December 2015

Mockingjay part 2 will part 2 live up to past series shows?

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The Booster Redux Pittsburg High School 1978 E. 4th Street Pittsburg, KS 66762 Vol. 99, Issue 5 www.boosterredux.com

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015

BRINGING THE

Swamp to the stage

On the road to recovery

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In-depth students face mental illness Page 7D

winter Sports alums give advice to play in college Page 8D

Coordinating an 18-wheeler to transport a 22-footlong dragon is something theatre director Greg Shaw never thought he would have to do.

Last May, Shaw publicly announced “Shrek” would be the allschool musical. From the costumes, to the set, to the stage needed to perform the show on, Shaw and the cast have different expectations for a show of this magnitude.

For Shaw, however, making a decision on what production to perform was not a simple task; there were many key components in deciding which selection would be best.

“When looking at shows, I look at the overall strength of the program. I try to make sure I am putting as many of our kids in positions to absolutely succeed as opposed to setting them up for failure by putting them in a position where their skill sets don’t complement what is needed for that show,” Shaw said. “It wasn’t that we had to do [“Shrek’] this year, it was that we could do it this year.”

Casting the show, to Shaw, is one of the most challenging parts of the production process. Ultimately, it is Shaw who decides the cast, but receives input from vocal music teacher Susan Laushman and choreographers Maggie and Mollie Stephens.

When senior Makayla Bockover found out she was casted as Fiona, she was in shock.

“I did not know what to do when I first saw [the cast list]. I backed away slowly from the board and I almost started crying because I was so excited,” Bockover said. “I didn’t think I would get [Fiona] because there are so many talented people who do theatre.”

Even though the cast list has already been posted, Shaw still has two more roles to fill. This particular show casts a young Fiona and young Shrek which Shaw is considering an alternative to represent the age distinction.

Shaw also wanted to stage a production that featured a prominent male presence. “Shrek” requires four male lead roles: Shrek, Donkey, Pinocchio and Lord Farquaad as well as many other male roles. Out of the 39 casted in “Shrek,” only 14 are male students.

Seniors Jack Warring, Will Jewett, Jared Wilde and Derek Brumbaugh were casted as the four male leads. Warring as Shrek, Jewett as Donkey, Wilde as Lord Farquaad and Brumbaugh as Pinocchio. “‘Shrek’ requires strong characters, so [I need] kids who are comfortable acting out on stage. We can’t have a bunch of reserved individuals in ‘Shrek.’ Right now we have a pretty strong group of boys so I knew that we could pull this off,” Shaw said.

While excited for the show and to be casted as Shrek, Warring believes people will be expecting certain aspects of the movie in the musical.

“Sometimes it is fun to take acting risks, but if you don’t do specific things [with “Shrek” characters]

really easily, people will get upset. There is a layer because we’ll of fear in there,” Warring said. have a lot of Bockover, however, is not worried time to do it about the expectations. before, but I “I think our theatre department is was thinking really good at getting into characters,” about Fiona’s Bockover said. “Since we have the makeup movie to look at, we can get into our and how characters well because we will be that would able to base our characters off work out,” [the movie].”

Bockover said.

So while the talent is one In preparation for aspect of Shaw’s intent for the prosthetics involved performing “Shrek,” being able in the musical, Shaw hired a to financially support the show is another. Shaw, however, has been professional makeup artist to equip students in the school with this skill. preparing for this cost.

“Fortunately, I’ve got a lot of “If we are doing a show that is going to cost quite a bit of money, I contacts. I know a professional then try to temper that with a couple makeup and hair designer in Kansas of shows that will maybe not cost City and he is more than happy to as much. Or, if I have an expensive come down. He is going to help in season one year, the next season, train our kids in pretty high level I try to make sure that I am being prosthetic makeup,” Shaw said.

With the additional costs of a larger fiscally responsible and not have as scale product, the theatre department an expensive of season,” Shaw said.

Because “Shrek” is an iconic show, will attempt to recover the funds Shaw wanted the costumes, makeup through ticket sales to offset the cost.

“People coming to see our shows and set to be as authentic as he could.

For the musical, instead of building are an overwhelming majority of a set from scratch, Shaw decided what our budget is determined by,” Shaw said. “So I to purchase try very much to a set used run the theater in the department summer by like a business, The Jewish because I think Community that is part of Center and it.”

Theatre in Because the Park in a u d i e n c e Kansas City. attendance at According performances to Shaw, is a main those two contribution for g r o u p s funds, Shaw is spent a total hopeful that this of $20,000 year’s musical, on the set, GREG SHAW which will be but Shaw performed at paid $1,000 Memorial Auditorium, will be able to for it. “[The producer of “Shrek” at attract and house more people than Theatre in the Park and I] started what would normally be possible at talking and he said if there is the high school’s theater. While the anything [the theatre department] high school’s auditorium can only needed to let him know because they seat 500 per performance, Memorial were literally just going to throw the Auditorium will be able to seat 1,600.

“We plan to make money on set away,” Shaw said. “They were tickled to death that their hard work ‘Shrek’ to help pay for the next year’s was going to be advantageous to events, mainly because it is such a great title,” Shaw said. “It is going to another organization.”

Shaw also invested in costumes be so good and people are going to and the dragon used by Liberty High tell other people about it. It will be a School in Liberty, Mo, in a previous ‘can’t miss’ type of show.”

Performing at Memorial “Shrek” production. For all the handmade costumes and the 22-foot- Auditorium will also provide room for a larger pit band as well as long dragon, Shaw spent $3,000.

Makeup and hair was another backstage space.

After paying $2,000 for the additional cost that Shaw felt necessary for the show. While both rights for the show, “Shrek” will Shrek and Fiona will require prosthetic cost $3,000-$4,000 more than a makeup, Fiona will undergo a traditional all-school musical due to complete change in minutes during the costuming and makeup in this scene changes with prosthetics and musical.

Despite the scale of the production, airbrush make-up techniques to make however, Shaw has managed to put her green.

“I was a little nervous because I together a solution so that this year’s know we can do Shrek’s makeup musical will not be any more of a

“ ”

‘Shrek’ ‘Shre requi requires strong characters, so [i need] kids who are comfortable ting oout on acting age stage

financial burden than those of previous years.

“With all of the ‘extra’ costs for this show, it is my intention that we will cover those through just having more seats to sell,” Shaw said.“Once we recoup money with [the ticket sales], we might even be done at a net zero. I always make sure there are reserves in our account. I hope we never have to make any decisions that put us in a position where we have a zero balance.”

Shaw believes, however, that there aren’t many extra expenditures left to cover. After purchasing and selling the dragon and finding avenues to create as efficient of deals as possible, he has spent less than what was originally anticipated at the beginning of the year.

“I do not like to splurge first and then try to figure out how to earn it after; that’s not my style,” Shaw said. “So I will always push for us doing big, bold, risky, interesting, fantastic, global stuff, as long as we’ve done the work first and we’ve earned the right and the ability to fund whatever nonsense we want to do. That’s my whole philosophy of theatre education.”

According to Brannon Kidd, assistant principal and athletic director, Shaw’s philosophy holds true; the school did not have to allot any funds other than the yearly allocated budget to the theater department. “[Shaw] tries to space [productions] out so they are not [right after one another], but he is pretty selfsufficient,” Kidd said. “He is very wise with getting good deals.”

“Shrek” will be showing Feb. 17-20 at Memorial Auditorium.

Tickets will go on sale Jan. 4 and can be purchased through Memorial Auditorium.

Wilde is ready to put his all into “Shrek.”

“I really feel we are going to be pushed to our limits this year,” Wilde said. “Personally, I will try and do my best to be very flamboyant and to get other people out of their shells and break down the door.”

Ultimately, however, Shaw keeps his focus not only on the success of his productions, but also on the professionalism of his program.

“Not that we ever compete, and not that there’s a competition in this case, but I hope that this [musical] rivals what’s going on at the Bicknell with their Broadway series,” Shaw said. “That’s always my goal, is for us to be as professional and as efficient as we can be.”

ALLI BADEN & JOSH LEE @ALLIBADEN & @IAMTHEJOSHLEE

Meet the Leads

JARED WILDE

JACK WARRING

MAKAYLA BOCKOVER

DEREK BRUMBAUGH

Will jewett

lord farquaad

shrek

fiona

pinocchio

donkey

as

as

as

as

as

2 NEWS club happenings: TRINITY BUTCHER & JADYN STEWART @PHSStudentPub

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015

aSeniors new tradition at annual formal create opportunity for underclassmen to win royalty MADDY ROBISON

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America A club based around family. The club participates in activities like making gift baskets for the mother-tomother ministry, which is a family mentored by other mothers.

