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Presence Over Presents ‘Tis the season for outragesouly large checkout lines and high spending.
Heard Around the World Social media has brought people together in light of tragic events that contine to happen all over the world. However, the fast acting media coverage can also be part of the problem.
Relationship Goals Dating while in high school can be especially challenging in this day and age with the high expectations displayed over Instagram and Twitter.
TROJAN
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About the Cover:
Issue Three
December 2015
Photo By: Ali Ball
Junior Khalid Smith dances with senior Olivia Woods at the Winter Sports Assembly. The PHDT performed the annual boygirl dance.
About the back Cover: Photo By: Abby Hostick
Veteran Larry Shaver plays the trumpet at the end of the Veterans’ Day Assembly. He has been a crowd favorite at PHHS for the past several years.
1- Photo by: Joe Walker 2-Photo by: Keeley Myszka 3Photo by: Abby Hostick 4-photo by: Ali Ball 5-Photo by: Keeley Myszka 6-Photo by: Keeley Myszka
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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Dear Readers, The holiday season is full of traditions that have been carried on throughout generations. Every year, my family’s Christmas gettogether includes some sort of theme and an abundance of one-liners from Christmas Vacation. In 1997, Starbucks started their own tradition by introducing their first ever holiday cup. Now, 18 holiday seasons later, they welcomed winter with a new twist that was not exactly greeted by all with holiday cheer. Traditions are so important that whenever they are altered people seem to lose their minds. Even a coffee cup design can be enough to start some sort of nationwide upset. And I think what it comes down to is simply that people do not like change. We want everything to stay the exact same way it has always been. Traditions make us feel safe and secure because there’s something constant about them while many other things around us are not. Most people do not gladly welcome change in routine or tradition. In fact, many of us are thrown into dealing with change whether we want to or not. But, by being thrown into it, we learn from it. I think that Alan W. Watts says how to handle change best“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” And while we struggle when traditions change we particularly do not like it when people change. This can be one of the most difficult kinds of change to dance with. We are human. It’s inevitable that we are going to grow, move, make mistakes, and learn from all of it. But it can be hard to cope when someone we care about does or says something we wouldn’t expect them to. What’s even worse, is when they make a mistake that we find is just too big to ignore. I think our generation especially finds it easier to just cut people off when we see change in someone, rather than try to understand what it is they are going through. We can treat them as if the one mistake or change they made defines who they are or have always been. Sometimes we even take the change we see in someone else’s life personally. I don’t think that saying “you’ve changed” is a valid excuse to stop associating with someone just because you do not know how to grow with them. I believe that when we recognize change in someone else, we need to first ask ourselves what it is about the change that is unsettling to us. And ask if it’s worth compromising the relationship before making a decision to cut someone out of your life with no chance of return. This time of year always seems to fill everyone with more joy, compassion towards others, and warm beverages. So as you’re sipping your coffee from your Starbuck’s cup this winter, and possibly enduring change of your own, try to look deeper than the color of the cup and learn to embrace change for all that it is-an opportunity to learn more about yourself and the world around you.
15-16 Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Delaney Noland Senior Advisor: Ally Buchberg Design Editor: Keeley Myszka Copy Editor: Andrea Tenney Story Editor: Pierce Klempnauer Reporters: Ali Ball - Lucas Bruce - Kyleigh Conkling Abby Hostick- Chelsee Tirmai- Mia Tyler - Alec Wormington
The Trojan, published monthly during the regular school year, is the official publication of Park Hill High School, and is printed by Antioch Printers in Kansas City, MO. All unsigned editorials represent the opinion of The Trojan staff. Editorials do not necessarily represent the opinion of the faculty or administration including the adviser. The student body receives this paper free of charge to encourage readership, promote awareness of school and community events, and issues, and to showcase student journalistic work. The Trojan welcomes letters to the editors. All letters must be signed to be published, but may be anonymous if the author chooses. Letters may be no more than 350 words and must be delivered to room 350 ten days prior to publication. The Trojan staff welcomes comments, questions and opinions. Send comments to berans@parkhill.k12.mo.us, 7701 Barry Road, Kansas City, Mo 64153, or call 816-359-6238.
