The Harbinger Issue 4 2024-2025

OCTOBER 15, 2024

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Read about a new book, look at the jazz concert gallery and watch the PV jazz festival recap

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EDITORS

PRINT EDITORS

Avery Anderson

Addie Moore

ONLINE EDITORS

Larkin Brundige

Connor Vogel

ASST. PRINT EDITORS

Sophia Brockmeier

Libby Marsh

ASST. ONLINE EDITORS

Luciana Mendy

Lucy Stephens

HEAD COPY EDITOR

Ada Lillie Worthington

ASST. HEAD COPY EDITORS

Libby Marsh

Luciana Mendy

HEAD PHOTO EDITORS

Caroline Martucci

Molly Miller

Clara Peters

Amelie Wong

ASST. PHOTO EDITORS

Will Griffth

Paige Bean

PHOTO MENTORS

Addie Clark

Mason Sajna

Molly Scott

VIDEO EDITORS

Alex Sajna

Mason Sajna

ASST. VIDEO EDITOR

Preston Hooker

HARBINGER

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Broce

DESIGN EDITOR

Kai McPhail

ASST. DESIGN EDITOR

Sydney Eck

DESIGN MENTORS

Clara Burdick

Zane Laing

PAGE DESIGNERS

Ben Bagby

Evelyn Bagley

Avni Bansal

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Ellen Bowser

Ella Hargens

Ashtyn Ingram

Miranda Liberda

Christopher Long

Francesca Lorusso

Addy Newman

Tillie Paisner

Ava Slocum

Lucy Swope

SECTION EDITORS

EDITORIAL

Julia Campbell

NEWS

Clara Burdick

OPINION

Mya Smith

FEATURE

Dunham

Michael Yi

STAFF

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Caroline Black

Katie Cook

Sylvie DeGalan

Emery Engle

Anastasia Flower

Evelyn Geheb

Vivien Glenski

Rubi Hakes

Caroline Hoffman

Francesca Lorusso

Lexi Madden

Tyler Russell

Zac Russell

Alex Sajna

Simon Shawver

Ava Towner

Annie Trenkle

Emma Weidman

MULTIMEDIA STAFF

Ben Bagby

Paige Bean

Mary Gagen

Alex Sajna

Emma Weidman

EQUIPMENT MANAGER

Mason Sajna

STAFF WRITERS

Avni Bansal

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Ellen Bowser

Reese Dunham

Mary Gagen

Preston Hooker

Christopher Long

Addy Newman

Grace Pei

Mya Smith

Carl Sutton

COPY EDITORS

Avery Anderson

Isabel Baldassaro

Scan to submit an idea for The Harbinger

Sophia Brockmeier

Larkin Brundige

Addie Moore

Lucy Stephens

Emmerson Winfrey

Lucy Wolf

Connor Vogel

Michael Yi

ART EDITOR Kai McPhail

ASST. ART EDITOR Francesca Lorusso

STAFF ARTISTS

Evelyn Bagley

Bella Broce

design by sophia brockmeier cover design by addie moore

political cartoon

art by francesca lorusso

Julia Campbell

Avery Foster

Preston Hooker

Miranda Liberda

Tillie Paisner

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Isabel Baldassaro

Lucy Stephens

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Sydney Eck

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF

Paige Bean

Bella Broce

Clara Burdick

Ella Hargens

Ashtyn Ingram

Zane Laing

Luciana Mendy

Mya Smith

Connor Vogel

ADS MANAGER

Michael Yi

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Reese Dunham

CONTEST COORDINATORS

Sophia Brockmeier

Addie Clark

editorial policy

The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion. The content and opinions of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quotes material may be confrmed with the sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content though letters may be edited for clarity, length or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 400 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com.

story by reese dunham photo by simon shawver video by preston hooker

EDITORIAL

design by julia campbell

art by francesca lorusso

A DIGITAL SECURITY

Teenagers should embrace Instagram’s new “Teen Account” restrictions due to their protection from sensitive content and mental health risks

SHIELD

HOW MUCH TIME have you spent on Instagram today?

This question may seem like an invasion of privacy from your average helicopter parent, but the meaning behind this question goes much further. According to Yale Medicine, teenagers who use social media at least three hours a day have twice the risk of depression and anxiety.

Gallop News reports that 51% of U.S. teenagers spend at least four hours daily on social media.

As preteens enter the world of social media, these risks pose a massive threat to our youth. In light of these sobering trends, Instagram is finally making an effort to protect teen users.

In September, Instagram announced its new type of account for users between the ages 13 and 17 with restrictions only their parents can deactivate. It’s taken Instagram 14 years, but teens can at last experience the bare minimum of feeling safe on social media.

This new project will block sensitive content, prevent direct messages from strangers and remind teens to close the app after 60 minutes. Teens will still be able to post and view their friends’ Halloween posts, while also protecting them against dangers that aren’t always obvious to the adolescent eye.

The passage of the Kids Online Safety Act in July placed the pressure needed to spearhead these changes. The new law forces social media companies to introduce unique measures to protect minors from mental health risks, nudity, graphic self-harm and other dangerous exposure. No longer could Instagram ignore its flawed system. The company had to make a move.

While older teenagers may whine about their limited screen time, they’ll thank Mark Zuckerburg in 10 years when they haven’t seen traumatizing content and don’t have an addiction to social media.

If you’re thinking that sensitive content, like nudity or graphic self-harm, doesn’t really show up on a teenager’s social media, think again. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 64% of adolescents are exposed to sensitive

content in the media.

The new “Hidden Words” setting in Instagram will combat this issue. The system will hide potentially triggering words, images or even comments from teenagers’ feeds.

To further steer teens away from these phrases, Instagram is offering teens the ability to personalize their Explore pages with a prompt asking them to choose potential topics of interest. A teenager who really wants to learn the best chocolate chip cookie recipe can choose cooking as an interest. Teens who want to see recaps of Monday Night Football can select sports as one of their interests.

for: 8 against: 5

The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against.

Teenagers will be able to actually see posts they want to see and not explicit content they definitely don’t.

Not only do these changes prevent trauma, but they fight back at lengthy screen times. Gone is the nightly doom scrolling. Now, Instagram’s new Sleep Mode, lasting from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., will help teenagers peel their eyes away from their phones long enough to get their CDC-recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep.

Sleep mode will silence notifications, send auto-replies to any unread messages and notify that it’s time for the teen to close the app.

Doing your nightly scroll on TikTok may seem necessary to wind down for bed — it’s not. “Just five more minutes” can turn 10 p.m. into 3 a.m. in the blink of an eye. Wasting this time gives you maybe three hours of chaotic sleep before you have to wake up and start your day all over again. Even more tired than you were the day before.

The next logical thought is that teens could just lie about their age to slip past these restrictions. Instagram says no.

Currently, the company is developing an age-estimation analyzer that’ll hopefully be able to detect teens who’ve lied about their

UPDATES

New features being implemented on Instagram to protect

teen users

All new and existing accounts for users under 18 will be made private automatically

New Sleep Mode software will silence notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. for teens, send auto-replies to messages and the teen will get a reminder to close Instagram

age. If there’s detection of an age change in a teen’s account, the teen must submit a video selfie to verify their age.

Teens could also ask their parents to lift the restrictions off their child’s account, but one piece of advice teenager-to-teenager: don’t.

Don’t take the risk that you could see sensitive content about suicide or eating disorders. Don’t take the risk that you could stay up all night comparing yourself to a picture-perfect content creator. Don’t take the risk that you could abuse your freedoms of social media.

Your mind is still forming its sense of identity and sense of worth during your teenage years, according to Yale Medicine. You may be old enough to park your car in the East parking lot, but that doesn’t mean you’re immune to the harm of social media.

Just like kids ride a tricycle before they can ride a bicycle, allow Instagram to put the training wheels on teens’ social media accounts. It’s pretty messed up if parents, who are supposed to foster a positive learning environment, turn off these lifesaving restrictions.

After all, a child can get much worse than a scraped knee on the internet.

Instagram will prevent DMs from accounts that teens are not following or followed by

Teens will be able to select types of content they want to see more of Teen accounts will get a reminder to close Instagram after 60 minutes is spent on it a day

Teens under 16 will need parents’ permission to alter restrictions

The parental supervision tool will let parents see who their teen is messaging, track app usage, set time limits, and block the app

STATES HAVE SWITCHED TO PAPER BAGS

internet issues

INTERNET PROBLEMS

AT East remain prominent for students and teachers this year, with students reporting issues at least three times a week. Associate Principal Anna Thiele acknowledges the internet issues but doesn’t have information regarding the cause for them.

“The first time [I heard about it] was mentioned in passing by another teacher who was like, ‘Have you ever

plaza makeover

HIGHLAND PARK

VILLAGE Management, the new owners of Country Club Plaza, released plans for renovations at the Plaza Art fair in an attempt to attract more people to spend time at the shopping district.

Some improvements the owners have envisioned for the Plaza include increasing security due to safety concerns, adding more outdoor dining and incorporating more local stores, according to the Kansas City

plastic bag ban

AStudents and teachers continue to have internet problems with their computers this year

noticed how the internet blinks off every day at a certain time period?’” Thiele said. “If people fill out a Web Help Desk ticket, then we’ll have a trail of it actually happening so there’s nothing I can do right now.”

In an Instagram poll, 85% of 180 voters said that they’d been affected by internet issues at East.

Due to these problems, students have resorted to restarting their computers multiple times or using the hotspot on their phone according

to sophomores Anna Nazar and Justine Mercer.

This year, Nazar and her classmates’ internet stopped working when they had to complete assignments in their Spanish 4 class with a substitute teacher.

“It builds up stress, you know, because then if you can’t see your assignments, you have to do them at home, and I have no time to do them at home.” Nazar said.

Giving the Lancer community a voice

Q: Have you experienced internet issues here at East?

The owners of Country Club Plaza released plans for what they want the Plaza to look like in the future

Star.

Ryan Holmes, Senior Vice President of Investments at Merrill Lynch, has worked on the Plaza for 20 years and used to enjoy the beauty of it.

“We’ve gone from having incredible landscaping, you know, vibrant restaurants and shopping to where [the Plaza is] basically a place that I don’t really go to very often outside of work,” Holmes said.

The owners also plan to close

roads in the center of the Plaza to block cars and create wider sidewalks with cobblestone streets for aesthetic purposes.

Sophomore Halima Talbi goes to the Plaza once a week to see her family who lives there and to visit the shops.

“I think people are gonna like [the Plaza] a lot more,” Talbi said. “[The] cobblestone [streets are] gonna look really Victorian and cutesy.”

