Issue 3 by Panther Publications

PT panther’s tale news magazine dec. 16 issue volume 64 issue 3

the real modern family Students today are often raised in a non-traditional family unit. “Mom can be busy sometimes, but my grandparents are very helpful.” pg. 15 Student undergoes social media cleansing to model social media star

pg. 5

Kansas Board of Regents changes on-campus gun laws

pg.13

table of contents

panther’s tale newsmagazine

ON THE COVER The cover of this issue is picturing three different families from across the globe that could be considered “unorthodox.” You can see a Lesbian couple raising a child, an single mother, and a interracial couple who is also raising a child with a grandparent living in the house. This is to show that there is no such thing as a normal family, each family is different. Cartoon by Cole Drees Design by Cole Drees

PT panther’s tale newsmagazine

dec 2th issue volume 64 issue 1

the real modern family I’m grateful that I’m still able to do things with my friends. I can still go and hang out. I’m grateful I can still walk … I mean, other than my health issues, I have a pretty great life, you know. I have a lot of friends, and I have a lot of people who care about me,”

pg. 4

The fall season brings something in to play most don’t think about, seasonal depression.

pg. 7

Instead of looking at womens fashion, take a flip on the average fall fashion spread and look at pg.13 mens fashion

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local photographer talks challenges & new business his year the sports poster photos were taken by TMcKee Photography. Tamara McKee is the owner of TMcKee Photography, and she said the posters were one of the most challenging things she’s ever done as a photographer. “It was all so new to me. I have learned a lot about digital design along the way,” McKee said. “[The posters were] fun, challenging and a learning experience. We have some great kids attending Derby High School.” McKee discovered photography while taking a photography class in high school. “I discovered my love during my senior year of high school in a photography class I had to take,” McKee said. Although McKee loved being a photographer, she had never dreamt of owning her own business until her friends and family encouraged her to do just that. McKee said her business started more as a hobby, and she didn’t really know where it was going to go in the beginning. “Before I owned my photography business, I was a stay at home mom. My friends and family encouraged me to start my own business,” McKee said. “I was reluctant at first, so I started off real small, it was just a hobby.” McKee said some of the pros of owning a business is being able to set your own hours and capturing big life moments for her clients. “The best part of my job is capturing life's moments for people that they will have for years to come,” McKee said. “My schedule is as busy as I allow it to be, so it's nice being able to set my own schedule and hours.” One of the cons McKee said is having to turn people away when she gets too busy throughout the year. “The hard part of this job is having to tell people no,” McKee said. “Also the hardest part of being a business owner has been having to learn how to have business relationships with my friends.” In her free time, Mckee enjoys reading, puzzles and spending time with family. In the future, McKee would like to further her education in photography and design. “I am not real sure what the future holds for my business, but it is my goal to further my education in photography and photo editing to better my business and skills,” McKee said.

visit her website at http://www.tmckeephotography.com/

or contact her Tamara McKee (316) 351-8298 Derby/Wichita KS

courtesy photo of tmckee photography

story by meaghan mizak

our issue

in emojis

Student mentors are all around our school, and in different shapes and sizes. From StuCo, Panther Crew, and Peer Mentoring. leaders are all around. In this issue we tall about cheerleaders and how they are at risk for head injuries and other injuries.

Dr. Nelsen, Dr. Colt, Dr. Barker, and the DDC staff believe in providing the best quality of care and comfort for their patients, while integrating the latest advances in dentistry.

1120 N. Rock Rd., Suite 100 in Derby (316)789-9999

Colleges, now more than ever, are requiring more than just good grades and high test scores for college.

On our last spread we talk about how makeup goes beyond blemish and delves intomakeup being a form of expression and art.

Get gorgeous!

Derby Family MedCenters

速

1101 N. Rock Rd. in Derby (316)788-6983 Thank you for serving as a SPONSOR for Derby High School publications!

Go Panthers!

Derby High Ad_quarter pg.indd 1

9/15/2014 2:30:59 PM

Student Cody Baker deactives his Twitter account for a week to experiment “social media cleansing.”

