Centerspread: The financial “draft” Perspective: I was born to be a cello prodigy Perspective: My “Ladybird” moment

FINANCIAL THE “D R A F T:”

T h e U . S . m i l i t a r y ’ s prescence in high schools

Will you be drafted? As tensions with Iran grew with the recent assasination of the Iranian general Qassim Solemani, the idea of a military “draft’’ took social media by storm. This caused a panic and a misunderstanding of the presence of the military in our lives. The military “draft” is actively involved in the lives of many and through a form of financial recruitment.

Story by Rachel Robinson Opinion Editor and Claire Smith | Design Editor Photos taken and compiled by Claudia Benge | Sports Editor J an. 3, a day after the U.S. issued a drone strike on Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, junior Lilly Stafford opened TikTok. As she swiped through videos, she saw one overwhelming trend on her “For You” page: jokes about “the draft.” At first these jokes were funny, but she soon began to see comments expressing fear about the possibility of a draft becoming a reality. Globally, the attack sparked fear of further conflict between the U.S. and Iran and manifested across social media in an array of jokes and memes. “I think [the TikTok trend] escalated a lot faster than people expected it to and caused panic in a lot of people that might not be as educated in the political side of things,” Stafford said. “I feel like it just blew up a little bit too much beyond what it should have. It was a joke and then it started to turn into, like, an actual political issue.” As someone who considered serving in the military for four years and has familial ties to the Navy, Stafford does not believe there will ever be another actual “draft.” In the traditional sense of the word, a draft is when the U.S. government requires military service from certain demographics during war. “I do think that there would be the potential of needing something [to get recruits] but not to the extent of what a draft is,” Stafford said. “If there’s a war that not everyone politically agrees with, then they’re going to be like, ‘okay, we need like people for this.’ But I don’t think we would resort to the same way we [would] draft in the past.” According to Sergeant Kevin Elschlager, a recruiter from the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion, there is no chance for a national draft to occur. “I can tell you for a fact that [a draft] is not going to happen,” Sgt. Elschlager said. “The media is saying ‘World War III is about to start’ and from the information I’ve gotten, that’s not the case. Like even during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan war, there was no draft going on. So there will be absolutely no draft that is going to happen.” However, according to Education Week, a modern draft is already at work. Commonly called the poverty draft, this takes place through military recruitment which targets public schools in lowincome neighborhoods. The poverty draft came into existence because of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill which offered tuition-free higher education or job training in exchange for three years of service. It was accelerated in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act, enacted by President George Bush, which requires that military recruiters have the same access to public schools as college recruiters. As a recruiter for the U.S. Battalion, Sgt. Elschlager searches for individuals who meet the requirements of the recruitment process and helps them find opportunities through the Army. “My job is a recruiter, and that’s the main source of what we do, going out and finding qualified people to join the Army,” Sgt. Elschlager said. “Start the application process, go through future soldier training programs, making sure you’re ready to go to basic training after you enlist.”

In a study conducted by Education Week, it was observed that military recruiters visited highincome schools — measured by number of students qualified for free lunch — only five times per year compared to 40 times at low-income schools. The students being recruited are the ones most financially vulnerable and most in need of military financial benefits. According to the Kansas City Star, public schools in Kansas City fall into the category of a minimally funded school district with 95% of students coming from low-income households. The public school district allows military recruitment because they are required to in order to receive federal funding. “The reason you might not see [recruiting] at [STA] is that for public schools to receive federal funding, they have to let the military into their schools and they have to release phone numbers and names of all the students,” Sgt. Elschlager said. “Now if you go to a private [school], to where they’re not federally funded or funded by the state, they are not obligated to do that.” In regards to financial aid for college expenses, the U.S. military offers a generous amount of support for recruited students. According to Sgt. Elschlager, the Army Reserves and the active Army programs are where the majority of financial support options can be found. “If you plan on going to college the Army Reserves are a really good program,” Sgt. Elschlager said. “If you go active duty, you serve three years or more on any military branch, you get a full ride scholarship to any major university. And you get a stipend to live off of while you’re in school.” According to Teen Vogue, 49% of young people say tuition payment would be a reason they would join the military. St. Teresa’s alumna Mary Cox, class of 1969, said the college financial support offered through the Army to serve as a nurse was a major component in her service. “[Financial support] was 100%

