Free Press Issue 1, Edition 23

October 3, 2019 edition 23

Building Roots This year the Free Press is employing the use of themes for every issue throughout the year. Building Roots is the idea of employing positive actions in the present to benefit the future.

Creating this Issue Designers

Emma Nelson Lauren Malik Angel Singhal

Photographers

Baya Burgess Emma Hardesty Elana Ho Delaney Rockers

Sports

Nathaniel Ankenbauer Anthony Barberena Chase Overton Ben Shryock

Reporters

Jack Bellemere Cameron Bringle Ryan Brown Brooke Burgess Ridwan Firman Vivian Moriarty Mary Kate Shultz

Editors

Greta Hayden, newspaper editor in chief Nick Burket, newspaper photography Emma Milburn, newspaper design Erin Fagan, yearbook editor in chief Madison Goeser, managing editor Maddie Day, yearbook design Spencer Farrell, yearbook photography Isis Norris, yearbook photography Isabel Janssen, assitant yearbook photography Sabrina Castle, online editor in chief Alex Decker, social media Maya Pavlyak, online photography Emily Zeller, online design Alex Brown, head copy Emma Holsclaw, assistant copy Suzanna Ingram, assistant copy Ethan Wood, assistant copy Renna Folsom,

business & marketing

Buisness

Bianca Nieto

The Free Press is an open forum that accepts letters to the editor and guest writing which must include the writer’s name and telephone number. Letters may be edited due to space limitations, libel or inappropriate content. Submit letters to Room 201 or send to the Free Press in care of...

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Lawrence Free State High School 4700 Overland Drive Lawrence, KS 66049.

The opinions expressed in the Free Press are not necessarily those of the Free Press staff, the high school administration or that of USD 497 Board of Education.

photo by Emma Hardesty page16

Contents

pages by Emma Milburn

Tied Together............................................................4-6 Student musicians share a bond within the community

Appriciating the Finer Things...................7-9 Students dive into literature and music

Achieving Higher Education..................10-13 Teachers go back to school to earn higher degrees

Profile: Maisy Struve.......................................16-17 Student educates others about therapy dogs

Changes on the Field....................................18-19 Boys varsity soccer hires new coach

Dismantiling Vape Nation.....................20-21 Staff Editorial

Written in the stars...........................................22-23 Column

Bird’s Word............................................................24-25 Students share jokes

Art Gallery.............................................................26-27 Photo Essay..........................................................28-29

photo submitted by Ellie LeBar page 4

Time Management.........................................30-31 Infographic

Student Coloring Page......................................32

photo by Nick Burket page18

photo by Elana Ho page 10

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Tied

Together

pages by Emma Milburn story by Ethan Wood photos by Elana Ho

School, students, music community join together Senior Jack Benkelman sings with his band, J-Benk and the Stink, at the Homecoming Bonfire. Benkelman helped start the blues band during his freshman year of high school. “The school’s jazz combo was playing at a fundraiser,” Benkelman said. “I was also playing guitar at that fundraiser. We informally jammed and that was the start.”

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reating an environment that inspires musicianship in students is a priority within the school and the community of Lawrence. Unique opportunities such as Fire Fest —a school-sponsored music festival led by senior Jack Benkelman and student council—provide a platform for students to share their talents with a supportive audience made up of students, faculty and clubs.

At Fire Fest, Benkelman performed with his band J-Benk and the Stink. They play a combination of jazz, rock and blues which is heavily based on improvisation.

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“Instead of singing and doing a quick solo, we extend the solo out and see where the music takes us,” Benkelman said.

The collaboration with his peers helps Benkelman develop his music beyond what he can do alone.

“When I’m taking a guitar solo, I can build up energy and the drummer will follow me and so will other musicians in the band,” Benkelman said. “It’s a lot more interactive than playing alone.”

Both the interactivity between the members of the band and the connections forged between the students are essential to the development of musicianship at the school.

Aside from Fire Fest, the school offers many

crazy.”

Because Schwarting is such an active person, she could not simply stand by while music was being played by others.

Schwarting has played at the county fair, clubs, in the downtown area and at the art center. She describes her music as a conglomeration of old time country and bluegrass.

“I think the music I write is timeless in a way,” Schwarting said. “Everyone can relate to it.”

