November/December Issues

The

LIBERTY NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

EAGLE’S VIEW

a world

without

empathy

A new generation of apathetic people; an inflation of news and a deflation of care p. 18

A look into this year’s Men’s and Women’s wrestling p. 10

Changes in the oversight of the North Nation Station p. 24

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3

EV in this issue of

the Eagle’s view:

2019-2020

Eagle’s view staff

Editorial board news Updates on international, Ella Pritchet: editor in chief 03 national, local, and North news Mackenna rowe: Production manager sports ashton overby: Visual editor zac purdue: ads manager 07 Volleyball recap section editors 08 11-0!

Mackenna Rowe: News 10 Men and Women’s Wrestling madi burrow: Sports 12 Swim and Dive claire severson: eagle’s life Eagle’s Life abby roberts: culture 13 Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow emma suppes: indepth 14 Eagle Point sami binning: opinion emily johnson: spotlight 15 Volunteerism around North photographer Indepth ashton overby 18 The impact of social media on empathy graphic design Culture braden clapper 23 Cinderella: After the ball reporters 24 North Nation Station morgan griffin D.C. Al Coda 26 ava henry mary martinez 27 Last minute recipies ian toney spotlight megan wright Volunteering at North 28 kirsten zirjacks Opinion advisEr jennifer higgins 30 Helping or hurting?

Design by: Ella Pritchett 02

The Liberty North High School Eagle’s View is committed to promoting accurate and unbiased reporting, as to best supply Liberty North’s students, staff, and peers with quality and reliable journalism.

On the cover // A lack of emotion or concern for something. That is exactly what social media has managed to do in our generation. To our loss, humans have replaced true empathy and humanitarian aid with that of a shallow repost about some sort of crisis. A problem that has stained our ability to help in times of need. // Cover by Ashton Overby.

EV

14

We’re on the internet, too!

Twitter: @LN_EaglesView

23

Instagram: @LN_eaglesview

28

Northnationmedia.com

letter from

the editor

N

North Nation, we finally made it through the first semester! I don’t know about you guys, but personally, this was one of my hardest semesters.

I had to learn to navigate school, extracurriculars, work, and a social life. As a school we learned to navigate changes to our administration, construction (again), new drivers in the parking lot ( Just alternate.

You learned how to take turns in preschool. You can do it again), and a new class of leaders emerged. We all faced tough deadlines this semester in our classes.

Our football team dominated this year, our volleyball team won conference, and our swim and dive team had another great year at state. You can find more about this in our Sports section. Our fine arts program not only put on a stellar performance of Cinderella but was able to pull off an incredible orchestra concert with a quick turn around - you can read more in Culture. Our InDepth section is all about social media, and how it affects us. As students, a lot of our news comes to us through social media. We find out about snow days through Twitter, we get our sports updates on Instagram, and know what our friends are doing - and even where they are - over Snapchat. We even get updates about international events on social media, from news outlets like BuzzFeed News, CNN, Fox, and The Washington Posts. Being informed is never a bad thing, but the way we let that information affect us is. As a generation,

we are becoming desensitized to the news. We aren’t shocked or disturbed anymore whenever there’s a school shooting, and we aren’t surprised whenever there’s new reports of climate change.

The fact of the matter is this: We must stay photo by: Ashton Overby sensitive to the news.

We have to stay aware of what is happening. As I said earlier, we are the next generation of leaders. Because of this, we have to stay conscious of the world around us. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the injustice of this world, and instead must rise up against it. We have the ability, the communication skills, and the obligation to help others and make our earth better. It’s just a matter of if we will or not.

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday, and remember to be thankful for what you have. My challenge for you this holiday season is to help someone, no matter how big or small. The best thing you can do for someone is to help them. Happy holidays, North Nation, and stay safe.

Design by: Ella Pritchett

03

News

EV

November news to restorewritten halfby: of your faith in humanity Mackenna Rowe Colombia protests In the end of November, protests broke out in Colombia. It is a massive antigovernment protest that continues to take grow, as more people continue to join. Gangs were going from house to house, robbing, killing and even kidnapping people. The government set a curfew to try and counteract the new spark of protests. The curfew is also a measure to calm down the violence between the protesters and the police. Many people like muscians and journalists are now joining these protests, but some are getting detained, even for peaceful protest.

photo by Tim Callahan

Trump Impeachment progress

The Trump impeachment process started near the end of September. A whistleblower came out about the contreversy between the president and Ukraine. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started the process after reports about controversial interations between Trump and Ukraine got released. There are two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and another for obstruction of Congress. Committees in the House of Representatives have sent out subpoenas for testimonies and materials in the Trump Administration.

The presidents personal lawyers are filing lawsuits against that to make sure Congress will not receive information.

Photo from public domain

Reviving the coral reef

Scientists have recently discovered a new way to revive coral reefs!

Progress was slowing down before it was discovered that playing sound helped the reef heal. They play sounds of a healthy coral reef ecosystem in large underwater speakers. The point is to attract fish to the dying reef, by convincing the fish it sounds like a healthy ecosystem. Many different types of fish are being attracted to the reefs furthering the healing processFish are in the right direction for continuing to help the reef grow.

Fish help clean the reef and create new spaces for coral to eventually grow.

photo by Harry Harding

saving the koalas of australia At the end of November, a large bushfire broke out in Australia. A video of a woman battling the flames to help save a koala started circulating on social media. Koalas are not fast enough to escape the flames and are an endagered species. The bushfires alone killed 1,000 of these animals. This is why saving the koalas became a priority. A koala hospital in Australia had 2-3 times the amount of rescues because of these fires.

Many koalas are having respitory issues after being saved, but most are recovering well after so many people got involved to help save them.

04

design by: Mackenna Rowe

photo by Koala Hospital

EV

News

December news

to restore half of your faith in humanity London bridge terror attack

photo by Paul Zwiers

After a fatal stabbing that killed two people and injured 3 others, the London police shot and killed a man wearing a fake bomb. Bystanders got in a large group, surrounded, then tackled the man. The man has been convicted of terrosim related offenses in the past. The attack began inside Fishmonger’s Hall, a building near the end of the London Bridge. A man grabbed a narwhal tusk off the wall in attempts to disarm the attacker. Video shows the man holding what looks like a white pole outside of the building but was later confirmed to be a narwhal tusk. The police admit that releasing the attacker from prison early was a mistake.

Russian anti-doping issues

Photo by Dave DiBiase

Russia has had past issues with giving their athletes steroids for international sporting events. After being caught years ago, they had been banned from participating in the Olympics for that year. They then said they learned from their mistakes and attempted to clear their name. Recently, it was found that the athletes are still recieving drugs. Russia was subsequently banned from the 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup. They will try to appeal their case and get back into the Olympics after the anti-doping agency ban. This ban lasts 4 years before Russia can possibly be back involved in global sports.

Holiday giving machine

Photo by Gary Scott

The holiday giving machine looks just like a vending machine, but for a better cause. There are currently only ten of these in the world, the most recent one relased in Denver, Colorado. These machines let people donate different resources with just the swipe of a card. The options range from donating a dozen frozen meals, giving a family chickens, or donating textbooks to underprivelaged schools. The machines were launched by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in attempt to help encourage people to give back during the holiday season.

Rosa parks honored in montegomery, alabama

Photo from public domain

The first African American mayor of Montegomery, Alabama unveiled a new Rosa Parks statue. The statue is located in downtown Montegomery near where parks first refused to give up her seat. Clydetta Fulmer is the artist who created the statue of Rosa, standing while clutching her purse. The mayor wants to continue representing Rosa and hopes to encourage others to come to Montegomery and push equality, strength and courage.

design by: Mackenna Rowe

05

2150 yards thrown 27 touchdowns 49 / 50 PAT attempts 85 yard TD pass 23 turnovers 16 sacks

design by: ashton overby

2019 football stats 2019 football stats

Liberty North Eagles Liberty North Eagles

Sports

EV

conference champions: volleyball recap written by: Kirsten Zirjacks

The Women’s Varsity Volleyball team beat Liberty this year, which was a big accomplishment to the girls. But fell to them in the district championship. “The biggest game was playing Liberty. That was the first time in history our school’s volleyball team beat Liberty,” junior Allie Burkhalter said.