The club also plans on working with Carrington and attending leadership conferences.

“Our group is going to be making a sports nutrition plan, [students] will be doing [activities] to help with the environment,” FCCLA sponsor Krystal Henderson said.

The club tries to meet at least once a month and also tries to get more students involved.

“I try to make it fun, I try to constantly remind them about things that are coming up so they don’t forget, and include everyone in activities,” Henderson said.

“We’ll always like to increase membership and include more students from all of our student body,” Henderson said.

FCCLA’s goal is to make it to state and national competitions.

Key Club Helping with spook houses and collecting food don’t seem like much. But, to Key Club, a community service organization, participating in service projects such as the spook house and food collection is its goal.

The club has collected food for Wesley House and helped out with spook housing for Memorial Auditorium.

“We help out with any community service project.

We have done fundraising for UNICEF for mothers and babies that have tetanus, and we’ve also helped out with the Family Resource Center fundraiser,” Key Club sponsor Emily Rountree said.

According to Rountree, the club helps build good connections for future jobs.

“I think that [Key club] helps [students] understand how important it is to volunteer and help out in your community,” Rountree said.

“It also helps to build connections because when you go out into your community you meet different business people or different people that will hire you in the future. Whenever you are volunteering people are more likely to hire you.”

Giving back to the community, building character and adding to a resume were a few reasons senior Devon Coulter joined Key Club.

“It was a fun experience to hang out with classmates while driving around the community to collect food,” Coulter said. “We enjoyed getting donations for people in need.”

TECHnology Student association Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are elements that students in Technology Student Association (TSA) want to use in their everyday lives.

TSA is an organization that teaches leadership, teamwork, and helps the members integrate. The members of TSA work from October to March on their events to take to state competition in Salina.

“The main goal for students in TSA is to win their competitions at State and qualify for the National TSA competition in the summer,” sponsor Andrew Brennon said.

TSA members also compete in the yearly competition Gorilla Games at Pitt State.

“I think the club has a big influence on the students.” Brennon said.

“The club is one big family and they are always pushing each other to be the best they can be in their events.”

www.boosterredux.com SECTION D

@maddyrobison19 he music stopped and the voice of the DJ filled the room. Cardboard glittered crowns were placed on sophomore Gina Mathew and freshman Paul Worsley’s heads as they were presented as the 2015 Winter Formal prince and princess.

For the first time Student Publications decided to recognize two lower classmen as prince and princess at the annual Winter Formal on Dec. 5.

“It’s humbling to hear that as an underclassmen that I’m recognized by my peers,” Mathew said. “From my viewpoint it was interesting to have everyone vote for underclassmen just because, I think, having less time to have a presence in school may have led to the upperclassmen to not knowing the lowerclassmen.”

Seniors Molly Graham, Madison Spencer and Sherrick Rogers went to Student Publications adviser Emily Smith with the idea of nominating underclassmen as prince and princess candidates. “[Spencer] and I were put in charge of decorating, and Smith mentioned having royalty at Winter Formal,” Graham said. “We thought of making Winter Formal for the lower classmen because prom is all about the upperclassmen, and then just went off of everyone’s ideas.”

Seven freshmen and seven sophomores were nominated by their teachers.

“We approached the administration three years ago, with the idea [of a winter formal] because our dances, with the exception of prom, are very informal and the kids wanted an opportunity to dress up. So we call it a formal but it’s more of a semi-formal,” Smith said. “[The students] talked about the selection process by having the teachers nominate students and not have criteria.”

Worsley believes that the teachers looked for kindness and integrity while selecting the candidates.

“I think that teachers selecting the students is a good idea because the kids are going to just pick the most popular students,” Worsley said. “I hope [I was elected] because I am an honest and nice guy, who does nice things and is nice to people.”

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Throwing his hands into the air in excitement, freshman Paul Worsley celebrates after being crowned prince during the Winter Formal coronation. PHOTO BY DEREK BRUMBAUGH

freshmen learn real-world skills Freshmen Foundations classes make financial decisions on limited budgets GINA MATHEW @GMMathew13 Getting a fake identity and money with no strings attached sounds like the storyline out of an undercover spy movie.

But for high school students, this script came true on Wednesday, Dec. 9 as part of the Reality U$ program, a financial literacy exercise organized by Communities In Schools (CIS) of Mid-America.

Beth Gilbert, gifted facilitator and Freshman Foundations teacher, considers starting early as the key to preparing students for financial situations.

“Personal finance is an important issue,” Gilbert said. “If we want [students] to be able to be successful with their finances, it is imperative that we start now and continue to build.”

Participants for the event included students currently enrolled in the Freshman Foundations class this semester. These individuals took a Lifestyle Survey prior to the event and, based on their answers and current school performance, were assigned a realistic identity to match what their lives may look like as a 26-year-old, including fictional jobs, salaries and families.

“This is the first time CIS has provided a financial literacy program to PHS,” Sophie Archuleta, Reality U$ Program Manager, said. “It is very important for students to learn how to manage their money before they are forced to live in the ‘real world.’

Students had [that] opportunity to live the financial life of an adult for a class period.”

With their given identities, students

Participating in “RealityYou”, freshmen Braulio Luna, Jakob Cupp and Dreama O’Neal listen to the sponsor at their booth. This activity was sponsored by Communities in Schools. PHOTO BY DEREK BRUMBAUGH

were challenged to budget their finances wisely, spending money at booths offering necessities and luxuries.

“I never really [thought] about what my parents paid for each month before [the event],” freshman Hannah Casper said. “[I] walked around to booths and paid for different things that I would have to as an adult if I went into [my assigned] field.”

The booths were staffed

by community volunteers and dealt with housing, utilities, transportation, medical insurance, child care, banking, entertainment and even chance for the unexpected situations life may throw one’s way.

CIS Site Coordinator Deanna Miller believes the program served its purpose.

“The goal of Reality U$ is for [students] to understand what it is really like once you get out of

high school and you’re on your own,” Miller said. “We hope that we educated them on how that actually does work.”

Freshman Carter Uttley said the event urged him to be more careful with money management.

“Banking was definitely the most difficult [booth] for me,” Uttley said. “That surprised me.

I am now going to be more cautious with impulse buying.”

geeking out on stage at state Theatre “Band Geeks” selected to perform at conference KALI POENITSKE @kali_poenitske

When the announcement rang over the speakers revealing that “Band Geeks” would be performing at state, senior Derek Brumbaugh was ecstatic.

“I was sitting in my seventh hour class when they made the announcement that we had been chosen to perform at state,” Brumbaugh said. “There were several other members of the cast in my class as well, and we all started freaking out and jumping around and hugging each other.”

Out of all the productions that could have been chosen for the State Thespian Conference in Wichita, “Band Geeks” was one of the four selected. The last time a show was selected to perform was five years ago with “Crimes of the Heart.”

“I think it is an honor to be chosen out of so many different shows,” junior Olivia Joy said. “It is a really big deal for us to be able to go.”

Theatre director Greg Shaw agrees.

“It is a huge accomplishment,” Shaw said. “They don’t split it between divisions, so every school in the state can qualify. There’s a couple hundred schools, so that is a really good feeling to know there were lots of others who put their show in the ring and that we came out near the top this time.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 5 there will be another performance of “Band Geeks” for the community to help raise funds for the trip. The cast and crew will perform on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in

Wichita, which is opening night of the conference.

There will be several difficulties that the cast and crew will face.

“Getting ready to perform the show in such a short amount of time when we get there [will be difficult],” Joy said.

Shaw agrees that time will be a big obstacle.

“Putting the show up in a day will be a challenge,” Shaw said.

“Sometime between 7 or 8 a.m. we will be allowed to start. [This means] we will be able to pull our truck up, start unloading everything and take it upstairs in an elevator. We have to put the set together, position all the lights, hook up all the microphones, put all of our costuming in the dressing rooms and spike tape our set piece positions.

We have to work with all of the Union people, do sound checks and a dress rehearsal. Then we perform at 7 p.m.”

Along with the stress comes much excitement. Brumbaugh is excited for the chance to perform “Band Geeks” in front of such a big crowd.

“I am excited to have this amazing opportunity to perform at state. This is like nothing I have ever [done] before,” Brumbaugh said. “It is just incredible that we were chosen as one of the best four shows in the state.

Typically during Thespian Conference, I would be sitting in the audience watching some other school perform and would be thinking, ‘Wow, they’re so lucky.’ But this year we get to be one of the lucky four schools. It’s a moment I will never forget.”

