January 2018

Page 1

Pinning the competition Seniors suit up for their last season Sports

Recruiting new leaders Principal organizes student leadership committee

News Mobilizing #MeToo

Ensuring safety District adopts ALICE program to combat intruders

Ibarra speaks out about sexual harassment Opinion

News

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Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 Vol. 100 Issue 4

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Taking action Words by |

As the semester begins, administration is taking steps to encourage positive attendance habits using money, donuts and a new policy. Last semester, students would reportedly show up more than 10 minutes late to a class in order to avoid a tardy due to an imbalance in consequences. According to last semester’s policy, three tardies meant a detention and five a Friday night school, while an absence went without consequence. Principal Phil Bressler decided something had to change. The school has adopted a revamped policy which covers absences and tardies and

has consequences for both. Parent-verified absences are a new addition to the policy meant to represent reasons for students’ absences. Conversely, for every unverified absence, students will receive a 30-minute detention for every class period the student misses. “If you’re unexcused, there must be a consequence for not showing up to school. It has to be as harsh or harsher than the consequences for a tardy,� Bressler said. “What we’re after is limiting the times that students just skip school. If you can’t be at school because of a doctor’s appointment or a dentist appointment or whatever it is, you’ve

got verification and it’s not a problem.� In order to give students a reason for adhering to the new rules, Bressler has brought back finals exemptions. However, in order to qualify for an exemption, you must have no tardies in that class and no more than three absences along with a grade above 80 percent. Junior Morgan Noe worries that the finals exemptions policy can be skewed. “Some kids get sick more than others,� Noe said. “It can be unfair to those kids if they miss a week with the flu or pneumonia.� Every Friday, Bressler might be seen walking down the halls in the morning looking for a class to reward with a box of donuts. This

Eating away at the debt

is another facet to the administration’s plan to inspire responsible behavior. But if one student is tardy or absent first hour, no one gets donuts. Bressler also introduced the Punctuality Ball in hopes of detering skipping class and in-school tardies. The Punctuality Ball, sponsored by University Bank, is a drawing every Friday that rewards a randomly chosen student from each grade with $25 or more, depending on whether or not the previous week had a winner. “The way it works is that we draw a name for each grade looking for full attendance,� Bressler said. “If the student has zero tardies or absences, they win $25.�

Board of Education searches for new superintendent

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enior Alexis Pichler is an office aide. One of her tasks is delivering notes from the office to students. As she walks in and hands over one specific note in the middle of third hour, she can see the expression change on the students’ faces as they read the piece of paper. The note from USD 250 states “Your lunch account balance is in the negative more than $25. Until this is addressed, come to the PHS front office for a sack lunch, then the cafeteria for a drink.� At the end of the 2016-17 school year, 75 percent of school districts in the countr y were in debt with their lunch accounts, according to the School Nutrition Association. To alleviate this, the United States Depar tment of Agriculture (USDA) required all districts par ticipating in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast program to have a writ ten policy by July 1, 2017 to reduce the debt. Taking this new law into consideration, food ser vice director Summer War ren was driven by the USDA’s statement to develop a solution to cut the roughly $50,000 of debt. The debt builds up from students who have outstanding balances who still proceed to purchase a meal, according to assistant superintendent Ronda Fincher. “This new law from the USDA was on our radar,� War ren said. “We star ted tr ying to make our plan on how to approach it. We came up with alter nate lunches as a way to cut our expense.� An alter nate lunch, which is ser ved at all six schools in the district, began on Nov. 1 and consists of a sack lunch for students who owe $25 or more in lunch money. Kindergar tens through high school receive the same sack lunch, which is comprised of a Smuckers peanut but ter and jelly sandwich, a piece of fr uit and milk. If the student has a peanut allerg y, the food ser vice workers will replace the peanut but ter and jelly with a cheese sandwich. “We did this to help out with the parents,� War ren said. “If you are a full-pay student at the high school, you are paying $2.80 [for a lunch]. With the sack lunch you are charged $1.50, and it is costing us about $1.25 to make, so the debt is not racking up quite as quickly.� According to War ren, the debt has declined from $50,000 to $15,000 since the star t of the alter nate lunches. Any remaining balances in the account by the end of year will have to be paid off from a separate district fund. Though there is proof from the decrease in debt the alter nate lunches are working, students and staff are concer ned about the plan of action to decrease the debt.

At the high school, students are notified dur ing third hour ever y day if they owe $25 or more and need to pick up a sack lunch. Pichler delivered the balance notices ever y day star ting Nov. 1 and according to her, she encountered awk ward situations with students and teachers. “I felt bad [deliver ing the notes]. Sometimes, I could see the embar rassment of the student just by my presence because it became a routine for me to come in [the class] and deliver the same message ever y day.� Pichler said. “Peers would make the student receiving the note feel belit tled and teachers would become annoyed by the constant reminder and sometimes express that.� Senior Raul Andres Munguia has been receiving a balance notice since the star t of the policy and feels being handed a note or get ting a sack lunch is an