T

he school record-breaking Woman’s Varsity Volleyball team went 2310 overall, with a 10-2 record in conference, becoming Suburban Conference Gold Division Co-Champions.

“At the beginning, we just sat down and asked ourselves what our goal was for this season. We said we wanted titles. So our mindset didn’t really change. I think I had the same mindset going all throughout but towards the end, it was like ‘Holy cow, we’re beating some good teams and we’re breaking records,’” junior Allie Burkhalter said.

As the volleyball season came to an end, the team had some moments that may stick with them, one being beating the cross-town rivals, Liberty High School.

“The Liberty game was kind of a historical game because we beat them instead of them beating us. This is one of our best seasons, so we weren’t really knowing what we were getting into. We were just like ‘okay, we’ll play to have fun because we love it,’ I’ll try to win but it’s nothing like we have

to win or we’re gonna lose. We just had a loose mindset,” sophomore Isabel Zimmerman said.

Starting the season, there were some challenges the volleyball team faced and overcame together.

Working together may help the team communicate better and succeed.

“We just worked really hard and didn’t let our challenges get us down or anything. We just kept working. I feel like we had done well. We prepared really well before the season started. A lot of us knew each other before going in, and as a freshman, they all encouraged me a lot which really helped,” freshman Abby Christian said.

The team celebrates in many different ways together. They often celebrate after every win, at the end of the season, and certain mishaps.

“If somebody hits others in the face or did something good, we have cake at practice. After districts, we thought we were in trouble. She was like ‘guys we need to talk in the field house,’ usually, we just go to our cars, but they threw us an ice cream party. So that’s cool and fun,” Burkhalter said.

graphic by: Braden Clapper

photos by: Joey Macaluso

design by: Madi burrow

07

EV

Sports

Football Overview Game by game

Senior running back, Warren Bennet lll

1

written by: Garrett Linn

8/30 vs Lsn 23-21

The Eagles kicked off the season with their home opener against the Broncos, starting off the game with a field goal by freshman Blake Craig. It didn’t take long for the Broncos to respond, as Senior Keyon Mosey took the ensuing kick-off all the back for a touchdown to make it 7-3. In the second half, the Eagles took off, scoring 3 times but missing 1 extra point. The Bronco tried to a game late, but fell short.

2

4

5

9/13 vs PH 24-3

The Eagles defense shut down the Trojans offense, holding them to just 3 points the whole game and led by safety Connor Baxley, who had three turnovers on the night. The offense also lit up what was viewed as the number 1 defense in the city.

6

10/4 vs staley 24-12

Eagles offense jumped out to a lead on a huge touchdown catch and run by Luke Mathews. The offense scored again, but Staley responded quickly with a touchdown of their own. The first the starters had given up since the first game of the year. North scored twice more for another victory.

photos by: Madi Burrow

10 11/1 vs LSW 31-0 11 The Eagles got a rematch against the team that ended their season last year. The defense held the Titans scoreless in the first half with a pick-6 by SR LB Alex Miller. The Eagles scored once more with 2 seconds left in the half on a a 5 yard TD pass from Jake Van Dyne to JR Tyler Jenness. North took the 21-0 lead into half time and coasted the rest of the way to a 31-0 victory and the first playoff win.

08

8

10/18 vs lee’s summit 38-7 The Eagles kept doing what they had done all year, jumping out to a 10 point lead and, after a touchdown by the Tigers, running away with the game. The Eagles defense forced 4 turnovers and the offense totaled over 300 yards rushing.

9/27 vs st. joe 42-7

The Indians came out and got 2 first downs on the first drive, and that was about it as the defense forced 9 three-and-outs in the next 10 possessions. The Eagles rolled to a 42-7 victory and became the last undefeated team on the Missouri side of Kansas City.

10/11 vs Blue Springs 31-14 The Wildcats scored on their second drive, marking the first time the Eagles didn’t take the lead to start the game. The Eagles seemed unfazed, however, responding with a touchdown pass by Jake Van Dyne. The Eagles’ offense exploded for 24 points in the second half.

9/20 vs Lhs 14-3 Looking to break the Eagles’ perfect record, the 2-1 Blue Jays played stingy defense, holding the Eagles offense to their least amount of points all season, but the Eagles defense stepped up again holding Liberty to just 3 points and making a fourth down stop from the 2-yard line to keep the Blue Jays out of the endzone.

9/6 vs truman 49-3

After the big win to start the season, The Eagles traveled to Truman for the first road game of the year. The Eagles had never lost to the Patriots and made sure that stayed true, with another vicory for the Eagles.

3

7

9

10/25 vs PHs 24-3

The Eagles defense shut down the Trojans offense, holding them to just 3 points the whole game and led by safety Connor Baxley who had three turnovers for the night. The offense also lit up what was viewed as the number one defense in the city.

PLayoffs:

12 11/15 vs Ray Pec 11/8 vs Rockhurst 21-27 17-14

Capitalizing off three Hawklet turnovers, including a blocked punt by Austen Hoss, the Eagles jumped out to a 17-0 lead. Rockhurst offense responded just before the end of the half to make it 17-7. North’s offense didn’t pick up a first down in the 3rd quarter and the Hawklets added another touchdown to the board. The Eagles forced 5 turnovers and took the 17-14 victory to advance to the District Championship.

design by: Madi burrow

After a hard fought game against the Panthers, the Eagles undefeated season ended. Going into the fourth quarter 21-21, the Panthers scored another touchdown with little time left for the Eagles to recover.

The Eagles finished their season with the title Confence Champs and being able to say they were the 1st seed in the playoffs. “11-1 is pretty dang good,” senior Zach Klug said.

Sports

EV

graphic by: Braden Clapper

Recap:

called The Navy, was different this year than in past years. They stepped up their game and became louder than the other team.

“I think the student section affected the whole school if you ask me, to be able to come out and see the Navy and the number of students that showed up at the games, we were getting This year the Liberty North Eagles football team calls from reporters that had asked about the “I mean it didn’t only impress us, games and the next thing there is a ton about made history as they finished the 2019-2020 season 11-1. it impressed the whole community our student section. So, it didn’t only impress “I think the main thing that was different was us, it impressed the whole community of Kansas of Kansas City because even other City that this group of seniors now have been in because even other coaches talked about it, coaches talked about it,”Coach what it really meant to them. I think it was huge,” the program for three years, so they knew the expectation. They knew the work ethic that it Coach Jones said. jones said took to win. And they’ve learned the whole Throughout the season the boys had to stay system. So the learning curve was kind of gone focused and not get too arrogant. and the energy and enthusiasm they played with. They’ve kind of learned “I feel like as a team, our mindset was just to take it one game at a time over the last two years so, last year’s group of seniors really kind of laid and get that win we had that night however good or bad it was and just the foundation and this year’s seniors just took off and built off of it,” prove everybody wrong and showing we were one of the top teams in the Head Football Coach Greg Jones said. The Liberty North student section, state,” senior Warren Bennett III said.

written by: Megan Wright

design by: Madi burrow

09

EV

Sports

Women’s wrestling Warming up

t

written by: Kirsten Zirjacks

he Liberty North Women’s wrestling team is back in for the season with 18 women compared to last year, when there were only 12 women. This season they have split from the men and now practice in their own space with their own coaches.

“We have a lot of young girls so there’s kind of a skill difference.