he Panther’s Tale staff members noticed a trend of social media stars quitting social media, and we decided to stage an experiement ourselves. Essena O’Neill, an Australian model and Instagram star, quit Instagram, Youtube, and Tumblr on Nov. 4, 2015. She had more than 612,000 followers and almost a million likes on her photos. On Today News, she revealed her “dream life” was really very fake. She deleted more than 2,000 photos that, to her, “served no real purpose other than self-promotion.” She also told Today News that she “spent the majority of [her] teenage life being addicted to social media, social approval, social status and [her] physical appearance.” Following the events with O’Neill, teenagers all over the world started “cleansing themselves” by quitting social media, which lead to a “social media cleanse” trend. Staff members decided to conduct a social experiment with a student of Derby High who has a lot of followers on Twitter. The social experiment required this student to deactivate his Twitter for a week. To see if this person had any trouble, or had any progress with the social experiment, staff would document the findings throughout the week. Senior Cody Baker, who has 1,148 followers and more than 20,000 likes on his posts, agreed to deactivate his Twitter account for a week on November 18, no problem. The newsmagazine staff picked him for the experiment because he’s a big figure in DHS because of basketball and, obviously, Twitter. In order to get authentic reactions, Baker had to agree not to tell anybody; nobody could know why he took a break from social media. Suprisingly, he didn’t have a problem quitting social media, saying, “It’ll be easy,” because he’s done it before. Something different about Baker is he doesn’t spend as much time on social media as most teens do. “I have basketball [practice], and I work out, so I only get on it before bed. It’s like a routine,” Baker said. “I probably won’t talk to many of my friends, and it’s a main source of communication with them,” Baker said the day he agreed to quitting social media. He also said that it would make him “be normal and not have to be competing for the best tweet [of the day].” Compared to [stereotypical] teens of today, it surprised staff members to see how well he handled deactivating his account. He didn’t have a problem not telling his friends why he did it.

ARE YOU

SURE YOU WANT

DEACTIVATE THIS ACCOUNT?

“Most of them have [quit social media] before, so it probably won’t be a big deal,” Baker said “It might even create a domino effect.” Religious aspects of Baker’s life are also in play most of the time, making it easier for him to commit to this experiment. “[Deactivating my account] will make me not distracted as much, and it’ll make me more focused on God and not trends,” Baker said about what his relationship with god will be like. During the week, staff checked up on his Twitter account, making sure he hadn’t got on it since he “deactivated.” He’s high up to their standards and is making a difference to everyone around him. After the week was over, staff checked back up with him for one last interview. It seems as if it had more benefits then consequences on his part. “[Quitting social media] distracted me from drama that high school brings,” Baker said about the benefits he received by quitting. “Social media put me into the Bible more,” Baker said about how his relationship with god changed, “and I wasn’t on social media [as much].” The day the social media experiment ended, he told his friends about it, and it was something they were surprised to hear.

pop culture | Dec. 16

Being close with one’s friends, it might be hard to keep something like that a secret for very long. “Some [friends] noticed; some of them didn’t,” Baker said. To Baker, social media doesn’t seem to be as important to him as other things. Like basketball, god and high school. “[Social media] was getting annoying and [quitting it] kept me out of petty little drama,” Baker said a few days after getting back on social media. To end the social experiment, we asked one simple question, that teenagers addicted to social media may be wondering. Would he do it again? “Yeah, it wasn’t hard to quit,” Baker said.

story by Gerrika Alcorn

opinion column

Conway Spring Teacher needs more respect for teaching even after doing something ‘controversial.’

ecently in local news, a Conway Springs teacher’s job was on the line because of a short, online film he showed. The film he showed was “All You Need is Love,” and it features a young, heterosexual girl who lives in a world where the societal norm is being homosexual. She deals with gruesome bullying, name calling and physical abuse from her peers. The point of the film was to show everyone a different perspective on what it can be like to be apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I spoke with Sheri Levy, an actress in the film who plays the more-accepting mother in the film, has been active in LGBT rights and called out for support of other teachers who have felt the same backlash for showing the film. “When the first incident of a teacher being threatened to be fired happened in Florida, the director of LIAYN (Love is All You Need) flew out to Florida to stand up in support of the teacher. I have an activist nature, so I desperately wanted to join the effort,” Levy said. The Conway Springs middle school teacher, Tom Leahy, decided to show the film because of a project his students did a week before he showed the film. He chal-

lenged the kids to start a colony set with its own rules and guidelines. Some students did well with the project, while others made discriminatory rules like banning gay people from the colony. Leahy went on leave and was asked to resign because of all the backlash from parents. However, Leahy decided not to resign, and with “safeguards in place,” he will be able to

opinion of cole drees resume teaching at Conway Springs middle school. What is troubling is that this teacher’s career was on such a tight rope for showing an anti-bullying film. Obviously, living in Kansas, a state of 51 percent republican voters who are usually against LGBTQ+ rights movements, backlash was expect-

editorial staff cole drees

ed. The film had a good message, and some parents took it as having some kind of “gay agenda.” The school district said the first priority was making sure the students were comfortable, but nothing was mentioned about making sure their own faculty member felt welcomed at the school. Teachers are the future of our world. They mold the minds of each child they have in their class. Generation by generation, teachers learn and try to keep open minds, so they can pass on the same traits to their students. Teachers’ jobs are to create future members of society who will positively impact the world. Being open-minded is a huge portion of being a productive member of society. Being able to accept others and sympathize with others helps the world. When showing this kind of film in class, you want it to open the minds of the students. “Happily, many teachers have shown the film in their classrooms successfully and with tremendous community support,” Levy said. Overall, teachers know what they are doing; they want to see the students from their classes grow and know they did a good job. This teacher shouldn’t have been punished for trying to do just that.

general staffers

editor in cheif

sierra bauman

copy editor

justin pechanec

website editor

mikaela mizak

design editor

kori tullis

photo editor

brianna cleveland

indepth editor

kenyon tabor

sports editor

owen berk

assitant sports editor

cassidy conway

coacademics

brittney mcswain

coacademics

meaghan mizak

popculture editor

maryah whiteman

social media manager

editor

gerrika alcorn anthony allen

james thompson kaitlyn werth

taylor baer tayler brown taylor henry sasha lewis erik nenortas evan read alyssa soell

myah coberly

opinion | Dec. 16

editorial Young adults should start researching the presidential elections and being involved in politics to positivley impact the world.

