Free Press, Iss 4 Ed 16

free press editors voice the benefit of weighted grades

page 10

the free press

FP

issue four edition sixteen november 8, 2012

cheaters in the halls: students’ take on a taboo subject

page 2

on the road after high school: finding the perfect path for a future education

pages 6-7

academics

FP academic dishonesty november 8, 2012 page by katie guyot

2

>students cheat the system to achieve good grades

by rosemary newsome

Cheating isn’t just for slackers anymore.

With constant evaluation from peers, teachers, parents and coaches, students feel extreme pressure to fulfill expectations. “[I feel] pressure from everyone to get good grades so [I] can get a scholarship,” a female senior said.

Sometimes, cheating is just too tempting to resist.

“You’re supposed to use all your resources, and students are other resources,” she said.

And often, it’s out of necessity.

“Yes, I’ve looked over at other people’s papers before,” a different female senior said. “I just didn’t know [the answer].”

The student handbook assigns cheating and plagiarism as a Level I offense, but depending on the gravity of the violation, cheating can be punished to the extent of an out-of-school suspension.

“Cheating would be using anything that would help you that’s not something your teacher wants you to use,” math teacher Laura O’Neil said.

Those interviewed also emphasized that cheating is gaining knowledge that is not one’s own, but when it came to SparkNotes and plagiarism, their definitions varied from those of the school.

Taking ideas off of online study guides such as SparkNotes was unanimously considered not cheating, merely laziness.

In frantic situations, such as attempting to finish term paper outlines at four in the morning, many students have, out of desperation, sought out help from peers. Most interviewed students agreed that in certain situations, copying homework is acceptable.

A warning, English teachers: the interviewees split even on whether plagiarizing was a form of cheating.

“I don’t think it’s cheating,” another female senior said. “I just think it’s kind of laziness.”

But other students firmly believe that plagiarizing is cheating, as it involves stealing someone else’s work or ideas and calling them one’s own.

80%

%rized aally 3l8 s a agi n es

ep fa hav part o r have cheated o on a test

86%

have used Sparknotes instead of reading a book

a tree of bad apples

>the free press polled 50 students about academic honesty, and of the 47 who admitted to cheating at least once in their academic careers, only 26% said they had ever been caught. apple and worm images courtesy of dhuan and digipam on creative commons by flickr.

Most teachers, such as English teacher Sam Rabiola, agree with these students in admonishing plagiarism and taking all measures to eliminate it. “[Once,] I was reading [a student’s] paper,” Rabiola said, “ and some things just weren’t adding up. Just didn’t sound right.”

Rabiola travelled to the KU library, located the student’s sources and investigated the bizarre-sounding quotes.

“Interestingly,” he said, “where the student had direct quotations from the text, there were no words--just pictures.”

When confronted about the fabricated quotations, the student threatened to sue Rabiola.

But not all teachers can have Rabiola’s Sherlock Holmes alterego. Some students believe educators are not doing enough to stop the cheating that occurs within the walls of Free State. Although no teachers were ac-

catch them if you can >teachers recount snooping out students’ cleverest tricks “I was at my podium and students were taking a test, and I looked at a student in the front row [who] was looking at her hand, and then she’d look at her test and write something down. And then she’d look at her hand again and write something else. And so I watched for a while. She came back to turn in her test.

I was back at my desk at the time, and I said, ‘What’s on your hand?’ And she showed me her left hand and she said, ‘Nothing.’ I said, ‘No, on your other hand.’ ‘Oh, I was in art class and we were supposed to be studying, so I just had the answers on my hands.’

That test was pretty easy to grade.” >sam rabiola, english

“My favorite was last year in Analysis, and the guy had his phone out, on his leg, and had pulled up the key to my review sheet on my website. So the problems weren’t exactly the same but he was still looking at how to work through the problems. Yeah, he got a zero on that test.” >laura o’neil, math

cused of encouraging cheating by any means, students expressed that some faculty ignore their responsibility to try and eliminate it.

“I think some teachers realize people are cheating and don’t care,” a female senior said.

And whether teachers realize it or not, certain habits, such as leaving the room frequently or giving out take home tests, increase a student’s likelihood of cheating.

“With the take home test, it’s like asking to cheat basically,” a male senior said. “And if [teachers] aren’t paying attention in class during the test or they just leave for certain amounts of time, then people use that to talk and ask questions.”

Even the arrangement of desks in a monitored classroom setting can tempt students to cheat.

“Sometimes,” another female senior said, “like if you’re in a group and you’re facing people, it’s really easy for people to cheat if they’re looking at someone directly.”

Some students are not even too intimidated by the gravity of national standardized tests to resist illegally sneaking a glance at another’s answer sheet.

“I’ve seen people cheat on the ACT before,” a male senior said, “which is kind of not the best thing to do. They just looked straight off of other people’s papers...”

Increasingly creative and technologically advanced methods of cheating can be difficult for teachers to catch. O’Neil says she can’t punish cheating unless she has definitive evidence of academic dishonesty.

“Can I prove it?” O’Neil asked. “Do I have something physical? And was it a homework assignment? Then I might not stress about [cheating] so much as a test, so it just depends.”

Storing information on graphing calculators, for example, is a simple, popular and usually undetected way of accessing bulk amounts of material.

Overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed, confused by the exact definition of cheating or simply using their “resources” to their advantage, many students believe that cheating is a necessary evil for succeeding in high school.

The above article quotes anonymous sources in order to protect the identities of the students interviewed, who shared their stories with the reporter under the condition that their names remain private. The Free Press neither condones nor condemns the opinions expressed in this article.