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Best Buddies
The newest club at PHHS is designed to “disable the label”. The club pairs up a special education student with a regular education student to participate in activites together and get to know someone who they might not have had the opportunity to before.
Teachers as Coaches
Many PHHS teachers started out as coaches and many coaches later became teachers. Some believe that having a coach as a teacher changes the way a student athlete learns in their coache’s classroom.
Netflix
Watching televison on an actual televison for teenagers is becoming less and less common due to the access of online streaming sites such as Netlfix and Hulu.
Heard Round the world
Social media has brought people together in light of tragic events that continue to happen all over the world. However, the fast acting media coverage can also be part of the problem.
Princes of Park Hill
On December 3rd, nine of PHHS’ finest battled it out through Disney songs and dances. Here is an in depth look at the contestants of the 2015 Mr. Park Hill contest.
4 CAMPUS Marcin Glebocki: Band If you were a shoe what kind would you be? “I’d be a knee-high pair of platform shoes. Because [I’m] tall.” Cooper Link: Math Club Which celebrity would you invite to a dinner party and why? “Donald Trump. Just to meet America’s Golden Boy.” Alec Wormington: Newspaper If you could be on the cover of any magazine, which would you chose and why? “The Trojan here at our very own Park Hill High School, because it is the finest magazine in all the land.” Lucas Youtsey: NHS What color describes you the best? “Tickle Me Pink because I have a sweet and bubby personality.” Eric Mathis: Concert Chorale What has been your greatest accomplishment? “My greatest accomplishment has been eating 50 consecutive chicken nuggets my third year at all state solo and ensemble.” Nate Sumimato: Speech & Debate If you could change one thing about the world what would it be? “I would like to get rid of the unfair inequality in this world.” Ryan Moise: DECA What color describes you the best? “Orange because I’m bright and obnoxious.”
Liam Redinger: Senior Exec. What famous person is your personality most parallel to? “I see myself as a mix of Will Ferrel and Zac Efron because I like to have a good time but I can get real too.”
2015 Mr. Park Hill
Henry Eckold: TARKUS If you were a pet, whose pet would you be? And why? “I’d want to be one of Coach Haley’s dogs because he’s a great man with some great dogs.”
By: Chelsee Tirmai and Ally Buchberg Forget the gowns, this season is all about the suits. Mr. Park Hill is an annual event that showcases senior boys and their personal qualities. The theme this year was Disney Princes, which is only fitting for the boys of PHHS, each their own style of royalty. Every year, there are queens crowned for homecoming, but aside from sports, the boys of PHHS are rarely acknowledged for their royal qualities. The various contests include club skit, talent, swim wear, and formal wear. These portions of the pageant give a taste to the stately manner of PHHS’s finest, giving a look behind the scenes of jerseys and club titles. “Mr. Park Hill is a great way to not only highlight the talent of several of senior boys, but it is funny and entertaining,” said StuCo sponsor and 9th grade AVID teacher Sarah McKenna. In the past years, Mrs. Paschall was the one in charge of putting together this masculine pageant, but now Mrs. McKenna has taken lead. “I am excited to be in charge of Mr. Park Hill, as it is a highly anticipated event each year, and I have enjoyed working with the boys,” said McKenna. “Of course, Mr. Park Hill is very
involved, that is it takes a lot of planning, and I certainly could not have done it on my own. I have a great group of StuCo officers and my co-sponsor Ms. England, who have been invaluable in bringing the event together,” said McKenna. The preparations not only come from Mrs. McKenna and the boys, but from the StuCo staff. PHHS’s Student Council officers are a key part to the behind-the-scenes magic that brought the show to life. Henry Eckold was crowned Mr. Park Hill this year as a representative for TARKUS. Band member Marcin Glebocki was the 1st runner up and Ryan Moise from DECA placed 2nd runner up.
6 FEATURE
Heard around the World By: Abby Hostick and Keeley Myszka
Countries all around the world are showing support for Paris, France after terrorist attacks over the Nov. 13, 2015 weekend. Other countries were also threatened or attacked but did not recieve as much media coverage and worldwide support.
