The Blade Volume 115, Issue 1

Woodward Academy | Vol. 117 | Issue 1

FINDING SAFE HARBOR 100 adolescent girls are sexually exploited each night in Georgia.

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GET WITH THE PROGRAM pg. 12

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OXBOW ADVENTURES

THIS IS RAPE CULTURE pg. 22

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CO N TE Editors Editor in Chief - Maddie Ledet ‘18 Editor in Chief - Nija Packer ‘18 Butterknife Editor - Lizzy Levine ‘18 Social Media Editor - Tanvi Reddy ‘18 Spotlight Editor - Kendall Heggie ‘18 Culture Editor - Kyndall Dunn ‘19 The Cut Editor - Linda Shi ‘19 The Cut Editor - Jayden Khatib ‘19 2

Staff Writers Deven Smith ‘18 Will Dunkel ‘18 John Scott ‘18 Sarah Olatidoye ‘19 Anna Landgraff ‘20

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The Blade is the student news publication of Woodward Academy.

Volume 117 Issue 1

Student Spotlight

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Oxbow Adventures - Will Dunkel Three current and two former Oxbow students share their experiences at the intensive art school.

The Flutist - Tanvi Reddy Meet senior Olivia Silva, a gifted flutist with a passion for music.

The Storyteller - Lizzy Levine English teacher Lorri Hewett draws from personal experiences to craft her novels.

The Cut

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Woodward Academy 1662 Rugby Ave College Park, GA 30337

Get With the Program - Kyndall Dunn

Culture

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Are Finstas the New Instas? - Nija Packer Take look at the new Instagram fad sweeping social media.

Tuned In - Kyndall Dunn Indulge in six hand picked, bingeworthy podcasts.

This Is Rape Culture - Nija Packer Defining and exploring what rape culture is as well as its impact on society.

The schedule gets a major renovation, starting with the 2017-18 schoool year.

Finding Safe Harbor - Maddie Ledet Explore and examine Georgia’s Safe Harbor ammendment and how it impacts the sex trafficking industry.

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EDITORS’ WORD

The 2017-18 school year is already in full swing, and so is this year’s staff of the Blade.

The Butterknife, our digital newsletter, has been coming out on a weekly basis this year instead of bi-weekly. New staff members are quickly getting acclimated to being part of the Blade family and have already produced great content. The first issue of the year, which we’ve been diligently working on since the end of last year, is finally here.

This particular issue is different from past issues because it’s been vetted by two generations of Blade editors. There are still traces of Erin Edwards ‘17 and Aly Shakoor ‘17 within these pages, as they both edited all the final pieces before we did. Their departure, while bittersweet, signifies a fresh start.

Continuing the legacy that they left behind is a challenge that we’re ready to take on.

As new editors, we’re still finding our footing. Being in charge has definitely given us a new appreciation for our former editors, but the new responsibilities haven’t deterred us.

In the short few months that school has been in session, our staff has already grown closer and begun to develop the bond that was so strong last year. The fun we have while making finished products we can be proud of, such as this one, makes all of the hard work more than worthwhile.

This issue of the Blade is a strong debut, with dynamic articles and layouts from an experienced staff. One of our feature articles, “Finding Safe Harbor,” is a piece

How to send a

LETTER to THE EDITOR

about the details and effects of a law passed in Georgia that will impact the sex trafficking industry. Several months of research, writing, and re-writing have culminated in this article, illuminating an industry so often hidden in the shadows. Our other feature, “Perplex Sex,” discusses a controversial sexual education assembly and how sex-ed is handled in school.

On a similar subject, the issue also features an article about rape culture, which comes at an incredibly convenient time. Recent high profile sexual assault allegations make discussion about sex trafficking, sexual education, rape culture, and how they impact our generation even more pertinent.

With the recent news of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, we found these articles incredibly relevant and decided to make this issue have a theme of sex. As high schoolers, this time is important for us to learn and understand the meaning of sex and consent before we enter adult life.

The Blade’s mission has always been to encourage an open dialogue about a wide range of topics, even if they’re controversial.

This issue aims to do exactly that, featuring complex, thoughtful, and relevant articles that aim to provoke conversation. We can’t promise that you’ll love every article in this issue, but hopefully you’ll take away something valuable from them.

– Maddie Ledet and Nija Packer

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One of the missions of The Blade is to cover pressing issues confronting our community. We try our best to include a diverse array of perspectives in our coverage. However, we realize that as a staff of only thirteen people, it is impossible for us to represent the voice of every student and faculty member.

We have decided to introduce a Letter to the Editor section in each of our issues. A Letter to the Editor is a letter that a student or faculty member sends in stating any additions, issues or concerns they have with an article or general opinions about a school-related issue.

If the letter follows the established guidelines, it may be published in the next issue of the magazine. Letters will not be rejected based on editorial preference, only if guidelines are not met or too many letters are received.

Guidelines: Limit to 200 words If applicable, state the article of concern, and keep the focus on your concern/issue/addition with the article End the letter with your name and grade level. Note: Anonymous letters cannot and will not be published.

If relevant, introduce any background information about you or your issue in the letter.

Check your school email for a verification email. If you would like, leave a phone number for verification instead.

Methods: Google Form (tinyurl.com/BladeLetter) Drop off in Room W113 Email to wastpress@gmail.com

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Student Spotlight

OXBOW ADVENTURES

by Will Dunkel ‘18 |Illustration by Jack Kostyshen ‘18

In a small, agricultural California town called Napa Valley, creativity blossoms like the roses on the hills. The Oxbow School channels creativity and houses some of the best high school artists for an entire semester. Some students, such as Anna Lee ‘18, chose to take advantage of the summer art programs. They improve their artistic skills by furthering their artistic education and constantly asking themselves, “Well, what does this mean?” Every year, students travel across the United States to participate in this selective five month program that changes students’ lives. To give more insight into The Oxbow School, student alumni as well as current students share their experiences in Napa Valley.

school for four months to live on the other side of the United States,” said Codner.

Once she got to the Oxbow campus, all worries faded away, and Codner felt confident that she would enjoy studying there. She struggled with gaining more independence, but being self-sufficient became less difficult for Codner as the weeks in Napa went on. One perk about going to Oxbow was the comparatively smaller campus.

Jenna Codner During spring break, school is the farthest thing from most students’ minds.

For Jenna Codner ‘19, school was her main focus because she got accepted into the Oxbow school for the 2018 fall semester.

While excited, she did have her doubts.

“I knew it was going to be an amazing opportunity, but I was really scared to leave

“Art is more a way of life, rather than just a class”

the affect the classes had on her work.

“With Woodward, you can only really spend time on art for about 45 minutes, and the projects go by really quickly.” said Codner. “You really do not have that much time to take them to a deeper level. But here at Oxbow, you get to have so much time to work on our pieces.”

