The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

The student-run news site of Lawrence Free State High School

Free Press Online

Reaction to 50 Most Influential

Dear Free State Free Press,

Although I am usually quite impressed by the school newspapers and look forward to reading each one due to the relevant and interesting topics, the variety of opinions and characters, and the undisputed talent of the Free State students, I have to say I was rather disappointed with May’s issue. While the idea of recognizing outstanding students for a medley of different reasons is quite commendable, the way the newspaper presented it is less an ideal, in my opinion.

I think the selection of the featured students was unprofessional. As far as I know, there was no way for the student body to vote or suggest people to be featured; if there was, no one, including myself, that I know of had heard anything about it. Had the student body been able to have a say in who was to be presented in the paper, I feel that the consensus would be quite different. I think that this resembles the typical high school popularity contest, and while it had people other than the mundane “jock and cheerleader” standard I still hold the opinion that the people chosen were chosen for reasons other than purely what was in the text.

I was extremely disappointed to find that these stories were the only content in the paper this month. It’s the last month of school, I expected some magnificent last words from the Free Press, but I was left with story after story about “most influential” students at the school? There are so many hot-button topics coming about now, and the past issues about the legal rights debate and the gender/sex debates were so interesting! I think that so many students, especially the seniors, would have loved to read something other than a dozen stories about students in the school.

Well here we are, at the end of my tangent. I appreciate the time that went into reading this letter, and I hope that my words are taken into consideration and that my name isn’t recorded into the school’s Burn Book with a caption reading “Molly Weisgrau – she’s almost too critical to function.” I had an unusually burning desire to voice my opinion about the paper this month, and I figured what better way than to write into the source itself? I wish all the Free Press staff a happy summer, and the seniors good luck. The paper possesses an exorbitantly talented group of students that will go far in their journalism careers.

 

Sincerely,

Molly Weisgrau, sophomore

 

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