The 2016 presidential debate is closer than it appears. With debates starting up and the canidates making themself more public, it’s time to start educating ourselves on what everyone is talking about. This election is different from others because young adults and college students are one of the biggest topics at hand. College tuition and prices are a big topic politicians are talking about. Part of becoming adults is that all of these things we thought didn’t affect us soon will. We live in a world with people who represent and decide things for us, so if we educate ourselves, we can take a hold of what affects us. The low political involvement and education in teens is always a constant. One out of three students did not realize there are other candidates other than Obama and Romney running for President, i.e. Libertarian candidate, Green Party candidate and more. Pushing to educate yourself can help you form your own opinions rather than just listening to what

your parents say. Forty percent of students say they completley agree with their parents compared to the seven percent who don’t agree with their parents. Opening your eyes to new ideas and views can help you shape what your president should be like, and you can accuratley pick the politicians you want in office. Also, when you keep yourself educated you make yourself aware of the undesirable aspect of canidates that may totally change your choices. For example, people who are voting for Donald Trump may find it offputting that he recently made fun of someone with mental disability and also made fun of someone who was overweight. Another example is the Clinton scandal with Monica Lewisnky. Both of the parties have undesirbale aspects that are offputting. Adults have a responsiblity to vote, and teens are soon to be adults. Why wait to educate yourself? Learn now and be ready for the next election. Be aware of what’s going on because it is relevant to your life.

This cartoon illustrates a teen being able to hold her own about politics after educating her self and paying attention to debates. Our staff voted 22-1 that students should educate themselves in politics to prepare themselves for voting. cartoon by Dawn Mullen

conceal & carry & college Kansas Board of Regents sets new gun control policy on campus that stirs outcry after recent violent, gun-related events around world

he San Bernadino, California shooting that left 14 people dead last month is just one of the several shootings that has recently impacted the world. Seemingly normal people turn dangerous, killing many people in the process. Mental illnesses influence people to make abnormal decisions like bringing guns to colleges, schools, universities, and homes. Guns are being carried in backpacks, purses, and in the back pocket of a person’s jeans. The Kansas Board of Regents set a new policy for the state university system that will allow most people to carry concealed firearms without a permit on campus as of July 2017. Gun control advocates all over Kansas have an opinion on this new law. “It’s a giant responsibility,” Miller said, a publicist at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. “That’s probably the biggest thing these folks are going to miss.” As of July 1, no training will be required for someone choosing to holster a hidden gun or shove one into a purse or backpack. After that date, concealed-gun permits will be strictly voluntary in Kansas. Regarding taking responsibility for shootings at campuses that may happen after July 1, it shouldn’t be expected from the Kansas Board of Regents, seeing as shootings have been going up since the attack on Paris. Some people do support this new law. “Most people who carry already have training and are responsible for themselves, and they might consider know getting a gun for their own safety,” Mike Mosher said, an Overland Park police officer who owns a firearms training company. The quote “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” is also circling

around the internet, giving a good conversation for dinner tables worldwide. Pro-gun control advocates, however, say that it’s a totally unreasonable law. “Yes, guns kill people, so do automobiles, baseball bats, swimming pools, and a host of other tools, objects and mechanical devices, [and] it takes a human being with intent to operate that tool in an ethical or evil manner,” photography teacher Craig Godderz said. As 2015 ends, there has been a total of 353 mass shootings in the US. The definition of a mass shooting, as stated by “The New York Times,” is an event or related series of events where four or more people are shot, likely without a cooling off period. Within that definition of mass shootings, there have been 462 deaths in the U.S. Is this new law protecting U.S. citizens from more mass shootings, or is it making them susceptible to more in the future? “Mass shooters [are most likely to] attack soft targets such as schools and churches. If there is a chance that someone is considering an attack of that nature, they might second guess it if they think that there is armed resistance,” Godderz said. Some advocates of greater control of firearms said patterns make it obvious that tightening access to guns would reduce all shootings — mass and otherwise. The Second Amendment is a constitutional law that states everybody has a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, which is an amendment that is the main argument in stories revolving around gun control. “[And] the Second Amendment is a constitutional right whether you choose to exercise it or not,” Godderz said. story by Gericka Alcorn

in-depth | Dec. 16

The Kansas Board of Regents set a new policy for the state university system that will allow most people to carry concealed firearms without a permit on campus as of July 2017. Guns are allowed to be carried in backpacks, bags or purses,

