September 8, 2013
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 the 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 that 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 will be 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.’”
Zia Kelly 