February 2018

Maize High School || Maize, KS February 2019

FAMILY IS ...

“ ...just like a puzzle that fits together. ”

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-JINI YUN

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Now Playing

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Students and staff explain what “family” truly means to them

features eSports club gives gamers chance to compete at school

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entertainment Solve our crossword for a chance to win a gift card.

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1 1. Senior Halie Jones drives to the basket. The girls team ended the regular season 17-3. Page 24-25.

Photo by Dan Loving

2. Senior Caylie Harris bowls for the varsity team at West Acres Maize played against Campus High School. Page 23.

Photo by Savannah Horn

3. Sophomore Isaac Stanton and junior Joshua McLaughlin at the Cheney Reservoir taking water samples. Page 7.

Photo by Amy Hammett

4. Students applaud and celebrate during a Maize boys basketball game.

Students created “FatHeads� for the seniors to show support. Pages 30-31.

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Photo by Devynn Raile

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What’s inside?

5 8-11 News

Former teacher receives probation following charges of sexual misconduct.

Now Playing Students and staff find their own meanings in the word family.

13 16-17 19 24 28 29 30-31 Editorial

Play questions whether GoGuardian allows Chromebook monitoring to go too far.

Features Through adversity, freshman Damiana Eklund hopes to create acceptance for future generations.

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Who’s inside?

Abby McCoy & Casey Loving Editors-in-chief Bailey Birkholz Design editor Sam Bartlett Photo editor Maddie Neigenfind Features editor/Ad manager Ellie Stucky Sports editor Ryann Redinger Engagements editor Brooklyn Blasdel Meaghann Flower Chasley Garcia Madi Hay Chantelle Hoekstra Savannah Horn Carter Jones Molly McCollum Keira McGinty Piper Pinnetti Devynn Raile Rayne Rekoske Lily Robison Janeth Saenz Kyerra Snyder Abby Turner Jordan Wontorski Dan Loving Adviser

Cover Illustration by Bailey Birkholz

Features

Students share their non-traditional collections.

Sports

Seniors Alexis Cauthon and Halie Jones provide leadership for the girls basketball team.

Entertainment Teachers provide personal clues for a crossword puzzle. See page for contest details.

entertainment Play creates a custom Spotify playlist to listen to while reading the magazine.

Photo Focus Students show off their school spirit during basketball games.

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.

Follow Play

Play newsmagazine | maizenews.com

Facebook: Play Newsmag Twitter: @PlayNewsmag Instagram: @PlayNewsmag

Raise your voice

Submit a letter to the editor for the next issue to room D16 or mhsnewsmag@gmail.com

First copy free.

Additional copies $1.

Printed by School Paper Express. © Copyright 2019 Play newsmagazine

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New Chromebook Program installed M Story by Brooklyn Blasdel any changes have been coming to Maize in the form of technology in recent years. Students have been introduced to MacBooks, iPads and virtual reality equipment. This year, every student received a Google Chromebook. Now, another big change is coming to students’ Chromebooks, and you can see it in the upper right hand corner.

GoGuardian is a program now installed on every student’s Chromebook. This is an application that allows teachers to have control over what their students see and what they search. History teacher Kevin Roulhac was one of the teachers to pilot this program.

“I think it’s a useful tool to help teachers manage kids on their Chromebooks,” Roulhac said. “Kids might see it as being a little bit intrusive, but I don’t think teachers are using it as a way to just see what students are doing at all times.”

GoGuardian enables teachers to send url links for their students to open on their Chromebooks. If a teacher is sick,

they can also help a student from home if they are struggling on an assignment.

This can also help teachers make sure that their students are on task during class.

“So if they’re maybe on a site they shouldn’t be, the teachers would have the opportunity to click students out of it,” principal Chris Botts said. “Or if the teacher is trying to share a site with the class, instead of writing it on the board, they can share the site with everybody so it automatically goes to them.”

Rumors have been circulating that GoGuardian can be used for ulterior motives, such as tracking phones and being able to see the locations of students if they log into their account on their personal devices. Some of these rumors seem to be substantiated by GoGuardian’s provided application description. However, teachers in support of GoGuardian deny these claims.

“We can only see what you’re doing in our class as your sitting in our class,” Roulhac said, “So if you’re in my class for first block, I can only see what you’re doing first block. If you’re in my class

during fourth block, I can only see what you’re doing during fourth block. So we have to set up those parameters in the system.”

From exiting out of tabs, forcing new ones to open, and teachers directly messaging students, GoGuardian is a program believed by several teachers to be a helpful tool in the classroom. While some students may disagree, the program doesn’t seem to be leaving Chromebooks any time soon. n

GoGuardian is a new program monitoring students’ Chromebook usage for teachers. Photo by Brooklyn Blasdel

Businesses added to maize road T

Story by Piper Pinnetti hree new businesses have opened on Maize just south of 37th Street.

El Agave, Blūm and Chick N Max have all opened in a growing retail area near the new Petland.

El Agave, a Mexican restaurant, is one of the chain’s only two locations. Its newest location on Maize Road opened up in July. The restaurant’s first location opened about nine years ago on North Rock Road . According to the owner of the business, Luis Zambrano, their new location on Maize Road was an idea from customers and friends who suggested it for more business.

“We've been looking at the location and then we've seen Maize Road has been pretty busy with a lot of traffic, so we've been wanting something on this area,” Zambrano said. ”This opportunity came up and then we decided to invest in it.¨ Investing into the second location at Maize Road has so far proven to be very

4|News

successful for the business.

“We were pretty packed, just the first month was way over packed,” Zambrano said.

Blūm is another new addition located next to El Agave. Blūm offers customers manicures and pedicures with many different style options. Getting eyelash extensions or getting waxed are other services offered at Blūm. This upgraded nail salons accepts everyone with no reservations required.

The nail bar offers complimentary beverages including water, tea, espresso and soda, as well as beauty services beyond normal nail salons.

Chick-N-Max opened in January a few businesses down from Blūm. The store has hired several Maize students as employees,. Besides Maize Road, there are two other Chick-N-Max locations in Wichita. They are open every day a week for roughly 11 hours a day.

The restaurant’s main theme is chick-

en-based meals, from fried chicken to chicken salad. Chick-N-Max has side options such as fries, mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese. For sweet treats, the menu offers sundaes and biscuits.

Nick Schaeffer, a cook at Chick-N-Max, has worked there for a few weeks. Since the restaurant opened, Schaeffer said it has been getting good business with plenty of customers coming in to eat there or bring it home every day.

“We are really busy, especially in the first week,” Schaeffer said. “We had people coming in from the east side of town to try us out.”

Schaeffer said that Chick-N-Max is good both for getting food on the go and sitting down to eat.

“Chick-N-Max is a friendly environment where customers have fun and enjoy chicken,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer has had two jobs prior to working at Chick-N-Max and said that this one is the best. n

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Former teacher sentenced to probation

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Story by Maddie Neigenfind fter pleading guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual relations with a minor in December, former teacher Johnny Yelverton was sentenced to 36 months of probation.

Both charges carried an underlying sentence of 31 to 136 months in prison.

While on probation, Yelverton must obtain a mental health evaluation, maintain a full-time job and register as a sex offender in the state of Kansas.

Yelverton addressed his feelings of guilt in a statement to the court.

“I let down my own family,” he said.

“I let down my students that had become my family.” Yelverton also wished to apologize to all his students.

During sentencing, Sedgwick

County District Court Judge Bruce Brown was presented with letters written by Yelverton’s ex-wife and son.

The victim refused her right to appear in court as well as her right to present a letter to the judge.

Yelverton was arrested in May after he was suspected of having a relationship with a student. He was 44 at the time of his arrest. The student was 17.

He originally was charged with six counts of unlawful sexual relations with a minor and one count of failure to report suspected child abuse. The other charges were dropped as part of his plea agreement.

Yelverton was in his second year with the school district. A former police officer, he taught law enforcement and fire science at Maize Career Academy. n

Johnny Yelverton was in his second year as a Maize teacher.

Before Maize, he was a police officer and served in the military.

Courtesy photo

“It was before school, maybe around six. My mom woke me up saying ‘Wake up! Somebody stole your stuff!’ . . . I went outside and my car door was just wide open.” — Sarah Perry, junior

students affected by high crime rates

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Story by Chantelle Hoekstra tudents have noticed a trend of their peers being the victim of crime lately.