You have your returners who already have the basics down and are moving on to advanced moves. But since most the team is new they’re are at practice. Wrestling is such a community and it is very welcoming. all learning the basics so there’s a bit of an issue because you want to The community is just so awesome. We are working really hard to be learn more but we need to make sure everyone else has foundationsuccessful and we have a really good coaching staff. We also have a large level skills. Coach Casey really helps to push the people who have some number of returners that help the newer wrestlers to become really experience. They know what they’re doing and they’re learning highergood when we need the help,” freshman Jane Grundy said. level moves and then Coach Shroger really does a good job making sure ‘Pin to win’ is a saying that some wrestlers use when they are talking those people who need to learn the basics are getting those down and about what they want to do. Pinning an opponent is an automatic win mastering it,” junior Elaina Gorton said. for the wrestler and helps the team score.

As an athlete, they may expect a coach to think and say they need to be “I’m ready to see how the other school’s teams have grown and their able to work hard and be prepared. skill levels along with their size. I think we’re a lot more Some athletes last year did not realize this year and we are really going to have to “They can win by points but competition what the expectations would be so push ourselves not just within the team but throughout don’t get pinned because they did not finish the season which to state. When I’m going up to the mat I think don’t give lead to them quitting. a pin, that’s the only thing. Freshman year I was awful, that’s giving up,” “This year I feel like we have a lot I got pinned every match and so every time I just think more girls who are really passionate to hold on. They can win by points but don’t get pinned Goroton said. about it and last year we had only because that’s giving up,” Gorton said. some. Most weren’t as passionate so The first match ever may possibly help the wrestlers they just kind of quit but I feel like we’re not going to have that happen to realize what the rest of their season is going to look like and what it’s this season. I also feel more confident this year. Sometimes. It sounds going to feel like wrestling during a match. cheesy, but doing wrestling really gave me a slight sense of what I’m “My first match only lasted 16 seconds and I pinned the girl, so good at. It really helped me figure out what I should be doing and what that was awesome. Overall my first tournament showed me how I want to be doing,” junior Erma Williams said. tournaments are run. I learned how weigh-ins work and how the timing The women practice every day for two and a half hours, which may of all this stuff happens because it goes really fast. Even though you’ve help them improve as a team and as individuals. been there for five hours, it seems like you’ve only been there for an “My favorite part about wrestling is the girls and how awesome they all hour,” sophomore Kate Grundy said.

The Women’s wrestling team had their first match on Saturday, November 30, at St. Joe. The Eagles had four girls place 1st in the meet. The Eagles came home adn beat Kearney 30-33 on December 3rd. “It was my first time ever wrestling so it was kind of scary, but it was cool to have won and place first,” sophomore Madelyn Hartman said.

photos by: Ashton Overby

10

design by: Madi burrow

Sports

EV

Men’s wresting Makin’ moves written by: Kirsten Zirjacks

D

photos by: Ashton Overby

on’t Flinch is a saying the Liberty North Men’s Wrestling team is using now that they are back for the season. This year some things have changed, as there are now 27 freshmen on the team and some new coaches.

“This year I am looking forward to going to state, I think a lot of us have a chance. I think it’s going to be good this year because the work intensity in the room is a lot higher since we have a new coach. There are also some really good kids that are coming up,” senior Vincent Restivo said.

This year, the new head coach is Coach Lance Moore. He stepped up and took the role of head coach when TJ Goeglein left the district.

“It’s a lot more work and you have to put 100% in it. It is definitely intense and go, go, go, go, go this year. I don’t know about others but I love it. I feel like we’re going in there after school to put it to work. Might as well put in work not only halfway if you are going to spend your time doing something,” junior Dylan Engle said.

More work could pay off in the long run.

For example, putting in 100% in wrestling could help the athlete in football because they are in shape, and will have the work ethic from previously to put in the 100%.

“I decided to join wrestling because it’s part of the underlayer and because wrestling is kind of a stretch of other sports. You have to get mentally and physically tough.

It also gives me more confidence to get

through school. Sometimes I can get nervous depending on who I am wrestling and when I was, but then I was like, ‘Oh, man, I can be more confident than that,’” freshman Kellen Bolling said.

Many people face challenges while they are wrestling both at meets and at practice. Some could be tougher than others but getting through it and enjoying the sport may be the best part in some people’s eyes.

“I honestly think losing is probably the hardest challenge, just coming into some completely new and it is the hardest sport I ever tried in my opinion Right now the biggest impacts it has just like a learning curve because I had never done it before.

But, my favorite part is probably just going after school every day and seeing how I’m getting better. Actually then seeing the results is awesome,” Engle said.

“Sometimes I can get nervous depending on who I was wrestling and when it was, but then I was like, ‘Oh, man, I can be more confident than that,’ “ Goodwin said.

The Men’s wrestling team had their first match on Tuesday, December 3 and it was at home. The Eagles fell to Kearney, but bounced back on Deceomber 10 against Rockhurst with a score of 61-9. “ It felt really good going against a district component, beating them that much, especially since we have so many wins with pins last night,” Senior Alex Geisert said.

design by: Madi burrow

11

EV

Sports

Diving into the swim season

i

written by: Mary Martiez

n the wake of a new season, the Women’s athletes have to learn new routines in pracSwim and Dive team is making many new tice but it is also an opportunity to learn and changes in their tenth year. Starting off grow as an athlete. When practicing, having with new senior leaders and freshmen, new equipment to use and learn new moves the girls find new and interesting ways to on is when the athletes can become push for their best. better swimmers.

“Last year we only really had three leaders, “This year we have blocks at the pool which this year we is a big game-changer have many more for our community leaders and they center. We are excited “This year is different because about our first home are stepping up and taking things meet, especially we lost a few seniors and we more serious than our team is have new freshmen coming in” because last year. This year going to go super everything is the sophomore emma huyser said. fast off those blocks,” same with practice senior Julia except we plan on Blanchard said. pushing ourselves While there are many past our limit,” swimmers, there are only 6 divers. Having divsophomore Reese True said. ers on the team helps since they earn points Along with the senior leaders and new as well. With being on different levels of the freshmen, there are a few changes being team, how they count points are making sure made that the girls have to get used to. they watch the team one by one practicing to Having new rules is different and having to see if they can learn their dive without having get used to them with new people can be any trouble. challenging but rewarding.

“We practice five days a week in the “Some new things this year are the rules. I morning. During practice, we practice our 5 heard that when people are doing relays, the main dives and all as a team we will practice first person doesn’t get their time because of like it is an actual meet. But having meets it the set timing and there are smaller schools is different, for being on Varsity as a diver you that may not have people to do relays,” junior have to be able to do 11 dives well and meets Kayla Minck said. for everyone else you have to have 5 down,” Every sport can be challenging when the junior Lauren Barnett said.

The lady Eagle’s Swim and Dive team had their first home meet on Decamber 11. They brought home a win against William Chrisman, Truman, and Van Horn.

“Overall, the meet went realy well, even though I didn’t do teh greatest on my dives. I’m really excited for the rest of the season,” junior Alex Murphy said.

photos by: Ashton Overby

12

design by: Madi burrow

graphic by: Braden Clapper

Eagles life

T

EV

Virtual Snow Days written by: Megan Wright

here are many new things this school year, like new admins, new rules, and new ideas. This year the district decided to add virtual snow days. Virtual snow days are a way for students to work on assignments that are posted on canvas, so they can work on a said assignment at home when there is a snow day, and school is canceled. Students have differing thoughts on whether the virtual snow days are a good idea or not.

“I think it can be a good idea but at the same time, it could also be bad. The reason why it’s good is that kids who like to go outside and have snowball fights usually go do it in the mornings which means that they have time to do stuff later in the day. The reason why it’s bad is that kids think that snow days are a day of no work so they think they don’t have to do anything,” freshman Brooke Rasmussen said.

Having too many tasks on snow days could become hard for students to keep up with. Students often are usually given assignments on Canvas but if there is a paper handout that day the teacher would be unable to give it to the students.

“I think 2-3 assignments at the most for all classes because being at home you tend to get off track, especially if all your graphic by: Braden Clapper siblings are home,” sophomore Megan Brose said.

