Vol 77 issue 1

THE

DART

CLOSE TO HOME: Charlottesville ignites a national debate over monuments In the wake of alt-right demonstrations in Charlottesville, VA, Americans everywhere are examining controversial monuments and their meanings in their communities.

St. Teresa's Academy | Kansas City, MO | Volume 77, Issue 1

6

16

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

12

NEWS 4. Goppert renovation takes shape

Perspectives

A&E

21. The “scary” bus debunked 22. Through a camp counselor’s eyes 23. Nobody deserves to be terminated because of a test result

9. A musical preview of 9 to 5

Sports

Star SPotlight 6. Caroline Muth

Reviews 10. Chicken ‘N Pickle is the real dill 11. Flower Boy will bloom in your heart

Features

12. The world of YouTube 14. Students devote hours in preparation for college testing

Centerspread

24. Golf team hits it off

Community 26. Volunteers are the heart and soul of Irish Fest

Last look 28. STA students travel to countries across Europe over the

16. Charlottesville ignites a debate over historical monuments

2 September 18, 2017

Cover and back page design by Lily Manning

LETTER

from the e d i to r s

Editors-in-Chief Zoe Butler Lily Manning

WEB

Aloha readers, Welcome back to your oh-sonewsworthy school, and Volume 77 of the Dart and DartNewsOnline. With the majority of our staff being first-time newsies, we have a lot of new creativity bubbling inside our publication, and we are beyond excited to share it with you all.

Inside, you will find Katie Gregory and Margaux Renee’s in depth coverage of students’, teachers’ and the city’s response to both the history of racism and the taking down of several years old monuments and statues commemorating Confederate soldiers.

In the wake of the despicable events that occurred in Charlottesville last month, these issues are becoming more and more relevant, and as one source says in the story, it’s important to keep these topics a conversation.

Be sure to check out Torri Henry’s related story on DartNewsOnline about the travel warning that was issued for Missouri.

Also inside you will find an interview

by Aspen Cherrito with senior Caroline Muth who has been piloting planes since she was 13 years old. The exquisite

2017-2018

photos that are paired with that story were taken by the lovely Amy Schaffer.

Let’s see... it has been quite a while since the last time we chatted. In that time, Mary Massman covered what volunteering was like at the annual Irish Fest, which took place over Labor Day weekend, in a sweet story in the Community section. Kailee Ford investigated just what went on over the STA summer Europe trips, including an emergency room visit and a missing passport.

As you may have already noticed, we have a lot of new, exciting things coming up this year, including this thicker paper (our personal favorite), Ask the Dart, a 360 degree camera and many new staffers!

Over and out (for now),

Managing Web Editor Katie Gregory Social Media Team Aspen Cherrito, Kailee Ford, Riley McNett Breaking News Editor Trang Nguyen Multimedia Editor Kate Jones

PRINT

Design Editor Gabby Staker Visual Illustrator Nicole Slocomb Photography Editors Meghan Baker, Anna Louise Sih Page Designers Anna Ronan, Delaney Hupke, Ella Kugler, Julia Kerrigan, Katie Gregory, Lily Hart, Lily Manning, Margaux Renee, Riley McNett, Zoe Butler

COPY

Features Editor Margaux Renee News Editor Annabelle Meloy Lifestyles Editor Mary Massman Opinion Editor Julia Kerrigan Sports Editor Kendall Lanier Staff Photographers Amy Schaffer, Lucy Hoop, Madeline Loehr, Maggie Hart, Murphy O’Dell, Riley McNett Staff Writers Anna Ronan, Aspen Cherrito, Delaney Hupke, Ella Kugler, Ella Norton, Faith Andrews-O’Neal, Gabby Staker, Gabrielle Pesek, Grace Fiorella, Kailee Ford, Kate Jones, Katie Gregory, Katy Rouse, Lily Hart, Lily Manning, Olivia Wirtz, Reagan Renn, Riley McNett, Torri Henry, Trang Nguyen, Zoe Butler

page design by Anna Lousie Sih

3

news

an evolving goppert A project three years in the making is well underway on the north end of campus, as the old gym is being completely redone to include classrooms, labs, and advanced sports facilities.

Story by Gabby Staker | Design Editor Photos by Meghan Baker | Photographer

T

he clank of a hammer reverberates through the Quad. Saws whine.

There’s a blue construction fence around the Goppert Center. If you look through the mesh, there’s a giant hole where the foundation for the gym’s renovation and expansion is being laid.

J.E. Dunn Construction Company broke ground May 16 and has had crews of over 20 men and women on site ever since, according to superintendent Ryan Perkins.

The official end date of the project is April 26, 2018, but the team has lost a few days from the recent heavy rainfall and flooding.

Departments had pitched ideas for an environment that would enrich their curriculums. Math teachers said they needed a lab for data analysis. Journalism wanted a collaborative space for writing and design. Campus ministry needed a veritable meeting space. The athletic department wanted a new workout facility and locker rooms.

STA president Nan Bone, administration and teachers had been discussing these plans for over three years prior to the ceremony.

“The renovation was not a random thought,” Bone said. “How do we become that great school, and why are we educating women to be able to make a contribution to the world? It’s through thoughtful planning for over 150 years.

This is just another phase of that.”

4

September 18, 2017

A construction worker walks across the former entrance of Goppert Sep. 11. The building is set to be finished in April. photo by Meghan Baker

Working with the architects, Bone and her team asked that the new face of Goppert reflect that of the Windmoor Building, modeling the symmetry that Donnelly and M&A already bring to the Quad. Goppert will be the same height as Windmoor with the same long windows.

There was talk of launching a smaller campaign to just finish the upper level of Goppert and wait to renovate the athletic offices and lockers below, but for the sake of the donors’ wishes, they decided to “take the big dive.”

It’s a $15 million dollar campaign, and after raising money for about a year, Bone says they’ve raised over $9 million.

They gave J.E. Dunn the go-ahead to start building. However, that presented some issues as donors thought they had raised the full amount.

“In reality, it took probably 6 months of going back over the plans,” Bone said.

Initially, they were trying to decide whether those plans should combine both academic and athletic interests in a building that has historically been only for athletics. They brought their problems to the architect who told them they could do both.

STA athletic trainer Lisa Gross was one of those who pushed for both.

When the topic came up, Gross took an old rendering of the annex floor plan and drew in tables and whirlpools- a training room, truly of her own creation.

Administration and the architectural team were responsive.

“It was a very big deal, in the way that I kind of got offered a blank slate, and I drew- literally drew- everything in,” Gross said. “They could have said no, but instead the need for this was proven enough that they said yes.”

A visible progress is not yet easily gleaned, but from the upper floors of Donnelly Hall, you can see the men and women in blue hard hats working deep below. The inner workings are nearly complete, and this month, cranes will be built to hoist up the steel beams.

“That’s when our building is really going to start to take shape and they’ll be a lot of big, noticeable changes happening,” Perkins said. H

changes, changes.

The Dart collected the original concept photos for the Goppert renovation project.

Alternative coverage compiled by Anna Ronan | Page Designer

The upstairs level of Goppert will include:

-A college library, where students can check out private study rooms or work silently, much like the concept of the Math Hub -Three new high-tech classrooms: a math classroom for analyzing data, Mr. Lewis’ journalism room and a theology classroom -A massive space for Campus Ministry, with a wall of windows looking into the quad so an LED cross on the back wall will always be visible

-A wide-open gathering space to be used for events -A college-style Star Shop -A concession stand overlooking the gym -A space for the IT department and the help desk -An outdoor classroom -New student and faculty restrooms

The gym level will feature:

-A makerspace for robotics and design -Teaching areas for coding and mapping -Two offices for athletic director Mark Hough and assistant athletic director Ty Abney.

-Gross’ training room -Weight room -Existing gym floor and bleachers -New locker rooms for athletes

page design by Anna Ronan

5

Star spotlight

Ca r ol i ne muth Senior Caroline Muth started piloting when she was thirteen and has not stopped since.

Story by Aspen Cherrito | Writer Photos by Amy Shaffer | Photographer Zoe Butler | Editor-in-Chief How did you get into flying planes?

