The Bell December 21, 2012

LHSNEWS.net

Scan & Visit

Volume 89, Issue 4

the Bell

Liberty High School december 21, 2012

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Table Of Contents on the cover: Sophomore Noah Pozel and junior Hannah Goodwin volunteer at Hillcrest Thrift Store for Believe It Or Not I Care Week, put on by StuCo. Read more about B.I.O.N.I.C Week on page 5. photo by Sarah Andrews

page 18

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Juniors Remi Rocha and Murron Paeth share a laugh while talking about why they are not “hipsters.� Learn more on page 18. photo by Jaileen West

page 4 The Latin American Club keeps the tradition alive with each meeting. Check out more on page 5. photo by Spencer Hausman

page 43 New head coach of the girls varsity basketball team, Noah Simpson, watches his team race up and down the court. See the girls standings on page 43. photo by Jake Stansbury

the bell staff

our mission

Editor In Chief Nathan Hunt Reporters Features Editor Michaela Lamb Haley Vickers Sports Editor Lauren Kenney Mat George Alix Messer Opinion/A&E Editor Preston McConnell Diana Timmermans Nick Palmarine News Editor Meredith Crouch Madi Denton Amanda Kovac Ads Manager Grace George Shelby Curtis Aly Copp Online News Manager Zach Kilgas Jake Boese Sydney Perkins Managing Editor Sarah Hartley Madi Hayter Molly Meeks Website Technical Support Tyler Eggleston Photo Journalism Adviser Photo Editor Sammi Novak Lori Oyler Assistant Photo Editor Breann Koch

Our Mission for the 2012-2013 school year is to unite a diverse group of people and ideas to compose an informative and entertaining magazine using articles, photographs and commercial messages.

As journalists in training, we endeavor to give the best representation of the community of Liberty High School. The Bell student newspaper is a public forum for student expression.

COntact us Address 200 Blue Jay Drive Liberty, MO 64068 Email thebell@liberty.k12.mo.us Phone (816) 736-5353 Twitter TheBell_LHS

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Holiday Hunt S S M D H S V P S L X C T C S

D S A I A L H Y E W H J A H B

C Z A N T P I A V E V G N O O

D H K M T T O T R E Y D G C Z

E P R E S A K K U N R A P Q V Q I Z Z E T S S I U A H P T E E Y G N M R N T I M A C S W N O Z O R E W N M E E S N E A R E L S M A O L A T E N N W C M

E N T A H G H Q N N A I M K P L N P E D A A T R R S W D F R X I L G S M T N D Y O A A W S

ANGELS CANDLES CHERRYPIE CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS FIREPLACE HANUKKAH MANGERS MENORAHS MIDNIGHTMASS MITTENS

S R O F I R E P L A C E Q O M

O D M F Q E F C A N D L E S B

jays’ jabber S R E T A E W S Y L G U W T I

ORNAMENT PRESENTS SANTA SCARVES SNOW SNOWMEN TREE UGLYSWEATERS WRAPPING

Hide and seek!

On December 22, Student Council will be Christmas caroling in Claywoods subdivision.

If you are in need of service hours, this is a great opportunity! For more information, email senior Jessyka Vernicaks at jvernickas3@ student.liberty.k12.mo.us.

local scholarship program You are invited to an information night January 15, 2013, at 6:30 P.M at Liberty North High School to learn about the local scholarship program and FAFSA. The FAFSA is a required document to fill out if you are applying to colleges and use federal or state aid, including A+.

congrats scholar bowl Recently, the LHS Scholar Bowl took part in the Knowledge Master Open online tournament, competing with all 50 states and several nations. The team placed 2nd in Missouri. Overall, the team placed 67 out of 551 teams competing. The team consists of seniors Max Accardi, Helen Alpern, William Xiao, Spencer Nelson, Chris Vlamis, Chris Tervort, Renna Yi, juniors Haley Ferguson, Haley Brown, Brett Beebe and sophomore Ben Anderson.

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Help Features Editor Michaela Lamb find her Christmas ornament! It is her special ornament she made in Kindergarten, without it she will not be able to celebrate the holiday! The first person to find the ornament and “return it” to room 513 at the beginning of seventh period will receive a prize courtesy of The Bell Staff.

Christmas caroling

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news Club members, senior John DeLaTorre (second from the right) and sophomore Melissa Balderas (second from the left) socialize before the club officially begins. photo by Spencer Hausman

Strengthening Traditions

by Meridith Crouch

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Latin American Association educates students on their ethnic background and history.

LHS has always had a large number of clubs that help everyone find their place in the school. The Latin American Association recently had their first activity where they made authentic Mexican food and watched a movie in Spanish.

“I hope to gain more knowledge about my culture,” sophomore Rafael Hernandez said. “I honestly don’t know all there is about it.”

Many of the members interviewed admit this also, they do not know everything about where they come from. Students in the club who are not of Latin American heritage also want to learn more. Luckily, they have a club sponsor who is passionate about her culture and eager to teach members all about it.

“I love the traditions,” club sponsor Lisa Augustine said. “I love the family unity and the unconditional support.”

Like Augustine, most members love the family unity that comes with being a Latin American.

“I love the people, the music and the love that everyone gives to each other, no matter what the circumstances are,” senior John De La Torre said.

Most club members feel the same way.

“The traditions we have are different from any other culture. They are so much fun,” sophomore Melissa Balderas said.

Augustine hopes to share some of her knowledge about the customs and also help them to feel like they have a place in the school.

“This club is important because it will

“Everyone is always

friendly and we all share a common

,”

bond

junior Cindy

Rizo said. help to validate students and make them feel their culture is also of value. It will also help the individual students to understand themselves a little better,” Augustine said.

Members enjoy the family aspects of the culture, but another big favorite is the food. Latin American cuisine is full of bold flavors and spices.

For their first club activity, the club

made authentic quesidillas and Spanish desserts. They watched the movie “Selena” in Spanish because several of the club members are fluent. Overall, members had a great time at the fiesta and learned a lot at the same time.

“It’s nice that you don’t have to be good friends with another Hispanic to be able to go up and talk to them,” junior Cindy Rizo said. “Everyone is always friendly and we all share a common bond.”

Not only does Augustine want to teach the students about where they come from, she wants to give them opportunities to make a difference in their school and community.

“Having this club will give students a sense of belonging,” Augustine said.

“It will help them to have better roots within the school and help them to find out more about themselves.”

The Latin American Association is just getting started and is already well underway. They have yet to decide a set date and time for their meetings but they have begun the process of planning activities and getting to know each other. They are still accepting new members and anyone is welcome to join.

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Be B.i.o.n.i.c

by Zach Kilgas

Student Council spreads the love to the Liberty Community.

Student Council has sent a message across Liberty; larger than an email forwarding chain and it was sent to more people than a mass text for a political candidate.

Liberty High School’s Student Council cares. They did so through “Believe It Or Not I Care” week, or B.I.O.N.I.C. week.

Each day, in the first week of December, Students performed an act of service for the community. Day one, Monday, was

custodian appreciation day. Students joined custodians in cleaning the school to understand the effort they put into keeping our school clean and ready for us to learn.

“This day was just a great way for me to give back to the school community I love, which I don’t feel like I get to do often enough in my everyday life,” sophomore Madison Jones said. “I really cherished each day of B.I.O.N.I.C. week,

because I got a chance to give back to Liberty in service.”

The next days ranged from a highway cleanup to volunteering at Harvesters, a community outreach service providing food for those in need, and volunteering at the Hillcrest Thrift Store.

“These are good projects because it shows adults we care,” Senior Council member Baily Griffin said.

Student Council

Executive President, Alex Zaborac explained why B.I.O.N.I.C. week is such a highly prioritized Student Council event.

“Teenagers receive a bad “rep.” That for being people that only do things for themselves, and it’s important to show we do care and are thankful for what these people do for us, and our school.”

Zaborac said.

B.I.O.N.I.C. week not only sends a wonderful message throughout

the community, but it also teaches teens the importance of stepping into another person’s boots.

“I think it’s really important for teens to give back to see what others are experiencing, and to realize that there are others less fortunate, and it’s important for us to come together as a community,” Student Council Advisor Melanie Prince said. photo by Sarah Andrews

Below. Juniors Kaylie Botello and Emily Moore along with seniors Tyler Hannsz and Sami Cintron work together to clean up the roadside. Right. Senior Sarah Hassan volunteers at Hillcrest Thrift Store to set up Christmas displays. photo by Jordan Wheelhouse

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Playing loud for all to hear

by Molly Meeks

Liberty’s tuba and baritone players spread Christmas cheer at the Kauffman Center.

Left.

Sophomore Jared Karr rehearses his piece before the big performance.

Right. Junior Allie Foster presents her music to the class during rehearsal.

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photos by Rachel Untch

On December 13, the Kauffman Center held a unique brand of Christmas tunes, played by some unlikely instruments. Tuba and baritone players from across the country all gather at a common venue to spread some Christmas cheer.

“Basically, we all get together in one place [the Kauffman] and play some classic Christmas music,” sophomore Davis Parry said.

Tuba Christmas is an incredibly popular event, people from all over the Midwest come to see the concert. This year, for the first time, the event became so popular that audience members were required to reserve their tickets ahead of time. Every performance, including the performance on December 13, gathers such large crowds, every seat

in the theatre is guaranteed to be filled.

This year there was such a large number of musicians participating in the concert, the original one day performance was extended to a two day event. Instead of playing on the original date, Friday December 14, Liberty and over 300 other tuba/ baritone players were moved to perform on December 13.

“People come from states away, I think the furthest anyone has come for Tuba Christmas is California,” junior Allie Foster said, “We fill the entire place.”

Generally, tuba and baritone players are not the instruments most would expect to play Christmas music, especially not by themselves.

This event provides the time and place for these less common

instruments to shine, whereas in an ordinary band performance they could lose attention to more prominent instruments.

The event lasted all day, students left at the beginning of the school day and stayed at the Kauffman for the rest of the day.

“We leave sometime during first hour and don’t get back to school until near the end of seventh hour,” Parry said, “we get to spend the entire day at the Kauffman.”

Musicians practice their music for the concert until, finally, at the end of the day, they put on a huge concert featuring popular holiday songs.

“We get a book of music when we go there and there are some pretty difficult songs and also some really easy songs, Foster said, “all

the music is pretty popular.”

Conflicts do arise when it comes to missing the entire day of school. Tuba Christmas occurred the week before finals, meaning students could potentially miss a day of new material or review. Also, this year Tuba Christmas happened the same day as all-district and honorable mention band performances. Students who were in both were almost immediately rushed from the Kauffman Center to Park Hill High School for another performance.

Tuba Christmas was a success and spread Christmas cheer to its packed theatre. Anyone who missed out will have to wait for December 2013 when tubas and baritones make another one of their annual performances.

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Concert Choir is tuning in

by Alix Messer

Concert Choir entered into 99.7 The Point’s running to win money for our vocal arts program.

Everyone has something to wish for this holiday season.

Maybe it is a bike or an iPad, but the choir students are wishing for the chance to be featured on 99.7 radio station.

“We sang In Dulci Jubilo.

It’s a song in Latin and English. I don’t know the exact translation, but it’s an a capella piece,” senior Bree Patterson said.

The concert choir traveled over by Liberty North to record their song.

“We traveled to a church and we sang one of our songs and recorded it. We sent the recording to the radio station for the competition,” sophomore Joel Currence said.

If the choir wins the competition, 99.7 will make a

healthy donation to the choir department.

“Whoever wins gets $5,000, and the $5,000 goes towards our budget for choir and we get to spend it on things we need,” Patterson said.

The choir not only has a chance to win $5,000 if they win, but they also have the chance to do a live recording down at the 99.7 studio.

“As performers and as a choir it really helped us and gave us more experience.

We’re a choir that wants to be noticed. We have some really talented people in the school,” Patterson said.

Concert choir will certainly be noticed and they will be getting their name out due to the thousands of listeners of 99.7.