Modern Family SS Everyone deals with stress, but just how much chaos goes on in our generation?

day. Teens, on average, spend eight tress is a fact of modern life. Evto nine hours a day on social media. eryone will deal with it throughSome of that time is time they could be out their lives; life just wouldn’t spending with their family, and usually be possible without a little stress. they are on electronics while they The average teen will deal with should be focusing on school work, certain types of stress that can result whether that’s at home or at school from school, sports, extracurricular itself. activities, homework and just being a commentary by Owen Berk teen and having a social life. Parents have different types of stress related to work, bills, having enough money to feed their family, keeping their children out of trouble, and trying to have some type of social life. To add to everything a family has to do outside the house, the house has to stay in running order, as well. Most families will give most of the house work to the children, but some parents spoil their kids and add cleaning the house to their long list of things to do instead of splitting the work between themselves and the children. Don’t even own a phone Stress has driven most families to cut out family time, so they can get done with all of their responsibilities and get on electronic devices such as TV, cell phones or video games. A survey from DailyMail.com states the Spend more time doing other activities average family spends less than an hour a day with each other, and most of that time is watching a TV show where there is no interaction between each other. The lack of time between family members can cause children to underachieve in school because they more time on their phone Spend don’t have anyone at home to help them with school work. Not spending enough time with family members can also cause risky behavior from teens. The less attention they get at home, the Spend more time with family more they will act out at school to get that missing attention. Even the lack of family dinners can cause emotional distress on the children. Parents who are away when the child wakes up, gets home from school, eats dinner and when the child goes to bed are causing emotional stress on the child that could effect them down the road. To go along with all the things families have to juggle, social media is taking over any family time that could possibly be left over at the end of the Survey results are estimated

don’t even own a phone

spend more time doing other activities

spend more time on their phones

spend more time with their families

18%

25%

50%

In Depth | Dec. 16 100 29%

How loving is your family?

How stressful is in-depth | oct. 7 you family situation? 40

20%

Results averaged to around 8 out of 10

14%

11%

7% 1%

4% 3%

2% 1% 1

Instead of posing together, this family is distracted by their phones. Photo by Erik Nenortas and Anthony Allen

Sophomore Gerrika Alcorn is being raised by her mother and her partner, who were married in Florida earlier this year. Alcorn said being raised by two moms has been a positive experience for her. courtesy photos

in-depth | dec 16

the real modern family Today’s students not always raised by one father and one mother in household.

he stereotypical family consists of four people: one man, one woman and two kids, but for today’s students it can look different. Sophomore Gerrika Alcorn has two moms. They recently got married after being together for five years. Alcorn described her family as any other person would. They have their family traditionsthey do; they spend time together as a family; and they love each other unconditionally, Alcorn said. Alcorn also said she accepts the way her mom is and doesn’t think much about having two moms, but she has also experienced the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to being accepted. When Alcorn was younger she would get made fun of for having two moms instead of having a mom and a dad. “People would tell me I would become like my mom,” Alcorn said. People also told Alcorn her mother was committing a sin by dating somebody of the same sex. All of these negative comments never got to Alcorn. She said she would just shake it off because she loves her mom for who she is. “My family is like any other family out there, it doesn’t matter if instead of a mom and a dad there’s two moms, we do the same things as other families do. We just might not look like the “conventional family,” Alcorn said. Much like Alcorn, sophomore Seth Boles has a family model that is not considered traditional. Boles lives with his mom, who lives with her parents. “I don’t have much to compare to,” Boles said. “It’s easier. I don’t have to do much work.”

Just because Boles’ family isn’t convential doesn’t mean it doesn’t run like a “normal” household. “It’s a normal household. Mom can be busy sometimes, but my grandparents are very helpful,” Boles said. Sometimes people live with other family members because of neccesity and a happier environment. Senior Bailey Vandenboss lived somewhere else before she lived in Kansas. “I live with my grandma, because I use to live in Oklahoma but the people weren’t nice there so I moved back here to be with friends,” Vandenbos said. Vandenboss is surrounded by her family, and her Derby life is a very different enviorment for her. “Well, it’s just me and my eight cats,” Vandenboss said. “Gato, Smarty, Tiger, Whiskers, Princess, Blue, Mittens and Troubles.” Vandenboss has built an even closer relationship with her grandmother since moving in with her, as well. “We’re a lot closer; we don’t really hide anything,” Vandenboss said. “We just hang out.”

story by Brittney McSwain & Cole Drees

real facts the

On average, same-sex couples raising adopted children are older, more educated and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents.

More than 65,000 adopted children and 14,000 foster children in the U.S. are being raised in homes headed by non-heterosexual individuals or couples.

s about lgbt couple

Two million GLB people have expressed an interest in raising a child. — The Williams

Institute, Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States, March 2007.