I think I probably started when my mom got remarried to my stepdad, who has been piloting for his whole life as a hobby not for a commercial airline, and part of a flight club in Johnson County. When we started talking to get more comfortable, he would take me to the airbase and would ask if I wanted to go flying with him. He would show me all the controls, what to do for landing, take off, and how to talk to the people in the control tower.

I’ve been flying for about four years, since I was 13.

How often do you fly?

I haven’t been in a while because college stuff has been crazy, but I try to go at least once a month since they have a flight club. I go with my dad, we sit around, talk about new planes we have gotten and eat hamburgers. It’s a fun time.

What are the requirements to get a license?

Since I am only 17 and don’t have a license, I have to fly with my dad, but I can control it by myself. The requirements are you have to have a certain number of hours, about a thousand. I have nowhere near that

6 September 18, 2017

many, but I am working on that. [After I get all my hours] I have to do a flight test, like a driving test.

What’s your favorite part?

Probably flying around because it takes a while to get up in the air..

Once you get up in the air you get to see everything around in Kansas City and you realise how close everything is. You may think Kansas City is really big, but it’s really not. You can see World’s of Fun, the Plaza and the STA field. It’s crazy how small and peaceful everything is since you can’t hear anything but the propellers, it’s really nice.

What is the most difficult part about flying planes?

Landing. It seems kinda simple, but if you don’t land right you’re going to die.

My step dad still has to help me with that, it’s pretty scary.

Are you looking into becoming a pilot as a career, or just a hobby?

Right now, just a hobby because for most pilot schools you are talking about going into the Armed Forces, which is something I don’t want to do. If I do decide to make it a career I would fly for an airline, but as of right now I am trying to get my license. H

Senior Caroline Muth pilots next to her stepfather above Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport on Aug. 31. Before taking a flying test to get her license, Muth needs 1,000 hours of flying. photo by Zoe Butler

Senior Caroline Muth pilots next to her stepfather above Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport on Aug. 31. Before taking a flying test to get her license, Muth needs 1,000 hours of flying. photo by Zoe Butler

Senior Caroline Muth poses in front of her plane at Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport on Aug. 31. Muth is allowed to pilot at small airports around the midwest. photo by Amy Schaffer

page design by Margaux Renee

7

bits & pieces

PHOTO OF THE ISSUE Photo by Meghan Baker

The Dart chooses a student-taken photo to be featured each month.

Seniors Helayna James, left, and Sarah Schaefer talk in the quad during frosh Fest Aug. 30. Students were allowed to hang out with friends during the sidewalk chalk competition. photo by Meghan Baker

My life sucks My life rocks

by Gabrielle Pesek | Writer “I tweeted Sporting KC player, Seth Sinovic, ‘Where you at?’ because he never came to STA soccer practices.

The next day he showed up, and when I got there everybody told him it was me who tweeted it so I had to walk past him with my head down the rest of practice.”

-Hunter Loehr, senior

MONTHLY REPORT

“I went to Quiktrip. A guy gave Anna Swanson and I free pizza there. Then, I bought something with a 10 dollar bill and he gave me back $10.65 in change.”

-Anne Chapman, sophomore

FANCY DINNER SURPRISE AT SCHOOL WITH HELP OF FRIEND

Each month, the Dart makes a graphic with the results from the online poll.

by Kendall Lanier | Sports Editor

WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL TERESIAN PROPOSAL?

8 September 18, 2017

CASUAL TEXT CREATIVE SIGN

*OUT OF 48 RESPONSES

A&E

9 to 5: a musical preview Juniors Kari Flynn, left, and Nicole Ficklin act in their audition. photo by Madeline Loehr

Theater director Shana Prentiss discussed the upcoming STA musical: 9 to 5. The musical will be at STA Nov. 8-11.

Story by Ella Kugler | Writer Photo by Madeline Loehr Photographer So what’s this musical about?

This play, 9 to 5, is based - I love this story so much - is based on a movie that was made in the 80s called 9 to 5. It starred Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. It’s a story of three women that work in the same office and it’s about sexual harassment, sexual discrimination… lots of female issues in the workplace and just in general. So, it’s kind of a revenge fantasy against this horrible boss that they have. So there’s this scene where they’re all planning how they would kill him if they could, and then some of those things kind of start to happen in real life. It’s very, very funny, it’s hilarious, but it also

has a very powerful message about how women have been treated in our history and how if we work hard and keep at it, maybe something will change.

Can you describe the audtion process and how stressful it is?

Yeah, it’s hard, especially at a school like St. Teresa’s because there are so many talented girls and we had just under 60 people yesterday audition for, possibly 30 parts… and pretty much all of them were great.

So, that’s what’s challenging...as directors, we can be incredibly picky about what we want. I mean, any time you’re auditioning and you’re putting yourself out there, it’s scary and it is intimidating. We try to make it fun, like we didn’t make anyone stand up and sing in front of all 60 people yesterday. We take them in small groups, especially with the singing, that seems to be the part that’s scariest for people. They usually come into the music room in groups of five, so they’re usually singing with four or five other people that will be singing as well. I remember

auditioning and I was terrified, every time I auditioned and it never got easier, because you’re putting yourself out there and you just don’t know what’s going to happen.

Are there requirements for auditiong?

No, not at all. Auditions are open to all STA students, whether they’ve had experience or not. We try not to bring seniority into it, so the freshmen have just as much a chance as the seniors.

We try to look at each kid individually, regardless of how old they are or how much experience they have. So sometimes it’s a senior and sometimes it’s not.

So, is the musical mostly female?

It’s very female heavy. We really only need - there’s like four major male roles - and then there’s the male chorus, so we definitely we have a lot more females than males.

page design by Zoe Butler

9

REVIEWS

Chicken ‘N Pickle is the real dill

HHHHH

A new fun spot for millennials, Chicken ‘N Pickle hosts pickleball and serves chicken in an outdoor-like setting.

Story and photo by Trang Nguyen Breaking News Editor

O

pened last year, Chicken 'N Pickle, with pickleball courts and an accompanying restaurant, is a new pastime for seniors and adults alike. Is the visit really worth it?

Chicken 'N Pickle is north of the river, and I, as a fellow Northerner, thought I'd take a peek inside. I had driven past the place a number of times over the past year and the looming brick exterior was not the most welcoming sight in the world. Besides, Chicken 'N Pickle?

Who names their restaurant Chicken 'N Pickle? After some needed research, I realized Pickle stood for pickleball and Chicken for the main item they served in their restaurant. Hence, Chicken N' Pickle.

Now that the title made sense, I decided I needed to see what the rave was all about. The first time I went was with a group of friends from St. Pius High School who had also never gone.

Upon arrival, I consciously walked in, not knowing if I had to pay an entrance fee. There was none. The gate was wide open, welcoming any and every one.

Stepping in, I scanned my surroundings.

To say surprise etched my face is an understatement. The turf courtyard to my right was filled with children and teens alike playing mini games like bean and ring toss. A little to the left from that were occupied rustic wooden benches with gossipy moms bouncing babies and men in business suits enjoying a

10 September 18, 2017

night out. The smell of smoky, seasoned chicken rushed through my nose as the loud pop music played from hidden speakers. The hanging lights overhead gave the atmosphere a soft, Tumblr-like effect. A building that contained the indoor restaurant was in the right-hand corner of the space and a balcony peeked out from the top of the building. To the far left were crowded courts echoing grunts and the squeaking of shoes as the ball was hit back and forth.

Four courts were positioned outside in the setting sun while there were four courts inside the pavilion. The sound of laughter, chatter and music reached my ears reminding me of a cool Friday night out.

The atmosphere was the best part about Chicken 'N Pickle. It welcomed people of all ages, but especially millennials. "[Chicken 'N Pickle has a] nice cross-section of demographics," Andy Gensch, national pickleball player and teaching pro at Chicken 'N Pickle said.

"The millennials have adopted this as their new, fun spot. It has beer, games, good company and music."

Pickleball is beginning to become pretty popular. With it, many people are starting to play. Chicken 'N Pickle has the courts to play. "[Pickleball is] the fastest growing

sport in America," Carrie Jeske, Gensch's student said. "It's rare to find a sport where people in their 50s can play against people in their 20s."