California banned plastic bags in grocery stores that will begin on Jan. 1, 2026

BAN OF the distribution of all plastic bags in California grocery stores was signed into law on Sept. 22 and will start taking effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Residents of California will have the choice to buy paper or reusable bags to carry their groceries in —

the ban on all plastic bags would prove more effective and that East will take inspiration from the ban.

“I hope to reduce [plastic use at East] quite a bit,” Durgavathi said. “Have you seen the apple slices that are in plastic baggies [in the cafeteria]? Just cut the apples. They’re fine, people will live if they’re a little brown. They don’t need to be individually packaged.”

Currently, the environmental club is working on making new signs and lids for the trash cans in the cafeteria that will show students exactly what items should be recycled, composted or thrown in the trash in

California originally implemented a ban on single use plastic bags in 2014 which didn’t account for the purchase of thicker plastic bags from grocery stores. Plastic bags ended up in the landfill like before, only in larger amounts according to NPR. Durgavathi hopes the most recent ban in California will actually reduce plastic waste instead of increasing

“I’ve always heard about the environment and our effect on the environment,” Durgavathi said. “I don’t want to create a world that’s unsafe for the people who are going to be here after us.”

A: Yes, I think last, no, the week before last, the internet cut out, and we had to wait 20 minutes before we could take a quiz. It was pretty stressful, but it also meant 20 extra minutes to study, so that was good. I don’t think we had to restart [the computers], just kind of waited, looking at the clock.

Q: Have you experienced internet issues here at East?

A: Yes, I have, and it’s basically when I’m in the middle of an assignment. It happens at the worst time, and then I have to restart my computer, and it is really annoying. I was working on a project on Canva and you know when you click out and it saves, it said it may not save, and restarting would have taken forever.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted its 25th annual Light the Night walk on Oct. 5

story by lucy stephens

LEUKEMIA AND Lymphoma Society, LLS, supporters gathered at Cleveland University-Kansas City on Oct. 5 for their annual Light the Night celebration, honoring those affected by blood cancer.

Guests received different colored lanterns — white for survivors, red for LLS supporters and gold for people who have lost someone to cancer.

AP and IB Psychology teacher Brett Kramer has been holding up his lantern almost every year since 2021 when his niece, Carlie Foutch, was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia. To Kramer, the walk makes people feel not so alone.

THE

either curing cancer or supporting people who are dealing with cancer in their family is uplifting.”

The Light the Night Walk is also one of the biggest fundraising opportunities of the year for the group, according to Campaign Development Manager Kelly Alcock.

“

AP AND IB

we’re talking about resources.”

Many sponsorship teams had pop-up tents to inform guests about the particular business and raise additional donations. This year, the top community sponsorship teams were Team Laney, Team Lottie & Doug and Team Clara.

One sponsorship team in particular housed the local Honored Hero of the event.

is comfortable sharing their story that can help inspire people, so to be able to kind of showcase [Lottie] and her family and everything that they’ve been through was a no-brainer for us.”

The opening ceremony, hosted by FOX4KC anchor Kristen Holloway, consisted of speeches from Former Chiefs player Alex Okafor and Rychlewski’s mother, Cassie.

“Sometimes people don’t feel like they have the support that they need or deserve,” Kramer said. “Everybody that goes to any kind of LLS event or a walk geared toward

Psychology teacher Brett Kramer has been holding up his lantern almost every year since 2021 when his niece, Carlie Foutch, was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia.

To date, the event has raised more than $381,000, making the organization short of the initial goal of $750,000. Any supporters are still encouraged to donate.

“Life is good, but life is hard, and we all have resources that we can give to others,” Kramer said. “I think it’s so important to spread joy and for the purposes of what

The LLS honored heroes are nominated annually by people in the Kansas City community. This can be someone at the cancer center or in the LLS organization. This year the Honored Hero was Lottie Rychlewski.

Rychlewski has been battling pre-b acute lymphoblastic leukemia since she was 6-years-old. Recently Rychlewski, now 8, just rang the bell, symbolizing her last dose of chemotherapy. Patient and Community Outreach Manager Joe Falter said nominating Rychlewski this year was unanimous.

“I think that we knew that they were going to be such a great family to be able to share their story with everyone else,” Falter said. “We look to have a family that

LIGHTING THE WAY

Following the speeches, Holloway encouraged all guests to light their lanterns one color at a time. All survivors with white lanterns were brought to the center of the event to the “Circle of Survivors” where they were honored attendees.

Once the opening ceremony concluded, the walk began. Guests walked around the Cleveland University campus in south Overland Park with their colored lanterns illuminating the night.

“It’s really neat to see people come together with that unfortunate commonality because it makes people feel like they’re not alone,” Kramer said. “We are to be together with this experience in common, and that means a lot to a lot of people.”

The different colored lanterns provided at the Light the Night event

design by bella broce photos by vivien glenski

STOP THE SCOOT

Electric scooters have became a lot more popular over this past year causing a lot of concern for traffic safety

story by vanessa blades

IN RECENT YEARS, electric scooters have taken over Prairie Village, Fairway and Mission Hills, causing safety issues for drivers in the area and even the kids on the scooters themselves.

While electric scooters have been around since 1996, they’ve become more popular with ages between 8-14, as a way to get around quickly without a drivers license.

Sophomore Fritz Adams rides his E-scooter to and from school everyday because he can’t drive yet.

“I got my scooter a month into the school year because my mom couldn’t pick me up from school,” Adams said.” [I] walked [to school] at first but [riding scooters is] a lot more efficient.”

Instead of walking, biking or even skateboarding, electric scooters have started to take over due to the convenience of just pushing a button. The scooters are easy to access with them being widely available at the Plaza, The Village and Downtown. Kids even have bought their own now to use around their neighborhoods.

“I GOT MY

scooter a month into the school year because my mom couldn’t pick me up from school. [I] walked [to school] at frst but this was a lot more effcient.

FRITZ ADAMS SOPHOMORE

Kids scootering around with no regards to the traffic laws are causing drivers to experience road rage and aggravation like honking and speeding. The injury rate for E-scooters has increased from 6 per 100,000 people to 19 per 100,000 people nationally, according to National Center of Biology.

The East SRO’s say they’ve seen a lot more scooters in the bike racks recently compared to other years. Scooters can be dangerous for not only drivers but for

riders themselves as they can lose control and cant get back in control most times.

Sophomore Will Ballard was in a E-scooter crash when he skinned the whole right side of his body. He wasn’t following the 20-mph speed limit and proceeded to go faster then tipped over.

“I saw the sign but didn’t think anything

I SAW THE sign but didn’t think anything of it and went faster. [I] tipped over the left on the way to my friends house and scraped my elbow and then it got infected.

WILL BALLARD SOPHOMORE

of it and went faster,” Ballard said. “[I] tipped over the the left on the way to my friends house and scraped my elbow and then it got infected.”

Ballard felt weary about riding his scooter again, but has gone on a couple of rides since the accident and has followed the traffic rules more intentionally.

On Oct. 7, they had a presentation at the Prairie Village city council meeting to discuss E-scooters about trying to pass new laws for scooter safety around Prairie Village and Mission Hills.

When driving, especially on busier roads, the kids on scooters can’t reach the cars speed limits which makes it harder for someone in a car to pass them, according to SRO Jermey Shull.

“My personal feeling is, I hate driving down 75th Street and being behind a bicycle or scooter,” Shull said. “It happens all the time if the side walks open I don’t see why you can’t be on the sidewalk especially on a main street like that.”

The rules for E-scooters are similar to the rules for cars with a couple exceptions. The city statue says if you wait long enough at a red light then you can go if it’s clear.

Another exception being that scooters are supposed to be in the bike lane and not directly in the road.

“I once pulled over a bicyclist for not stopping at a stop light to give them a warning and educate them that they have obey the traffic laws.” Shull said.

In order to access the scooters, you have to download an app — different apps depending on the brand of scooter — and then put in your credit card and select the amount of time you want to have the scooter. The app will charge you by the amount of time you have the scooter.

“I hate E-scooters so much,” junior Mary Green said. “They are always swerving into the road and they are so dangerous and never have helmets on. It’s like they want to get hit.”

Freshman Walker Bennish uses his E- scooter frequently when he needs to hangout with his friends that are close to his house or to go to the village to get food with his friends.

“I think electric scooters are practical but people just need to watch out for other people like drivers and pedestrians,” Bennish said.

ROLLING STATS

Statistics about scooter usage nationwide

MICROMOBILITY DEVICES a class of compact, lightweight, and often electrically-powered means of transportation

children accounted for 36%of micromobility injuries from 2022 2017to

233 deaths have resulted from micromobility devices from 2017 to 2022 *according to CPSC.gov

design by julia campbell

photos by annie trenkle

EDUCATIONAL UPHEA AL

VThe new Tomahawk Elementary building will provide dynamic learning spaces and improved conditions for a larger student body

story by michael yi

AFTER CONSTRUCTION

STARTED in April, the new $25 million Tomahawk Elementary building is set to open next school year, increasing the number of classes per grade level from two to three and modernizing one of the district’s oldest elementary school buildings.

A school described by alumni as “leaky” and “rundown” will now feature outdoor learning spaces, joinable classrooms and flexible furniture for dynamic learning. Tomahawk will also absorb 100 students from Briarwood and six staff members from around the district.

dy nam ic learn ing learning assisted by movable furniture that allows for adjustable classroom set-up

“I would say that the biggest challenge with the old building is that we were running out of space,” Tomahawk principal Erin Aldrich said. “We did not have enough room for our current population of students. Every room that we had was being used for a classroom, and the challenge was that at times, grade level [classrooms] couldn’t always be together.”

The renovation makes Tomahawk the last of five elementary school rebuilds in the district funded by the $264 million bond passed in 2021. Each school was remodeled by a different designer, with Tomahawk being designed by architecture firm DLR group in a design process that incorporated feedback from the Tomahawk community.

“Kids had a voice,” Aldrich said. “They got to identify qualities and characteristics of a learning space that spoke to them, and that input was taken and utilized in the design of the new building. And so I think everybody’s really excited to see our ideas come to life.”

The building will be on the same property but significantly larger than the old building at 78,545 square feet.

Classrooms will be separated by sliding glass walls to enable grade levels to collaborate in large groups, and dynamic furniture like adjustable desks, tables and chairs will be able to be manipulated to adjust student grouping throughout the school day.