“A few years ago there was a program on the Internet called ‘label maker.’ You could go in and find a label that was similar to a label you’d find on a water bottle, or a pop bottle, or something like that, and then you could go into the ingredients section and type in formulas in place of the ingredients-either on the front of the label or some people would do it on the back of the label. Then [students could] just glue it to the bottle, and then take it in with them like they’re just drinking their normal stuff. It’s probably still out there, is my guess.” >steve heffernan, science

corrections The Free Press’ Oct. 4 issue regrettably contained multiple misquotes: In our center spread story, “By the Issues,” Tate Bremenkamp and Grace Phillips were both inaccurately quoted.

In “From the Polls to the Classroom,” we misidentified Austin Bailey as Nick Becker.

In “Hometown Politics Hit the Halls,” Kylie Dever was also incorrectly quoted.

As a staff, we regard accuracy, journalistic ethics and integrity at the highest level, as we do our best to produce a professional and high-quality publication.

To avoid misquoting interviewees in the future, we are recording interviews and repeating quotes back to our interviewees to ensure accuracy. We apologize again, to our readers and especially to those misquoted, for our inaccurate reporting last issue and promise that we are doing our best to avoid inaccurate reporting in the future.

We thank our readers for their understanding and their continued support of The Free Press.

on the cover

photo by katie guyot and sam boatright As a National Merit Semifinalist, senior Adam Fales is buried in college mail. Also known for his appearances in the Facebook photo collection by senior Lexi Adams, “Adam at his Locker,” Fales here contemplates the University of Oregon from the safety of his locker.

2012-13

free press staff sam boatright- co-editorin-chief katie guyot- co-editor-inchief hannah moran- copy editor sarah whipple- design editor kimberly messineo-sports manager logan brown- ad manager jacob hood- cartoonist maria carrasco- reporter sean chilicoat- reporter kyra haas- reporter

sarah lieberman- reporter ryan liston- reporter maria mckee- reporter rosemary newsome- reporter grace oliver- reporter catherine prestoy- reporter hannah reussner- reporter ciara sayler- reporter kristina foster- designer darian koenig- designer john mccain- designer riley buller- designer

our mission

The Free Press is an open forum that accepts letters to the editor and guest writings. They must include the writer’s name and telephone numbers. Articles may be edited due to space limitations, libel or inappropriate content. Letters may be submitted to Room 115 or sent in care of Free Press to Free State High School, 4700 Overland Drive, Lawrence, KS, 66049.

The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Free Press staff, the high school administration, nor that of the USD 497 Board of Education.

november 8, 2012 page by kristina foster

>affirmative action reappears in the supreme court, university of texas in the middle by kimberly messineo

For most, college is the time of their lives. It’s where they begin the path of being an adult. Many students have dream schools where they would like to see themselves pursuing a degree of their choice.

However, many students don’t get the opportunity to attend their dream school because, some say, of their race.

Students receive rejection letters for a variety of reasons, ranging from grade competition to test scores, but according to Abigail Fisher, a University of Texas applicant, race can also contribute to why someone was denied admittance.

The Supreme Court started reviewing the case Fisher v. University of Texas on Oct. 10 of this year. Abigail Fisher has taken the university to court because she believes that she was denied admittance in 2008 because she is white, and campus diversity is very important to UT. Affirmative action is the center of Fisher v.

University of Texas.

Affirmative action describes actions which favor those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education, and was first enacted during the civil rights movement.

The University of Texas has a Division of Diversity and Community Engagement

FP news

diversity versus discrimination

(DDCE). The DDCE’s mission is to help minority for admittance so that the campus can achieve students who may not otherwise be able to diversity is a controversial topic. Many people access higher education. have very strong opinions on whether According to U.S. News they believe race can determine and Rankings, the diversity admittance or not. index at University of “Diversity is so kids Texas is 0.69. This from small towns means that this and big towns and school has more states across the diversity than U.S. and even about 70 perinternational cent of other students schools in have the the nation. opportunity “Dito learn versity is together a strength about their of our chosen country,” field of counselor study, each Bryan Dunother and can said. “It’s share their a tricky sublife experienc>joel frederick, counselor ject because we es,” teacher Kim want everyone to Grinnell said. be successful, and Counselor Joel to give everybody Frederick believes the opportunity to be race should be a factor successful.” that colleges look at when The question of whether determining admission. colleges should use race as consideration “Colleges have many factors that they

“Universities are sort of a melting pot of the world, an opportunity to expose yourself to many different thoughts, ideas and cultures.”

can consider and do consider,” Frederick said.

“So I don’t see why race couldn’t be one of them.”

Senior Ajala Anavberokhai agrees.

“Any school can justify how they let people in, like their GPA or if they attend a lot of clubs,” she said. “It’s just another factor they put in there.”

Supporters of affirmative action say that it allows disadvantaged or even geographically diverse students to attend the school of their dreams.

“If you are a kid from a small town in western Kansas, you might not even get considered for a [highly competitive] school like that if diversity was not a goal for college admission personnel,” Grinnell said.

Although diversity is positive for college campuses, there can be a point in which the strive for diverse student populations can go too far, critics say. Duncan recognizes that both sides of the argument make valid points. “ [T]o help a certain group of people, you have to maybe hold back another group of people,” Duncan said. “I think that’s sometimes the nature of how some things work, and I think there’s a fine line of where that balance is.”

As the months go on, the Supreme Court will continue to discuss the topic and should come to a decision by late June of 2013.

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United States- 2nd court of appeals strikes down Defense of Marriage Act Europe- The European Union receives the Nobel Peace Prize Uruguay- Uruguay Senate backs first trimester abortion United States- Hurricane Sandy does an estimated $50 billion in damage, causes 8.5 million power outages and kills at least 74 people in the U.S.

hometown hub

FP

november 8, 2012 page by sam boatright

hometown hub

4

showing off what Lawrence does best

by sean chilcoat

sun finally sets on the “twilight saga: breaking dawn--part two” Every 10 year-old girl wants that fake, stupid, sappy love story with the guy of their dreams. Typically, the guy of most girls’ dreams is human.

