Free Press: Issue 5, Edition 20

THE FREE PRESS Issue 5 Edition 20 2 February 2017

STAFF

Issue 5 2 February 2016 Edition 21

Print Co-Editors in Chief MARIAH HOUSTON ADELAIDE WENDEL

Online Co-Editors in Chief JACKSON BARTON SAMANTHA SPENCER

Design Editor

Designers

DRAKE RINER

ELISE GARD GRETA HAYDEN CAITLIN MCANDREW-BECKMAN ELIZABETH MULLINS GOLDIE SCHMIEDELER JULIANA WILCHES -MERCHAN

Copy Editors DARBY GILLILAND MAYA HODISON JUNA MURAO

Photo Editors ALI DODD ANNA-MAYA HACHMEISTER GABRIELLE WHEELER

Multimedia Editor AUBIN MURPHY

Social Media Editor DARBY GILLILAND

Business Editors SPENCER BOWMAN SYDNEY VOGELSANG

Managing Editor KAYA SHAFER

Reporters JAKE CLARK WILL COOK MADDY JOHNSON ERIN LISTON SAM MOHANTY CHRIS PENDRY AMELIA PETERS ROWAN PLINSKY REAGAN SULLIVAN

Photographers MACKENZIE BICKLING EMMA JOHNSON PAIGE KIRKPATRICK CLAIRE PURCELL RILEY ROBERTS NICOLA SANTANGELO KLAIRE SARVER CHAS SEDLOCK ABBIE STEWART

Multimedia SKYLAR WILLIAMS KAMEREN PRATHER

Courageous Conversations is a program designed to help groups of people, usually companies or schools, discuss issues in a structured and civilized way. It encourages knowing what portion of “the compass” one is in, and aids in selecting the proper words to describe one’s thoughts or feelings.

Cover photo by KLAIRE SARVER Pages by ADDIE WENDEL

Business Staff CARLY OLIVER

fsfreepressonline.com

fsfreepress@gmail.com

FS Journalism

@fsjournalism @fsjournalism

FS Journalism The Free Press is an open forum that accepts letters to the editor and guest writings which must include the writer’s name and telephone number.

Articles may be edited due to space limitations, libel or inappropriate content. Letters may be submitted to Room 201 or sent in care of Free Press to Lawrence 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 or that of the USD 497 Board of Education.

CONTENTS

2 3 4

Interviewed by JAKE CLARK

4

OUTSTANDING OSCARS Recap of “Best Picture”-nominated films

JAKE CLARK

Interviewed by MIA PETERS

MARIAH HOUSTON ADDIE WENDEL

6

HUMANS OF HUMANITIES CLUB

7

BIRD’S WORD

8

EDITORS’ COLUMNS Editors reflect on experiences with differing siblings

Club pursues understanding through art, literature

What class do you wish was offerred?

ROWAN PLINSKY 12 COMING ACROSS CONFLICT, FINDING FORGIVENESS Similarities and differences lead to discussion about dealing with conflict and human relations Page by ELISE GARD

Page by JULIANA WILCHES -MERCHAN

14

LOVE LOGISTICS

16

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Survey shows relationship experiences, preferences

OUTSTANDING OSCARS 3 4

Recap of “Best Picture”-nominated films WARNING: Potential spoilers

5

“It’s about this little boy growing up in the hood and he gets teased his whole life and he can’t understand why, but his Mom and all the adults around him know that he’s gay, but he doesn’t really know it yet. He’s struggling with his mom and her drug addiction, [so] he runs away a lot. He finds protection in [another] woman and she becomes a second mother to him. You see him at different points in his life and eventually he visits his childhood friend who he experimented with sexually. It was really beautiful and a little slow but one of those movies that you want to be slow. This is a story that I’ve never seen told before-I’ve never seen anything like it. The cinematography was beautiful and the acting was incredible.”

“[A] girl lost her daughter and these aliens come down, everyday they go up into the ship and talk to them. I thought it was good because you don’t really see movies like it. Usually, when the aliens come down we try to fight them. This was peaceful.”

- sophomore EASTON CORDES

ENTERTAINMENT

- senior MORGAN MCREYNOLDS

“A struggling actress and a jazz piano player cross paths and they fall in love, it’s about how they support each other. The musical aspect of it was fun to watch and it was cool to see Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sing because neither of them are known for it and since they weren’t incredible singers, [which] made the movie seem pretty realistic.”