This problem isn’t just a change in perspective by these observers, and it extends far beyond the school district.

Crime rates in the Wichita metro area have been rising at an unexpected rate, statistics show.

Junior Sarah Perry became the victim of a crime this earlier this year. Not only was her school-issued Chromebook stolen from her car, but her entire choir outfit was taken as well.

“It was a bit hard because I didn’t have a computer, and I almost had to pay for it,” she said. “I had to buy a new dress, so I had to wear a different one in the show than what everyone else had on.”

This theft occurred around a week before the fall choir show. It happened in Perry’s driveway.

“I was sleeping,” Perry said. “It was before school, maybe around six. My mom woke me up saying ‘Wake up!

Somebody stole your stuff!’ . . . I went outside and my car door was just wide open.”

Perry said crime seems to be a rising trend around her area. The thief that stole from her hit some of her neighbors as well.

“My neighbor across from me had guns in his car,” she said. “He said he had a camera, but you could not see any features. You could just see [the thief] doing it.”

Crime statistics back up Perry’s belief that crime rates are rising. According to 2017 Kansas Bureau of Investigation statistics, the most recent stats available, total crime in Kansas increased 8.5 percent from 2014 to 2017. Property crimes have risen the past three years but are

still well below the 10-year high in 2008.

Property crimes include burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.

Perry said she is frustrated that the person who stole from her hasn’t been caught. She estimated $1,000 worth of items were stolen.

“They said they’re trying to catch this person,” she said of the police. “But I don’t think that it was justice for anything.”

Senior Kourtnee Davis’ car also was broken into in the past couple of months.

“I always lock my car and take everything out of it,” she said. “But the one day [I didn’t], I left my soccer bag in my car, and a man saw my soccer bag in my window and shattered it.”

Davis said the made her feel violated and uncomfortable driving home late at night.

“It felt like I didn’t want to drive in my car,” she said. n

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new classes to be offered

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Story by Lily Robison CT Prep, Interdisciplinary US History/English 11 and Chemgebra are a few new classes Maize will offer juniors and seniors next year.

The ACT Prep class is meant to to go more in depth about what will be on the test. Math teacher Jenny Meirowsky, an English teacher and a science teacher will teach the enrichment class. It is still being determined which English and science teachers will teach alongside Meirowsky.

“This class is for any junior or senior, but it is recommended for students that have already taken the test so they have a baseline score for them to know what they need to improve on,” Meirowsky said.

Junior Isabelle Elmore said she might be interested in taking the course.

“I’m hoping they offer some new strategy skills that people might not think of while they are testing, ways to de-stress,

and review over common math and science problems that you might have forgotten that come up regularly on the ACT,” Elmore said.

The History/Literature class is designed for students to learn about the history behind literature and why a piece of writing might have impacted the world or how history could have inspired someone to write literature.

English teacher Cady Jackson and history teacher Rebecca Doerksen will be teaching this class together.

“This class is for any junior, but for someone more particularly interested in hands-on work, project-based assignments, simulations and experiential learning experiences,” Jackson said.

The class will fulfill two credits, satisfying the English 11 and American History graduation requirements. It will be taught for two class periods each day.

“I like the fact that it is in my third and fourth block, so it’s getting both classes

out of the way,” sophomore Baylee Miller said.

The Chemistry/Algebra class is known as Chemgebra. It will be taught by math teacher Chris Fisher and science teacher Jessica Fisher.

This class also allows students to knock out two credits, Algebra II and Chemistry, in one class.

“This class is not a standard class where you come to class, sit down, receive the information, take a test and move onto the next thing,” Chris Fisher said. “It is a class where you can work at your own speed and then move onto the next thing when you are ready.”

Sophomore Lexie Ridder said she would be interested in taking Chemgebra.

“I expect to actually understand what we are learning,” Ridder said. “In some classes, I understand it for a week, and then I forget about it. But in this class, I actually think I’ll be able to permanently have it on my mind.” n

History teacher Rebecca Doerkson helps sophomore Lexie Ridder with an assignment. Doerksen will co-teach History/Literature alongside English teacher Cady Jackson next year. It was one of three new combined classes Maize will offer, joining a Chemistry/Algebra and ACT Prep.

Photo by Lily Robison

6|NEWS

Maizenews.com || February 2019

free dental exams available april 10 G Story by Chasley Garcia raceMed, a non-profit, gracebased community health clinic, is partnering with Maize for the annual GraceMed Dental Clinic for the fifth year.

A portable dental office will be set up at Maize Complete High School on April 10. Extended Care Permit hygienists will be providing dental cleanings, fluoride varnish and sealants.

Students will have the opportunity to get oral health education and cleanings from dental hygienists, one on one. A form can be found on Maizenews.com

that is required to be filled out to receive these services. School transportation will be provided for high school and elementary students.

All students are eligible for the services; however, if the student already has a dental home or has seen a dentist within the past year, the student should not sign up for these services and continue to see their dentist for regular cleanings and exams, GraceMed said.

“It benefits us knowing that we helped someone find the care they need,” said Doreen Eyler, manager over dental outreach for GraceMed.

The clinic is aimed for families who need dental care with a limited income or need to find a dental home. Eyler said GraceMed provides compassionate, accessible, high-quality health care for residents in the communities that they serve. This partnership opens up opportunities for dental health that some students would not otherwise get.

“They can have their teeth cleaned while in school from early childhood through high school,” Eyler said.

“Advice and referrals can happen according to how they would pay for the next appointment.” n

club focuses on Wichita’s water T

Story by Chasley Garcia his club travels to the Cheney Reservoir every week to regulate the water supply for Wichita. Each member has been trained by University of Missouri scientists on how to filter the water and look for how much sediment, chlorophyll, and total suspended solids reside in the water.

This club was started by some students searching to do something good for their community.

They looked into many things with teacher Amy Hammett until they decided upon this project.

“Isaac Stanton came in and he told me he wanted to do something because he felt like his generation was not doing much,” Hammett said.

Stanton said his favorite part is having the opportunity as a high schooler to actually be changing the world for the better.

“It’s priceless and is helping us become better students while we’re at it,” Stanton said.

Since the start of the club, they have entered an eco challenge through Lexus to do something good for the community. They ended out on top, winning a $10,000 prize. Hammett stated that winning this prize gives them the opportunity to enter for the grand prize of $30,000. Besides doing good for their community, the members in this club get so much more out of it. It brings new opportunities to students for their futures and their educations.

“This club unlocks a bunch of opportunities from scholarship money to being able to put lab tech on a job application,” Stanton said. “The information and opportunities we are obtaining in this club will help us for the rest of our lives.” n

Isaac Stanton, Ryan Fullerton, Jacob Hanna, Aidan Leon, Carlos Cross and Joshua McLaughlin are part of Climate Club. Stanton started the club with science teacher Amy Hammett. Photo by Amy Hammett

7|NEWS

Finding Forever Family Story and design by Abby Turner and Ryann Redinger

Looking at the different ways individuals find people that they call family

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Top left photo - Junior Faven Simmons hanging out with her sisters, mom and nephew. The Simmons family had four children prior to adopting Faven and her little sister Diborah. Now the family has six children.

Courtesy Photo Bottom left photo - Brandle Easter Jr. and Brandle Easter Sr. pose with Easter Sr.’s siblings. He found out he had siblings upon discovering his father.

Courtesy photo Above - Juinor Jini Yun, Jessica Fisher, Chris Fisher and senior Brian Yun pose as a family. They had never had a picture all together until this photo.

Photo by Sam Bartlett

Maizenews.com || February 2019

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“Instant Identity”

t took 53 years for Brandle Easter Sr. to find his family.

He searched his whole life for a man who wanted to call him son.

And a family where he felt like he belonged.

Easter, assistant boys basketball coach and the father of senior Brandle Easter Jr., never knew his biological father.

“I would be walking home from playing with my friends, and I always thought ‘Man, my real dad’s probably a superhero.’ ” Easter Sr said. “You know, I kind of always had this [thought] ‘Man, I wish he would come and save me.’ ” He grew up living with his mother and a step-father. His last name was Studevan then. That was his step-father’s name. He said his step-father didn’t accept him and wished for a biological son.