embar rassing situation for students his age. “I don’t get shamed, but other people in the school are really embar rassed or get red in the face ever y time they stop class just to give them the same sheet of paper ever y single day of the week,� Munguia said. “This is a really small way of shaming, but it is still shaming. The best way to have people pay their debt is by not embar rassing them.� The thought of the sack lunch shaming a child was not a concer n of Fincher, according to her, she felt this was the best way to not single out a student. “This was really unanimous as a group decision. This is the best way we could [lower debt] without publicly shaming any child,� War ren said. “We are all here for kids. We don’t come here and tr y to make anybody’s life more difficult. We just tr y to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to do, and making sure kids are still get ting what they need.� Science teacher Stuar t Perez, whose student received a note ever y day last semester, realizes debt has increased, but is wor r ied about the mental impact the policy has on kids. “My concer n with the let ters is the method and tone of deliver y. These are delivered in the middle of class. I choose to wait until the end of class to give the student the note to protect them from any embar rassment that may come from being identified as not being able to eat a normal lunch, due to an outstanding lunch balance,� Perez said. “I believe we are falling shor t of our mantra, ‘Are we doing what’s best for students?’ when we hand them a let ter that puts them in this position.� The distr ict star ted sending out let ters to

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Words by | USD 250 school board members unanimously approved Iowa-based executive hiring firm Ray and Associates to spearhead their search for a new superintendent and assistant superintendent. The newly-hired individuals will replace nineyear superintendent Destry Brown and four-year assistant superintendent Ronda Fincher. Brown and Fincher will not be involved in the hiring process. “This is my first opportunity to go through a superintendent search, so it’s a whole new ball game,â€? school board president Marlene Willis said. “It’s an opportunity to build on the successes that we have had as a district and look to the future, and make sure that we align ourselves so that not only the district, but the students, the staff and the community continue to thrive.â€? Willis said Ray and Associates’ fee of $17,000 for the superintendent search and $3,000 fee for the assistant superintendent search will be allocated from the school budget. The members decided to reject other possible search firms — Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates and the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) — due to additional travel expenses and desired guidance. “If this board had more experience ‌ and had been through a superintendent search before, [then it] may be more appropriate to look at KASB because I know that they don’t provide as much support, whereas a professional firm like [Ray and Associates] is going to hold our hands a little bit more, which is what we need,â€? board member BJ Harris said. Brenda Dietrich, a current representative in the Kansas House of Representatives, and Ralph Teran, Guadalupe Centers Schools interim superintendent, will be two of the main consultants in the district’s hiring process. Ray and Associates has 170 consultants nationwide and has operated for 40 years, according to their presentation on Dec. 11. “We like to do superintendent searches because it’s service to the profession,â€? Dietrich said. “We’re giving back to our communities, working with boards [and] helping our students find the best possible instructional leaders for our school districts.â€? The hiring process is broken into separate stages. Ray and Associates met with stakeholders on Jan. 8 and 9, and plans on meeting with board members individually. The district released a survey to the community on its website, usd250.org, for public input. Ray and Associates will use the input and meetings to develop a desired profile for the new superintendent. The consultants will then recruit qualified candidates. After conducting in-depth background checks, video interviews and candidate presentations, they will formulate a candidate pool in the form of a matrix. The board members will then take over, interviewing their top-choice candidates and conducting finalist interviews. “We will be part of the final interviews and the final decision-making,â€? Willis said. “Whereas [the search firm is] doing a lot of the busywork of finding the individuals and vetting them, we get to have the final heavy lift as far as making sure that this is the right person for the job.â€? Willis said the school board hopes to hire a superintendent by the end of March and then move to hire an assistant superintendent to begin the 2018-19 school year.

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A L I C E

Ensuring safety

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n December of 2017 alone, PHS received two shooting threats from two different students. Administrators increased law enforcement presence after the threats, but fears of a potential school shooting still lingered in the hallways. “At times, I felt safe when I saw the amount of police officers, but at the same time I felt that since there was such credibility that they should have taken out school for the day,� junior Julian Archuleta said. “Usually I would just say we will be safe, but this one felt a little more concerning.� Had the students followed through with their threats and opened fire during the school day, staff members would have enforced ALICE — an active shooter response program Chris Garzone, district safety coordinator and assistant principal, implemented six years ago across all USD 250 schools with help from the Crawford County Sheriff’s office (CCSO) and Pittsburg Police Department (PPD). Law enforcement professional Greg Crane founded the national program after the Columbine Shooting, one of the deadliest school shootings in histor y. “When I first got into education, I never thought that we would do [ALICE]

because the threat didn’t seem like it was that high,� Garzone said. “But just to what’s been happening in our world, it’s important to know what to do if we ever had an intruder. The consistency of the program has allowed for ever yone to be knowledgeable for what to do if it ever happened.� Prior to ALICE, Columbine High School’s librarian instructed her students to hide under the tables when two student shooters entered the librar y, which Garzone said turned the students into “soft targets.� ALICE replaces the hiding approach with five active tactics — alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. The PHS district crisis team schedules drills to practice these tactics, notifying families via email or phone. “Once [a shooter] starts seeing that we, as citizens, are going to stop [them], [they’re] not going to come in and take over our building, then I hope that will slow or stop the mass killings,� Crawford County under sheriff Steve Geier said. During the drills, Garzone travels around the school in a green vest, acting as the intruder and imitating the sound of gunfire with an airhorn. Secretar y Susan Russian announces the intruder’s location over the intercom. Teachers

can either barricade in the classroom or relocate to Countr yside Christian Church (CCC) or another location, based on the situation. “The purpose is that you have an option,� English teacher Linda Barberich said. “You have to think about what is the best course of action for you in your location.� In a real event, students would counter by throwing objects such as staplers and notebooks at the intruder. Uniformed officials would later instruct teachers to unlock their doors. The fire department and EMS would take the injured out of the building. Uniformed officials at CCC would inform teachers of when they could return to PHS. At the beginning of each school year, the district’s certified ALICE instructors from the PPD and CCSO host training sessions for new staff members with hands-on and classroom instruction. Garzone said he is considering incorporating ALICE drills into passing periods and requiring staff members to download CrisisGo, an emergency communication app with the district crisis book. “[ALICE is] really evolving daily,� Geier said. “My feelings are ever yone should be trained in some type of preparation for a mass killing event.�

Eating away at the debt: Continued from page 1 sack lunches prepared was increasing their debt. dropped. This has become a As of Jan. 8, 40 kids problem at the high school, were on the list, and only according to Nutrition three sack lunches are Ser vices Manager Ter r i Feagan, but the question as made due to many students not picking them up. Also, to what to do with it is still since Jan. 3, 2018, only one up in the air. sack lunch has been taken At the star t of the sack out of the three made daily. lunch program on Nov. 1, “If [a student] comes 82 students were on the list through the line and we to receive sacks, but out of know they are on the the 82 lunches made only 11 were actually picked up. The rest ( + , of the lunches are taken back down . ) to the - cafeteria / ) and reused . since the ) - - . peanut 0 *1 but ter and 2 jellies are

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prepackaged, according to Feagan. With this continuing to happen, the amount of

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overdue list, we pret t y much just let them go because they already have their tray,� Feagan

said. “We do not want to embar rass them and pull their tray and say ‘oh no you were supposed to go down and get a sack lunch.’ We just do not really say any thing.� According to both Fincher and War ren they believe many families who owe would qualif y for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. If a household falls under the reduced cr iter ia, the debt owed would be reduced, and if they fall under the free cr iter ia, the debt would be eliminated. “We tr y to be careful about free and reduced lunch. With the The Family Educational R ights and Pr ivacy Act law (FERPA), [which is a law that protects students’ education records,] we cannot walk the halls and star t approaching the people we know who would probably qualif y because we do not want to single them out,� Fincher said. “We tr y to keep that for confidentialit y reasons so it is kind of hard sometimes to find them all, but we have tr ied pret t y hard.�

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With Debate National Qualifiers

Leyton Marler

“ “ � � My teammates worked very hard and helped propel me to Nationals. They are all hard workers and great speakers, so I have faith that they will qualify in a forensics event and join Leyton and I in Ft. Lauderdale.

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The district star ted sending out let ters to homes after they approved the policy in August. Six weeks of let ters went out star ting the second week of September, in order to get the word out to parents about the negative account balances. “Negative balance phone calls were going out t wice a week,� War ren said. “For parents whose child was more than $10 under in their lunch account, they could count on one let ter a week and t wo phone calls a week. So lots of notice.� At the beginning of the year, 171 families owed money. Those who responded to the notices either paid the balance or got on a payment plan until the balance was paid off. “Once they get on a payment plan with us, they go back to regular lunch,� Fincher said. “We don’t want kids to be on alter native any longer than necessar y.� Some students whose families have not contacted the district are still supposed to get a sack lunch, but many continue to go through the lunch line,

It had been a goal all season and to get to that goal, it was amazing. It wouldn’t have been able to happen if we hadn’t been pushed by the other teams there, though.

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The cast of ‘Urinetown’ is going to Internationals!

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Recruiting new leaders Words by |

This year, students will have access to new leadership tools, including the student leadership team. The student leadership team is a congregation of specially selected students who will meet and provide insight on potential future policies. Those involved with the team were chosen by their teachers to help gather a more diverse group of students. “We asked for staff input on [which] kids would be beneficial, so every group of kid in this school is represented,� Bressler said. “If you’d walk through our cafeteria and randomly grab kids, that’s what we want it to look like.� Sophomore Griffin Cooper says the committee has focused on ideas for improving the school environment. “We discuss ways in which we can better the school and the community in [the school],� Cooper said. Freshman Dalton Sutton was one of nearly 150 students who were originally selected and feels he was chosen because of his behavior in the classroom. “I [was selected] because I am always helping and following directions,� Sutton said. Bressler says that the input gained from the student leadership team will be valuable to the administration. “We do want input because we want kids with a vested interest in this school, who want to see improvement because it’s [their] school,� Bressler said. “It’s about giving a voice to our kids to say, ‘Hey, this is what we want in our school.’� Cooper hopes the experience will help him improve the school environment. “I’d love to better the school and to take away better training to lead and better the education community around me,� Cooper said. One thing that Sutton has taken away from the student leadership team is that being a leader is something he enjoys. “I’ve learned that it is a good feeling to be a leader and to help others,� Sutton said. Bressler wants to see the student leadership team to be lead by the students themselves. “I want to push for them being student-led,� Bressler said. “Student leading is one of the hardest things to get going in a culture, but once it happens, it’s going to be a great thing.� While the leadership team has only met three times, including two meetings with guest speakers, Bressler hopes that the group will start to provide feedback on various issues. “Eventually, we’re going to work on norms for our school,� Bressler said. “What is it we want people to do in our school in terms of interaction, in terms of how we work, in terms of how we deal with failure, disappointment and frustration.�

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Net neutrality no longer a reality

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works in Portugal, where there is no net neutrality. Another way is for the internet to become like a highway, with fast and slow lanes — your ISP will get to choose which lane you are in. There is also potential for the internet as we know it today to remain the same. Despite what you have likely seen as a reaction to the repeal of net neutrality, change is not inevitable; there is just a higher chance for it. Though the repeal of net neutrality does not immediately send the U.S. into certain doom, net neutrality is something we need to preserve, as it is the basis for maintaining internet equality. But how will this impact PHS?

