the
TIGER PRINT newspaper
Blue Valley High School — Vol. 45 — Issue 6 — March 2015 — Overland Park, Kansas
Tipping the Scale: Female students discuss participation in male-dominated classes, Pages 16-17. Photo illustration by Sophia Ragomo.
2 inthenews March 2015
inside this issue NEWS 2 JUST CHILLING New club founded for relaxation purposes, not resumé padding page 3
OPINION
6
CUTTING CORNERS Budget cuts to Kansas education spark anger over political figure page 8
FEATURES 10
national news explained
NETANYAHU RE-ELECTION
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress March 3, urging sanctions to be taken against Iran. Speaker of the House John Boehner extended the invitation to Netanyahu on the sly with only members of Congress at the speech. President Barack Obama was not invited and never met with Netanyahu in person, which is extremely unusual for a visiting ally. In his speech, Netanyahu addressed the imminent issue of nuclear weapons that could end up in the hands of Israel’s long-time enemy Iran. The ploy proved successful when Netanyahu was re-elected March 17 despite many concerns for his plans for the economy and the creation of a Palestinian State.
MOVES LIKE JAGGER Robot Dancers discuss formation of bond, future career aspirations page 12-13
Why is this a big deal? After the blatant refusal to involve Obama in the discussions about relations between Israel and Iran, future diplomatic opportunities seem uncertain to say the least. It is no secret Netanyahu and Obama do not get along, but for the sake of the future of
ENTERTAINMENT 22
FERGUSON JUSTICE REPORT
HATERS GONNA HATE Celebrities, books and songs universally disliked page 24-25
SPORTS 28 THROWING A CURVE Baseball State title considered by returning varsity players, coaches page 29 Visit bvtigernews.com for extra stories, pictures and more Photos courtesy of MCT Campus. Stories by Sheila Gregory. Page designed by Sheila Gregory.
After the events in Ferguson, Missouri, surrounding the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a police officer late last summer, a federal investigation was launched into the city’s Police and Justice Departments. The findings showed a longterm abuse of power to subdue and harass the black population living there. From pulling over for minor speeding infractions to unlawfully arresting with unnecessary force, it was obvious serious changes needed to be made as soon as possible. Several government officials have already resigned,
Israeli security, it is imperative for Israel to remain in good standing with the U.S. since we provide billions of dollars to support their military and defense programs. Conflicts have existed in the Israel-Palestine-Iran region since 1967 when Israel was created, and a political figure like Netanyahu who is creating problems even within his closest ally’s government may turn out to be the tipping point of that unrest.
including the Chief of Police, a municipal judge and the city manager. Further illustrating how high tensions are, two officers were shot after the press conference announcing the resignation of the Chief of Police. A suspect is in custody with the only motive being revenge. Why is this a big deal? Fifty years after the civil rights movement, some view the fight as far from over with towns like Ferguson as the main examples. The Justice Department sent a team of civil rights lawyers to meet with the citizens and help with fixing the scales that have never been balanced correctly there. The lawyers want to figure out what kind of police department the residents want. This is shaping up to be an uphill battle since there is very little trust between the average Ferguson citizen and a government official. Situations like this exist all over America, and light has just started to be shed on constant fear some live in from unjust police forces. While this is a step in the right direction, the fight is far from over.
March 2015 inthenews 3
Global Perspectives New class initiates discussions on international policies sheilagregory news editor
This year, Blue Valley began offering a new elective for juniors and seniors called International Relations (IR). Led by social studies teacher Brian Mowry, the class delves into reasons for conflict between countries and relating theories. Mowry said the new class provides a fresh global outlook. “When I got the word that Area Studies was going to be done away with last year, I wanted something else to teach and to add an international perspective,” he said. “So I thought, ‘Let’s give it a try.’” Motivated by future career aspirations, junior Lindsay Davis enrolled in IR. “I’m interested in majoring in International Relations,” she said. “I thought it would be a good idea to take the class before I went to college.” Davis said she finds the unorthodox environment a better way to stimulate thought.
“We have a lot more discussions [than a regular social studies class], which is fun,” she said. “Mowry guides us, but he tries to have other people lead it — so it’s not just him standing up there and lecturing. He wants a conversation.” Mowry said the round-table structure of IR is what the class is all about. “The most important thing I want kids to get out of this class is for [them] to engage in dialogue, discussing high-minded things,” he said. “That’s it — engage in academic discoursing. Then, the class is a success.” These academic conversations usually aren’t the debates that can be expected in other social studies classes, Mowry said. “Most of the discussions are theoretical — how we think countries do things,” he said. “So we’ll say, ‘You can’t do that because you can’t trust countries,’ or ‘I think you can [for whatever reason].’ It’s not heated second-amendment type of stuff [like it is] in a government class. When I challenge you, I’m not challenging your values or who
Hanging Out maddiedavis features editor
Walking past the Fixed Forum on a Thursday, you might be surprised to see a small group of students setting up hammocks. This is one of Blue Valley’s newest clubs — Hammock Club. Club founder junior Elyse Kats said the club is not a thing to do but instead is a place to be. “It’s awesome because we all get to hang out together — literally and figuratively — and connect with people this way.” Club sponsor Kristoffer Barikmo said he was thrilled when Kats approached him with the idea to form the club. “I used to be an Outdoor Leadership Club sponsor when I taught in Colorado,” he said. “We did all sorts of adventure programming and went on backpacking and rock climbing trips. We don’t necessarily have access to that here in Kansas, but we at least have an opportunity to learn things about the outdoors — and what better way to do that than getting out and hammocking in it.”
you are, I’m challenging what evidence you use. It’s not as personal, and in some ways, that’s a good thing.” Mowry said coming into IR with little prior knowledge can be beneficial. “The nice thing about it is very few people have baggage coming into this,” Mowry said. “Nobody knows about this stuff, so they are really looking at it with fresh eyes and then forming opinions on it.” Not having an AP curriculum is what Mowry said differentiates IR from other classes he teaches. “This one is just completely free,” he said. “I can do whatever I want with it, and that is very fun from the fact of there’s no College Board telling me what to do. Since it’s so high level, the kids have really realized, ‘We can’t slack and do normal high school type of stuff.’”
Junior organizes Hammock Club, encourages other students to join
Kats said she is hopeful there will be more club members in the future. “We’ve had 10 to 20 [attendees] depending on the week,” she said. “We’ve also had a lot of people interested in buying hammocks wanting to join, especially because Barikmo gets a discount with ENO, a hammock brand, so hopefully we will gain more members in the future.” Barikmo said he anticipates meeting outdoors but, in the meantime, enjoys connecting with students away from the classroom environment. “Once the weather warms up, we’re excited to get outside,” he said. “It’s also nice to take an opportunity to just pause and take a deep breath.” Kats said students should participate in the club not just to put an extra activity on college applications but as something to really enjoy. “People should join Hammock Club because it’s a really good place to get to know people who share a mutual passion,” she said. “It’s awesome to be in a club we care about instead of one we just want to use as a resumé builder.”
Setting up her hammock, junior Elyse Kats attends a Hammock Club meeting. Eagles Nest Outfitters is Kats’ favorite hammock brand, she said. “It’s a really quality brand with lots of colors, and the hammocks are 100 percent nylon, which has a good stretch to it,” Kats said. Photo by Maddie Davis.
Page designed by Sheila Gregory and Maddie Davis.
4 inthenews March 2015
sallycochran editor-in-chief Senior speech tryouts will be April 2 in Room 716 from 3-5:30 p.m. A panel of judges — ELA teachers Linda Eagleton, Rebecca Knueven, Keil Pittman and Britt Qualls, art teacher Mark Mosier, debate teacher Chris Riffer and science teacher Azie Taghizadeh — will pick two seniors to speak at Class Day and two to speak at graduation. Qualls said students in ELA 12 and AP English Literature classes wrote senior speeches. “I think it’s good for seniors to be able to reflect on how far they’ve come and where they are going next,” she said. “It not only provides closure, but it also starts the process of thinking about the future.” Riffer said about 20-30 students typically try out. “We’re usually looking for speech-
all about
tips from the judges
Speaking Out
Senior Speech auditions to occur April 2; judges share process, tips
es that showcase the class [and] Blue Valley High School [and] celebrate what the class did [and] what the school does,” he said. “At the end of each speech, we’ll ask ourselves ‘Is that something we want to represent our community and our school?’” He said the 20-30 original auditions are usually pared down to six to eight serious contenders for the spots. “[Judging] is a neat experience for me because I get to see some kids in the building that I never see come into my program give a public speech,” he said. Riffer said he thinks it’s important for each class to have representatives speaking at Class Day and graduation. “It’s nice to hear from the principal and from other people about how they did, but I think it means a lot more to hear from a representative from their own class to say what their journey has been about,” he said.
after prom
theme: western
$18,000 {
to put on after prom from: parents PTO donations from local businesses
12-3
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“Make sure your speech is positive and represents the school well — also appropriate for the speaking venue. We’ll get some kids that use some crass humor. Do you think we’re going to let you [speak] in front of everybody’s parents and say jokes like that? Probably not.” — debate teacher Chris Riffer “Make sure your speech actually has a message. Every single year we get many speeches that are just a trip down memory lane.” — English teacher Britt Qualls “A lot of kids write a good speech, but they don’t really practice it out loud a lot and don’t have a lot of speech experience, so that throws them off in the audition. The more time they can put into working on the speech out loud is probably good.” — Riffer “We want to hear somebody who has something unique and original and adds some wisdom and character to it.” — Qualls
A
activities will include:
A casino games
face painting
photobooth
prizes such as:
laptops, TVs, microwaves, refrigerators, headphones
.m
.
