December 2015 by Play newsmagazine

Play Healthy

“In the end, you are who you are. You can’t change yourself. You can only improve,”

-Gabi Desjardins, junior PAGE 12-13

Maize High School. 11600 W. 45. St. N. Maize, KS. 67101

December2015

r New specials Monday - Saturday Hours

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Table of contents read.watch.play. Volume 9, Issue 3 | December 2015

Practice makes perfect

Senior Addison Wegerle plays violin first chair in the Maize orchestra. The orchestra performed its dinner concert Dec. 3. Photo by Jadin Mitchell COVER: Photo illustration by Emily Brecht and Lyndsey Piska.

News

Students plan to continue spring break trip despite recent terrorist attacks.

Features

Maize couples are tested over how well they know their significant other.

Lifestyles

Editorial

People and pets share a unique bond. We tel you about some of those relationships.

Names of mental illnesses and disorders should stop being used as ways to describe everyday feelings.

News

A breakdown of the district’s budget.

Now Playing

Students share their own definitions of what “body positivity” means to them.

Sports

Photo Focus

Athletes explain why they take protein supplements and professionals give their opinion. Students perform “A Year with Frog and Toad” for the annual fall muscial.

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Play newsmagazine editor Kendra Cunningham Maizenews.com editor Nick Mathias Design editor Emily Brecht Photo editor Lyndsey Piska Features editor Nadia McLean Sports editor Justin Noble Advertisements manager Mikaela Stevenson Engagement editor Delanie Pierce Reporters & photographers James Auchterlonie Sadie Ast Lizzie Bell Bailey Birkholz Hallie Bontrager Jesse Ellis Andrea Fuhrman Savie Hughes Christian Hurst Hannah Jurgensen Tori Lemon Lauryn McIntyre Tyler Stuart Kayleigh Vestring Alex West Shae White Becca Zinabu Adviser Dan Loving Play is the official newsmagazine for and by Maize High School students. Play is published six times throughout the year. Play is a student publication and a forum for public opinion. Letters to the editor should be signed and around 300 words. The editorials and columns are the sole opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USD 266 Board of Education, the administration, the faculty or the adviser.

Raise your voice Submit a letter to the editor for the October issue to room D18 or mhsnewsmag@gmail.com Printed by City Print.

maizenews.com | DecemberPlay

News

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tting in ’ve been si because u o Y . k c o ick-t rs, all ick-tock. Troom for four houur way to the o ty y an emp have a pass on you didn’t that they nounced y for those n a . y m tl o n e ro c rest cipals re tion polic Maize prina four-hour deten s without a pass. e ay will enforcaught in the hallw Harlow said he c n t e e B g r ork e who need to w dies teach Social stu t student and staff ents roaming the a ud believes th fix the issue of st to r e I know togeth En-Cor. m,” Harlow said. “ problem. g in r u d s hall a proble to fix that “En-Cor istrators really want b of getting passes jo is se the adminneed to do a better ring En-Cor becauns.” u d io ts it n g e d erin con Stud just wand r En-Cor instead of ing to improve ou they’re try

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ose to le ta dents cho are choosing to ge u st if t a th y e id th sa pass, Tice without a I feel , because ules classroom detention. le b a n so a four-hour ot think that’s unreare of what of the r ty is “I do n ents are well aw w that their safe supno ud are like the st said. “[Students] k ey are where they where w e th o ic n if T k nd to are,” are going concern, a ill be our No. 1 then their teachers g. Hopefully we w , in e posed b nd what their do ay.” r not they are a ep them safe that wbe a punishment foe punable to ke said there should wever, they said thnot be Wallace ss in the hall. Ho ach offense and e th s e e a v e li e b having a p ould escalate with e said she c a on’t ll a sh t W n . e y e on Jace here you d, but ishm st r re w fi to o s e n m ss . o o a th le si h p b a n p a a c So ve son so harsh o if it’s multiple oc ns could build up -hour y is unrea have to ha new polic think you should ’t think you should. “I think then the detentio -minute or a one 0 “I don’t llace said. “I don ot having a pass have a passme, maybe just a 3 a rn only ti e . n go pee,” W-hour detention fo ble.” o id just is rule has rule has ce sa a th ll a t a r a a g u n W th in fo l so ,” v e a a a n h nre get detentio such as Wallace fe ever, Tice says the as just nt for not pid and u That’s stu said the punishme Students ing enforced, how r. She said that it h en more e th e k Wallace be reduced. li ’t started be rced all school yea cause there have bethe past. nts didn ld pass shou said that his stude djusted well to it. been enfo widely spread be out a pass than in to be Harlow t, but they have a ng a whole day been more the hallway with said. “We all have there si n t is e n m m u r h o is fo m n a e u said p rlow students in e same tion tim rules,” Ha l at [7:40].”Harlow life we have re a s The deten up to four hours, th the hall, while a le u “R in rt schoo is ething in of school r not having a pass ; we all sta at, so it’s just som re e h th g r th of time fo actually at school.Tice credits the len y are rules foh.n it w ll student is t principal Sonya missing a whole da ct to ro Assistan times between ll to the fa a h in ss n a o of detenti and not having a p student’s decision. of school aving a pass is the that not h

and d i p u t s s ’ t “Tha e” l b a n o s a e unr omore h

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DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

News

Panic in Paris Students plan to continue spring break trip despite recent terrorist attacks