“I like the idea of having the collaborative space between classrooms,” first grade Tomahawk teacher Bekah Shurtc said. “If we want to do a whole grade level thing, we could do that, and we can move students out into the hallway to give them extra space to work or think to themselves.”

The district deemed it necessary to transfer Briarwood students to Tomahawk due Briarwood’s population reaching nearly 700 students, compared to the ideal 450, according to Aldrich.

The Tomahawk zoning lines were revised by the 2022 Boundary Work Group composed of teachers and students from both schools, factoring in diversity and proximity to the school.

Shannon Redeske, a parent of a first and third grader who will both transfer from Briarwood to Tomahawk next year, was initially annoyed by the rezoning but is now excited at the prospect of new facilities and glad to relieve some of the student burden at Briarwood.

“At first it was upsetting,” Redeske said. “We were sad to think about having to leave friends to go to a different school when it wasn’t really our decision to transfer. But over time, we’ve come to accept that it’s necessary. I mean, it needs to happen. Briarwood is over capacity.”

The new building addresses many concerns with the flaws of the old building — including small classrooms, constant flooding and rusty playground equipment and classroom furniture. Tomahawk alumni and sophomore Kaylee Williams recalls frequent weather damage and outdated infrastructure.

“It was probably one of the oldest buildings I’ve ever been in, and I remember when it would rain, the whole entire roof would rain too,” Williams said. “So it was always leaking water. We always had to go into separate basement rooms because we couldn’t work for two weeks while everything was drenched.”

Although the 68-year-old former building was cramped, outdated and deteriorating, Williams looks back on the old school with fondness for the building shaped like a T-for-Tomahawk and its tight-knit community of 300.

“It was such a small school, and we had such a small amount of kids in each classroom that it was more like a family,” Williams said. “I spent a lot of time with all my teachers outside of school. All the people who went to Tomahawk are basically my siblings and cousins, and so it was so tiny, but that kind of pushed us to be closer together.”

A list of guiding principles of boundary changes

BUDGETARY DISCIPLINE

The district, funded by local and state taxes, must spend resources responsibly.

The district aims for 525575 students per school to optimize learning. Supporting neighborhood schools is a priority.

The board prefers longterm boundary decisions to minimize changes for students and families.

1) 2) DIVERSE STUDENT DISTRIBUTION 3) 4) LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS

ADDRESS STUDENTS’ NEEDS

The boundary work group will consider students’ diverse academic, physical, social and emotional needs.

OCTOBER 15, 2024

DISSECTING

Dissecting one of the most popular, and arguably most delicious, class provided at East

avery foster

FOODS RECIPES FOR RECIPES FOR LEMON THANKSGIVING

FUN

CHOCOLATE CHIP PIES PIES

BARS COOKIES COOKIES CAKE CAKE

COOKIE

I’D SAY MY FAVORITE thing I’ve ever done in foods is the Apple Pie contest. It was super cool seeing how complicated the process was.

design by kai mcphail

photo by francesca lorusso

LEFT Junior Ben Hartwell reads Focus on Food’s biscuits and gravy recipe after cutting out dough for the biscuits.

photo by francesca lorusso

LANDON ROMERO SENIOR

“PRINT ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK.”

IT JUST DID.

High quality, full color advertisements are available for purchase in the Shawnee Mission East newspaper, The Harbinger. Print and online advertisements are all offered in a variety of sizes and designs, each uniquely tailored to your individual business needs.

Our print publication garners over 2,000 readers every two weeks, and our online publication receives over 1,000 hits per day.

Interested? Contact Ads Manager Michael Yi at 913.276.8080 or 3097199@smsd.org.

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Kansas City, MO 64114

Bring in your family, friends or coworkers for a fun, artistic and memorable time! Create an original piece of artwork to take home or as a gift.

Pottery prices begin at $4 NO STUDIO FEES

Walk-ins are welcome! Call or text 816.522.7729 to book groups of 6 or more.

opinion

hot take

Trick-or-Treating should be acceptable for teenagers story by mya

smith

T RICK-OR-TREATING is an essential part of Halloween tradition and im sick of judgment from people for it.

If you’re 30 years old and are banging on doors for candy I would be skeptical, but highschoolers trick-or-treating should be normal because we’re still technically kids.

The highschool traditions of going to Halloween parties and wearing tiny costumes and glittery makeup are fun in theory, but in reality I waste $50 on a

comic strip

costume that I’ll wear once to a party to get photos with my friends and we’ll leave after fifteen minutes.

I can understand the idea that some highschoolers can be obnoxious and disruptive to kids during Halloween and can ruin the night, but for teens who actually want to enjoy the experience trick-or-treating can still be fun for teens.

Highschool is also our last years before adulthood, so we should be allowed

to enjoy the childlike activity a few more times to enjoy the experience without an old man in my ear asking “ Aren’t you too old to be trick-or-treating?”

I would much rather dress in comfy costumes, and go to Mission Hills neighborhoods to get full size candy bars. Trick-or-treating brings a different type of nostalgia to Halloween and can be much more enjoyable than Halloween parties at times.

*Instagram

*Instagram poll of 308 votes

Harbinger staffer rank books read for English class at East

1

3 staf ranking

“Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell is by far my favorite book that I’ve read for an English class at East. It was unexpectedly good and I felt it taught me something compared to other books I’ve read for class.

“Night” by Elie Wiesel is a close second to “Outliers.” This was the only book that I enjoyed freshman year and it made me emotional while reading it.

2

Lastly, “The Glass Castle” comes in third place because I admired the story that the book told a lot, but it got slow and boring at times.

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DO YOU LIKE FALL WEATHER?

*Instagram poll of 330 votes

Junior favorite halloween

Stephen’s favorite weird food combo is carrots and mustard

Celcius made

2023

OPINION

FINDING YOUR PATH

High schoolers should take the time to get to know themselves before college through aptitude testing

AS 17 AND 18-year-olds, we have no clue who we are, what we’re good at or what we want to be — and that’s okay. After all, we’ve only been alive for less that a fourth of our lives, and we couldn’t even read or write for a third of those years.

It’s unreasonable to expect teenagers who can’t even schedule their own dentist appointments, to combine all of the interests and skills they think they possess into a college major and ultimately a career path.

But the expectation that teens should have their life trajectory all figured out before they can even live on their own isn’t going away. Although we can’t change the system, it’s important that we find resources that stimulate the level of selfdiscovery and personal growth expected of us and required for the years ahead.

Participating in face-to-face aptitude testing is something that everyone should do once in their life and there’s truly no better time to do it than senior year of high

school.

This doesn’t mean paying more attention to Xello and YouScience lessons or looking up “free personality test” to base your entire college path and career on — it means taking the time and utilizing outside resources, such as professional aptitude testing, to help you better understand yourself and guide you through the next few years.

The Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation is a business that specializes in aptitude testing. Unlike taking a BuzzFeed personality quiz or selecting your top three favorite subjects in school on Xello, aptitude testing is a legitimate way to discover what you’re naturally good at.

But there’s a difference between this and a $5 online test. With in-person testing, researchers measure everything from your ability to remember musical notes and tunes to your spacial awareness and idea flow — your ability to continuously talk and come up with new ideas with no preparation. You’re able to accurately measure what you’re naturally good at with effective and relevant tests, rather than with gimmicky questions online that supposedly offer the same data based on questions about your spirit animal.

A few weeks after the 7-hour test, you attend a virtual follow-up session to receive your results and discuss potential career and major options for you. If you scored high in structural visualization, you may be perfect for a career in architecture. If you scored low in ideaphoria, you may be the

perfect candidate for engineering.

The goal of the experience as a whole is to learn about yourself. Do you have a skill that you didn’t previously know about? Were your suspicions correct when you assumed that you had perfect tonal memory? All of this knowledge piles up in your test results and forms a document can accurately describe your brain’s characteristics — and help you play to your strengths as you carve your path in life.

Later in the meeting, you and your proctor go over potential paths for you, leaving room to incorporate your passions into the conversation. This is how people who love art but score high in dexterity — two vastly different skills — are able to work with combine those two skills into one career or major that’s sure to fulfill them.

The majority of high schoolers would highly benefit from this level of selfdiscovery and it may even eliminate some stress in the college decision process.

While this test is highly intuitive and the results are timeless, it’s expensive and may not be a realistic option for all. Even if you can’t do it now, you shouldn’t discredit it for later in your life. It can help with anything from avoiding changing majors to finding the right job for you.

The $950 price is worth it. I’d much rather spend money on this than changing my major half way through college or spending months searching for the perfect job with no company or position being appealing to me — both problems which can be just as pricy, if not more, then the test that offers guidance

and security in your decisions.

The results stay the same throughout your entire life because aptitudes are skills that you can’t necessarily acquire with practice, you’re just born with them and possess them your whole life. So whether you choose to do it now or later,

everyone should partake in aptitude testing as a way to learn about themselves and potentially help them make major life decisions like college majors and job choices.

For everyone’s happiness in their professional lives and the freedom that knowledge about yourself provides you, aptitude testing should be a nobrainer.

story by avery anderson

ECONOMICALLY

UNNECESSARY

The ACT is unnecessary and a waste of time and money

story by lucy wolf

SITTING DOWN

AT my kitchen table, Macbook in front of me with my browser open to the Common App, I began looking through the requirements for my desired schools. As I kept looking into different schools, two words stuck out to me over and over again — test-optional. It made me realize how the ACT is unnecessary and a waste of time and money.

The ACT is a curriculum-based education and career planning tool for high school students, that assesses the mastery of college readiness standards, according to ACT.org. Yet, I couldn’t disagree more.

The ACT is a one-day test that’s somehow supposed to encapsulate a person’s entire academic ability. Meaning if you’re a bad test taker, good luck. It usually ranges from 3 to 4 hours long with occasional 10-minute breaks in between the English, math, reading and science sections.

For people who struggle with short attention spans or who are just slow test takers in general, the fast-paced aspect of the test may be especially challenging. If this test result is supposed to determine nearly my whole future, I want the time to at least read each question.

The test compiles content that high school students should be familiar with, yet somehow I was left to blindly answer questions about trigonometry — a subject I didn’t learn until the end of junior year after I took the test. A short, timed test that covers four years of curriculum that we’re just supposed to remember is a recipe for disaster. Spoiler: you can’t remember everything you’ve learned throughout high school, it’s impossible.

Not to mention, the test does have highlevel reading and math concepts, but the real

key is learning how to answer the questions, not necessarily how to solve the problems.

The test may give you four answers on the English portion that are all technically grammatically correct, but you have to apply your test “knowledge” and choose the most correct answer. At that point, I’d rather just take a normal English vocabulary test.