> 400
students attended last year
$7,000
mice races
planning began in
JANUARY
music
fifth wall
of prizes purchased from Best Buy as of Feb. 6
Information from Nickole Neal and Susan Reardon. Information gathered by Sally Cochran. Page designed by Sally Cochran.
March 2015
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6 outloud March 2015
The Opt Out Students’ choice to not participate in diversity presentations demonstrates further need for respect
charlotterooney staff writer Over the loudspeaker on Feb. 19 while sitting in my English class, I heard, “If you chose to opt-out of the diversity discussions, then you may go to the library.” Then, I heard a collective appreciative sigh and people talking about how they didn’t want to go to the Diversity Club, REbeL, GSA or religion presentations. I thought the entire point of the diversity events was to become more understanding and accepting of the different people in school. Obviously, the people who opted out were the people who needed to be there the most. I am an atheist — I have been for several years — and sitting in the aux gym listening to people talk about their religion was not offensive. Even though I personally do not believe in a god, that does not mean that I do not find religion fascinating and important to be educated about. The religion discussion was in no way a persuasive tactic from Tiger Cross or the Jewish Student Union or a Hindu temple. There was nothing offensive about it — it was people talking about their
religion — something that is important to them — and telling their peers about religion in a completely personal way. The presentation was very respectful and meaningful — all it needed was a broader panel of religions. The GSA presentation isn’t going to make you gay — it might enlighten you about people who are gay or bisexual or straight or transgender or questioning and may help you understand them. Whether or not you are accepting of people who are gay, being educated about them is not a crime. People who have a sexual orientation other than straight have a hard enough time coming out and accepting themselves, so why don’t we come together and tell them that it’s OK to be who they are? REbeL received hateful backlash for telling students that being larger does not necessarily mean you are unhealthy — you and your doctor decide that. I’m pretty sure we all know being 300 pounds isn’t healthy, but that’s not what REbeL was saying. REbeL is about making people feel comfortable in their bodies, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. REbeL is about making girls feel special whether they’re a size 0 or a size 14. REbeL is about making guys like their bodies whether they lift weights every day or have a lanky build. Diversity Week is important, and opting out is just as disrespectful as laughing during the assembly last year.
Diversity Club sponsor Manal Siam talks with speakers before the Diversity Club presentation. Siam introduced the Diversity Club members before they spoke. “I think [diversity] helps people coexist better,” Siam said.
Diversity Week is here to educate and help people be aware of different things about their peers. What could be wrong with people expressing certain aspects of themselves to a group of people to form a considerate understanding? There’s nothing wrong feeling comfortable talking about something that is important to you whether it be religion, sexual orientation, body image or anything else. The problem with this school is that people are disrespectful. People are embarrassed to talk about things that matter, whatever that may be for them, because they’re more likely to find someone who will judge them than someone who will genuinely accept them. Instead of giving mean looks, whispering behind peoples backs and thinking someone is weird, have a heart and try understanding people who are different than you because respect matters.
Social studies teacher Kristoffer Barikmo speaks in front of the religion panel at one of the diversity presentations. Barikmo introduced the four speakers who spoke about their religion. “I think too few people know enough about religion in the 21st century,” he said. “It’s a very important part of many peoples’ identities.” Photos by Sally Cochran.
Page designed by Charlotte Rooney.
Social Cues Social media not intended to validate, should be used as positive outlet
courtneycarpenter staff writer
March 2015 outloud 7 Social media. Originally created to connect us to others near and far. Now used for finding personal value in the validation of others. People, especially teenagers, are so caught up in the digital world they forget to look up. You know what I’m talking about. The person who is physically present, but isn’t truly there. They’re too busy looking at the latest tweets, updates and notifications. They post about every single thing they do in a day, week, year. Why is this? Is it because they are honestly interested in what others are doing right that moment? Most likely not. Our parents and grandparents always tell us, “You kids are always on your phones. Do you ever take a break?” And they are absolutely right. We never unplug from others. We are constantly —
although maybe subconsciously — thinking about the perfect caption, picture or tweet to send so we can maybe, just maybe, receive the highest honor of getting a like, favorite or comment. We upload certain things because we want to feel accepted, and we want other people to see an almost Photoshopped representation of our lives. Tweeting about how you just went to the gym so others will feel bad about their less active lifestyle. Uploading a selfie because the compliments help you feel secure. Although seemingly innocent, the motives behind it are poisoned. Tweet about your workout because it makes you feel confident. Post the selfie because you think you look beautiful. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been with others who are so caught up in getting the perfect picture that we don’t even enjoy each other’s presence. Since when is showing
all of your followers what you are doing more important than actually having a genuine time doing it? Just because those around you aren’t following exactly what you are doing at every moment doesn’t mean what you are doing is boring or of no value. Don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing immoral about social media. It can be a wonderful way to express yourself. But, when you upload things for the purpose of pleasing others, the whole thing soils. Next time you are about to post something, think about why. If it’s to put on some type of face or to please those around you, fight the urge to upload it. You are your own person — you don’t need the validation from others.
Feeling Forgiveness
Looking beyond wrongdoings is a defining personal trait
sallycochran editor-in-chief Days after it was posted, your thoughts flash back to that tweet on your timeline. How could someone ever say that about you? What did you ever do to deserve that? Dwelling on how others hurt us is a part of life, but it can slowly eat us from the inside out if left unchecked. On Feb. 18, the “Kansas City Star” printed an article telling the story of Michele Shanahan Demoss, a woman whose life was forever changed when her 11-year-old
daughter, Blair, was killed by celebratory gunfire. In the story, Demoss explained how she has come to forgive the shooter and has worked toward preserving her daughter’s legacy through a nonprofit organization. What a powerful message — instead of holding onto that pain, suffering and anger for the rest of her life, this woman has turned a tragedy into assistance for other children. What if every time one of us was wronged, we worked to undo that wrong by helping others? There have definitely been times in my life when I have dwelled on how someone else hurt me — add up all that time, and one can only imagine the possibilities had it been put toward a positive goal. Fighting fire with love removes some of our own burden and slowly makes the world a better place. Pastor Adam Hamilton from Church
of the Resurrection once compared living each day to wearing a backpack. When others do us wrong and hurt us, they are slowly filling our backpacks with rocks. Small fibs and little insults are like gravel while larger transgressions are like bricks. Over time, a person’s backpack can become so filled with rocks that he’s crushed by the pressure. But, as Hamilton continued to illustrate, when someone apologizes for his or her wrongdoings, he is asking permission to take the rock — the hurt — out of your backpack. Refusing to let him keeps the weight on your own shoulders. We all have done wrong, and we all will continue to do wrong — that’s human nature. However, approaching forgiveness with a positive outlook and allowing others to take back their rocks can lessen the impact those missteps have.
Page designed by Courtney Carpenter and Riley Miller.
8 outloud March 2015
B L E E D I K NA GN
S A S
Recent budget cuts to education caused by unnecessary tax breaks leave schools reeling
Page designed by Sheila Gregory. Cartoon by Sophia Ragomo.
And for my next trick, I’m going to make the education budget . . . DISAPPEAR
sheilagregory news editor Kansas, if you had not noticed, is an extremely red state. If someone even mentions a topic like immigration reforms, a state-wide gasp is audible, and Tea Party exorcists are brought in to cleanse unwanted blue spirits. Unfortunately, this attitude was brought to the polls last November when Gov. Sam Brownback was re-elected. We couldn’t even fathom having an Independent in office because apparently it’s just not Republican enough. Did anyone even stop to think about how much Brownback has screwed up Kansas? Did voters just go to the polls, see an “R” next to his name and click on him? That seems like the most likely reason we have this wretched figure meticulously and quite effectively undoing any good Kansas once had. Let’s talk about his tax breaks.
It’s actually quite simple what he did. He slashed income taxes for businesses and the wealthy. Taxes are how government agencies are funded. No taxes equals no money. No money means you have to find it elsewhere. Elsewhere means — ding, ding, ding — education! That’s right, $45 million of the already under-funded public education budget is gone. Like magic. Or simple algebra, which Brownback obviously doesn’t see the value of. Wait, I get it now. Brownback took away a major source of revenue with no plan on how to make up for that amount, didn’t inform voters about the $700 million of accumulated debt Kansas now has and took a large sum of money from the people who will have to solve this problem in the future. He puts no value on education because he never got one. I’m 17, and I can see how disastrous this is. I have no experience balancing a budget, but I know expenses have to add up to allocated income. I also know it’s fair to have a graduated tax system. Why should my single mother, putting one kid through
college and saving for me, pay higher rates than someone making a seven-figure salary? Trying to manage her budget — which she has done debtfree — got much harder when tuition was forced to increase to compensate for the more than $2 million taken out of the University of Kansas’ budget. That seems fair. These education cuts also extend to the districts who can’t afford to lose any more money. Brownback spat in the face of the kindergarten teacher with 35 kids in his or her class who can’t possibly keep up now because districts don’t have enough money to hire more faculty. Brownback poured lemon juice on the paper cut of the after-school activities that are now canceled because administrators were forced to choose between books and extracurriculars. I’m perplexed and appalled how someone like this would still be allowed to make decisions. Even more than that, I’m disappointed in voters for not having the courage to elect someone based on merit rather than the letter accompanying his name. While we may go to the stars through difficulty, Brownback has put us in the blackest of nights.