“No, I am not looking forward to virtual snow days at all, It While keeping track of assignments could become a hassle, may help some kids with schoolwork, but it will also add more some students may find it beneficial to have work while they are stress because it just adds more assignments on top of the things home. Working at home reduces the risk that students will students already have, so no I don’t think virtual snow days are a fall behind. good idea,” sophomore Issac Howerton said.

“Normal snow days affect my school work because we get less “I’m not on that particular time to work, final dates don’t ever given the get moved, and teachers rush “I think it can be a good idea but at the same committee but I have beenfeedback. some give to opportunity to get through lessons, so we time, the reason why it’s bad is that kids As an admin team, we’ve all had can get to our finals. We don’t have time to fully understand, think that snow days are a day of no work so some insight into that. We’re readily cognizant of the fact that on a snow and I feel rushed to finish work they think they don’t have to do anything,” day a lot of things take place. Some and get caught up on things,” freshman Brooke Rasmussen said. high school students are responsible sophomore Sydnie Nielson said. for younger siblings on a snow Students have to be able to adjust to the way teachers assign work when we have no school. If day. So you don’t have the same time to sit in ‘class’ if you will a snow day were to happen students can get frustrated if there is a the way that you would on a normal school day. I mean we’ve had days when we were out due to ice and people lost power. miscommunication.

So you might not have online as an option for you if you don’t “Snow days can affect your schoolwork in many ways. It have electricity. So part of what’s going to come out of the team pushes due dates back but it can give you more time to work on homework. Snow days also push units back and it can put you and that’s crafting what virtual snow days look like, there will be some consideration for school days missed, plus some additional time teachers off track,” Rasmussen said. to get assignments and things made up. Those things would still Understanding assignments and the lack of communication be counted as grades. So it’s still important to do that learning. could be something that some students struggle with. It could But again it’s about the learning being extended not creating fake cause confusion and more stress for the student than if they had work to fill up time,” Assistant Principal Dr. Rosemary Camp said. the assignment during a normal school day.

DESIGN BY: Claire severson

13

Eagles Life

EV

The eagles are under Construstion written by: Ian Toney

S

ince Liberty North High School opened in 2010, there have been numerous additions to the building over the years such as the fieldhouse, theatre, and the new wing. At the beginning of the 2018/19 school year, LNHS started the process of adding yet another addition; a completely new wing dedicated to English and Culinary Arts classes. This new wing has been dubbed the ‘new new wing’ by staff and students.

“I’m pretty excited about moving to the new wing. The design of the building is beautiful and the instructional strategies that will be employed in that area will be innovative.

Most of us haven’t seen it recently, so it will be an adventure on January 6th,” ELA teacher Jennifer Bilen said.

Many teachers are excited about the change in scenery after almost a decade of the same classrooms year after year. One such teacher is history teacher Andrew Plaster, who has moved from class to class for a couple years.

“I believe there has been some debate for the past year on the best way to utilize the new space, but teachers that will be moving into the new wing found out about 3 to 4 weeks ago.

Hopefully, it will be done on schedule, but I do know that with construction there are always things that come up and change the schedule. We’ll make it work whenever it is ready!”

Plaster said.

The construction workers building the new wing are also hard at work, powering through the unpredictable weather of wind, rain, and snow that comes with working year-round to get the new section of the building up and running by the

Construction in the new wing began in 2018, the faculty believe that if everything stays on schedule, the wing will open in 2020. “The design of the building is beautiful,” ELA teacher Jennifer Bilen said.

concept art from LNHS

14

graphic by: Braden Clapper next semester.

“This project started towards the beginning of the year, I’d say we officially broke ground around the end of January,” Construction Foreman Cory Brown said.

The planning for the new wing started about two years ago, but actual construction didn’t begin until the beginning of the year during the second semester of the 2018-2019 school year.

Though it has made good progress, it has suffered unfortunate setbacks over the course of the year.

“Oh, we’re always facing challenges. We always have issues with manpower, obviously, it’s pretty busy this year, everybody’s doing work elsewhere. As far as getting materials on site, we got the owner changes, which slows down the process,” Brown said.

Despite a few setbacks concerning the weather and keeping the construction workers in line, Brown is confident that the project will be done in time for the upcoming semester in January.

“We’re going to go for our temp CO towards the middle of December, and we’ll let the staff start putting furniture in here. We hope to be done by the beginning of next year. We’ll probably be in here doing minor things, otherwise, it’ll be done,” Brown said.

DESIGN BY: Claire severson

Eagles life

EV

Helping through The holidays written by: Mary Martinez

photo by: Ashton Overby

During the holiday season, Key Club hosts an ‘adopt a family’, and groups who sign up provide gifts for families who cant provide for themselves. “It is really awesome helping the community out,” senior Jasmine MalIsos said.

w

Hospitals to get little toys for children’s Christmas,” senior Jasmine ith the holiday season rapidly approaching, the need to help around the community rises. Many people are Malisos said.

Key Club helps out the community during the Holidays by not able to have a happy holiday season because they getting families excited for Christmas. Key Club works on getting don’t have the money or resources that others have.

Clubs at North are planning to help out and make the food for little kids for the holidays and adopt-a-family to make their Christmas merry and bright. community better this season by volunteering.

“Adopt-a-family goes towards helping families during Christmas.

“It’s neat to be able to plan out the events for HOSA. We plan We as a club are in charge of either the city of Liberty or Kansas ahead for the activities we will do in the months ahead. Individual City. We sit with the city and talk about families that need help for people will be in charge of the event or activity,” senior Kaylin the holidays,” Key Club junior president Kimberlie Mason said.

Robinson said.

Key Club is known for helping out the Students in these clubs are always trying to help with events and activities “This year we wanted to help out community. The key club will clean up the town of Liberty and help donate to families hosted at school, especially for the the community more than any and hospitals.

Holidays. There is lots of planning that “I’ve done some community service for Key goes into each event, but the places other year. This shows to the Club like adopt a highway. We meet by Lewis that HOSA voulenteers at go toward community that we help out and we and Clark and clean up around there. I’ve put many people that can use the money to help their holiday season be less of actually care for people and their together at a church’s ‘snack packs’ and that’s for kids that a hassle. mental/physical health,” senior when we put lunches together don’t have any food. The last thing is students “HOSA is Health Occupations Kaylin robinson said. helping out during parent-teacher conferences Students of America and I think that which are PT clean up, which we get a cart it is just not helping the people of goodies for teachers to have while they are having conferences in hospitals, it’s also about helping out people within the with parents,” freshman Isabel Tysdal said. community. Such as Harvesters, Ronald McDonald or cleaning up Key Club and HOSA are doing community service to help out the the streets to make Liberty a nice place to live,” science teacher cities of Liberty and Kansas City, HOSA has an annual blood drive.

Barabra Williams said.

Students 16 years and older and staff members can go give blood Getting to help at Harvesters and Ronald McDonald House during one day of school. has an impact on the Holidays for those in the community. Hosa “I volunteered to help Mrs.Williams with the blood drive. Us works to help others not just those attending North. Every year students that helped had to be there by 5:45 am, so we can help HOSA does a carnival during April to help raise money for the unpack and get set up. We worked for over 10 hours that day, local hospitals. while I was helping others I had thought to help the community by “For HOSA, we had done a carnival picnic, which had raised giving blood since I am healthy,” senior Yahya Ahmed said. awareness for disabilities. We raised the money and put it towards

DESIGN BY: Claire severson

15

“the media wants something that is going to be eye-catching and when people view the media and see that those things are right around them it makes them feel bad about themselves because they have to acknowledge their privilege...

Designed by: Ashton Overby

...So, they would rather hear about things globally because it helps them to think that it is not an American thing but we do have a lot of issues in America.�

Megan Hammond Designed by: Ashton Overby

indepth

ev

breaking news: we live in a social media society

W

ith the rise of social media and new technology, breaking news from across the globe has become more accessible than ever before. Anyone can see what is happening anywhere in a split second, while also being able to comment, share, and interact with said news. According to Statista, In the United States, social media and television is the source of 85% of news, with the leading social network provider of news being Facebook, while radio and print papers make up only 11%. Being able to share and receive news from across the globe with the touch of a button can connect people more than ever.