Through her extended art periods, Codner learned about painting techniques, photography skills, and sculpture in greater depth. The intense instruction aims to ensure she will have a better artistic basis to create her best, most meaningful work.

“I’ll walk out of my room, and on one side is the dining hall and on the other is my classrooms. It was definitely a lot different than Woodward in the sense that it is smaller,” said Codner.

Though Oxbow has several amazing features, the majority of students are most interested in the art classes. After her first couple of studio art sessions, Codner saw 5

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Eliza Barber

Carly Warren

Anna Freeman

While Eliza Barber ‘19 was initially thrilled about being accepted into the Oxbow School, financial issues put a damper on the news.

“At first, I was really excited that I got accepted, but I did not know if I could actually go because of financial reasons. It was kind of bittersweet,” said Barber.

Ultimately, Barber was able to attend with the help of a financial aid package.

Instead of driving down to College Park for her first day of the 2017-2018 school year, Barber flew to California for the fall semester of the Oxbow School. When she arrived on campus, she observed a change in culture – there was a noticable difference between Georgia and California. However, she quickly became accustomed to the changes and dove into her classes. She took her academic classes in the morning and art classes in the afternoon.

“The classes are more philosophical.” said Barber. “There are no tests.”

In her first month at Oxbow, she took week-long art classes that met for three hours a day. Then, students had open studio time. At the end of the week, they were expected to have a completed project on the subject of Observation, Place or Narrative.

“I’m learning a lot of art stuff that I did not know before, like [making] videos and stuff like that,” said Barber. “I was never really interested in that, but it’s actually really cool now that I know how to do it, so I may be doing that more.”

Towards the end of her spring 2017 semester, Carly Warren ‘19 learned that she would be spending her fall in California at the Oxbow School.

“I was just overall really overwhelmed and excited,” said Warren.

For many people, going across the country to live there for five months could be unsettling, but Warren thinks she chose the right place. Warren was most excited for the prestigious art classes, and they did not disappoint.

“You get so much done [in the three hour classes] that it is amazing to see where you started and where you are after three hours,” said Warren.

Although it would seem logical for three hour classes to have more instruction, there is less. For Carly, the independence gave her the artistic freedom that she had always wanted.

“Personally, I think I’ve had more freedom in the sense that they do not really give us much guidance, which is kinda scary,” said Warren. “But it’s really nice that I can completely mess up a painting and restart it. I don’t think I [would] be able to do that at Woodward.”

To her, the classes meant more than just making various forms of art. At Oxbow, she also learned about what is behind the art, where the art forms came from and who created the styles of art.

“It’s a great learning environment in the studio. I’m learning lots of art history, new artists, and techniques,” said Warren.

“Our art class one day [consisted of] visiting a museum.”

When Freeman first learned that she got accepted into the Oxbow School, she said she felt ecstatic. At the time, she did not know that she was one of only 38 accepted students for their 2017 spring semester.

“I was very excited. I had never heard about [Oxbow] before, so I did not know how selective the process was, but there’s only about 40 kids selected every semester,” said Freeman.

When she arrived in Napa Valley, Freeman immediately noticed a different atmosphere and the diverse population of the Oxbow School.

“The students were from all over America,” said Freeman. “Me and Jack were the only people from the south.”

Soon after her arrival, Freeman adjusted to the new schedule and environment.

She took her academic classes in the morning and an extensive art class in the afternoon. Even after the three-hour class ended, teachers encouraged Freeman and her peers to stay in the studio to work on their art for a couple more hours. Oxbow advances the already exceptional artists to a higher level.

“Oxbow wasn’t about technique, it was more [about] just intellectually stimulating your artistic style. Their critiques were more of, ‘What does this piece mean to you? Make meaningful art,’” said Freeman.

In Freeman’s windows of free time, she seized the opportunity to try new activities in California. She frequently rock climbed and kayaked, exploring her new terrain.

For her final project, she chose to explore

Jack Kostyshen the limits of self-perception.

“I always had a very critical [view] of myself, and I started to question, ‘Is how I see myself different from how everyone else views me?’” said Freeman.

She created a six-foot portrait of a friend from Oxbow. She paired the image with a pond that has its own irrigation system to keep the water’s surface moving.

The pond makes viewers look at the water and not the painting, so that they can see the scattered reflection of the painting, representing the contrast between the subject’s perception of herself and the way others perceive her.

“My intention is for the viewer’s focus to be on the figure’s reflection. The reflection morphs her appearance, but how different is her reflection from her direct image?

How does she see herself versus how do we see her?” writes Freeman in her final paper.

Anna Freeman’s ‘18 final project.

Since he did not think he would be admitted to Oxbow, Jack Kostyshen ‘18 said he felt calm when he heard the news.

“I wasn’t sure that I was going to get in, and then when I did, I was like OK. It just never really hit me until I got there a year later,” said Kostyshen.

Adjusting to living in a boarding school across the country was not very hard for Kostyshen, but he encountered some obstacles — like messy roommates.

“I had always been on the more independent side, so it wasn’t that hard,” said Kostyshen. “It was kinda nice to be away from my family, but it was terrible to have roommates that were messy.”

He eventually learned to coexist with his roommates and enjoyed his extended art classes. With advanced teachers challenging his technical and creative skills, Kostyshen thrived alongside his classmates.

“They will teach you technical skills, like improving your drawing and painting. But [Oxbow] also challenges you to change your perspective and really think about what you [are] doing,” said Kostyshen.

“Just being in that environment with all

those other artists helps to push your art skills a lot. You are encouraged by everyone else around you to practice more, and to think more.”

As April approached, Kostyshen already had his idea for his final project.

He first constructed three large relief prints or intricately detailed maps of College Park. He printed these large relief prints, to portray his belief that the perceived problems of American cities are not as bad as they seem. His symbolism extends past the physical aspects of the prints, reaching even the colors he used.

“The three colors represent three stages a city must experience to heal. The first stage, black, represents death or decay, the beginning state of a dilapidated community, neighborhood or city,” writes Kostyshen in his final essay. “Black provokes an acceptance of death and decay, instead of an ignorance of its presence. The second stage, red, represents hope and good fortune, and the infusion of new life.

The third stage, yellow, represents clarity, optimism and enlightenment, the juncture a neighborhood reaches when its residents partake in the growth of its community.”

Jack Kostyshen’s ‘18 final project.

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Spotlight

Olivia Silva The Flutist

by Tanvi Reddy Most teenagers use music to de-stress during car rides or in their freetime. However, for flutist Olivia Silva ‘18, music is more than just a pastime -- it’s a lifestyle.

Photo by Tanvi Reddy ‘18

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pon enrolling in the fifth grade band class at the Lower School, Olivia Silva ‘18 immediately found a connection to the flute.

“I had always taken a liking to the way the flute sounded,” Silva said.

“When we were all picking our instruments [and] trying out the mouthpieces, the flute was just one of the ones that I think I responded the best to.”