“We find out the Friday that finals is happening, and that day if we win, we have to go down to the music station and do a live recording on the air. It’s that day, there’s no notice, and we would miss 3rd hour finals, but it’s really cool because we get to do a live recording,” junior Lauren Wrigley said.

It is easy to talk about recording the song and the money they could win, but the choir worked hard to put this piece together. They picked In Dulci Jubilo and learned it just three weeks before they had to record the song. It pressed the concert choir to work hard to earn their fame, but it was still fun for them.

“I enjoyed it because that

was my first recording and it was interesting to see how much our choir worked together to sound amazing,” Currence said.

The choir sounded amazing on December 3 when 99.7 announced that Liberty made it to the final eight. Concert choir has to face off against the other seven schools and battle for first place.

“Even if we don’t win, we still have the experience of making a professional recording and sending it into the competition,” Wrigley said.

As of December 13, Liberty has advanced even further, beating Lee’s Summit West High school.

Below. Concert Choir men rehearse in sectionals to prepare for their performance of Dulci Jubilo. Right. Junior Brigid Burroughs and Senior Andi Tulipana lead the soprano section during rehearsals. photos by Lauren Pouliot

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Christmas, The german way

by Sarah Hartley

German Club joins in generating Christmas spirit by building Gingerbread houses.

Students kick off their gingerbread home construction alongside fellow club members and friends.

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photo by Sarah Hartley

An annual tradition, the German Club held their famous gingerbread house decorating event after school on December 6 in room 406. It lasted an hour and a half with over 35 participants, including students from Park Hill South. It did not take long for the small room to overflow with colorful graham cracker creations.

Before the event could take place, however, the students and teachers had to have all of their preparations in order, which included purchasing the many supplies needed to satisfy the large crowd.

“Some people make their own gingerbread, and some people buy the kits and bring them, but I provide the gingerbread flavored graham crackers,” German teacher Cindy Biermann said.

“I had to buy 12 boxes from Sam’s Club, so each student can have one package.”

Some of the students even went far enough to plan out their houses weeks before the event, so they could have more time to decorate on that day.

“Last year, I made a summer home with a pool in the back and there were gummy bears swimming around,” senior Lydia Davis said. “This year, I’m going to use starbursts, gummy drops, things that aren’t chocolate related and are more sugary. I’m excited to see how

it will turn out.”

“I’m going to use lots of graham crackers,” junior Cheyanne Lamb said.

“I’m thinking three layers of graham crackers and maybe a little bit of icing if I’m feeling crazy, but probably not. I love graham crackers.”

Though many gingerbread house decorating contests take place around the country during the holidays, this one in particular will never have a competitive feel, it holds a much more significant purpose.

“It’s really laid-back,” Davis said. “That’s what we try to do in German Club, so everyone feels really comfortable. We’re trying to get the name of our German Club out there and to get people interested in a language outside of their own.”

It also gives students a way to meet and hang out with people who have the same hobbies and passions.

“It gives students a taste of the culture in Germanic speaking countries and brings students together who are interested in the same thing,” Biermann said.

The relaxed atmosphere helped ease new members into participating in the event.

“This was my first time doing it,” junior Connor Deiparine said. “And I

was really looking forward to it.”

To help achieve this goal, they invited the Park Hill South German Club to join in the festivities this year for the first time ever, which was greeted with lots of enthusiasm.

“It was really cool to see if they act any different and if we get along,” Lamb said. “I love meeting new people.”

Other students shared this positive view.

“It was great meeting new students and not just because they’re in German, but because they’re from a different school.

It was really exciting,” Davis said.

The German Club also went caroling the week before finals at nursing homes around Liberty. At some point after Christmas, they are going to dress up and attend a symphony or a German opera at the Kauffman Center.

“In class, we do a lot of activities because it is such a huge part of European culture that we sing Christmas Carols and make ornaments,” Biermann said.

“The tradition of Christmas carols, writing Christmas cards, ornaments, Christmas Trees, candy canes, almost any American Christmas tradition you can think of originated in Germany.”

The gingerbread houses are on display in room 406.

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Musing on Muses

by Haley Vickers

AP Art classes pick muses to design their work around for this school year.

Senior Mikayla Stuber works intently on her masterpiece during class time.

everyone can connect and relate.

“I think all viewers connect to artwork in a different way. You bring your own background and experiences and then as you look at a piece of art you try to interpret what that artist has to say in that particular piece,” Martin said.

The AP Studio Art students break past the ordinary to prove their individuality. They dream and create the unexpected and make it reality. For these students, art is a passion, a risk and a full time commitment.

“AP Studio Art requires a huge amount of self motivation and drive. It is also humbling and a bit scary to ‘put yourself out there’ in your work, and participate in our class critiques. We have to develop a huge amount of trust as a group to be able to constructively discuss our work,” Martin said.

Senior Kayliegh Cox puts the finising touches on her portrait. photos by Summer Turner

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Art requires dedication, creativity and an open mind, but for the AP studio art students, art requires much more than just the basics. AP art students individually choose a concentration (exclusive attention to one theme or object) to work from over the year.

The concentration art must display the message the artist is trying to show.

This year, there are very interesting concentrations chosen, from childhood stories to the seven deadly sins. Each concentration is unique and completely created from the artists’ minds.

Students try to complete one concentration piece every two weeks and then have a critique in class. They strive to accomplish the goal of having 12 pieces at the end of the year to send to AP Studio Art readers in New York.

Students also send 12 breadth works from Drawing and Painting I and II (the prerequisite classes).

“I really have a deep passion for my concentration because it is about

books and I love books,” senior Sarah Pletcher said. “I personally think that books are a way to go on journeys and face challenges that we could honestly never experience in our own lives. I am trying to convey all these experiences through my work.”

AP students feel a lot of pressure when choosing their art concentrations. Students’ work with this theme throughout the year and the concentration must convey meaning for themselves and others.

“I started playing around with different ideas that I thought it would be cool to make into a series and I thought of nightmares,” senior Madysen Mires said. “My concentration is becoming more surrealistic as it evolves. Watercolor is my favorite media because it is easy to manipulate and make look interesting.”

Senior Anna Graft is also working hard on her concentration of the seven deadly sins and how they relate to religion.

“The seven deadly sins concentration helps me to learn more faith,” Graft said. “I try to make the pieces connect to most people. As the concentration continues, I’m learning how to work with the media.”

AP Studio Art is the only art class at the high school that can use multiple medias (two or more different art techniques) to display work. This allows students to produce work that is more personal.

“I enjoy the personalization of every AP Studio Art concentration,” AP studio art teacher Debra Martin said.

“The fact that all AP students work so hard to develop a theme and improve their work over time, pushing to try to evolve, yet continuing with the same visual cohesiveness, is difficult.”

AP studio art students continue to work hard all year on their work by adding to their concentrations. Students try to work with the concentrations so almost

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news Seniors Chris Vlamis and Ryan Prewitt discuss current events in preparation for the next Model United Nations conference. photo by Michaela Lamb

united we stand

by Sydney Perkins

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LHS students learn how to keep the peace.

The Model United Nations Club attended a conference at Park University on November 12. The team of 17 did an outstanding job, however some were not too pleased with the results.

“The conference went fantastic, my students are just brilliant, though it was a little bit disappointing because they changed the way the awards were given, so a lot of our students that should have gotten awards didn’t,” United Nations sponsor Ellen Meade said. “But we don’t just go for the awards; we go for the learning, so with that said I think it was very successful.”

During their competitions, Model United Nations members utilize debate and conflict resolution skills to simulate the United Nations system. Topics which might be addressed include human rights, economic development, globalization, the environment, and peace and security.

All members participate in two competitions each year and some students will be selected to travel to Chicago in February for an additional competition.

“The main goal of this club is to further students understanding of the role of the real United Nations, to educate my students about real world issues, promoting peace, and all the work that the United Nations does,” Meade said.

There are a wide variety of students in this club. However, many of them joined

because of a mutual liking for public issues, speaking and having other friends in the club.

“Some of my upperclassmen friends were in it,” senior Bethany Nelson said. “I decided to join my sophomore year and I really enjoyed it because I like giving speeches and representing a country.”

Some members join because of their friends in the club and later realize they really love it.

“I have several friends who were in it and they told me it was really fun,” sophomore Ben Anderson said. “I enjoy the challenge to go out and compete and speak in front of other people.”

Before the team goes to conferences, they must first prepare. Upon attending a conference, students are first assigned a country by one of the clubs sponsors.

They spend a lot of time researching the given country to determine the countries beliefs on different topics. By doing this they are able to construct their position paper. They then go on to use this information to discuss these topics during conferences.

“We start out writing a position paper, which starts with a lot of different internet research to find out your country’s stance on different topics,” junior Haley Brown said. “Then [we] organize research and write the paper based on what they [the sponsors] want you to. We take it to the conference and speak on those subjects.”

This club may be centered on serious issues, but students also have a lot of fun, too. They get the chance to socialize with their friends and meet new people.

“I get to go with Haley Ferguson, who will be my partner for Chicago,” Brown said. “It’s really fun because you get to go out and meet a lot of new people, work, research together and publicly speak to get people to join your side.“ By the end of the year, students learn many great things from being a part of Model UN and are thankful for that.

“I get to take away a lot of knowledge on world events and I think it’s important because not a lot of people understand the impact that we have and will have on the world someday. I get to speak publicly, research and learn,” Brown said.

Some of the students also feel this club will help them become better leaders for later down the road.

“I take away a sense of leadership among other people,” Nelson adds.

“Being a delegate of a specific country helps you to be a leader for that country and your community as whole and just public speaking skills for later in life.”

Those wanting to join a club where you learn about the real world issues and topics should check out Model United Nations. They meet every Monday evening for an hour to discuss current world events and prepare for competitions.

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name that round!

by Michaela Lamb

Debate students offer a brief overview of the different topics they cover.

Humorous Interpretation “The event is a ten minute prepared piece, that is meant to be funny. You play all of the characters, so you have to find a way to be multiple different people within the 10 minutes you have. Usually, you cut the piece from a script and since it’s only 10 minutes, you usually end up with a shell of the original script you choose, but you still have to get the story across and try and make it funny.”

“It is a forensics event. You don’t have a partner.”

-Senior Ryan Anders David Robbins: Extemp

Public Forum “[Public Forum] is an event where you have a partner.

Each month we get a new case and we get new evidence. Its one of the shorter debates but its one of the more complex ones because you are constantly getting new topics, new evidence, new things to research. Generally both partners will write a case, and it takes a lot of practice on both sides, but there is a lot of teamwork involved. There are a lot of circulating ideas.”

“My partners name is Lily London.”

-Maddie Whitar

photo by Summer Turner

“Extemp is an event where you draw a card, based on current events we hear about in the news. You get a question asking about what’s going on [concerning that event] and possible solutions. What you would do is set up a flow; which tells you how you are going to present your plan to a judge, but you only get seven minutes. You usually get about three contentions, talking about the past, present and future of the topic.

You are basically describing your solution and how it would impact the international, or the American community. “ -Senior David Robbins

Senior Chris Tervort discusses his issue with a fellow debator while researching information. photo by Sarah Andrews

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Junior Haley Brown and Senior Allie Holyfield rehearse for their upcoming tournament with lots of enthusiasm.

Exempt

So This is

Christmas,

story by Lauren Kenney

design by Madi Denton

Clubs at LHS give back this holiday season.

Left. Juniors Jennifer Meyers, Sydeny Frost and Hannah Baldwin pack care bags for the homeless.

Right. Senior Anna Graft wraps gifts for Key Club’s adopta-family. photos

by Nicole Throckmorton

Serteen Serves Key Club Cares Not only is Serteens lending a helping hand to put together care bags for those who are less fortunate than them, they are also having a great time coming together as a group for a good cause.

“We try to put as much stuff as possible into the bags. They contain a lot of necessities like deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc,” ju nior Lauren Wrigley said.

They are working with Hope Faith Ministries, which is a non-profit, non-denominational, faith-based ministry that serves the needs of the homeless and less fortunate in Kansas City. Their goal is to transform the community by breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty. When Serteens is done making the care bags, the Hope Faith Ministries will distribute them.

