Livewire Vol. 14 Issue 1 October 2022

A REcord breaking season

Senior Colin Elder’s journey to becoming a school record holder.

History of the Hills

Louisville’s Waverly Sanatorium and its turn from hospital to haunted house.

Behind the Ban

Exploring book bans across the globe, from history to modern day.

Cover: Sophomore Milana Ilickovic poses in a wedding dress to represent upcoming growth in front of a garden representing the past behind herr. (Photo Credit: Natalie McGarry)

Our “Why?”

Over the years, our ideas have developed as we have grown as a society, but certain parts of history have been pushed away when they need to be brought to light.

Our world has developed over time and as have our ideas and minds. Our definitions of right and wrong have changed and what we deemed acceptable back then has changed from what we see acceptable now. Certain films, news, books and other ways of expressing human ideas and creative freedom developed into something checked, edited and revised to “protect” people. These pieces contain harsh topics that people like to avoid in the world, whether it’s learning about it or just simplifying reading about it. Topics like these were heavy and improper to discuss. They brought controversy, violence and change. At what point do we realize censoring tough subjects to “protect” us is doing more harm than good? Hard topics must be brought to light in order to learn from our mistakes in the past and grow from them.

People with power in the world see something they don’t like and they have the power to shut it down but instead, hide it from the rest of everybody in the world. The people, now more than ever, have the power to shine on these ideas that have been hidden or the ones that are lesser known.

The way of film, news, books and other ways of expressing human ideas has developed into something new as time goes on and we grow as a society. We have grown to realize that sometimes hiding away from something isn’t always the best solution people will like and agree with.

This concept of concealing information and sifting through what is accessible by the general public strips us from our freedom to form our own opinions and ideas, our right to know the world we are living in. How can we live when our information and resources are restricted? Our views over the world are being manipulated and pushed into what the majority feeds us. With information comes new ideas, new creations and new ways of thinking. That knowledge can lead us to grow as a society and realize what has happened in the past should be different now.

As a staff we hope you do not stray away from these hard, but much needed conversations about these topics. We challenge you to shine the light on information in the world that needs it. We challenge you to pay attention to the world around you and see what has changed from the past to now. We challenge you to look deeper into different and uncommon topics in the world and learn from them. Sincerely,

A Record Breaking Season

by Raegan Jackson

Scoring goals and breaking records.

At the beginning of the 2022 boy’s soccer season, Colin Elder made history by scoring his 55th goal, breaking the all time scoring record of 54 previously held by Rob Daugherty. Throughout his life Elder has trained hard, played hard and fought hard to get to where he is today. He faced hard times his sophomore year when had a season-ending injury that kept him from playing an entire season. Through his hardship he never stopped training and he has no plans to stop working to continue his career.

Elder has played soccer since he was three years old and has been coached by Mike Brangers from his first season all the way up to his current senior year season. Brangers has watched Elder grow as an athlete and has been able to help him improve his game through the years. “He’s always been willing to challenge himself and work hard,” Brangers said. Elder has always challenged himself to continue to improve his game and over the past three years he has played with the Louisville City USL (United Soccer League) Academy team which has helped improve his game in many aspects.“He’s always been a hard worker, I coached him up until he was 14 then he moved to the Louisville City program which has better training and better coaches and better players so it’s challenged him more,” Brangers said.

The summer before his sophomore year Elder took full advantage of his opportunity to play with Louisville City. “I’ve been playing with the USL Academy team which they dropped down a couple of pros so I’ve been able to play with

some of the pros and that has made me so much better on the ball and it’s made me smarter too, I know where to go when to go, it’s made me such a better all around player,” Elder said. Being able to play with professional soccer players helped Elder make great strides in improving his game which ultimately helped the team as a whole. “I haven’t coached a whole lot of true strikers and both of those guys (Rob Daugherty and Colin Elder) are true strikers, they know how to shoot, they know how to put the ball on frame, how to put it where the goalies not,” Brangers said. Elder has been able to build his skills as a striker which helped him break the scoring record.

During the beginning of Elder’s sophomore year he faced a devastating knee injury that took him out for the rest of the season. “I knew he would have a chance (of breaking the record) but sophomore year he broke his leg so he didn’t score a single goal his sophomore year so I worried a little about it,” Brangers said. Elder had talked about breaking the all time scoring record since his freshman year but when he got injured recovery became his main focus. “Me and my grandpa would talk about how I had the chance to do that but I got a little nervous when I didn’t play sophomore year, I wondered if it’s possible if I could do it but it was just a great feeling when I was able to,” Elder said.

Elder went through months of surgerys and physical therapy not knowing if he would be able to ever play soccer again. Sitting out an entire season is something that can destroy an athletes career, however, Elder never let that stop him

from putting in work everyday to accomplish his goals. After all the months spent recovering, Elder finally got the okay from his doctors and came back junior year, ready to get back to work. Elder went right back to focusing on breaking Daugherty’s record after he recovered. “He scored 17 goals his freshman year so he’s off to a good start his freshman year, his junior year he had a pretty good year and then he’s really stepped up this year,” Brangers said. With 17 goals his freshman year and 26 goals his junior year Elder came into his senior season scoring 11 goals before breaking the record of 54 goals. “He’s in the sixties now, if he hadn’t of had to sit out his sophomore year I think he would of hit 100, I think he’ll probably get around 75 or 80,” Brangers said. It was no shock to anyone going into the Bullitt Cup that Elder would break the record. Each week Elder breaks the record again hoping to break 100 by the end of the season. “My goal is to get around 45 or 50 more goals this season,” Elder said.

With this season being the last of Elder’s high school career he has just two more goals he hopes to accomplish before finishing the season. “My expectations is to get Gatorade Player of the Year for Kentucky. My main goal is to get that and win a district championship for Branger’s,” Elder said. Not only does Elder have more to accomplish in his final season but he has high hopes for post-graduation life. “If I could go straight to playing with Louisville City’s reserved team that would be awesome but right now I’m hoping to just go to college and get my degree and see where it goes from there,” Elder said. With Elder’s skill and determination he has opened up many doors for his future and this community cannot wait to see what Elder continues to do in soccer and in life.

Photo Credit: Raegan Jackson

My expectation is to get Gatorade Player of the Year for Kentucky. My main goal is to get that and win a district championship for Brangers,

- Colin Elder

Thank You For The Music

by Audrey Stepp

The art of music: decade-defining lyrics, to dazzling pop stars.

Hearing music through the decades allows us to step into a mental time machine and provides a passageway to experience all of our emotions to the fullest extent.

Music icons have changed over the course of many decades, and what is desired and respected has gone through many advancements in the history of music. The sound and production of music is something that is constantly changing and evolving itself. Music is something that reaches out and connects to everyone in it’s audience in one way or another, and develops ideas in a way that can reach anyone and comfort them like a hug.

The production of music is something that has undergone many developments and advancements.

“The presentday music industry is both very similar to how it was prior and how it is now,” sophomore, and School Of Rock guitarist, Jack Binkley said. Access to downloading music from your favorite music artist on your device has transformed the economy of the industry, but the development of technology leaves more room for advancement as well. “Something else is that the technology in the music industry has changed completely. There used

to be a staple compressor that if this studio had it, it was softer and it was the Neve 1610. Now we have emulations that can run that compressor which are far less temperamental and save so much space and heat because they’re old to progressive. And it’s just much more reliable now,” Binkley said.

As technology becomes more and more prevalent in the industry, some argue that it can enhance a singer’s sound, while others think that it takes away from the art of raw talent. “Some people think that you don’t necessarily need musicians now because you can create other musicians out of technology. And part of that is a bit scary that you can just wipe away someone’s creativity with things like plugins. But I don’t think anything is going to be able to take away from the true nuances of human play.” Binkley said. Plugins are a type of software used in digital audio workstations. Plugins experienced the greatest growth in 2016, going up by 56.08% in the last 10 years, resulting in a 30 million dollar retail value (according to the U.S. Census and The Music Trades.) “I don’t think anything is going to be like a guitar is just plugging straight into a Marshall amp and cranking it up. The amount of joy and enticing feelings that come from that cannot be matched with any plugin,” Binkley said.

No matter how music is produced or created, almost any musician would agree that being on stage is a feeling like no other. “It’s surreal. There is truly nothing like singing for a crowd, or playing guitar in your room at two am or singing in a choir. Music for me takes so many forms, and in each one I am truly at peace,” junior Marley Long said. Whether you crave the adrenaline and the attention, or the

emotional aspect of performing, being on stage is an unparalleled sentiment. “It’s so much more than just being on stage and being in the

spotlight, it’s not just the rush. For me it’s being on stage, serving as an entertainer for people and just trying to give people something that they haven’t felt yet. And more so when I’m doing it on stage with other brilliant musicians, it gives me a sense that I’m contributing to something far greater than myself,” Binkley said.