- senior AVERIE BEATY

“It’s about this little Indian boy who grows up in poverty in India. He loses his brother one day and he gets totally lost in India. [Then] he goes on this huge journey and gets adopted by a family in Australia and grows up there until he’s in his mid 20s, maybe 30s. Then he goes back [to India] and finds [his] home.

I think it was very well made but it was very sad at times. The main child actor is amazing and he plays very emotional parts and he does a great job at it.”

- freshman LAUREN MALIK

Pages by JULIANA WILCHES -MERCHAN Interviewed by JAKE CLARK

“Fences is about this complex family relationship between the dad and the son . . . they have a lot of conflict because the son really wants to be a football player and the dad doesn’t like that idea so they have a really tough relationship. [The dad] also has a tough relationship with his wife who’s been very loyal to him, and he ends up cheating on her and having a baby with a different woman so that causes a lot of conflict between them and their marriage. In the end he dies so it’s sort of like how to honor this man that we’ve had so many problems with. I thought Viola Davis was amazing. I thought the ending was maybe a little bit cheesy, but the acting was amazing.”

4 5 6

- senior ELI JOST

- senior LANE WEIS

“This guy Lee does his own thing. After he learns that his brother died, he goes back to his hometown to take care of his 16 year old nephew. Along the way it brings back some painful memories. It was an interesting story with multiple levels. It definitely had a huge twist that I wasn’t expecting that gave so much more depth to the main character. You start with this guy and then piece by piece you learn why he is the way he is.”

- junior EMMA STRAMBERG

“Two brothers decide to become bank robbers after a bank threatens to foreclose on their mother’s property. I like how there was a well thought out story instead of just gun battles and car chases. You could relate to the characters and it made you think about morality [of] how the brothers were robbing banks to help their mom instead of just trying to make money. The action scenes were pretty awesome.”

- junior JACK KELSEY

“Andrew Garfield really hurts his brother so he promises to never hurt anybody ever again. He goes into the war without using a gun, and he’s a nurse and he tries to get as many people out of the war zone as possible. I’m not the war movie kind of guy, but I think it’s up there with Saving Private Ryan.

It doesn’t make war seem like ‘we’re a bunch of BA guys doing cool stuff’.The moment they get out in the war zone you see how brutal it is and they just do a good job of showing the characters and staying true to the actual story (because it was non-fiction).”

- senior RYAN LEIBOLD

ENTERTAINMENT

“It was an excellent and very powerful movie and it showed very clearly the struggles of the three main characters as well as other black people in the same time period, while also not reducing the message to a simplistic “racism is bad.” It expertly showcased how some people can hold discriminatory viewpoints without knowing it, or while thinking that they are accepting. As the name suggests, it brought light to these brilliant women whose names have been forgotten by history.”

HUMANS OF HUMANITIES CLUB 5 6

PROFILES

7

Club pursues understanding through art, literature

JAKE CLARK

“T

he best reason to read fiction is because it builds empathy,” teacher Kylee Wright said. “You can read about people who are different from you and learn about their perspective.”

Two years ago, Wright asked senior Claire Yackley and a few other students to join her in reading the Read Across Lawrence books that year.

“Lawrence always has this Read Across Lawrence thing where they have a book that they choose, and they have people come in and talk about it, and that year it had been “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood,” Yackley said. “Ms. Wright invited us all to the library to pick up a copy of the book, and while we were there we decided it would be fun if we started our own little book club.”

The little book club later morphed into the Humanities Club, in which they study literature, art, music and any art forms pertaining to the books they read. Yackley became the co-president.

“We usually have a book picked out that we’ll read, have set parts to have finished by the time we go to the next meeting,” Yackley said. “So we sit down, and people usually bring snacks, and we’ll talk about that part of the book and relate it to our lives.”

Sophomore Suzy Chun joined Humanities Club after learning about it at the club fair. She participates in reading all the books assigned to the club as well as the discussions that occur during the meetings. “[Literature] keeps you in touch with your human qualities,” Chun said. “Through the books that we read, you can see different traits that people have and different flaws and how people think, and it’s really interesting.”