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in-depth | Dec. 16

Competitive gaming is a popular online sport that most people don’t know about.

obert Morris University and UPike are now offering scholarships to students who can play certain video games (League of Legends, Dota 2, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft) at a top-tier level. These colleges think offering these scholarships will attract a new group of formerly neglected students to their colleges, and they seem to be right, considering that Kurt Melcher, the associate athletic director at RMU, received 2,000 emails from students who were interested in the program shortly after it was unveiled. eSports is clearly growing in popularity on the east coast, but has its newly found popularity expanded to the rest of the country, particularly the Midwest? The students at DHS are pretty evenly split on the topic, seeing as a survey of 298 students shows that 58 percent of students agree with college scholarships for eSports.

“I agree with college scholarships for eSports participants since they are putting in just as much effort into improving their game as traditional athletes,” junior Paul Boulom said. Sophomore Matthew Hedden is also supportive of the scholarships. “I agree with the the participants receiving similar scholarships to what traditional sports athletes get,” Hedden said. The survey results also show that 56 percent of students would like to see eSports become a reality at the high school level. Sophomore Joel Craig is one of the students who is supportive of high school eSports. “It would be awesome to see eSports in high schools. They’re fun and they give a different demographic of students a way to get involved at the high school,” Craig said. Boulom shares a similar opinion with Craig. “I would definitely like

“

to see that happen. I know many people at DHS that would want to participate,” Boulom said. Students also seem to think eSports have some value and can teach the participants many different skills such as team building, communication and other skills that traditional sports can teach its participants. Forty-three percent of students think eSports can somewhat teach these skills, and 33 percent of students think eSports can fully teach these skills. Hedden is thinks the program can teach these skills just as well as traditional sports. “I think that eSports teach the participants the same competitive skills that regular sports can,” Hedden said. It seems as though eSports are not quite as popular in the Midwest, but they do have some support, and it appears as though that support will continue to rise. story by Justin Pechanec

I think that eSports teach the participants the same competitive skills that regular sports can,

“

Matthew Hedden said.

Leading ahead

Cheerleading isn’t all fun and games, especially when someone gets hurt.

very year, 16,000 cheerleaders are at risk of getting injured. Cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females in high school and college. Each year there is a reported Since 1898 cheerleading has been a sport that is ever evolving. From starting as an only male organized sport to predominantly women, cheerleading has changed a lot. From 2005-2009 there were more deaths from cheerleading than the last 21 years combined. In 2008, Sports Science reported that 16,000 cheerleaders were at risk of getting an injury classified as serious, non-serious, or fatal; in 2013, 28,000 cheerleaders were at risk. “I’m known as the walking injury, I have had multiple sprained ankles, broken ribs and concussions,” senior Madison Hileman said. “I told myself I was going to stop cheering but I found myself cheering again at Cheer Eclipse halfway through their season last year. I absolutely love cheering, but it definitely plays a toll on your body.” The most common injuries received from cheerleading are strains or sprains to the wrist, ankle, neck, lower back, and can even include broken bones or concussions. “I have had to have 4 surgeries from a cheerleading injury,” Hileman said. “I had torn my ACL and both meniscus at a

National competition with my competitive team in 2013. I had to have my ACL repaired and both of my menisci repaired. Since then I have had to three surgeries on my meniscus and scar tissue. After I tore my ACL I had to take a season off because the rehab was 6+ months.” A study that was conducted by the Journal of Pediatrics showed that cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females in high school and college because of its high risk for concussions and injuries. “I’ve been injured from cheer many times, I have sprained my knee, broke my finger, had several concussions,” junior Lauren Russell said. “There is high risk in the stunts we do.” Though there is the risk of injuries in cheerleading, junior Raley Mantz said she enjoys the friendship and bond her high school and professional cheer teams have. “I like being around my friends, supporting the school, having little girls look up to you, winning awards,” Mantz said.

story by meaghan mizak

injuries and the numbers source: www.livescience.com

Soft tissue injuries

fractures

lacerations

18.4 %

16.4% 3.8%

concussions

Strains & Sprains 52.4 %

3.5%

5.5% other

RISE AS

Derby takes its second state title in the last 5 years with the appreciation of fans

ast year, Derby went down in the playoffs to their bitter rivals, the Hutchinson Salthawks. Derby got their revenge in the regular season and in the postseason. During the regular season, it was predicted to be a close game, but Derby was bound and determine to pay Hutch back for the loss in 2014. Derby ran over Hutch 4914 in week four of the regular season. They may not have played Hutch in the playoffs, but the fact that Derby went all the way to state and won, unlike Hutch who lost to Shawnee Mission East in the state title game, was good enough for the Panthers. Derby showed they might be the team to beat in the playoffs after their 52-21 dismantling of Topeka. “The thing that made us special was that we weren’t individuals; we played as one,” senior Justin Wilson said. “‘Rise as One’ was picked as the team’s mantra for this exact reason. Not being an individual means you follow the gameplan and do what’s best for your teammates, not your own stat sheet. “We don’t play for individual glory, but as one unit for each other,” senior Brady Rust said regardingwhat Rise as One means to him. Derby steamrolled its way through the playoffs with a 52-21 win against

