Issue 13

the

ISSUE 13 SHAWNEE MISSION EAST PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS MARCH 29, 2010

New ban restricts smoking across Kansas, ignites reactions among students and local business owners

T

>>LoganHeley

his summer, lighting up in a public place could cost you.

On March 12, Governor Mark Parkinson signed the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act into law, eliminating indoor smoking in all restaurants, bars and workplaces throughout the state. Offenders will be charged fines of up to $100 for a first offense and as much as $500 for multiple offenses once the ban goes into effect on July 1.

The only public places exempt from the smoking ban will be state-run casinos, tobacco stores, 20 percent of hotel rooms in the state and private clubs such as Veterans of Foreign Wars posts. Thirty-two states, as well as Puerto Rico

and the District of Columbia, currently have comprehensive public smoking bans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State Rep. Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills, an anesthesiologist doctor, voted for the ban and was on the floor of the House when it passed. She said she couldn’t be happier.

“I was elated, I actually got tears in my eyes,” Bollier said.

“To be able to help improve the health of thousands upon thousands of people was just a phenomenal experience.”

Senior Jake Fleming feels that it should be up to the individual business owner, rather than the government, to decide if their establishment will permit smoking or not.

However, Fleming believes the ban will make going out to

eat more pleasant for people that don’t smoke, like himself.

“You just don’t want to go to eat dinner in a restaurant and smell smoke that you don’t want to smell and you can almost taste it, too,” Fleming said.

Former state Sen. David Wysong, a Mission Hills resident, wrote the bill and steered it through its nearly four year journey to the Governor’s desk. Wysong has lost five members of his family to tobacco-related diseases, including his sister-in-law during his first year in the Senate. Dr. Mark Allen, a friend of Wysong and parent of three East alumni, believes the bill will be a good legacy for the retired state senator.

>>continued from page 16

NEWS: Quick Guide to Current Events (pg. 4) FEATURES: Senior Dedicated to Writing (pg. 18) A&E: Entertainment Calendar (pg. 28)

page 2 news 03.29.10

YouTube Un iversity Tufts University is accepting video submissions from prospective students

>>AubreyLeiter

Next spring, when the admissions departments at schools which she applies sort through junior Gillian O’Connell’s application they will look at her GPA, extracurriculars and test scores. But one of her top schools, Tufts University, will look at something extra—her own personal YouTube video.

Tufts University, near Boston, in now accepting short YouTube videos as part of their applications process along with the required essay. The videos submitted to Tufts have ranged anywhere from students sitting in their bedrooms talking to the camera to a montage of the applicant’s typical day. Some applicant videos have received thousands of views on YouTube.

“We added video as an option because it seemed like a contemporary element that many high school students use to express themselves,” Dean of Admissions, Lee Coffin said.

Tufts is known for having quirky and original applications. This year one essay topic is “Are we alone?” or the applicant is given the chance to create something out of a single sheet of paper.

In an article in the New York Times Coffin also said the videos were a delightful way to get to know the applicants. He said you get a sense of who they are because they are able to show their voice and that Tufts will never abandon the essay-writing requirement because he believes that is is important for a student to be able to express themselves “elegantly through writing.”

“It is an opportunity to show college admission counselors a different view of my personality, one that cannot be conveyed on a [written] application,” O’Connell said.

Counselor Terry Archer believes that other universities in the country will soon

join Tufts in this new application process videos are mainly received from applibecause they may see videos as a unique cants showcasing their music, dance or and helpful tool for selecting students for theatre talent. their particular college. He also believes The videos at Tufts are completely opthat videos will never replace the tradi- tional and if a video is done badly it will tional applications, essays and letters not count against a student, they are simof recommendations that colleges do re- ply used as a way to show a different side quire now but definitely sees a future for of the applicant. The video option is in video in the selection process. the optional section of the Common Ap“At the present time, I think many plication. There are eight questions and schools will wait to see how success- each applicant is asked to do one. One of ful Tufts and other universities are with the eight is create a video that ‘says somethe video requirement before they move thing about yourself.’ in that direction [as “Many students well],” Archer said.

I think video applica- will be very comfortLisa Pincamonci tions are a great idea. able and even exKress, the Director of cited to create their Hopefully they will cut own Admissions at Kanapplication back on the importance of video,” Archer said. sas University says that KU isn’t consid“However, we are test scores and GPA. ering doing a video not created equally >>Senior Gillian O’Connell as part of their appliwhen it comes to cation process at this time. creativity, so there will be students who “Tufts is using videos as comprehen- will not wish to make a video.” sive review of an applicant, and at KU Coffin also said in the New York Times an applicant is automatically admitted if article that he was surprised that these they meet one of our admissions require- videos are becoming so popular. He didn’t ments,” Kress said. “I think that for a think they would get this much attention. school looking at comprehensive review He also doesn’t worry about the privacy of a student, videos could benefit them of the applicants because he believes in choosing the right student for their that since kids blog and tweet often, they school.” aren’t worried about their own privacy.

The way an application process is This year about 850 of 15,000 applidone in the state of Kansas is mandated cants sent in a video, but Coffin believes by the Kansas Board of Regents, the this number will increase throughout the group of people who make education years as knowledge of technology indecisions. If any university in the state of creases in the applicants.

Kansas decided to do video applications, “I think video applications are a great all universities in the state would have to idea,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully they will have it as an option. cut back on the importance of test scores At this point, Tufts University is the and GPA because admission people will only school with the video application op- be able to see if you are a good fit for their tion but other schools such at Dartmouth school in a more creative way.”

University have received videos from applicants even without a prompt. These

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THE NEWS {in brief} 29

Monday March 29

Rep Plays

3 p.m. in the Little Theater The 14 Repertory theater students each directed, produced and cast a one act show. The casts will be made up of Rep students. The performances will start on the 29th and continue on the 30th.

31

Wednesay March 31

PTA Exec Board Meeting 8:30 a.m. Location TBA

District Band Concert

7 p.m. in the Auditorium

1

Thursday April 1

9th-11th Grade Cheerleading Try-out Meeting 6- 7p.m. in the Cafeteria

Incoming Freshmen Cheerleading Meeting 7-8 p.m. in the Cafeteria

Bunch of Bands

6:30- 9 p.m. in the Gym

2

Friday April 2

Frequent Friday(s)

3 p.m. in the Little Theater Both “Poof!” directed by Dawn Selder and “Check Please” directed by Delaney Herman will be performed.

5

Monday April 5

Pre-Festival Choir Concert 7 p.m. in the Auditorium

6

Tuesday April 6

9:40a.m. Late Start PTA General Meeting

11 a.m. at Village Church

Orchestra Festival 7 p.m. at SM West

7

Wednesday April 7

International Club Meeting 2:45 p.m. in the Library

Top Hits

Color

In My Shoes

A look at the most viewed student application videos Tufts received

9

FridayApril 9

Frequent Friday

In My Shoes: 24,662 views

Color: 14,981 views

Exchange student Anna Seilund from Denmark will speak about the culture and traditions of Denmark as well as her experiences here.

3 p.m. in the Little Theater In this stop motion video Quinn shows off her artistic abilities. She hopes this “hints at [her] creative personality.”

Cohen’s video features her various shoe choices during important moments in her life. It welcome admission officers to “walk a mile in her shoes.”

>>www.youtube.com

“ Am I Blue?” directed by Ashton Adams will be performed. Written by Beth Henley in 1972, the show was written to give young actors a chance to try more varied roles in a show without an overt moral message.

Highly ‘DECA’rated

East DECA qualifies a record number of students for the international competition this April

>>PhoebeUnterman

At the state DECA competition March 7-9, more East ects that this year’s Marketing II students created. students than ever before qualified to travel to Louisville in Herst, along with seniors Baleigh Burroughs and Rosie April for the International Career Development Conference Bellinger, planned and hosted a fundraiser for the HALO (ICDC). foundation, a local organization that Out of the 118 East students that comhelps orphans in third-world counIf they set their mind to tries by selling their artwork. Other peted at state, 43 qualified for the ICDC, representing more than a quarter of studo something, they’ll do it. students started their own businessdents from Kansas who will go to LouThey want to do well and es, designed and sold spirit wear and isville. According to DECA sponsor and created a web site for the Prairie Vilwant to compete, for them lage shops.

Marketing teacher Mercedes Rasmussen, East has sent the most kids of any Seniors Hannah Satterlee, Maddy and for me.

Kansas school seven out of the last ten >>DECA Sponsor Mercedes Rasmussen Rich and Molly Tidrick won second years, but generally only about 20-35 place at the state competition and students from East qualify for the ICDC, so this was a more qualified for internationals with their project, which was successful year than usual. organizing the Bryan’s Way Wiffle Ball Tournament in JanuRasmussen accredits this impressive turnout to both the ary. seniors’ unique projects, which is one component of the state competition, and their diligence and enthusiasm as a class.

“This class is so fantastic,” Rasmussen said. “They are a very hard-working group of kids and they really jumped in and got very personal with their projects.

To qualify for ICDC, students had to receive a certain score at the state competition for either their group projects, which they spent the year in Marketing II working on, or a combination of a written test and business role plays that they competed in on-site at state.

Senior Catie Herst will travel to Louisville on April 24 to compete at her second ICDC. Herst attributes the number of students qualifying for internationals—almost double last year’s number—to the quality and individuality of the proj-

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issue 13 news page 3 “Our projects this year were really impressive and unique,” Herst said. “We had so much time to really work on them because Mercedes [Rasmussen] gives us all year.”

Senior Beck Johnson, who just finished his term as Kansas DECA President, believes that Rasmussen is accountable for much of their success at competitions.

“What makes us so competitive at state is Mercedes [Rasmussen],” Johnson said. “In Marketing II we work on our projects all year—she gives us all the time and all the resources we need, and she promotes us to do these great and fantastic projects.”

In addition to working on their projects, Marketing students learn how to compete in the other aspects of DECA competitions, including role plays of business situations. “[Rasmussen] makes sure everyone practice their presentations, so by the time state rolls around, everyone is so prepared,” Johnson said. “It’s really all her.”

As much as the seniors feel they owe Rasmussen for their success at state, she feels that the competitions show their hard work paying off.

“This is a phenomenal senior class,” Rasmussen said. “If they set their mind to something, they’ll do it. They want to do well and want to compete, for them and for me.”

What does DECA stand for?

DECA stands for ‘Distributive Education Clubs of America,’ but is commonly just referred to as DECA.

What is the purpose of DECA?

DECA helps students develop skills and competence for marketing careers, build self-esteem, experience leadership and practice community service.

SENIORS Sarah Hemer and Beck Johnson wish senior Hannah Satterlee good luck as she enters the mini-awards at the state competition. Greeting people is part of their job as Kansas DECA Lauren Bleakley Officers.

>>

>>http://www.anoka.k12.mn.us/education/

BUNCH OF BANDS

Come rock out this Thursday to the sounds of five distinct student bands

>>PhoebeUnterman This Thursday night at 7 p.m., five student bands will face off in the annual

Student Council sponsored Bunch of Bands Competition.

After listening to demos from each of the bands that applied, the StuCo Exec Board narrowed down the ten applicants to these final five—four of which hail from the senior class, and one band of all freshmen, the self-proclaimed underdogs. According to Bunch of Bands chairperson senior Holly Lafferty, the board tried to choose a wide variety of high-energy bands that would create a fun atmosphere, so come this Thursday ready to rock out with your dancing shoes on and your laces tied tight.

Keep reading for a brief profile of each band competing, including quotes from band members on what they have in store for you this year and why their band will make this For additional coverage of the bands a night you can’t miss.

>>

featured in the Bunch of Bands competition, including videos of other performances, visit smeharbinger.net

MENLO Adam Levin Lead Guitar and Vocals David Beeder Drums Tim Shedor Bass

“Expect physically moving tunes and a nice surprise as we break out a new lick ‘that will make you want to beg for more.’ Consider it our grand finale.”

-Levin

KEPT MESS Brian Rogers Drums Connor Creighton Bass/Keyboard Joe Newman Guitar

“We plan to create a wall of sound that will entrap everyone’s deepest inner thoughts and scatter them about the gymnasium” -Newman

SPACE BEAR Max McFarland Lead Guitar and Vocals Duncan McHenry Drums Matt Chalk Saxophone Cary McRoberts Drums/Percussion

“We are going to provide mind-blowing originals that in addition to blowing minds will inspire ‘Smeasters’ to reconsid-

er their very perceptions of life itself.”

-McFarland

MR. FISH Kaevan Tavakolinia Bass/Vocals Nathan Goldman Guitar/Tambourine/Vocals Fish Friend Sax/Keyboard/Percussion Kyle Little Guitar/Bongos/Vocals Tyler Kelly Drums

“We are ready to unveil a completely new set of original material, and are preparing a show that isn’t meant to be heard and seen so much

as it is to be danced and jumped. We want to have fun. We want you to have fun. We want everyone to just get loose and have a good time.”

-Tavakolinia

THE LETTERHEADS Lilly Kaufman Vocals Gardner Grantham Guitar Ian Harmon Guitar Max Braasch Drums Chris Tucker Guitar “We are the underdogs and we are going to come out and amaze everyone.”

-Kaufman

page 4 news 03.29.10 We know the news can be hard to follow.

News Jargon: Fake the Convo

Fortunately, this guide isn’t.

The Layman’s Guide to the

NEWS

in sions start, keep theseters. us sc di ed at he e th n Whe stant conversation star your back pocket for in

Any Health Care program with private insurance still intact is a failing strategy.

Countries such as the U.K. or Singapore have shown how the government can take control and save lives.

>>GriffinBur and AnnieSgroi

While in war, it’s important that America takes all steps to give governments the chance to find democracy on their own.

Health Care The Brief The recently passed health care bill, known commonly as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, contains a large variety of measures designed to reduce spending and increase coverage. In a March 21 New York Times piece, Rep. James Clyburn, it was “the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century”, while House Republican leader John Boehner declared “shame on us [for passing this bill.]”

Whatever side you lean towards, here are the facts: What it means for you The most immediate effect for teenagers is that they will be able to stay on their parents’ insurance policy until they’re 26 years old. Previously, laws varied state by state. Most states did not require insurance companies to allow children to stay on their parents’ plans for that long.

One of the bill’s most important and bipartisan provisions that will take effect in 2010 is that insurance companies will not be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Insurers are also prevented from dropping people when they become ill. By 2014, that rule will be extended to adults.

For the time being, adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to join a temporary high-risk insurance pool . Basically, a group of people who are “high risk” (likely to collect on insurance payments) buy insurance in a group. By doing so, they’re able to get lower prices - similar to buying groceries in bulk.

In 2014, those high-risk pools would be replaced by health insurance exchanges, created and managed at the state level. The health insurance exchanges are actually marketplaces for people without insurance, and also small businesses. Theoretically, this will keep prices lower for those consumers.

The individual mandate - which says that most Americans must have health insurance - is one of the most controversial aspects of the bill, and will also take effect in 2014. For families without insurance, the fine will be either 1 percent of their income or $95 for each uninsured person (capped at $285) in the family. This mandate is also one of the foundations for the legal challenges to the bill. According to a March 23 Yahoo News article, attorneys general from 13 different states plan to challenge the bill.

Besides health insurance exchanges, several other measures are designed to provide health care for more Americans. Medicaid, government funded healthcare for the poor, will be expanded so people who are 33 percent over the poverty line can still apply for it. Tax credits will be given to employers with less than 25 employees who help pay for their employees’ health care.

Funding for the bill will come primarily from cuts in Medicare and Medicaid benefits, as well as payments to those who treat patients in those programs. More funding will come from tax on “Cadillac insurance plans”, which are simply high-cost plans.

