An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
Lily Rachwalski

Lily Rachwalski, Editor in Chief

Lily is a senior and is excited to start her fourth and final year with the Southerner. Apart from her writing with the Southerner, Lily is a Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA) student ambassador, representing both the Southerner and Georgia journalism as a whole. She is an active member of Latin club, is the captain of the Midtown ultimate frisbee team and plays for cATLanta, Georgia’s under-20 club team. In her free time, you can find her hanging out with friends and family.

All content by Lily Rachwalski
HALF CURRICULUM: Senior Ethan McCoy listens in his Advanced Placement Latin class. College Board announced it will be changing the curriculum starting in the next academic year.

[Photo] AP Latin curriculum reduced for 2025-26 school year

Lizzie Jarrell
April 24, 2025
In 2024, 57% of students at Midtown scored proficient or better in Math. This graph compares school proficiency rates at Midtown to the district and state. (Data from APS Insights)

[Photo] Pandemic-era learning losses still unaddressed, hurts education, students

Editorial Board
March 7, 2025
AMERICAN IMPERIALISM: President Donald Trump’s recent threats to annex Canada and Greenland and take back the Panama Canal have the potential to cause global conflict on an unprecedented scale.

[Photo] Trump reinvents American expansionism, spurs conflict

Henry Moye
February 11, 2025
OLD TO NEW: After the 2024 election, Republican control in the national and Georgia state government is sparking new proposals for education reform. Large national conversations include a removal of the Department of Education, reduction of financial aid, and censorship of class material.

[Photo] Students, teachers grapple with education reform policy

Sierra Pape, Henry Moye, and Connie Erdozain
December 12, 2024
The Democratic Party's focus on progressive social issues left gaps in their canidates 2024 campaigns, alienating working-class voters in 2024. To regain support, they must settle voters economic concerns.

How the Democratic party failed, and where they can go from here

Lily Rachwalski
November 14, 2024
Modern ELA standards encourage teachers to test students on excerpts rather than books, limiting education.

Prioritization of short-form reading limits students

Lily Rachwalski
November 8, 2024

[Photo] Trump should focus on policies rather than personal attacks

Fairlie Mercer
September 25, 2024
The increased amount of hurricanes this season raises concerns surrounding climate change.

NO PHONES: This year will be the first school year that students will not have access to phones at school. Students will have to lock phones in Yondr pouches during the day.

School community navigates first month of new phone policy

Sierra Pape, Lily Rachwalski, and Henry Moye
September 12, 2024
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[Photo] Head to Head: Is Midtown’s new PED policy helpful or harmful?

Henry Moye and Audrey Lyons
September 3, 2024
On his visit to Midtown, Dr. Bryan Johnson visited several classroom and met with administrators. He expressed interest in continuing Dr. Battle's focus of literacy and school support.

[Photo] Superintendent Johnson assumes position, promises continued goals

Zelda Lerner and Hannah Silver
September 2, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris makes remarks at a White House NCAA Sports Day event, Monday, July 22, 2024, at the South Portico.

Kamala Harris inspires unity at Democratic National Convention

Lily Rachwalski and Henry Moye
August 26, 2024
Junior Grady Richman competes with sophomore Callan Meyer to catch a disk mid-air at one of the team's captains practices that allow the team to warm up before the official season.

[Photo] Ultimate Frisbee players celebrate inclusion in APS PE credit exemption, other sports clubs take notice

Penelope Keenan
September 13, 2024
Midtown High School mandates final exams or alternative assignments like presentations or projects in all classes. Prioritizing AP exam preparation over final exams by dropping the requirement in AP classes could lead to better outcomes for students and alleviate end-of-year stress.

Final exams should not be required in AP classes

Lily Rachwalski
May 8, 2024
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[Photo] Midtown’s class of 2024 athletic commits

Cate Barton and Carolyn Harty
May 6, 2024
Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, Midtown students will no longer be able to access personal electronic devices, including personal laptops. Due to this policy's implications, the Southerner staff believes this policy will hinder both our ability as a program and our journalistic freedom.