Even the superscore — the average of your best scores on each section of the ACT — can be an issue for ACT scores. Imagine you take the test and severely struggle with the math portion every single time. Your superscore will be affected and lower because of it.

I spent two weekends my junior year taking the ACT and paying a fortune for tutoring throughout the summer learning various “tricks” — like heading straight to the questions before reading passages

I CRUMBLED UNDER

the pressure from gazing at the clock constantly, as it ticked during the timed test. I failed by not reaching the score range I worked hard for all summer .

— and I still didn’t get the score I wanted. I crumbled under pressure from gazing at the clock constantly, as it ticked during the timed test. I failed by not reaching the score range I worked hard for all summer.

Don’t get me wrong, scoring high on the ACT can help decrease tuition costs and increase scholarships at some schools. But the countless hours I spent with tutors and

reading the “ACT Prep” books weren’t worth it. Especially when all the schools I’m applying to are test-optional.

According to Common Wealth Beacon, more than 80 percent of colleges are testoptional, and many schools also offer merit scholarships and aid through GPAs and involvement in extracurricular activities. As the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation came to East to showcase student’s scholarship offers from colleges, I realized how easy it is to get money from colleges without a high ACT score.

NO SCORE, NO PROBLEM

Colleges that do not require the ACT

Duke University Northeastern University University of Pennsylvania Columbia University

As of 2020, most colleges, even prestigious ones like UPenn and Columbia, turned testoptional, allowing applicants the choice of submitting their ACT and/ or SAT scores, according to Horizon Education. This has allowed students to shine in other aspects of their application, like their essay writing or involvement, if their test scores aren’t the strongest.

From my countless hours of studying, practice tests and spending my precious weekends taking the ACT, the test is unnecessary and a waste of time and money.

*according to voa and on to college

74% OF STUDENTS TAKE THE ACT 38% OF STUDENTS FAILED THE ACT

IS THE AVERAGE SCORE ON THE ACT, IN KANSAS

OPINION

POLITICALLY

INFLUENCED

Politicians shouldn’t discreetly pay influencers to “post support” for them on social media

HEY, I LOVE your ‘get ready with me’ videos! How about a little cash in exchange for some political support?”

This is essentially the world we’re living in where politicians can slide into influencers’ DMs, like just another fan looking for a shoutout, because I guess democracy needs an influencer market strategy now.

The campaigning strategy of using social media influencers to shape public opinion and sway voters takes advantage of social media users and can lead to inauthentic content, misinformation and foreign propaganda.

Influencer marketing has been around since the dawn of social media, but it’s now starting to enter politics. Most recently, the Democratic National

Convention invited 200 social media influencers to attend and gave them exclusive access to talk to Democratic politicians, according to The New York Times.

Social media accounts once filled with groups of dancing teens or insane food reviews are now home to painfully staged political messages like talking about how “demure” the DNC is.

Typically, influencers have to disclose when they’re paid for any type of productpromoting content due to guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission. But, the Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign finance law, currently doesn’t have clear disclosure rules for influencers, according to WCNC, an NBC affiliate.

influencers creating trendy content to attract followers while pushing political agendas.

Without knowing which influencers are getting paid for their political content, it’s impossible for viewers to differentiate between creators who are genuinely passionate about political issues and those who just want some extra cash.

It seems that Republicans and Democrats are taking advantage of this by using marketing companies as middlemen to pay individual influencers. The Harris campaign has paid $1.9 million to Village Marketing Agency, a major firm for booking social media influencers. The Trump campaign has also paid Legendary Campaigns over $2.3 million to focus on influencer marketing since 2020, according to the FEC.

It’s clear that money is being pumped into social media advertising using these companies but after the companies receive the money they do not have to disclose which influencers they give it to.

By enlisting influencers to deliver their messages, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become battlegrounds for political narratives and agendas, with

SOCIAL

SUSPECTS

Either way, influencers are also the last people we want handling politics— it’s simply not in their job description. If it was, they would’ve become reporters giving the latest factual update on politics rather than making possibly paid-off political content for their followers.

But, since influencers are often seen as relatable peers rather than distant celebrities or politicians, their opinions are more impactful on their followers, whether it’s about a new skincare product or who should be president. Either way, social media users deserve the same transparency in both situations.

Anything else creates a deceptive narrative that prioritizes profit over the truth. Complex issues are reduced to mere soundbites — quick clips from an interview or video that can lack appropriate context — making it easier for misinformation to spread and ultimately undermining informed decision-making among voters.

Letting them campaign for politicians

TIKTOK INFLUENCER

23.8M FOLLOWERS

Spoke during a Trump rally

Denied rumors of payment Content was originally comedy

leaves them, and consequently their following, vulnerable to propaganda that politicians and professional reporters would be able to recognize.

Just last month the Department of Justice filed an indictment that alleges that a media company linked to conservative influencers was secretly funded by Russian state media to churn out videos that increased “U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to Russian interests,” according to AP News.

As influencer campaigning continues to increase, cases similar to this will inevitably follow, with different people in power using influencers as pawns in their games of political chess at the expense of their followers’ news content. It’s a whole new threat to national politics in itself.

There’s a reason why reporters have to be hired and politicians must be elected, but influencers can simply be followed with the click of a button. Politics carry a heavy weight and influencing people to buy a product comes with less responsibility than influencing action on national issues.

If politicians want to reach out to voters through social media, they should rely on their own accounts platforms. Social media platforms should work together to ensure that clear rules are in place regarding disclosure of payments.

By demanding transparency for paid promotions, social media users are better informed and empowered to make choices based on truth rather than propaganda.

@MERRICKHANNA

TIKTOK INFLUENCER

32.5M FOLLOWERS

Went to DNC as a credible influencer

Posted dance videos with politicians to promote the DNC Started his career on America’s Got Talent 13 THE HARBINGER

@BRYCE HALL

story by luciana mendy

design by francesca lorusso photos by emery engle

11

visual art classes are available for students to take

who’s who in the art department?

Meet some of the people who work in the art department

EMMA CHALK

graphic design

intro to studio art drawing 1 and 2

“I THINK MY biggest takeaway for kids [is] that I want them to kind of go more inwards and realize that you don’t have to be good at something to try it, and failure is most of the time a positive thing. Because we learn from that, and we grow from that, and you shouldn’t be afraid to try something, just because you might be bad at it.

ADAM FINKELSTON

dark room

photography

drawing 2D and 3D

AP studio art

HL IB art 1 and 2

“

I LOVE THE advanced

class, which is all the AP and IB and professional art practice, because there’s a lot of more advanced things that we do. We do a lot more conceptual things in there. We do curate curatorial projects. We’re doing a lot more advanced work in there, so that makes it really fun.

this week in photos

2 days until Senior Service Day

BELOW Juniors Ben Taylor and Alejandra Cermad chat on a bench during their lunch period.

2 art credits required to graduate

BELOW Senior Audrey Giffin holds

a

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE VISUAL ARTS CLASS AT EAST?

Students’ favorite art classes and why

johndaniels123

Intro to Studio Art! I like learning a variety of mediums.

sallyjohnson56

Reply

Reply Dark Room Photography! I love being able to use

ellahansen450

Drawing 2D! I like having

photo by simon schawver

up

femur bone to show a fellow student where the bone goes.

photo by katie cook

design by sydney eck photos courtesy of

IFEATURE

BENK BEATS

story by addie moore

East alum Ben Krebs has been making his own house music for the last three years and is now DJing at shows

The manager of his group, One 28 Collective, Karli Kelley, met and recruited Ben through a mutual friend. She sends Ben’s music out to different producers in the industry and is in charge of scheduling shows for Ben and the rest of the group.

his brother Will Krebs would come home from college and talk all about his DJ career at Texas Christian University. He showed Ben the music they listened to at parties, his own music and the Ableton software Will used to make his songs — Ben was hooked.

N THE LAWRENCE Jayhawk Cafe’s Boom Boom Room during his senior year of college, East alum Ben Krebs played one of his own house music-styled songs for the first time ever in front of a crowd.

Instead of being met with drunk collegeaged kids cheering and dancing to his song, they booed.

“It was bad, people hated me,” Ben said.

He switched up the tracklist from his preplanned house music to “safer” options: Pitbull, Ke$ha and The Black Eyed Peas.

According to Ben, all songs have to sonically sound good to do well at shows. Before he started performing at the University of Kansas, he used the sound system at venues to test how his songs sounded on the big speakers.

Then, he’d revert to the more basic songs such as Kanye and Katy Perry when people showed up — sneaking in one or two of his own songs as the night progressed, cautiously

avoiding a repeat of the booing incident.

“It kind of weighed on me that [I’d] hit the ceiling,” Ben said. “There’s no room to try anything new, so then I figured if I wanted to do that [in Kansas City,] I’d have to make my own path.”

Ben has spent the last three years boosting his DJ career through hard work and support from his family. Now, Ben is becoming more successful with seven of his own songs released on Spotify and he has even played a show at the Lowest Ferns, the “holy grail” of Kansas City house music venues.

It takes at least a couple of weeks for one of Ben’s songs to be put on Spotify from production to release because of the difficulty of catching the attention of record labels. In that time, the quality of his music only increases. With each song he makes, the separation of sounds gets better, the sound gets louder and works in mono and stereo — different types of amplifiers — even more.

According to Ben, the songs on his Spotify are worse than those he’s making right now — and getting the better songs noticed by record labels and onto Spotify is just a waiting game.

At those shows, she usually has Ben at the end of the setlist — making sure the crowd is hyped up for his performance and the show can end on a high note. The purpose of the group is so they can pool all of their resources together, they don’t play together like a normal band.

“Meeting Ben, who’s someone who literally hasn’t even gone to a big festival or show [that] can produce at his level blew my mind,” Karli said.

At one of his first Kansas City shows, Ben’s family, co-workers and friends from high school filled the crowd. He went earlier in the set order of the night and “rocked it,” according to Ben’s mom, Tory Krebs.

Once his set was over the crowd emptied, leaving the headliner with a smaller crowd than Ben.

For the past three years, Ben has developed an ear for music. He can identify which ear small beats are coming from in his headphones and find quiet ad-libs in the background of an otherwise loud song — helping him add the small details in his own songs too.

Whenever he’s listening to music in the car — whether it be R&B, pop or rap — his mind’s constantly flooded thinking about beats and composition of songs.

“It gets pretty depressing, because once you hear everything, you don’t really look at music as entertainment,” Ben said. “You kind of get in this mindset of you have to dissect everything you listen to.”