By James Auchterlonie and Lizzie Bell

he world was shocked last month as the people heard the news about the ISIS attacks in France. Paris was attacked by a terrorist group called ISIS. The group caused more than 128 deaths and left about 350 people injured. “It was unreal. It was devastating, and it was just kind of hard to take all of that in,” senior Bethany Rich said. Several Maize students are scheduled to take a trip to Paris over spring break in March with Sandy Nitcher. The trip is not canceled and won’t be canceled unless the tour guides decide otherwise. “Nitcher said we’re [the students going to France] going no matter what,” junior Chris White said. “Of course, if it still gets worse, the tour company is going to cut it off, but as of now we are going, which is pretty crazy.” Rich and White are among the 47 students from the Maize district who will travel to France over spring break. In their opinion, the attack did not have much of an effect on the students that would be going on the trip, but their parents had some concerns. “There is the unknown of what will happen, so you shouldn’t let that stop you from going out and exploring and keep you in a box,” Rich said. The trip has already been paid for by most of the students. “My mom was a little paranoid just because we are going in four months,” White said. “A lot can happen in four months.” On Nov. 19, ISIS threatened the United States in a video saying “We started with you, and we shall finish with the false White House which shall render black with our fire, Allah willing. We shall blow it up, like we blew up the false idols in this good land.” Senior Sawyer Barragan said he believes the United States needs to take the threat seriously. “[This] is an attack on Americans and humanity in general. … We [the United States] need to protect ourselves,” Barragan said. The Obama administration has characterized the conflict with ISIS as regional. President Obama told ABC News on Nov. 13 that ISIS is

“contained” and “they have not gained ground in Iraq and Syria.” This, in fact, was hours before the Paris attacks. A proposition to shelter Syrian refugees by the United States was turned down by over 30 states’ governors. Those governors believe that ISIS may be trying to get into the United States through refugees. “I think that we [the U.S.] should accept [Syrian refugees] because they are running away from the same thing that the U.S. is trying to fight off, which is ISIS,” senior Sundus Awadi said. “I understand that people might think that the refugees could be ISIS … but they are terrorists, so they don’t have to act like refugees to get in. They have their own means.” Not all students feel the same way. “I don’t feel like we should accept them, I feel like France has taken that risk and have seen first hand what happens.” junior Mark Lindstead said. “Accepting them is too much of a risk.” Lindstead believes “It should either be us [the United States] helping like we are: dropping rations, dropping ammo for the side that we agree with or private humanitarian or private humanitarian organizations doing as they please.”n

DecemberPlay | maizenews.com

6 News

Where does the money go? Cuts to public school funding lead to fewer teachers and tighter finances By Nick Mathias and Christian Hurst

In past years, public school budgeting has become a topic of discussion for school administrators and political officials. Kansas faced its own budget cuts, leading to many changes across the Maize district. The percentage breakdown of the budget (right) represents the amount of money each area receives out of the total district budget. The budget is divided into nine areas: instruction, debt services, administration and support, operations and maintenance, transportation, food services, student support services, instructional support services and capital improvements. The total budget divided up between these areas for the district amounts to $75,517,970 for the 2015-16 school year according to the district budget from usd266.com. The Kansas Department of Education USD 266 Profile Information for 2014-15 shows that enrollment in the district (Pre-K through grade 12) has risen from about 6,843 students in the 2014-15 school year to 6,935 students in the current year While the budget for the 2015-16 school year is up from last year’s budget of $74,009,729, the amount per pupil has gone down $417. The amount per pupil in the 2014-15 budget was $11,306, bringing the amount to $10,889 for the current year after the decrease. In February, Kansas.com reported Gov. Sam Brownback announced cuts to public school funding that amount to 1.5 percent for all public schools and 2 percent from universities to help solve financial problems in Kansas. In a press release, Brownback shared his reasoning behind the cut to school funding. “The dramatic increase in state education funding that has occurred over the last four years is unsustainable,” Brownback said. “School districts are estimated to have approximately $381 million in reserve fund balances to help them offset the smaller than expected increase in state funding.” The cuts triggered a state-wide deficit of teachers. According to the July 14 Kansas Board of Education meeting agenda, 2,326 educators retired last year. Maize experienced this problem firsthand, as many positions within the district were left empty this year due to a lack of funding. Not only have the cuts increased the number of retired teachers not being replaced, they have also put Kansas teachers among the lowest paid workers in the nation. According to the National Education Association’s website, nea.org, the average starting wage for teachers in Kansas is $32,964, which puts Kansas teachers $13,517.52 under the Social Security’s national average wage index for the year of 2014 (ssa.gov). In Maize, the starting salary for teachers is $40,700 according to district information. In June, a court later deemed the cuts unconstitutional and called for change. The court ordered that the government to restore certain aspects of the previous formula for budgeting. If interested in learning more about the budget, students can find a multiple shortened “Budget at a Glance” versions on usd266.com by clicking on School Finance under the District tab. The full budget for the entire district is also located in this tab.n DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Instruction

Transportation

57%

Debt Services

Food Services

16%

Administration and Support

Student Support Services

Operations and Maintenance

Instructional Support Services

Capital Improvements

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8 News

Minor roads around the apartment complex in front of Maize South are closed temporarily until they get finished with pavement. The first phase of the apartments are said to be finished in early January. Photo by Kayleigh Vestring.

