Issue 7, February 20, 2013

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Out of reach

Lawmakers consider bill that would increase tuition costs for many immigrant students

BY LILY ABROMEIT When Mary thinks about college next fall, it’s with more anxiety than most.

The senior’s future rests on the shoulders of others, the Kansas Legislature, and there is nothing she can do about it.

This year, the Kansas Legislature is considering repealing the law that allows undocumented students the ability to earn reprieves from paying out-of-state tuition when they have lived in the state for three years and have plans to legalize their status.

Mary is one of the hundreds of students this potential change would affect.

The Budget isn’t “It may just, financially, put colusing Mary’s real name lege out of the picture for some at her request because families.” of her concerns about —Counselor Lori Stussie privacy.

Mary was born in Mexico but has lived in the United States for nearly 13 years — spending most of that time as an undocumented resident. Now, she has more reassurance regarding her status in the United States.

In June, the Obama Administration began a program that allows undocumented youths to stay in America for two years. Beginning in August, Mary applied for the chance to stay under the deferral program.

“I’m not exactly undocumented now. . . but I’m not a resident and citizen. It’s complicated,” Mary said. “I’m not legally here, but I’m allowed to stay here.”

The tuition law has been contentious from the time it was passed in 2004 with almost yearly attempts to repeal it. Chances for change may be stronger this year because the Legislature has swung more conservative.

Rep. Brett Hildabrand, a Merriam Republican who supports the repeal, told the Lawrence Journal World that voters have told him they don’t like that the current law “rewards” people who break the law by immigrating illegally.

For Mary, repeal of immigrant tuition law in Kansas would affect her chances of going to college in the fall.

“I won’t be able to pay,” she said. “I will have to pay out-of-state tuition if I want to go to college.”

This is something her family can’t afford. The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is huge. At KU next year, in-state freshman will pay $8,790 for tuition. Non-resident students will pay $22,860.

Despite the fact that Mary has spent most of her life in the United States, her immigration status means she doesn’t qualify for financial aid or many scholarships, as most are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

“I can’t have health care, stuff like that,” Mary said. “I can’t be helped by the government.”

Mary is not the only student struggling with these problems.

Photo Illustration by Abby Gillam 1901 Louisiana St., Lawrence, KS 66046

Continued on page 2

Vol. 123, Issue 7, Feb. 20, 2013

TUITION: Higher costs might shut doors Continued from page 1 “People here at Lawrence High [are affected by this], and I imagine probably at Free State, too,” she said. “Everybody assumes we’re citizens, but we’re not.

There’s people living around you that are undocumented.”

Counselor Lori Stussie said undocumented students usually don’t tell her or administrators about their status.

“A lot of families are worried about being arrested and sent back to their native country,” Stussie said. “That’s the number one worry.”

Still, she finds herself helping families deal with difficult college situations.

“We do have several sets of parents who are here with various visas,” Stussie said. “We’ve kind of developed some lines of communication between different colleges, and we try to set them up with the people there that can help them.”

Sometimes the best option is to become a citizen.

“The quickest route to financial aid is to become a U.S. citizen,” Stussie said. “It is clearly in their best interest financially, if it is possible at all, to become citizens and gain citizenship, but that takes several years.”

The time commitment isn’t the only obstacle these families encounter when wanting to gain citizenship.

“There are a number of requirements a person must meet before they can even be eligible to naturalize,” said David Rubenstein, who teaches about immigration law at Washburn University.

If neither the teenager nor his parents are in the country legally, they have no way to earn citizenship under current law, Rubenstein said. Congress is considering changes, but immigration law remains a contentious political issue.

Some students choose not to become U.S. citizens for emotional reasons. For senior Elbeg Erdenee, who is an international student, this is exactly why she will stay with her

current status.

“I think it’s a more sentimental reason. I don’t want to give up my Mongolian citizenship, because there’s not dual citizenship between Mongolia and the United States,” Erdenee said.

“But practically speaking, to become a citizen or to become a permanent resident would be helpful in terms of future scholarships, but I wouldn’t consider it.”

Erdenee, as a legal alien, suffers some of the same setbacks as Mary.

Her junior year, Erdenee scored high enough on the PSAT to become a National Merit Scholar but did not qualify because of her status as a legal immigrant. But for her, the financial rewards of this honor wouldn’t impact her ability to go to college.

“It doesn’t really matter in the end,” Erdenee said. “It was just a prestige thing, something you could put on your resume. The money’s not going to matter much.”

In the case of other students paying in-state tuition, Erdenee doesn’t feel like

repealing the law is fair.

“I would say, I think tuition rates should be the same for everyone,” Erdenee said.

Stussie said if the tuition law changes, it would limit the futures of some families.

“We all know that education is one key to advancement in society, and it’s very hard when there are roadblocks to receiving secondary education,” Stussie said. “It may just, financially, put college out of the picture for some families.”

Mary argues repeal of the immigrant tuition law is an outrage.