Senior Derek Brumbaugh celebrates during a performance of “Band Geeks.” Brumbaugh portrayed the lead male character.

“It’s a huge opportunity for our program and we’re ecstatic we earned this honor,” Brumbaugh said. PHOTO BY SHELBY SMITH

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www.boosterredux.com

OPINION

friday, dec. 11, 2015

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Booster Redux staff and policy

opening up more than borders

Editors-in-Chief

Present-day tolerance more important than ever

Copy Editor Dante Menghini

Staff Maddie Baden Meghan Baker Connor Balthazor Alivia Benedict Lily Black Justin Blythe Katy Brown Nic Burk Trinity Butcher Mataya Cook Sophie Graham Ashley Henderson Meghan Hess Journey Jaramillo Josh Lee Gina Mathew Trina Paul Kali Poenitske Maddy Robison Jadyn Stewart Caleb Stradley Patrick Sullivan Ivan Walter Jake Webb Julie Wilson Kaylah Wilson

Adviser Emily Smith

The Booster Redux Pittsburg High School Student Publications 1978 E. 4th St. Pittsburg, KS 66762

PHS Student Publications Department and newspaper class produce The Booster Redux.

Please call us with comments at 620235-3200. The Booster Redux’s purpose is to inform, educate, enlighten and entertain readers fairly and accurately in an open forum.

Opinions expressed in editorials or opinion columns do not necessarily reflect views of all members on the Booster staff.

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Photo illustrations are labeled to reflect any technical alternations.

Anonymity may be given in the following cases: the information is unable to be presented another way, the information warrants anonymity, the source’s privacy and/or reputation requires protection and the source must be protected from damages.

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The Booster Redux reserves the right to edit contributions if they are libelous, obscene and for length. Any grammatical errors at the fault of the writer will be printed. Corrections of errors printed at the fault of the Booster staff will appear in the appropriate section of the next issue.

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These extremists create the opportunity for our society to target and generalize specific groups of people in negative, hateful and disgusting ways.

Large groups of people, such as Muslims or Republicans, should not be judged as a whole due to the radical acts of a few.

Extremists provide misrepresentation of their group, creating a stigma t h a t affects the group’s entirety.

When allowing these generalizations to affect our views of people, we are essentially being prejudice and venturing back to the horrific times in history where

oppressiveness and inequality were societal norms, such as during WWII toward Japanese immigrants.

As individuals we need to realize that everyone has differences, visible or ideological, but we need a change of focus from these differences to the fundamental idea of a person.

We are all made up of the same building blocks such as organs and bones, and there is no reason why we cannot coexist in peace.

We need to understand what it means to be tolerant.

To be tolerant is to be understanding, to have the ability and willingness to accept the existence, occurrence, BE NE DI CT

Photo editor Sherrick Rogers

@jdblyt ith the year 2015 coming to a close, it is important to reflect upon recent events of terror and gain a greater sense of tolerance within ourselves.

On June 17, a shooting occurred at the historic Emanuel AME church, an African American church, in Charleston, S.C. by white supremacist Dylann Roof who took nine lives.

On Nov. 13, Paris experienced a massive attack by a radical Islamic group that left 128 dead.

On Nov. 25, a right-wing extremist opened fire on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo. which left three dead.

On Dec. 2, a shooting occurred in San Bernardino, Calif. at a holiday party at Inland Regional Center by attackers now revealed as Islamic radicalists, who left 14 dead, and 28 wounded.

All of these events were performed by extremists, or people without the ability to accept differences in religion, race and sexuality.

BY AL IV IA

Design Editor Kailey Curtis

Justin blythe

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Alli Baden Molly Graham Megan Munger Morgan Plank

and practice of religion, sexuality, and race that we may not be accustomed to.

Thankfully, the world is changing and our generation is increasingly tolerant and loving towards people, ideas and practices that may be foreign to us, and that, in previous generations, lacked a place in society, such as homosexuality and race.

In a General Social Survey of American adults between 1972 and 2012, Psychology Professor Jean M. Twenge concluded that Americans are, compared to previous generations, now more likely to believe that people with different views and lifestyles can and should have the same rights as others.

As you go about your daily life, keep in mind the individuality of every person you encounter, and take it upon yourself to reject the generalizations that circulate in our society and taint the minds of its members.

Differences need to shine in a new light, one that praises individuality and doesn’t pit us together as enemies.

appreciation or appropriation?

Paul discusses where to draw the line on freedom of expression trina paul @trpaul98

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his Halloween, what did you dress as? If the answer to this question is a costume along the lines of a Native American or a gypsy, the students of Yale University believe you chose the wrong costume.

According to The New York Times, a committee at Yale sent its students an email advising them to avoid costumes that might be considered racially offensive. Erica Christakis, a lecturer at Yale who also serves as an associate master at Yale’s Silliman college, sent an email to the students at Silliman.

The email stated that students had a right to choose what they wore on Halloween, regardless of whether it was offensive or not.

This sparked a debate among hundreds of Yale students. Some even called for the resignation of Christakis and her husband Nicholas Christakis, a Yale professor, over the email.

Articles that spoke in favor of either the students or the Christakis’ emerged from all over the internet. Some articles critiqued college students’ reaction to what they considered a harmless email. Others believed that even the microaggressive act of wearing a Native American costume is considered racism.

So when are Halloween costumes considered racist? In Erica Christakis’ email, she asks whether it’s okay for a white child to wear the African American Disney princess costume, Tiana. It’s hard to

determine when cultural appreciation turns into cultural appropriation, but common sense makes it much easier. Yes, a child can wear a Tiana dress without offending, but putting blackface on that child is leaning towards offensive.

If the costume you chose to wear stereotypes a race or mocks it in anyway, you’re better off not wearing it. For instance, the American Indian costume you have, you should probably keep that in the closet. To many Native Americans, headdresses are considered a sign of great respect.

To wear a headdress as a part of a costume is to make a mockery of something sacred to Native Americans.

The committee at Yale was right to warn its students of wearing racially offensive costumes; however, it is still within the right of each person to choose what they wear. Yes, Erica Christakis was right to say that “free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society,” but should we act as if issues like racism and homophobia are merely matters we need to learn to tolerate?

We are entitled to free speech, but we are also entitled to hate speech. Hate speech is covered by the First Amendment but does not include “fighting words” or insults that would instigate an immediate fight.

Erica Christakis had a right to

IA LIV YA B T AR

state her views regarding Halloween costumes. And freedom to wear or say what you choose will always be your right. A fact, to some, that seems to have been forgotten.

At Mount Holyoke College, a performance of The Vagina Monologues was canceled because it alienated females without vaginas or transgender women.

At Harvard Law School, a professor asked her colleagues not to teach rape law because it might be too triggering to students.

To some, college students have built an intolerance to free speech. President Obama even weighed in the matter by

T DIC E N BE

saying “I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view.”

Universities should allow students to flourish intellectually by exploring perspectives different than their own.

Yet they are also responsible for creating environments where all students feel safe.

Erica Christakis had a right to state her views regarding Halloween costumes. Freedom to wear or to say what you choose will always be your right.

But it’s time we stop abusing this right by using it to perpetuate discrimination.

keeping christmas sacred Staff editorial: Stradley examines deeper meaning of the holiday season kindness is free caleb stradley

the booster redux staff

@PHSStudentPub

@PHSStudentPub

It is Christmas morning. You wake up excited and ready to see what you have gotten this year.

Is it a video game? A phone? A computer?

Your excitement leads you to the living room.

There you find your Christmas tree, with nothing underneath it. You look around wondering where all your presents had gone.

You turn to see your parents, both with grim faces. They couldn’t afford presents this year, and now they are worried that your Christmas is ruined.

Parents every year stress over Christmas, a time that is meant to be happy and fun. From October to Christmas Eve, parents are concerned their children are going to wake up disappointed due to a lack of presents underneath the tree.

What changed Christmas from the happy time of the year where you spend quality time with your family and open up a present or -CALEB two?

Well, it’s likely due to the fact that Christmas is too commercialized.

Right after Halloween, or even earlier, stores stock their shelves with Christmas items and presents, ads are seen all over the internet and newspapers and Christmas catalogs are appearing in our mailboxes. This is making children believe that Christmas is all about the amount of presents you get and how expensive those gifts are. This in turn causes parents to feel the pressure of trying to make their children happy on Christmas day, which would be much easier if commercials didn’t force children to believe that gifts are what Christmas is all about.

Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with people you love, a joyous time where people give to others not because the receiver expects one, but simply out of the kindness of

“

our hearts.