[Photo] Announced device policy has potential to restrict, censor journalism program

Editorial Board
May 22, 2024
ONLINE AMENITIES: The online version of the AP exams in Bluebook offer many tools. Students can rule out answers and, on some tests, annotate, by highlighting text and typing notes.

[Photo] Digital Divide: Online AP Exams spark mixed responses from Midtown community

Penelope Keenan
April 29, 2024
While schools around Georgia provide IB courses, Midtown remains one of the only schools to stick primarily to the AP program. The difference seen between the courses offered at Midtown and other schools presents the debate over which program is more beneficial.

[Photo] Head to Head: Are AP or IB classes more beneficial on students?

April 20, 2024
Due to the failure of earlier attendance initiatives, such as the raffling of trendy Stanley cups, Midtown has decided to fix the issue by building multiple-story parking deck.

[Photo] Midtown to swap historic gym for parking garage

Meredith Bell
March 20, 2024
In Georgia, non-citizens make up 13% of the population, yet cannot influence their own local politics and elections

[Photo] Noncitizens should be allowed to vote

Henry Moye
March 12, 2024
The new, online format of the SAT will lead to potentially overinflated scores.

New SAT format debuts, raises questions

Lily Rachwalski
March 7, 2024
Recently on social media, “girl math jokes have been floating around, but the trend has unforeseen and dangerous effects.

‘Girl Math’ trend normalizes harmful stereotypes

Lily Rachwalski
February 16, 2024
Poor accountability in education post-pandemic has had immense effects on student success, dropping proficiency levels to historic lows.

School districts responsible for poor academic performance

Lily Rachwalski
February 15, 2024
FAFSA, created in 1992, was designed to replace previous federal financial aid forms, making it the only way for students to apply for financial aid from the federal government.

[Photo] Head to Head: Are the changes to the FAFSA more beneficial for students and families?

Abby Hyken and Stella Maximuk
January 29, 2024
In modern society, online commerce continues to grow in popularity, replacing brick-and-mortar shopping. While online shopping can lead to economic growth, it disproportionately harms small businesses and increases chance of online fraud.

[Photo] Record Cyber Monday sales mark transition

Henry Moye
January 18, 2024
SEASONAL SADNESS: Children with unique family situations may find the holidays to be a time of sadness, rather than cheer.

Children with unique family situations may find the holidays to be a time of sadness, rather than cheer.

[Photo] Student navigates holiday season with unique family

Stella St. Clair
December 11, 2023
Despite the skills it provides, Midtown does not currently teach a financial literacy class, which would teach students personal financial management skills like budgeting and investing.

[Photo] Schools must teach financial literacy for future success

Carly Hallett
November 28, 2023
Bowie smiles before her 4A AP Biology class begins.

Ava Bowie, senior

Lily Rachwalski
November 20, 2023
The Classic Learning Test (CLT), created by the company Classic Learning Initiatives, is deemed a more “classic” approach to standardized testing and is backed by Christian and conservative values.

[Photo] Florida’s use of Classic Learning Test shifts purpose of standardized testing

Abby Hyken
November 6, 2023
For the second year in a row, Midtown searches for an athletic trainer. Without an athletic trainer, athletic injuries are often not immediately identified during competitions.

[Photo] Lack of athletic trainer raises parent, player concerns

Farris Duwayri
October 16, 2023
Many Midtown sophomores have reported sightings of the illusive creature known as "Bigfoot," who they just learned about in their class known as Proved: American Folklore.

[Photo] Conspiracy theories introduce students to new scientific truths

Henry Moye
October 13, 2023
Republican candidates tout school vouchers as the future of education, but instead, school vouchers have increasingly become a rallying cry for candidates and parents upset with public school decisions who want to send their children to private schools.

Republican candidates ignore hidden cost of school vouchers

Lily Rachwalski
October 16, 2023
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[Photo] Affirmative action rollback divides community

Stella Maximuk, Shalin Bhatia, and Shea Edwards
September 18, 2023
Head to Head: Should Affirmative Action continue to be in place?

Head to Head: Should Affirmative Action continue to be in place?

Lily Rachwalski and Aran Sonnad-Joshi
February 20, 2023
For many going through the college application process, the US News College rankings and report is a top-tier resource, but researchers cite the rankings as arbitrary and overvalued.