“Some undocumented students come here [and] have been living here their whole lives,” Mary said. “Why can’t they stay here to study? Why do they have to pay out-of-state if they’ve lived here most of their lives?”

For now, Mary is waiting for her future to be decided.

“It’s a huge factor in my life,” she said. “If it is repealed my chances of going to college are going to be slimmer than they are now.”

BY THE NUMBERS Here’s a look at how students are affected by a law that allows students with illegal immigration status to pay in-state tuition as long as they graduated from a Kansas high school, have been in the state at least three years and plan to seek citizenship.

117 498 15 $10,295

Students at universities in 2012 under the law.

Students at community colleges under the law.

Students at technical colleges under the law.

Extra tuition cost these students would pay to universities if law is repealed.

Source: Kansas Division of the Budget

Club reaches out to Lawrence community

Newly established Habitat for Humanity chapter at LHS draws in students wishing to give back

BY ZIA KELLY Students are giving back by joining the first ever LHS Habitat for Humanity club.

When advocates from the organization came to the school asking to start a chapter, English teacher Keri Lauxman stepped up as the adult sponsor.

“They came to us and just asked who was interested,” Lauxman said. “It’s an organization that I have always supported financially, but I’ve never been on a build site, so I am looking forward to being a part of it. It is an organization that I have always been in favor of, and I think that they do such great things in our area, and I’m looking forward to getting involved.”

Twenty students have shown interest in the group and have had several meetings to learn about the organization and what they can do.

“I have heard about it before, and I was always really interested in it, but it’s really hard to join without having an affiliation,” freshman Genevieve Voigt said.

“So I decided to join the club to be able to actually do something with it.”

Voigt as well as many other students are eager to help within the organization any way they can.

Habitat for Humanity began working in the Lawrence area in 1989. Since then, with the help of a network of volunteer workers and donors, Habitat has built 80 homes. Its mission is to provide safe, decent homes for families in need. Families living in the

plans on getting involved in different ways.

“I would really like to get involved in advertizing it around the school and getting more people involved,” she said. “I think that would be very interesting.”

With many ways to volunteer and get involved in the community, Lauxman said students should seize those opportunities to help others.

“I think its an opportunity for young people to give back, to use their free time for something beneficial,” Lauxman said. “With advocacy, with fundraising and with actual construction, I can’t think of a better organization to support. So I think they do great things, and I think our students should know about them.”

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house help out by working on construction, raising money and raising awareness about the organization and its effects in the community.

Club members will help in multiple areas of the organization.

“We will have a couple areas of focus: working on developing advocacy about the organization here in town, also doing fundraising events and opportunities for the organization, as well as getting students involved in construction projects down the road,” Lauxman said.

Although volunteers younger than 16 cannot work on build sites yet, there are many other ways for them to help out. Sophomore Celie Davison joined the club as a volunteering opportunity and

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Lawmakers question online privacy rights Bill would protect people who keep accounts private

BY SHELBY STEICHEN With the rise of social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, lawmakers are beginning to question if more legal protection is necessary for users.

State Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat, proposed three new bills in the Kansas House aiming to provide protection to social media users from employers, teachers and professors, as well as from general harassment.

Under one bill, an employer would not be able to request access to social media accounts of employees or potential employees.

Using social media websites to get a closer look at employees is not an uncommon tactic.

Assistant principal Mark Preut said he has

Complaining about swimming, the fake Kent McDonald twitter page created by senior Adam Edmonds displays a humorous impersionation that may be banned due to the newly proposed legislation.

used social media websites when hiring staff members.

“I’ve had applicants where I’ve looked on their Facebook page and been like, ‘I’m not sure if that’s a good fit,’ ” Preut said. “I look at it as if they’re going to put it out on a public place for people to see, then I have just as much rights to see it as somebody a thousand miles away who just happens to click on their name and see what’s up there.”

The bill aims to protect people with otherwise private accounts from being forced to share their information. It would protect against employers who request potential employees to friend them on Facebook or allow them to be Twitter followers.

Under the second bill, teachers and professors also would not be able to request access to private social media accounts of their students.

The final bill aims to protect social media users by prohibiting the creation of false social media accounts for the use of harassment.

Under this bill, individuals would not be able to identify themselves as someone else or use someone else’s photos without their consent.

This bill, if passed, could possibly affect or eliminate popular parody twitter accounts such as @FakeJeffWithey or accounts closer to home such as @Coach_Kent, a parody account for swim coach Kent McDonald. “[If these accounts are eliminated] then 53 people would no longer enjoy Kent McDonald’s hilarious quotes,” said senior Adam Edmonds, creator of @Coach_Kent.

Regardless of if these bills pass, the important issue for students is to protect themselves.

They should monitor what they post or set up privacy settings for their accounts, Preut advised.

“Bottom line is be careful what you put out there,” Preut said. “Sometimes you need to stop and think before you shout it from the mountaintop and put it out there for the world to see.”