Topeka, a 46-27 win against Junction City and a 35-14 win over Lawrence Free State to get to the state title game. Going into the state title game, Derby looked to capture its second 6A state championship in three years. Blue Valley was looking to get its first 6A state championship, as it played 5A up to 2014. Early in the game Derby looked strong, but Blue Valley was no pushover. It was a hard-fought game throughout. Derby had two key defensive stops in the final three minutes of the game to preserve a 27-14 win. The class of 2016 and some members of the class of 2017 are two-time state champions. Will the class of 2018 and beyond carry on the Panther Dynasty? Only time will tell. story by owen berk

ONE

Sports | Dec 16

The

Word

Werdel

Ryan Werdel talks about his early-found passion for study of neurology in high school.

chool is supposed to be the place for educating students and preparing them for the future. For Ryan Werdel, it does not stop there. Werdel is currently studying neurology and practicing to go into the field of pediatric neurology. He studies textbooks and professor’s notes online and teaches himself through these resources. “One day, I saw a neuron under the microscope and was immediately interested in it, then right after that three or four of my friends had nervous disorders,” Werdel said. After having so many friends with disorders, he decided to pursue the field of neurology further. He is currently waiting on responses from

Figure 1.1

doctors and professionals about shadowing their profession. At only the age of 17, he has been interested and studying the field for almost a year. Being so young and planning out his future already, he has his parents to support him. “My parents always supports me in what I do, they taught me to hate laziness so I’m always busy,” Werdel said. School teachers also have helped support him in this direction. There is one teacher in particular who has been helping him with his future. “Mrs. Shock been the most supportive teacher ever,” Werdel said. Werdel is also involved in debate, drumline, and marching band. He

also loves to study latin as a hobby. Further proving his variety of interests, his second career choice would be to train as a Catholic priest. Werdel is a straight A student and is in multiple honors classes. His favorite subject in school is calculus. “School is my second or third priority,” Werdel said. He plans on going to college after high school, and some of the colleges he’s looking at include Benedictine or CAU. “I really enjoy medicine, but I don’t have an attraction to most fields except neurology,” Werdel said.

Neurology is the study of the anatomy, functions, organic disorders of nerves, and the nervous system.

Figure 1.3

Junior Ryan Werdel has shown an interest in neurology at a young age. He found his passion very early on in life.

Lead The Way

Students and teachers lead companions with compassion.

hey are club presidents, team captains, music section leaders, editors, peer mentors and more. Sometimes they don’t have a title. Leaders seem to be vital in almost every type of social setting, whether it be at home, at church, in a club or sport, music group or in the classroom. Science teacher Sara Wilson is the sponsor of the school’s student council, one she claims is rare in the state because it’s open, meaning anyone can come to the meetings and be involved, elected or not elected. A witness to high school leadership on a daily basis, Wilson easily explained leadership in the classroom. “Being a leader is more about being an example than it is about being in charge of people,” Wilson said. “We are doing the right things, and people notice that, and that is going to influence them more than someone telling them what they’re supposed to do.” In his book “Spiritual Leadership,” much-experienced missionary J. Oswald Sanders defined leadership as influence. If this were taken for truth, it would mean everyone has an influence over something or other. Everyone may not hold huge, titled leadership roles, but he or she probably is a leader to someone or something. Junior Ethan Kirby is someone other students look up to. He has become involved in student council as well as the club Future Career and Community Leaders of America or FCCLA. Not only is he involved in StuCo and is he the secretary of FCCLA, but in his first outside job he was promoted to assistant manager in less than 15 work days. Regarding what skills he uses in being a leader, Kirby decided his most prominent talent was having a good work ethic. He also stated that getting to know people is one of the best things leaders can do to ensure their leadership is effective. “They’ll trust you, and they’ll want to follow you,” Kirby said. Kelsey Kellogg, also a junior in FCCLA, described how Kirby leads. “He is always so friendly. He will always ask how you are doing and if he can help,” Kellogg said. “He goes out of his way to give people a positive example on what to do next. He thinks more like ‘what if we’ and not ‘what if I.’” One of the two varsity volleyball captains this year, senior McKenzie Young said her main strengths and reasons for wanting to lead are her vocality and her competitiveness. “It just gives me something to look forward to going out and playing every game,” Young said. “Me having that [competitiveness], I feel like most people act toward what they see me doing. I think that makes them try harder.” A fellow teammate she has made an impression on is senior Samantha Simmons. “She leads by example, and she’s always a person you look up to,” Simmons said. Young believes she will get more chances to lead this year; she’ll be playing basketball and softball as a senior, so she’s hoping to be able to impact her teammates competing in these sports as well. Simmons said Young is the type of person everyone says ‘hi’ to. To Simmons, Young is someone worthy to look up to because of her attitude and personality. “She’s really big in her faith. She’s really positive,” Simmons said. “She just lifts everybody up.”