As timeless as her music is, Schwarting has had a long time to gain experience in the ways of songwriting and improvisation. In contrast, senior Ellie LeBar is just coming onto the music scene.

LeBar has thrived in the musical community at Lawrence and Free State. Her parents like to joke that “she made small noises as a child and it just turned into singing.” With the aid of experienced musicians in Lawrence, LeBar has been able to develop her musical voice from the one her parents joked about as a child, into a mature and sophisticated one.

Continued on pages 6-7

NEWS

opportunities through which artists can share their talents—extracurricular activities such as Jazz Combo, Jazz Band and Music Club give students like, senior Elliot Smith, a chance to interact with other students who share a passion for music.

“There are so many talented musicians here that I can talk to, gain inspiration from and make connections with,” Smith said. Smith makes bedroom pop—a lo-fi vocal-heavy music style that focuses on lyricism and, despite the fact that she works primarily as a solo artist, she benefits from the musical community of Free State and Lawrence.

“When I think Lawrence, I think music,” Smith said. “They’re just intrinsically tied.”

Julie Schwarting, environmental science teacher, agrees with Smith about the musical community in Lawrence. She loves the way that the musicians in Lawrence support one another.

“There are so many musicians in Lawrence, it’s just a whole community that appreciates music,” Schwarting said. “Being around musicians all the time, I either had to play music or I would go

Senior Elliot Smith poses for her album cover.

Elliot writes and produces her own music as well as music videos. “Music is just really important to me and it helps me get through the day,” Smith said.

“Adding in the musical production piece makes me feel like I have a voice.”

Junior Ellie LeBar performs at the Kaw Valley Public House. Inspired by nature to friends, LeBar writes her own music and occasionally performs covers. “I make up stories in my head to write about...basically anything I can make sound pretty,” LeBar said.

Senior John Loos performs with his band at the Homecoming Bonfire. John has been playing piano since preschool and hopes to pursue music in college. “I was invited to play with Jack [Benkelman] and he sort of formed that band... that really was a new side of music for me,” Loos said.

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continued from page 5 “Free State has given me a lot of opportunities to sing in choir at higher levels and I think it’s gonna help me a lot getting into with musical colleges,” LeBvar said.

Along with showcasing her musicianship during choir performances, LeBar has played at the Lawrence Farmer’s Market and all over the downtown area.

“I play wherever anyone will let me,” LeBar said.

“When I’m in Lawrence, people will stop and say something about my voice or give me tokens from their life, which is really sweet.”

The musicians of Lawrence also support John Loos, a member of J-Benk and the Stink. He plays similar music to Benkelman, but his classical training and particular focus on improvisation distinguish him from the rest of the band.

“Lawrence is always open and welcoming to the arts, it gives me a good platform and people are really supportive so they’ll be willing to come out and see me play,” Loos said. “It’s a different support that you don’t get everywhere.”

Don’t Miss a Beat Follow these students on Spotify

@Elliot Cadence Latest Release: Missed It

@Ellie LeBar Latest Release: Dear

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pages by Emma Milburn story by Ethan Wood photos by Elana Ho

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Appreciating the

Finer Things

Club started to engage students in music, literature

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he Finer Things Club has taken a fresh start this school year with new members and newly elected president, Hailey Gotto. The Finer Things Club is primarily a book club, but they venture out with other media like movies, music and different forms of literature and art.

The club started in 2015 when the sponsor, English teacher Kylee Johnston, wanted to read The Handmaid’s Tale. A student who wanted a club, drank tea and made crafts, and another student wanted a club to focus on art appreciation. So Johnston figured, why not combine all of them into one melting pot of a club.

Numbers started dwindling when the seniors that started the group left, and Johnston decided to ask senior Hailey Gotto if she was interested in being president of the club because Gotto had shown interest in being a humanities professor. Gotto accepted the offer with open arms and describes it as the “highlight of her week.”

Johnston participates as one of the students and reads along with everyone and gets to enjoy the experience. She arranges trips to meet authors who come to Lawrence.

As president of the club, Gotto creates activities for the group to do surrounding their weekly topic: from printing out a poem and annotating it/ discussing the meaning and significance, to having a dance party with classical music.

The club is currently reading No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthey. Once they finish the book, Gotto plans to have a lock-in to watch the movie and eat popcorn as a way to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Gotto talks passionately about the club’s

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importance to all students, including herself.

