The Budget Issue #4

Lawrence High School Established 1893 1901 Louisiana St. Lawrence, Kansas 66046 Volume 123, Issue 4 December 10, 2015

Yellow Ribbon program trains students to prevent suicide

Page 7

NEWS IN BRIEF

2 • DEC. 10,, 2015

IN THIS ISSUE:

Lawrence High School Established 1893 1901 Louisiana St. Lawrence, Kansas 66046

Yellow Ribbon program trains students to prevent suicide

Page 7

Volume 123, Issue 4 December 10, 2015

Cover by Hannah Gaines and Cooper Avery

COVER STORY

Students are trained in suicide prevention through the Yellow Ribbon program.

Story on pages 7-9

Clinton receives award................ page 4 Fewer printed textbooks............ page 5 Yellow Ribbon program................ page 7 Students’ take on jobs...............page 10 Swim team returns......................page 13 ‘Mental Health Mondays’ need work..........................................page 15 CORRECTION

English teacher Shannon Draper said the Women’s Lit class had “high and low points, mostly due to the small class size” for an interview about an editorial in the November issue of “The Budget.” She didn’t say that “only some of the students took the class seriously.”

LHSBUDGET.COM VIDEOs Check out the history of Lawrence High School Choir students perform a medley of Christmas carols How to avoid catching the flu this season

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Adopting Families

By Kansas Gibler This year classes have adopted 22 families through the Ballard Center’s chapter of the Salvation Army’s Adopt-A-Family program.

Families who apply to receive gifts from the drive submit wish lists that typically consist of shoes, clothing items, toys and household necessities.

Graphic by Briauna Huffman

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Year in Review This year’s defining moments

DEC. 10, 2015 • 3

By Veda Cobb

Jan. 22, President Obama visits KU Lawrence students and educators flocked to Anschutz Sports Pavilion to hear President Barack Obama give a speech on education, economics and the Affordable Care Act.

“All three of those, I thought, were vitally important,” debate and forensics coach Jeff Plinsky said. “I enjoyed hearing him speak.” Photo by Joseph Anderson

March 14, boys basketball at state The boys basketball team made it all the way to the state championship game at Wichita State’s Koch Area before losing 58-43 to Wichita East.

As their second loss of the season, fans and players were

devastated after the game.

“The whole environment… enclosed, and the big stadium — it’s just so surreal, being there,” said senior Daonte’ Lowery. Photo by Joseph Anderson

Sept. 14, 2015, District kicks off LGBT initiatives Superintendent Rick Doll made a special visit to LHS to talk to members of the Gay-Straight Alliance to begin a district-wide initiative to better meet the needs of LGBT students.

Doll visited LHS because has the oldest and most active GSA. “The students were very appre-

ciative that he took the time to come and listen,” GSA co-sponsor Randall Frye said.

Among the issues the district plans to address, are gender-neutral bathrooms, bullying and better informing student bodies about LGBT topics.

Nov. 13, 2015, Football team makes run at State The football team had its best season in more than a decade, going undefeated in the regular season and making it to the quarterfinal round of the postseason.

The team ended its season with a 17-42 loss against Blue Valley.

“It was alright,” senior JD Woods said. “I mean, we didn’t come out how we wanted to, but we made it to the second round, so that was a good set-up for the young guys that will be coming back next year.”

Photo by Ian Jones

Nov. 23, 2015, Bill Clinton receives award Former President Bill Clinton accepted the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize and spoke to thousands about bipartisanship at the Lied Center. Many students and staff went to hear his speech.

“We have a thriving university population that really cares about politics, which is exemplified by

the Dole Institute,” English teacher Shannon Draper said. “And to make it free to the public means that all of the voting populace has access to hearing what a world leader has to say, and I think that’s really important.”

This was Clinton’s first trip to Lawrence since 2004.

PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE • LHSBUDGET.COM

NEWS

4 • DEC. 10, 2015

Presidential Visit

Clinton accepts award at KU Former president accepts Dole Leadership Prize, students and teachers go to watch

By Zia Kelly The 42nd President Bill Clinton accepted the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize Nov. 23 in front of packed Lied Center that included LHS students and teachers.

The annually-awarded recognition for excellence in public service and political leadership is awarded in the name of former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who lost the presidential race to Clinton in 1996.