18 a big part of my decision,” Cox said. “There were nine children in my family, and I was the third oldest. We were all in high school together, we were all in college together, and there were six girls that came behind me. If we were gonna get college paid for, we were going to have to find a way.” Cox served as a first Lieutenant nurse in 1973 as the Vietnam War was drawing to a close. She retired 20 years later as a Lieutenant Colonel and the Chief of anesthesia in the ICU unit. Cox had wanted to be a nurse her whole life, and the Army made that childhood dream possible for her. “I was always going to be a nurse, from when I was 5 years old,” Cox said. “When I was at St. Teresa’s, the only college in Kansas City that had nursing that was accredited was Avila [University], so it was a no-brainer for me. When I got to college, we were in the middle of Vietnam [War], and they needed nurses. [The Army] had a program at the beginning of your junior year where they would pay you a salary and a rank for the Army for two years and pay for college.” Cox made the decision to join the military only after she had begun her college nursing career. There were no recruitment programs at St. Teresa’s when she was there and there are still none today.

Principal for student affairs Elizabeth Baker spoke on the absence of recruitment programs at STA. As mentioned by Sgt. elschlager, public schools are required to allow military recruitment, but St. Teresa’s still has the option to independently bring in these recruiters. While Sgt. elschlager spoke about federal funding, Baker discussed the difference in message that dictates recruitment. “[St. Teresa’s] mission is CSJ, so we have a mission statement, and so does public school,” Baker said. “[Public schools’] walking statement is ‘we’re trying to make good citizens,’ so that’s why they have [a recruiting] requirement. They can’t regulate independent, charter and schools that are religious-based. Those schools can choose to have part of their “

“The media is saying ‘world war three is about to start’ and from the information I’ve gotten, that’s not the case. Sergeant Kevin Elschlager

FEBRUARY 7, 2020 mission to make good citizens.” Baker spent 15 years at St. Mary’s High School where there were constant recruiters. St. Teresa’s is the first high school for Baker that has not had military recruitment in any form. “This is the first school I’ve been at that has not had [recruitment],” Baker said. “Whether it was the sisters who said ‘we’re not going to do that,’ whether the Army and the Armed Forces said ‘it’s an all girls school; we don’t want to recruit in all girls school because we won’t get that many recruits.’” Junior Natalie Rovello believes that there are a number of reasons why there is no military presence at St. Teresa’s, including but not limited to gender. “I think part of it might be because we’re female, but obviously there are women in the military,” Rovello said. “I think it’s mostly because this school is in a different tax bracket [than public schools]. And so they’re more likely to go to college and do those kinds of things instead of seeing the military as their only option.” Because of these factors, Rovello does not think that there is a need for any sort of recruitment program at St. Teresa’s. She suspects that it would go widely unused and that any students who would take advantage of it can

DESIGNED BY AMY SCHAFFER B navigate the process on their own. “I’m sure that there are some people here who are thinking about the military, but maybe not as their primary option, maybe just doing it at one point in their life,” Rovello said. “If that’s where their hearts want to take them, they can figure that out for themselves. I don’t think not having recruitment really deters anyone at all.” On the other hand, Cox believes that for students who are looking for ways to pay for their education, recruitment programs are essential. She says if these military programs had been available to her in high school, she would have jumped at the opportunity. “I think if [military recruitment] had come [to STA] I would have looked more seriously at the programs which paid for all four years,” Cox said. “But I did not know about that until later, until I was basically in the Army. Then I was like ‘wow all these other girls got this information about this program because recruiters had come to their high schools.’ I think that is a little bit of a disservice to St. Teresa’s.”

Enlistment Bonuses Graphic by Claire Smith Design Editor Information compiled from Money Crashers

Mary Cox treatS a patient in a hospital ward. photo courtesy of Mary Cox

Extra College Funds Stiped in addition to the G.I. bill, which helps service members cover costs associated with education.

College Loan Repayment Program All services of this program repay all or are apart of a publicly funded college loan in exchange for enlistment.

Advanced Enlistment Rank Enlistees with college credits or participation in R.O.T.C. programs may be eligible for advance rank immedietly or accelerated promotion with higher pay.