“It’s a great way to help people that are in need,” Wrigley said.

Students are not scroogin’ around when it comes to making people’s holidays cheery. For the students in Key Club, a community service-based leadership organization, it is not just about getting all the hours they need to meet their goal, but it is about helping others.

“You get back as much as you give,” senior Kayley Cassady said.

This month they are doing a project called Adopt-AFamily. The family consists of four people: a mother and three children ages four, eight, and twelve. They used to be homeless, but are now getting help from Hillcrest Transitional Housing.

“The kids rely on us for Christmas presents,” junior Erin Kiely said.

A student has to pick up a list of gift needs during one of the meetings and it will have what they need to buy for one of the family members. The student can also buy them other gifts, as well.

“Almost every member took an item sheet,” Key Club Supervisor Erin Garvey said.

But What Have You

DONE?

Vo Tech Visits

photos by Madi Denton

John Potter is an instructor for the Excelsior Springs Area Center. He started working there in 2010, where he carried his tradition from his last job over to his students. His tradition is to get people together to adopt a family for Christmas.

In 2010 the students raised one thousand two hundred dollars in just two weeks and adopted three families. Last year they raised over three thousand dollars and adopted ten families. Their goal this year is to raise five to six thousand dollars and adopt 20 or more families. Kelsay Cohalla is apart of this tradition.

“The best part is helping out kids and making it special for them,” Cohalla said. How this works is Potter will get all names and talk to the families who are in need, then right before break he takes the funds, the Santa list, and a large group of high school and adult students to go shopping for the gifts. They first buy groceries such as turkey, ham, stuffing, or rolls. Then they buy clothes and toys. Whatever is left over they go back and buy as much food as they can and split it evenly with the families. After the students wrap, sort, and box the supplies; on December 22 they all gather at the school, load up, and deliver the gifts.

“My students deliver the supplies so they learn it is better to give than to receive.

Many are often moved by the tears and very thankful parents,” Potter said.

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decked out with deca

by Aly Copp

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LHS students prepare for owning their own businesses.

“I am interested in owning my own interpreting service one day,” senior Victoria Coy said. “American sign language.

I want to own a business that contracts out interpreters. Not necessarily on the good side, but more of a service.”

Coy is one of the eight students in the Distributive Education Clubs of America, also known as DECA. “Basically we are all people who want to be entrepreneurs or are very interested in entrepreneurship,” Coy said.

“We go to competitions and are informed of a business, and we basically have to try and sell that company to somebody else, and convince them to be interested in our company or business.”

DECA is open to all students involved in a marketing class. The students involved in DECA now are all seniors who are in the Fundamentals of Marketing class. However, students who Club member senior Alex Zaborac practices the are in Sports Marketing or profession she was given in a meeting to prepare for Entrepreneurship can also be a an upcoming competition. part of DECA. photo by Jessica Renzelmen “This is my first year in DECA,” senior Alex Zaborac said. “I think this club is possible level competition in the spring and if the for anyone to succeed in, you just have students do well enough there, they can to take the marketing class to know all then go to a state conference in the Lake of the information about it.” of the Ozarks. If the students perform The thing that DECA focuses on the well at the state conference, they would most is competitions. They do a district then qualify for nationals, where people

from around 10 different countries all compete. “[Right now] we’re just getting ready to get rolling with our meetings so that we can start looking at what competitive events kids want to prepare for, and participate in,” DECA sponsor Scott Howard said.

The students participating in the contests do not know what company they are going to have to try and “sell” to the judges until they get there. When the students get assigned their company with its information, they have 15 minute sessions to get whatever information that they need, they then get some prep time before going in front of the judges.

“We’ve had quite a few students that have made it to the state level,” Howard said. “Some students a few years back made it to the international level where they went [and competed] for a week in Louisville, Kentucky.”

DECA only meets two or three times per semester. During these meetings, the club discusses the different competitive events that are available for them and strategize how to prepare for them.

“I think [the students] like DECA,” Howard said. “We’re not quite as intense as some of the other DECA groups around the state, but the kids seem to like that because they know that they can make it work with their schedule and still stay involved.”

15

news

They’re Coming

by Preston McConnell

Administration prepares for the incoming flood of freshmen next year.

photo courtesy of Jamilia St. Ann

the high school.

With an extra grade running around in the building, it is bound to feel more chaotic.

“Yes, it will be packed for sure,” junior Mattie Ann Swenson said. For many people, it is already hard to get to class with the five-minute passing period.

By adding another grade, some people think it will be very difficult.

“Yes, the hallways will be a lot more crowded, so students won’t be able to get to class as fast,” Swenson said.

There are many other concerns racing through students heads about the freshmen coming to the high school. One is having classes with them. Upper classmen might hate this because, ‘they’re so young’, but remember everyone was once there too.

Sophomore Jackson Jones and senior Zac Dittmer think that we should have classes with the freshmen if they are smart enough.

Swenson is very optimistic about the whole transition and thinks it will be a good thing.

“I think it will be good for the freshman to be in the school, especially if they are on high school sports teams because now they will feel more apart of the team and school,” Swenson

said. “We will also not have to wait for the freshman to get here to start the practices.”

Many people are wondering what is going on in administration and what will happen at the high school. Adams made it clear that the high school will be ready for the up coming transition and that it will be great for all grade levels.

According to Adams, moving the freshmen to the high school will help them understand how important the classes they choose are and it will open up so many opportunities for them to take classes they really enjoy.

For the upper classmen, life might get a little bit more like college life.

With the filling up of the high school, the students might have to walk over to Blue Jay Tower to take their college level classes.

Adams believes this is a great idea because, “Looking at what our seniors need, and utilizing space, saying ‘You know what? You’re a senior in high school, in 18 weeks you’re going to be a freshman in college. I trust you to go to Northwest to take your classes.’ And so really creating that more mobile, flexible campus feel for the upper classmen.”

the bell

As many people know, freshmen are making the big switch to the high school next year. This will free up space and money for the district, although our beloved LHS will become more crowded.

“This is a very cost smart process that the district is going through because we have two wonderful facilities. It is more cost effective to redistrict, have four middle levels that can have smaller grade levels and then bring the under class men up to the high school that are built for larger capacity,” Dr. April Adams said.

Currently, there are too many students in the middle-leveled schools and those schools are getting too full for comfort.

The high schools are built to hold more people and allow more class choices.

“This year, all the middle school principals and high school principals have been meeting regularly for about three to four hours every Friday.

And in these meetings, we are going through elements such as staffing needs, scheduling needs, programming needs, facility needs, furniture needs, curriculum needs and looking at all those components,” Adams said, explaining what has to be done in order to get ready for the freshmen coming to

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In the world of evolving technology, teenagers look to social media to keep up with their increasingly fast paced lives. Long phone calls and AIM are things of the past; most teens now rely on texting and tweeting. With high demand for the new ‘it’ thing, technology has taken on a world of its own. Cell phones are not only used for phone calls and text messages anymore as they can be used to surf the net, check some scores, or write whatever is on your mind for the world to see. It is safe to say that technology has taken over the lives of everyone, especially teenagers.

“I spend way too much time a day on sites like twitter and tumblr,” senior Courtney Gartner said.

Gartner is not the only teenager who probably spends more time on social media sites each day. Not only are teenagers able to access their favorite sites from computers at school and at home, they can access these sites from their cell phones at any time of the day for easier and quicker results.

“I have my phone with me at school,” junior Erin Kiely said. “So I probably spend a lot more time than I realize on these sites.”

We have seen many technological advances over the years, which are causing problems in some aspects of our society. Suddenly, printed newspapers have become old news; most newspapers such as the New York Times and Boston Globe have turned to the internet to get news out faster and more efficiently. Newspapers, however, are not the only thing evolving, ten years ago; cell phones were big blocks that could not even fit in a person’s pocket. Now we have phones so light and tiny that breaking one is common.

The technology advances we have seen have caused the rise in social media, because people want to connect with old friends, family members, and celebrities the evolution of social media has rapidly increased.

FACEBOOK PINTEREST TWITTER

hot spots When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook the world was taken by a storm, everyone wanted a Facebook. As quickly as the want for a Facebook hit the world, so did the want for yet another new thing Twitter came around and Facebook was quickly replaced.

“I think Twitter has taken over Facebook because it’s easier to connect with,” sophomore Ashley Rocco said. “And people just like to be able to connect with celebrities.”

It seems it is only a matter of time before the ‘new’ social site launches and Twitter quickly becomes another thing that people used to have. With the amount of technological items we have in today’s society, one can only wonder what it will be like in ten years.

There is no doubt that the way people connect in ten years will also be mind-boggling, perhaps there will be holograms or quick transporting from one spot in the world to another to see whoever one wants to see. This also makes one wonder if the technology and the way we connect will somehow negatively affect future societies.

“There will definitely be a negative effect in the future,” Gartner said, “think about how much we depend on this stuff now, it will end up being the only thing we depend on.”

Although, we cannot ignore the negative effects, such as declining communication skills social media and less face-to-face interactions, could potentially have on our future, it has definitely been the greatest advancement in our society today. We can now do things in a matter of seconds that would have taken days or months to do 50 to 100 years ago. With positives comes negatives, and there are many negatives in the world of social media. Social media has helped people connect in ways that would have been unheard of in past societies. The advancement in the technology we use and the way we connect with one another has been just another guilty pleasure in today’s society.

TUMBLR INSTAGRAM REDDIT

Hipster?

Please.

story by Zach Kilgas

Apparently, LHS has no hipsters.

The Bell Staff searched for hipsters with hopes to further understand their personal, and amazingly creative styles.

Yet, none were found. None. No lovers of cats, triangles, moustaches, or tumblr. Nobody that refuses to conform to the fads and trends which are popular. Or not? Upon searching for these scenarios The Bell staff found no hipsters, or none who would admit to it. LHS has a strange phenomenon occurring: we have no hipsters.

“I am not a hipster,” junior Remi Rocha said.

“I don’t think I’m weird enough to qualify as a hipster,” junior Alexia Irons said.

“Under the criteria no, I’m not a hipster,” Junior Sara McClay said.

“No, I am most definitely not a hipster,” junior Daniel Evans said.

Each of these students was suggested by their friends to be a “hipster,” but they did not agree. In fact, each went further to deny any possibility that they could be a hipster.

design by Michaela Lamb

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For a further explanation of a “hipster,” Webster’s dictionary was consulted: “a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns.”

“I think that’s not right, mainly ‘hipsters’ try hard not to conform, and will choose to reject anything they think is popular,” Rocha said.

photo by Lucas Carrel

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Certain distinctions were made by students interviewed and this definition.

“I guess it just sounds weird.

Because for me, it’s the name tag thingy that I don’t like,” senior Nobian Henan said.

“And I think it’s the whole Internet thing that made hipsters popular, some people think they’re hipsters but shop at Forever 21.”

“I just try to be creative and original with my style,” senior Jessica Renzelmen said.

These students personal style.

explained

their

“My style is like ‘old lady’. For me I try to be obscure about how I dress and everything,” Henan said.

“I just try to dress nice, and choose clothes that not everybody has,” Evans said.

“Usually I just buy my stuff on the internet, and dress how I want to,” Irons said.

Each agreed that finding their personal identity is more important to them than classifying themselves as “hipsters.”

One teacher finds the “hipster” style of dressing amusing.

“I think it’s a fun way for students to be able to express themselves and sometimes it’s comical because it’s all about making fun of other time period’s style of dressing or typical way of dressing,” Spanish teacher Gabrielle Stolwyk said. “So, it’s sometimes ironic and really an interesting throwback to another time.”

One student provided the reason why LHS has no “hipsters.”

“Hipsters are people who don’t want to be stereotyped, so then they fall under the stereotype of people who don’t want to be stereotyped.

It’s like stereotype inception” junior Mallory Pinson said.

In summary, we have ‘no hipsters,” but who really “name tags” and “labels” anyway? However, we do have a handful of amazingly unique students.

