Chapter 1: Lily Jones

Chapter 1

Lily Jones is a new student at Pleasant Valley this year. Before becoming a Spartan, Lily was living in South Korea. She has no pets and three siblings. She enjoys lifeguarding class with Mr. Royer and running cross country with her friends. As a new student, she would like the students and staff of PVHS to know that she is very bad with sarcasm.

Lily shared an embarrassing story about how she tripped at a very important cross country meet, and just couldn’t stand back up. Instead of standing up, she laid on the ground and cried in front of everyone. Even after this traumatic experience, her love for cross country has never faded. This girl is dedicated.

All of this information is fun to know, but it is not what makes her who she is. Lily is much more than her silly stories and “get to know her” facts. Lily is a dreamer. One day, she hopes to go to BYU-I and go on a mission trip in order to make a difference in people’s lives. She also hopes to work with children in her future because she loves to help them.

Lily is brave. She has moved five times in her life because her father is in the military. These moves have required her to make new friends and try new things. Lily admitted, “Since I’ve had to move around so much, my environment is constantly changing. I have learned how to adapt by staying happy and optimistic.”

Happiness and balance are the things that make Lily who she is. She stated that these two qualities are very important to her. Lily joyfully stated, “It makes life a lot easier when you aren’t worried constantly, and having balance of things like school and social relationships is very important.” Lily could not live without the things that mean the most to her.

Lily is happy. She finds joy in reading, being with her friends, singing, and running. Lily’s happiness makes her such a special girl. All too often, people don’t feel happy, but Lily said her true joy for life is something that makes her absolutely special.

So beyond the basic facts, Lily has a lot to offer. There are a lot of interesting things that make her who she is. If you haven’t met Lily yet, try to find the time to get to know her; she is a lot of fun to talk to and will most certainly put a smile on your face.

  • High school haze

A student’s web of lies

Carli Spelhaug

Out of 70,000, in a survey conducted by the International Center for Academic Integrity 95% of students had copied answers on homework or other assignments.

A startling trend has emerged in recent years: as the internet has increased in popularity, students have found new and more effective ways to cheat. According to a 2011 survey completed by the International Center for Academic Integrity, out of 70,000 American high school students 64% confessed to cheating on a test, 58% plagiarized, and 95% had copied answers on homework or other assignments. The data has risen 80% from just two years prior.

Cheating figures from the same study decrease slightly among college students, but only diminish to a little over 40% even among graduate students. Not only is academic dishonesty on the rise, but recently has been shown to be habit-forming.
A Harvard study demonstrated students are significantly more likely to cheat again following their first offense, and feel much less guilt at doing so. This desensitizing can, and often does, lead to a repetition of the behavior.

According to a student quoted in the New York Times, “[Cheating] was kind of addictive, in a bad way, in a sick way. People will assume, well, I have a 92, most kids who got into that school got a 94, so there’s no way I can get in.” As pressure increases on students to get good grades and accepted into a good college, many students are turning to cheating to get ahead. Even at PV, 74% of seniors self-reported they had cheated on something at least once, according to a May 2018 survey by the Spartan Shield.

One anonymous student explained some of the pressures behind cheating: “I think people are overworked and over stressed but are under an immense amount of pressure…it isn’t possible to meet all of the expectations without sacrificing your integrity sometimes.”

With pressures on students continuing to increase as college degrees increase in significance and cheating numbers remaining at high levels, it is easy to assume the problem is unsolvable.

However, using easily implemented strategies such as requiring that calculators be cleared before a math test or simply reminding students to cover their paper can help reduce cheating on exams. Adding a curve to exams can also dissuade students from cheating.

Although plagiarism-checking websites such as Turnitin.com help keep some cheating in check, the numbers still show students are still willing to compromise their morals and integrity in order to get the coveted “A”. If cheating numbers are to decrease, students and staff must work together to help reduce the scope of the problem.

Spartan Shield • Copyright 2025 • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNOLog in

Donate to Spartan Shield
$1050
$2000
Contributed
Our Goal