Silva’s talent for the flute became evident from an early age, with Silva not only leading the fifth grade for the most correctly played songs, or “passoffs,” but also quickly becoming firstchair of the flute section.

Mr. Kenneth Beard, Silva’s band mentor of seven years, attributes

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her success and achievements to her striving for perfection.

“She is deliberate about what she does, so her intelligence and personality together make her a good flute player,” said Beard.

Silva did not rely on talent alone to attain her level of musical dexterity.

Her routine includes practicing for about an hour and a half every school day and even longer on the weekends. On top of weekly private lessons and numerous concerts and events at school and elsewhere, Silva puts in a lot of time and effort to perfect her craft.

“Playing the flute has definitely taught me determination, and it’s given me a new passion,” said Silva.

“I’ve translated some of that hard work over to my other subjects, so I’ve been able to work hard and stay determined.”

Silva’s flute expertise expanded dramatically after joining the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program (TDP). This program develops and prepares African-American and Hispanic students who want to pursue classical music as a career.

She has been a part of this program for two years, through which she receives free private lessons with a symphony player, four tickets to every symphony concert and a scholarship to attend quality summer music institutes.

“Private lessons have helped so

in music education and become a music teacher. Because music education majors must be able to play several instruments to teach their future students, Silva decided she wanted to save herself time and start learning as early as she could.

After looking into which instrument would least affect her flute playing, Silva undertook the baritone.

“Playing several different instruments has really helped me especially with different technique things like fingering and breathing because it’s looking at things from a new perspective and carrying those things over to the other instruments I play,” said Silva.

Silva is involved in several music groups at school including the jazz

rhythm.”

Pursuing music has taught Silva important life lessons and traits which she believes will make her successful in the future, including hard work and teamwork.

“Playing in a small ensemble of just a flute and a harp or with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, you have to listen to everyone else and realize it’s not about yourself. Music is made up of so many different parts,” said Silva.

“Different instruments are featured in different places, so you have to listen to other people and make sure you’re all interpreting the music the same way. It takes a lot of practice and getting used to.”

She has fully embraced music as

Music is made up of so many different parts. Different instruments are featured in different places, so you have to listen to other people and make sure you’re all interpreting the music the same way. It takes a lot of practice and getting used to.

much, and we also have meetings throughout the year, some of those being master classes. I’ve gotten to learn a lot both about the flute and other instruments,” Silva said.

“It’s been cool getting to hear commentary from professionals and just to learn a lot about music as a career and how to succeed.”

Last summer, Silva went to Interlochen Arts Academy’s one week flute institute in Michigan and had an unforgettable experience.

“Everyone there was so passionate about music and so crazy talented,” Silva said. “I think it was really cool being able meet people from across the country, but we still had something in common.”

In the future, Silva wants to major

band, in which she plays the baritone and trombone, and marching band, in which she plays the baritone.

In large performance groups such as the Symphonic Winds and Symphony Orchestra, Silva sticks to her primary instrument, the flute.

Although the task may seem daunting, Beard believes the similarities between instruments makes learning different instruments not as complicated as it seems.

“Any instrument you play makes you better, but it’s best if you pick one as your serious instrument, and in her case that’s the flute,” said Beard. “A flute embouchure makes it really easy to play a brass instrument, because it’s very close.

You already know the notes and the

an important part of who she is, and has amassed a greater appreciation for classical music, one of her favorite pieces being Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Because of all of her experiences, Silva encourages everyone to find his or her inner muse by getting involved in music.

“Just go for it. Try it out and see how you like it. On every instrument there are so many types of music you can play,” said Silva. “It opens a lot of doors to meet new people and have so many new opportunities. I would say that if anyone is even a little bit interested, what’s the harm in giving it a try?”

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Spotlight

Lorri Hewett The Storyteller

Ms. Lorri Hewett’s writing career began at age nine, and her books can now be found at Woodward’s George C. Carlos Library and the largest bookselling retailer in the US, Barnes and Noble. The Upper School English, Writers Workshop and Creative Writing teacher published her first book when she was 18 and has published three books since.

by Lizzy Levine

Photo by Lizzy Levine ‘18

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n a picket fence community on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, a young Ms. Lorri Hewett, English teacher created imaginative tales for the neighborhood kids. She entertained her friends who lived nearby with stories and games, and her aptitude for storytelling extended to the classroom where she was often chosen to share her stories aloud.

“I just liked telling stories,” Hewett said. “It was something that came easy for me and I liked to do, so that’s just what I did.”

Growing up in the suburbs of Littleton, Colorado, Hewett often wrote about the events happening in her daily life and the world around her.

“I heard somewhere somebody say, ‘Write what you know,’ and I’m thinking, ‘I know what it is to be the only black student in my class growing up,’” said Hewett. “I know what it is to be in a school where people are nice but feeling kind of like an outsider at the same time. I knew about feeling between two worlds.”

In April of 1999, one of the deadliest

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“I would drive my car to a church parking lot that was often empty during the day, and I would just sit in the backseat of my car and write all day.”

school shootings in U.S. history occurred in Littleton at Columbine High School, Hewett’s high school’s archrival. The proximity of the traumatic shooting deeply impacted Hewett and her early writing.

“That was my community that that happened to,” Hewett said. “That was really strange and upsetting and terrible.

My way of making sense of everything was by writing, and so that’s what I did.”

Hewett initially endeavored to publish her books as a sophomore in high school.

Although she faced many roadblocks along the way to being a published author, she learned a lot about the art of writing as a craft.

“You need skill,” Hewett said. “You have to know about the use of language.

You have to know about pacing and developing a scene. It’s not just about what you feel inside.”

Hewett’s eagerness to finish high school heightened, her love of writing continued to prosper. She would often drive to an empty church parking lot, sit in her backseat and write all day. As a

senior, she even found herself calling in sick or forging her parent’s signature to excuse herself from school.

“Not to smoke pot or do anything like that,” Hewett said. “For me, I would ditch school to write.”

Hewett’s experience as a secondsemester senior and the anticipation of leaving home and entering a new chapter of life inspired Hewett’s first book. While Hewett would later broaden her abilities even further by pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa, it was while getting her undergraduate degree at Emory University that Hewett published her first book, “Coming of Age,” at the age of 18 years old.

“I was excited to be coming to Emory,” Hewett said. “You’re kind of in that inbetween stage when you know where you’re going. You’re ready to leave life behind, and I just wrote about that.”

As a freshman in college, Hewett followed her passion by taking an Advanced Fiction workshop. In this class of mostly seniors, students exchanged stories and then workshopped and critiqued each story.

“Even though the idea was totally frightening and scary, the great thing about [workshopping] is that you get a chance to hear what your writing sounds like to someone who is not you,” Hewett said. “You know what you mean, but if you’re reading a book, the author isn’t

standing over your shoulder saying, ‘Well, I meant that there.’ It’s either on the page or it’s not.”

“It’s wonderful to get letters from people who have said that [my books] meant something to them.”