The Stock Market is bound to crash when the cost of the stock far exceeds the future potential profits, like it did during the Depression and Dotcom Crash.

Did you see Vice President Joseph Biden (insert latest political embarassment)?

Economy The Brief The US recession was, and is, an extraordinarily complex series of events. Nevertheless, there are some widely agreed upon factors.

One major factor was the subprime loan crisis. In very simple terms, here’s what happened. As New York Times business journalist Gretchen Morgenson said in an NPR interview, the crisis can be explained simply as “very lax lending and extremely large uses of borrowed money.”

In the real estate market, banks began to loan money to people with poor credit -- people who may or may not have been able to pay back the loans -- so that those people could buy houses. One reason for this is that, like in the Great Depression, the housing market was rising, and houses became more valuable. People who bought houses that they couldn’t afford assumed that, since prices usually went up, they could just wait for their houses to become more valuable. When their houses rose in value, they would be able to pay back the loan.

The Downfall For a while, this theory was accurate. But eventually, the prices stopped rising and leveled off. Homeowners worried that prices would go down, so they began to put their houses on the market. But far too many houses were put on the market. This created too much supply and not enough demand -- there were more houses on the market than buyers, and so, just as the homeowners feared, their houses were worth less.

Thus, banks worried about their investment and began asking homeowners to pay back their loans. Many of those homeowners either couldn’t sell their house at enough value or couldn’t sell it at all. Banks then became more reluctant to loan money, and continue to be reluctant to do so, which makes it difficult for the economy to grow. >>http://www.sx

c.hu/

issue 13 news page 5 Iraq

Afghanistan

The Brief On Feb. 27 Pres. Barack Obama’s gave a speech “Resposibly Ending the War in Iraq” at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina. “This strategy is grounded in a clear and achievable goal shared by the Iraqi people and the American people: an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant,” Obama said.

on Dec. 1, 2009 at U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint, he announced an additional 30,000 troops will be deployed in “the first part of 2010,” and troops will start to come home by July 2011. Obama defined the goal to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda,” and outlined the three ways that goal would be met: 1. Transition Focusing on stopping the insurgency and securing major cities. Training Afghan security forces to help transfer responsibility to the Afghani military. Asking the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other allies to send 5,000 to 10,000 additional troops. NATO is a military alliance of 28 nations. Countries other than the U.S. currently have about 40,000 troops in Afghanistan.

2. Transfer of Responsibility Collaborating with allies, Afghan forces and the United Nations to plan a strategy to transfer responsibility and aid civilians. The U.S. will support Afghan leaders that work to prevent corruption in the government. Assistance will be focused on issues where aid can make an immediate impact such as agriculture.

The Wars

The Brief In a speech given by Pres. Barack Obama

Here is an outline of the three components of the current military strategy for Iraq:

Removal of Troops U.S. combat involvement will end by Aug.

31, 2010. After the combat troops are withdrawn, the mission will change to “supporting the Iraqi government and its Security Forces.” This support will be given by 35-50,000 U.S. troops who will focus on smoothing the transition to Iraqi control through training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security. All U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

Sustained Diplomacy The U.S. efforts towards assisting in maintaining peace and diplomacy in Iraq will be led by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Chris Hill. The U.S. will work with the U.N. to protect national elections, increase aid to nations hosting Iraqi refugees and start the process of helping the millions of displaced Iraqis go home.

American Engagement This part of the strategy will have two parts: helping Iraq develop normal relationships with neighboring nations and the U.S. developing “sustained engagement with all of the nations in the region, and that will include Iran and Syria.”

3. Partnership with Pakistan Obama said in his address that we must recognize that the stability of Pakistan is tied to success in Afghanistan. This stability will be achieved by helping Pakistan to fight extremists and foster democracy.

Kansas Politics The Brief Democrat Kathleen Sebelius was elected for her first term as governor in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. President Barack Obama chose her as Secretary of Health and Human Services and her nomination was confirmed on April 28, 2009. When Sebelius left, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson was sworn in. From the beginning of his time as Governor, Parkinson said he would not seek a full term; this made 2010 anyone’s race.

Senator Tom Holland Democratic Kasas State Sen. Tom Holland announced his candidacy for governor in Topeka on Feb. 17.

According to Holland Campaign Communications Director Frances Gorman Graves, the Senator’s legislative initiatives have proven his

Approval Ratings

100% 90%

79%

80%

commitment to the people of Kansas. Graves sees Holland’s three main legislative highlights as: his work on education legislation, his efforts to cut taxes, and his commitment to make healthcare more affordable. Graves points to Holland’s removal from Washington politics as an asset in the race.

“He has a proven track record representing the people in his district,” Graves said. “He leads through listening and is the only candidate who can put politics aside and bring all people together, Republicans, Democrats and proud Independents.”

Senator Sam Brownback Republican U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback announced his run for governor in Jan. 2009.

>>www.white.gov >>www.gallup.com

50% 40%

46%

51%

The Visual Side of the News

-year presidential a quick look at second ur tax dollars go Education-2% d where yo Other-6% Transportation-3% approval an Science and Medical Research-3%

Government Spending

70% 60%

“I will continue to work hard during the coming year in the Senate to find solutions to the serious issues facing our state and the nation and focus on efforts to create jobs at home and grow our Kansas economy,” Brownback said in his announcement.

According to Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokesperson for the Brownback for Governor campaign, Brownback will be announcing his “Road Map for Kansas,” a plan for growing Kansas’s economy, in the coming months.

Jones-Sontag said the reason Brownback is in the race is that economic downturn.

“Economic growth is the engine that makes our state go,” Jones-Sontag said. “Restoring growth will be Sam Brownback’s top priority as Governor.”

49%

30%

Veterans and Retirees Programs-6%

Military and Defense-21%

20% 10% 0% Ronald Reagan March 1982

Bill Clinton March 1994

George W. Bush Barack Obama March 2002

March 2010

Approval ratings are a tool for gauging presidential success, but they are often misleading. For example, George Bush had the highest approval rating ever post-9/11 due to heightened patriotism. On the other hand, the recession has caused Obama’s ratings to plummet, even though the economic slide started long before he was in office.

Safety Net Programs-11%

Interest from Debt-8%

While looking at new government programs or deals, it helps to have a sense of how much it will cost the average taxpayer.

Seeing big numbers in the billions may be hard to picture, but seeing that Military and Social Security-21% Defense takes up 21 percent of the government budget or that Health Care takes up 20 percent is helpful in realizing where your tax money really goes (or doesn’t go, depending on your feelings about the government).

Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP-20% >>www.cbpp.com

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RECYCLE YOUR HARBINGER

issue 13 editorial page 7

With exc essive gr af

hrooms, Matu students rity C are in need of a heck

Phallic drawings and personal callouts graffitied in Sharpie on the walls of boys’ restrooms have become an all-too-common representation of our school’s maturity.

Although it is likely only a few students perpetrating these acts of immature Letters to vandalism, the the editor should lack of maturity be sent to room 521 is also reflected or smeharbinger@ in the students gmail.com. Letters who sit idly by may be edited for as they watch clarity, length, libel friends cause in excess of $1,000 and mechanics and in property accepted or rejected damage to the at the editor’s school. discretion.

Accordin g to estimates by head custodian Mike Webb, it has cost over $1,000 since the beginning of the year to cover up the Sharpie scrawl in the boys’ bathrooms. This price is just one impact the vandals do not consider in their selfish and disrespectful acts.

Although a cost not factored into the $1000 estimate is the extra effort employed by the custodians to cleanse the bathrooms. The culprits behind the

the

>>

bathroom vandalism most likely do not think about the additional 30 minutes of the custodial staff’s time to paint each bathroom when they disrespectfully defile the walls.

Beyond the monetary damages the vandalism has inflicted, the damage done in terms of character defamation is another thing that the vandals may not take into consideration. Behind each callout or sexual innuendo inscribed on the urinal-time message board is a harsh generalization about a group or individual that cannot be covered up with the saving grace of some whitewash paint.

Out of respect to the school, custodial staff and peers, the time has come for the vandals of our school to not only consider possible disciplinary impacts of their actions, but also to look beyond whatever smug satisfaction they get from their bathroom wall slams and realize the possible harmful nature of their words.

In reality, these vandals are even more childish than their 3-year-old crayon-toting counterparts who scribble on walls because unlike the children, they are aware of their actions and the ramifications.

Their asinine actions do not reflect the prodigious academic level of this school.

a publication of shawnee mission east high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208

Editors-In-Chief >>Tim Shedor >>Phoebe Unterman Assistant Editors >>Sam Logan >>Kevin Simpson Head Copy Editor >>Andrew Goble Art and Design Editor >>Michael Stolle News Editor >>Annie Sgroi News Page Editors >>Alysabeth Albano >>Haley Martin Editorial Editor >>Jack Howland Opinion Editor >>Aubrey Leiter Opinion Page Editors >>Tom Lynch

>>Kennedy Burgess Features Editor >>Duncan McHenry Feature Page Editors >>Sarah McKittrick >> Kat Buchanan >>Anna Bernard Spread Editor >>Emma Pennington Asst. Spread Editor >>Morgan Christian A&E Editor >>Mac Tamblyn A&E Page Editors >>Raina Weinberg >>Maddy Bailey >>Bob Martin Mixed Editor >>Toni Aguiar Sports Editor >>Sam Logan

March 29, 2010 issue 13, vol. 51

Sports Page Editors >>Corbin Barnds >>Christa McKittrick >>Evan Nichols Photo Editor >>Mackenzie Wylie Assistant Photo Editor >>Dan Stewart >>Grant Heinlein Freelance Page Editors >>Kathleen Ireland >>Collen Ireland >>Lilly Myers Copy Editors >>Andrew Goble >>Logan Heley >>Jack Howland >>Sam Kovzan >>Annie Sgroi >>Tim Shedor >>Kevin Simpson >>Michael Stolle >>Phoebe Unterman

Though it is assumed by associate principal Heather Royce that the graffiti is largely based off inside jokes, destruction of school property is far from a joke because it takes time and money away from cleaning projects that would help better the school.

According to Royce and School Resource Officer Brady Sullivan, though the legal consequences of these petty acts of vandalism are not great, the students are at risk for school punishments of varying severity. Depending on the frequency, permanence, and level of obscenity, the students could face anywhere from an in-school suspension to expulsion as a result of their acts.

Royce said that no students have been punished this year largely because of the difficulty in any attempt to supervise the bathrooms because of privacy issues. However, the responsibility should reside with students to come forward with names of the vandals, because ultimately it is the students who lose with the time and money spent covering up the graffiti.

>>Kat Buchanan >>Evan Nichols >>Duncan McHenry Staff Writers >>Griffin Bur >>Grant Kendall >>Alex Lamb >>Anne Willman >>Katy Westhoff >>Ian Wiseman >>Matt Gannon Contributor >>Kiki Sykes Editorial Board >>Griffin Bur >>Andrew Goble >>Logan Heley >>Sam Logan >>Jack Howland >>Annie Sgroi >>Tim Shedor >>KevinSimpson >>Michael Stolle

photo illustration by Nathan Simpson

fiti in bat

the

VOTE

The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board

>>Mac Tamblyn >>Phoebe Unterman >>Corbin Barnds Photographers >>Eden Schoofs >>Lindsey Hartnett >>Nathan Simpson >>Samantha Bartow >>Anna Marken >>Katie East >>Grant Kendall >>Claire Wahrer >>Michael Stolle >>Sammi Kelly Staff Artists >>Kennedy Burgess >>Morgan Christian Circulation Manager >>Jeff Cole Ads Manager >>Anne Willman Online Editors >>Michael Stolle

for

against absent

11 1 0 Assistant Online Editors >>Logan Heley >>Pat McGannon PR Representative >>Jeff Cole Online Staff Writers >>Christopher Heady >>Elizabeth Mcgranahan Online Copy Editor >>Bob Martin Online Photographer >>Mackenzie Wylie >>Nathan Simpson Anchor/Vlogger >>Andrew Goble >>Jeff Cole Videographer >>Alex Lamb Adviser >>Dow Tate

The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the Shawnee Mission School District, East faculty, or school administration.

page 8 opinion 03.29.10

D plomatic discoveries Sophomore discusses life lessons learned from taking part in East student government

>> TomLynch

Although I would agree that Student Council bears little resemblance to actual politics, it has still managed to teach me some valuable life lessons. Even if those life lessons haven’t prepared me for a life in the

White House.

This year I ran for Junior Class President, and was subsequently defeated. But because of that loss, I have learned and grown much more as a person than both of my previous campaigns combined. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a blessing in disguise. But it certainly wasn’t all bad.

The months leading up to this year’s campaign were filled with unbridled anticipation. You see, last year I had wanted to run for something other than treasurer. I was bored with my current position and thought that it was time for me to move up in the ranks of positions that differ in nothing but title. But when I checked the slate, the only position that didn’t have a candidate signed up was treasurer.

I faced the ever hard decision between what I wanted to do, what would make me happy, and the prospect of compromising someone else’s hopes. Their hopes of running unopposed, and without the fear that their desire of holding an exceptionally coveted position on East’s Student Council might end in disappointment.

Originally I chose selfishness. I decided I would run for Vice President. If it was a title that I was after, then Vice President seemed like a reasonable step up from Treasurer, and therefore suited me well. Soon after signing up, I made my way down to the library where I eagerly wrote a humorous speech comparing myself then Vice President, Dick Cheney. As I printed off the speech and was making my way to room 307 to submit it to Ms. Fishman, I ran into a friend and fellow StuCo member who was also running for an officer position. I told her where I was on my way to.

“You’re running for treasurer, right?”

“No, actually I’m running for Vice!”

“No don’t do that, if you run for treasurer, then all of us can be officers... O. K.?”

“Alright.”

That’s all it took for me to change my mind, and to convince myself of my what at the time seemed like selfish mo-

tives. I empathized with the person running for Vice President, and decided to run for Treasurer, for the second time.

Then at the speeches, where I gave what was just as humorous of a speech making jokes about money as was the one I wrote with jokes about having almost shooting someone in the leg with a rifle at camp, I heard the candidate for President saying something along the lines of “Wow, I don’t think my speech was very good. If someone were running against me I probably would have lost.”

I desperately wanted to travel back in time. I should have run for president. Even if I had lost, at least I wouldn’t have these feeling of regret having not run for what I had wanted in the first place. Throughout this past year I looked forward to the Junior Class Elections, where I would run for what I had really wanted. To the time when I could forget about last year. During the campaign I was able to do that, but more importantly, this experience taught me a lesson.

It taught me to not settle for something if I know in the end I’m going to regret it.

It might not be very accurate to call my campaign a campaign. There wasn’t much campaigning done. There never has been. I’ve never hung a poster or given out candy. I’ve always relied on my speeches.

I can still remember freshman year, when I had to write my very first election speech. I had never written a speech before in my life. The only time I had said anything into a microphone in front of my peers was in my sixth grade spelling bee.

I had no idea how to do it. So I did what I always do when I have no idea what to do: I turned to Yahoo! Answers. I searched “Student Council Speech,” I found a question that mirrored my own dilemma. I scrolled down to the “Best Answer,” and followed the steps.

“Introduce yourself.”

“Hi, I’m Tom Lynch...”

“Tell them the position you are running for.” “... and I’m running for Freshman Class Treasurer.”

In journalism, the lead is usually the hardest part, so it isn’t surprising that a start was all I needed. After that I talked about my qualifications including “loving to count money” and “being able to use a calculator.” Finally, I followed the poster’s last bit of advice, and concluded by reminding the stu-

dents who I was.

“So, remember to vote for Tom Lynch for Treasurer!”

I had written my first speech. And after I gave it, my opponent in the Freshman election told me she would’ve voted for me if she had been in the audience. Plenty of people told me that I had the best speech. Freshman year they told me. Sophomore year they told me. And this year, I had teachers that I had never even seen before telling me how much they had enjoyed my speech.