“Being able to share your love with other people and it’s just a really good way to enrich your life,” she said.

Senior, Emily Stone, joined this year and finds the club makes reading genuinely fun. Stone had heard about the club from Gotto and thought it sounded like something she would be interested in. She explains the close knit bond the club has, and that there is no quantity goal with the material that they want to cover. They just simply want to have fun and enjoy reading with the people around them.

Junior Drew Leibold joined the club this year too.

He explains the importance of how the club talks about general contemporary issues within our society and his growth from talking about it with his peers.

“My eyes get opened up about all the issues that are happening within our society and I get to discuss it with a group of people that are very thoughtful about it as well,” Leibold said.

The Finer Things Club is a refreshing take on a book club with a slight twist. The inclusivity of the group and the bond between the members is thriving.

News Contact Kylee Johnston for information about joining the club.

Currently, the club meets Thursdays after school in room 308 Members of Finer Things Club read over a poem together with sponsor Kylee Johnston.

Johnston began sponsoring the club in 2015.

“People want to do this for fun, and this is the stuff I love,” Johnston said.

Senior Hailey Gotto leads a discussion over a piece of poetry the club has been annotating. She is the current president of the club and has participated in it for two years. “[Kylee] Johnston is my favorite teacher” Gotto said. “English is my favorite subject and so that kind of just came together.”

photos by Elana Ho story by Ryan Brown pages by Greta Hayden

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Ceramics teacher Mr. Lloyd consults with Carlie Miller in his ceramics and sculpture class. Mr. Lloyd has been teaching ceramics at Free State for four years. “Ceramics is my favorite thing to teach hands down” Lloyd said.

A Higher Degree of Education

pages by Emma Nelson

After bell rings, teachers head to class

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ccording to the National Survey of Student Engagement, the average student in a master program at a major university will spend around 17 hours a week outside of class studying. For many students, that leaves plenty of time for hobbies and relaxation, but imagine if those same students also worked full time as a teacher.

That’s exactly what math teacher Alyssa Barratt, science teacher Daniel Hissong and social studies teacher Cat Monroe did

story by Jack Bellemere photos by Elana Ho

last year, balancing a full teaching schedule with postgraduate degrees in education and science.

For Monroe, balancing work and study came with extra challenges.

“I had a whole new subject I hadn’t ever taught before and then I had to write a dissertation and I had never been required to write at a dissertation level before,” Monroe said.

She would often spend hours on schoolwork only to find piles of work to grade

lessons or some of my grading and I found that when I traded that off, I was taking the other home and I didn’t like that either.”

It’s not surprising the teachers were stressed. According to a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, graduate students reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population.

“Our results show that graduate students are more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety as compared to the general population,” the study said.

Luckily for these teachers, they found they could rely on their friends and family to help Continued on pages 12-13

English teacher Andrew Martin is going back to school to pursue a degree in instructional technology. “I want to be able to engage my kids because more and more jobs and trainings and universities are using [technology] more and more,” Martin said.

Math teacher Alyssa Barratt is currently pursuing her masters degree in administrative education through KU. “If I become an administrator or a leader in the school then I can help more kids,” Barratt said.

Feature

were waiting for her when she was done.

All three teachers had a similar experience. For Hissong, the experience was grueling.

“When my wife and I were in the thick of it, we would put our kids to bed at about 8:30 p.m. and we would both be up until 1 a.m. every night, probably 10 hours total on the weekends,” Hissong said.

For Barratt, working on her own school work often forced her to shunt her students’ work down the road, generating more stress.

“During my plan time, I would try and read and I would find then I was taking home more of my schoolwork,” Barratt said.

“Usually I use my plan time to prepare my

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continued from page 11

For Barratt, she found teaching her students gave her motivation to keep working on her masters even though it was a massive time commitment. “[Having students] helped motivate me, because I know that if I was in a different position that maybe I could help some of them in different circumstances,” Barratt said. “I know if I stick around in education, I’ll have their kids or their brothers or sisters one day.”

In fact, Barratt described her interactions with students as being her favorite aspect of teaching–and one she hopes to continue in the future.

“Kids are just fun,” Barratt said, “By stepping out into a principal job, I’d be able to wander around the school and be able to interact [with students] during lunch time and different parts of the day.”

