Livewire Vol 8 Issue 2 December 2016

GROWING PAINS

Increasing Competition For Scholarships And Sports Teams Part 2 and 3 in a series

Contents

December 2016 Volume 8, Issue 2

STUDENT LIFE

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Taming the Rowdies | A feature on the Red Zone Rowdies being moved to the bleachers this football season.

Senior Trip | A look at the senior trip for the Class of 2017.

#9IsFine | A story of senior Megan Lancaster and how she overcame a serious car accident.

Waverly Hills Sanitarium | Take a look into the haunted hospital in Louisville.

Things To Do in December | A calendar of the events in the Louisville area in December.

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SPORTS

16 19 20

Sports, Deportes | A feature on foreign exchange

students who play sports here and across the globe.

More Sports, More Problems| Several students at Bullitt East involve themselves in multiple sports.

Fantasy Football Focus | Staffer Derek Rogers gives an in-depth analysis of the Fantasy Football culture.

ACADEMICS

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Academic Team Money Cut |

Due to the new dress code, a lot of money for the academic team has been cut.

Signing Into A Brighter Future | As the spring semester approaches, it’s time for seniors to start applying for their future.

Back To Back Distinguished |

Bullitt East is classified as distinguished yet again.

THEME

GROWING PAINS

Part 2 in a series

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Scholarships at the Hands of Seniors | Scholarship opportunities are already being handed out to BE seniors.

Part 3 in a series

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Chasing Dreams With Growing Competition | With very few spots available, athletes have to compete for positions.

POLITICAL

30 OPINION

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Lunch: Breaking Out | Should students be able to leave school during lunch to eat?

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Christmas Shopping Season | A look into the crazy shopping around Christmas.

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Editorial Board | The Editorial Board’s view on the overcrowding of the JCTC classes at BE.

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Whats’s In Our Future? | A

preview of what’s at stake for America with the new presidentialelect.

Editorial Board | The Editorial Board’s view on the overcrowding of sports teams.

adviser editor-in-chief executive editor website editor co-website editor business & advertising special events manager copy editor copy editor copy editor copy editor copy editor sports editor creative editor creative editor photo editor social media editor

Larry Steinmetz Lindsay Renneisen Jessica Mattingly Taylor Hollifield Abbie Alstatt Zach Combest Sydney Riley Ainsley Gordon Derek Rogers Kim Houchin Bethany White Abbie Alstatt Grant Skaggs Haylie Jenkins Haley Snyder Sarah Allen Kelsi Sego

staff writers Jeremy Antle Erika Bolton Matthew Childress Dustin Douglas Haley Grether Brandon Hall Nick Jackson Owen Jagielo Jaydrien Jarrett

Ashlyn Kouri Jasmine Meeks Ethan Neutz Jeremy Riggs Lauryn Smith Tyler Steinmetz Jaeden Yarbrough Luke Young

Livewire was re-founded in 2001 by journalism teacher, Larry Steinmetz. In the past, the Livewire has been a weekly newspaper, but moved to a newsmagazine published five times a year in 2011, and increased to six in the 2016-17 school year. The staff remains committed to bringing the Bullitt East community the most up to date news in a quality format and timely manner. To get breaking news, sports updates, and more go online to belivewire.com.

The staff appreciates your patronage and, as a public forum, encourages any feedback you care to offer. Letters to the editor must be typed and submitted via e-mail, to Mr. Steinmetz’s mailbox, or directly to room 324 within one week of the publication to which you are responding. Letters will not be censored, but must be deemed appropriate by the editor and advisor in order to be published. In order to be eligible to appear in the paper, all letters must be signed and verifiable. Names can be withheld upon request, but must be submitted with the original letter.

Livewire is published by the students and for the students of Bullitt East High School, E-mailing Mr. Steinmetz directly is the best way to reach the staff. His address is larry. steinmetz@bullitt.kyschools.us. The Livewire is printed by Publishers Printing Company.

Bullitt East High School 11450 Highway 44 East, Mount Washington, Kentucky, 40047.

(502) 869-6400.

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RED ZONE ROWDIES

TAMING THE ROWDIES

BY SARAH ALLEN Photo Editor

M

oving the Red Zone to the bleachers has not stopped them from being rowdy.

Because of the recent renovations of the track, the Red Zone was moved to a section of the bleachers. This has caused many issues such as overcrowding in the bleachers, and has discouraged many members of the Red Zone from being a part of it.

This change has not only affected the Rowdies. Many other groups of people have been affected by the change. The bleachers are now even more packed than usual with another section of the bleachers reserved. With two large sections full with students, parents and spectators are now being moved to just over half of the bleachers. They seem to fill up very fast making the last people there stand along the ramp up to the bleachers.

The move to keep the track nice is creating more problems than it should. Home games are every other Friday, which would mean that the Red Zone would only need to be on the track once every two weeks. For the Red Zone to be able to be on the track, there could be a no food or drink rule that would avoid all spills. To prevent accident all together, a tarp could be put down on a section for them to stand on.

Because of parents and spectators being crowded out of the bleachers, some may de-

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page by Sarah Allen December 2016

cide that going to the game to stand for hours at a time is not worth it. This would make the profit from the games go down drastically.

This would also bring less people to all of the stands put up by clubs and classes making their fundraising take longer to achieve their goal.

The area by the concession stand is packed with the kids who used to walk the track.

This adds confusion to the lines and makes it very hard to even walk through to get to the bleachers. This could create problems with the kids standing there. Everyone standing still in one spot could lead to things such as fights or being able to sneak something in easier.

New students are experiencing things the Red Zone, unlike years in the past. The Red Zone is stressed to incoming freshman as being a great experience. The twitter account for this group has targeted new freshman saying that all of them should come. With the idea of the “more the merrier” when it comes to kids in the student section, a big space is ideal. Soon, the Red Zone will spill over into the other sections giving the spectators even less room to find a seat.

Some students have decided that it isn’t worth it to go in the game. Beds of trucks have become the new Red Zone for some. “I like having the view from behind the endzone,” said Cameron Durbin, junior. “Ever since it moved away from the endzone I just don’t like

it being in the stand,” said Durbin. The reasons range from not wanting to be so crowded together, to not liking the idea of the new space for the Red Zone.

“No one wanted to sit in the bleachers. We would rather be in the endzone. There was barely enough room for the parents to begin with,” said junior Jordan Blain.

Other reasons for sitting in the parking lot is the view. Many people who sit in the parking lot think that the view is better from there. “I try to get the best view I can to support all my old team mates,” said Mitchell Langley, former football player.

Giving the Red Zone Rowdies the space they have had in the past, it would bring in more students and parents. This would increase the profit made by each home game as well as more support the football team. The Red Zone for all other sports will be in the same place as last year, so giving the football Rowdies the same spot would only seem fair.

@redzonerowdies @redzonerowdies @redzonerowdies

SENIOR TRIPPIN’

>> student life

BY KELSI SEGO Social Media Editor

G

oodbye Bullitt East, hello Florida sunshine.

This year the seniors will be traveling to Florida for their senior trip.

The annual senior trip will be to Orlando, Florida this year. The trip seems to be highly anticipated by many students. It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for seniors to relax, have fun, and travel with their fellow classmates.

This year the trip will include four days of fun and Florida sunshine. The seniors will be staying at a Universal Resort. The plan for the trip is to go to Grad Bash at Universal Studios, Aquatica Theme Park, and Daytona Beach, just to name a few things. This year, the trip

will be during spring break. Two of the trip sponsors are Jo Perkins, Administrative Assistant and Doug Osborne, social studies and psychology teacher. The fact that the trip was on spring break this year made it easier for sponsors to plan the trip. Osborne hopes to have planning for the trip done by the next senior class meeting. The cost of the trip is fairly cheap this year ; it’s going to be around $550 according to Perkins. The sponsors tried to make the trip as affordable as possible so many students could attend. She wanted students to be able to start saving now so they had enough money to go. Students will be allowed to choose their roommate and the bus they ride as well.

According to Perkins, there is a lot of interest in the trip this year. Osborne said there are 51 people currently signed up for the remind messages for the trip. A bus holds 53-54 people; Osborne hopes to fill three buses. In a poll of BE seniors, 49 percent said they are planning to attend the trip. “It was my senior year and I didn’t go on the freshman trip to Cedar Point, so I kind of wanted to leave with a little memory with my classmates that didn’t involve school… I may never see these people ever again after we graduate and I’ve been taking my senior year day by day to heart because no matter how bad I say I want to leave this place, I truly will miss it and I don’t want to leave high school. I really look forward to spending that last memory with

my classmates; the people I grew up with,” said senior Rissa Sageser.

Since the trip is on spring break, this will give a lot of seniors something to do. The fact that the trip is during this time frame does not deter students from going unless they had predetermined plans for spring break. Senior Kylie Paden, who is undecided about going on the trip, said, “As of right now I do not have anything planned for spring break so it does not deter me, but if I did have something else planned I feel like it would.”

So what can seniors expect for this trip? This trip is said to be just as fun as senior trips in the past. The trip will not be as rushed since it falls during spring break. According to Perkins, students should expect a fun time and to make memories that will last a lifetime. Osborne also agreed with this he said “It’s a once in a lifetime event where students can travel with their friends, have a great time, and do it all in a safe environment.” It’s a great bonding experience and you will get to connect with other seniors you may not have gotten the change to connect with. “It [the trip] teaches great life lessons to the kids…you get to make those memories that a lot of kids don’t get to make,” said Perkins.

To sign up for remind messages about the trip, text @best17 to 81010.

page by Kelsi Sego

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#9ISFINE

BY ABBIE ALSTATT Copy/Website Editor

Lancaster, Crider, and other senior friends and teammates.

Submitted by Megan Lancaster and Emma Pressley.

“M

an.”

That was senior soccer captain Megan Lancaster’s first tweet after she was in a serious car accident this August, relatively soon after the start of school and soccer season.

Lancaster was on her way home with friends from a football game on the night of the accident. Obviously this came as a shock to not only her family, friends, and soccer teammates, but to the entire BE student body as well, who have showed nothing but immense support for her during this time. Although her injuries were very serious, Lancaster is on a fast road to recovery.

It started on Saturday, August 20th, when Lancaster was driving home from a football game in Spencer County with her friend, Spencer County junior Kayleigh Eldridge, and her step-sister. After she dropped her step-sister off at her dad’s house, Lancaster was driving to take Eldridge home but was on an unfamiliar road.

She came across a sharp curve while it was pouring rain, and it’s most likely that she hydroplaned, which resulted in her hitting a tree. Eldridge said, “...the car spun a little and then everything went blank. I woke up to a girl telling me help is on the way and she kept asking me questions to keep me awake. I also remember seeing Meg for a brief second.”

at church, and headed to the hospital with her mom and a fellow teammate, senior Christian Foster. Pressley and Foster were the first of Lancaster’s friends to arrive at the hospital.

Another close friend of Lancaster, senior Bailee Crider, found out through texts from Pressley. She too was planning on attending church that morning until she heard the news.

“My only concern was getting ready so that I could get straight to the hospital. I was a whole mess crying and my mind was racing because I simply just didn’t know much about it, just that it was very bad,” said Crider.

and bruised and unconscious and hooked up to all those machines was so crazy. It was Meg, but it also completely wasn’t. They told us we could talk to her, but we were both so choked up it was hard. Bri couldn’t talk at all, so I just told Meg that we were all there for her, and that we loved her so much and that we needed her to come back to us.”

And she did.

Although Lancaster hadn’t been conscious for 10 days, she woke up. She said, “They [doctors] added some sedatives to make sure that I would stay out for the most painful part.” Though, she doesn’t remember first waking up because of the damage to her memory.

Before Lancaster woke up, her friends were extremely worried. “At first, I was an emotional wreck almost always, as was our friend group.

We were all very anxious considering things could have changed, and did change at any given moment. It was not fun whatsoever. But once she started improving and waking up, it was like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders,” said Crider. Pressley said once they knew she had opened her eyes, relief came over them.

Fortunately, people who lived in nearby houses called 911.

Senior year was Lancaster’s third year playing soccer at East. Lancaster and her senior teammates

Eldridge didn’t find out about Lancaster and her injuries until a couple days after the accident. She said, “When I found out, I was speechless and my heart dropped. I didn’t really know what to do. So many things were going through my head, but I knew she was strong and was going to push through it.”

After that, Lancaster and Eldridge posed for pictures. She said, “I went to Mount Washington middle and played my seventh grade year, and were taken directly to the hospital. then I played my junior year when I came back (to East).”

The next Sunday morning, the girl’s Submitted by Emma Pressley.

Waking up was one thing, but Lansoccer coach sent out an e-mail, after caster’s injuries were another. After hearing from Lancaster’s parents about what Lancaster was being taken out of her room to her cranial surgery, which consisted of a plate had happened. Lancaster’s friend and teamget an MRI when Crider arrived. “... it was just being put under Lancaster’s skull, she was mate, senior Emma Pressley, heard the news such an empty feeling once I saw her on that required to spend a week at The University of for the first time from her parents while getbed. Like I didn’t know how to feel,” she said.