So, based on the response I always got from my speech, I decided to put all my chips on red, so to speak. I decided that my speech would be enough, and that there was no need for posters or candy, despite the urging of a friend, who happened to hold the position I wasn’t doing a very good job of campaigning for.

Then I lost. So not only has Student Council taught me how to give a speech, but it has also taught me not to rely on a single thing in order to achieve something. For example, when I apply for college, I shouldn’t rely on either a good GPA, test scores, or my essays alone to get me in, but make sure that they are all good in case one isn’t “good enough.”

So yes, in the end I lost the election for Junior Class President. But, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I’ve learned a lot from the experience of having run alone. Every year my speeches get a little bit better. My body shakes a little bit less when I stand in front of my class. And, I get a little bit more self confidence after all is done. Even when I lose.

>>Nathan Simpson

an opinion of

issue 13 opinion page 9

A friendship not forgotten Senior reflects on the death of former classmate and longtime friend Bryan Barrow an opinion of

It’s easier to understand death when it doesn’t come as a surprise. My grandpa turned 90 last week and I can say with little sadness that his life is coming to an end. He’s >>DuncanMcHenry confined to the steel bars of his walker with its set of decaying tennis balls on the bottom, and the plastic seat of his wheelchair. To him, it must sometimes feel like those bars are a prison. A prison of old age. For him, leaving that behind will be a relief and a new adventure. But when death comes unexpectedly in a crushing, jarring crash of steel and metal, it’s impossible to understand.

***

It’s 7 a.m. on the day that I have to take the SAT. I turn the music on in my silver Volvo 240 and head towards Rockhurst High School. The song is “Charlie” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Once inside, the test goes pretty much as planned: four-and-a-half hours filled with bubbling and erasing. A few kids break out the string cheese and Nutri Grain bars as brain food during the intermissions. I just sip the metallic water from the drinking fountain and try not to stare at the hands of the clock.

“I have to get out of here,” I think to myself. I glance up across the room lit by cheap fluorescent lights, the walls the color of sour milk. Ten minutes to go and my head is an aching jumble of useless rewording, reasoning and reading. The midpoint formula and the volume of a cube jumble together with passages about everything from nature to an explanation of earthquakes.

After slopping down a halfhearted essay on Machiavellian ethics, I stuff my two dulled Ticonderoga pencils in my jean pocket and walk out into the hall. I’m planning on a nice, relaxing day of TV, a chicken Chipotle burrito with everything but beans and maybe a party that night. Then I hear the words that make that impossible.

“Duncan, do you know anything about Bryan?” A girl from my school asks with a concerned look on her face.

“No, what happened? Is he in trouble?” I say, thinking that Bryan probably got busted at a party, or maybe broke an ankle while heelflipping a ten stair on his skateboard.

“I got a text from Erika,” she says, “saying ‘my friend Bryan is in the hospital in a coma. Pray for him’.”

I can’t manage any words. My thoughts skitter away in 1,000 different directions. Bryan in a coma? Did he fall while skating? Was he in a car with a drunk driver? I call my friend and Bryan’s best friend Adam as soon as I leave the building. He answers with a distant hello, like I’m talking to him through an intercom and he’s miles underground.

“Adam, did something happen to Bryan?” I ask. “What’s going on?”

There’s a pause and Adam’s voice quivers. “Let me call you back.”

***

I feel dazed as I climb into my boxy Volvo again. I back out in the midst of a couple hundred exhausted and relieved teenagers and my phone dings. It’s a text message from Adam. I stop abruptly in the middle of the parking lot, blocking the traffic. The words appear on my phone screen and drown out the car horns.

-Bryan is gone. He hit a tree last night.

I had just shown my mom a video of him skating with his new team the night before. He had that nollie heelflip on lock. He used to joke about being sponsored by a skate shop, only to tell me later that he was just messing with me.

Bryan Barrow was a member of the East soccer team for three years.

SME Hauberk His junior year he was on the junior varsity squad.

>>

But I knew that he wanted it to be true, and that he was good enough for it to happen someday. He had just gotten sponsored by Studio Skate Supply two weeks ago. How could he be gone right after that?

Not Bryan, the guy who always greeted me with a cheerful yell of my name from Spanish class, “Domingoooo!” then cocked his arm back past his head for our middle school handshake. Not Bryan, the one who knew I liked a girl at a party in seventh grade and dared her to kiss me because I was too nervous to make a move. Not Bryan, my friend who stayed up late and watched “Saw” with me, then kept me up until four in the morning asking, “Could that ever actually happen?”

Over and over again.

***

I eat a chicken sandwich and waffle fries at Chic-filA with my friend Jordan and his dad after the SAT. Why doesn’t anything feel different? If Bryan were really gone, people wouldn’t be laughing and buying chocolate shakes.

There’s no way I’d be having a mechanized conversation about college applications over lunch. Then the words light up on my phone screen and drown everything out again.

-We’re all meeting at Ellie’s. Come if you can.

I stop by my house to change. I tell my mom about the SAT, then about Bryan and I drop down into the black leather chair in our living room. She starts sobbing immediately and asks if I’m sure, not believing that it’s true. I wonder what’s wrong with me. My stomach and legs feel empty and thin, but I can’t cry. I drive to Ellie’s alone with no music playing.

When I get there, Ellie greets me with a feeble smile and a hug. I can tell she’s been crying by the red veins and puffy spots around her eyes. We climb the white carpeted stairs and I see a group of over 20 kids sitting, crying and hugging. I sit down on top of a wooden desk by a computer where an image of Ellie grabbing Bryan’s chin and smiling is already the screensaver. I try to let out the sadness but I can’t. I’m afraid that it doesn’t seem like I care. That I’m not as sad as everyone else. Then Ellie tells the story, her voice laden with rattling deep breaths as she struggles to remain composed.

“Bryan was going too fast down Ward Parkway,” she says. “He took his eyes off the road and hit a tree, and then his car swung into another tree. They think he was brain dead instantly.”

People all around break into gasping sobs. I see the twin football players Kris and Kevin Hertel bawling into their royal blue KU basketball T-shirts. I’ve never seen them cry, and the tears begin sliding down my face. Why did it have to be Bryan? His potential seemed limitless, he could have ridden that piece of plywood on aluminum and urethane until he was famous. People in the skateboard community were calling him “the next big thing out of KC.” And he had just gotten sponsored two weeks before.

Then the stories start.

“Remember when Bryan dressed up as Elvis for Halloween?”

“Or the time we played hot tub Olympics and filmed it?

Bryan almost broke his leg jumping into that hot tub.”

“What about the time we played hide and seek and Bryan stayed hidden for so long that he crapped his pants?”

Through the tears and sadness everyone starts laughing. We start talking about a foundation to help kids get sponsored for skateboarding who really want and deserve it. We start planning a candle light vigil.

I look around the room and realize that the people here aren’t just from our grade, and most of them rarely see each other outside of school. There’s a senior with a stubbly black beard, a striped shirt filled with holes and a beanie next to the two twin football players. A preppy guy in a lime green Polo shirt is hugging Bryan’s best friend Adam, the blues guitar player. I realize that’s the kind of kid Bryan was. Kind to everyone and always confident in himself. Fitting in everywhere.

As we all get up to leave after close to four hours of remembering, I give Adam a hug too. I tell him that I love him and we all walk back down the white-carpeted stairs.

I get back into my car and the tears start flowing again. I’m glad that I can let it out, even though it’s still impossible to understand why Bryan had to leave us at age 17, and my grandpa remains confined to his wheelchair. I turn my car on and head towards home, this time with the music playing. The song is “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley. It reminds me of Bryan.

Free

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Contact your Counselor

by Friday, April 2nd Brought to you by the SME Class of 1972

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issue 13 photo essay page 11

philharmonic melodies the collage concert on March 10 featured the full orchestra

LEFT: Junior Tyler Cecil plays his flute during the concert with the rest of the band.

KatieEast

>>

BELOW: Sophomore Jacob Yedo, junior Shayla Parcels and senior Austin Hunzeker play violins during the philharmonic set.

The orchestra played â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;El Toroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; composed by Don Brubaker.

KatieEast

>>

FAR ABOVE: The symphony strings play Brandenburg Concerto No. III, composed

by J.S. Bach. The symphony strings, along with the other orchestra groups, were conducted by orchestra teacher Jonathan Lane, who has been conducting in the Shawnee Mission School District for 24 years. AnnaPetrow

>>

ABOVE: Senior John Paul Rowe and junior Jonathan Dawson, members of symphony orchestra, played violins during the symphonic strings set.

KatieEast

>>

issue 13 health page 13

L A W E N RE

“The yoga that I do is informal, freestyle if you will. I’ve been to a couple of classes, but usually I disregard the poses they teach and stretch in whatever direction feels best. I do it to clear my mind and often as a kick-off point for meditation.” >>SENIOR MAX MCFARLAND

u Aim for a healthier yo s as the season blossom

MOVE

BODY

Madeline’s

CORE

“I try to work out three to four times a week to keep energized, alert and of course, in shape! I like to do the elliptical for about 10 minutes to warm up, then I go on to the machines, ab exercises and lunges. Also, stretching is important to me because I can definitely tell when I lose flexibility after going a while without stretching.” >>JUNIOR MADELINE GOSS

The “Russian Twist”

Exercises

QUENCH

RELIEVE

THIRST

“I’m not a huge fan of Smoothie King, so KC Juice is really the only other place I know to get a smoothie and it’s actually really good. It’s simple, all organic and has a great selection. My “must-have” ingredients would probably be strawberries, raspberries and bananas.” >>SENIOR ALYX DELGADO

When owner Nate Watermeier realized Kansas City was lacking a decent smoothie shop, he decided to create KC Juice, which offers a variety of custom smoothies and juices. This original juice bar opened in February of 2009 on Pennsylvania Avenue in Westport, across from Murray’s Ice Cream.

Watermeier was inspired to start his own business after working at Jamba Juice. During busy hours, Watermeier takes the extra smoothie from each blender and puts it in 16-ounce cups, creating smoothies with layers of different flavors. These unique, experimental drinks, nicknamed “Kamikazes” by Watermeier, cost $2.75 each. KC Juice uses all non-fat yogurts and relies on mostly local produce, depending on the season.

STRESS

Long-term stress not only exhausts you mentally, but it can harm your body by causing constant aching and faster aging. It is crucial for teenagers to find ways to cope with stress, and yoga does just that. Yoga derives its name from the word “yoke”—to bring together— harmonizes the body and mind. “The flexibility retained from yoga helps for all kinds of sports,” said Noah Morford, an exercise specialist at Carriage Club Fitness Center. “It makes you stronger, leaner, and helps prevent injury.” The elaborate balance and breathing exercises are proven to reduce muscle tension, blood pressure, heart rate and speed of brainwave activity, factors all directly related to stress. Many yoga poses are designed to temporarily restrict blood flow to a certain area, then re-oxygenate when body relaxes, resulting in the freedom from the negative, circular thoughts which we are prone to.

“The Mixx is great because you can create your own meal. The menu has a ton to choose from. It takes me an extremely long time to decide what to order. I like to get the half sandwich combo with a mini salad. It was fun to choose my own salad toppings and watch them “Mixx” it in.” >> SENIOR SARAH SEDORCEK

Sarah’s meal features a Caesar salad and turkey on sourdough with Dijon mustard.

Spring is in the air! If you’re not playing a sport then there’s no better time to start a daily exercise schedule.

The hardest part of trying to get enough exercise is actually working up the motivation after a exhausting day at school. To combat this lack of motivation, try alternating exercises throughout the week--a jog with a friend one day and 30 minutes of weights the next. “It is important for young adults to learn proper habits of exercise to decrease risk factors like diabetes and obesity,” said Morford. A steady routine of cardio exercise and stretching goes a long way and is proven to promote better sleep habits and revive your mood.

The “Superman”

>>MaddyBailey

EAT

GREENS

Salad doesn’t have to be boring. The Mixx, a casual, organic bistro, allows its customers to be innovative with their meal and choose from six lettuces, six meats, and over 50 toppings. Much different from other casual-dining restaurants, The Mixx brings its wholesome creativity to two locations in Kansas City, Main Street by the Plaza and The Power and Light District. The menu isn’t just limited to salad--it has a wide variety of sandwiches, wraps and a daily soup. The environment is just as organic and delightful as the food, with olive green walls and large, open windows. The restaurant minimizes its carbon footprint, by eliminating the use of paper and plastic. This unique cuisine uses the art of nature to give customers the satisfaction of a fresh, flavorful meal.

Alyx’s smoothie is called “Meteor” which contains raspberries, bananas, strawberries and lime sherbet.

“I started studying to classical music about three years ago. It makes me feel calmer, productive, and ambitious. It fills my mind so that I am focused on retaining information and not something to distract myself. I don’t really believe the whole ‘Baby Einstein’ idea about classical music making babies smarter. It’s more just a distraction-blocker. I bet other types of low-key music work just as well.” >> JUNIOR SEAN BAILEY

Suppose that certain song starts playing and a distinct memory comes rushing back to you. The same concept can work when studying for a test.

Research shows that listening to the same music on repeat while studying a certain subject helps you retain memory of a specific event or information. Music is proven to trigger an alpha brain wave state – a perfect learning state for taking in information through auditory channels. While music evokes learning by ear, it can also through emotions and visual images. The more senses involved in learning, the more memorable the material becomes.

TUNE UP

STUDIES >>all photos by Dan Stewart

issue 13 features page 14

>>MacTamblyn

the

STONE-AGE EXPERIMENT English teacher experiments going through life without television >>Grant Kendall

>>MacTamblyn

English teacher Elaine Kramer has never owned a cell erson and Henry David Thoreau. These men believed in livphone. She is still learning how to create files and folders on ing simple lives, making their homes in nature without techa computer. She opens her garage door using the manual nology altogether. If Emerson and Thoreau could survive pulley system and occasionally writes assignments on a alone in the New England woods in a self-built wood shelter, typewriter. To her, it’s more normal than not. then she could push herself to live without television.

Since August, Kramer has been living without a working “[Emerson and Thoreau] always seemed to be idealistic, television in her house. Unlike her established technologiup in the clouds,” Kramer said. “I just couldn’t be that way. cal eccentricities, TV-less life is an experiment that is enThen I thought, ‘Maybe I could be that way. I ought to try it.’ tirely new.

I admire what they say, but can I do what they say?”

“It’s really hard to do,” Kramer said. “It’s like being torn Thus far, the self-administered test has challenged longaway from your birth mother.” standing habits.

Kramer grew up a member of the first true “TV gen“What are my boundaries?” Kramer said. “Can I tolerate eration,” watching events like the John F. Kennedy and this? Maybe it will make me into a better person.”

Martin Luther King assassinations, the 1969 Moon LandHer old routine included coming home after a long day of ing, America’s exit from Vietnam and the fall of the Berlin teaching and plopping down on the couch to eat dinner. She Wall on television. She grew up an only child of the North would channel surf until she ran across “CSI,” “Masterpiece Leawood area, her neighborhood consisting mostly of boys.

Theater” or “The Big Bang Theory.”

They played capture the flag, hide and seek and built forts.

