t he l awrencian 2019-06-18.pdfdancing, the wiz, risky business, ferris bueller's day off, back...

John Iledan '20

Law rence?s boys tennis team lost many past senior s from a team that made the NJSIAA sectional quar ter f inals last season. However , the Cardinals have stepped in to f i l l the roles of those who moved on. Despite their close proximity, the boy?s tennis team made i ts f i r st-ever appearance to Mercer County Park in West Windsor for the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions this past month. I t was evident that the Cardinals were not r eady to f ly back home just yet. The Law rence?s[a] boys tennis f inished the season 18-3, w ith No. 1 seeded Montgomer y ending their state champion bid in the semi-f inals.

Law rence's boys tennis has been the underdog of the Colonial Valley Conference Boys Tennis as Coach Krajunus has pointed out. In past seasons, the Cardinals had lost close, hard-fought matches w ith teams from nearby West-Windsor Nor th or Hopewell. But that was

not the issue, Coach Krajunus pointed out that the defeat would be rooted ?The issue [that] sometimes I or the guys got the feel ing l ike [they] didn't belong. Sometimes the past would creep up, you know. I want the team to understand that we belong. The sky's the l imit.?

This set the tone for the Cardinal?s season as they placed f i r st in the Group 2 sectional championship, and the overal l Group 2 state ti tle for the f i r st time in school histor y. They played w ith fer vor and focus, ultimately defending their ti t le against No. 4 seeded Tenafly. The Cardinals handled the pressure well and ended the match w ith a f inal score of 3-2.

The Law rence Boys' Tennis Team clear ly do belong as they were able to share the cour t w i th No. 1 seeded Montgomer y. I t is clear that these Cardinal?s belong w ith some of the best Tennis Teams in New Jersey as they were able to keep the pressure on Montgomer y w ith control and determination. This defeat should not ser ve a bi tter

note to end the season, but as a symbolic note, that the Cardinals have achieved athletic excellence. The Cardinal?s w i l l head into next years not as underdogs, but as champions who deser ve to play w ith the best tennis teams.

T he L awrencianISSUE 4 Lawrence High School: 2525 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ Summer 2019

sites.google.com/ltps.info/thelawrencian/home

Also i n this i ssue...Prom...........................................pg 2

DECA...........................................pg 3

Our Senior s.............................pg 5-7

Culture Fest..............................pg7-8

Senior Production......................pg 9

Pr ide Month.............................pg 10

#Beapar tofthemajor i ty.......pg 11-15

UPCOMING EVENTS.................pg 16

TENNIS UNDERDOGS WIN BIG

Sophie Gregrowski '19

Law rence High School students r ecently attended their prom at the Hamilton Manor in Hamilton Tow nship. The highly anticipated event was, as the theme dictated, ?A Night To Remember?. Students were even photographed by NJ.com repor ter s and multiple pictures made i t to the news, under an ar ticle cal led 34 Best Photos from Lawrence High School Prom. Be sure to check out the candids of students taking pictures at both Sayen Gardens and the Hamilton Manor !

Prom-goers danced the night away as DJ Bayshaw n Wells control led the f loor w ith l ively music. Cassidy Stoneback, a senior present at the event, claimed ?i t was the best prom I?ve been to, the food, music, and l ighting were al l amazing!?

Students also had the chance to take pictures at a ?magic mir ror?, where they could dress up and take pr inted pictures that they?d then be able to take home. The second f loor of the Hamilton Manor also had a balcony, leading to a room where another photo oppor tuni ty had a backdrop that let students take LHS-themed pictures as well .

The night?s exci tement increased as the famed Prom Queen and King were to be crow ned. Senior s Nei l Chopra and Lisbeth Burgos were crow ned King and Queen as the dance f loor became increasingly energetic!

Special thanks to Mrs. Brunner and al l the class off icer s for their hard work towards fundraising and organization that made this phenomenal event possible.

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Sarah Mah '20

This year , a total of 221,000 members from al l 50 States and from 7 di f ferent countr ies par ticipated in DECA, and the top 21,000 members competed in Or lando, Flor ida. Law rence is proud to have had the oppor tuni ty to take 22 students to compete in several events at the International Career Devlopment Conference- and Law rence High School DECA had several astounding w inners:

* Jenna Cahi l l , Nicole Seeburger , Hope Per r y and Tucker Simpson al l placed in the top 10 in the wor ld in Hospital i ty Team Decision Making.

* Ar jun Agar wal and Er ic Maest placed in the top 20 in the wor ld in Buying and Merchandising Operations Research.

* Lina Chihoub? won a medal for a w r i tten test in Quick Ser vice Restaurant Management

* Tucker Simpson-- won a medal for the w r i tten test in Hospital i ty Team Decision Making

* Nabi l Hachicha-- won a medal for a roleplay in Spor ts Marketing.

LAWRENCE DECA

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Winners: Tucker Simpson (far left), Hope Perry (left), Jenna Cahill (right), and Nicole Seeburger (far right)

Arjun Agarwal and Eric Maest

Mr. Tees and Ms. Schneck

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Elizabeth Claros '22

The choir and instr umental students per formed outstanding per formances at their r espective spr ing concer ts at LHS. Mrs. Johnson, the choir dir ector and Mr. Drobish, the instr umental dir ector , worked hard to r ecognize the senior s who par ticipated in these concer ts throughout high school, as well as prepare al l their students for their successful concer ts.