March 2015 outloud 9
staffeditorial TIGER PRINT newspaper the
editor-in-chief Sally Cochran
adviser Michelle Huss
managing editor Gennifer Geer
photographers Isabelle Allen Sophia Ragomo
photo editor Molly Johnson news editor Sheila Gregory Cartoon by Christine Rice.
Honor Code ineffective unless adhered to by students, faculty staff editorial
22
agree
0
disagree
Day after day, if you look closely enough, you’ll see several Blue Valley students copying down someone else’s work, looking off someone else’s test or cutting and pasting from the Internet. Though it’s a shame this happens so often, it’s an inevitable reality at any high school. However, cheating and plagiarism are actually big issues, and the consequences are even greater. Year after year, athletic and academic scholarships are revoked because students are caught breaking their schools’ honor codes. Now, you may not
be doing the cheating yourself, but according to the BV Honor Code, “It is imperative that academic honesty and integrity are upheld in a manner that supports learning and ultimately academic excellence. It is the responsibility of each student, staff member and parent to promote an academic culture that respects and fosters individual achievement and that is grounded upon the virtues of honesty and integrity.” In other words, you are still breaking the Honor Code if you don’t turn in someone after witnessing them cheating. There are several ways to report someone for breaking the Honor Code, and honestly, why wouldn’t you? Why let someone who’s cheating pass the same test you studied hours for?
Or even let them receive points on a worksheet you actually put effort into? After class, pull your teacher aside and tell him or her what you think is going on. And if you’re not comfortable with that, just send him or her an email. This is high school — in Johnson County for that matter — it’s not like the saying, “Snitches get stitches,” actually applies. If you’re someone who struggles with fighting the urge to cheat, consider the consequences — not just in high school or college but also in your future career. It may be a slap on the wrist now, but in the real world, you’ll be fired on the spot. Aside from that, just think about it. A school without cheating means an actual reflection of its students’ work.
opinion editor Riley Miller features editor Maddie Davis entertainment editor Rachel Lock sports editor Matt Antonic
cartoonists Mandy Novicoff Christine Rice staff writers Chloe Breau Hope Brown Courtney Carpenter Grace Gearon Megan Hegarty Lauren Huesers Makayla Nicholis Charlotte Rooney Ifrah Sayyada Alli Williams
“The Tiger Print,” published seven times a year, is an open forum for student expression. Therefore, the opinions expressed within this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrations of Blue Valley Unified School District #229. Letters to the editor are encouraged for publication. “The Tiger Print” reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content. Letters should be submitted to Room 450, emailed to thetigerprint@yahoo.com or mailed to: The Tiger Print c/o Blue Valley High School 6001 W. 159th St. Overland Park, KS 66085
10 upclose March 2015
Forensics Frenzy Question: Why did you join Forensics? Answer: “I joined Forensics because I took Beginning Acting freshman year, and I wanted to have another opportunity to act that was outside of the theater department.” Q: What is your event, and how does it work? A: “I do Humorous Interpretation and Duo Interpretation, and they are both 10 minutes long. In Humorous Interpretation, you play anywhere from two to six characters, and in Duo Interpretation, you can play anywhere from one [to] six characters.” Q: What is your favorite part of Forensics? A: “My favorite part of Forensics is getting to act in a sense that you’re only relying on yourself. In the theater department, you’re always relying on others and performing with others. In Forensics, you get to play all the parts, and you’re in complete control of your performance.”
senior Paige Waldberg
Forensics students share details of their events, favorite aspects junior Gracie Goheen
Q: Why did you join Forensics? A: “I joined because ever since I was little, I liked arguing and talking and winning and all that kind of stuff. I also want to be a lawyer, so I figured it would be a good fit for me.” Q: What is your event, and how does it work? A: “There [are] a lot of criteria — you have to be good at critical thinking on the spot, and you have to be good at speaking. You and a partner are either affirming a resolution — saying that you should do something — or you are negating it — explaining that it would cause more harm than good. Then you and your partner have to argue whether or not it would be beneficial to pass the plan that is presented.” Q: What is your favorite part of Forensics? A: “My favorite part would probably be the people in it. We try to be a family and, although we have our ups and downs, at the end of the day, it’s a really good group of people to surround yourself with.”
sophomore Caitlin Riffer Q: Why did you join Forensics? A: “A lot of people probably think it’s because of my dad, but actually, I just really love acting and public speaking. It is my passion, and since it is competitive, I really like that, too.” Q: What is your event, and how does it work? A: “I do Oration, and it is a 10-minute-long persuasive speech that is full of facts. Then, at the end, I have to give a solution — how to fix the problem that I am addressing.” Q: What is your favorite part of Forensics? A: “The competition aspect, but I also like the people at tournaments. I like how Forensics is a lot more laid-back than Debate. You have time in between rounds at tournaments, and you get to meet a lot of cool people from other schools.” Photos by Molly Johnson. Page designed by Chloe Breau and Grace Gearon.
March 2015 payin’thebills 11
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12 upclose March 2015
When In Doubt, Dance It Out
Juniors bond together as Robotic Magicians dance crew
Wielding what is known as “the orb,” Scaff passes along to Fitzsimons and Buchert. The orb signals movements from one dancer to the next. “Everything flows through our bodies,” Scaff said. “We’ll use our hands sometimes to pass the motions back and forth between us.” Photos by Makayla Nicholis.
laurenhuesers & makaylanicholis staff writers Walking down the halls in the morning, it’s easy to pick out the people scurrying to finish their last-minute homework. There are some who woke up too late for breakfast, cleaning out the cafeteria of muffins and chocolate milk, and some listening to music in the Avenue of the Arts. And then there are three dancers, the ones viewed with familiarity due to their frequent practice at school and their performances at assemblies. Junior Garet Scaff, also known as Mr. Gold, was the first member of the current dance crew at BV. “My cousins came over to my house and were playing around on the computer,” Scaff said. “They told me to look at [a] video. I walked over there and saw this guy doing “Alex this weird type I fell and Alex are ofindance. love with not my friends; it.” Scaff they’re my said he was determined brothers.” to learn to — Scaff dance, so he started practicing six hours a day. He has now been dancing for five years. “I also wanted to dance because when I went to clubs or other dance activities, there was always a circle, and I always used to get beaten,” Scaff said. “I didn’t like that. I felt like, ‘No, I need to know something.’ So, I
just started dancing.” Scaff, along with the rest of the crew, said he is completely self-taught and has never taken a class before. Furthermore, Scaff refuses to teach his trade to others. “I’m a street dancer,” Scaff said. “I learned by watching movies. I would rather somebody go and try to learn it on their own because you feel so much more successful when you do it on your own — when I just teach you, it means nothing to you. I did it, so I’m sure other people can do it.” Scaff didn’t always dance with his current crew, who call themselves the Robotic Magicians. He said he wanted to have what he called a “dance family.”