SunStone apartments affect Maize district

new apartment complex under construction has caused conflict for the district. The SunStone Apartment Homes at Fox Ridge Plaza are being built just west of the Maize South campus near Menards. The builder initially wanted to shut down the Maize Road entrance into Maize South for six to eight weeks. If this were to proceed, it would create more congestion at the Tyler entrance. On Sept. 26, Maize superintendent Chad Higgins sent a letter to parents that stated the district wanted to stop the road closure and the construction of a new temporary road being built between 37th street and the roundabout, directly behind Menards. On Sept. 30, a judge temporarily halted the planned road closure. Builder Paul Jackson later decided to build a different road that will allow access to the schools from Maize Road without the road needing to be closed until late in May. The new road will

By Kayleigh Vestring

“We are proud to be so close to the schools. We think that Maize schools are wonderful schools, and we are happy to be in the district.” -Cherisse Taylor,

SunStone Director of Operations be connected to Maize Road and the roundabout in front of Maize South Elementary school. To try to minimize the extra traffic due to the apartments, there will be a light put in located at Silver Fox in Maize, which is the road to Maize South off of Maize Road. Jackson said his goal of the location of the property was to establish a place

with a strong school district so the apartments he built would attract more people. SunStone’s plan was to strategically have the apartments close to Maize schools. “We are proud to be so close to the schools,” Cherisse Taylor, SunStone’s director of operations said. “We think that Maize schools are wonderful schools, and we are happy to be in the district.” SunStone is one of two complexes planned near Maize South. Another developer has said his company will build a complex near 37th and Maize. Maize Director of Communications Lori Buselt said apartments being built so close to the schools has concerned some district patrons. “We have several instances of homes adjacent to school buildings and don’t anticipate any issues.” Buselt said. SunStone is leasing now and expects to open its first phase in January, Jackson said in a Wichita Eagle story.n

Vinopal aims to help students with college, career choices By Bailey Birkholz

s the days start to go by, many students may become stressed and confused about what their future plans may include. Little do some know, Maize’s college advocate Kelsey Vinopal’s job is to help relieve that stress. “My purpose here is to visit with students and discuss what their plans are after high school. Do a little bit more research for them about what classes they could take currently in high school and kind of prepare them for what they could do afterwards,” Vinopal said. DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Vinopal’s job began at the beginning of the school year. It is the first time Maize has had a college and career advocate. “[I want students to know that] I’m here and to come and see me. I think that since this is such a brand new position and my office is new that it’s really kind of word of mouth to know that I’m here. I’m here to discuss and help them with their future,” Vinopal said. Her job is not only to discuss students futures with them for college, but also

plan activities and opportunities to learn more about the colleges they can choose from. “I’m kind of a middle person for them between high school and a college if they have questions,” Vinopal said. “I organize the college field trips, I organize the reps coming in and just kind of a resource for the students. I love meeting with students. I think that’s the highlight of my day. When I leave for home, I process who I met with, and I think that’s my favorite part.”n

News

Early Completors

These stories first appeared on www.maizenews.com.

Acapella app takes over Twitter

Seniors who are graduating at semester, please visit D-18 as soon as possible to pick up your senior survey. Fill out the survey before the end of the semester for the chance to win a gift card

The Acapella app has been seen throughout Maize and opened up a new opportunity for students to bring entertainment to their social media accounts. The app allows you to create a musical collage of videos on a single video. It is used to create a collaboration of yourself or others and the audio is synced together to form an acapella. Senior Lucas Farney made a video with his phone. At first, he said the experience was “a little hard to figure out.” “I think you can do some really cool stuff with it. It gives you an opportunity to do things that you can’t really do with your voice because there is only one of you,” Farney said.n -Jesse Ellis

Maize choir receives donation

Maize and choir director Doris Prater often give their personal time to perform at Reflection Ridge Retirement Community. The residents often attend the choir shows at Maize. “We make it a regular practice to go over there and perform for them,” Prater said. Recently, however, the residents decided to give back. Nov. 10 about $2000 was raised through Reflection Ridge’s annual Fall Festival and was donated to Maize and Maize South’s music departments. “I just appreciate them even thinking of us,” Prater said. “It’s just a wonderful thing that they would even think of us,

because they could have done anything they wanted to with that money.” Prater still isn’t sure what she will use the donated money for, but it could possibly go toward new risers for the choir.n -Alex West

Earthquake in Oklahoma rattles Maize students

Many students had an abrupt awakening from their sleep around 1:40 a.m. Nov. 19 from a 4.7 magnitude Earthquake. The earthquake was centered around Cherokee, Okla. almost 100 miles southwest of Wichita. “I freaked out. I thought there was a ghost shaking my bed,” freshman Kalea King said. “I woke up and my mirror fell and some lotion fell off my table, too, and it freaked me out.”n -Bailey Birkholz

Maize student followed by big time star on Twitter

Sophomore Jadyn Landreth was recently followed by Justin Bieber on Twitter. “I was like ‘Wait, is this Justin Bieber?’ And then it was. I was shocked,” Landreth said. Landreth found this to be amusing because she isn’t a fan of him. In fact, Bieber followed Landreth after she roasted him on Twitter: “Why is everyone liking Justin Bieber again? Is this 2011? Are hair feathers coming back? Should I be expecting Kony soon?” Landreth said in a Tweet.n -Tyler Stuart

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10 Features

How well do you know your significant other? Students guess their girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s answers to five questions; favorite band, favorite Mexican food, their toothbrush color, and what they want to be when they grow up. By Hallie Bontrager and Delanie Pierce

Chris White, 11 band/singer: 21 Pilots Mexican food: chicken quesadilla toothbrush color: blue dream job: agriculture engineer

Bethany Rich, 12 band/singer: Justin Bieber Mexican food: guacamole toothbrush color: gray dream job: stay home mom

Guesses for Bethany band/singer: anything country Mexican food: guacamole toothbrush color: purple dream job: working with kids

Guesses for Chris band/singer: dead mau5 Mexican food: burrito at Chipotle toothbrush color: He doesn’t brush his teeth dream job: agriculture landscaper

Jet Warren, 12 band/singer: Gorillaz Mexican food: burritos toothbrush color: pink dream job: storyboard animation Guesses for Hannah band/singer: Beach Boys or Elton John Mexican food: enchiladas toothbrush color: pink or purple dream job: pharmacist

DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Hannah Costello, 12 band/singer: Beach Boys Mexican food: enchiladas toothbrush color: green dream job: pharmacist Guesses for Jet band/singer: Gorillaz Mexican food: chimmy chonga toothbrush color: blue dream job: animation