Dur ing the choral concer t, Mrs. Johnson recognized a group of senior s who have been leaders in class and out of class, on stage and offstage. In the concer t choir , she recognized Joceline Bodon and Ares Bermúdez Rodr íguez. In Ensemble and madr igal, she also r ecognized Alpana Das, Steph Roslon, Zamir Gorden, Nick Ciuffr eda, Johnnie Br yant, Parker Kasony, Olivia Melvin,Cynthia Cur r ie, Destiny Hemmer , Rayna Indelicato, Taina Vega, Asia Toler , Kayla Jackson, Jul ia O?Toole, Lisbeth Bergos, Malashia Car ter ,

Cassidy Car rol l and Ryan Car ter. She is ver y proud of al l of them and feels that she is ver y lucky to have senior s in each and ever y one of the choir s.

The LHS ensemble per formed a song cal led ?The Li ttle Road? to suppor t the senior s who are about to leave for col lege. This song emphasizes the impor tance of being your ow n person and setting your ow n goals. A challenging song that Madr igal played, ?My Soul 's Been Anchored in the Lord? by Moses Hogan, shares a strong sense of fai th, something that churches want to share. With power ful dynamics and beauti ful section solos, putting this piece together was a challenge for the Marginal, but they did ever ything possible to make the souls of the audience feel anchored.

Dur ing the instr umental concer t, when Mr. Drobish r ecognized the groups of senior s he taught for a year , he felt that they were great players who helped him a lot as a f i r st-year teacher at LHS. They

were ver y suppor tive and have always offered to help. He w ishes them the best and w i l l def ini tely miss them because they have had a great impact on this year 's successful instr umental concer t. The senior s in par ticular , who he mentioned, were Br ian Santana, Laura Chang, Johnnie Br yant, Tr istan Curbishley, Dan Cino and Chr is Cottone because they were ver y helpful, not only in terms of their playing, but also in their leadership ski l ls and their help in getting ever ything organized.

A conductor from TCNJ, Dr. Er ic Laprade, who devoted his time to work w ith the w ind ensemble for months, conducted a piece cal led ?Rest? By Frank Ticheli . I t was a great learning exper ience for the students who were taught by him because he was ver y suppor tive to help the students play ?Rest?. Dr. Laprade appreciated the oppor tuni ty to visi t and help lead the w ind ensemble because he believes that i t was a great pr ivi lege to spend time and make music w ith them.

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SPLENDID SPRING CONCERTS

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MR. LHS 2019Aluen Tomat-Kelly ?20

On Fr iday May 3rd, Law rence High School held their annual Mr. LHS fundraiser. Mr. LHS is a competi tion between twelve male senior s who each have two female senior escor ts. I t is a ver y special event for senior s, since many of them have been waiting since fr eshman year to take par t in this amusing, laughter -f i l led contest. This event is made possible by the parents who run Project Graduation. The proceeds from the show benefi ts Project Graduation to create a safe, drug and alcohol fr ee fun way to celebrate the senior s graduation. Each male contestant was given a month to create a ski t r elated to the theme, which changes annually. This year?s theme was the 80s.

Mr. Januar y was Jack Schloesser , Mr. Februar y was Wilson Leon, Mr. March was Cole Hamer , Mr. Apr i l was Mehdi Raza, Mr. May was Jack O?Rei l ly, Mr. June was Trae Robinson, Mr. July was Kr ystian Hajduczka, Mr. August was Kevin Blanco, Mr. September was Zamir Gorden, Mr. October was Johnny Molineros, Mr.

November was Alex Mar ion, and Mr. December was Nikhi l Kotta. The hosts this year were Nick Ciuffr eda, Reese Pagliante, Misha Jordan, and Samara Everman. Despite competing against each other to get crow ned as 2019?s Mr. LHS, al l of the par ticipants were elated to be par t of this event. This w i l l def ini tely be an unforgettable high school memor y that they w i l l look back on.

This year , the ski ts were based off of famous movies made in the 80s including (in the chronological order of months): Karate Kid, The Breakfast Club, Annie, Rocky, Dir ty Dancing, The Wiz, Risky Business, Fer r is Bueller 's Day Off, Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, Footloose and Ghostbuster s. After the ski ts, each of the candidates per formed a dance routine together fol lowed by

behind-the-scenes cl ips of their time working on the show. After wards, the audience was able to learn more about the candidates through a question and answer session. Another presentation showed pictures of the contestants their escor ts, and the hosts? from their younger years to their high school ones. This was then fol lowed by the contestants giving a rose to their mothers after col laboratively r eci ting a poem, which was a ver y touching moment. After this, the w inners were announced: the r unner up was Kevin Blanco (Mr. August) and Johnny Molineros (Mr.October ) was crow ned Mr. LHS! This is a great fundraiser for senior classes, so i f you were not able to catch the show this year , make sure to come out to Mr. LHS 2020!