I am just one out of nearly 900 students at PHS who use the internet regularly. Our newly-implemented telecommunication and HVAC systems are online now, as well as grades on Powerschool and most of the research we do to construct essays or presentations. If ISPs decide to go with a package plan, since there is no longer net neutrality, this could seriously hurt PHS. It is no secret public schools in Kansas do not receive much funding, so we would not exactly be overflowing with cash to pay more for internet services. I cannot fathom what a day at PHS without internet would be like. As a teenager who is trying to be informed on what is happening

The #MeToo movement has given a platform for many victims to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Hollywood sparked this movement which quickly spread to other places including our government. Though there have been numerous cases of sexual misconduct prior to this movement, #MeToo has revolutionized our society that was once apathetic to their struggles. Hollywood has taken action against sexual misconduct in the workplace by firing and recasting actors. Our government has taken action by condemning predators and keeping them out of office. #MeToo has spread awareness of consent and what to do if someone has been a victim of sexual violence. This has unveiled a widespread issue, but it has also brought positive change that our society desperately needed. Many celebrities stood in solidarity with victims of sexual

harassment by wearing black at the Golden Globes this past Sunday. Several Hollywood women, including Meryl Streep and Emma Stone, also brought activists to the event as their guests. In her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award, actress Oprah Winfrey spoke about the issue of sexual predators. “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up,� Winfrey said. “Their time is up.� Winfrey’s comments on sexual assault reveal why victims of sexual assault wait so long to come forward. Winfrey is also advocating for a society where women are not afraid to speak up because predators are going to be held accountable. Change happens through raising awareness of an issue and by taking actions to fix that issue, and Time’s Up does just that. Celebrities should not end their activism with wearing black at an

Net neutrality is the key to finding a middle ground of news sources, so we must preserve it. A majority of Americans see the importance of net neutrality, too. According to a poll conducted last month by The Hill, 83% of voters in the United States oppose its repeal. When the vast majority of constituents disagree with something, their representatives need to listen. I urge you all to call your representatives in Congress to voice your opinion on net neutrality. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I will start my routine again. Hopefully, my Snapchats will still go out and I will see all of your tweets and posts‌ Hopefully.

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in the world, it is vital that I have access to more than one news source, seeing as news bias is prevalent today. Net neutrality could change that entirely. ISPs could have the power to block certain services from certain users without net neutrality. If my ISP doesn’t want me to see one news source, my options could be limited and I will be exposed to nothing but bias. It is simply unhealthy for the American people to be limited when it comes to news sources. We cannot trust major news networks to police themselves, so the only way to avoid bias is to gather information from multiple sources, which cannot be guaranteed without net neutrality.

award show, but instead should join organizations to make a difference in our society. Time’s Up is a prime example of advocating for equality in the workplace. In a written statement, Time’s Up speaks about its mission. “The clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the workplace,� the organization’s website said. “It’s time to do something about it.� As humans, we have a responsibility to denounce predatory behavior. We also have a responsibility to address an issue that has cultivated in the shadows.

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Time is up for the predators. We must change our society so it is safer for future women and men. Many influential celebrities agree there should be no tolerance for predatory behavior and have joined together to create Time’s Up. This organization is not exclusively for the people in Hollywood, as explained in its mission statement. “Time’s Up is a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere. From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, we envision na-

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very morning when I wake up, I send my Snapchat streaks and check Facebook, Twitter and my email. Between writing for the Booster and doing research for debate, I spend most of my time on the internet. According to Monica Anderson and Andrew Perrin of the Pew Research Center, as of 2016, 87% of Americans use the internet. Net neutrality affects them all. Net neutrality, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the “idea, principle, or requirement that internet service providers (ISPs) should or must treat all internet data as the same regardless of its kind, source, or destination.� Essentially, net neutrality guarantees a free and open internet. Net neutrality was put into place during the Obama administration in 2015. On Dec. 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality. With the repeal, ISPs have less oversight from the FCC, which allows them to adjust prices or quality of content. Loss of net neutrality means a potential for less accessible internet for those who cannot afford it. ISPs have options with how to deal with the repeal of net neutrality. One way everything could play out is the internet becoming like cable TV, where you have to pay for bundles of the services you use. This is how the internet

tionwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live.� Addressing sexual misconduct in places of low-wage service jobs is also important because the abuse is oftentimes ubiquitous. A study by the Center for American Progress found that more than 25 percent of sexual harassment charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the last decade came from low-wage service jobs. Both the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up are important to ensure that future generations do not have to endure discrimination and abuse in the workplace. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while watch these movements unfold. Wearing black to the Golden Globes is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done.