Chun’s participation in the club rekindled her love for reading, and the club keeps her motivated to continue to read.

“I stopped reading for a while when I got into high school, but then when I joined the club, I gained an interest in reading again,” Chun said.

“It really motivates me to read because I have to keep along with what we’re reading.”

Wright allows the club to be student-led, but she still has strong opinions about literature’s role in society.

“Reading fiction and learning about other people is something that our society needs to do always, always,” Wright said. “We have been having a lot of discussions about conflicts related to race and gender, socio-economic status. That’s something that always goes on, but I think for Right: Senior Claire Yackley discusses Midnight’s Children with English teacher Kylee Wright. Yackley believes group discussion of reading is beneficial.

“You’re able to provide altenate perspectives for literature that you read, and it’s important to be expopsed to different opinions and ideas that others may have concerning religions, issues within the literature,” Yackley said.

Photo by CLAIRE PURCELL

high school students it’s a great opportunity to read different perspectives and learn that way.”

Yackley expressed the importance of studying the humanities.

“Humanities is all of the arts and literature,” Yackley said. “It’s our expressions of what we’re feeling and how we connect with one another.

By understanding other people through their literature and art, we can understand more about ourselves and feel more connected to the world.

It’s about connecting with humanity, empathizing with one another and understanding that it’s not just you out there, there’s a bunch of other people who are struggling just as you are.”

Sophomore

KENZI DOWDELL

“I want to learn about the language of my culture...A class where you could learn the language of Afrikaans, I’d like to see that.”

6 7 Freshman ZOE HAMILTON

Senior

LAURA ZOLLNER

CASSIDY LATHROM

PROFILES

Sophomore

“I would definitely say expanding more on agricultural education classes and like industrial tech classes. Shop classes and being able to have more classes that are hands on and giving kids more of a hands on learning experiences with industrial techs.”

Freshman

ALINA MATEJKWOSKI

“We should have a sign language course… just for kicks.”

Junior

TAYLOR ROYAL

“I know we have a couple of integrated studied classes, but those are more fro IEP students so i’d like more of...a class where you could do your homework.”

BIRD’S WORD

What class do you wish was offered?

Interviewed by MIA PETERS Photos by PAIGE KIRKPATRICK Page by JULIANA WILCHES -MERCHAN

8

“I would like to see more language classes, like, I know we only have a few Chinese classes right now but even more diverse language classes. I think that would be really interesting.”

“I think it would be interesting to have a current events class because I think a lot of kids our age need to be informed on that stuff if they aren’t already doing it themselves and learning about it.”

EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION Editors reflect on experiences with differing siblings 7 8

OPINION

9

A

few days after my mom took me home from the hospital as a newborn, she left me in the living room next to my 20-month-old sister. My sister was watching her favorite show, and I was sound asleep; it was the perfect opportunity for my mom to take a well deserved shower. However, halfway through her shampoo, my mom heard what she thought was a baby crying. She ran downstairs with suds in her hair and found my older sister hitting me repeatedly in the face with her bottle. I’m not sure if it was the cranial trauma or the emotional trauma that caused it, but, from that moment on, I knew I was a bit out of place when it came to my siblings.

My older brother is a Scholar’s Bowl and debate team champion with an interest in political science and environmental law, my sister is an extremely outspoken individual with a talent for folk singing and clog-dancing and I have always been a bit confused about where I fit within this spectrum my siblings laid out for me.

Being a younger sister has left me constantly wishing I could be someone I’m not: someone who could pick the radio station on the way to school, someone who could hang out with my “older” cousins and someone who could legally drink a margarita when on a family vacation in Mexico.

In my situation, being the youngest is comparable to being the one with the least amount of Easter eggs in her basket, the one with the earliest bedtime and the one with the smallest

voice. I figured growing up would result in growing into someone who could be heard; however, growing up, for me, never meant growing into my sister’s blunt and vocal shoes: it meant growing more into myself.

There is not a single human I have fought with more than my older siblings. No one can draw out the worst in me the way my brother and sister can. Sometimes I despise my siblings, and most of the time I have the right to, but there is also no one who has taught me more about forgiveness than the very people who taught me how to hold a grudge.