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OUR LHS SENIORS . . .Samantha Staub '21

By the time senior year rol ls around, the idea that high school eventually ends becomes more r eal than ever. I t can be extr emely

di f f icult to say goodbye to our senior s, but upon speaking w ith four of them, Isabel Rybinski , Lisbeth Burgos, Olivia Melvin, and Gi l l Woody, I r eceived some words of w isdom and heard some wonder ful stor ies that w i l l forever r emain a par t of our school?s histor y.

School can be scar y to an incoming fr eshman. I t?s a time of

adjustment and a time when ever ything seems large, str ange, and new. I wondered what advice these senior s would give to incoming fr eshman, so I asked them what they w ish they had know n when they were younger. Much of their advice centered around sticking w ith the activi ties you enjoy and not being afr aid to tr y new things.

ARTICLE CONT'D NEXT PAGE . . .

I f Gi l l were to give advice to a student coming to LHS for the f i r st time, he would tel l them that, ?High school is about tr ying new things. I t seems to me l ike the f i r st couple of months of fr eshman year should be about tr ying a bunch of di f ferent exper iences and extr acur r icular activi ties, and then, as the year goes on, star ting to focus more on the ones you actually enjoy. This w i l l also help you discover some things you didn?t know you enjoyed.? Gi l l also emphasized that i t is impor tant to do what is interesting to you and take advantage of the oppor tuni ties that ar ise r egardless of what other s are doing. He told me, ? If there?s a class you want to take and most people in your grade don?t take i t, ask for i t anyway because school is about YOUR learning exper ience. You want to sw itch your schedule? Do i t? don?t feel tr apped. Ever ything is an option i f you?re w i l l ing to put for th the effor t to get you there.? Olivia agrees w ith Gi l l . I f she could tel l her fr eshmen self one thing she said, ?I would tel l myself that i f you enjoy doing something just keep doing i t. I did the theater company the f i r st year but then dropped i t last year for work. Now I greatly r egret not

being a par t of i t.?

After spending four years at LHS, students change, whether they become more confident, develop new talents, or discover new interests. I asked the senior s how LHS shaped them into the people they are today and found i t interesting how much of an impact our school has had on these individuals. Isabel explained to me how , ?In middle school, I did basketball and tr ack, but I didn?t r eal ly go out of my way to become fr iends w ith people on the team. But in high school, the activi ties that I did gave me fr iend groups, so I think that r eal ly changed who I was. I get the oppor tuni ty to be a par t of so many di f ferent things. I?m fr iends w ith theater kids ? I?m fr iends w ith the peer leaders ... I?m fr iends w ith the tr ack team and also National Honors Society. This completely changed how I see our school community because I see so many di f ferent sides r ather than just staying in my ow n bubble.?

Simi lar ly to how high school made Isabel more open and outgoing, i t also helped Lisbeth gain confidence in her self . When I asked Lisbeth how LHS shaped her , she told me that, ?being in theater shaped me because I was ver y quiet and insecure and being in theater has made me not care at al l . I went from being in the back in my fr eshman year to getting to sing 10 songs on my ow n. I t was w i ld. I?ve always been somebody that l ikes to talk to ever yone but being able to per form in from of people in theater and choir has made me feel more comfor table.? When I asked Oliva, she told me

that, ?in middle school I was ver y focused on just being good in school and focusing in class and dong my work. I was neglecting the oppor tuni ty to hang out w ith people and make memor ies. High school is an environment where you are constantly sw itching groups of people whether i ts di f ferent classes or di f ferent activi ties. I have so many more opinions throw n at me ever y day and so much more to talk about. I t?s so great to be more open to the bonuses of high school instead of just getting through i t so you can go to col lege.?

People say that some of your most memorable exper iences take place dur ing high school. Upon asking each of these senior s what their favor i te or most memorable exper ience was at LHS, I gained insight into just how tr ue this is. When I asked Lisbeth what her favor i te exper ience at LHS was, she had trouble choosing just one. Final ly she told me, ?I think i t?s just l i tt le things l ike when we do the pep ral l ies or when we have a game. It?s also being in theater and the musicals, which have such a special place in my hear t because of the tr adi tions we have before and after the shows . . .


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ARTICLE CONT'D . . .

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There?s a lot of things that have happened in the past couple years and I have memor ies of so many of them.? Isabel told me that her most memorable exper ience at LHS, ?would be spor ts. Dur ing my sophomore and junior years, the gir ls tr ack team was the division champion. After we beat the last team in our division, Mr. Coll ins would always buy us ice cream. This year we lost a lot of senior s, so we didn?t beat ever y team. We had some losses but after the last meet of the season we sti l l went to Captain Pauls. On our way back, we asked the bus dr iver to pul l over at Captain Pauls and Mr. Coll ins sti l l bought the whole team ice cream even though we had our losses. I t was really sweet.? When I asked Gi l l this same question he explained how one of his favor i te exper iences at LHS has been his English class this year w ith Mrs.

Er r ico. He explained how , ?She?s of a work hard, play hard kind of mindset, so she?s more than eager to hear some of our wacky ideas or discussion points. Ear l ier this year , we somehow accidental ly star ted making a parody of ?thank u, next? using The Scar let Letter , and she loved i t. I t just shows you that school w i l l always be whatever you make of i t.? Gi l l goes on to explain that, ?I?ve been so touched by the car ing nature of al l of the staff . Your teachers, guidance counselor s, administr ator s, and al l other staff are here to suppor t you, and taking the time to see this in action has made me understand what i t means to be a par t of a community.?