Hewett says her favorite work that she has written is “Dancer,” whose main character Stephanie aspires to become a professional ballerina, yet fears that her African-American heritage may hinder her opportunities. Stephanie’s passion for ballet and struggle with self-identity parallel Hewett’s experience as a former ballet dancer. “‘Dancer’ is my favorite because it

was about something that I had loved so much growing up, and I brought a lot of my own experiences with it,” Hewett said. “[It’s about] somebody who really, really wants to be a professional dancer, which I didn’t, but I wanted to write about that. It’s a love story – there’s a guy – but it’s also a love story about a girl and her art.”

Although Hewett gradually slowed down writing novels, she still continues to write essays and has even undertaken designing jewelry with Mr. Andy Cunningham and taking a physics class with Mr. Thomas Ehrensperger.

“One of the things I’m working on now is turning that experience into an essay, what it was like to go back and take a high school class that was difficult for me in high school as a grownup and to be in a class with students,” Hewett said.

“How that put me back in the mindset of actually being a student and what could I learn from that as a teacher.”

Despite Hewett not having plans to start a new novel in the near future, her past books still impact Hewett and bring her joy.

“I still get letters from people,” Hewett said. “It’s wonderful to get letters from people who have said that [my books] meant something to them.”

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Get With The Program

By Kyndall Dunn Illustrations by Julia Du

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he beginning of the school year is usually marked with a sense of familiarity. Returning to campus, seeing old friends and recognizing former teachers makes anxiety about the first day of school feel more manageable. At the start of the 2017-2018 academic year, however, students were faced with a complete redesign of one of the most consistent and reliable aspects of the school day. The use of a brand new schedule commenced in August, featuring additions such as a seven-period day on a nine-day rotation and more built-in study time. As with any major change, there are mixed feelings among the students and staff. Although the schedule feels new to the community, the first major schedule change in 30 years was far from spontaneous.

Dr. Bill Lineberry, former principal, felt that the old schedule

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was outdated, so he proposed a developing new schedule.

Although Lineberry had the idea to create a new schedule, he could not carry it through because he retired in 2012, and the process required research. The responsibility for developing a new schedule ultimately landed on Dr. Chris Freer, US Principal and Vice President and Dean for Student Life.

According to Freer, President Dr. Stuart Gulley prioritized revising the daily schedule upon his arrival in 2009. Before drafting ideas, Freer and Ms. Marcia Spiller, Vice President for Academic Affairs, visited three other independent schools to gather inspiration: the Cranbrook Schools in Michigan, the Hawkins School in Ohio and Ransom Everglades School in Florida. Before the pair visited the schools, they identified three main problems of the old schedule:

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frequent scheduling conflicts, a year-round frenetic pace and the lack of a tight-knit community atmosphere. They kept those concerns in mind as they travelled. “[Gulley] asked Spiller and me to explore possible changes about three years ago,” said Freer. “We studied how these schools used their time, but very few schools are as large and complicated as Woodward.”

The three schools, although helpful case studies, could not provide a perfect solution to the problems of the previous schedule because every school is different, and the methods that work are dependent upon the individual campus. However, Freer and Spiller liked the block schedules the schools they visited followed.

“Many of them used some form of a block period where you taught longer. All three schools we visited had more than a five-day rotation,” said Spiller.

Freer and Spiller created a scheduling committee of 16 staff members to outline the goals for the redesign and, eventually, build a new schedule. Ms. Monica Kuhlman, former US science teacher and committee member, was one of the faculty members who met beginning in the summer of 2015 to establish the priorities of the new schedule.

“We gathered data about what students were saying they needed in a new schedule, and we started picking that apart and seeing where we could begin to develop a schedule that would meet the needs of the students,” said Kuhlman.

The first issue they discovered, the sixclass schedule, restricted students’ ability to take the classes they preferred. A student taking chorus would need to drop the class if they wanted to additionally take study hall to improve their grades. Mr. Mark Carrington, Associate Dean for Student Life, felt it was unfair to force students

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to choose between extracurriculars and academics.

“Most early drafts of the schedule involved seven classes,” said Carrington.

“We [see] expanding from six to seven classes a year a necessity to allow students who need study strategy-type help to still be able to take their arts, to allow all of our students to take at least one semester of PE before they graduate and the same thing with comparative religions.”

“I hope students will be able to...do more in terms of following passions.”

-Ms. Marcia Spiller While the additional period reduces scheduling problems, at first glance it appears to add to the second major problem with the previous schedule – the frenetic pace. However, the administration believes the seventh period will have the opposite effect.

Last spring, 977 students took a survey sent by the administration that asked questions about the new schedule, including what they would choose to take as their seventh class. Study support and visual art were the two most popular selections from the survey. Both of these classes are noncore, enriching options, indicating that students needed a break from traditional academics and a chance to pursue more of their passions during the school day. With the addition of the seventh class period and

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nine-day block rotation, some students find the school day to be less demanding.

“If you do not have a certain class on Thursday, then you do not have to worry about that homework on Wednesday night,” said Addie Riviere ‘20. “I don’t know if I find it stress-relieving, but I do like it.”

Students also have the option to take an “R” period, which stands for Reading, Reflection, Review and Relaxation, and it resembles a free period. This period, available only to sophomores, juniors and seniors, allows students to utilize time in the day to be productive by completing homework, collaborating with peers or taking a break. Underclassmen can take classes such as Freshman Focus and monitored study hall as R-period alternatives.

“For students to have an hour to reflect on the notes they took that morning, to get homework done or to get reading done teaches good time management skills and prioritization,” said counselor Ms. Leigh Shelor.

Additionally, the block schedule allows for longer class times on “even” and “odd” days, which are days where only even and odd numbered classes meet. People felt both apprehension and excitement about the longer class times.

Some teachers appreciate the longer class times.

“We felt students were looking for, not longer time in the class, but more meaningful time,” said Kuhlman. “Especially in science, 45 minutes is not long enough to do a lab.

You rush through it fast, walk out the door and never talk about what happened. You lose the moment.”

Other teachers felt they would be losing valuable teaching time, especially AP teachers who have to teach the same 13

14

Student Data 250

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schedule was the lack of community among the 1,200 US students.

Last year, the administration introduced the AAAA period for tutorial, assemblies and club meetings. AAAA, which stands for Academics, Activities, Assembly and Advisory, returned with a new component: an advisory group.

Each advisory group meets Day 1 and Day 5 of the rotating schedule. Advisory is meant to be a group of support and discussion, and the advisors’ goal is to know their students on a personal level. The school hopes that the group of students form relationships with their advisors and peers over four years. Advisors do not take the role of the counselor but function as another adult students can rely on.

“Think of [advisory] as a more personal homeroom,” said Carrington. “You are getting to know the people in your group with the idea that you all will start doing things together.”

Although advisory may be useful for freshmen, who have the opportunity to spend a full four years with their advisory group, some upperclassmen do not find advisory helpful.