Features Noah Stanton, 9 band/singer: Death Grips Mexican food: none toothbrush color: blue dream job: professional athlete Guesses for Kendyl band/singer: Florida Georgia Line Mexican food: tacos toothbrush color: blue dream job: orthodontist

Kendyl Johnson, 9 band/singer: Florida Georgia Line Mexican food: tacos toothbrush color: blue dream job: nurse Guesses for Noah band/singer: Death Grips Mexican food: tacos toothbrush color: gray dream job: personal trainer

Katie Krier, 11 band/singer: Christian music Mexican food: quesadillas toothbrush color: blue dream job: musician

Andrew Wilcox, 12 band/singer: Beyonce Mexican food: quesadillas toothbrush color: blue dream job: physical therapy

Guesses for Andrew band/singer: Beyonce Mexican food: nachos toothbrush color: blue dream job: physical therapist

Guesses for Katie band/singer: Christian music Mexican food: quesadillas toothbrush color: blue dream job: work at the zoo

Cameron Hughbanks, 10 band/singer: J. Cole Mexican food: enchiladas toothbrush color: pink dream job: orthopedic surgen Guesses for Paige band/singer: no clue Mexican food: tacos toothbrush color: blue dream job: physical therapist

Paige Young, 10 band/singer: AC/DC Mexican food: none toothbrush color: blue dream job: physical therapist Guesses for Cameron band/singer: PartyNextDoor Mexican food: tacos toothbrush color: blue dream job: orthodpedic surgen DecemberPlay | maizenews.com

12 Now Playing

Movement focuses on empowering all humans and promotes self-love

By Tori Lemon

ou’ve seen it everywhere — in magazines, on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, the morning news and on talk shows. It’s a prominent topic this generation has been paying much attention to and has developed strong opinions about. If you ask 100 people to define body positivity, you will get 100 different answers that all center around one main theory: it’s OK to love and accept yourself. For senior Erin Oelze, body positivity has helped shaped her into who she is and has helped her to reach the confidence level she’s always desired. “To me, body positivity isn’t necessarily bragging about yourself,” Oelze said. “It’s more about just being able to love yourself. I mean, you aren’t going to be able to love yourself all the time, because it’s just not humanly possible. It’s all about just accepting yourself.” Being body positive is a concept that’s easier said than done. Oelze knows all about that. She admits that the road to self-love has not been easy, nor will it ever be. “I struggled with accepting myself and who I was throughout my whole life,” she said. “And I feel like I’m just now getting towards the stage that I’m starting to accept myself.” This movement could be mistaken as an empowerment solely just for women, but that is not the case. It is a movement that encourages everyone to become more accepting of themselves and others, regardless of race, gender, weight or anything else by which people are sometimes judged.

DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

Junior Mason Lange’s journey to self-acceptance began in middle school. “I went through a gigantic weight loss,” Lange said. “No one even remembers that kid. I was a nobody.” Lange admits that from time to time he experiences his own mirror issues. Not only did he think he was a nobody in everyone else’s eyes, he truly felt as though he was a nobody in his own eyes. Lange feels as though there is no difference in body positivity when it comes down to how guys and girls view it. It all comes down to the same roots: Be happy and content with yourself, then everything will start to fall into place. “You have to be content with yourself before you can do anything,” Lange said. “It’s all about you, really. People have a hard time understanding that 30, 40 years down the line, your looks really won’t matter.” Both Lange and Oelze believe the movement can be taken the wrong way and turned into something that strays far from what the initial meaning was supposed to be. “I definitely feel like it could be used as an attention-getting thing,” Oelze said. “I think this movement is important to a certain extent. People take it the wrong way, but I think it’s important for people to be able to like appreciate who they are and not hate themselves.” The “Body Posi” craze amped up when singer-actress Zendaya announced after a photoshoot with Modeliste fashion magazine that her photo had been extremely

Now Playing 13

manipulated without her knowledge or her consent. Zendaya wasn’t the only who felt photo manipulation projected the wrong image. “I think it’s disrespectful to the person they’re doing it to. It’s wrong for them to say, ‘Oh you weren’t skinny enough so we’re doing it for you,’ so I think that’s really not cool, “ Oelze said. Although it can have its disadvantages, social media has been a great way to share body positivity, and you don’t have to be famous in order to spread the love. Lauren Sanderson, the girl who created “Tag Tuesday” on Twitter, is a prime example. She grew up in Wichita and is now traveling the world to spread positivity. Her tweets aren’t meant to solely empower a body positive society; she’s a huge advocate for human empowerment in general. Sanderson promotes the act of raising others up rather than tearing people around us down. Sanderson has a simple mission in mind: to get everyone to be comfortable in their own skin. On her website, laurensanderson.com, she said, “It’s okay to be yourself. It’s okay to be different and follow your own dreams, on your own unique individual path — even if other people don’t agree or understand it.I’m here to show you thatthere are more paths in life than solely the ones you’ve witnessed other people take.” She tweets things like “Tag someone who looked amazing today,” or “Tag someone who is so incredibly strong,” to promote simple acts of kindness that can go a long way. This optimism and kindness has hit home at Maize. For junior Gabi Desjardins, being warmhearted in a world that is often so cold has become a top priority. She’s also a true believer in the idea that once you fall in love with who you are, things get a lot easier. “In the end, you are who you are,” Desjardins said. “You can’t change yourself; you can only improve. Those who try to completely change themselves realize in the end that it’s not worth it.” People will be there that love you for you. Improving yourself is embracing yourself and trying to make yourself a better person through the things you do.” Desjardins said body positivity advocates that happiness begins and ends with you; however, it’s

always helpful to surround yourself with people who do nothing but encourage and help you grow as a person. “My group of friends and I aren’t really self conscious,” she said. “I mean, we never really look down on ourselves, because we have so many people surrounding us who support us in everything that we do and tell us that we are strong and beautiful and that we can do it.” All in all, the body positivity movement might be short lived, as most trends are. However, the ideas that it instills in its participants are ideals and mindsets that could last for generations beyond this one. The movement is meant to empower and to make everyone feel more than just content with who they are. “My children will hardcore love themselves, there’s no other way to put it,” Desjardins said. “I will make sure they know that their happiness should be their first priority. They’re going to encounter people that bring them down and people that say things that are not so nice to them, and they’re going to get hurt and crushed, but they will have those people, myself included, to help build them back up.”n