His house music obsession started when

Ben and Will ended up Instagram DMing popular house music artist, Kamino, and taking lessons over Zoom through other artist Lee Foss’s Repopulate Mars courses.

While Will doesn’t have as much time or success as Ben to pursue DJing, a lot of their conversations revolve around music, and they share their songs.

“It’s great because it’s trickled down to every person in my family sharing that type of music,” Will said. “Now my brother listens to the same genre, and so do my parents.”

Ben’s parents attend as many of his shows as possible, despite their lack of rave outfits, their loud cheers for Ben making them stand out in the college-aged crowd.

One Christmas, about 20 of his family members piled into his parents’ basement to hear the debut of Ben’s song “Action Action.”

“We were trying to do headstands on the pole in the basement [and] jumping on the couches,” Tory said. “It was loud, and we were flashing the lights. It was hilarious.”

With each song that Ben makes, he prides himself in being unique — no one has access to the flash drive he plays off of.

“I could play an hour of just my music, and I could deliver an experience that you literally could not get anywhere else,” Ben said. “It’s cool, because it’s kind of like bragging rights.”

INSTA ACCOUNTS:

STRICTLY BUSINESS

story by avni bansal

A680-FOOT Olympicthemed garland of 9,000 red, green, blue, black and yellow balloons met its end as scissors and balloon strikers aggressively popped the clusters and star-shapes.

Seniors Grace Demetriou, Lola Condon, Parker Paben, Michael Winter, Quinn McCarthy, Nathan Daniels and Lucy Wolf, all Jubilee Balloon Co. employees, were taking down a balloon installation at the Overland Park Convention Center after the 100-year anniversary of Balls Food Stores. They’ve been friends since the end of their freshman year, and they make up eight out of the 25-person staff.

Jubilee Balloon Co. was started in 2020 by East moms Rachel Condon, Liz Beedle and Emily Penke, as a pop-up shop in Corinth that sells balloon bouquets, sculptures and mini garlands. However, Rachel is now the sole owner of the fourroom store located in Mission, Kansas with enough space to store over 500 feet of balloon garlands.

The business creates balloon variations for events ranging from T-Rexthemed birthday parties to concerts such as Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts World Tour” at the T-Mobile Center.

The seniors work three to four-hour shifts, assembling balloon structures together or occasionally driving the new, light pink company van to installations and takedowns.

When making balloon garlands, the seniors plan out who will do each task — some blow up balloons while others string them together — making sure the colors and sizing are correct for each garland.

“[The seniors] work really well together

design by addie moore photos by amelie wong & caroline hoffman

INFLATING

FRIENDSHIPS

Eight seniors bond and learn through working together at Jubilee Balloon Co.

and divide and conquer,” Rachel said. “They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Lola’s first shift was helping her mom with Halloween-themed balloons in eighth grade, and she’s worked there ever since.

The summer before their junior year, Grace, Parker and Lucy started working at Jubilee Balloon Co. in an attempt to find flexible jobs that cooperated with their busy dance schedules. Since they’re all on the East dance team, Rachel understands that adjustable hours are crucial to help the students navigate their evening dance practices and competitions.

“Having [Rachel] as a boss is really helpful because she lets us schedule our availability, and she’s really nice about it,” Parker said.

The girls thought it’d be fun for more of their friends to work at Jubilee Balloon Co., so a year later, they convinced Michael, Quinn, Nathan and their most recent addition to the team, JJ Paben, to join. Now, eight of their ten-person friend group are a part of the business.

During an average shift, three to eight of the seniors blow up balloons in the “building room.”

“[I] try to schedule them all at the same time and give them a project to do together,” Rachel said. “They’re really responsible and stick to what they’re doing. And I think it’s all because we’ve made it fun.”

While blowing up balloons with an automatic balloon pump, sizing them with wooden balloon sizers and tying fishing line, the seniors sing and dance to Lola’s aux, simultaneously debriefing events like Lancer Day and Homecoming while working.

“It’s easy to multitask while you’re blowing up balloons,” Lola said. “You can just chat about everything.”

Occasionally, there are times where chit-chat is limited. They’ll need to tie balloons twice as fast while making

garlands or sculptures that need to be installed hours later, or when they use the wrong colored balloons and have to completely start over on a project.

“You’ll blow up a whole thing and [Rachel] comes in to look at it, and she’s like, ‘Oh, this was not supposed to look like this,’” Grace said. “But she doesn’t ever get mad. It’s more funny than bad.”

One night at 10:30 p.m., Parker, Grace, Michael, Quinn, Nathan and Lucy raced over to the KC Current stadium, taking down 30 inflatable silver and teal orbs in the pouring rain.

“It was really funny and there’s so many funny photos of us running around,” Grace said.

As they were sprinting around trying to take the soaking wet decorations down and put them in the van, Quinn cut his hand with scissors when trying to cut a zip tie.

“We were afraid that we were going to get struck by lightning,” Nathan said. “It was very chaotic.”

Although the job can be intense, Grace says that receiving positive feedback from customers is a reminder that her time and effort is noticed.

She often worries that clients won’t like the colors she uses and the designs she makes, but they usually enjoy seeing the final product.

“It’s always so nice when people are like ‘this is so amazing’,” Grace said. “You feel like all your hard work has done something.”

Whether it’s chasing down 10-foot runaway balloon garlands on a Brookside intersection, or balloons popping while the van is being loaded, their shared photo album never fails to make the seniors laugh about the moments they’ve spent working together.

“It’s just fun having a job with so many of your friends that you’ve been friends [with] for so long,” Parker said. “It makes the job feel like you’re not even doing work.”

makena pruitt

A

Makena’s Sunday schedule

TYPICAL clock in at 11 a.m. set tables and get food and drinks ready residents start showing up at 12 p.m. for brunch take orders from residents when they’re fnished eating lunch, serve dessert after residents leave, wipe down tables and clean up dishes

SENIOR STORIES

Most commonly asked question from residents:

“WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WORK AT MISSION CHATEAU?

I thought the job was a good opportunity. It wasn’t really that I wanted to work there, but after a couple shifts I really loved it because it’s defnitely a unique job.

“WHAT ARE PROS AND CONS ABOUT WORKING AT MISSION CHATEAU?

A pro about the actual job is that it’s extremely flexible. I travel a lot and my boss is always extremely understanding and a con would be that any kind of server job can be stressful and some of the residents don’t have any patience because they grew up in a working generation.

“WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM WORKING AT MISSION CHATEAU?

I think I’ve defnitely gained a deeper understanding in what it means to be older and how we need to have an understanding of the older generation. I think the older generation loves to have youth around too.

Interesting experiences Makena has had working at a retirement home

Strangest work experience: Residents favorite foods: Pineapple fried rice Co-worker had to pick one of the resident’s wedgie “How’s school going?”

Junior Makena Pruitt shares her experience working at Mission Chateau

GRACI EMT

story by larkin brundige

Senior Gracie Bergin plans on pursuing a career as a paramedic after taking EMS classes at the Career and Technical Campus

HER MIND WAS set.

Then-freshman Gracie Bergin knew exactly what her plan was — to be a police officer. From the time she was little, she wanted to help people, she just didn’t know her desire to be an officer would change within a month. She decided being an officer wasn’t the right course for her after spending a unit covering law in her Blue Eagle Academy class.

This was a startling change for her. She had planned out an entire career that she didn’t even

learning about EMS — Emergency Medical Services — her mind was set, again.

“I just fell in love with it. I loved it so much,” Bergin said. “I grew up with my mom in nursing school and all that. So she would study on the couch, and I would just sit there and watch it. So I feel like I’ve always wanted to do it, I just didn’t know.”

Bergin was in kindergarten when her mom, Jocelyn, started nursing school and worked as an intern. The daily hospital stories Jocelyn would come home with sparked Gracie’s interest.

would talk aloud while Gracie observed, even making games to study the content.

Gracie knew the chambers of the heart in kindergarten. Her teacher laughed with her mom about it at parent-teacher conferences. The next year, her mom bought her a book about the human body.

Jocelyn noticed a shift in passion after a paramedic had visited Gracie’s Blue Eagle Academy class, she now comes home every day with updates.

“The day that she came home, when she told me she was gonna switch to that field, I just saw in her eyes that she definitely had not only interest, but I knew that this was something that

ambulance.

Ben Markway, Gracie’s teacher, was thrown into his role as EMS teacher with no teaching experience her freshman year. He’s been a mentor to his students, learning along with them.

“He’s given me a lot of advice about what to expect, especially as a woman,” Gracie said. “What to expect from the guys and you’re gonna have times where you don’t want to do it and where you don’t want to go to work and you’re gonna hate it, but, he’s like, if you’re passionate about it, you’ll stick with it.”

Now as a senior, Gracie is in her fourth year studying at the Career and Technical Campus where she spends half of her school day exploring her interest

Instead of scribbling down algebra notes, Gracie spent

Markway describes Gracie as a perfectionist who strives to constantly do her best work, even taking over as a math tutor for her classmates from time-to-time after their work for the day is finished.

tri age

To conduct a preliminary assessment of patients in order to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required.

“She’s an extremely hard worker, and very specific and exact about what she does and how she’s presented,” Markway said. “She’s very meticulous and very, very sharp.”

This year, she has the opportunity to work at Advent Health where she’ll shadow an Emergency Room nurse and see the action up close such as triaging patients and stabilizing them.

Similarly, Gracie has shadowed at MedAct where she rode in a fire truck for a day along with a paramedic and firefighter. She was able to talk to patients and responded to ten emergency calls during the 12-hour shift.

GRACIE’S

junior year going through scenarios of addressing a patient’s needs. Spanning from learning the motions of handling an emergency to transporting a patient to the

Through her EMS classes, Gracie has discovered a new plan for her future — following behind her mom, this time set in stone, as a paramedic.

LANCERS

IN BLOOM

The Marching Lancers performed their 2024-25 field show, titled “Bloom”, for the first time at the Shawnee Mission Annual Marching Festival on Monday, Sept. 30 at SM South

BELOW The SM East Band cheers as the SM Northwest band performs their field show. “This showcase is important because we can see where our band is at in the season compared to the other schools,” senior drum major Lincoln King said. “It’s cool to see the community come around and show up for our band.”