“I have some friends in [advisory], but since we are seniors, it is pointless because we are not going to get to know each other throughout the four years,” said Knoer.

“Last year I had a different homeroom than I have this year.”

Some students do not find fault with the advisory group itself, but with the fact that faculty does not allow students to work during the period. During sessions, students have discussions on various topics, but some students wish these conversations were not required.

“I like my advisory teacher and group, but I think if we have advisory as often as we do, they should let us work on homework more often,” said Riviere. “I do not find it as beneficial as just having a regular [tutorial].”

Although the administration is aware that the new schedule will inevitably create problems, they believe the change was necessary to fix pre-existing issues. They are hopeful the schedule will positively benefit students by allowing more classes, reducing the stressful pace and creating a closer community.

“I hope students will be able to try something else. Take a performing arts class, a visual arts class or another elective and be able to do more in terms of following passions,” said Spiller. ∆

St

amount of material in fewer minutes.

Although class periods were extended, classes ultimately meet fewer times than in previous years.

“I am anxious to see how instructional time [is] impacted. We need to find ways to become more efficient, especially in AP classes,” said Ms. Lesley Carnes, science teacher.

Students also have varying opinions about the block days.

“I’m split on [the longer class times],” said Virginia Knoer ‘18. “I like them for science classes; [I] can have longer times to do labs, but I can not do 75 minutes of math or history.”

Carrington believes the addition of a seventh period and block days will not have a negative impact. With the addition of the tutorial period after second period, there is more time for AP teachers to cover the material using hinge time, where they can continue to teach students during the tutorial period if it immediately follows the AP class.

“We are not losing teaching time. We are dividing it into more pieces. We as teachers need to be more efficient with what we do.

[Block days are] not meant to be cramming more stuff into fewer minutes,” said Carrington.

While the rotating block schedule allows for longer class periods, it can lead to situations where students have more than three tests, papers or projects a day.

Dr. Jonathan Merrill, Assistant Principal, leads the Academic Council that develops all academic policies. The council modified the testing policy in response to the new schedule.

“In the past, we had specific days that departments could test. That did not work with the new schedule. Instead, we came up with a testing philosophy,” said Merrill. “If the situation happened where a student had more than three tests [a day], they would petition one of their teachers to move a test to another day.”

The Academic Council made other minor changes to accommodate the new rotation. Typically when a student missed school, they had as many days as they were out of class to make up the test. Because every class does not meet a day, the same policy did not work. “[The students], as the center of this, are the ones that are to communicate with their teachers about when to make up the test,” said Merrill.

The final major problem with the previous

Classes students are interested in taking as their seventh period. Data courtesy of Carrington.

No opin

ion

14%

13%

No

73% Yes

Percentage of students who like having less homeroom. Data courtesy of Carrington.

By Maddie Ledet From the sticky floors of Magic City to the busy terminals of Hartsfield Jackson, Georgia is the fifth largest trafficking hub in the United States. According to the Center for Public Policy, 7,200 men purchase sex from a minor every month, and 100 adolescent girls are sexually exploited every night in Georgia. The Department of Homeland Security’s definition of sex trafficking is to “use force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.”

Using Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the busiest airport in the world, people can enter and exit Georgia easily and quickly.

The Center for Public Policy determined that about nine percent of Georgia’s sex trafficking occurs near the airport, which is also Woodward’s backyard.

“The Hartsfield-Jackson airport is one of the busiest in the world. And unfortunately, whenever you have that amount [of people] of pass through, there will be bad stuff that happens,” said Josh Schiffer, an adult

entertainment lawyer based in Atlanta.

For the past 10 years, Georgia lawmakers and politicians have created a variety of anti-sex trafficking bills. One of their solutions to the problem is Georgia Safe Harbor Amendment Two, which proposed taxing the adult entertainment industry to raise money for the recovery and recuperation of sex trafficking victims under the age of 18. Georgia Safe Harbor has been a bill since 2014 and stops Amendment two is a recent addition that focuses on fundraising for the two million dollar Sexually Exploited Children Fund.

“Safe Harbor is a win-win for everyone.

It shows that the people of Georgia care,” said Nancy Blank, a director of the Arthur Blank Foundation and parent of Emily Blank ‘18. “It makes sure that no child victim of sex trafficking in our state will be denied access to the services they need to return to a normal and healthy life.”

Amendment Two’s supporters are mainly anti-sex trafficking organizations, 15

philanthropists and anti-sex trafficking advocates, such as WellSpring Living, the Arthur Blank Foundation and countless other non-profit organizations. These advocates of Amendment Two supported the bill, hoping that Amendment Two would help rehabilitate victims and educate Georgians about sex trafficking.

“Things like trauma counseling will help each victim and survivor on her/his journey to healing, which we need every citizen to be - to be healed and thriving and contributors to society,” said Keisha Head, a member of the anti-sex trafficking group Sun Gate and survivor of sex trafficking.

Support for Amendment Two reached campus last fall. Student organization Girl Up campaigned in support of the amendment and asked students and parents to vote in favor of it. As students who work with sex trafficking victims often, they saw the amendment as an avenue for victims to become normal teenagers again.

“Honestly, I think the Safe Harbor Act will help Atlanta and help children and grownups get out of sex trafficking and the sex trafficking industry and into programs to help them be in a safe place, a safe harbor,” said Kate Pounders ‘18, an ambassador of Girl Up. While amendment two sparked conversation about Georgia’s sex trafficking epidemic, the ballot’s summary of the amendment drew a direct link between adult entertainment and sex trafficking and excluded the amount of money it would raise.

According to the Polaris Project, a nonprofit dedicated to ending human trafficking, strip clubs are responsible for four percent of sex trafficking cases.While Georgia’s adult entertainment industry is large, it is not as involved in sex trafficking or big as the hotel industry and bears the burden of full economic responsibility for Georgia’s Safe Harbor.Rehabilitation can be as expensive as $80,000 per year according to the Safe Harbor Yes Campaign. With over 2,100 reported trafficking victims in Georgia, the total real rehabilitation cost is about 160 million dollars per year. With two million dollars allocated to this fund, Amendment Two is underfunded. Safe Harbor avoids punishing all industries involved with sex trafficking with taxes because strip clubs are the easiest to blame.

“It is a much easier target for taxes. If you were to introduce a tax on hotels or hotels in the city [of] Atlanta, the first people to stand up would be the very powerful Atlanta Convention Business Board,” said Schiffer.

16

Safe Harbor taxes the adult entertainment industry because of its indirect connection to the sex trafficking industry.

“The advocates of sex trafficking tax which is directed really only at clubs said that no we don’t think anything happening inside the club is the reasoning sex trafficking occurs,” said Allan Bergner, an adult entertainment lawyer for Bergner and Bergner. “We just think pimps and girls hang out outside the club which is called ‘secondary effects’ surrounding adult clubs. It is more likely that sex trafficking would occur at a McDonalds or some other business that is late night.”

