Soon-to-be grads share high school memories

Lawrence and Free State seniors will pick up high school diplomas Sunday having survived risque fashion, embarrassing gaffes, dates from hell — and a few classroom tormentors.

Graduation practices Thursday at Allen Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium gave students an opportunity to reminisce about high school.

Kyle O’Neal, a member of the 2003 class at Free State, said his most humbling moment occurred at the school’s annual variety show. He was belting out “Summer Nights” from “Grease” when two women in the audience began laughing and pointing at his midsection.

“I had a quick costume change, and I forgot to zip my fly,” he said. “It was soooo open.”

LHS senior Deondria Smith said an otherwise-routine pep rally in the gym provided a moment that still can bring a smile to her face.

“One of the cheerleaders moved a little too quick, and a hair attachment flew off. That animal was just lying on the floor,” she said.

The dating game

Dating produced unforgettable moments for Daniel Ellsworth of LHS and Nicole Berry of Free State.

Ellsworth said he remained troubled by a “crazy” date with a Free State student.

“She was clingy and obsessive,” Ellsworth said. “She put graffiti on everybody’s car.”

Senior members of the Lawrence High School A Cappella Choir, from left, Bryce Wilson, Brandon Bowman, Caitlin Welch, Shelby Shurtz, Dyana Lawrence, Alessa McCoy and Lieke van de Liefvoort, perform the school's alma mater during a rehearsal of their commencement ceremony in Allen Fieldhouse. The LHS ceremony is at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Berry said she made the mistake of going out with a guy who brought a female “friend” along. The trio went to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and then out for Chinese food, which Berry doesn’t like.

Lesson learned: “He wasn’t cool.”

Suggestion box

Students were flush with ideas for reforming high school.

Here’s a sample:

  • Jamie Netzer of Free State would ban really short skirts. “It’s intense at Free State,” she said. “It’s too much.”
  • LHS’ Con Walsh would drop a policy that requires students missing more than nine days of a class to be eligible only for a D, F or credit.

“As long as I pass all the tests, I don’t see why you have to be there every day,” he said.

    Free State High School seniors Stephanie Batten, left, and Devon Bireta perform The

  • Free State’s Hanna Bernhardt would make seminar class optional. Students need a block of time each day to skip out of school, she said.
  • Bianca Babcock, who is graduating from LHS but also attended Free State, said she’d get more natural light into the newer high school.

“When I went to Lawrence High I was in shock,” she said. “They had windows.”

  • Katie Burgess, who graduates with Free State students but went to Lawrence Alternative High School for two years, said voters of Lawrence should approve a bond issue that pays for a new building for LAHS students.
    • The Lawrence school district will conduct high school graduation ceremonies Sunday in Memorial Stadium at Kansas University.The Lawrence High School program begins at 1 p.m. Free State High School’s is at 4 p.m.In the event of bad weather, commencement ceremonies will move to KU’s Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Kyle Berthold of Free State would eliminate the U.S. history class taught by Jama Crady.

“We watched movies and did work sheets. You don’t learn anything,” he said.

“He was too harsh,” she said. “I was offended.”

Real laughers

Many students said they walked away from high school with a memory book of experiences certain to make them laugh years from now.

LHS senior Sampson Yimer reveled in being crowned king at Winter Court, especially because a tie in voting resulted in two queens.

“It’s good to be king,” he said.

Adam Guinn of Free State won’t forget prom at Liberty Hall.

“We sat by the punch bowl, and we got to watch people spike it three or four times,” he said. “They kept coming.”

And Michelle Ratcliff of LHS said three years of wacky conversations at lunch was instructive on 1,000 varied topics. The group’s nose-to-nose debates and uncontrolled laughter sometimes drew attention of lunch monitors, including Associate Principal Tammy Heenan.

“We were laughing so hard one day she asked, ‘Do you need to go see a nurse?’ She was serious. It’s been a yearlong joke.”