academics | Dec. 16 Senior Todd Clubine has a mentor who has provided him with guidance in more than one area of life. “Mr. Bishop has not only helped me be a better musician,” Clubine said, “but a better person,” Clubine said, speaking about teacher Gray Bishop. Bishop is in front of young musicians all day, assisting with high school band and teaching orchestra students varying in age around the district. “Leadership is providing opportunities for people to reach their potential,” Bishop said. “Here’s the deal: if you are striving to do the best that you can, that’s leadership. To be able to play your part, even if it’s second violin, to play that the best that you can, then that’s the best form of leadership … Leaders are people that are actually helping to serve other people.” He gives pupils lessons amidst everything else he does for Derby students. “When I first went to Mr. Bishop, I was struggling to understand how to properly play music,” Clubine said, who plays the french horn. “Three years prior to me going to his lessons, I was diagnosed with dyslexia ... He taught me how read and play music from the ground up. He gave me a chance to succeed when others didn’t. That’s why I consider him a leader and a mentor.” For those out there who are looking for a chance to be an intentional leader, Wilson has advice. “The first step is just to find something that you’re interested in … focusing and dedicating yourself to one or two things that meet your interest, whether it’s a sport, or an activity, or a club, is going to give you the exposure to have the kinds of experiences outside the classroom that can make you into that kind of leader rather than just a student,” Wilson said. Although she admitted anyone can be a leader, Wilson also admitted certain characteristics make an effective leader. These include communication and social skills, both of which can be developed. The Panther’s Tale news magazine asked students what personality traits the leaders in their lives have, and those are included in the Tagul to the right, the most often-given adjective being the largest word in the diagram. Several members of the student body pointed out that leadership is important because without it, certain tasks would be much more difficult to complete; leadership is imperative in that it helps guide multiple people toward one goal and purpose. Observing this idea, not only is leadership essential but the willingness to follow is as well. Above, Wilson detailed a type of leadership that exists in being a good example, and Bishop defined a similar leadership that knows how to serve, both of which require the ability to follow. “Many who aspire to leadership fail because they have never learned to follow,” Sanders said. story by sierra bauman

What are the main characteristics of leaders in your life?

Checkin’ out

Interior design students think outside the box as they redesign the attendence office.

ike other areas in the school this year, changes are coming to the high school attendance office. Teacher Amy Calderwood’s interior design class is commencing to redecorate the busy office to make it more pleasing to the eye and to give the room more Derby pride. The students in the interior design class are working in groups to create box dioramas of the office with the designs they come up with. Each group is competing against the other. “These models … we’re going to take them up to the office ladies, and they’re going to pick the design, them and Mr. Hamblin,” Calderwood. Calderwood does not think the office staff will end up picking one design, but they might ask for certain aspects of each group’s design be used in the overall design. In the end, only 10 students will be allowed to work in the office. Calderwood listed what’s going to be put in the office. “We have some things, like the big class pictures we have every year … and panthers. The office ladies really want panthers because when kids come in, they want to play the game ‘Can You Count the Panthers?’ … I think they might ask LaBarge to do some vinyl decals for the walls … We’re just making space more compatible,” Calderwood said.

Calderwood, who majored in art education, human ecology and family consumer science, was asked if she expected any opposition to the new design. “I’m sure, yeah. That’s just part of being an interior designer is that not everyone’s going to like what you like or what you come up with. I mean, it’s just like with anything; you’re going to have constructive criticism,” Calderwood said. The teacher explained why interior design can be difficult. “You’re not designing your own home; you’re designing other people’s,” Calderwood said. Her students even conducted interviews with the office staff to get an idea of what they wanted. “It is letting them get their hands on things rather than testing,” Calderwood said. “This is letting them actually experience more, which I think they enjoy.” As Calderwood said, the project gives students a “glimpse,” a real-life experience, of what interior designing is like in the real world. However, the students will not be receiving the exact interior design experience because what they’ll be doing in the office is more like redecorating than redesigning. “Interior design is not the same as interior decorating

… Interior designing is part of building homes, building buildings. They have to know zones, laws, regulations, and it really will help you figure out space,” Calderwood said. “You don’t want to spend a million dollars on a building and not use every bit of space that you can.” Even though they may not be able to practice interior designing to its full extent, Calderwood’s pupils will be going through the design process. Calderwood herself most appreciates the elements of design, which includes color, pattern and texture. As far as teaching the subject herself, what she loves most is the students. “You get some who are so excited about the class because they think it’s going to be an easy A, and then they find out that it’s just not what they thought it was,” Calderwood said. Overall, the importance of interior design is to create a certain feel and atmosphere to give a room life. “You want people to come into your home or your workplace and feel intrigued and feel warm and welcome and want to be there, so interior design can do that,” Calderwood said. Go to pantherstale.com after winter break to see photos of the redecorated office. story by Sierra Bauman

Academics | Dec. 16

Possible Design Plans

Some of the students’ designs involved moving posters and paintings already in the attendance office. “An interior designer’s [job is to] make it aesthetically pleasing,” Calderwood said. Photos by Sasha Lewis

Changing Elements of Design

One of the groups competing moved the panther paws and panther logo to another section of the wall. Photos by Sierra Bauman

Test Scores vs.