After speaking w ith these four senior s, I learned that you can?t just look at the clock al l day. I f you do, your four years of high school are going to take forever and, at

the end of i t, you?ll have nothing to show for your time. We?re lucky enough to have so many options in this school and so much we can do. I learned from these senior s that i t is impor tant to be aware of what is going on around us because we learn not only from being in classes, but also by being involved and interacting w ith the people we see ever yday. High school is al l about what you make of i t.


ISSUE 4

CULTURE FEST: A NIGHT TO REMEMBERAlex Asack '20

Culture Fest is a Law rence High School insti tution and as someone who has proudly attended and volunteered for the past three years, I can say w ith author i ty that this year?s celebration was one of the best.

Culture Fest is r un by International Al l iance (IA) which is led by Ms. Quddus, know n by her students as Ms. Q, and by a board of off icer s: junior s Nabi l Hachicha, Jumana Khali fa, Pranav Phadke, and

Amanda Zheng. In the weeks leading up to the event, students could be seen in the hallways sur rounding the auditor ium practicing their numbers, choreographing dances, and memor izing songs in di f ferent languages. These students dedicated countless hours to the big night and rehearsals r egular ly extended into late evenings after school.

Ar r iving ear ly, last minute preparation was in ful l sw ing. As a student taking Mandar in, I was

given the oppor tuni ty to r un a table for Ms. Lin and got to see ever yone rushing together to ensure a per fect night. Two hours before, i t was clear that IA members were just getting star ted, nonper formers setting up tables of multicultural food and activi ties, students r ushed around setting up henna, ping pong, mahjong and more. The preparation included a last minute r un through and pep session for those going onstage as they prepared for one of the most anticipated nights of the year.


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At the entr ance, a l ine of people stood exci ted to see fr iends and family members proudly display their culture and small f lags were given out as people entered and took their seats in the cafeter ia. The event?s theme was wedding and the nar rator s stepped onstage as the fashion show , including the br ide and grooms incredibly diver se ?family?, came out to display the beauty of their countr ies. The night progressed w ith fami ly members per forming elaborate dances, l ike the gorgeous tr adi tional Indian dances and the larger Hispanic dance, and beauti ful r enditions of songs including Bei jing Welcomes You (or ? ? ? ? ? for those in Ms. Lin?s classes l ike the three singers: Ian Wang, Joshua Mondragon, and Pranav Phadke) and a wonder ful piano ver sion of another iconic Chinese song cal led ?The Moon Represents My Hear t?, played by the Law rencian?s ow n layout edi tor , Sarah Mah. One of the highl ights of the show was a monologue per formed in Polish by a young speaker who enter tained the audience, despite most of the viewers not know ing the meaning

of the words. The last per formance stunned the audience - i t was an amazing Bollywood dance choreographed by Neel Revankar. The per formance closed w ith the always anticipated f lag ceremony, a beauti ful celebration of culture and her i tage.

Although the per formance was over , the night had only just begun and ever yone went from the auditor ium to the beauti ful ly decorated cafeter ia. Lines for the delicious food star ted quickly; some tables included the Chinese food table, the Fi l ipino food table, the Ital ian food table, and the Indian food table. Attendees got the oppor tuni ty to sample

wonder ful r ecipes and whi le they ate, walk around to visi t di f ferent culture tables. The two largest tables set were the Henna table and the two ping pong tables, generously provided by the schools ping pong club.

I f you missed Culture Fest, lucki ly i t w i l l go on again next year , and i f this year?s per formance was any indication, i t is not one to si t out. Al l of the proceeds from the event went to No More Tears, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and helping the victims. To learn more about No More Tears and more ways to help please visi t:

https://nomoretearsusa.org/.

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Chloe Asack '22

On May 10th and 11th, the LHS Theater Company put on their last show of the school year. The senior production was the l i ttle-know n comedy Artifice, w r i tten by Anne Flanagan.

Although the name may be misleading, students from al l grades par ticipate in the senior production. I t?s the ?senior? production because the show is dir ected by two senior off icer s of the theater company. Malashia Car ter and Jul ia O?Toole, president and vice president, had the honor of dir ecting the show this year , and they did not disappoint. The dynamic duo worked together to uni te al l of the individuals they were r esponsible for , and they had a lot to do.

With two dir ector s, two super visor s, a cast of eight, f ive stage managers, and a huge crew , ever y involved work together to put on a great show in only seven ver y, very, shor t weeks.

Artifice is about a woman named Maggie, who is tr ying to sel l her late husband Payne Showers? paintings to save herself from bankruptcy. With the help of her best fr iend, Richard, she plans to sel l the paintings to the r enow ned real estate developer , Mick Fi tzgerald. Judi th Fontaine, newspaper r epor ter , and ar t cr i tic, Emma, are by his side throughout the whole tr ansaction. Al l seems to be going well , unti l Payne Showers walks through the door. Chaos ensues as Maggie works to hide her husband and sel l the

paintings at top dollar. Hidden identi ties, accents, deadpan humor , and great physical comedy al l occur to create a comedy that w i l l leave you cr ying of laughter.