“You know, I want to get to the end and be successful with somebody I can trust,” Scaff said. “Alex and Alex are not my friends — they’re my brothers.” Juniors Alex Fitzsimons and Alex Buchert joined up with Scaff their sophomore year. Now, the crew is comprised “I feel different entirely of than I used to...” Mr. Gold (Scaff), who — Buchert specializes in Animation style, Mr. Silver
March 2015 upclose 13 (Buchert) who concentrates on Robotics and between all the different pieces.” Mr. Bronze (Fitzsimons), who focuses on Buchert said both music production and Popping. dancing are important outlets for him. The names, Scaff said, originated from his “I’ve always looked for different ways own. to express myself,” Buchert said. “I’ve gone “The reason it came up was because my through so many different hobbies, but favorite color is gold, and it just appealed to music is one huge thing for me. Magic is me,” Scaff said. “I started calling myself Mr. another huge thing. And then dance — it just Gold. I guess it just kind of led to Mr. Bronze helps me be my own person. I feel different and Mr. Silver.” than I used to — I used to feel very secluded, Fitzsimons said he was interested in danc- but now I can branch off and talk to other ing after seeing Scaff perform. people.” “When I saw what Garet was Fitzsimons agreed dance has “To doing, I asked him if he could become a paramount aspect of us, the show me the wave,” Fitzsiwho he is today. mons said. “I got really into “Honestly, I’m a bit of an dance world is it. Then, we were looking introvert,” Fitzsimons said. different from your “When I came to Blue Valley, for somebody who could actually make music, and I Garet was the first person to world.” knew Alex [Buchert] could. So, really say anything to me at the — Scaff middle school, so I guess that was I introduced Garet to him, and he became Mr. Silver.” that.” As the music producer for the Robotic Scaff said though he met Fitzsimons more Magicians, Buchert said he either starts from recently, he’s known Buchert since second scratch or creates mashups and mixes from grade. different songs. “We talked for like five minutes, and I “I just kind of make whatever comes to never saw him again until freshman year of mind, and then I show it to them,” Buchert high school,” Scaff said. “I think fate took said. “Either they think it sounds good or over, so that was pretty cool.” they don’t, and then we go back and forth The trio said though they share many good memories together as a crew, they have their favorite in common. “I would have to say, for me, it was probably the first time we ever actually performed together, which was sophomore year at the last assembly,” Fitzsimons said. “It was just really cool to see how everybody reacted to us as a group.” Buchert agreed the moment was exciting. “It was that very surreal moment, almost like a movie, as if you’re walking out having your name called out, and people are just going ‘Yeah!’ in the crowd,” Buchert said. In the future, the Robotic Magicians hope to audition for Dragon House, a renowned dance crew based in Atlanta, Georgia. “We hope to finish high school, go to Johnson County Community College and, after that, continue working here in Kansas,” Scaff said. “Then, hopefully, we’ll make it down to Atlanta to try out for Dragon House and live in an apartment together, so it’s dance every day.” Though the crew said they fight amongst Practicing his robotic moves, Buchert solos in themselves often, they agreed being a family the space left for him by the crew. He has danced is what’s most important to them. for about a year. “I don’t do a whole lot of fluid “Who says family doesn’t fight, right?” motions — it’s all very static — but then I like to Scaff said. “I mean, dancing by yourself is add my own sort of twist to it,” Buchert said. “It’s cool and all, but there’s nothing like being my own unique interpretation.”
Dancing to the song “Fireflies” by Owl City, the Robotic Magicians move as a single entity. Fitzsimons said each movement they make affects the motions of the others. “We don’t mean to do it,” he said. “It just happens, so it’s very fluid and nice.”
next to your brothers — being next to your crew — because that’s what matters the most.” For a source of inspiration, Scaff said the crew uses the negativity they see in high school to motivate them as dancers. “Sometimes we’ll walk through the hallway, and you’ll hear a person say a bad thing or two, and what we do is just throw on our headphones and go to a different world,” Scaff said. “To us, the dance world is different from your world. It makes us forget about people who say mean things. We move on, and we respect them for that because that builds us up as dancers.”
You Tube Interested in more? Check the crew out, and subscribe to their channel “Robotic Magicians” on YouTube to keep up-to-date on their dancing endeavors.
Page designed by Makayla Nicholis and Lauren Huesers.
14 upclose March 2015
OF
Mysteries Blue Valley unexplored areas brought into focus Park in Progress
A lot of students pass by the outside area by the mobiles on their way to class, and even though it “is nice to look at,” as science teacher John Holloway said, it doesn’t seem to have any use. The gravel, rocks and sparse bushes look as if they could be a nice lunch spot, he said, but it hasn’t quite been figured out after a year’s existence. “It was first being worked on around early spring of last year,” Holloway said. He said he appreciates the view, especially in the warmer months. “In the beginning and end of the school year when it’s warm, I think it
Curiosity Killed the Catwalk
The catwalk above the PAC is familiar to the drama students, but for the rest of us, it’s unexplored territory. High above the stage hovers the catwalk and ghost stories about it. “Every high school theater in America is ‘haunted,’” drama teacher Jeff Yarnell said. “Whenever you’re doing a show or working on something late at night, whether it’s the lighting or the wires, there are going to be things [that] are seemingly unexplainable.” Yarnell said the drama students have decided there’s a ghost.
“Our ghost is Steve, who supposedly haunts the place,” he said. There’s only one way up to the catwalk. “The catwalk is about 30 feet up off the stage,” Yarnell said. “There’s a flight of winding stairs that is the single access point.” The catwalk is used several times during the year, especially during the winter. “With the musical, there’s always people up on the catwalk working lights,” Yarnell said. “It really depends on what season it is because sometimes the catwalk gets used a lot and sometimes not at all.”
No Green for the Greenhouse
Page and stories by Charlotte Rooney. Photos by Isabelle Allen.
would be nice to eat lunch out there,” he said. “But there’s a lot of traffic because students are walking in and out from their mobile classes.” Holloway said lunch tables or benches would be nice, but there is a drawback. “The issue with lunch tables is the cafeteria is on the far end of the school,” Holloway said. “I think it wouldn’t be easy for kids to come and eat lunch.” He said it would be great to have a lunch spot, but the school most likely wouldn’t do that just for him. “The ‘John Holloway Garden’ probably isn’t going to happen,” he said.
The greenhouse, located behind the science rooms in the freshman hallway, is seldom used by students or teachers. Because of its location and double purpose, it’s hard to utilize the greenhouse, science teacher Andrew Hulse said. “One of the issues with [the greenhouse] is it faces to the north,” Hulse said. “Because of that, the greenhouse doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight, and it needs that for the plants to grow.” Another problem is climate control, he said. A greenhouse needs to be at an average of 75 degrees, according to organicgardening.com. Between Rooms 209 and 213 is an office in shared space with the greenhouse with three doors leading out of it, which makes it
difficult to keep at a constant temperature. “Because it doubles as an office space and a greenhouse, it often gets too cold for the plants,” he said. Hulse said it would be fitting to have an external greenhouse. “Having a legitimate greenhouse that could serve its purpose would be nice,” he said. “Budget-wise, I don’t know that we have the funds to make a whole new structure.” Hulse said he would love to have classes make use of the greenhouse. “Increasing its usability by having students involved in it would be ideal,” Hulse said. “Because of the green revolution we’re going through right now, if people were more aware of the greenhouse and were willing to take ownership of it, there could definitely be a club or program for it.”
Want more? Visit bvtigernews.com for another Mystery of BV — Shady Shakespeare.
March 2015 upclose 15
Down Business
Getting
What is it?
to
“DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.”
Distributive Education Clubs of America
DECA by the
{numbers} 10 million
more than students have joined
Competitive event example: “You are an intern at a luxury hotel addressing a recent fire due to lapses in regulation. You must focus on ways to prevent it from happening in the future and the need for day-to-day employees to follow safety procedures.”
2 participants
215,000 current members
3,500 high school chapters 5,500 advisors
30 min
one career cluster exam
preparation time
appear before a judge
15 min
interview time
Q&A with DECA club president senior Luke Kennedy
Question: What are your responsibilities as president? Answer: “Basically, I help the new members this year. We only had 5 [total members] last year, we actually have Kennedy and 37 this year. So, a lot of what I do is tell people what we do at competitions because we go to several. Then, I help plan events like our charity basketball game.”
Q: What do you want the school to know about DECA? A: “I would say that it’s a lot of fun, and it’s not nearly as much work as someone might think. It’s really laid-back — anyone can do it for sure. You don’t have
to be in business [classes]. I’m not in business, but it’s still really fun.”
Q: How do DECA competitions work? How do you prepare? A: “We will go to the [host school’s] auditorium where they welcome us. Then we’ll go off and take a hundred-question test — it’s pretty basic. You take it by yourself, and then you and a partner’s scores are put together. Then you will go to a room where you get a scenario in the area of business you signed up for. You or you and your teammate will have 15 to 30 minutes to prepare for that scenario. Then you will go in front of one or two judges who are local Kansas City business people or small business owners, and you will present to them your business plan for that scenario. They will listen and then ask you questions about it for five
minutes. Then they will grade you.” Q: What events do you compete in? A: “Sports and Entertainment Marketing is what me and my partner [senior] Braden Schroeder have done for the past two years.” Q: Can people join DECA mid-year? A: “It has to be at the beginning. You have to pay your dues in early fall — that’s when you sign up.”
Q: What other events does DECA plan for BV? A: “I know [business teacher Ashley] Scheuerman plans on continuing a charity basketball game each year — maybe going to a different cause each year. Other than that, this is actually us getting our toes wet since we really haven’t done anything else.” Story and page designed by Sheila Gregory. Information gathered from deca.org.
Technology 16 indepth March 2015
Welcome to 2015 — a magical land of shining new iPhones, self-operating cars and homegrown human organs. Since technology and science have developed so quickly, it’s the most advanced time to be alive. Yet in the ever-expanding worlds of
computer science, engineering and other STEM fields, male advancement seems to be growing far faster than that of women. This nationwide affliction starts local with some of BV’s classes focused on the future having a distinct absence of female students.
Computer Science: Elizabeth Vore Fascinated by computers from a young age, junior Elizabeth Vore is one of few Blue Valley students who takes programming classes — the only female out of eight students total. “I think it’s really cool to be able to write it down and make a computer do what you want it to do,” Vore said. Of her six semesters devoted to programming, Vore said she only shared one with another girl. “It’s a male-dominated career that’s very math- and science-heavy, and generally that’s not what girls are drawn to,” she said. “If there aren’t many girls in there, girls want to stay with their friends, and none of their friends are there.” She said her gender doesn’t influence anything about her programing or learning about computer science. “It affects a lot of the interactions I have,” she said. “The peer group is obviously very different, but other than that, they’re boys. Everything they do is awkward.” Inspired by her father’s computer experience, Vore involved herself in programming at a young age. By learning to create PC games and enrolling in technology classes, Vore said she immersed herself in a continuously growing field despite not wanting to make a career out of her knowledge. “It’s becoming a bigger part of our society, and
For A
Broadcast: Bailey K
the careers available, especially to females, are huge,” she said. “There are so many more job offerings in computer sciences than there are people willing to take them.” Vore said the gender demographic of computer science shouldn’t discourage anyone from aiming for these jobs. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the only one,” Vore said. “When you’re actually working, it’s just you and the computer. It doesn’t matter who’s sitting next to you.”