Louisville hospital. Her short-term memory ting ready for church. “We didn’t really know and cognitive thinking were damaged by two the extent of her injuries from the e-mail, so I Eventually, a whole group of friends were fractures in her skull. One of her vertebrae in knew that Kelsey [Castle; another friend and gathered together at the hospital for Lancasther neck was broken, and her spleen was torn. teammate] would know… she said that it was er. After a few hours, the friends went into her Lancaster said, “My right eye had to be cut a head injury… and that she was going to room in pairs to see her; Crider was accompaopen to give more room for brain swelling. If the hospital right away,” said Pressley. And so nied by Bri Poole, another senior teammate of it hadn’t been cut, I’d be blind in my right eye.”

Pressley immediately left, dropped her dad off Lancaster’s. Crider said, “Seeing her up close Lancaster’s friend who was with her in the

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page by Abbie Alstatt December 2016

>> student life

Pressley leading the soccer team in a prayer for Lancaster.

Submitted by Emma Pressley.

car that night also had some injuries. “...I had to have surgery on my arm and I now have a rod in it. [I] had a couple stitches in my head, and my mouth was cut up from my braces.

In the accident the officers thought my legs and ankles were broken because of how the car was crushing my legs, but luckily I came out with just some bad cuts and bruises,” said Eldridge. “I want people to know that wearing your seat belt saves your life, as it did ours.”

Lancaster with her friend and teammate, senior Kelsey Castle.

Submitted by Megan Lancaster.

mates, “We were all really thankful for all the prayers and thoughts that everybody had for us because, you know, not everybody knows how that feels,” said Pressley.

Speaking of soccer, it’s been different on the team without Lancaster. Pressley said, “Megan and Kelsey used to work so well together ‘cause they’re best friends, and they played right next to each other on the field… filling her place has been really hard, but a bunch of people have stepped up and helped.” Despite being off the soccer field, Lancaster was still able to attend her senior soccer night with her teammates. All of the senior girls spelled “Meg’s Back” with their decorated initials. “Being able to attend my soccer senior night felt amazing and I am so happy that I could make it,” said Lancaster.

accident, none of Lancaster’s friends were able to see her until she was moved to Frazier Rehab. “...I was an inpatient for a little over a week. When I first got there, I was supposed to have to be there for a month. Then I was discharged and was finally allowed to go home very early,” said Lancaster. Although she was able to go home, Lancaster still goes to the rehab facility three days a week for eight hours a day; while there she works on speech, occupational, and physical therapy.

Back at Bullitt East, students came together, at games and on social media, to show all their Her doctors say her recovery is going smooth, support to Lancaster during this hard time. and Lancaster is making quick progress. “I “To see that everyone, even those who didn’t have improved so much in such a short period know her, supported her and were praying for of time… the most important thing to me her and thinking of her was simply incredright now is my recovery and health,” said ible. It felt good to know people really cared,” Lancaster. Crider said, “And as she keeps prosaid Crider. Lancaster definitely appreciated gressing each day, it feels good knowing our all of it, “It makes me is coming back to “Off the field, she’s one of the most down-to-earth Meg feel supported and us piece by piece. At overwhelmed with how people I’ve ever met. She’s strong-willed and cares this point, I just feel great my classmates so incredibly thankful for all of those in her life. She’s an amazing person to to still have her here are.” Not only did BE kids show support and with us.” Lancaster is have in your corner for sure.” -Bailee Crider love, but also other projected to be back to schools such as Fern Creek High school in four to six months, School who remembered Lancastaccording to her doctors. er and brought the entire soccer team goodie bags on the day of Despite everything, Pressley, their game against each other.

Crider, and surely all of her other friends, teammates, and One of the biggest forms of supschool peers, are just thankport were the hashtags on Twitful that Lancaster is okay. ter. The most popular hashtag, “Thinking about like what #9willbefine, came from an inside could’ve happened... she is joke between Steve Mahoney, really blessed… just one thing who runs the tower at the girl’s could’ve happened differently, soccer games, and Lancaster. and it could be a different situShe initially wanted a different ation right now,” said Pressley.

Submitted by Megan Lancaster. jersey number besides nine, but Describing Lancaster on and someone already had that number. But, Maoff the field, Pressley said, “She’s funny and honey would always tell her that nine will be loyal, and she always has everybody’s back no Not only has this all affected the Bullitt East fine. Pressley said, “So when this happened, he girl’s soccer team, but Lancaster’s friend matter what.” Crider said, “Off the field, she’s [Mahoney] said nine will be just fine because one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever group as well. Pressley and Crider are apart of he knew that she was gonna be okay in the this, and for them, it’s made the whole group met. She’s strong-willed and cares for all of end.” There were also other hashtags referring closer. “We know now that if something ever those in her life. She’s an amazing person to to her soccer number such as, #PlayLike9 and happened to any of the rest of us, we’d all be have in your corner for sure.” And they can’t #Prayfor9, and even more such as #PlayLikewait to have Lancaster back for good. there for each other, and we have each other’s Meg. “It was actually pretty cool seeing those backs no matter what,” said Pressley. going around. They were all positive and Lancaster said, “I am so thankful for my helped spread support. Once things started Lancaster said, “Having all of the support friends and everyone that I surround myself getting better with her, #9isfine came around from my teammates and friends makes me with. Seeing my friends makes me feel very and was just a really uplifting, simple gesture,” feel very strong and confident.” happy and refreshed. Every time I see somesaid Crider. Having the school behind them, it one, it feels like things are starting to get even was easier for Lancaster’s friends and teamAfter that Sunday morning following the more back to normal.” page by Abbie Alstatt

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SANATORIUM OF SPOOKS

BY KIM HOUCHIN Staff Writer

B

eware of the haunt that makes it’s home in your city.

Halloween season is a time for spooks and scares; so what’s a better way to spend your time than to visit one of the most haunted places in the world, Waverly Hills Sanatorium?

The land of Waverly was purchased by Major Thomas Hays in 1883. Hays was unhappy with his children walking so far to school therefore he opened his own school, flying a teacher named Lizzie Harris from England to teach his children.

Harris, like most teachers, loved to read. Her favorite series was a 19th century romance series Sir Walter Scott called the ‘Waverley’ novels.

Harris requested to name her school after the novel series.

Hays liked the name so much that he named his farm ‘Waverley Hills.’

When the deadly disease, tuberculosis, grew more and more common, the Board of Medicine bought the land to build a hospital. Not many know, but the building that is still standing today is not the first hospital to be on the land.

Nurses and doctors were not required to stay, but it was highly recommended in order to contain the contagion. Patients were not allowed to stay in bed and feel sorry for themselves. They had to get up and request food from the kitchens or could join the clubs that were created. Waverly tried their best to keep their patients happy. “If the disease doesn’t get you, then the depression will,” tour guide, Dee Hernandez tells the customers during tours.

In 2001, Tina and Charlie Mattingly purchased the building after Charlie Mattingly’s father passed away after an accident on the grounds.

He promised his father that he would fix the place up rather than letting it fall to ruins.

of the room 502.

Long-time tour guide Dale Clark is one of the three guides that control the mini-tour. Clark stays on the second floor while Hernandez stays on the fifth. The two have vast knowledge of the history of the building from their many years of experience. Hernandez has been a tour guide for eight years and has been working at Waverly for nine. Clark has been an on and off tour guide for fifteen years.

As the years pass by, all employees and volunteers quickly become one large family, a home away from home. “I stay because of the friends I’ve made,” said Clark on his reasoning for returning year after year.

Hernandez states that she stays because of the architecture and the family she has made.

For Hernandez, her least favorite part is the impatient people who complain about their wait. “There is always a wait the further into the season you get. Plan accordingly,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez’s favorite thing about the haunted house is the excitement from the customers.

“I love seeing the people get out of their cars and are excited and nervous. They are talking about it all the way until they get ready to enter,” said Hernandez.

The first hospital started con- Waverly Hills still operates today by giving tours and hosting a haunted house. It was purchased in 2001 by Tina and Charlie Mattingly. “I want to see it restored and know that I made a difference in trying to save a piece of history,” said long-time tour struction in 1908 and opened guide Dee Hernandez. its doors in 1910. The second The haunted house continues to opened in 1912. The third, which is the one be the biggest event that Waverly hosts, drawcurrently up, started construction in 1924 Currently, fifteen years later, Tina and Charlie ing in tens of thousands of people every weekand opened October of 1926. The first party Mattingly are still fixing the place up with the end. “It’s Waverly Hills! The myth, the legend. thrown at Waverly was a Halloween party. help of the money they receive from tours and They’ve seen it on tv and it’s on their bucket the haunted house. Waverly’s haunted house lists,” said Hernandez. The building’s creepy It is unknown when exactly the title lost the is the biggest event that brings in the most atmosphere mixed with it’s haunting history extra ‘E’, but employees speculate that it hapmoney for renovations. The long-term goal keeps audiences coming back for more. “They pened sometime after World War II. currently is for the building to become a fivecome because of the interesting history of the star haunted hotel. building,” said Clark.

During the worst of the epidemic, it is estimated that Waverly Hills lost one person per The haunted house covers the entire first floor The end of the haunted house season is bithour. and lasts thirty to forty minutes and tickets tersweet for most. The stress and the time cost $20 per person. They also offer VIP tickspent together has come to an end, but the Unfortunately, all records from Waverly were ets that are $60 per person and cover a miniemployees get a long break to gear up for the lost. During the late 80’s, the sewers flooded tour and the haunted house without the wait next tour season which spans from March to and ruined the record’s house. Sometime of the haunted house line, which can create a August. during the 80’s or 90’s, a guard decided to three hour wait sometimes. throw a match into the record’s safe and leave The haunted house lasts throughout the the building to burn. It is unknown just how The mini-tour covers the second, third, and entirety of October, every Friday and Saturmany lives were lost to tuberculosis, otherwise fifth floors, telling various ghost stories inday night. The gates open at 7:30 and close at known as the ‘white plague.’ cluding Timmy, the ghost boy who plays with midnight. a ball, and the nurse who hung herself outside

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page by Kim Houchin December 2016

THE FRESHMAN STRUGGLE: AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

>> student life

BY ETHAN NEUTZ Staff Writer

F

reshmen put the human in human geography.

Freshmen have the choice to take an advanced placement (AP) or survey of social studies.

AP human geography is a course that shows the relationship between the earth and the people that live on it. It is a freshman level college class, that means that if the AP test is passed in the spring, then you will have earned a social studies credit that can be used at most colleges.

The credit can only be used in Kentucky but it still has a lot of opportunities. The credit can be used at colleges and universities.

One big issue is the fact of how much work comes with the class. The students are said to have an hour or more of homework a night.

This is such an issue because students in the class are freshmen and they are straight out of middle school.

As of now, there are no requirements to be eligible to get in the class but Fulghum thinks that there should be.

has incorporated group discussion, reading, and lecture.

As of now, both Fulghum and Whitfill are collaborating in with co-teach model to improve scores.

“He (Mr. Whitfill) is a good teacher, he teaches both hands on and in a lecture style,” -Zak Perdew As students move on through their high school careers they can choose what classes they take and some are AP. The next social studies class is AP world history taught by Doug Osborne.

Whitfill went to the University of Louisville and The University of the Cumberlands and now brings his enthusiasm to students

But as for now, the freshmen are stuck in the class whether they are successful or not. But much like all of Bullitt East they will become great students as they move on in their career here at Bullitt East.

The average grade in the class is currently a B to C. For many students and their parents these grades are not acceptable.

There is definitely a lot more homework and the work is definitely harder,” said Zak Perdew who is in the class. He added that he wished that he had more time in the class to complete more work and collaborate with the teachers.

The teachers of the class are Michael Whitfill and Nate Fulghum. They have both taught the class for multiple years and have taught many students all about the college level class.

“It’s one of the hardest classes you can take at the high school level,” said Fulghum when asked about his thoughts on the difficulty of the class.

Whitfill, came to Bullitt East two years ago, and now teaches multiple AP classes.

There are always teachers that have different ways that they teach the same class but Fulghum said that he “follows the college board standards and pace accordingly.”

In the past Fulghum has used different ways of delivering the content to the students. He page by Ethan Nuetz

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FALL AND WINTER TRENDS

BY KELSI SEGO Social Media Editor

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page by Kelsi Sego December 2016

>> student life

THINGS TO DO IN DECEMBER

2016

BY SARAH ALLEN Photo Editor

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LIGHTS UNDER LOUISVILLE

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Lights Under Louisville is a light show in Mega Caverns. The trip through is around 30 minutes.

With over 2,000,000 points of light and 850 light up characters, the light show is one of a kind. It is fully underground and completely drive through.

This event is going on now and will be open through December 31.

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GET A CHRISTMAS TREE

CHRISTMAS AT THE GALT HOUSE Christmas at the Galt House is currently going on and will be continuing until December 24. Christmas at the Galt House includes many different activities such as the Holly Jolly Elf Show, and Gingerbread Village. Kids ages 3-12 gwet in for just under $6 and adults get in for $15.95. Children 2 and under as well as military members get in for free.

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Weddings, luncheons, and corporate events aren’t the only things occupying the PetersonDumesnil house. For $10 a ticket, the house will be open to candelight tours. Located in the Cresent Hill Neighborhood in Louisville, the house stands at 301 S. Peterson Avenue.