The cast of Artifice coincidental ly had two people per grade. Freshmen Evelyn Car rol l and Maya Pedalino played Emma and Judith Fontaine, r espectively. Sophomores Jul ian Garcia and Miguel Ramirez were Trent and Payne Showers. Junior s Per r y Zavetz and Jaw n Julian played Maggie La Rue and Richard. And lastly, the senior s. Lisbeth Burgos, seasoned actr ess played Graciela, and Chr is Cottone, in his f i r st on-stage role, played Mick Fi tzgerald.

The magic of the senior production is that, albei t intense, i t?s a time of oppor tuni ty in the theater company. People who have never been on stage make their debuts. People who have never gotten a big role have their breakout. People who never had the time in their schedule for theater get to par ticipate. But above al l , ?The senior production is the time for the President and Vice President to incorporate al l they learned throughout their theater career into their ow n work,? says President Malashia Car ter , summar izing the bi tter sweet end to her and Jul ia?s high school theater careers.

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SENIOR PRODUCTION: ARTIFICE

Alexandra Asack '20

Happy June! A lot of us think that June is impor tant because i t?s the last month of school or the month when we leave for vacation, but for many people, June has a deeper meaning because i t is off icial ly LGBT Pr ide Month. LGBT individuals celebrate Pr ide Month by going to Pr ide Parades or by celebrating pr ivately, but no matter how you celebrate, i t?s impor tant to learn about the r ich histor y behind the impor tant month.

Pr ide month was f i r st off icial ly celebrated by Rodney Wilson, a Missour i high school teacher , who chose October as the month of celebration. Although Pr ide month is now obser ved in June, National Coming Out Day, a day where many people f ind the str ength to come out of the closet, is sti l l celebrated on October 11th. Pr ide Month shi f ted on June 2nd, 2000 when President Bi l l Cl inton declared June ?Gay and Lesbian Pr ide Month? and in 2009, President Barack Obama changed the defini tion to include bisexual and tr ansgender individuals. Pr ide Month is celebrated in May to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Since i ts establishment, Pr ide Month has faced cr i tics who believe that the event is too obscene or that there is no need for Pr ide Month. People have even introduced topics of Str aight Pr ide Month and Straight Pr ide Parades. However , Pr ide Month is not merely an acknow ledgement of

existence but instead a celebration of overcoming persecution, and although LGBT visibi l i ty in media has been increased in r ecent years, 2017 was dubbed the deadliest year for LGBT people in r ecent histor y in the United States1[a]. Pr ide is a celebration of the r ight to exist proud and fr ee.

Around the school you may have noticed color ful r ainbows adorning the hallways and Keith

Har ing-inspir ed f igures bear ing statistics about LGBT people, par ticular ly teenagers. The beauti ful decorations can be accredi ted to our school?s LGBT+ organization that works hard to r epresent LGBT students and have open and honest discussions about what i t is l ike to be LGBT in the modern wor ld. One member of the LGBT+ club, Li ly Westbrook-Shingler , descr ibed what i t?s l ike to see our school celebrate Pr ide as ?a way to f ind r epresentation beyond visual media and a way to learn more about LGBT histor y through social media, informational poster s, and signs,? and she added that ?seeing these things in r eal l i fe is r eal ly empower ing and helps her f ind uni ty w ithin the community?. Sexuali ty and Gender are complicated and Pr ide is a beauti ful celebration of al l of the wonder ful intr icacies that can be found in l i fe. Celebrate Pr ide by donating to the Trevor Project or f inding ways to suppor t your local LGBT fr iends and classmates.

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What is Pride Month?

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ISSUE 4

By Hope Perry '20

The Law rence boys lacrosse team had an explosive in-conference season, w inning the Patr iot Division of the Colonial Valley Conference for the second year in a row and going undefeated in the division. Boys lacrosse was 10-9 on the season, but this year Coach Brennan wanted to toughen up the schedule by adding some challenging non-conference games to the schedule. ?We had another great year in-division and we are beginning to per form well out of conference w ith some big w ins against tough competi tion,? says junior Andrew Tziar r is-Over.

Leading the team in goals, Justin

Kr isak scored 70 goals this season and achieved 100 career goals in Apr i l . A junior , Kr isak says that ?Our team is ?family?, and I can?t think of any better way to descr ibe us this season. We worked hard to achieve the goals we had set for the season- one of which was w inning the CVC Patr iot Division again for the second consecutive year. As a team, we were able to achieve that goal by playing cohesively as a fami ly and holding one another accountable. I?m honored to have been able to do i t alongside each guy on this team.?

Junior Alex Everman led the team in assists (40), and sophomore Dylan Mor r is made 142 saves. With an 8-0 r ecord in-division and

several standout junior s r eturning for the 2020 season, including both Kr isak and Everman, the Law rence boys lacrosse team is l ikely to be a formidable for ce in the Patr iot Division again next year !

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Justin Krisak pictured above

BOYS LACROSSE: PATRIOT DIVISION CHAMPS AGAIN!