20 MAIN EDITORIAL

B RIGHT ON TARGET Military recruitment should not be equally present in all schools M ilitary recruitment is prevalent in many public high schools. This is an issue affecting our generation, particularly those in workingclass, rural neighborhoods who disproportionately enlist in the Army. Part of this, of course, is a desire to fight in our nation’s military. However, the ideas of “joining up” do not appear out of nowhere. For many students in schools with a lower median income, military recruitment is part of their experience in secondary education. In fact, following the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act signed by then-President George W. Bush, all public schools are required to give “the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers.” No longer is enlistment the choice of men. Now, school-age teens are exposed to recruitment, so long as they are not in a private school. The Dart staff agrees that military recruitment should not be spread equally amongst young people. For many young people, enlisting means access to quality healthcare, a free college education after their service or simply a plan for their adult life upon graduation. Students at St. Teresa’s, where the college matriculation rate is regularly in the high 90% rate, do not have this concern. With the exception of the occasional student once every few years, the vast majority of our peers will leave this school and embark on the next step of their academic journey at a four-year institution. At a private school where financial security is not a concern for most of the population, the benefits offered by the military are not necessarily a draw. This is why military recruitment focuses on the public school system, through recruiters and JROTC programs. For a student coming from a working-class family, for whom college tuition may be a large financial burden, enlisting is what they see as their best chance for mobility. For a young immigrant seeking citizenship, enlisting guarantees them access to what might otherwise take years. The security that the military ensures its soldiers is, often, already a foundational part of the lives of the students at STA. One could argue that military recruitment should end altogether and that the money used should go toward creating those benefits without enlisting. Perhaps, those working-class students would not join the military if there was free tuition to public universities or access to free health care. Maybe that young immigrant student would instead follow a passion of their choice outside of the military if their path to citizenship was less time-consuming and convoluted. However, in our country today, this is not the case. Those benefits, and the tools to inform students about those benefits, should be geared toward those who need them. It can be argued that such practices are predatory, or preying on the poor for the sake of war. However, as long as we reside in a country that prides itself on military prowess — recruitment will still exist. As long as military personnel receives these benefits, this will be a tool to encourage working-class students to enlist. It is impractical to expect the same resources to be spent on a campus where students do not see these benefits as something to fight for.

17/23 staffers agree

“Yeah, I think that everyone should be treated equally despite their income level. It’s unfair to push military recruitment onto lower income individuals when someone of higher income will be getting the same benefits.” Ellie Batliner, Sophomore

“I don’t think it’s fair for the kids who are trying to provide for their family and have people relying on them for support, so if they get drafted it leaves their family in a difficult situation.” Tessa Stevenson, Freshman

More schools should teach sign language

Although ASL may not fit the mold of a traditional foreign language, American colleges should offer it as a language fulfillment in order to educate more allies for the deaf community in the professional world.

What first comes to your mind when you imagine learning a new language? Many of us picture our traditional language classes. It’s not surprising that we would imagine sitting in a Spanish, French, Chinese or Latin class because that is all that we have come to expect as language options in school. However, I think that more colleges should offer American Sign Language as a language fulfillment because more people need to bridge the gap between those who are deaf and those who do not know how to communicate. Over break I was surprised to learn that my cousin is enrolled in an ASL course at her college. It’s not just her college offering this course though. Many colleges and universities are beginning to recognize the study of ASL and deaf culture as legitimate academic pursuits. According to the Modern Language Association’s 2016 study of U.S. colleges and universities, ASL is the third most-studied language, outnumbered only by Spanish and French. by Mary Massman | BNS and News Editor