Another holiday greatly affected by the commercialization of Christmas is Thanksgiving, a day dedicated to spending time with your family and being grateful for what you have. Now it is all about rushing to the store in order to get items you don’t have.

Black Friday is, if not the most, one of the dumbest things about commercialization.

People shoving, kicking, throwing, clawing, and even sometimes shooting each other just to get an item a few bucks cheaper is completely ridiculous, and really isn’t worth it. There is even a legitimate website where the Black Friday related deaths and injuries are recorded. According to this website, blackfridaydeathcount.com, a total of seven people have been killed since 2006, and 98 have been injured. Not to mention that in recent years, Black Friday is now held on Thanksgiving STRADLEY day, practically ruining the entire holiday.

Don’t get me wrong, I love presents as much as anyone else. In my family, we love to give each other gifts. However, we do fall victim to the commercialization, leading to us all stressing out over what to give each other. We often forget that it is the thought that counts.

If you ask me, companies should wait to advertise Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

Instead of having Black Friday on Thanksgiving, it should be kept on the Friday afterwards. It shouldn’t affect the amount of money stores make around Christmas time since people will obviously still spend a substantial amount of money on gifts.

Commercialization just needs to disappear to bring back what makes the holiday season special, as well as lower children’s expectations.

Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with people you love...

”

The topic of mental illnesses is a taboo subject no one likes to talk about. Because of this, it is often pushed to the side and unaddressed.

Mental illnesses are perceived as not as important as physical illnesses because they are not visible to the eye. The perception of a person with a mental illness is that they are delicate or unstable.

However, the fact remains mental illness is a prominent issue in our society.

A mental illness is just like any other condition. It is the same as if someone has diabetes or broken a bone; the only difference is the brain is effected instead. Those that are affected should be treated the same or seek treatment.

Some individuals hide mental illness and keep their problems bottled up. Because of the stigma society has created, people may not seek out needed proper help because they are ashamed or scared to ask for help.

While people think mental illness may be considered a private matter, it is important to know people are available to talk to and willing to help.

The school offers multiple available avenues for students seeking help. Counselors Gina Ulbrich, Burl Powell and Jessica Stegman are available daily. Twice a week, Ashley Neely, a licensed clinical professional counselor from Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, is available to students. Beth Stockard, the school psychologist, is available in the building as well.

At times, high school may not be perceived as a safe environment, but there are professionals here to make it one.

All of these professionals are available to talk to students to talk about concerns that might be upsetting, or help identify if there is a bigger obstacle.

In addition to the everyday, normal occurrences teenagers face from school stress to maintaining good grades, those with a mental illness are fighting a bigger battle. They deal with more than stress everyday and it is not something they did not chose to add to their plate.

High school is a safe environment and a prime opportunity for an individual to address any underlying issue.

We, as a student body, should look out for others who may be struggling and let them know there are multiple people willing to help. You never know what battle someone may be fighting, so treat them with kindness.

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Fallout 4 Release is surprisingly “Special” Connor balthazor @PHSstudentpub n the world of “Fallout,” normal life ended after The Great War. The Great War only lasted two hours, but that was enough for humanity to nearly destroy itself. 200 years after the world ended in nuclear annihilation, you, the player, have woken up from cryogenic storage in Vault-111, the fallout shelter you went to when the bombs dropped.

Every other person in the shelter has died, including your spouse. And on top of that, your son has been taken. You then exit the vault and enter a new world.

This game is incredible. It is also very intimidating to review. There are so many new and interesting features and components, such as settlements and the perk system, that are in the game, and to go in depth with such a deep game is very hard to do. Every time that you discover one thing, another layer of the game opens up to you.

One of the biggest things that you will notice immediately is the environment, and I am not referring to the radioactive wasteland (although that is hard to miss), what I am talking about is the way the houses look and the architecture of the old world before the war, while the game starts sometime in the 2070’s-80’s, it looks like the 1950’s. The cars, the houses, even the people. This is a result of the Cold War never ending and the game taking place in its own time line. It gives the game a unique feeling that you will not get in any other game.

Another core part of the game is weapons and weapon customizing. The vari-

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Fallout 4 ««««« «««« ous combinations of attachments on weapons is nearly endless. For example, if you find a Pipe Pistol, it can be modified into a sniper rifle, revolver, automatic rifle, and more.

Another interesting part of the game is the perk system. The perk system has its own acronym, “S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” which stands for “Strength, Perception , Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck.” Each main group has its own tree of various different abilities you can unlock when you level up.

One thing that could be fun for some people but possibly frustrating

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for others is the map size. The map is absolutely massive. In fact, the map is actually double the size of the “Fallout 3” map. The exact size of the map is unknown, but it is estimated to be about 30 square miles.

Another interesting addition to the game, and my personal favorite, is “Settlements.”

“Settlements” are areas in - CONNOR BALTHAZOR the map that you can build various different structures such as houses, defenses, stores, and many other things. The settlements system is vast and extremely fun and easy to learn. However, you have to manage them and keep the settlers happy. Keeping the settlers happy

Fallout 4 is an Fal incr incredible game nely and is insanely addicting

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includes having enough beds and food and being able to defend the settlement. You can also build your own house using wood or metal. The way that you recruit people to your settlement by setting up a radio beacon that sends out a radio message to people looking for a place to go. Settlements are certainly a part of the game that is very enjoyable and is one of the highlights of the experience.

Many games come out every year, some good, some bad. This game in my opinion is not only one of the best games of this year, but one of the best games to come out in recent memory. I am normally very hesitant before giving a game a perfect score, but in “Fallout 4” there was never any doubt. “Fallout 4” is an incredible game and is insanely addicting and I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes games in any way shape or form.

And a word of advice; Avoid the southwest corner of the map.

album jumps to the top patrick sullivan @ @PHSstudentpub dele has experienced a warm “hello” from millions of fans after four years of not performing or writing music. Her return has been highly successful and adored by many as her album “25” shattered records in copies sold across in one week the globe. This album broke the record for copies sold in one week since Nielsen began recording sales in 1991.

I can honestly say I had high expectations for this album due to all of the rumors and hype surrounding it.

One thing the album did not do was disappoint. I was quite blown away by her unique sound and blend of new rhythms. I listened to the album to review it and again because it took another listen to truly appreciate her voice and music.

The first song on the album is the song released as the only single prior to the album was “Hello”, It still gives me chills and really drives home a melancholy spirit. This song anchored “25” and was also Adele’s way of reclaiming her presence in the music industr y.

I have listened to a portion of Adele’s previous albums and I believe this matches, if not beats out, her earlier works with no challenge. “Skyfall” from the James Bond film “Skyfall” was my favorite

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Mockingjay Part 2 ««««« ««««

A successful Series finale Julie wilson @JL_Wilsonn he fourth and final installment of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” has come to an end with a four year and nearly nine hour journey.

“Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2” picks up almost immediately where part 1 left off with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) struggling with the physical and mental scars from the attack Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) made on her after he was rescued from the Capitol.

Katniss has learned that Peeta has been brainwashed to believe that she is a dangerous murderer.

In this movie, there are no fiery gowns and very little comedy. The glamorous showbiz stuff is gone and only depressing images are left: gray buildings, faceless soldiers, and impending doom. For most of the characters, their outcomes are as scary as their surroundings.

Katniss only wants one thing: To kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Snow knows exactly who Katniss is and what is important to her. Through it all, she holds it together because her performance is

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Friday Funnies “a day in The life of a cat” BY nic burk

all that matters.

Teamed with a group of her closest friends, including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Peeta, Katniss goes on a mission to the Capitol.

They risk their lives to save the people of Panem and stage an assassination on Snow.

Meanwhile, Peeta tries to recover from the mental torture and has trouble distinguishing between reality and fiction, which is ironically the point of the Hunger Games in the first place.

I really enjoyed the movie; it was a proper finale to a much-loved franchise. Although it was very long and padded, it was a pretty good action film.

The movie tries to keep you and Katniss on the same level, where you’re not sure what is going on and you have to make decisions based on what you feel is right and wrong.

Along the way, nothing is what you think it will be, and Snow always seems to be leading Katniss and her friends somewhere.

In the end, “Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2” is a powerful ending to the Hunger Games movie saga. It has been a story about courage and heroism and the price you have to pay for it.

tune by Adele. I would have to say I said “hello” to a new favorite after listening to “25”. “When We Were Young” may have my vote.

This song embodies her general tempo and picks up as the song progresses and really couldn’t be done better by any artist. Other tracks including “Love in the Dark” and “Remedy” really were strong and showcased her voice and were softly accompanied by piano which only strengthens each song.