It was the second time this year the University of Kansas hosted White House company for a speech free to the community, following President Barack Obama’s visit in January.

“I was really excited [to see Clinton speak], I couldn’t believe it,” senior Gabe Mullen said. “I went and saw President Obama in 2013 over in Warrensburg…To see president Clinton is really exciting.”

Students have talked about Clinton in their classes, so listening to him speak in person supplemented their classroom knowledge.

“He’s…a really good speaker,” junior Alexis Kriegh said. “In [Shannon] Draper’s class we studied his rhetoric.”

During his acceptance speech, Clinton talked about the importance of bipartisanship in “the great age of interdependence.”

He brought up initiatives like the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program as well as the budget he passed in 1998 with bipartisan support, which gave millions of dollars to support the Human Genome Project, which he referenced throughout the speech.

Clinton received the award for his long-standing career in politics. He is credited for fostering economic stability during his two terms in office, as he was the first president in decades to balance the national budget and bring it to a surplus four times. He is known for his bipartisan

THE BUDGET • PAGE DESIGN BY zIA kELLY

efforts, as he worked with both Democratic and Republican majorities in Congress while he was in office. And after his presidency he founded the Clinton Foundation with the aim of improving global health and developing economies and environments.

Students weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the opportunity to see the former chief executive.

“Bill Clinton was the first president I voted for,” English teacher Shannon Draper said. “I was living in Florida at the time, and I got to vote in the re-election in ‘96.”

The Dole Leadership prize comes with $25,000, which Clinton then donated back to the Dole Institute for Women in Leadership programs.

The former president’s visit ended

the Institute’s month-long promotion of civic engagement.

“I think what we are seeing is that we have a thriving university population that really cares about politics, which is exemplified by the Dole Institute,” Draper said. “And to make it free to the public means that all of the voting populace has access to hearing what a world leader has to say, and I think that’s really important especially for people…who will vote for the first time in November.”

Bipartisan — Former president Bill Clinton gave an acceptance speech on Nov. 23 for the Dole Leadership Prize. Photo courtesy of Sam Goodwin

DEC. 10, 2015 • 5

books

Fewer textbooks affect classrooms Switch to online books leaves many teachers, students without adequate number of texts

By Amanda Coatney Increasingly this year, students and teachers have put in extra work to make up for fewer printed textbooks in their classes.

Students first experienced the change last year with some AP Biology textbooks being replaced with online-only texts. This year, students found that other classes — from math to social studies — had moved to a similar mix of online and print texts.

That means that while some students still have access to print textbooks, there aren’t enough for each student to have a physical copy, and some students aren’t ready or able to access online texts from home.

“It set me behind because I didn't have a system, and I didn't have the book to look off of,” senior Betsy Smoot said about her AP Biology class last year. “I felt kind of like I was going in blind.”

Despite efforts teachers and administrators have put into fixing issues that come with the lack of available print textbooks, students have still felt strained. Though students have been presented with many options, not all have been readily available.

“I have no problem with online textbooks, but I would rather the students had the choice of online access, a physical textbook or a district-issued device,” math teacher Pamela Fangohr said. “We need to be equitable for all.”

Students have the opportunity to check out laptops and Wifi hotspots from the school library to access the online books from home. However this option has had some limitations.

Only 25 laptops and 10 hotspots are available for checkout, and the hotspots provide a limited amount of

data usage. they're really just not the same for “So you have people that go to me, and I think a lot of my friends LHS that live way out in the country could agree with me on that.” with no internet signal,” said Hunter Despite the troubles, the district Mooney a sophomore in Algebra 1. has been working to accommodate “So they can't really do it [access the everyone while transitioning into the online textbook].” new era.

Teachers have “Continuing been resourceful in conversation with providing for their students and staff $1 million students, making to hear the barriers Average amount annually spent to provide photocopies from and discuss possiinstructional resources (K-12th grades). Those their notes and ble solutions will resources may include paper workbooks and books in place of help strengthen our textbooks, supplementary reading materials, textbooks. Even so, novels, teacher materials, rebinding of textbooks, students’ experiences senior Matt Ramawith instructional and replacing lost or stolen texts/materials. ley, who’s in AP resources,” assistant 5-6 years Biology and College superintendent Jerri •Length of time that spending has remained Algebra, said such Kemble said. consistent. efforts don’t allow Kemble supported students to easily many positive aspects 25 look ahead or look of providing both Devices available for checkout from the school back. digital and hardcopy library as part of a test of device checkouts.