I started to wonder why my cousin would choose to take up ASL in college after dedicating four years to Spanish in high school. Then, she shared an anecdote that enlightened me: the first time she was able to help a deaf man at the gym she works at. She was the only one who understood what he was trying to communicate, and her experience helped me to understand the reason more students should study ASL. It is the same reason we study Spanish or French — to communicate with people unable to speak English. Although solving an issue at the gym doesn’t seem like much of an impact, any lack of ASL interpreters in courthouses, banks, hospitals or schools pose a serious risk. It makes interacting with institutions that are meant to serve people incredibly difficult for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. An article published by City Limits in September 2019 revealed that the lack of ASL interpreters in New York slows and complicates the legal process for those who rely on sign language. Deaf people deserve more allies in all professional fields. Educating more students to have ASL as a tool will only alleviate the stressors of the deaf community. Although offering ASL would allow more students to interact with deaf people, too many schools still push back against recognizing it as a language fulfillment because it does not fit the mold of the other traditional foreign languages. According to the University of Vermont Legislative Research Shop, some foreign language departments that emphasize literature reject the idea of ASL being accepted as a “foreign” language. However, students should not lose sight of the value of learning sign language solely because it does not share the same recorded history of French. What ASL can offer college students is the study of a language that will enrich their own understanding of the American deaf community. Northeastern University’s ASL program, which has been accredited for 10 years, offers classes centering on ASL competence, deaf culture and history, interpretation and practicum. Northeastern’s program exemplifies the way colleges can incorporate both linguistic and cultural ASL study to create a department reflective of traditional foreign languages that makes a significant impact. The core reason students should learn sign language is so that we can communicate across barriers of disability and service others regardless of what career path we pursue. Colleges and universities should be less concerned with sticking to their foreign language standards and more concerned with how they can best produce young people that are equipped to enter the professional world with necessary skill sets and the tools to make an impact on those they encounter for the better. b

I was born to be a cello prodigy

There’s a spare few moments in life where one can see the fork in the road. Mine was a cold November day in 2011 when I was only 10 years old. I broke my wrist at a roller skating party. This is when my entire life changed. For the better, or for the worse, you might ask? Only my eulogy will tell. I thought “this is okay, it’s only my wrist, right?” Wrong. I broke my radius at the growth plate, which means they had to put me under and reset my wrist. I woke up from anesthesia in a full-arm plaster cast, dreams shattered. I had missed my shot. I was born to be a cello-playing child prodigy, and I missed my shot. In fourth grade at Academie Lafayette, I was the only kid in the grade tall enough to use a full-sized cello and successfully reach all the way around to play it. Despite the fact that I had never even heard of a cello before, I was still an invaluable talent, and was incessantly recruited by our music teacher Mr. Swanson. Frankly, I get it. It’s rare that you find a kid not involved in anything, with no musical talent, who can fit a fullsized cello in the fourth grade. Imagine how different the AL sound would have been with the sweet, deep melody of a cello accompanying the 15 recorder players, one guitar player and A broken wrist at age 10 cost me a dream that was a lifetime in the making. by Lily Hart | Editor-in-Chief three-man trumpet section. Imagine: we cut to the winter concert. In the middle of a screeching rendition of “My Girl,” or “La Vie en Rose,” or anything by Stromae, the lights dim. The spotlight clicks on and shines on me, the star, for my cello solo. My half-bangs and low foundingfather-style ponytail glistening in the light, I begin to play. The audience goes quiet. You hear sniffling coming from my parents who finally see their cello-playing dreams manifesting themselves in me, their only daughter. The delayed applause shakes the Oak Street auditorium. "Encore, encore," the people yell. Sadly, I can’t oblige them, since Mr. Brichet’s 5th grade class was on next. And, due to a lack of planning, the concert was running two hours late. None of this came to be. My broken arm came right before band auditions. I thought to myself, “a strip of plaster cast is what stands between me and my dreams. I can defeat western medicine.” Ah, how naive I was. I stood in front of my mirror in my room the night before, struggling to make do with one hand. (Imagine a montage here.) Fourth grade me, trying to hold a ruler like a bow… but I couldn’t even touch my pinky to my thumb. I stare at myself, beads of sweat dripping down my face. I spent hours, months, years, trying to hold something — anything — with my left arm. Finally, after a few minutes of trying, I collapsed in defeat. What’s more, my elbow itched inside my cast. My music career ended before it began. My mom never bought me a cello, and threw away the band flyers with tears in her eyes (I assume). “There goes her shot,” my mom said (probably). “Hopefully she can still have a successful future without the cello.” Time will tell. Where would I be if I had started playing the cello eight years ago? The symphony? A prestigious conservatory? “America’s Got Talent?” “My Strange Addiction?” Who knows. It was like if someone said to me, “hey, here’s a great opportunity to change your life and you’re beautiful!”... and then karate-chopped me in the back of the head. I was born to be a cello prodigy, but a clean break to my radius threw me off track. Ever since that fateful day, I have been trying to find something to replace my passion for the cello, which I assume would have consumed me. I have never actually played one, but I know I would have been great. This setback is, I’m sure, what ended my participation in musical activities. I quit Mr. Swanson’s choir a year later… oh, how I disappointed that man. If only he could see me now. Hear my melancholy laments, dear readers, and take one piece of advice from a bitter old sack like me: don’t go roller skating at Skate City, it will end your cello career. b