News can travel across the world in a matter of minutes. People know what’s happening in another country as it’s happening, maybe even before some of the people that actually live in that country know what’s going on. It hasn’t always been this way. Before the use of the Internet and social media, people had to depend on the daily newspaper or television broadcast to get their information, usually way after the actual event took place. Nowadays, people can pull out their phone and know the biggest news stories in a matter of seconds. All it takes is a tweet or a video to inform someone of the information they need, good or bad. “Part of my morning routine is to watch the 5:00 a.m. news as I ready myself for the school day. I was saddened to see that another act of terrorism had occurred half way around the world as purveyors of hate seized a hotel and took hostages. This on the heels of a horrible bombing in France which killed scores of innocent individuals,” said Principal Dr. Brad Kincheloe, over the morning announcements. Recently after the tragic events in Paris, people from all over the world came together, even though some of the people weren’t directly involved. While social media can force people apart, it can also bring people together. “I do think the bombings did bring everyone together, especially through social media. For a week or so, I couldn’t scroll through my timeline without seeing something related to Paris. Everyone was supportive, even to the point where we decorated our important buildings with the French flag,” said sophomore Izabel Alleman. Things like that weren’t possible when, for example, 9/11, occurred. The most used social network, Facebook, is about creating connections between its users, but the number of users disconnecting from each other has risen dramatically.
“[Social Media] raises a lot of awareness for what is happening in other parts of the world, which in any other time, would’ve taken much longer for the rest of the world to find out. With Paris, people knew almost instantly what had happened and they could add the French flag filters to their pictures. It allows news to travel faster and people are able to contact people they know who might have been affected,” said junior Sarah Werner. Social networking takes a toll on digital privacy and reputations of everyone who uses it. It’s very common to hear about a student or employee getting in trouble for something they posted on the Internet. “For some people, social media is a place where they can let off steam, like a journal. If people don’t want to see that then they don’t have to. You can unfollow people. A lot of people have private accounts just for this kind of stuff,” said Werner. Just a single tweet or post can impact someone’s life forever. Some refer to this as the “Over-sharing Epidemic”. “Schools can be an example of their community or they can be an example for their community. Let others know we, at Park Hill, are all in this together, united and supportive of one another. Each of us supporting all of us. All of us supporting each of us. We are Park Hill. Go Trojans,” said Kincheloe.
8 COMMUNITY Netflix has conquered many of the nation’s computers and now it’s going after TVs. Phrases such as “Netflix and Chill” have been coined. Streaming services, such as Netflix, have been shutting down big cable since they were introduced in the late ‘90s and 2000s. As of April 2015, Netflix has invaded 36 percent of homes across the world - about 60 million subscribers. The dominance of Internet streaming services has escalated to the point of replacing traditional TV. More than 40 percent of U.S. homes that have cable also use a streaming service such as Netflix. However, online streaming services have taken over due to three major reasons: cost, content, and availability. “There are one of three things on the only TV in my house: my husband’s survival shows, kid’s shows, or Netflix,” said language arts teacher Tiffany Thomas. Yet another reason for switching to online entertainment is the cost. The minimum amount for a plan including 200 channels and a few movie channels, such as HBO and STARZ, costs $64.99 in Kansas City. That’s already more than 8 times the price for a Netflix subscription. “It’s a lot more cost effective to just buy Netflix and Hulu. Of course you give up some luxuries like watching the show the day it comes out, but you can literally watch it the next day on Hulu,” said science teacher Ryan Wissmann.
The content is also at the viewer’s fingertips. There is a Netflix app for almost every platform that supports streaming at this point, making content readily available to almost anybody. Other platforms such as cable companies, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video have attempted to retaliate but have yet to release applications with as much ease as Netflix. It’s not just cable that Netflix is going after, either. Although their ease of access isn’t up to Netflix’s par, sites like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video have their own advantages. Amazon Prime Video is included in a $99 Amazon Prime subscription, also housing many of the shows that are available “On Demand” through cable. Hulu’s $7.99 services are based around bringing next-day television shows to their viewers. Amazon Prime Video has a wider show selection and Hulu has a faster show delivery. It all boils down to preference – more shows with moderate movies from Amazon, faster shows with few movies with Hulu, or slower shows with more movies with Netflix.