The second track on “25” is “Send My Love” (To Your New Lover) it definitely strays from Adele’s traditional sound and forte. It has an upbeat and reggae tone to it and I believe she pulled it off, “Sweetest Devotion” ended this album perfectly with a beautiful message.

Adele said that she took time off from song writing and performing to “live life”, Hopefully she got that out of the way because I, and many others, will be anticipating much more to come from her in the future.

I believe that throughout this time Adele has perfected her type or genre of music opposed to many artists who attempt to rediscover themselves.

Adele has become a household name again, bringing sweet, rich music to our ears. I believe that “25” could potentially be awarded album of the year.

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skating to the top lily black PHSPublications s she skates to the middle of the floor with her adrenaline pumping, freshman Kiera Miller feels the rush of excitement and hears the sound of applause throughout the rink.

While competing in local, as well as out of state roller skating competitions, Miller uses more advanced techniques. She quad skates, which is the traditional four wheels, she also speed skates, but is more focused on jam skating.

“Jam skating is break dancing on roller skates. Two strange things to mix together, but they sure fit well and make an awesome sport,” Miller said.

Having been skating since she was two years old, Miller has developed more of a passion for skating.

“It’s unique and different, something most people wouldn’t do,” Miller said.

Miller is not the only one with a passion for skating. Senior Kie’Rhe Henderson also spends his free time in the rink.

“It’s something I would like to grow up and do in the future,” Henderson said. “[When I skate] I feel free; I don’t feel in this world anymore. It’s a relief, [and] it takes a weight off my shoulders.”

Henderson feels he has been naturally good at skating since he started at the age of nine, and he has always looked up to the older skaters.

“I didn’t have to use the wall [for support] like everyone else that goes there and skates,” Henderson said. “Then I saw Kaleb Konek, Ty Muse and Dave Lowe, the one who owns the skating rink, and they were really good. I wanted to strive to be like them because they looked like they were having fun.”

Although traveling and event schedules may cause some complications involving homework and attendance, Miller is able to stay caught up with her academics.

“Skating does interfere with school year round. I probably miss a month of school due to skating, but I’m still able to maintain my grades,” Miller said.

More challenges arise every day, but Henderson is always ready to take them on, whether they be the basics of roller skating, or a more complex style.

“There’s always more things to learn.

There are so many different tricks you can do, like backwards and sideways skating [which] is for beginners,” Henderson said. “There is jam skating where you do back flips and you dance. I just love to learn new things, I love being active and moving.”

Aiming to develop his skills into something more, Henderson practices any way he can, even by observing other skater’s movements and tactics.

“When I am around people who are better [skaters] than me, I try to do what they are doing. I look at how they move, and see

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Student competes in roller-skating contests

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Freshman Kiera Miller completes a break-dance move while jam skating. Miller skates at Lowe’s Skateway and was recently sponsored by Kounterfeit Krew. PHOTO BY AMANDA BOURBINA if I can copy them. I like to pick up other people’s skills,” Henderson said.

During a family vacation trip to North Carolina in 2013, Miller discovered she wanted to have a professional career in skating.

“Meeting professional skaters was my dream, but I never really thought I’d be one myself. I’ve been at skating rinks with kids asking me for my autograph or a picture,” Miller said.

For years Miller had looked up the professional Vanilla Skaters on the Vanilla team, but she finally had the opportunity to meet them in 2013.

“I was accomplishing my one dream at the age of 11. All the other pros don’t even feel like pros to me, they feel like family,” Miller said. “I look up to Diamond Walker.

He’s been my inspiration since I was six.

Now, he’s like a brother figure to me.”

While on the trip, Miller was also sponsored, which opened up more opportunities for her. “[Being sponsored means] a team has taken you [in] to help you improve [your] skating so you can accomplish whatever

your dream is,” Miller said. “Being sponsored [also] entitles you to post progress videos so coaches can see how much you work.

When a skater is sponsored they are then allowed to attend competitions and events for free. “[I] kept going because of the sponsorship,” Miller said. “The sponsorship led me to more competitions and invited me to more events.”

Now, Miller is not only sponsored by one company, but seven. These include: Kounterfeit Krew, SkateMob, Genuine Supply Co., Authentic Freaks, Gwinnett Skate Company, HRS & CO. and Skate Masters USA. Without the support of other skaters, Miller does not know where she would be today. “[The other skaters] supported me and want to see me continue. If it weren’t for all the people that have pushed me this far, I wouldn’t be skating,” Miller said.

Planning on a career as a professional skater, Miller is already trying to make future plans.

“I definitely wish to continue as a professional skater. I am constantly communi-

cating with other team members and the leaders of the team about ideas and future events like clothes we could make,” Miller said.

Being a role model to the younger skaters is also a benefit of becoming a professional, according to Miller.

“I want to be a professional because I want people to look up to me: [for] skaters to ask me for help, to teach people and have them grow as a skater like I did. I want to continue because I just all around love skating. I love gymnastics as well and now I get to mix my two favorite things together and soon get paid for it,” Miller said.

Since she started skating in the third grade, Miller believes she has grown not only as a skater, but also as a person.

“All of [the] best memories [I] have come from skating. It has brought me to many opportunities like events and national shows. Skating has been the best thing to happen to me and I’m so glad I get to experience all this,” Miller said. “It has definitely made me who I am today, and with all the encouragement and support it’s made me better as a person.”

Debate prepares for national qualifier tournament Meghan Baker meghanbaker11 m fter months of preparation, practice and hard work, four debate teams will be participating in the policy debate National Qualifier tournament for a chance to compete at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) tournament.

The debaters who will be competing today and tomorrow in Coffeyville are seniors Josh Lee and Sebastian Johns, juniors Caleb Dial, Zach Uttley and Isaiah Harris, and sophomores Caleb Blansett, Cooper Johnson and Walt Sours.

The topic this year is about curtailing domestic surveillance; the debaters have been arguing this year’s resolution since the beginning of the semester and will continue to do so at the qualifier tournament and at the state level.

If any of the teams qualify for the national tournament, they will take the topic with them to the 2016 NSDA tournament, which will take place in Salt Lake City in June.

At the National Qualifier, teams have to place first or second in order to qualify. However, because the stakes are higher, the tournament itself is run differently from

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other tournaments in the regular season.

“This tournament is different than others because once a team loses two rounds, they are out of the tournament,”debate coach Laflen said.

In anticipation for this tournament, debaters prepare by competing in tournaments out of the Southeast Kansas area and calling in graduated debaters to help judge practice rounds.

“I would say the most important thing is getting out there and going to high level debate tournaments,” Johns said. “We go to a variety of tournaments that debate at a much higher level than the tournaments in the Southeast Kansas area, and that plays a huge role in preparing us for this very important tournament.”

The debaters also prepare by going to work nights which Laflen holds in order to give students the opportunity to practice debate rounds and further their research, and these are held twice every week.

For the past three years, Laflen has had students qualify for the national tournament.

“My goals are to qualify for nationals and do well at state,”

At a debate work night, senior Sebastian Johns, sophomore Walter Sours and sophomore Cooper Johnson prep for a practice round. Students attend work nights to prepare for tournaments. PHOTO BY MADDY EMERSON

Uttley said.

Though Uttley is the only one who has qualified in previous years out of the eight students, Laflen believes the debate squad shows strong potential for the national qualifier tournament.

“We’ve got so much potential for the future

of this team. This year though, I think we certainly have a great chance at qualifying a team for the national tournament,” Laflen said. “The kids have to work hard for it in order to get it, and even then, it all just depends on how the tournament goes.”

band, orchestra District qualifiers perform at bicknell Choir, showcase talent Molly graham @molllygraham Five years of playing the clarinet paid off for sophomore Izabelle Lunday, as she qualified for district honor band this year, her first year auditioning. She practiced every day in class with Band Director Cooper Neil and outside of class as well as taking lessons set up by Neil from Associate Professor of Music Joanne Britz at PSU. Because of her hard work, she was one of the four band students who qualified.

On Saturday Dec. 5, 51 students from the high school performed in the district honor performance.

Including the four honor band students who auditioned and qualified for the district honor

performances, 43 qualified for honor choir and four qualified for honor orchestra.

“You just have to go over [your music] a lot and get used to it, because when you go [into the audition], you do not know what [music cuts] you are going to have,” Lunday said. “It was really hard to do, but I still thought it was worth it.”

State competitions are not held until each district has finished its auditioning process. “[Being able to perform] feels really good,” Lunday said. “And I heard later on, after the performance, that we actually made some of the band directors cry with our second piece.”

A string bass player sophomore Kiel O’Neal, qualified for honor orchestra after only playing

his instrument since August.