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The Budget | 3

Court finds state education fund unconstitutional Legislature continues to argue, future of public schools grim

BY YU KYUNG LEE Seven years ago, Lawrence schools enjoyed a financial boom.

The district hired new teachers, lowered class sizes and increased salaries. The changes came thanks to a Kansas Supreme Court case Montoy v.

State that pushed the Kansas Legislature to spend more money on public education. But during the past few years, money has been tighter leading to a January court decision that declared public schools are underfunded.

The base state aid per pupil fell from a peak of $4,400 during the 2008-2009 school year to $3,838 now, cuts first driven by the recession.

It’s forced a new showdown between Kansas school districts suing the state and state lawmakers angry at a recent court ruling that said they weren’t doing enough to fund public education.

Lawrence USD 497 hasn’t joined the lawsuit, but school board president Vanessa Sanburn said the district is feeling the financial pinch.

“Almost 10 percent cut in base state aid per pupil occurred,” Sanburn said. “So we’ve had to raise class sizes and cut programming and close an elementary school and merge the early childhood center with Kennedy and all sorts of program changes that were in the wrong direction, but as a local board, our

hands are tied.”

SHOWDOWN A panel of three judges in January decided the Legislature’s funding of public education was unconstitutional.

In 2010, the state was sued by students, parents and four school districts (Wichita USD 259, Hutchinson USD 308, Dodge City USD 443 and Kansas City USD 500). Their contention: The state constitution requires the Legislature to “makwe suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state” and it wasn’t living up to its duty.

Lawmakers, the court said, must raise the base state aid per pupil to $4,492, increasing the education budget by almost $500 million to fund public schools at a constitutional level. That would take the state to previous levels of funding set in the Montoy case.

“It confirms what we, Democrats and moderate Republicans, have been saying,” said Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat. “The cuts to education have gone way too far. We shouldn’t have cut so much from public education.”

But the conservative wing of the Republican party, which controls the Kansas House and Senate, recoiled. The state is appealing the decision.

“I do not believe the court has the authority to make the decision that they wrote,” said Sen. Steve Abrams, a Arkansas City Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee.

The state is appealing the decision. While the court made a decision that would directly affect the state budget, the state constitution gives the Legislature authority over spending. As in the past, many

lawmakers argue the courts have overstepped in determining how much money is required to provide a suitable education.

The case raises interesting questions about the separation of powers in government, said Richard Levy, professor of constitutional law at the University of Kansas.

“So this is another one of the pieces of this puzzle that make it unique and harder than most cases,” Levy said. “It also essentially puts the courts against the Legislature as a kind of who is going to get the upper hand in the tug of war over school funding?”

Some lawmakers struck back with bills that would amend the state constitution to prevent judges from dictating funding levels, change wording of the constitution to remove the “suitable” funding for education wording, or limit the ability of schools to file such lawsuits.

“The thing that scares me the most is this effort to change our constitution to where the Legislature has complete control and the checks and balances of school funding is done away with in this state,” Sanburn said.

“It confirms what we, Democrats and moderate Republicans, have been saying. The cuts to education have gone way too far.”

—Rep. Barbara Ballard, Lawrence Democrat

FUTURE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION Money matters in education.

The increase in district performance outcomes and increase in spending have almost a one-to-one relationship, meaning about a percent increase in

spending saw a corresponding increase in performance, according to a 2006 study completed for the Legislature.

But due to the economic downturn in 2008, the state cut education funding by more than $450 million before the Montoy plan could be fully implemented.

“The economy was bad so we just had not funded it at the level we said we were going to fund it,” Ballard said. “Schools have been getting less money because the economy dictated part of that.”

Now, she said cuts also are driven by Gov. Sam Brownback’s income tax cuts. Brownback says those cuts will result in a stronger economy that will in turn bring in more taxes. But critics say schools will suffer.

“If the money is not coming in then you don’t have the money in order to be able to meet the needs that you have,” Ballard said.

Between 2009 and 2012, Lawrence USD 497 lost about $7 million in budget authority. That meant teachers and curriculum both suffered, school officials said.

For science teacher Ann Foster, the decrease in budget meant her classes had to give up some labs she considered an essential part of science curriculum.

“A lot of equipment we’ve tried to fix and can’t replace or get updated equipment,” Foster said.

“Especially for AP Biology, I know a lot of molecular technology they are using in some of the other schools, we just don’t have the money for. Sometimes they [the students] are at a disadvantage because those labs I have to either find opportunities online

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Technology changes teaching SMARTBoards provide glimpse into teaching of tomorrow

BY PETER ROMANO A long time ago, a teacher’s best friend was their trusty chalkboard.

Alas, there came a time when it was time for this old school tool to step aside and let the new guy take over, and chalkboards became an endangered species after whiteboards branded them obsolete.

But history tends to repeat itself, and now it’s time for the whiteboards to meet their superior: The SMARTBoard.