By: Alec Wormington
Relationship goals By: Ali Ball
Social media has always done its fair share of placing pressure on people, but there has been an uprise in media painting a picture of what a relationship should look like. Plastered on the walls of all social sites are these pictures of “relationship goals”, They show couples going on fancy or unique dates, wearing cute matching clothing or just showing their love for each other. The ideas being displayed have made some people question if their relationships are meeting the set social standards. Relationships, as many know, take a lot to up hold. All of these materialistic items in the media have people thinking that couples are flaunting their love in an“in your face” type manor rather than keeping relationships in their own quarters. “I feel these goals online are just a source of flaunting what you have, but I think you should flaunt and be proud of what you have, they are just appreciation posts,” says senior Matt Harris. Being able to reach these goals has seemed somewhat impractical in the eyes of others. “The online goals are just too impractical, like at the end of the day you really have to be realistic in your relationships,” says senior Shelby Jarrard. Many of the dates exploited show couples going off on these spontaneous dates to fancy restaurants or exotic places. It’s quite clear that the expenses are over the budget of many high school students. “I work a minimum wage job and after seeing all the things a “girl wants” on social media I think I might break the bank but I really believe that every once in a while you need to take your girl out and be fancy, capturing that moment in a picture is a good idea too, nowadays we are always on social media so it’s just instinct to put the pictures online and tag them with relationship goals because really who doesn’t think their relationship is better than others?” said junior Riley Carter.
The standards, though seemingly harmful, have caused their fair share of ruckus for some relationships as well. The student body can attest to the fact that school, sport and family supply plenty of stress. Throwing a relationship on top of all of it, then adding social expectations for it can send some over the edge. “Shelby and I just try to keep beating to our own drum even if the media pressure is there. People can all say, post and do their own thing but we’ve decided that trying to juggle it all just isn’t practical and we are going to just do what keeps us happy and not get all bent out of shape trying to accommodate the media,” said Carson Pffaf in regards to his relationship to Jarrard.
10 SPORTS
From the field to the classroom By: Kyleigh Conkling Whether it’s blowing a whistle at practice or teaching a lesson in the classroom, teachers who are also coaches play an important role at PHHS. Coach Josh Hood, coaches football and teaches EELA for sophomores. “We start off with a daily board work and then we discuss it as a class. Then we do an assignment the rest of the class period,” said sophomore Emma Bermond. For every teacher that is a coach, there is a struggle of trying to juggle the responsibility of both jobs. “I feel that I do a great deal of coaching in the classroom and teaching on the field. I feel that what I do in the classroom and on the field are closely related to each other, I have a passion for both,” said Hood. Some students have had the pleasure of having their coach as a teacher also. “Every now and then coaching might get in the way of his teaching, but he’s still one of the best writing teachers I’ve ever had,” said Bermond. It can be a concern of whether or not those student athletes are treated differently in the classroom. “I wouldn’t say Coach Hood shows favoritism towards the football players. It seemed to me that he treated us all the same and we all learned the same material and didn’t get special treatment whether we were on the team or not,” said junior Christian Lewis. “I’d say that there’s more favoritism towards the student that I don’t coach simply because I expect more out of them,” said Hood. Mr. Gourley, teaches Algebra II and coaches swim. “I definitely like being a coach better because I actually get to
do swimming which I love, I don’t hate being a teacher, but I got into teaching to be a coach,” said swim coach David Gourley. From August to February Coach Gourley is involved with coaching the boy’s season first and then begins coaching the girl’s season shortly after. “Sometimes it’s hard to leave early or miss days because of coaching but overall I think it helps my teaching,” said Gourley. Coach Gourley has created a bond with his swimmers that is different than just with students that he doesn’t have as athletes too. “I would say I probably show some favoritism towards them just because I know them on a more personal level and see them consistently and I’ve watched them grow up so it’s different but I also have higher expectations for them too so I’m usually a little bit harder on them,” said Gourley “I don’t think he really shows favoritism that much towards swimmers when I was in his class. I think he’s nicer to swimmers but I don’t think he showed complete favoritism,” said sophomore Nerissa Wagner.
