The Patriot Volume 55 Issue 4

T H E PATRIOT

Shawnee Mission South Overland Park, KS Volume 55 Issue 4 Apr. 21st 2021

HERITAGE R OYALT Y C OURT

Its that time of year. Students who achieved great things and were most involved were picked for our heritage court and we couldn’t be more proud.

Read about it on our website www.smspatriot.com

OPINION

FEATURE

A & E

NEWS

Read about the debate of whether or not the school hosting a prom for students this spring was the best decision for the student body.

Page 3

Earth Day is coming up. Get ready for this special day with a story reminding us how important our environment is.

Pages 4-5

Fans are beginning to return to both concerts and sporting events in both limited and full capacities across the country.

Check out our story about it.

Page 10 and 11

Many students have been affected by frequent changes in their sleep schedule due to the ever changing learning models.

Pages 10-11

TABLE OF C ONTENTS 1

Cover

2

TOC

3

Prom Debate

4-5

Students. Are. Back.

6-7

Heritage Royalty Photos

8-9

No Planet B

10

Prom Lookbook

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MISSION STATEMENT The Patriot is a newsmagazine that aims to objectively present topics affecting Shawnee Mission South High School, as well as connect with readers on issues concerning the student body. Staff members reserve the right to express their views in the Opinion section. These pieces are labeled and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff as a whole, except the staff editorial, which represents the views of the editors. Each section editor designs their own sections pages, unless otherwise specified. Under the First Amendment and Kansas law, The Patriot staff is entitles to freedom of the press and neither the school nor district is responsible for any content or coverage. The staff encourages letters to the editor; they will only be published if signed.

The Editors-in- Chief reserve the right to refuse or edit any letters for grammar, length, and good taste.

STAFF Head Editors McKenna Pickering - Co-Editor-in-Chief Evan Shibel - Co-Editor-in-Chief Katie Hiebl - Assistant Editor-in-Chief Section Editors Annalie Polen - News and Opinion Editor Katie Hiebl - A & E and Features Editor Nathan Judd - Sports Editor Management Editors Reese Woods - Multimedia Editor Evan Shibel - Ads & Management Editor Photo and Deisgn Editors Trinity Clark - Photo Editor-In-Chief L andrea Van Mol - Assistant Photo Editor Jack Wagner - Assistant Photo Editor Repoeters and Photographers Annie Caswell Jake Foil Simon Cox Noel Mohamed Elliot Calvert

PROM - COVID 19 EDITION It’s prom season but with a little extra difficulty. COVID-19 makes itself present as teens are planning their night to remember

PRO

CON Reese Woods Multimedia Editor

T

his weekend April 17, there is a prom at Union Station. There are two separate sessions to prevent less exposure to the virus.

All juniors and seniors were emailed a list of rules and regulations to be able to attend the dance on Saturday evening. The school has done a really good job with taking all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID as best as they can.

This is a great opportunity for seniors to go to; as they did not have a prom to attend last year. Earlier in the school year, some students hosted mock “dances” for their friend groups. These mock dances weren’t the most COVID-safe if you had a large group, but most of these groups were close friends that had already been hanging out during the pandemic, creating their own personal bubbles that they were comfortable with.

This could even go for other grades being able to experience their first high school dances. I am glad that we are hosting a real prom instead of having to worry about mock dances.

It’s fun to get dressed up, take pictures and go out to dinner--especially in times like this.

You don’t have to participate in dances if it makes you feel uncomfortable, but at least let others enjoy it. It is their choice whether to go or not, and students deserve one piece of normalcy for this year!

SNEAK PEAK TO PROM LOOKBOOK CHECK OUT THE BACK PAGE FOR THE REST OF THE FEATURED PHOTOS

McKenna Pickering Editor-in-chief Maggie Holcomb Guest Writer

R

ecently, the number of new Covid cases in the United States has dramatically increased, despite the vaccination being available for most people.

The numbers have been going up again in Johnson County, especially among young people, following the spring break trips and parties that occurred. There has been a lot of “Covidfatigue,” understandably so, in our age group as we approach the end of the school year.

I find it quite selfish that people are going to huge parties right now, especially this close to graduation; the same people who are complaining about it taking forever to get “back to normal” are out partying every weekend.

I want to go out as much as the next person, but I’d rather stay home right now if it means we get to have a normal summer.

I just don’t think anyone is seeing the bigger picture. We take for granted the rest of the year by just “doing what teens do normally” during the school year. Thankfully the vaccine is being given out to more and more people and sooner or later life will get to normal but for now there are still unvaccinated people and leave chances for other people to get sick.

I completely understand the frustration and the want for this just to all be over, but ignoring it will not make it go away.

STUDENTS. ARE.

BACK.

Fans return to the South stadium for the first time since the pandemic began.

Story by Simon Cox Reporter

Now almost four weeks into spring sports, a student spectator section for track meets, baseball games, and other spring sports may be on the horizon.

The SMSD Spectator Guidelines are the most important factor to be aware of; if guidelines can be followed, a student section is possible.