Take pride in where you come from

Italk about my “Ladybird” moment too often — the moment when I realized, after years of desperately wanting to leave Kansas City and never come back, that I love my hometown. In the 2017 movie “Ladybird,” the main character, Christine McPhereson, hates her hometown of Sacramento and decides to move to New York City for college. In one of the last scenes of the movie (spoiler alert), she drives through Sacramento just after getting her license. While driving, she realizes that there is beauty in where she’s from and she will miss it — even if it’s just a little bit. While I’m not going as far as New York, I am moving to Iowa this August. I’m excited to go, but I realize now that there were almost 18 years that I didn’t take full advantage of the city that I grew up in. When I was younger, I didn’t think anyone knew what Kansas City was. I remember how on the Disney show “Good Luck Charlie,” Bob mistook the school that PJ was attending Kwikki Chikki University for Kansas City University. Needless I used to think being proud of your hometown was cheesy, but I have learned to love Kansas City. by Anna Ronan | Design Editor to say, 8 year old me was shocked that Bob Duncan knew what Kansas City even was. I even went so far as to think that loving Kansas City was corny and something that only happens on Instagram. When I’m scrolling down my explore page, the same sort of posts pop up. Wedged in between memes and conspiracy threads are brightly lit, very aesthetically pleasing posts straight out of the Made in KC store. They feature t-shirts, enamel pins and so many smiling, proud faces. It’s a unification of the city through worldwide, popular media. Part of the pride can be attributed to our sports teams. The Chiefs won the Superbowl this year, the Royals won the 2015 World Series and Sporting Kansas City has sent members of their team to play in the FIFA World Cup for multiple years now. However, while sports brings the city together in a special way, it’s not the only source of pride in the city. There’s a Kansas City connection that exists here in town. I can’t really explain it — it’s a deep pull back to this city that so many people feel. It’s comfortable here. Kansas City is just big enough to feel like a city but just small enough to feel like a true community of people. The biggest reason why I never felt like I loved Kansas City was because I have always wanted to go out of state for college. If I was going to be gone in a little while, what would be the point of getting attached to now? After seeing students from my school and on the Dart staff adore Kansas City and then choose to go to places like Washington D.C. or California for school baffled me — what was the point in leaving if there is so much love already here? I started to understand their reasoning when I started applying to colleges as well. Even if it’s cliché, if you love something, you have to let it go for a while. As the day that I move away gets closer and closer, I’m starting to realize all of the good that is here and what I will miss when I don’t live here anymore. Even if it’s something as small as not having a Roasterie Café location around the corner every day, it’s starting to set in that I won’t have the comfort of my hometown by my side while I’m transitioning into adulthood. There is a deep-rooted sense of pride that comes from being from Kansas City. After years of indifference and misunderstanding what it’s like to be from here, I think I’m finally able to channel my inner Christine McPhereson and embrace that pride. b

check out more columns ON THE DNO: Choose oat milk by Beatrice Curry The lifelong gap: women in politics by Lilly Frisch Bettas are the best pets by Sophia Durone

Celebrities shouldn't give political speeches by Sydney Waldron

Running low:

iron deficiency strains athletes

Pacing her strides with the sound of her breath, junior Jeanne Eckels found her sneakers hitting unusually heavy against the street during a sweltering cross country practice. She was familiar with exhaustion, but this feeling was different — Eckels was experiencing the effects of iron deficiency. “Comparing my first, second and third years of running, my first year I knew what it was like to feel tired or worn out, but then there were different feelings when I ran as a sophomore or junior where I realized it was something bigger than fatigue,” Eckels said. Eckels’ head cross country coach Karen Moran has witnessed iron deficiency affect female athletes many times before in her 21 years of coaching at St. Teresa’s Academy. “A cross country runner will not reach her full potential with low iron,” Moran said. “The biggest thing you notice with distance runners is feeling like you have dead legs.” According to Moran, this deficiency is easily recognizable in her team. “It sometimes looks like they’re not trying very hard or they look tired and they just look overly tired, worn down,” Moran said. “There’s just a look — I’ve been coaching for 21 years and there’s just a look More common in women than men, iron deficiency presents a dilemma for STA sports coaches and student athletes alike. Story by Sophia Durone|Features Editor — the other coaches see it too.” Eckels most frequently recognizes her iron deficiency when self-evaluating for the symptoms her cross country coaches often mention, such as lightheadedness. “Whenever I would get up, I would feel dizzy or faint — especially after stretching, I might see stars or be like, ‘Woah, I have got to sit down again,’” Eckels said. OB/GYN Carrie Grounds often sees iron deficiency present itself similarly with her clients at the Women’s Clinic of Johnson County. “If you are anemic, you could absolutely collapse, especially during strenuous activity or just because you can’t keep up with your oxygen carrying capacity,” Grounds said. According to the University of California San Francisco, iron deficiency can prevent adequate oxygen from reaching a person’s muscle tissue during a workout — this can be season-ending for Moran’s athletes. The coach has taken a progressive approach to combating the problem within her team: iron supplements. “They need to be taking these supplements year round and if they wait until the cross country season before they notice it happens, they really are going to deal with it all season — even though the levels may go up, but it’s very slow to go up,” Moran said. Grounds believes iron absorption can be facilitated through a multitude of methods.

“Iron is best absorbed through food,” Grounds said. “If you are not adequately increasing the foods that are rich in iron — spinach, red meats — and we’ve tried oral supplements and you’re still not successful, we can send people in for IV iron where we bypass the gastrointestinal absorption issue. That will help everyone’s iron levels regardless.” Along with the iron supplement, Moran provides nutrition recommendations alike Grounds’ to her athletes. “We make sure they are eating lots of leafy greens, frosted mini wheats, fig newtons and food that will be a good source of iron — lean meats and stuff like that,” Moran said. Eckels believes her coaches’ efforts make a positive impact inside and outside of practice. “You want to keep yourself healthy, not just as an athlete but as a person,” Eckels said. “Iron deficiency does affect different aspects of your life outside of sports.” As a woman, Eckels was at a higher risk of becoming iron deficiency even before starting cross country. According to American Family Physician, iron deficiency anemia is diagnosed in 2% of adult men, 9-12% of non-Hispanic white women and almost 20% of black and MexicanAmerican women in the United States — this gender gap is due to menstrual cycles. “The reason women are more likely to become anemic is they are constantly turning over red blood cells due to the monthly loss of iron they have through bleeding — they have to constantly keep up,” Grounds said. Moran believes her identity as a woman has created a comfortable team environment for discussing iron deficiency issues in conjunction with menses. “I am our first head [cross country] coach that’s a female, so I think many of our coaches didn’t want to talk about it all that much because it could be embarrassing,” Moran said. Eckels’ coaches are dedicated to nipping iron deficiency at its bud, and she believes their efforts surely pay off.

25 “Getting my iron levels where they should be is an ongoing process for me, but I can feel my progression,” Eckels said. “During practice, I felt much less fatigued and had more energy in my legs after I started taking an iron supplement.”B

THe symptoms of iron

Fatigue FE deficiency Alternative Coverage by Ella Norton|Editor-in-Chief

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weakness

FE FE

headaches

Brittlle nails

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Information compiled from the national Office of Women’s Health

Jaclyn Danger and Matt Lloyd sit on a plush couch in the lobby of the Stray Cat Film Center facing a wall of television sets, a plastic horse and a pinball machine. The televisions have buttons and dials on the front and lightly ring, giving the building an eerie, vintage feeling. The sound of trucks and cars whizzing down Broadway Boulevard clashes with the harsh January wind. Danger and Lloyd are the founders of Stray Cat, a nonprofit, volunteer-run microcinema located near the Kauffman Center for the Arts in downtown Kansas City. The theater started in 2017 as a way for Danger and Lloyd to show films to the Kansas City community that don’t get shown in big theaters.

“It’s supposed to be a space dedicated to mainly cinema but at the same time, all sorts of visualaudio media that wouldn’t be able to exist elsewhere in the city,” Lloyd said.

Danger and Lloyd have been friends since 2011, after attending the Kansas City Art Institute together.

“I think film was a thing that brought us together,” Lloyd said, “because [Danger] had amassed a collection of, like, really disreputable, trashy movies and you were just like ‘I need someone to come over to my house and watch these VHS tapes of strange, terrible films.’”