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In recent years the sports culture in America has shifted its focus towards reducing the amount of concussions, particularly in youth sports, and making youth sports safer overall. This trend has been brought upon by dozens of recent studies that show an increase of concussions in soccer, football, basketball, and other contact sports. According to information provided by the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association, concussion rates have more than doubled among students age 8 to 19 in sports such as basketball, baseball, soccer and football over the last ten years. In 2014 a class action lawsuit was filed against U.S. Soccer, U.S. Youth Soccer, the American Youth Soccer Organization, U.S. Club Soccer, California Youth Soccer Association, in an attempt to have new stipulations implemented that would reduce the opportunity of concussions. In conjunction to the class action suit the U.S. Soccer Federation has established new regulations that aim at reducing the amount of concussions at the youth level. The regulations established by the U.S. Soccer Federation, intend to reduce the amount of concussions, by preventing players who are 10 years or younger from heading the ball in practice or games, while players age 11 to 13 are allowed to head the ball during practice, not games. The new regulations also include the first standard concussion protocol, if a player is suspected of a concussion or experiencing concussion like symptoms the player must pass the protocol before they can return to play. Proponents of the new regulations feel that heading is not a huge part of the sport at a young age, and that the new regulations provide more of an opportunity for young players to develop their footwork and ball handling. Head Lady Trojans Soccer Coach, Brandt Bell, believes that, “Heading is a very important skill in soccer, but it is secondary to many others, especially foot skills and teamwork; specifically being able to pass the ball and maintain possession with a directional purpose.” Bell goes on to state heading at a young age is not needed and may not be worth the risk of injury, ”There isn’t a great need for heading the ball at a young age, when precious time could be better spent developing foot skills and team work. In particular, the benefit of heading the ball is not nearly worth the risk of potential head injuries that could be a result,” said Bell. Critics of the new regulations feel that the development of players will be impacted due to the restricted ability to head the ball, which may lead to platers not learning the proper technique, leading to further injury, and impact the overall development of the players’ ability to compete at a high level as they compete against better competition. Senior Maddi Massa, when asked if the new regulations would be detrimental to player development replied,” I do not really think so because, all of the games I have played in there are not many times that people actually head the ball. I have gotten a concussion from heading the ball, and ever since then I have been scared to do it. But overall I think it is a good rule and will not affect players at all. I’m glad they have the new rule because I think [concussions] really affect kids at a young age because it has a bigger affect when you are young.”
By: Pierce Klempnauer
12 12 LIFE LIFE People with intellectual and developmental disabilities often have a harder time finding their place in the world. While many people find it easy to interact with friends and maintain paying jobs, people with intellectual disabilities can sometimes have a more difficult time with these tasks. Best Buddies International is a non-profit organization that strives to create a sense of unity between the two through one-on-one friendships that last a lifetime. PHHS is starting a Best Buddies Club that presents wonderful opportunities for the students at PH. “I think Best Buddies will bring a positive image, even more so than our school already has. We like to do innovative things here at Park Hill and Best Buddies is a new thing for Missouri. I had actually done a little bit with Best Buddies at a school district in Arizona, and I think a lot of schools will look at us and say we want to do that and jump on board as well,” said Essential Skills teacher Jessica Conner. Best Buddies is trying to erase the invisible line that separates regular people from those with disabilities. They want to make people with intellectual disabilities feel valued and as much a part of this world as everybody else. “Special needs students don’t feel as included in activities as our regular education students because of their disabilities, whether it’s intellectual or developmental. They sometimes don’t go to the dances, they don’t do sports and certain things like that. This club will make them feel more included and a part of our school outside of just academics,” said English teacher Julie Tuck. Starting up the Best Buddies Club at PHHS will be a new and exciting experience. Students are looking forward to joining this club and gaining a new best friend. “I’m interested in Best Buddies because it makes school a better environment. I think joining it will make us realize what kind of things they have to deal with,” said junior Priya Mehta. Best Buddies will have monthly meetings where they will go out and spend time together doing a number of different social activities. “We’re going to have a game night one month, we’re going to go bowling one month, and we’re going to go to a movie one night. We’re going to let the Best Buddies decide what they want to do and we’re going to help assist them in making that happen,” said Tuck.