Some may believe that Chicken 'N Pickle is meant only for pickleball, but Gensch says that there are some people who come just for the food and get takeout. In the restaurant, they serve a Caribbean-style menu containing items from rotisserie chicken to chicken sandwiches even to chicken soups! There is a rentable area for parties. With a courtyard and rooftop bar, the restaurant is an irresistible hangout. Even companies like Cerner will rent out the whole place just so their employees have some bonding time.

Chicken 'N Pickle also has two beer companies stationed inside. KC Bier Company is located down by the courts, while Boulevard is upstairs on the rooftop bar.

The only downfall Chicken 'N Pickle had was parking. When I arrived later at night, there was no nearby spot for parking. My dad dropped me off at the entrance and drove around until a spot opened up.

All in all, I believe the location is a good spot if you need a spot for a night out with the squad. With food and sports, what could go wrong? H

Tyler, the creator's, flower boy will bloom in your heart HHHHH Tyler, The Creator recently came out with his fourth album in late July. The album, titled “Flower Boy,” delves into his sexuality as well as explores a more alternative sound.

Story by Ella Norton Writer

T

yler, the Creator released his fourth album titled "Flower Boy," July 21. It is an album that discusses many topics, such as his roots and love, while using nature as a metaphor in many of his songs.

Flower Boy has a mellow, alternative type of sound mixed in with a couple of intense, fast songs. Between many instruments, synthetic beats and the layering of many different sounds, it creates a beautiful blend of music which is turned into 14 different songs. It features many different artists, from A$AP Rocky to Frank Ocean to Kali Uchis.

Garden Shed featuring Estelle, is the most well-known, talks about a secret or forbidden love. It starts off mellow with Tyler and Estelle singing sweetly with their voices blending together along with some very prominent instruments. There is layering to Estelle's voice which makes it slightly harder to understand what she is saying. A little more than halfway through the song it becomes more upbeat and Tyler begins rapping and it's still mellow but more intense now. Many people have thought that this song is referencing a gay relationship when it talks about a secret love, when Tyler says, "Garden shed for the garçons, them feelings that I was guardin'…Truth is, since a youth kid, I thought it was phase."

“I Ain't Got Time” was a faster song that talks about Tyler not dealing with

Album Cover

fake people. It starts off sounding like something you would hear in a movie or video game. It was definitely one of the most typically rap sounding songs, but sounded unique because of the beat behind it. It's super upbeat and fast which merges well with Tyler as he raps. It ends very suddenly with a tinny sound, as if it's being played from a phone.

I absolutely loved the versatility of his album.

It also provides contrast to another song on the album called “Boredom,” which features Rex Orange County and Anna of the North, as they both talk about time but have very different tempos.

While Tyler has not officially come out or labelled his sexuality, many people thought from this that was his way of coming out based on the lyrics

of several songs. Tyler has tweeted and said a couple of things that have also made people question his sexuality.

Others think that Tyler was not writing from his point of view and more likely creating a character or about a friend, which he has done on previous albums.

I absolutely loved the versatility of this album. It has so many songs that all have different vibes and sounds so it can work well for any mood. There are mellow songs, upbeat songs, intense songs, love songs and sad songs. The lyrics are really interesting and powerful and they add a whole other meaning to all of the songs. I also love how he used the theme of nature for a lot of his songs, because it made Flower Boy that much more unique. Ever since I first listened to it, I haven't been able to stop.

“See You Again,” featuring Kali Uchis, is at the top of my Recently Played playlist now. However, as he does have such a variety of artists on this album, there were a couple of songs where I didn't think their voices blended quite as well.

Overall, I loved this album and it quickly became my favorite work of Tyler, the Creator and I highly suggest that you listen to it, especially the mellow songs. H page design by Lily Hart

11

features

the world of you tube

As the culture of YouTube continues to grow, the Dart investigates student fanatics and teens making it big.

Story by Zoe Butler Editor-in-Chief

Alternative coverage compiled by Kate Jones | Multimedia Editor

S

he is five years old. The typical kind of five-year-old most people envision right off the bat. Her hair is sticking out in every direction, like it does every morning - even though her mom told her to brush it, like she says every morning.

Her egg-sized hands are still sticky from when she spilt the bottle of maple syrup at breakfast, but that doesn’t stop her from carrying around her family’s clunky camcorder, following her older sister closely. She’s wide-eyed, eager and beaming with creativity.

Tatum Lierman, a sophomore at Park Hill South High School, who attended STA her freshman year, has been making videos since she was five years old. She is one of many who has taken her videos to YouTube, a videosharing website founded in 2005, that has since taken on a culture of its own.

Before 2009, it would have been difficult to find mainstream media content on YouTube outside of channels like CNN or CNBC. Back then, it was more common to find videos that were similar to the first video ever posted: “Me at the Zoo”, which is a man standing in front of an elephant exhibit, talking about their

12 September 18, 2017

trunks for 19 seconds.

Now, the main content most people watch consistently is produced by “YouTube famous” people, whether that be the young adults who started their careers on Vine, the families who vlog their day to day lives, the gamers who film their every virtual action or the beauty gurus who offer stepby-step makeup tutorials. For these YouTubers, it’s common to generate subscribers in the millions. “[Today’s YouTube] is kind of like a latent function,” Lierman said. “It means it’s a product of something that wasn’t meant to happen, but happened anyway. And it can have positive or negative consequences.”

About three years ago, Lierman first got into watching YouTube videos. Her eyes would glaze over as she would watch makeup tutorials and DIYs and morning routines. Her first few videos were similar to these types, but she has since changed the direction of what her channel is about.

“I was like [these types of videos] really don’t fit what I want to make,” Lierman said. “So I kinda started to change my topics a little bit, I’m still in transition, I started doing more poetry videos and cool vlogs about my day.”

Although her newer, less mainstream content, is what she has enjoyed making and posting, it’s her earlier videos that have received the most views, and in one case, income of money. One year ago, she posted a tutorial on how to make a Musical.ly, a social media app for making short music videos. This video now has nearly one million views.

“I made that on a whim and it’s probably the worst video that I’ve ever created,” Lierman said. “But because of the time I posted it, the app was so popular and I was one of the only people at the time who had that video. Nobody had ever posted any tutorials on it or anything like that and it skyrocketed.”

According to Lierman, the big names who have made YouTube their career go through a process called monetization, where different companies will pay YouTube to put their ads on the most popular videos.

The YouTuber will then receive a portion of the money generated from the ad being on their video.

“Over a period of time, I got so many views on this one ad [that I accumulated $300],” Lierman said.

“And think about it, there are people who have over 6 million views on like every video they have. And it doesn’t matter if you make a video like 3 years ago, it’s still making money if people are watching it.”

Even though the money is a draw to people making their career out of it, both Lierman and senior Katie LeCluyse, who also has a YouTube account where she posts vlogs and video compilations from trips, agree that the main reason they make the videos they post on their accounts is because of “good practice” for their main goals of film making.

“It's really nice to just sort of practice what I may be doing as a career one day,” LeCluyse said. “I want to be a director or like a writer for movies, more hands on practice.”

While some students watch

BY tHE

NUMBERS

1/3 1 BILLION

76 3.6

of the internet has a youtube account hours are watched daily different languages available

The most viewed BILLION video ever is Despacito

Former St. Teresa’s Academy Student, Tatum Starr sets up camera to film a youtube video Sep. 4. Starr’s youtube username is TatumTube and she posts new videos every Wednesday. photo by Kate Jones.

YouTube to seek inspiration for their own videos, others find themselves becoming attached to YouTubers, seeing as they follow the same people through their day to day lives.

“I don't think [people who think it’s a waste of time] understand how you can get so invested in someone's life, especially with vlogs, because you watch the same person everyday,” junior Olivia Michka said.

As Michka scrolls through her long list of YouTubers she’s subscribed to, she guesses that she spends about two hours a day watching different videos.

“I get home. Don't do my

homework. Get a snack. Sit down. Pull up YouTube, and watch YouTube for, I don't know, too long,” Michka said.

“Like a lot of people watch Netflix.

Don't have time for that.”

There is a community within the most well-known YouTubers’ lives where most know each other from conventions or meet ups and even make videos with each other.

A reason Michka knows a lot of the YouTubers she watches is through their connections with people she was already watching.