Design by Becca Zinabu

DecemberPlay | maizenews.com

14 Lifestyle

The pawfect relationship I

Maize Middle physical education teacher Lori Heger describes her relationship with her therapy dog

t was a week-long therapy dog training session in Concordia where Maize Middle physical education teacher Lori Heger got her first therapy dog, Tucker. “We sat in this room and there was like 32 of us,” Heger said, “They just started bringing dogs out, and they would just go and say ‘Here, this is your dog.’ That’s how I got Tucker.” Tucker, a golden lab, was a therapy dog at Maize Middle for eight years before he died in February. Since Tucker’s death, Heger has started training two new therapy dogs for Maize Middle. Remington, a golden lab, will be in the gym with Heger. Heger’s daughter, Corinne Reinert, is also receiving a black lab, Peggy, for her sixth-grade classroom. “They are both 8 months old. ...We did puppy class,” Heger said. “So they can sit; they can stay; they can wait; they can lay down; they can shake. I mean, they have basic [training] but not refined.” Many scientific resources say that animals can help humans in more ways than just being a furry companion. But that animals can calm heart rates and lower stress levels in humans. The American Veterinary Medical Association said the first recorded start of human-animal bonds was

“

They say they absorb your emotions ... when you pet them. It’s the weirdest thing. I would not have believed it if I didn’t see it [with Tucker]. -Lori Heger DecemberPlay | @PlayNewsmag

”

thousands of years ago, during the Egyptian time period with cats and dogs. AVMA also said animals directly help humans with emotional, psychological and physical interactions. “They say they absorb your emotions ... when you pet them,” Heger said. “It’s the weirdest thing. I would not have believed it if I didn’t see it [with Tucker].” Heger referenced one story in particular, when Tucker was able to help a special-needs student who was having a bad day. “He would like lose it,” she said. “The administration couldn’t get him out [of his shirt] or couldn’t get him to respond.I knew he was really bad and I was like ‘Hey, just give me a chance,’ and I sat down on the floor with him. In 15 minutes, I had him out of his shirt, sitting on the floor with Tucker, talking to Tucker.” Heger said that after Tucker calmed the student down, the dog didn’t leave Heger’s office for the rest of the day out of exhaustion. “He was just wiped out,” Heger said. “Totally wiped out.” To Heger, whose husband works nights, her dogs are more than just a tool to help students. They are her companions. “A lot of times, I am home by myself and I don’t have children at

Story by Savie Hughes Design by Alex West home anymore, so they’re like my children at home,” Heger said. “Even though I have kids at school, I go home and I still talk to them [my dogs], you know. They’re family. I just don’t know how else to say it.” At school, though, Heger noticed that Tucker was always able to help the kids who needed him. The Animal Cognition, University of London researchers found that dogs are more likely to comfort a person who is showing signs of sad emotions than a person who is showing signs of happy emotions. Heger said Tucker could pick out students who were having some kind of trouble in their lives. “It’s just unbelievable what dogs know,” Heger said. “Kids who are having trouble, kids that might not be having the best of day, or they might have a bad home life. He would always know who it was. … He always sat with kids that seemed to need him.” Tucker didn’t always need to go to the students. Heger said that every morning she had students come to her office just to pet and talk to Tucker. “I would have like the same kids come by to see him,” Heger said. “So I have no idea what the secret is or what the connection is. But I think every school should have one [a therapy dog]. I really do.”n

Lifestyle 15 Students describe the story behind the bond with their unique pets

Tom

reshman Isaac James was given his pet turkey, Tom, four years ago by his neighbor on Christmas Eve. “He [my neighbor] came over with a trailer,” James said. “He like wrapped it up and he had an alpaca in one box and a turkey in the other box.” The day after James got his new pet, it got out of the chicken coop where they were keeping him. His grandparents had found the turkey and had to try to catch him. “My grandparents are not country folk at all,” James said. “It was so funny, because they decided it would be a good idea to go chase after it and try to catch it. I woke up to them running around my yard trying to catch the turkey.” Since that Christmas, the turkey has become more open to human interaction. “It’s so nice, too,” James said. “You can literally walk up to it, pet it and like pick it up.”n

“

I woke up to them running around my yard trying to catch the turkey.

”

-Isaac James, freshman

Mao

Photo submitted by Alvin Lee

Ramzi

ophomore Alvin Lee bought his hedgehog, Ramzi, at the beginning of November when his brother, Kenny, took him to a pet store. “My brother picked me up and he just said ‘We’re getting a hedgehog,’” Lee said. A few weeks later, Lee became obsessed with Ramzi. He takes a lot of pictures with him, and has even had friends come over to meet the hedgehog. One of those people is junior Parker Raile.

crawl up her shirt and then “ She lethehimpooped all over her. -Alvin Lee, sophomore ”