Now, when she gets home and sits down at the dinner When she was worn out, she would go table to read “The Wall Street Journal” indoors and enjoy “Uncle Ed’s Story and eat dinner, her five-year-old GerHour,” “Hopalong Cassidy” or “Kukla, Shepherd named Hasso confused“It’s really hard to do. man Fran and Ollie” on a small black and ly looks at her. Before Kramer’s experiIt’s like being torn away ment began, Hasso would sit at the foot white screen with adults who were unfamiliar to this new form of entertainfrom your birth mother.” of the couch to beg for food. Hasso now ment. sits under the table, a more difficult >>English Teacher Elaine Kramer Kramer has no working television place to beg and get Kramer’s attention. because last August her power surged, Sometimes she left the television on frying it. She couldn’t locate her govto have another voice in the house, since ernment coupon for a surge protector, and Sears no longer she lives alone. These days she talks to Hasso, which is a carried the protector. “one way conversation.” None of this is easy, and Kramer After a few days without a television, an idea dawned on cannot stress that enough. her. Kramer teaches junior English, which contains a unit “I was displaced,” Kramer said. “My universe was on the Transcendentalist philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emchanged.”

“

”

Junior Marissa Horwitz, who is in Kramer’s first hour English class, said that as a result of Kramer’s new lifestyle, she occasionally shows outdated news clips in class and is not caught up in student gossip surrounding shows such as MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” Based on Kramer’s zany personality, Horwitz understands how the radical experiment developed.

“She doesn’t judge anything until she tries it,” Horwitz said. “I can totally see her trying out different kinds of Thoreau-esque styles.”

An upside to her current TV-less life is that she has been more productive. She walks Hasso twice per day, at 5 a.m. and after school, gets more papers graded at home and reads more. She also anticipates having more time for yard work once the weather turns warmer.

Despite the adjustment to living outside established habits, Kramer feels like she has gained more than she has lost from the experiment. Originally, she thought she would learn something, but she did not know what.

“I’ve learned that I was passive a lot of the time when I should have been active,” Kramer said. “I enjoyed vegging in front of the TV and not doing anything. I misinterpreted that as being restful, but it’s really just being lazy.”

As far as an end to the experiment goes, Kramer has no time frame for how long it may last. However, Horwitz thinks Kramer will not continue much longer.

“Once she experiences it for a while, she’ll say ‘Okay, got that down. Let’s move on to something else.’”

But right now Kramer is enjoying the challenge, so there is no end in sight.

“I’m willing to do this,” Kramer said. “I’m wanting to do this to see what happens.”

Quit it Yourself Use these tips to help quit your 21 century addiction st

1

Start Small

Keep a Diary

Compare Times

Don’t drop it all at once. Try limiting yourself to 30 minutes a day online or going TV-less one day a week; a cold-turkey attempt will end up with you coming back desiring it even more.

Writing down usage will make you realize how much time you waste with your addiction. Writing down “Sex in the City re-runs -- 3 a.m.,” is going to be encouragement in the future.

Time can slip away on Facebook or on TV or while you’re texting, and it can be revealing to realize your texting-to-homework ratio isn’t so hot.

2

3

I

>>KennedyBurgess

Pacheco recalls one of their most popular songs being about a gangster trying to make it on the streets.

“We made these fictional characters based off of who and what we saw on the news,” Pacheco said. “We saw these things going on in the streets around us as well.”

The gangster Pacheco and J.J. created sold drugs, made money on the streets and was everything the brothers stayed away from. However, they wanted to show the audience that carrying a gun wasn’t the answer to all problems.

“It was a story of this young gangster that we portrayed on stage,” Pacheco said. “Then at the end we’d rap that this wasn’t the right way.”

The messages Pacheco and his older brother rapped about are the same messages he tries to send to adolescents as a policeman.

Pacheco saw family members working for law enforcement from the time he learned how to walk.

“My uncles and cousins were cops as soon as they graduated college,” Pacheco said. “I followed in their footsteps because they taught me a lot about what goes on in a career like that.”

Growing up though, Pacheco didn’t know if he wanted to be a policeman or even a rapper. He always saw law enforcement as a possible career, but he saw other careers as possibilities as well, rapping being one of them.

As the brothers grew older, their careers separated them from rap. With Pacheco at Police Academy and J.J. studying at college, there wasn’t much time left for them to collaborate anymore. Still, rap never completely disappeared from their lives.

“We still talk about laying down new tracks,” J.J. said. “It’s always on our minds, lately especially.”

Pacheco isn’t hesitant at all about going back to rap.

When he walks the halls during lunch hour, he’s constantly reminded of it, hearing groups of students talking about the latest rap artist. It makes him feel connected to the students on a certain level knowing they have a common love for hip hop.

“My 10 and 11-year-old daughters joke about performing again a lot,” Pacheco said. “They’ll say ‘Dad, we can be the backup dancers!’”

Besides his wife and three daughters, Pacheco has talked to world geography teacher David Muhammad about performing his rap for a staff talent show in the future.

“He really would like students to see

issue 13 features page 15 what he can do,” Muhammad said. “It would be even better if he went up and performed decked out in his police uniform.”

Muhammad is one of the only staff members who has heard Pacheco rap.

“I wasn’t expecting a cop to show hidden rap talent,” Muhammad said. “He has mad skills and the student body would go wild for it.”

Pacheco isn’t sure about wearing his full police uniform, but he’s willing to put himself and his music out there for the whole student body to hear.

“I think [students] would be completely shocked,” Pacheco said. “It’s not every day you see a cop that knows how to throw down rhymes.”

m4l lyrics “If you want to live a life as a criminal with luxury, A homie in jail on death row is what you’re gonna be, I gotta tell you this story it can happen to you, Porque en este mundo, you cannot be a fool.

Deja la pistola en paz, because it’s all about uniting, Otherwise the brothers and sisters will be dying.”

- Richard Pacheco

"put down the gun in peace"

t’s nearing the end of fifth hour and Student Resource Officer Richard Pacheco casually spins back and forth in his computer chair situated at the far end of his desk. A large, old school boom box takes up the other end, blasting 90s rap. Pacheco begins to nod his head slightly as he mouths some of the lyrics that spill from the giant speakers. The CD skips and the words become hard to translate.

“Man, this thing is so old,” Pacheco said. “Shows you how old our rap really is, too.”

The rap playing on the CD is 17-year-old Pacheco and his older brother J.J. Pacheco.

The KCMO reserve cop, now 36, has been rapping since before his voice started changing. His curiosity for the genre began when he first heard the song “Basketball” by Kurtis Blow.

“I liked it because I played basketball as a kid and I could relate to that,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco would listen to the song on repeat everyday when he was seven-years-old. He liked the way the words were magnetic to the beats. The laid back sound made Pacheco think about writing his own rap songs.

He didn’t know how to write rap songs, but he taught himself by listening to other rap artists like 2-pac and Ice Cube. He gradually became more familiar with the styles of these artists and mimicked them until he could create his own style.

One year later, eight-year-old Pacheco took out a piece of paper from the desk in his room, grabbed a pen, and wrote every thought that came to his head until the words turned into poetry - a rap.

It took the whole day and it was choppy, but it was well developed for Pacheco’s first set of rhymes.

After hearing his brother’s first rap, J.J. decided he would listen to some of the artists Pacheco was listening to.

“I was always more into rock, never hip hop,” J.J. said.

“It’s weird my younger brother’s taste in music influenced me rather than the other way around.”

J.J. picked through all of Pacheco’s rap albums until he landed his hands on Run DMC. “That’s when I knew I loved hip hop too,” J.J. said.

J.J. liked the way Run DMC used rock music in some of their songs. His favorite rock/rap collaboration to this day is “Walk this Way” by Run DMC and Aerosmith.

Pacheco and J.J.’s parents both supported their interest in rap by helping them buy home mixing and recording equipment.

“Our family has always been involved in music,” Pacheco said. “We have uncles who play guitar, cousins who play piano. It’s just in our blood.”

Soon after they put the new equipment in their room, Pacheco and J.J. felt it was only appropriate that they give themselves a true rap title.

They decided on “Mexicans4Lif.” Pacheco and his brother thought it was important to show where they came from in their rap, and they both agreed “Mexicans4Lif ” was a perfect representation of who they were.

Growing up in Wyandotte County, the ideas that fueled their music came through observations of controversial problems going on at the time.

“We went to a private Catholic school as kids so gangs weren’t a threat to us,” Pacheco said. “Gangs were still visible on the news though. In the 90s, that’s what city kids dealt with.”

The problems were never personally about the Pacheco brothers, but about what they saw going on around them. School, gangs, violence, politics, racism: they were all elements of the message they wanted to get across to listeners.

Pacheco was the master behind the lyrics and his brother would add his ideas to whatever lyrics Pacheco created. J.J. would then do his job with the backup beats on their home mix equipment. Together, they would come up with a track that displayed both their contrasting rap styles. J.J. had the deeper, slower rap style while Pacheco rapped with a quicker pace. They made sure they threw in hispanic lyrics that mixed in with the English ones to personalize their rap.

Lyricist

4Life

SRO rapped in the group “Mexicans4Lif” with his brother

>>

>>Mackenzie Wylie

To see videos of Officer Pacheco and his brother rapping visit the video page on smeharbinger.net

page 16 spread 03.29.10

g okin m s akes e state. m s a ans ces in th K n i la n g ba public p n i k smo oor New in all ind l illega

didn’t have to exempt th wish we didn’t have to e of hotel rooms… but po saving Kansas taxpayers millions of dollars. and I would not have be According to the Kansas Health Policy Authorthrough the Senate if I t ity, $927 million is spent each year in Kansas empt the casinos becau on smoking-attributable medical expenses, of gotten the vote.” which $196 million comes from the state’s MedPat Roberts, a partial icaid program, a program that gives medical area Johnny’s Taverns, services to people with low incomes. The KHPA in Corinth Square, feel estimates that the statewide smoking ban could towards the state’s inte result in 2,160 fewer heart attacks and a $21 mila statewide ban was th lion decrease in associated hospital charges for The Johnny’s partners heart attacks. free location near 135th Second-hand smoke has been designated as 2001, what they believe a known human carcinogen, or cancer-causing smoking sports bar in agent, by the Environmental Protection Agency. says he and the othe According to the National Toxicology Program, have been lobbying for at least 250 chemicals in second-hand smoke are ing ban since the debat known to be toxic or carcinogenic, cancer caus“We were always aga ing. cause it created an un Senior Sarah Are hopes the statewide ban One city could have it will help discourage people from picking up the right next to it couldn’t,” smoking habit and encourage current smokers Country clubs in th to lose it. The Kansas Department of Health and exempt Environment being ban lieves that will be the clubs, bu case, predicting that We were always against losion Hills the ban could cause cal bans because it created Homeste up to 18,500 Kansas Clubs, al an uneven playing field.

One smokers to quit. ing insid city could have it and the As Wysong lobbied Andre for the ban in the Senother city right next to it the Libe ate, he found some of couldn’t. believes his colleagues were >>Pat Roberts “microm “obstinate and didn’t infringing upon the pr believe in the scientific facts.” Wysong faced an owners.

Thomas Lamb uphill battle in the Legislature largely because sor of Law at the Unive leadership in both the House and the Senate were bia and the author of T against the bill. In state politics, Wysong said, if Bans, believes that smo the leadership is against something it usually property rights than cig doesn’t happen.

“We’re not talking h Wysong said the chairwoman of the House ing, we’re talking abou Health and Human Services Committee, Rep. erty use,” Lambert said Brenda Landwehr, opposed his bill and wrote of private properties… her own version with an R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to permit their patrons Company lobbyist earlier this legislative session property.” that was similar to the ban in Wyandotte County, Deb Settle, President which exempts businesses from the ban if they Johnson County Cham pay a fine. feel like the statewide “They were trying to make a bill that they knew nesses. Instead, she sa would never pass, that would get vetoed by the provide a level playing Governor, that if it came back to the Senate would ies that are currently sm never pass, but they were just trying to stall it and cities in the NJCCC alre stall it and stall it and let it try to go away,” Wysong

“

said.

Opponents of the bill, such as state Sen. Karin Brownlee of Olathe, also cite the casino exemption as one of the legislation’s flaws. They feel the Legislature was playing favorites by exempting state-run casinos, but restricting private business owners.

Wysong tried several times to pass a “clean” bill, but Senators who tacked on amendments and exemptions thwarted his initial efforts.

Having exemptions in the bill was never a part of Wysong’s original plan, but he felt it was the only way he could get the bill passed.

“I wish it was a totally clean bill,” Wysong said. “I wish we

>>Grant Heinlein

“

e k o m S f o l l a W

continued from page one >>Wysong said the bill will save lives along with

From the wor

The top and b of youth cigar

7.9% Utah

>>Center for Disease Co

issue 13 spread page 17

he casino floors. I exempt 20 percent olitics is politics, een able to get it tried to [not] exuse I wouldn’t have

state. She believes the jury is still out on whether second-hand smoke is really a Kansas vs. Missouri killer.

Youth cigarette use from 2007 “My belief is that I have never had anyone show me a death certificate Kansas Missouri that shows that second-hand smoke killed someone,” Trembley said.

20.6% 23.8% l owner of the eight Dan Conyers, the Head of Respiratory , including the one Therapy at the Kansas University Medils the ban is biased cal Center, doesn’t think Trembley is corerests, but believes rect. He believes there’s more than enough he right thing to do. evidence to prove second-hand smoke is a s opened a smokekiller, including a 2006 report by the last h St. and Nieman in Surgeon General. e was the first non“I’ve never heard of anyone that’s said n Kansas. Roberts that,” Conyers said. “I’m just really surer Johnny’s owners prised because there’s all kinds of scientific r a statewide smokevidence out there… You’d almost have to te began. not believe in science… Even the tobacco ainst local bans becompanies agree that [second-hand smok>>Center for Disease Control neven playing field. ing] causes side effects.” t and the other city Conyers sees cigarette smoking becoming bans and, according to Settle, businesses in those ,” Roberts said. as uncommon as heroin in the future and believes smoke-free cities haven’t been negatively affecthe East area would also be smoking bans will become more prevalent in the ed. from the statewide smokU.S. “simply because people don’t want to have to “In talking with our local businesses, the majorbecause they are private put up with it.” Wysong agrees, noting that North ity of them have not really seen any changes for ut many, including the MisCarolina, one of the largest tobacco producing arthe detriment of their business,” Settle said. “As s, Indian Hills, Kansas City, eas in the world, has a statewide smoking ban. the President of the Chamber, I have not had anyead and Milburn Country “It’s going to happen,” Wysong said. “It’s going one call to tell me that their business has flunked lready do not permit smokto happen in every state in the country.” because of the ban.” de their facilities.

Are hopes that students at East will learn someThe Johnny’s Tavern in Prairie Village did feel rew Gray, the Chairman of thing from the smoking ban, something that she some backlash initially after the city passed a ertarian Party of Kansas, believes could have an effect on the generations public smoking ban in the summer of 2008, but the bill allows the state to to come.

Roberts says it’s “business as usual now.” Since manage” businesses, thus “When our government takes action to discourthe city ban, Roberts has found the working enroperty rights of business age bad habits like smoking, it helps younger vironment at Johnny’s to be more enjoyable and bert, the Associate Profesgenerations witness that it really is a problem said he doesn’t leave work smelling like smoke ersity of Missouri—Columand it’s something that we should be concerned anymore. Roberts compares the public smoking The Case Against Smoking about,” Are said. “And, hopefully, that’ll help East bans to the ban on smoking while onboard an oking bans are more about students realize that they want to grow up in placairplane, which became effective in 2000 within garette use. es with clean air and it’ll keep them from wanting the U.S. here about banning smokto pick up the habit of smoking.”