“I remember when I found David Dobrik,” Michka said. “And then you watch his vlogs, and he uses the same

people in every single video, so then you click on their channels, 'cause they'll say ‘Go check out this channel.’

You go check it out, and then you find their friends, and then it just keeps going.”

Lierman said that a main appeal about YouTube is because of these kinds of connections and opportunities.

She is now 16 years old. She has access to YouTube’s Los Angeles and New York studios. She has made $300 off of one video. She has over 12 thousand subscribers. And she is doing exactly what she wants.

“This is honestly wild.” H page design by Julia Kerrigan

13

Features

STRESS AND SCANTRONS:

STUDENTS DEVOTE HOURS TO STANDARDIZED TEST PREP

With college looming, juniors and seniors are working to raise scores on tests like the ACT, SAT and PSAT. Story by Julia Kerrigan | Opinion Editor Photos by Lily Manning | Editor-in-Chief

S

enior Catelyn Campbell sits in her desk, the blank bubbles on her scantron staring back at her menacingly. Remembering the wise words of her tutor, she begins the seven steps to attacking a question. Sit on edge of the seat, underline words, slash out answers that aren’t right, circle the question number, smile to train your brain not to be stressed, skip it and hope you have the time to come back to it later.

Catelyn is one of over two million students taking the ACT nationwide this year, according to the College Board.

Some prefer the ACT for how widely accepted it is by colleges, or because they perform better on it. Others opt for the more reasonable time limit on the SAT. Catelyn takes the ACT because that’s what majority of her classmates have been doing. She’s taken it twice before and is signed up for another in hopes of raising her score.

14 September 18, 2017

“I don’t have a great ACT score so I think [my parents] are just hoping for anything” Catelyn said.

Catelyn took an ACT prep course at STA, but was not satisfied with the results. For the past month, she has been attending tutoring sessions twice a week with tutor Mike Downey, whose average student goes up three points on the ACT. His repertoire also includes medical boards, law boards, ABA exams and state exams.

“I don’t know a lot about all those subjects,” Downey said, “but I seriously know how to take a test.”

To begin, Downey addresses the test takers strongest and weakest sections, so they can decide which passages to tackle first.

“A lot of people have trouble with tests because they simply don’t read fast enough,” Downey said.

To combat this, his students use a program called AceReader. Theoretically,

scores on the verbal portions of tests can be improved by increasing reading speeds.

Along with these test strategies, Downey offers his students an AdvoCare product called Spark, which offers 750% of the minimum vitamins and minerals needed for the day. The product is for 18 and up, so Downey runs it by parents. It is an energy supplement intended to enhance focus during the test.

“I don’t spring it on them, give it to them and not tell them what it is,” Downey said. “I approach it as a science experiment. Maybe it will help, maybe not. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know.”

Catelyn tried the health concoction and was vastly underwhelmed.

Throughout the day, she felt no change in energy and won’t be using it on the test.

“I think it just tasted like...well it

Senior Catelyn Campbell works with her ACT tutor, Mike Downey. Downey's average student increases tehir ACT score by three points.

college testing by the numbers Alternative coverage by Julia Kerrigan | Opinion Editor

WHICH STANDARDIZED TESTS ARE*outYOU TAKING? of 55 responses ACT 65.5% SAT 5.5% BOTH 29.1%

How many times have you taken the act/sat? one 15.1% two 28.3% three 41.5%

didn’t taste very good, you could just taste the minerals,” Catelyn said.

Downey advises beginning the test prep process during the summer, away from the stress of sports and schoolwork. His students are assigned two hours of work for every hour they see him, which amounts to about eight hours of work a week for students like Catelyn, who does two sessions a week at two hours each. Her best advice is to actually complete the assignments from the tutor, despite other school assignments and the faraway test date.

“What you put into your studying is going to be what you get out of your test score,” Catelyn said.

Catelyn’s father Pete Campbell remembers no pressure surrounding his standardized test experience, and feels that the standards have definitely gone up since the late 80s.

For him, there was no baseline score he always had on his mind, he just rolled out of bed and took a test he knew he had to take to go to college.

“Many years ago if you were just a Kansas resident and you were breathing and you could graduate from school in Kansas, you could go to KU,” Pete said. “I don’t think the requirements were as high or as strict as they are now.”

Nowadays, students put hours of work into their test preparation. Not only do scores help determine whether or not students are admitted, they also factor into scholarships.

“I’ll give you a math problem,” Downey said. “[Students with partial ride] save 8,000 a year for four years, how much is that?”

A large a sum as the $32,000 Downey claims his sessions are worth adds another layer of stress, ramping up the pressure of standardized tests beyond just getting an acceptance letter. With that kind of reward at stake, every hour spent in Downey’s 40 hour program is potentially worth $800.

Additionally, students who don’t score higher than a 23 on the ACT might be required to pay for supplemental education.

“That certainly is pressure, having to go to extra school and spend all that money,” Downey said.

Junior Anne Claire Tangen is an

four 13.2% five+ 1.9%

aspiring National Merit Scholar, which requires a high score on the PSAT and practically guarantees entry into any college she chooses, or so she’s been told by her parents. In order to achieve this, she has spent around 24 hours preparing.

“I either crack down and I can do really well, or I actually crack and fall into a pit of really bad anxiety,” said Tangen.

Even after they have mastered all the test taking tips and tricks, students like Tangen still have to overcome test day anxiety and focus on the rows and rows of bubbles that need to be filled in.

“There are times when I just space out, I sit there and ten minutes later I’m like ‘shoot, I gotta get back to this test,’” Tangen said.

Once the three hour testing process is over, all students like Catelyn can do is wait. Three to eight weeks after the test, she will receive her test dates in the mail and either be sorely disappointed or relieved that all her hard work paid off. Her highest scores will be sent off to colleges all over the country, and she, along with her peers, will be able to see standardized tests as a time consuming and anxiety inducing thing of the past.H page design by Zoe Butler

15

centerspread

Photo by Margaux Renee | Features Editor

Close to home In the wake of alt-right demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, americans everywhere are examining controversial monuments in their own communities.

Story by Margaux Renee | Features Editor

Katie Gregory | Web Editor Photos by Maggie Hart | Photographer Alt-cov by Anna Louise Sih | Photo Editor

16 September 18, 2017

A

warm night in mid-August marked the beginning of what would come to shock Americans everywhere. Several hundred neo-nazis, neo-confederates, gun-toting militia, and various other brands of white nationalists marched on the University of Virginia campus August 11. The evening march ignited an otherwise clear Friday night with the heat of countless lit torches and the echoing chants of “You will not replace us,” and “Jews will not replace us.” The organized rally gave rise to a weekend of political unrest and racial tensions in the city’s center in which clashes with counter-protesters led to deadly violence.

As news of these events came flooding in through Twitter and TV news, theology teacher Michael Sanem’s phone buzzed.

“I had a friend who was in Charlottesville for a wedding, and he was sending us pictures and videos and it was super creepy. My first reaction was sadness. That these things are still

going on in 2017,” Sanem said.

When StarWrite Center coordinator Michelle Johnson first learned of the rally she used the same word to describe her first thoughts, though not without denoting her lack of surprise.

“Honestly I was as upset with the people who were surprised by it as I was with the event itself,” Johnson said.

“At what point did we think this wasn’t going to happen in a country that has yet to deal with its racism?” Johnson questioned. “And with people in its office who don’t seem to be wanting to address that problem?”

This question of confronting racism and in turn the history of the United States is being debated on a national scale by civil rights activists, lawmakers and the President alike, sparking deeply opinionated conversations in communities and classrooms of every kind. Citizens are using their local historical contexts to try to understand today’s reality.

Kansas City itself has a history deeply influenced by race. Data maps shared

by KCUR in May of 2014 show Troost Avenue as the dividing line in the city in terms race, median income and education.

“Like many American cities, we were highly influenced by the great migration of African-Americans from the South and then equally by desegregation and the white flight that kind of took place because of that,” Sanem said.

‘White flight’ is described as the migration of city-dwelling whites into exclusive, all-white suburbs to escape the integration of cities, effectively prolonging segregation.

“What we’ll study in [Social Concerns] that’s unique about Kansas City is the role of J.C. Nichols in constructing what we now know as suburbia,” Sanem said.