The two started their own film collective, the Cannonball Roarers, in 2014. Once it was stable and well received, they began planning to bring their love of film to a new space, under the name Stray Cat.

“[Stray Cat] was the natural next step,” Danger said.

The two met with other artists in the community, which they now refer to as “core members,” to attain a lease for a building and a grant to start their theater. Since its launch in 2017, they consistently show films, some of which fall under community-led projects called series.

One of the series, the Psychotronic Film Series started under the Cannonball Roarers, was merged into Stray Cat’s film regimen after the theater opened.

Another series called Metaphors in Cinema was created and run by Jori Sackin, another founding member of the theater.

Sackin uses film and lecture-style discussion to unpack metaphors in films.

“I’ve had a real interest in cognitive linguistics for a long time and was always searching for different ways to get people FILM CENTER: catering to the community The Stray Cat Film Center is Kansas City’s first non-profit microcinema. The theater aims to bring underground films to the local arts community. Story by Anna Ronan | Design Editor Photos by Becca Speier | Photo Editor

Co-founders Jaclyn Danger and matt lloyd explain How the non-profit continues to run Jan. 20. Because core member volunteers work continuously, Stray Cat continues to show movies and hold events for the community.

interested in thinking and talking about it,” Sackin said. “As the project went on and I started to think more deeply about what I wanted to do with movies, that kind of became my focus.”

Anyone can design and run a series which is why, Sackin says, the theater is so different from others in town.

“You can propose a film series, and you can invite your friends and create that own experience for your community,” Sackin said. “It gives different communities an opportunity to do things that are not possible to do, like have your own film series at a movie theater.” Another difference between Stray Cat and other theaters is that the films shown are not blockbuster films that enter larger theaters like AMC or Cinemark. Danger calls Stray Cat the “dive bar version of the Alamo Drafthouse.” Since the theater is volunteer-run and not owned by a larger company, the range of films they can show is much wider.

“A lot of the films that we show are difficult to find,” Danger said. “We’re just more flexible because we don’t have as much overhead.”

Lloyd is generally the one who attains films for the theater.

“Matt’s really savvy about getting a hold of films,” Danger said. “Sometimes you can get it directly from the filmmaker, or you can get it from the distribution. Say it’s a film that’s out of print and nobody owns the rights to it anymore, it’s just kinda in this ghostland. It just takes a lot more digging.”

Since every core member involved is a volunteer, selfsustainability is key. The project is run on volunteer availability and donations from patrons. Danger says that the biggest battle is getting people to come to the theater in the first place.

“Constantly what you’re battling when you’re running a movie theater is trying to make the space appealing and inviting,” Danger said. “Interesting people are here, fun things happen, it’s cozy and maybe a little weird, but it’s more about how to get anybody out of their house at this point in time.”

Through events like his lecture series, Sackin tries to make Stray Cat appealing by making it a unique experience that isn’t found at other theaters in town.

“Movie theaters offer food and drinks, and that seems kinda lame,” Sackin said. “We’re just trying out different things about what you can combine with movies to make it an interesting, intellectual experience.”

Though it was originally set to be a one-year project, the team has decided to continue Stray Cat for now. In the future, the team hopes to buy a building and make Stray Cat a permanent project.

“What we really love providing are things related to music, or performance, or art, or movies or things that you couldn’t really experience elsewhere in the city,” Lloyd said. “That’s the guiding principle, and the dream is that we can always be providing that to the community.” B

27 FEBRUARY AT STRAY CAT Alternative coverage compiled by Rachel Robinson | Opinion editor Information compiled from www.straycatfilmcenter.com

High Brow Low Brow Wednesday, Feb. 12 “[High Brow Low Brow] takes a look at unique genres of films over the course of 3 months. By looking at different corners of the genre each month, we can see how they develop, peak, and evolve over time.”

Mystery Movie Matinee Sunday, Feb.16 “Mystery Movie Matinee is a matinee film series every 1st Sunday of the month featuring films from pre-1965. Each film is revealed to the audience upon showtime for only $2, with clues given ahead of time, guess the film and win a prize!”

I’m here, I’m Queer, I Wanna Watch Movies Monday, Feb. 17 “The series will break down and talk about how the queer films we watched in adolescence or should have watched shaped our experience and expectation of what it meant to be queer.”