Charu Jain & Hope Perry '20

Over the course of the past year , LHS has seen a concerning r ise in student substance use. But the r eaction to these effects has been divided between students and staff . Our administr ation seems desperate to crack dow n upon this grow ing epidemic whi le students have watched in apathy and annoyance. But what is causing this disconnect between our view points? Why are students seemingly uncar ing of the effects of substance abuse whi le our administr ation is focusing what seems l ike the major i ty of their attention on this issue? Is this simply teenage rebell ion? Or is this

the beginning of a new generation of addicts? We took advantage of this unique moment to inter view teachers, former students, cur rent students who use, and cur rent students who do not use, in an effor t to gain a greater understanding in the exponential r ise in substance use and what is causing i t.

Whi le we did talk to our peers in our classes, we knew we had to go fur ther back to r eal ly examine the r easons for this seemingly sudden r ise in student use. So we contacted two former LHS students, a non-user and a user , from the classes of 2014 and 2017 respectively. Our non-user , who

we?ll r efer to as NU14, said that he has seen an increase in nicotine vape-products more so than mar i juana-based vapes over the course of his time in col lege. He told us that ?Vape didn?t exist [ in high school], i f i t did I never saw i t. [I star ted] seeing i t in sophomore year of col lege.? This is largely due to the fact that Juul was founded in 2017 and they are a major contr ibutor to teens gaining access to vapes. Our next inter view was w ith the user , U17, who had star ted w ith cigarettes in his ear ly teens and began vaping social ly w ith his fr iends devices in his senior year , the same time when Juul was founded.

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U17 got his ow n vape in his f i r st year of col lege and was hooked. However , he soon stopped using nicotine based vapes as he saw i t was harming his vocals, which made i t a necessi ty to stop due to his music major. When we asked U17 i f he thought the r ising substance abuse was a problem he emphatical ly stated, ?It?s 100% an issue that?s come back w ith a vengeance [but] can?t say I?m mad because I was a par t of i t.? U17 str essed the impor tance of providing students w ith the r esources and the help they need to stop, simply because addiction is a ser ious issue and ?w ithdrawal is a b**** .? Both of our col lege students saw a r ise in vape usage as they left high school, which suggests that this is an issue that w i l l not be going away anytime soon. Students who star t vaping in high school w i l l most l ikely continue to use and the stigma of using is drastical ly r educed in col lege, taking away the few dow nsides that students seem to r espond too. After seeing how this epidemic began, we turned to home to see just how deep vaping was embedded into our school.

We knew that we also needed to talk to our ow n classmates in order to gain w ider insight into the r ise of substance use here at LHS, so we inter viewed 4 cur rent junior s about their per spectives and personal exper iences.

Our f i r st student is a user who

we w i l l cal l UJ1, and they told us that they star ted vaping social ly the summer after their fr eshman year (2017). They told us that at 13 they began to occasionally smoke cigarettes, but sw itched to vapes

(mentioning Juuls speci f ical ly) because of how easy i t was to hide the product. Over their high school career , UJ1 told us that they also previously used THC( tetr ahydrocannabinol: the main psychoactive compound in mar i juana) and mar i juana i tself , and l iked getting high; however , after a whi le they decided to qui t, and they were able to stop easi ly, but that they were heavi ly addicted to nicotine. They even told us that they saw the effects of using on their appeti te, attention

span, and motivation, al l of which decreased. But these haven?t been a deter rent and when asked i f anything would make them stop, UJ1 said that i f ?juul ing? star ted to hur t their athletic per formance i t

would be motivation enough to stop. UJ1 also told us that they understand the effects of nicotine, but bel ieves that they w i l l outgrow i t, qui tting as they r each adulthood. When asked about the presentations that had been going on in the weeks pr ior to spr ing break, UJ1 laughed, ?The presentations don?t work because the people who are doing [i t] don?t care.?

Our second student is a user who we w i l l r efer to as UJ2. UJ2 told us that they star ted vaping in Apr i l 2018, when they were in a bad place mental ly and they weren?t aware of the r isks. Many of the students? fr iends were also vaping, and when UJ2 star ted, they said i t boosted their social posi tion and their

confidence. UJ2 did note that the ear l iest they noticed people vaping around them was in Januar y of 2018. UJ2 only uses nicotine (no THC), and says they are not addicted, and is not wor r ied when they r un out of Juul Pods. UJ2 said that they typical ly use once per day, and the drug presentation helped discourage their use, but also stated that they felt that the focus on vaping was overblow n and that per sonally they viewed alcohol abuse as a more ser ious and more prevalent issue.

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Art by: Jared Featherston


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Our next inter view was w ith UJ3 and was ver y simi lar to our inter view w ith UJ2, in the sense that they both use largely as an effect of their social l ives and to r elax. According to their exper ience, Juuls are commonplace at par ties and have quickly become a norm over that past two years. Unlike our two other subjects, UJ3 cur rently uses nicotine and THC. They knew of people who had been smoking since 7th grade and those same people simply sw itched over to vaping, which also occur red w ith UJ1. UJ3 also says that they aren?t addicted and feels l ike they could stop i f i t affected their physical health, ci ting their status as a three season athlete. However , UJ3 also discussed that whi le they were aware of the r isks and moderate to an extent, they wor r y about people they know who rely on the substances to the point of needing to smoke ever y per iod. They ended by saying that Juuls are our generation?s cigarettes, echoing our ow n sentiments, but then mentioned how they f igured they would grow out of vaping, cal l ing i t a phase, and cal l ing to our attention a dangerous tr end we kept hear ing.