Music today has come a long way, but it still draws its influences and inspiration from those that came before it. Modernday music may sound like a blast from the past, as many present-day artists are heavily impacted by previous musical icons. “Phoebe Bridgers. The way she writes her lyrics, it sounds like this continuous string of thoughts, but she is able to connect them all and make them flow. It’s genius. Her music is so raw, so expressive, she breaks ur heart and makes you feel seen. She is truly an artist, listening to a song of hers is like looking at a painting,” Long said. Phoebe Bridgers is an American indie artist who has just recently gained more popularity and traction in her career. Bridgers has stated at previous shows that her biggest inspiration is Elliot Smith, an artist who gained his popularity in the late 90s. “One player that I have loved for so long has been Jimi Hendrix. I love his playing and how impactful a three year career has been. And more so the fact that even though it was just a three year career, later samples and productions like the entire The Cry Of Love album is probably my favorite Jimi Hendrix album on most days,” Binkley said. Sometimes, the albums that are messy and incomplete are what resonate with people the most. “And it’s raw and like it’s not finished. It’s not really mastered, but it’s so emotive and powerful with what it does that I don’t think that even if it was mastered, I don’t think it would make it any better because it’s already so perfect in the sense of wanting to strive and create,” Binkley said. Hendrix is a musician who gained his fame in the late 60s and has been a role model to many artists who came after him. Artists like Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Kevin Shields

from My Bloody Valentine and Eddie Van Halen from Van Halen were all inspired by his work. Hendrix is such a legend for so many people in the face of music because he ignited rock, and his status as a guitarist with how much he changed these ideas.

According to the list by Chart Masters the best selling artists of each decade truly pertains to popular culture around the world. Elvis Presley was the best selling artist of the 1950s, who created a new face for rock and roll when he mixed the styles of rhythm and blues with a classic country sound. In the 1960s, The Beatles took the chart after carrying over the ideas of rock and roll that started with Presley. As the 1970s approached, Pink Floyd became the top selling artist, probably due to their contribution in upbringing progressive rock. In the 1980s, Michael Jackson was the top selling artist and the beloved “King of Pop,” while his album Thriller is still the most sold album ever in 2022. The title for the 90s goes to Celine Dion who made her way into the pop movement. In the 2000s came a surgence of hip hop and rap, leaving Eminem with the most album sales. The foundations of modern pop had been built up by the 2010s, so it is no secret that Adele was the most selling artist. The current band with the most sales is BTS, a popular k-pop band who has made their way around the world.

The emotion that music can invoke from its audience is incomparable to any other form of media, it is something that anyone can relate to and find warmth and comfort in. Music allows us to feel, as well as express, our emotions in a way that anyone can relate to. “I am always most inspired by music that makes me feel something. When I create music, I love the idea of making someone feel something through art,” Long said. Connection with an audience is one of the most crucial parts of being a musician. “I just love art. I love the vulnerable and messy expressions of a person. I think it is fascinating and heartbreaking and fulfilling and everything in between,” Long said. Music, as a form of art, is so important because it may be about something only the writer would ever understand, but it reaches each audience member in such a personal way that no other form of art could re-create quite as impactfully. “For some reason music is the art form that specifically resonates with me. It probably has something to do with my upbringing, my parents exposing me to all of their music, or always singing or playing music to have on in the background. It’s just kind of in my blood,” Long said.

Music is like an escape, in a sense, for many people. “The way I slow down is by taking time to listen or play music, and it’s in those moments that I find I can relax and remember to be happy. Music is where I feel comfortable enough to take moments for myself and just breathe for a little while, and feel like I’m having a conversation of the soul with the artist,” sophomore Kyra Armstrong said. According to Mind, music releases dopamine in our brain, which can help improve mental health. “To me music is one of the most important things in the world. When I feel stressed, I turn on music. When I need to focus, I turn on music. When I’m happy, I turn on music. It doesn’t matter how I’m feeling or what time of the day it is, I always have music on,” sophomore Delilah Seay said. Music often serves as a saving grace to its listeners when life becomes difficult to manage. It takes you to a place where it is just you and the artist sharing something so vulnerable together. “Music heavily influences its audience. I feel like as part of the audience, music has shaped the kind of person I am and even a little of my personality. When you listen to a lot of music you really like, you want other people to hear it as well. Not only does this affect you, but you’re now sharing the music you like with other

people. I’ve also met a lot of my friends and people I love through the music we like; it’s a really easy way to start a conversation,” Seay said.

It is a popular belief that music can affect the type of person you are, and it forms your personality to an extent. “Music connects so deeply to my brain that I feel like I actively experience the emotions that the song is attempting to convey, so I feel happy while listening to a song like “Uptown Girl”, and more sad when listening to something such as “The Night We Met”. I definitely think that the type of music you listen to can affect how you think as well, the artists that are your favorites can even help define your developing personality,” Armstrong said.

Music is something that is ever changing and constantly present. The production of music has drastically changed over the years in terms of technology and sound. Musical icons of the decades give us the music that we hold so dearly today. Music is something that everyone can feel at home with. The creation of music is an art form that is widely respected and a very important part of culture and society.

Customers at Barnes and Noble skim the isles looking for their favorite artist. Despite current streaming services, many modern albums are available as things like vinyls, cassettes or cds, which is a game changer for fans who like to collect. (Photo Credit: Milana Ilickovic)

History OF THE HILLS

It has a long and grueling history, but now it’s a fun place to bring the family.

What happens in Waverly Hills hasn’t always been as positive as it is now.

Waverly Hills Sanitorium has been through many phases in its history. Many of these phases haven’t been particularly pleasant, and a lot of the information has been withheld from the public. The current owners are changing that and dedicating themselves to providing accurate education about the building to the public.

In the year 1910, tuberculosis had taken over the city of Louisville and hospitals were overrun with patients. To relieve the stress on local hospitals, and to stop the spread of the disease by isolating the patients, the city decided to create a sanatorium, which is a hospital that is designed to treat a specific illness. This hospital was called Waverly Hills Sanatorium. From the opening date to when it closed in 1961, the hospital treated tens of thousands of patients. When it was initially built, tuberculosis was the second leading cause of death in the United States, and before the sanatorium’s closing, nearly 50,000 people would die inside of the building.

For the patients living in the hospital, their stay was not a pleasant experience. “My grandfather (Homer Herron) was in a ward with 16 other men. He was the only one who made it out alive,” Patricia Warren-Brown said. Warren-Brown’s grandfather was one of the few people who made out to tell his story. The horrific experience that her grandfather and all the other patients of Waverly Hills had was something that most people can’t comprehend. Patients were unable to see their friends and family for months at a time. They watched their friends they had made at Waverly suddenly disappear, knowing they had probably died, but a lot of the time never getting it confirmed. They all knew that their chances of survival were low, but the nurses and doctors around them gave them false hope in an attempt to raise their morale to help them fight off the disease.

by Brandon Mudd

After tuberculosis had run its course on the city of Louisville, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was officially closed, but it was soon turned into a nursing home. It reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Medical Services, a geriatric facility. However, its time as a nursing home was short lived. The building was seen as severely overcrowded and understaffed by the Division of Health Care, the branch of the

The imfamous body chute was used to transport possibly 50,000 bodies. Waverly Hills used to allow all tours to go down into the chute, but now only the 6 hour and overnight tours are allowed. “We snuck in right next to where the body chute is,” Stephanie McGarry said. (Photo Credit: Brandon Mudd)

state that regulates and certifies nursing homes in Kentucky. That, in combination with the multiple reports of patient neglect and abuse, warranted the state to shut down the operation in 1981.

From 1981 to 2001, when the current owners purchased the building, Waverly was left completely abandoned. During this time period, many people had a fun time sneaking in and exploring the place. “I actually rode through the building with one of my friends on our four wheelers,” Stephen Mudd said. At the time, many of the people breaking into the building, like Mudd, didn’t think twice about what really happened. “Looking back on it, I did know what had happened there, but I could definitely see how it probably wasn’t the best idea, and it could have been seen as disrespectful,” Mudd said, “I just think the main thing is to leave the place like you found it. It becomes disrespectful when you start destroying things.” While some people broke in to do crazy stunts like riding their four wheelers through the building, others simply wanted to have a thrill like Stephanie McGarry. “The first time I went to Waverly was in 2001. At that time, there were no tours or haunted houses yet, and it was just an old, creepy, broken down hospital. I went with 16

other girls and walked up. We didn’t see anything ghostly, but we did have a lot of fun looking around,” McGarry said. This sort of experience was common for teenagers and young adults to have while Waverly was still abandoned.

Currently, Waverly Hills is owned by Charlie and Tina Mattingly who are under the supervision of the Kentucky Historical Society. The current owners use the building to hold both paranormal and historical tours throughout the year and educate the public about what happened there. Mudd went not only when the place was abandoned, but he also went last year while the building was under the control of the new owners. “I feel like I learned a whole lot about the place while I was there. Even if someone is just going to do the paranormal tour they still give you a whole lot of cool historical information,” Mudd said. Before the current owners took over the building, most of the information about Waverly was unexposed to the public, and a lot of the information that was floating around was pure

speculation and flat out myth. “It’s crazy that all this information used to be hidden, and now the owners are bringing it to light,” Anh Ho said. Not only is concealed information about Waverly’s history being revealed under the new owners, but they are also discovering brand new information. Their dedication to learning and sharing their knowledge is one of the main focuses of the current owners.

50,000

people died in Waverly Hills

Source: Waverly Hills Sanatorium: A History by Lynn Pohl

Waverly Hills Sanatorium was originally built to only accommodate 40-50 Tuberculosis patients at a time. However, as the epidemic goat worse, the city of Louisville put more funding into the project and created the Waverly Hills many know todya. Presently, the building functions as a piece of history for the public to tour. (Photo Credit: Courier Journal)

Through the

by Braylen Ferrell

The largest empire in history is right in front of you.

