It’s a Friday morning after a long week. You’ve just taken a math test, and as you walk into your second class, a glimmer of hope comes into view: it’s an LSN day.
Liberty Student Network, or LSN, has long been a much-anticipated part of any Patriots’ week—or even month. But this year, there are a few things that have changed for the better in LSN.
For one, students in Video Production 2 and 3 are in a separate class than those in Video Production 1, which has allowed more experienced students to work on the monthly video together, and newer students to work on the Weekly Update segments.
“Since the Video Production 2 and 3 students are in one class, the communication is stronger between students. We are able to focus more on the creativity of an idea or story,” senior Andrena Kruzich said.
This change has helped bring new and exciting content. However, that’s not the only reason for this new content: students are working even harder and putting in more time than in previous years, with several staying after school to finish editing broadcasts.
“The people making the broadcasts are a lot more motivated to make creative and original content than in previous years. I think there are a lot of students in the class who want to push past what LSN has been and make it something better,” senior Elise Ferencz said.
In addition to this new drive, there have been overall creative changes in LSN as well.
“This year, we pick a theme for each broadcast, and we pick pieces centered around the theme, and we also do normal pieces such as student and teacher interviews or a comedy piece,” senior anchor Alex Pham said.
And although it’s not specific to just this year, students being encouraged to use humor has helped contribute to the high quality of broadcasts.
“We’re really encouraged to be funny and to make everything entertaining to make sure that students get the information that they need or that admin has asked us to get across. Students respond to humor more than anything else,” junior Dan Noble said.
And Video Production students aren’t just trying to be more funny: they’re also trying new things. At the end of January, LSN went on a field trip to Pike Place Market to film for February’s broadcast.
“We interviewed different tourists and street performers while at Pike Place, and we investigated things like the gum wall. It was pretty just roaming around Seattle, seeing what’s going on in Pike Place, and recording it,” Noble said.
This field trip is perhaps a perfect metaphor for this year in LSN, a year full of trying new things. While the trip to Pike Place marked the first time the class had filmed outside of school, they’re hoping to travel even more in the future.
“In the future, we are hoping to go on further and further trips to use our experience to create more beneficial stories; we can start to dream big,” Kruzich said.
All in all, this year has been a game changer in LSN—and there’s more coming.
“This has been a really big year for LSN, and I think this year is going to mark a new era of superb broadcasts,” Ferencz said.