Fearless Girl

By Charlotte Capuano

On March 7, 2016, the day before International Women's Day, the famous "Charging Bull" on Wall Street met a fierce opponent: a statue of a little girl. The girl appears to be staring down the bull, her ponytail swinging. This statue was sculpted by Kristen Visbal, and The State Street Global Advisers funded the project. The fifty-inch-tall statue symbolizes women and their struggle in the work place. The plaque at her feet reads, "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference." Many tourists and people who work along Wall Street have taken pictures with the now famous "Fearless Girl." The statue has helped thousands of women and girls feel empowered. One little girl, Sankaribriya, said she wanted to pose with the girl "because I wanted to look at her and feel like her."

Though the statue is loved by most, some have vandalized and done some questioning things to the statue. Some are also mad that the statue was put in place at all. The statue is supposed to be taken down on April 2nd, 2017, but some politicians are calling for the statue to remain on Wall Street.

The statue will be forever in our hearts and minds, and reminds us to stay strong because "SHE can make a difference."

Read More

Norup Students Choose Kindness

By Abby C.

A few months ago, an anonymous person put up sticky notes around the top and side borders of the mirror in the upstairs girls’ bathroom. They said things like “beautiful,” “amazing,” and “wonderful.” A few hours later, there were five sticky notes added, filling in the rest of the border. These new ones said things like “don’t care what they say!” and “You’re incredible!” Between the five new sticky notes, there were two distinguishably different handwritings. Someone also had written the letters “ur” (meaning “you are” or “you’re”) before all of the original sticky notes which had featured adjectives without attaching them to a person. 

Then, on Friday, February 10th, they were all taken down. The most widely accepted explanation is that the janitor took them down to clean the mirror. Several girls responded by putting up more sticky notes on the wall surrounding the mirror, and by the end of the day on Monday, there were dozens of positive messages decorating the wall. However, several of these had also been taken down as of Tuesday, and they had all been removed by Wednesday. This raises the possibility that someone is purposely taking down the sticky notes.

Even though the movement of putting positive messages in the bathroom has faced a couple minor bumps in the road, Norup students continue to try to make others smile. This is a big difference from a neighboring school just ten minutes away where there was a noose put up in the bathroom and white students chanted “Build That Wall!” in the lunchroom in front of Latino students.

Norup students are reacting to the division in our country with love and support instead of hate, and that can make all the difference for our students.

Read More