“It would have textbooks including been substantially students not having 10 easier to navigate to carry as many Number of mobile hotspots provided for checkout textbooks, the opporthrough the class as part of that same program. tunities that online had we had a full textbooks bring such textbook, not just a as videos and extra resources not photocopy of pieces of it,” he said. offered in hardcopy, and the ability Many classes affected by the to update information quicker. shortage had a two-to-one student “Teachers can customize some textbook ratio, forcing students to digital textbooks by adding in quizshare the print books. zes or assignments or relevant local “It's unfair because other people have to use that textbook as well, and information,” Kemble said. “Digital textbooks can bring concepts to life if I have mine always checked out, in ways a paper textbook can not.” then what are the other people going The district is also providing to use?” Mooney said. teachers the opportunity to learn Other students said they’re not how to efficiently use the online reready for the change to so many sources, including through workshops. online books.

These new opportunities to educate “It makes me feel good that students bring possibilities, but will take I'm graduating before they do that time and thorough work to implement. because personally I love the tangible “I think this is just a difficult transitional period were going through,” textbooks,” Ramaley said. “I've tried Smoot said. different online textbooks, and

By the Numbers

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DEC. 10, 2015 • 7

By Luna Stephens and Zia Kelly

They look like regular business cards. They could fit in your back pocket or your wallet. But the card has more than just a name and phone number.

“This ribbon is a lifeline!” the message shouts.

The card has phone numbers for two suicide hotlines, as well as instructions for helping a person who is considering suicide.

Students and teachers will see these cards more as the Yellow Ribbon program is implemented at LHS and every other district school. Teachers will be trained to help students who approach them with no questions asked.

Continued on page 8

Release — Messages of hope are released after school on Dec. 2. The messages, some of which are featured on page 9, were submitted by teachers and students to encourage people who have been affected by suicide. Photo

by Griffin Nelson

PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE • LHSBUDGET.COM

8 • DEC. 10, 2015

Yellow Ribbon Yellow ribbon training, Continued from Page 7 The school district began implementing the Yellow Ribbon program not with faculty and staff, but with students.

On Nov. 18, 19 LHS students were trained as Yellow Ribbon ambassadors. They spent the morning learning about the risks and causes of teen suicide as well as techniques to help peers who may be at risk.

“I wanted to be able to help people,” sophomore Satori Good said. “[I want to] be able to help if ever there was a situation where someone was suicidal that was my friend.

It’s important to be educated about things like that.”

The students were taught

by Jose Conrajo, the mental health coordinator for the district. They watched videos, presentations and discussed the causes of suicide for teens and how to intervene.

Cornajo said the district

is using Yellow Ribbon to train students to direct peers to other resources, since they have more connections with students than counselors typically do. “[Yellow Ribbon is] using those students to raise awareness and be another set of eyes, [it is] students helping students,” he said.

The Yellow Ribbon is a national program started by Dale and Dar Emme in 1994 in memorial for their son, Mike, who committed suicide.

They used the color yellow because he owned a bright yellow Ford Mustang, and his friends and community members handed out yellow ribbons at his funeral.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in people age 10-24. Cornajo said at the training the district has intervened with students as young as third grade.

THE BUDGET • PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE

Teens are a high-risk group for suicide for several reasons, Cornajo said. One of the main factors is an effect called stacking.

Stacking is when several stressors — school, family, social life, finances, etc.

— accumulate. Sometimes when enough factors have “stacked,” teens will be more likely to become suicidal.

Chris Maxwell of Headquarters Counseling Center, who attended the Nov. 18 meeting, used the analogy of a glass of water to illustrate stacking. He compared a person’s capacity to handle stress to a cup and each cause of stress as pouring water into it. The cup can only handle so much water, and once enough is poured in, it will overflow.

Maxwell said the point where someone is overwhelmed by a series of stresses is one where they’re more likely to consider suicide.

At the meeting, students discussed factors that typically stress out high school

NEED HELP? If you are concerned about a friend or yourself, contact LHS Student Services or Headquarters mental health services at (785) 841-2345. students. Of the list they generated, an overwhelming number were school-related.

“There’s...the stress factor, like you have a homework assignment that you can’t get done and bad grades on something, and it kind of all builds up,” Good said.

