NEWS LITERACY

At the core of good journalism lies discomfort. If no journalist was uncomfortable, there would be no good journalism. Through my three years on newspaper I have had my fair share of discomfort. From hearing a student's stories regarding sexual assault to publishing factual content that shows the not as nice side of a principal, my discomfort has led to more a more in-depth story to tell. Complacency and comfort go hand-in-hand, and no good journalist should be complacent.

Voices of Courage

Voices of Courage was a story written by story editor Brooklyn Dilley and published in the Nov/Dec 2018 issue. We talked and struggled for a long time trying to find sources for this story. The in-depth feature was about sexual assault and the #metoo movement. As editor-in-chief, I took it upon myself to find the source we needed. I talked with multiple peers until hearing the story of an alumnus. After multiple attempts to set up the interview, I booked it. Sitting there in awe, the alumnus poured out their story of being sexually assaulted. Through tears I continued my questions. The hurt in their voice was something much deeper than words on a paper. While impactful, this interview was one of the most uncomfortable. This past student was willing to tell me their story for what it is. This interview ended up bringing the story together in a new and impactful way. From request of the alumnus, they remained anonymous. Below are some excerpts from the story.

"The Johnston graduate’s boyfriend had just broken up with her. Emotionally vulnerable, she went to hang out with a friend, not knowing that they had two very different ideas of what that meant. In the middle of talking, he began to touch her. The college student immediately began refusing, telling him, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ But he didn’t care. Pushing her down, he forced her to perform oral sex on him. This was the student’s third time being sexually assaulted. She left afterwards, knowing she would have to deal with the lasting effects her experiences would have on her."

“I think that that happening has definitely affected how sexually active I’ve been my whole life, because I’m scared of it happening again,” the student said. “I definitely feel like I don’t talk to men as much as I used to. When I walk anywhere, by myself, even in daylight on campus, I am afraid of what a guy will say to me, or if he’ll look at me a certain way. I was, recently, in the parking lot of my apartment, I got catcalled. And that made it even worse, because I was like, I can’t go anywhere. Not even the parking lot of my own home, and not be bothered by a guy who thinks it’s his job to objectify me. So I’m very wary of going anywhere and seeing a man. Because I don’t know if he’s a decent human being or not.”

“I guess I haven’t really coped,” the student said. “I still, I just told my mom about it, and it happened like a year ago. And I just told my mom about it, because I didn’t want to tell her. Cause when it happens, you’re like embarrassed about it. Like you don’t want to tell people, because it feels like you’ve done something wrong. But just starting to tell people about it, that kind of is a way of coping, just to actually be open about, ‘that happened to me.’"

“First of all, people are like, ‘you shouldn’t have been drinking,’” the student said. “Well, maybe he shouldn’t have raped me. There’s plenty of people who drink and don’t get raped because of it. That’s not valid to just say, you shouldn’t have been drinking because then you wouldn’t have been raped. Maybe that’s the case, but I wouldn’t have been raped if somebody didn’t rape me.”

“You’re not the only person that this has happened to,” the student said. “And that’s not to make it less of a big deal, it’s just like a solidarity kind of thing. Like this has happened to other people, and other people know how you’re feeling. And there will come a time when you will feel comfortable to tell somebody. And it might not be very soon, but it will happen eventually, and that is the most relieving thing ever.”

Teacher not Preacher

Teacher not preacher was a difficult piece to publish. Not only was I writing to opposition to the school, but the general student body. Due to this, I knew I had to have solid sources. While brainstorming about the topic, a past editor brought up the creation of "Atheist club." The club was created by Alumnus Carly Campbell '16. The past student council president created the club for non-religious students to gather. However, in the process she encountered side comments and negativity from the administration.

“When I went in to get my club approved by the principal, who was Mr. Riessen at the time, he made a comment when asking me questions about the club “I’m just playing devil’s advocate, no pun intended,” Campbell said. “Which made it clear how little people in Johnston knew about religions other than their own.”

Along with diverse sources I spent multiple class periods searching through the school's handbook. Eventually I found that the school's reasoning of not hosting events on Wednesdays is to "keep good community relations."

Along with these sources I asked a student, the student council teacher sponsor, and the catalyst teacher sponsor (student led worship group) in order to provide the most information and clarity for my opinion.

Below are a few news briefs with first person accounts from the events. It is always preferred to have students involved speaking, either to add information or stories.

Students showcase their skills at senior challenge

The large gym was full of shouts and laughter as senior challenge took place May 3. Senior Challenge is an opportunity for seniors to participate in nine Minute to Win it style games. There were 24 teams of 12 seniors, including a teacher sponsor. The navy team, sponsored by teacher Michael Sciurba, were the winners of the competition.

Senior Challenge is put on by Student Council, with Kylie Dishman ’18 as the head of the committee. “It’s suppose to be a fun thing right before prom and it’s nice because if you didn’t get into Rock Around the Clock and you’re a senior, this is like a second chance,” Dishman said.

All proceeds raised from senior challenge go towards the senior leadership scholarship.

Rugby team secures second place

On May 1 the rugby team Placed second in a tournament consisting of ten Iowa teams. The team lost to Southeast Polk in overtime, after beating Roosevelt and Valley. JV teams from all over the state came to participate. Coached by Dave Oldham, the team is made up of 23 juniors and seniors.

The team will compete May 12 at the sub-state tournament. Their placing at the tournament will determine if they compete at the state tournament. “I don’t care if we win or lose,” Oldham said. “I just want the kids to have a good time and a positive experience and typically when we win the kids have a more positive experience.”

The team practices twice a week for one and a half hours. Oldham hopes the program grows in the following years. His goal is to have enough athletes to create a varsity and JV team.

Johnston qualifies numerous students to nationals

Twenty-five students competed at the National History Day (NHD) regional competition April 8, 10 of which qualified for the national competition in Washington D.C. NHD allows students to compete through many different medias such as websites or presentations.

Allie Tubbs ‘19 has qualified for nationals five years in a row. She competed in senior individual performance. “The experience at Nationals is unlike any other,” Tubbs said. “You get to meet so many amazing people as well as learn the stories of many inspiring heroes.”

Tubbs’ topic is Fannie Lou Hamer. Hamer was a civil rights activists who pushed for voting equality. “I love to share the story of hidden heroes and cannot wait to tell everybody the story of Fannie Lou Hamer at Nationals,” Tubbs said.

A sophomore group consisting of Obsee Abbajabal, Marianne Aldrich, Angela Cai, Lauren Fergus and Parul Srivastava competed in senior group website. Last year Abba Jabal, Fergus and Srivastava all qualified and went to nationals. This will be Aldrich and Cai’s first time competing at nationals.

The group’s topic is the Native American occupation of Alcatraz. Aldrich talked about her reaction to qualifying for nationals. “We were all very excited about it,” Aldrich said. “We were very confident about what we did. We worked on it really hard and it looked really good. I definitely think we earned it though.”

An all-junior group will also be going to Washington D.C. to compete. The group is made up by Isla Chowanec, Meredith McDonald, Gwynna Miner and Natalie Voss. This group qualified in senior group exhibit. The group presented information on the Velvet Revolution. This will be their second time going to nationals. Madison Gregurek ‘18, also recieved the Jim Wengert Award for Labor History.