Students returning from winter break were surprised to find the big gadgets taking up space on the whiteboard.

For social studies teacher Lori Flippin, the SMARTBoard is nothing new.

She has been teaching with a SMARTBoard since 2006. However, she did not request it be there like most teachers have now. The SMARTBoard just happened to be in the room when Flippin moved in.

“The first month or two, I took it down because I was too intimidated,” Flippin said. “I went, ‘Forget it. I’d rather just have the whiteboard to use.’”

While she was at first caught off guard by the SMARTBoard, it didn’t take Flippin long to adapt.

“I thought, ‘Oh come on, I can learn this,’ so I put it back up [and] taught myself how to use it,” Flippin said.

About seven school years after the OG SMARTBoards debuted, they’re beginning to multiply. Now the school is home to 20 SMARTBoards, occupying math, social studies, science and English classrooms. Even an engineering classroom houses one of these $1,600 pieces of equipment.

That’s right. These fancy gizmos are $1,600 a pop. A bit of basic mathematics shows a total of $32,000 has been spent on SMARTBoards.

“It is a wonderful teaching tool, but [is it] necessary? No,” Flippin said.

The school may not have needed the SMARTBoards, but the benefits they provide don’t seem to have any downsides besides the cost. Tracy Murray is another teacher reaping the benefits of this addi-

Good

Bad

+ Directly edit text + Project slide shows and PowerPoints + Extend the page + Cant run out of ink + Make shapes, lines, and graphs + Save notes to slide shows + Upload assignments

– Often needs to be calibrated – Not user friendly – Unreliable pressure sensors – One person at a time – Difficult to write on

tion to her room.

“Necessary I think is probably an excessive word, but I think it can be quite helpful,” said Tracy Murray, another social studies at Lawrence High who agrees that SMARTBoards are not needed, but are extremely helpful nonetheless.

Flippin’s SMARTBoard is put to use everyday, so it’s not going to waste.

“For other teachers, where their boards [are not set up in] close proximity to their desks, it saves them quite a bit of steps.” Flippin said.

Saving teachers a short walk is not the only thing SMARTBoards are doing.

“It’s actually encouraged me to be

more creative with thinking about how I can approach lessons,” Murray said.

SMARTBoards are giving teachers new and different paths to take, bringing teaching further into the 21st century.

With the SMARTBoard, teachers are able to advance PowerPoints to the next slide by simply tapping the projection.

Teachers can work anything on their computer through the SMARTBoard, saving the time it would normally take to sit back down at the computer and potentially lose the class’s attention. This way, teachers can stay up front and keep the lesson moving.

“Its presence has made students in-

Graphic by Gage Nelson

terested, and they start to tell me things that they know it can do, and so they kind of get that anticipation and excitement,” Murray said.

So just having the SMARTBoard in the room helps to keep students eyes up and their ears open.

“I’m sure I don’t use it to its full ability, because I know there’s a lot more stuff on there I don’t use because I don’t know how to,” Flippin said.

There are tutorials to come that will explain how to use the SMARTBoards to their full potential. The SMARTBoard might just be a glimpse into the future of education.

FUNDING: Teachers say pinch has local effects Continued from page 4 to expose the students or use my own money or try to get donations from other sources, but it’s not equally funded, and the money everywhere is less and less.”

Departments share resources to make sure teachers get what they need.

“We make sure that [anatomy teacher Jo] Huntsinger has all of her cats, because that’s a huge part of her lab, and we make sure that the chemistry students have the appropriate amount of chemicals for the labs we can run,” Foster said. “I know we have some labs we can’t run anymore because of the price for silver nitrate, and we’ve learned how to use less and less. We

Feb. 20, 2013

make do with what we have. We use up what we have.”

EDUCATION IN KANSAS Kansas ranks seventh nationally in education outcomes based on indicators such as graduation rates and test scores, while funding wise, the state ranks 27th nationally, according to the Kansas Association of School Boards. No state performs better than Kansas for less money.

“Currently we are the most efficient state by those indicators at getting positive outcomes for the money we put in,” Sanburn said. “I mean, is it enough?

Certainly we are doing innovative and

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amazing things everyday at our schools, and I believe that our school district should be proud of the education kids get, but it’s tough and morale suffers when we are not able to continue to provide salary and resources and paraeducator support and all those things at a level that we should be for our teaching staff.”

One of the biggest contributing factors of Kansas’s high educational outcomes compared to its budget is the teachers, but in terms of teacher salary, Kansas ranks 40th in the nation.

“You are not a teacher because of the high pay and glory,” Foster said. “But it’s exhausting for the teachers, and I

think it’s going to lead to disillusionment and burnout with a lot of the teachers because we’ve worked so hard for so long and what we do and our children aren’t valued. The product that we are creating doesn’t seem to be valued by our legislators, and that product is our children and their brains and our future, and they are tossing your future away. It just ticks me off.”