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Whether it’s a real tree or a fake one, getting a Christmas tree is a tradition for many families. Decorating the tree and adding presents underneath is a must in December. Visit Tree Farm on Clark’s Lane in Shepherdsville for a real tree this year.

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PETERSON-DUMESNIL HOUSE CANDLELIGHT TOUR

Old Louisville Holiday Home Tour

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The 40th anniversary of the Old Louisville Holiday Home Tour will include historic buildings and private residences. The tour costs $30, but you can get a ticket before December 2 to geth $5 off. This tour will tell the story of Thomas Edison through the Nighttime exhibit.

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OLDE TYME CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION ON FRANKFORT AVENUE The Olde Tyme Christmas Celebration on Frankfort Avenue is full of seperate events. The 20th anual celebration will include special retail sales, free trolley and horse and carraige rides from Mellwood to Stilts Avenue, Santa Sprint and Stroll, live music, holiday refreshments, and Peterson-Dumesnill Holiday Home Tour.

HOLIDAY IN THE CITY Holiday in The City starts off with Light up Louisvile and will continue through December 23.

The last event will be iceskating found at holiday Square on 4th and Jefferson. This event will be featured on 4th Street live.

The full schedule of activities and entertainment will be released soon.

Christmas Gifts and Decor Show For over 25 years, the Kentucky Expo Center has been the home of Louisville’s Christmas Gifts and Decor Show. Each year over 50,000 people attend this event to see over 750 exhibitor booths.

Admission is free and all kid’s will get a free picture with Santa.

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BIG SOUTH FORK SCENIC RAILROAD Because the railroad is on a mountain, December is the perfect time to visit Big South Fork Scenic Railroad. With snow covering the area surrounding the railroad, the perfect holiday scene is created. The track is 16 miles long travelling through the countryside.

page by Sarah Allen

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KEEPING TRADITIONS ALIVE

BY TAYLOR HOLLIFIELD Website Editor

N

ew year, same traditions.

Several families celebrate each holiday the same way as the previous years ahead.

For many students here at Bullitt East, traditions have helped bring their families closer.

While traditions are important, they aren’t considered to be everyone’s favorite. Holidays are much more than just a family’s accustomed ways, it is a day to show thanks for everything and everyone around.

Senior Jenna Rueve said, “My family and I always go over to my grandma’s house. My grandma fixes a turkey so big she can hardly lift it. I have a really big family so everyone brings a dish. We also draw names for christmas gifts that night. Then, my cousins and I usually play a game such as football or basketball. Recently though, my grandma moved so we celebrate thanksgiving at my aunt’s house, but we still considered it our grandma’s house.” Rueve believes that the reason her family has always been so close is because of their traditions. For example, her entire family went on a summer vacation together this past year and they are even starting to make that a tradition. Without their accustomed way they wouldn’t be so close as they are today.

Ariadna Xario, foreign exchange student from Spain, said, “Christmas in Spain is a time of

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page by Taylor Hollifield December 2016

Christmas carols, decorations, festive street lighting, joy, and a festive atmosphere normally religious or secular, and give gifts for their loved ones. The most important thing is the night of December 24, the “Noche Buena” it means good night and includes a dinner with family and friends after Christmas Mass. It is particularly common to start the meal with seafood dish followed by a bowl of hot homemade soup. IT is also common to have desserts such as turron and sing a lot of typical carols, in Catalonia, we have a weird tradition called Caga Tio, which is a wooden log with a smiley face painted, it also wears a Catalan red hat and basically the Catalan is equivalent to Santa Claus. The children have to beat it with a stick to make him poop presents. Influenced

by American films and television shows. Then we have the los Reyes Magos (the three kings) are the who are the one on the morning of January 6 bear presents for all the children, repeating the ritual they performed after baby Jesus was born.”

Foreign exchange student from Switzerland, Judith Jung, said, “We celebrate four Sundays before Christmas (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th advents). We light one more candle every Sunday, having tea, Christmas cookies, chocolate and sometime a special alcoholic beverage.

We also have a advent calendar. Every day I can open a door. I have mostly a chocolate calendar, so every day there is a different type

of chocolate. December 6 is St. Nicholas, best known as Samichlaus coming. It is very special for children. People will come into schools and give you a bag filled with chocolate, nuts, and mandarins. During Christmas time we buy a Christmas tree and decorate it with red, white, silver, gold ornaments, and candles. On December 24 the whole family get together and celebrate. We eat a big meal together. After dinner we wait in the kitchen and when the bell rings we can begin to unwrap presents.

We always do something different on December 25 and 26.”

Thanksgiving and Christmas aren’t the only holidays with traditions. Sophomore Marlene Michel gathers with her family on New Year’s to eat pumpkin soup.Their traditions has helped her family by making them sacrifice time in order to be together. Michel said, “It’s a great way to be together, be alive, fill our bellies, and warm our hearts. Our traditions make us tight because not only do we get to start the new year full, but we are also assured that our family has our back.”

While Rueve wouldn’t change anything about her traditions, she wouldn’t consider them her favorite part about the holiday. She mostly enjoys thanksgiving because of the food and because she is given the opportunity to go around and see how thankful she is for everything in her life.

>> student life

2017

If Jung could change one thing about her traditions she would change the food. Jung’s traditional food is meat, but she doesn’t like meat. Other than that she wouldn’t change celebrating with her family because she wouldn’t want to celebrate Christmas alone. “I enjoy Christmas because I love to give presents to somebody and see the overall result. I love to give to people and see their happiness afterward,” said Jung.

Michel wouldn’t change anything about the way her family celebrates New Year’s because she believes it keeps their plans secure and anything else could cause conflict. “I wouldn’t change it because it’s that one time of the year we have our famous Haitian pumpkin soup. It reminds my family that like the soup, we are all ingredients. We are all very different but when put together we are delicious! We have a great time, so I love our tradition of just being together and cherishing those moments,” said Michel.

“When I get older I feel that my traditions will be similar to how they are now, because I feel like my family has very old traditions and I like that. I like how they are so simple and easy, but traditions isn’t what thanksgiving means to me. Thanksgiving to me is about giving thanks for everything you have to be thankful for, being with family, and eating really good food,” said Rueve. Thanksgiving

#1 on iTunes Closer

*as of 10/20/16

BY HAYLIE JENKINS Creative Editor

C

was first celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World, they celebrated giving thanks for three days. Thanksgiving was originally created so humans could thank God for providing food for over the past year.

Now it is a chance for families to gather and be thankful for everything over the past year.

loser is a dance song released on July 29, 2016. It is a collaboration between the Chainsmokers and Halsey. According to Spotify’s Behind the Lyrics powered by Genius it says the song is about “hooking up with your ex.”

Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so the Christians thought Christmas was the right time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas to Jung though is the time of the year to spread love and wishes. It’s a time to look forward to and see everyone happy.

Christmas to Jung is not only presents, but the little surprises in everyone’s hearts.

The Chainsmokers are an American DJ duo featuring Drew Taggart and Alex Paul. The pair started out on American Idol two years ago performing their hit single #SELFIE. More of their more popular songs include Roses and Don’t Let Me Down. Closer is the first song that either of the Chainsmokers has sang on their own songs.

New Year’s is a relatively new phenomenon.

Several use New Year to celebrate the beginning of the year. Mitchel said, “New Year’s to me is like the celebration of a newborn baby: innocent, fresh, and authentic. To me the holiday is a celebration to starting with a fresh clean plate. It’s a chance for new possibilities and new goals. I love it because everyone has the same goal, to make the upcoming year better than the last.”

Halsey is a lesser known artist that has received much more attention due to being featured on the Chainsmokers song.Halsey’s real name is Ashley Nicolette. Her music can be described as electro pop, which is a genre using electronically created sounds. Before being on the Chainsmokers’ song, she had many popular songs including Gasoline or Colors.

Traditions are beliefs or behaviors that are passed down from one generation to the next.

Traditions are important in order to share past experiences with the next generation. page by Taylor Hollifield

13

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD, STUDY HARD

BY JEREMY ANTLE Staff Writer

W

ork, school, and sports, oh my!

Students have to take on the daunting task of trying to balance work, school, and sports all at the same time.

Upperclassmen are facing three challenges at the same time. They must work, play their sport, and get school work finished all at once.

No matter the sport, practice is on average of three to five days a week. Trying to finish homework, make it to practice, and get to work all in time creates stress and pressure.

Upperclassmen who work as much as 15 hours a week are more prone to struggling with low grades, smoking, drinking and drug use. Some researchers say that having a job does not necessarily cause these problems.

Senior football player, Will Rucker describes his weekly schedule. “I usually have Saturday practices, work Saturday evening and afternoon. I don’t really have much time on Saturdays or Fridays because of games, but Sunday nights, and at least three weekdays I’ll have off so I have a little bit of free time.” said Rucker

Senior cheerleader, Alyssa Heun, describes trying to work and play sports as “feeling like you don’t have time for anything”. Employed at Subway for almost two years now, Heun has been experiencing an ample amount of stress and pressure due to the workload of school, work, and cheer all at once.

Heun said, “Balancing school, work, and cheer is a hard and stressful thing to do, but after a while you get used to it and learn how to balance everything you have to do.”

With the stress piling on, these students are looking to graduate this year. With sports, work, and school in the way, it may be harder than it seems.

With practice frequently, work almost every day, and homework nightly, working during the sports season is a tough job for anyone.

WORK

Will Rucker has been playing football for the past nine years.

He is now tackling the challenge of trying to balance his job and his football schedule. “My workplace does really well working with my football schedule...”

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page by Jeremy Antle December 2016

Alyssa Heun has been cheering for the past four years and now works at Subway. She is now flying into the challenge of working and cheering. “At first it was hard, I felt like I didn’t have any time...”

SCHOOL

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

>> sports

The Chargers kick off a new season, coming off of a state championship appearance with two new coaches and the drive to win.

BY HALEY SNYDER Creative Editor

T

he BE Swim team is back and better than ever, with the addition of two new coaches and a team of 20 swimmers, a combination of all three Bullitt County high schools.

Coach Curtis Fuchs has high hopes for his team this season. A seasoned swimmer himself, Fuchs said the transition to BE has been an easy one. “Let me tell you: all three schools have heart. I see true potential in all of my swimmers along with a willingness to learn and grow within the sport. That’s a great mental attitude!” said Fuchs.

The team says that their first practice went very well, aside from lots of nerves that coaches and swimmers had. “I expect my team to learn something new, improve their tech-

“Let me tell you: all three schools have heart. I see true potential in all of my swimmers along with a willingness to learn and grow within the sport.

That’s a great mental attitude!”

Curtis Fuchs, Coach nique, and to grow mentally and physically as a result of their hard work. The phrase may be cliche, but true, hard work does pay off.” said Fuchs. Coaches are already “changing up” routine in practices by adding and hour of dry land. Team parent Heather Cox said “They put this in full force on Thursday night by running around the natatorium and through the parking garage ending it with push ups and crunches. Then into the pull with a list of drills to swim.” With four seniors leading the pack, this is looking to be a big year for the swim team.

The Chatgers swimmers warmihg up at Louisviles’ Ralph Wright Natatorium at their first practice of the season on October 19. Coach Curtis Fuchs said “One of my goals is to help my team overcome their weaknesses and improve their strengths.” page by Haley Snyder

15

SPORTS, DEPORTES

BY TAYLOR HOLLIFIELD Website Editor

Photo Submitted by: Ariadna Xario

Photo submitted by: Ariadna Xario

A

cross the ocean and still in motion.

Foreign exchange students at East decided to continue practice sports in America.

A few foreigners have decided to play a sport for Bullitt East and hope to help benefit the team. While they played sports in their country, they have had to make a few adjustments.

They enjoy to play sports both here and at home, but each foreigner has a preference.

Ariadna Xario, a foreign exchange student from Spain, said, “Ever since I was young I really liked sports. I started with artistic gymnastics at four years old, and at nine with artistic roller skating. This sport [artistic roller skating] is very important to me, I practiced it for about five years until I got injured and had to leave for a while.” After her injury, Xario tried playing basketball because her older sister had always played. Basketball is not a new sport to Xario; she had played for six months. She is now trying to play for the Lady Chargers basketball team.

Xario wanted to play basketball in America because she has always known the United States for having a good level of basketball. “I plan to do my best to contribute to the team as possible,” said Xario.

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Foreign exchange student Francesca Schioppo from Italy has decided to play powderpuff here at East. She also hopes to give the swim team a try later on in the year. In Italy, she ran and swam every week, she also did musical page by Taylor Hollifield December 2016

>> sports

Photo submitted by: Margherita Battistotti

theatre, classical jazz, and tap. Schioppo has decided not to join any sports team at East due to the competitiveness. “I don’t do competitions just because I don’t like them. I feel they are useless for your personal growth,” said Schioppo.

Margherita Battistotti, another foreign exchange student from Italy, also plays a sport here at East. She has been playing golf in Italy for eight years and decided she wanted to continue practicing it in America. She started playing a little after the season had already started, but was able to get involved with the team extremely fast. There are only three girls on the golf team, which means they can’t score any team results. Battistotti is still doing her best to help benefit the team.

