The first week of school is a whirlwind for
incoming freshmen. However, for the majority of the
student body, it’s just another year of school.
A culture of upperclassmen superiority is heavily
associated with the high school experience, but
some older students work to bridge that gap.
“The purpose of LINK Crew is to make connections
between incoming students and the school and
also the other students,” LINK Crew sponsor Diane
Ash said.
The LINK program was first established in
California, where a former teacher saw it and opted
to establish a chapter at LHS. The club has grown
over the years, and this years LINK Crew includes
118 juniors and seniors.
Junior Joo Young Lee joined LINK crew for her
first year to help adjust the underclassmen.
“I wanted to meet as many freshmen as possible,
and I wanted to be able to share my experiences
as an underclassmen and as a student at LHS,” Lee
said.
Lee observed that the new class was very timid
and nervous, but she found ways to reach out to
them and make them feel more comfortable.
Upon meeting freshmen, junior Courtney Nottingham
recalled the pressures of being the new kid.
“I forgot how nerve wracking being a freshman
can be. Finding your way around a new school and
meeting new people is hard,” Nottingham said.
According to Ash, the sponsors of the club look
for leaders who will be approachable to underclassmen
to make them feel welcome.
“We choose LINK leaders so that new students
feel comfortable asking at least a few older students
for help” Ash said.
While a large number of upperclassmen devoted
time and energy to making the freshmen feel welcome,
some upperclassmen feel differently about the
new class.
Mention of the freshmen class will set off a
stream of loud complaints from some upperclassmen.
Shouts like “they are too immature” and “they
don’t know anything” ring off.
“Because they are … kids that don’t listen” junior
John Jacobs said.
Not all of the upperclassmen look at the freshmen
in such a negative way. Though he hadn’t
talked to any of the freshmen class this year, senior
Sean Bowen had nothing negative to say about them.
“They seem quieter than last year’s freshmen” he
said. He did however advise the class to pull a better
prank their senior year.
Even though they didn’t join LINK Crew, some
upperclassmen have become fond of the freshmen
class.
“This year’s freshman class is definitely an
interesting one. There are a lot of familiar faces that
I have seen from around town and football and
everything,” Senior Kieran Severa said. “There are
definitely some weird people coming in with this
class, but I think that is what Lawrence High is all
about, and it has a diverse group of people. It’s good
to see new faces.”
This year, the LINK Crew sponsors tried something
new to get a point across to the leaders. When
the crew members arrived at summer training, all
of the sponsors had buttons of their freshmen year
school pictures for everyone to see.
“We were trying to get across to leaders that we
are all the same,” Ash said. “We all have our fears
and anxieties and insecurities, and some of us may
look more attractive according to student standards,
or dress more in line with what the ‘popular’ people
might be wearing, but inside everyone of those
students is someone that deserves the chance to connect
to their new school.”
“With LINK crew, you are able to see that aspect
of being new and not knowing anything and trying
to make new friends,” Nottingham said.
While each student comes to LHS with different
experiences and outlooks on their schooling, many
have had a fairly easy time adjusting to high school.
Freshmen Charlie Carr Credits the LINK crew
and other helpful upperclassmen for helping him
find his classes and learn more about his new
school.
He hasn’t seen any harassment toward the
younger students.
“I think seniority here is huge,” Carr said. “I
think they like messing with the freshmen here, but
it’s all good. It’s all just for fun.”
The school year is the third year that freshmen
have been in the high school building. While a lot
has changed since the younger class joined, upperclassmen
have become more accepting as the years
have gone by.
“The first year they came I definitely witnessed
some resentment from the upperclassmen against
the freshman, as if it was their fault that we no longer
had seminar,” Ash said. “However, as time goes
on people don’t relate to that anymore, now it truly
feels like when they come in, there is no big dividing
line. It’s more like, ‘Welcome, you’re Lions too. We’re
happy to have you.’”
Graphic by Matt Roe
2013-2014
475 ninth-graders
2012-2013
395 ninth-graders
2011-2012
342 ninth-graders
2010-2011
408 ninth-graders
Size of freshmen classes