“I think that people are more aware of what’s going on across the globe because we are so connected through social media, so things that are happening like the Hong Kong protests, we are well aware of, even here in Liberty, Missouri because we are seeing it through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook,” theater teacher Kim Lenger said.

According to the Pew Research center, there is an average of 21,711,285 unique visitors to digital news outlets every month. However, with such a constant flow of information, it can have both positive and negative effects on society.

“I think that when you have something where you are constantly receiving bad information, you can get to this point where you do not really see it as a threat anymore and you just become numb to it. Because you are constantly receiving this information, you get to that point where you will hear about a mass shooting and forget about it in a week. I feel like that

is happening a lot among our generation and it makes it so that, it is not that people do not care, it is just that people have become so accustomed to it that it does not stay substantial in our minds,” junior Meghan Hammond said.

With such easy access to news and information, this can lead to some people depending solely on social media and online news outlets for information about what is going on in the world. According to Statista, an average of 42.4% of Americans rely on online national news outlets to stay informed.

“By having constant access to news, I definitely think it impedes people’s opinions because if you see something on one news site, typically people that are not as informed just use that one opinion of whatever is going on in the world.

People not getting out in the world and hearing more hurts a lot,” junior Kyle Leighton-Floyd said.

Along with online news outlets and social media becoming a more prevalent source of news, there has also come along the rise of what some have dubbed “fake news”. In fact, according to Statista, 60% of Americans believe that social media has in some way contributed to the spread of said “fake news”.

“I think the media used to be a lot less biased and it was a lot harder for people to be biased because everything was pretty much local. But now when you expand everyone’s world view with companies like CNN or Fox News, which are very split down party lines, it is something where people are getting fed so much information they do not know which side to believe and so now it is less focused on accuracy, it is more focused on opinion,” Hammond said.

Another aspect of social media that has become more prevalent in the last couple of years is how it is helping and/or harming the spread of environmental awareness. For some, it seems to be doing more bad than good.

“It is a lot easier to click and share something

By having constant access to news, I definitely think it impedes people’s opinions because if you see something on one news site, typically people that are not as informed just use that one opinion of whatever is going on in the world,” Junior Kyle leighton-floyd

Want to help Out? Visit teamtrees.org to donate money to help plant trees across the world

18

design by: emma suppes

indepth on your Instagram story, then it actually is to plant a tree, or clean up a lake, etc.. There is a lot of ‘clout’ that has built up around being environmentally friendly and using metal straws, things like that. It is a lot harder to actually go out and make a difference than it is to just share a post,” Leighton-Floyd said.

While the rise in social media can increase awareness of environmental causes, it still leaves the question of whether social media is enough.

I think people do that because, yes raising awareness is a good thing, but when it comes to the environment the only way you can genuinely help is to go out there and do things yourself. Plant a tree, make a garden. You have to be hands-on because you can not feel the Earth beneath you just sitting on your phone, you can only do that outside in the real world.

I think people want to feel like they are making a difference but in reality, they are not doing much,” Hammond said.

However, movements like #TeamTrees, whose goal is to plant 20 million trees by January 1st, 2020, have been able to initiate the planting of trees in order to combat deforestation and aid our environment. The entire movement was started on Youtube and so far has planted almost 19 million trees.

“TeamTrees is proof that the age of the internet is not an embarrassment on our timeline and instead has allowed us to embark on a journey of coming together via the combined effort of reversing climate change,” senior Claire Jones said.

Several other movements, not having to do with the environment, have also been started through social media.

Movements like #metoo and #BlackLivesMatter have sparked discussions throughout the media in recent years.

“I think social media is really good for telling stories so for things like the #metoo movement and black lives matter it gives people an opportunity to share what

ev

they have experienced and the hardships they go through with certain issues. I think social media has influenced it in a good way because it allows information to be told directly from that person,” Hammond said.

But, while these movements may have had good intentions in the beginning, like anything on the media, they can be misconstrued to fit any agenda.

“I think it gives a name to the issue and starts a conversation, but sometimes it does not start a genuine conversation because it is so superficial and we do not get all the facts because we are just reading soundbites and clickbait kind of stuff, so no real dialogue is happening on the issues,” Lenger said.

Even with the rise of social media and the constant flow of information directly into the hands of average people, there are still some things that often do not make it into the news such as day-to-day struggles, persecution, and poverty.

“I think that media does not cover those topics because the media wants something that is going to be eye-catching and when people view the media and see it that those things are right around them it makes them feel bad about themselves because they have to acknowledge their privilege. But, they do not want to do anything about it because their privilege makes them feel bad that they have it. So, they would rather hear about things globally because it helps them to think that it is not an American thing but we do have a lot of issues in America,” Hammond said.

Another part of American life that some people believe goes unrecognized or misconstrued by the media is veterans and soldiers.

“You have to be hands-on because you cannot feel the Earth beneath you just sitting on your phone, you can only do that outside in the real world,” junior meghan hammond said.

Some people have been using social media as an outlet to spread awareness for environmental issues for some time. Some continue to use it today as their voice to the world. “I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it,” Lenger said.

photo by: Ashton Overby

design by: emma suppes

19

indepth

ev .

“A lot of the times when they [the media] reports on battles, they just say ‘Oh, so many troops killed’ and they never put a face or a story to it. We just hear about the story and it never goes any further.

We do not actually know the struggles our soldiers and veterans are going through and it is sad because a lot of our Marines are there on the frontlines and they are the ones making those decisions and they are not getting the credit they deserve,” senior Dawson Moraites said.

The media can also cast a positive light on veterans at times but another group that has come under fire by the media recently are police officers.

two thirds of u.s. adults report that they are facebook users 90.4% millenials/gen z 77.5% gen x 48.2% baby boomers

PERCENTAGE OF GENERATIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

there are 3.2 billion active daily social media users (42% of the population)

“The media, for the most part, treats veterans pretty well and does a pretty good job of saying, ‘Hey, be kind to veterans, donate to veteran organizations’. But to military service members, they do not always get portrayed the best when they are in places like Iraq. As for police officers, they are constantly getting bashed on by the media.

According to the media, they can not seem to ever do anything right and they never tell the good stories about what police officers do.

It always makes you associate the police officers as terrible people,” senior Cooper Bratcher said.

Overall, social media has had multiple effects on people’s lives, both good and bad, as it has become more and more prevalent in society. However, for some, it seems that there is more to be done and more to be helped in order to make the world a better place.

“I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it. I think we are doing some fake activism right now and it is making people feel better about themselves, but it is not addressing the actual problems,” Lenger said. “A lot of the times when they [the media] reports on battles, they just say ‘Oh, so many troops killed’ and they never put a face or a story to it. We just hear about the story and it never goes any further. We do not actually know the struggles our soldiers and veterans are going through and it is sad because a lot of our Marines are there on the frontlines and they are the ones making those decisions and they are not getting the credit they deserve,” senior Dawson Moraites said.

The media can also cast a positive light on veterans at times but another group that has come under fire by the media recently are police officers.

“The media, for the most part, treats veterans pretty well and does a pretty good job of saying, ‘Hey, be kind to veterans, donate to veteran organizations’. But to military service members, they do not always get portrayed the best when they are in places like Iraq. As for police officers, they are constantly getting bashed on by the media.

According to the media, they can not seem to ever do anything right and they never tell the good stories about what police officers do.

It always makes you associate the police officers as terrible people,” senior Cooper Bratcher said.

Overall, social media has had multiple effects on people’s lives, both good and bad, as it has become more and more prevalent in society. However, for some, it seems that there is more to be done and more to be helped in order to make the world a better place.