“The next generation growing up will think that ut really regulating propit was just ridiculous that people ever smoked in d. “We’re telling the owners bars and restaurants,” Roberts said. that they are not allowed Lambert and Gray both feel that the free s to do something on their market would eventually take care of the public smoking issue, if it were allowed to do so. If t and CEO of the Northeast the free market is allowed to work, Lambert bember of Commerce, doesn’t lieves that establishments will decide individuban will hurt local busially to cater to either smokers or non-smokers ays a statewide ban would and that an “optimal” number of each kind will Formaldehyde g field for businesses in citexist in the future. used to preserve moke-free. Nine out of ten “What the government is doing is really forccorpses, carbon eady have public smoking ing a one-size-fits-all solution on everybody,” monoxide, arsenic Lambert said. “I don’t like smoking… but I re- often used in rat ally don’t feel like I’m in a position to force my poisons, ammonia preferences on someone else.” rst to the best - chemical in toilet Organizations such as Concerns of Topeka bottom states cleanser Residents have been opposing local smokrette use ing bans like the one in Topeka and are now s.com kingstep moving in opposition to the statewide ban. >>stopsmo Gail Trembley, leader of CTR, believes public 27.6% smoking bans shouldn’t be for the government to decide.

West Virginia “Anytime [the government is] going to interfere with the livelihood of businesses or of people’s choices in life of what they want to do, I don’t feel the government should be the ones just deciding what the law should be,” Trembley said. “It should be held up for a public vote.” ontrol Trembley said that a statewide smoking ban will not cause Kansas to become a healthier

s t e c h a t F ust

J

de

Insi s ’ t a h W

When does the ban come into action?

July 1, 2010

Where will smoking be ban?

Indoor smoking will be banned in all public places, such as bars, restaurants and workplaces, throughout Kansas except for casinos, 20 percent of hotel rooms, tobacco stores and private clubs.

Who will the ban affect?

All smokers in the state of Kansas.

What states have this ban already?

Thirty-two states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, have comprehensive public smoking bans. Missouri does not, but the city of Kansas City, MO does.

How will this ban affect East’s students?

Bars and restaurants will be smoke-free indoors as well as all workplaces within the state.

How much money is spent on smoke related illnesses? $927 million is spent each year in Kansas on smoking-attributable medical expenses

How many people are expected to quit smoking?

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment predict that up to 18,500 Kansas smokers to quit.

page 18 features 03.29.10

perservering to

publish

Senior tries to break into the writing indunstry by creating his own short stories and novels

>>AnnaBernard

It’s the week before Valentine’s Day and the restaurant is crowded. While senior Nathan Goldman waits with his girlfriend to be seated, they start up a conversation with a six-year-old boy.

“Sometime, I should take you in our car. And I should take you to my school. And we should find my room. And I can show you where we keep the stuff. That we color ourselves with. When we paint,” he says suddenly.

Something goes off in Goldman’s brain. What this boy said—it’s sincere, it’s convoluted, it’s completely trusting.

He instinctively reaches for his notebook, the one filled with snippets from conversations and notable observations. It’s not there.

Goldman looks around the restaurant waiting area. He grabs a near-by piece of paper and jots down what the sixyear-old had said, verbatim.

He looks down at the scrap of paper that just saved him.

It’s a contact card so the restaurant can send e-mails about its latest specials. He’ll file it later that night, but this card will be of more use to him than a 2-for-1 deal. It could be used for a story.

“Pretty much anything anyone says,” Goldman said. “If not directly used in a story, can have something to do with getting an idea for one.” *** “Watching the birth of new muscle is like watching the growth of a vine in fast motion. It blooms from the seed and wraps, wraps about the bone, forms a coiled spiral.” –Muscle, short story by Goldman Observing, recording, thinking—Goldman constantly searches for elements he can use in his writing. Whether he’s actively writing or just taking a walk to solidify his ideas, writing is always on his mind. Even amidst failure and rejection, he is wholly committed to his passion. Goldman has written three novels and is currently writing a fourth.

During November of his freshman, sophomore, and junior years, Goldman participated in National Novel Writing Month. This competition challenges writers to complete a “Catcher in the Rye” length narrative during the allotted time. 50,000 words over the course of 30 days. That’s 12,500 words a week. 1,666 words a day.

If you finish on time, you win. In the 2008 competition, that honor went to 17 percent of participants.

In eighth grade, Goldman attempted to write a novel on his own. He got through 60 pages of single-space, point 12 Times New Roman before abandoning it. Goldman was determined to win the competition, steadily writing each day.

“I’m going to do this,” he told himself. “I’m going to do this.”

When he finished by the deadline, he titled his first novel “Reaper.” The rest of his portfolio is filled with short stories and “short-shorts,” a story under 500 words. Goldman is quick to push away the misnomer that a short story is a quick read—in fact, short stories can be up to 40 pages. He even wrote a Frequent Friday for his friend senior Kaevan Tavakolinia called “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” based

on the album by Neutral Milk Hotel with the same name.

He chose eight of his best pieces and compiled them into a “Senior General Writing Portfolio” that he later submitted to the Scholastic Writing Awards.

“My purpose in writing is simply to use words to illuminate truth,” he wrote at the beginning of his Statement of Purpose, outlining how he came to write each piece. He hoped to change his readers with his writing.

The national competition judges the portfolios of creativity, technique, and originality.

Goldman’s won the “Silver Key Award,” equitable to second place, at the Missouri regional Nathan Simpson >> awards. Though he won’t go onto the national competition, it is always gratifying when Goldman receives recognition from an outside source.

“Someone had to read your work and score it high enough,” Goldman said. “In a field that is very much known for not giving acknowledgement except from the people close to you.”

In spite of these honors, he gets back a lot of stock rejection letters from the publications where he submitted a piece. A three by two slip of paper, saying “Thank you for submitting, but it doesn’t fit our magazine.” He’s not too offended by its generic nature; he knows that it would take exorbitant amounts of money to hire enough people to write personal letters to all people who submit stories. He’s just disappointed. He still tries though, sending in as much as he can, to as many publications as he can.

“You’re probably going to get a hundred rejections before you get an acceptance,” Goldman said. “So you might as well fill up those rejections first.” *** “Damon was something intriguing, an onion with all its layers hidden by the skin. The detective in July longed to peel it back, peel them all back, examine the pulsing alien core within.” –Grief Counseling, short story by Goldman Goldman doesn’t remember when he started creating works of fiction. His parents tell him that when he first started to talk, he would get them or a babysitter to write down the stories he would dictate. Later, he would scribble illustrations to match the stories.

Sometimes he would play a game—“Action Stories,” he called it. Grabbing a handful of action figures, Goldman would direct a play with his parents, his sister, and whoever else he could find. Recreating his favorite movies, Goldman would have them act out scenes per his instruction. Sometimes “Aladdin” would have the traditional three wishes, Genie, and magic carpet, but it was always up for change. New characters and new plot twists could appear at any time.

When he was eight-years-old, Goldman began a series. The first story was twenty pages of computer paper stapled together with illustrations and one sentence per page. It chronicled the stories of Godzilla, Power Rangers, and Goosebumps through an angel in heaven. The climax?

Said angel getting hit with a nuclear missile. He didn’t really know what a nuclear missile was, but it sounded pretty awesome.

He really liked the “Animorphs” series by K.A. Applegate about kids who get the power from aliens to turn into animals. There were 52 books in the series, and Goldman read all of them.

Alien races, sci-fi sagas, fantasy epics—anything was up for a story. The real fun for the young Goldman was in creating these worlds, while the process of getting the words down on paper wasn’t as enjoyable. Afterwards, once he was finished with his initial writing, he liked reading them over, editing them, making them really good.

Then, in high school English, there came a love for books without dragons and aliens. “Catcher in the Rye,” “One Flew

Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “The Grapes of Wrath.” Everything from the themes to the descriptions inspired him to dig deeper into writing.

Now, as a senior, Goldman enjoys the writing process.

He usually handwrites his stories at first, then later types and finishes them on the computer. He doesn’t need to map out the entire plot before starting anymore. He dives right in, sees where it goes, and if something gets confusing, so be it. Working himself out of a hole is fun.

“I think that most of the stories I like best that I’ve written, I started without having any idea where they were going,” Goldman said.

After he finishes a story, he’ll hand it over to his girlfriend senior Charlie Kline even before he’s read it over himself. Kline has been reading and critiquing his work since the eighth grade. At first, she tried to “sandwich” her comments, making sure that before a bad one there was always a good one.

“I started thinking that was really stupid,” Kline said. “If I was thinking that ‘this whole paragraph sucked,’ why don’t I just ex it all out?”

Goldman appreciates both her positive comments and criticism. This is a quality he values in anyone who reads his work. Hearing “this is great!” is nice, but not exactly helpful.

“You’re free to disagree with your critic,” Goldman said.

Sitting down and reading his stories is one of Kline’s favorite things to do. She can spot the evolutions in Goldman’s writing in the five years she’s been editing his work, and she thinks he has really developed as an individual writer.

“At first you could tell what authors he’d been reading,” Kline said. “I could pick a paragraph and say ‘that totally sounds like Douglass Adams!’… Now, it’s like he’s found his own style.”

Last year, Goldman was accepted into the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio, a camp put on by the Iowa Writer’ Workshop, one of the most prestigious residency programs for the Master of Fine Arts. He worked in a class that was part literature seminar, part writing workshop. Students analyzed what makes up fiction, looking at characters, plot, point of view, and other plot devices.

Goldman often e-mails his stories to his teacher from the Studio, Marjorie Celona. She’ll send back her thoughts on the pieces, looking at what works and what doesn’t.

“Nathan’s stories are edgy, subversive, funny, and bold— he isn’t afraid to experiment or explore taboo subject matter—and yet he is just as capable of writing in a traditionalist vein,” Celona said. “[He has] a firm grasp of the craft of writing…but also a willingness and eagerness as a writer to stretch his boundaries, to try on new voices and new ideas, and ultimately find his own voice on the page.”

>>continued on page 20

Nathan’s Inspirations

a look at the works that inspired Goldman Goldman read this book in 4th grade.

He connected to the characters and the writing style because it wasn’t too descriptive for his reading level.

He read this book in eigth grade and it’s still one of his favorite books today.

This is the science fiction inspiration for his writing.

Even though he was reading the book for class, Goldman finished this book in just two days. JD Salingers is one of his favorite authors and provides him with much inspiration.

>>amazon.com

issue 13 features page 19

of an Junior expresses himself through various art mediums

>>KatBuchanan

From a young age, junior Keshav Ramaswami mimicked the artistic tendencies of his parents, both architects. His parents began noticing his talent around age four or five.

“There was always something a little more refined than other kids his age,” Keshav’s mother Beena Ramaswami said.

This basic knowledge of art drove him to create more serious pieces and, much more recently, to sell his own work.

Using inexpensive acrylic paints and canvases from an art supply store, Ramaswami found time this past summer and Winter Break to sit down at the easel and let the creativity flow.

While working in the unfinished section of his basement, he cranked out six series of contemporary art: pre-object, object, post-

object, pre-presence, presence and post-presence.

“It’s just a creative outlet, something I love to do,” Ramaswami said. “It’s what I feel.”

He refers to his pieces as “aconceptual;” they have no meaning and their interpretation is in the eyes of the beholder. This contemporary style incorporates abstract lines, geometric shapes, and contrasting colors.

Ramaswami set up his first exhibit on Feb. 12 with 27 paintings and 10 drawings were showcased on the walls of the Percolator art gallery in Lawrence. He sold seven paintings and five drawings, sending 10 percent of the profits from the show to relief in Haiti.

Ramaswami is currently selling his pieces for $50 each.

artist

>>all photos by Grant Heinlein After a tough day of grueling classes, IB drama and loads of english homework, Ramaswami wants nothing more than to rush down the stairs to his recording set-up, snag his favorite of his seven different guitars off the display wall, and be overcome by the polished curves of his Les Paul.

When he was five years old, Ramaswami found an escape from the pressures of school and “pretentious” modern day music in playing the guitar, and more recently, in playing his ’98 Gibson Les Paul, purposefully left unnamed. Inspired by artists like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, Ramaswami has built a musical personality of his own, which he projects to his peers as much as possible.

“I take my guitar everywhere,” Ramaswami said.

He especially enjoys playing alongside two brothers, Max and Nick Penichet, in the recently-founded band Cloudburst. Rehearsing and Aside from his art in music and painting, the advanced medical research that has brought him much praise.

In the seventh grade he began a study of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that emit from different paints and wood finishes that are generally found in homes. He contrasted the harsh chemicals with an eco-friendly alternative and compared the results.

This detailed experimentation process got him more involved in science and the next year he began research under the interns and medical students at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

“I’m very interested in what I do,” Ramaswami said. “I find all of it fascinating.”

Ramaswami’s knack for biomedical science proved helpful as he studied the “albedo” or the white pulpy part of an orange. A fibrous material containing an anti-cancer-spreading enzyme called D-Glucarate. He applied the enzyme to various malignant cancer cells from the Medical Center’s stock and tested the varying results.

The radical and successful experiment received many awards; the most important to Keshav was one from the Discovery Channel. In ninth grade he was asked to participate in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge in Washington, D.C. After this first breakthrough experiment he began more tedious and polished work with the anti-cancer drugs, attempting successfully to increase their efficiency. This research provided new opportunities as Ramaswami presented it to the Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Nebraska, and he was chosen to attend the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Ramaswami continues his scientific work under Dr. Reid Sullivan at the UMKC Medical Center in Kansas City, MO. “He has so many different interests that we can’t really pinpoint which way he’s going to go,” Beena said.

performing with his friends helps him to enjoy himself, while growing as an artist and developing a deeper love for music.

“I just cannot fathom how music allows one to express themselves in a way that is uniquely their own,” Ramaswami said. “I really cannot.

But I know I love it, and that’s all that makes sense to me.”

Along with music outside of school, in the classroom Ramaswami participates as a guitarist for the Blue Knights jazz band.

Though he is heavily involved in his music, Ramaswami does not necessarily see a career in it. The idea of being a session teacher or mentor is appealing, but he finds “much more pleasure in creating something original and trying to share it.”

>>

To see Keshav’s contemporary artwork, music and more visit smeharbinger.net

page 20 features 03.29.10

National Art Honor Society allows artists to flourish the tie-dyers putting rubber bands around their shirts. Senior Amilia Winter starts yelling.

“If your shirt is in a bucket, grab it and go outside!” she calls. As an afterthought, she NAHS members tie-dye t-shirts at a meeting before spring break. >>Dan Stewart adds, “And will someone grab the Ziploc bag?” and meetings to go to, but the club is open to anyone.

Walking down the hallway, fingers already covered in Finkelston decided to create more of a club feeling and dye, the NAHS members wield red buckets filled with red, make it not so exclusive, and did so by creating the commitgreen, blue, purple and yellow dyes for white t-shirts waiting tees. It lets kids be more directly involved in the club activito be colored. ties. The committees work throughout the year, apart from A mural is on the walls, but NAHS members have been the club’s three “Signature Events:” the Winter Auction, Hats on greater exhibitions than a school wall. NAHS allows its for Hope and the Fashion Show. The Auction raises money members opportunities to be showcased in galleries in the for the club and the Fashion Show by auctioning off memCrossroads, like the Landon Gallery or the Third Eye Gallery, bers’ artwork and Hats for Hope is a charity event that this home of the 2010 Fashion Show. year raised $128 for the American Cancer Society. The Fash“Artists don’t necessarily get the credit and recognition ion Show offers $300 worth of cash prizes for winners and they deserve,” Sabatés said. “Everyone has the kid who allows artists from other Shawnee Mission schools to comdoodles in the back of their classroom, and [NAHS] lets them pete. show their work.” *** According to Kelly, NAHS encourages kids who might not When the dye is gone, some scatter, the ambitious try talk in their math or history classes to feel free to express and rub others try to figure out where to get more dye. Back their opinions in the club. Before any major decision, the in the room, Whitham tries to clean up the mess of the tiepresidents talk to the club. dye from before the outside exodus. Colleen rounds up the *** buckets; Amelia starts to clean them out. Members come Finkelston comes down the hall after the group has set in and out, writing their names on their t-shirts and leaving up outside. He has a stereo and sets it on a stool. He looks up them in the room. at a teacher in her classroom.