Recently, the man of teenage girls’ dreams has become a blood sucking vampire.

Vampires used to be scary...

Have fangs, suck human blood, kill people, etc. What happened to that? Now they sparkle, have feelings for humans and play “vampire baseball.”

The “Twilight” book and movie series is ridiculous. In real life, Bella would have chosen Jacob over Edward any day.

If Jacob is so hot, why would he chase after Bella who is an “ordinary” girl? She is also already in love with a dude who has glittery skin.

Edward was born in 1901, and he’s “in love” with a girl who’s in high school. Shouldn’t he be on “To Catch a Predator” instead of a movie screen and the bestseller list?

Werewolf boy is nice to Bella, never hurts her and fights

for her. On the other hand, Edward obviously verbally abuses her. The National Domestic Violence hotline gives multiple signs to tell you if you are in a physically or verbally abusive relationship. Threatening to commit suicide is one. Edward says something like, “If you leave me, starts I’ll kill myself.”

Nov. 15 @ So basically Twilight is supporting being a pedophile and is allowing 10 p.m. physical and verbal abuse in the name $8 of love.

So remember if you want a real love story, make sure you’re with a abusive, makeup-wearing vampire.

Sadly, I have seen two of the four movies, and I’m open to different movie genres and all that. But of all the bad movies I’ve seen, “Twilight” is the worst.

“Twilight” literally makes no sense at all, going against everything I’ve ever seen or read about vampires and humans.

Since when did vampires want to do anything but drink our blood?

f mageso mid e sy o ur t o co

“hubsessions” flaunting the hall’s latest fads

>what tv shows are you currently obsessing over?

“‘Sons of Anarchy’” >wyatt poeverlein, 11

“‘The Walking Dead’” >chase langston, 12

“‘SpongeBob’” >tom riggs, 9

“‘Pretty Little Liars’” >ashton edwards, 11

“‘Revenge,’ ‘Elementary,’ and ‘Ghost Adventures.’” >scott smith, media teacher

The real Dracula, way back in the Instead of 1500s, impaled people for fun.

While impaled, his victims lay seeing “Twilight,” go completely unconscious for see “Argo,” directed by Ben hours or even days. They Affleck. Boasting a 95 writhe in pain, screaming percent user and critic rating, to the sky wondering what it’s based on a true story they did to deserve this. involving the rescue of six out There are even stories of of 52 Americans taken Vlad Dracul dipping bread hostage by Islamic in human blood before eating it, or even bathing in blood. revolutionaries in Vampires need to stay scary, and 1979. be the Vlad Dracul type. Not Romeo.

Dracula means “son of the devil,” and vampires are based off of Count Dracula. Evil, dark, terrifying. Not sparkly or human-loving.

“Twilight” made vampires for 10 year-old girls. The forbidden love story is ridiculous. Sorry girls, no matter how hard you try, you will never experience a hot vampire or werewolf lover.

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november 8, 2012 page by kristina foster

scholarships require citizenship

First Freedom Student Competition Create a 750- to 1450-word essay or 5- to 7-minute video about religious freedom, based on George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, RI, in 1790. >Prize: $2,500 >Eligibility: grades 9-12 >Deadline: Nov. 26 (register by Nov. 12) The National Peace Essay Contest Write an essay in 1,500 words or less on the topic of gender, war and peacebuilding (see website for details). >Prizes: $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $1,000 for state award >Eligibility: grades 9-12 >Deadline: Feb. 1 The Ayn Rand Institute Enter essay contests on one of four of Ayn Rand’s novels--“Anthem,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “We the Living” and “The Fountainhead.” >Prizes: Vary based on book and award, but range from $25 to $10,000 >Eligibility: Varies based on book, but ranges from grades 8-12 >Deadlines: Depend on book

Senior Cecilia Quintana has studied in the United States as an international student since she was nine years old. Quintana did not know English when she came from Paraguay to America in fifth grade. Determined to take advantage of the educational and social opportunities, Quintana quickly became fluent in English and excelled in school, taking a multitude of advanced and Advanced Placement classes as well as being involved in a wide variety of extracurricular activities.

Despite Quintana’s academic success, she cannot file for student aid.

“It’s very frustrating and disheartening at times because international students don’t have a lot of scholarship opportunities,” Quintana said. “It seems unfair at times that, after spending so many years here that I don’t qualify.”

While the FAFSA (Federal Application for Financial Student Aid) allows a broad category of non-citizens to use it, Quintana falls under one of three non-eligible non-citizen categories.

“Citizenship is usually the issue in many of these cases,” said Baker University admissions officer Daniel McKinney. “In order to be eligible to file a FAFSA, one must be a US Citizen.”

According to http://studentaid.ed.gov, Quintana is an international student studying on an F-2 student visa, which means that she

is unable to receive the benefit of academic scholarships, National Merit-based scholarships, or the benefits that come with being attaining certain grades and scores on national tests like the ACT and SAT. This means that no matter what grades she gets, she still winds up with the same daunting choice: stay in America or go back to Paraguay. “…Looking back, I could have gotten really bad grades and not studied for the ACT and SAT and I would have been in the same situation I am in now,” Quintana said. “...Your legal status limits you so much on what you can and cannot do.”

Without student aid, Quintana will have to prove to the educational institution that she has enough money to cover the entire duration of her college career so that she does not violate her F-2 student status, which requires that she stay unemployed.