20

Spotlight on Sophomore

Creyana Robb The Last Time

by Sydney Perkins

I Tried something new “Everyone kept talking about how great Pandora was, and I had never really tried it so, I tried that last week!”

“When I was home by myself my brother was playing a prank on me by banging on the door and stuff, and that really freaked me out!”

I got Hurt “I pulled a tendon in my foot, and it was just before basketball tryouts.”

I got a new “I got two zebra finches [birds], but they both got really sick and right now we’re having to spend a whole bunch of money to get them healthy again.”

THE BELL

Thoughts on Creyana “Creyana is a fantastic student, and she is probably one of the hardest workers I have. I think her biggest strength is her perseverance- if she doesn’t get it, that does not discourage her from trying. She will work until she figures it out!” math teacher Erin Ramsey said.

photo by Sarah Andrews

I got scared

Spotlight on junior

21

Tyler Miller

by Mat George

The Last Time I went Black Friday Shopping

“I went to the Independence Mall. I pretended I was a shoe cleaner and cleaned peoples shoes. They left after they figured out I wasn’t real. I didn’t end up buying anything. I also sat outside of Best Buy for two hours waiting in line but I didn’t even go in. It was pretty unfortunate.”

I had an Exit 1-6 Show “It was the pajama show. I enjoyed it because I wore a onesy.

My favorite part was when I got dragged across the stage by [senior] Michael Murdock. The audience suggestions were really good at that show. We went to Perkins, like we almost always do, after the show.”

I was in a Fight “My last fight was with Taylor Jackson. He threw a Thor hammer right in my dome. I choked him out. I cried after the incident and then we hugged it out. We fought because he stole my sandwich.”

“Tyler is insanely funny. He plays like he’s been in Exit 1-6 a lot longer than a few months. He’s naturally funny...but he also picks up on things really fast. He’s got great energy and he’s absolutely fearless. When it comes to improv, he’s a team player. He can fearlessly take the lead in a scene, or do really smart, hilarious stuff in the background— whatever it takes,” Troupe leader Trish Berrong said.

THE BELL

photo by Sammi Novak

Thoughts on Tyler

22

Spotlight on Senior

Cade Crow

by Aly Copp

The Last Time I photobombed

“I actually haven’t photo bombed recently, but I was going to at the National Honor Society Induction, but I didn’t get the chance to.”

I caused a scene “I can’t remember, probably on the soccer field getting a yellow card for yelling at the ref. I was causing a scene. I didn’t really say anything to him, I was just yelling really loud and making loud noises because I disagreed with him. And a yellow card sends me to the bench and makes me have to sit down until my coach lets me go back in.”

I met someone famous

THE BELL

photo by Sammi Novak

“I don’t meet a lot of famous people. I kind of live in Liberty.

There’s not many famous people here. I don’t think I’ve ever met a famous person. But if I could meet a famous person, I would meet Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s pretty good at soccer. Actually, he’s really good at soccer. He plays for a Swedish national team.

Thoughts on cade “Cade is a dedicated player and somebody who wants to do well, and strives to do well. He is very athletic and when he sets his mind to something, he is going to accomplish it.”

Soccer coach Thomas Rottjakob said.

23

Spotlight On STAFF

Jennifer Thompson

by Jake Boese

I said goodbye

The Last Time

“I said goodbye to my family this weekend [Nov. 23-25]. I said bye to my husband 24 days ago [Nov. 2]. And I’m saying goodbye to all of my LHS family tomorrow [27].”

I packed “When I sold my house a couple of weeks ago. I am currently living out of two suitcases. I have to sit on them just to get them to close. I have six pairs of shoes and those were the last things I packed.”

I visited New York “I was in New York October 26-28; right before the Hurricane hit, and that’s when we found our apartment.

It’s at 46 and Lexington which is about a 15 minute walk from Rockefeller Center/Times Square and about a 20 minute walk to Central Park. I was lucky enough to get an apartment where the kitchen isn’t in the living room, there’s a bedroom, and it is a pre-war or vintage building with a doorman. It’s very Sex and the City-ish.”

I made a list

“The first couple of words that come to mind are brilliant, kind, classy, amazing, calming, and foundational. What do these words mean to me? She has been the rock that has kept our school functioning the way it has for the past six years as the Administration Assistant. She is leaving behind highly stylish, yet big shoes to fill,” Principal Dr. April Adams said.

THE BELL

Thoughts on Mrs. Thompson

photo by Sarah Andrews

“I made a list of all the places I needed to call to get my address changed. Places like Credit Card companies, KCPL, and magazines. I also had to make a list for Mrs. Bailey who is replacing me of all of my duties.”

TheEN

by Michaela Lamb and Molly Meeks

With rumors that have been circulating for years, the end of the world may be upon us.

December 21, 2012, a day people across the country have been nervously awaiting for years. For those who have not heard the Mayan’s calendar is ending December 21, which may lead to the end of the world.

This year’s prediction is being taken a lot more seriously compared to predictions in the past. The Mayans do have a long record of having correct predictions, the mathematics used to draw up the Mayan’s infamous calendar were incredibly sound and do predict chaos ensuing.

Many do not see the “end” coming soon and especially not on the 21.

“The world is not going to end because then there would be no Christmas, and Christmas would have to occur for the year to end let alone the world. Besides with leap years, the world should have already ended,” sophomore Joel Currence said.

photo

by S

ammi Novak

D?

2012 is not the first time someone has predicted the world’s end. In the recent years there has been the Rapture, the Y2K bug, the 2000 scare, and of course the zombie apocalypse hysteria.

Each of these predictions has created a large stir in the community, prompting people to take action and prepare for impending doom. On the upside, all of the past apocalyptic predictions have been false.

2012 has been the butt of jokes as well as the premise for several TV shows and movies. Doomsday Preppers follows several families through their plans for survival in case of a breakdown in society. The movie 2012 foretold strange natural disasters occurring all over the world.

Traditionally there are three types of reactions to hear the world might suddenly cease to exist. There are the preppers, the family people, and the bucket listers.

Preppers spend their time and money preparing a plan of action for surviving the anarchy that will occur once society breaks down.

“I would go to my backyard and build something in the ground big enough for me, my family, and my closest friends to survive. Between us we would repopulate the earth. So I could be dictator,” junior Johnna Stewart said.

Some people turn to their families and try to spend their hours with the people they love.

“I would sit around in my living room with my wife and child. I would leave school and go right home if I knew it was going to happen, dodging earthquakes and whatever’s going on to get there,” history teacher Zach Werner said.

Others want to go out with a bang.

They try to live life to the extreme and complete everything on their bucket list while they have time.

“I would do anything I wanted to do, but wouldn’t be able to do under normal circumstances. You know, skydiving and stuff like that,” junior Aaron Jones said.

National Geographic has debunked several common end of the world predictions.

1.

Rogue continents will destroy our civilizations.

2.

Planetary alignment will wipe out life on Earth.

3.

4.

Mysterious planets will crash into Earth and obliterate the planet.

Solar storms will fry the planet. * according to national geographic.

The majority of people are of the opinion that the end of the world will not happen, after all everyone who has ever predicted the end has been wrong.

Most students do not buy into the theory that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world on December 21, 2012.

“There’s no reason that it will [end].

I mean the Mayans had their calendar that restarts it doesn’t end,” senior Nick Smith said.

Some may recall NASA recently stepping out reassuring the American public that the Mayan’s were not predicting the end of the world. They explained that any predictions about the world being ended by a rogue planet or by a rain of asteroids were nothing but rumors. And that the end of the Mayan calendar was nothing more out of the ordinary than our calendars ending, people are just supposed to flip the page and start the new year.

The end of the world has been predicted hundreds of times, and today most likely will be just another fluke. But in case the world does end today, get out there and complete your bucket list, spend time with your loved ones, or try to prepare but let’s be honest, basically the world is going to explode, not end in a zombie apocalypse or overrun by aliens.

Good luck. See you on the other side. Or most likely tomorrow.

26

features

Happy HOLIDAY Traditions

by Grace George

the bell

The diverse student population at LHS shares their own holiday traditions.

Decorating trees, cookies and snowmen; the traditions really do vary.

With jeans, sweaters and long socks most of us will be hairy.

Family customs, they come and go, and they are great in the winter snow.

While some think holidays are boring and cold, most let out their inner “ho ho ho.”

There are a lot of different religious backgrounds that celebrate in different ways around Liberty. Americans spend their holidays in many different ways. Junior Connor McCoy spends the holiday season with his family at home.

“Everyone in the family comes over for Christmas and we have a great time,” McCoy said. “We watch movies, eat turkey and cake and play games. We play different board and sports games each year. The overall winner of the family tournament gets to take a trophy back to their house until the next Christmas get together.”

Unfortunately, McCoy has never had the opportunity to win the trophy.

“I try so hard every single year, but I can never get it! One day I will get it, I just know it,” McCoy said.

Instead of turkey and cake, senior Adam Talpers prefers more cultural foods to his Jewish heritage.

Talpers celebrates his Jewish heritage with family members during the holiday season.

“We celebrate like most Jewish families with Hanukkah,” Talpers said. “Basically, all we do is the candle and prayer each night, then presents at our grandma’s. I have been celebrating Hanukkah since I was a child, so it’s nice to think about all the memories that I have made with my family.”

One of Talper’s favorite parts about the holidays is the Jewish foods.

“Every year we have Matzoh, horse radish and parsley. It’s nice because that’s the only time of the year that I really get to eat that kind of food,” Talpers said.

While Talpers spends his holiday season with his Jewish family, sophomore Mary Mwuara spends them with friends that are just as close to her as family.

photo by Shelby Springer

With all the different backgrounds in Liberty, it is hard to find people that come from the exact same race or culture. Mwaura comes from an African American family who celebrates much different than most other families around town.

“We belong to an African Community group and during the holidays we all get together and have a meal. Everyone brings their own African dish to share. We have a bible scripture and then we eat,” Mwaura said.

Not only does Mwaura enjoy the food she is eating, she always likes being with people who are in the same shoes as she is.

“Since a lot of us have family in Africa, sometimes it’s hard because we miss them.

With the group all getting together, it’s great because we get to talk to people who know exactly how we’re feeling,” Mwaura said.

Mwaura is not the only one with fun traditions Math teacher Sarah Hertzog plans to have some fun this holiday season with her husband and their infant.

“We bought an elf on the shelf this year for my son,” Hertzog said. “Basically, it’s a toy elf that you put on the shelf. You can’t touch him, but he watches you every day.

Each night, he leaves to go tell Santa how you have been acting. In the morning, he comes back in a new hiding spot that you must find.”

Not only does she want to have great traditions with her son, she also has traditions she has been doing her whole life.

“Every Christmas eve I go to church with my parents. We come back to their house, make homemade pizza, and watch A Christmas Story together. It’s always a great time,” Hertzog said.

No matter how they are celebrated, the winter holiday season is one of the happiest times of the year for people all across the globe. From Hanukkah to Christmas, turkey to horse radish, and elf spies to Santa, everyone has unique family traditions that are special to them.

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B lue J ay

by Amanda Kovac

The tool? A needle. The canvas? Skin.

On the topic of tattoos, the Smithsonian museum suggests that tattooing has been around for 5,200 years, based on the discovery of the Iceman in 1991.

Since then, tattooing has become a popular form of art and self-expression, even at the high school age. Tattoos can be a symbol for something great in a person’s life, but they can also be dangerous.

“All of them[my three tattoos] mean something,” junior Jack Karriker said.

“There’s a fire ax on my shoulder because my family are firefighters. They always have been. There’s also a scroll that says ‘This is the Real Me’ on the Senior Haley Slaton’s lotus tattoo is visible as she walks inside of my right arm because if people ever want to judge me, I don’t really between classes. care… There’s a cross on the outside of my left arm with a K in the middle, photos by Jessica Renzelman because that’s our family’s tattoo.”

Tattoos can represent special memories, important people, or a future that awaits. Senior Meredith Graves has a tattoo of the Fleur de Lis. “It’s the symbol of the ancient French monarchy, which will be m y major in college and I plan on going to France,” Graves says.