If current trends in education funds continue, it’s only a matter of time until a breaking point is reached.

“If it’s not already here, it’s not far away,” Foster said. “All the tax cutbacks, it’s degraded our tax base so badly. I’m worried.”

The Budget | 5

Stage beckons for Showtime

SCHOLARSHIPS

12 students will be chosen to earn $1,000 each!

Despite new leadership, Showtime is to remain the same

BY KEYTY ASHCRAFT For many students, third quarter means studying for the ACT or trying out for spring sports. For others, it means all of those things along with the most awaited event of the year: Showtime.

Juniors and seniors involved in choir spend up to five days a week rehearsing songs in preparations for auditions. “[It’s] a lot of hard work,” senior Brett Van Blaricum said. “I’m taking a break from work right now just because of how much Showtime is really affecting my schedule. [I’m] trying to keep up with school, and I play golf, so I have to keep up with that too.”

While Van Blaricum finds it hard to juggle his four ensembles, senior Taylor Moldenhauer balances even more.

“In total I’m doing about eight, plus a solo and a duet,” Moldenhauer said.

Though many students say rehearsals are fun, they find it hard to be time efficient.

“Definitely just [staying] focused at rehearsals [is] probably one of the main problems,” Van Blaricum said. “There’s no teacher to scold you if you’re doing something wrong, so whoever is the leader of the group has to step up and be like, ‘All right, guys, we’ve got to make sure and focus today so we can get some work done.’ If you’re not prepared for auditions, then you’re screwed — you’re not going to get in. So you have to make sure that you’re really prepared so your song gets in.”

Another obstacle is coordinating students’ already busy schedules.

“Everyone’s schedule is so busy,” senior Mackenzie Owens said. “[And] after school, it’s really, really hard to get people together and rehearse together.”

Understanding how difficult it can be to find time to rehearse, choir director Dwayne Dunn advises against participating in so many groups.

“I think students can increase the

8 | The Budget

odds of having their featured act chosen for the show by working on fewer acts that are really, really well done, as opposed to spreading themselves too thin with acts that are not prepared well,” Dunn said. “Think quality, not quantity.”

Students are also adjusting to working with a new director. Though Dunn has attended as an audience member in the past, he has never worked behind the scenes. Despite this, students believe he will do well.

Owens finds herself in a unique position for Showtime, since her junior year she wasn’t in choir and was unable to work with choir teacher Cathy Crispino before her retirement.

“I didn’t have a chance to work with Mrs. Crispino, but everyone says [Dunn] is still really good,” Owens said. “They say that his song choices are better, which I can kind of agree with only because [I went] to a couple of the concerts last year.”

Dunn assures students he intends to run Showtime like the past.

“Showtime has been such a successful event and is loved by so many people that I don’t feel it needs to be changed,” he said. “There may be some things that I handle differently or that get done in a slightly different way because every director is unique, but I am not consciously trying to make big changes to Showtime.”

Moldenhauer also believes Showtime will remain the same.

“There isn’t a lot of difference in how it’s run because it’s a student driven thing,” she said. “But when it gets down to actually practicing with the groups that have been chosen, it might be different just because he’s a different kind of conductor.”

What students are most excited about are, of course, the songs they are working on.

“I’m really excited about Shake it Out because the harmonies are just really

At a weekend rehearsal, senior Kelsey Consolver, junior Cassandra Truong, senior Attie Pennybaker and senior Hannah Rupprecht prepare for Showtime auditions.

Photo by Ashley Hocking pretty and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Moldenhauer said. “And then my Britney [Spears] group is definitely the best group because who doesn’t love Britney?”

In addition to group numbers, Moldenhauer is hoping to do a duet with senior Zach Ramaley.

“My duet with Zach is a song called Waltz of the Wallflowers by Small Potatoes,” she said. “It’s adorable.”

Owens and Van Blaricum are both involved in many groups.

Van Blaricum is focusing on This Love by Maroon 5 for auditions on March 4.

“I’m really excited for This Love because it’s gonna be a capella, which means no instruments or anything, so we’ll be making beats and everything,” he said. “It’ll be really fun.”

Owens is involved in an all girls ensemble performing a song by the Cheetah Girls.

“I’m really excited for Cheetah Girls because I think it’ll be really, really fun,” she said. “I’ve always liked that movie, so being able to reenact it will be really cool.”

Although seniors are very excited about the groups they are involved in, some have taken the initiative to make sure others are also involved.

“I’m just reaching out to people and making sure that everyone gets involved in groups,” Moldenhauer said. “I learned what it feels like not to be in a lot of groups [last year],I want everyone to at least have one or two groups that they really love and they really enjoy being in this year.”

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Feb. 20, 2013

Exchange students travel to Kansas from Paraguay

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Exchange students journey to Lawrence for three weeks, attend LHS as students

BY MARA MCALLISTER Spanish 5 students at Lawrence High welcomed three foreign exchange students from Paraguay on Jan. 19. Seniors Maddie Baloga and Quillen Eichorn and junior Katie Gaches each hosted an exchange student for the duration of their stay of three weeks.