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The new school semester brought many changes to policies at PHS. Most recently, administration implemented a revised attendance policy, along with a Punctuality Ball and donuts every Friday, to promote increased presence and reinforce timeliness. However, the Booster staff doesn’t see the need to incentivize education. It’s commendable that administration is actively working to improve the environment

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at PHS. We understand their motive, but we don’t think they considered the long-term repercussions of such an undertaking. Providing students with donuts and cash prizes are unsustainable and unhealthy practices. If we set the precedent that simply being at school deserves a reward, we lower the expectations for students to be actively engaged in the classroom. Administrators and students alike need to consider the longevity of these programs.

Students also need to foster a culture of coming to school to learn on their own. Trust us, we understand it can be difficult to get out of bed in the morning, and sometimes it’s nice to be rewarded for doing the right thing. But in this case, getting to class on time to receive an education should be motivation enough. Money for these programs could be put to better use, such as paying outstanding balances in lunch accounts. With lunch debt

increasing for some students, we as a staff are curious as to why the funds for these incentives are not reallocated to provide a larger student population with a quality lunch. As the new year gets underway, we urge administration to shift their focus to students and their lunch debts. Kids in need should come first.

Booster Redux Staff & Policy

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Shame is trending Words by |

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eleased on Sept. 23, 2016, “Audrie and Daisy� is a film about two teens who were sexually assaulted by who they thought were their friends. Humiliated online and harassed by their communities, both of the girls in the film had no previous relation, but their stories were very similar to one another. These young women were only 14 years old when they were both sexually assaulted. Both of these girls never imagined these things to happen to them, and it changed

their lives forever. In my opinion, “Audrie and Daisy� was a very heartbreaking and eye-opening film. Audrie was just beginning high school. Drunk and passed out at a party, she had four boys put inappropriate words all over her body, color half of her face black with a marker and stripped her down. They also took footage of uninvited penetration. Ten days later, she was so fed up with all of the harassment on and offline that she took her own life. Daisy’s story went a little like this. She was a freshman in high school and the upperclassmen boys invited her to hang out. They

were all under the influence of alcohol and she snuck out with her friend, Paige. They blacked out and were sexually assaulted. The next morning, her mom found her frozen to the ground in the front yard, brought her inside to a warm bath and noticed redness and bruising around her genital area. Her mom then pursued with going to the hospital for frostbite before she realized it was much larger than frostbite. The boys who assaulted these girls were between the ages of 14 and 17. Still in high school, these boys were harassed at school, got called “rapists� and had their materials vandalized.

When watching this film, I realized sexual harassment is much bigger than we all portray it to be. No one will ever understand how it feels until it happens to you and, in this documentary, it shows you that. It’s a very emotional story and you can just feel the hurt for everyone involved with this. This film needs to be more spread out and given to a larger group. Just thinking about how not even one of these boys who sexually assaulted these girls had charges pressed on them makes me sick to my stomach. No one ever deserves to have this happen to them. That’s why I think that if this got spread, it would be more

eye-opening to the public. Every 98 seconds, a U.S. citizen is assaulted and, every eight minutes, that victim is a child and only six out of 1,000 predators actually go to jail. “Audrie and Daisy� is a much larger film than sexual assault. It shows you how to overcome it. It shows the difficulties of moving on from an experience like this. This is the most emotional documentary that I have ever watched and I advise you to watch it as well. It will not let you down, I promise. I would highly recommend this film. It brings it to life and makes you feel and open your eyes to this thing that does happen a lot.

! " ‘What Makes You Country?’ # $ $ % # Words by | Luke Bryan’s seventh studio album, “What Makes You Country,� was released on Dec. 8. Bryan started off writing love songs but, as time went on, he expanded his writing to different styles of songs. Since his first album came out, he has made 23 hit singles, which are all his most popular songs. Bryan composed six studio albums that were quality country and, in his more recent albums, he has expanded to a country rap mix. My top three songs are “She’s a

Hot One,� “Drinking Again� and “Light It Up.� These songs caught my interest because they have the taste that I look for when I listen to music. I was somewhat impressed with “What Makes You Country.� The majority of the music I listened to in this album was decent. However, there was one song I was not quite satisfied with. Out of the 15 songs in the album, I only lost interest in “Bad Lovers.� It didn’t flow with the album very well; the music in it didn’t flow with the vocals.

But the other 14 songs were really good. I enjoyed the way Bryan has incorporated different music in with country. He has worked so hard on trying to do this. He has made a lot of good hits and I think that the new album he came out with, there will be so many more because of the music he puts out. They’re good quality and solid songs. They express a lot of feelings about his life more than anything that he puts out there to his viewers. Not only has he been recording songs for about 16 years, but throughout this time he has evolved rapidly.

‘Call of Duty: WWll’ provides new, engaging multiplayer content Words by | & !

