Harbinger the
ISSUE 6 SHAWNEE MISSION EAST PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS NOV. 15, 2010 SMEHARBINGER.NET
A look at the changes in education brought about by technology
GrantHeinlein
SarahMcKittrick It’s 8:30 p.m. and senior Rachel Rice has already spent hours working on difficult problems for Calc BC and reading numerous chapters of Frankenstein. Her focus fades as the repetitiveness of her homework assignments sets in. However, when Rice gets to her Spanish homework, blogging with classmates recaptures her attention. Compared to the painstaking task of writing out every problem and annotating every page, Rice quickly boots up the computer, logs on to a website and begins to blog in Spanish. Although the assignment still challenges Rice, it appeals to her because of the technology involved and the ease that comes with doing the assignment online.
Freshman works to overcome obstacles through acting and art
pp. 16-17
“It’s a break from the typical school work I have,” Rice said. “It’s something new instead of a worksheet or reading assignment.” In today’s world of education, students like Rice find technology to be everywhere. Students post opinions on blogs, email assignments to teachers and graph difficult equations using Smart Boards. No matter the course or grade level, technology has seeped into almost all aspects of high school education. Research from the U.S. Department of Education shows that the use of technology in the classroom enhances the achievement of students, increases family involvement in the student’s learning, improves teacher’s skills and
See more photos of the recent walk to help the Walker family
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knowledge and improves the school administration and management. In late September, NBC produced a segment called “Education Nation.” This televised program sought to educate the public in order to help them make important decisions about ways to improve our country’s education system. Incorporating technology into education was a key topic covered. Although experts sometimes disagreed on how educators should go about providing the technology, they all agreed that technology was a key component to our country’s future in education.
Continued on page 2
Staffer reviews three local art galleries
p. 24
Read about places to study and stay warm this winter
Suicide is selfish. I’ll admit that suicide is selfish. But when you’re dead, you don’t care.”
p. 26
Freshman Jacob Pillman
pp. 16-17
NEWS 02 11-15-10
meet the modern teacher
Pay Attention. Cell Phones Away. Turn to Page 138.
East is one of many schools using technology to help improve students’ educations continued from page 1 “Technology is a tool that’s crucial…to engage students to help them learn 21st century skills in collaboration and make global connections,” said Kappy Cannon, a principal at a school that strongly emphasizes technology, on a MSNBC segment of the program. According to Leigh Ann Neal, SMSD’s Director of Communications and Public Information, the district strongly emphasizes the incorporation of technology in education. Neal said that the district spent $3.5 to 4 million on technology last year plus $100,000 on extra duty pay for teachers receiving training on new technology. Neal also said that the district is continually stressing the importance of technology in the classroom. “There’s no question that students live in an age of technology and they’ll eventually work in a world globally connected and competitive,” Neal said. “The more and earlier that technology is embedded into education, the better.” According to Steve Loe, Associate Principal in charge of technology, East is constantly bringing in new technology through grants and urging teachers to incorporate technology into their classes in order to keep up to date with the latest technology and improve our school’s education system. The school currently has four smart boards, 20 sets of laptops, around 80 airliners and multiple other resources that teachers can use to help integrate technology into their lesson plan. Several grants for even more new technology are in the process, and could include a new Mac for the Freelancer, East’s literary magazine. Although teachers around the school might teach vastly different subjects, many East teachers are incorporating technology in their lesson plans. Teachers post class documents on web backpack, show educational YouTube videos and take notes on airliners or smart boards. Even though teachers might use technology in different ways, many attest to its strong benefits and values for both students and teachers. When Spanish teacher Linda Sieck started teaching 23 years ago, each teacher lacked a personal teacher station and computer. She had six file cabinets full of papers and she used an overhead to project notes and class work. VCR’s were the newest technology. Now, Sieck does virtually all of her notes on PowerPoint, plays the latest Hispanic music through YouTube and assigns students writing assignments on blogs. “The technology has changed immensely,” Sieck said. “With all of this technology you’re so much more current. You’re more tuned in with what’s going on in the world.” Sieck makes a conscious effort to learn new technology and then incorporate it into her lesson plans. Her colleague, Jennifer Holder, showed Sieck the blogging website Sieck uses for her classes and Sieck’s children also help her figure out new technology. One of the biggest benefits Sieck sees in using technology is the way it engages students and makes them interested in the new material. Using the blogs, Sieck sees a typical writing assignment transform into an activity where the students do not focus as much on the grammar as they do on the power of communicating in a different language. These blogs, which Sieck assigns once every two weeks, along with technology like music and video clips help the Spanish language and culture come to life for Sieck’s Spanish students. “The world is really at their fingertips,” Sieck said. “It brings the learning closer to home.” Rice, a student in Sieck’s Spanish class, agreed, saying that the blogs helped her practice grammar such as verb tenses, but also allowed her to grow more comfortable using Spanish. “It definitely helps responding to other students because it’s like you’re having a casual conversation,” Rice said. “You can go out of your comfort zone and you’re not worried about