Kansas City native J.C. Nichols was a real-estate developer in the 1930s and is credited with inventing racially restrictive covenants, a segregationist practice that prevented owners from selling or leasing their property to African-Americans. A picture of Kansas City at the time would reveal a black community forced into cramped apartments near 18th and Vine contrasted with one of Nichols’ most visible marks on the city, the Country

Club Plaza. The Plaza was designed for the upper-class whites of Kansas City. Starting in 1934, the commercial district’s opening gates at 47th Street and J.C. Nichols Parkway were adorned with a monument gifted to the city by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

In 1958, the statue was moved to a grassy median on 55th and Ward Parkway, its resting place until the brisk morning of Friday, Aug. 25. A crew worked to dismantle the 83 year old monument. Commuters, in response, slowed slightly while passing by the scene, some honking energetically.

According to the Kansas City Star, the monument’s removal came at the request of the UDC’s Independence, MO chapter after it had been vandalized just a week before, in the wake of Charlottesville. The vandal used red spray paint to mark the monument with a hammer and sickle, a well-known Communist symbol, as well as illegible letters.

As the memorial came down, many questioned why it originally went up.

The monument, along with many others, was erected in the midst of the Jim Crow era of the United States. This detail does not escape Johnson.

Jim Crow laws, enforced from 1877 to 1965, were a series of federal and state laws that segregated black and white Americans. They ranged from dictating where black people could eat, drink and sit to who they could marry.

“It’s not as if these statues all around the country went up right after the Civil War,” Johnson said. “Which they shouldn’t have anyway, because they lost, but it’s not even as if that’s when they went up. Most of these statues honoring the Confederacy came up during Jim Crow, 100 plus years later, so that means it’s about something else.”

Though many feel monuments commemorating the confederacy and its leaders were symbols of intimidation targeted at African Americans, others aren’t so sure of the meaning behind the memorials.

Junior Mia Tomasic is one of these people. Though she can understand the frustration, she is undecided on whether Confederate monuments should be left up or come down. page design by Gabby Staker

17

Sept. 9, 1934 United Daughters of the Confederacy statue is placed on the northeast corner of 47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway, marking the entrance to the Country Club Plaza.

1958

Aug. 12, 2017

Aug. 12, 2017

The same statue is relocated to 55th and Ward Parkway.

A “Unite the Right” rally is held in Charlottesville, NC bto protest the removal of confederate general robert e. lee's statue.

the mayor of Lexington, KY decides to remove two confederate statues from the lawn of the city’s vacant courthouse.

“I can most definitely see how [Confederate monuments] can be offensive to people and I don’t want anyone to be offended,” Tomasic said.

“I’m not personally offended by them but I don’t have that history that some people do.

Tomasic’s stance on whether or not monuments should be taken down depends on where they are. “I think if they’re in front of government buildings they should be taken down, but...I think before you even start talking about taking them down you have to talk about how many millions of dollars it’s going to cost.” Tomasic says.

Tomasic proposed alternatives for what this money could be used for.

“Maybe it could go to something else like early childhood care, or getting so many homeless off our streets,” Tomasic said.

She also questioned what the monuments would be replaced with.

Following the events in Charlottesville, many suggested replacing them with statues of civil rights and abolitionist leaders like Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

Others, however, feel that to replace Confederate monuments with civil rights heroes would be working to rewrite or gloss over history.

“I personally don’t think these monuments are up for us to worship them,” Tomasic said. “I think of them as informational. Like the school bus goes around it and goes ‘Okay, this is up because this is what happened and we have to make sure we don’t do it again.’

Because as much as we want to try and change history, we can’t, we have to learn from it.”

Sanem, who majored in history in

18 September 18, 2017

college, offers a different view.

“Any student of history knows that history is not set in stone, it is reinterpreted and reexamined and we often reexamine our history and find things about our institutions, our church, our neighborhoods and our families that are disappointing and we can, and should, acknowledge those,” Sanem said.

Many students of history have drawn parallels between slavery and segregation in the United States and time periods in other countries. One of the most widely used analogies is Nazism in Germany.

"We as a country have not dealt with our racist history and our racist present.”

Michelle Johnson “I have no issue with [Confederate monuments] coming down. And anybody that wants to fight that has the right to, but understand that it’s like in Germany it’s not cool to have Nazi memorabilia, just because it’s history,” Johnson said. “The fact that they know that, but we are fighting it, keeps going back to what I keep saying. We as a country have not dealt with our racist history and our racist present.”

After James Fields, a man reportedly obsessed with Nazi history, ran his car into a group of counter-protesters,

many called on President Donald Trump to condemn the white nationalists marching in Charlottesville.

He came under fire when, in response, he condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”

“Americans have always looked to the President to not just be a public leader but also a moral leader,” Sanem said of Trump’s comments. “I think President Trump in a way is, for whatever reason, abdicating that role.”

Many share Sanem’s belief, accusing Trump of emboldening the white nationalists. Johnson, however suggests a cause more deeply rooted.

“I don’t think it was the 2016 election [that ignited events in Charlottesville], I think it was the 2008 and the 2012 elections that people were reacting to, which created the 2016 election,” Johnson said. “So I think that this country, again, has always had a race problem that it has fooled itself into believing it was not in existence.”

In addition to coordinating the StarWrite Center, Johnson comoderates the Inclusion Project with counselor Kelly McKee. Johnson describes the Inclusion Project as “an extracurricular whose purpose is to have a project to focus on that centers around diversity and inclusion and welcoming differences in the STA community.”

The project is in its fourth year. Every year, the Inclusion Project’s members take on a task designed to emphasize diversity at St. Teresa’s. Johnson says the project is necessary “so that people know it’s a good thing to talk about differences.”

This past school year, members of the Inclusion Project took on the task

Aug. 18, 2017

Aug. 25, 2017

The United Daughters of the Confederacy statue is vandalized overnight, with a sickle and hammer spray painted on the statue’s face.

The statue is removed from its location by request of the United daughters of the confederacy.

of finding the first black student to attend St. Teresa’s by going through old yearbooks. Eventually, they found her. She attended St. Teresa’s during the midst of J.C. Nichols’ real estate development.

“St. Teresa’s just celebrated it’s 150th anniversary,” Johnson said. “When we did our Inclusion Project, we only had to go back to the 30s or 40s before we had a black student. So the history of black students at St. Teresa’s Academy is not 150 years.”

Though Johnson acknowledges the inclusivity and welcoming environment St. Teresa’s strives to put forth, she still feels that there is a lot to be done - not just in our school community, but in the nation as a whole.

“We have a bad habit in this city of segregating ourselves and just dealing with people who are just like us and have our exact same background and our exact same experiences,” Johnson said. “If I had some magic wand I could wave to impart a piece of knowledge it would be that having these conversations shouldn’t make us defensive, and that we should be able to talk about our differences and our experiences with the ease in which we discuss a class, a dance coming up or something we saw on TV,” Johnson said.

Johnson went on to explain that when certain topics are taboo, then when they come up it creates tension.

“I just want people to have one-onone conversations with each other in ways that make people feel heard and respected and not attacked or uncomfortable. That would be my wish.”

The confederate memorial, right, to fallen soldiers at the Battle of Westport in 1864 is located in the Forest Hill cemetery on Troost Avenue. The memorial was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy after the battle.

The vandalized Daughters of the Concederacy statue, below, stands at the corner of 55th and Ward Parkway for one last morning before its removal Aug. 25.

page design by Gabby Staker

19

main ed

we can't forget

our country's past

Some controversial statues should be taken down, but not forgotten.

Everyday, you drive the same way to school. It’s the same route, with the exact same scenery. One day it is surprising to find that the scenery has changed. A statue that is usually displayed is covered in boxes. At school there seems to be a little bit of chatter going around. It turns out the statue you saw had recently been vandalized and now they have to take it down.

It was vandalized because it was a statue for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group that was formed to commemorate confederate soldiers.

Why was this statue all of a sudden an issue when it has been sitting there for decades?

Some of the more divisive statues should be taken down, but not forgotten. If we believe public displays of these controversies are too offensive, then we should find an alternative solution like moving the

statues to museums. Museums are a way to represent the past without erasing it.