“You have to prove that you have enough money for four years to support yourself, which is pretty ridiculous,” Quintana said. “I don’t think that most American students can show that [amount of] money when they apply to college.”

Filing for citizenship is extremely difficult.

According to the Immigration Law Center, L.L.C, applying costs $595. It requires the applicant pass two tests—a literacy test and a knowledge of U.S. history.

It may take up to three months for an ap-

plicant to meet the resident eligibility requirements, and 120 days to become naturalized after the interview.

Tightening of immigration laws in the past decade has made this confusing and complicated process even more arduous; a system Quintana wants to change.

“People aren’t really aware of what the process is,” Quintana said. “They see what you have to do and the choices you have to make as mooching off the system, whereas you really have no choice. There isn’t a lot of freedom within the system for what you can do and what path you can choose. I feel that I should get somewhat of a chance.”

However, not all hope is lost for Quintana.

“Baker University and other colleges and universities offer academic merit and talent scholarships to undocumented and/or international students,” McKinney said.

Although she is faced with the daunting prospect of attaining higher education, she doesn’t believe she would do anything differently her past seven years in America.

“School really taught me to appreciate learning, and I don’t think I’d give that up,” Quintana said. “Some days I’m like, ‘I wish I would have not gone zero through seven for the past three years and not done as much as I have, because it doesn’t matter,’ but there are other benefits, not just academic resume benefits.”

are you qualified for fafsa? yes!

5

>international student struggles to pay for college

by grace oliver

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the road after high school

feature

page by sarah whipple

6

by kyra haas and ryan liston

Life AFTER high school is just around the corner. Everyone will be getting jobs, not getting jobs, going to college, not going to college, staying home or going away. Pretty soon every student at Free State will have

advertently or inadvertently chosen at least one of these paths. Play the game below by choosing one of the answers in the bubbles and following the corresponding arrow to see what option will suit you best.

disclaimer: these paths after high school are common stereotypes and will not be accurate for all students

Sophomore Tommy Finch isn’t too concerned about life after high school. He doesn’t know what he plans to do, but college isn’t his top priority.

Cost is also a drawback. “[I only want to go to college] somewhat,” he said, “because it could put me into a lot of debt, and I don’t know what field I want to go into yet.”

Finch believes that people should go to college if “they go into a field that needs a teacher to do [the career].”

Because different colleges have different strengths, he doesn’t want to decide what college he will go to right now--if he goes at all--since his career path is still undecided. He is adamant, however, that he will not go to community college.

“Making money isn’t that hard,” Finch said.

“You don’t need to have some piece of paper saying that you’re smart.”

other opinions >tommy finch, 10

need money without the degree? high paying jobs to get without a degree

1. dental hygienist advertising 2. online manager 3. web developer 4. medical secretary 5. paralegal assistant

6. court reporter 7. mechanic 8. surveyor 9. executive assistant 10. insurance agent

november 8, 2012

page by sarah whipple

FP feature

FP

november 8, 2012

start:

what is your main priority leaving out of high school? a.) getting a job (go left) b.) going to college (go down)

does your job of choice require a bachelor’s degree? a.) yes (go right) b.) no (go to alternative options) how are you going to pay for college? a.) my family can afford it, or I will qualify for financial aid or merit scholarships at a private institution (go left) b.) I would have trouble paying for a private school (go right)

in 1999, on average: >high school dropouts earned $18,900 per year >high school graduates earned $25,900 per year >college graduates earned $45,400 per year courtesy of: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/ moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm

Counselor Joel Frederick feels that the only downside to attending college is the staggering cost.

“It’s astronomically expensive,” he said.

Frederick feels that there are numerous benefits to going to college.

“There are many, many benefits to going,” he said. “In fact, even if you’re not one-hundred percent sure when you start college what you want to do, chances are by taking some classes . . . you’ll find out what you want to do, and then you’re employable.”

Frederick thinks that if students have chosen a career that they will enjoy, then it would be fine to start right after high school. He does feel, however, that they should get some sort of training.

“If it’s not traditional college . . . maybe some sort of apprenticeship or training program. One of the community colleges or VoTech schools,” he said.

Even though he feels that students can make many things work after high school, he sees graduating college as beneficial to finding a job.

“A college diploma carries some weight, too, when you’re looking for jobs,” Frederick said.

alternative options >joel frederick, counselor

how much work will you put into college? a.) I plan to spend most of my time studying (go to private college) b.) I want to have some fun in college (go to public university)

Ivy League may not be the easiest choice, but some consider it the best. Junior Grace Miller, a member of the volleyball team, wishes to continue her sport into college--an Ivy League college. Miller wants to play at Yale or Brown.

“I know they’re Ivy Leagues,” Miller said. “So it’s a big deal, but we’ll see.”

She is also interested in neuroscience and psychology, which she may study in college. Miller is shooting for the Ivies because of their smaller class sizes and topic-specific courses.

“When you get down to smaller classes, you’ll usually have smaller groups so it’s easier for you to learn the material better,” she said.

Miller has been looking into financial aid to help pay for her Ivy League dream school. She also hopes that volleyball will help her pay as well.

“I know [Ivy Leagues] don’t offer scholarships for sports,” Miller said. “But they usually find ways to get you money if they want you on their team bad enough.”

Getting a job is her priority after college. She wants to do something that she enjoys and that is beneficial to people.

“That’s my main focus, is helping others through what I do,” she said.

private college >grace miller, 11

what kind of environment are you looking for in college? a.) big and spirited (go to public university) b.) small and academic (go to private college)

Sophomore Mary Gregory does not want to be here for the rest of her life. She would cry if she couldn’t go somewhere else for college.

Her grandparents want her to go to school near them in Florida, but Gregory has other plans.

It’s fun, but I don’t want to live there,” Gregory said. “ It’s always hot there.”