One night, my sister and I had a horrible argument about something trivial, and she went to bed angry, and I went to bed crying. I woke up at one in the morning to my sister poking me in the shoulder. She hugged me and told me she was sorry. And that was it.

With every candle added to my birthday cake, I grew slightly more extroverted and outspoken, but I never quite acquired a gift for Scholar’s Bowl or clog dancing, and I remained

true to my shy and contemplative personality -- for the most part.

There are times when I am loud and carefree, and I can initiate conversations, and I can raise my voice, and I can stand up for my beliefs and I can feel myself becoming my sister at her core. There are also times when I am quiet and reserved, and I am keeping my thoughts just for me, and I am speaking to myself in the softest way I know how and I am not my sister. I am not my sister. I am not my brother. But I hope that, at some point, I will become the parts of them I love the most, and I will emerge as the person I have always been trying to grow into.

MARIAH HOUSTON Co-Editor in Chief

8 9 10

M

people to provide entertainment or attention for me; I knew how to create my own pastimes while submerged in my imagination. When my louder, spotlight-loving sibling was old enough to interact with, she was given an instant playmate. I would, at least partially, attribute my introversion to my own formative years of self-reliance and attribute her outgoing nature to her constant access to a friend.

As we’ve each matured, I’ve started to consider that maybe her way of life is “normal”. Maybe she’s the way I was supposed to be: sociable, surrounded by friends, always on the go. Similarly, perhaps she feels like others expect her to live up to my image: to be intellectual, conscientious and sophisticated. I suppose we see in each other what we wish for ourselves.

Maybe we aren’t opposites at all, and we simply took up our personas to dif-

ferentiate ourselves from each other.

While my sister will have to choose to exceed, or more likely, wholly reject, my image, the only expectations I have to live up to are my own self-imposed standards. I have no path to follow, no mistakes to learn from and no figure to emulate. I create my own path and she, in turn, will take the path in a new direction.

And no matter our choices, I’ll always be there to keep my eye on her.

ADDIE WENDEL Co-Editor in Chief

OPINION

y parents used to sing a jaunty, cheeky rendition of “Sisters, Sisters” from the musical White Christmas whenever my younger sister and I would fight.

Our squabbles were top-notch entertainment, and they tested their limits to see how long they could taunt us before we shifted the object of our bickering onto them. For context, an excerpt of the lyrics goes like this: “Sisters, sisters / Never were there such devoted sisters / Never had to have a chaperone, no sir / I’m here to keep my eye on her.” The rest of the song continues in the same fashion, espousing the close relationship between the sisters and the compromises they make to maintain it. Of course, the song was a spot-on jab at the friction my sister and I would intermittently face.

I spent two and a half years of my life siblingless. I didn’t need other

Photos contributed by MARIAH HOUSTON AND ADDIE WENDEL Pages by JULIANA WILCHES -MERCHAN

14 15 3514 CLINTON PARKWAY

PLATOSCLOSETLAWRENCE.COM

FSHS newspaper 2016-9, 1.75” X 2.3”

Go

Our Supporters Cibo Sano Dan Blomgren Thompson Financial Group Giles Thompson Massage Envy Amy Gilliland

Driving School 785-764-2214

GoDrivingKansas.com Tuesday and Saturday classes

www.fsfreepressonline.com

Janice & Walter Olker

13

OPINION

New and improved design New stories weekly Sports scores updates Exclusive feature stories

COMING ACROSS CONFLICT, FINDING FORGIVENESS 11 12

FEATURE

13

Similarities and differences lead to discussion about dealing with conflict and human relations

ROWAN PLINSKY

S

enior LeAnne Saulsbury and sophomore Caitlyn Saulsbury wake up every morning under the same roof but in different worlds.

Diagnosed with Arthrogryposis at birth, LeAnne approaches every day wheels-first, while Caitlyn can approaches every day with a skip in her step. Arthrogryposis causes joint contractures and has affected LeAnne’s left arm and legs. Although LeAnne and Caitlyn are close in age, LeAnne experiences less conflict with her four year old sister. “[Our differences] never cause conflict with my four year old [sister] because she just thinks I’m like everybody else, but Caitlyn knows I have a disability, and she’s had several people ask her why my legs are broken,” LeAnne said. “I think she gets tired of telling people I have a disease.”