Foreign exchange student from Switzerland, Judith Jung, has been involved in several sports in her country. She has been doing ballet since she was five years old. Jung got into dance because of her mom. “I would dance the whole time at home and one of her friends said I must go to dance school. She said it’s a sport with discipline and rhythmic. That’s when my mom said we would go and visit, and I was so excited I ended up really liking it,” said Jung.

Jung also likes to run to help balance her thoughts after school. She has done a half marathon in the past. She also did horseback riding for two years, but decided she liked dance a little more. On Sundays they would do a bicycle tour with the whole family, and

in the winter they go skiing, snowboarding, and run cross country. Switzerland is a very athletic country and Jung plans to join the tennis team later on in the year, along with track and field.

Xario has been attending the Club Fitness workouts for the basketball team and has learned that America takes sports more seriously that Spain does. “We don’t have as many workouts as we have here, and if you just want to have a good time while playing sports you don’t have to be training with them,” said Xario. In Spain, they don’t play sports at school, they play for a separate club outside of school.

Battistotti has learned she is more relaxed when she plays for fun. “In Italy I used to play important tournaments and it made me play bad because I was always to anxious,” said Battistotti. Since our golf team is so small the only adjustment she had to make was allowing herself to relax more.

While both countries have good qualities, Xario prefers to play in America because of the seriousness she feels she will be able to improve more. She believes she can gain a further level in basketball here, with the seriousness the team has.

While the intenseness may motivate Xario, it is just a little too much for others. Schioppo said, “I prefer to play sports in Italy because we don’t feel sport spirit as much as you do, so we don’t feel pressure or any competition.

I feel in America races and competitions is a huge part of your lives. That’s beautiful for someone who likes that kind of atmosphere, but for someone who sees sports as a way to relax, it’s just a little too much. It’s definitely impressive how much effort you put into activities, and how much people support it.

I have never seen anything like this in my country.”

In Battistotti’s opinion, both countries have nice courses, which makes it difficult for her to decide which country she prefers when it comes to sports. Her choice would just depend on how she feels in the moment of choice, because she really likes playing in both. If she ever felt she wanted to change, she would come to America and play if she did that, she would miss her country and friends very much.

Jung doesn’t have a preference on which country she prefers to play sports in, due to her waiting until the second semester to join a team. While she doesn’t know what to expect, she is very eager to try out the new sport tennis. In Switzerland they have a famous tennis player, Roger Federer, who is very popular.

She can’t wait to try out a new sport in a new country.

Each foreigner has their own opinion on the way America trains for sports, but all in all they’re enjoying their experience. Each and every one of them enjoy playing sports and hope to gain further practice in America. page by Taylor Hollifield

17

TAYLOR MADE

BY DEREK ROGERS Copy Editor

P

ractice makes perfect.

Zach Taylor aims to continue his successful golf career.

The love for golf for Taylor stems from his family. He finds the game challenging both physically and mentally which is one of the reasons he loves it. He plans to continue his golf career at the next level.

Taylor began playing golf when he was very young. His older brother Wes, who played on the golf team for Bullitt East with his brother for two years, help start Taylor’s love. Seeing his brother, dad, and grandpa play brought out his competitiveness and he quickly fell in love with the game.

“Well my family has always pushed me to do well and I have that mindset to do well. It also helped that they were very supportive,” Said Taylor.

The game of golf is known as for having as many mental challenges as physical challenges. These obstacles help create a level of competitiveness that Taylor feeds off of.

“I just want to be constantly improving. I want to be better than the day before and the day before that because I know that I can.

I want to be the best,” Said Taylor.

That drive often makes athletes turn their sports into their life.

Such is true in Taylor’s case.

“I have a golf course in my backyard. My grandpa is pretty much the greens keeper. My mom and dad helped make the flags and maintenance work. Also my dad got a majority of the golf balls we used to use at the beginning of the course. The course has helped my golf game tremendously. If meant that I would be prepared for different types of courses that had different types of grasses than I was normally accustomed to,” Said Taylor.

Now that his high school career has came to an end, Taylor is setting his sights towards his future. He is a 2016 Morehead State GSP alumni which helped him get a look into his future as well as make new friends.

Taylor is currently undecided on where he’d like to go to college.

This is main reason for this is whether or not he wants to attend a school on an academic scholarship, or an athletic scholarship.

“He has goals. He wants to get a good score; so he goes out and does what he has too to achieve that. He has been playing his whole life so he’s kinda destined to do something big. He plays more than anyone I know by far,” Said senior and golf team member Michael Harp.

Regardless of where he could end up, his friends and family know the potential he has, no matter what path he chooses.

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page by Derek Rogers December 2016

MORE SPORTS MORE PROBLEMS

>> sports

BY JAYDRIEN JARRETT Staff Writer

T

he more sports there are, the less time there is.

Some multi-sport athletes barely have any free time on their hands due to the amount of sports they play.

Athletes already spend a lot of time at practice or at games but some struggle even more with more than one sport. Some athletes can find it easy to keep up with multiple sports. Other athletes find it difficult to keep up with the busy schedule. Many of these athletes find it difficult to have free time or time to themselves on a regular basis. Academics is something multi-sport athletes may struggle with but they still have time to keep good grades.

“I’ve had to get really good at time management. Some nights I have to stay up late to finish homework but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” said senior Christian Foster.

Some athletes find it hard to keep up with both sports. Sometimes practice may be scheduled on the same day. Most of them get used to the busy schedule and can cope with both sports. Keeping up with multiple sports may sound hard, but for some athletes that have been doing it for a while they can easily figure out how to spend their time. In some cases, it is easy for athletes to handle two sports as they are in two different seasons. Others are not that lucky as they have practice all of the

time and lose alot of free time. It is hard for alot of athletes and most of them get better at time management as they have to constantly figure out when they will have time to do what they need to.

“Volleyball is hard to keep up with during the fall and tennis is during spring. I’m lucky they fall in different seasons, but I still have to stay active in both sports year round,” said sophomore Savannah Kruse.

It may seem impossible to juggle both sports around and keep up with academics at the same time but athletes still find a way to handle it. Some athletes get used to the busy schedule and can find it easier to keep up with their grades. Some even have to do homework after a game or after practice. It is more work, but if they stay focused they can maintain good grades. It may sound hard but most athletes can find time to get homework done even if it is at an inopportune time.

Talking to teachers and making a schedule to work around practices and game can help them with academics.

can be easy for some athletes depending on what sport they play. Some athletes have no time at all for a job or a part time job and other athletes find it impossible to have even a part time job. others work whenever they can and work out a schedule. Having a part time job with multiple sports may sound impossible but some athletes find the time to keep a part time job. Some struggle to do what they want.

Some athletes do not have a job because they have an after school activity or sport.

“I have absolutely no time for a job, I have practices and games everyday of the week.

Also on weekends i have tournaments. Trying to hold a job with school and my sports would be too much,” said sophomore Savannah Kruse.

“It can be hard to keep up with grades because the teachers don’t know your schedule, but things like study hall can help,” said junior Sean Johnson.

Some athletes think that it is difficult to find time to get a part time job or keep a job. It

page by Jaydrien Jarrett

19

FANTASY FOOTBALL FOCUS

BY DEREK ROGERS Copy Editor

F

all means two things: bonfires and football.

The love for fall is in full swing and so is the love for America’s favorite sport.

Fantasy football is a competitive game in which participants choose NFL players and create their own team. Many students here at Bullitt East have their own team, and some are in leagues with one another. There are many reasons to play however, most play to have competitive fun with friends.

Every team is different. First the decision must be made on what league to be in. After that a team must be drafted. The standard fantasy football team requires one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, a defense, and a kicker with seven bench players whose points won’t count to the total.

However, the number of players at each position vary by league.

while others play in leagues with family members. There are also some who play with people from around the world.

“I got into it a couple years ago when I was a sophomore. I joined my dad’s league and that was the first time I did it. Then I got some of my friends to play it and we’ve been playing it ever since,” said senior Zach Wooten.

Even though fantasy football doesn’t have the physical exhaustion of sports that require movement and training, some believe the mental exhaustion may be comparable. Many players pay for insider information from websites like ESPN or Yahoo. This insider information often includes details about who will be playing and who is likely to get as many fantasy points as possible. As well as injury

People Who Play Fantasy Football

Estimated Number of Players (in millions)

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page by Derek Rogers December 2016

“I think people try to get whatever advantage they can because everyone wants to win and have bragging rights. If that advantage means that you’ll have to spend a little money or put more of your time in I think people are willing to sacrifice that,” said senior Jared Riordan.

Many depend on live updates from their respected fantasy websites. If users don’t have quick updates and score notifications they can get anxious. In week one of this NFL season, ESPN went down as soon as the games began.

The servers were down for approximately four hours but in that time, the crash managed to become the number one event trending on twitter as well being one of the most searched topics on google.

It’s clear how much of a grip football currently has on this country and fantasy football is just an extension of that

The next step is to set the lineup, something that must be done from week to week. This must be checked often because of injuries to players and possible bye weeks. A team will be matched with another team in the league. The point total also varies by leagues. In a standard league, ten yards is one point and a touchdown is six. With exceptions for quaterbacks who must get 25 yards to get one point. Let’s say that a player had 93 yards and a touchdown.

That player will get 15 fantasy points.

After each team totals up all the points from their starters, the team with the most points wins.

This epidemic has eached Bullitt East. Some students are in leagues with other students,

updates that can decide between who wins and loses.

Years

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21

SCHOLARSHIPS AT THE HANDS OF SENIORS

BY AINSLEY GORDON Copy Editor

S

enior year, and graduation, and scholarships, oh my!

As the new year starts, seniors are beginning their final year in high school and they are already starting to receive applications for scholarships.

Each scholarship is different and they all have varied requirements. Even though there has been an overcrowding of students at Bullitt East these past years, the chance of getting a scholarship has not changed. A good way to stand out in an application for a scholarship is to be unique and different.

With every scholarship comes different rewards and different application processes.

Some scholarships require essays, while others include interviews or letters of recommendations.

“For a lot of my applications, it was a 500-1,000 word essay. A few required signed letters of recommendations and others wanted to see my résumé. Some of the scholarships even required an interview,” said Emily Miles, Bullitt East graduate. Miles received the Trustees Scholarship from the University of Louisville, the Mount Washington Lions Club (Spring

Year

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Festival), the Matthew Curtis Allen Memorial Fund Scholarship, the Bullitt County Retired Teachers Scholarship, and the Governor’s Scholars Program.

Many of the scholarships now are accessible online, but those will mostly include the national scholarships. Students could also apply for scholarships with businesses, colleges, churches, and local clubs.

“Many scholarships are going towards applying online, some give you the option of doing an online or a paper application, and there are some still that require paper applications, but that’s becoming more and more rare all the time. And the paper applications have a tendency to be more local based,” said Crystal Barr, guidance counselor.

Every year, the three guidance counselors at Bullitt East help seniors with scholarships by guiding them to apply for any offered scholarships.

“We promote the scholarships that come through the guidance office. We probably have 100 or so scholarships come through here, but there are thousands and thousands out there, so we also try to provide them [seniors] with different websites that they can go

Amount of Money Earned

2012-13

6,039,998

2013-14

6,635,501

2014-15

6,314,815.99

2015-16

7,800,521

page by

by Ainsley Isaac Shelton page GordonDecember December2015 2016

to or different places that they can go and find a scholarship,” said Barr.

The counselors also send out a senior newsletter each month.

“The first week of every month we distribute a senior newsletter that has all of the scholarships listed in it. September’s newsletter has like 12 [scholarships], but in March and April, there are 60,” said Dana Steinmetz, guidance counselor.

Even with the help and support of the guidance counselors, not many people apply for scholarships.

“When kids hit senior year, they don’t feel like writing essays, getting letters of recommendations, and kids don’t follow through and meet deadlines. A lot of the scholarship applications we get we can tell they are in their parents handwriting,” said Steinmetz, “Most scholarships, you can’t even apply for them until the spring, the second semester of senior year.

Seniors are thinking about prom and graduation and spring break, they are not doing scholarship applications.”

Since not many students apply and multiple

SI

>> theme

people can earn a scholarship from one source, there is not a crucial impact on the opportunity to earn scholarships.

“For a lot of my scholarships, multiple people could win, so that took a lot of pressure off of applying against other people. When it was only possible that one person could win, I figured that applying was worth the time it would take. Even if I didn’t win, it was only a few hours of my time. If I did win though, it was my books for a semester or a better meal plan,” said Miles.

“I don’t think it [overcrowding] necessarily decreases your chance, but I do think scholarships are becoming more and more competitive all of the time and the standards are being raised,” said Barr.

To be unique is a great way to stand out in an application for a scholarship.

“If you want to stand out, be weird. If a prompt seems like there’s only one boring answer, try to come up with something creative. Remember judges are reading more than one application, so they’ve likely seen the easy answer before. Try taking a different approach to the question,” said Miles.