The internet makes up a large portion of everything we do, from school and employment to entertainment.

When the internet first came into existence, many people had no clue what to think of it, or what would it become. The internet has changed a lot, with things like social media rising up as the biggest part of the web. For the last 3 years, online education has been a life saver, but it wasn’t the case when it was needed the most.

A Whole New World

When the internet became a public use on April 30, 1993, a lot of problems and questions arose. “I was scared to death of it, everything we used to communicate was through paper and being able to talk to each other,” Eddie Burns said, who was a worker at LG&E at the time. Transitioning from paper copies and mail to something you can’t truly interact with was a shock for most.

Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn are responsible for the first communication protocols that we used in today’s internet. While they executed this idea, Leonard Kleinrock was responsible for the idea, which came to light 30 years prior in 1961. Cerf began coding with the intent of creating a wider network for the growing number of people in the world.

Certain companies, such as LG&E, were able to the technology before it came fully public. “In 86’, 87’, traveling secretaries would come in and we would give them handwritten documents that we wrote, and they would type them up on a computer and send them out for us,” Burns said. While the program was still limited, being able to transfer documents like these broke down an enclosing wall of communication. From a small program meant specifically for the military, compared to now, going by “World Wide Web”, many never expected an impact like this from the internet. “When it first started I wasn’t very optimistic about it. I thought, you

know, there’s no way some of this stuff is going to work,” Burns said. The internet was a concept that many didn’t quite understand, much less imagine how large it would become.

A World of Change

While the internet is everywhere around us today, it wasn’t as accessible a few years ago. “At home it was very very difficult because they had what you call dial up internet. You had to dial in through your phone and it would go through all kinds of ‘beep beep’ and stuff like that and it would let you know you had hooked up,” Burns said. Even with the long wait time, the connection was spotty at best, with most cases ending in a so called “error”.

It seems like in today’s age you have the world in the palm of your hand. Books, videos, news articles, websites to create your own books, videos and articles, the list doesn’t seem to end. “We have everything we need to know just with us. We don’t have to rely on textbooks or anything like that or just our general knowledge,” sophomore Brayden Dubberly said, who has grown up with the internet by his side nearly his whole life.

“But even at my age and everything I am still very dependent on it, I’d be lost without it,” Burns said. The web has become an epicenter for information, finances and communications for anyone of any age. Many of whom use it to minimize time and effort outside of the house. The internet has expanded past just information and

• 79% of Americans use for employment.

• 5.03 billion people are internet today.

• There are over 6 billion pages on the internet.

• There are a total of on Twitter, Facebook, combined.

• The sender of the first remember what he wrote.

1’s and 0’s

use the web to search are active on the billion indexed web internet. of 6.91 billion users Facebook, and YouTube first email doesn't even wrote.

basic communication, with social media, video games and even online dating apps taking over the world. “A lot of my friendships have come from the internet because you can stay in touch as long as you want,” Dubberly said. The internet has effectively replaced old methods of communication, such as letters or just plainly going to someone's house. “Maintaining relationships and friendships was hard. At that point of time, communicating through online was not sustainable enough,” Trinity Money said, who grew up while the internet was going through large changes. The internet has expanded a lot in the last few years. With luxuries such as consistent communication was still complicated even a mere ten years ago. “When I was in school, social media was very fascinating to me. It grew quickly and became very popular among my age group,” Money said. Social media was a newer concept, despite the fact that numerous companies had tried creating a social network.

Aiding Against Covid

COVID-19 has taken the world by storm for the last 3 years, and the internet has been needed more than ever. “I feel like without it I would have lost most of my friends and cases would have been a lot worse,” Dubberly said. Dubberly was a member of Cloud Academy, an online education program which was used widely in Kentucky to keep students safe. We’ve used it to keep one another safe during a pandemic, but online education would have been

a true lifesaver during similar situations. “It would have made a huge difference on being able to get people up to speed quicker,” Burns said. Many illnesses were prominent during the 60s and 70s, as well as education was much more tedious than it is now. This left a problem in the education system where students were forced to sacrifice their health for education.

This is not to say the internet wasn’t used in the education system however. “When you think of our parents you’re more likely to think of chalk boards etc. Chromebooks, laptops, etc were used in education, it almost felt like I never had to pick up a true paper book,” Money said.

Expanding the Screen

The internet has controlled the world for the last 30 years, but that time could be coming to an end. With the upcoming technology found in the ‘Metaverse’ program, it will allow people to, “ be able to be present in places where they physically can't be,” as Mark Zuckerberg said, who is responsible for the creation of the program.

This can open up a world of possibilities and potential. “People's opportunities are usually anchored to where they are located,” Zuckerberg said. With this new technology, people will be able to expand past any limits placed by their surroundings.

“An empire would probably be a good word for it,” Burns said. While it’s hard to believe, the world is run by a variety of 1s and 0s, and it’s likely this won’t change for a very long time.

An empire would probably be a good word for it,

- Eddie Burns

barriers to the

byBrooklynSauer

The United States has changed, but its systems of voter suppression have not.

Voter suppression has existed since this nation’s founding, and the country still struggles with giving equal voting opportunities to all of its citizens.

We saw during the 2020 election just how useful mail-in ballots are in the voting process, although many states are trying to stick to traditional voting. The two-party system is also a rapidly emerging form of voter suppression. Felons and ex-felons struggle with their voting rights across the country as well.

While holding a presidential election during a pandemic, the United States learned of the benefits of mail-in ballots and early voting while navigating through the policies surrounding them. After these times, we cannot deny that these practices are incredibly helpful and allow an easier voting process. However, after former President Donald Trump’s spread of misinformation regarding fraud associated with mail-in ballots, many have become adverse to the idea. Despite Trump’s claims, it has been proven that voter fraud by mail is not a widespread issue and there have been no proveable cases in which mail-in ballot fraud has changed the outcome of an election. Therefore, the reimplementation of laws that require a valid excuse to receive an absentee ballot, done by 15 states nationwide, is unnecessary. These laws will only end up causing more harm and making it harder for those who can’t or do not want to vote in person to still have a say in elections.

Political parties, specifically the two-party system, has had a negative reputation in America since its conception, and its issues have only become more apparent as time goes on. As a system that contributes most or all of its electoral votes to one of two parties, the two-party system is naturally polarizing and leaves little room for nuance, forcing voters to choose between two parties that might not support all of their most important values. This creates a situation where a large majority of voters have to settle for which candidate is the lesser of two uninteresting options. In contrast, a multi-party system allows the voter to find a candidate that represents their values well. It leaves room for more nuanced conversations surrounding highly debated topics such as taxes, military spending, healthcare, etc. as opposed to making them a black and white issue.

The two-party system has evolved into a form of voter suppression. In addition to oversimplifying issues, the system

encourages voter apathy. For example, many voters find that third party candidates better represent their values, yet a vote for them is often considered “wasted” as the candidate will almost certainly not win. This censors their voice in government, not allowing them to elect a candidate they truly believe will better their country. Since the electors from the electoral college from each state will go with the popular vote, a vote for the minority political party in a state will have little to no effect. However, a multi-party system will further divide up the parties in each state, giving the former minority voter a better chance of their preferred party becoming the majority in their state. The lack of an opportunity for these voters to have an equitable voice in their government and policies is a flaw in our current voting system and indicates a change that needs to be made.

“Bloody Monday”

Voter suppression has existed since our nation’s founding, and you need not look further for proof than an event in Kentucky’s own history.

Aug. 6 1855, an election day. The United States was experiencing a great immigration surge, causing Louisville’s population to be almost a quarter immigrants. The Know-Nothings, an explicitly anti-immigrant party popular in Louisville at the time, wanted to find a way to stop these new immigrants from voting and possibly changing the outcome of the election. Thus began the instigating of Protestant mobs to form around voting locations. Armed with guns, they began to intimidate immigrant voters into not voting, eventually leading to riots and the burning of buildings. In the end, the fighting had caused over 20 to die and a mass exodus of immigrants to neighboring cities. This extreme display of nationalism, later given the title of “Bloody Monday”, and suppression of voters exhibits the ways in which voter suppression is embedded in the roots of our country.

Disenfranchisement is not a punishment. The violation of a citizen’s constitutional right to vote devalues the democratic system that the United States has put in place, which leads us further away from our original goal of being a free, democratic nation. Felons in prison will, most likely, one day be out of that prison in a world and under policies of which they had no say on whatsoever. While a few states keep the rights of a felon in place throughout their incarceration, a majority of the country puts many laws and hoops to jump through in the way of felons and their right to vote, including Kentucky. In fact, Kentucky has some of the strictest laws regarding ex-felon voting rights, even going so far as to permanently banning some felons from voting based on the crime they were admitted for. On the other hand, only the District of Columbia, Vermont and Maine do not strip felons of their suffrage once convicted. In general, stripping these felons of their voting rights is a slippery slope of logic which can lead to others having their rights stripped away as well under its precedent.

Another issue with felon disenfranchisement is the disproportionate amount of people of color that are affected by the prison system. Black and hispanic populations are incarcerated at much higher rates than white populations, due to the discrimination that these communities face in the criminal justice system. According to a 2017 U.S. Census Bureau report, while only 12% of the population was black, black people made up 33% of U.S. prisoners. This is compared to the 64% overall white population and the 30% white prisoner population. Numerous other studies have returned similar results, and the cases popularized by the Black Lives Matter movement show the effects of this prejudice. In the end, this trend leads to fewer people of color being allowed to use their voice towards putting people in office that will benefit them and their communities.