At BV... Girls taking advanced technology classes out of total students
12.5% Honors Java Programming
5.7% Game Design 2
Female studen gender barrier male-dominate
0% Honors Principles of Engineering
Stories and page designed by Gennifer Geer. Photos by Molly Johnson and Sophia Ragomo.
13% Broadcast Media II
Directing the monthly Tiger TV show, junior Bailey Klehn devotes talents to BV’s broadcast departmen as one of two girl members this sem ter. Klehn said she wanted to join th program as soon as she discovered passion. “In eighth grade, I took a CAPS class for filmmaking, and I fell in lo with it,” Klehn said. “When I learne our school had filming, I had to do no matter what.” Though this is her first year as a member, she said she enjoys the rel tionships she has with the rest of th broadcast team. “I like how we can all joke aroun with each other,” she said. “We thin we’re funny people. You can be who er you want to be, and we bounce id off each other.” She said female involvement has
March 2015 indepth 17
students overcome barriers in ominated courses
All
Bailey Klehn
thly Tiger TV lehn devotes her ast department mbers this semesnted to join the he discovered her
took a CAPS and I fell in love When I learned g, I had to do it
first year as a enjoys the relathe rest of the
all joke around aid. “We think ou can be whoevd we bounce ideas
volvement has
Nationwide... Percentage of females and males who took specialized math and science classes by graduation
Biology
Physics
50% vs 39% 36% vs 42% Females
Males
Calculus
Females
Males
Precalculus
17% vs 17% 37% vs 34% Females
Males
Algebra II
78% vs 74%
Females Information from National Girls Collaborative Project.
grown since her freshman year, but it’s not due to social views. “Media and filming has become more of a popular subject,” Klehn said. “I’m not saying it’s because girls are more independent now or anything. If you have the talent and the passion for it, you can do it.” She said girls shouldn’t be hesitant to join because of the gender imbalance, though her position as one of the only ones helped give her opportunities. “It puts me more into a place of superiority,” she said. “When we did ‘Guy Code,’ they kept asking me for advice to make sure it was OK.” She said she often acts as a voice of reason for the rambunctious boys. “I’m a moderator for them,” Klehn said. “They’ll have crazy ideas, and I’ll tone it down a bit.” Klehn said her discomfort among the boys quickly faded when she focused on broadcast. “At first, I did feel a little awkward being around all the guys, but once a week went by, the guys don’t really care,” she said. “As long as you realize you’re all there for the exact same purpose, you’re all having fun.”
Males
Females
Males
Engineering
1% vs 6%
Females
Males
CAPS Engineering: Sofia Acosta
The only girl in her class, junior Sofia Acosta chose to take CAPS Engineering because of her interest in architecture. “A lot of people don’t know it’s actually an art-based field rather than a math-based field,” she said. “I actually signed up for CAPS Engineering to go into the architecture strand, but I ended up being really interested in the projects this semester for [manufacturing] engineering. So, I switched into it.” Acosta said she was initially intimidated by the lack of female students. “On top of the fact that I’m only 5 feet tall, I’m the only girl in a room with 26 guys with giant machines and drills and everything that guys enjoy,” she said. “It’s really not that bad. We get along really well. After the first week, they’ve accepted that I’m not just going to sit in the corner.” Acosta said the male students were just as unsure about her presence. “They didn’t know how to act if I was going to take it seriously or if I was just in the room,” she said. “Once they realized I was interested and knew I wanted to learn about it, I think they accepted me more as a student.” Though she said her gender doesn’t
affect how she’s treated or how she performs in class, she understands other girls’ reluctance to enroll. “I think girls are intimidated to look into a math-strengthened career choice,” Acosta said. “I think they’re intimidated by the fact there already aren’t many girls, so girls are scared to get involved. I did it because I liked it.” Acosta advised girls to follow their interests and not let fear hold them back. “You have to keep in mind that boys are just as scared of you as you are being in a room filled with guys,” she said. “It’s scary to be in a room with 26 other guys who know what they’re doing, but they don’t really know how to act around the one girl. They’re just as nervous around you as you are around them. Just get over it.”
18 upclose March 2015
Creativity is Key
Annual competition results in three top awards for BV
Every year, Blue Valley students send their most prized pieces of art to be judged in Scholastic’s Art and Writing Awards. The national competition is open to all high school students whether they are enrolled in an art class or not. Individual submissions cost $5, and portfolio submissions cost $20. To prove
authenticity, students are required a sponsor signature from an art teacher from their school. The Scholastic judges choose the best works to receive either a Gold Key, Silver Key or honorable mention at a Regional level. If a piece is awarded the Gold Key, it goes on to be considered at a National level.
The students whose works go on to national consideration can win scholarships for up to $10,000. This year, Blue Valley students submitted around 70 pieces. Three won the Gold Key award — sophomore Alex Roberts, junior Kelly Wood and junior Abbey Crawford.
ABBEY CRAWFORD Category: Ceramics
Description: “It’s really tall and modern [with] duller colors. I included a rope and made it look vintage — I like the kind of ancient look. I wanted to make it a little weird, not your average pot, so I included two different mixed media things — the clay with the rope.” Reflection: “I wanted something that I could hold that would be interesting [and] catch someone’s eye if they saw it on a table or shelf. It took me quite a while to figure out what I wanted to do with it, but after I got in the mood, I finished it. I am definitely proud of [it] because it’s different.”
Silver Key and Honorable Mention Recipients Ceramics Senior Jenna Bodenhausen, Silver Key Senior Megan Imber, Silver Key Senior Rachel McGuire, HM
KELLY WOOD
Category: Drawing Description: “It’s a picture I drew of my friend [wearing] a turban with a gun to her head. She had this fake gun — we were just playing with it. I took a picture of her. I was like ‘I’m going to draw that.’ I drew it during the summer, so it wasn’t meant for school — it was for fun.” Reflection: “I thought my other pieces were stronger, but since it’s controversial, [the judges] chose [this] one. I submitted seven pieces that I thought were strong, and [they chose the one that] doesn’t have as many strong skills or concepts.”
ALEX ROBERTS Category: Ceramics
Description: “I submitted a ceramic vase I made in class for my hand-built final last [semester]. The requirements were that it had to have three hand-built techniques, so I used soft slab, stiff slab and coil. It’s a rectangular water pitcher, and it curves out. It has a handle that makes an oval with the curve, and it has a spout. It took about three weeks to create.” Reflection: “I’m proud of it, but I feel like it could have gone better had the lid worked out. I made a lid after the fact — it didn’t match very well, so I didn’t submit the lid with it. [I’m most proud of] the glazing because it has a pretty cool blend of blues and shiny black.” Story and page design by Alli Williams. Pictures submitted by Michael Johnston.
Sculpture Senior Jenna Bodenhausen, Silver Key Senior Sarah Supple, Silver Key Junior Kelly Wood, Silver Key Junior Arya Edalati, HM
Photography Junior Bonnie Anderson, Silver Key Junior Maddie Davis, Silver Key Senior Lauren Holland, Silver Key Junior Katherine Dunlap, HM Junior Jonathan Hearl, HM Senior Taylor Morton, HM Senior Kirsten O’Leary, HM Junior Sophia Ragomo, HM (3) Senior Ricky Shull, HM (2)
Drawing Senior Haley Hartman, Silver Key
March 2015 upclose 19
Fish in a New Pond
District transfers detail reasons for switch, explain BV’s differences
One in eight people at Blue Valley has transferred from another school in the district. Although there have been rumors that BV will be closed to transfers next year, assistant principal Mark Dalton said the school has not reached that capacity yet. Four of the 200 transfers explain why they chose to call BV home.
W BV
BV
N
Sophomore Will Hobson went to BV Senior Holly Gray transferred to BV North his freshman year and transferred from BV Southwest before her junior here for his sophomore year. year. Question: What made you Q: What made you transfer transfer to BV? to BV? Answer: “My brother A: “I didn’t like it went here, and he at Southwest said the people because I Gray Hobson were really didn’t like nice [and] the people the teachers were great and inthere. Blue Valley shows a lot teracted with the kids. It was of school spirit, and Southan all-around good school west really didn’t.” and good people.” Q: How is BV different Transfers by the Q: How is BV different from BV Southwest? from BV North? A: “The people and Numbers A: “It’s a family kind of teachers are a lot more BV North: 61 place here, and it’s a lot friendly, and I feel like BV West: 76 more casual. You don’t it’s a homey school have to worry about how BV Southwest: 47 here.” you look or how wellBV Northwest: 16 dressed you are. It’s just a better place to be.”