Other ways to stand out are to add anything to the application that pertains to the criteria required, use proper grammar, and also to be well rounded with extracurriculars.

to find some of the answers they need, because if you’re a senior and you’re getting ready to graduate, when you get off to college we really want you to be able to find things on your own too,” said Barr. “Our goal is to help provide opportunities to go to college or find the career of their choice, but also to help them have more independence.”

Scholarships aid the person who earned it and it gives them help towards anything the student wants related to school.

“The scholarships I’ve earned have helped tremendously. College is far more expensive than I ever imagined. The money I have earned goes to my tuition, my books, my meal plan, and my dorm. It really put a dent into how much I’d have to pay,” said Miles.

With a brand new school year starting, it is the beginning of the end for the seniors and scholarships are rolling out.

Every year, and estimated $46 billion in scholarship money is awarded by the U.S. Department of Education and the nation’s universities and colleges.

“We try to point students in the right direction

Of students enrolled full time at a fouryear college in the 2007-08 school year, only 0.3% of the students recieved enough money to cover the full cost of attendence.

...............

...........................

SOURCES https://www.debt.org/students/scholarships-and-grants/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/get-real-on-scholarships/2011/03/08/ABM4LfR_story.html

pagebybyAinsley Isaac Shelton page Gordon

23 17

CHASING DREAMS WITH GROWING COMPETITION

BY ZACH COMBEST Business Editor

M

aking the cut is getting harder.

Making sports teams at Bullitt East is becoming harder due to more competition and higher school enrollment.

High school sports have been growing over the past few years which has built talent and excitement within the county and the fans.

The girls soccer and basketball teams and baseball team has seen the effects of the growing school population and competition coming into East.

Junior soccer player, Michelle Embry has seen first hand the talent coming to the soccer team. “Soccer has gotten better with the bigger enrollment I think because we have more girls trying out, therefore we have more talent coming to the school,” said Embry. The soccer team was the runners up in the 6th region and they have a few seniors that have verbally committed to play collegiate soccer. The soccer team only has 40 jerseys to hand out after try outs.

Athletic Director, Troy Barr has seen the competition grow over the past years. “A larger pool of students creates more competition to make teams and also allows for many athletes to specialize which allows them to work on their specific sport year round,” said Barr.

More eyes have been on athletics at Bullitt East because of the high ranking sports team.

With the growing number athletes and more competition, the athletics are getting more attention. “BE has become competitive in every sport we offer. We have great coaches and outstanding athletes along with supportive parents and community. When you add our booster club into the mix and a large student body to draw from we have become an elite athletic school in many sports- well respected all over the state,” said Barr.

A 2007 study by Brigham Young University found that females who played a sport in high school were 41 percent more likely to graduate from college than those who did not play sports in high school. Girls basketball player and University of Louisville commit, Lindsey Duvall gives credit to the competition for

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page by Zach Combest December 2016 page by Isaac Shelton December 2015

making her a better player. “It’s gotten more competitive and the competition made me better,” said Duvall. The number of participants in high school sports increased for the 25th consecutive year in 2013-14 with a record total of almost 7.8 million, according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

Duvall has been through the recruiting process and said, “Yes, [competition and more athletes affects recruiting] because when one person is getting looked at and that coach comes to practice they also get to see the others and if they like them then they will start recruiting them.” Many athletes get recruited to play collegiate sports every year. There were over 40 signing last year. In 2013, Bullitt East athletes received over 1 million dollars in athletic scholarships. Bullitt East is home to many sports like soccer, basketball, football, cross country, golf, baseball, softball, volleyball, and 16 other sports. You can usually find one athlete in each of these sport that have committed to a college and has already graduated from charger nation to play one of these college sports. Students are also being introduced to new sports as well like Bass Fishing and tennis were the number of athletes are smaller.

Barr said, “Many colleges flock to BE due to our success in producing great athletes.” Many Chargers can be seen playing collegiate sports but making it to take level can be hard. Teams have a certain number of athletes they can accept and with the larger enrollments and the more students trying out, it makes the coaches decisions harder. Overall just over 7 percent of high school athletes (about one in 14) went on to play a varsity sport in college, and about 2 percent of high school athletes (one in 50) went on to play at the NCAA Division I level. Participation in high school sports have increased for the past 22 years according to the NFHS. “Yes [colleges often recruit players from BE]10 years ago BE had never produced a division 1 athlete that got a scholarship- it is very common now,” said Barr. Seven seniors were recruited last year on the baseball team; they were Derrick Kromenacker, Zach McDonald,

Troy O’Brien, Kyle Mckinley, Garrett Wilson, Clayton Stallings, and Corey Plahuta. The upcoming seniors are preparing to get college’s attention this season. Players like junior Payton Meredith gives credit to Coach Bowles for doing a great job by getting the team college ready.

Many athletes dream of playing a college sport and move up to that next level in competition. “I do plan on playing baseball after high school and I feel that if you are not willing to compete for a position at the high school level then you shouldn’t be playing at the next level. In college you have to compete for a position everyday because everyone around you wants to play just as bad as you do and if you aren’t willing to put in the work to obtain the position you shouldn’t be playing at the next level,” said Meredith.

Freshman teams are the most affected by the school size in many sports. The baseball team sees many freshman and even eighth graders trying out for the team. Many of them make the team but some don’t. When trying out for a team at East, it is not a guarantee that everyone will make the team they try out for since the competition is growing. Players have transferred from other schools just to play sports at Bullitt East. Barr has two daughters, Summer and Kemper, and they both play sports at East.

“I think BE is a great school academically and athletically, Mount Washington is a great community to live in and close to Louisville. I truly believe that my daughters are getting a private school education here and have great athletic opportunities,” said Barr. Kemper Barr is a sophomore and is on the volleyball team.

The freshman volleyball team has 18 players and there are 18 varsity players. Volleyball isnt the only sport to have a large showing.

The softball team had 21 total players on their team last year and not all players played varsity.

Ricky Hoffman is the head coach of the softball and volleyball teams. He usually keeps between 12 and 18 players on the freshman level and 12 to 18 Varsity/JV players on the volleyball team. “We keep so many freshman to try to teach them our system and get them ready for tryouts in the years to come to be on the JV and or Varsity team,” said Hoffman.

opinion >>>>theme

Jordan Goers, senior, is on the Lady Chargers softball team. “I believe students want to play sports at Bullitt East because all of our coaches are very advanced and are willing to teach all their athletes,” said Goers. She also believes that the size of the softball team affects college scouts because only nine people can be in the lineup and that limits their playing time.

lies spend more than $20,000 per year. High School sports are becoming more and more popular and the better competetion contributes to that.

Overall, the athletics have grown and continues to grow to a new level due to school enrollment growth and more athletes.

“The competition has grown throughout the years because all of the girls have been playing since middle school and we all improved,” said the outfielder, Goers.

Since Barr has taken over as Athletics Director from Bob Blackburn the school athletics has continued to move in a positive direction.

“Coach Blackburn did such a good job that I can only hope to sustain what he did. I see us staying competitive in all levels and coaches continuing to find ways to make their teams better. Parents continue to impact our athletics in a positive way but we do get some negative impacts that can be challenging,” said Barr.

Blackburn and Barr were head coaches of the boys basketball team before coming the Athletics Director at East.

Cost of playing high school sports also have an impact. According to the University of Florida’s Sport Policy & Research Collaborative, travel-team parents spend an average of $2,266 annually on their child’s sports participation, and at the elite levels some fami-

SOURCES http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/13/youth-sportsis-a-7-billion-industryand-growing.html http://titleixedci285.weebly.com/statistics.html

page by Zach Combest page by Haley Steinmetz

17 25

The leaders of the Red Z 2015-2016 are Tyler Sha Secretary Jo Perkins (kn in charge of organizing Zone. For example, the shirts exclusively for Re

Every year there are abo that will lead charger na activities used in the Re

The student section has hearts of the students at School. The student sec as the Red Zone, gives st escape the daily stresses them to be themselves high school.

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Staff Writer

BY MATT

RED Z

ACADEMIC TEAM MONEY CUT Staff Writer

F

BY OWEN JAGIELO

T

here are more brains, but less money for the academic team.

#1 on iTunes

The academic team’s funding has been cut, and now they have lost money to support themselves.

Forever Country *as of 10/22/16

Their funds got cut this year due to the school dress code being changed. To raise money, the team is thinking about doing some small fundraisers. The team expects to go along throughout the year as they normally would.

In the past, the team got most of its money from dress down days on Fridays, but now since there are no more dress downs, the team lost its source of funding.

The dress code proposal was approved by the Board of Education before school was even in session.“I found out [about the money cut] at the beginning of this year right as school was starting,” said J.T. Lewis, the head coach of the academic team.

In recent years, the team ran off of fees from the member’s parents to pay for expenses that are needed., like gas money and supplies. This year, the coaches are asking for increased fee amounts and donations from the parents to help cover the amount of money they lost from the funding cut.

BY GRANT SKAGGS Sports Editor

The most recent trophies of the academic team in 2011. The trophy to the left is fourth place in regionals and to the right is district champions.

“The effect on competitions will be noticable as well.

Without proper equipment, being able to host meets will be a disaster.”

-Sean Woods, team member

“Forever Country” written by Artists of Then, Now, and Forever has topped the charts and taken over the number one slot. The song replaced the Chainsmokers hit of “Closer”.

“If worse comes to worse, I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket but if we need to fundraise then we will. The candy is always an easy fallback because everyone always buys that,” said Lewis.

A few of the team members wouldn’t mind raising money, but others don’t like the idea of fundraising. “If they [the coaches] said so, I’d probably do it [fundraise],” said Academic Team member, Jake Keys.

Some team members are upset about the money cut, but that hasn’t made them want to quit the team. The loss of funding may affect the team getting into events they compete in.

“We’re not going to have money to go out to places like Oldham County and back and we’re not going to have money for supplies. Last year we went to JV Challenge, districts, we sent three people to state, but those were drive yourself down there kind of things,” said Bradley Lewis, an academic team member. Transportation for the team is covered by the school vans and some parents volunteer to transport the members.

26

page by Owen Jagielo December 2015

A

new song has taken over the iTunes charts.

Artists of Then, Now, and Forever consisted of over thirty singers in this mega-mashup.

From John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” This song represents a variety of songs and artists.

Last year, the team won their first round, but fell short the next two rounds in quick recall at regionals. They are practicing quick recall for their competitions later on in the year.

Famous artists include Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Alan Jackson, and Little Big Town. It is a great ironic mix of the past legends, and upcoming and established stars of today.

There is no time like the present. The sooner is definitely the better. Going into your senior year is the best time to start the search. Barr said, “Make sure you’re checking and looking at deadlines. Some are coming up, others in the next few weeks, and some aren’t until May.” It is very important to stay on top of things so that you don’t miss any opportunities.

Anyone who wants to be sucessful and wants to attend college, the first step is making sure the application process is just as successful.

fo raey eht rof enoZ deR eht fo sredael ehT .notaeB eissaC dna eprahS relyT era 6102-5102 si )oJ ammoM sa nwonk( snikreP oJ yraterceS deR eht rof stneve eht gnizinagro fo egrahc ni eet dna semag rof semeht ,elpmaxe roF .enoZ .srebmem enoZ deR rof ylevisulcxe strihs

eht ni ecalp laiceps a sah noitces tneduts ehT hgiH tsaE ttilluB ta stneduts eht fo straeh nwonk esiwrehto ,noitces tneduts ehT .loohcS ot yaw a stneduts sevig ,enoZ deR eht sa swolla dna loohcs fo sesserts yliad eht epacse rieht rof gnitoor elihw sevlesmeht eb ot meht .loohcs hgih

ttilluB rof draug gnitoohs gnitrats eht ,eprahS dnik saw raey tsap ehT“ ,syas llabteksab tsaE .gnireehc t’nerew elpoep esuaceb nwod tel a fo

F

sroines ruof ot owt tuoba era ereht raey yrevE dna stnahc eht ni noitan regrahc dael lliw taht .enoZ deR eht ni desu seitivitca

siht segnahc ynam edam sah enoZ deR ehT ni won si enoZ deR eht ,elpmaxe roF .raey tirips loohcs daerps ot syllar-pep eht fo egrahc esion eht worg ot dna supmac no enoyreve ot .enoZ deR eht fo level ecnadnetta dna

In this day and age, looking couldn’t be any easier. With everything being transferred online, it seems as though one could have the world at their fingertips. All they have to do is take out a device and hit search.

yeht nehw maet ruoy no reehc ot ysae s’tI“ uoy deen yeht tub ,kaerts gninniw a no era nehw s’tahT .nwod elttil a er’yeht nehw tsom duol pu wohs ot sdeen yllaer enoZ deR eht si enoZ deR ehT .oJ ammoM dias ”,duorp dna kcabemoc a ekam ot gnithgif si tub gnilggurts .nosaes 6102-5102 eht ni

Many believe that there isn’t a scholarship out there for them, that there is absolutely no hope. But they couldn’t be any more wrong.