Eichorn admitted that hosting her exchange student Debora Moser was awkward initially.

“I was really shy with Debora at first,” Eichorn said. “But now we talk about boys and what not.”

Moser piped in, “It’s fun. We like to talk.”

Fellow exchange student Ale Garcia agreed with Eichorn that initially living with a host family is uncomfortable.

“It’s different. You feel shy, but you can deal with it,” Garcia said.

Despite any initial discomfort Garcia felt, she quickly recovered.

“I like the school,” Garcia said. “The people are very nice.”

Garcia and the other exchange students quickly came to love American culture. “[The Paraguayan exchange students] don’t want to do crazy things,” senior Maddie Baloga said. “A lot of times they just want to go and eat at a fast food restaurant that they don’t have in their country — simple things.”

The exchange students went bowling, ice skating, visited the Kansas Capitol and even went to a Lady Gaga concert in Kansas City.

To fully immerse themselves into American culture and the English language, exchange students were required to study a minimum of three years of English before their trip to Kansas.

Their time in Kansas has helped them to learn English further.

“I learned American phrases that we didn’t use before,” Moser said.

The exchange program not only improved exchange students’ English, but it improved the Spanish of host families.

“Having someone who speaks Spanish really well helps me with my Spanish,” Eichorn said.

Feb. 20, 2013

Top: Engaged in conversation, Paraguayan exchange students and Spanish 5 students enjoy traditional Paraguayan cuisine during a going away party on Feb. 8.

Photo by Mara McAllister Above: Sharing a laugh are Paraguayan exchange students Debora Moser and Gloria Figari. The exchange students stayed in Lawrence for three weeks with host families.

Photo by Mara McAllister While Baloga’s Spanish has improved, she believes the most important thing she’s learned as a host family is patience.

“I’ve definitely learned how to be patient and how to communicate with people that don’t speak very good English,” Baloga said.

Exchange students said goodbye to their host families on Feb. 9, but they left some parting advice.

“Don’t eat spicy food,” Garcia playfully advised.

Eichorn’s advice to students considering hosting an exchange student is simple: “Do it. It’s really fun.”

Page Design by Ashley Hocking

The Budget | 9

OPINION

Staff: Keyty Ashcraft-Galve Brooke Braman Trae Green Ashley Hocking (Managing Editor) Forrest Lassman Felicia Miller Vail Moshiri Gage Nelson Harley Phelps Nathaniel Reynolds Grace Rinke Matt Roe Peter Romano Kendra Schwartz (Assistant Online Editor) Zach Spears Nick Steichen Shelby Steichen Morgan Wildeman

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BY HARLEY PHELPS

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Editorial Board: Mallory Thompson, Sports Yu Kyung Lee, Features Lily Abromeit, News Ella Magerl, Design Abby Gillam, Photo Mara McAllister, Online

BY KENDRA SCHWARTZ

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Issue Editor-in-Chief: Mallory Thompson

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Typically, Valentine’s Day is thought to represent Pink and red decorated store aisles, cheesy cards love.

However, the cute red hearts that roam through flew off the shelves, and cut-out hearts were abundant as stores often have the reverse effect.

Feb. 14 loomed.

For those less fortunate, these cute hearts and Valentine This holiday, although typically intended for couples, can be the candies are constant degrading reminders of the love they don’t have. ideal opportunity for anyone to spread love, romantically or platonically.

Valentine’s Day also takes away from the key virtue that love should Valentine’s Day, the only holiday centered around love, provides the be shared with everyone every day, not just one day of the year. typically unromantic with an opportunity to display affection.

Love is more than a stuffed bear or a box of chocolate. Love is best Each year, those who struggle to find the right words are provided with the shown through words and affection. People should remind those they tools to show someone they care. Seemingly commercial things such as flowers and care about how much they mean to them with a simple, “I love you” chocolate are confidence-boosters in disguise. everyday, not a life-size teddy bear on Feb. 14 Besides the inevitable assurance for the person who receives gifts or cards on this every year. day of love, confidence can sprout in the individual who gives the present. Similar to any There is no real meaning behind other holiday, there are commercial aspects incorporated with Valentine’s Day, but the true Valentine’s Day. The idea behind the spirit falls with the history behind it. day is to put others before yourself, In the third century in Rome, Emperor Cladius II outlawed marriage for young but we should not tag one day in men, declaring it mandatory for soldiers to be single. But St. Valentine chose to defy particular to do this. The story of St. this law by continuing to marry couples in secret.

Valentine and love should instead Upon finding out about these secret marriages, Emperor Cladius threw be a constant reminder of the Valentine in jail. One story suggests, while in jail, Valentine was the first to importance of selflessness. send a “valentine” to his own love, who is assumed to be the jailer’s daughAnd the holiday often goes ter. He signed this letter, “From your Valentine.” misunderstood.