With the flaws in our current voting laws and processes becoming more apparent as we go into our country’s future, we find ourselves at a crossroads. One of the pillars that this country was built on was deriving our powers from the consent of the governed. However, how can the government be powerful enough to lead us into our future if not everyone has an equal opportunity to voice that consent?

The Star of David isn’t meant to be demonstrated for your lessons.

Schools around America are incorporating cultural appropriation into their lessons and as students get older, they are now realizing just how wrong their lessons were.

There is a fine line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and it’s important to know where that line is. Cultural appropriation can be very offensive to people of certain cultures, so it’s important to have conversations to avoid those offensive situations. This appropriation also makes students feel uncomfortable when they are forced to participate in something they know is wrong.

Cultural appropriation occurs when a group adopts cultural aspects from a minority group. This is not their culture and is used in a disrespectful way. Cultural appropriation can occur in many ways, including reinforcing stereotypes, spreading inaccurate facts and views of a culture or plagiarized content from members of that culture. This often happens in early education where children are led to believe that appropriation is acceptable. On the other hand, if the lesson is historical and helps children understand

the truth of our lessons

by Katelyn Powers

more about the culture in a celebratory way, that is cultural appreciation.

Senior Caitlin Murphy recalls an experience that happened in her education that made her uncomfortable because it was executed in a culturally appropriated manner. “In previous years, I was involved with a cultural approproiated lesson, that I felt was singling people out based on looks, revolving around the Holocaust. We had to wear the Star of David if we had blonde hair and blue or green eyes, and I figured that wasn’t the best way to go about teaching children, especially having to wear it all day, not even during that class period, and if we took it off we got detention,” Murphy said. Fear of getting in trouble for not participating forced Murphy to join in on the activity, even if she didn’t agree with it. This left Murphy feeling singled out and hurt as she knew her lesson was offensive to those of the Jewish religion because she felt she was mocking them and the horrible things they had to endure in the Holocaust.

As light begins to shed on the harms of cultural appropriation, Murphy realizes it’s no longer acceptable to make people feel the way she did. “I don’t think that I would let that happen again, just because I know how it made me feel when I was younger. And I still think about it to this day,” Murphy said. Instead of haunting kids

and making them feel bad about learning, Murphy advises teachers to have the topic in their lessons but to not do activities like what she experienced.

AP Literature instructor, Andrea Isaacs believes that as a society we over assume too much and that it’s problematic, so she suggests having conversations with students from different backgrounds, so she doesn’t offend anyone. “I also think that it requires a sensitivity to conversations with students from those cultures. There are times when students would feel honored and celebrated for people outside of their race or culture, to participate in something, it’s seen as honoring, appreciated and valuable, but I think that people who are from a particular background, it’s very clear to them what feels offensive,” Isaacs said. As an English teacher, she uses works from authors of different ethnic backgrounds, and she has conversations with her students of those cultures to see if they would be comfortable reading, because she understands there are things that are not appropriate for her and other students to say.

Learning about cultures in schools are not taught in a compassionate and respectful way. “You can’t know what the perspective of another person’s culture is if you haven’t had those conversations,” Isaacs said. As society starts to accept the realities of cultural appropriation, it helps us understand the harms and how to grow as a nation. We continue to learn to appreciate the cultures we are so fascinated by.

It might have been one of the worst days that year,

“

- Caitlin Murphy

Students are starting to realize how their school lessons might be offensive to other cultures. Past lessons they learned weren’t always appropriate but now it is easier to understand their mistakes. “There are times when students would feel honored and celebrated for people outside of their race or culture, to participate in something, it’s seen as honoring, appreciated and valuable, but I think that people who are from a particular background, it’s very clear to them what feels

offensive,”

AP Litersture teacher Andres Isaacs said. (Photo Credit: Natalie McGarry)

Making Changes Throughout Generations

by Caroline Williams

Older generations have created a legacy.

As new generations arise, participants in new movements may take inspiration from the past.

Movements of the past have inspired movements of the present day.

Throughout history, different groups of people have united as a result of their common beliefs. The results of the changes that these groups have made can be seen throughout history.

In 1965, the United States was in the beginning stages of a major conflict with Vietnam. As the next few years progressed, the war worsened, causing mass uprisings nationwide. However, these uprisings weren’t just adults of the former generations trying to sway the actions of the government. Instead, a large number of protests against the war were started by a newer generation of young Americans that were horrified by the violence they were seeing. A lot of the anti-war ideologies were even originally spread on college campuses: hubs for the young adults of America. As time progressed, the antiestablishment mindset that this movement displayed became one of the main pillars of the hippie movement.

However, this movement did not just involve spreading the anti-Vietnam War ideology, it also affected the general popular culture of this sector of America as a whole. The anti-war movement was more politically motivated, whereas the hippies were more culturally based. The hippie movement was

characterized by their support of the legalization of marijuana, love of rock and folk music, awareness of environmental issues, and even their bright-colored fashion. The influence of this movement spread beyond the realm of just politics.

In today’s times, a lot of people have adopted these cultural aspects of the hippie movement. A lot of modern fashion is inspired by their types of clothing and overall style. Even modernday music festivals, such as Coachella, have a lot of parallels to hippie festivals like the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. They are sometimes compared for their widely diverse array of fashion, drug usage, and showcasing of different types of music: despite both festivals being decades apart.

Before the hippie movement, there was another lesser known movement that followed a lot of the same ideas as the hippies. Arising in the 1950s, this group of people were named the Beat Generation. They united together under their shared will to reject the concepts of capitalism and materialism that a lot of society followed in midcentury America. Similar to the hippies, they also explored looser ideas of sexuality and drug usage. Despite their similarities, the Beat Generation was a lot smaller and less widespread than the hippies.

However, this is a major example of the ways in which ideologies can pass from decade to decade; the Beat Generation slowly evolved into the counterculture in the 60s.

Despite the 50s, 60s and 70s being known as the decades when antiestablishmentarianism became prevalent, those movements’ roots were set in stone even longer before that. As early as the 1920s, young women who wanted to change their set roles in society were taking on jobs that their husbands had to leave in order to fight in World War I. Women taking over the workforce and wanting to break pre-established boundaries led to the Flapper Movement, where women felt more freedom to express themselves in their sexualities, fashion styles, and general life habits. This movement showed that women, who were commonly discriminated against because of sexism during this time, had their own bodily autonomy and felt more free to rebel against traditional societal

Over the passage of time, more women are realizing this idea of expressing themselves once again. Women are able to express their femininity more especially with the rise of social media in the 21st century.

As the years go by, new generations arise, bringing new ideas to offer to the world. People may recognize their own personal problems with society and unite with others to stand up for what they think is right. Despite the fact that new movements are being created every day, to truly understand what people are fighting for, it is helpful to look back throughout the past to see where some of their ideologies originated and how they have evolved over the years.

More Than

by Macie Brown and Kylie Huber

Pushed under the rug.

Throughout history, sexual assault has been covered up and made an uncomfortable topic.

Our society in the past has made the idea of being a victim of sexual assault shameful and many were left isolated and looked down upon for reaching out for help. Victims were often left hopeless and were not given the proper attention or help they deserved. More aid is being given to victims today to help them with the effects of what has happened to them. Despite all of the growth society has made, many feel that there are still ways we can get better.

Officer Ed Johnson feels that part of the reason cases of sexual assault weren’t taken as serious in the past was because people didn’t understand the different reactions victims had. “Most people would think that someone that was victimized would be very dramatic and crying and I think over the years we have learned that that is not always the case,” Johnson said. Not everyone is going to have the same reaction to the same situation. One person could be hysterical while another can be calm, just because someone’s reaction is different doesn’t mean they are less hurt.

Another issue with reports of sexual assault is the lack of ability to get good evidence. “A lot of times it is just one person’s word against another because there will be a delay in reporting,” Johnson

In today’s world people are growing to understand sexual assualt a little better. Movements such as the “Me Too Movement” and the “Take Back The Night Foundation” were made to bring awareness to sexual assault and comfort victims. These programs comfort victims by letting them know they aren’t alone in what they are going through. Both not only provide resources to victims, but also help with how to support someone who has suffered this trauma.

In 2017, the MeToo movement picked up a lot of momentum after many women started coming forward about the abuse they endured from Harvey Weinstein. This caused other men and women to come forward with their experiences not only with Weinstein, but with others.

Singer/songwriter Lady Gaga talked about her experience with a producer when she was 19. She said that she was told her music would be burned if she didn’t take her clothes off. When talking about the producers, Gaga said on episode one of The Me You Can’t See, “They didn’t stop asking me, and I just froze and I… I don’t even remember,” Gaga said that after she was raped, she was left throwing up and pregnant on a street corner at her parents’ house and she still has PTSD from the incident.

“I understand that some people feel really comfortable with this, and I do not. I do not

Mythology

ever want to face that person again,”Gaga said on The Me You Can’t See. Even though she will talk about her experience, she still is very scared to mention who it was just because of the trauma she still faces years later. This is one of the reasons so many victims don’t feel comfortable coming out about their experiences. They have so much fear and trauma and don’t know how people will respond. Getting hate or not being believed is something that will only add to the hard times that these victims are trying to get through.