According to a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013, 17 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide within the 12-month period of the survey, and 8 percent reported attempting suicide within the time frame.

During the discussion, students said suicide is almost never addressed at school.

“We don’t really address [suicide] very well,” senior

DEC. 10, 2015 • 9 FOR THE CAUSE — Sophomore Chisato Kimura, and seniors Anna-Marie Turner, Payton Smith and Kaytlin Riedesel training to become Yellow Ribbon Ambassadors. "I took it because a few of my friends have experienced thoughts of suicide,” Smith said.

“And I want to be able to help people.” Photo by Ian Jones

Kaytlin Riedesel said. “It’s not really something that we’ll go and talk about, seriously talk about. I think that it’s [Yellow Ribbon] a really cool thing to get kids involved in, to get kids to know suicide is not something to joke around with.”

Senior Mariah Shelton is a member of the FYI Club, which aims to educate students in the district about different risk behaviors from alcohol to dating violence.

The one thing FYI does not address in detail, she said, is mental health, specifically suicide. “[Suicide] is something that we really don’t talk about very often, with FYI especially,” she said. “Because we have a whole bunch of panels on drugs and alcohol but we don’t really answer any topics about suicide prevention.”

And while there are resources within the school students can utilize to address mental health issues, like the school counselors and the WRAP officers, the Yellow Ribbon ambassadors said at the training that most of their peers either didn’t know about their options or would not feel comfortable approaching an adult if they were suicidal.

The students said that although people may know their counselors in an academic context, they’re not likely to know them personally enough to bring personal issues to them.

“In elementary school you’d be a lot closer to your counselors, so it’s a lot eas-

ier to talk to them,” senior potentially be reported.

Kenzie Turner said. “People In most cases, if a staff don’t really want to talk to member deems a student their counselor if they don’t to be in a threatening know anything about them. situation, they report it the I wouldn’t personally want Department of Children to open up to somebody that and Families. If the threat is I didn’t know very well.” immediate, they may contact The staff members the police. students interact most with The Yellow Ribbon are teachers. program Yellow aims to give Ribbon stustudents dents said people • 17% of students their peers trained seriously considered are more in suicide attempting suicide in the likely to feel prevention previous 12 months (22.4% comfortable who they’d of females and 11.6% of 22.4 % female males). talking to feel more 11.6 % male teachers comfortable about their talking with • 8% of students attempted suicide one or more personal than adults. times in the previous 12 issues “It defimonths (10.6% of females and nitely helps rather than 10.6% female 5.4% of males). other staff when peers 5.4% male members. are training However, for these • 13.6% of students there is only made a plan about how they things,” juwould attempt suicide in the so much nior Christa previous 12 months (16.9% of teachers Griffin said.

16.9% female females and 10.3% of males). can keep “Sometimes 10.3 % male confidential, adults just which also • 2.7% of students made don’t get a suicide attempt that resulted worries it, and in an injury, poisoning, or an students. someone overdose that required medical All that’s your 3.6% female attention (3.6% of females and school staff age or even 1.8% male 1.8% of males). members your gender are mandatwould unGirls are more likely to attempt suicide, but boys are more ed reportderstand it likely than girls to die from suicide when attempted. Of the ers, which a lot more.” reported suicides attempts in 2013 in the 10 to 24 age means if The amgroup, 81 percent of the deaths were males and 19 percent they think were females. Cultural variations in suicide rates also exist, bassadors a student’s were taught with Native American/Alaskan Native youth having the safety is specific highest rates of suicide-related fatalities.

Statistics from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strategies to threatened, they have to intervene if Infographic by Nia Rutledge report inone of their formation, which could peers was break trust with the student suicidal. who confided in them.

They were told to: Students at the training 1. Stay with the person said people may feel more 2. Listen to them and comfortable going to school take them seriously staff if they knew where 3. Seek out help immeditheir information would ately

SUICIDE STATISTICS

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT “The Budget” asked the LHS community to submit letters to those affected by suicide.

The notes were tied to yellow balloons and released into the sky last week. Here are some of the messages that were released.

LHSBUDGET.COM Go online to see a video about the Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention training effort for students.

PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE • LHSBUDGET.COM

FEATURES

10 • DEC. 10, 2015

Employed NURSING Junior Liliah Henderson works as a Certified Nursing Assistant in geriatrics, assisting elderly people under Bridge Haven Assisted Living.