Monroe and Barratt both hope to use their degrees to progress professionally, but whereas Barratt wants to become a high school administrator, Monroe has different ambitions.

“I’d love to go to the college level and begin instructing first and second year preeducation majors,” Monroe said, “I love the classroom, but being able to support teachers in a profession we don’t have as many people

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coming into... would be fun.”

The problem of declining numbers of education professionals is a real one.

According to a report by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in the education field has fallen by 15 percent over the past decade, accompanying a 32 percent drop in postgraduate enrollment in education.

Despite many students now opting out of post-graduate education, all three teachers said they thought their experiences were worth it in the end.

Hissong said he loved being able to share his studies with his students, sharing his experiences and newfound knowledge with them.

“The night before, if I read something interesting, I’d post it on [Google] Classroom [and] we’d talk about it the next day,” Hissong said. “I make it a point in the first week [of school] to go over the... paper that was retracted that claimed MMR vaccines caused autism.”

For Monroe, her work on the first three chapters of a dissertation on grading practices shaped the way she viewed education and allowed her to re-evaluate how she graded her students’ work.

“With the research, there was definitely room for growth [in my grading practices],” Monroe said, explaining she often found herself frustrated with her professor’s lack of useful feedback. “It also kind of made me appreciate again the power of feedback.”

Barratt explained, while her experience was worth it in the end, it’s important to go into higher education with a plan.

“It’s valuable to spend time researching and making sure it is what you want to do forever, but also think bigger picture,” Barratt said. “It’s what you want to do, but

Art teacher Bryan. Lloyd is pursuing a masters degree in visual arts education. “A degree in general education isn’t as relevant as a degree in arts education for me professionally,” Lloyd said.

Feature

Math teacher Alyssa Barratt instructs her advanced algebra II class. She hopes to become a high school administrator after finishing her degree. “I chose the program that I did so I could help more kids than just the ones inside my classroom,” Barratt said.

what kind of environment does that put you in? Who is it that you’re gonna work with?”

Monroe, echoed that sentiment, stressing it is especially important in a 21st century world of increasing technology use.

“Make sure whatever you’ve pursuing is truly something that you’ll be happy doing for the rest of your life,” Monroe said.

“Because if you’re not it;s going to be a miserable time.”

In the end, though, Hissong stressed students should embrace the possibility of failure.

“Failure and pain are probably the two greatest teaching tools humans have ever known,” Hissong said. “Don’t avoid them.”

Science teacher Daniel Hissong recently finished up his masters in biology. “Teaching my students to be skeptics...is my biggest reason for doing it,” Hissong said. “Just to make sure they’re informed people.”

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

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Maisy’s Best Friend photos by Emma Hardesty story by Cameron Bringle pages by Greta Hayden

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aisy Struve may not be the busiest person at school, but she’s certainly close. Cross country, color guard, 4H, 4H dog classes, church and family occupy much of her time. Not to mention she’s the president of that 4H chapter.

When she isn’t busy, Struve spends her time with Nala, her certified therapy dog.

Though Struve and Nala are newly certified, therapy dogs are hardly a new interest for her. Struve has trained dogs practically her whole life.

Unlike other dogs Struve has trained, Nala won’t just be doing tricks. Therapy dogs are trained and certified to provide support for a communal setting.

Struve, now the certified owner of therapy dog Nala, found out firsthand just how helpful therapy dogs can be.

“When I was younger, I had a really hard time reading and spelling…” Struve said. “I would read to the [therapy] dogs at our old public library.”

Animals won’t judge you, making it easier for some

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people to open up around them. Therapy dogs are for everyone, either for comforting people in distress, or simply making an environment friendlier to be in.

“When you’re with dogs, you release different hormones like oxytocin, which reduces stress,” Struve notes.

Now, a decade later, Struve takes an independent study to further her understanding of the practicalities of therapy dogs.

These dogs are similar to emotional support dogs, which are designated for one person only, but are used in a setting where they are accessible to all. Therapy dogs are not service dogs either, but they do still need to go through a long and complex training process to become licensed.

Certifying a therapy dog is a long journey. The dogs must be friendly and comforting, but also pass a training course. Their handlers must also pass a similar process, before both dog and owner become certified.

Struve and Nala are certified through Pet Partners KCMO.