Adult entertainment is a regulated, legal industry. Adult clubs have to register all of their dancers, make sure all guests are over the age of 21 and buy liquor licenses, which is particularly expensive and steers strip clubs away from sex trafficking.

“The clubs are cleanly run with little to no sexual hanky panky going on because licenses are worth a lot. The industry has a clean reputation,” said Bergner. “It draws women who do not want to have sex as dancers. They just want to make a good living and dance.”

Some strip club owners support their entertainers and make sure that they do not drift off into prostitution. Katy*, a stripper from Georgia, recalled her co-worker losing her apartment. Her co-worker was soon approached by a pimp who tried to convince her to work for him. Scared, she went to Katy, who took her to management for help “I know of women who would have become prostitutes, but instead, they found jobs at clubs, which is not the best situation ever, but [stripping] is still safer than being in an actual sex trafficking ring,” said Katy*, a stripper in Kentucky.

Many strip clubs in Atlanta have joined Club Operators Against Sex Trafficking (COAST) in order to spot signs of trafficked employees.

“COAST has the idea that they need to make housemothers and the club owners more engaged in the entire thing,” said Lou DeBaca, Obama’s U.S. Ambassador of Sex Trafficking. “They are there for more than just seeing if the girl can work. If [club owners or housemothers] see bruises or them being dropped off by someone they seem afraid of, they actually need to say something.”

The bill’s stigmatization of the adult entertainment industry is not the only problem with Safe Harbor Amendment Two. While sex trafficking is a problem in Georgia, labor trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals

perform labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, is a major issue as well.

32 cases of labor trafficking in Georgia have been reported this year.

“The differences between sex trafficking and labor trafficking is largely in the heads of policy makers and advocacy groups opposed to really reflecting on the victims of modern slavery because they are treated pretty much the same,” said DeBaca.

Georgia has not developed a bill that provides the same type of recovery funding for labor trafficking victims, allowing many children to slip between the cracks.

“A 13 year old African girl who is working as a domestic servant in someone’s house needs to be able to have the services she needs when she is rescued just as much as a 13 year old girl in a prostitution situation,” said DeBaca.

Adults are also deprived of Amendment Two’s therapy and rehabilitation opportunities.

If someone was trafficked at 18, they would not get any treatment under Safe Harbor. Though the difference between the ages 17 and 18 is an arbitrary line, Covenant House, a shelter for adult men and women, barely knew about the legislation.

“This artificial distinction between 18 and 17 as far as victim funding is concerned is a little weird,” said DeBaca.

While trafficking may seem like a problem too large for a high school to influence, students can easily get involved and make a change. Participating in legislation and voting are easy ways to make an impact. Researching bills before voting ensures that the laws will go far enough to help victims.

Beyond being politically-woke, there are other ways to participate. Georgia homes dozens of anti-trafficking groups that are devoted to rehabilitation and ending trafficking. Even on campus, Woodward has an annual winter clothing drive for trafficked women, and Girl-Up gives teenage girls at Wellspring Living make-overs.

As a community, understanding the definition of trafficking, hosting anti-trafficking organizations to speak at assemblies and partnering with some of these organizations are ways to show support of victims.

While it seems far removed from the average person’s life, most sex trafficking victims felt the same sense of detachment at one point. Raising awareness about this local and national issue protects others from being trafficked while also paving a path for victims to reclaim their lives.

“These girls are awesome, and they are great to hang out with. Everyone comes from a different background, but they are normal,” said Pounders. They are just like us. They are just like me and you.”

GEORGIA’S SEX TRAFFICKING

7200 a breakdown of Georgiaʼs 2017 trafficking cases

men purchase sex from a minor EVERY month in Georgia

104

SEX TRAFFICKING

32

LABOR TRAFFICKING

08

06

TRAFFICKING TYPE NOT SPECIFIED

100

SEX AND LABOR

young girls are sexually exploited every night in Georgia

65% OF GEORGIA’S ADOLESCENT SEX TRAFFICKING OCCURS IN

WITH 9% BY

METRO ATLANTA

150

National Trafficking Hotline

1(888)373-7888

sex trafficking cases reported in 2017 17

Are FINSTAS the New INSTAS?

by Nija Packer

W

hen Instagram first launched in 2010, it had a core audience of photographers, amateur and professional, who shared their artsy pictures with other photographers.

Instagram’s modest customer base of about one million people made the app seem exclusive, for serious photographers only. By 2012, Instagram’s membership exploded, and their current number of users is now somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 million people, 500 million of whom use Instagram every day.

To say the culture of Instagram has changed is an understatement. With the addition of direct messages, Instagram Live, Instagram Stories and several other new features, the app feels less photographycentered and more like a conglomerate of every other social media app out there.

As Instagram gained popularity, more and more parents began to join. Much like Facebook, a platform whose audience used to be entirely teens and young adults, Instagram has become more family-esque – everyone from 12-year-old little brothers to 83-year-old grandparents use it.

Despite the changing demographics, there is at least one trend almost exclusive to teens, at least for now: finstas. A finsta, sometimes referred to as a spam account, is a cross between the words “fake” and “Instagram.” Finstas differ from rinstas (real Instagrams) because people typically

18

only allow close friends to follow their finstas, meaning the content posted is much more personal, unflattering or potentially embarrassing. While rinstas are only for the carefully selected, edited and filtered pictures that convey the aspects

pictures of people,” said Dasani Barrow ‘19. People also commonly use finstas for frequent, back-to-back posts, hence the term spam accounts. “It would probably clog up my real Instagram, because I post a lot.,” said Barrow. Her first post was March 2, 2016, and as of October 20, 2017, Barrow has 1,735 posts.

According to Google Trends, the search term “finsta” started gaining popularity at the beginning of 2016 and reached peak popularity this past December. Most of the appeal of finstas comes from the idea that only a select few people follow them.

“If I wanted to get something out and didn’t want it to be fully public, even though it’s out there, I’d rather have closer people know than all of my [rinsta] followers,” said Laine Hartman ‘18.

While there are hundreds of thousands of finsta accounts active on Instagram, a recent survey by The Blade indicated that only 23% of the 64 respondents said “Yes” to having a finsta, while 58% responded “No.” A lot of people who don’t have finstas simply don’t want one because it’s too time consuming or they’re just not interested.

“I don’t see the point of having two of their life the user wants the world see, Instagrams,” said AnaSimone Guillaume finsta posts are unfiltered, brazen and many ‘19. times uploaded without much thought.

While many students share this view, People usually use a fake username, one others are more strongly opposed to finstas. that doesn’t include their actual name, to “I think that [having a finsta is] exposing distinguish between their two accounts. yourself without exposing yourself. You “[On my finsta] I’m either being shady, do stuff on there that you obviously don’t or it’s just funny random memes or funny want other people to see, but then other

Do You Have a Finsta?

people end up seeing it because there’s this thing called screenshotting,” said Danielle Young ‘18.