Terry Crews, an actor from the show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, came out about his experiences of being groped by a male agency executive at a Hollywood party. He saw so many people meeting women’s claims of sexual assult with skeptisizm and claiming they just wanted to be famous. When being interviewed about the topic, Crews said “I literally was like, “That’s not what this is about at all. This is not how it works.” Crews was also met with a backlash after coming out about what happened to him. When talking about the situation, comedian D.L. Hughley said “God gave you muscles, so you can say no.”

Actor James Van Der Beek was also assaulted by other men while working. Van Der Beek addressed the situation on Twitter where he said “I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness

and inability to blow the whistle. There’s a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome,” Having to come out and speak against or possibly face the person who overpowered you can be extremely intimidating and make you feel like you have no power against them. Victims can also be uncomfortable coming out about these things because they feel shame for what has happened to them, even if it wasn’t consensual.

Similar to the semi-colon tattoo for suicide survivors, sexual assault victims will get a Medusa tattoo. Medusa is known for warding off evil and protecting people. For victims, Medusa symbolizes strength and survival of what they have been through. It shows the endurance they have through the recovery of a tough situation. Recent TIk Tok videos have gone viral about getting a Medusa tattoo. With the power of social media, these videos are educating society about the reality of sexual assault.

While many resources and movements have been created for victims, there is always more progress to be made. “As a society I think we need to be more open minded about victims coming out about their experiences,” senior Addison Stopher said. Sometimes when people share their experiences they are often downplayed. People are quick to make assumptions about the situation. Stopher thinks that this is the main problem when it come to sexual assult. Victims feel that they aren’t taken seriously so they don’t even come out about it.

Men experience sexual violence in their lifetime.

The Founding and Evolution of the Police Force

The power to serve, protect, and enforce.

The American police system has been around one way or another since the colonies were created.

Most colonies in the earliest version of the United States had some form of law enforcement. There were night watches in all parts of the United States, however the south also had slave patrols that were kept until the end of the civil war. The first official police force in the United States was formed in Boston Massachusetts around 1838, by 1880 most larger US cities had established some kind of official police force. These departments were made to be bureaucratic unlike most of the law enforcement groups before.

In the beginning of the Police they came to find out that patrolling does not stop as much crime as earlier intended. They elected the help of the citizens to call in and report crimes so they would be able to cover the aftermath or stop the before mentioned crime from finishing. This method turned out to be far more effective than the police patrolling and stopping crime they saw, as large cities were beginning to grow and police forces were expanded thinly across them.

Some would argue that leaving this up to the citizens would cause more harm than good, one one side more crime was being reported and stopped, on another hand discrimination and prejudice raised a problem. This all goes back to one of the original law enforcement groups, the slave patrol. This group was the most prominent in the south at the time, due to this southern law enforcement was built on prejudice. Slave Patrols were responsible for taking escaped slaves back into

custody, they spared no cruelty in doing so either. Careful not to kill them, but usually causing permanent damage–both mental and physical–that would prevent them from attempting another escape.

After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era, this group had to adapt and change to fit into new laws. Most southern Americans felt threatened by the mass release of those subjected to slavery, this is where the new age of Slave Patrols started. Slave patrols were founded by wealthy former plantation owners, they became a gap between the poverish and rich. Due to the funding the already biased became less influenced to change their fundamentals.

When the 13th amendment was ratified and Jim Crow laws were instilled it was a matter of time before the slave force began to capatilize on it. They became the group that would enforce these laws the most, they focused on enforcing these laws to exploit a loophole for the 13th amendment. This loophole came in forcing freed slaves into indentured servitude to repay for their crimes, by arresting and serving harsh sentences they were able to continue to profit off of slave labor after the Civil War had ended. This Slave labor was conducted in designated labor camps for all those who were charged and convicted.

These people were not only unfairly policing minorities, but these same people were the ones who judged and sentenced them. This was not only a problem for freed slaves, but other Americans that suffered from poverty, although a different and far less widespread problem. These prejudices, that continued from the civil war forward, became the building blocks of the police forces in the United States: gray states included. This continued through the entirety of the Jim Crow Laws’ existence. Black crime rose when protests started,

not because more crime’s were being committed, but because police and white citizens targeted the protesting population to enforce harsher punishments. This was used to stop protesting and keep people of color opressed. Stunting these protests was one of the police’s main jobs around the Civil Rights movements.

As Civil rights movements started and the Jim Crow laws were ended, the police force’s discrimination did not cease. Whether or not this is due to the police force or prejudice’s established by civilians is heavily speculated and debated amongst all forms of media.

Changes in the police force throughout the years were more enforced through societal standards changing than laws and bills being passed to change the way the police force changed. Individual police forces policies change based on the county, state and region of the United States. The recent changes due to societal standards, rather than laws, is to reflect the wants of the US citizens that the police were always supposed to stand for.

The modern day police force–especially during early 2020, the pandemic and the peak of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement–is regularly accused of discrimination againts minorities. The same police force has been working by the same rules for decades, little change has been made on a federal level. However there are bills, as of late 2022, that are being considered. Such as one that would hold police responsible for the mistakes they make that leave citizens injured or killed that was drafted after the George Floyd case. More change is coming to the police force, and it’s coming soon.

This is a huge change from the very beginning of the American police force–formerly the slave patrol–while the police will continue to evolve and change as societal norms change they have come a long way since their begginging based purely on violence, racism and a corrupt system that preyed on all minorities.

Defining

One size never fits all.

When staring at the glitz and glamor of the fashion industry decades ago, you can get lost in the aesthetic and forget to acknowledge the fact that many diverse groups were struggling to find a model that looks like them.

“Beautiful” has been one-dimensional for decades. Models in the past faced the struggles of either not being accepted or not fitting a specific appearance in order to pursue their passion. Over the years, the modeling business grew more inclusive and began breaking the original unrealistic borders set for women. In today’s world, models of all sorts are getting involved in the media and proving that there are still more ways the vogue of today can be inclusive.

When looking at the 1950s through the 2000s, some of the most historic collections in the industry were made. However, there was a reality that was concealed once the runway lit up. It hid the pressure all these women had to deal with, such as being the ideal size and fitting the stereotype of “perfect.” “I love to find appreciation in the art and the beauty of it all. However, the standards and prejudice that were so very present are not at all favorable…it’s disgusting,” sophomore Jonah Hollifield said. The modeling industry is said to have held such power over the freedoms of women in the business, and caused great destruction.

“In the past, the industry has trained us to believe that models must be rail thin, shapeless is beautiful and today more than ever we seem to be celebrating the natural beauty and curves of the female shape,” President of TOPS Marketing and TOPS Magazine, Jayme Jackson said. Those who fit the aspired body type were admired more by the public, causing unrealistic standards to surface and eventually damaging perspectives worldwide.

“When I was young, we were constantly comparing ourselves to the unrealistic, photoshopped models. We’ve since then realized how traumatic that was, hence the

great push-back to demand representation for all in today’s beauty industry,” President of Cordial Lee, Shelby Packer said. The industry forced everyone who advertised beauty to strive for perfection. This caused the mass chaos of unrealistic standards that can worsen the mental and physical health of the public.

Playing into the behind-the-scenes struggles were the strategies women used to keep themselves in the only shape that was accepted. “They needed to stay thin so they didn’t eat and that encouraged eating disorders, which isn’t good. But now we’re kind of trying to get away from that because it isn’t a healthy lifestyle,” senior Ellen Bray said. Today eating disorders have more attention, while in previous years fewer people knew about what went into being the “perfect shape.” In the 1950s the ideal size was the curvy, hourglass figure; in the 1960s and 1970s, having a super tall and thin appearance was ideal; in the 1980s, it was all about being athletically curvy; the 1990s encouraged being extremely skinny and having a less-cared for appearance; currently, in the 2000s-2020s the standard is blurry, but encouraging everyone to be their healthiest selves.

“Back then, eating disorders weren’t very recognized. They were just a thing that people joked about, but it wasn’t real,” Hollifield said. In the past, eating disorders were viewed as absurd and overlooked and the real pain many models were facing, was covered up by the smiles they put up on the runway.

Lately, standards have positively shifted by allowing various types of women to embrace their differences and celebrate their beauty. “More people can see themselves within media and they’re able to relate more and they’ll get to see how people with their body types can look in certain outfits whereas it’s not just the same tall, thin model all the time,” Bray said. All races, sizes, and types of models are striving to get fully portrayed as beautiful.

“I guess what really gives me hope is representation,” Hollifield said. According to a demographic from Zippia, 32.14% of models in 2010 were of color, and that percentage in 2019 was 34.62%. Slow progress is still moving progress. “I am excited in the direction that fashion is moving in the 21st century and also comforted in the fact that most trends come back into the spotlight every 20-30 years,” Jackson said. Many aspects of the old fashion industry shall not be repeated in the future, such as these beauty standards. However, past trends coming back with a present-day twist are a very favored part of style these days. This describes the mantra, “vintage style, not vintage values.”

Models who take their job seriously, feel confident in their skin, and are good at what they’re doing can shine no matter what they look like. “Featuring models of color is just as important as featuring plus size models. For beauty industry standards to shift and be inclusive, representation matters,” Packer said. Ignoring specific groups of people and depriving them of media representation can lead to injustice and ignorance of the fact that all types are beautiful.

