Lawrence North High School Newspaper 

Lawrence North High School has recently started hosting “Great Decisions.” This is the first time they have been held at LN since the program started over 30 yeas ago.

“Great Decisions are national current event meetings sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association that during the winter and spring every year,” said Larry Leonhardt, social studies teacher.

In these group discussions, which is affiliated with the Foreign Policy Association (FPA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world, participants discuss and debate important international current events topics with the guidance of an experienced moderator.

About 30 years ago, community member Bob Calhoun started hosting the series out of Divine Savior Methodist Church and quite a few congregants attended.

In the late ’80s, social studies teacher John Diercks invited LN students to attend, and it has grown from there.

They and about 30-40 LN students, and an occasional parent, make up the audience. Some students that currently attend include Juniors Spencer Boehm and William Torres, Sophomores Kayla Jackson and Carly Parsons and freshmen Haleigh Wiles and Julia Herin.

“Great Decisions address topics that are important to our generation… They allow us to learn more about them, and they also help us understand current event problems,” junior William Torres said.

The meetings are held eight consecutive Wednesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Large Group Instruction (LGI) room.

Students wanting to attend should contact Leonhardt or Diercks.