Our next set of inter views were w ith our teachers, who have been f i r st-hand obser vers of this epidemic. The most troubling insight was how affected students have been since vaping has become popular. Students have no attention span and often don?t r eal ize just how dependent they are becoming, openly discussing their using in class. Ms. Ingram,

who teaches multiple classes of junior s and senior s, said that she obser ved a distinct spl i t between her AP and regular classes, saying that kids who str uggle academically star t to self-medicate by juul ing. She said her biggest fear was that juul ing is creating a new generation of kids who don?t r eal ize just how addicted they are. The backdrop of this focus on the r ise of drug use in LHS has been the non-using student populace, which includes the w r i ter s of this ar ticle and i t seems that our opinion on this matter has been succinctly summed up in our last inter view , ?As long as i t doesn?t affect me, I don?t r eal ly care.? This was said by our f inal peer inter view , NU1, when we talked to them about how they had obser ved the r ise of vaping in their fr iend group begin to use and the r ise of smoking social ly, where i t is most prevalent. In their per sonal exper ience they had seen people attempt to qui t w i th l i ttle success multiple times and they even commented about the use of other popular drugs, such as LSD and prescr iption drugs l ike Xanax.

The apathetic atti tude NU1 has may seem harsh, but i t?s an atti tude shared by the major i ty of students. The student culture has cultivated a stance that students don?t need to be involved in each other?s l i fe choices, how others choose to spend their time is up to them. Despite that, almost ever y student we talked to r eferenced people they knew who they wor r ied about due to their r el iance on the drugs and the seemingly f ixed si tuation they were in.

Vaping has r evived a dying consumer base, creating a new generation of kids who are addicted to nicotine, just in time as cigarette consumption was at an al l time low w ith our generation. Vapes such as Juuls make smoking discreet and clean, the f lavored smoke has no connection to the distinct cigarette smoke that was one of the greatest turn-offs for our demographic. The National Insti tute of Health r eleased the statistic that 37.3% of high school senior s in 2018 said they had vaped at least once, compared to 27% in 2017.

Our school has done an effective job of educating students on what happens i f students are caught w ith drugs and how said drugs are harmful, but students who are addicted w i l l stay addicted. In order to see how our school was tackl ing this issue, we talked dir ectly w ith Ms. Fischer and Ms. DeGennaro, who head the school?s ini tiative in drug prevention, CORE.


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We visi ted Ms. DeGennaro, other w ise know n as Ms. D or ?Drug Lady?, in ear ly June and talked about what the issue looked l ike on their side. Despite our previous inter views, we were left shocked about the extent of addiction and the emerging tr ends. A chronic use of weed is defined as using 3x a week. 3 times per week. Some of our previous inter viewees used ever y per iod at the height of their addiction and users can sometimes go through a pod a day. A r ise in mar i juana use has been obser ved in almost ever y school as this tr end is not isolated to LHS. The inf luxes in substance abuse can be tr aced back to i ts prevalence in social media and the discreteness of vaping. Students aren?t getting caught, which just emboldens their use. But according to Ms. D, the greatest danger is students? lack of understanding about the damage mar i juana use can do to the brain.

One of the most r ecent examples is the emerging connection between excessive mar i juana and ear ly onset schizophrenia. Now , mar i juana on i t?s ow n cannot cause schizophrenia, but i t can double the r isk of teenagers who are susceptible to the disorder , speci f ical ly teenagers who have mental health issues or are genetical ly predisposed to schizophrenia. Whi le this may seem l ike a r ed her r ing, most students who use are using to self medicate for mental health issues and they are the biggest addicts. The students who gravi tate towards abusing drugs are exactly the people at the greatest r isk for

the most harmful effects.

But even beyond the physiological problems that are connected to substance use, talking to Ms. D i l lustr ated how helping students w ith their addiction meets insti tutional problems as well . Treatment center s for mar i juana use are seldom found and often students feel that the center s are too ser ious for their problems, especial ly when faced w ith cocaine and heroin addiction.

But mar i juana use is a ser ious problem as 80% of those enrol led into in patient houses are being tr eated for mar i juana addiction. Students addicted to weed typical ly display psychological effects such as lack of motivation and apathetic

atti tude towards their presentation and grades, whi le the w ithdrawal symptoms can manifest as insomnia, loss of appeti te, and stomach cramps. These factor s help students hide their addiction as they are not as violent changes as w ith harder drugs, but i t is leading to more and more users becoming high functioning addicts. The population of students who use has star ted to cross al l social l ines, creating cluster s of addicts, most of whom are using to self-medicate their str ess, anxiety, depression, and ever ything else.