W VN
B BV S W
Freshman Missy Stigliano went to Lakewood Middle School, which feeds into BV West, but transferred here for her freshman year. Q: What made you transfer to BV? A: “My sister went here for high school, and my brother goes here. At the middle school I went to, I didn’t like the atmosphere very much. I didn’t really want to go to Blue Valley West.” Q: How is BV different from BV West? A: “[BV is] a lot older, and I feel like the peoStigliano ple here are a lot nicer. The school [feels] a bit smaller, and I like that.”
Junior Deni Burns transferred to BV from BV West a few weeks into this school year. Q: What made you transfer to BV? A: “I think that it just wasn’t a good fit at West, and I decided that transferring would be a good idea.” Q: How is BV different from BV West? A: “The people and staff [here] are just a lot more welcoming and accepting of who you are and who you hang out with. Coming here the first day, people weren’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, you hang out with so and so.’ People are just a lot more accepting and seemed like they were Burns happy to have me here.” Page designed by Megan Hegarty.
20 upclose March 2015
Watch Your Language BV students speak multiple languages, share multilingual experiences
“ ““ “ Junior Mariam Habib speaks four languages fluently that she learned from her parents — English, Urdu and Punjabi, as well as the colloquial language Fahki. Since the languages besides English all originate in Pakistan, Habib said they are all similar. “Once I learned one, the rest were really easy,” she said. Habib speaks the four languages with her friends and family who know them as well. “I speak English and all the other languages combined at home and at parties,” Habib said. “I just go back and forth — whatever is easiest to say.” Although she is already proficient in many languages, Habib said she wants to learn more. “I am interested in Spanish and Koshur,” Habib said. “If possible, then Arabic. I can read Arabic, but I can’t understand it.” Despite challenges in remembering different grammatical rules and tenses, Habib said she enjoys knowing multiple languages. “I like communicating to different kinds of people in different ways,” Habib said. “It’s just cool to know a lot of languages. I think [it will help with] job opportunities and meeting new people because we have more similarities.”
Foreign exchange student senior Anel Samekova is from Kazakhstan; fluently speaks Kazakh, Russian, Turkish and English; and is currently learning French, Japanese and Urdu. “In Kazakhstan, I speak two main languages: Kazakh and Russian,” Samekova said. Samekova said she mostly speaks English in America but sometimes will forget and speak in the language that is easiest for the situation. “Sometimes, you can’t express your feelings in Russian or any other language,” Samekova said. “Some stuff is better to understand or to explain in English. I can’t tell if it would be multiple words in English or only one word in a different language.” Samekova said it’s extremely easy to mix up languages with ones that sound similar to each other. “I’m [learning] French right now, and I have a big mistake,” she said. “Always when I need to say ‘and’, which is ‘et,’ I speak in Turkish and say ‘vet.’ My teacher is always like, ‘What is “vet”?’ It is funny to me.”
Born to Russian parents and raised in Israel, freshman Amit Israeli said he has two first languages. “[I learned] Hebrew and Russian at the same time in Israel, at home,” Israeli said. When he moved to America in 2009, Israeli said the only thing he knew how to say in English was, “May I please have some more?” “It took me a year to learn English, probably less,” he said. Now fluent in three languages, Israeli said being trilingual can make it hard to have conversations. “[It’s difficult] not mixing multiple languages in the same sentence,” he said. “I might switch from Russian to Hebrew without even realizing it. In school, not [talking] in other languages on accident is kind of hard.” Despite difficulties, Israeli said he thinks he has benefited from knowing multiple languages. “[The best part is] you can speak about people without them knowing that you’re speaking about them,” Israeli said. “I guess it’ll help with jobs and make me look impressive, but mostly [I enjoy] talking about people without them knowing.”
Fluent in Arabic and English, sophomore Sarah Baghdadi first learned Arabic from her parents who have strong cultural ties. “The language is mainly from the Middle East, but my parents are specifically from Syria,” she said. Baghdadi said she first learned the language to be able to read the Muslim book, the Quran, which is completely in Arabic, but said knowing the language will be useful for her later in life as well. “If I ever go back to the Middle East, I’ll be able to communicate really well there,” Baghdadi said. Baghdadi said she enjoys learning about her cultural background and will always be proud to speak Arabic. “While Arabic is [similar] to English in some aspects, the differences in the language allow me to communicate with my country in a way that can’t be achieved with any other language,” she said.
Page design by Alli Williams. Stories by Alli Williams and Courtney Carpenter.
March 2015
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22 centerstage March 2015
Eyes
n the
ifrahsayyada staff writer
Students roam through the halls of Blue Valley every day. No one notices things around them. People don’t even notice the person standing next to them. Start noticing. Participate in this scavenger hunt to win a prize. Remember, keep your eyes peeled, and always be on the lookout.
March 27
Clue: The medieval version of Wikipedia in a place where passes are necessary
April 1
Clue: Seeing your favorite teams will lighten your mood
April 6
Clue: An alarm above that disturbs your performance on the coldest of days Photos by Ifrah Sayyada and Courtney Carpenter. Designed by Ifrah Sayyada.
Prize
Scavenger hunt starts race on Twitter; newspaper staff offers prizes to winners each day
How to play the game:
1. Tweet a selfie to @bvtigernews with you and the object each day. 2. In the caption, describe where you are or what you think the object or location is. 3. Think quick — the first person to send it in correctly wins a prize. 4. You may only win once. 5. Prizes will be a variety of gift cards.
March 30
Clue: Where creativity flows
April 2
Clue: The eye of the tiger...literally
April 7
Clue: A posh place to have assemblies
March 31
Clue: Music plays as you pass by this hallway
April 3
Clue: Words of a dramatic play in the most obvious place
April 8
Clue: Display of school spirit in an unlikely place
March 2015 centerstage 23
Satisfying Snacks Quick, easy recipes relieve after-school hunger Yogurt Covered Blueberries: the perfect frozen treat for any lazy afternoon Ingredients: blueberries, blueberry yogurt Prep Time: 6 minutes Total Time: 50 to 65 minutes Directions: 1. Place half-teaspoon dollops of chilled yogurt onto a plate or cookie sheet. 2. Place a single blueberry on each dollop of yogurt. 3. Top with just enough yogurt to cover the exposed skin of each blueberry. 4. Freeze for 45 minutes to an hour. 5. After freezing, use spatula to lift blueberries from cookie sheet. Recipe adapted from buzzfeed.com Granola Apple Wedges: salty and sweet to satisfy your taste buds Ingredients: apples, peanut butter, granola, chocolate chips Prep Time: 10 minutes Directions: 1. Core and cut apples into wedges. 2. Smear peanut butter on the flat top of each apple wedge. 3. Dip the edge smeared with peanut butter into granola. 4. Melt a quarter-cup of chocolate chips in microwave for one minute, and drizzle over granola. Recipe adapted from thecomfortofcooking.com
Dipped Peanut Butter Banana Bites: easy and iconic, peanut butter and bananas make an excellent snack Ingredients: bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 to 55 minutes Directions: 1. Peel and cut banana width-wise. 2. Take a banana slice and spread one side with peanut butter. Then, place a second slice on top. 3. Melt a quarter-cup of chocolate chips in microwave for one minute. 4. Dip half of each banana sandwich into the melted chocolate. 5. Freeze for 30 to 45 minutes, if desired. Recipe adapted from ahealthysliceoflife.com
Veggie Hummus Wraps: healthy and delicious all wrapped into one Ingredients: whole-grain flour tortillas, hummus, carrots, celery, your choice of vegetables Prep Time: 7 minutes Directions: 1. Spread hummus evenly across entire tortilla. 2. Cut vegetables into long, thin slices. 3. Place vegetables in a row across the middle of the tortilla. 4. Roll tortilla, and cut into 2-inch slices, if desired. Recipe adapted from buzzfeed.com Page designed, story and photos by Isabelle Allen.
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Hollywood’s Most Hated Lists of most despised celebrities, books and songs analyzed, deemed horrible, unworthy of fame
March 2015 centerstage 25
Celebrities Taylor “TSwizzle” Swift — Whether you hate her new transformation or simply hate her perky personality and ex-boyfriend shaming, singer Taylor Swift can extract some pretty negative reactions. Can’t stand her catchy tunes being stuck in your head? Can’t master the straight bangs? Whatever the reasoning, many simply despise the country/pop/awkward rap/whatever-the-record-company-says star. Justin “JBiebs” Bieber — Do we even need to explain why singer Justin Bieber made the list? In and out of the tabloids for ridiculous stunts such as referring to Anne Frank as a “belieber” (cringes and slaps forehead) or posting over-Photoshopped pictures, many wish Usher would have left the once innocent Canadian alone. Paula Deen — Characterized by her love of
Books “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle — This book is actually real trippy. With thinly-veiled communist references and old women named after the five Ws, this terrible excuse for a novel finishes with a showdown against a giant brain. Need we say more? We think we’ve made our point here. “Insurgent” and “Allegiant” by Veronica Roth — The two sequels to a blatant rip-off of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” leaves readers wondering why Roth didn’t just stop at one. And spoiler alert: It’s a bad
Rastogi
“I didn’t understand what was happening in [“A Wrinkle in Time”], and I didn’t understand the meaning of the characters.” — junior Aditi Rastogi
Photos courtesy of MCT Campus. Pages designed by Hope Brown. Stories by Rachel Lock and Hope Brown.
idea to kill off the main character at the very end of the novel just to seem different. There’s a reason no other young adult authors have done it before — because it is lazy writing and upsets loyal readers (slow clap for Veronica Roth, the killer of happy endings).
unexplainably infatuated with a boy who wants to drink her blood. Second, Edward is a psycho-stalker who thrives off of breaking into houses and watching Bella sleep. And third, “Twilight” is unconditionally and irrevocably a terrible book that sets unrealistic relationship standards.