“She came over to my house to meet him and then I put him in her hand,” Lee said. “She let him crawl up her shirt and then he pooped all over her.” Lee said that Ramzi doesn’t really do much but that he still loves his pet because he is cute and unique. “They are just really adorable,” Lee said. “I just wanted one because no one has one.”n

t was a trip to the mailbox for sophomore Maddie Mullen where she fell upon her cat, Mao. “He had a broken tail,” Mullen said. “So I was like ‘Oh I’m taking this thing home.’” Mullen’s parents, being completely unaware of Mullen’s new friend when she brought it through the door, decided to let her keep Mao. “They were like ‘You brought a cat home? You shouldn’t do that.’ But then they let us keep it,” Mullen said. Six months later, Mao and Mullen are closer than ever. Mullen even considers her cat to be her best friend. “I love my cat so much,” Mullen said. “I feel like animals can be your best friend,

and that’s what my cat is to me.” Mullen said that sometimes animals are easier to talk to than people because we don’t need somebody to talk to all the time but someone to just be there. “I love that animals can just sense that you’re sad and have a natural response to like comfort you,” Mullen said. “I love cats so much.”n

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16 Sports

Powering up Hitting the weights combined with protein supplements are keys for athletes who are trying to gain weight and build muscle By Sadie Ast Design by Tyler Stuart

thletes go to extremes to make sure they have the competitive advantage to be the best at their

sport. They work tirelessly, eat healthy and some even take protein supplements to help them perform better. Using protein supplements as well as cutting and gaining weight for sports has been under

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scrutiny for years. What effects do these things have on a growing body? “Nutrition-wise, [not eating to cut weight is] pretty bad,” Supplement Giant manager Seth Harper said. “It’s basically depriving yourself of nutrients.” Student-athletes push themselves past their breaking point to be able to perform to the best of their abilities. Having muscle tone (and a lot of it) has become the new “normal” for teenagers. Athletes have accepted using protein

shakes as a quick method to gain more muscle. “After the season, I go to after-school weights and before the season I go to before-school weights,” sophomore quarterback Brayden Payne said. “I just lift and try to gain muscle.” According to athletes, trying to stay in shape during the sports season is hard enough, but the real challenge is to maintain a fit body during the off-season. “It’s pretty hard to manage [my weight] sometimes,” senior wrestler Brett Moon said. “I just let my body go in the off-season, because I spend so much time working hard during the season.” For Payne, it’s not easy to pack on the required pounds. Struggling with a high

Sports 17

metabolism, most athletes have more pressure added onto them to be the ideal weight they desire. “I’m constantly trying to gain weight because I’m lighter than I would like to be,” Payne said. “I have trouble gaining weight.” Strict diets are imposed into the lives of athletes, just to make sure that they are constantly healthy and ready to perform. Some go to the lengths of only dieting with carb-filled foods such as potatoes, bread or pasta. “The only thing you could drink for the most part was water and eat a lot of pasta,” senior Cole Moses, a former member of the wrestling team, said. Protein supplements such as bars and shakes have slowly grown to be part of today’s society. Even with the range from cupcakes and cookies to smoothies and yogurt, the thick shakes and filling bars are commonly used by athletes. Protein powders come in various forms. The three common ones are whey, soy and casein protein. Protein is considered a great additive to diets, but the desperation for a perfect weight and muscle mass can sometimes be detrimental. “Protein is fine,” GNC manager Nick Keim said. “From there, when they are wanting to take other things, I usually try to push them away from that.” Isoflex and Isothority are protein brands that are more commonly used by older athletes who are out of high school. Harper says out of all of his customers throughout the day, only around 15 percent are high schoolers. Harper said protein supplements have been scientifically proven to have an effect on the body. Depending on the brand and type of protein you purchase, many products can possibly have no effect. “Protein is protein,” Keim said. “We have to eat. You eat chicken, you eat hamburgers. It’s all protein. The shakes are just a convenience aspect. It’s all science.” Whether using protein shakes or trying to drop weight quickly, Keim urges teenagers to be cautious of their health. “Depending on their age, when they are having to drop weight is really something you need to be careful with,” Keim said. “I would rather see the kids have to gain some weight to make the cut rather than lose multiple pounds. In a health aspect, it can really cause a problem.”n

Brett Moon will attempt to win his second consecutive state championship this year.

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Spotlight 19

By: Bailey Birkholz and Lauryn McIntyre

ost people aspire to make money off their passion. For freshman Caleb Zinabu, profiting off of his passion is a reality. Zinabu uses Twitch, a video game stream and community for gamers around the world, to broadcast his gameplay. In recent years, gameplay broadcasting websites like Twitch have gained traction in the gaming world. Sites like this bring gamers together to discuss and watch video games. Users can make money from their gameplay by live stream. “Some of these [users] are partnered with Twitch, which means they actually get paid to play video games,” Zinabu said. “They get paid by how many viewers they get, how many subscribers they get, or how many followers they get and just stuff like that.” Zinabu has been streaming on Twitch since June and has received attention from other Twitch users. “I was streaming on Twitch one day, and I saw some streamer's pages who had a lot of donators,” Zinabu said. “Then I thought to myself that I could be able to do that as well, because there’s a lot of

Design: Becca Zinabu

people on Twitch.” Since then, he’s gained 869 followers on the site and has already made money off of his streams. “I made $50 one time and spent it on Twitch,” Zinabu said. “I helped support some people and I donated to some people. I give support back to them.” Making money off of Twitch requires time. Zinabu says he spends four to five hours of his day playing video games. Zinabu’s mother, Marcy Wodajo, said she believe’s video games are beneficial to him in some ways. “Sometimes I wish he would spend more time on homework instead,” Wodajo said. “But as long as he is staying out of trouble, I am OK with it.” The majority of money Zinabu makes is from his NBA 2K15 streams. NBA 2K15 is a simulation of men’s professional basketball. Zinabu has been playing video games since young age. “I’ve been playing video games since 2005 when my brother had a PS2. We would play NBA 2K6 on there,” he said.