Gregory hopes to pay for her college tuition with a “scholarship of some sort” and thinks that going to one college for two years and another college for a second two years would be cool.

“I’m thinking KU or Georgia Tech because they both have really good architecture programs,” she said. “I’m kind of leaning toward architecture right now.”

public university >mary gregory, 10

7

FP what students want graphics

november 8, 2012 page by john mccain

8

>seeking: good academics, bustling student life, beautiful campus

KU.

by sarah lieberman

What is your dream school?: Most likely just

Where is your dream college location: Lawrence.

What kind of college: I’ll probably just go to a state college. I don’t think I’d really do community college, and I don’t think I’m really cut out for Ivy League.

Would you rather go to a big school or a small school: Probably a bigger school.

Would you rather go far from home or stay close: Stay close. I just feel like it’s easier.

Do you want to play sports in college: No. What do you want to major in: Law. What is most important to you in choosing a college: Affordability is a big thing, but then also the best opportunities for me in my degree, because there are lots of different law schools so narrowing down ones that are actually suited best for me.

Do you have a family school: No.

mckenzie hardin, 11

ethan kallenberger, 9

What is your dream school: I want to go to Saint Louis University.

Where is your dream college location: Saint Louis.

What kind of school: Private school. My uncle went there, and we were in St. Louis a couple weeks ago, and he gave me and my siblings a tour. And I just really liked the campus, and he told me a lot about the school. There’s a lot of different things there, but it’s mostly like maths and sciences as far as I know.

Big or small: A fairly big school.

Far from home or stay close: I would rather go somewhere, but I would be fine with K-State. I just really wouldn’t want to go to KU. I’d be fine with most everything else.

Do you want to play sports in college: That would take up a lot of time, so I’d probably rather focus on grades.

What do you want to major in: I do not know my major yet, but I do want to go into the medical field so probably some science.

What is most important to you in choosing a college: That I like it and that I’m not just settling for something, that I go for what I’m looking for.

Do you have a family school: Not really. The only connection to SLU I have is my uncle.

what schools want community college:

-G.E.D or diploma -possible residence in the area -typically no ACT/SAT required

under the hood

What is your dream school?: I really want to go to BYU (Brigham Young University) to get a major in something, and I want to be a pediatrician. So, then after that, I’m going to go to some sort of medical school. I don’t know yet.

Where is your dream college location?: I want to go somewhere where there is a good geographical location, where I can do lots of fun things, but also somewhere where it isn’t too distracting so I can stay focused on school work.

How does going to a Mormon school affect your college experience?: There are student wards, so different dorms would go to different wards. And they would go to church and do activities together, but that would be separate from school. Married couples can stay together as roommates.

Would you rather go far away or stay close?: I like the independence of being away from my parents, but I would also kind of like to be close to them, so that if I ever needed them I could know that they’d be close by.

Would you ever play sports in college?: I’m not a very big sports person, but if I was to do sports it would probably be tennis.

What do you want to major in?: I have no clue.

What is most important to you in choosing a college?: The educational quality and financial circumstances that go into that, and just, like, I don’t know. Whatever would be best.

Do you have a family school?: I have grown up Mormon, and my parents are Mormon, but they both did go to BYU.

by jacob hood

aspen brunner, 10

>seeking: well rounded, dedicated students state (public) school:

-must graduate high school and: -score a 21 on the ACT (or SAT equivalent)

-graduate in top third of class or or -complete precollege curriculum go to kansasregents.org for more info and new standards for graduating class of 2014-15 and beyond

“competitive” schools:

-strong GPA in challenging classes -high class rank -good* SAT/ACT score -involvement in variety of extracurriculars -work and volunteer experience -strong essay * (definition of good depends on the college, some looking for SAT scores of around 2100 on average)

november 8, 2012 page by darian koenig

profile

FP

9

kolbe, of the college board >student selected to be on national organization’s advisory panel by maria mckee

upcoming SAT dates: december 1 may 4 june 1 january 26 march 9

Senior Kolbe Murray travels across the country, staying in fancy hotels and meeting important people.

These are perks of being a high achieving student.

Murray is a member of the College Board’s Advisory Panel on Student Opportunities, providing a youth’s perspective on what is described as a powerful, non-profit, mission-driven organization.

Along with all the adult trustees and other members, Murray gets to work at meetings, trying to carry out the job of the College Board: to bring and connect students to college success and opportunity.

He expresses his own vision that will help allow the College Board to grow and improve upon their mission.

“The hardest part would be speaking in front of a room of adults, because you feel like you don’t belong there,” Murray said.

In just this year, Murray will travel to four different cities, including New York and Miami, staying for two to three days to meet with leaders from different branches of the College

Board.

Murray travels solo on his paidfor trips. He has learned to suppress his nerves, as excitement always takes over.

Murray was recommended to be a representative by Julie Miller, a former Free State teacher, his sophomore year.

He filled out an application and wrote a short, autobiographical essay.

Eventually, he was selected as a student College Board representative.

Along with 16 other students from different regions, Murray gets to go to conferences across the country after reviewing the upcoming products for the College Board, such as its books and its website.

There, he can sit down and share his input, doing his part in improving the College Board.

“I used to think that it was just an organization making a lot of money, but they really do care about giving [an] education to kids,” Murray said.

The College Board is the mastermind behind the dreaded but everimportant SAT. It also helps to help get at-risk students on the road to a

better future. As a StuCo representative, Murray has experience helping students.

“They have a lot of programs to help at-risk students...students who are going to go to college,” Murray said.

Murray has the chance to congregate and merge his ideas with an array of individuals. The students work together, correlating all of their varying ideas on products and the overall development of the College Board.

