LION Issue #1

Page 1

Jury finds John Wilson Jr. guilty Jury reaches verdict after two hours of deliberation by Brittany Grosser-Basile @BrittanyGrosser

The Kelli O’Laughlin trial ended on Sept. 15 when the jury concluded with a guilty verdict for John Wilson Jr. The trial for her murder officially began with the jury selection at Bridgeview Courthouse on Sept. 2, about three years after her murder on Oct. 27, 2011. Sentencing will occur next month. “It’s like you’re reliving everything,” mother Brenda O’Laughlin said in an exclusive interview with LION on Sept. 13. “To relive that particular day again has been very difficult.” Following jury selection, each side made their opening statements. Defense attorney John Paul Carroll alleged that O’Laughlin had committed suicide. “I couldn’t let what he said get me angry because I knew it wasn’t true, so I just took it with a grain of salt,” Brenda said. This theory was dismissed when the medical examiner showed the autopsy photos in court on Sept. 11. There were 12 photos displayed on large screens, showing eight stab wounds on Kelli’s chest, neck and back. The judge had said those who could not keep their emotions in check during that part of the trial should leave the courtroom, ABC-7 reported. Brenda stayed during this time. “It was important for me to be in the room and be there for Kelli,” Brenda said.

The message made out of cups on the bridge on Plainfield Road has a new message as the O’Laughlin trial has progressed (Riley Carroll/LION).

“I found her. I really wanted to know what really happened to her.” Around 500 pieces of evidence were collected by the prosecution, including the red hat that had a rock in it and was used to break through a window to enter the O’Laughlins’ house. A DNA test confirmed the hat carried Wilson’s DNA. Another strong piece of evidence were the records that tracked Wilson’s and Kelli’s cell phones. “He broke into our house and was stealing our stuff, but he didn’t have to stab Kelli to death,” father John O’Laughlin said during LION’s interview on Sept. 13. “He could’ve just run away.” Also shown in court were the texts sent to Brenda from Kelli’s stolen cell phone, with one of the texts reading: “She wanted me to tell you something before I killed her,” ABC-7 reported. “Not only do we deal with our own feelings, but we see other people’s reactions to the different things that we’ve known about

for years, like the text messages,” John said. “It’s awful.” During the course of the trial, nearly 50 people testified for the state, including Kelli’s friend Elyse Campion ‘15. “Having to testify was extremely hard, but the attorney was really nice and just said to look at him the whole time like a conversation,” Campion said. “He made the experience better.” The O’Laughlins are grateful for Campion’s bravery. “It’s not right for a 17-year-old to have to testify at a murder trial for her friend,” John said. Throughout the trial, other students and members of the community have gone to watch. “I wanted to go because I felt I needed to do that and also pay respect to the O’Laughlins,” Annie LeFevour ‘15 said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought, considering I had my parents and my friends’ parents there to support

me. The whole thing didn’t seem real but deep down I know I had to be there.” Despite all of the sadness, the O’Laughlins are still spreading Kelli’s joy. “What we really are focused on is the legacy: how she’s remembered with the foundation, the scholarships and the good stuff in her name,” John said. “We don’t really consider this trial a good thing; it’s just something we have to go through.” An upcoming event for Kelli includes the third annual Run for Kelli on Nov. 16. Also, pop tops are being collected in Kelli’s name for the Ronald McDonald House. Once 790 pounds, or one million pop tops, are collected, a plaque will be dedicated to Kelli. Information about Kelli’s memorial fund and events can be found on kjofund.com. “We thank [the students] for their kind words of support and being friends with us,” Brenda said. “It’s meant a lot to us throughout this time. We know it’s been rough on them just like it’s been rough on us.”

Laws restrict fundraisers

Change in code

by Anika Ranginani @a_rangs

by Gillian Dunlop @gilliandunlop15

Students scramble to find ideas to skirt the new nutrition law

New federal and state laws restrict high-caloric, sugary foods from being sold to students in school, forcing clubs at LT to rethink their fundraising model. Frequently referred to as the “bake-sale” laws, the changes in nutrition law originated from the 2010

Healthy, Hunger Free Kids act and Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Campaign.” Because homemade products used in bake sales don’t have a nutrition label, they can no longer be used for fundraisers at LT. The new laws require any food sold in schools to have a primary ingredient of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy or proteins, Student Activities Director Peter Geddeis said Early this school year, a handful of fundraisers, including the Krispy Kreme sale for Social Action Club on Sept. 19, were submitted and approved to sell unhealthy food before school before the specifics of the law were understood, Geddeis said. Those technically non-compliant fundraisers will be grandfathered in, however, any future decisions about fundraisers will follow the guidelines of the nutrition laws. For now, students can still sell unhealthy snacks after 3:30 p.m. on school days, Geddeis said. Students can also sell fundraising items anytime off-campus because the law focuses on student choices made during the school day. Teams or clubs that sell items like cookie dough can still continue to sell at school because students have to eat it at home. “Clubs will have to adjust until this law gets changed,” Geddeis said. The changes are shifting the role of the student activities director. In the past, Geddeis had been responsible for making sure that similar fundraisers did not overlap and compete with each other. Now, he has to be a lot more selective on what fundraisers actually can and can’t happen. This impacts clubs looking to make small money with in-school food sales.

Lack of Code of Conduct forms distributed at club meetings raises questions of code changes For over 15 years, LT administration mandated that Code of Conduct forms be distributed and signed for every individual club and sport a LT student participates in. This year, a decision was made to eliminate the printed-out version of the Code of Conduct form due to impracticality and to place a stronger emphasis on the student handbook doled out to every student at registration. The main challenge of issuing a Code of Conduct form to every student for each individual club and sport is managing students who join clubs later in the year, Student Activities Director Peter Geddeis said. “The other challenge is it struck us as a sort of a waste thing. Threefourths of students are involved in activities and the vast majority of students are in more than one club. Where could we store three to four codes per student each year?” Geddeis said. Although written-out codes will no longer be distributed, administration will be reinforcing the code before major events. Club sponsors had some discussion about whether or not it would be a good idea to have a meeting to highlight safe and unsafe behavior, Student Assistant Program Coordinator Jeanne Widing said. However, this change has not been precipitated by student behavior. The administration stresses that despite the Code of Conduct not being distributed during club meetings, students will still be expected to read and understand what is in the handbook. Geddeis intends to send out reminders throughout the year that sponsors should remind students about their responsibilities to the code. “I don’t think students can be held accountable for reading their handbooks, but having clubs fully explain the consequences in meetings would not be a bad thing,” Liz Wyckoff ‘15, a participant in such clubs as Model United Nations, Peer Leadership and Student Council, said. LT’s administration has decided to take a different approach this year in how the code is enforced; however, the first class principles read out at every Freshman Experience Day and intermittedly throughout the year remain the same and apply to all students and faculty. “The thing to remember is that the Code of Conduct was not established to punish students,” Geddeis said. “It was established for students’ own good.”

Continued on page 2 LT construction

NEWS, 5

Learn more about the various construction projects and see a timeline of events. North Campus

Grade inflation

OPINIONS, 7

Athlete of the month

SPORTS, 12

Are LT and other high schools suffering from grade inflation? Michael Rasmussen weighs in on the issue.

100 S. Brainard Ave. LaGrange, Ill. 60525 South Campus

Check out this issue’s athlete of the month, Division I-boundLeonard Ross ‘15. 

Fantasy Football

PULSE, 19

LION staffer gives his draft picks for this year’s fantasy football.

4900 Willow Springs Rd. Western Springs, Ill. 60558


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