“That was heavy as a young kid, so I naturally noticed there was this part of me that was always trying to prove myself, and, you know, it was crazy to grow up that way,” Easter Sr. said.

Around the time his step-father died, Easter Sr. said he received a letter from his step-father containing pictures of Easter Sr.’s children. The letter stated that his step-father didn’t want them to have his last name anymore.

“I got this last name that some somebody doesn’t want me to have,” Easter Sr. said.

“It’s like having a last name that reminds me of being unwanted.”

Easter Sr. said he had been searching for his father on the internet for years but could never find him. The only thing he found was information about his grandfather, Luke Easter, one of the first black Major League Baseball

players.

He finally made progress on his search after his mother-in-law suggested a DNA kit though Ancestry.com. Easter Sr. said about two months later he received an email. It was from a cousin.

“Who’s your dad?” she asked.

“I said my dad’s name is Terry Easter,” Easter Sr. said. “[Then] she goes, ‘That’s my uncle.’”

She told him he had a brother, a sister, a family. He started asking about his father and his siblings. She then encouraged him to get in contact with them.

“I talked with my brother first,” Easter Sr. said. “He said to me ‘Welcome to the family.’ That was crazy. He told me that I needed to talk to Dad.” The next day Easter Sr. was in contact with his father for the first time in his life at 11 o’clock on a Saturday morning.

“Hi son,” his father said.

“Hi dad,” was Easter’s reply.

“It was the craziest thing,” Easter Sr. said. “He went through this list of things I needed to hear my whole life. He said ‘I’m your father, I never didn’t want to see you. I didn’t know about you. I love you. You are now where you belong.’”

At 53 years old, Brandle Easter Sr. said he finally knew he could move on with his life.

But his father’s time on Earth was coming to an end. He was dying of pancreatic cancer.

Senior and Easter Jr. flew to Atlanta to meet him. His newly found sister was also there. She lives a few doors down from their father. His brother flew in from Seattle.

“I’m starting to see this is where I

come from,” Easter Sr. said. “We sat down and talked and then I listened to a story. He told me about a lot of the cool things that he did. I told him the cool things I did. We sat there sharing stories.”

“It was instant identity for me, almost like being fulfilled.”

Easter Sr. knew that this was his father and his family.

It was where he belonged.

With his father on his deathbed, Easter Sr. asked his father if he could take his last name.

“I said, “Hey, would you be cool with us changing our names,” Easter Sr. said.

“It’d be my honor,” his father said.

His father died from pancreatic cancer a short time later. Easter Jr. said he was glad he had the opportunity to meet his grandfather.

“I was pretty happy,” Easter Jr. said. “I was just happy because I didn’t know that someday this would happen or that I’d ever get to meet him at all.”

After meeting his father and changing his last name, Easter Sr. said his life began to change. He now knew he had a family he had never known before.

Although his dad was gone, his brother and sister would always be there for him.

“We have a pact [with my brother and sister], my dad said ‘You guys will take care of each other, until there is no more of you to take care of, regardless of what’s going on.’” Easter Sr. said. “There’s this piece of that you know you need to take care of each other, I don’t know if my brother and sister agree with me on everything, but beyond that, we’re in it to the finish. We’re going to pass that on to generations to come.” n

What does family mean to you?

“A place where you belong.

Ultimately a safe place and a place of identity.”

-Brandle Easter Sr., pastor

ephsister

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Brandle Easter Jr., a senior, spends time with his grandfather and uncle. His dad, Brandle Easter Senior, met his family for the first time at 53 years old. Courtesy Photo

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F

amily doesn’t always mean being biologically or even legally related.

For the Fishers, family can be found in strange places, including at school.

Senior Brian Yun and junior Jini Yun have been living with teachers Chris and Jessica Fisher for about a year now.

The siblings grew up in South Korea but came to the United States through a program called Medici that places students with foster families in the states.

“Brian and Jini happen to be U.S. citizens because their mom and dad were here going to graduate school when they were born,” Jessica Fisher said. “They were living here, and then family events happened and [Brian and Jini’s] mom was alone, so she took the kids back to South Korea. And as they got older, she decided to send them to the United States to go to high school for a variety reasons.”

Brian and Jini started living with a family in Hutchinson but were later separated by the program. Jessica said the program hopes that separating them would help them to speak in English more and hopefully improve their skills with the language, but they both struggled being separated. Chris Fisher knew Brian from chess club, so when he needed a new home, immediately, Chris talked to Jessica about being a foster family for Brian. “[Brian] came to live with us, and then about a month later [Jini] ended up needing a place immediately, so then she came to us and we talked them [Medici] into letting them stay together,” Jessica said. “I think it’s worked out

“A puzzle”

really well to have them together.”

Brian Yun said one of his favorite parts of going to Maize is all the extracurricular activities that are offered. Brian participates in chess club, band and also plays piano in his free time. Brian said in South Korea there weren’t any extracurriculars offered, as music and art were part of the curriculum. Brian learned to play the piano at a music academy in Korea, but now plays the bells for the band.

“There’s more [to do] here than in Korea,” Brian said. “There’s no after-school activities [in South Korea], but here I can have more activities I can join.”

Jini said she loves spending time with the Fishers’ dog, Magnus, as well as creating her own artwork. Jessica Fisher said that they want to support Jini in her love for art by encouraging her to take as many art classes as possible and complete her graduation requirements by taking online classes.

Both students take online classes and are on track to graduate with their peers. Along with their education, the Yun siblings said they have learned many valuable lessons living with the Fishers, such as time management and planning ahead.

“In Korea, school starts at 9,” Brian said. “Here, [school] starts at 7:40, but I have to be ready to leave at 6 because [the Fishers are] teachers, and they have to be early. We have to get ready to leave with them. There’s people that I can cause trouble with if I am late.”

The Fishers said they thought it was important for the siblings to learn these life skills and that they treat them like

What does family mean to you?

“People that work their way through problems and challenges in life together, with the good stuff and bad stuff.”

-Jessica Fisher, teacher

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Junior Jini Yun does homework with the Fisher family’s dog, Magnus. Yun enrolls in online classes that way she can take art classes on campus. Courtesy photo

family instead of guests.

“We try to treat them as if they are our children, and so sometimes they get spoken to just as if they were my daughter or son,” Chris Fisher said. “It’s good for them, and I think it sets the tone a little bit more that they’re not just guests in our house.”

The Fishers said the change of pace in their house has been different, but they have adapted to the change. Like the kids, the Fishers have had to learn how to plan ahead for all the family’s schedules.

“You have to schedule all your time, and they’re in school activities,” Chris said. “We do live far [from school]. Not real far away, but it’s a 20-minute drive, so we have to plan [ahead].”

The Fishers said they have enjoyed watching the kids grow and adapt as American high school students. Jessica said she has loved talking to them about their unique outlooks.

“It’s been fun to watch them learn and grow and kind of come out of their shells and learn about the United States,” Jessica said. “They ask such interesting questions because their perspective is so different, just from their background.

Just the way that in their expectations of how things are is different because the things are different from their experience.”

The Fisher family have different people from different backgrounds and places, but Jini said a family to her does not mean being biologically related, but by sticking by each other to solve problems.

“They help each other if something’s a problem,” she said. “It’s just like a puzzle that fits together.” n

Maizenews.com || February 2019

F

“Through everything together”

rom an orphanage in Ethiopia to a home in Kansas, junior Faven Simmons had been on a journey to find a family.

Simmons found her home once she was 7. Her journey to find her family has been different than most, but in the end she found the people that would be hers -- the Simmonses.

“Family I feel like means a lot of different things,” Simmons said. “It’s just the people who you surround yourself with. The people that mean a lot to you. It doesn’t have to be your biological siblings, mom and dad. It’s just people who you love, who care for you and protect you.”

Before the Simmonses adopted Faven and her sister Diborah, they were a family of six. They then became a family of eight after an adoption agency in Ethiopia matched them with Faven and Diborah.

“We filled out a form that asked what we were looking for, then the agency matched us with Faven and Diborah,” said her dad, John Simmons. “We agreed that they were a match and then we found out that we could adopt them.”

John Simmons said the it was a long process but worth it.

“It was a lot of paperwork and taking classes,” John Simmons said. “It was kind of our life for a year, and it was hard. They [Faven and her sister [Diborah] add such a good dimension to our family though.”