Junior

RIGHT Lancer Dancers coach, Bubba Close, arranges umbrellas and flags along the sideline to prepare for the showcase.

photo by clara peters

BELOW

Lancer Dancer Lily Tucker performs in the flag section of the show.

photo by clara peters

ABOVE Senior section leader Jack Barnes leads the front ensemble in a chant before their performance.

photo by clara peters

photo by clara peters

LEFT Sophomore Jacob Lien performs the pre-show visual with the trumpet section.

photo by clara peters

& e picture perfect

The perfect places to visit that capture that “fall feeling”

the pretty posy kc

A quaint bookstore in downtown Overland Park makes for a perfect visit for the fall season

story by caroline beal

LOCATED AT 7942 Sante Fe Drive, this clothing boutique turned bookstore, The Pretty Posy, left me speechless as I walked about the store.

KC Pumpkin

Olathe, KS

art by avery foster image courtesy of imdb & spotify

had helpful hand-written descriptions from the staff of what the story contained.

The store also had small tables for seasonal merchandise, such as fall cross-stitching, ‘creepy good reads’ and autumn rom-com favorites. As a fall lover, this was one of my favorite parts of the store.

DeGeneres concludes her comedy career with her Netflix comedy special For Your Approval

When the bookstore’s owner, Erin Oliva, opened the store in March, she retained the character and build of her old clothing shop.

I loved how every spot in the store was filled, whether it be with books, fall merchandise,or selfcare products such as bath salts and bath bombs. With small reading nooks replacing dressing rooms and a bookmark-making table sitting where clothes used to hang, the store kept its originality.

I immediately felt a nostalgic fall feel with the smell of the pumpkin spice candles being sold at the front and the Lana Del Ray and Fleetwood Mac music being played on the overhead speakers.

ELLEN FRAY

THE are performing at the Truman on Oct. 18. They are known for their hit song

“How to Save a Life”

The book categories were endless, from thrillers to Taylor Swift trivia. They also carry various nationally acclaimed authors like Colleen Hover to more local authors like Ray Riley. Each genre such as mystery and sci-fi had several books to choose from, and some novels

ANNA GILL SENIOR

“[SHAWN] SEEMED LIKE he was going through a really hard time with his break up with Camila and everything and his depression. He seemed like he just definitely needed a break, so when he said he was coming out with an album, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s doing so much better.’

I felt I could quickly find a good read and make a purchase or spend hours looking around to find the perfect book. Although the store did lack ‘the classics,’ there was a wide variety of new releases and niche alternatives.

Not only was the store open and easy to navigate, but the woman working also gave great fall recommendations and walked me through the store, highlighting her favorite novels.

After help from the staff and reading the thoughtful small written notes throughout the store, I decided on a cozy fall mystery book called “How to Solve Your Own Murder” by Kristen Perrin. The total was about $30, a bit overpriced, even for a hardcover, but the experience and atmosphere made up for the new hole in my wallet.

Look at recent and upcoming movie and album releases

Album Title: Artist: Shawn Shawn Mendes Release Date: Oct. 18

Tracks Include: “Why, Why, Why”, “Nobody Knows “

Movie Title: Starring: Woman of the Hour Anna Kendrick Release Date: Oct. 18

Genre: True Crime, Thriller, Suspenseful

design by bella broce

photos by tyler russell

TOP A fall sign decorates the sidewalk next to the discounted book rack outside

The Pretty Posy.

photo by tyler russell

LEFT Sophomore Caroline Beal browses the books on the shelf while on a trip to The Pretty Posy book shop

photo by tyler russell

Nelson Atkins

Kansas City, MO Museum of Art

Patch

story by preston hooker

A MAN AND A METROPOLIS

Francis Ford Coppola’s new self-funded film “Megalopolis” doesn’t deserve any of the extremely negative reviews it’s receiving

THE UNIVERSE IS change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”

Marcus Aurelius — an ancient Roman emperor and philosopher — is frequently cited in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” an enthralling cinematic experience merging nearly every genre into one. Yet the film has been receiving large amounts of undeserved hate from critics and audiences alike.

The Roman emperor’s words are able to simplify the emotional message that the fictional city of “New Rome” integrates to open-minded viewers. In the city, architect and scientist Cesar Catilina attempts to implement the philosophical ideal of a utopia — a perfect world or destination with no flaws. Catilina is opposed by Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who deems Catilina’s methods unsafe. The ideas proposed by Aurelius and other philosophers of the time are mirrored in New Rome — with identical architecture and political figures. The film follows the historical events of the Roman Empire’s rise, signifying a false rebirth of old Rome. New Rome is attempting to be as great as the original, yet to no avail.

Catilina uses Megalon, a MacGuffin — an item with no other purpose but to move the plot forward — that has no clear visual form. Megalon allows the architect to break the laws of physics, stopping time at his will and defying gravity for the benefit of construction.

Where most see a cheap plot device of

limitless power, I see an opportunity for limitless imagination from Coppola. The plot and visuals are unbound, and they’re exposed to their full extent of depthful meaning, only if the viewer is willing to see them. The seemingly impossible skyscrapers with painting-like grace constantly kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Coppola dedicates the film to his beloved wife, Eleanor, making all of the intellectual and in-depth meditations more meaningful and personal for the viewer — something I also think is lost on many viewers when looking for the “purpose” of the film. The movie is a love-letter, not just a cinematic masterpiece.

I found it was best to view Megalopolis without knowing much about the plot, only knowing about Catilina and Cicero’s dynamic, provided by the purposefully vague trailers. The lack of knowledge adds emphasis to the experience itself, leaving the viewer to constantly wonder, “What’s next?” throughout the film.

The eccentric style of Megalopolis has thrown off many viewers, with a cluster of ideas being expressed in single shots, yet I didn’t feel this was overwhelming whatsoever. If anything, these jam-packed shots made me want to view the film for a second and third time just to dissect it more.

I believe the movie is what the viewer’s thoughts make it, and that all of the negative reviews are expecting the movie to do the work for them and tell them how to think

THE DIRECTOR’S INSPO

and feel. This is an unconventional film and should be analyzed as such.

After giving the film a zero out of five stars, Johnny Oleksinski from the New York Post continued to ridicule the entire idea of the film.

“[Megalopolis] is impossible to like,” Oleksinski said. “To even politely admire this cacophony of concepts takes the willpower of an army.”

But Oleksinski is being too technical with his analysis of Megalopolis. The viewer isn’t meant to appreciate every single aspect and underlying metaphor made in this film — there are just too many to keep track of. What the film is meant to do is provoke something within the viewer, to enable thought and reflection on our society and the disparities within it. Don’t try to understand the film. Just feel it.

living in New Rome, and the thought of a Megalopolis is lost on our society completely. Utopia is an impossible concept that is brought to life by Coppola.

Though the film has a rather long runtime of 138 minutes, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, immersed in a golden hue of stunning visuals and thought-provoking ideas that I will never forget.

Though I understand why some viewers may not prefer the metaphoric style of Megalopolis, I don’t think that that makes it’s “bad” by any means. The film is still beautiful and entertaining. There’s nothing objectively “bad” about this movie; there may be things that are “strange” or “uncanny,” but not bad at all.

The performances are all provocative and lifelike — we’re living in a world of billionaires with personality, for better or for worse, so when Adam Driver portrays his own interpretation of such a character, I can’t help but find it hilariously accurate while still connecting with him.

This is a movie everyone has seen before, but never in theaters or on a screen. It’s seen every day — when you’re crossing the street and look up at a tall building or when a politician promises voters something they can’t guarantee. We’re

Movies that director Francis Ford Coppola used as inspiration for his movie

I can easily say that I’ve never seen anything like Megalopolis before, and that gives me hope. Innovation isn’t lost even after 136 years of cinema, and someone with as much experience as Francis Ford Coppola can contribute to that innovation using money from his own pockets and passion from his own mind.

The blueprints of “New Rome” featured in the movie

DEVOURED.

Orange By: Devoured, a local pizza restaurant, offers a fun spin on traditional pizza and leaves you wanting to order the whole menu

INTRO CLASSIC CHEESE

FINDING UNIQUE

PIZZA in Kansas City is almost impossible. Whether it’s plain cheese or Hawaiian, I love any slice of pizza, but finding a place I truly like is a never endingchallenge. So, when a classmate suggested a local spot, Orange By: Devoured, known for its intricate pizzas, I couldn’t pass up the potential of adding a new favorite to my list.

As I walked into the restaurant tucked into

Kansas City’s Martini Corner District, I was shocked to find it empty at 6 p.m. on a Friday. Despite its lack of customers, the building had a personality of its own. The tiny restaurant can’t seat more than 22 people, even if they all crammed in. It felt casual but unique, with orange Spanish tiles, violet walls and 70s retro seating. They offered 11 different pizzas, which unfortunately only sold as whole 11-inch pies. I decided on three

pizzas, splurging almost $50 for pizzas that could barely feed two people per pie.

With minimal seating, I decided on a small couch tucked into the restaurant’s side room and waited about eight minutes for my pizzas to be brought to me. One look at all the pies and I could tell my stomach would be in knots after trying all three, with a toppings and cheese overload on all three.

Mozzarella, red sauce, pecorino, parmesan and basil

AS I TOOK a bite out of the the freshly baked Classic Cheese, I was underwhelmed by the flavor. A simple cheese pizza seems hard to mess up, but it completely missed the mark. The crust was supposed to be thin and light, but it was slightly doughy and didn’t have nearly enough sauce to help balance the bold mozzarella flavor.

JAM BAM 4/5 3/5 2/5

White sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, thinly sliced potatoes, blueberry ricotta and herbs

I MUST ADMIT

that the thought of blueberry incorporated into my pizza left me with questions, but the Jam Bam lives up to its name. When the flavor of the blueberry ricotta hit my mouth, there was no doubt in my mind that blueberry should be a staple on every pizza I eat from that moment on. The contrast between the savory potatoes, light

rosemary notes and the sweet blueberry ricotta worked together to create an original and delicious taste. And the smokey prosciutto added a much-needed savory flavor but a slightly chewy texture.

I especially loved the light, thin and slightly charred crust that paired well with the toppings — a redemption from the Classic Cheese. The “white sauce” had minimal flavor, but the toppings alone made the pizza, which is something that can’t be found at your local Pizza Hut.

The parmesan, pecorino and basil did add some bold contrast to the flavor with a more aged cheese flavor, but even as a mozzarella lover, the taste left me unsatisfied. The slight hint of the sauce was the most bearable part of the pie, with a herby and fresh tomato taste. But, the Classic Cheese lacked real flavor and was an utter disappointment.

THE NEWBIE

Red sauce, Italian sausage, mozzarella, herbs, roasted garlic, caramelized shallots, pecorino, parmesan and hot honey

JUST BY THE

the Newbie, I could tell I was in for a burst of flavor with toppings covering the entire pie from the crust to the bubbling hot center.