Although LeAnne has experienced feeling out of place, she has also found ways to surround herself with like-minded individuals, especially through outside-of-school sports.

“I do sports,” LeAnne said. “I feel at home with [my teammates] more than I do with my own family, a little bit.”

LeAnne participates in cheerleading and basketball for people with disabilities, and she will soon begin tennis, track and swimming. “[I feel more at home with my teammates] because we’re just a bunch of kids with special needs, and I feel one with them because we go through the same stuff,” LeAnne said.

Feeling one with each other is something identical twins and sophomores Ella and Liliana Keathley have never struggled with. Although Ella and Liliana have a strong emotional connection, they are polar opposites.

[Ella] is a lot more outgoing and perky,” Liliana said. “She is more likely to approach people, while I wait for people to approach me. The [school] subjects we like and are better at are completely opposite, and the activities that we do outside of school are also completely opposite.”

Liliana can usually be found playing an assortment of sports while Ella is more likely to be found on stage.

Ella and Liliana’s differences have caused arguments in the past, but since they have been together all their lives, they have designated strategies for working through their disagreements.

“Most of the time we will yell about it at each other, but then a couple minutes later it’s over, [and] we just forgive and forget,” Liliana said. “No matter what happens we know that we’re still going to be best friends, and that we can just move on, and it will be alright.”

Despite Ella and Liliana’s differences, they remain close and have endless support for each other.

“I think our differences are what make us a whole,” Ella said. “She’s good at some things, and I’m good at other things, and when we put them together we just can take over the world.”

Participating in similar activities can not only lead to aspiring friendships and well rounded sisterhoods, but it can also lead to budding romances.

At the first debate tournament of the season senior Ian Pultz-Earle and his partner advanced to the semifinal round. The duo found their room and had begun setting up for the round when their opposing team walked in. Pultz-Earle looked up to see his girlfriend Bridget Smith, a senior and debater for Lawrence High School, smiling at him.

“I’d known that that could maybe happen, but I didn’t think it would,” Pultz-Earle said.

Both Pultz-Earle and Smith are seniors, and they compete as crosstown rivals during the debate season.

“They won that round,” Pultz-Earle said. “Luckily, she hasn’t made fun of me too much for that, but she’ll bring it up sometimes.”

Being from opposite schools has not been an insurmountable obstacle for the couple. According to Pultz-Earle, attending different high schools keeps the relationship interesting, despite the minor setback of less time around each other.

Above (opposite page): Charles Thomas speaks to Can We Talk, a club that provides a healthy atmosphere for students to discuss difficult questions that might not be addressed otherwise. Thomas in heavily involved in the club and encourages students to join to give the club a wide array of viewpoints and to encourage talking out problems involving race, class, and discrimination.

Photo by RYLEE ROBERTS

Right: Courageous Conversations is a program designed to help groups of people, usually companies or schools, discuss issues in a structured and civilized way. It encourages knowing what portion of “the compass” one is in, and aids in selecting the proper words to describe one’s thoughts or feelings.