“I think that social media has made people be superficially involved. They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it. I think we are doing some fake activism right now and it is making people feel better about themselves, but it is not addressing the actual problems,” Lenger said.

statistics from oberlo.com

20

design by: emma suppes

The Nation's Leading Supplier of AEC Touchscreen Workstations

21

Design by: Zac Purdue

Design by: Zac Purdue

23

Culture

l

graphic by: Braden Clapper

EV

Did the shoe fit?: Cinderella Recap written by: Sammy Binning

ast month, Liberty North High School’s 3 day run of with partners, and we especially don’t do slow-ish dances. That Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella came to a close. presented some challenges,” Whitsitt said.

Full of magic, romance, humor, dancing, and a little bit Not only were Whitsitt and Pickard both in the ballroom scene, of political satire, Cinderella was an amazing production. Many but they were both understudies for principle roles. Whitsitt was of the actors and actresses thought the show went really well. the understudy for Prince Topher and Pickard was the understudy “I think [the musical] went really well. I feel like the energy the for Gabrielle, one of the stepsisters. cast has was really infectious and I feel like the audience could “The uncertainty that an understudy role brings can bring about feel it. Everyone in the crew and cast worked together,” Senior some confusion and stress because you don’t know what’s going Simon Whitsitt said. to happen on any given night. I could’ve had to go on at any given Cinderella was an ensemble and tech-heavy show. With dance time, so I needed to make sure I was prepared. It was a really good numbers like The Prince is Giving a Ball, the ensemble was learning experience for sure,” Whitsitt said. never bored. The show had many technical elements such as The understudies worked very hard, and despite not performing transforming dresses, a giant, Past group dances have been seen as a challenge for some. This years ballroom for an understudies show, puppets, and more. their hard work paid off dance held new challenges in some dancers eyes, “I think it really went well with “I think it went pretty good. the costumes once we adapted and changed things. I think the dancing looked in experience.

I was kind of nervous in the really good,” Pickard said.

“I think it was a really last few weeks for how it was cool opportunity to get going to turn out, but in the to show the directors end, it came together and I’m what I could do. I really really proud of everyone,” enjoyed learning the part Freshman Alayna Pickard said. and getting the chance Pickard and Whitsitt were to have the experience part of the ballroom scene of performing a role,” where Cinderella and Prince Pickard said.

Topher dance together. All Gabrielle was played around them, masquerade

by Freshman Madison dancers dance in pairs.

Tucker. Gabrielle is The ladies wore beautiful one of Cinderella’s ballgowns with hoop skirts stepsisters. She is a and the gentlemen wore comedic character with photo by: Ashton Overby detailed suits. an affination with the “It was a little bit scary because we didn’t get our ballroom color pink. costumes until the week of the show. I think it really went well “I really enjoyed my character and getting to interact with people with the costumes once we adapted and changed things. I think on stage. I liked being able to build those character relationships. the dancing looked really good,” Pickard said.

I loved playing a comedic character because you can do so much The ballroom dance scene contained complicated moves such with it. Making people laugh is really fun,” Tucker said. as lifts, which were complicated by the added hoop skirts.

The cast and crew of Cinderella put in a lot of effort for the show “I think it went really well. I think we were consistently and grew together because of it. improving every night. We made sure we were always running “I feel like the bond that everyone involved in the production it, always polishing it, always perfecting it. It really turned out had really allowed the show to be as good as it could be and the well. The type of dancing we had to do was different than any fact that we all liked each other and really worked well together off type of dancing we’ve done before. We usually don’t do dances stage really translated into the show,” Whitsitt said.

design BY: abigail Roberts

23

Culture

EV

North Nation Spirit

T

he North Nation Station is the go-to store for all things Liberty North and spirit wear. The store is filled with new clothes up for the purchase with different colors and for almost any activity. The local store is looking to also add an online store for people to buy anything and everything without having to worry about going to the store. Other than this new addition, they are open every afternoon and during 7th hour for people to browse the many different clothes and accessories available with the change of hallway rules at the school.

written by: Morgan Griffin

“I’ve been here for six years teaching fashion and fashion merchandising so it seemed like a natural fit. I’ve been a retail manager in the past and I thought I could make it relevant to my students and get them on the right career path,” North Nation Station teacher Traci Silvey said.

With the thought of making an online store eventually, it might boost sales and make it more accessible if people can’t go after school or during 7th hour. The team is thinking about the different ways they can make an easy-access store for everyone to use this school year.

hour or missing a ride if someone wants to come after school.

“We are considering being open before school. Just to try and get more time for people to come to the store,” Silvey said.

Silvey has a class during 7th hour that works the store and helps make new designs for the store and the items in it. All the students work and help out whether it’s keeping the store clean or making a new shirt design. They even work football and basketball games.

“The class all works together during 7th hour and we come up with designs and

Students have to work together to get things down for the store. This year they have to work together inside, and outside of class, “The class all works together during 7th hour. We also work the football and basketball games,” Junior Brooke Coffer said.

photo by: Ashton Overby

“The hours are a lot different because of the study hall rules and not being able to really walk around. We are open during 7th hour, but eventually, you’ll be able to order online and get it delivered during 7th hour,” North Nation Station Manager Traci Silvey said.

Silvey decided to take on the role of manager for the North Nation Station because she already teaches fashion marketing and that helps her seem like a good fit for the role. Her experience includes retail management and teaching different fashion classes.

24

“We have been working on creating an online store. We are very close and thinking about taking the avenue of Instagram to create the online store,” Junior Sophie Silvey said.

The school year has also brought a change in time the store can be open. Last year it was open during lunch, but this year it couldn’t when new rules for traveling in the halls occurred. Silvey is trying to find more time for people to be able to shop at the North Nation Station without having to worry about a pass when coming during 7th

design BY: abigail Roberts

keep the store clean. We also work the football and basketball games,” Junior Brooke Coffer said.

The staff does many different things for the store, from organizing the store to adding products to the system. All the roles are important and it takes a team to get it all done. The students will work together to make sure the store is perfect and everything is just how they want it.

Culture Students in the class have said that it is very hectic. This year is no different, but has new challenges for some, “Mrs. Hittner set up a system using a district-wide PayPal and having it linked to the inventory of the store. So every time someone buys something it goes through the district PayPal. The next thing will be that I set up the PayPal connected to Shopify and getting it online,” Silvey said.

“I’m in charge of uploading all our new products in our system, organizing, and cleaning up the store,” Senior Breana Sola said.

Many students are always working at the store and this can cause many things to be going on at the same time. The store could be calm one moment and very hectic the next. The staff is almost always busy doing something, but even then the staff members can still find a way to have fun during all of it.

“It’s fun. It’s a lot of work, but it really pays off,” Sola said.

The store has gone through a change in ownership with Silvey now in control of the store rather than Mrs. Hittner. Silvey is using some of the things Hittner used, for example, the system for purchases when she had ownership of the store.

“Mrs. Hittner set up a system using a district-wide PayPal and having it linked to the inventory of the store. So every time someone buys something it goes through the district PayPal. The next thing will be that I set up the PayPal connected to Shopify and getting it online,” Silvey said Trends can change often in the fashion world and to keep the interests of students and just having new clothes more often, in general, has been always been a thought for Silvey. Silvey has her students vote on new designs and tries to have new designs every month.

“The trends are changing and with stuff in the thirty dollar range, people want what is trending. I’m trying to make something new every month,” Silvey said.

EV photo by: Ashton Overby

Mrs. Silvey has taught classes at Liberty North before. This year she decided to take on the North Nation Station, “I’ve been here for six years teaching fashion and fashion merchandising so it seemed like a natural fit. I’ve been a retail manager in the past and I thought I could make it relevant to my students and get them on the right career path,” North Nation Station teacher Traci Silvey said.

When creating designs the staff will use any things as inspiration.

Most of their inspiration is ideas from current trends that are popular, but they make sure to put their own touch on the designs for everything.

“All the designs that are in the store now, in the past and future is all our ideas. We also take inspiration from popular ideas but add our own spin and special touch to those designs,” Silvey said.