Faven also remembers meeting her new family.

“I just remembered these white people just coming and taking me but I mean, they gave me food and a nice house,” Faven said. “So I was chill. I didn’t really know what was going on at the time, so I was really confused.”

Faven said it was comforting to have Diborah with her.

“It was comforting having my sister with me,” Faven said. “I think if I was

by myself it would have been very scary.”

“We’re still really close and we’ve literally been through everything together.”

The transition from Ethiopia to America was difficult for Faven. She had many hurdles to overcome, such as language, mannerisms, people, culture and much more. For example, she said it’s hot in Ethiopia and they moved here at Christmas. She didn’t use silverware.

“It was very different,” she said. “It was really hard. I mean, I was 7. I had to learn a different language and be in a different culture.”

Faven has not been able to go back to Ethiopia since she was adopted. She said she wants to go back when her sister can go with her.

“I was going to go back to Ethiopia for my senior trip, but I mean, it’d just be me,” she said. “Me and my sister were both adopted, and I want to take her.

I’m going to have to wait until she’s 16 or 18. She’s 13 right now. So I have to wait a couple more years to get that full experience.”

When Faven was adopted, she said there would be feelings of being left out because she was different than the rest of her family. These feelings were very strong for the first few years of being in the Simmons family.

“The bad things that do come with it is just kind of growing up,” she said.

“I think I did feel a little left out in my family. It’s different.”

Faven’s family always reminded her she was loved and accepted into their family despite her feelings otherwise.

“They were very homey,” she said.

“Anytime I would feel left out, I could talk to my mom. She would try to explain to me that this is part of being adopted and that it’s normal to feel like this. I did therapy. You know, I feel like, if you adopt a child at 7 years old or at an older age, you should put them in therapy. It’s different. I think they did

try to help in any way they could. They were just there when I needed to talk to them about stuff.”

Looking back at her time in Ethiopia, Faven is reminded of how lucky she feels to be in America and have the family she has. Many differences between the two make her reflect on what living in Ethiopia was like.

“Being adopted from a third-world country and then coming to America was very different,” Faven said. “But it was good and different. There’s streets, and there’s not monkeys just being out and around. In Africa, monkeys were everywhere. Now, they’re in zoos. And I mean, it’s very sanitary here and safe. In Africa, they let their 5-year-olds just go into the market, which was the busiest place.”

Although there have been many struggles on Faven’s journey to being a part of her forever family, there are many more things that she is grateful for.

“I could have died in Ethiopia,” she said. “It’s very real, because when you’re in an orphanage, they let you stay there until you’re [. . .] 16 or 18. Then after that, they just kick you out and into Ethiopia.”

She said many of those kids end up being prostitutes to make a living.

“It’s very easy to get raped and killed,” Faven Simmons said. “The fact that they were able to save me from that makes me really grateful. They brought me to America where we have a lot of problems, but we’re lucky. It’s amazing here. We have the freedom to speak and to express ourselves. My parents were just amazing with that, and they really helped me settle in.”

Family may not always be conventional or work out perfectly, but you can find family all around.

“Family is the people you invest your life into without expecting anything in return,” her dad said. n

What does family mean to you?

“It’s just people who you love and you care for People who protect each other.”

-Faven Simmons, junior

Faven Simmons spends time with her dad, John, at a WSU basketball game together. She said she loves hanging out with her father.

Courtesy Photo

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12|column

Maizenews.com || February 2019

big brother is watching you

Chromebook security application poses danger to student privacy

I

Story by the Play editorial board magine you’re home, just back from a long day at school. You settle in with your favorite snacks and open up your Chromebook to watch YouTube.

You are alone but get an eerie feeling, as though you’re being watched. You glance around as you reassure yourself that it’s just your mind playing tricks on you and confirm that you are indeed alone.

As your eyes fall back to your computer, something strange happens. Your cursor begins to move as if it were possessed, clicking on the search bar. Letters start to appear on the screen. An ASAP Science video begins playing. A chat window is pulled up as an anonymous person sends you a message.

“I thought you might like this video.

You seemed interested in the concept in class today. -- Mr. Hickory, physics teacher.”

Obviously this is an extreme example. A teacher can’t just show you a video whenever they want. They can’t force a window open on your computer at home, let alone control your browsing. It’s impossible, right? Well, it was.

A new application called GoGuardian has been installed on every Chromebook in the district. It is advertised as a way for teachers to control the “powerful technology in students hands.” Essentially, the intention of GoGuardian is to allow teachers to make sure students are appropriately using the technology at school. In many case-study videos and information lists scattered throughout GoGuardian’s website, the application boasts the ability to “track stolen devices, allow teachers to view all students screens at once and send direct messages to students.”

As of this year, Maize has adopted a 1:1 technological policy for students.

Schools that follow similar policies give each student a personal piece of technology, usually a Chromebook or laptop. As society is progressing toward a more technologically enhanced classroom, 1:1’s are a logical next step for most districts.

However, this system does not come without drawbacks. Seeing as students generally know more about the technolo-

gy given to them than those who supervise them, administrators reasonably feel the need to limit and protect students on the technology they are using.

Many students are familiar with a classic web filter, blocking access to potentially harmful or distracting websites. These filters are necessary, whether they are put in place to maintain the district’s internet usage policy or to keep students from browsing certain online platforms.

But what happens when that need for control goes beyond simply blocking certain websites?

There is a line when something becomes too intrusive, having access to too much information on an individual.

“While it’s important to monitor what students are doing, I also think that to the extent GoGuardian is monitoring, you’re infringing on privacy,” senior Arissa Brown said.

We live in a world with active microphones placed in our homes, cars that can basically drive themselves and now, as a result of GoGuardian, Chromebooks that can spy on us.

GoGuardian is a powerful application, giving a tool to teachers that they’ve never had before. History teacher Kevin Roulhac was one of the teachers to spearhead the integration of GoGuardian at Maize.

He said he did not believe GoGuardian would pose any classroom disruptions by blocking the wrong content or other teachers not knowing how to use the application.

“Teachers have full control of [blocked content],” Roulhac said. “I think early on some teachers are struggling to know how the thing works, and how the platform works, but I think as teachers learn more and know more, then those types of disruptions should not happen as much.”

With the application, teachers are offered the ability to see the current displays on a student’s Chromebook, as well as forcibly close or open tabs. There are different modes that let teachers view students’ Chromebooks. At the same time, the application has the ability to allow admins the power to edit and view a student’s comprehensive search and

browser histories from their own devices as they see fit. GoGuardian also has a feature that can track the physical location of a Chromebook that is reported missing or stolen. Finally, the application also allows for direct messaging between teachers and students at any time.

However, GoGuardian doesn’t just show up on school-issued Chromebooks.

When a student logs onto their school email account from a laptop or other personal computer now, GoGuardian is automatically downloaded. There is no ability to disable the application. To do your schoolwork, you are forced to download an intrusive application that you didn’t ask for, and then can’t get rid of.

Although it is reasonable that we should not be allowed to disable applications from school Chromebooks, most wouldn’t think that the same would be true for other computers. After accessing the extension settings for Chrome on a personal computer, the user is presented with the same warning when trying to turn off GoGuardian.

While this all seems very “1984” in its own right, it could still get a lot worse for those who have the application. It would not be that difficult for a student to access a teacher’s computer at any hour of the day. If that student had malicious intent, they could do a lot of damage to the record of any of their peers. Between the ability to edit browser history, force open tabs and even track location, GoGuardian could become a very powerful weapon for anyone with a grudge.

We understand that, at this time, the abilities teachers have using GoGuardian are limited. Parameters have been put in place to keep teachers from having the ability to monitor outside the class and go full “big brother.”

However, these are not parameters entirely set in stone. If the school can turn off the ability to monitor outside of current classrooms, there is surely a way to get those settings turned back on. This affects not only Chromebook users, but anyone with a school email. The door has already been opened. Now we just need to hope nobody walks through it. n

13|Opinion

The World Will be RIGHT Adopting a policy of kindness in 2019 T

Design by Abby McCoy here is no sugar-coating that times right now are rough. Take a look at recent issues of this newsmagazine and you can find that drug addiction, gun violence and rape are problems common for even high schoolers. Long-eradicated diseases are making a comeback while civil discourse is on a decline.

