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Let’s hear it…
Lakeville Journal
May 20, 2026
One of the things that sets a community newspaper apart is that its readers are participants in the communities it covers. The people who pick up this paper, read us online, or engage with us on social media are the same people making decisions at town hall, running the organizations that support our communities, and living with the consequences of the issues we report on.
“Let’s Hear It …” is a new weekly feature in which we pose a question to our readers and publish a selection of responses. Questions may touch on issues we’re covering, invite readers to share their experiences and expertise, or simply be worth thinking about together. We’ll share each week’s question in print, online, and across our social media channels. Selected responses will appear in this section next week. Send responses to publisher@lakevillejournal.com.
So, let’s hear it …
What is one change you’d make to your town center to make it more welcoming?
Include your name and town in your response.
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Billionaires in Beijing
Kathy Herald-Marlowe
May 20, 2026
Seventeen American 1%ers, billionaires, worth over a Trillion dollars, traveled to Beijing with Trump this past week. Only two of the seventeen flew with him on Air Force One, Elon Musk with his 6-year son, and Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO. The bulk of the to-be-silent-in-sessions commercial guests arrived on their own jets.Of course, these prominent executives spoke out of sessions with their suppliers, current and potential customers as they were restricted from speaking in joint sessions with the Chinese government -certainly not to approach or engage with Xi. The billionaires were there for show - to bolster Trump’s image in his rather effete era of Iran, Epstein, and denials of economic strain for everyday Americans.American billionaires are 8 of the world’s 10 richest and 24 of the world’s wealthiest 50. Those in attendance are ambitious, Trump donors, seeking to expand trade with and within China - -to enhance their presence in the world’s second-largest economy bursting with market growth.
The China show was glitzy yet not sprouting high tangible success.Trump boasts that Boeing for the first time in a decade walked away with a Chinese buy of 200 Boeing planes, a smaller portion than the 500 planes being discussed prior to the trip and expected on Wall Street where Boeing stocks dropped almost 5% the day after the trip. Trump also bragged deals were made for soybeans and energy. Beef export licenses were restored yet strict quotes limit positive impact for US farmers. The beneficial impacts to the US of the China summit remain uncertain: Trump boasts while China is silent on “agreements” made.Unclear are any agreements discussed or confirmed by the billionaires independently.Unclear were any gains garnered by Eric Trump, his wife, as lucrative opportunities are the core of the Trump family.Ivanka Trump’s company was granted approval for three trademarks in 2017 at a Mar-a-logo dinner with President Xi.Jared topped 2 billion $ for his investment firm from the Saudis just after the 2024 election.
Missing from the list of prominent US billionaires on this trip were two who would individually rank as in the world’s top 25 wealthiest - Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse - each worth $80 billion plus.Pooh is cartoon non-grata in China, banned, censored actually as Xi is frequently likened to Pooh - round if not yellow- by Xi critics on line.What began as humorous fun poking has risen to Pooh recognized as an international symbol of resistance to Chinese internet censorship. Disney’s Pooh and friends are deleted from all Chinese social media platforms and denied any entertainment venues - Christopher Robin, a Disney film released in 1918, was/is banned in China. Mi Lao Shu, Mickey Mouse, is highly popular, a massive brand icon, prominent at Shanghai’s Disneyland and thus far uncensored.
Notably also banned in China was Marco Rubio - not a billionaire- just the Secretary of State as well as National Security Advisor.In 2020, China banned Rubio for his many negative statements regarding China and Xi.His name was transliterally changed to Marco Lu and thus granted entry, enjoyed talks and dined with the elite.Although tough Chinese words on Taiwan were reported, it is unclear if any Chinese assistance in the opening of the Hormuz Straits were applied for or received.
Photos in Beijing of Xi and Trump were of interest.Xi, 5”11 and Trump 6’2 (or perhaps 6’3) appear to be of equal height – neither shorter, smaller, lesser.Trump commented on Xi’s central casting looks, in particular he noted Xi is “very tall”.It is rumored that Xi wore height enhancing insoles.Trump is rumored to have had difficulty climbing steps – particularly a 30-step flight entering the Great Hall of the People. Xi paused to allow Trump a catch of breath, then placed a hand on Trump’s back up the remaining stairs.72 and 79, both men with indelible egos, vanity and intolerance a plenty.