The mission of the Best Buddies organization is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students at PH will be able to help accomplish this mission within the Park Hill environment. “I think it will benefit our special needs students and our regular education students. It will help regular education students to appreciate the differences we see in people instead of ignoring them or worse case scenario bullying or being unkind because somebody is different. It will be awesome for our special needs students because they can associate and hang out with other kids they don’t normally get the opportunity, and they’ll feel more included in the school and be more Park Hill Trojan,” said Tuck.
Best Buddies
By: Mia Tyler
OF AN ILL hUM RK H
PA By: Mia Tyler Bringing Best Buddies to PHHS will benefit many students and give them a chance to learn more about people with intellectual disabilities. Travis Bell, a student at PHHS with intellectual disabilities, is very excited for this club. It will let him experience opportunities that he doesn’t usually have a chance to. “Best Buddies helps promote friendships with our students and gives them social interaction which they don’t always get a lot of. Partly because of their different disabilities, and then partly because they’re confined to their classrooms more than other students,” said Essential Skills teacher Jessica Connor. Bell and his fellow classmates spend their whole day with Connor in the classroom. Bell enjoys school and likes doing art. He Is an only child, but he has a cat named Zoey.
“I like Zoey. She never growls at me. She growls at my mom, and she always liked my dad,” said Bell. When he’s not at school, he’ll probably be at home playing his many video games. “I like playing video games and being on the computer a lot. I play a lot of Halo games, and I can’t wait for Halo five to come out. That’s what I want for Christmas,” said Bell. Bell has a passion for video games, and he wants to be a video game creator when he grows up.
14 FEATURE
Presence Over Presents By: Andrea Tenney
As the holiday season rolls around, people are planning their Christmas lists, putting up Christmas lights, and if one looks in a window or two, a lit up Christmas tree is most likely in view. Christmas is a very popular holiday, as many people begin to get into the Christmas spirit relatively early.
Christmas Revenue With Christmas being of such high popularity, and as many businesses see this as an opportunity to have a continuously high revenue, they begin selling Christmas items right after removing the Halloween items from the shelves. Halloween brings in a lot of money for many businesses, such as in 2014 Halloween brought in approximately 7.4 billion dollars, as the purchasing of Halloween items goes all the way up until Halloween itself. To continue the large income of revenue, the day after Halloween they switch out the skeletons for Christmas trees and the spooky costumes for Christmas themed gift wrap as they begin the Christmas season that on average brings in 3.08 trillion dollars. “Its stressful. We always have a lot of work to do, setting things up, making sure people don’t find out about our deals. And making sure people show up to work on time and not skipping out because black Friday gets crazy,” said junior Chris Atkins, a current employee at Target.
Starbucks Red Cups While businesses such as Target and Walmart bring out their Christmas items very early in the holiday season, another very popular business that begins their holiday season early is Starbucks, beginning the production of red cups and peppermint mochas. Starbucks is a company of very high demand, bringing in over 16.4 million in 2014, and out of all their success are under fire from the public because of the corporate decision to remove the Christmas tree and decorations from all of their holiday cups, leaving them a solid red. “A lot of people want to talk about it. Like the people that aren’t upset about the cup but are upset that other people are upset. They’re like ‘hey why is this an issue’ and were just like ‘we don’t know’ but it doesn’t affect my day much. ” said Starbucks employee, senior Ashley Herdman. “I thought it was just the one guy who has the conservative youtube channel that was trying to start up a big thing which was dumb because we’ve never had anything religious on the cups. I don’t think it should be an issue. I don’t really know why it was as big of an issue as it should’ve been. We sell Christmas tree ornaments and advent calendars so if they don’t think Starbucks is religious enough or appealing to them, don’t shop there,” said Herdman.
What about Thanksgiving? As the Christmas spirit settles in a bit early with many individuals, it takes away from the full spirit of a holiday in between, Thanksgiving. As it sits right between Halloween and Christmas, it is the spirit of Thanksgiving that really gets taken away. On Thanksgiving, some people end their family functions early to set out to wait in hours of endless lines to get ready for one of the largest shopping days of the year: Black Friday. Many businesses push forward their Christmas items and layaway options to attract large crowds, whom many of which are shopping for the Christmas season.