Opinions are viewed as facts and vice versa, leaving those of opposing thoughts often unable to have a conversation without sparking an argument. The news is haunting and politics are a mess, leaving the future of our world looking bleaker and bleaker.

But through the darkness, a light emerges, a brief glimmer of hope that reminds me that all good in this world is not yet gone. This savior, this benevolent soul who shows me that life may yet still be worth living, rises above the fray of the world’s cruelty and serves as a symbol that it can get better.

No, this hero is a not a man, nor is he a woman. He is instead an idea, a virtue that we can all strive to meet. He is a bear.

A bear named Paddington.

I feel that I have gained a reputation as Maize’s biggest Paddington fan, more specifically his 2018 sequel. My Twitter, Chromebook case and personal conversations have, at times, been riddled with references to the British bear. Teachers and students alike have made mention of my fandom to me, often unprompted, with the conversations generally being steered in one direction: Why? Why do I have such an affection for a children’s movie? Am I being overdramatic? Is it all just a joke, an elaborate prank to get people to watch a terrible family film? Well, yes and no.

Is “Paddington 2” the best movie of all time? No. Is a good amount of my talk about the film a joke? Sure. So why bother? Why enter this movie into my daily discussions, sometimes to the annoyance

14|opinion

Casey Loving Commentary of my friends? Essentially, it all boils down to one quote.

“If we’re kind and polite, the world will be right.”

And there it is. In one quote, the perfect summation of why Paddington rises above normal children’s movies, what makes it better than, say, an “Emoji Movie” or an “Angry Birds.” Its entire purpose lies in trying to make the world a nicer place.

Nearly every joke, every action, every story beat in “Paddington 2” is done in service of the movie’s overarching philosophy. Where other children’s entertainment can often opt for the cheap joke and the quick dollar, Paddington charmingly and effectively shows the value of simply being a good person (or, in his case, Peruvian bear) time and time again.

As mentioned above, we don’t necessarily live in the best of times. One can often go days or even weeks without finding much to be positive about. We all have our own ways of getting away from the doom and gloom, whether it be writing, drawing or, for me, watching movies.

No, “Paddington 2” is not the best movie ever. No, it wasn’t even the best movie of 2018. But beyond it just being a charming, funny, beautiful, touching movie, there is a reason I am so hooked on it. In a world full of people being fake and saying whatever they need to do to get ahead, it’s nice to see something so genuinely positive it almost hurts.

Through my endless barrage of Tweets, comments and quotes about the movie, I have convinced several of my friends to give the movie a shot, each one of them walking in expecting an experience on par with 2011’s “The Smurfs.” Yet invariably, I have not spoken to a single person who has seen this movie that hasn’t come away with almost the same joy and hope that I had championed going in.

“Paddington 2” has a message that should resonate with nearly everyone: All you have to do to make the world a better place is be a better person. If you want to see good, then be good. Do good.

Yes, “Paddington 2” does have an idealized narrative. At the end of the day, it is a movie directed at children, and everything is solved in the end because a talking bear has manners. In practice, everything doesn’t always work out. The kindness of a few people simply can’t always solve everything.

However, the mission statement is still clear. Silly as it sounds, it’s one that has rang in my head nearly every day since last January. At the beginning of every year, you always see several people share their resolutions for the coming months, the mindsets they hope to keep through December.

Well, here’s mine. Whenever life seems unbearable, whenever your situation seems hopeless, just try to remember this thought: “If we’re kind and polite, the world will be right.”

Also, convince more people to watch “Paddington 2.” That movie is phenomenal. n

Maizenews.com || February 2019

an eye for an eye Freshman shares her experience being blind in one eye Column by MJ McCollum Design by Abby McCoy ’ve always had a lazy eye. When I was born, they instantly knew something was wrong with my right eye. Obviously I knew I was blind in that eye, but I was too little to tell anyone.

The doctors tried to cover my left eye with an eye patch to make me work hard to function my blind eye, or maybe they just like the idea of me being a pirate. The idea was if I worked hard in my right eye, it is bound to work.

My brain would shut down where I would just sit and stare at the wall, fall asleep, or just cry. It was practically nap time when the patch was on.

Finally, when I was about 3, the doctors came to a conclusion. I have Septo-optic dysplasia. Sounds fancy, right?

I never really think of myself as different than others, just a unique, happy-golucky personality. Everyone has a story to tell.

I

My lazy eye wasn’t very good at concentrating. I would be in conversation with someone and it would wander out to the side. It’s not a self-esteem boost when you wave at someone and they look behind not knowing that your small gesture was to them.

In middle school, boys were pretty cruel. I was at lunch one day, chowing down a PB&J when I turned around to look for my best friend.

“Where are you looking?” asked a boy from another table.

“No one ever knows,” said another.

You see, I never had the thought, “Wow, I’m blind.” because I’m too busy flying in the air at cheer, tumbling, finishing homework assignments and living my life to full capacity. That hit me hard, but yet didn’t care because I was living my life to the fullest.

I’ve always had the option of surgery.

The summer of 2018 would be life-changing to the little girl who always got the

brunt of looking different.

That summer I had the opportunity to get the surgery done and it change me not only physically but also mentally.

Evidently it changed the way I looked, but my presence in the world was so much more.

I felt more beautiful, more confident, more happy. I finally felt like me.

Although my eye was swollen and red, people knew where I was looking, and I could have a conversation without the drifting of my eye. This was the best thing ever, and forever life-changing.

Everything is new to me now. From eye surgery to a new school. I couldn’t be happier.

If you don’t know me, you don’t know my story. Existing as a positive influence throughout the school is a goal of mine.

Being the one telling others it’s OK if you’re different and unique.

Continue to be you and live life to the fullest. n

“Everything is new to me now.

From eye surgery to a new school. I couldn’t be happier.

If you don’t know me you don’t know my story.”

— MJ McCollum, freshman

15 |Column

overcoming obstacles Freshman Damiana Eklund doesn’t let disabilities keep her from having a positive outlook on life Story by Molly McCollum and Meaghann Flower Design by Abby Turner

Eklund’s goal is to become a teacher because she wants to help individuals with disabilities. Eklund said that the teachers at Maize have made her feel welcomed in their classroom. Photo by Brooklyn Blasdel

16|Features

Damiana’s favorite songs “Hey Jude” - The Beatles “That’s Why God made The radio” - The Beach Boys

F

reshman Damiana Eklund is a normal high school student.

She enjoys hanging out with friends, listening to music and traveling. She seems like your typical teen girl, except that she has septo-optic dysplasia.

Septo-optic dysplasia is a rare congenital malformation syndrome featuring underdevelopment of the optic nerve.

This causes her to be legally blind with spiraling eyes. Damiana is also diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which is a form of high-functioning autism.

Through all of the difficulties, Eklund continues to motivate herself and others with her bright smile.

“She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body,” said Cynthia Swann, Eklund’s adoptive grandmother.“She gives me a reason to live.”

Swann adopted Eklund last year after Eklund’s biological mother died in a car crash.

Sophomore Alexis VanEchaute, Eklund’s neighbor and friend, said she enjoys hanging out with Eklund.

“Damiana loves to make someone’s day,” VanEchaute said. “Whenever we hang out, we like to do silly things, like turn a trampoline into a slip and side.”

By looking through the halls, you can see Eklund knowing exactly how to get from one class to another. She can lead the way.

“Paras walk me to my classes for the first few days so I can get the hang of it,” Eklund said.

Throughout the years of her education, Eklund has learned how to speak up for herself by telling her teachers that her placement in the class is important to her education. Eklund said in middle school a teacher transferred her to the back of the classroom because her para caused too much of a distraction to the other students.

Ever since the incident, Eklund said now she is assertive and speaks up. Eklund said Maize has stepped up and has guided her.

“The faculty has been great,” Eklund said.

“I would like to be a teacher, and maybe I can teach people to be more accommodating to differences, to people like me.”

got the whole school to sing with me for the talent show,” Eklund said.

Freshman Maisie Whyte said Eklund is inspiring.

“She makes me want to be nicer and a better person,” Whyte said.

After graduation, Eklund said she plans to inspire students by becoming a educator.