Barr said, “There are academic, athletic, totally random scholarships; some for left handed people, and red hair. You never know without just looking.”

dna llabteksab sa hcus smargorp strops ehT deR eht rof sdworc regral eht ni ward llabtoof sekaR yeliaB dna eprahS sa hcus sreyalP .enoZ eht gnirud noitaripsni sa enoZ deR eht ees ,smaet hguot htiw sretnuocne esolc nI .semag gnireehc dworc eht raeh ot evol sreyalp eht .no meht

When applying for college, it may be hard figuring out where to start. Crystal Barr, BE guidance counselor, suggests that seniors “Need to look at their senior newsletter, to go online, and go to the websites of all the colleges they’re interested in attending. If you don’t apply you can’t get in.”

In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000.

deR eht taht leef loohcs eht ssorca lla stnedutS sraey owT .sraey tsap eht ni detelped sah enoZ llabteksab rof staes eht dekcap stneduts oga ttilluB gniruD .nosaes eht tuohguorht lla tneduts eht nur tnemanruot elbidercni s’tsaE hgih erew erehT .worg ot deunitnoc noitces deR eht tub emoc ot snosaes eht rof sepoh si dna dnuora nrut etelpmoc a nekat sah enoZ ti teg dna yrt ot ssecorp gnidliuber eht ni won .saw ecno ti tahw ot kcab

As our school keeps getting bigger, the fight for college scholarships becomes even harder.

This is why it is so essential to apply for as many colleges and scholarships as possible. Senior Alexis Young said, “Applying for scholarships is fairly easy. There are actually websites that connect you to scholarships that fit your qualifications.”

Staff Writer

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SSERDLIHC TTAM YB

With technology becoming more prevalent in everyday life, the traditional way to apply for a college is starting to change. Instead of filling out a paper application, most colleges are making the transition to online applications.

>> academics

BY HALEY GRETHER

.enoz daed ot enoZ deR mor

SEIDWOR-OS-TON ENOZ DER

Scholarships are what makes a college even remotely affordable and are really helpful in allowing students to further their education. It is now as easy as the click of a button to find and apply for many colleges and scholarships.

Whether you are aiming for an academic scholarship or one that is completely random, with the right questions to ask, you are sure to find one that meets your needs.

SIGNING INTO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

nwonk osla era enoZ deR eht fo srebmem ehT -woR enoZ deR eht ;seidwoR enoZ deR eht sa ttilluB ssorca lla stneduts fo delipmoc era seid nioj ot emoclew si enoynA .loohcS hgiH tsaE -teb eht dnetta stneduts erom ehT .emit yna ta .emoceb lliw noitces tneduts eht ret

College is a scary, yet extremely exciting thing that seems to have an application process which is as equally scary and exciting.

era ew raey sihT .gnimoc deppots elpoep nehT sevitnecni erom gnivig yb nuf erom ti gnikam ”.nwod sserd eerf sa hcus ,semag ot gnimoc ot

S

tepping into a brighter future, as seniors apply for college.

page by Haley Grether

27

BACK TO BACK DISTINGUISHED

BY AINSLEY GORDON Copy Editor

In the school year of 2014-15, Bullitt East earned a score of 83.9, making it distinguished and a School of Distinction. However, in the 2015-16 school year the score dropped 5.5 points, earning a distinguished score, but a loss of the title of School of Distinction.

“My reaction was disappointment when I learned that we were not a School of Distinction for the second year in a row, however, I am proud that we held onto our Distinguished status,” said Debbie Pitcock, Algebra 2 teacher. “[I’m] very excited to be back to back distinguished for the first time in the history of the school,” said principal, Chris Mason.

fo raey eht rof enoZ deR eht fo sredael ehT .notaeB eissaC dna eprahS relyT era 6102-5102 si )oJ ammoM sa nwonk( snikreP oJ yraterceS deR eht rof stneve eht gnizinagro fo egrahc ni eet dna semag rof semeht ,elpmaxe roF .enoZ .srebmem enoZ deR rof ylevisulcxe strihs

this school year.

“I would love to see us earn a School of Distinction title again. To make that happen, teachers have to monitor student progress and data within the classroom to make sure our EOC and ACT scores continue to rise. We need to continue our amazing college/career scores, program review scores, and graduation rate. Students also need to realize that ultimately our scores and testing status lies in their hands. Teachers can only do so much to prepare students. Students need to take each test seriously and do their best,” said Pitcock.

Even though Bullitt East is a distinguished school, there is always room to increase the scores.

ttilluB rof draug gnitoohs gnitrats eht ,eprahS dnik saw raey tsap ehT“ ,syas llabteksab tsaE .gnireehc t’nerew elpoep esuaceb nwod tel a fo

siht segnahc ynam edam sah enoZ deR ehT ni won si enoZ deR eht ,elpmaxe roF .raey tirips loohcs daerps ot syllar-pep eht fo egrahc esion eht worg ot dna supmac no enoyreve ot .enoZ deR eht fo level ecnadnetta dna

Another category is the graduation rate, that is also 20 percent of the total score. The counselors help the seniors with college applications and scholarships.

“I feel that we have a strong staffulty that truly cares about kids and making sure everyone that leaves Bullitt East is successful beyond high school. Our school has so many dedicated adults who work diligently and tirelessly to make this great things happen,” said Pitcock.

deR eht taht leef loohcs eht ssorca lla stnedutS sraey owT .sraey tsap eht ni detelped sah enoZ llabteksab rof staes eht dekcap stneduts oga ttilluB gniruD .nosaes eht tuohguorht lla tneduts eht nur tnemanruot elbidercni s’tsaE hgih erew erehT .worg ot deunitnoc noitces deR eht tub emoc ot snosaes eht rof sepoh si dna dnuora nrut etelpmoc a nekat sah enoZ ti teg dna yrt ot ssecorp gnidliuber eht ni won .saw ecno ti tahw ot kcab

era ew raey sihT .gnimoc deppots elpoep nehT sevitnecni erom gnivig yb nuf erom ti gnikam ”.nwod sserd eerf sa hcus ,semag ot gnimoc ot

Each school is placed into one of the three categories. Those categories consist of distinguished, proficient, and needs improvement.

From then on, the schools and districts of Kentucky can be placed into four more categories, including Kentucky Schools/ Districts of Distinction, Kentucky Highest Performing Schools/ Districts, Kentucky High-Progress Schools/ Districts, and Kentucky Focus Schools/ Districts.

page by Ainsley Gordon December 2016

One of the categories that are scored, college/ career readiness, is 20 percent of the total score. The content teachers and pathway teachers make sure that make sure that the students can get the best grades possible earning college and/ or career readiness.

yeht nehw maet ruoy no reehc ot ysae s’tI“ uoy deen yeht tub ,kaerts gninniw a no era nehw s’tahT .nwod elttil a er’yeht nehw tsom duol pu wohs ot sdeen yllaer enoZ deR eht si enoZ deR ehT .oJ ammoM dias ”,duorp dna kcabemoc a ekam ot gnithgif si tub gnilggurts .nosaes 6102-5102 eht ni

All of the categories are weighed at different levels depending on the level of school. Then all of the weighted scores are added up into the total score. That score is the final score that is used to rank the schools.

28

“As a teacher whose course has an EOC, I feel a lot of pressure as the math scores are directly related to what I teach. Mrs. Stobaugh, Mrs. Thornsberry, and I meet on a daily basis to make sure we are staying on pace to cover all of the standards that will be covered on the EOC. We also make sure the tests we give in class are at a high level to familiarize students with the language and level of the EOC. In addition, we also focus on ACT practice questions to help ensure our students meet the college ready benchmark,” said Pitcock.

nwonk osla era enoZ deR eht fo srebmem ehT -woR enoZ deR eht ;seidwoR enoZ deR eht sa ttilluB ssorca lla stneduts fo delipmoc era seid nioj ot emoclew si enoynA .loohcS hgiH tsaE -teb eht dnetta stneduts erom ehT .emit yna ta .emoceb lliw noitces tneduts eht ret

When determining the scores for each of the schools in Kentucky, the Kentucky Department of Education looks at five major categories. Those categories are achievement, gap, growth, college/career readiness, and graduation rate.

sroines ruof ot owt tuoba era ereht raey yrevE dna stnahc eht ni noitan regrahc dael lliw taht .enoZ deR eht ni desu seitivitca

retirW ffatS

SSERDLIHC TTAM YB

During the 2015-16 school year Bullitt East earned a score of 78.4, classifying the school as distinguished. The teachers worked towards improving the scores in many ways. To improve the scores and earn the title of a School of Distinction again, the students and teachers will have to work towards all of the subjects looked at when producing a score including ACT scores, graduation rates, and college and career scores.

dna llabteksab sa hcus smargorp strops ehT deR eht rof sdworc regral eht ni ward llabtoof sekaR yeliaB dna eprahS sa hcus sreyalP .enoZ eht gnirud noitaripsni sa enoZ deR eht ees ,smaet hguot htiw sretnuocne esolc nI .semag gnireehc dworc eht raeh ot evol sreyalp eht .no meht

.enoz daed ot enoZ deR mor

Bullitt East scored distinguished as a school two years in a row.

The teachers and students had to work hard in the categories that are scored, to maintain the distinguished score.

eht ni ecalp laiceps a sah noitces tneduts ehT hgiH tsaE ttilluB ta stneduts eht fo straeh nwonk esiwrehto ,noitces tneduts ehT .loohcS ot yaw a stneduts sevig ,enoZ deR eht sa swolla dna loohcs fo sesserts yliad eht epacse rieht rof gnitoor elihw sevlesmeht eb ot meht .loohcs hgih

F

SEIDWOR-OS-TON ENOZ DER

-itamard evorpmi ot skool enoZ deR ehT .raey siht yllac

O

ops! They did it again.

A poster stating Bullitt East’s title of School of Distinction was placed outside of the gym.

The staff and administration at Bullitt East hope to earn not only the distinguished score again, but the title of School of Distinction for

“Never feel comfortable. Getting to the top is hard, but staying there can prove to be even more difficult. It will take consistent effort and always feeling like we're losing our edge in order to continue to grow,” said science teacher, Amy Harrod.

Mason would like all of the teachers at Bullitt East to “keep focusing on the small detailed things to help students who are struggling and also continue to have high expectations for all students. Also, expect them to provide remediation and extra help that students may need to help them be as successful as possible.”

This is the first time Bullitt East has gotten a distinguished score back-to-back and Mason wants to “continue to tweak those systems and make them better so our students and school can continue to improve.”

...........................

>> academics

CONGRESS IS NOW IN SESSION

BY ZACH COMBEST Business Editor

Brianna Hopper, junior, represents FCCLA and was chosen to be in Congress because she is the Public Relations officer. “The purpose of Congress is to develop a voice within the clubs, sports, and other representatives,” said Hopper.

Congress meets every month and discuss about events happening around school that need to be shared with the students and staff.

The meetings give representatives time to talk about their club or sport and share ideas and give suggestions about how to make our school come together and have more school spirit. Recently, the Congress has discussed

ttilluB rof draug gnitoohs gnitrats eht ,eprahS dnik saw raey tsap ehT“ ,syas llabteksab tsaE .gnireehc t’nerew elpoep esuaceb nwod tel a fo

fo raey eht rof enoZ deR eht fo sredael ehT .notaeB eissaC dna eprahS relyT era 6102-5102 si )oJ ammoM sa nwonk( snikreP oJ yraterceS deR eht rof stneve eht gnizinagro fo egrahc ni eet dna semag rof semeht ,elpmaxe roF .enoZ .srebmem enoZ deR rof ylevisulcxe strihs

Brooke Stivers

Stivers, senior, is the President of Congress. She is a cheerleader and active student. She participates in the Beta Club as a Vice President, NHS, and United for East. Photo submitted by Brooke Stivers

“I think being the head of Congress is a huge responsibility. It’s helping to transfer able teenagers into the leaders I know they already are and giving them the confidence to step up and make a difference,” said Walker, “You should be able to ask anyone in Congress Marley Michel what’s going on and they Michel, junior, is the spirt leader and one should know...students of the Redzone Rowdie leaders. You can should also be able to often see Michel talking to everyone in bring questions, comthe halls and announcing the volleyball ments, and concerns to games. Photo submitted by Marley Michel congress and get them addressed.”

deR eht taht leef loohcs eht ssorca lla stnedutS sraey owT .sraey tsap eht ni detelped sah enoZ llabteksab rof staes eht dekcap stneduts oga ttilluB gniruD .nosaes eht tuohguorht lla tneduts eht nur tnemanruot elbidercni s’tsaE hgih erew erehT .worg ot deunitnoc noitces deR eht tub emoc ot snosaes eht rof sepoh si dna dnuora nrut etelpmoc a nekat sah enoZ ti teg dna yrt ot ssecorp gnidliuber eht ni won .saw ecno ti tahw ot kcab

era ew raey sihT .gnimoc deppots elpoep nehT sevitnecni erom gnivig yb nuf erom ti gnikam ”.nwod sserd eerf sa hcus ,semag ot gnimoc ot

Stivers, senior, is excited and has big goals and responsibilities for Congress this year. “My goal as President of Congress is to make sure everyone feels heard and everyone feel apart of something. That’s a big goal we are pushing in Congress and I hope we can make that happen and instill that for the years to come.

My responsibility as President of Congress is to make sure that is happening. That we are pushing to reach our goals in the one year I have left,” said Stivers. Stivers was voted in as President by her fellow congress members.