“Student sections are not more ‘“complicated,’” but the student section can be a bit larger in numbers than others,” SMS Athletic Director John Johnson said.

A student section isn’t actually as complicated as it may seem. As long as the same guidelines are followed, it is a plausible addition to the spectating experience of spring sports.

The current guidelines for spring swim state that SMSD team(s) are allowed up to two spectators per participant(s). Exceptions for dive may be possible, only because there are fewer divers per team, making social distancing easier.

Baseball and softball are open seating, so it is encouraged that spectators bring lawn chairs or simply stand, due to limited bleacher seating.

Tennis and golf are open seating as well, and bleachers are main seating for track and field events, all of these sports including the normal distancing and masking guidelines.

The only reason a student section was not possible during fall and winter sports was because the guidelines were much stricter.

COVID-19 numbers showed no sign of going down at the time, if they weren’t doing the opposite, and the situation was much newer, especially during the fall. A sport like basketball differs from football as well. In an indoor environment like a basketball stadium, it is much harder to social distance. This is one of, if not the main reason why a student section was not possible for basketball. The same thing was true for swim.

“We hosted boys state Swim at the Aquatics Center and no spectators were allowed due to limited space and the need to spread out the athletes,” Johnson said.

This is an example of guidelines contradicting a student section. While this was in the winter, the spring guidelines have not changed enough to allow a student section for swim.

A PICTURE-PERFECT DAY 2021 Heritage Royalty crowning honors seniors.

Heritage Royalty queen Maria Heath snaps a quick selfie with her fellow theatre kids William Foss, Laura Bogner, and Paige Lambert.

Photo by Landrea Van Mol

Heritage Royalty nominees Olivia Riley and Ella Buss get close for a picture.

Photo by Rachel Horsley

Adjusting her tiara, Dylan Ziegler prepares for a photo with her father.

Photo by Rachel Horsley

The Heritage Royalty winners pose for the cameras. (From left to right: Jay Selzer, Dylan Ziegler, Chase Horner, Maria Heath, Harley Witbrod, and Laura Bogner.)

Photo by Landrea Van Mol

Smiling for the camera, Harley Witbrod and his mother take a selfie together.

Photo by Rachel Horsley

NO PLANET B As Earth Day approaches we are reminded of the importance of the SMSEL Story by Annalie Polen News Editor

Since 1970, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22nd to commemorate the birth of the modern environmental movement. 51 years later and many of the same or more environmental issues are very prevalent. South is home to the SMSEL, a 20+ acre tract of land that hosts over a hundred different species of plants and over a thousand different species of animals. The SMSEL was born before Earth Day as it was preserved by the Shawnee Mission school board in the late 1960’s. It is used as an outdoor classroom and supports the concept of Earth Day by not only teaching students but also providing a source of green space as the land around it continues to develop. It is an everyday reminder of what Earth Day expresses each year.

Mr. Born, the environmental teacher and keeper of the SMSEL explains the importance of Earth day and the SMSEL. “Hopefully Earth Day will help people understand our (humans) relationship with our environment- and our existence is absolutely dependent on other life”, Born said.

The SMSEL demonstrates this relationship with the many ecosystems found in its woods, prairie, pond, and streams. Each species in these habitats provides life for each other, reminding humans that we are also part of that cycle.

Earth Day encourages us all to recognize the impact we have on Earth and how our

current actions affect the whole planet. The day was proposed by the senator at the time, Gaylord Nelson. On the first Earth Day he gave a speech in Denver, Colorado concerning the current environmental issues. In his speech he said, “Earth Day can- and it must- lend a new urgency and a new support to solving the problems that still threaten to tear the fabric of this society… the problems of race, war, of poverty, of modern day institutions,” Nelson said.

This urgency in environmental awareness is still essential today, many years later.

“The issue is trying to keep the Earth in a position to support human life because “while we can’t destroy the earth even if we tried) we do have the ability to completely change the biosphere (life on Earth) to something that would be completely unrecognizable to us today. That change could happen very rapidly (measured in decades or centuries as opposed to millenia) and would be due primarily to our actions happening right now,” Born said.

As April 22 rolls around be sure to not only find ways to help, but to enjoy the things that are benefiting the environment everyday right in our own backyard.

“Hopefully earth day reminds us to do good for nature for more than just one day,” Born said.

Photo by Landrea Van Mol

PROM LOOKBOOK Check out some of these photos sumbitted by your classmates. Everyone looked great!

Photo Courtesy of senior Hadley Schafer

Photo Courtesy of senior McKenna Pickering

Photo Courtesy of senior Evan Shibel

Photo Courtesy of junior Reese Woods

Photo Courtesy of senior Vanessa Smith

Photo Courtesy of senior Annika Lowland

Photo Courtesy of senior Sadie Holloway

Photo Courtesy of senior Maddy Morris

Photo Courtesy of junior Crystal Ugalde

Photo Courtesy of senior Morgan Lank

“I had a swim meet that day so I was really tired but i had fun other than that.”

”It was nice to get dressed up and go to a dance, although it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be like.”

senior Olivia Riley

senior Keely Wright