Involvement

Student discuss benefits of having good test scores vs. benefits of being involved in extracirricular activities

ith the education system constantly changing in the United States, it seems like one of the current trends is that extracurricular activity is becoming increasingly important for students when applying for colleges. This means that your GPA and ACT/SAT are still vital to your college resume, but it would be a good idea to get involved in sports, clubs, or any other activity outside of school. Colleges use these activities, along with academics, to determine a student’s work ethic. The students here at DHS seem to acknowledge the rising importance of these activities. “Extracurricular activities are crucial. They show colleges that you care for your school and that you can multitask,” junior Jacob Barta said.

A survey of 271 students shows that 76 percent of them believe extracurricular activity is very important to building their college resumes. Junior Tess Coffindaffer is one of the students who has placed importance on extracurricular activities during high school. “I participate in Drama Club and NHS, as well as volunteering outside of school. I think that getting involved outside of the classroom is a good idea because it helps you to explore new options, and it may even change your career path,” Coffindaffer said. Nonetheless, the Panthers still recognize the importance of academics seeing as 94 percent of them stated that academics are still very important to their future. Senior Ryker Percival agrees academics are important, but they

may be too important. “I believe the ACT plays a larger role in the acceptance process than it really should. I do not think the ACT is a good way of measuring aptitude nor does it show college’s work ethic or potential,” Percival said. In the end, students should still focus on their grades and test scores but also try to get involved in something outside of school. “I do believe that sports and other extracurricular should play a larger role in the college selection process. These activities in addition to class work do show more in terms of work ethic and personality types,” Percival said. story by Justin Pechanec

academics | dec 16

Building the Foundation

Both genders in this generation use makeup to express themselves and to show the world who they really are. Since ancient times, makeup has been a part of our culture. Over the decades, makeup has evolved into more of an art form rather than a way to cover up blemishes and imperfections. In the early 1900’s makeup was more of a way to symbolize the amount of money people had instead of a way to enhance beauty. Women would use minimal makeup such as powder to cover their face. Makeup used to be a face corrector. Women and men would use various products such as foundation, concealer, powder and many more to cover up the parts of their face that would lessen their confidence. Today, makeup is more than just a cover up. We use different techniques to get the perfect symmetry and artistic masterpiece. “I think it takes percision and accuracy to achieve the makeup look you are going for,” junior Jimmy Rohr says. Instead of one shade of eyeshadow, many are combined to create more perception to the eye to give the look of a deep eye or to make the color of an eye stand out. To give definition

to the eye, many different shading techniques are used. The artistic techniques would correlate greatly with doing makeup. Contouring, which is certain shading to define a shape, is a perfect example. To contour, is like shading a two dimensional circle to make it come to life into a three dimensional sphere. Once the perfect shading and highlight is applied, the face comes to life. The transformation for a face to look flawless and without any imperfections, is the power of the artist doing the makeup. Behind every brush and sponge, is a person who holds the paintbrush to their canvas, ready to paint their masterpiece. A great part about makeup is, it is something that is experimental and can be done in several types of ways and combinations, the options are truly endless. That is why since the beginning of the century until now, makeup has been completely experimental and constantly changes as time goes by, a new art technique is created and the art of makeup evolves. story by Cassidy Conaway

The Evolution of Makeup 1970’s

1980’s

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PeppySteps

Q A and

How did you feel about the pep assembly? “It was pretty cool. There was a lot of school spirit.” — senior Nick Uran. “I felt exhilarated, and it got me pumped for the winter sports.” — junior James Rohr. “I almost blew my eardrums out because it was so loud.” — freshman Michael Thompson

Junior Elise Biays, along with Maddison Wheat from Panther Pals dance along with the cheerleaders during the assembly. Photo Alssya Soell The Pantherettes perform their new routine during the pep assembly. There were some techincal difficulties during their performance but the girls pulled through without missing a beat. Photo by Alssya Soell Senior Mckenzie Young smiles when Mr. Moore tells the school about all her academic achievements.Photo by Alssya Soell

The 2015 Holly Ball king and queen canidates line up in front of the student body. Photo by Alssya Soell

Seniors Cole Drees and Belinda Flores are called down to the center of the basketball court during the winter pep assembly as teachers announce this year’s Holly Ball king and queen canidates. Photo by Alssya Soell