She also represents the United for East group.

siht segnahc ynam edam sah enoZ deR ehT ni won si enoZ deR eht ,elpmaxe roF .raey tirips loohcs daerps ot syllar-pep eht fo egrahc esion eht worg ot dna supmac no enoyreve ot .enoZ deR eht fo level ecnadnetta dna

Congress was designed and made by teachers, April Walker and Missy Speakman. “Congress is a group of students-the voice of the student body. It’s a team of teams...a group made up of one representative from every club, sport or organization that we offer at Bullitt East,” said Walker.

Congress is a new and exciting thing for many of the members. Stivers said, “I am most excited to see what we do with it. How this year goes, what we make of it, and the different ideas we all come up to make it successful.” There has been many positive reactions to Congress by students and members are excited to see how the year will go.

yeht nehw maet ruoy no reehc ot ysae s’tI“ uoy deen yeht tub ,kaerts gninniw a no era nehw s’tahT .nwod elttil a er’yeht nehw tsom duol pu wohs ot sdeen yllaer enoZ deR eht si enoZ deR ehT .oJ ammoM dias ”,duorp dna kcabemoc a ekam ot gnithgif si tub gnilggurts .nosaes 6102-5102 eht ni

nwonk osla era enoZ deR eht fo srebmem ehT -woR enoZ deR eht ;seidwoR enoZ deR eht sa ttilluB ssorca lla stneduts fo delipmoc era seid nioj ot emoclew si enoynA .loohcS hgiH tsaE -teb eht dnetta stneduts erom ehT .emit yna ta .emoceb lliw noitces tneduts eht ret

Congress is designed to have representation for every sport, club, and house. Each sport and club has one representative while houses have two representatives and the representatives must attend the meetings led by President Brooke Stivers, Vice President Marlene Michel, Public Relations Brooke Wise and spirit captains: Karli Yarbrough and Marley Michel. The representatives speak on behalf of their group. The purpose of congress is to reach out to the clubs and other students and make decisions for the school. Congress members are looked at as the leaders of the school.

sroines ruof ot owt tuoba era ereht raey yrevE dna stnahc eht ni noitan regrahc dael lliw taht .enoZ deR eht ni desu seitivitca

retirW ffatS

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Bullitt East now has a student led Congress to take the place of the student body government from the past years.

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plans to make the pep rallies better. Congress meets after school on Fridays and during house days. “This will be different than the student body council because everybody will have a voice instead of a specific group of people. I think Congress will work, but it just needs a little time,” said Hopper. Congress is just another way students can have their voice heard by everyone.

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O

ut with student government and in with Congress.

Overall, with the leadership of Walker and the Congress board, the Congress hopes to guide the school in a new direction and change the old ways of student body government.

Brooke Wise

Senior, Wise is in charge of Public Relations. She participates in the drama club and choir. Wise is excited and ready for Congress. Photo submitted by Brooke Wise

Marlene Michel

Michel is a junior and holds the duties as Vice President. She participates in many clubs like NHS and Beta. Many people know her as the nicest person in the whole school and is a great role model for those around her.

Karli Yarbrough

Yarbrough is a senior and is one of the spirt leaders. She will be playing softball for Bullitt East this year. She hopes to build the school spirit anyway she can.

Photo submitted by Karli Yarbrough

@congressBEHS

@congressbehs page by Zach Combest

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Full Name: Donald John Trump Political Party: Republican Running Mate: Mike Pence His Stances: Immigration: “Build a border wall and end sanctuary cities. Send criminal aliens home.

Welcome those who embrace our way of life, but keep out immigrants and refugees who don’t through rigorous vetting.”

Abortion: “The primary responsibility of the federal government is to protect the rights of its citizens. Life is the most fundamental right.

The federal government should not diminish this right by denying its’ protection. I am opposed to abortion except for rape, incest and life of the mother. I oppose the use of government funds to pay for abortions.”

Gun Laws: “Unwavering support of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. Get gang members and drug dealers off the street to make our cities and communities safer. Empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Expand mental health programs keep the violent mentally ill off of our streets.”

Taxes: “Cut business rate to 15 percent. Reduce individual rates to three brackets of 12, 25, and 33 percent, with a 0 percent rate for many. Add above-the-line deduction for childcare costs, including for stay-at-home parents.”

Health Care: “Obamacare has failed on cost and quality of health care. It must be repealed.

America needs a patient-centered health care system, allowing families and their doctors to be primary decision makers. Provide for the sale of health insurance across state lines.”

Jobs: “Reform the tax code and trade policies to make it easier to hire, invest, build, grow, produce, and manufacture in America. Stop China from stealing our jobs, renegotiate NAFTA, cut unneeded regulations and make America the best place in the world to do business. Putting America First—and not globalism—will keep jobs and wealth in America.”

Environment: “We need to work to protect natural areas, but in a balanced way. End Obama EPA mandates that cost too many jobs, are opposed by most states, and too often have negligible benefit for the environment.”

Education: “We will enhance education options for students through school choice and charters, and respect homeschoolers in their quest for educational alternatives. We will also make it easier for families to afford college so students aren’t buried in debt.”

Budget: “Create high-paying jobs to bring growth to our stagnant economy, reducing deficits and spending. Rebuild our military and ensure that veterans receive top quality medical care. Rebuild our infrastructure. End government corruption and rein in wasteful spending to put our ballooning deficits on a long-term path to balance.”

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page by Kim Houchin December 2016

WHAT’S IN Donald OUR Trump FUTURE?

BY KIM HOUCHIN Copy Editor

Mike Pence

>> political

Full Name: Michael Richard Pence Political Party: Republican His Stances:

Immigration: “The Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act is a bill that is tough on border security and tough on employers who hire illegal aliens, but recognizes the need for a guest worker program that operates without amnesty and without growing into a huge new government bureaucracy,” Abortion: “What is more fiscally responsible than denying any and all funding to Planned Parenthood of America?”

Gun Laws: “I have strongly supported the right to keep and bear arms. I truly believe that firearms in the hands of law abiding citizen’s makes our families and our communities more safe, not less safe.”

Taxes: “Over the past two years we’ve made great progress cutting taxes. Now let’s simplify the tax code and prevent the rapid increase of property taxes on family farms.”

Health Care: “When faced with the decision of whether to embrace Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, Pence took the money. But he did it with a conservative twist: The Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 is built on a smaller coverage program. The program began last year and extends coverage to low-income adults up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Indiana’s program requires beneficiaries to pay into health savings accounts.”

Jobs: “When we look at our workforce and ways to improve it, we must begin & end with education. From pre-K to high school & beyond, a young person’s learning makes the difference between graduation and a constant game of catch-up throughout their lives.”

Environment: Pence vetoed and voted ‘NO’ on many environmentally helpful bills during his time in office.

Education: “This year let’s find ways to make teaching more attractive and do our part to encourage more Hoosiers to pursue careers in education. That is why I am so enthusiastic about Speaker Bosma’s Next Generation Scholarship that would cover up to $7,500 per year in tuition for students who are in the top 20 percent of their class and commit to teaching in Indiana for at least five years.”

Budget: “Indiana is a state that works because conservative principles work every time you put them into practice. The highest credit rating in the nation, though we’ve cut taxes every year since I became governor. We have fewer state employees than when I took office, and businesses large and small have created nearly 150,000 new jobs. That is what you can do with commonsense Republican leadership.”

page by Kim Houchin

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TRUMP IN THE MOUNT

BY ABBIE ALSTATT Copy/Website Editor

D

oes Bullitt East want to make America great again?

A lot of students at East are fans of Republican President of the United States, Donald Trump.

I don’t think anyone really expected Trump to run for President, nonetheless win. Bullitt East is a majority Trump supporting school, as far as students go. Just as there are many who favor him at East, there are some who do not.

No doubt, this 2016 election turned out to be one of the most unique yet, mainly because Trump was the Republican candidate. Before the election began, Trump was generally known as a businessman. I think it’s fair to say that most of America was surprised by his running, official candidacy and election into office, but it’s clear to see he gained much popularity, and it was enough to become the President of the United States.

His popularity does indeed reach Mount Washington, Ky at BE. In a poll posted by @ belivewire on Twitter, 233 people voted. 56 percent voted “Yes” and 44 percent voted “No” when asked if they support Trump. That’s more than half of the school (on average) supporting Trump in this election.

It’s not a surprise to most because Kentucky is a Republican state and Trump ran for that same party. Republican junior Grant Hatter said that’s the reason why a lot support him.

Although, “hardcore Conservative” senior Jenny Robertson and Republican senior Mitchell Langley both agree that a lot of supporters at school are in fact just “bandwagoners”. Robertson said, “I’d say the majority of students at Bullitt East are Trump supporters due to the media aspect without actually looking into the policies and plans he has for our nation.

People are quick to jump on a bandwagon any chance they get.”

Langley believes that Hillary Clinton being the Democratic candidate for President also pushed voters towards Trump. He said, “I wasn’t really a full-out Trump fan until it came down to him and Hillary… never Hillary.” This mindset seemed to be popular in this election on both sides, it was about the lesser of two evils for a lot of voters. “It’s so one-sided, this election,” said Langley.

No matter the reason students have for liking Trump, it’s interesting to see why because he was indeed a different type of candidate.

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page by Abbie Alstatt December 2016

Robertson and Langley agree that at times Trump may not phrase things in the correct or best way. “Trump doesn’t really know how to speak his mind right, but I mean I think he does have good ideas, but… he infuriates a lot of people,” said Langley. Robertson agrees but that’s one of the aspects about Trump that she likes, “Although at times Trump doesn’t say things in the best manner it only shows that he is not your typical politician and that’s the change we need. He tells the blunt truth about things, and that can get him into trouble, but I’d say it’s better than having a lying politician in office.”

It seems a big reason students have taken a liking to Trump is because he says what other candidates will not. “He speaks what we think...everybody wants to be soft… they don’t wanna offend nobody. He doesn’t care, that’s the thing,” said Hatter. “Most [of what he says] is what I’m thinking.”

Although, not everyone at BE holds these opinions and liking for Trump. Independent junior Kerrigan Miller said, “I do not like Trump at all. He shows a serious lack of maturity in all that he does. If he doesn’t agree with what someone says, he insults them. That is not how you should properly approach or solve a problem.”

For his supporting students, Trump’s plans for the United States are definitely important. “In my personal opinion America is ready for a change. I believe he has the right idea in putting our citizens first and wanting to deport the people here that our stealing our jobs and killing our economy,” said Robertson.

Langley said he hopes Trump fixes the debt and deals with taxes because it’s a big issue.

He also wishes he will bring, “Unity hopefully, which I know he ain’t doing a great job of so far.” Langley also believes racism “has been up really high in the past years.” And although there have been many accusations against Trump about remarks he’s made, Langley doesn’t think he is racist.

Robertson said, “I don’t think Trump is a racist or a sexist, but yes he has made jokes that are offensive… being in that position is going to call for some more sensitivity but once again he is not a politician, he is a normal guy like us and is not used to having to watch what he does 24/7.”

And everyone knows that the couple weeks

leading up to the election were filled with the video of Trump on a bus saying inappropriate things regarding women, and then multiple women accusing Trump of sexual assault. It became a big issue on the news and surely, was on the minds of voters for the rest of the campaign. Hatter believed the video was, “Without a doubt a mistake on his part, but the comments made were not to be mentioned outside of those doors, and the fact that someone was recording him saying these things could almost be considered an invasion of privacy… I don’t think locker room talk should be a defining difference when the Clintons have done so much worse over the years. From fraud, to stealing, to Bill and his girls, and the emails endangering the safety of the country.”

And on the sexual assault accusations, “Why now? Why just 3 weeks before the election?”

Robertson said, “...one of the women that accused him (of sexual assault) was found out to be a fraud and had a paper trail of money leading straight back to the Clinton campaign.”

Langley said he wasn’t surprised at all by the video after it came out, “I still support him all the way. That video really didn’t surprise me at all because all men talk like that.” And just as Langley did, Hatter and Robertson still supported Trump to be President. And they got the outcome they wanted, “I couldn’t be any happier with the results,” said Langley.

Robertson said, “I think that america wanted change and that’s what we got. I’m excited to see what Trump has in store for us and what he decides to do with his first 100 days in presidency.”

“I feel great, ecstatic really. It is so comforting to know that the next president of these United States actually cares about America and the problems that need to be addressed first within our country. A president that puts America before everyone else. It is just a little easier to sleep at night,” said Hatter, “I just hope he makes America great again.”

>> opinion

LUNCH: BREAKING OUT

BY JESSICA MATTINGLY Executive Editor

T

o leave or not to leave, that is the question.

Due to certain circumstances, students may feel like they should have the choice to leave campus for lunch.

For students, having the ability to leave school grounds to get food for lunch is a big advantage. But, on the other hand, it would be very easy for teachers and administration to develop trust issues with a policy as such. With certain restraints, administration could take this idea into consideration.

For certain students, buying lunch from the cafeteria is the most convenient option, not because it’s better tasting food, but because it’s easier than packing a lunch everyday. Each allotted lunch period is 25 minutes. This would give students just enough time to be dismissed from class, get in their cars or find someone to carpool with, and head over to one of the many fast food joints near school.