NAHS is more than an art club. It’s for students who ap“Hey, do you mind if we blare music out the door here?” preciate art, even if they aren’t “good.” There are ways for There are no grueling requirements to get into NAHS: just students to get featured outside of school and to encourage a form to fill out and a $5 induction fee, though anyone can younger kids to stay in the art community. come to the meetings. To have a cord at graduation, there are a certain number of hours to fulfill

Georgia O’Keefe has to be my favorite artist. I like how she uses colors and different forms to create the New Mexico countryside, which is my favorite place in the world.

JUNIOR CHENSHANZHOU

SENIOR LAURENENGELKEN

Artistic Assistance members share what they get inspiration from

I take a lot of pictures of nature, especially in the summer, because it’s very peaceful and calming and makes me feel happy. I really like Binh Danh, he’s a vienamese artist that makes ambrotypes out of Vietnam War archives photos.

SENIOR ARACELIVILLANUEVA

>>KatyWesthoff

“Well, here’s the dye for tie dying.”

Someone tries to open the packets of dye. Through the doors of room 204, home of art teacher Adam Finkelston and the meeting place of National Art Honors Society, NAHS president senior Adrienne Whitham walks in, holding two boxes full of...

“Cupcakes! Gather!”

A group of NAHS members crowd around the two boxes filled chocolate, vanilla and cherry flavored cupcakes.

They’re topped with strawberries, blackberries and glitter.

President senior Colleen Ireland’s birthday was the day before. Nearby, Colleen is with fellow president senior Kelly Sabatés, cleaning out red buckets to use for the dye. A box of white shirts is next to the door, waiting to be dyed.

Finkelston has been the club sponsor for the past two years. In an effort to increase the involvement of its 60 members, he did away with the president-vice president-secretary-treasurer system and introduced the idea of “committees.” There are three presidents now: Adrienne, Colleen and Kelly. Different committees work with elementary schools to get them involved in art. The members are split up by their former elementary or middle schools that feed into East and work with the younger kids throughout the year, encouraging the students to get involved in the art department. Briarwood Elementary students built robots out of recycled materials with their NAHS group.

“It gets [the kids] excited about art, and it’s fun for high school kids, too,” Finkelston said. “The idea is to keep kids involved in the arts and not to lose them.”

The presidents work a lot with the committees one-onone, keeping up with their projects and getting to know the members. *** “Hey, do you guys want to go outside?” Finkelston asks,

I get it from everywhere, in and out of school. There’s no particular artist that inspires me but I like all different mediums. Clay, paint, graphic design — it ll interests me.

I use graphic design a lot for NAHS projects.

Senior Creates Short Stories and Novels >>Continued from page 18

“…[T]hey’ve forgotten that this is not nature at all – nature is primordial and ugly.” –Aspirations, short story by Goldman Goldman sits at his computer, scrolling through an Excel document. The entries date back to 2007. “Elijah,” submitted to “Analog Science Fiction & Fact” and “Apex Digest.” Rejected.

His database is filled with information about different magazines, where each story is going, what ended up happening to it. He’s got 20 manuscripts circulating, and he’s gotten about 20 rejection letters.

Even Celona is brutally honest when talking about the likelihood of making it in the fiction industry. Despite her unfaltering support and belief in Goldman’s talents, she calls the chances of success, “Near impossible, but not impossible.”

Regardless of these set-backs, Goldman is still adamant about having a career in writing—not only that, but a thriving career. When someone asks him what he wants to do, he gives an easy answer: writing. They’ll retort, “What’s your back-up plan, how are you going to make money?” His reply is just as easy as the first.

“I don’t have one,” Goldman said. “I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to do this…however long it takes before it’ll be successful.”

Writing fiction is his passion, but he’s not limiting himself to just that. Right now, he’s searching for other avenues to get into writing. He writes reviews for the Web site Webcuts Music, unpaid, but he gets free CDs. He also writes for Tangent Online reviewing sci-fi and fantasy stories from magazines.

“Someday someone could read a review I write and send me a letter and then I end up getting a book deal out of it,” Goldman said. “You never know, so I’m trying to make as many connections as possible.”

Next year Goldman is planning on heading to St. John’s College, which has campuses in both Sante Fe and Annapolis. At St. John’s, students read the “great books,” like the “Iliad” and “Aenied”, in chronological order. For math, you start by reading Euclid’s “Elements of Geometry.” There are no tests, just 15 person group discussions.

At first Goldman worried about attending St. John’s, since he couldn’t major in creative writing. But he hopes reading these classics will be more beneficial than being forced to write papers. He’ll keep up with writing on his own time, finding ideas at a restaurant, on campus, wherever. Despite those three by two letters, he says he’ll keep observing, keep recording, keep thinking one thing: “I plan on making it.”

Meet the

issue 13 online page 21

Gods of the Pods The Harbinger Online introduces the men behind the mikes

The Beat Hive Featuring music junkie Duncan McHenry You’ll Like it If... You’re helplessly trying to wade through iTunes in search of good music From Paul Simon to Common, McHenry delves into the world of music that he thinks you should listen to. Paying no attention to the top 100 charts, Duncan provides his unfiltered thoughts on his favorite albums, regardless of genre. The hits are also not limited to the current time period — good music is good music, no matter when it was released. So far, Duncan has discussed a variety of music, from the reggae of Rebelution to the Latin flavor of Buena Vista Social Club.

The Cinemaniac Featuring movie buff Alex Lamb You’ll Like it If... You have trouble relating to Ebert and Roeper but you need movie guidance Lamb has made going to the movies as much of a weekly tradition as Sunday morning church or Monday Night Football. He’s the Harbingers’s resident movie critic. Lamb will help you navigate through the world of cinema, no matter what kind of flick you’re searching for. The selfproclaimed ‘cinemaniac’ covers everything from Oscar nominees to mindless popcorn entertainment to obscure foreign films. With movie ticket prices soaring, shouldn’t your experience be worth it? The cinemaniac will ensure that it is.

Hoops Hysteria Featuring basketball fiend Kevin Simpson You’ll Like it If... You need someone to reassure you that life will go on in Lawrence If you’re a basketball junkie, this is your one-stop spot to get your hardwood fix. Simpson goes through the week’s hoops news, and offers both a recap of the events and his take on the important news of the week. Check out his latest podcast to hear his somber reaction to the Kansas Jayhawks’ defeat to Northern Iowa in the NCAA tournament. However, an eternal KU optimist, Simpson provides a variety of reasons for Jayhawk fans to have hope for next year, when Bill Self’s squad guns for its seventh straight Big 12 title.

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>>ToniAguiar Bright red nail polish does not save lives. Often, a small bottle of scarlet nail varnish does nothing but decorate nails. But it does save the life of Little Bee, the feature character in Chris Cleave’s novel. It reminds her that she is still alive despite everything that has happened to her. These small details transform “Little Bee” from a clichéd story of a struggling African girl to a story readers can relate to.

When the book starts, Little Bee is a victim of the oil wars in Nigeria. Militants that come in the night have destroyed her tribe, her family, and her innocence. These men are employed by the government to keep the violence of the war hidden.

And Little Bee has seen too much. She and her sister are chased onto a beach where they cross paths for the first time with the O’Rourke’s, a happily ignorant couple. There, Sarah and Andrew are forced to make a decision between the lives of these unknown girls and something that is rather attached to them.

Little Bee escapes Nigeria soon after and ends up in an immigration center in Britain. She is stuck there for two years before escaping and finds Sarah O’Rourke, but not Andrew-- he committed suicide just days before Sarah finds Bee on her doorstep.

At first, the book seemed mediocre. In the first chapter, Bee sounds slightly overdone, too foreign. Her English is too formal, and she often speaks of “girls back home.”

But the characters soon latch onto you; perhaps the most entertaining and heartbreaking one is Charlie, Sarah’s son, who will not take off his Batman suit for fear that the “baddies” will get him.

But the plot twists keep the book afloat. Throughout the book, Sarah struggles with her husband’s death, not using grand metaphors to describe it, but with habits such as taking two coffee mugs out of the cupboard in the morning. Andrew’s death leaves her with the responsibility of explaining Heaven to her young son. She also faces the dilemma of her affair with a married man Lawrence.

I soon found myself reading certain passages aloud to my family or feel my heartbeat rise during violent or tense moments. This book may not be an instant classic or change your life, but it is a well-written story that makes the reader pause for a moment. This is what book clubs have been waiting for ever since “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

While “Little Bee” could turn into a contrived, sappy story of redemption and friendship between Sarah and Bee, Cleave navigates it out of treacherous waters with Little Bee’s matter of fact and sometimes-humorous narration. She often plays out dialogue that would happen between her and “the girls back home.” These girls view things that are a part of normal suburban life as silly (like commuting a long way to a job) or revolutionary and unheard of in Nigeria (like interracial marriages).

Cleave does an excellent job of discerning between Little Bee’s

a story of

SURVIVAL ‘Little Bee’ tells of a Nigerian who escapes to Great Britain

issue 13 a&e page 23 If you liked reading...

“A Thousand Splendid Suns”

by Khaled Hoseinni This novel focuses on the lives of two Afghan women, Marium and Laila, from the 1960s to 2003. They deal with the contraints of their society.

“The Poisonwood Bible”

by Barbara Kingsolver A missionary family, the Prices, move from Georgia to Kilanga in the Belgian Congo. The five women of the family narrate the emerging war in 1959.

...you may like ‘Little Bee’ blunt descriptions and Sarah’s sometimes self-deprecating observations. It is necessary, really, to have two different narrators, as Sarah and Bee’s experiences and outlooks are so very different. Cleave also does a fantastic job of involving the reader with the story and weaving together flashbacks and the present-day. At times it seemed that he tried a little too hard to shock the readers. But the writing was strikingly different: he successfully wrote from the point of two women (a difficult enough task) and made them feel as natural and real as the neighbors down the street.

However, the story doesn’t progress in perfectly chronological order. The plot jumps around frequently, and some information is left out until midway through. Cleave does a good job of propelling the story onward. His way of doling information out keeps the orange paperback from ending up across the room under a pile of laundry.

Some things are revealed immediately in “Little Bee,” while others are kept a mystery until nearly halfway through it. The beach scene, which the publishers accurately describe midway through the book as “horrific,” isn’t discussed in-depth until well into the book.

Part of the reason “Little Bee” is so striking is that it deals with political issues such as immigration by focusing on the heart. Rather than a list of numbers and deaths like the 11 o’clock news, Cleave puts Little Bee’s story in perspective. Instead of talking about the dehumanizing barbed wire and endless fluorescent lights of the detention center Little Bee visited, Cleave points out the forms girls have to fill out forms to get feminine supplies other than their one allotted sanitary napkin. It is with these arresting details that Cleave catches your attention and makes you not simply skim, but look, and think.

Little Bee’s deliberate English lends itself well to philosophical matters. She has opinions on nearly anything, from how to get away with saying anything to choosing death over deportation. Even her observations on tragedy sound like they could come right out of a college ethics class: “I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.”

With such a different and provoking story, Cleave’s reason for writing this is important to consider. It may not be to instill important morals, or to write a radical political book. Maybe it’s a cry out for the “floating people” of the world, and not just refugees and widows, to watch after each other and hope. As Bee puts it, “for the hopes of this whole human world to fit inside one soul.”

Who wrote ‘Little Bee’? Mini biography on the author, Chris Cleave Other Works

His debut novel, “Incendiary”, was published in 2005. It was later adapted into a movie staring Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams.

Previous Jobs

Cleave has been a barman, a long-distance sailor, a teacher of marine navigation, an internet pioneer, and a journalist.

Favorite Authors

His favorite dead authors are Virginia Woolfe, Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck and Emile Zola. Favorite living ones are Cormac McCarthy and Don Dilillo.

“Why he writes”” “Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically...

We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” - D.H. Lawrence

>>www.chriscleave.com

page 24 a&e 03.29.10

Repo Men is packed with blood and gore, but fails toentertain or meet it’s satirical potential >>IanWiseman scenes--which are still numerous, mind you--but from Bloody and somewhat twisted, “Repo Men” does

little to entertain anyone except for the hardcore gorehounds. Though director Miguel Sapochnik employs nice bits of irony which shine a comedic light on this dark tale, they are not enough to save this kill-’em-all, sci-fi action thriller.

Yes, let the bombardment of unconvincing acting and poor dialogue commence. Remy (Jude Law), alongside his best friend Jake (Forest Whitaker), is a repo man who works for the Union, an organization that sells artificial organs to the public at ridiculously high prices. Just as a bank might repossess a house, Remy’s job is to repossess organs from those who cannot make their payments (this little detail is not mentioned in the sales pitch).

Whatever fleeting light of hope that existed for this movie lay in the beginning. Sapochnik and Eric Garcia-who wrote “The Repossession Mambo,” the novel that inspired the movie--do a terrific job setting up this futuristic society. Garcia’s future seems possible through the extensively described setting. Also, with healthcare debates riveting the country, the idea of repossessing organs appeared to be a satirical viewpoint of a future U.S. without healthcare reform. It brought me to believe “Repo Men” might offer an insightful view on humanity, but that idea waned as the movie progressed.

Thirty minutes into the movie, enter our first glimpse of the main conflict.

After injuring himself on the job, Remy wakes up in the hospital with one of the Union’s artificial hearts. Of course he cannot make his payments, and he now finds himself on the run from his former repo pals, including Jake. Turning his hatred towards the Union, Remy denounces his job as a repo man and tries to survive while constantly being hunted.

I had mixed feelings about Law’s performance. Law is convincing as a repo man, but unconvincing as a husband. He does a terrific job portraying the hardened and seemingly soulless on-the-job Remy, but he fails to depict the father and husband side. However, I believe the main problem with this lies with the script, not Law’s acting. There might have been only four lines of dialogue between Remy and his son, even though the conflict of balancing his job and family is an important aspect of the movie.

I was hoping that the Oscar-winning Whitaker would be able to appeal to the emotions of the audience. However, his performance is disappointingly unconvincing. Jake and Remy have been pals for many years, yet Jake shows little remorse as he attempts to cut down his friend.

This is not entirely Whitaker’s fault, however. Everyone is so busy slaughtering or being slaughtered that the movie allows little time for the two friends to reflect on the situation. There is virtually no dialogue between the two while Remy is on the run. This makes it difficult for the movie-goer to understand the emotional conflict between the two. It leads me further to believe the sole purpose of this movie is to provide blood and gore.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of “Repo Men” is the violence. Most of the blood comes not from fight

Stay home |

the detailed showing of the finer points of the repossession process. Entering the movie theater, I was confident I’d have no trouble with these types of scenes, as I had made it through “300” perfectly fine. However, with a climax that beholds a montage of repossessions, I found myself squirming in my seat. Observing others in the theater, I discovered I was not the only one.

I am a fan of grotesque violence. However, as he did with the situation between Remy and Jake, Sapochnik abuses it to the point of consuming any emotion or dialogue. He fails to show how Remy, a man who can remove a kidney from a live human being, is anything but a static character.

It appears that the only reason Remy denounces his job as a repo man later in the movie is because he himself is now on the run, which makes it difficult to back him on his newfound quest to destroy the Union. The change in Remy’s attitude is brought about only by his own predicament.

So, the running Remy teams up with Beth (Alice Braga), a singer he recognized from a bar. The fact that these two had met only a few days ago did not stop Remy and Beth from having sex. Granted, Remy’s wife did recently leave him, but she did so only weeks before. It’s obvious that this scene is included for the sake of having a sex scene, but then again, it appears that all violent scenes are included for the sake of having violence. There’s simply no foundation for this “love” connection between the two. The rest of the movie we are left to forget Remy’s wife and child, except for one short scene where the gang meets up, exchanges a few F-bombs and departs without so much as a tear. Once again, it seems that any trace of emotion is nonexistent.