“House of Dies Drear” by Virginia Hamilton — We still don’t know what happened in this book.
“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe — Do you like green eggs and yam? I do not like them yam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and yam! Would you like them here or there? I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. Okonkwo does so like green eggs and yam!
“Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer — About three things I am absolutely positive. First, Bella, an embarrassment to feminists everywhere, is a whiny teenager who is
Berkowitz
“[I hate] the Kardashians because they don’t do stuff. I guess they’re supposed to be models. I don’t know. [They’re] famous for being famous.” — senior David Berkowitz
Hanna
“If you don’t hate the books that are given to you in school, then you’re insane. I’d rather go read ‘Divergent.’” — junior Emily Hanna
Songs Every Nickelback song ever — The band everyone loves to hate, Nickelback is the punchline of many music jokes from how they are the embarrassment of the music industry to the resemblance of lead singer Chad Kroeger’s hair to spaghetti. If you play Nickelback when passed the aux cord, your homies will most likely kick you out of the car. Nickelback-shaming is that serious. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen — It’s a wonder this one-hit-wonder even had one hit. Indulging in her stalker-like fantasies, Jepsen begs the object of her affection to call her after their first meeting. What happens after that, no one knows. Perhaps Jepsen’s date backfired because she hasn’t been heard from since. “Friday” by Rebecca Black — When a video must be removed from YouTube due to the hate it receives, you know something is wrong. Remember in middle school when Friday
butter and frightening appearance, southern celebrity chef Paula Deen evokes the urge to angrily sip freshly-brewed sweet tea. Warning: all dishes are served with a side of racial slurs. Sarah Palin — Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is a hockey mom with a moose fetish and invents words such as “refudiate.” Famous for her Alaskan antics and matching accent, Palin is sure to raise eyebrows among Democrats and fellow Republicans alike. Kim Kardashian — While it’s debatable reality star Kim Kardashian should even be classified as a celebrity, she did gain a noticeable amount of attention with the leak of her “artistic” video. Kim’s list of accomplishments include: being married for 72 days, naming her child after a direction on a compass and exposing her bootylicious backside to the whole world in an attempt to break the Internet.
would come around? And teachers thought it was really funny to sing the song? And everyone would join in for the rest of the day? Thanks for killing the joy of Friday, Rebecca Black. “Shake It Off ” by Taylor Swift — Haters are going to “hate, hate, hate” this song. Mundane lyrics and an overdone tune make this the bane of music lovers’ existence. Though diehard fans of the blonde haired popstar defend this, as recently trademarked by Swift herself, “sick beat,” you’ve got to admit — it kind of sucks. “Baby” by Justin Bieber — Before the Biebs transformed into a juvenile delinquent who pees in mop buckets, he was a tattooless child with a hair swoop that made tweens swoon. But crooning about his “baby” 55 times in his hit song resulted in universal hate and his perpetual attempt to regain his masculinity.
26 centerstage March 2015
Advice for All
Izzy
Tyler
Max
Vincent
Questions: •
What is the key to happiness?
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What is the best way to cheer someone up?
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What do you want to be when you grow up?
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At what age is a person an adult?
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If you could make one rule everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
First grade students at Stanley Elementary offer insight on life questions, share ideas
Logan
Evan “I want to be an art teacher. I like to do art. Everyone should find something that they love to do.” — Izzy “Someone is considered old when they don’t read for fun anymore. Keep reading, and keep learning.” — Tyler “I would cheer someone up by making them laugh. Laughter can solve a lot of problems.” — Logan “I want to be the President, so I could make a law that says everyone has to have ice cream every day. Having ice cream every
Omar
Avery day is very important.” — Omar “Someone is old when they are 99. If you live that long, you’re doing something right.” — Max “The key to happiness is the heart. Love, and you will be loved.” — Vincent “When I’m older, my job will be my hobby. Everyone should do something they love as their job.” — Evan “I think we should have more recess at school. We all need to take more time to let go and have fun.” — Avery
Page designed by and story by Maddie Davis. Photos by Sophia Ragomo.
March 2015
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A Second Swing at State Baseball team returns three players, hopes to reach State game meganhegarty staff writer Last year Blue Valley’s varsity baseball team won the 6A State championship, but only three members of that team didn’t graduate. Going into the season as reigning State champions with so few returners leaves big shoes to fill for this year’s team. Although the majority of the team graduated last year, all three of the State tournament pitchers are back for another season. “I think it’s a huge plus, when you have [senior] Ryan Cyr who’s been as successful as he’s been,” varsity baseball coach Tony Scardino said. “Tanner Fox and Will Brennan emerged last year — both of those kids [are] juniors this year.” Scardino said the experience of the pitchers will be invaluable for the season. “Brennan being a sophomore and starting in the State championship game [last year], that’s experience you can’t get anywhere else,”
Senior Ryan Cyr hands principal Scott Bacon the State championship trophy at the all-school picnic in August. Cyr said the new varsity members will have to step up to help the team. “They have to come in and act like they’ve been on varsity for two years,” he said. Photo by Molly Johnson.
Scardino said. Brennan said being a sophomore on a team with 12 seniors going on to play college baseball was a great experience. “I learned a lot from the seniors,” Brennan said. “I was a sponge for learning.” He said he has high expectations for this year and believes the team will have even more talent than the previous season. “I think we’ll be better than last year because we’re more skilled than we were,” Brennan said. “I hope to return to State and win again because 6A is wide open.” Although most of the team will be new to playing varsity baseball, Brennan said he doesn’t think experience will be a problem, and Scardino said he agrees. “[Last season] kids stepped up and did a great job for us with no varsity experience,” Scardino said. “I expect we’ll do the same thing [this year]. We always have kids that emerge and develop and just do great things for us.” Brennan said while not everyone has played together at BV, most of the team
Junior Will Brennan pitched on varsity last year as a sophomore. He said this year will be different because he’s an upperclassman. “I’ll have to take on a leadership role and will have more responsibilities this year,” Brennan said. Photo by Jocelyn Dennis.
members know each other from baseball outside of school. “I don’t think there’s going to be any problems with team chemistry,” Brennan said. “The experience will come throughout the season.” Brennan said Scardino expects the returning members of the State championship team to step up as leaders. “Coach Scardino would really love Ryan Cyr, [Tanner Fox] and hopefully me to become the leaders on the team this year,” he said. Scardino said once he finds players to take the places of the graduates, they will be ready for the season. “We just have to find some position players to fill in where all of our seniors graduated,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that challenge.” Although the teams vary year to year, Scardino said his expectations never change. “I’m demanding of the kids, and they know that,” he said. “We’ll do the little things well — we’ll pitch and defend.”
Team to play rival BV West at Kauffman Stadium, sells tickets to Royals games as fundraiser On April 15, the Blue Valley varsity baseball team will play BV West in an EKL game at Kauffman Stadium. The game is free, and baseball coach Tony Scardino said everyone is encouraged to go out and support the team. In order to play this game at Kauffman, the team must sell at least 1,000 Royals tickets as its fundraiser. You can choose which game to attend when you buy tickets, or you can buy a voucher and exchange it for a ticket at the Royals box office the day of the game.
A portion of the money raised goes to the BV baseball team. There are two blocks of seats you can purchase from — one in the lower level and one in the upper. Any seat in the upper level is $20, and the lower level seats past first and third base — Sections 107-115 and 140-148 — are $30. Scan the QR code for more information about this fundraiser. Page designed by Megan Hegarty.
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Background Check ✓
Coaches share experiences, stories of how they chose their sports Math teacher Jonathan Jost coaches many sports, including varsity football, freshman boys basketball, javelin for track and field and formerly JV boys’ tennis. As an adolescent, Jost played football for nine years, and for seven years, he ran track and played basketball. He said the different aspects of each sport make him want to coach those three. “In football, it’s the camaraderie,” he said. “It’s got to be one of the greatest team sports of all time. [There’s] 11 people working together, and there’s not just one person that can stand out. In basketball, it’s the intensity and the pace of the game. In track, it’s an individual thing, but just the skill and the different types of people that can be involved is a lot of fun.” Though Jost coaches all three, he said his favorite sport to coach is football. “It’s a lot of young men who have to work together for
a common goal with many different jobs,” he said. “It’s fun to be around football because of all the things that go into a game, game planning and being around the coaches.” Though he loves coaching, there is a flaw Jost said he wishes he could alter. “I wish I could change how specialized kids are getting into certain sports,” he said. “From a coaching standpoint, I would want kids to do different things and experience them.” Jost said he wants to continue coaching because of the relationships. “I really enjoyed when I was in high school being involved in sports and getting to know my coaches,” Jost said. “They had a positive impact on my life, so hopefully, I wanted to have a positive impact on students’ and athletes’ lives through coaching.”