May the world retain, struggle to improve balance and prosperity as two spoiled and pampered heads of state face off for power and influence – in China amid centuries of history and a bevy of American billionaires.
Kathy Herald-Marlowe lives in Sharon.
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IMS students support Salisbury sidewalk initiative with Fun Run at Hotchkiss
Aly Morrissey
May 20, 2026
CC Stevenson, far left, and Winter Williams, far right, run with IMS classmates May 19 to raise funds for a Salisbury sidewalk project.
Aly Morrissey
LAKEVILLE — Ninth grade students at Indian Mountain School are turning classroom lessons into real-world action through a community initiative aimed at improving pedestrian safety along Route 41.
CC Stevenson and Winter Williams, ninth graders who will attend Hotchkiss this fall, are helping raise awareness and funds for a proposed sidewalk connecting the school campus to downtown Lakeville – a heavily traveled route that many students currently navigate on foot without a sidewalk. The project’s culmination took the form of a Fun Run at the Hotchkiss track, during which community members ran laps for donations.
The project is part of IMS’ year-long ninth grade capstone project, an interdisciplinary initiative inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Institute for Humane Education’s “solutionary” framework.
“This project was designed to help remind students why we learn things, which is to make a positive change in the world,” said Tom Stewart, who leads IMS’ sustainability programming and launched the program in 2016. “We learn about world issues and then students create potential solutions to those things.”
Originally a short end-of-year assignment, the project has evolved over the past decade into a collaborative, year-long study combining science, history and English coursework with project-based learning. This year marked a significant shift with an increased focus on local issues with tangible outcomes.
For Stevenson and Williams, the issue was obvious.
“For many years, we’ve noticed the danger of how Hotchkiss students walk into town,” Williams said. “We thought if we could find a way to support that sidewalk installation, it would be a great way to better our community as a whole.”
After researching funding possibilities, the students connected with the Salisbury Pathways Committee, which is already pursuing grant funding for the sidewalk project. With guidance from the committee, the students focused on awareness and community support, organizing the Fun Run fundraiser.
“Making sure the community is aware about it and can support the cause moving forward is our goal,” Stevenson said.
Stewart said the program challenges both students and teachers to embrace uncertainty and collaboration.
“The faculty involved are facilitators,” he said. “They’re there to help students get from A to B, but they’re not directing much of the action.”
Stevenson said the experience revealed how much impact young people can have when supported by a strong community.
“It was shocking to realize how much of an impact we can make just being ninth graders at IMS,” she said. “It definitely gave me a new appreciation for how much a caring, supportive community can make a difference.”
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HVRHS announces third quarter marking period Honor Roll
Lakeville Journal
May 20, 2026
Highest Honor Roll
GRADE 9
Joanna Haratyk (Torrington), Noell Laurry (Kent), Elexis Petkovich (Canaan), April Puerto (Salisbury), Solomon Schmidt (Salisbury), Alastair Schnepf (Wassaic), Gia Torzilli (Gaylordsville), Marisol Vaughn (Kent)
GRADE 10
Mia Belter (Salisbury), Louise Faveau (Salisbury), Kailyne Foley (Canaan), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Lily McCabe (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Sadie Morales Chapell (Salisbury), Abigail Perotti (Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Juliette Trabucco (Kent), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent)
GRADE 11
Adelaide Almeida (Salisbury), Byron Bell (Cornwall), Olivia Claydon (Canaan), Georgie Clayton (Sharon), John DeDonato (Salisbury), Natasha Dennis (Canaan), Adelyn Diorio (Canaan), Kellie Eisermann (Salisbury), Alexa Hoadley (Kent), Finian Malone (Sharon), Meadow Moerschell (Kent), Rivers Richard (Canaan), Ishaan Tantri (Salisbury), Ivy Zheng (Canaan)
GRADE 12
Lily Beurket (Cornwall), Evelyn Flores-Hernandez (Canaan), Kierra Greene (Canaan), Simon Markow (Cornwall), Alexa Meach (Canaan), Ibby Sadeh (Falls Village), Alex Woodworth (Salisbury).