“It is a good title to have, when looking at colleges and stuff,” O’Neal said. “It is nice to be able to have that behind you, to be able to say that I qualified for this honor and [qualified for this] higher level of music.”

After practicing with the other orchestra members, he believes while it was nerve wracking for everyone, it was a fun experience.

“I was nervous, but it went well,” O’Neal said. “Everyone was kind of nervous on that day, but we all kind of had fun and got work done.”

O’Neal mentioned while he does not think he will qualify for state this year, qualifying

next year is his main goal.

Another first-year performer in the district honor performances was freshman Gracie Terry, who is a soprano two. She has been singing since sixth grade. “[Qualifying for honor choir] makes me feel really good,” Terry said. “Not a lot of people get the opportunity [to qualify], so it makes me grateful for the abilities I have.”

Lunday, O’Neal and Terry all agreed that playing their instruments and singing is something each of them will continue after graduating.

“There are lots of scholarships you can get from playing in a college’s band,” Lunday said. “It is also just a lot of fun to do.”

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DAncing his way to broadway MORGAN PLANK @momoplank While listening to his critiques from a previous solo dance performance two years ago, senior Will Jewett heard a judge tell him to audition for Broadway shows in New York City.

“I thought that was just weird and didn’t think anything of it.

I was like no way. New York is huge and everyone is amazing, ” Jewett said. “But, then a couple more judges told me something similiar and I thought maybe I should do it; maybe there’s a chance of success for me in New York.”

Jewett is a two-time national solo champion and has placed first in seven regional competitions.

Since then, Jewett’s talent has not gone unrecognized.

“Just last year I competed in Wichita and a couple judges came up and asked me if I wanted to [make a career out of performing arts,] and I said yeah I think I do. They told me to drop out of high school and go to New York right there,” Jewett said. “What I remember more vividly is after the awards ceremony at a [different] competition when the three judges came up on stage and asked if performing arts was something I planned on pursuing.”

One of the judges is affiliated with Broadway Dance Center, a walk-in dance studio in New York City, and is also a former member of their staff.

“We have been talking back and forth since then and she asked when I was going up to visit because she may want to introduce me to a couple people that she knows that will help me,” Jewett said. “She told me about a program that they offer at Broadway Dance Center that is called the Professional Semester and it is a step-by-step course on how to become a professional performer.”

At his studio, the Y Academy of Dance, Jewett is a member of Pro Company, which is for more advanced dancers. This company attended Jump Dance Convention in Kansas City where Jewett participated in an audition workshop. After a process of several cuts, scholarships were handed out to the remaining dancers for free classes at Broadway Dance Center. Jewett was one who earned this opportunity.

“Broadway Dance Center is huge.

Dancers from all over the world travel to take classes there, and instructors from all over the world travel all over the world to teach there,” Jordan Tincher, Y Academy of Dance Director, said. “He will not only learn a lot there, but it will open more opportunities for him than he thinks. I want him to be successful and I think he will be.”

Jewett will be traveling to New York for four days during Christmas Break to experience this scholarship opportunity.

“Each class at Broadway Dance Center is an hour or an hour and a half long and I think it is six free classes. You pick the style of dance class you want to take, so I’ll pick musical theater, contemporary, jazz and technique,” Jewett said. “I have gotten scholarships to attend special dance competitions and conventions, but never to take classes at this level and be able to choose what style of classes I want to take. I am pumped and nervous.”

Jewett is considered a triple threat. He can sing, dance and act.

“In New York, you got to be a triple threat because it is the top level up there, the best of the best,” Jewett said.

Jewett’s teacher, Tincher, has noticed a distinct difference in Jewett’s confidence.

“Will has become a very technical dancer. You give him a skill and he can do it in one or two tries, which is wonderful.

But, something I have really seen the last year or so is he isn’t holding back. Even if it is out of his element, whether it be style, or competition or in the way he presents himself, he takes it on with more confidence,” Tincher said. “He isn’t afraid of it. And, that’s huge in the dance world. Holding back could be your worst enemy, but Will is choosing to fight against it.”

Upon graduating, Jewett plans to begin his professional dance career right away.

“I want to, right after I graduate, go up and live for a few months [in New York] and audition for some stuff and see if I can snag a job in a musical theater production,” Jewett said.

The judges’ advice to Jewett is to take advantage of his age now, instead of waiting. “[They said] ‘the younger you are the better. You are a guy.

Guys have the advantage because there is not as many of them,’” Jewett said.

While Jewett has high hopes for his future auditions, he is prepared in case his plan does not work out.

“If nothing works out, I will just come back and attend Pittsburg State University or Oklahoma State University and major in business, so then I can own my own traveling dance competition,” Jewett said. “And, if it does work out, I will just perform for however long I can and then go to college, do the business thing and the dance competition stuff. It is like a loop; it all ends up with the traveling dance competition.”

Despite what the outcome may be, Tincher believes Jewett will find success in the performing arts field.

“I think it is amazing Will is wanting to pursue dance outside of high school and the Y,” Tincher said. “He has everything it takes; he will do great things.”

While Jewett is open to traveling for this career, one of his goals will continue to stay the same.

“I have always wanted to perform on Broadway,” Jewett said. “That has always been my ultimate goal.”

PHOTO BY MACY FRASCO

STUCO bypasses gifts , donates to needs closet MADDIE BADEN @maddiebaden As senior and Student Council (STUCO) executive president Alli Baden opened up an email from STUCO sponsor Samantha Warren, she was impacted by the story Warren told her.

“In the middle of November Ms. Warren emailed me that she just had the most heartbreaking conversation with one of the student services worker,” Baden said. “[She told me about] how there are students in our school that have to share socks with their brothers and cannot even afford to buy toothbrushes, toothpaste or shampoo.”

From the conversation Baden and Warren had, they proceeded to come up with the idea of STUCO members giving to the school’s needs closet. The needs closet is located in the student services office and is provided for students who cannot afford to purchase basic necessities, toiletries and certain clothing.

“We found that there was a need to fill the needs closet,” Warren said. “They are finding out that they are running

out of items and so when we were looking for something charitable to do during the holiday season this is something that came up.”

The closet is run by Site Coordinator for Communities in Schools Deanna Miller and was created by the Communities in Schools organization.

According to Communities in Schools Today, they are the nation’s largest and most effective organization dedicated to keeping kids in school and helping them succeed in life.

The program served nearly 4,000 students in the Southeast Kansas area last year.

“Since Communities in Schools started three years ago it was one of the needs that I thought I could help the high school with,” Miller said. “Whenever someone starts a new Communities in Schools [organization] in a school it is one of my jobs as a site coordinator to figure out what we have [in the closet] and what maybe we do not have, so then I can bring [items] to the school’s closet.”

Miller suggest that students who are interested in donating should think about contributing backpacks, water bot-

tles and snacks. According to Miller these are the items that go the fastest.

The members of STUCO were asked to bring in items that would benefit the closet during the month of December.

One student that donated and felt like she made a difference was junior Coral VanBecelaere.

“I felt like I could give a helping hand without embarrassing someone or put someone in an uncomfortable position,” VanBecelaere said. “I would want someone to help out if I were in that situation.”

Warren and Baden were impressed overall with all of the donations that the STUCO members arranged and encourage anyone else in the school to donate as well.

“We felt like we could do something about [the needs closet]. We thought this would be something helpful to do that would benefit the school,” Baden said. “This [project] directly affects the school, which I think is awesome because it is heartbreaking [to hear] students at our school need basic [necessities] that we would not even think about.”

Road to Despite season-ending injury, athlete Recovery: stays dedicated, supports team ALLI BADEN @allibaden

During a game his freshman year, then-freshman Drew Roelfs crossovers while dribbling against an opponent. Roelfs was injured playing football during his sophomore season and currently is not able to play basketball. PHOTO BY CHRIS WOOD

For sophomore Drew Roelfs, playing varsity basketball was the goal he was trying to reach when he spent the majority of his summer at the high school.

This work ethic allowed his father and head basketball coach Kiley Roelfs to believe that he was ready for the varsity level.

“He had a good summer,” Kiley said. “There was definitely potential, he could have been [playing varsity this season].”

But now, Drew is awaiting the day he can start running again. “[I remember] pain, craziness and hoping that I was okay,” Drew said.

During a football game on Sept. 11, Drew was blocking when he was hit from the side.

His knee popped and he fell to the ground in pain.

“Your stomach kind of bottoms-out a little bit. Obviously you are concerned about your child out on the field not knowing the extent of the injury.

You are just numb,” Kiley said.