“I give basic care,” Henderson said.

“Bathe them, feed them… basically, [I] provide them anything they need to be successful in their everyday life.”

To find her job, Henderson browsed the internet and social media, checked newspapers, and consulted her AVID teacher, Wayne Long, who informs students of upcoming job fairs.

During her interview, Henderson said she was nervous but confident in her abilities, as she had completed her CNA training in March 2015 through Neosho County Community College.

“They don’t typically hire anyone at my age, 16,” she said.

“I was like, ‘OK, you know, I’ll give it a try. I’m probably not going to get the job.’ But after I got it, I felt great.”

To get a job as a CNA, Henderson said, employees need strong social skills along with the knowledge they have from their certification classes.

“Communication skills [are a necessity]… teamwork, too,” she said. “And you have to be very patient [and] understanding [of] what someone else is going through,” she said.

Although being a CNA is typically a demanding job, Henderson was able to balance it with school. “[My hours] don’t [conflict with school],” she said.

“Typically it will be an eight-hour work day, but my boss is very flexible with the hours.”

THE BUDGET • PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE

Students talk work, from scheduling conflicts to responsibilities on the job

By Veda Cobb

LIFEGUARD Junior Noah Kucza works as a lifeguard at the pool in Eudora during the summer.

He had a connection to the job from an old coach.

“I knew the old manager from the swim team I did,” he said.

Kucza uses his training from swimming for his job.

He also has to be focused to ensure people are following pool rules.

“A lot of the time you’ll just be sitting there, surveying the pool and seeing if anything’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s a lot of anticipation… You don’t know what’s going to happen.

You can go all summer and never have to get in the water because you’re never on watch when a kid goes under or somebody hurts themselves. But if you’re not watching for just 30 seconds, you could miss somebody drowning.”

Kucza works at the pool during the summer, and when the pool is closed during the school year he has a second job at a hardware store.

The job worked on an odd schedule, he said. The pool scheduled two sessions of swim lessons in June and July, and had A and B shifts for lifeguards to be on duty, for a 1 to 4 p.m. shift and a 4 to 7 p.m. shift. Kucza worked the second session.

“It was really weird, working my day around one shift, he said. “But it was also a really nice first job, because there wasn’t a lot of management pressure. There was just more public pressure, because you’re having to watch their children’s lives.”

Kucza said his jobs are a good opportunity to make his own money, though sometimes he feels it’s difficult to spend time applying himself to something he doesn’t find as fun as spending time with his friends.

“It’s hard, when you know your friends are out there, having fun, and that you can’t participate because you have to go stand somewhere for a few hours,” Kucza said. “It doesn’t seem as fun, but in the long run, I think it’s worth it.

DEC. 10, 2015 • 11

GROCERY Junior Storm Auchenbach works at Dillon’s on

RETAIL Junior Le’Asa Woods works at Fa-

Massachusetts Street. He heard about the job from a friend who worked there.

“I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll go apply there,’” Auchenbach said. “I was pretty nervous, to be honest.

[The interviewer] was super nice to me, and I… shouldn’t have been nervous, at all, because she was really cool.”

Auchenbach does a laundry list of tasks while he is on the clock, including bagging groceries, checking people out at the register, retrieving shopping carts from the parking lot and cleaning.

“I’m like a custodian and a cashier at the same time,” he said.

Auchenbach said that communication and friendliness are key in doing well in service work.

“Communication [is important] because sometimes you’re just standing there, bagging, so you’re the one that’s supposed to be talking to them,” Auchenbach said. “And you have to be lifting things… if they need help with their groceries, you have to help them out.”

There are few conflicts between school and work for Auchenbach, unless he’s scheduled past his regular ending time of 8 p.m.

“That doesn’t usually happen at all,” Auchenbach said. “It’s only happened, like, once or twice.”

Though it gets busy sometimes at Dillon’s, Auchenbach likes his job. “[Business] makes the time go by faster,” he said.

mous Footwear, taking care of customer service and the checkout desk.

“My best friend at the time worked there, and she told me to apply,” Woods said. “A lot of the time, I’ll get tasks like unboxing shoes and putting them away, but most of the time I do customer service…

I work the register, too.”

Besides being able to use the register and understand how to organize shoes on the shelves, Woods has to be able to put her communication skills in the forefront and her memory is tested regularly, she said.