To close out our investigation sur rounding the perception of substance abuse here at the high school, we inter viewed one of the vice pr incipals, Ms. Fischer. Ms. Fischer str essed the fact that the administr ation's view of substance abuse at the school, especial ly sur rounding vaping, is focused on prevention and education. We were both surpr ised to learn of the extent of the administr ation?s involvement in the issue. The distr ict has a CORE team w ith the intent of educating students about the dangers of substance abuse, preventing use, and helping to dir ect students w ith addiction towards help. CORE helps br ing grants, programs, and speakers to the distr ict to educate students, parents, or staff . For example, next year , the CORE team w i l l be br inging a new program into senior health classes, cal led ?Not Even Once?, which is a program that par tner s w ith local pol ice and recover ing addicts to educate students about opioid addiction.


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Ms. Fischer also emphasized that Law rence is ahead of the cur ve in tr ying to combat vaping at the school; many schools have had no preventative education for parents or students, and Law rence has alr eady had both over the course of just this school year. She also said that the administr ation is working towards measures that give students a r eason not to use; since so much of vaping is based on social pressures, by giving students an excuse to say ?No?, they hope to curb drug use. Ms. Fischer was also adamant that the school is looking to help students, w i th the goal of stopping the behavior r ather than punishing i t. For instance, students who are suspended for substance abuse are actually sent to a r ehabi l i tation center r ather than just si tting at home. Final ly, to those str uggling w ith an addiction, she tel ls students to go to guidance and speak to any guidance counselor (whoever you are comfor table w ith- not necessar i ly your ow n

counselor ) just to talk or to ask for other options.

Over the course of our r esearch for this ar ticle, we were surpr ised by the administr ation?s atti tude towards substance abuse. As students, we do not know the r easoning behind many of the administr ation's decisions, and often question the policies. However , speaking w ith adults dur ing our r esearch helped us to better understand that the administr ation is not combating substance abuse w ith solely punitive measures. I f we had not conducted inter views w ith adults in the bui lding, we never would have discovered their atti tudes w ith r egard to the discipl inar y policies r elated to vaping and substance abuse. This miscommunication and lack of tr ansparency has caused many students to feel as though the administr ation is ?hunting? those who use, making i t more di f f icult for str uggling addicts to seek help. After our inter views, we have

discovered that this is clear ly not the case, but i t is discouraging that the gap between the actual pol icies of the administr ation and the students? perception is so w ide that i t foster s distr ust. But drug use among teens has always been a problem, and as long as students seek i t out, i t w i l l continue to be a problem.

When we asked Ms. Fischer about vaping speci f ical ly, she told us that she star ted to notice use in school just two years ago, noting that the small nature of the devices makes i t easier for students to hide them and use them dur ing the day. Law rence is not alone, however ; al l schools in New Jersey have exper ienced a simi lar level of increase of vaping in schools, especial ly over the past year. She told us that one of the biggest concerns w ith vaping is that addiction can happen faster ; the vapes are r elatively accessible, and as students begin to use at an increasingly younger age, addiction takes root sooner.

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Keep yourself posted for these UPCOMING EVENTS!

June 20:

Class of 2019

Gr aduat ion!

June 21:

LAST DAY OF

SCHOOL!! !

ISSUE 4ISSUE 4

A VERY Special thanks to

those who cont r i buted to

our FOURTH i ssue:

ISSUE 1

Writers:Alex Asack

Chloe Asack

Elizabeth Claros

Jack Granahan

Sophie Gregowski

John Iledan

Charu Jain

Sarah Mah

Hope Perry

Samantha Staub

Aluen Tomat-Kelly

Photographers:Alex Asack

Chloe Asack

Elizabeth Claros

Stephanie Luo

Sarah Mah

Esha Rao

Samantha Staub

Artists:Jared Featherston

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ISSUE 1

Chief Edi tor : Charu Jain keeps the Law rencian r unning smoothly and helps edi t ar ticles to get them ready for publishing.

Secr etar y: Amrutha Sr idhar keeps up w ith deadlines, takes notes dur ing meetings, and communicates w ith w r i ter s about upcoming events.

Layout Edi tor s: Sarah Mah and Rohan Vanapar thi (assistant to layout edi tor ) create the f inished product of the Law rencian by styl ing and formatting each page of the newspaper.

Ar t Manager : Stephanie Luo dir ects the ar t and is in charge of r eview ing ar t for or iginal i ty and providing feedback to ar tists before they are published.

Ar t i cle Edi tor : Hope Per r y r eads through each ar ticle and provides feedback to w r i ter s in order to help them reach their ful l potential before publishing.

Publ i c Relat i ons: Saloni Sharma is in charge of making the public aware of the Law rencian and handling al l social media accounts. (Follow us on Instagram @LHS_Law rencian !)

Ms. Ell iott, Club Advisor

Charu Jain

Amrutha Sr idhar

Sarah Mah Rohan Vanapar thi

Stephanie Luo

Hope Per r y

A Note Fr om the Chief Edi tor , Char u Jain :We at the Law rencian want to showcase the capabi l i ty of LHS and Law rence community when we come together. This issue highl ights some of the great things our school has done as well as matter s of impor tance to LHS. Enjoy the issue!

ISSUE 4

Saloni Sharma

t he l awrencian 2019-06-18.pdfdancing, the wiz, risky business, ferris bueller's day off, back...

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