This ancient story of love still reigns today with the tradition of cardIn grades K-6, students find giving. themselves receiving dozens of The Feb. 14 holiday began with the selfless act of St. Valentine, risking his valentines depending on their own life for someone else’s love. This sacrifice is one of the most important class size. Students are often aspects of Valentine’s Day that should be reiterated to both genders throughout not taught the idea behind the world.

Valentine’s Day. Instead Every Valentine’s Day, one billion cards are sent across the world, according they are just taught that Feb. to the Greeting Card Association. Although this day is thought to be centered 14 is a day full of red hearts, around couples, the most greeting cards are actually given to teachers and cards, teddy bears and candy students in elementary school. that is shared with the class.

These elementary school students are far more in the spirit of Instead of hosting class parties where students the holiday than others. The requirement to bring valentines receive pink frosted cupcakes and store-bought valentines to every student in a class encourages the “love everyone” with bite-sized candies attached, students should be message this holiday epitomizes. taught the importance of sharing their love and practicing Many people are turned off by the idea of a selflessness everyday, not just on this day in particular. day of love if they have no significant other Valentine’s Day sends the wrong message to everyone on Valentine’s Day, or as playfully everywhere. It supports the ideas of being selfless for nicknamed “Single Awareness Day.” one day and showing love on only that one day, when However, this holiday can be in fact the selfless acts of St. Valentine himself celebrated among friends, famiweren’t done solely on one day, but were lies or even fellow classmates practiced daily. This is the true message and allow an individual to feel of St. Valentine and the one that anything but alone. should be taught everyday.

Each Valentine’s Day, 51

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The Budget is published every three weeks and distributed free of charge to students and faculty at Lawrence High School, 1901 Louisiana, Lawrence, Kan. 66046-2999.

The Budget is produced by students in the Digital Journalism and Digital Design and Production courses with occasional contributions from 21st Century Journalism and guest columnists. The newspaper’s goals are to inform, entertain and present a forum of expression for students, faculty, administrators and community members. The newspaper is financed through advertising and staff fundraising.

The editorial staff is solely responsible for the content of this newspaper, and views expressed in The Budget do not necessarily reflect those of the administration of Lawrence High School or USD 497.

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Budget

‘Love is more than a stuffed bear of a box of chocolate.’

percent of people are single.

Spending the day with people you love rather than sulking is a much more rewarding way to spend this holiday.

Advertising: Isaiah Bell Ashley Castillo Business manager: Pat Treff Adviser: Barbara Tholen 10 | The Budget

Graphics by Nick Steichen Page Design by Abby Gillam

Feb. 20, 2013

OPINION

New win in fight for gender equality

Women deserve chance to advance in combat roles, military leadership

BY VAIL MOSHIRI Mo Mason, who attended LHS last year, is now in the Marines.

This year, changes have been made to policies, making things easier for Mason as a female in the military.

“It’s opening every job to every person whether male or female,” Mason said. “It’s not being sexist saying that females can’t reach the physical capabilities that males can.”

The changes happened when Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta lifted the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy put in place by the Pentagon in 1994.

In February 2012, a review of Pentagon policies resulted in the lifting of gender restrictions on 14,000 military positions. The policy previously barred women from serving in direct combat in the military, which limited the ability of women to move into higher ranks. With its repeal, hundreds of thousands of additional front-line jobs will be opened to female soldiers. The new policy will be finalized by 2016.

But women are still ineligible to serve in 238,000 specialty positions, about a fifth of the armed forces.

In reality, the law that prevents women from serving has been obsolete for quite some time. Women have fought and died in combat with men in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We live in a time where equal rights abound, so why has it taken so long for women to be allowed, by law, to serve in direct ground combat? It surely can’t be because they are inferior to men.

Historically, countless women have served in direct combat.

Tammy Duckworth is probably the most famous female veteran from the war in Iraq. When she was piloting a helicopter overseas, the aircraft was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. This made her the first female double-amputee from the war, losing both her legs. She now serves in Congress.

Women have always been able to answer the call to action, and it is time to truly have equal rights for all. According to the textbooks, we have a bright future ahead of us. As people, as soldiers, as warriors.

Graphic by Zach Spears

History hall wins ‘best’ fountain What’s on your mind?

BEST

#1 History Hallway, next to Film Room (125): 21% #2 Choir Room: 15% #3 History Hallway, across from auditorium: 13% #4 English Hallway, next to room 201: 10% #5 Next to Latin Room (130): 9% Other: 32%

BY BROOKE BRAMAN

With the upcoming rematch game at FSHS, how do you think the location will affect the players and outcome?

WORST

92 students were polled about their favorite and least favorite water fountain on Feb. 5 during lunch.

Graphic by Forest Lassman

‘‘

It doesn’t really matter.