We can’t rewrite or forget our history, though there are some things that we might want to. The past may not have been perfect, but it is part of our country’s great history and got us here today. The statues people want to take down remember a time in our country’s history that was not our shining moment - the Civil War. But it is still a part of our history. We can’t just forget about it. It’s not like we are worshiping these statues, they are just there to remind us how it once was, and how far we have come and things we’ve overcame. If we replace the statues, people might gloss over the truth of our history.

So then, if we start to take down some of the statues, how do we choose which ones? How do we decide which

ones are more important? And if we start to take them down, where do we stop? Mount Rushmore shows the faces of four past Presidents. When I see Mount Rushmore, I don’t think slaveholders, I think of the “Shrine of Democracy” it is supposed to represent.

The point here, is that if someone is willing to dig deep enough, I bet they could find something controversial about most of the people who built our country. If that is the direction we are heading, then all the statues will be taken down.

Our country is still growing. It is not perfect, nor will it ever be. Our past, the good and the bad, made our country the way it is today. We can’t change the past, but we can shape the future.

We should be focusing on how we can live everyday with love and respect for everyone. This will help build a future that we can all be proud of.

26/28 staffers voted in agreement Right on target Compiled by Lily Hart | Page Designer Sophomore Caroline Willis “I think that they should be taken down because they represent a lot of racism and they represent people that dehumanized others and murdered them based on the color of their skin and I think that there are a lot more important people that could be represented in statues than confederates.”

20 September 18, 2017

The Dart asked students, "Should controversial statues be taken down?"

Freshman Elizabeth hayes

Freshman Grace Ashley

“I think it can go both ways but I really think that monuments of the confederacy should not be taken down because it really is a landmark for what our history has been and it stands as a stature of what we have been through as a country, the union, the confederacy, how we had our rough time but we’re still joining together as one, in a sense. I think the monuments kind of remind us how important our history is."

“Of course there’s the negative that’s associated with it, with the racism, and the civil war, but it’s also part of our history and if we don’t look back and learn from it we’re bound to repeat it so I think that we should have them up as a reminder.”

perspectives

Public transportation: an underrated and underused jewel The Kansas City bus system is incredibly convenient and useful. This makes me wonder why so many people are skeptical, or even afraid, of riding the bus.

Story by Anna Ronan | Writer

O

n the way to the bus stop from STA, I always notice a few key things: all the student drivers when I cross an intersection, the people sitting in the windows at restaurants like Andres and Spin and the sound of the hustle and bustle of the Plaza not too far away.

While I am lucky to have a dad who is willing to drive me to school in the mornings, he and my mom get off work at a much later time than I get out of school.

I ride the bus because it is one of my only options. I could wait around for an hour or two until one of my parents gets off work, bother friends every day by asking to go to one of their houses, or even just go and study at the library. Most days, though, I just want to get home. So, logically, public transportation is the way to go.

One of the things I hear most often when I tell people I ride the city bus is, “Isn’t that dangerous?” The answer to that is no, no it is not. The bus is not a scary place. Every time I get on the Main Street Bus towards the River Market, I am greeted by the sound of

mindless chatter between complete strangers. I often hear people talking about the most recent baseball game, what’s been going on in Kansas City and sometimes even politics.

However, it’s not all strangers. I see the same people a lot, and there are others that know each other. More than a few times I have heard joy-filled greetings from friends that are exclusive to riding the bus. Even if I don’t have any personally close friends, I can recognize some people and drivers that are regulars on my bus.

Maybe it’s just because I grew up near downtown, but the bus rarely seems scary to me. While some buses are more well kept than others, the seats are almost always clean and the drivers are almost always nice.

I remember one of the first times I rode the bus. I didn’t know what I was really doing, and, now that I look back, everyone on that bus could totally tell.

When I got on the bus, the kind driver gave me a transfer card and my fare card. When I looked back, the bus was completely full. When I started walking towards the seats, I didn’t realize that the driver would immediately pull away from the stop. I ended up stumbling across and almost landing on top of an old woman. Thankfully, she was nice about it, and the man behind her stood up and gave me his seat. It was so, so embarrassing.

While it only happens every once and awhile, I certainly get asked if I’m in the right place. I’m one of few people of my combined race and age

demographic that uses the city bus. I mean, picture this- a short white girl in a Catholic school uniform with a backpack twice her size boards the bus. It’s not something that you would generally expect.

It makes me think about this city. We have so many diverse people in this metropolitan area, but lots of people don’t recognize those communities.

The public transportation is one of the few places that does recognize those communities, and thankfully, without bias.

I see people that most wouldn’t expect to see on the bus. Two chefs working on the plaza. A college student who straps his bike to the front of the bus. An Asian mother with her young daughter. A grandmother teaching her grandson how to ride the bus.

It’s a really diverse place in a city so separated.

Another great plus to the bus is that it’s pretty cheap. For a student with a reduced fare card, it’s 75 cents, and normally it’s only a dollar and 50 cents.

The buses are almost always on time, and they run every ten minutes to a half an hour. They stop at almost every block and are quick to leave from stops.

And, at least for me, I don’t have to walk all that far to get to a stop.

The Kansas City public bus is so, so underrated. It’s diverse, it’s cheap, and it goes all over the city. Take the time, learn to be comfortable on the bus; it’s really worth knowing how to ride it.

Because, hey, we’re all just people trying to get somewhere. H page design by Katie Gregory

21

life isn't always Perfect, but it's Always precious Our fear of imperfection is robbing society of the gifts that thousands of people can bring into our lives. Why are we deciding who does or doesn't deserve to have value based on one chromosome?

Story by Gabby Staker Design Editor

I

It’s becoming an issue of genocide.

Of eugenics. The systematic elimination of a certain group of people based on whether or not they have an extra chromosome.

Iceland has all but eradicated Down syndrome. It’s not because they’ve found a cure or been able to genetically modify the DNA. Babies are being screened in utero, and the decision on whether they come into the world rests on a test that predicts whether they have Down syndrome.

Other countries are close behind.

Denmark has a 98 percent termination rate for babies testing positive for Down syndrome, closely followed by the United States at 85 percent, according to a 2012 study by the University of South Carolina.

This can’t be a women’s rights issue.

It’s not about the health of the mother.

In fact, it’s not even about the health of the child. Down syndrome does not and should never mean a death

22 September 18, 2017

sentence.

My great aunt Mary was born with Down syndrome and a hole in her heart. Should that make her life any less meaningful than yours or mine? I know she was no less dignified, no less valued and no less beautiful than anyone else on this Earth. Her life of 39 years profoundly influenced her parents’ charity and philanthropy throughout their community. Mary inspired my mom to become an occupational therapist and devote her life to working

do you want to live in?” was posed

by Thordis Ingadottir, the mother of Agusta, a seven-year-old girl living in Iceland with Down syndrome. Agusta was one of three kids born with Down syndrome in 2009. The test was only 85 percent accurate.

Ingadottir has become a strong advocate for people with Down syndrome. She sees the light her daughter has brought to her life, and can’t imagine life without her. "I will hope that she will be fully integrated on

"Down syndrome does not and should never mean a death sentence." with children with special needs.

I’m not trying to glorify Down syndrome. I know it can be a struggle for so many families to provide proper medical care and therapy for their children. That shouldn’t make termination of the pregnancy the default response CBS published an article Aug. 14 titled, "What kind of society do you want to live in?: Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing.” Since then, newspapers media throughout the world has picked up on the story.

The question, “What kind of society

her own terms in this society,” Ingadottir said. “That's my dream.”

What’s going to happen when, 50 years from now, we look around and realize that Down syndrome doesn’t exist anymore and the world is no better for it? What kind of society do we want to live in? For me, the answer is simple: not one that makes any person feel like they’re a burden, unable to add value or make their mark in the world.

We can’t forget the scars we bear from our history when we have attempted to create a “perfect” society of “perfect” people. H

Through a camp counselor's eyes How my short four days as a camp counselor for autistic boys changed my perspective and allowed me to learn more about myself.

Story by Riley McNett Snapchat Editor

T

ake an exit off Kill Creek Road and take a right. Turn left on 83rd Street. Turn right onto Wyandotte Street. At the stop sign county road 26, turn left. Proceed approximately two to five miles. Take a sharp right turn onto a gravel road and this is where you will find a part of my heart and soul.