There is little insight into the lives of all those who were running from the Union. Sapochnik failed to show the fear these people could have felt. At one point in the movie, Remy and Beth are awaiting a repo man sent by the Union they had spotted earlier across the parking lot. I was expecting Sapochnik to employ the cliche sound of slow footsteps up a flight of stairs as the two wait--I much would’ve preferred that--but instead, this possible point of intensity is drowned out by a violent fight that provokes little excitement.

Then, in a refreshing wave of creativity, Sapochnik employs a surprise twist that nearly salvages a cliche third act. Up to this point the movie had been very predictable. However, this twist shatters the pattern of its conventional plot, with a resolution that can be best described as bitter-sweet. Sapochnik leaves it up to the audience to decide if the ending is a “happy” one or not, which was the first great stroke of ingenuity I’d seen in “Repo Men.” Too bad it came in the last five minutes.

| Rental at best |

|

1 2

The movie opens with a very standard repo procedure. Remy knocks out a man in his home and takes his organ. Though the scene is very basic compared to other scenes, it wakes up the audience and gives them a taste of things to come.

Remy and Jake discover a hideout of probably one hundred people who could not make their payments. After the two storm the haven, the scene is a montage of epic fist fights and usage of crowbars.

3 4

In perhaps the most twisted scene in the movie, a little Asian girl in a poke-a-dot dress performs knee surgery on Beth. Consider this a scene to avoid if you’re squeamish.

Leading up to the climax, there is a fight that hosts every type of knife possible.

Remy vs. the Union officers. One-by-one the officers are cut down, and the walls are stained red.

>>www.moviewebs.com

‘REPO’LSIVE

Gore Worthy Moments

|

| Worth seeing |

| Instant Classic |

|

issue 13 mixed page 25

the page about life

k

A Harbie Spring Brea

How To Be The

{

{

Name: Kristen Shedor Place: Cockpit on the flight to Las Vegas

>>Winning

Lose a Sporting Event

Lose a Boyfriend or Girlfriend

Lose a Bet

1. Cheer on your teammates from the bench even if you’re losing.

2. Never blame a friend or make lame excuses for losing the game.

3. Keep your cool. You can go home and vent in private, but don’t shout your head off at a ref or opposing team member.

4. Remember to shake hands with the other team.

1. Man up! It’s like a Band-Aid: Rip it off slowly and painfully or quick and less painful.

2. Sit him or her down in person. It’s more respectful than breaking up with them over text or Facebook.

3. If you have texted them already, call them as soon as possible or arrange to talk about it in person.

4. Don’t tell them that you want to be friends if you don’t-- it’ll be annoying for you and heartbreaking for them.

5. Give them legitimate reasons why.

6. If they retaliate, simply walk away or don’t say anything. Don’t get caught up in the drama.

1. It may be too late, but make sure you can deal with the terms of the bet.

2. Live up to the terms of the bet! Unless it’s illegal, of course.

3. Don’t be a wuss and complain about it. It’ll only cause jokes at your expense later.

4. Remember: It’ll only be a funny memory in a few weeks.

30

seconds with sophomore

Maggie Fenton

“We thought it would be fun to take a picture with the Flight Attendent, but then she thought of having us go in the cockpit for it.”

Name: Dami Tuerk Place: Standing by “The Bean” in Chicago’s Millenium Park “Nika and me are both exchange students so we thought it would be a fun picture. We did lots of shopping and it was fun to see the big city and spend time with friends.”

What is your favorite thing about warmer weather?

a a a a a

Being able to go outside and seeing the sun. The walks from the sophomore lot are a lot less painful too.

Do you wear heels or flats to dances?

Name: Danielle Norton Place: Seagrove, Florida

I’ve worn flats the last three dances. My homecoming date this year actually told me that I couldn’t wear heels.

Have you ever had any nicknames about your height?

“There were tons of sophomores there. People have been going on this trip together for about six years now.”

“Too-tall Fenton”, the “BFG” (big fat giant), and “Stretch” were some of the most memorable ones.

What is the best thing about being tall? The worst?

Being able to look down on my short friends. I like being tall, so there’s not really any bad part about it.

What’s the most common stereotype of tall people?

That you’re automatically good at basketball!

Name: Zach Colby Place: Choraliers Trip to Europe

>>

Slouchy suede boots: 10%

Face-Off

East’s favorite shoes by the numbers

>>

Tom’s: 25%

“It was the most amazing experience of my life being with my friends in such a foreign place.”

>>

Nike’s: 29%

>>

>>

UGGs: 8%

>>

>>

Sperry Topsiders: 21%

Rainbow Flip-Flops: 7%

If you took a picture on Spring Break with an issue of the Harbinger, send it to smeharbingeronline@gmail.com and we will post it on our Web site.

page 26 a&e 03.29.10 Clash of the Titans

The Losers

Kick-Ass

April 23

April 16

April 2 Get ready for some godly grandeur, because this remake updates the Greek myth of Perseus from the cheesy-looking creatures in the 1981 original to extravagant, magnificent CGI monsters. Sure, the story concerns Zeus’s mortal son Perseus (“Avatar” star Sam Worthington) on an epic quest to stop Hades and his minions from gaining control of Earth and the heavens, but it’s really just about delivering some sweet “Lord of the Rings” meets “300”-styled action. Loaded with spectacle and showing in 3D, I am personally psyched for this, and anyone whose Greek mythology fix was left unfulfilled by “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” should be too.

With a title like “Kick-Ass,” it’s a guarantee that this is going to be one cool flick. A comic book adaptation with a humorous and enthusiastically violent take on the superhero story, the film follows a nerdy teenager who decides to become a crime-fighting superhero, eventually joining several others to take down a local mafioso’s empire. His fellow masked vigilantes include Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’) as a spazzy fighter, and a wild Nicolas Cage as a Batman with firearms alongside his acrobatic, ninja warrior of a young daughter. A breath of fresh air in the superhero genre, “Kick-Ass” is sure to be the most purely entertaining, riotous blend of action and comedy in the coming months.

At first glance, the title of this action caper may seem like a reflection on the movie. Another adaptation from a comic book series that you’ve probably hereunto never heard of, “The Losers” follows a black-ops team that, after being betrayed and left for dead by their employer, survive and go on the hunt to take vengeance on those responsible. So far it looks like little more than “RocknRolla” meets “Smokin’ Aces,” but with a game cast including Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen”) and Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek”), this may just be the piece of somewhat derivative thrills that adds enough originality to prove perfect popcorn entertainment. Here’s hoping this one’s a winner.

s r o t c Dire ut C As you decide what movies to cut from your viewing list this spring, let resident film whiz Alex Lamb lead the way.

Here, he gives you his top picks on the must-sees to make your executive decisions easier.

>>AlexLamb photo illustration by Mackenzie Wylie

issue 13 a&e page 27 Iron Man 2

I Love You Phillip Morris

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Oh how I’ve missed Jim Carrey’s daring side.

His last couple of movies have been very tame fare, and his most recent foray into more sophisticated territory, “The Number 23,” didn’t turn out so well. But with “I Love You Philip Morris,” a dark comedy written and directed by the writers of the uproariously mean “Bad Santa,” he returns to higher-brow work. Here it’s as an eccentric gay con man who, after being caught and sent to prison, falls in love with fellow inmate Philip Morris (Ewan McGregor), then does everything possible to get Phillip and himself out and back to conning. This true story isn’t mainstream comedy, but I’m betting it’ll be one of the year’s critics’ darlings.

Was anyone really asking for a film based off the recurring SNL skits that parody “MacGyver?” I sure wasn’t, but alongside Will Forte and Kristen Wiig from the sketches, Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe round out the cast, and give this explosive comedy a surprising chance at actually being worth seeing. Vastly expanding from the plotless skits, in the movie the clueless ex-operative MacGruber returns to duty, working to stop his nemesis from blowing up Washington, D.C. with a nuclear warhead. Obviously the jokes aren’t going to be very intelligent, but even so, “MacGruber” looks like a lot of dumb fun and very well may be the best SNL film since “Wayne’s World.”

May 28

>>photos from movieweb.com, celebritywonder.com, jimcarreyonline.com

May 21

May 14 No, this isn’t a sequel to “Gladiator,” but it is Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott’s fifth collaboration together, and certainly looks like said masterpiece meets the epic “Braveheart.” This time Crowe plays legendary hero Robin Hood as he transforms from a regular soldier into the prince of thieves in this new, much more thrilling and doubtlessly more intense telling of the classic tale. Glorious medieval battles, breathtaking backdrops and absolutely stunning slow-mo sequences await. Scott is one of the industry’s most talented directors, and with Crowe as the bad-ass archer, this will provide one hell of a ride, most likely even besting Scott’s last medieval effort, “Kingdom of Heaven.”

Look out, here comes Marvel’s new moneymaker. Robert Downey Jr. returns to the role that revived his career, as billionaire Tony Stark/superhero Iron Man, in this highly anticipated sequel that I’m positive will surpass the first one with more wit, more action and a much more intimidating bad guy.

This time around Iron Man faces new foes (chiefly Mickey Rourke as a deliciously sinister Russian supervillian) and teams with new friends (Don Cheadle as War Machine, in a metal combat suit similar to Iron Man) in the blockbuster blast of the season. It’s assured to smash the box office even more successfully than the first film, and is the safest bet on this list for any moviegoer.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

MacGruber

Robin Hood

May 7

April 30

April 30 Hollywood loves horror remakes, and with a gratifying reimagining of “Friday the 13th” last year, it’s only fitting that Freddy Krueger receives the same sort of treatment Jason Vorhees was given. However, this remake is luckily set apart from others in the slasher genre by the fascinating, ultra-creepy actor playing the classic killer -- Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach from “Watchmen”). The original helped to revitalize horror in the ‘80s with its unique killer, who stalks and murders his victims in their dreams. With Haley as Freddy, this could quite likely be the best and scariest entry in the series since the first one. Just don’t expect to sleep very well afterwards.

Is Jake Gyllenhaal the next Johhny Depp? The usually serious actor takes an exciting, Jack Sparrow-like role in this large-scale, special effects-laden video game adaptation, which is becoming Disney’s fantasy action-adventure successor to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. Gyllenhaal plays a prince in medieval Persia who, after discovering a dagger that can control time, must take it back to its resting place before its power can be unleashed to destroy the world. The game was quite engaging and unique in its day, and the movie not only looks much more awesome than it, but is expected to be one of the virtually nonexistent good film versions of a video game.

SPRING MOVIE PREVIEW

ae

n e m n i a the & t r r e t a d n & n e e cal arts page 28 a&e 03.29.10

Although The Strokes have been missing in action for the last four years, lead singer Julian Casablancas will be playing at the Beaumont Club on April 10. Even if he’s not singing rhymes about his next drink saddled with Strokes-esque guitar riffs, his familiar voice is enough to hold any Strokes fan over until the band returns in full force.

Disney’s “Oceans”

With the upsetting push-back of “Piranhas 3D,” Disney’s “Oceans” will just have to do. If you were a Disney’s “Planet Earth” fan, this is another nature flick that is definitely for you. Anticipate inspiring water creature survival stories and a side of guilt peppered in at the sight of the melting polar ice caps. Bring your tissues; this one might be a tearjerker.

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Handler moves to Starlight Theatre on Friday, May 7.

This hilarious comedian is the creator of two New York Times best-sellers and hosts her own late night show, “Chelsea Lately.”

It features a roundtable of comedians and a special-guest star.

Her crude humor will be nothing short of ridiculously entertaining.

APRIL

MONDAY

SATURDAY

APRIL

Julian Casablancas

9

9

SUNDAY

If you have had “The Doors” movie on replay since 1991, get ready for something new to salivate over. With narration by Johnny Depp and never-before-seen footage from the Doors, this biography promises to be one freak-out worthy documentary. Start dusting off the Jim Morrison posters; I feel a new trend coming on.

APRIL

FRIDAY

“When You’re Strange”

2 2 5 April 5

10 10 11

APRIL

On every first Friday of the month, hundreds of people can be found packed into the Crossroads district for food, art and entertainment. Art galleries will be glittering up and down the area alongside local musicians performing for small crowds.

FRIDAY

22 26 23

APRIL22 FRIDAY 23 APRIL FRIDAY MAY THURSDAY

77

19 MAY

WEDNESDAY

First Fridays

>>RainaWeinberg

Look forward to Spring’s latest entertainment

19

Passion Pit

This self-proclaimed “wonky pop” band will be taking the stage at the Beaumont Club on April 5. With Passion Pit selling out shows all over the US, sprint don’t run to get a $15 ticket.

Hopefully, the electronic band will actually show up and not leave fans with a bitter, Owl City after taste, unlike this fall’s disappointment.

Stomp

Melodic tones, catchy beats and…trash? Only the Stomp musicians could create such intricate sounds with junk. Be at the Midland theatre on April 9 with some quality trash can lids, an aspirin bottle and a raincoat if you’re seated front row.

“Venice” The Kansas City Repertory theatre is putting out one of their first musicals with “Venice.” This theatre is known for great productions and “Venice” should not disappoint. The story follows two brothers who fight to lead their city out of a terrorist war. The production is backed by an original R&B score.

The Flaming Lips

Lead singer Wayne Coyne is known for getting into a human bubble suit and crowd surfing through his fans. On April 23, KC’s community will have the pleasure of experiencing his and the rest of the band’s antics.

The Flaming Lips will be showering Sandstone Ampitheatre with confetti and hauling in as many six-foot balloons as they can carry.

3OH!3 & Cobra Starship Break out that ‘80s throw-back hoodie and your favorite pair of multi-colored Nike’s because on May 19, Cobra Starship and 3OH!3 hit the Uptown Theatre. On their “Too Fast For Love Tour,” the quintessential hipsters will be teaming up together and co-headlining. From this crowd, expect a sea of neon, scene haircuts and a blob of kids resembling a mosh pit.

>> Movieweb.com, rockmusic.today.com

issue 13 a&e page 29

Tasteless Collaboration James Mercer and Danger Mouse’s latest album fails to live up to expectations

Surpassing

Standards

Gorillaz album ‘Plastic Beach’ exceeds expectations

Press ‘skip’ |

| Borrow it |

For all that seems familiar and recycled on their debut, Mercer and Co. have a handful of elements that truly work . Four songs in, “The Ghost Inside” sneaks up to deliver the sound that I knew this band was capable of. Opening with a snare beat that’s good enough to get your knee bouncing, the song features some excellent high pitched disco fashion vocals that would make the Bee Gees proud. The track plays to the true talents of both artists, and is ultimately something that I would love to hear more of in the future.

Unfortunately, Broken Bells is only able to deliver this new sound of their own on a few occasions. If one thing is clear, it’s that Danger Mouse seems drastically under utilized on this collaboration, and his true versatility fails to show. Next to his work in the brilliant “Gnarls Barkley” duo, or even his hip-hop career with “Danger Doom,” Danger Mouse’s signature sound just doesn’t ring through as heavily with Broken Bells, and

Wincing the Night Away

+ >>Picasaweb.google.com

A perfect mash-up of funk, soul, and hip-hop, Gnarls Barkley burst onto the music scene in 2006.

With singer Cee-Lo belting his heart out over Danger Mouse’s top notch sound and production, the album stood high above most everything else in the pop genre that year.

The band’s third studio album, “Wincing the Night Away” showed a departure from the “indie rock” Shins to a more radio friendly band that still appealed to the fans. Lead singer James Mercer sounded every bit as good as before, and singles like “Phantom Limb” proved that the band had lost nothing with age.