US’s higher education expectations must shift

Lily Rachwalski
August 28, 2023
Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951. Before her death, doctors removed cells from her tumor without her knowledge.

[Photo] Henrietta Lacks settlement proves that we own our bodies

Abby Hyken
August 22, 2023
The Southerner viewed the New York Times website front page for 40 days, in between April 1st and May 9th. Only 4.9% of stories were about gun violence, the same amount of stories there were about Taylor Swift.

Recent gun violence showcases desensitization, normalization

Lily Rachwalski
May 19, 2023
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, now 98 years old, established the Carter Center in 1982 after leaving the White House the year prior. The Center is financed by charitable donations and is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Former President Carter impacts the world, Midtown

Abby Hyken, Shea Edwards, and Lily Rachwalski
April 28, 2023
Concerned community members have signed a petition to address shortcomings in APS regarding academic achievement and operations by calling for new leadership.

[Photo] Petition calls for replacement of superintendent, administrators

Aran Sonnad-Joshi
March 31, 2023
Senate Bill 180 states that the state and local governments wouldn't be permitted to burden an individual's free exercise of religion unless the government could demonstrate it had a compelling governmental interest in doing so and that it was using the least restrictive means of intrusion.

[Photo] Religious Liberty Bill threatens LGBTQ rights

Alannah Edwards
March 23, 2023
Oscar Cannon gets into shooting mode in front of one of his cameras.

Sophomore Cannon explores realm of photography

Lily Rachwalski
March 16, 2023
New Year’s resolutions are meant to help you start the year off on a strong foot, but in reality they are an ineffective and costly tradition.

New Years resolutions prove unproductive

Lily Rachwalski
January 10, 2023
Midtown has always had a closed campus policy for lunch, but some students disagree with this policy.

[Photo] Head to Head: Should students be allowed to go off campus for lunch?

December 20, 2022
Ye, a bestselling Hip-hop artist known for hits like "Bound 2" and "All of the Lights", recently went viral after making a string of anti-semitic remarks on Twitter and talkshows. Ye's comments triggered further discussion of the prevalence of anti-semitism in society.

[Photo] Ye is “Bound 2” Rejection

Henry Moye
December 14, 2022

Midtown should adopt an open campus lunch policy

Lily Rachwalski
December 14, 2022
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker hosted an election night watch party at the Omni Hotel. After voting was tallied, the race between the Incumbent Raphael Warnock and Walker was too close to call and will be heading to a Dec. 6 runoff.

Warnock, Walker U.S Senate race heads to December runoff

Jamie Marlowe, Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, Greta Gustafson, Sierra Pape, Shalin Bhatia, and Lily Rachwalski
November 9, 2022
The New York Times website has over 130 million visitors a month, but only 3.4 percent of those visitors pay for full access to the site.

Paywalls cause need for media literacy

Lily Rachwalski
November 8, 2022
The Wellstar Health System announced its decision to close its downtown Atlanta branch, known as the Atlanta Medical Center, which adds the risk of a shortage of emergency rooms and hospital beds in Metro Atlanta.

Hospital closing harms underserved Atlantans

Lily Rachwalski
November 3, 2022
As Midtown celebrates its sesquicentennial, old yearbooks hold many memories.

Notable Alumni Reflect on Years at Grady

Sierra Pape and Lily Rachwalski
October 14, 2022
With school shootings on the rise, districts and schools are enforcing stricter safety policies. But, these policies are not always a force for good.

Current school safety policies not effective as violence deterent

Lily Rachwalski
August 29, 2022
Junior Cat Sands paints a Roman bust during one of the monthly Latin Club meetings. Latin Club is one of the biggest clubs in the school with over 100 members.

Language Clubs spark student interest

Lily Rachwalski
May 13, 2022
Russell poses for the camera in his Latin class.

Grant Russell, freshman

Lily Rachwalski
February 25, 2022
Halloween decorations adorn Morningside's front entrance in preparation for the event.

Morningside Monster Bash returns after year-long break

Lily Rachwalski
October 19, 2021
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