Over the summer, I was a camp counselor at Camp Encourage. Camp Encourage is a non-profit organization and camp for youth 6-18 years old on the autism disorder spectrum.

Camp Encourage is my service agency.

Coming to camp, I was extremely nervous. I was the only STA girl at that particular camp session, had never been a camp counselor and never traveled that far on my own. Little did I know, Camp Encourage was going to be the best four days of my life.

First and foremost, a lot of people in this world do not know what autism is and isn’t. Of course there is no way for those without autism to fully understand the autistic experience.

Autism is “a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.”

My opinion is that each autistic person is different and there is not one or multiple characterizations that can generalize everyone. I gathered from an assortment of experiences throughout my week at camp and formed a couple of my opinions on what autistic kids are and aren’t and some reasons you should be a camp counselor for kids with disabilities or mental conditions.

Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, kids are just like us and we just don’t

realize it. At camp, a group is usually formed of 8 kids with ASD and two or three “peer models.” Peer models are kids without ASD, but the same age.

When asking a peer model what he enjoyed most about Camp Encourage, he expressed, "meeting new kids that have ASD and finding out that they are a lot like me." This quote melted my heart when I read it because no matter autistic or not, they are no less dignified and beautiful than anyone else on this planet. Many of them have full and wonderful lives so you don’t need to feel sympathetic toward them, but once you get a chance to get to know them you realize that they’re just people, and you’re a person, and you’re not that different. I learned to appreciate and celebrate differences and got to see the beauty of uniqueness first hand.

I learned so much about myself from a group of eight to ten year olds in just a short four days. These kids made me reflect on my life and how I look at it.

First of all, these kids encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone more often. Most of the kids have never been away from home for even a night and are very nervous at the beginning of camp. By the end, the boys were completely different people from the first time we met because of them stepping outside of their comfort zone.

Picture Owen: a kid who is very very shy, always is playing by himself with a stick in the lawn and is very content and doesn’t come close to having physical contact with another person. His mom told us counselors when she dropped him off that he won’t hug or touch anyone throughout the entire camp

experience. One day in the sensory room, I was laying on a chair while Owen and another counselor were playing with the blocks. He comes over to me and completely sprawls his entire body on top of me and just stays there.

This spoke volumes to both me and the other counselor because of how much a few days at camp encourage can do to a person.

Oliver was another camper is my group who was being interviewed by a photographer. Each group was assigned a photographer, because the photos and videos were being compiled to make a promotion video for Camp Encourage. With just being told to answer a “few questions for Jill,” Oliver had no idea his responses were for a video. The question asked to him was “Once you can not come to camp as a camper anymore because you are over 18, would you like to come back and volunteer?” Oliver’s response was “Yes! Because I want to encourage and help people like I have been encouraged.” This response really spoke to me because we can all learn from this in that we should give back in the same ways we have been treated and supported.

Camp Encourage was the time of my life and a great experience that I will remember forever. I learned a lot about myself, the world we live in, and our uniqueness and differences between others. I hope this column spoke to one of you and encouraged you to step outside of your comfort zone and maybe be a volunteer at a camp with kids with disabilities one day.H page design by Katie Gregory

23

sports feature

The golf team grows in size and friendship Story by Katy Rouse | Writer Photos by Meghan Baker Photo Editor With the golf team doubling in the last four years, the team has grown much closer.

As senior varsity golfer Emma Anielak walks up to the tee, she is surrounded by her supportive teammates. She has been golfing ever since second grade, but this team feeling is still new to her.

“When I was a freshman there was only 12 people on the team, three people from each grade and that was it,” said senior, Emma Anielak. “It was very small and the teams were very distinct and you didn’t really talk to the seniors.”

Over the last four years, STA’s golf team has more than doubled in numbers. While many freshmen are not surprised by the size of the golf team, the seniors have had to adjust to the team's growth. As the years progressed, things started to change, and the golf team grew from individuals into one strong team.

24 September 18, 2017

“It’s definitely more of a team feel even though it's such an individual sport,” said Anielak. “It's kind of hard to get that feeling unless you're surrounded by a group of people that are so supportive and so happy when you do well. You’re challenging your teammates to do well and you want everyone to improve and just get better.”

With the growth of the golf team, comes more competition. More people are fighting for a limited spot on the teams, with only a certain number of players allowed in tournaments each week.

“I think the growth that we’ve had has definitely made our program better,” said senior, Ana Ryan. “Again, just more competitive. It’s a sport that girls don’t really play, which means there’s a lot of opportunity there. I just think the expansion and the growth has really made the sport and program better. It’s more competitive individually.”

Some of the golfers began golfing only before freshman year, which means that they had to learn very quickly. Many golfers would credit the

team's winnings to all of their coaches, but head coach Martha Linscott in particular.

"We wouldn't be where we are today without our coaches,” said Ryan. “But especially without Martha Linscott. She is the reason why STA's golf program has grown. She works so hard to give us all an opportunity to learn, grow and compete. In the process we have fun too."

Although some might expect the team to not be close because of the competitiveness, it is actually the opposite. The team has grown closer because golf is such a mentally grueling sport. When a golfer has a bad round, their teammates are always there to lift them back up.

“Mentally, it is so hard, so tough, I’ve fallen apart in tears,” said Ryan. “So when I see a girl doing that on my team, I’m just always very supportive, keep your head up, smile, we’re here for you, don’t even worry about it, you got the next one. H

Senior Emma Anielak swings her golf club at the Heart of America Golf Academy Sep. 1.

Members of the golf team pile on a golf cart Sep. 1. The whole team practiced together at the Heart of America Golf Academy.

Senior Ana Ryan, left, helps senior Kelsey Scanlon with her form at the Heart of America Golf Academy Sep. 1. Over the last four years, STA’s golf team has more than doubled in numbers.

Sophomore Julia Flores, left, listens to coach Jack Garvin as he adjusts her form at the Heart of America Golf Academy Sep. 1.This is Flores’ second year on the golf team.

Sophomore Julia Flores prepares to put at the Heart of America Golf Academy Sep. 1.

The golf team gathers around coach Martha Linscott after practice at the Heart of America Golf Academy Sep. 1. Linscott is the head coach of STA’s golf team.

page design by Delaney Hupke

25

Community

Junior Maureen Burns, fifth from the left and freshman Mary Kate Gallager, fourth from the right,w dance on the Miller Light Stage at the Irish Fest Sep. 1.

Volunteers are the fuel of irish fest Kansas City’s annual cultural festival in Crown Center square could not be possible without the help of volunteers in the community.

Story by Mary Massman Lifestyles Editor Photos by Grace Fiorella Writer

A

s senior Kelsey Scanlon steps onto Crown Center square, she is greeted with the energy of thousands of people flooding the streets, upbeat live music playing and the smell of food trucks. As she makes her way through the crowds, she is reminded of why she loves being apart of such a unique gathering.

"I couldn't imagine not going," Scanlon said. "It's an ongoing party."

Scanlon, a member of the kid's committee, represents one of about 1500 volunteers who

26 September 18, 2017

help to put on Kansas City's Irish Festival every year. As an annual festival-goer, Scanlon has seen the unique volunteer aspect that makes the festival possible.

“Volunteers are the backbone of the Irish Fest," Scanlon said. "It would not be possible without them."

Fortunately, with 45 differing areas of volunteering, a free t shirt, great bands and an overall lively event, volunteers are not difficult to find. Junior Leah Dorris chose to get involved this year helping with recycling, and ultimately hopes to gain more than just service hours.

“It's a local festival more unique to Kansas City, so you get a deeper connection with the Kansas City community when you volunteer,” Dorris said. “ It's a good way to interact with new people.”

Another pull of festival volunteering is the user-friendly registration and overall coordination.

This component stood out to Dorris and aided in making involvement as effortless as possible.

“I would say It's one of the most organized volunteer opportunities. that I've had,” Dorris said

“That's really important when you're volunteering, to have it be organized enough, so you know what you're doing and where you need to be.”

The simplicity and entertainment of the festival leads to many people of the community being drawn to help.

Scanlon has seen who makes up the volunteer force over the years, and it isn’t solely one age group.

"There's a wide range of volunteers," Scanlon said. "It takes all ages, and a lot of different people from different backgrounds. Not everyone on the board is Irish, you don't have to be."