While her dog, Nala, wags her tail, senior Maisy Struve scratches her neck. Struve decided to become a certified therapy dog owner after reading to the therapy dogs at the Lawrence Public Library.

Looking up into the air, therapy dog Nala waits to receive a treat from senior Maisy Struve. Both Struve and Nala are certified through Pet Partners based out of Kansas City, Missouri.

Sound complex? Add the rest of Struve’s busy schedule and it becomes even more so. Free time is scarce, but the rare occasions that she finds some, she spends it with family and friends.

“I take a lot of naps” Struve jokes.

Struve has finished training her therapy dog and is now beginning to use Nala in a professional role. She has contacted schools, including Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, Deerfield Elementary and Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where she believes Nala can have an impact.

News

Student shares love and interest for therapy dogs

“[Nala] is my stress reliever,” Struve said. “She helps me just get through the day. She just seems to understand people.”

It doesn’t end here, either.

“After I graduate, I plan to be a dog trainer. I’m going to take animal behavior in college then try to get certified as a trainer.” Struve said.

For now, Struve and Nala prepare to work in the field with children and hospitalized people, hoping that a therapy dog will help people now like it did for her a decade ago.

Smiling, senior Maisy Struve pets her dog, Nala. Struve has taken an independent study to further her understanding of therapy dogs.

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Changes on the Field

pages by Emma Nelson

story by Nate Ankenbauer photos by Nick Burket

New coach comes with new expectations

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Speaking with one another varsity head coach Hussam Mohammed and coach Nathan Mandgold discuss strategy. For Mohammed, the goal for the team this year is to break last season’s record. “It will take a lot of practice and commitment,” Mohammed said. “We have that talent we have that quality of players and we can go far.”

Scrimmaging with sophomore Aaron Neff, junior Wyatt Farrow tries to pass the ball to a teammate. Over the summer, Farrow moved to Lawrence from Baldwin City. “Everyone feels more connected,” Farrow said. “We are really dynamic and an open team and we are very skilled and I love that.”

Running, junior Spencer Ware leads his teammates in conditioning. For Ware, adapting to the new play style of the coaches and applying what he has learned to better himself for his team. “[The coaches] play different formations which has been something to adjust to,” Ware said.

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Sophomore Ayden Works does a leg stretch before starting practice. According to Works, there has been a boost of confidence from the team with the new coach change. “I feel there’s more energy,” Work said. “I feel that we are winning a lot more and we have a lot more confidence coming out to the field and coming together more as a team more than we ever have before.”

n May 22, athletic director Amanda Faunce announced Hussam Mohammed as the new Firebird soccer coach after science teacher Kelly Barah stepped down. Mohammed looked forward to this season for two reasons.

“I love the sport as it is and Free State is a really good sporting environment to be a part of,” Mohammed said.

Last season the Firebirds had a below 500 record and lost in the first round of the state playoffs.

Mohammed wanted to change the culture of the program.

“As a 6A school, I have to keep the program as competitive as possible, Mohammed said. “My biggest goals for the season are learning experience and breaking last year’s record. I don’t think that’s a good record for a 6A school.”

Coach Mohammed wants to be as competitive as possible and possibly going deep into the state championships.

He sees the biggest strength of the team is the experienced backline. He foresees successive years of

Sports

Speaking to her team, junior varsity coach Ameliea Parris shares her vision for the team this year. Parris has played soccer for the majority of her life; starting in kindergarten. “I love how cerebral it is,” Parris said. “There are so many options and there are no right answers to everything and it’s like fitting puzzle pieces together in order to figure it out and you have to work together as a team and I love that.”

improvement for the program.

“The future will be the junior varsity... they can possibly go further than varsity this year,” Mohammed said.

Freshmen JV player MingDa Zhang credits Mohammed with his growth as a player.

“Mohammed has helped me gain self confidence for the short time he’s been here,” Zhang said.

Mohammed brings a different type of energy to games the Firebirds haven’t had in the recent years according to Zhang.

“When I play he gets me ready amped up for the game.”

It has been a huge adjustment for players like sophomore Joon Chun.

“Mohammed prefers a different formation and things we focus on in practice are very different than previous years.”

With the adjustments the Firebirds have a solid record of three wins, one tie and one loss. Since dropping the first game to Olathe South, the team has gone unbeaten in four straight games.