“Beautiful doesn’t just mean tall and skinny. It can also mean you can be short and skinny. You can be tall and curvy… it makes people see that other people have good features too. And it just makes people be able to see themselves more,” Bray said. People should not forget some of the most groundbreaking inspirations like Donyale Luna, Anna Bayle, and Shyamoli Varma. These were some of the world’s first supermodels of color, sparking what transformed the industry into a more diverse community of models. “Diversity is beautiful, beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors and it is really important that when we read a magazine, flip through a blog post that we see a more accurate representation of ourselves as women,” Jackson said.

Today we have Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, and Kate Wasley. All

“beautiful”

Video: Define

by Milana Ilickovic and Katelyn Powers

different, all successful. Campbell is a black model, Delevingne is a pansexual model, and Wasley is a plus-size model. Campbell has proven that the life of a model is hard, considering she struggled with substance abuse in the past. She claimed it was easy to keep up with drugs, having the life of a model, and becoming especially addicted to cocaine. Wasley has issues of her own with her body image and overcoming an eating disorder and dealing with rapidly losing large amounts of weight. She decided to disrupt this cycle and eventually landed in Sports Illustrated magazine. Delevingne, who came out as pansexual in 2017, revealed that when she was younger she suffered from depression and anxiety because she hadn’t grown up with any icons like her to look up to. Becoming a model made her mental health matters worse. There would be fewer stories like these in the modeling industry if the world of fashion was a more inclusive place, to begin with.

“Companies are making great strides in how they market to a diverse population. Target is a great example. When walking around their store, the models are real women with curves and visible cellulite.

This normalizes our differences and shows us that everyone is beautiful, just as they are,” Packer said. Diversity is a refreshing breath of air, emerging from the previous one-way industry.

Today’s fashion world is more modern than in the older decades, and there are more opportunities for all kinds of women to model and advertise their natural beauty. “Being beautiful is not limited to physical appearance. There is nothing more beautiful than someone who is kind, caring, compassionate, joyful, and accepting of others. Real beauty comes from within,” Packer said. “Beautiful” holds a wide range of meanings to many different people, which is why there isn’t just one exemplar of beauty anymore.

“It’s all about feeling our best and putting our best selves out there, there is nothing more comfortable than our own skin,” Jackson said. Confidence is very important and one trait that helps natural beauty to glow with radiance. “Beautiful is an idea. That’s all really beautiful can be, like an undermining of someone’s being,” Hollifield said.

by Milana Ilickovic

We have made it far as a society since 1950, but there is still room for today’s models to be more diverse. “Even if it isn’t pressured by anyone else. It’s just the media. The TV shows and movies. Whether it be from body hair, how tall you are, what you dress, your skin color, your weight. There’s so many factors that lead into self-hatred, which I guess is the ultimate standard,” Hollifield said. Many media platforms in the past and today are guilty of only showing the tall, skinny stereotypes, which sparks unhealthy habits of comparison. “There are still a lot more different bodies to show like you can show shorter people, you can show taller people, you can show curvier people,” Bray said. Although more diverse models are occupying runways, there is still much rejection and discrimination toward women like transgender women who want to model. These aren’t the only women being rejected from runways. “I’m not sure that we’ll ever grow out of fatphobia or different kinds of prejudice like that. I mean, I hope we will, but unfortunately, I don’t see it in the short future,” Hollifield said. Even as the eyes of fashion are switching perspectives, it will take some time to get the world to see the beauty of all kinds.

“Beautiful”

Behind The Ban

by Claire Schneider

From bygone book burnings to contemporary social media crusades.

Banned books have always been a tricky issue.

The process of removing a book from a library ranges in intricacy. Books are often banned for similar reasons. Most agree there are right and wrong reasons for removing a book from shelves.

The word banned brings to mind roaring flames and book club meetings in the dead of night. While this is true of the past and a few isolated incidents of the present, in the modern day the process of removing a book from the shelves has taken to a more sensible approach. Most libraries, including Bullitt County Public Libraries, use a process called weeding. Weeding prioritizes maintaining “a collection that is vital, relevant, and useful” according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.The most common method of weeding a public library is the CREW method. The CREW method follows the five step process of inventory, collection evaluation, collection maintenance, weeding and discarding, the acronym CREW standing for continuous review, evaluation and weeding.

However, removing a book due to reasons beyond decaying spines and outdated content can be a different story. In the case of the Bullitt East library, Kellie Davis has removed several books due to provocative content. “Books I have read myself and decided did not need to be there,” Davis said.

On the other hand, removing books in good condition from public libraries is a lot less common than people think. “In my six years with the Bullitt County Public Library, no items have been removed due to a challenge,” a Bullitt County Public Libraries worker, Angel Holbert, said. In the professional world of public libraries, it is unlikely you would find a book referred to as banned. Challenged is instead used to refer to a book someone has attempted to restrict or remove.

Some years passed in Bullitt County without formal requests for books to be restricted or removed. “The most we've had under review at once is six titles,” Holbert said. Those six books are “Gender Queer: A Memoir”, “The Gender Quest Workbook”, “Rick”, “Anti-Racist Baby”, “Woke Baby” and “Our Skin”. On the chance one wishes to have a book removed, one must send in a formal request. Public libraries have reconsideration forms that can be requested. “The form asks for the patron's name, their contact information, the specific titles they are asking to be reconsidered, their concerns about the title and what their desired outcome from the library would be,” Holbert said. Requests in the past have come from individuals, such as parents, as opposed to organizations.

The review process of removing a book can be a long one. A review committee is put together, unaware of each other’s identity. This committee consists of various library staff. It is vital members of the committee read the entirety of the book.

“This is important because sometimes a

complaint is based on a very small excerpt of the work,” Holbert said. The committee researches the book, and finally submits an anonymous form on which they cite their research and give a recommendation on what action the library should take. A summary of these forms is written, and the final choice rests with the library director.

The process of removing a book from shelves may be complicated, but the reasons are often simple. Throughout history reasons for banning books have included profanity, religion and politics. The various reasons for banning books, and the books that have been banned because of them, have been cataloged by the American Library Association for Intellectual Freedom. Their top ten most challenged books of 2021 are books you are most likely familiar with. “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe is at number one on the list, having been banned and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and was considered to have sexually explicit images. “Gender Queer: A Memoir”, a graphic novel, was twice challenged in Bullitt County Public Libraries in 2021. “In my experience, graphic novels and manga are the most challenged,” Holbert said. Number five on the list is “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, challenged for “profanity, violence and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda,” according to the American Library Association.

Going back to 2019, the “Harry Potter” series by J. K. Rowling appeared at number nine for referencing magic and

Banned by Nazi Germany. One of many books to be burned on May 10, 1933, in front of the University of Berlin.

Banned by the Soviet Union for being antiauthoritarian. In 1990, the title was finally unbanned although not before heavy editing.

An Oklahoma teacher was fired after assigning the title to an eleventh grade English class. While the teacher was later reinstated, the book was removed by the school board.

witchcraft. This is by no means the first time the middle-grade fantasy classic has appeared on the American Library Association’s list. Going all the way back to 1997, the book has been challenged and restricted, usually by parents and religious organizations. In Feb. 2022, a Tennessee pastor led a book burning, livestreamed on Facebook, where attendees dropped copies of the “Harry Potter” series and “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer into the red-hot blaze. This alarming book burning followed a recent rise in challenged books. In 2020 the American Library Association reported 156 challenged books, while in 2021 they reported 330. “It's not common, until the last year or so, for us to have any titles formally under review,” Holbert said. Beyond the past few decades, books many consider to be classics have been banned. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzegerald was banned at a college in South Carolina in 1987 due to the language and sexual references in the book. In 1960 a high

school teacher in Oklahoma was fired for assigning “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger. Though the teacher was reinstated, the book was removed from the curriculum. Classics have never been exempt from shelf purging. In the 1930s the world saw the rise of the German Nazi political party. The Nazis were infamous for their censorship and book burnings. Any book that seemed to oppose nationalism, promote socialism or was authored by a minority could find itself victim to the blaze.

In some cases, books were burned due to the author’s personal political views, rather than the actual content of the book. “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London was banned in Yugoslavia and Italy in the early 20th century, and burned in Germany due to the author’s socialist views. “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque was largely inspired by the author’s own experiences in World War I,

but found itself in the blaze for criticizing war itself and supposedly making Germany look bad.

When faced with the usual reasons books are banned, one wonders if there are good reasons a book could be banned. Many point out that some content could be inappropriate, especially when it comes to school libraries. “I think that definitely, depending on the age level, it makes sense not to have a book in a library,” senior Grace Strobel said. Strobel points out that some books just aren’t appropriate for younger children, dark themes and inappropriate language could have negative effects on youth. But Strobel also points out that as children mature, so should their reading material. “I think that once you start hitting grades like middle and high school, I think it is better to have those books in there,” Strobel said. Children are often more aware than some think. “By taking away those resources, taking away those books, you’re just hiding a difference of opinion, which I don’t think is healthy for middle and high schoolers,” Strobel said.

Freshman Rue Brown has come to similar conclusions to Strobel. “I mean, if you are banning a book telling you to kill your parents in a not satire way, but other than that, censorship on purely fictional literature, there’s no point,” Brown said. Most would also agree that there are selfish reasons for banning a book. “I think that if you’re banning a book simply for monetary value, or monetary gain for yourself, or for another group, that just isn’t right to do,” Strobel said. One notorious example of banning a book for monetary gain was when “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss was banned in a California school in 1989 because it possibly would turn children against the logging industry.