Getting tattooed is a big decision and depending on the age of the person getting tattooed, parents need to be involved. It is illegal t o tattoo or pierce a minor without written parental consent.

“My mom encouraged me to get it. She helped me design it and she went with me and sat by me the whole time I got it done. My mom had to convince my dad a little bit, but he understood that i t was for a good reason,” senior Haley Slaton said. “It represents being open to different cultures because I travel a lot. It was just a good way to remember good memories in other countries and continue to learn more.”

Though tattoos seem fairly innocent, there are downsides.

In professional atmospheres, tattoos can be problematic.

Senior Kelsey Lewis’ tattoo has deep meaning for her “Some of our employees have had to go to great lengths to personally. conceal their tattoos. Many times our associates are with our clients, and we expect our associates to abide by their rules.

Often times their rules are stricter than our own,” Robin Smith, Cerner Community Relations representative, said.

There are not only downsides when it comes to business, but tattoos can also have high health risks.

“Some of the risks are: post infections and skin infections. They can be from staph infections to MRSA, which require IV antibiotics, hospital stays and sometimes even amputations,” nurse Michelle Kist said.

“One of the other problems with tattoos is even if you go to a reputable place, you don’t really know what their sterilization techniques are and there is going to be a big risk of contracting hepatitis and if you contract hepatitis, then you also put yourself at risk for Aids.”

Tattoos should be researched and young adults should be aware of all the flaws with sanitation and be willing to take that risk. Tattoo shops should be chosen with care.

Kist knows the downsides to tattooing firsthand, because one of her relatives Senior Justice Franklin’s tattoo is in memory of her father, who is paying the price for it with their life. “As a family member of someone passed away. that has contracted hepatitis C and is at the end stages of their life, that ‘it looked like a good decision at the time’ has been life altering for that person’s children, sisters, brothers and everybody involved,” Kist said.

+

Ink Metal

With tattoos and multiple piercings gaining popularity with the younger generations, Liberty students show off their ink and piercings.

Another practice of body art is piercings. The most popular forms are the ears, but many teens have piercings in their nose, belly button or lip.

Piercings can be an artistic decision or a disaster.

“I got it around three years ago. A friend of mine told me that it could be hidden and so I got it and I’ve just had it ever since. I’ve just never really taken it out,” senior Erik Whiteford said about his septum piercing.

There are a lot of reasons people get piercings; there may be a story behind them, they may be unique or just the way they look.

The same laws for tattoos apply to piercings. Minors cannot be pierced without written parent or guardian consent. This should be discussed and researched as thoroughly as tattoos.

“I just like that I don’t really have to do anything to care for them and they’re always there,” junior Remi Rocha said about her clavicle piercings.

“I just like that I don’t really have to do anything to care for them and they’re always there. With a nose piercing you had to work your make-up around it and these I just don’t notice. They’re just in there. They stay really clean too.”

In professional enviroments, piercings can be problematic.

“Body art must be appropriate for the business environment in which we operate. Anyone displaying inappropriate or distracting body art may be required to conceal it,” Cerner Community Relations representative Robin Smith said.

Making the decision to get a piercing so young could cause some issues because people are constantly changing.

“I don’t have any regrets; I just started to lose interest of it. It’s boring. I’ve seen it for three years now. It’s like, nothing can really change,” Whiteford said.

There are risks that come from getting a piercing. If the piercing tools are not sanitary or if they are not properly taken care of, piercings can become infected easily.

“It has already been infected because in the summer, if you sweat and sweat gets inside it, it can get infected,” sophomore Justice Thompson said about her hip embellishment. “It takes a few months to heal and by this summer it still wasn’t fully healed, so it got infected.”

Piercings can also be ripped out, which is not a concern with tattoos.

“With piercings you have the direct opportunity for laceration. A child could grab an earing or the metal device suddenly and pull and rip and that has happened many times, even with pierced ears,” nurse Julie Goodman said.

“I hope I won’t have any regrets because they’re going to scar really bad.

I kind of forget that they’re in now,” Rocha said.

Piercings can be dangerous, but for some it is worth it for the sake of art.

“Whenever people say stuff about them I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, those are in there.’ I like them a lot,” Rocha said.

Junior Shebly Bendure’s ear peircings add a bit of personal flair to her daily wardrobe.

Lewis chooses a gold hoop instead of the popular stud nose ring.

48% said, 'probably'

How likely are you to get another peircing?

42% said, ‘not likely’

98% said, 'definitely' 3% s “pr aid, ob abl y”

How likely are you to get another tattoo?

7% said, ‘not likely’

14% said, “definitely”

** percentages based on a total of 269 responses.

s k Nothing Roc YOU

by Preston McConnell and Madi Hater

With two disastrous hurricanes striking the US within years of each other, the Bell Staff was interested in the differences between the two storms and how they affected America.

A regular category five hurricane is over 156 mph and about six hundred miles in diameter. These storms can bring upon devastation like no other and it is up for grabs on which brought more pain and suffering to the affected area, Katrina or Sandy?

Science teacher Kathleen Moburg believes that the damage from the hurricanes were so great possibly because of the storm surges. Moburg and Gary Pierson explain a storm surge is basically formed because the pressure on the ocean during a hurricane is less when one is happening. A storm surge is when the water is essentially lifted up when it gets to the land and dives into the land.

They believe that this happens because of the air rotating and the heat pulling up the water inside the hurricane.

Pierson put it

photos by Sammi Novak

in words to explain easily, “picture it like a vacuum pulling the water up.�

Hurricane Sandy, as of right now, is the largest Atlantic hurricane reaching over 1,100 miles in diameter. Hurricane Sandy was started just from a tropical wave that got labeled a hurricane six hours after. Hitting some of the Caribbean, mid Atlantic sites, and the North Eastern part of the United States, it was disastrous and destructive.

Being the second largest hurricane, it obviously left a big mess. Sandy became the second most costly hurricane just behind Katrina, costing $65.6 billion. Sandy also took many lives in the seven different countries that were in its path, an estimated total of 253 people, according to CNN.com.

The hurricane brought up a wall of water by raising the water through the heat and energy it creates. The water must be at least 80 degrees for the hurricane to have enough energy and to be able to create energy.

Sandy was a special type of hurricane. After the hurricane hit shore and made its initial attack, coming from the north was another storm. These two storms combined and made a super storm that continued to wreck havoc all along the east coast.

People all throughout the storm prepared the best they could and people from all over were thinking of the victims. After the storm, supplies from many different states were brought together to send to the New England area to help rebuild after the disaster.

Like A hurricane Disaster struck in late August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Atlantic and Gulf coast. This deadly hurricane took approximately 1,800 lives and destroyed nearly 340,000 homes. New Orleans had the greatest damages and highest death count, according to weather.com Hurricane Katrina is considered to be one of the most devastating natural disasters in our country’s history.

With Katrina’s destruction widely publicized, many people took action to help the victims. People volunteered their time and money to help them recover. $1.3 billion dollars was donated for relief.

“24% of the money awarded by 112 independent, corporate, and private foundations studied went to economic and community development. 19% went to human services, 18 percent to education, and 14 percent to civil rights and public affairs,” according to philanthropy.com Some of our very own students were affected by this vicious storm.

“Hurricane Katrina was a horrible storm. Although it barely affected my family, and me it affected a lot of my friends, because a tree hit one of my friend’s houses,” sophomore Ted Hindman said. “The hurricane was very damaging and very windy, but I moved out before I could see anything. I think Katrina was more damaging. Katrina didn’t just flood like Sandy did; Katrina actually knocked down houses,” It is a known fact around the school that Hurricane Katrina directly affected the Greely family. Assistant Principal Eric Greely shares that the statistics don’t tell the story like the people who were in it.

“It was devastating; when you lose a house and two cars, all your precious belongings. It’s just devastating. But the good news is that we have life. I’m really appreciative of that,” Greely said.

Katrina’s desecrating aftermath created many issue, such as causing gas prices (regular) to increase significantly. As of July 29, 2005 gas had been $2.13, one month later, during Katrina, prices changed to $2.49. Over 1.7 million people were left without power, and struggling due to a lack of drinking water.

With the trouble of homes destroyed, it caused no shelter for many; the New Orleans Superdome was a temporary home to thousands of people.

The city came together in this time of distress, when people had no homes had struggled to find comfort.

“I think it was a time when the community of not only New

Orleans came together for such a devastating event. I think what surprised me more than anything is the community of the United States came together to support families that had been displaced. We couldn’t get to our bank accounts, our homes,” Greely said. “We went to Baton Rouge, LA where my wife’s mother is, to Texas where my brother is. We thought we were just going for a weekend basically and coming back home, we ended up staying for two months. We went back to our home after two months and it was just was just not a pretty sight at all.”

Making landfall as a category five hurricane, the highest rated for a hurricane, Katrina sustained winds of over 155 mph. A category five-storm damage is described as, “Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas may be required.” According to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security.

This tragic event struck people and made a huge impact not only then but continue to today still.

“When life is lost and we’re just devastated, and homes are devastated, it’s all about money; it changes the course of life for many people. Both of them were just awful. It created a lot of awful situations for a lot of families. I’m not going to necessarily say Katrina was worse than Sandy, but a lot people were in a lot of pain and hurt in both hurricanes. I do think that the government responded much better to Sandy than it did Hurricane Katrina,” Greely said. “In Hurricane Katrina, people got stuck in the Superdome, and couldn’t go anywhere; lying outside, covering people up in the French Quarter, and outside the dome. I mean my God we couldn’t even take care of people, couldn’t even get the National Guard in here. I mean Hurricane Katrina was just trouble. There was loss of life in Sandy too. It makes you realize how thankful we should be to have life and how precious life is, life’s too short to be mad with people and to be angry. It just makes you value life just a little bit more when things like that happen.”

Just like every devastating situation, people are coming together and working towards a recovery. With all the support and help from many charities and people the struggle will be minimized a little bit.

Hurricanes can really hurt a city, state, country, or family, but with support, there will be recovery.

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arts & entertainment

what’s trending? all that matters is the beautiful life

by Nathan Hunt It’s a call to action. “We were born to break the doors down/ fight until the end/ it’s something that’s inside of us/ it’s how we’ve always been/ Warrior/”. The title and opening track stakes a claim for Ke$ha’s sophomore album, Warrior. The follow up to her 2009 debut, Ke$ha explores a few different genres, ranging from pop to dubstep to rock ‘n’ roll.

The first single, “Die Young,” showed everyone that she still knows what she’s good at; producing dance-y, feel good music with catchy lyrics. That is not all what this album consists of, though. With an influence of dubstep on “Warrior” and “Supernatural” (that one is about getting frisky with a ghost, by the way), Skrillex would be proud.

Yet, Ke$ha knows how to take it down to a chill mood with cuts like “Love Into The Light” and “Wonderland,” both relying on the drums to carry you through the songs. Ke$ha then amps the energy back up with songs like “Dirty Love,” featuring Iggy Pop,

and “Gold Trans Am,” which are both more on the rock side of the spectrum. “Gold Trans Am” is reminiscent of The Runaway’s sound of rock. I kept waiting for Cherrie Curry to scream, “Cherry Bomb!” This song is one of my personal favorites, because of how hard it rocks and also of all the raunch in it. The song talks about picking up guys off the side of the road, and she states it pretty bluntly with the chorus, “come on climb in to my golden carpet/ love you ‘til you’re seeing stars and stripes/.” That is one of the tamest lyrics in the song, which tells you something. But what else can you expect from Ke$ha?

Overall, this album has variety and incredible songs with unique lyrics, since she writes all her own songs. She utilizes the production fantastically, careful not to overdo the auto tune on most tracks. If you had previously written off Ke$ha, I would give this album a listen because it might just change your mind.

the bell

musing over music...