If there was one thing that “Call of Duty� needed, it was a return to its roots. “Call of Duty: WWII� sends the blockbuster franchise back to the past with its first World War Two-based game since 2008 at a time when many fans had become weary of futuristic games. The response to a World War Two game was excitement and relief that the calls of fans were finally answered after five years in a row of future games with each seemingly going further and further away from our current reality. Even with the return to its roots, “Call of Duty� encounters some of the same issues that it always has, even with its many interesting and needed improvements. The most glaring issue to me is the inclusion of microtransactions. While this issue is by no means unique to the “Call of Duty� franchise, it is still an issue that I wish would be addressed. At the time of writing this review (around midnight on Dec. 17 after three weeks of procrastination), there are not any gameplay-altering items available in “supply drops.� This has been the case at the start of the last two “Call of Duty� games, which later added gameplay-altering items, such as new weapons, that can only be obtained through supply drops. The issue with this system is that it rewards players that have more money available to spend on more and more supply

drops. Despite this system having a huge negative impact on gaming communities, publishers are less than likely to get rid of these microtransactions anytime soon. Activision, “Call of Duty’s� publisher, reported making around $3.6 billion from microtransactions in 2016 alone. Activision is more than aware of the flaws that supply drops that can be purchased with real money bring, but the dollar signs keep adding up and they are more than likely to be here permanently in the gaming industry. That rant aside, there is plenty to enjoy within “Call of Duty: WWII.� This iteration of “Call of Duty� includes what has become the three staple game modes in the franchise; Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies. This year’s campaign made an interesting decision to focus only on the European theatre and completely exclude the Pacific conflict. As has become almost a standard with World War Two video games, the campaign begins with the D-Day invasion. While it certainly was a tense experience with excellent sound design and graphics, it does not do anything particularly exciting or different other than a section where you drag an injured comrade to safety while fending off waves of Nazi soldiers in typical “Call of Duty� style. I found the campaign to be engaging up until the final three missions. While they are not bad missions, they just were not what I had been hoping for whatsoever. Up until the final three

missions, the supporting characters develop about as well as you would expect and the story even offers some unexpected moments. The campaign offers a decent story but ultimately left more to be desired. The multiplayer ends up being very similar to what you would expect in any “Call of Duty� game. However, the key addition of the “Headquarters� adds a new layer of depth to this iteration of “Call of Duty.� The “Headquarters� is almost identical in concept to a popular feature from the “Destiny� series, “The Tower.� “Headquarters� is a free roam area where you can have over 50 players in a single lobby. You can accept orders to be completed in multiplayer, open supply drops, challenge other players to matches, prestige your weapons, test out scorestreaks and test weapons at the firing range, among other things. The multiplayer itself is just good enough to keep me interested. It contains about every standard game mode that has been in the series for years, but adds a new game mode that may be more enjoyable than all of the others. “War� is a mode that is reminiscent of “Battlefield 1,� “Operations.� The objective-based mode is centered around either defending or attacking points with a clear end goal. “War� adds much more depth to a multiplayer that has been relatively repetitive for several years now. The “Zombies� mode is about everything that you would be expecting from a modern “Call of Duty� game. While

there some differences, such as being able to choose your own character rather than being assigned a random character, most of the core gameplay is roughly the same as the last several games. There are still “perks�, random drops, waves, a “mystery box� and a “pack-a-punch,� just with different names. While all of these features are familiar, they may be too familiar. At some point, it would be great if one of the developers would break the mold and do something truly new and different with the “Zombies� mode. It’s fun, but it’s starting to become repetitive when we get the same thing over and over. Hopefully in the upcoming maps, the developers will start to push the envelope. “Call of Duty� releases every year. While this would never actually happen since the franchise generates so much revenue every year, “Call of Duty� could really benefit from taking a year off to reevaluate the direction of their games and enhancing the gameplay engine. The “Assassin’s Creed� franchise did this and it resulted in this year’s installment being one of the best games of the year. “Call of Duty: WWII� is better than last year’s disaster that was “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare� in most respects, but still sticks to the formula that “Call of Duty� has been stuck in for several years. Ultimately, “Call of Duty: WWII� does not do quite enough to break the mold, but remains a serviceable game. Rating: 7/10

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Junior Hazel Harper does makeup for productions put on by the PHS theatre department. Harper has been doing the make up of cast members since her sophomore year when she helped with the makeup of the Addams Family cast and wanted to do more of it. Photo by |

Contouring characters

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efore the opening night of “Urinetown,� junior Hazel Harper was checking the makeup of the entire cast to make sure they were ready for the stage. The cast of “Urinetown� traveled to Wichita in January for the state competition. Harper worked with theatre director Greg Shaw to design the stage makeup for the show. She styled about eight actors each night with distinct contour and highlight, rings around the eyes and fake dirt. “I think she just has an interest in it and she’s been playing with different techniques,� Shaw said. “She’s very organized and she plans ahead for everything, so it’s a just a real big asset to have someone who’s that interested in [makeup]. She’s done a really nice job.�

Harper started studying makeup artistry her freshman year when she began watching YouTube tutorials. She has now applied makeup for major school productions including “The Addams Family,� “Seussical� and “Urinetown.� “It’s been about a year of on-and-off practice. I started with ‘Addams Family’ my sophomore year and fell in love with it,� Harper said. “[My favorite part is] working with the actors. The show is great, but my favorite part is [spending] two hours face-to face and getting to know them well. The amount of friends I made during ‘Urinetown’ is astronomical.� Kansas City hairstylist and makeup artist John Holland constructs design for school productions. He came to PHS to plan the makeup for the show with

Harper. “A lot of times, you don’t think about how much hair and makeup adds to the show until it’s gone,� Shaw said. In addition to stage makeup, Harper also has cosmetic skills with special effects. During last year’s drunk driving crash simulation, she used makeup to make lifelike injuries. “I try to do [makeup] in my free time, and I try to practice as much as I can,� Harper said. Harper plans to continue doing stage makeup and hopes it will be her future career. “[I enjoy] making a character. When you put makeup on somebody for a show or shoot, you’re making someone different,� Harper said. “It’s the turning point that creates a character.�

Hammering out stereotypes

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Putting on her tool belt and picking up a hammer, sophomore Kassidy O’Dell prepares for her first hour. Swapping eye protection for pencils is a requirement for students at the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC). O’Dell is one of 20 students who travel to the CTEC building, and only one of two high school females. “We have welding, masonry and carpentry,� executive director Kris Mengarelli said. “Our goal here is to have students get dual credit and technical education at no cost.� O’Dell and senior Kiera Miller are enrolled in the carpentry class and are learning life skills not taught in a traditional classroom. “We’re learning how to better ourselves in the carpentry field,� O’Dell said.“I can be more independent when I get older, like if something small happens at my house, I’ll be able to fix it.� Miller notices the gender barrier, but doesn’t think it should push females away from the program. “This is a more male-dominant profession which might make girls shy away from it,� Miller said. “But girls are capable of doing these jobs and being good at them and having fun while doing them.�

Equality. Senior Chloe VanBecelaere sees this as an important issue to discuss, which is why she and junior Ximena Ibarra founded the Equality Club. “The purpose of the Equality Club is to provide a safe space for students to talk about issues that they are facing with sexism, racism and various issues at PHS and to also bring light to those issues, even if kids may or may not have experienced those things themselves,â€? VanBecelaere said. English teacher Melissa Fite Johnson and Spanish teacher Angie PallarĂŠs are the co-sponsors of the club. Johnson and PallarĂŠs said the issues that the club members are going to discuss are important to them. “When [VanBecelaere and Ibarra] typed out all of the topics that they were interested in talking about, they were topics that I really cared about,â€? Fite Johnson said. “Making sure that everyone’s ideas were heard, and women and people of color feel just as represented as people who are in the majority.â€? PallarĂŠs said there is a need for a safe place for people to talk about controversial issues. “The girls saw a lot of things in the classroom and in the school environment that was blatantly sexist, things that really bothered them,â€? PallarĂŠs said. “I wanted there to be a pledge that says we are going to be respectful about these things and not talk down on people.â€? VanBecelaere said her intention is for the club to involve both discussion and action. “Some events we thought about doing were bringing in guest speakers to talk about domestic violence and raising money for the Safehouse in Pittsburg or the American Civil Liberties Union,â€? VanBecelaere said. “I think all of the issues that are encompassed by the club are equally important but, with what is going on in our society at this time, some topics that students might want to come to us with are sexual assault and racism.â€? Ibarra said she encourages everyone to join the club and share their opinions. “We need an Equality Club,â€? Ibarra said. “It is a good thing to join, even if you don’t agree with things we say. You can still share your opinion and have some really good discussions where both sides can be civil to bring issues to light that some people might not even consider are issues and discuss them and explain why.â€? Equality Club had its first meeting on Thursday, Jan. 11. To join the club, students can contact VanBecelaere, Ibarra, Fite Johnson or PallarĂŠs.

Constructing classes Words by | $ % &

Sophomore Kassidy O’Dell in the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) class. Photo by

Mengarelli encourages students to not follow stereotypes and pursue their passions. “I think our society has shifted from the mid-1900’s stereotypes. It’s no different than if a guy wanted to go into a female-

predominant field,� Mengarelli said. “Don’t let preconceived notions get in the way of what you want to accomplish. Anyone should pursue what they want to do. If a female wants to go into carpentry, I say go for it.�

Next year, the SEK Career and Technical Education Center of Crawford County (CTEC) will be broadening its horizons. Located in the Pittsburg industrial park, CTEC is run through a partnership with Fort Scott Community College. The classes offered in the 2017-18 school year include auto tech, HVAC, masonry, welding, and carpentry. CTEC executive director Kris Mengarelli is developing multiple new class offerings for the 2018-19 school year. Among the new classes, CTEC is looking to add horticulture, electrical, heavy equipment operation and, potentially, environmental water treatment. “I’m hopeful we are able to get everything in place for the new classes and offer these opportunities for the students,� Mengarelli said. Each of the existing classes besides auto tech, along with the new offerings for next school year, will be available for college credit and a nationally recognized certificate at the end of the two-year program. Horticulture will be one semester and offered for high school and college credit. Senior Ethan Tomasi has participated in welding and auto tech during this school year. He has enjoyed his time working with CTEC instructors. “They have worked with us individually and are great teachers,� Tomasi said. Tomasi offers advice for students interested in the classes. “CTEC offers good life skills, it is laid back and is definitely worth trying,� Tomasi said. Mengarelli also believes that students should invest their time in the CTEC classes. “I invite students to come and take a look at our class offerings,� Mengarelli said. “It is the best marketing tool we have.�

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Boys Basketball Lead by seniors Chase Curtis, Drew Roelfs, Marque English, junior Jerek Butcher, and sophomore Gavyn Elkamil, the varsity boys basketball team has a record of 6-2. Their next game is January 12th. Junior varsity has a record of 6-0 and freshman are at 4-2.

Girls Basketball The girls varsity basketball team has a record of 2-6 so far for the season. Some key players this year are seniors Abbie Casper, and Kaitlyn Kidd, and freshman Madden Petty. Junior varsity has a record of 3-4 and freshman team is 2-4 .