Gabby Lawson, senior, said, “It would give students a type of freedom and gives a chance to students to show how responsible they are.

Plus, the lunchroom food isn’t so great all the time, so you get a chance to get better food.”

Leaving school would also give students a break in their day, even though it would be just 25 minutes. With the busy schedule of the average student, it might be used as motivation to get through the first half of the school day.

Senior Katherine Upton usually brings her lunch since the cafeteria doesn’t have a wide variety of vegetarian options. She said, “We [students] should be able to go off campus for lunch because the school lunch options can get a little boring, and we get tired of them quickly. It would also offer us a chance to get away from the busy school day and just relax for just a few minutes. It could also be helpful if you wanted to run home and grab a snack there instead of eating at school. While there are a few downsides to it, like the increased restaurant traffic may cause it to take a while to get food, and some students may take their chances and skip school, but the pros far outweigh the cons and we should definitely be allowed to leave campus for lunch.”

campus for lunch. The students possessing a 3.75 GPA and three or less unexcused tardies or absences would be the students allowed to go get lunch elsewhere.

Rachel Hammiel, senior, said, “If it [restrictions] is based upon tardies, it should be based on a separate group of post-lunch tardies, not morning tardies, since they are mostly unrelated.”

Even with that being said, there would be kids that would complain of being left out, since being a Charger is about being a family after all.

In a recent poll conducted on the Livewire’s twitter account, 87 percent of the 197 votes reported to believe students should be allowed to go off campus to each lunch.

Although it would be nice to believe that administration could trust the student body to leave school by themselves, it just isn’t likely.

It would be very easy to become distracted and be late back to class, which would defeat the purpose of the policy. There will also always, no matter what, be at least a couple of kids that will go off campus and not return, which would ruin the opportunity for everyone else.

In all honesty, the only way this idea could even relatively work is if there were very strict restrictions. This would include only certain kids being entitled to being allowed to go off page by Jessica Mattingly

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A BATTLE OF MODERN ENTERTAINMENT

BY DUSTIN DOUGLAS Staff Writer

N

etflix and Hulu go head to head in the ring to see who will come out superior.

The differences of two of the most popular entertainment apps will be taken into account to determine which of them are better.

The first thing that some people would want to know about making a membership to either Hulu or Netflix would be the price. Both have a standard fee of $7.99 for the most basic entertainment level available; but prices change if purchasers want no advertisements or a premium membership. Prices for a premium membership are quite different when comparing the two apps; the highest quality entertainment will cost only $11.99 for Netflix and $16.98 for Hulu.

When trying to make the decision of which streaming service provider is best for each individual person, it’s very important to know the content that you will be enjoying. Netflix gives the opportunity to watch complete seasons of popular shows that which have already been canceled and even recently released episodes, as well as being able to offer hun-

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page by Dustin Douglas December 2016

dreds of movies all at your fingertips. Hulu gives a different approach by airing five or six episodes at a time of each television show as quickly as the next day, where it takes Netflix quite a bit longer.

Everyone wants something different from the entertainment app they have, so in order find out which one will suit different people better you must know, what you want and when you want it. If having several seasons of all different kinds of shows at disposal would be adequate, then Netflix might be the better pick for you. However, if being caught up and having the opportunity to watch episodes of television shows the next day after they air would be convenient, then Hulu might be the best option.

Budget might be the biggest deciding factor for some people, and there is a gap between the prices of Netflix and Hulu when it comes to add free and premium memberships. A basic subscription for either streaming provider will cost $7.99. For Netflix, that means no adds, one person watching at a time, access to all of their shows, and availability on other devices. viewers can have all of this on Hulu

as well, however the no add privilege is only given if you pay $4.00 extra, making the total $11.99 for what Netflix offers at their standard price.

A Twitter poll taken, which asked the @ BELivewire followers if they prefered Netflix or Hulu more, showed a shocking result. Out of the 184 people that responded, 98 percent of those people voted for Netflix, leaving only 2 percent that voted for Hulu. It is obvious in this case that Netflix is the most prefered streaming service provider when being compared to Hulu.

>> opinion

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING SEASON

BY LAURYN SMITH Staff Writer

O

ne of the busiest shopping days of the year is just around the corner.

The term “Black Friday” refers to the day of shopping that falls after Thanksgiving. This is when most people shop for Christmas gifts.

On this day many stores are filled with people and discounts.

“Fifty-five percent of Americans -- approximately 133.7 million people -- shopped in stores or online during Thanksgiving weekend last year,” according to usnews.com.

Some stores started Black Friday sales a day earlier, on Thanksgiving Day. Stores, such as Walmart and Target, open around 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Toys R Us and Best Buy start sales at 5 p.m. on Thursday. JCPenney starts even earlier at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving. There are also many of other stores listed online.

Many stores have sales all weekend long for those shoppers who do not want to go to the stores and deal with the huge crowds. The Monday after Thanksgiving, “Cyber Monday,” is for those people. Some online deals even come a week before Black Friday.

“I only go when I have to go out and find presents for the younger kids in my family,” said Keiley Sewell.

Malls crowded with people getting their Christmas shopping done.

People entering Target on Black Friday.

“When I go Black Friday shopping I don’t stay very long, like five hours or less. I like to shop at the big department stores like Walmart and Best Buy.” -Senior Brooke Stivers.

Black Friday Shopping?

Some parents do not let their kids go Black Friday shopping. They believe it could lead to something bad happening to their child.

While others will not let their kids go because they do not want them knowing what they’ll be getting for Christmas.

“My parents usually just go. That’s where they get all of their Christmas shopping done,” said Legend Warren.

44% 56%

Many people also camp out outside of stores and wait for the sales. According to statisticbrain.com, 23 percent of Black Friday shoppers arrived at or before midnight and camped out at a store.

Black Friday is actually the third busiest shopping day out of the year, following behind the Saturday before Christmas, Super Saturday, and the day after Christmas.

Yes

No

After interviewing a total number of 50 people, 28 said they do go Black Friday shopping and 22 said it was a no go.

page by Lauryn Smith

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> OVERCROWDING AT ITS BEST STAFF EDITORIAL

B

ullitt East has too many brains and not enough space.

The Jefferson Community and Technical College Early College Program at Bullitt East is getting far too crowded.

The classrooms for the JCTC kids are just simply too overpopulated. Currently, the application process makes it very simple to get involved in JCTC. If we, as a school,l collaborated with JCTC, there could be a more formal application process created to help eliminate the overcrowding issue.

To put it into perspective, picture this. In our school, there are around 1,464 students currently enrolled. Out of that 1,464, there are roughly 47 that are involved in the early college program at Bullitt East. This 47 doesn’t even include the kids that leave at 10:05 for 12 by 12 at JCTC. To put it even more into perspective, a classroom holds maybe 30 kids maximum. Since it’s so easy to enroll yourself into this program, the classrooms at Bullitt East where JCTC class is held are overflowing with kids.

Taylor Ethington, senior at East, is a fall semester public speaking student, and a spring semester English 101 student. She said, “I think there is an overcrowding issue with my class especially. It’s so crowded that we don’t have enough desks for everyone in the class, and there are about five or six kids that have to sit at a table in the back of the room. I’m in public speaking so when we actually do speeches, it takes us several days just to get through them all. Like, it took us four days to get through two minute speeches. If it’s not your day to go, it’s very easy to get distracted, so I definitely think it disrupts the learning process.”

Since there are so many kids in one classroom,

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page by Jessica Mattingly December 2015

it can become hard for a professor to keep eyes on everyone. This is especially the case since there are kids in the public speaking classroom that sit totally segregated from the rest of the class solely because there aren’t enough desks to hold everyone. This becomes an issue when a student desires one-on-one time with the professor to maintain their grade. We’re talking about kids with high ACT scores and high GPAs; it’s harder for that type of student to get used to this change.

Right now, the JCTC application process is not too complicated, and if you want to be a part of the program, you pretty much can. Considering a student has met the ACT benchmarks and withholds a GPA of 2.75, the junior or senior has the option to do either 12 by 12 or the early college program and stay at BE. After meeting with a counselor and signing off on a paper, the student is pretty much set to go.

Counselor Crystal Barr said, “The application process will now all take place online.

Students must be a junior or senior, meet ACT (or college readiness) benchmarks, and have a 2.75 GPA. The only students that get turned down are ones that do not meet the requirements.”

The amount of kids in the classroom during JCTC wouldn’t be that big of an issue if it didn’t disrupt the learning process, but after witnessing the setting of the JCTC classroom, it definitely does. There is slim to no individual time with the professor. The amount of time it takes to get through speeches in the public speaking class is ludacris. The students that have to sit in the corner of the room have more opportunity to slack off. It’s by no means the JCTC professors fault, and it’s by no means the administration and counselors fault. There are flaws in our application process, and that’s that.

Barr said, “This is the first time there has been that [overcrowding] issue. I believe there is more of an interest than there has been in the past. I wouldn’t change anything about the application process. It would be great if JCTC were able to offer more classes here or has more instructors available to teach at BEHS.” Instead of just signing off on a paper and getting in just because you want to, there should definitely be a more formal application process. What if JCTC and Bullitt East collaborated to make this application? We’re talking about college during high school here.

That’s kind of a big deal. So, since it is such a big deal, a student should have to work to show that they’re ready to put the work in for it. Something a little more formal should be involved, such as an essay. An essay is very common for scholarships once a student gets to senior year, so it’s not too much to ask for. Students should also have to send their transcripts off as well, which can also help them be more familiar with the process when it comes time to apply for college and scholarships. If Bullitt East and JCTC made their acceptance requirements more formal, there wouldn’t be such an overcrowding issue since some kids just wouldn’t want to put the work in.

Do you think JCTC classes are overcrowded? Let us know. Send all letters to:

larry.steinmetz@bullitt.kyschools.us Editor’s Note: The editorial board is compiled of 11 selected journalism students. As an open forum, the Livewire encourages reader feedbackand reactions.

>> opinion

CHARGERS

1

EAST

EAST

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17

CHARGERS

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THE MORE THE MERRIER STAFF EDITORIAL

I

f you want to be the best, you have to beat out the best.

As Bullitt East’s population grows, the problem of overpopulation affects the number of student-athletes that programs can evaluate and the success that grows from that.

In this present day, Bullitt East holds a total of 1478 students, and provides over 20 sports.

The reality is that overpopulation offers a great benefit to schools regarding sports programs and the talent they can evaluate.

Although, the combination of sports and population has been a growing concern in the this state with several schools.

Many people within and outside the school are complaining about the overpopulation that the school is currently going through.

Through the amount of students, to the number of classrooms, and the amount of teachers. This situation has produced several negative outcomes and possibilities. It has produced crowded classrooms with students packed in and teachers moving around the school on carts because they are not enough classrooms to meet students class needs. It has made many individuals think and try to come up with solutions. Solutions such as building another high school or moving the freshman over to Old Mill Elementary and redistributing those elementary school kids to other relatively close schools.

There are many reasons to move or make a decision on cutting the population of the school or making more room for students, but if you are a follower or a supporter of Bullitt East’s sports programs, then you may not see overpopulation as a problem. It’s an invitation to more talent that coaches and teams can evaluate. Though, it’s a contradicting subject as many see it as a very difficult obstacle, in regards to competition and making the teams,

but it’s all about the success with these programs and how they are able to achieve it.

Yes, overpopulation puts limits on those student-athletes who attempt to make cuts and tryouts, which has made it harder for many students to find a sport or extracurricular activity to participate with. Although, in reality, if you look at the overall situation, being overpopulated is very beneficial. In the eyes of outsiders and coaches of these programs, It creates more competition for spots on teams which leads to greater success in-season. It lets coaches evaluate for more talent instead of just having a small pool of students-athletes to look after. The population growth of Mt. Washington over the years has boosted the amount of students that go to Bullitt East every year. In a sense, overpopulation and growth has helped continue East’s successes within athletics. Better talent gives teams a better opportunity to win and be successful.

for surrounding schools.

The situation is very similar in regards to Bullitt East’s own. Its paved a way for Bullitt East to form a variety of respected programs throughout the last several years. Individually, yes it makes it difficult to try and compete for a spot on these teams, but as an overall school, many want to see the best for these programs and see success.

Although overpopulation is a positive affect towards athletics, many schools are being critiqued for the advantage and negative influences that they have.

For example, Scott County High School in Georgetown, Kentucky. The school enrolls 2400 students, about 500 students over what the written limit is. It is the main and only high school in the whole county. Many parents are upset at the circumstances that certain students have to go through. Circumstances that include sports, and being able to have their children tryout and actually make those respective programs. The problem weighs in that these programs are going to take the best of the best and the elite of the school. Which leads to many students not being able to participate. Yes, there are going to be athletes that are not cut out and talented enough to make these teams, but there are many out there who are left out and are talented enough to play

to:

Do you think being able to particpate in sports is becoming harder? Let us know. Send all letters

larry.steinmetz@bullitt.kyschools.us Editor’s Note: The editorial board is compiled of 11 selected journalism students. As an open forum, the Livewire encourages reader feedbackand reactions. page by Grant Skaggs

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