HIGH HONOR ROLL
GRADE 9
Anna Ayer (Salisbury), Bella Bell (Canaan), Phoebe Conklin (Salisbury), Lainey Diorio (Canaan), Lyla Diorio (Canaan), Elden Grace (Salisbury), Katelyn Holst-Grubbe (Canaan), Ava Humes (Canaan), Tyler LaPlante (Canaan), Keely Malone (Sharon), Lola Miller (Falls Village), Grace O’Brocki (Salisbury), August Olson (Falls Village), Donald Polk (Cornwall), Olivia Simonds (Canaan), Scarlett Visconti (Canaan), Jaxon Visockis (Salisbury)
GRADE 10
Paige Beeman (Canaan), Max Bochnovich (Salisbury), Nico Bochnovich (Salisbury), Jackson Brammer (Sharon), Logan Bronson (Cornwall), Lucius Bryant (Cornwall), Zaira Celso-Cristobal (Sharon), Winter Cheney (Cornwall), Alisa Christiansen Madsen (Canaan), Tess Churchill (Salisbury), Luca Floridis (Salisbury), Samuel Garcia Pulido (Canaan), Beatrice Gifford (Kent), Angel Gonzalez (Salisbury), Aryanna Horton (Salisbury), Lilliana Hurley (Canaan), Chase Lowell (Canaan), Dany Martinez (Canaan), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Emily Ochoa Ramirez (Canaan), Nova Pratt (Canaan), Vilija Salazar (Kent), Schuyler Thompson (Falls Village), Payton Wagner (Canaan), Olivia Whitney (Canaan)
GRADE 11
Hayden Bachman (Falls Village), Sofia Bindley (Cornwall), Karen Chavez-Sanchez (Salisbury), Christian DeDonato (Salisbury), Carmela Egan (Salisbury), Levi Elliott (Millerton), Lydia Fleming (Canaan), Grace Graney (Falls Village), Sydney Howe (Canaan), Jonas Johnson (Canaan), Aiden Krupa (Torrington), Makenzie Lidstone (Salisbury), Jackson McAvoy (Salisbury), Matthew McGuire (Canaan), Daniel Moran (Norfolk), Jackson Olson (Falls Village), Jasper Oyanadel (Falls Village), Gustavo Portillo (Canaan), Juan Xeche Coche (Canaan), Nathan Zani (Ashley Falls)
GRADE 12
Peter Austin (Kent), Hayden Bell (Cornwall), Olivia Brooks (Salisbury), Victoria Brooks (Salisbury), Colby Brown (Cornwall), Cohen Cecchinato (Canaan), Ryder Conte (Falls Village), Christopher Crane (Canaan), Mia DiRocco (Cornwall), Shanaya Duprey (Canaan), Mollie Ford (Falls Village), Anna Gillette (Salisbury), Julissa Gonzalez (Cornwall), Nicolas Gonzalez (Salisbury), Maureen Graney (Falls Village), Adam Hock (Kent), Sara Ireland (Salisbury), Hannah Johnson (Canaan), Madelyn Johnson (Canaan), Madison Melino (Austerlitz), Francisco Mendoza Ratzan (Canaan), Lennin Torres Pineda (Canaan), Celeste Trabucco (Kent), Silas Tripp (Falls Village), Ayden Wheeler (Amenia).
HONOR ROLL
GRADE 9
Isabella Curtis (Norfolk), Jessica Davis (Canaan), Emma Duffy (Sharon), Carter Finney (Canaan), Aubrey Funk (Canaan), Ryan Hinman (Canaan), Violeta Londono (Canaan), Braydon Majette (Sharon), Sawyer Margerelli (Salisbury), Sabrina Murtagh (Canaan), Jerron Nirschel (Falls Village), Sofia Paz-Cortez (Canaan), Mason Routhier (Canaan), Justin Sorrell (Canaan), Tallulah Truby (Sharon), Jenaveeve Wagner (Canaan), Austin Ward (Cornwall)
GRADE 10
Krystin Ackerman (Canaan), Lyla Banffy (Kent), Peyton Bushnell (Falls Village), Clark Farr-Killmer (Amenia), Baxter Hayhurst (Falls Village), Chase Kading (Millerton), Paul Losh (Falls Village), McKenzie Lotz (Ashley Falls), Logan Miller (Falls Village), Nassim Nirschel (Falls Village), Chayton Pastre (Cornwall), Karmela Quinion (Canaan), Collin Walsh (Canaan), Jessica Watkins (Kent), Nathan Young (Cornwall)
GRADE 11
Jasmine Bright (Cornwall), Kevin Eisermann (Salisbury), James Flores (Kent), Pedro Gonzalez (Canaan), Ryan Segalla (Salisbury)
GRADE 12
Steven Barber (Cornwall), Everet Belancik (Cornwall), Devoge Brown (Kent), Katherine Crane (Canaan), Marc Hafner (Falls Village), Anthony Labbadia (Canaan), Logan Labshere (Canaan), Riley Mahaffey (Amenia), Madeline Mechare (Falls Village), Daphne Paine (Canaan), Owen Riemer (Canaan), Gabriele Rooney (Falls Village), Cole Simonds (Canaan), Bailey Williams (Sharon).