“If you are banning a book, it should be for the safety and sake of the people you are banning it from, not for the sake of your own loss or gain,” Strobel said.

Illustrates the author’s exploration of sexual and gender identities. The most challenged book of 2021, the book was often banned for LGBTQIA+ content.

A student skims the pages of a book in the library. The Bullitt East library has only gotten complaints on the content of books a hand full of times. “I think a few of the middle schools have to go through a process, but Bullitt East has never had an issue,” Davis said.

Faced backlash for many reasons, including witchcraft. In 2001, “Harry Potter” was the Office for Intellectual Freedoms’ most banned book of the year.

Caused eleven Turkish publishers to be put on trial for supposedly “spreading propaganda unfavorable to the state.”

The Generational Fight

by Cooper Bass and Maddie Goodwin

There is hope for a feminist future after a patriarchal past.

With the overturning of Roe v.Wade, women’s rights advocates from all ages are coming together to make their voices heard.

The decision set off a shockwave of emotions. From all corners of the country, both young and old protestors decided they didn’t want to go back to feeling unsafe in this nation. Some were scared of what might happen to them, while others were angry that a male-dominated panel of judges made a decision that would affect hundreds of millions of women.

“You feel like there’s nothing you can do. But there is, we can make our voices heard. And so that’s what drove me. It was like, I can’t just go to the beach and pretend like nothing happened,” Monica Johnson said, a 52-yearold feminist, who cut short her vacation after learning Roe v Wade got overturned. While in the car driving to the beach in Naples, Florida, Johnson said she heard the news that the federal protection of abortion was over. She admitted it was the most depressing vacation she had ever been on.

“My poor husband was just like, ‘What can I do?’ He just kept saying it over and over again. Which I was grateful for because he didn’t try to act like it was no big deal,” Johnson said.“You can turn around, and we’re gonna go make some effing signs. We’re gonna go to Walgreens and get some markers and poster boards and we’re gonna find a protest. I was not being nice about it. I was screaming. I was so angry. I swear I’ve never felt that angry before in my life because someone literally just took a right from you. A human right.” In Kentucky, abortion is banned, except in cases of life endangerment. A patient must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before procedure is provided.

On June 4, 2022, the Supreme Court

ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark court trial that protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. With this decision, it has given each individual state the power to decide whether or not to outlaw abortions. As of Aug. 1, 2022, Kentucky’s legislation has made nearly all abortion cases illegal throughout the state. Kendall McGarry, a 17-year-old senior at Bullitt High School who advocates for women’s rights, expressed outrage at the Court’s reversal. “It just feels like we’re going backwards and there’s nothing I can do,” she said. “I still have hope that things can change, but right now, it makes me upset seeing the treatment of women.” Being raised in a house of mostly girls,

turn should protect a women’s right to have an abortion. Acknowledging that the rights of pregnant people may conflict with the rights of the state to protect potential human life, the Court defined the rights of each party by dividing pregnancy into three 12-week trimesters. After the first trimester, a woman can only have an abortion for health reasons.

McGarry said she grew up with the mindset that women are just as capable and deserving as men. It’s led her to be very passionate about women’s rights issues and her advocacy of abortion rights.“I know that there are people out there who have been fighting this fight for years and that this new generation [it] probably excites them,” she said. “I just hope that we can actually make a change for the better.”

At the center of the Jan. 22, 1973 decision that legalized abortion and shifted the balance of power of a woman’s body, was an unmarried pregnant woman named Jane Roe. Roe filed a lawsuit on behalf of herself and others to challenge Texas abortion laws. Roe believed banning abortions was against the Fourteenth Amendment, “right to privacy”, which in

That 1973 Supreme Court ruling passed 7-2 with an estimated 50,000 Americans protesting.“So even though the Supreme Court, in theory,has the last say, they absolutely do not,” Johnson said. “We have a Constitution that guarantees certain rights, and we fought very hard as women to gain the same rights as men and we still don’t have all the same rights, especially now.”Johnson stressed that women in the U.S. still lack equal pay, equal benefits and equal promotions compared to their male counterparts. “We have fought and fought and fought forever,” Johnson said. “And to have this taken away, after 50 years of it being a right to choose what we do with our bodies, it’s literally an assault on women.” Women of all ages are not standing by while they feel their rights are getting taken away. Johnson said at a protest she attended in Kentucky, even grandmothers came out to show their support. She briefly spoke to two elderly baptist women at the protest in Louisville. They said they were pro-life but wanted to protect the womens right to choose and to protect any childs right to an abortion in cases of rape.

Abby Hall, an 18-year-old college freshman at Eastern Kentucky University, attended an abortion protest in Jeffersonville, Ind., which was organized by two teenage advocates. “The age demographic is something that really surprised me,” Hall said. “There were kids as young as two and then some who were there when Roe vs Wade was originally put into effect and are back protesting for it again.”

There are people out there who have been fighting this fight for years.

- Kendall McGarry

Abortion LawsState by State, 2022

Source: Planned Parenthood (plannedparenthood.org)

The nation continues to see red in a world that is anything but.

The act of Redlining is a horrific practice that was believed to be left in the past as the Supreme Court sought to eradicate it.

Yet, by nature, the enterprise has caused Individuals of color across the nation to be caught in a riptide of repeated systemic oppression. Moreover, the educational systems within urban environments are ripped apart as issues of overpopulation, lack of funding, and abandonment sprint forward in droves. Looking to the future, government officials seek solutions to the plights of the endangered masses.

Redlining as a concept can be found across the nation. It is not an issue of exclusive areas, but in the backyards of people, coast-to-coast; areas such as Louisville Kentucky are examples of textbook redlining in practice. “Ninth street is what we referrer to as ‘The Great Divide’ and it truly is the end of the central business district at the beginning of what is and has historically been considered West Louisville,” Director of Develop Louisville Marlyn Harris said. Harris is currently aiming to reshape the area of Louisville against this vast rift by identifying and rectifying needs. Quite an important issue that has arisen is the lack of available housing. “The city of Louisville requires about 30,000 units of affordable housing. There are limited dollars and we try to stretch those dollars as far as we can, but the development of affordable housing is very expensive” Harris said. Affordable

housing is the keystone in providing a safe and financially plausible option for displaced persons. Moreover, the lack of cost-effective places for residents coupled with the prevalence of decrepit buildings has caused a decrease in the life expectancy of individuals within these areas. These Depreciated structures feature long outdated, and even illicit, building materials. The materials notably include; lead paint and asbestos, and “From my Health Equity Report, If you live in west Louisville, you are far more likely to die 12 to 15 years earlier than an individual living in East Louisville,” Harris said.

When examining why this occurs, there is one primary factor that has caused people of color to be fixated in these areas. When comparing the absence of generational wealth within these communities. ”So if you have a business, and it’s a thriving business, and I retire, I can pass that on to my children, and my children can have that business and that’s generational wealth. It’s no different than a house located in the West End that was redlined. Parents couldn’t renovate the house. The value of the house decreased. And there’s no generational wealth to pass on,” Harris said. Harris further provided an example of this phenomenon in action. “Before my parents moved out of their house, they built it for $70,500 in 1950 and this is a great example of generational wealth. They built that house for around 17,500 and I bought it from them for around $75,000 In ‘99. I sold that house, you know, I bought it for $75,000 from them and I sold it for $164,000. That’s a huge return

by Jack Binkley

on investment. The steep property values in the West End don’t get up to $164,000 even for houses that are [worth] $70,525 30 years ago. They’re 60 or 70,000. Now, so you’ve got a depressed market area, a lack of generational wealth transfer,” Harris said.

The dominos begin to fall when viewing how this lack of generational wealth disadvantages the surrounding community. Staying within the Louisville area, Iroquois High School has been known in the community as the definition of an ‘Inner City School’. “The building was old, broken, and ugly as shit. One of the things that astounded me is that there was one whiteboard in the whole school. No High SCS (Socioeconomic Status) school and no white school would be like this, let’s call it like it is,” Dr. Rob Fulk said. Fulk was the principal at Iroquois through the pandemic and previous. He has seen firsthand the results of neglect in these urban environments. Moreover, the resulting sum is on students. “Iroquois has the highest level of Free and Reduced lunch students in the state,” Fulk said. Infrastructure aside, Iroquois has, in the past, had a litigious reputation in the eyes of locals. “When I was asked to go to Iroquois, I knew they had many incidents that were present in the community. Various gun issues were spilling out of the building into the area,” Fulk said. Even in light of this, Fulk has also managed to turn the Iroquois around for the better. “I brought in Smartboards for each

classroom alongside other resources, while also spending extensive time on professional development. Now, Iroquois has the highest graduation rate it has had in the past 30 years. You don’t hear about Iroquois in the news anymore,” Fulk said. For the better, Iroquois has seen a massive change in not only perception but performance. “There are 1000 brilliant young men and women at this school that we should be fixated on instead of focusing on bad things that have happened in the hallways,” Fulk said.

Moving beyond this example of urban schools, while still staying grounded in the Louisville Metro area; The next step is to find what issues still exist and communities & officials can combat them.

