39
Two days earlier, Lukaszewicz
was with his group at the
Supreme Court when he
bumped into government
lawyers who had just presented
oral arguments in a trademark
dispute involving “The Slants,” a
rock band seeking to trademark
a name some call a racial slur.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark
office had refused the request,
citing the 1946 Lanham Act
that prevents trademarks for
names that “disparage” people
or “bring them into contempt or
disrepute” (the group eventually
won its case).
Lukaszewicz interviewed the
lawyers and also walked into
and covered a press-only news
conference.
“I told him that was an excellent
attribute of a journalist,”
said Aragon teacher and trip
chaperone Will Colglazier. “You
don’t ask for permission—you
just ask your questions.”
Following the inauguration,
Lukaszewicz produced several
stories, including a look back
at Trump’s first 100 days and a
nuanced story on a proposed
California law that would allow
schools to search a student’s cell
phone without a warrant.
Covering the inauguration
“changed the way I approach
political articles now,” he said. “I
understand it is crucial to reach
out and find those marginalized
[conservative] perspectives in
our community.”
Aragon Outlook feature writer
and photographer Shweta
Ashokraj, 17, came to a similar
realization.
“I definitely don’t agree with a
lot of what [the protesters] had
to say, but I’m definitely more
open-minded,” she said.
As a photographer, Ashokraj
believes she had a special duty
to capture images that could
tell the truth about a day that
divided so many Americans: “I
think that moments like these
really have to be captured
because you see social media
twisting stories to get a lot more
views.”
“It’s inevitable that you and
another person will have
different ideologies—it’s
America,” she added. “You have
to get on with your day.”
The
Wingspan:—
“Throw your
own opinion out
the door”
For Reagan Gunter, a
photographer for The Wingspan
in southwest Missouri, the need
for balance begins with her
name, but it doesn’t end there.
Gunter’s high school is in
Christian County, about 80
miles east of what could be
called the Four Corners of Trump
country—the intersection of
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and
Oklahoma, states that each went
for Trump by double digits in the
presidential election.
Named for the former president,
Gunter, 19, leans blue. But she
and other Wingspan staffers
pride themselves on presenting
both sides.
In stories and graphics
produced during and after
the inauguration, there’s less
emphasis on opinion writing and
more on news, including quotes
from Trump supporters who