Photo by KLAIRE SARVER Pages by CAITLIN MCANDREW-BECKMAN

FEATURE FEATURE

“If people are too opposite, [the relationship] won’t work, but if the LGBTQ+ community, and standing up for her beliefs has caused people are exactly the same, it also won’t,” Pultz-Earle said. “Usually, disputes between her and people with opposing opinions. people are somewhat similar, but they have some differences, so they “It’s a natural instinct to react emotionally,” Lewis said. “A lot of can learn about each other and keep things interesting. If you fundathe things that people have said or have tried to argue with me about mentally disagree on a lot of things that can be hard to reconcile, but if are things that I have experienced and they have not. I think you can there are just some slight differences in personality or habits then that have an understanding of something but that doesn’t mean you have can still work.” lived through it. I have white guys try and fight me all the time about Although Pultz-Earle and Smith have their fair share of differences, being a woman or being black. I usually try and act mature about it, they enjoy discovering minor similarities that allow them to connect. but I feel like sometimes my emotions do get the best of me, and I “Sometimes little habits can be meaningful” Pultz-Earle said. “We think that’s honestly okay. You can be emotional about something and both like pineapple pizza...a lot of people don’t like pineapple pizza, so have it still be a valid point, and it should still be taken seriously.” that seems like a little thing, but it’s all those coming together that can Similarly, senior Indiana Sorell has experienced conflict based make a relationship.” on difference of opinion, but he is attempting to change the way he Juniors Micah Burman and Emily Low have also discovered an handles conflict. abundance of similarities between their personalities as their relation“The way that you approach things has a huge effect, and you may ship has progressed. not really realize that,” Sorell “Healing isn’t going to come from a “We are very much alike, said. “I feel like I have learned actually,” Burman said. “Being teacher meeting, or a giant from experience. The more reaclose to someone similar means conference; it’s going to come from sonable you are and the more I can complain about a lot of willing you are to listen to the student interactions and bettering the same things, and they can other person’s side of the argurelationships within our school,” relate.” ment, the better the outcome is Although Burman appreci- - JUNIOR MICAH BURMAN going to be.” ates being in a relationship with Listening is an ability senior someone similar to him, he understands the benefits of surrounding Sonal Soni feels society lacks, and she believes using social media is oneself with people with contrasting perspectives. one way to speak out, be heard and start conversations.

“You develop a greater view on the world,” Burman said. “At the “A lot of the times the only way kids are going to listen is if it’s same time, it might take you away from some of your core values. broadcasted out there on social media, so I’m using that as a platform If you start hanging out with people too different, you might start to to get my voice heard,” Soni said. “We should be utilizing social become like that crowd. You might lose yourself a little bit.” media to speak out against injustices, especially injustices in our own Low also sees the benefits of expanding one’s perspective, and she school.” believes she deals with conflict well.

Although people may attempt to avoid conflict, Soni believes it “I just enjoy having a good, productive conversation with people is important to understand that it does exist and is prevalent in the and seeing what our differences are,” Low said. “I don’t think differworld. ences on a single topic should ever affect a relationship at all. You have “It’s easy to stay in the same friend group throughout high school, to recognize that other people are going to have different opinions from with the same mindsets as yours, but in real life you will encounter you. It shouldn’t be your goal to change someone else.” people with different views than your own and you’ll have to learn to Although Burman and Low believe that having differing opinions deal with them,” Soni said. can be beneficial, they also recognize that conflict can hurt feelings and cause emotional pain.

“Healing isn’t going to come from a teacher meeting, or a giant conference; it’s going to come from student interactions and bettering relationships within our school,” Burman said.

Little differences can allow for exciting relationships, but being vocal about those differences can also lead to the creation of possible enemies.

Senior Angel Lewis is a supporter of racial equality, feminism and

12 13 14 13 14 15

BESTIE OR BAE?

GRAPHICS

Quiz your best friend and significant other to see which one knows you better! Fill out your answers below and then tally up who won!

13 14 15

1) Favorite food: ________________________________________ 2) Birthday: ________________________________________ 3) Favorite TV show: ________________________________________ 4) Parent’s names: ________________________________________ 5) Middle name: ________________________________________ 6) Favorite restaurant: ________________________________________ 7) Pet peeve: ________________________________________ 8) Favorite ice cream flavor: ________________________________________ 9) Biggest fear: ________________________________________ 10) Dream job: ________________________________________ 11) Favorite band: ________________________________________ 12) Favorite song: ________________________________________ 13) Favorite clothing store: ________________________________________ 14) Pet’s name(s): ________________________________________ 15) Favorite class: ________________________________________

Page by ELISE GARD

LOVE LOGISTICS

Survey based on 179 responses

GRAPHICS

Survey shows relationship experiences, preferences

How similar are you to your significant other or best friend?

We’re practically twins

11%

We have similar personalities

None 25%

1-2 47%

27%

We share a lot of common interests

Too many to count 4% 6-10 7%

48%

We’re complete opposites Other

How many relationships have you been in?

3-5 17%

10%

Do you believe opposites attract?

4%

Yes 22%

What’s the longest relationship you’ve been in?

I’ve never been in a relationship Less than 1 month 1-2 months Less than 1 year More than 1 year

No 8%

25% 9%

Sometimes 70%

Have you ever been in a relationship?

15%

13% Sort of

27%

14

24% No 25%

15 Yes 62%

16

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

junior GOLDIE SCHMEIDELER