“You have to have a lot of patience to do it… [and] you have to have good memorization,” Woods said. “It’s hard figuring everything out, like discounts and working the register.”

Woods said she has had issues with scheduling her hours to work with school, but she said things have slowed down and she now works only 10 to 12 hours a week.

“It gets hectic around backto-school time and during the summer,” Woods said.

“But I like it a lot.”

juniors and seniors were surveyed on their ON THE JOB 120role within vocational life Do you haveDo you have a job? a job?

How many hours do you work per week? 20-25 6%

No 35.3% Yes 64.7%

What grade What grade are you in? are you in?

Photos by Cooper Avery, Survey by Clara Severn, Infographic by Briauna Huffman

How many hours do you work per week?

25+ 4.8%

5 or fewer 34.5%

15-20 11.9% 10-15 17.9%

type of business do you work in?

What typeWhat of business do you work in?

Restraurant

work?

WhyWhy dodoyouyouwork?

Other 20.3%

27.8%

Helping support my family 8.9%

Other 41.8% Grocery Store 10.1% Childcare 12.7%

Other retail 7.6%

Yes 26.2%

No 73.8%

5-10 25%

Junior 26.3%

Senior 73.7%

Do you make minimum wage? ($7.25)

Do you make minimum wage? ($7.25)

For spending money 59.5%

Saving up for college or car 38%

PAGE DESIGN BY NIA RUTLEDGE• LHSBUDGET.COM

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DEC. 10, 2015 • 13

Experience pushes team ahead

State qualifying swimmers projected to boost scores, break school records this season

By Colton Lovelace Anytime a varsity team returns multiple state qualifiers, it’s posed to have a successful season, and for the boys swimming and diving squad, that’s exactly the case.

Returning state swimmers include sophomores Stephen Johnson, Alex Heckman and Isaac Springe, junior Patrick Oblon, and seniors Chase Odgers, Jack Ryan, Hunter Boehle and Matt Ramaley, as well as senior diver Izaiah Bowie. The team finished 11th at the State meet last year, and it will be fighting for a strong performance at this year’s competitions.

“This year the team is going to be really good — better than last year,” Johnson said. “We will keep improving. The expectations we have are we all should probably drop our times, and a lot of us should go to state and do pretty good there.”

Having a team with so many returnees means expectations skyrocket, which is the case for the squad this year.

“With six seniors, we obviously have a lot of experience,” coach Kent McDonald said. “We only lost one swimmer who placed at state last year, so we have a team that knows

what to expect this season.”

Last season the team’s scores were bolstered by young talents who qualified for state their freshmen year.

“We have three sophomores who swim year round and will score high at all of our meets this year,” McDonald said. “Izaiah also placed high at state last year in diving, and I expect big things from him.”

Last year, Johnson placed fourth in the 200 freestyle and second in the 500 freestyle at league and placed sixth in the 200 freestyle and second in the 500 free at state.

“Me and my team have all gotten ready for this point by working hard going to all the practices, or as many as we could make,” Johnson said.

“I’m really excited for the season to start because it’s going to be a good season for the whole team.”

To medal at state, McDonald said his seniors will need to make strides during the regular season to lead the team into qualifiers.

“We are going to need others like Matt Ramaley, Jack Ryan, Elliott Abromeit, Patrick Oblon and Hunter Boehle to step up and compete well for us if we are going to have a successful season,” he said.

The only experienced diver in the program, senior Izaiah Bowie, is also back and looks to do even better this year after last year when he qualified for and finished 11th at state.

“I really just want to get first in state. I wouldn’t be disappointed,

SPORTS

SWIMMING & DIVING

FREESTYLIN’ — Sophomore Stephen Johnson warms up during Saturday morning practice on Dec. 5. The team began its season with a second place finish at the Free State quad on Dec. 2. Photo by Zia Kelly

but I would just think to myself I could have tried harder,” Bowie said.

“But if I don’t make it, then I don’t make it. No big deal.”

Bowie also agreed the team has great season ahead.

“I think we will do pretty well, hopefully we get top three in state,” he said. “Last year we got 11th, but if we can make it up to top three that would be pretty cool.”

All around, expectations are high, as many swimmers look to improve and compete at higher levels.

“Several of our guys are looking at school records this year, both in individual and relay events, so there is a lot of excitement on the team to see what we can do,” McDonald said.