“I really like The Black Keys and Modest Mouse. I enjoy listening to their music and they are fun to listen to. Right now, I am listening to El Camino from The Black Keys and Brothers; their last two albums were really good. I would consider them more Indie music,” sophomore Noah Pozel said. photos by Nathan Hunt

“I have been listening to a lot of Adele lately. I like her music a lot, I think it is really good. I also listen to Fun, who are also great. I like them because they remind me of the band Queen, they are one of my favorite bands. So I have actually been listening to a lot of Queen because of the band Fun. I think they are very reminiscent of that style,” French teacher Jessica Lumetta said.

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arts & entertainment

it is always darkest before the dawn

by Madi Denton

‘MERICA.

When I see a movie trailer, there are a few things that I tend to look for. It usually falls under these categories: explosions, love interests and hot boys. So when I turned on my tv to find the commercial for Red Dawn, I knew I had to see it. Then I got the chance to see an early screening premiere event in San Antonio, Texas with 500 other journalism students.

Taking place in a modern day town, Josh Peck and Chris Hemsworth must team up with other young citizens to free the country from the hands of North Korea. Being a remake of an 80s movie starring Patrick Swayze, it had large shoes to fill.

While staying true to the original, the directors of Red Dawn did a splendid job of making it their own. It seemed so realistic and I felt like something such as this could happen at any moment.

The cast was perfect. The combination of Josh from “Drake and Josh” and Chris Hemsworth from Thor is not something that I could have came up with, but it was a match made in heaven.

They complimented each other very well.

At first it came off slightly predictable. While I knew that I didn’t have it all figured out, I had

the ending pretty planned out my head. I maintained this train of thought throughout most of the movie, up until the huge plot twist that made this movie one of my favorites.

Part of what made me love this movie so much is the fact that it didn’t look fake. Lots of times when you go to an action movie, the explosions and deaths l o o k staged and unrealistic.

With this movie, I felt like I was in it, which could be due to the fact that I got to watch in in IMAX. This feeling t e n d e d to back fire at times when there was a lot of motion, which was when I began to get a headache.

Other than that, It was directed perfectly.

While the likelihood of a North Korean takeover ever happening is near impossible, it does not prevent the viewer from getting high on patriotism. It makes you question your loyalty and where you would stand in the case of an emergency such as that. I have no clue how I would react, but it definitely got me thinking. No matter who you are, you must go see this movie. It is a must see for sure.

No matter who you are, you must go see this movie. It is a must see for sure.

the bell

34

arts & entertainment

A christmas carol

the bell

I have been in drama classes, which made me appreciate all of the aspects of the production even more. So, some of my comments are a little amateur compared to the performances of Liberty High School’s A Christmas Carol.

On the first night, I was astonished by the hard work it took to make the set. The set rotated! It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen. The set was so realistic; it was like I was actually in London.

I was a little skeptical about the musical being in the Little Theatre, opposed to the Liberty Performing Arts Theater in the community center. It was a change I gladly accepted once the musical started, because it was so intimate. It truly made it seem real. The fact that the set rotated, made my heart happy!

Along with the setting, the makeup was phenomenal. I watched, totally enthralled, as my peers morphed into the real characters. Especially the makeup for Robert Louthain who played old man Scrooge, it was a “there’s no way” kind of moment, at first, I couldn’t believe that it was really Robert Louthain. The makeup and set crew need to give themselves a pat on the back.

The only thing I found truly flawed about the first performance on November 7, was the fact that there was a fog machine malfunction that set off the fire alarms in the Little Theatre; otherwise, I don’t know what is stopping them from getting the Blue Star award from Starlight Theater.

I felt bad on the first night the musical opened, a few younger kids were sitting in the front row, getting genuinely scared when Turner Staton took the stage as the ghost of Marley, Scrooge’s work partner, because his first scene was that realistic.

Usually, I don’t enjoy watching PDA, especially on this scale, but Tyler Miller and Ashley Stuck’s kisses were actually cute.

Without them, I feel like it would have lacked the emotion of the moment. I loved how sassy “Emily” (Ashley Stuck’s character) got when her husband was too busy at work to spend time with her, but it disappointed me when young Scrooge didn’t go after her. The actors really pulled me into the story, I was holding back yelling “GO AFTER HER!” along with old man Scrooge.

Above. Pictured left to right: Landon Tuso, sophomore Joel Currence, senior Christine Conge, and junior Lauren Moon as the Cratchit family. photo by Breann Koch

Review and design by Diana Timmermans

Right. Junior Turner Staton, Marley, coming back to life as a ghost Below. Senior Lauren Pouliot and Warren Tuso photos by Breann Koch

Below. Juniors Tyler Miller and Ashley Stuck react to Scrooge. (not pictured) photo by Jaileen West

35

arts & entertainment Lauren Pouliot as the ghost of Christmas Past was flawless.

I loved everything about her, right down to her sparkly red lipstick. The ghost of Christmas Past was the kind of character that sticks with you, from her voice, to her songs, to her crazy and beautiful costume.

The other two ghosts, Kelsey Lewis and Katie Corum, were equally impressive. I couldn’t picture a better Christmas Present ghost than Kelsey Lewis on her stilts and the adorable children tossing candy into the crowd and spreading the Christmas cheer.

Buddy the Elf says, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear.” The cast made this happen.

The last ghost, Katie Corum, played her part so well; it’s hard to find words to describe her otherwise. Both of her costumes, as the old blind woman and the ghost were eerie. The way she walked and stalked around the stage made you keep guessing what she would do next.

I think the award for most heart-melting performance goes to Tiny Tim played by Landon Tuso. He is the son of the prevention specialist Amy Tuso. Tim was an adorable little boy and I hope he grows up to be in more high school plays and musicals.

One part that amazed me was that I talked to Jimmy Sitzman after the show. He said his characters truly only had a few lines and all the rest was improv, so the audience would get a little different show every night.

To top off a perfect Christmas Carol they made it snow, I couldn’t imagine a better Christmas Carol musical. If you didn’t go see it you miss out on some really great theatre. Fantastic job to every cast and crew member involved!

Above. Seniors Kayliegh Tinkham and Sarah Andrews play the town nuns.

Below. Senior Robert Louthain as Scrooge with Tiny Tim, Landon Tuso playing in the Christmas day snow.

Above. The Ghosts of Christmas, Lauren Pouliot, Katie Corum, and Kelsey Lewis.

Below. Katie Corum as the Ghost of Christmas Future and Robert Louthain. photos by Jaileen West

the bell

36

arts & entertainment

g n i it up x Mi Reviews of mexican restaurants are rated on a scale of five maracas by The Bell reporters Haley Vickers and Meredith Crouch.

Design and photos by Diana Timmermans

Margarita’s

Haley: Los Compas has a very “homey” feel and is a local Liberty business. It is located right on the square and it is delicious. They serve traditional Mexican dishes and the service is normally pretty good. My favorite food there is their queso cheese dip. It is light, warm and tastes delectable. I always order their quesadillas every time I go. They are filled with the same melty queso cheese. Along with every meal, they serve Mexican rice.

Haley: Margarita’s has the best tacos! The Taco Tuesday special is my favorite. My ideal Mexican meal includes chicken tacos, rice and salsa. The chicken in the tacos is fluffy and lightly seasoned and also includes: lettuce, shredded cheese and I always add a little salsa to the top, just to spice things up. Their traditional tacos are juicy, hot, and always have a crunchy shell. I also love their enchiladas. They are filled with gooey, melted cheese and surrounded and drizzled with their original enchilada sauce.

Meredith: Los Compas is a nice place to eat and is at a great location on the square in downtown Liberty.

Their food is very flavorful and they have excellent service. Every time I go, I am seated right away and it never takes long for my food to come. I am not a huge fan of their salsa, it is too liquidy for my taste. Their meat and tortillas are both high quality. However, I do not like their cheese. The flavor is too strong for my taste and they have the exact same cheese on every single dish, it’s just too much in my opinion. Other than that, though, it is a great family restaurant. The inner decor is fabulous, it makes me feel like I am in Mexico.

Meredith: A great aspect of this restaurant is that it is walking distance from LHS, making it a great place to hang out after school. Their food is pretty good, but a little expensive for what you are getting; the portions are pretty small. They have great lunch specials, though, that come with a fountain drink. Last time I went, I ordered their shredded beef tacos, I enjoyed the juicy flavor of the meat. I have also had their ground beef tacos and though they were a little dry, they still had a good, spicy flavor.

I also like their chicken enchiladas, they are not too hot and spicy but not too bland. Even though Margarita’s is not my number one choice because of their prices, they definitely have high quality food.

the bell

photos by Diana Timmermans

Los Compas

n a c i x e M arts & entertainment

37

Style!

jose pepper’s

Haley: Jose Pepper’s is relatively new to the Liberty Area and I vote it a success. They always have reliable service and the people that work there always seem happy. Personally, I believe they have the best salsa. It just tastes so fresh and crisp.

I, also, enjoy their 99-cent espinaca dip, which is white cheese dip, mixed with some spinach and other tasty ingredients. I also believe their shrimp quesadillas are delicious. They are filled with cheese and shrimp.

Haley: I know everyone at school talks about how good Rancho Grande is, and don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. But, no way is it my favorite. I will say that the salsa there is pretty good and has a natural flavor. I am not a big fan of their tacos or enchiladas, though. Rancho Grande is a very popular place in Liberty. Lots of sports teams go there after games and lots of big families like it. It is a nice family restaurant and a lot of high school students work there. I understand why people like it, but it is not my choice for a fiesta.

Meredith: Rancho Grande is one of the most popular Mexican restaurants in Liberty, probably because of its convenient location and authentic food. After a recent visit, I got to test out this local legend for myself. I ordered their tacos and I really enjoyed them. The shells were nice and crunchy, the lettuce and tomatoes on the taco tasted surprisingly fresh.

They have a pretty wide variety of choices on their menu, so it is easy to find something you like. The service was decent, our food was brought out quickly and our waiter kept checking back to make sure we were doing okay. Rancho Grande has good prices for good amounts of food that are enough to fill you up. It has a family friendly atmosphere, and all the traditional Mexican favorites. It is a great place for anything, from birthday parties to a casual get together.

the bell

Meredith: Out of all the Mexican food restaurants in Liberty, Jose Pepper’s is by far my favorite. Usually I only go for the more authentic, non-chain restaurants that play exclusively Spanish music and have scenes of bull fighters painted on the walls. But I have to say, Jose Pepper’s is the exception. First of all, you obviously have to order the $0.99 Espinaca cheese dip.

It is delicious and such a great deal. Even if you do not order the dip, the salsa is flavorful enough to meet all of your chipdipping needs. It is a pretty chunky salsa and is flavored with basil leaves. It just tastes fresh. My favorite entree to order is the grilled steak quesadilla. It is also reasonably priced, and is big enough to share with a friend. The only thing I do not like is that, usually, their tortilla chips are all crushed into little pieces, making them a little difficult to eat. It is sometimes difficult to get a waiter to come over to the table, but overall, it is a great place to eat and hang out.

Rancho Grande

38

opinion

weather pros merry in missouri

the bell

Sarah Hartley Reporter

pro

pro

Every year, thousands of Missouri kids flock to Facebook and Twitter to express their distaste for Missouri’s erratic weather patterns. And every year, I want to say the same thing: so what?

There are many reasons that the irregularity in our state’s weather can be beneficial, or at the very least positive.

First of all, not many states get to witness the entire spectrum of seasons.

California, for example, is only able to look forward to pretty much just three things each year: heat, swimming and frozen lemonade. While the people who live there strut around in shorts and t-shirts all 12 months of the calendar year, we get to dig out our jeans and sweatshirts for half of a year and experience the other side of mother nature.

The argument that it can be a pain putting away summer clothes one day only to get them out again the next is a pretty silly one, as there is an extremely obvious and practical solution; layering.

Winter in Missouri is thankfully only blistering cold for about a month, so you can get away with wearing summer shirts under a sweater or a blazer for quite some time. It is much cuter, too, in my opinion.

In my closet, I personally like being able to have my jeans next to my skirts, and my coats next to my dresses. As our seasons do not last very long (70 degrees in November? What?), it does not matter that everything is together. It removes the haggle of having to organize everything

pro

and dig it all out every other month.