“It’s interesting how they chose people [as College Board representatives] who are so different, but can work so well together,” Murray said.

Murray also had the opportunity to share ideas with some highly influential people in the College Board.

“I met a lot of people,” Murray said, reflecting on the meeting he attended in New York this fall. “We got to meet the new CEO [David Coleman].”

There are not many institutions where students can go and meet with the key leaders. Murray finds it open and exciting to be a part of the organization in this way.

FP opinion

november 8, 2012 page by john mccain

10

weighted down

>why weighted grades should determine our valedictorian by the editors

fp staff poll: do you support using weighted grades to determine our valedictorian? yes

don’t care

86%

14%

no

0%

“Person A” breezed through high school by taking foods, lifetime sports and geology. They got As in all classes and eventually dropped unnecessary hours come their final semester.

“Person B,” on the other hand, continually pushed themselves by taking all advanced or AP classes, prep courses and electives that matched their major interests, even if they involved more work.

They were also able to get all the As they wanted.

While these two people show extremes when it comes to class loads, they share something in common. The similarity between these students doesn’t lie in the quality of their English essays, the difficulty of their math homework, or the amount of reading they’re required to complete.

Instead, it lies in their grades.

Come May, both will be leading their senior class as valedictorians, a title traditionally given to dedicated workers who maintain the top GPAs in their classes.

However, not all As are created equal.

In the world beyond high school, people who don’t push themselves hard will not succeed. Just like the idea of natural selection, students who “get by” in high school by obtaining easy As will not be successful in college because their work ethic was not as strong in high school.

It would be unfair to say that students in regular classes are not hard workers. To perform well in any class, a student must study, complete homework assignments and be attentive in the classroom.

That’s why, under the district’s current grading

system, students who receive straight-As in high-school-level coursework rather than college-level coursework (AP classes) can still earn the 4.0 grade point averages they deserve. Students in Advanced Placement courses, meanwhile, can earn higher GPAs to correspond with the difficulty of their curriculums in applying to colleges.

A GPA is a competition against oneself.

Taken alone, the number at the bottom of the transcript reflects how well a student is performing independently of his or her classmates.

However, when GPA is factored into class rank, grades become a contest between students from up and down the spectrum of coursework rigor. Many high schools across the country have eliminated the use of class rank in order to promote a spirit of cooperation rather than competition, but as USD 497’s current system stands, class rank is calculated using unweighted grades.

A high class rank appeals to colleges and scholarship programs, qualifies students as Kansas Honor Scholars (the top 10 percent of the senior class) and puts students in the running for valedictorian standing at graduation, among other honors. Using unweighted rather than weighted grades to determine such distinctions makes it advantageous for students capable of earning average grades in higher-level classes to instead pursue above-average grades in lowerlevel classes.

This grading system penalizes students for challenging themselves in difficult classes.

The purpose of a weighted grade is to show the distinction between a normal high school curriculum and an advanced curriculum. The added points aren’t there to bring students down, but instead to help

them push themselves further and receive the recognition they deserve.

A study at the University of Maine in 1993 showed that weighted grades do not give students an advantage in college applications 74 percent of the time. However, students who do have weighted grades are chosen 76 percent more than those who don’t have a weighted grade.

Not only can weighted grades help students when it comes to college acceptance, but they can also encourage more students to challenge themselves in AP or advanced classes. There is less risk involved in enrolling in a higher-level course when a student knows his or her grade will take the difficulty of the class into account.

The people who spend their weekends reading prep books and waking up at 4 a.m. to spend their Saturdays debating are not given enough credit under the current system. The dedication to earning good grades in an AP class shows a strong work ethic that will help later in life, but students are not receiving this positive message from the ranking at the bottom of their transcripts.

In adult society, keynote speakers are drawn from the world’s superstars: former presidents, astronauts, Pulitzer Prize winners, poet laureates, the founders of nonprofit organizations—all of the people who have built their lives upon challenging themselves and achieving excellence.

At graduation, we want to hear from these people in teenager form. We want to hear from the high school students who will go on to cure cancer or write the next “Harry Potter.” Using weighted grades to choose valedictorians will help to ensure that we do.

what is your opinion on weighted grades? tweet us at @fsfreepress with your thoughts

letter to the editor Dear Editors, I am writing to you today in regards to the article “Choosing Sides on Choice” from your previous newspaper, issue two.

Reading about both sides on the debate about abortion was very interesting; however, I was extremely appalled and disappointed by the representation for the Pro-life advocates. I, myself, am a Pro-life advocate,yet what I was reading was something I would never say to a person and it had even offended me.

In the article, abortion is described as a “lazy way out and a sugar coated way to define murder.” This is a cold-blooded,

cruel way to describe someone who is considering or has gotten an abortion. Most women are facing the most difficult time they will ever have in their life if they are even thinking about getting an abortion.

They are fearful, upset, and possibly guilty for the situation they are in. The experience is very traumatic, which by no means is “sugar coated” or a “lazy way out.”

The article also described the 52 percent of women under 25 who have gotten an abortion as “gullible,” which I found insulting. Granted, many women are not making smart choices, but many I would not describe as gullible. These women

can be just as smart, well put-together, and determined as anybody else; they, in my eyes, have just made a mistake. We all make mistakes and it is our job as Pro-life advocates to encourage and teach women and families about other options to handle their situation; not to call someone a “murderer” if they have gone through with an abortion, as it is probably a very sensitive point for them. The worst sentence in the article was when it stated “women who get abortions are basically paying to murder their child.” Yes, I believe they are putting a child to death, but the article states it in such a demeaning way that it just sounds

disgusting and rude. You are not helping anybody make the right choices by degrading and insulting them.