McDonald expects swimmers to do better than last year, and hopes to see more swimmers to place at state as well.

“I expect everyone to get better, whether they are diving or swimming,” he said. “I expect to place higher at League [fifth in 2015] and State [11th in 2015] than last year.

I’m looking forward to having all of our swimmers and divers improve as well as the team place higher at the league and state championships.”

PAGE DESIGN BY ZIA KELLY • LHSBUDGET.COM

14 • DEC. 10, 2015

OPINION

Mental Health Mondays miss mark

Neurotypical perspective doesn’t benefit the student body it aims to help

By Zoie GermanMartinez If you listen to the morning announcements, you can hear the Mental Health Mondays segment give advice on stress and anxiety.

The segment focuses on self-care and maintaining confidence, saying tidbits such as “Find a school-sponsored club that matches your strengths.

Or better yet, help create one!” and “If you would like to learn more about these identities, do some research on the interwebs, or ask questions to those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Let’s keep the halls of LHS a place of respect for all humans.”

These pieces of advice have little to do with mental health. The first comment is just insensitive to social anxiety; not everyone can show up in a new

social environment and act like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

Also, while homophobia and transphobia contribute to bad mental health, it’s not the only major mental issue in the LGBTQ+ community. Many transgender people suffer from dysphoria, or a significant discomfort with their body or assigned gender.

As a person who has an anxiety disorder, I do appreciate the idea of Mental Health Mondays.

Yet the discussion is laced with privilege and is given from a neurotypical, or non-mentally ill, point of view. I’m sure the school means well, but this perspective doesn’t help the mental health issues of the student body. It misinterprets and trivializes it.

Personally, school is a huge part of my anxiety, but it’s different for everyone. Family issues and social interaction might trigger someone’s anxiety, or anxiety might be a part of a larger mental health issue like substance abuse or depression. I am not a mental health expert, but I’m speaking from experience.

Anxiety is constantly there in the back of your mind, nagging you and blowing things way out of proportion. It’s something I have to constantly check up on, asking myself, “Am I OK? How anxious am I right now?” Sometimes the anxiety is so overwhelming I feel like I’m dying.

Telling people their problems can be solved by simple time management is Graphic by Ella Denson-Redding

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unrealistic. When it’s suggested that time management can relieve anxiety, it minimizes a much larger problem and puts it under an overly-simplified lens.

Instead of speaking about stress from a neurotypical perspective, it would be preferable and more helpful if some research was actually done on what it’s like to be mentally ill. If research was done, people would know that mental illnesses aren’t magically cured by time management.

It would also be known that anxiety isn’t the only mental illness, either; there’s bipolar depression and schizophrenia, among countless others. In a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 2.2 million adolescents suffer from behavioral disorders.

Sylvia Treveño-Maack, the school psychologist, explained that LHS does have a mental health team which writes the Mental Health Monday segment and whose mission, according to its pamphlet, is to “serve all students in need of mental health support.”

Treveño-Maack said this is the first year the school has decided to tackle the issue of mental illness among the school body, and this process is full of trial and error since the staff is guessing how to best communicate with students.

“It’s not the final product, and we’re shaping it as we get feedback,” she said. “It’d be really helpful to know who’s willing to give it...The people who are

willing to give their two cents, we need to somehow reach out to them.”

Discussing mental illnesses is hard, especially when the topic of selfharm comes up. Yet it’s inescapable. Many people struggle with self-harm and need an outlet where they feel safe enough to talk about it. The announcers have tried to discuss this topic, but it comes across as not genuine.

“I think they’re [Mental Health Mondays] a good idea, and the basis is a good idea,” senior Nicole Berkley said. “But I think the way they’re doing it is a little trivial.”

Students would benefit more from learning about the different types of mental illnesses their friends and classmates face.

Students could learn that having a mental illnesses doesn’t make you an outcast and when someone is struggling, they can to be there and understand, she explained.

Overall, developing a helpful and inclusive mental health community that consists of students and staff would be the most effective in being proactive with mental illnesses; but I can’t speak for the whole neurodivergent student body.

I don’t know most of them, since discussing mental health issues is a social taboo, but I know that although Mental Health Mondays try to help relieve stress of students, they end up ridiculing the real issues of people and do not allow for a safe space, which is needed.

DEC. 10, 2015 • 15

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