Second, our seasons are more than just rain or sunshine. They represent many traditions that would mean nothing without the crazy patterns of weather that coincide. I cannot imagine not being able to buy a hot chocolate at a Friday night football game in September, or not waking up to melted snow or the smell of rain in March and know that spring is on the way. Without this weather, there would be no real spirit for any holiday.

When one thinks of Thanksgiving, they think of chilly mornings, and thankfully, Missouri’s weather provides that for us.

And while everyone else is dreaming of a white Christmas, we get to actually live it.

Not to mention, snow days. There really is not anything better than waking up one random morning and seeing five inches of snow outside, with the radio announcing that school is canceled. What other state gets such sporadic surprises? Since our weather is not predictable, snow days can even occur in early March. I do not see why anybody would complain about that, because most of the time it is warm the next day anyway. Everybody wins when it comes to our weather.

Most importantly, our erratic weather lets us be smug and have superiority.

“Hi, I’m from Florida. I get to wear shorts on Christmas.”

“Yeah, well, I’m from Missouri. We get to experience all four seasons in one week.”

pro

pro

39

opinion

Weather woes Misery in Missouri

con

con

was that weird kid that thought tornados were cool and did not mind that one was right on top of us. Besides that tornado, there was the Joplin tornado and that tornado’s damage still speaks volumes.

Spring and fall tornadoes are worse than anything a summer storm could whip up, but summer and winter have their weather worries, too. Winter brings a wonderful clean, cold scent, that promises to clean away the allergens of fall, but with it comes freezing winds.

Before I was born, there was an awful blizzard in 1993, which trapped people in their houses. The snow was two feet high and you couldn’t open your front door. But if a blizzard does not come with the cold weather, a freeze certainly will.

I love the winter season, but sometimes, it is too extreme. To balance the extreme cold of winter comes the extreme heat of summer. I can safely say that summer is the worst season ever. It was over 100 degrees during a few weeks this past summer. And sure, you can swim when it’s blistering hot and risk getting crispy fried by the sun, but that is why there are indoor pools. After walking outside in the hundred degree heat a while with some humidity, your shirt can become soaked with sweat, leaving you with that gross, sticky feeling. It just makes you want to jump in a swimming pool with all your clothes on.

Missouri is a miserable place to live if you are seeking beautiful, mild weather.

The skies cannot decide whether to shine sun or pelt us with snow. The seasons can be cruel and the weather confusing, and that is why I call Missouri misery.

con

con

Alix Messer Reporter

con

the bell

Between the extreme weather conditions of Missouri, such as tornadoes and blizzards, the turmoil of the weather is almost too much to bear. Missouri seems to be able to only make extreme heat and extreme cold these days, but nothing in the middle. A nice seventy-degree day?

Forget about it. One day you will get 100 degrees with 90% humidity and the next will drop down to 40 degrees with blustery winds.

Missouri just cannot seem to get my favorite kind of weather right, which is sixty or seventy degrees and sunny. This perfect weather usually only happens around early spring or fall. But since Missouri is usually only extremely hot or cold, fall is mostly cold and blustery and spring is hot. I love the fall season and I am constantly disappointed that it does not last longer than a month. The only seasons that last a long time are the white winter wonderlands and the dog days of summer. I love many things about the fall season, like the leaves changing color and the cool weather, but I especially love the scent of fall: crisp air and a certain earthy scent.

Spring and fall have their downfalls.

The first thing that comes to mind are the tornadoes. Some are minor and don’t even touch the ground, others are town destroyers. If you were here for the tornado in May 2003, you know how hard Liberty was hit. William Jewell had a lot of damage and one of my friend’s houses got blown away. When that tornado hit, I was at the grocery store, right after I had gone to my elementary school carnival. The sky turned black and the sirens started wailing. It was terrifying. At the time, I

40

opinion

Staff editorial do you make negative assumptions when seeing a person covered in body art or tattoos?

When driving down the road or walking around the grocery store, coming upon someone covered in tattoos or piercings, do you automatically make negative assumptions about that person? The Bell staff agreed that the word “covered” means someone who has multiple and visible tattoos or piercings.

Discussing this question, the majority voted yes.

Tattoos are a way to express yourself, but sometimes it can be too much. When someone has tattoos all over their body, like coming down their arm or going around their neck, not knowing who the person is, it looks scary.

Society has made it seem like people who have these things are scary, such as in movies; the bad guys are usually tatted up or have piercings in various places. Another issue that

was concerning is having tattoos or piercings can affect getting or working a job. Two staff members gave examples of this from stories of their co-workers having to cover up their body art. From talking to four other students, their perspective on this topic was that tattoos are okay when they are covered up or if they are visible, but small.

Although, when it comes to getting “covered,” it is too much. Along with those students, two other teachers also agreed because it can easily be a distraction in class. The Bell staff isn’t saying tattoos and piercings are bad, but we believe you should be responsible about where you get them and how many you get.

Finally, think about your further career plans.

Will body art have future negative or positive consequences?

what the bell thinks...

17 yes, i do make assumptions.

4 No, i Do not make assumptions.

The articles on this page do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the entire Bell staff. Please feel free to comment, criticize, or condemn anything you see on this page in a Letter to the Editor at thebell@liberty.k12.mo.us

staff Columns say hello to goodbye

the bell

Editor in chief Nathan hunt

This is a goodbye letter. It will be my last column for the year 2012. Countless changes have occurred in my life throughout the year, including transitioning from a junior to a senior, breaking up and reconnecting with the same person three times and becoming a leader of two organizations. So I dedicate this column to saying goodbye, which is something at which I have never been an expert.

First, goodbye to my “childhood.” I turned 18 in July, signifying the turning point in my life as a “legal adult.” While I intend to still have just as much fun as a kid as an adult, I say goodbye to being able to classify myself as a minor.

Second, goodbye to my last first day of public school. I am so grateful that I have never had a bad first day of school. They have always been an enjoyable and exciting experience filled with meeting new peers and teachers. One exciting thing is, though, I have a couple more years of “first days of school,” except that will be in college! Eek! Third, goodbye to all of my friends, I will see you all in 2013! To my seniors: we did it!

We are halfway through senior year and are looking forward to a very promising end to a fantastic high school career. To my underclassmen: You all have given me laughs and many memories, thank you for that. I am so happy that I have been able to grow close to you over these couple of months, and I cannot wait to grow even closer in the upcoming months!

Fourth, FINALLY goodbye to all the stupid “end of the world” rumors. Not to be rude, but they could not have gone away soon enough.

I can now go on Twitter and Facebook in peace. So long and good riddance!

Lastly, goodbye, love. This is the hardest goodbye for me to say. You have sculpted me in to the person I am now. We had our ups and downs, but now that we have said our personal goodbyes, this is my goodbye, stating that I hope we both find someone incredible in the future. I will always love you because you were my first real love.

The year 2013 will bring many joys, along with challenges and even more changes. We all need to remember that some change is good.

So welcome it. Oh, and Happy Holidays!

opinion Go Figure!

Winter time is one of the most romantic seasons. Some people will refuse to believe this fact and I pity them, they obviously have no holiday spirit. Even I embrace this particular holiday season, and that should tell you something. I mean just think about it, one of the many solid points in my case is that you have to snuggle up with someone to keep warm in the winter weather! If that doesn’t make you say “awwww!” then I don’t know what will!

I can understand the reasons you have to not exactly be in the holiday spirit; Christmas music is only bearable so long, or not having a significant other to share the holidays with all the happy couples rubbing it in your face. I think everyone has had at least one Scrooge Christmas in their lifetime for their own reasons. So out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll give you a bit of romantic advice so this holiday season doesn’t go downhill for you.

To the guys, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, if you don’t already know. Ice skating. I have never met a girl who doesn’t like ice skating, well at least she has never expressed her hate of ice skating to me. Actually, it might even be the key to a girl’s heart. My place of choice would be Crown Center.

It’s fabulous there for any occasion like a date, to hang out

whirlwind in wichita

opinion editor diana timmermans

or maybe if you want to make a move to be more than just friends, then Crown Center Ice Terrace is definitely your place!

With the twinkling lights, the adorable life-sized wooden toys and characters, and the cheery Christmas station playing on the radio, it is not only the perfect photo op, but also creates a great atmosphere.

To the girls, this advice goes for Christmas time and everyday things too. Girls have it in their heads that guys are mind readers. In all reality, guys are so far from being mind readers.

So all the subtle hints you are dropping for your Christmas presents are basically worthless and a waste of your time. He won’t pick up on these hints. He probably has no clue what to get you. To prevent you from getting socks from your boyfriend this Christmas, just tell him exactly what you want. It might not be “super cute” or a surprise but he won’t be stressing out about getting you the perfect gift, and in the end, you’ll be happy you straight up told him what you want for a present. Also, don’t dry up his wallet with a super expensive gift, it’s just rude!

I hope this was a little helpful to get you through this romantic holiday season.

Ads Manager Shelby Curtis

more corners we turned, we realized we were heading deep into the bowels of the mall. It was disgusting. All around us was damp, green concrete, black cockroaches and screaming children. The children were the scariest of all. So naturally, I called all my loved ones and told them I was going to die by tornado and to go ahead and sell all of my valuables.

They told me I was being overly dramatic. I told them they obviously had not seen The Wizard of Oz, Twister or Tornado Alley. Hours later, when the terror had worn off and the boredom set in, we tried to entertain ourselves by sitting on the floor playing games. That quickly changed when a bug crawled across my foot.

It was a long, long time before we got out of that smelly hole. Okay probably only like 10 minutes but it felt like days. Moral of the story is, do not travel to Kansas in the spring, you WILL be held captive in a mall basement.

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Once upon a time...I took a trip to Wichita. I know that a trip to Wichita does not sound extremely exciting, but of course, everything bad happens to me, so it actually was an exciting time. It was two summers ago and my first year enrolled in the George Caleb Bingham Academy of the Arts in the Independence school district. We were travelling to different historical sites to get inspiration for our creative writing stories. No, this is not the exciting part. Hold on, I am getting there. So we roll into town with some time to kill and our particular class was made up of all girls and one boy, so we decided to go to the mall. We spent a few hours there and we were about ready to go to the hotel when we heard tornado sirens. Everyone in the mall looked around in confusion and a few mall cops (the kind who think they are real cops) ushered us into a random hallway. At first, it was a plain white hallway, but the longer we walked and the

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Sports

Together we elevate

by Nick Palmarine

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The team looks for new strategies to dominate the opponents.

The 2012-2013 boys basketball team is looking to avenge their disappointing end to last year’s season. The boys were shocked in last year’s district semi-final match up against the Kearney Bulldogs.

This year’s team is returning a handful of starters from last year’s squad and has added senior Kwaku Duah, who transferred from Winnetonka over the summer. The most noticeable difference between this year’s team and last year’s is the youth that this team possesses.

“The juniors this year are really good,” senior Eric Greely said. “They bring a lot to our team whether it be shooting, passing, scoring, or size.”

The junior class on this year’s basketball team also possesses some of the most experienced players on the team; Kellan Turner, Sam Griffin, Brandyn Moultrie, and Brandon Cardiff all saw significant playing time last season. Although, some teams may see youth in the team as a disadvantage, the boys seem to think otherwise.

“We’re young, we’re fast, we’re athletic,” junior Brandy Moultrie said. “It also really helps that we have been playing together since fourth or fifth grade.”

In the past, the boys dominated the court with their size; that is another difference in this year’s team.

“Our philosophies really never change but sometimes our strategies do,” head coach Roger Stirtz said.

“We’ve talked about playing with a little bit more tempo and being able to run the court.”

The team will rely on speed and quick, precise passes to beat their opponents, they look for juniors Turner and Moultrie to lead the team in this part of the game.

“We’re going to be more of a run

and gun team,” junior Kellan Turner said. “We’re going to have to rely on our speed and agility.”

Skills such as dribbling, passing, and shooting are absolutely necessary in the game of basketball.