“I would like to be a teacher, and maybe I can teach people to be more accommodating to differences to people like me,”Eklund said. n

— Damiana Eklund, freshman “They realized that they can’t just blow up the words and that it needs to be on hard copy.”

Just like any teenager, Eklund has hobbies and interests in music bands and collects a variety of different clocks from small clocks to grandfather clocks.

“I just love them,” Eklund said.“There are too many where you would never sleep at night.”

Eklund said music has a special place in her heart with her old soul. Her favorite bands are The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Eklund is also a member of the choir at school. She said she enjoys performing in front of an audience.

“My favorite song is ‘Hey Jude,’ because I

Eklund enjoys listening to music in her free time.

Some of her favorite artists are the Beach Boys and the Beatles.

Photo by Brooklyn Blasdel

17|features

A group of students involved in the “Overwatch” team work on their skills after school in the MCA. The team meets at random through the week during En-Cor and after school. Photos by Janeth Saenz

A

Story by Janeth Saenz new club has been created for students who are interested in taking part in multiplayer video game competitions.

Members of the eSports Club will participate in the games “Rainbow Six Siege,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Overwatch,” “League of Legends” and “Rocket League.”

Junior Raequan Benford, who is a part of the League of Legends and Rainbow Six Siege teams and is a captain for the Overwatch team, said each game has a captain that leads the group.

“Each team has its own team captain, but each game itself has multiple teams,” Benford said. “For each game, there is one head captain and if they want they can have co-captains. They pretty much decide to run practices and how each team works. All of us just kind of come together.”

Club sponsor Jed Heath, who teaches engineering at Maize Career Academy, said starting the club isn’t something he had thought of doing.

“Grayson Graham is the one that came in and approached me about it and asked if we could look into possibly doing it since Complete High School had theirs and Maize South has one as well,” Heath said. “At first I was like, ‘Oh, this will be really exciting. I’ve played video games since I was a kid. Too.’ ” Graham, a junior who is a captain for Rainbow Six Siege and CSGO, said he

18|features

Head in the games Maize welcomes new club dedicated to student gaming hopes more people will join next year when it will be more known to students.

“I guess you can kind of say I was a little jealous because Maize Complete and Maize South have one, and so I was like ‘Well, I want to play video games at school, so let’s start a club,’” he said. “To me it’s just a chance to compete against other teams with friends and just grow and work with the team and obtain one goal. We focus on teamwork, and hopefully next year it’ll be more competitive.”

Apart from e-Sports club, Graham plays on his PC at home. The first console he got was an Xbox 360 from his aunt and uncle. Graham does not intend to pursue eSports professionally.

“With eSports, it is harder to become and professional gamer then it is a professional athlete like in the NFL,” Graham said. “I think it’s less than a 2 percent chance or something like that of making actual money out of Esports.”

Graham said colleges are also adding team.

“Which is kind of cool,” he said.

These Esports teams practice separately after school and in school during EnCor for upcoming matches in the MCA building. However, some games are not allowed to be practiced at school.

“Rainbow Six and CSGO … they aren’t necessarily accepted by the school, so we just play them outside of the school,” Graham said. “I think playing them in a classroom where you can take a break, watch footage of what you just played or what you could do better.”

Benford’s love for gaming first began after playing F-Zero, a racing game, on the Nintendo 64. Outside of playing games, he also enjoys creating his own.

“I made a small little game where you just roll a ball around to collect coins,” he

said “It took me three or four days.”

For Benford, making gaming a career is not a goal but instead he plans to keep it a hobby.

“I would like it to be a side career, because after this a want to start streaming and I would love to just stream as a side job,” he said.

The club is currently at 47 members.

Heath would like it to grow into a class that would teach a lot more than just playing video games, such as developing job skills.

“I think the purpose is getting more kids involved in a school activity,” Heath said. “Taking a look at our culture, we have lots of kids who play video games. …We can try and find ways to maybe get them online and play, working on strategy, teamwork ... also trying to teach appropriate chat language, which is a big problem online.”

Each season is six to seven weeks of competition, including playoffs.

“If people are interested, they can come and definitely see me and we can get them signed up and get them in for next season,” Heath said. “Next season we’ll have some varsity teams, so we’ll have some tryouts for our best players out there.”n

ODD

Maizenews.com 2018 Maizenews.com||||November February 2019

Page by Ellie Stucky

collections Collectors show what unusual items they have acquired over time “I just b ought a sweats with sa hirt fety pin s on it.

And I j ust had this ide a of putt ing diff erent s izes on [my sweats hirt] so I’m finding differen t sizes and differen t colors .”

r Hailee Landws eh

Beth Janssen

Safety Pin

Buttons

“I started because my grandmother gave me all of her buttons and then

rted nly sta o y l l a “I actu is bugs th e h t g in collect cket rted po a t s I d year an as in hen I w w s e h c wat ” I think. , e d a r hg sevent

my mom had a friend give her an old sewing kit and

it had a bunch of cool buttons in it.”

Callan Longacre Preserved insect Pocket Watches s

19|entertainment

Welcome to the nest

Student-athletes have found a new home at MHS

I

Story by Maddie Neigenfind t’s not uncommon to see a college athlete transfer schools to better their athletic careers, but it’s becoming a trend for high schoolers.

Maize has welcomed a handful of athletes to their teams over the last two years, such as juniors Emily Laham, Carson Wheeler and KJ Hampton.

Laham transferred to Maize when she was sophomore from Remington in Whitewater. Laham decided to move to better pursue a career in basketball.

“It was pretty hard honestly,” Laham said. “I grew up there [Whitewater] and I had all my friends, but they were really supportive because they knew how much I loved basketball. It was hard, but they made it easier.”

Laham has made a big impact on her teammates since she’s been at Maize and said she’s happy she made this decision.

She looks forward to continuing to improving on her skills.

“I wasn’t really good at defense before I came here because I never really needed to play it at my old school,” Laham said.

“I have figured out how to work with the other girls. I can see the court with them a lot better now and find places to put good passes.”

For Laham, playing in college is a big goal. With help from her coach, Jerrod Handy, she believes it’s achievable.

“I just want to go wherever I get the best scholarship,” Lahman said. “Because I want to help my parents with the money. Coach Handy is really good at talking to schools and coaches for you and getting them to look at you more.

He’s gotten half the colleges that are looking at me to come out.”

She not only wants to play in college for the experience, but she wants to give back to her parents for the endless sacrifices they’ve made.

“My parents are the biggest supporters that I have,” she said. “They come to

20|Sports

every game, no matter how far away it is. My sister is too because the advice she gives me is so good.”

Two other transfers that Maize welcomed this year are juniors Carson Wheeler and KJ Hampton.

Wheeler transferred from Eisenhower to join the wrestling team.

“It was hard to leave my friends,” Wheeler said. “But adjusting to the new school was easy because Maize is a block schedule and Eisenhower had seven blocks a day, which made for a really long day.“ Compared to his fellow transfers, Wheeler feels like making this decision was a solo act.

“My mom was really iffy about it,” Wheeler said. “My coaches did not want me to make this decision at all, so it was a hard one to make on my own for sure.”

“They’ve made me more disciplined as a person” - KJ Hampton, junior Although the classes were easily adjustable for Wheeler, leaving everything familiar to wasn’t as easy.

“It was hard because all the kids that I grew up with are still there,” Wheeler said. “I made friends quickly, and that group made it easier to handle so I didn’t worry as much.”

Wheeler’s improvement on the mat comes from the help of not only his coaches but also teammate Kyle Haas.

“Being partners with Kyle has really helped me improve all throughout in wrestling,” Wheeler said.

Before graduating from Maize, Wheeler hopes to continue to be given the opportunity to keep wrestling and

receive a few offers from colleges.

“I really want to receive an offer or two from a Division II or higher college,” he said. “I’d be open to wrestling anywhere, though. My coaches are totally to thank for all I’ve accomplished so far.”

Junior KJ Hampton transferred from Newton and plays basketball and football.

“Coming to Maize, I didn’t think I would fit in as well as I did [at Newton],” Hampton said. “People here at Maize are just a lot friendlier.”

For Hampton, coming to Maize wasn’t just about the sports but about the academics and how he could grow in the classroom as well.

“It was kind of tough leaving my old school behind, but coming here for mainly the academics was good,” Hampton said. “I’m glad I came.”