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photos by Nick Burket pages by Greta Hayden

Students across campus can be found blowing clouds of smoke in bathrooms, parking lots and even in class. According to some students, vaping helps with suppressing their anxiety, depression and wakes them up in the morning.

Dismantling VAPE NATION A staff editorial reflects the general opinion of the journalism staff. Staff members submit their opinions anonymously to inform the writer.

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-FSJ Staff Member

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very generation has a defining event. For the Baby Boomers it was the Kennedy assasination and for Generation X it was the Challenger explosion. Our generation is in a sticky spot, Most of us fall in the overlap of two generations, we don’t have a set Identity. It is commonly believed that Millennials were born between 1980 to the early 2000’s, On the other hand Generation Z is said to be born between the mid-1990’s to the mid-2000’s.

What identifies and defines our generation?

The current answer is the vaping epidemic.

So what can we do on a grassroots level to help address these health concerns in our peer group and community? Bringing awareness to the health risks and the negative impacts on one’s life is a good start, but what we need to do is make the issue seem more human. Bringing awareness to these issues is important because no change will be made unless teens start caring about their health.

The school district has a desire to fix this problem but they are doing the bare minimum. What needs to be done is to provide students with the resources and support they need. For example, hiring a counselor who is specially trained in drug use and abuse.

Someone who the students could go talk to and figure out the root of their problem. The current counselors are arguably not qualified enough.

Whether or not students will use this resource is up to them as teens are stubborn and tend not to care, but letting them know they have a resource to help curb their addiction may make more of an impact than expected.

Current attempts at fixing this issue are not working. The American Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization in charge of the Truth campaign, approaches the issue with the attempt to scare teens

Editorial

“The social worker should be here to help kids who are addicted or struggling (...) After all, the only thing that vaping is really affecting is their personal health, not harming the school.”

into submission. They use creative visuals and wording to try and get teens to avoid vaping. These tactics come across as impersonal;the videos they make are blasted across social media constantly and have become overplayed. They should be focusing on making teens care about their health so they don’t ruin it by vaping.

The leading causes of vaping in teens are experimentation, boredom, relaxation, a desire to quit smoking, a form of rebellion and simply for the fact they enjoy the taste. Despite there being a legal age to purchase a JUUL or other nicotine products, teens are still getting their hands on them through illegal means.

According to JUUL’s website the nicotine content in one JUULpod is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes.

Due to the high nicotine content, JUUL’s are highly addictive. This, paired with the fact that teens are highly susceptible to addiction, makes JUULing a major issue that damages teens’ health and their ability to focus.

A recent study found that vaping can cause lung irritation similar to the irritation seen in smokers and people with lung disease. Vaping has also been found to cause damage to vital immune system cells.

Additionally, it has been shown that vaping increases heart rate and blood pressure, meaning it can heighten circulatory problems.

The most concerning element of vaping, however, are the studies that link the carcinogenic compounds found in e-cigarettes and similar devices to the increased, and previously unseen, rates of cancer in teens and young adults.

If we don’t want our generation to be known as the generation of vaping we need to find a way to curb this epidemic. Though these solutions may not work consistently, they are a good start.

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Written

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hange is inevitable. Having a say in that change is among the scariest things I know. Choices are so scary to me. I don’t know what I want, and what if a better option is out there that I don’t know of ?

Is there a right or a wrong? What if I end up absolutely miserable because of the choice I made? What if it is potentially life altering and I don’t know that?

Indecision is one of my greatest pitfalls.

After all, I am a Libra.

Something that always gives me solace is looking at the stars. The immeasurable vastness before me makes all my problems feel small. I track the stars and their movements on my phone. I also track my astrological horoscope on my phone.

I don’t know what to think of Astrology, if I’m being quite honest. Part of me wants to say that it’s nothing but fantastical make-believe. The other part of me wants to think that, perhaps, there is truth to astrology. Is that just me? Maybe, but it’s also enough for me. It’s enough to give me some sort of sense in life.

Life around me is changing faster before I can blink. The school year is only going by faster and faster, my social group has changed, and I have changed. Smashmouth was right. The years start coming and they don’t stop coming.

Tracking the stars gives me some sort of peace and a connection to what is happening around me.

It helps me make sense, even if it’s all in my head.