However, there is one skill that gets overlooked, that skill is leadership.

The juniors may have a lot of skill but one thing that only seniors can provide is the leadership on the team. Seniors Cody Winters, Kwaku Duah, Arty Tuggle, and Eric Greely are expected to lead this team to accomplish the goals that they have made for this season.

“Leadership is for those who can handle it,” Stirtz said. “You have to be able to walk it and talk it, and I think all of the guys on this team can handle it.”

The boys have been working hard all offseason to get ready to show what they can bring to the floor and avenge the season ending loss to Kearney last year. Speed, quickness, and a full court game will make this season a fun one, not only to play but to watch. The boys are looking to run and gun their way to the state championship in March.

The team huddles up to set up a game plan and to get each other pumped up.

Senior Cody Winters squares himself up to shoot a free throw. photos by Jordan Wheelhouse

Junior Kellan Turner looks for an open teammate to pass the ball to.

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Sports

Plan your work, work your plan

by Grace George

The team adjusts to new head coach Noah Simpson.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”-Fredrick Douglas. The Liberty Women’s Basketball team has been through many struggles. Over the past year, the team has overcome numerous hardships including injuries, unwanted post-season results, tough practices, embarrassing losses and a whole new varsity coaching staff.

Noah Simpson, former Bashor High School head coach, is now a teacher at the Liberty Academy. Heather Wansing is a first grade teacher at Manor Hill Elementary School, a 2007 LHS graduate and a state champion. Together, they have taken over Liberty Women’s Basketball as the varsity head coach and the varsity assistant coach. They have high expectations for this season and future seasons.

“I want to win a State Championship,” Simpson said. “A lot of growth and success will come out of this season, but most importantly we will have fun.”

This is Simpson’s 10th year coaching and he wants to make it a good one. He is not the only one with high expectations for the season.

“We are going to win a state title,” junior Taylor Wetzel said.

“Everything is so different from last year but I think it will push us to have better results.”

Moving from one town to another is a hard thing to do.

Leaving friends, jobs, and sometimes even family doesn’t make it any easier, but Simpson believed the move was the right thing to do.

“I love Bashor and everyone in it. It’s so different because over there, it’s a small town where everyone knows everyone and Liberty just seems so huge to me,” Simpson said. “I made the decision to move because I saw an opportunity for personal growth and Liberty has a very strong tradition that I

wanted to be a part of.”

With a lot of adversity last season, the team needed something to change.

“Simpson is a really nice guy and he adds a sense of unity to our team that we seemed to lack at times last year,” junior Abbie Gentrup said. “He tells you how to fix what you’re doing wrong instead of just telling you you’re wrong.”

Gentrup isn’t the only player that enjoys having Simpson around.

“The main difference from last year to this year is practice is more laid back. Everyone is looking forward to practice, unlike last year where we were under a lot of stress every day,” sophomore Chiarra Franklin said. “Simpson doesn’t put any pressure on us and I love that.”

Though there was a significant change in the coaching staff, not all of the coaches from previous years are different. Junior Varsity coaches Ty Moss and Zach Werner remain as key parts to the program. Though this is their first year with the new coaches, the men have a positive outlook on this season.

“I really like how clear Simpson is in communication with the players, staff and parents,” junior varsity coach Werner said. “He handles his new responsibilities very well.”

Coach Simpson lives by a simple philosophy, “Plan your work, work your plan.”

“To me, that means to always have a plan, to set goals and to do your best to follow through,” Simpson said. “With that attitude in mind, I think we will come out victorious.”

The girls will turn things around this year and they won’t quit until the job is done. As Simpson said, “Until the final buzzer of our last game goes off, we won’t stop.”

Simpson informs the team about what their next play is going to be.

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New head coach Noah Simpson discusses a plan for the game with junior Taylor Wetzel. photos by Jake Stansbury

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Sports

On the go in H20

by Madi Hayter

The swim team sacrifices to achieve.

Moving into the winter season, the girl’s swim team is excited for a new year. These 28 girls, four of whom are state swimmers; are preparing for a new season.

Part of preparing for the new season is getting to know each other, through team-building time.

“We do pasta dinners every night before a meet, carb loading. We do a bunch of team things together, like lunch or breakfast if that’s what you would call it, after Saturday morning practices and stuff like that,” junior McKenzie Still said.

This year, there are many returning members and a few new freshmen. Senior Magda Bronakowska has been on the team since her freshman year, she has been swimming for most of her life.

“When I was younger, my dad; he was scared of water when he was growing up, so when he grew up, he said I don’t want our daughter to be the same way,” Bronakowska said. “So they just enrolled me into swimming lessons and I have been swimming ever since.”

December 18 is the girl’s first swim meet. To prepare for the meets, the girls practice six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

When going to meets, “you’re picked for four events, depending on your times. Most of them are two relays, and two individual events. It’s ranked from slowest to fastest (relays). There are 23 events.” Jones said.

The strokes you swim are determined by the coaches based on your time.

“Practice is two and a half hours, for the first 30 minutes

we do dry land- which is just stretching, exercising,” sophomore Abigail Jones said. “It’s at the community center. We are swimming, non stop. Maybe 15 second breaks between a set.

Still did dive last year, she describes the two as very contrasting sports.

“Swim you have to have a lot of athletic ability and stamina because you have to swim for a long period of time. Diving is more of a head game, you have to get yourself to be able to the thing,” Still said. “Diving is hard because you have to mentally prepare yourself to do things it takes a lot of guts to get you there in front of everyone and do that.”

School swim takes a lot of time out of social life due to how seriously it has to be taken. Some describe it as a lifestyle, or as who they are as a person. Swimming is all about shaving seconds off your races. A lot of sacrifices are made. “[You] just have to keep swimming and just doing it more.

When you do practices try your best, just swim as fast as you can.” Jones said.

“You have to eat healthy, practice a lot- obviously, and work your hardest because it’s not easy to take time off your races.” Still said.

The love for swimming goes beyond competitiveness for some.

“When I get in the water it clears my head,” Still said.

Swim team is something important to these girls, they work hard to form a team and support each other and strive for a win.

“We’re off to a good start,” Coach Murphy said.

Dreya Curnow

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Athlete of the Month

photo by Kathrine Kuhlmann

by Jake Boese

Height 5’7” Personal Best- 100 Free 52 seconds Events- Free 25, 50, 75, 100, 200,500. Backstroke 50, 100.

Fly 50, 100. IM 200 Dreya Curnow has impressed everyone with her talents shown so far this year. As a sophomore, she is one of the best swimmers and keeps the mood light within the team.

photo by Breann Koch

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Sports

Turkey!

by Amanda Kovak

The bowling team works hard to qualify for state.

Sophomores Caleb Kramer, Kevin Novak and Brandin Sidebottom all have their own style of aiming for a strike at Retro Bowl in Liberty. photos by Breann Koch

Even with such high scores and so much talent the Blue Jays are not the only bowling team lacking backing from the school.

“There’s only one team that’s connected to the school. It’s Oak Grove and they are part of the school. The other teams are just clubs,” Sidebottom said.

The students currently on the team would like to see more involvement from the school.

“Hopefully before I graduate next year the school will have become involved, but I don’t know if that will happen,” Garrett said.

Coach Noel believes that the students need to take more control of the situation.

“They would like for that to happen, but you have to have a sponsor to do that and it would take a lot more effort on the student’s part,” Adkins said.

All the present members of the Blue Jays also participated last year. The previous year during the qualifier for the state competition, the team placed sixth, just one place away from going to the state tournament.

“We were pretty good, but we didn’t end up at state, but now that we’ve got most of our sophomores and some juniors, we’re feeling really good. I feel like we’ve got a really good chance,” sophomore Kevin Novak said.

Even though they did not get the opportunity last year to go to state, this year they are even more determined, for the pride, the scholarships and possibly a trophy.

THE bell

“One advantage of bowling over golf is that you never lose a bowling ball,” Cheers star Nicholas Colasanto once said.

In past years, a Liberty bowling team has been working towards state competition. This year, they are just as determined to reach that goal.

The team is headed by Coach Noel Adkins, a long time bowler. The Blue Jays bowling team has been around for three years now.

“The kids wanted to start a team and they needed a coach.

They came to me,” Adkins said.

His only requirements were that a student had to be in high school, and must have a GPA higher than 2.5. The Blue Jays are currently trying to get the Liberty logo on their shirts, even though the team is not yet recognized as a school sport.

Currently the team is looking for a fifth member to compete with them.

“If you want to join, practice is every Thursday from 3:30 to 5:00. It’s fun,” team captain, junior Brian Garrett said.

Practice is held at Retro Bowl. There is a monthly fee of $15 dollars to bowl with the Blue Jays and it is open to anyone who meets the requirements.

Even though there is no bowling score requirement, students on the team have exceeded expectations.

“The highest I’ve bowled is a 270,” sophomore Brandin Sidebottom said.

“I’ve bowled 3 289’s,” Garrett said.

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Sports

Fall Season: story and design by Mat George

Players reflect on the fall season and set goals for next year.

Golf “We did well during the season. We got second place as a team at districts. My favorite memory of this season is going to sectionals as a team. My goal for next season is to do my best and to improve,” - junior Paige Warnock said. Pictured Below.

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Sophomore Alexia Harmon. photo by Taylor Jackson

soccer “My favorite part of the season was the St. Louis tournament and rooming with Harrison. I loved sitting on the bench and enjoying the view of the field because I didn’t play,” -junior Bret Schoenebeck said.

Pictured Below. Junior Charlie Raasch. photo

by Kathrine Kuhlmann

cross country

cheer

“We all made it to sectionals. The boys got first at district. A couple of individuals also went to state.

We have a party after every meet. Meets are a great way to meet people from other schools. Our motto is work hard play hard.

Each race is different because of the course,” -junior Zoe Pixler said. Pictured Below.

“Winning state was the best part of the fall season. It was really rewarding because we reached our goal. I’m looking forward to nationals. It’s going to be an interesting and exciting experience. Football games were fun.

They’re my favorite things to cheer at because they’re fun,” -sophomore Maddie Wittman said.

Junior Cheyanne Lamb. photo by Shawna Kingston

softball “My favorite part was traveling with the team because it was a good way to bond and crazy things always happen when we travel. I’m most looking forward to next year as being a leader because I’ll be a senior,” -junior Caitlin VanVleck said. Pictured

Below. Junior Jaycee Bernholtz. photo by Jaileen West

Pictured Below. Junior Aubrynne Lundgren. photo by Kelsey Buehler

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Sports

Call it a wrap volleyball

tennis

swim/dive

“We made it to sectionals. We had a very young but talented group. The good thing about that is we all had pretty much played together before so we kind of had an idea of what it was going to be like. We knew going into it that we had a special group and that we had the talent to be one of the better teams in Kansas City,” -senior Lauren Holm said. Pictured

“My favorite part of the tennis season was having a coach that was really involved and willing to make us a better team than we were last year, and we got to grow as individual players as well. The thing I’ll miss the most is all of the girls being together everyday after school and going to away games,” junior Libby Aguirre said. Pictured Below.

“Our record for the season was 18-3.

I’m going to miss going to state most from this season. It’s the most exciting time. I’m also going to miss the pasta dinners. My favorite meal was the chicken alfredo,” -senior Seth Witzki said. Pictured Below.

Below. Junior Taylor Denney. photo by Nicole Throkmorton

football “We got two weeks into post season and our record was 6-5.

My favorite part was finally getting with the group and winning conference defensive player of the year. I also liked getting to know the coaches. Friday night lights were also fun,” -junior Devin Houston said.

Pictured Below. Junior Jacob Francis. photo by Breann Koch

sapphires “We got first place for our dance at camp. I think we all get along very well.

We all hang out with each other. There’s also no drama. We work really hard and know what needs to be done and then we get it done,” -sophomore Madison Jones said.

Pictured Below. Senior Macayla Witt. photo by Breann Koch

Junior Austin Gray. photo by Summer Turner

Sophomore Nicole Carr. photo by Jake Stansbury

THE bell

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