Everyone is welcome to volunteering, because they are all necessary for such a large event. Irish Fest board secretary Sarah Walsh has watched volunteers return year after year to help showcase the many facets of our culture in the festival.

“Without our 1200+ volunteers we could never put on an event of this size and magnitude,” Walsh said. “We bring in 85,000 attendees over a weekend, we sell out two major hotels for this event, we boost the economy on a typically slow weekend by offering this event.”

Both volunteers and coordinators feel the shared goal is every person walking away with a great experience. Dorris agrees with Walsh that the festival is a team effort, given that so many people take part in contributing to the betterment of the community.

“It's a huge event, and it's so important to Kansas City culture and the community, that everybody wants it to go as smoothly as possible,” Dorris said. “They have all the people in the community come together and organize it to the point that everybody has a really great time.”

Junior Molly Cowan deposits money from the ATM Sept.1. Cowan worked with the finance department for the Irish Fest.

Juniors Byrnn Slattery, left, and Molly Cowan talk to other volunteers during the Irish fest Sep. 1.

“Even if you’re just a volunteer, you can make a difference and your impact is shown definitely.”

-KelseyScanlon According to Walsh, the importance of student volunteers in particular is not lost on any single coordinator, and their significance is shown and greatly valued. Walsh feels that student volunteers are essential to the improvement of the festival.

“For this event to keep moving forward and evolving it's critical that we recruit at the student level,” Walsh said. “We never want this festival to be redundant. Students keep our fest relevant to the current times.”

When it comes to student volunteers, they may get as much from the festival as the festival gets from them. Scanlon explains the rewards of volunteering are evident no matter how big the commitment is.

“Even if you’re just a volunteer, you can make a difference and your impact is shown,” Scanlon said.

“Even if you can go for a few hours on a Saturday, it makes a difference in our community.”

H

Juniors Byrnn Slattery, left, and Molly Cowan discuss confidentially about their volunteer work Sep. 1.

Juniors Leah Dorris, left, and Madeline Loehr check the recycling bin for any non-recyclable products Sept. 1. This was both girls first time volunteering at the Irish Fest.

CAPTION, CAPTION

page design by Riley McNett

27

lAST LOOK

Sophomores Grace Kauten (left), Anna Johnson (middle) and Emily Cory (right) hold Italian paper fans in Venice.

Inside STA's

Summer Excursions Students of St. Teresa's had the opportunity to travel to Italy, Paris and London last summer.

Story and photos compiled by Kailee Ford | Twitter Editor

M

any students of STA wait anxiously at the airport for their flight to Europe. They’ve checked and double checked their luggage to make sure they don’t leave anything at home. Their flight is ready to board. They get on the plane, excited for what the next few days will hold.

Students at St. Teresa’s Academy got to go on a trip to Europe this past summer. The full trip lasted for ten days. “[In England we visited] Stonehenge and Westminster and we also saw Buckingham Palace,” junior Lucy Whittaker said. “[It was] very interesting because London is more modern looking, but farther out it’s older architecture.”

28 March 6, 2017

History teacher Alicia Stewart was one of the chaperones who went on the England and France trip. When visiting France, Stewart was surprised at the city’s uncleanliness.

“Paris is actually very dirty, that’s what really bothers me about it,” Stewart said. “We went out to Versailles, the palace of Louis XIV- XVI, and that was very pretty and green, especially the gardens, they’re huge, but the city itself is very dirty.”

While in England, the group got to go to the Behind the Scenes of Harry Potter in the Warner Bros. Studios in England.

“It was so cool to walk around and see Harry’s bed under the staircase [and the other sets],” Whittaker said. “I even talked to a person who wasn’t a huge fan of Harry Potter and they said it was cool.”

Another trip that students took was to Italy for 13 days, where they visited Rome, Florence and Milan among other cities.

“The students that went on the trip are students that were in a Literature and Pilgrimage class so they read Dante’s Divine Comedy and then we see things and sights related to it and participate in events related to it,” English teacher Kelly Fast said. “So in Rome, we visited the Colosseum and St. Peter’s. We visited Florence, which is Dante’s home town and we see his home there. At the end of the trip, it’s more relaxing. We go to the beach and hike on the coast of Italy and then we fly home from Milan.”

When going on a trip you’re bound to lose something, but Fast did not expect a student to lose her passport.

“Theology teacher Mike Sanem had to help her get an emergency passport which is not an easy thing,” Fast said.

“You have to go to the police station and the U.S. Embassy. We spent a day trying to get a new one."

One student and her family decided to take going to Europe another step

further by going there for a month and visiting five countries. Senior Devin John visited Iceland, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia and Italy.

“We started in New York and flew to Iceland and stayed for a few hours just as a layover,” John said. “Then we traveled to other countries like Italy, Germany and Croatia. We went to Croatia because that is where my mom is from, so we her visited family there.

Then after spending time in Italy we went back to Switzerland and flew home.”

Despite going to so many beautiful places in Europe, the scenery she said was the best was in Croatia.

“Croatia had the best scenery, it was so beautiful. It was so different than anything you’d see in Missouri or Kansas,” John said. “The city we stayed in was Dubrovnik and it’s a walled city and they were in a war in the 1990s so some of the parts of the city were very war-torn. But within the city walls, it was just a whole other experience because there are no cars allowed inside the walls and you could walk along them and look at the sea. It was just amazing.”

As talk of these trips fills the halls, the students wait patiently for the next summer trip. H

Sophomore Emily Cory (left), teacher Sue Marquis (middle) and junior Anne Claire Tangen (right) smile for a picture in Italy.

Junior Nicole Ficklin stands near the colosseum in Rome, Italy.

Ficklin and other students went on a trip to Italy last summer for English class.

Teachers Alicia Stewart (left), Anne Papineau (middle) and Mike Egnar (right) pose for a picture near a cliffside in Europe.

page design by Ella Kugler

29

ask the dart

ASK DART THE

What’s a girl to do if she’s been shot by cupid’s arrow and is in love with a bad boy?

Each month, the Dart lets students submit their questions and we choose one to answer.

Story by Reagan Penn | Writer Illustration by Nikki Slocomb | Illustrator For starters, enjoy the motorcycle rides, but don’t fall off his motorcycle.

Never trust the hair gel, you can never trust a guy with hair gel. Don’t wear his leather jacket, you never know what you might find in the pockets.

If he doesn’t wear the safety strap on while playing the Wii, don’t trust him.

If he is wearing jeans skinnier than you, he’s probably cooler, but also probably doesn’t know how to hold a conversation (keep in mind this is only true if he also uses a ton of hair gel). Never give him money, you never know how he is spending it. In general, don’t trust anything he says or does unless you have verification. Just make sure that verification isn’t from one of his greasy-hair friends.

There are some things you should establish. Are you sure he is a bad boy?

Have you seen him do anything bad?

He could be a poser. Again, you can never trust the hair gel. Is he bad by his standards or someone else’s? If it’s his standards, never trust a word out of

30 September 18, 2017

his mouth. If he’s bad by someone else’s standards, get out as quick as you can, especially if multiple people are telling you this.

Juliet wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Romeo. Juliet was more or less told that Romeo was a ‘bad boy’ from other people’s standards. However, Juliet didn’t get out as quick as she could, and against everyone telling Juliet not to, she fell for Romeo (but Romeo probably didn’t have hair gel, so that probably made him pretty easy to trust) and that love story is known as being one of the greatest love stories of all time, except for the way the story ends. Romeo wasn’t actually a bad boy, people were just telling Juliet not to fall for him because of a family feud. So unless you are aware of a family feud and people are telling you that he is bad, maybe you should just stay away. If there is a family feud, just go for it, just make sure your story ends better than Romeo and Juliet’s.

But just remember, never trust the hair gel. H Disclaimer: for entertainment purposes only.

on the DNO Here’s what’s happening on Dart News Online

video: frosh fest Video by Lily Hart

tonnies and taber: where have they been?

Q&A by Gabby Pesek sta vs sion volleyball game Gallery by Meghan Baker a bite of kc: SUSHI SHOWDOWN Blog by Meghan Baker

pop culture podcast

Podcast by Faith Andrews-O’Neal page design by Lily Manning

31