Zinabu is paid once or twice a month and spends it on a variety of things. “I buy some clothes sometimes off of Amazon,” he said. “I’ll buy some apparel and then sometimes I’ll just order Jimmy Johns online or order a pizza online if I’m hungry.” Zinabu said he believes that it’s the thought of the the Twitch community supporting other gamers that really matters. “They were just supporting my stream and just showing some love,” Zinabu said. “There’s a button on my page that gives them the option to donate. So donations aren’t expected or needed, but if you’re feeling generous you can donate to that streamer.” He plans to continue his gaming and trying to improve his popularity in the gaming world. “I want to get a job soon, so I can build my own computer,” Zinabu said. “Once I build one it's going to improve the quality of my stream and it will be a lot better. I want to go onto Youtube because if I go on Youtube there’s lots of more people, lots of more subscribers, and a lot more opportunities to make money.n

EVERYONE

P ESRB

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20 Editorial

Choose your words wisely P

By Lizzie Bell and Shae White for the Play editorial board

icture this: You’re sitting in class talking with friends. Then, the corner of your eye catches a glimpse of the girl across the room who is clearly throwing a fit out of anger. Your friend leans over to you and whispers, “Oh my gosh, bipolar much?” You laugh in agreement and continue on with your day like normal. But did you ever once stop in consideration of what was actually said? The girl next to you may be bipolar and takes offence to you making fun of an illness she has to deal with every day. The boy with the lisp might not like you pointing out something he already notices about himself too often. The kid who was crying during a math test because he can’t focus on numbers and goes home and cries more when you joke about his dyslexia. Words like depressed, retarded or bipolar and many more are normal adjectives and common language in today’s society. They have a more offensive meaning than people might assume. Nowadays, we use mental illnesses

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and disorders as insults and ways of expressing our feelings without even realizing it. It’s gotten out of hand and needs to stop. “If we keep on using mental illnesses interchangeably and improperly, then they are never going to be taken seriously,” said Courtney Panzer, a former Maize student who takes courses online now because of her depression. Panzer is someone who dealt with depression and knows how it feels to hear “depression” and other illnesses being used as an everyday term. “It bothers me personally when people use words such as depressed, bipolar, retarded, etc. as everyday adjectives, because it is simply not correct,” Panzer said. “Just with those three mental illnesses, every single one of them, someone in my immediate family has and I can tell you that they do not fit the stereotypes they are given.” Mental illnesses, or any illness in that case, should be taken into consideration, no matter how little it might seem. When words such as anorexic,

bipolar, or retarded are used to describe everyday things it hurts the people that have actually been affected by them. Junior Logan Paterson said he also finds the trend in using these words to be repulsive. “It’s rude. It’s like you’re bullying. It bullies people. It’s harmful to them,” Paterson said. There are more than a million words in the English dictionary that could be used to take place of an emotion without using a mental illness to do so. “Also, it seems as though mental illnesses have taken on so many personalities for a lack of better words,” Panzer said. “Illnesses like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia are thought out to be bad, where as something along the lines of obsessive compulsive disorder is thought to be something good. This is completely idiotic, because all mental disorders are an illness.” These words should not be considered as everyday adjectives, because they aren’t. If we continue to use them, they will just become words to insult people instead of an illness to have concern for.n

Column 21

Receiving more than presents C By Lauryn Mcintyre

hristmas. The season of the giving. A time where others show their appreciation and love for each other by gorging on festive foods and giving each other gifts. Somehow I managed to use my never-failing, recurring talent of narcissism to make the most selfless holiday all about me. In my self-centered mind, Christmas was my holiday, my time to be happy, my time to receive the items I felt I had “deserved.” I’m sure we’ve all had this vain feeling as a child, the thought that Christmas was all about whether you got a Nintendo DS or a Barbie Dream House. Strangely, I didn’t surpass the “Christmas is all about me” phase until Christmas of 2013, when I was 14. That Christmas was different. My older sister, Kylie, decided to visit the family. This was rare for her, considering she had no sense of commitment and even when she did make an effort to keep plans she was the queen of being “fashionably late.” Kylie and I never had much in common. She’s nine years older than I am, so we never could relate on current problems in the girl world due to our age gap. She’s also my half sister, which resulted in her living with her mother in a town of 488 people in the Texas panhandle. Living 230 miles from your sister isn’t exactly an ideal bonding scenario. Every time we were forced into a room together, we’d find a reason to get into a yelling match or, in an extreme case, a physical fight. That’s why it’s still hard for me to believe that my sister, whom I absolutely loathed, changed my perception of a holiday I once believed was all about me. The moment she walked into the door, I nearly gagged with disgust and hid in my room. That first night I had

almost managed to avoid her entirely, but to my dismay, the next morning I walked into my bathroom, and who did I see? None other than sister dearest Kylie applying a thick black pair of false eyelashes. “Hey, I need you to help remind me how to get to the mall so I can get a pair a shoes,” she said while she pressed the band of false hair to her lashline. “I have to go to Sephora anyways,” I said while I applied toothpaste to my toothbrush. “It’s kind of a bad move to go to the mall two days before Christmas, plus it’s sleating outside.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll be fine,” she said as she fluffed her hair in the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. We weren’t fine. Two hours later, we were sliding on the slick, icy roads on 21st Street. We had accomplished our shopping, the back of the car was filled with shopping bags containing last-minute Christmas gifts and shoes and clothes Kylie was probably going to wear one once and then forget she bought. Korean Pop music blared through the sound system of her Ford Focus. “I know it sounds pretty annoying now,” she laughed. “But I promise it gets better” I sat in silence as the song continued to play. Right before the repetitive tune finally got to the last chorus, Kylie screamed, “Sing now or you don’t get anything from Starbucks!” As we pulled into the Starbucks parking lot, I found myself playfully shouting the chorus to the song with my sister. Once it was over, we got out the car, and we laughed between our heavy breathing. I had been told by my family I looked and acted like my sister, but I had never noticed the resemblance until we