“The trends are changing and with stuff in the thirty dollar range, people want what is trending. I’m trying to make something new every month,” Silvey said.

design BY: abigail Roberts

25

EV

Culture

Turn the Beat Around: Orchestra written by: Ian Toney

F

For the students in the Liberty North Orchestra, practice truly photo by: Ashton Overby does mean perfect. No matter which instrument each member plays, each one has a specific role in a concert they have to spend hours practicing for, both at school and at home. Even with only a few rehearsals away from their concert on December 10th, the various members of the Orchestra are confident they can once again pull it off without a hitch.

“I’m actually in MYL, and we only have about seven rehearsals, so we practice at home every single day so we’re able to get by with that little amount of rehearsals. I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Sophomore Cole Bryant said.

Bryant is a cello player in MYL, an Orchestra that largely practices at home and only has a few rehearsals throughout the school year. With this in mind, the students involved in MYL are already used to cramming in extra practice to ensure they know all they need.

“It really helps when you practice at home, because if you don’t and only practice at school, Ms. Trustee has a saying where she practices ‘for’ you. It just gives you more time to prepare yourself for the concert,” Sophomore Jeremy Litster said.

Litster has been in the Orchestra since the 5th grade and plays the Cello in the Concert Orchestra, and has already been the turnaround once before his Freshman year. Hannah Spainhour, a Junior that plays the violin in Chamber Orchestra, already has a lot of experience with the December concerts.

“We have until December 10, about four weeks from our last concert.

We start rehearsing December music before our October concert, so we have more time to learn it all,” Spainhour said.

Orchestra Teacher Alysse Trusty, however, has been through the most, People in orchestra have been encouraged to practice at home. This year was no experiencing. many years of practice, failure, and triumph.

“Our October concert is always pretty close to the Halloween holiday. different, “It really helps when you practice at home, because if you don’t and only We had our Orchestra Spooktacular, which was October 29th, and with practice at school, Ms. Trustee has a saying where she practices ‘for’ you. It just gives you more time to prepare yourself for the concert,” Sophomore Jeremy Litster said. the way the 1st semester ends, we’ve got a pretty quick turnaround with our next concert on December 10th,” Trusty said.

Trusty, in her time as an Orchestra teacher, has formulated a strategy to get her students on track and successfully get through the turnarounds.

“We prep to give our kids a little less stress with all of the other Concert Orchestra: extracurricular and cocurricular activities they do. My goal is to prepare On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss by David Holsinger for the October concert as well as the December concert, so with that turnaround, even after we’re done with the October concert the new Rhythmic Snapshots of Christmas by Brian Balmages December concert that we’re prepping for isn’t brand new music,” Trusty said.

Symphonic Orchestra: Despite the short timeframe, Trusty is confident that the students in Orchestra will be able to make it through the quick practice and pull off, Deck the Halls arranged by Robert Longfield once again, an astounding concert on December 10th.

Declarations by Jeffrey Bishop “I think we’re getting close, we’re down to about three weeks before the December 10th concert. We’ve got the Thanksgiving break, which can always be a little iffy as far as coming back and seeing what we remember, Chamber Orchestra: but we have always had great successes and great traditions that we will O Holy Night arranged by Jeffrey E Turner continue to do.”

Pieces being played by the Orchestra:

Simple Symphony, movement No. 4, by Benjamin Britten

26

design BY: abigail Roberts

Culture

Savory Sausage Casserole

EV

Fun holiday recipes written by: Morgan Griffin

Ingredients : photo by: Ashton Overby Directions: Lightly butter a 9x13 inch casserole dish Whisk together eggs and 2 ½ cups of milk.

Whisk in mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.

Spread the croutons on the bottom of the casserole dish.

Sprinkle the cheese and sausage evenly over the croutons.

Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ cup milk and mushroom soup concentrate.

Spoon large teaspoonfuls of the soup mixture evenly on top of the casserole. Cover and cool in fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover and cook the casserole for 1 ½ hours, or until it is bubbling and heated through.

6 large eggs 3 cups of milk 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise 1 teaspoon of powdered mustard 1 teaspoon of salt ½ teaspoon of black pepper 3 ½ cups of seasoned croutons 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups of chopped sausage links, cooked about 12 ounces 1 10.5-ounce can cream of mushroom soup concentrate

Jubilee Jumbles Ingredients :

photo by: Ashton Overby Directions: Cream together the margarine, brown sugar, white sugar Beat eggs together then mix with butter and sugars.

Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla Sift together flour, baking soda and salt then stir into batter (optional) Blend walnuts and mix into batter Chill the batter at least one hour. The batter should set up a little Preheat oven to 375ºF Put spoonfuls of batter on a greased baking sheet Bake for 8-9 minutes (Until delicately golden brown) Frost while warm Directions for Burnt Butter Glaze: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter on stove until barely browning Sift 2 cups of Powdered sugar into a container and add heated butter.

Mix. Add ¼ cup of evaporated milk little by little into frosting mix and mix together until smooth. Frosting should be a little thick Put small amounts of frosting on each cookie and let the frosting melt on cookie a little Let the frosted cookies sit for a while

Ingredients for Batter ( Will make 4 dozen/ 48 cookies): ½ cup of Softened Margarine 1 cup of Brown Sugar ½ cup of White Sugar 2 Eggs 1 cup of Evaporated Milk 1 teaspoon of Vanilla 2 ¾ cups of Flour ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda 1 teaspoon of Salt 1 cup of Walnuts(optional)

Ingredients for Burnt Butter Glaze: 2 tablespoons of Butter ¼ cup of Evaporated Milk 2 cups of Powdered Sugar

design BY: abigail Roberts

27

EV

Spotlight

Volunteering for a good cause written by: Ava Henry

v

sofi

Mccroskie

Natalie

olunteering at local establishments can benefit the community and the people in it. Sophomore Sofi McCroskie tries to take time out of her week to help at her local library.

“I spend a couple of hours a week volunteering at the library. At the library, I help with shelving books. Sometimes on the weekends when I have time, I’ll help read to kids that come in. I think it is really rewarding to work with kids. It’s always fun to read to them because they are always so enthusiastic about stories,” McCroskie said Even though volunteer work can greatly benefit others and the volunteers, it can sometimes be hard to manage with a busy highschool life.

“It takes time out of my day that I could be doing homework or working and that does add one some stress because I am not always the best at time management. I enjoy it though and it is worth taking time out of my day in order to volunteer,” McCroskie said.

Being able to help people can give you different feelings, depending on what you do. Although, being able to volunteer seems to give people the same feeling of fulfillment.

“I feel like it is kind of fulfilling to be able to go out and help people, for those who do not have the same opportunity as you. I do not really do much at the library, but just being able to help out when people need it is pretty nice,” McCroskie said.

Federoff

I

n foriegn countries can give a new perspective to anyone that does, and can be greatly rewarding to the individual.

“Planning things for mission trips takes a lot of time and effort, but I think that everything is worth it in the end. Giving to other people is a lot more fulfilling than doing things for yourself. When I go to El Salvador I build houses, which brings me a lot of satisfaction to see families get new homes,” senior Natalie Federoff said.

In addition to partaking in mission trips, Federoff is one of 62.8 million people who volunteer in their community.

“I am also in NHS and am in charge of community service for STUCO, so I do a fair bit of volunteer work for the school as well. I think that since I was a kid I’ve had a calling to help those in need. I would consider my family a lot more fortunate than other people in the community, and thankfully that puts us in a position to help those less fortunate than others,” Federoff said.

Something else Federoff does to volunteer is help in soup kitchens. She thinks it’s important to build character and help others.

“I volunteer with a soup kitchen that gives food to the people that can’t afford it and it really makes my day better seeing these faces come through and light up.

Especially the kids that come through, they all seem so grateful and so happy when they see us and I think that’s awesome,” Federoff said.

photo from: Dice Photography

28

photo by: Ashton Overby

Design by: Emily Johnson

Spotlight

EV

M

Emma

any clubs and programs at Liberty North could not accomplish the great things they do without the work and volunteer hours of dedicated students.