“Once we figured out he was okay in general terms then we felt a little bit better. We eventually made our way to the sideline and got the news it was probably a very serious knee injury so then we got hit with all kinds of emotions. It was kind of a surreal moment.”

Drew’s knee injury ultimately resulted in a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL). With

this injury came surgery, physical therapy, and six to nine months of recovery.

While Drew was disappointed he would not be able to finish out the football season, not being able to play basketball was even more heartbreaking.

“Knowing I won’t be able to play basketball this season has taught me not to take anything for granted,” Drew said. “One second you have it all, the next you have to start all over. I’m not very happy about [my injury], but I am going to try and get back as quick as I can.”

According to junior Elijah Harris, who is one of Drew’s teammate in both football and basketball, the team was planning on Drew being a key varsity player this year.

“When Drew got hurt I wasn’t as worried about football as I was about basketball,” Harris said.

Senior Spencer Turnbull also feels the team will be missing a crucial player.

“I think [not having Drew] is going to hurt us in our three point shooting.” Turnbull said. “But I think it will make us stronger because we will be playing for him and not just for ourselves.”

Even though Drew is still in the rehabilitation process, Kiley believes being in this process during basketball season will prove beneficial to him.

“You look for positives, and if there is a positive in this aspect, it would be he can start to do

some movement, he just won’t have to sit in a chair or stand on the sidelines and watch,” Kiley said. “He will still be able to do some skill work and things on the side that will keep him going instead of just sitting there and watching. He is not going to play which he his very disappointed about but he will still be able to get the skill work in.”

Torn ACLs are not uncommon, however, as many as 250,000 to 300,000 torn ACLs occur in athletes every year according to Texas Sports Medicine.

“You just hate to see [this injury] for an athlete. You know how much time goes in and how much work it takes to prepare themselves for the seasons,” Kiley said. “So anytime you see an athlete go down with an injury that keeps them out of something they really love to do, it is a tough situation.”

Along with practicing with the team to help with his recovery, Drew attends physical therapy three times a week. His therapy has ranged from trying to gain the motion and bending and straightening in his knee back to exercises that build back strength. Kiley believes Drew’s rehabilitation is going well and he has a very positive outlook on it.

“He has accepted the injury and moved on, he has been really motivated about his rehab and trying to get back into full strength,” Kiley said. “He is definitely progressing in the right direction.”

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Art by Alivia Benedict

Down the rabbit Hole Battling stigmas, students share experiences with mental illnesses MEGAN MUNGER @DragonTwirler

living with anxiety, Depression & ADD

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earing the teacher call out her name, junior Victoria Taylor stands, and as she does, she immediately recognizes the all-too-familiar feeling that is building up inside of her.

“I begin to feel like I can’t breathe and my heart pounds so hard that it hurts. I start hyperventilating, crying and shaking,” Taylor said.

“It is really embarrassing so I just try to hide my face and breathe.”

Taylor suffers from chronic anxiety. She spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy due to the sensitivity of the topic.

To aid her in dealing with anxiety, she has been in therapy for the past three years and has been taking medication daily for two years.

Taylor’s anxiety makes giving class presentations, participating in school assemblies and events, being in large crowds or being around loud male voices difficult sometimes.

“It is debilitating. Sometimes I can handle it and sometimes I can’t do it at all,” Taylor said.

“I don’t know why. It makes no sense and it just suddenly happens.”

Due to that confusion, Taylor originally turned to unhealthy ways of coping.

“I think that I’ve always had [anxiety] but it started getting worse once I started going through puberty and middle school into high school. I started getting insecure and that sparked it,” Taylor said. “I started drinking a lot because I didn’t know that I had bad social anxiety then. I would start drinking because it made it easier to just go and talk to people.”

However, coping through an unhealthy outlet caused Taylor ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

“That is when they sent me to a mental hospital and I found out about all of this,” Taylor said. “That is when I got put on medication and stopped drinking.”

While at the hospital, Taylor found out that in addition to chronic anxiety, she also endures depression and attention-deficit disorder (ADD), which is referred to as comorbidity.

According to drugabuse.gov, depression is marked by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness.

“When my grades go down, I freak out but, I have no motivation to do the work and bring them back up, and when my room is a mess, I freak out because it is a mess and I want it clean, but I have no motivation to clean it. It is really contradicting,” Taylor said. “My medicine is for ADD and for social anxiety so, one is too keep me calm and the other one is to bring me up.”

Taylor’s freshman year was her hardest year due to her mental illnesses and according to Mental Health America, depression affects as many as one in every five students.

“I would eat by myself and not with my family because I didn’t want to be social but, I’ve gotten a lot better about that,” Taylor said. “I used to not eat in front of people either because it made me feel awkward and it still does sometimes.”

Taylor rarely eats lunch at school due to the anxiety it will invoke. However, due to that, she deals with misunderstandings from her peers.

“It is frustrating because some people will be rude about it. They will ask ‘are you anorexic?

Are you sick?’ because I don’t eat lunch. Plus, I don’t feel skinny at all so it is upsetting,” said Taylor. “I also think it is harder for people to understand because I don’t really like to talk about it because I don’t want them to know because they’ll just think it is fake, but it really is real and it is hard.”

Providing proof of the difficulty of dealing with anxiety, Taylor quit sports do to it.

“I played volleyball freshman year and I was fine during the practices,” Taylor said. “I hated the games because I couldn’t handle the people watching.”

Along with therapy and medicine, Taylor has found positive ways to help her manage her mental illnesses.

“Drawing is one of my positive coping skills and I hang out with my friends a lot because I don’t like being home,” Taylor said. “Since I’ve been on my medicine, I’ve gotten a lot better though.”

“

a given year.

“She went to a part of a hospital in Kansas City that was reserved for people with mental illnesses, like a psychiatric treatment ward. She was there for a week and then she came home and started doing therapy but, she still couldn’t really take care of us.”

After receiving treatment, the illness improved, but Sanders and her siblings lived at their grandparents house for almost two months before returning home.

“While she was taking her medicine and going to therapy, she had to relearn how to be a mom and how to be an adult,” Sanders said.

“She was a completely different person and she had to learn how to take care of herself, which isn’t something that she had done before.”

However, her mother’s depression is far from fixed, and for Sanders, it is something she remembers from when she was little.

“I remember her being bedridden.

There were times when she would be in bed for weeks at a time and we’d have to go stay at our grandparents or we’d have to make sure she was eating,” Sanders said. “I didn’t really know why until I was in seventh grade and my grandma told me. It just kind of clicked then.”

The two most difficult years of Sanders’ life are her seventh grade year and her junior year because both were difficult years with her mother’s mental health.

Sanders herself faced her own battle with depression from her seventh grade year up until her freshman year, and from there she managed to pull herself out of it with the help of medication.

“I think that I can understand my mom better now because I’ve dealt with some of the same issues so I can see where she is coming from, but I will never be able to understand why she acts the way she does,” Sanders said. “I wish she could be all of these things that she’s not, but I’ve gotten used to it. I know that she is trying her hardest and she is giving everything she has to offer. I am so proud of her.”

Although she feel that she no longer carries her own burden, Sanders continues to carry the responsibilities her mother cannot.

“I think that I’ve had to grow up more than

My fr friends can misunderstand because they don’t really it bec know exactly. While they know she can’t work because of her illnesses and that I don’t have many rules, they only see that side of things

”

-SYLVIA SANDERS

living with a parent who has an illness While with her mom and sister one evening, senior Sylvia Sanders, who has asked to remain unidentified to protect her family’s privacy, listened as her mother informed her of a decision, that at the time, seemed life-changing.

“I was really upset when she told us what she was going to have to do,” Sanders said. “She told me that we’d be staying at our grandparents house and she wasn’t sure for how long.”

Sanders’ mom suffers from depression and adult attention-deficit disorder along with having obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately one in every five adults in the U.S. experience mental illness in

other people my age and I feel like I had to take on responsibilities that I really shouldn’t have,” Sanders said. “I’ve had to be the keeper of important things and I’ve taken on that motherly role of making sure everything gets done.”

In dealing with her mother’s illnesses constantly, Sanders believes it separates her from her friends.

“My friends can misunderstand it because they don’t really know exactly. While they know she can’t work because of her illnesses and that I don’t have many rules, they only see that side of things,” Sanders said. “They don’t understand when I say ‘I wish my mom would text me and ask when I’m going to be home’ or ‘I wish I had a curfew’ so I just don’t really talk about it. Sometimes I wish I could tell them but, at the same time, I don’t really want them to know.”

Along with her friends being unknowledgeable about the situation as a whole, they also do not realize the pain that Sanders carries from it.