were sitting across from each other in Starbucks. I noticed how she made that same, “Please go away I don’t want you here” face when people at the table next to us started laughing hysterically to a joke. Physically, we we’re the same, but due to years of track, she had a more athletic build than me. We talked over coffee, discussing topics ranging from her boyfriend to the newly transformed Miley Cyrus. That was the time I had felt closest to my sister. The first time we’ve been able to relate on different topics and understand each other's feelings. When my sister left, I hated to admit I missed her. The next Christmas, I was disappointed when she didn’t come back to have our bond session. I remember that Christmas well. Every memory I sift through regarding that time doesn't involve what I received on the holiday of giving. Honestly, I don’t even remember what I got for Christmas that year. All my memories revolve around my absent sister. It changed the way I look at the holiday. It’s not a time to compare your gifts to your friends’ and whine about what you did or didn’t get, it’s about your family being together and sharing memories. No matter how distant you are from your family, you are still a part of them. Your relationship with your family shapes your personality. They can be your best friends, your therapists or your worst enemies. Every now and then, Kylie and I text each other and talk about our lives. It’s very therapeutic and essential to our faint relationship. She really did make me realize that Christmas, as cheesy and Hallmark-ish as it is, is a time for family. It took me 14 years to figure that out, and I thank Kylie for it.n

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22 Photo Focus

A storybook comes to life

Maize presents “A Year with Frog and Toad” By Tori Lemon

he winter musical selection, “A Year with Frog and Toad,” was a production all students, not just those in drama or choir, had the opportunity to audition for. Auditions consisted of singing one song from the musical as well as reading parts from a character of the student’s choice. A month of preparation allowed students to be fully ready for the three different showtimes that were scheduled for Nov. 6-7. Senior Sally Olmstead has had her fair share of musical experience and knows how much time is put into these shows. “We practiced for about a month,” she said. “It was super intense.” The musical is based on a series of children’s book written by Arnold Lobel that involves two best friends, a frog and a toad, and their many adventures that happen within their day-to-day lives. Before the actual performances, there were two matinee shows for the elementary school kids to watch and enjoy. The show itself had two parts with an intermission in between them that included a set change. “We do a musical every year,” Olmstead said. “This year [drama director Kathleen] Barbara and [choir director Doris] Prater decided to choose Frog and Toad because they thought it would be best for the people we have.”n

dison rner, Ma Brown, e o K ra gs, Lau , Arissa Lady bu ooslana Rusk ce along to “I’m R n r, a ie d est, ll.” Fitzm My She n Defore Brookly Coming Out of

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stead Sally Olmbson, y b d e y pla Jaco ds Frog Tommy Main leaad played by sledding. and To decide to go

n, Louis eg Dentor, sing and M y b d ye mie Birds plad Madison FitzWith Frog and r an a , e le Y d A id “ R long to Toad.” dance a

Design by Hannah Jurgensen

Reviews 23

Mockingjay Part 2 Review: To Kill a Mockingjay By Christian Hurst

t’s over. The theatrical story of the “Hunger Games” has finally wrapped up. After five years, I can still remember the goosebumps after seeing the “Hunger Games” trailer for the first time. A 10-year-old Christian Hurst was sitting in the back of the theater and hearing that whistle for the first time. Man, good times. I can confidently say that, except for “Mockingjay -- Part 1,” every movie has lived up to my expectations. The first film was a good representation of innocent child slaughter on the big screen. “Catching Fire” improved that formula and got rid of that horrible shaky-cam, securing its place as the best in the series. After that, “Mockingjay -- Part 1,” the movie made for nothing but more money, was released. I haven’t seen the first “Mockingjay” since I did in theaters a year ago because there wasn’t much reason to sit through it again. But “Mockingjay -- Part 2” is exactly what it says it is, a second part. “Part 2” starts with no introduction, no recap; it just jumps straight into its first scene. Heck, I don’t even know if the actor’s names were on the screen at the beginning. Remembering the last few minutes of “Part 1” was no issue. Peeta is crazy, Katniss is depressed, Gale is a District 13 general, and they’re all fighting against the Capitol with President Coin at the lead. Ya know, the usual. It’s easy to see that you’re supposed to watch them back-to-back. In “Part 1,” the action was on the bench for most of the movie, and in it’s place was a military strategist movie with barely any battles. I hate it when books are split like this for more money. It’s hard to be too mad, though. They allocated all of the set-up to the first movie and all of that build-up exploded in this movie The action ramps up, almost from the get-go, when Katniss and a squad from District 13 invade the Capitol. They’ve got to avoid traps and soldiers on the way to assassinate their dictator, President Snow. Similar to the first “Hunger Games” movie, the gore is non-existent to minimal. That’s a good thing for their target audience, but for those who are used to more blood, you may be disappointed. The lack of blood and gore didn’t take anything away from it for me, though. “Part 2” did a good job of communicating how people died without 30 bottles of ketchup. Jennifer Lawrence’s final performance as Katniss was fantastic. You could almost say she was on fire (pun intended). Prim’s actress, Willow Shields, was just as good. She was so comfortable in her performance, and it was so easy to see how much of a blast she had in “Part 2.” Even though “The Hunger Games” is over, I’d love to see Suzanne Collins continue writing stories from this universe. Maybe Haymitch’s Hunger Games or the first rebellion. That’d be cool. I’d definitely recommend seeing “Part 2” in theaters; just make sure you follow this list of prerequisites. Read the books first (they’re much better), watch all the other movies first and watch “Part 1” and “Part 2” back-to-back. Even though I wouldn’t buy it on DVD, I’m confident that “Part 2’ will give you satisfaction about the end of the series despite the letdown that was “Part 1.”n

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