Improvement on the field is far beyond noticeable for Hampton. Not only has he become a better player, but more disciplined as a person.

“I’ve improved a lot in my sports,” Hampton said. “It’s a big difference compared to last year. I listen to the coaches more. ... They’re really good at just pushing everyone to be better.

They’ve made me more disciplined as a person and they’ve taught me to work a lot harder.”

In spite of the fact that leaving Newton upset Hampton’s former coaches and teammates, he’s thankful for those who stuck around.

“I’m glad that the people who supported me through it did because there were not a lot of people that were happy when I left,” Hampton said.

“Thank you for accepting me through the change.”

As for his future, Hampton hopes to play college football. He feels as if his coaches have helped him see a better future in athletics. n

Maizenews.com || February 2019 Junior Carson Wheeler wrestles in a match against his opponent from Derby. Wheeler transfered from Eisenhower this year and looks foward to his future at Maize. Photo by Devynn Raile

Junior Emily Laham dribbles a ball down the court as she looks for an open pass. She is in her second year at Maize after transferring from Remington and is a starter for girls varsity. Photo by Mia Hennen

21|sports

20 and oh!

Boys basketball completes first perfect regular season

T

Story by Abby McCoy and Ryann Redinger

wenty down; five to go.

The boys basketball team completed a perfect regular season last week with a 66-43 victory Salina South.

The team is 20-0 heading into the substate playoffs.

“I’m definitely not satisfied yet,” senior Tanner Ohnmeis said. “I’m ready to keep pushing it and win five more games.”

Maize is the top-ranked team and only undefeated team in class 5A. Ohnmeis said that the Eagles’ ultimate goal is a state championship. That journey starts with a sub-state game Thursday. The championship game is Saturday.

Should the Eagles win sub-state, they will play in the state tournament March 7-9.

“It’s what we’ve been working for, but the real accomplishment will be what we do in the postseason,” senior Chase Schreiner said of the perfect regular season, which included the AVCTL Division 1 championship.

While they are undefeated, it hasn’t always come easy for the Eagles. Their victories include a one-point win over Derby early in the season, an overtime victory against defending state champion Bishop Carroll, a two-point victory over Maize South and a one-point win at Campus.

Coach Chris Grill said he feels accomplished with the Eagles’ perfect season.

“You know, it’s what you do every year,” Grill said. “Come out to win your games, and we’ve came out and actually done it. I think it just says a lot about the players we have on the team. ” But the job isn’t done. The Eagles were upset in the sub-state championship game last year, losing to eventual state runner-up Salina Central. The current seniors were in middle school the last time Maize made it to the state tournament.

“It’s what we’ve been working for all these years,” Ohnmeis said. “To finally get it [a state title].” n

results

Opponent Score Eisenhower 67-42 Salina South 76-41 Dodge City 85-49 Derby 58-57 Campus 61-48 Hutchinson 61-36 Newton 63-50 Salina Central 55-43 Bishop Carroll 56-52 Goodland 61-22 Scott City 67-45 Pine Creek (Colo.) 69-42 Newton 59-50 Maize South 65-63 Derby 72-59 Buhler 60-39 Campus 46-45 Hutchinson 62-45 Salina Central 58-45 Salina South 66-43 Caleb Grill goes in for a dunk against Hutchinson earlier this month. Photo by Sam Bartlett

22|sports

Maizenews.com || February 2019

rolling through the season Players reflect on the season and their future

W

Story by Savannah Horn ith the bowling season winding down, senior Bailee McConnell reflected on her career.

“For me I think it’s my best season yet,” McConnell said. “I think after bowling for so long it just gets easier for me.”

The team practices every day after school at West Acres Bowling Alley for an hour and a half. The players practice on the techniques and strategies they think they need to work on.

“On Mondays we bowl in the night time,” McConnell said. “It’s an everyday thing. We do different skill levels in practice. Varsity will bowl with each other and JV will bowl with each other.”

McConnell is one of several seniors on the team.

She has been bowling for Maize since her freshman year.

Senior Spencer Merrill has been bowling since his freshman year as well.

“As a team, we’re doing great,” Merrill said. “We started off as the bottom seed, but now we’re top three in our region.”

The regional tournament was Saturday after Play went to press.

Sophomore Mary Rozner had an average bowling

Senior Caylie Harris bowls for the varsity team at West Acres. Maize went against Campus High School. Photo by Savannah Horn

score of 176 on the most recent statistics available.

Junior Grayson Graham was averaging 201 for the boys.

The players joined the bowling teams for different reasons.

“My dad took me bowling when I was younger, and I started to like it,” junior Marvin Rozner said.

McConnell said she joined because of her freshman English teacher, David Walker, who was the coach.

McConnell said bowling tournaments are a “packed house.”

“They put stands up and the stands are packed,” she said.

Some of the players are considering pursuing bowling later on. Marvin Rozner wants to try to bowl in college.

McConnell said she has considered bowling for Newman in college, but if she doesn’t then she wants to join a bowling league when she’s older. She said she also goes bowling with her friends outside of school for fun.

“It’s the one hobby I actually enjoy, you can do it in the winter and the summer,” McConnell said.

“Everybody likes bowling.” n

“It’s the one hobby I actually enjoy” -Bailee McConnell, senior

23|Sports

the game goes on

Seniors a driving force in girls basketball success Story and design by Madi Hay

T

he girls basketball team has had a strong season this year consisting of only three losses. The girls are hoping to continue the rest of the season in the same fashion and return to state for the third year in a row.

Coach Jerrod Handy said the whole team gets along very well in all settings and they know how to work together.

“The thing about our team is that we get along so well, on the court and off the court,” Handy said. “So the team is really strong, and they’re a close group of girls.”

The team consists of two seniors: Alexis Cauthon and Halie Jones. Both girls have already secured spots on college teams.

Cauthon said Handy has helped her and the entire team achieve goals they never thought possible.

“He’s prepared me for everything,” Cauthon said. “He’s one of the greatest coaches that I’ve ever had, but also one of the greatest coaches ever.”

Cauthon said she appreciates how Handy recognizes the potential in his players “He pushes you to places you don’t think you can go,” she said. “He knows how good you can be.”

Cauthon is going to Evangel University, an NAIA Division I college in Springfield, Mo., and said she is thrilled for the opportunities she will receive.

“I just couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity I have to be able to play out there and just grow in basketball and in education as well,” she said. “I plan to study secondary education right now, but I’m just so excited to go to the next level and just start a whole new path of college.”

Jones signed with Texas-Rio Grande Valley, which is an NCAA Division I school in Edinburg, Texas. She said she has chosen a college with a coach that she has always dreamed of having.

“He pushes you to go places you don’t think you can go.”

-Alexis Cauthon, senior Lane Lord, who used to coach at Pittsburg State, is in his first year at the school.

“I’m going there not only because it’s a D1 like a lot of people think,” Jones said.

“I went there for the coach because I believed in him, and he’s going to change that program.”

Jones said she was interested in Pitt State before Lord switched jobs.

the eagles are

17-3

As of 2/18

24|sports

“I knew I wanted to play for him,” she said. “I’m happy that he got back in touch with me and I’m able to still get in touch with him.”

This won’t be the first coach she has had a strong relationship with. Jones said she likes how Handy has helped her become the person she is today and helped her choose the college and coach that is right for her.

“Handy’s system is pretty much the same as Lane’s, so that really sparked Lane’s interest in me,” she said. “I think that Handy really helped me a lot with that and prepared me for college.”

Jones said the Eagles have many strengths when it comes to working as a team and that this has helped prepare her for college.

Jones and Cauthon have helped the Eagles to a strong season. Their three losses — two to Derby and one to Maize South — have come against teams that haven’t lost a game this season.

They are joined in the starting lineup by juniors Cassie Onwugbufor and Emily Laham and sophomore Sydney Holmes.

“We are just good at playing as a team and working together,” Jones said.

“There is some games that obviously you can’t really tell if there’s team chemistry but we have been working on that and it’s definitely one of our biggest strengths.” n

2 seniors halie jones & Alexis cauthon

S to se

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Halie Jones signed to

texas rio Grande valley Senior Halie Jones signed to Texas Rio Grande Valley to play basketball. The girls completed their regular season 17-3 after a win at Salina South Feb 18.