>>BobMartin

It’s been five years since the world last heard from conceptual pop stars Gorillaz, when they released their sophomore album Demon Days. The album magnificently reflected a band that had grown better with time, as it had come four years after the Gorillaz’ self titled debut. These gaps in their work have kept the band on a level of their own, kept them working on a maturing sound, and once again in the case of their new release “Plastic Beach,” kept their musical repertoire ripe and on top.

Recruiting a cast that features everyone from ghetto all-star Snoop Dogg to soul master Bobby Womack, and mopey rock legend Lou Reed, “Plastic Beach” gets support where it needs it, but also sustains itself as something brilliant in its own right. The Gorillaz have always been able to successfully transcend genres, as their songs can take a listener from the lights of the dance floor, to the flows of a freestyle, and back to a slow and lyrical ballad. “Plastic Beach” seems to favor this trade off, and never quite settles for one genre in the entirety of its 16 songs.

The spread of songs is magnificent, and even the more bizarre productions, like “Superfast Jellyfish,” an upbeat cartoony ode to a children’s breakfast cereal that still finds a way to critique how offshore dumping , are worth multiple listens. Even the more serious material like “Rhinestone Eyes” grip my philosophical side with lines like “Nature’s corrupted, in factories far away.”

The great thing is, Gorillaz doesn’t even need to fall

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The High Road

= >>subpop.com

this really works against them.

What Danger Mouse and Mercer have attempted here is admirable at best. These two artists have attempted to create something that provides the best of both their impressive careers. Unfortunately, what we’re left with is an album that fails to appeal to those who want more than the Shins sound. The Broken Bells have a lot of potential, and even though their debut is nothing to celebrate, I wouldn’t count them out for future success.

After all, Mercer already put it best himself in the group’s first single, “They know and so do I, the high road is hard to find”.

The Broken Bells

The Shins

St. Elsewhere Gnarls Barkley

>>BobMartin

When the Shins’ frontman James Mercer and producer Danger Mouse announced in September 2009 that they would be collaborating for an album, a myriad of possibilities opened up. Maybe it would be a soulful and beat heavy Danger Mouse sound, but with the addition of Mercer’s unique vocals. Or perhaps it would play to the Shins’ college rock roots, but with a touch of that hip-hop styling that made Gnarls Barkley appeal to such a wide variety of audiences.

Six months later after the partnership, the band’s first album, self-titled, “Broken Bells” is here, and the product is something in the middle. Broken Bells doesn’t stray too far from either of its member’s previous works, and while staying true to their roots was somewhat to be expected, the result comes off as unpolished and unbalanced.

The album’s first track and first single “The High Road” is a nice introduction into what this collaboration could’ve been. Mercer’s vocals are enjoyable and retain the same Shins’ sound that he’s known for, but with Danger Mouse behind him, the song gets some much needed vivacity through a wide variety of electronic sounds and percussions.

Throughout Broken Bells’ 10 songs, there wasn’t enough creative variation, and many of the songs left me with something sounding like an overproduced Shins record. Listening to this album in hope of something new, it was a disappointment to hear tracks that sound like Mercer’s old work with a few electronic overtones and the occasional hip-hop beat.

>>stereopaste.com

Producer Danger Mouse and Shins’ member James Mercer created “Broken Bells.”

While the band’s debut was lacking, Mercer and Danger Mouse had a few instances of greatness in an otherwise forgettable album.

back on their deep, well-versed, and often politically charged lyrics. The group can still produce a gratifyingly pulsing instrumental piece like “Glitter Freeze.”

When Gorillaz mastermind and creator Damon Albarn first introduced the group in 2001, the new concept of a band comprised of animated characters strayed heavily away from his traditional British rock roots with Blur and seemed a bit odd on the first listen. After listening for a long time, everything about the Gorillaz seemed natural, as Albarn’s dry and emotionless vocals were perfectly congruent with fresh hip-hop beats and electronica samples.

This is the kind of reaction I’d expect from first time Gorillaz listeners who try out Plastic Beach. It will seem a bit disjointed, and its songs may seem a bit out of order, but get past this, and what you have is a group that is changing the standards for popular music in front of our very eyes.

It’s honestly amazing how album after album, “Gorillaz” are always able to produce even better material that stands up to the extremely high quality standard they’ve set for themselves. “Plastic Beach” only serves to epitomize this fact. Presented here, is one of the few bands that I can unquestionably have faith in and always enjoy, a band that will not condescend to being a cliche, and something that I’m proud to see atop iTunes most downloaded albums in its first week of release. Spring Break may be over now, but with no regrets, I’ll be frequenting this “Beach” for many months and years to come.

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page 30 sports 03.29.10

>>Anna Marken

Dancing through Life P.E. teacher Debbie Ogden has integrated her passion for dance into her teaching career

>>HaleyMartin

Music blares through three-year-old Debbie Ogden’s house as her mom dances to Elvis and Debbie twists to the music and cart-wheels through the hallways. She’s careful not to leave footprints on the wall.

Improvised dance was a natural part of Ogden’s home life growing up. She would dance while doing chores, baton twirl before bed and do somersaults in the grass. This led her to begin taking dance lessons at the first chance she could get, when she was four.

“When I first started there was really no question about it,” Debbie said, “As soon as the studio would let me in, I began dancing.”

Her first few years she took tumbling, tap, jazz and ballet. She would perform with the rest of her class at the annual Ranchmart Fair, where people would eat ice cream at

Step by Step

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Ogden recounts memories of dancing as a child

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I was more of a serious dancer here.

I spent most of my time at the studio teaching and dancing.

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I was eight and our dance had a western Hoedown theme. Our costume had burlap shorts and we all had big bows.

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I was in ballet, tap and jazz at this point. I was teaching and taking classes at the Kansas City School of Dance.

31 Flavors and watch the dancers as the main entertainment for the evening.

“I loved having people right there in front watching us,” Debbie said. “As I got older, the dances were more complex and I felt that we were the center of attention.”

This constant dancing during her childhood would become a part of her identity for the rest of her life.

In high school, Debbie was at her studio taking lessons or teaching for at least five hours every week day. This meant that there was plenty of time for fellow dancers to realize that Ogden had a natural talent, and for her to develop an interest in dancing professionally. Sometimes, when she changed shoes between classes, Debbie would get pulled aside and teachers praised her on all aspects of her dance from her technique to her energy. They also discussed options for a future career like Broadway and the Rockettes in New York, and discussed options for a potential future career. Because of this, she focused even more on dance and was inspired to enroll in countless hours of classes.

Debbie told her father that in order to be a professional dancer, she would have to go to New York, instead of going to college. He told her no, she would have to go to college and after if she still wanted to dance she could go to New York. He said that she had to go to school before becoming a professional so that she could have a fall-back.

Debbie chose to attend college at the University of Utah where she majored in ballet. One of the courses she took was a modern dance class, which she had never taken before because modern wasn’t very popular in Kansas City. At the time in KC dance was limited to ballet, tap and jazz.

She entered the studio wearing pink-footed tights and a leotard, and realized that the rest of the class was dressed in cut off tights, T-shirt and no shoes. Debbie didn’t like the no shoes look, because after so many years of keeping her toenails short for her point shoes and standing on her toes, she had a crooked toe, thick skin and many calluses.

One of the first days the professor told the class to pretend like they were walking through marshmallow fluff to spark their creativity.

“I wasn’t very good at this,” Debbie said. “Even though I am outgoing, I felt incredibly self conscious doing it. I was used to being told what to do, while this dance was free form.”

She often thinks about her modern class. Sometimes while teaching her dance class, Debbie asks the class to

walk through maple syrup just like her teacher had asked her to walk through marshmallow fluff. She loves seeing the students go out of their comfort zone and be creative.

Throughout Debbie’s freshmen year she was dancing almost constantly with little time to feel homesick. But eventually the feeling of being away from home caught up with her.

She felt like she couldn’t stay in Utah anymore, she wanted to be back home. She chose to move to Kansas State, a school closer to home where she could learn to be a better teacher, because she had been teaching dance since the age of 12. She could also be on the drill team.

Former student, sophomore Andrea Velez, loves that Debbie is always ready to help the kids in her class and support them.

“She obviously loves what she does and it is good to have a teacher who is really dedicated to her work,” Velez said.

Since she was switching schools, Debbie didn’t think it logical to continue with dance as her major because K-State didn’t have a good dance program. She chose to major in teaching physical education.

She talked to her brother, Rick Ogden, during the college switch but he knew that teaching would be the right choice for her.

“She is a great dancer,” Rick said. “She has always loved it. By the time she had moved to K-State, she knew that she wanted to teach people to dance.”

Even though it was hard for her to walk away from her dream of dancing professionally, she was ready to begin teaching and sharing what she had learned.

Since she began teaching at East she has tried to keep up with dance. Her last attempt was when she joined a clogging troupe a few years ago. She had heard them advertised on the radio, and went to check it out. She was glad to be on her feet again and practice the shuffle, hop step progression she had done so many times before. However, Debbie realized that she wouldn’t be able to teach and be a member of the troupe when she had to miss a practice because of Back to School Night.

Although, she is no longer dancing every day Debbie loves teaching. She gets to teach students what she has spent so many countless hours doing.

“Dance allows me to express myself and be creative” Debbie said “I love teaching and seeing how kids improve from what I tell them.”

G N I S A C W O s t r SH o sp g n i r p s e LF th BOYS’ GO

title, the e t a t s le g ed not a sin end up on top ld ie y t a h t luck and 09 season After a 20 hope to change their ms spring tea

ton enning EmmaP

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L L A B E S A B

First-year head coach Jerrod Ryherd takes over the team after being the JV coach at SM South. He is excited to establish his own program and hopes to turn around a team that went just 6-14 last season.

“I’m looking forward to just getting on that ball field March 25 and see what we’ve got,” Ryherd said. “We’re in the best league in the state, so it’ll be tough.”

With strong senior leadership from seniors Stewart Jensen, Zach Amrein, Scott Kennedy and Jackson Harter, Ryherd thinks the transition from being the new coach on the team has gone smoothly. Coming off a strong basketball season, freshman Vance Wentz is expected to help the Lancers’ pitching staff, which lost its ace Jeff Soptic.

S E M A G G I 5B

THE EAST CER VS. OLA C O S ’ S L IR G 4/6: AN S @ KAUFFM M S .

S V L L A B 4/13: BASE NORTH ENNIS VS. BV 5/5: BOYS’ T GUE MING @ LEA IM W S ’ S L IR G 5/7-8: @ STATE ACK & FIELD 5/28-29: TR

the

Sports Panel

Coach Ermanno Ritschl thinks depth will help carry the golfers far this season and feels that if an athlete faults at a tournament, one of the other six varsity members will be able to pick up the slack because of the widespread talent the team has this year.

Chase Hanna and Connor Kanabe are two freshmen that Coach Ritschl is anxious to coach this season. After losing four seniors who went to state, the coaches are happy that there are new golfers coming in with tournament experience.

Senior Grant Burnside and sophomore Henry Simpson are key returners, having contributed to the fourth place finish at state last year.

L SOFTBAL

Last year the softball team set a three year goal to improve as a team and make it to state. This is head coach Deon Slemp’s second year of the rebuilding process, having won more games in 2009 than the previous two seasons combined. Returning seven of the nine varsity starters, the Lancers know how to work well with each other on the field.

East’s two pitchers, junior Meagan Dexter and sophomore Shannon McGinley, will be key components to a team hoping to go 10-10.

Baseball vs.

SM Northwest

issue 13 sports page 31

R E C C O S ’ S GIRL

IS N N E T ’ S BOY

This year’s team returns six varsity starters from last year.

The Lancers’ biggest loss to graduation is defender Libby Jandl, who now plays at Duke University. Coach Jamie Kelly thinks the team will be able to work around that, expecting seniors such as goalie Jessie Jacob, who has lettered in each of her first three years at East, to step up as leaders.

Freshman forward Addison Steiner is a promising young talent who may contribute heavily right away. Although Kelly considers last year’s12-5-1 record impressive, one of his goals is to advance past the regional final and compete at the state tournament.

The boys team fell just short of a state title last season with a second place finish, but many of their main point scorers return. Coach Sue Chipman is looking forward to seeing the Guignon brothers, senior PJ and junior Ross, help carry the team this season after competing at state in 2009.

Chipman is still sorting out the doubles teams, which she says is always an ongoing process because she must not only evaluate each player’s abilities, but also their personalities to help with communication and cooperation on the court. Although the team loses graduate Chris Fotopolous, now playing at the University of Oklahoma, Chipman thinks the team will be able to work around his loss. The boys will need to watch out for defending state champion BV North and BV West, who has a strong singles player in Max Helgeson.

G N I M M I W GIRLS’ S The girls’ swim team has placed in the top five at state for three straight seasons, placing fifth last year. Senior Allison Kirby placed fifth in breaststroke and Sophomore Marston Fries placed sixth in the 100-freestyle. Coach Rob Cole thinks these two athletes will be strong leaders and can back up that leadership with quick times in the water.

“Last year we were a young squad finding its identity,” Coach Cole said. “We will be [more] established this year.”

Coach Cole thinks that the two biggest competitors this season will be defending state champs Lawrence Free State and 6A runnersup Olathe Northwest, both of which are Sunflower League foes.

LD E I F & K C TRA

With the majority of last year’s track team returning, head coach Brie Meschke has high hopes for both the boys’ and girls’ squads this season. The teams are looking to better their state finishes from 2009 - girls fifth, boys eighth. After only a few weeks of practices coaches think that the Wilkins brothers, junior Connor and freshman Troy, will be assets to the team in the sprint events that Connor has been successful in since his freshman year.

Last year’s state champion 4x800 and 4x400 runners, seniors Hannah Satterlee, Maddy Rich, Mallory Kirby and junior Hanna Jane Stradinger, are all coming back to try and sweep the field again. Placing second last year in both the 100 and 200, senior Chris Clarke is also returning.

Boys’ Tennis: Back on top of Kansas?

Team that could shock the school

Royals: Over or Under 65 Wins?

2010 Spring Sports Stud

Assistant Editor

SM EAST

YES

TRACK & FIELD

UNDER

CHRIS CLARKE

Copy Editor

SM EAST

NO

GIRLS’ SOCCER

OVER

THE GUIGNON BROTHERS

SM EAST

NO

TRACK & FIELD

OVER

HENRY SIMPSON

GIRLS’ SWIM & DIVE

UNDER

HANNA JANE STRADINGER

SAM LOGAN

SAM KOVZAN Sports Page Editor

CORBIN BARNDS Sports Page Editor

EVAN NICHOLS

SM NORTHWEST

YES

page 32 photo essay 03.29.10

raise a

RUCKUS a more experienced Lancer rugby squad holds high expectations for the season

ABOVE: Seniors Elliott Yohn and Pete Uhl tackle senior Evan Herstowski during a scrimmage at practice.

FAR ABOVE: Senior Elliott Yohn tackles sophomore Tyler Knight during a scrimmage at practice on Mar. 23. To score, the team must get to the tri-zone, but unlike football, the ball has to be placed on the ground with control for the score to count. “Rugby is fun, this is my first year,” Yohn said. “It’s rough but it’s fun being aggressive.”

ABOVE: Senior Jacob Johnson is chased down by the opposing team as he runs toward the tri-zone.

LEFT: Senior Evan Herstowski teaches senior Kirk Doerr how to throw the rugby ball. “I was very confused in my first rugby practice,” Doerr said. “It was hard trying to play a sport I had never seen.” Herstowski could empathize with Doerr. “It is very hard to teach someone how to play, when they have never watched a game before,” Herstowski said. “But it’s a fun game to know how to play.” >>all photos by Mackenzie Wylie