Buy Black: Where to Support Black Businesses in KC

Story by Katie Massman | Twitter Editor, Faith Andrews-O’Neal | Opinion Editor, Cara Barone Page Designer, Sophia Rall | Page Designer, Sydney Waldron | Facebook and Snapchat Editor

Photos by Lily Sage | Writer and Katie Massman | Twitter Editor

Kim Harris became the owner of Brookside’s New Dime store in 2011, though the original Dime Store opened back in 1939. Ranging from hair nets to diaper pins to vintage candies and funky gadgets and gifts — it sells just about anything a customer could need. “You can find anything you could want here,” Harris said. “We have a lot of unique items that people remember from a long long time ago.” This unique environment drew Harris in the second she first stepped foot in the Dime Store. “I just walked in there and knew I needed to be there,” Harris said. “I just came in, and I didn’t want to leave. Something about this place just felt good.” She emphasized the ideal location of the store, as Brookside’s walkability is ideal and brings in a strong customer base. The New Dime Store

Urban Cafe Urban Cafe, located at 5500 Troost Avenue, focuses on serving healthy, locally-grown food. The business was originally a coffee shop opened in 2016 that later expanded to include a food truck and catering. The current Urban Cafe restaurant opened under a soft opening two months ago. The bistro offers a healthy menu with vegan-friendly and organic options such as the Urban Bowl, which can be made to fit the customer’s dietary restrictions and tastes. Founder Justin Clark was inspired to pursue a healthy menu for his business because of his mom’s switch to veganism after her colon cancer diagnosis in 2015. Clark got experience cooking healthy food and preparing meals without the use of a fryer from his time working at Truman Medical Center.

29 IMKC is in the historic 18th and Vine district, near the Crossroads area. According to the website, “the IMKC clothing company was born from an energy that begets an electric feeling of pride and affection for the town of Kansas City that we all love.” The store holds a wide range of merchandise all geared towards Kansas Citians, including a line of apparel with well-known street names within the city in various styles. For men, women, and children, there are accessible clothing options for the whole family. The clothing items range from beanies, to sweatshirts and hoodies, many of which with the brand’s signature name, “IMKC” incorporated onto the front. IMKC

Ruby Jean’s Juicery is a health food establishment offering juices, smoothies and snacks. It was founded with a focus on serving healthful foods in an inclusive environment. There are three Ruby Jean’s locations in the Kansas City metro. Owner Chris Goode began Ruby Jean’s to honor his late grandmother. “Ruby Jean was a lady who connected her family and community members with a great sense of love and genuineness,” Goode said. “Her legacy lives through providing that same level of care to the wide array of healthy options Ruby Jean’s Juicery offers.” Goode creates a welcoming, inclusive environment by hiring a diverse staff and offering several options. “Our goal is to not only have enough options to meet customers where they are on their health journey but also reassure them throughout the experience by being accommodating and knowledgeable,” Goode said. Ruby Jean’s Juciery

Parson and Associates is a company that provides project management, public involvement, governmental affairs, and communications programs. The company is located at 1780 Woodland Ave. Parson and Associates was started by Jason Parson back in February 2013 after he served in the U.S. military. “ I wanted more for the city I lived in,” Parson said. Parson believes that one of the hardest parts of owning a business is keeping it afloat. “ Anyone can start a business,.” Parson said. “One of the hardest things about business is keeping your doors open long enough to see that cash flow.” Parson believes that we need more minority-owned businesses in order to better represent our community. “ The whole world isn’t white, it’s not black either. We live in a salad bowl of many different colors,.” Parson said “When we don’t diversify, we don’t get everyone’s viewpoint.” Parsons and Associates

Photos by Lily Sage Writer Just like the Blue Flu back in 2015, Kansas City has decorated the whole city red for the Chiefs. All around town you can see the color integrated into unexpected places. KC GOES RED

Along with the horses, the bull outside of Jack Stack has a red KC blanket atop it Jan. 20. The Kansas City Metropolitan Area goes all out for the Chiefs during the season. The Kansas City Pioneer Square Movement statue in Westport is dressed with the three “captain” jerseys: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyrann Mathieu Jan. 20.

Two workers hang the KC banner to indicate winning the AFC Championship at Union Station Jan. 20. Union Station played the KC battle call from their speakers.

DESIGNED BY RACHEL ROBINSON

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