With the perceived security of more privacy, people often feel empowered to post increasingly inappropriate or personal things.

“Sometimes I feel like all that stuff doesn’t need to be put on social media,” said Sophie Sidman ‘18.

Some speculate that finstas started popping up as a result of more and more parents signing up for Instagram. Having adults looking over your shoulder at

everything you post can kill the fun in a microsecond. Another similar theory is that finstas can be used to post potentially inappropriate content without risking getting in trouble with school or college admissions reps.

While students claim to use finstas harmlessly, fake accounts can create a layer of secrecy where cyber bullying and offensive content run rampant. A Google search for “finsta” reveals a host of articles geared towards parents informing them of “The Darker World of Teenagers and Instagram,” as described by a piece in The

RINSTA

Huffington Post.

Whether you love them or hate them, finstas are clearly on the rise. They could be just another short-lived fad, but their appeal and increasing popularity suggests that they might stick around for a while.

Even if they do disappear in the future, teens are sure to invent some other way to evading the watchful eyes of adults.

FINSTA

“On my main I take hours editing pictures, [adding] filters, [but] I don’t really think when I post on my finsta.” Megan Singelton ‘18

Match the RINSTA with the FINSTA taylen_jaylor

miangreen_

meaganmillnerr

ksrob99

des.t.iny

therealdestinyschild

bobbybwasabi

youjesswantmoore

smashley_________

chrome_rover

jessicamoorree

cameron.luxe

ashley_raymer

js_johnscott

kxngjr

greensongreens

yes_we_kam_

_youre_megan_me_crazy_

bignostrilscam

the_cocobean

19

TUNED IN

By Kyndall Dunn

Host: Roman Mars Where to Listen: Weekly on iTunes At a Glance:

Host(s): Burbridge and friends Where to Listen: Bi-weekly on iTunes At a Glance:

“99% Invisible” informs listeners about inventions and history outside of the content covered in textbooks. Roman Mars, host of other programs including Radiolab and Planet Money, raised over $170,000 on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform, to create “99% Invisible.” The main purpose of the podcast is to discuss small pieces of knowledge that make up the world. In one episode entitled “The Gruen Effect,” he explains how retail stores are designed to trick consumers into purchasing more items than they intended. Other episodes feature the origin of the fortune cookie, Sigmund Freud’s choice of a couch over an armchair and the cul-de-sac’s design flaws.

The podcast has a popular saying: always read the plaque, meaning to be aware of the history behind the surrounding world.

“Footnoting History” is a podcast that aims to discuss overlooked stories in history. Dr. Elizabeth Burbridge, social studies teacher, produces and co-hosts the podcast with a group of history scholars. The podcast portrays history as ongoing stories rather than as set events in time that don’t matter anymore.

Episodes feature lesser known stories, including the story of Tycho Brahe, a Danish aristocrat interested in astronomy who changed scientists’ perceptions of the skies, Jumbo the Elephant, one of the most famous animals from the Victorian era and the story of Käthchen Paulus, German celebrity and entrepreneur, who developed the first packed parachute system. Burbridge and her co-hosts have a deep appreciation for history, and history lovers and curious minds alike can tune in.

Host: Paul Gilmartin Where to Listen: Weekly on iTunes At a Glance: Mental Illness Happy Hour” fights the lonely mindset that accompanies mental illnesses like depression. Paul Gilmartin, stand-up comedian and former co-host of TBS’ “Dinner and a Movie,” was diagnosed with clinical depression in 1999. Because of his diagnosis, he created a podcast where others like him could safely talk about sensitive such as subjects trauma and mental health. In the number one listener favorite episode for 2016, “Ex CHP Officer Kevin Briggs,” Briggs recalls his former job as a highway patrolman at the Golden Gate Bridge, where he prevented over 200 suicides. He shares experiences he had with people who wanted to jump and how he changed their minds, including the mind of Kevin Berthia, suicide survivor and suicide prevention activist who almost jumped in 2005 because he blamed himself for his prematurely born daughter who had to live in an incubator for eight weeks. Briggs stopped Berthia just before he jumped and convinced him to live for his daughter. For a podcast filled with optimism and stories of coping with mental illness, one should look no further than the “Mental Illness Happy Hour,” also known as “the waiting room that doesn’t suck.”

20

Host: Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl Where to Listen: Weekly on iTunes At a Glance:

Host: Cecil Baldwin Where to Listen: Bi-weekly on iTunes At a Glance:

“Psychobabble,” hosted by best friends Tyler Oakley, YouTuber and LGBTQ+ activist, and Korey Kuhl, YouTuber and production manager at My People Entertainment, is a carefree podcast that focuses on gossip and entertaining stories.

The term “psychobabble” is a form of speech or writing that uses psychological slang to create an impression of truth. Oakley and Kuhl’s unfiltered podcast covers topics from how to fight penguins, the latest on Katy Perry and Taylor Swift drama and how to use dating apps. In addition, Oakley and Kuhl address LGBTQ+ subjects. Their close friendship is the foundation for the show’s comfortable and intimate atmosphere. Oakley and Kuhl are unapologetically themselves throughout the podcast, and their confidence makes each episode worth listening to. According to the pair, it’s not just crazy talk, it’s “Psychobabble.”

“Welcome to Night Vale” is a mysterious podcast, presented as a radio show, about a town located vaguely in southwestern United States where, according to creator Joseph Fink, all conspiracy theories are implicitly true. Main character Cecil Baldwin, voice actor for other podcasts and shows, including Tad Strange in Disney Channel’s “Gravity Falls,” narrates as an announcer for the Night Vale Community Radio, bringing the latest updates on hooded figures, acid rain and the new glow cloud that hovers in the sky above. As the podcast progresses, the storyline builds, making the podcast feel like a spoken novel. “Welcome to Night Vale” blurs the line between regular small town news and supernatural events with a charming storyline. And remember, all hail the glow cloud.

Host: Sarah Koenig Where to Listen: Completed on iTunes At a Glance: Winner of the distinguished George Foster Peabody award for “News and Radio/Podcasts,” “Serial” follows the true stories of two murder cases over two seasons. In season one, the most popular of the two, journalist and public radio personality Sarah Koenig investigates a closed murder case involving convicted Adnan Syed and victim Hae Min Lee. Syed and Lee dated in high school but broke up right before her murder. Due the timing of their breakup, the police placed Syed at the top of the suspect list, and eventually, he was charged with first-degree murder. Syed’s friends, who do not believe Syed was capable of murder, brought the case to Koenig to examine. Over 12 episodes, Koenig looks over case documents, listens to the trial and questions key people surrounding the case, including Syed, finding questionable alibis and details overlooked during trial, including a letter that proved Syed’s alibi that was never read at trial. Although Koenig presents strong arguments for both sides of the case, she never tells the audience if Syed is guilty or not.