Photo by Devynn Raile

Maize South and Derby both haven’t lost a game this season and they are the only teams Maize has lost to.

Senior Alexis Cauthon is signed to play basketball at Evangel University. The girls basketball team will play at home Wednesday in the substate game. Photo by Devynn Raile

Alexis Cauthon signed to

Evangel University

25|sports

hard to manage

Student managers are an important part of the team Design and story by Kyerra Snyder ost students know the name of their school’s starting quarterback. Some can even name their basketball team’s starting lineup.

Nearly everybody can say they share a class with a wrestler, swimmer, bowler, golfer or baseball player and identify them by name.

Student athletes, at the forefront of their student body, often receive the respect and recognition of their peers.

However, there is another group behind the scenes that is right there with them.

A group that attends every practice, every game. Although these select few spend every day doing what’s best for their team, they seldom see the same praise as an athlete. They’re the team managers.

Senior Maggie Wilson has been a manager for wrestling and football for four years. Wilson said she decided to manage after seeing athletes doing tasks she could easily help them with.

“The first choice I made to become manager was freshman year when I went to a freshman game and realized the players were doing water themselves,” she said. “I then emailed Coach (Rocky) Helm and he referred me to (Coach Gary) Guzman.”

Wrestling coach Mike Schauer said managers need to know what they are doing in to reach their best potential as a manager and do what’s best for the team.

“Maggie is the only one who has been a manager before, so she knows what’s going on and she helps train the other two,” Schauer said.

There are a lot of aspects that go into choosing a manager.

“I want managers that are dependable, responsible, work hard, and take pride in their work,” football coach Gary Guzman said.

Even though managers don’t get much recognition for their work, Wilson said she still loves doing it.

“In being a football manager, I only see recognition between football families, coaches, and players,” Wilson said. “[But I love] feeling the love that sur-

M

26|sports

rounds the team, all the great laughter and memories over the years.”

Managers such as Wilson have many jobs, such as keeping track of statistics, taking attendance and bringing out equipment.

Guzman said filming is the most essential job football managers do.

“It is very important that they do a good job with this because we use the video to trade with other schools for scouting purposes,” he said. “We also share the video with colleges when we are trying to promote our players for possible scholarships.”

Schauer said managers can often be just as active as the athletes they are managing.

“All practice long there is always something to do,” he said.

Although, when Wilson started managing four years ago, she didn’t have all the duties she has now.

“During the four years, I first started off doing nothing, then I moved up into filming with a camera and moved to on the field more.” said Wilson.

Wilson said she’s not a “sporty” person, so managing was a good fit for her.

“I did play volleyball for a little bit, and let’s just say it did not turn out well,” she said.

Going into college, Wilson said she was going to continue her managing career but has decided not to.

“I pushed aside that option and decided to focus on college,” she said.

In being a manager, Wilson believes there are a lot of inside perspectives and perks because you are around that team for the whole year.

“Being a manager, I get to see how goofy and amazing the players and teams are,” she said.

There are some downsides, though.

“My least favorite thing is the hot summer days we spend on the field,” Wilson said.

Many people believe being a manager isn’t much more than watching the players and sitting on the sidelines, so they don’t do it.

“I would tell people don’t knock it until you try it,” Wilson said. n

Senior Maggie Wilson, on senior night, has been a manager for four years.

Photo by Devynn Raile

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Avery Shunatona

Carson Stephens

Q: Why did you decide to be a manager?

A: “I got into it because my dad’s friends with Rocky [baseball coach] and Rob. I know them well so I decided to manage.”

Q: Why did you want to be a manage instead of playing softball?

A: “Managing is easier and baseball is more fun to watch.”

Q: A What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being a manager?

A: “There’s nothing I don’t like, but my favorite part is being around my friends.”

Q: Why did you decide to be a manager?

A: “My best friend Eli Owings plays basketball and he helped me meet new people when I first moved here.”

Q: What made you choose managing instead of playing on the team?

A: “I am short and fat.”

CHloe Bartlett

Kendyl Johnson

Q: Do you feel like you get any recognition?

A: “Not really, I mean, I do a lot of things for them when they ask me, and the only time I get recognized is from the parents when they say thank you.”

Q: Do you like the traveling you do with the team?

A: “I love it, the bus rides are fun because you just jack around and talk. The long ones, when it’s late at night is kinda hard because you get back really late.”

Q: Do you feel like you get any recognition?

A: “I don’t manage for the recognition, but the senior managers get to walk on the field on senior night.”

Q: A What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being a manager?

A: “My favorite parts of managing are getting closer with the other managers, and I love baseball so I enjoy getting to watch it. My least favorite part is when it’s really hot, or really cold .”

27|sports

Game Time

Solve the crossword with staff’s last names 2

3

The answers to this crossword are all teachers and administrators who work at Maize.

1

4

5

6 7

8 9

10

11

12

13

14 15

16

18

17

19 20

Design By Carter Jones

Down

Across

1. I am a bald football coach.

3. You can use my name in vain.

4. My dog’s name is Freya.

6. My name is almost pronounced like a character on Monster’s Inc. 10. I teach science for Maize Virtual Preparatory.

11. One teaches art and one doesn’t.

13. My favorite country in the world is Italy.

14. I worked at a gas station at age 8.

16. I dug graves in college.

17. I am a livestock showman for beef, swine, and horses.

2. I am the half price hotdogs guy.

5. I have 2 daughters who graduated from Maize High in 2017 and 2018 7. I am from Wray, Colo.

8. I love coffee.

9. I am one of the few teachers with a National Board teaching certification.

12. I went to China for a month last summer and ended up in a Chinese hospital.

15. I hold the current record for the mile at Herculaneum High School.

18. I work part time at the Intrust Bank Arena during concerts and events.

19. I have a master’s degree in English but I don’t teach it.

20. I taught special education in Miami.

PLAY to win!

Follow @PlayNewsmag on Twitter and DM us a picture of your completed crossword. First student to do so will win a $10 Chipotle gift card.

28|Entertainment

February

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Music Playlist

Listen to this while reading the Newsmag Live - Billie Marten Home - Nick Jonas Somebody Loves You - Betty Who Better - Khalid Don’t Kill my Vibe - Sigrid Different - James TW You Can’t Stop Me - Andy Mineo Woman Up - Meghan Trainor The Champion - Carrie Underwood Start Over - Imagine Dragons

Scan this on Spotify to go to the Newsmag playlists and account.

Design by Abby Turner

28|Entertainment 29|entertainment

DON’T MESS with the Students raise their arms as a call for silence as a Maize player steps up to the line to shoot a free throw. “The Nest” waits in silence as the shot goes up, anticipating an extra point.

Photo by Rayne Rekoske

Junior Preven Christon gawks in reaction to a foul called at the Maize boys basketball game. The basketball team was facing off against the Mazie South boys in Maverick territory. The Maize boys pulled out a win with the score of 65-63. Photo by Devynn Raile

30|Photo Focus

T

Maizenews.com || February 2019

he basketball teams have a combined three losses this season, and Red Rage has been there with them much of the way. The student section has witnessed a historic basketball season up close, providing a lively atmosphere along the way.

Juniors Duwayne Villalpando and Josh McLaughlin celebrate an Eagle win against Newton High School with the rest of the student section. After an Eagle win was declared the studnet section joined together to say bon voyage to the opposing team. Photo by Rayne Rekoske

Design by Devynn Raile and Rayne Rekoske

Senior Tanner Ohnmeis comes over to high five the student section before the game against Maize South High School. The Eagle basketball boys pulled out a win against the Mavericks.

Photo by Devynn Raile

Seniors Ryley Elsea and Cameron Grimes are announced as Homecoming King and Queen at the homecoming game against the Hutchinson Salthawks. Maize defeated the Salthawks 62-45. Photo by Devynn Raile

Juniors Makenzie Owings and Brayden Worden are crowned Homecoming Prince and Princess at the homecoming game. Owings anf Worden became homecoming royalty after winning their minute-to-win-it game at the pep assembly.

Photo by Devynn Raile

31|Photo Focus

Maizenews.com || February 2019

Design by Brooklyn Blasdel

Press Pause Rogers jumps with the Masai tribe in Africa when he was young. Courtesy photo

Sophomore has traveled all around the world.

Rogers stands in front of the Reichstag building in Germany. Courtesy photo