NOCTILUCA June 2016

FEATURES Appleton, Wisconsin June 2016 Vol. XXI Page 5 North seniors reflect on commencement speeches By Rachel Flom With graduation just Issue III

and I go to school here, and everything that I’ve gone through the last four years is something that a lot of us will be going through when we all leave for college. N: Did you have difficul- ties in writing your speech? F: I did not know what to say. In the end, I only knew three things: I would not act as if I knew every member of my class and that we all shared the same high school experience, I wanted the whole audience to understand that they weren’t just stuck as who they were at that time in the gym, and I did not want my speech to be about me. P: I did want the speech to originally be called “The Most Important Thing I Learned in High School Was How to Center a Ball of Clay,” but I knew no one would un- derstand what I was talking about so I changed it to the one I have now. It was about how to center a ball of clay; you need immense amounts of patience and you can’t get worked up over something that seems easy but isn’t be- cause not everything’s going to be easy. I’m going to prac- tice my speech a lot because I really don’t want to screw up in front of everybody.

L: I knew the message that I wanted to deliver but I just had a very difficult time put- ting it into words. N: What do you hope the senior class takes away from your speech? F: All I hope people take away from my speech is a sense of self-worth. Going forward, this is so important. P: Just know to chill out. We’ve made it this far and it’s been rough, but we did it. I’ve

P: It’s about fear and how it really inhibits us from doing what we want to do. Some- times I think that I wrote this speech as a letter to myself as a way to just say, “It’s all going to be okay.” It’s about not being afraid. We live in a

at self-promotion, nor an un- checked box on a bucket list of things I wanted to do be- fore I left high school. I just had this weird, fervent urge to say one more thing to a group of people who would likely never all come together again (at least not as the people we currently are). Painton: There’s a lot of kids at our school that are in a sport or are really good at drama, and I thought that if I just got up there, I would be speaking not just to kids that are in a sport or that are good at drama. I’m not a kid who takes a million AP classes and I’m not in a varsity sport and I think that I have something to say that could relate to a lot of people, so that’s why. Lumba: Based off of my experience in high school and with my time being here, I figure that I have a message of value to deliver to the class. That’s really why I ran to be a speaker. N: Would you be willing to hint as to what your speech will be about? F: While I do not want to give too much away, my speech does involve food, and does not include the normal level of sarcasm that graces my normal conversations. one to show that everyone is important. Another thing that was done for Words Hurt Week was Students were asked to write positive messages they had to say. These were then placed in the main hallway near student services. Colored Post-its were placed with the student-made Post-its to form the phrase “Be The Change!” Posters were also placed around the school giving ba- sic information on Words Hurt Week. Alliance also plans on put- ting posters up in teachers’ classrooms about anti bullying to end bullying in the class- room, which will be up all year. Senior Rachel Flom, an officer of Alliance, explained the posters were a way to show that “Bullying doesn’t just end on a Friday.” Along with the items being sold during lunch hours, there was a pledge to participate in the Day of Silence. Day of Si- lence is a day to bring aware- ness to the effects of verbal abuse on the LGBTQ+ com- munity. The pledge taken by students was an attempt to stay

around the corner, students and staff have been doing some final preparations for the graduation ceremony that will take place on June 2. In- cluded in those preparations is finalizing the commence- ment speeches that students have written for the cere- mony. Seniors Payton Fors, Mervin Lumba, and Elise Painton have provided some insight about their speeches, graduation, and hopes for the future: The Noctiluca: Why did you decide to become a com-

generation where there is a lot of fear about our future, but it’s important to realize that there’s so much that you can’t control, and the only thing you really can control is what you do right now. L: It’s a very general mes- sage that I feel like is ap- plicable to the entire senior class. Basically, I am A Bet- ter Chance student, so I came here from New York to Ap- pleton for a better education, so I’m away from my family Senior Mervin Lumba

Senior Elise Painton

had a few regrets, like not branching out and meeting new people, and I hope the speech kind of inspires people to just go for it. L: I don’t want to give too much away, but just make sure to stay tuned, don’t fall asleep, and you’ll definitely learn something. ton North definitely benefited from this week.” Freshman Adison Cole also shared her thoughts on the subject. “I think that the week went better than I thought it would.” Mrs. Strick, the social worker at Appleton North and adviser of the Gay-Straight Alliance, said “I thought that Words Hurt Week was very successful. There were tons of ideas they wanted to do, but we funneled it down and kept it simple and positive. That’s what we really wanted to focus on since there was so much to be covered.” Sofia Voet stated: “I think events like Words Hurt Week and Day of Silence are ex- tremely important in high school…I think a lot of the time we just think that bul- lying ends in high school be- cause we are more ‘mature’ or we are more aware of what it is, but people still continue to use inappropriate words to describe people who look or feel ‘different’ from they are. Sticks and stones may break bones but words do hurt peo- ple."

Senior Payton Fors

mencement speaker?

Fors: The decision to write a graduation speech wasn’t some last ditch effort

Alliance fights bullying through Words Hurt Week In April, Appleton North By Jake Zajkowksi

participated in Words Hurt Week. It was a week to raise awareness about bullying and its effect on the student body as a whole, as well as on indi- vidual students. The event was hosted by Alliance; its members work- ing tirelessly to make it as impactful as possible. Along with Words Hurt Week, that Friday was Day of Silence and Night of Noise. The week of positive words ended in si- lence showing how powerful words can really be. The club sold products dur- ing lunch hours in the com- mons like T-shirts, wristbands and ribbons, along with infor- mational sheets about Words Hurt Week and Day of Silence for the entire week. One activity that was very noticeable was the positive sticky notes on every locker of Appleton North. These were not just limited to student lockers, however. The Post-its were put on the doors of all the faculty members’ offices and on the bathroom mirrors. Alliance wanted the positive messages to be seen by every-

Alliance held their first ever Words Hurt Week in mid-April. Photo by Maddie Clark

silent for the entire school day. This silence represents those in the LGBTQ+ community who do not feel like they have voices because of the effects of harmful words. The pledge however is fo- cused on the attempt to stay quiet and not a strict rule of si- lence. “We wanted it to be in- formal so that everyone could do it rather than having it be strict and not get as much sup- port,” explained Flom. Later on that Friday was Night of Noise. This is where many come together to share their stories and find friends, make connections and emo- tionally recover after Day of

Silence. “It’s a very powerful event that helps rejuvenate people after the day,” Flom said. Members of the North Community reflect on their “Bullying doesn’t just end on a Friday.” own experiences with the week. Junior Aavid Jahnke said: “I believe that Words Hurt Week and Day Of Silence was a very helpful and very needed week. So many peo- ple asked questions and got to learn about the LGBTQ+ community. I feel like Apple-