Syed’s reopened case is still ongoing, and Judge Martin P. Welch granted Syed a new trial.

Koenig only aims to answer one question: Is it possible to know someone’s character?

21

THIS IS RAPE CULTURE.

By Nija Packer

I

n 2014, at a party in Houston, Texas, two sixteen-year-old boys gang raped and photographed a 16-year-old girl named Jada, who lay unconscious on the ground without any pants. The boys posted the photo on Twitter, and people quickly began to recreate the image, mocking the way Jada was splayed out on the ground. #JadaPose began to trend.

A song called “Hit That Jada Pose” by rapper White Boy LaFlare and a dance to accompany it surfaced soon after, inspiring even more ridicule of Jada online. Her assailants were eventually held responsible for her sexual assault, but the damage had already been done. Jada suffered complete

and utter humiliation because people didn’t take her rape seriously – they treated it as a joke.

There is a pervasive culture of joking about and even encouraging rape and sexual assault in our society.

While easy to identify in certain situations, such as the #JadaPose scandal, rape culture manifests in other ways that aren’t always obvious.

Pamela Fletcher, co-author of “Transforming a Rape Culture” and former associate professor of women’s studies at St. Catherine’s University, illuminates what rape culture is in her book.

“In ‘Transforming a Rape Culture,’ we define rape culture as ‘a complex of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women [and girls],” writes Fletcher. “‘A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women [and girls] and presents it as the norm.’”

Encompassing any behaviors that normalize or justify sexual violence, rape culture disproportionately affects women – according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five women will be raped in their lifetime as opposed to one in 71 men.

While many people think of rape culture as involving only the act of rape itself, rape culture manifests in more subtle ways, such as seemingly harmless jokes or comments.

“Rape jokes are Woodward culture. The majority of us definitely

“I’ve heard kids joking [about rape] before or using [the word rape] in a joking manner, and it’s such a heavy, weighty topic that I think that can be extremely offensive.”

- Ms. McKenzie Lawson

Statistics courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

22

“The concept of blaming the victim makes me sick. You’re basically teaching anyone that their appearance can cause someone to harm them.”- Alex Potts ‘18 make rape jokes,” said Michael Taylor ‘20.

A common occurrence in everyday conversation, students make light of rape.

“I’ve heard kids joking [about rape] before or using [the word “rape”] in a joking manner, and it’s such a heavy, weighty topic that I think can be extremely offensive,” senior class counselor Ms. McKenzie Lawson said. “It does kind of water down what [rape] truly is and how truly, truly devastating it can be.”

Making jokes and crude comments invalidates the trauma that victims face, perpetuating the idea that rape isn’t a big deal. Though sexual assault is prevalent at parties, victims are usually expected to brush off unwanted or forceful advances.

“At parties, there are instances where guys will try to pressure girls into doing stuff they don’t want to do. Some [of them] break because they don’t wanna seem uncool, but they were saying no in the

beginning,” said Madison Quarles ‘19.

“Some guys don’t take no for an answer, which definitely isn’t okay.”

Boys attempting to coerce girls into engaging in sexual activity even after they are rejected is another harmful aspect of rape culture that has become normalized.

Rape culture can also include victimblaming, which is a method of shifting the blame from the perpetrator to the victim in sexual assault cases. Whether they were drinking too much, sending mixed signals or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, victim blaming implies that the person being sexually assaulted was at fault. Attributing the reason for someone’s rape or sexual assault to the clothing they were wearing, for example, is a common form of victim blaming.

In a survey conducted by The Blade, 23 percent of students indicated that they were “not sure” if there are situations where rape is the victim’s fault, and 18 percent said “Yes.” “The concept of blaming the victim makes me sick,” Alex Potts ‘18 said.

“You’re basically teaching anyone that their appearance can cause someone to harm them.”

When victims are portrayed as deserving of rape for any reason, rape can be seen as justifiable, and the blaming of those victims serves to further normalize and perpetuate rape in our society.

“I personally think that rape culture is something that is growing more and more each day,” said Darby Cornelius ‘20. “I think women should be able to go out in what they feel confident in and not have to worry about walking in the streets and getting taken by a man they don’t know.”

The increasing normalization of rape is a huge contributor to the prevalence

of rape culture in our society.

What used to be a subject considered too taboo to discuss in public is now broadcast on major news networks and shared on social media.

“Ten-ish years ago when I was in high school, you barely ever heard [rape] talked about – it was something that was really scary,” Lawson said.

“You heard it on the news every now and then.”

The limits on what show hosts and news casters can talk about on television and in the media decrease every day, and previously shocking stories or images hardly surprise the general public.

When coupled with the ubiquity of social media, where trends such as #JadaPose run rampant, the stream of horror stories we hear about rape eventually lose their impact. The Stanford rape case, the Steubenville rape case, the Bill Cosby rape cases and the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations have all been highly publicized stories that dominated the news cycle. While public stories about rape abound, rape culture often makes it difficult for victims to speak out for fear of backlash or victim blaming. According to the US Department of Justice, only 50 percent of all rapes were reported to the police in 2010.

In the notorious Stanford University rape case that took place in 2015, swimmer Brock Turner faced a six month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and served only three months.

“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,” said Aaron Persky, the judge who sentenced Turner.

To many people who were outraged by what they considered to be a light sentence, Persky let Turner off the hook for his crime. In their eyes, the punishment sent the message that sexual assault is a casual, inconsequential act. This case is just one example of how rape culture can manifest in the criminal justice system.

Though the normalization of rape does have negative effects, the lack of taboo can open the door for more widespread discussion.

The recent Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal that rocked

the entertainment industry sparked a nationwide conversation about rape culture. Multiple women spoke out against the Hollywood producer in a New York Times article published in October, leading to Weinstein’s firing as well as reports of sexual assult from numerous other women and men in the entertainment industry. Ranging from harassment to forcible penetration, Weinstein’s sexually aggressive behavior spanned decades, as the first reported incident happened in 1980. Upwards of 50 women have spoken out about the abuse they faced from him, and their confessions incited the #MeToo movement. Over half a million tweets arose from the hashtag, most of them statements from women about their own sexual assault and rape experiences.

The widespread backlash Weinstein received from both the general public and his peers in the entertainment industry is an indication that our current attitude toward rape victims is more supportive.

However, considering victims kept silent for years, it took a while to get to this point.

Rape culture isn’t typically noticeable.

It’s in television, movies, schools, the workplace and the news, but it is usually incredibly subtle. People don’t think about how their words and actions contribute to this harmful culture of violence before they say them. Seeing an intoxicated girl refuse a boy’s advances a dozen times before he finally goes away, hearing someone jokingly threaten to rape their friend, or watching people discredit a rape victim because she was wearing revealing clothing is rape culture. It is engrained in our society, and it impacts us, whether we notice or not.

Julia Du ‘19 23