.S. Government may meet the standards passed by the state legislature, and Constitutional Law and Contemporary Issues come close, according to Houston. “If the state allows [AP Government], it would need minor modifications to the class,” Houston said. Some of these changes may include adding a service learning requirement, but most of the class framework would probably stay This map illustrates the same, according to Lee. the eight states that “AP Government should fuladminister statewide civic standarized tests, according to fill the requirement,” Lee said. “I can’t imagine how it wouldn’t.” Huffington Post. The Global Studies department, however, has already been working to clarify the policy. On the school improvement day, the department spent an hour and a half talking about the changes that would need to be made. “I definitely would prefer [the process] to be simple and clear for the students,” Houston said. “We need to streamline and make it easier and clearer.”
Girls swimming Turn to page 12 for an inside look into the success of the girls swimming and diving program.
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Deep web
by Juliana Halpin @jhalps315
President Barack Obama recently announced changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. This is going into affect for students applying to colleges in the 2016-2017 school year. FAFSA will now ask for the taxes of the student’s family from two years prior to their first year of college instead of just one, according to College and Career Coordinator Lianne Musser. Another result of the FAFSA changes will include that colleges will no longer be allowed to view all of the various schools that students are applying to. In addition, the deadline for FAFSA submissions will be pushed up to Oct. 1 as opposed to Jan. 1 as it has been in previous years. “[The new FAFSA changes] are helpful,” Musser said. “People will actually know what [taxes] they filed a year ago so they will have accurate information that won’t have to be changed or corrected.” The changes raise concern that it will speed up the college process for students and that colleges may force them to decide on their school earlier, Musser said. Where as students currently have until May 1 to decide which college to attend, people are concerned that as a result of changing the deadline to Oct. 1 students will receive their reward letters at an earlier date causing colleges to expect students to make their decisions by an earlier date as well. To meet the Oct. 1 deadline, students will have to go through the new challenge of fully completing the college application and FAFSA processes at the same time. “I think that the new changes will make the FAFSA process easier next year,” student Emma Bastyr ‘17 said. “However, they could also complicate and bring more stress to the entire college process as a whole.” PULSE, 16-17
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