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Free speech or a loyalty test?
Mayumi Iwai
In the United States, student visas are undeniably a privilege, not a right. However, once individuals are inside U.S. borders, the Constitution, particularly the First Amendment, does not simply cease to apply. The recent targeting of pro-Palestinian foreign students raises a critical constitutional question: can the government revoke visas in retaliation for speech without violating the principle of free expression?
The First Amendment protects against government punishment based on viewpoint. While non-citizens do not enjoy all the same rights as citizens, the Supreme Court has long held that many constitutional protections extend to all “persons”, not just citizens. This includes due process and freedom of speech. If the government revokes a student’s visa explicitly because of the political viewpoint they expressed, it moves beyond immigration enforcement and into the realm of unconstitutional retaliation.
Supporters of the crackdown argue that visas can be revoked for behavior that conflicts with “American interests.” But this justification is deeply problematic. If “American interests” become the standard for permissible speech, then free expression is no longer a right—it becomes a conditional privilege dependent on political alignment. This undermines the very purpose of the First Amendment, which exists precisely to protect unpopular or dissenting views from government suppression. The selective nature of enforcement reveals a deeper issue. U.S. citizens who express pro-Palestinian views may face social backlash or criticism, but they are not subject to deportation or legal penalties for their speech. In contrast, foreign students expressing the same views risk losing their legal status in the country. This creates a two-tiered system of speech: one in which citizens are free to dissent, and another in which non-citizens must self-censor or face state punishment.
Such a system is not only unfair but also dangerous for the broader functioning of American democracy. Universities in the United States have historically been places where controversial ideas are debated openly and where political discourse is seen as an essential part of education rather than a threat to it. From Vietnam War protests in the 1960s to modern policy debates, student activism has played a central role in shaping public opinion. If international students are forced to weigh their academic future and legal status against the risk of expressing a political opinion, the result is a chilling effect on speech. Instead of engaging in discussion, many students will choose silence out of fear, and this silence does not remain limited to international students alone. When one group is punished for speaking, others inevitably become more cautious as well. American students may begin to avoid certain topics in class, professors may hesitate to encourage debate, and universities may shift away from hosting controversial speakers or discussions. Over time, this creates an academic environment where only safe or widely accepted views are expressed, while dissenting perspectives disappear from public conversation. That outcome does not protect democratic values: it weakens them by reducing intellectual diversity and discouraging the kind of meaningful debate that the First Amendment was designed to protect.
Ultimately, while the government has the authority to grant or revoke visas, that power is not absolute. It cannot be used as a tool to punish individuals for expressing disfavored political views without eroding constitutional principles. The question is not simply whether non-citizens have fewer rights than citizens, but whether the rights they do have can be stripped away whenever their speech becomes inconvenient. If the answer is yes, then free speech in the United States is no longer a protected right. It becomes something closer to a loyalty test, one that determines not just who may stay, but who may speak.
Mayumi Iwai is an 11th grader at Greenwich High School
Connecticut Foundation for Open Government high school essay contest
Each year, the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government sponsors an essay contest open to all high-school students in the state. The contest focuses on First Amendment and open information issues. This year, students chose from three prompts (edited here for space constraints): 1.) the potential limitations on hate speech following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; 2.) the arrest and revocation of the student visa of a Tufts University Ph.D. student from Turkey who had written an opinion piece for the school newspaper critical of the university’s position on the war in Gaza; 3.) the banning of the Associated Press from Oval Office events and Air Force One following its refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which is President Trump’s preferred name.
The Lakeville Journal has obtained permission to publish the 2026 top three winners out of 70 entries from across Connecticut. First place went to Nora Kallusky, a senior at Ridgefield High School. There was a tie for Second Place, so Mayumi Iwai, a junior at Greenwich High School, and Prithika Venugopal, a senior at Rocky Hill High School, both received that honor.