“I know that the illnesses aren’t her fault and that nothing she ever did caused her to have this but, I continually tell myself that I don’t want to be like my mom. I don’t want to be a mom like she is. I think that is has caused me a lot of insecurities about myself,” Sanders said.

“I also question it in myself. I wonder ‘did I put her in this mood? Did I make her start yelling at everybody? Did I do something to cause this?’ and I think that sometimes it is my fault but, I have to constantly remind myself that it isn’t.”

Sanders believes that her mother, due to having to deal with her illnesses, would have been better off if she was not a mother.

“I think that she would’ve benefited more if she would’ve never had children because she wouldn’t have to think about anyone besides for herself,” Sanders said. “A lot of times, I’ve been more open about it with my grandma and I’ve told her multiple times that I don’t think that my mom should have ever been a mom.”

With that, Sanders’ grandma is more of a parental figure to her than her mother will ever be.

By dealing with her mother’s illnesses throughout her life, it has made Sanders stronger.

“I think that it has made me be a better person for my family in the future, I’ll be more reliable and more organized,” Sanders said. “I think that it has been a struggle at times, but I’m more responsible because of it. It has made me all of these things that she couldn’t be because I’ve learned from her.”

Sanders admits that the situation has greatly improved since her mother’s hospitalization.

“Since last year when she went to the hospital, she hasn’t had a really bad episode,” Sanders said. “I have to give her a lot of credit because even though she does suffer, she has gotten a lot better.”

Overcoming anxiety: brown shares experiences KATY BROWN @katylady22

E

very day at 9 p.m. an alert pops up on my phone reminding me to take my medicine. I get up from my spot on the couch and head over to the corner of the kitchen where the orange prescription medicine bottle sits. Taking one small orange pill from the bottle, drink water and swallow the pill.

After years of constantly having heart palpitations, hands tightening around the other and shaky legs I have finally found a small amount of peace in my daily life. This peace comes in a pill shape and has changed my life.

There is a stigma surrounding people with anxiety and depression, as

well as stigmas surrounding many other types of mental illnesses. I can ensure the fact that mental illnesses are all in our heads, because they are obviously not going to be in our legs.

The process of getting help with anxiety and depression was three years long. I first noticed that it wasn’t normal to constantly be nervous and numb when I was in seventh grade. I first asked for help when I was in eighth grade. My issues were dismissed as PMS and out of spite I stopped asking for help for a while, even though it wasn’t hurting anybody but me. In the meantime I learned to just deal with my anxiety and depression in the only way I knew how: blocking everything out when I was having an especially hard

time. This included zoning out in class, hiding out in my room and not being able to focus on one thing for very long.

I went to the doctor in January of my freshman year in order to get help. I was told I would have to go through an exam to make sure I was actually depressed. I refused to prove my mental illness to anyone when I already knew it was real. I decided just to wait it out.

A year and a half later, when my anxiety was at the worst I sought help.

I started therapy and later went back to the same doctor and was finally prescribed the medicine that could’ve helped prevent the unhealthy habits of blocking everything out that continued in the year I didn’t receive

help.

My anxiety isn’t entirely gone, and it never will be. The medicine helps only a small amount, but it feels tremendous. I still feel a smaller form of the anxiety I used to feel when I walk through crowded halls, fastening and unfastening the clip on my backpack strap as a coping mechanism.

I catch myself having anxious habits all the time. When I text someone I can over think the smallest things, obsessing about whether to use an exclamation point or a period. Habits like these seem odd to other people, but to me they make sense. Why not spend an hour on the email to the teacher about whether or not it would be okay to turn my homework in the next day; especially if I want to come

across the right way.

A lot of parents don’t want to admit there might be something wrong with their child, and they choose to avoid the problem hoping it will go away. Sometimes when someone needs help, they need to be persistent in order make people realize that they really do need help.

To the parents reading this: if your child has been trying to talk to you about feeling anxious or depressed, ask them what they need, and then do that. Don’t assume it’s just teenage hormones, be sympathetic and listen.

At 9 p.m. again the alert goes off on my phone and I get up and take my medicine, knowing that I’m getting better, one day at a time.

8 SPORTS

www.boosterredux.com SECTION D

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015

Getting TO THE NEXT LEVEL Many athletes desire to play at the next level. However, not all get the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level.

Alumni provide advice to athletes who aspire to continue their athletic career.

ADVICE FROM Alums Mercedes Vogel PHS Class of 2014 Crowder College - Softball “I sent out emails to the schools I was interested in, inviting them to come to my tournaments to watch me play, sending videos, and things of that sort.”

Skyler Muff PHS Class of 2012 UMKC - Volleyball “Club volleyball helped me pursue my collegiate career in multiple ways. Along with all of the specific volleyball skills that it helped me with, it was also a way for me to test how much I really loved the sport.”

Alex Barnes PHS Class of 2015 Kansas State - Football “To prepare myself to be a college athlete I had to keep my grades up in to maintain academic eligibility, and do the different workouts that they suggested for me to do, so that I would be arriving in the best physical condition as possible.”

Photo illustration of junior Taylor Muff and senior Sherrick Rogers by Derek Brumbaugh and Abby Harris

MEET THE ATHLETES: WINTER SPORTS

JOURNEY JARAMILLO @JourneyButcherr When it comes to basketball, dedication and motivation are key components for sophomore Marque English.

He feels these two things are important; whether it is practicing in the offseason or with a team.

English has played basketball since he was three.

For years, he has loved the sport, and his drive for it keeps him dedicated.

“I stay motivated by my family and people who aren’t so blessed to play basketball because I think about what if I didn’t have basketball?” English said. “So, I play for them and God.” As a freshman, English played varsity. Coming back this year, he wants to be even better and try harder because he feels that hard work will impact him the most.

Head basketball coach Kiley Roelfs feels that every player who works hard and does the best they can has great potential.

“I think that anytime someone works on their skills in a productive way in the off-season, they have a chance to be more successful during the season,” Roelfs said. “It can improve their ability and tends to help their confidence level as well.”

According to English, practicing gets tough sometimes, but when it does, he remembers how hard work pays off and how he feels in a game.

“Once the game starts going, I feel like nothing can stop me. I just get this urge in my heart and in my stomach,” English said. “It’s like everything just disappears, everything that is wrong in my life, and I can just be me. It makes all the practicing worth it, for that feeling.”

KALI POENITSKE NITSKE @Kali_Poenitske li_Poenitske As his alarm rings early in the morning, junior Wes Jameson rolls out of bed to start his daily routine.

“I wake up at 5:30, go on a 2.5-3 mile run at the YMCA,” Jameson said. “Then I go to school, and I have wrestling practice after school. Then I go home, grab a snack, run at the YMCA again, go home and eat dinner and go to bed.”

This year there are many new advantages for Jameson.

“I am bigger, stronger, faster, more conditioned and older,” Jameson said. “Being an upperclassman does give an edge on your opponents but you have to be able to take advantage of that edge and keep headstrong to train as hard as you can and beat your opponents.”

Now that wrestling season has begun, Jameson realizes how hard he has to work to get closer to the state title in the 132 pounds weight class.

“I just have to keep pushing myself. I have to keep practicing and going as hard as I can in the wrestling room and wherever else I am working out,” Jameson said. “The hardest part is getting past the mental block of being lazy and going for my runs or waking up early every day.”

Despite the mental block, Jameson finds an inner drive and motivation to keep going.

“My biggest opponent is myself. It always has been,” Jameson said. “I want to be the best there ever was and ever will be.”

ASHLEY HENDERSON SON @PHSstudentPub entPub Living up to expectations, junior Logan Lord has followed the footsteps of her father in basketball.

Lord’s dad coaches women’s basketball at Pittsburg State University.

Growing up under the influence of basketball, Lord believes her dad has given her insight on the game. Lord traveled and spent time watching basketball games with her dad.

“Growing up around the game has helped me to see things that some players might not see,” Lord said.

Lord began playing basketball when she was in third grade.

Having a dad who is a coach has given Lord opportunities to learn the game better.

“We watch film together and he picks out things I need to work on and explains them to me,” Lord said. “He is always there for any questions I have.”

Being a junior, Lord has also transitioned into being an upperclassman in basketball. This brought leadership skills on her. “[Being an upperclassman] you feel like you need to help everyone out,” Lord said. “Being the point guard I want my teammates to know they can come to me with any questions about anything and I will help them.”

After games, Lord’s dad supports her and gives her tips for future improvements.

“My dad is always positive and picks me up no matter what kind of game I have,” Lord said. “He is always there and ready to talk.”