In addition, you have shined a very bad light on Pro-life advocates by making us sound insensitive, hateful, and judgmental. To the person who wrote the article, I would like to say please communicate our stance in a better way and choose your words wisely to express our concern about saving lives. Lift people up and comfort them at a time in their life that is very difficult.

Sincerely, Ashlyn Evans

november 8, 2012

dear free state to: college mailers re: overstuffed mailbox

The most creative college sales pitch ever to arrive in my mailbox was packaged in a little chipboard box about the size of my hand.

Inside was a set of 100 or so green-and-blue flashcards, which each featured a question about the college on one side and the answer on the other.

Since my only other choice of flashcards that afternoon was the list of Spanish vocab I keep on my phone (I don’t need to be reminded that I’m a nerd--instead of Words With Friends and Angry Birds, I have the Skyward app and links to my four email accounts), I flipped through the cards for a few minutes, calling on the many hours I’ve spent with the Fiske Guide to Colleges to guess the answers.

Once you hear enough rhetoric from institutions around the country, it’s surprisingly easy to fill in the blanks for them. For instance, if a college asks you to guess its average class size, it’s probably somewhere between 10 and 20. If the number were much higher than that--say, 1,000 for a freshman math course-the admissions officers wouldn’t be bragging about it.

The only card that stumped me had to do with one of the school’s recently expanded majors. Given the college’s unusual technique for recruiting applicants, I hypothesized that the major had something to do with education.

Possibly early childhood education.

When I flipped it over to find the answer, I was mildly concerned to see “environmental studies.”

Environmental studies is a challenging and worthy academic field, and I have no shortage of admiration for those who pursue degrees and careers in that arena. However, considering

that the college had just sent half a pound of paper in flashcards to every high school senior on its hit list, I worried that it didn’t quite understand the nature of environmentalism.

I don’t care that the flashcards were made out of 20 percent recycled materials. That’s still 80 percent dead tree.

Colleges and universities from Portland, Ore., to Portland, Maine, boast powerful environmental programs, but I see no shortage of dried nature pulp being pummeled into the mailboxes of every high school student between here and Alaska.

What’s worse, some of these colleges are unwittingly sending me the same piece of mail two, three, even four times under different names. I’ve received letters for Katie Guyo, Katherine Guyott, Kate Gayot, Kat Guiyot, and even one for Sarah Green (though that one may have been the mistake of the postal service).

Aside from the odd Sarah out, I could start my own boarding school for college-bound

girls with the initials KG. At the risk of alienating the colleges of my dreams, I will admit that I rarely flip over those carefully crafted postcards to read about why such-and-such university would be the perfect fit for Kathy Goyot. But I’m too parsimonious with paper to toss them in the garbage immediately, so I put my college mail to good use. I use my letters as drink coasters, plates for cat treats, scribble pads to get ink clots out of pens, chew toys for my rabbit, origami paper

FP columns

page by riley buller

11

and carriages on which to escort spiders out of my house.

To the school with the flashcards: nice idea, but next time, shoot me an email. As I mentioned before, I have four email accounts. Three of these have already been commandeered by college mail (hence the fourth).

You can even send those same flashcards to me electronically. I do have the app for that.

Thanks for reading, Free State.

Katie

“‘The Real World: College’” “You can be whatever you want to be when you get older.”

We’ve all heard this line before; from our parents, from our teachers, from anyone older than the person receiving the message. And for so long, we “naive” children listened to the wise adults’ universal message. There was nothing “wrong” with wanting to be first baseman for the Yankees or an Oscar-winning actress or the next Justin Bieber. Until our parents’ messages transformed into all the things that we could do, to all the things that we shouldn’t do, to how important making money is. And until we got older.

Well, I got older.

This may be the only time you hear this sentence in a newspaper, ever: Wu-Tang Clan had it right when they collectively rapped, “Cash rules everything around me.” And so it does. Or at least my educational and occupational future.

Our parents’ idealistic statement should have had a disclaimer: “You can be whatever you want to be when you get older, as long as you make good money.” At least, that’s how my parents view it.

“No English major,” is another, more blunt way that my parents put it. Or, if I were to get an English degree, it would have to be paired up with a more profitable, pragmatic major: try accounting or marketing! Want to major in printmaking? Looks like you’ll have to double major in advertising!

Which almost makes sense. (Keyword: almost). I can see why my parents want me to pick a profession that pays well, and that is “applicable” to the world we live in. They want me to get a good job, so that I can provide for myself and live comfortably, and not just subsist. But at what cost? To be miserable at a job where I am unmotivated to work? How does being miserable and making more money

sound better than being happy and having a sense of pride in my job?

Maybe I’m being a bit extreme, but what I don’t get is why adults send such mixed messages. Why tell us that we can be whatever we want to be and then limit us when we’re about to start college, one of the most important parts of our lives?

To me, parents seem to use “the real world” as a safety net to keep children away from making certain decisions that they feel may be challenging or inconsistent from their beliefs; such as, “In the real world, you can’t make a living being a sculptor.” Or, “In the real world, you wouldn’t be able to make enough money translating epic poetry.”

I’ve got a better one: “In the real world, you should do what makes you happy. You can always find a way to make things work if you are dedicated enough and have a goal. You can do whatever you want, although some paths

may be harder than others. However, if you are passionate about something, do it and don’t compromise for it.”

That’s what our parents should be telling us from Day One. From the moment we are born into this world, we are living in “the real world.” We should accept the fact that, although our parents are older and more experienced than we are, our parents don’t know everything. Of course every parent wants what’s best for their child; but, sometimes you have to decide what is best.

Money never factored into my adolescent dreams, and I believe it shouldn’t be factored into my adult dreams either. Wouldn’t it be awesome to prove Wu-Tang Clan wrong?

uncovering sam boatright

FP commitment for success november 8, 2012

sports

page by darian koenig

burning bright. taking flight.

