#school paper

All my paper from semester one.

These are two separate piles

Almost every paper has at least one stick figure

I am a writer for my school paper and the section I work on is based on health

Could you guys give me different health topics to discuss or that you guys want to learn more about?

I will also put my writings on my blog so you guys can read them also.

Thank you!!

Disabled people were first thought to be cursed by witches, possessed by demons, or punished by god because they or their parents had sinned. Sometime around the 16th century asylums for mentally “retarded” people opened and became popular. Patients were severely abused, in 1927 Virginia a law was passed that allowed sterilization of disabled people so that the disability would not be passed on. Electroshock therapy and ice baths were common, as well as almost always being restrained. Physically disabled people were grouped in housing with criminals and beggars, left to die of starvation with their inability to find work. During the 1980s the United States started shutting asylums down, and by 2015 no large ones remained.

Although asylums have been shut down in many places and people with disabilities are far more understood, ableism is still a large issue in society. Some people are unwilling to learn about disabilities, which carry on into their next of kin, while others purposely ignore or disregard the fact that someone is disabled. Finding a job can be challenging, as discrimination is still very common, and if someone is different it could lessen the chance of being hired. Other examples are not offering accommodations, such as lack of communication options for deaf or blind people, or refusal to assist students.

(Part 1 of 3, mostly set up but more to come soon!)

It made no sense to the rest of the college paper editorial board when one of their most active members, Maxwell, dropped off the radar over the summer. Especially when he insisted he was onto a huge scoop, the supposed dark explaination for the sudden expansion of the athletic department. It was true that just a few years ago this school was very academic focused. Yes with football, soccer, lacrosse, and whatnot offered to students but it was far more well known for its theater club and debate teams. That was until Coach Winters suddenly became employed there. A renowned high school coach moving up to the college level. Odd wasn't it for him to not go for a more academically oriented university. He surely would have had his pick from among those. After his employment suddenly there was a lot more student interest in athletics and the department grew and as they ranked in regionals the department got more funding. The school invested in a new Student Athletics Center, or the SAC as the jocks jokingly called it. And yes the increase in funding was at the detriment of other departments and clubs. Maxwell was sure there was something shadey about it and that the revelation would blow the lid on some illegal dealings Coach was involved in and restore the college to a respectable academic institution.

While the rest of the editorial board had doubts it was anything more than the publicity of a well known coach attracting more athletes to the college they had learned by now not to underestimate Maxwell's gut feelings. He was right about the school accepting money from wealthy families to guaruntee good grades for their children. He was right about the previous funding cut being about the president wanting a higher pay. He was right about the head of the art department advertising student works as her own. He was right about...well you get the point. So the odds he was right about there being something fishy about Coach Winters, was pretty high. While they wouldn't be involved in the investigation actively, opting to focus on more mundane stories, they let Maxwell do his thing. However it was rather unusual for him to give no updates for the whole summer. Even if it was a 'dang I got nothing maybe I was wrong' or something, anything. They tried his cell phone, nothing, texts and emails also went unanswered. It was all very odd.

The school year started and in the first week there was a club fair. The college paper had a table of course. But the fair was near the football fields and while the the team was practicing Paul, the president of the editorial board, noticed one of the guys on the field looked a lot like Maxwell. Granted that short jock cut looked nothing like how he would style his hair and he looked a lot more muscular. The look on his face was dull. Paul rushed over confused. "Maxwell! Maxwell what happened over summer? You dropped off the radar" he called getting closer while the now bigger Maxwell gave him a dumb look.

"The fuck bro? My names Max, what kinda nerdy name is Maxwell?" His voice was a lot deeper and the way he talked was so dumb.

"What happened to you?" Paul asked confused.

"I stopped being a little bitch" Max chuckled.

"We did you find anything out?"

"Bout what bro?"

"About the athletic department! Coach Winters! You don't remember your investigation?" Paul was confused and a little scared as Max just chuckled.

"Found out how to lift and eat right if thats what you mean bro. Coach is fucking awesome huhuh" he chuckled. Paul looked at Max's face, the dull grin, the empty look in his eyes. The meat head in front of Paul was a far cry from the beanpole journalism major that he had once known.

"Yo Max! Why you talkin to this loser?" One of the jocks shouted and Max shrugged and jogged off with them to continue practice. Paul returned to the paper's table at the club fair dejectedly. "Max was onto something. They did something to him" he said "and I'm gonna find out what" the others agreed. They had originally decided to stay out of Max's special project but this was too weird to ignore.

The next few days the investigation was on. It stared with interviewing the jocks on the various teams as well was the staff of the gym located in the SAC but kept getting the same answers.

"Coach is the best!"

"That new gear he ordered is the shit!"

"He made this school great!"

And so on. Very little implied there was anything dark or sinister going on. Coach Winters seemed like a man with connections to tech and sports gear companies who came in to save and revive a failing athletic department. In all honesty it seemed to be the conclusion Paul could gave reached without interviewing a bunch of jocks. If it weren't for Max. That was the only odd detail. Coach did something to him. And Paul was determined to find out what it was. Pauls next step was to ask about Max specifically.

"Oh yeah, he kinda was like you, askin a bunch of random shit about Coach"

"I remember him pissing off the assistant coaches with his questions"

"I think the quarterback got him a meeting with Coach, he started helping out after that" it was that last statement from some guy named Dale that caught Paul's attention. It was that statement that led to the poor decision to break into the Coach's office after hours. To find what? What was he really expecting? A file on his computer called 'brainwashing script'? Some contract between him and a brain chip company to just be sitting on his desk labeled in big red letters 'TOP SECRET'? If thats what Paul expected he was in for disappointment. All he found was some requests for funding, stats on the sports teams ans how they've improved. Some framed diplomas on the walls. Student records in a filing cabinet. A few trophys and a football helmet sitting on a stack of random books. Nothing damning. There was a student file on Max but it was just his health report prior to joining the team, a workout plan, and then order forms on the size gear he'd need. Proof Max acted out of character yes, but the papers themselves would only show he joined the team not that he was forced to against his will. There was one last odd thing though. A form on Paul. A application to the football second string, with his own forged signature on it. Some stats abour height and weight that were nowhere near accurate. What the hell?