Wrestling

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Courtside with Crotts

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As the next game approaches, head girls basketball coach Kris Crotts walks the team through offensive plays. Crotts has been coaching for a decade at surrounding schools in Kansas, but this is his first year with the Dragons. Crotts was an assistant boys basketball coach for two years in Oswego before he became an assistant girls basketball coach for two years at Baxter, where he eventually became a head girls coach for six years. After coaching at the same school for eight years Crotts was looking for a new challenge. “I just enjoyed and have seen the Pittsburg girls and played them before and knew that we were getting a good group of girls here. I knew there was a good tradition of girls basketball and wanted to be a part of that.�

The Pittsburg wrestling team placed 12/15 at Gardner Eddington, 32/39 at Council Bluffs, and 7/11 at Emporia Winter Classic. Varsity’s upcoming meet will be held at Basehor-Linwood Jan. 12-13th. Junior varsity’s next meet will be the Labette Co. Tournement at Altamont on Jan. 13th. Information by | ! ! * + # !

The Lady Dragons are now 2-6 heading into their ninth game tonight against Girard. With his decade of experience, Crotts has developed a system to ensure the girls are calm and collected by tipoff time. “I try to put them through as many pressure situations as I can in practice. That way, the games feel more enjoyable,� Crotts said. “[The plays we run] we don’t have to think about, we can just play and take care of business.� Crotts utilized events prior to the season to familiarize himself with the girls. According to senior Kaitlyn Kidd, the girls worked with Crotts often during the summer, especially during the Pitt State camp. “When you’re a new coach with new drills it takes a while to get to where the girls know your drills,� Crotts said. “You can get into a good practice and I feel like we’ve hit our stride here lately.�

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Pinning the competition

Crotts tries to connect with his players on a personal level and not just as a coach. “He always asks about our day and how our personal lives are going,� Kidd says. “He’s not just concerned about basketball, but [about] us as individuals.� Crotts sees being a PHS basketball player as more than just being a good player, he also pushes his girls to be good people. “Number one, I ask them to compete every day. I ask them to sacrifice everyday,� Crotts said. “I hope to instill a sense of community in [the team] as well as being a Dragon and being a girls basketball player. It’s bigger than just the walls of the gym. There are a lot of kids in the community that look up to them, and I like to, whenever we can, take time to give back to the community and be well represented in the community.�

Q: What is it like being the only girl on the team? A:“It’s kind of nerve-racking knowing that I’m wrestling against some boys who have wrestled for years,� Jones said.

Q: What advice would you give other girls interested in wrestling? A: “Just do it,� Jones said. “You don’t know if you’ll actually like it until you try it.�

Words by | As the wrestling season begins, seniors AJ Lair, Hayden Still, Caleb Blansett, David Green, Zach Kunkler and Noah Kangas suit up for their last meets. Scott Rieck has been coaching wrestling for 25 years. This year’s team is a mix of experienced wrestlers. “We have six seniors on the team and about half of them have really good varsity experience. The other half have been JV just because of the depth of the team in the past years,� Rieck said. “They just had to earn their spurs and wait for their time to come. They’re doing a good job stepping in to fill that varsity role.� The weekend of Dec. 9, varsity wrestlers traveled to Iowa to the Council Bluff Wrestling Classic. “Our schedule is balanced so we go to tournaments that aren’t over-the-top tough for them, but then again I’ll have tournaments that really do challenge them,� Rieck said. “I just don’t want our schedule to be too easy to where they get complacent. They need to continue to work hard and realize that there’s always room for growth.� A typical practice can run anywhere from an hour to two hours. Lair is a varsity wrestler in the 145 weight class. “The hardest practice would be every practice on a Thursday, because it’s all fast paced and in constant movement,� Lair said. Lair has wrestled for 12 years and enjoys the independent nature of the sport. “Iowa was probably one of the toughest meets I’ve ever [been to], just because there’s 39 teams from eight different states that are all known for wrestling,� Lair said. “So it was [definitely] nothing to look over.� Kangas has been wrestling for three years, competing in the 190 weight class. “The first meet, I [personally] did terrible. I was a little rusty because I haven’t wrestled in a year or so,� Kangas said. “But it was fun, I went against some nationally ranked kids.�

During the 2016 wrestling season, senior David Green aims to pin his opponent. Photo by |

Green has been wrestling for six years, and this year he competes in the 138 weight class. “I like the toughness of it and it [wrestling] pushes me to become a better person,� Green said. “State my freshman year was the hardest meet [for me], just because of the level of competition.� Blansett has also wrestled for six years, this year in the 152 weight class. “The coaches were always really supportive, the sport in general is fun, and the kids and coaches are good company to be around,� Blansett said. “[They’d] always be uplifting and positive, even after I lost, they’d always be there to talk me through things and show me how to improve and that made me want to stay [with wrestling].� Still has wrestled for five years. This year in the

160 weight class, he went up to the Iowa Council Bluff Classic. “The toughest meet [so far, for me ] would probably be Iowa,� Still said. “Last year I wrestled 20 lbs. underweight so it was pretty difficult.� Still has been wrestling varsity since sophomore year. “I did try to quit at one point, but Coach Kimzey pulled me to the side and told me I needed to be a leader, also my friends [have always] been there to support me,� Still said. Zach Kunkler has been wrestling for six years, competing in the 285 weight class this season. “The sport in general, it takes a lot of dedication and motivation,� Kunkler said. “Not everyone can do it, so that’s why I do it.�

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