>student athletes commit to ease the college stress

by hannah reussner

Kennedy Kirkpatrick: Basketball

Senior Kennedy Kirkpatrick is home free.

To start off next year as a freshman in college, she is signing at Bowling Green University in Ohio, a division one basketball school, in November.

“It’s really just a stress free thing right now,” Kirkpatrick said. “I mean, I have basically figured it out so [I] basically get to enjoy the rest of my senior year.”

Although Kirkpatrick is glad that she’s decided where her college life is headed, she realizes that she didn’t visit as many colleges as she could have. However, she’s happy with her decision overall.

The long process of figuring out where to go started four years ago for Kirkpatrick. She started getting recruitment letters during her eighth grade year, and from then on, she continued getting phone calls and visiting colleges to see where she belonged.

After committing to Wisconsin Green Bay, she had to decommit due to coaching problems. Then she visited other colleges including Bowling Green, where she felt at home.

“I really enjoy the staff and the girls that are there, and it’s a great school,” Kirkpatrick said. “Really, everything about it was perfect for me.”

Kirkpatrick is extremely excited to be a college

athlete. She gives thanks to her family for helping her with the process, and for the support.

“I couldn’t have done it without them,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s just a really big step for me, and I am just really happy, and so are they.”

After college, Kirkpatrick is not positive what she wants to do with basketball, but she definitely wants to stay involved in the sport somehow.

“I honestly don’t know...We’ll see,” Kirkpatrick said.

Alex Green: Golf

Senior Alex Green has committed to division two Washburn University for his love of golfing. One of the reasons Green decided to go to Washburn was because of the coach.

They also offered him a “pretty good chunk of change,” Green said.

Golf comes with many benefits.

“You get to travel all over the nation,” Green said.

His golf journey began with his father, who wanted him to play golf.

“My family plays golf and it’s just something that we do, I guess,” Green said.

Four years ago, Green started golfing, mostly teaching himself over the years. He plans to eventually become a professional golfer.

Alexa Harmon-Thomas: Track

For Alexa Harmon-Thomas, college recruitment is happening a year early.

Harmon-Thomas, a junior, has not decided where she is going yet, but has been looking at colleges for track or soccer. “... I feel like once I know Alex Green (left), Madeline Dieker what school I want to go to, (center), and Alexa HarmonI’ll make my commitment Thomas (right) show their enthusiasim for the sport that will take then,” Harmon-Thomas them to college. said.

Committing early alleviates a lot of stress, but it also restricts looking at other colleges.

But,a negative outcome is that there is not a lot of time to make a decision and the choice that is made is official.

“You can’t really change things,” HarmonThomas said.

Once an athlete has committed to their pick, it is binding and it is hard to get out.

Colleges have certain rules and regulations on decommitting which makes it difficult.

She gets and has gotten many emails, letters and papers at track

upcoming games 12/4 girls/ boys

varsity FS vs. Seaman 6 p.m./ 7:30 p.m. @ Seaman

meets to fill out and send back to the school that wants her. Harmon-Thomas and her mom enthusiastically receive letters from Duke, Stanford, Universtiy of California Berkeley, the University of Kansas and others. She has many years ahead of her in her college sport, but becoming a professional is an option in the future.

“If the opportunity presents itself, yes, but if not, it’s fine with me,” Harmon-Thomas said.

Maddie Dieker: Soccer

Junior Madeline Dieker knows she’ll be going to a division one school to play soccer.

“I am very nervous! But very excited at the same time,” Dieker said.

She has verbally committed to the University of After beating Shawnee Mission East at Free State’s Homecoming game, the Firebirds were ranked No. 1 in Portland but can’t sign her NLI the state. Coach Lisher received the KC Chiefs’ Coach of (National Letter of Intent) until the Week award the same week. With the win over LHS her senior year. Portland contacted on Oct. 26, the Firebirds won their district, holding an 8-1 record and ranked No. 6 in the state.

Dieker through email, after talking to her club coach in Arizona last fall.

The exceptional academics, beautiful campus and highly competitive soccer atmosphere factored into Dieker’s decision. The University of Portland is also a catholic school which “was important.”

Dieker understands the advantages and disadvantages of committing early.

“I’m able to meet and get to know the The volleyball team left regionals with a 26-12 record and finished No. 13 in soccer team as well as the other commits, and the state.

I don’t have to worry about any last-minute decisions for college,” Dieker said.

However, she was rushed into committing so she could choose a college before other students and athletes did.

“The process happened really fast,” Dieker said.

Though Dieker still has one year of high Free State’s varsity soccer team school left, she looks forward to college. finished with a 6-11 record at “I am mainly excited to just be in a college regionals on Oct. 23. soccer environment,” Dieker said. “And I hope it challenges me to become the best I can be.”

Her parents were also involved The Firebird gymnasts finished second at state in swimming and football in high on Oct. 20, achieving their best score of the school, but they never went season, 104.925, just a few points behind Olathe East (106.775). through the college recruiting process.

“They have been great support through it all,” Dieker said. “They are very excited and have already been stocking up on Portland fan gear.”

Dieker is optimistic about her future.

“I will take the sport as far as it will take me,” Dieker said.

“It’s an honor to be going to a D1 school for sports. It was always my dream, and I try not to take it for granted.”

12/7 boys varsity Olathe Invitational 4:45 p.m. @ Olathe swim

>Firebirds finish impressive fall seasons

12/8girls/ boys

varsity FS vs. Lansing 5:45 p.m./ 7:15 p.m. @ Lansing b-ball

12/11

girls varsity FS vs. Topeka 7 p.m. @ home

sports t cker