The Italian sausage was deliciously seasoned with the herbs and paired nicely with the sweetness of the hot honey — although the heat level was underwhelming. I appreciated how the roasted garlic was strategically placed around the pizza and didn’t leave an overwhelming taste in my mouth.

The caramelized shallots added an unnecessary slimy texture and the dish lacked a sweet flavor to help

from the sausage. The almost non-existent layer of red sauce heightened a slightly overbearing sharp cheese flavor, but overall, I thought the seasoning and toppings gave the pizza its delicious, original taste.

design by addie moore & tillie paisner

photos by molly scott

design by zane laing

photos by evelyn geheb & will griffith

PICKLE IN A QUITE

A staffer reviews a variety of pickle-based products

WHEN MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD self helped my mom make pickles in our kitchen for the first time, I didn’t know I’d be leaving the kitchen with a life-long favorite food. The addicting crunch, freshness from the dill and punch from the vinegar still never fail to make my mouth water.

You can only imagine how my pickleobsessed heart felt after various pickle based products began popping up in stores or on my TikTok shop, such as pickle flavored cotton candy or pickle lemonade. My favorite snack now had 20+ other versions — pure bliss.

I immediately set out to find the best pickle-based-product, trying various snacks based on the delicious treat.

CHAMOY PICKLE

TikTok without seeing someone open a red-40-soaked pickle and shove it full of what seems like the nastiest things they could find in their pantry. Or as TikTok calls it, a chamoy pickle. The name comes from the fact the pickle itself is made with chamoy — a mexican condiment made with dried pickled fruit.

I ordered my kit through TikTok shop, vetoing the exotic flavors like blue raspberry and cotton candy for the classic Chamoy pickle. The kit included the chamoy soaked pickle, Takis, Gushers, Tajin and various sauces and candies to add to your liking.

I knew I was in for trouble when the pungent stench from the bag filled my nose. The scent was somehow sour, sweet and salty all at once. As instructed by the chamoy pickle experts of TikTok, I sliced the top off the pickle and cut out the middle before piling in my toppings. I stuck with Takis, Gushers and a drizzle of spicy liquid candy sauce in the middle and wrapped a Fruit By the Foot around the outside of the pickle; all ingredients I enjoy by themselves but seeing them all crushed into a pickle made my stomach queasy.

DILL CHIPS

something simpler for my next unique pickle item — a bag of the viral “Chips in a Pickle” from Trader Joes.

At first sight, the chips looked almost burnt with a dark brown color covering some chips, but the thick coat of flavoring powder with sprigs of dill mixed throughout gave me high hopes.

The first bite gave a satisfying crunch but it was only downhill after that. The pickle was off-puttingly sweet and spicy. The chew of the candies mixed with the crunchy chips and pickle put my mouth into an unpleasant texture overload.

And the various tastes of the fillings couldn’t have mixed worse. I usually love a sweet and savory treat, but the sweetness of the candies in contrast with the salty spice of the pickle and chips just created a disgusting flavor smoothie.

But the first bite of these made me fall in love with pickles all over again.

These encapsulated every ounce of joy pickles should bring to people. The crunch of the kettle cooked chips, tang from the vinegar powder, dill weed sprinkled on top and salty punch at the end created the perfect pickle medley.

The next time I plan a trip to Trader Joe’s, these will be at the top of my grocery list.

This pickle was my worst nightmare in a couple of bites.

PICKLE DIP

LASTLY, I TRIED a dill pickle flavored hummus from Boar’s Head. Carrots and hummus have always given pickles a run for their money as my favorite snack, so mixing the two sounded like a game-changer.

The hummus looked and smelled just like any other hummus and had me questioning if I even bought the right flavor. After the first bite however, I immediately was hit with a taste of dill that cleared up any doubts.

However, for being labeled as a dill pickle hummus, it was entirely missing the pickle part. There was no salty or overvinegary taste from the dip, only dill. The hummus itself was thick and had a nutty taste to it from the tahini which was enjoyable, but the lack of pickle flavor made it impossible to appreciate anything in the container.

I then tried it with a plain cracker in hopes of getting a pickle-y flavor, but still couldn’t distinguish anything besides dill.

If you’re looking for a new or unique dip, this dill pickle hummus may be worth a try, but nothing pickle lovers need to go searching for.

Ella Slicker

Broke the all-time scoring record for both boys and girls golf with a score of 65

15OCT. 17OCT. 18OCT.

winning habits

19

DO YOU PREFER FALL SPORTS OR WINTER SPORTS?

*Instagram poll of 315 votes

18:54

Was 1st place time of sophomore Charlotte Hardy in the girls varsity race at the Savannah Meet

Athletes share their favorite pre-game routines

CHASE JEHLE

SOPHOMORE

WIDE RECEIVER

I GATHER IN the middle of the feld with my teammates and pray, and then I do one sprint for good luck before going to the locker room to get my stuff on. Then I watch my highlight tape, just to remember the plays that I’ve done and to help me build my confdence.

CALLENBACH

C-TEAM RIGHT MID

2 BANANAS in both breakfast and lunch on game day

A PB&J SANDWICH right before the game

Tby carl sutton

HE

CROSS COUNTRY

team competed in the Savannah Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 5, their fifth meet of the season. The Lancers won all four races, sweeping the meet with three perfect scores a school total of 32 medals.

Cross country won all four JV and varsity races on Oct. 5 at the Savannah Invitational

Sophomore Charlotte Hardy won the Varsity girls race. Junior Emmerson Lindberg and Sophomore Eva Madrigal won the boys and girls JV races respectively.

IF IT’S A TEAM we’ve played before, I always think about what they did, and if we lost try to get revenge — that’s how think about it.

RAP MUSIC on the bus ride, including artists like Lil Yachty, BossMan Dlow and Drake

CHEESE and CRACKERS and a DIET COKE for breakfast, and no food afterward until the game

A PRAYER by the flagpole before the game starts

LEFT Freshman Will Swan races teammate freshman Jackson Gentry as they both near the finish line.

photo by evelyn geheb

MIDDLE Senior George Hartman fights for possession of the ball against an Olathe Northwest player.

photo by amelie wong

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Scan here for more photos like these from our website’s online photo galleries

“Obviously [we] have a lot more numbers,” Sophomore and Varsity runner William Meyer said. “Our team is humongous compared to those schools and we just have a lot of depth in our team. Our JV squads are Senior Broghammer Varsity boys race,

“[It was] wonderful to see everyone compete and also champion other runners on our team,” Coach David Pennington said. “We were able to work hard on an unfamiliar course and dominate.” East will compete in it’s final regular season meet of the season, Sunflower

design by michael yi

RIGHT Junior Campbell Aldridge saves the ball by bumping it backwards.

photo by evelyn geheb

story

STUCO BONDING

Student Council participated in team-building challenges on their annual retreat to TimberRidge Adventure Center on Tuesday, Oct. 1

ABOVE Freshmen Quinn Laing, Harvey Marine and Hampton Boyd and sophomores

Jamie Wilborn and Michael Yi and senior Clayton Weaver pull on ropes to guide a piece of wood onto the center block.

ABOVE Juniors Josie Mangine and Georgia Boyd hold hands to stabilize themselves on a balance-based challenge. “We were doing a tightrope challenge and I was the leader so had to help support my group,” Mangine said.

guides himself with a rope as he walks on a tightrope. Weaver was surrounded by spotters. “I’ve had a lot of experience working with [the spotters] in StuCo, and I’ve built up a trust over time,” Weaver said.

LEFT Seniors Clayton Weaver and JP Nolan pull senior Mae Bledsoe over a 10-foot wall. Bledsoe got over the wall by being hoisted up by members. “[The challenge] built trust between our whole group and really brought us closer together,” Nolan said.

photo by paige bean

photo by caroline martucci

BELOW Senior Clayton Weaver

photo by caroline martucci

photo by paige bean

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design by ava slocum photos courtesy of tommy trucksess, linus mai, matthew waters & mallory wilkerson

THE HARBINGER

A ROYAL ENDING

With the Royals making it to the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series in 2015, East students reflect on their time as Royals fans

TOMMY TRUCKSESS LINUS MAI

ON VACATION IN Colorado, nowsophomore Tommy Trucksess sat on the floor, crammed into a small room, eating spaghetti and meatballs. Without any cell service, Trucksess and his family watched the 2015 World Series through the small screen of a box TV that must’ve been from the 1980s, trying to decipher each play of the game on the old, minuscule screen.

“[We were] watching the game, super intently, trying to figure out exactly what was going on on that TV,” Trucksess said.

Just over a week before, Trucksess was in Kauffman Stadium watching Salvador Perez hit the game-winning ball against the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series to take the Royals to the

World Series. Down by one in the bottom of the ninth inning, the game was over — Trucksess was even tempted to leave the comfort of his massage chair.

That is, until Perez made a hit down the third base line to bring in two runs and win the game. The Royals were going to the World Series.

“It was just the most electric thing that had ever happened to Kansas sports that I was a part of,” Trucksess said.

MATTHEW WATERS

ON HALLOWEEN, AFTER carving Royals-themed pumpkins, decorated with the Royals’ crown, then second-grader Matthew Waters went trick-or-treating. But he only allowed himself and his friends to walk around one block. Then it was time to go back to the front yard set-up and check the score to the World Series game. Extension cords ran to the TV set up outside, surrounded by chairs to hold a block party filled with neighborhood

families, all there to watch the game

“That’s probably my fondest memory of The Royals,” Waters said.

Now-junior Waters has been a fan since age 3 and has kept up with the team, even when they weren’t winning the World Series. Just this year, he’s gone to over 20 games with friends and family members.

“I’m hoping we can go all the way,” Waters said. “I think we’ll take it to game five of the [American League Division Series] and then lose.”

WATCHING THIS SEASON’S

playoff games, junior Linus Mai was sick to his stomach. Only up by one for the majority of the first two games against the Orioles of the season, Mai spent the entirety of the games stressed — and didn’t do any homework.

“It wore me out,” Mai said. “I was really tired after watching because it was so stressful.”

A baseball player himself and with some influence from his Royals-obsessed mom, Mai began to cheer for the team in 2014, and in 2015 went to a postseason Royals game. It became one of the longest postseason games with a two hour rain delay. After eight hours, the Royals won and went to the World

stories by libby marsh

Series that same year.

Through the past 10 years, Mai has found love and comfort in the Royals. The stadium is his happy place and he hopes the Royals can win just one home game to see Kauffman energetic with cheers and victory music.