Since its in town, LHS fans can still come to the game. The venue doesn’t matter; all that matters is the fans.

Austin Abbott

Senior

Page Design by Kendra Schwartz

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#1 Math Hallway, next to room 228: 50% #2 E2: 27% #3 English Hallway, next to room 207: 5% Other: 18%

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LHS could still win since we have a great team, but it might not go as well if there are more Free State fans.

‘‘

Feb. 20, 2013

Students polled on favorite location for H20

Genevieve Voight Freshman

11 | The Budget

Girls roll over competition Teammates view each other as sisters, strong bond helps lead to success

For the LHS girls bowling team, three years of hard work finally started to pay off.

After taking down 12 different teams in the season opener, the girls continue to succeed. With seven straight wins, the team now has an 8-2 record.

This brings pressure for new bowlers, but teammates try to ignore the stress.

“We just tell each other just [to] bowl our games,” junior Kiersten Warren said. “We can’t focus on what everybody else does, because in the end, it’s not how they do. It’s how we do. Some of us do really well under pressure.”

For most, the winning streak adds nothing but positivity.

“I think we look at it as more of a confidence booster than pressure,” senior Zoe Reed said.

The girls began noticing improvements from the beginning of the season.

“Once we beat those 12 different schools, you can’t go down from there, you can only go up,” Warren said.

Extra practice has played a key role in the team’s accomplishments.

“Our teams work on their games outside of the scheduled practice times,” bowling coach Paula Bastemeyer said. “It is that commitment to the sport that has made them the success that they are.”

The bowlers also focus on not just practicing, but turning practice into a loud, intense, meet-like environment.

“Some of us will take turns yelling for each other and cheering to make a lot of noise to kind of get us in that mindset so that we’re kind of used to it,” Warren said.

Despite their extra work, team member still feel the stress when meets get suspenseful.

“Pressure is a big thing in this game,” Warren said. “Everything causes pressure . . . It’s a really big

mental game, so you always [have] be focused.”

Senior Rebecca McNeme serves as an example of how to handle the intensity.

“She’s just really focused and she knows the game really well,” Reed said.

When scores decline and girls start to feel the pressure, they look to their teammates.

“We lean on each other,” Warren said. “If someone needs help, there’s always someone there to help them . . . Everyone has someone that they can relate to.”

Reed agrees the constant support is essential.

“Having such good teammates [is helpful] because they are always encouraging whenever I mess up or something,” Reed said. “They are always right there, which is really good to have.”

The girls treat one another as sisters, Warren said.

“The girls have a strong bond,” Bastemeyer said.

“They encourage each other at all times and view one another as teammates, not opponents.”

The girls’ team looks at the boys bowling team as family as well. While the boys are also progressing, the girls are breaking the typical achievements of female bowlers. Bastemeyer said bowling isn’t the blue-collar, working man’s sport it’s often portrayed to be.

“Many people view the successful bowler as rolling the heaviest ball very fast with a big sweeping hook,” Bastemeyer said. “The game is more about accuracy and consistency than speed and power.

While our guys on average roll a heavier ball and have higher scores, it is our girls demonstrating the greater success.”

To other outsiders, bowling doesn’t seem like a very difficult sport. Reed said that this is an untrue assumption.

“There’s a lot of strategy and a lot of technique to it when you bowl on a team,” Reed said. “It’s just really technical. I guess people [don’t] realize that it’s

harder than it looks.”

Despite the difficulty, some don’t consider bowling a sport at all, said Warren.

“People call ping-pong a sport, so bowling is just like every other sport,” Warren said. “It’s something that people can do for their school or for free time. It is a sport and it takes talent.”

The team is breaking stereotypes with its success this season.

“When people say, ‘It’s not a sport, it’s not a sport,’ you have to tell them, ‘Look at us, look how far we’ve come,’” Warren said. “All of us are breaking that barrier. We’re proving that bowling isn’t something that you just do for fun. It’s something that you’ve got to have heart in.”

Bastemeyer takes pride in the strength the team has shown.

“I am extremely proud of our girls,” Bastemeyer said. “Four of the girls compete in other sports, so they know the discipline required for success. They

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Focusing on her next bowl, senior Zoe Reed bowls during the city showdown against Free State Feb. 12. The LHS girls and boys teams both won. Photo by Shelby Steichen

are bright, planning for college, involved in other school activities such as music, well spoken and excellent representatives of LHS.” Warren also believes the girls embody the spirit of LHS. “We’re representing what our school has [to offer] and what our school brings to competition, and so far, we’ve shown that we have heart and passion for the game,” Warren said.

The team hopes to show the competition LHS brings to the table for the rest of the season.

“Ultimately, [we want] to do well at regionals and go to state,” Reed said. “[That] is our biggest goal, and we know that is definitely possible.”

check us out online. www.lhsbudget.com

BY MALLORY THOMPSON

Pick up only COUPON REQUIRED Page Design by Mallory Thompson

The Budget | 12