“I think that the theater program reallly benefits from everyone who volunteers. It’s a way to not only spread awareness about the show, but also a way to get kids involved. Younger kids usually don’t have a lot of ways to be involved in theater and whenever I, or anyone in the theater program, volunteer, it gives them Angle opportunities to learn about all the production of a photo by: Ashton Overby show and what goes into it,” sophmore Georgia Barge said. hurches often work to better the community and help those less fortunate out, and these things are often Dedicating time to a cause that she is passionate completed by volunteers. about, Barge likes her volunteer work and thinks it “I work at soup kitchens at my church, and it’s pays off in the end. always great to see how thankful and nice the people I serve “I really like getting other people involved in what are for everything. It is a really great experience because most I love to do. When I was younger I would have loved people I work with are all kind and put in real effort to help having the opportunities that we the people of our community,” senior are trying to give other kids, and I It is a really great experience Emma Angle said.

Many organizations that work with think that is the main reason I do because most people I work volunteers aim to help under-previlaged it. All the volunteering I put into with are all kind and put in children in the community, and children the program really pays off, and I real effort to help the people are often a source of inspiration to think I am just fortunate to spend volunteer for many people. Angle agrees, of our community,” senior some much time doing something claiming that children are the inspiration I’m really passionate about,” Barge for and the best part of her work.

Angle said.

“Personally, my favorite part of the said.

C

Georgia

Barge

volunteer work is seeing how happy it makes kids that come to the soup kitchens. They always run and play and just make the environment so much lighter than it would be without them.

They are the main reason I continue to go and volunteer at my church” Angle said.

Those that volunteer have different motivators. Seeing how emotional or thankful they are, or just being able to have the satisfaction of helping people. Whatever the motivator may be, some people that volunteer do it to give back to a community.

“That is my biggest motivator. When I go down there, i get to see who I am building the house for and a lot of the times they get to help out to. It is really fulfilling because once we are done, they get to move into their house. Things like that are really emotional because we take that stuff for granted,” Angle said.

Volunteering can help so many people, even if you may not be interested in doing so.

“If you are interested in helping, maybe so start with something so intense. Maybe start going to harvesters and if you like the way it makes you feel, you can continue doing it,” Angle said.

photo from: Dice Photography

Design by: Emily Johnson

29

EV

Opinion

Snow more Work written by: Sami Binning

A

fter last year’s amount of snow days, Liberty North has put in place a new policy regarding snow days.

On snow days teachers have to assign an online Canvas or Google Classroom assignment that should take about 45 to 60 minutes to complete. I believe that this is an imperfect idea for a few reasons. First, it assumes that all students have internet access at home. Most students do, but we cannot assume in absolutes. If it is too dangerous or frigid that we cannot go to school, then those students cannot get to a library or coffee shop to access the internet to complete assignments. Second, for some classes that have non-online lesson plans, having online assignments on snow days would just be busywork. For students who take multiple classes like this, having a bunch of work just to do work is pointless. Third, it makes more work for teachers who already have enough to do. Assuming that this online assignment would be graded, and if it’s not then what’s

Dry

written by: Neal Shusterman his year, more than ever, the really shows you the extremes of these topic of droughts and wildfires is situations. We in the midwest hear extremely topical. From California about these wildfires, but we never to the Amazon Rainforest, our will know what it is like to experience world has recently succumbed to those tragedies, and I hope none of us fire. Dry by Neal Shusterman takes a ever will. first-hand look into these droughts and fires. Dry takes place in California in the midst of a terrible drought, the Tap Out as it is called. We follow Alyssa and her brother Garrett as their lives change because of the drought. They no longer can mow the lawn or take long showers, but everything changes when the tap runs dry. In the blink of an eye, the people Alyssa has known her whole life turn against one another and she has to fight for her and her brother’s life. Alyssa is faced with extremely hard choices throughout the book and it

T “People can be monsters.

Whether it’s just their actions, or whether it’s who they really are, it doesn’t matter. The result is the same.”

the point, it gives teachers even more to do. Teachers have upwards of 100 students, so that’s 100 more assignments to grade. But, these online assignments do have their benefits.

I speak from experience when I say that I lost motivation last year when I found out that another snowstorm was coming. I didn’t work as hard as I could have. By having work on snow days, students can stay on track and keep their brains going for their classes that have online assignments.

I propose that these assignments be extra credit instead of mandatory. I think this would be beneficial to both students and staff because students who can’t or don’t want to do the assignments aren’t penalized and students who do complete them are rewarded. If they are extra credit, then the teacher doesn’t have to put as much work into the assignments, and possibly fewer students will complete them. Overall, I don’t think that snow day assignments are completely bad, I just think they could use some tweaking.

Neal Shusterman, Dry

30

design by: Sami Binning

Opinion

EV

Social Media written by: Ella Pritchett and Mackenna Rowe

Does it hurt or help Students?

S

ocial media isn’t bad, but it also isn’t great.

While there are many great things that happen on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, not every ‘charity’ or ‘campaign’ is actually looking to do good. When the Amazon was on fire, there were actual non-profits and campaigns on Instagram photo by: Ashton Overby that looked to help the fires. But there were plenty more fake charities looking to make a quick buck. People blindly donated money to these ‘non-profits’, when in reality they were scams.

Social media is also addictive, can lead to poor mental health, and leads people to care about their image a little too much. On much of social media, people only put forth the best version of themselves. This can only lead to comparisons and insecurity. People can also be incredibly hurtful on the apps as well. The app empowers people to judge people based on what they wrote, and the things people post on the internet never go away.

Dr. Lucie Hemmen, a clinical psychologist and author says, “If you struggle with feelings of insecurity and find yourself putting a lot of time and effort into portraying yourself a particular way on social media, then you are more vulnerable and would benefit profoundly from regular breaks.” In order to combat insecurity, I would encourage taking breaks. It’s also a good excuse to take care of yourself and form some new habits outside the realm of the internet. You would be surprised at what you can find out in the world.

While social media does have it’s plusses, it’s so important to remember the dangers. It’s important to protect yourself when it comes to social media. There are people who are looking to scam you out of money, use your information, and make you feel less about yourself. Just remember to protect yourself and take social media with a grain of salt. You are more than your profile.

N

ow that social media has been around for a while, I think it is starting to have a positive impact on our society. Social media has started giving representation to lots of different communities, and the advertising industry is now straying away from typical beauty standards. Because of this, a lot of news that news stations choose to avoid will be spread around, like the Amazon rainforest and the gang takeovers in Colombia. People are able to be more aware of certain topics and have small businesses thrive within those topics. Small businesses can also be made through social media, a cheaper alternative to continuing a dream of someone who is interested. Some businesses like vintage markets or photographers can gain a following and be able to support their company. Small sustainable companies can now reach millions of people with a shared interest. Social media is also helpful in getting donations to different organizations. If someone needed a Gofundme or a kidney transplant, it is much easier to reach a wide group of people who would like to help!

Instagram has an option to put a “sticker” for donations on stories. They also have a way to link to organizations or donations in the biography of that person’s page. Team Trees is a large donation campaign happening right now, for every dollar donated, one tree is planted, and they hope to reach 20 million by the end of the year. Colleges and businesses have also taken apart of trends and popular apps to spread advertising. Some colleges are also taking advantage of social media to connect students together.

Creating connections between students already attending, and those about to join creates a smoother transition for new students. They also use media to help students find roommates and make friends, even if a student is coming from out of state. It also is a great way to keep in contact with people and old friends. That is why I think social media is now an important aspect of our society and can continue making a difference. photo by: Ashton Overby

design by: Sami Binning

31

november / December “They think that if they retweet something, or they hashtag something, they are doing something, which is more than they would be doing if they did not know anything about it.

I think we are doing some fake activism right now and it is making people feel better about themselves, but it is not addressing the actual problems,�

Kim Lenger

ev