Art teacher Kim Francis coaches the girls and boys tennis teams. She first started playing the sport in high school when she attended Kansas City Christian School and later played at Concordia on a scholarship. Including this year, she has been coaching for seven years. She has also previously coached soccer. “Just like with teaching, I love helping someone far exceed what even they believe they are capable of,” Francis said. “That they would get to the end of the season and be blown away at the personal growth they’ve had Art teacher Mark Mosier is the coach for Blue Valley’s girls bowling teams. Mosier and former faculty member Damon Feuerborn introduced the sport of bowling to BV. Before it was an actual team, Mosier and Feuerborn started it off as a club. The district later made bowling into an official school sport for the BV schools. Mosier has been coaching the team for four years now. The enthusiasm of the sport made Mosier want to coach the teams, he said. “I bowled a lot when I was younger,” Mosier said. “When I was [in high school], I bowled on Saturday mornings and weeks, and I always liked it. I bowled off and on as an adult, not necessarily in the week, but I enjoyed it recreationally.” Though he didn’t have an opportunity to bowl for a school team, he still played in his free time during high school and college. Mosier said he enjoys how bowling is a sport partic-
is a result of dedicating themselves to improving their game.” Not only does tennis require agility, Francis said it requires an intellectual element. “My favorite part of the sport while playing it is the mental component,” Francis said. “I didn’t really understand how much of a major role it played until college. It’s almost like playing chess but much more active.” Her coaching has also provided new opportunities to get to know different students. “I love that it allows me to get to know my students and many students I probably wouldn’t have known in a completely different context,” Francis said.
ipants can learn to become better at by knowing the basics. He said he likes how easy it is to get involved in the sport and how it can also provide scholarship opportunities. One thing Mosier wishes he could change is having a BV boys bowling team. “Most of the schools [such as] Shawnee Mission and Olathe have both boys and girls teams,” he said. “When we schedule meets, they would prefer to balance the schedule out, so sometimes, we don’t get into meets because we don’t have boys to bring along.” Mosier said he want others to know how fun bowling can be. “I like bowling, and I want my students to have an opportunity to enjoy it as much as I did,” Mosier said. “Plus, it’s a great group of students to be around.”
Stories by Ifrah Sayyada and Courtney Carpenter. Photos by Isabelle Allen and Ifrah Sayyada. Page designed by Ifrah Sayyada.
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A League of Their Own Rugby team competes without school affiliation, gathers players together from district schools mattantonic sports editor
“Send it,” shouts coach Paul Tripp. “Bring it wide,” hollers senior Patrick McLeroy. The Blue Valley Rugby Club is locked in a dog fight with Saint Thomas Aquinas, both teams battling fiercely for possession. The team’s jerseys do not read Tigers or Timberwolves, but instead read “BV Rugby Club,” gathering players from all corners of the district. The seventh season of the BV Rugby Club kicked off March 10 at St. Thomas Aquinas with 17 rostered players taking to the pitch. From fly-halves to fullbacks to hookers, these athletes put aside school rivalries in the name of one club and one district. Senior Sam Kohn said the mix of players from different schools is unique and makes the team function more effectively. “It’s just a good time because there are more people who know different things,” he said. “Everyone brings their own special charisma.” KSHSAA does not list rugby on its website, and the sport is not affiliated with the association. Due to the sport not being sponsored, the team competes as a club, and Kohn said the team does much of its own business procedures, including raising money and reserving practice fields. “We have to fundraise because rugby is really expensive to play,” Kohn said. “We have to figure out where we are going to practice, and we have to pay for the fields.” Page designed by Matt Antonic.
Some of the team’s practices include unofficial scrimmages against regular season opponents, which Kohn said helps the team improve strength and strategy. “Sometimes we’ll scrimmage with Olathe or Aquinas, and we’ll work together,” Kohn said. “They’ll tell us some stuff about the game and how to play it better. Our coaches help us out, and we just get better every day.” The team’s head coach is Paul Tripp, a former player for the Kansas City Blues Rugby Club and a member of the Blues Hall of Fame. McLeroy said Tripp does a wonderful job of teaching the game. “Coach Tripp is honestly the best coach I’ve ever had,” McLeroy said. “He connects with everyone, and he knows what he’s talking about.” McLeroy said Tripp understands the methods of coaching at the high school level. “He knows how to coach high schoolers,” McLeroy said. “You have [to] know how to do different things to coach high school, college and different levels.” McLeroy said the team’s goal is to get invited back to Nationals. Last year, the team was invited but had schedule conflicts. “It was on the same day as graduation for Blue Valley, so only like six guys could go,” he said.
Season update:
March 10, the Tigers fought against the nationally ranked Saints but fell 20-0. The team will host the KC Junior Blues of Rockhurst, one of the top teams in the nation, April 11, in a topnotch home match at BV District Stadium.
Senior Patrick McLeroy throws the ball to a teammate during practice. The March 7 game was canceled, though a complete schedule of games can be found on the team’s Twitter, @BlueValleyRugby. “We were all kind of disappointed we didn’t get to play,” McLeroy said. “We started going really hard, and it was quick and fun because everyone was in that game field.” Photo by Molly Johnson.
Rugby Basics Try — A score worth five points. Ball must cross goal line and be placed on the ground or “grounded” in the in-goal area. Equivalent of touchdown in American football. Conversion — A two-point score attempted by place kick or drop kick after a successful try. Ball placed in line with where the ball was grounded at whatever distance the kicker prefers. The ball must clear cross bar and go through goal-posts. Drop-Goal — A three-point score for kicking ball through goal-posts. The ball can be drop-kicked for goal from any point on the field during the run of play. Scrum — A formation of forwards, interlocked and facing each other, that is used to restart play. The ball is thrown into scrum and players compete to regain possession by kicking the ball to their own side.
TIGER
TURF BV SPORTS
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March 2015 tigerturf 31 1. Kicking the ball, sophomore Haylea Mikuls participates in a warm-up with her teammates. The first JV game is at home March 25 against Shawnee Mission Northwest. “This year, we are going to be able to bond as a team and do really well,” Mikuls said. Photo by Sophia Ragomo. 2. Senior Zach Naatz leans forward to hit the ball. This is art teacher Kim Francis’ first year as coach. “I’m pretty excited for this year — we have a lot more people, so
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we’re going to be a lot more competitive this year,” Naatz said. Photo by Molly Johnson. 3. On the green, freshman Michael Secrest swings his club. Boys golf will play March 30 at LionsGate — JV starts at 8 a.m., and varsity plays at 1 p.m. “I’m excited for the tournaments and missing school,” Secrest said. Photo by Isabelle Allen. 4. Swinging the bat, senior Sean Reardon tries out for the baseball team. He has played on the team the past three years. “It’s kind of hard to see everything baseball-related when we’re inside every day,” Reardon said. Photo by Molly Johnson. 5. Junior Matt Wise warms up for track practice with fellow athletes. The first varsity meet is at JCCC March 27. “I’m hoping to get close to the triple-jump school record and at least make State,” Wise said. Photo by Sophia Ragomo. 6. After school, freshman Kate Meinzenbach practices freestyle with her team. She has been swimming for seven years. “I’m most excited about going to meets and meeting new girls,” Meinzenbach said. Photo by Isabelle Allen. 7. Throwing the ball to home plate, senior Haley Koenig plays with fellow upperclassmen. The softball team did not have to make cuts this year and has a C-team in addition to JV and varsity. “What I like about softball is the sense of family we have,” she said. “We all grow really close throughout the season, which makes practices and games super fun.” Photo by Molly Johnson. Page designed by Molly Johnson.
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32 snapshot February 2015
buckets for
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DECA organizes charity basketball game to support principal Scott Bacon’s son; teachers defeat rival school
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3. 1. Preparing to shoot, ELA teacher Ryan Mahoney warms up for the game. Mahoney played basketball at Shawnee Mission West. “Coming up with clever and fun ideas to help each other out is one of the reasons I love Blue Valley so much,” he said. Photo by Sophia Ragomo. 2. Sprinting down the court, science teacher Andrew Hulse maintains control of the ball. Hulse coaches basketball as well as cross country and baseball. “I think our staff is extremely talented,” he said. “With the Twin Towers and Double-Dribble Taghizadeh, [we’re] unstoppable.” Photo by Sally Cochran. 3. Dribbling under the bas-
ket, math teacher Kyle Braden prepares to pass. Braden has coached basketball at BV for seven years. “The best part was raising money for the Bacon family,” Braden said. “The second best part was our complete domination of West.” Photo by Isabelle Allen. 4. Running through the banner, science teacher Azie Taghizadeh lifts her arms. Taghizadeh said she does not have past basketball experience. “It was great to have the opportunity to share this experience with the students,” she said. “It was also amazing to know that I was giving back to the community and sharing that with the faculty.” Photo by Maddie Davis.
Panorama photo by Sophia Ragomo. Page designed by Sally Cochran.