“All of that is culminating to you know, persons of color going to college less often. Because their parents can’t afford to send them to college?” Harris said. The collegiate study has been deemed a necessity in the modern day and the fact that individuals are inherently disadvantaged not only by the perception of their skin color but by the pillow they rest their heads on at night: is abysmal.

”For the last two years, we’ve been in this pandemic and we’ve got people who don’t have internet, they don’t have access to Wi-Fi. How is your kid going to learn if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi and the internet?” The covid pandemic has impacted the entire global population in some form or another. Yet with the frantic scramble for toilet paper, urbanized areas are oftentimes looked over when the effects of covid are played out. According to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine Entitled “Historical Redlining and Resident Exposure to COVID-19: A Study of New York City,” the effect of the Pandemic on redlined communities is as follows; “The devoid of investments and loans in redlined neighborhoods had significant negative effects on neighborhood conditions, including crowded housing, poor housing quality, lower quality services from local municipalities, and lack of amenities such as recreational facilities and establishments offering healthy food choices.” Residents of these areas are gifted with a lack of basic needs and amenities on all levels ranging from diet to the sanctity of the places that are their homes. So, in light of this, what can be done? How can individuals combat this issue? “So I would say first and foremost, educate yourself about what it is. I mean, I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t know about redlining. You know, I live in the East End and I will have conversations with my friends and they’re like, what’s redlining? I’ve never

heard of it. And I will open the curtain and I will say, do you see this nice suburb that we live in with these nice sidewalks and nice streets and nice bushes? This is all the effects of redlining because this is what happened. We were able to get that while they didn’t,” Harris said. Above all, people must be educated about this topic, especially when in a position to make a change regarding it.

Though the process of redlining was outlawed in 1968 with the enactment of fair housing paramutation, the effects of such a practice can be felt as it echoes from the past to the present. The history of said practice stretches far and wide, causing ricochets in school environments, amplifying disenfranchisement in these neighborhoods, and creating even more of a rift between the areas of high & low income. The issue is neither black nor white; it’s red in the face.

Equal not Equitable

Equal Not Equitable

The Metropolitan Housing coalition established that to rectify the racial housing gap, residential areas that have been impacted by redlining would need 22,000 Equitable homes to reach a level of Equality

The Metropolitan Housing coalition established that to rectify the racial housing gap, residential areas that have been impacted by redlining would need 22,000 equitable homes to reach a level of equality.

Lous Vlle

“

Ninth Street is what we call The Great Divide,

- Maralyn Harris

Behind The Screen

by Emi Richardson and Colton Harbolt

People thought that K-Dot real life was the same life they see on TV, huh?

In rapper Kendrick Lamar’s song “ELEMENT”, he speaks on how the life that he portrays to the media is not the same person he is in real life.

Throughout time movies and shows have been known for their portrayal of life as perfect and easy-going. The lack of representation of the true conditions of specific time periods, prevent commentary and display of harsh situations, conditions and events that may be necessary for the context of the film and the time period. These details left out of production in films covering time periods like the 1940s through the 1980s have made them look more appealing to modern audiences and has led to romanticization of these time periods.

The recent 80s revival has sparked multiple movies and shows based around the time and before then, such as “Stranger Things”, “Dirty Dancing”, “The Notebook” and “I Don’t Like This”. These shows and movies have become popular in recent years, especially among younger generations who see the way these characters are living and interacting in an ideal world. This choice by the producers of these productions to portray this time

as more easy going and ideal is what appeals to the audience and these younger generations. Seeing characters having fun, going on adventures along with drama and conflict between characters frames not only the movie or show, but the entire time seeming more desirable than today.

When it comes to the 80s revival, multiple shows and movies were produced in modern day based on the 80s to spark nostalgia in older viewers and to appeal to the romanticization of the time by younger generations. This revival yielded shows such as “Stranger Things” and “I Don’t Like This”. A constant in both shows that had been criticized was the lack of featuring time accurate context and issues that would affect the characters and the plot of the story. The main concern critics have for these shows was the representation of black characters and how it is good that there is representation but these characters don’t experience the racism that black people faced in the 80s. This poor representation of history contributes to romanticization of this time.

film has this impression on its viewers in her article for USA Today.

This film that is widely considered a classic love story not only glorifies an unhealthy relationship, but is unrealistic for the time. With the film being set in a period such as the 1940s, where World War II was a prevalent issue along with women’s rights, the world was going through conflict that wasn’t portrayed in the story of “The Notebook”. The sequence of events that brought Noah and Alice back together are unrealistic, with the war happening in the background and a failure to represent the hardships and labor that women had to go through to compensate for men going off to war. “In the 1940s women were expected to be stay at home wives or working in factories, women didn’t really have many rights yet, and that wasn’t portrayed in the movie,” Senior Serenity Campbell said. This frames the 1940s to be more peaceful and free than the reality of the time, which leads to viewers wanting to live and experience what they think the 1940s is based on this film they’ve watched, romanticizing a time where the normal American was struggling to make it through hard times.

In 1987, the hit movie “Dirty Dancing” was released and the storyline was set in 1963. While a large portion of the movie involves dancing, there are many problems going on throughout the entirety of the film. Some of these things are portrayed in the movie, while some are not mentioned or acknowledged.

hearted events in the movie had more focus and were over romanticized, which took light away from the more serious topics.

When it comes to “The Notebook”, filmed in 2002 and based on events from 1946, the movie follows a young couple who fall in love, but their relationship ends short when Noah, the boy, goes off to serve in World War II. Allie, the girl, begins to fall in love with another man while Noah is away and plans to marry, but the feelings come back when Noah returns from war. “The Notebook” is considered a classic, with a young romance and classic drama, however, multiple critics have claimed that the story promotes toxic relationships and unrealistic standards for teens. “Essentially, the film romanticizes toxic relationships and promulgates an unhealthy culture of jerk worship,” Carly Mallenbaum said, a critic for USA Today. Mallenbaum goes on to write about multiple points she has made for why the

One of the biggest events in the movie is when a dancer named Johnny was forced to seek a new dance partner because he was unable to perform with his usual partner Penny. This was due to Penny becoming pregnant from a character named Robbie early on in the movie and she was seeking an abortion. Eventually Johnny found Frances, or “Baby” and throughout the movie she had to learn how to dance to prepare for the upcoming dance competition.

Similar to “The Notebook,” “Dirty Dancing” has been considered to be one of the most significant cinematic love stories to be created. With a large portion of the movie being about love, there are still serious issues that were happening in that time period that were not acknowledged as significantly as the issues truly were in the 1960s. “From that time period came a lack of good health care,” Tina Jewell said. The lack of access to a safe abortion helped to highlight that there was an isssue with recieving safe healthcare in the 1960s, however the love story and the more light-

Another issue in the 1960s was that there were specific gender roles that people were expected to follow, and if they did not follow them then there was judgment and bullying. “I felt like the women, the girls especially like the younger girls, were made to be presented in a certain way. They had to hold themselves a certain way, dress a certain way,” Jewell said. The issues with stereotypical gender roles were not really shown in “Dirty Dancing,” but there was little to no diversity shown in the film with clothing styles and ideas that broke the gender roles of that time.

All of these films have contributed to the romanticization of different time periods due to the lack of serious, life altering issues being featured in the production. This causes generations today to look at the past as if it was a utopia or a world with little to no issues, and makes difficult issues today seem like the world is in the worst state it’s been in, making these time periods look more appealing and desirable. People don’t realize how much the world has changed and improved when all we see from the past is through rose colored glasses.

Essentially, the film romanticizes toxic relationships and promulgates an unhealthy culture of jerk worship,

- Carly Mallenbaum

“STRANGER THINGS 4”

Is Netflix’s highest viewed show and the second title to exceed one billion hours viewed. The show being a product of the 80s nostalgia revival.

Meet the Staff

Editor in Chief

Natalie McGarry

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Colton Harbolt

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Violet Wise

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Grace Willis

Jack Binkley

Kadence Owen

Kyla Combs

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Maddie Huml

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Trenton Bibee

Bullitt East High School 11450 Highway 44 East Mount Washington, KY 40047 (502) 869-6400

Livewire is a 32-page newsmagazine and accompanying website that is updated daily. All content is generated by student journalists at Bullitt East High School in Mount Washington, Kentucky.

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The staff appreciates your patronage and, as a public forum, encourages any feedback or submissions you care to offer. Letters to the editor must be typed and submitted via email, to Mr. Steinmetz’s mailbox or directly to room 606 within one week of the publication to which you are responding. Letters will not be censored, but must be deemed appropriate according to staff policies to be published. In order to be eligible to appear in the magazine, all letters must be signed and verifiable. Names may be withheld upon request, but must be submitted with the original letter.

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Back: Colton Harbolt, Raegan Jackson, Kylie Huber, Jack Binkley, Milana Ilickovic, Isaiah Wright, Spartan Farrar, Bryce Elder, Brandon Mudd, Braylen Ferrell. Middle: Shelbie Heath, Caroline Williams, Maddie Goodwin, Kyla Combs, Kadence Owen, Cameron Brown, Trenton Bibee, Audrey Stepp, Claire Schneider, Anna Drake, Cooper Bass, Maddie Huml. Front: Violet Wise, Macie Brown, Cadynce McCubbin, Brooklyn Sauer, Emi Richardson, Katelyn Powers, Grace Willis, Natalie McGarry.

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