“[Kauffman Stadium] is my happy place,” Mai said. “It’s a special place, when we play well.”

MALLORY WILKERSON

SENIOR MALLORY WILKERSON

shows up to every Royals game in the same t-shirt depicting the three hotdog racers dressed as ketchup, mustard and relish. When they race before the game she always cheers for ketchup — the best condiment — and “based on the standings this year,” ketchup usually wins.

Wilkerson has pictures of herself at Royals games from when she was just one-year-old and has cheered for the team through the 2015 World Series win and the past nine seasons since. Even when Sports Illustrated reported

their team record number of losses of 118 in 2023, Wilkerson still shows up for the post game fireworks and Gatorade dumps.

“Even when they weren’t very good, we’d still go to games and cheer them on,” Wilkerson said.

With their season tickets, the Wilkerson family sits behind the third base dugout. When she was younger, before the game started and the net was put up around the field, Wilkerson and her brother Garrett would catch baseballs from the opposing team during warm-ups.

She’s used to having a strong baseball team and bad football team or vice versa but this year the Royals are proving her wrong.

“I used to joke that Kansas City can only have one good team at a time,” Wilkerson said. “But I guess I’ve been disproven with that now.”

OCTOBER 15, 2024

story by sophia brockmeier

CHANGER GAME

HE STUDENT SECTION went crazy as then-junior Nate Phillips sprinted toward the end zone. Phillips was about to score his second touchdown of the 2023 Nut Cup game against Shawnee Mission

The event was just Phillips’ fourth game on the East team, and he didn’t even recognize the faces in the student section yet.

“I actually never asked anyone what the [Nut Cup] was,” Phillips said. “I still don’t really know.” You’ll have to forgive East’s running back for not knowing about the tradition. Phillips transferred from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School at the beginning of his junior year to focus on football. Phillips’ positive impact on the team has led the group to a strong starting record, according to center and junior Michael English.

“He definitely boosts the morale of the team,” English said. “Whenever he’s around, he’s always making people laugh and making sure everyone’s in a good mood. He’s also just a really hard-nosed football player. Whenever he gets the ball, he’s gonna make

East’s current record is 3-2, a strong contrast from their record at this time last year: 2-3.

Phillips chalks this improvement up to an engaged head coach, Mark Simoneau, and team bonding.

Huddled in Phillips’ basement, shouting at a TV, the offensive players argued

Senior Nate Phillips transferred from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School last year to play football and has improved East’s record this year

all summer over their weekly “Family Feud” game nights. These nights included eating cheese pizza, blasting music, disagreeing over the most popular answer and, of course, freestyling karaoke.

“We would just blast a beat on the TV, and someone would start freestyling,” Phillips said. “Michael actually made up his own song one time. It was pretty crazy.”

English, along with the other offensive players, were some of the first teammates Phillips met when he transferred to East.

SAW ON social media that Simoneau was [going to East] and that he was a big deal,” Phillips said. “I looked at his background, and he was a pretty cool guy. I was like, ‘I’ll just go there and start something new with the new

NATE PHILLIPS SENIOR

After playing at Saint Thomas Aquinas as freshman and sophomore, Phillips began to feel that the school wasn’t for him. The aggressive coaching and negative practices didn’t give him the motivation to continue his football career. So, he began looking at schools he could transfer to while continuing the sport.

“I saw on social media that Simoneau was [going to East] and that he was a big deal,” Phillips said. “I looked at his background, and he was a pretty cool guy. I was like, ‘I’ll just go there and start something new with the new coach.’”

Phillips made an effort to engage with Simoneau during and after practice, discussing game plays along with their

POST-GAME CELEBRATIONS:

personal lives. Phillips said his closer connection with a head coach has allowed him to expand his game play.

“Every single play I’m usually giving [Nate] the ball in some way,” quarterback and junior Jack Reeves said. “That’s when we can work together. When I actually run the ball, or I throw the ball, he’s always blocking for me. He’s creating a path.”

During the Sept. 27 game against Olathe North, Philips broke his fibula — the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. After Phillips had been brought to the sidelines, English was quick to check on him.

“I went up to him, and I was just like, ‘Hey you just stay here, but I’m going to go win this for you,’” English said. “I knew that the offense was going to step up and just do everything in our power to win. I just wanted him to know that we had his back, and we’re gonna pull through.”

That night East beat Olathe North 39-34. In the following days, Phillips would be bombarded with texts from Simoneau just asking about his injury and upcoming treatment plans.

While Phillips likely won’t be playing on the field until playoffs, he still wants to engage with the team on the sidelines and in the locker rooms.

After games, Phillips will continue celebrating with the team through funny photos in the locker room while blasting, “Like A G6” and, of course, going to Canes for a post-game team dinner. These Friday night traditions, along with a supportive coach, are what makes up Phillip’s love for football.

“I love Nate,” English said. “I don’t want to disappoint him, and I think he feels the same way.”

Nate’s experience with East vs. Aquinas post-game celebrations I

design by christopher long photos by caroline martucci

SETTING RECORDS

Sophomore Charlotte Hardy is on varsity cross country and track, and is East’s top runner at the moment story by addy newman

THEN SEVENTH-GRADER

Charlotte Hardy took her place at the starting line in the grass outside of Indian Hills Middle School alongside over one hundred other runners, both boys and girls. Having never run competitively before, her dad encouraged her to join the cross country team just weeks before.

After two treacherous laps around the half-mile course she had solidified a strong lead on the rest of the girls in her group. Even though she was in front of the reshe couldn’t run anymore. She had stopped. Breathing hard she told Indian Hills cross country coach and social studies teacher Douglas Jones that she was good with just one mile for the first meet.

“We ended up putting her in the first meet in the mile and she annihilated people,” Jones said. “I went up to her after the race and told her she would never run a mile again for us. She smiled and laughed and said she got it.”

Unlike many other middle school runners who stop cross country after eighth grade due to burn out from running constantly, Hardy continued running in high school.

“In middle school, Mr. Jones and Mr. Dailey, they pushed me to continue running,” Hardy said. “I definitely wouldn’t have continued [without their influence].”

After regionals for track in high school, she qualified for state in both the two mile and the one mile as a freshman. According to cross country and track coach Rikki Hacker, it is unusual for a freshman to qualify in one event, and even more impressive to qualify in two.

“My favorite is probably the 1600 meter, which is equivalent to a mile,” Hardy said. “I would just say it’s a lot less than a cross country course so it’s a lot different, and it’s a different change of pace.”

Now as a sophomore, Hardy has been named Kansas MileSplit Runner of the Week, for the week of Sept. 2.

Hardy currently runs a 5:13 minute mile,

an 11:18 minute two mile and a 18:36 minute three mile.

Hardy currently has an opportunity to win a state title, as she is ranked second in Kansas for girls cross country runners.

Along with having the third fastest 5k time recorded in East cross country history, the opportunities and accomplishments will keep coming for her as she is only a sophomore. She continues to push hoping to gain new personal records and improve East’s overall standings.

“

SHE’S ALWAYS

there at practice. Usually your top runner, sometimes can kind of do what they want a lot of times and she doesn’t. She’s not selfsh at all. She’s probably the most selfless, as far as being a team captain.

RIKKI HACKER CROSS COUNTRY COACH

According to Hacker, Hardy’s cross qualifications are extremely rare, the only two East girls Grace Strongman and Lida Padgett ahead of her times just recently graduated.

“[The] two of them that are in front of [her] one is attending Kansas State University and the other one goes to college at University of Colorado Springs,” Hacker said. “It’s kind of cool because she’s already top three as a sophomore, and she may run faster before it’s all said and done. This year too.”

Hardy isn’t just a talented runner though, according to teammate and sophomore Ella Ash. She is also a positive and uplifting influence, who is very hardworking and deserving of her accomplishments.

OFFICIAL RECORDS

Charlotte’s running statistics

1 MILE- 5:13 2 MILE- 11:18

5K- 18:36

According to Ash, Hardy never backs down from a challenge and continues to push herself even in practice when she is assigned extra repetitions in a workout or extra laps.

“It helps us having someone faster to be able to push ourselves whether we’re trying to or not,” Ash said. “Just like, subconsciously having someone better than you. I wouldn’t push myself as hard if there wasn’t someone above me also doing the same thing.”

Hardy’s accomplishments stem from the many hours of training and work. She runs over 50 miles a week and always is open to do 5:15 morning workouts or extra miles on long runs.

“She’s always there at practice,” Hacker said. “She’s not selfish at all. She’s probably the most selfless, as far as being a team captain, she’s not necessarily proactive on telling people what to do or anything, but she’s always there and held accountable.”

According to Hacker, as a team captain she trains smart, she doesn’t overload her running and she continues to show her selflessness while cheering on the rest of her teammates and holding them accountable to their workouts and their effort.

Although she started later than most, she hopes to continue to drop time and improve her speed and pace and still enjoys the sport.

“She didn’t back down and ran hard in practice,” Jones said. “She was [even] willing to run with the boys in practice and there have been very few girls we have had through the years that would do that.”

FRESHMAN AWARDS

all-state, all-region, all-league

SOPHOMORE AWARDS

ranked second in the state

SCAN ME WEB SITE

to see

Scan

Charlotte’s results over the years for track and cross country

design by reese dunham photo by addie clark

TO THE PARKING LOT A STUDENT’S GUIDE

Everything that students should know about the parking lots on campus

WHERE TO PARK?

UNSPOKEN RULES

“ ELLIE MOILANEN JUNIOR

ITS MY FIRST year with a pass and last year I would park in the designated spots; you just have to wait your turn because that’s the point of the passes. It’s really frusterating when have to park on the grass because the spots are taken by people without passes.

“ WILL SHELTON JUNIOR

FOR THE MOST part people follow the [zipper method] but if someone wants to get somewhere they will do all that they can to cut in front of anyone possible.

1 Freshman shouldn’t park anywhere but along Delmar

2 You should always follow the zipper method when leaving the lots

3

If you don’t have a parking pass then you can’t park in the main or the lower lot

FRESHMAN SOPHOMORE

JUNIOR SENIOR Along Delmar Rd.

Main lot or lower lot with a pass Prarie Village Pool parking lot or the back row of the main lot

Main lot or lower lot with a pass

PET PEEVES

“ CHARLIE JOHNSON SENIOR

I SEE [PEOPLE without passes everyday]. They need to start handing out tickets because I got a ticket and I had to pay a fne.

1

You can’t turn left onto Mission Road out of the main lot

2 Underclassmen who park in marked spots without passes

design by ella hargens

photos by amelie wong