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in the

Why should that be a bad thing, though? If I have a method of keeping peace within myself, why should I change that?

I’ve always struggled with my beliefs and what I think. I want to keep my thoughts my own and not dictated by an outside influence. The two topics that keep me up late the most are politics and faith.

It seems so arbitrary to me that I have such faith in these stars and planets without any foundation for this belief. This contradicts what I stand for. There has to be some sort of structure, right?

This is a symptom of being a Capricorn Moon.

In my science fiction class, we talked about the supernatural and otherworldly powers and why people believe in their existence. I know I believe, but why? I don’t think I’ve really stopped asking that to myself since. Having a healthy amount of skepticism is important to me. I don’t want to have unyielding faith to my own or other’s ideas. So why do I believe?

I just do. I don’t have a beautiful and nuanced answer to this, even after a month of introspection.

Maybe my fate is written up above, maybe it is not. The idea that things are out of my hands sounds tempting, but that’s not the case. Ultimately, I have to decide and make my own path. Wherever I go, the stars will still be there to give me hope. Hope is all I’m receiving from this, right?

Column

Editor in chief shares thoughts regarding her changing future its relationship with astrology

Star Chart Dates

Aquarius, Janurary 20 - February 18 Pisces, February 19 - March 20 Aries, March 21 - April 19 Taurus, April 20 - May 18 Gemini, May 21 - June 20 Cancer, June 21 - July 22 Leo, July 23 - August 22 Virgo, August 23 - September 22 Libra, September 23 - October 22 Scorpio, October 23 - November 21 Sagittarius, November 22 - December 21 Capricorn, December 22 - Janurary 19

story by Greta Hayden pages by Greta Hayden photo illustration by Greta Hayden

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pages by Emma Nelson

Bird’s

word

What is the funniest joke you know?

senior Jessica Reed

“I somehow managed to make it through high school math only knowing even numbers.

What are the odds?”

freshman Jacee Jump

“What’s the difference between a snow-man and a snow-woman?”

“Snowballs.”

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photos by Elana Ho

“I see jokes all the time.

You can too if you look in the mirror.”

Bird’s Word

junior Rebecca Feng

sophomore Jamareon Davis

“I bought some shoes from a drug dealer.

I don’t know what he laced them with, but I’ve been tripping all day.”

sophomore Molly Townley

“What do you call an owl magician?

Hoo-Dini.”

junior Gabriel Mendoza

“Today at the bank an old lady told me to check her balance... so I pushed her over.”

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Art of the Month

Isabel Janssen (11)

Anne Pollard (11) Riley Bredemus (11)

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Olivia Toevs (11)

Willoughby Lam (10)

Art

Trinity Brown (19)

Akosua Danso (10)

pages by Emma Nelson

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Senior Helena Lord plays her saxophone during the Free State homecoming game. Lord has participated in marching band for four years.

A saxophone lies on the field during band practice. Many students in marching band check out instruments from the district rather than using their own.

Band members face the audience during the Frees State homecoming game against Shawnee Mission North. Free State won the game 59-14.

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Marching to the Beat

Senior Ashlyn Merrill stands ready to conduct the band members during the homecoming game. Merrill was one of three drum majors.

photos by Elana Ho page by Emma Nelson

Senior Nirali Patel plays her trumpet during her solo in the homecoming game performance. Patel has participated in band for four years, but has played trumpet since sixth grade. “I...really enjoy making music” Patel said.

A student plays the marimba at band practice. The marimba is one of the many percussion instruments included in the Pit.

A band students perform during the halftime show of the homecoming football game. The band performed a piece called “Beethoven Time Machine.”

photo essay

Junior Owen Polson plays his trombone as he stands in position during the routine. Band students also performed choreography in addition to playing their instruments during the halftime performance.

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How You can Handle a Heavy Workload The signs you have taken on too much and tips for relief.

Do you...

need more sleep? over or under eat? spend hours on work? feel unbalanced or stressed? have extreme mood changes?

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pages by Emma Milburn

1.

Make a list of your deadlines and prioritze the most urgent tasks.

Work on your assignments for a few hours at a time.

Infographic

3.

2.

Take short breaks to minimize stress levels.

Communticate with teachers, parents and employers for help.

4.

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Coloring Page

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submitted by Anne Pollard (12)