mistakes.” Like Sieck, Biology teacher Hawar Khalandi includes technology in her classes every day, mainly using the program Beyond Question. Instead of Khalandi calling on individuals to answer questions about the lesson, this program allows students to use “clickers” to submit answers to questions and then immediately see the correct response on the screen. After using this program in college, Khalandi jumped at the chance to incorporate this technology into her high school classes. Khalandi uses Beyond Question for everything from bell activities to review games and even uses the program for tests and quizzes. Khalandi not only likes to use this technology because it helps students stay on task, but also because the program gives her instant feedback so she can see where students are struggling. “The immediate feedback it gives me is a great, great benefit,” Khalandi said. “It tells me if I’m on track as I teacher so I can do a quick re-teach if I need to.” Freshman Danya Issawi, a student in Khalandi’s Biology class, said that the questions helped review information and made the lessons more interesting. “It [Beyond Question] makes the learning more fun,” Issawi said. “It’s more modern too. It helps kids relate more because it uses technology.” Another aspect that Khalandi likes about Beyond Question is the time it saves her from grading papers. Khalandi sees no real disadvantages of using the technology, except for several times when the technology has not worked properly. As a math teacher, Chris Burrows might not use YouTube videos or blogs to teach his students, but technology is still incorporated into his class through graphing calculators or the Smart Board in his classroom. Although Burrows will use the technology several times a week in some of his classes, he tries not to make technology the focus of the lesson and does not arrange his lesson plans around using it. “You could design lessons around technology,” Burrows said. “But to me, there’s a better way to use it.” Even though Burrows does not plan his class around technology, he definitely still sees its benefits. When using technology, Burrows sometimes watches his students become more motivated and engaged in the lesson. Also, Burrows said tasks like graphing complex equations can be completed quicker using technology, leading to more time for learning the concepts. “I use it [technology] so that we can get rid of some of the time-using things that we use to do by hand,” Burrows said. “Something that used to take hours, now takes minutes.” Sara Gast, public affairs specialist from the US Department of Education, also spoke of the benefits of incorporating technology into education. Gast said that technology not only helps tailor education to students’ individual needs, but also helps them enjoy learning. “A lot of what students like to do and spend their free time doing involves technology in some way,” Gast said. “And we want to empower teachers to tap into that and use those likes and interests to further what they’re doing in the classroom.” Gast also said that the US Department of Education hopes to broaden the areas in which technology is available for students. In doing so, Gast said that more students in underprivileged areas could be able to take IB and AP classes. Another place where East has seen in increase in the amount of technology present on campus is the number of students bringing laptops to class every day. Loe estimates that only five to 10 students registered for a Wi-Fi password last year, while up to 80 or 90 students have registered this year. Loe said that the school is alright with students bringing
laptops to school as long as they are not messing around on them during instruction time. Senior Susie McClannahan is one of those students who sometimes brings a laptop to school and has been doing so for the past two years. She typically brings her computer on days when she knows she will be taking notes or working on a group project during class. Recently, McClannahan used her laptop to show a slide show during a Día de los Muertos presentation in Spanish. “Using a laptop is a lot more productive and efficient,” McClanahan said. “You can’t do anything nowadays without a computer. Plus I’m just not a huge fan of handwriting everything out.” However, plenty of laptops are also available for students who do not bring laptops to school. According to Loe, East has the most laptops in the district with 20 carts. Loe also estimated that the district spent $1.6 million on laptops in the last year alone. The SMSD school district and East have also made technology a focus for the future. Neal said that the Board of Education adopted a new plan for the years 2011-2014 in which the integration of technology into education continues to be an initiative in the school district. “We certainly put forth a lot of effort and funding to make sure that the district continues to incorporate technology into education,” Neal said. The nation as a whole has also shifted its focus on further incorporating technology into education in the next several years. On Nov. 9, the US Department of Education released their plan for transforming education through technology. This process, which they named the National Education Technology Plan (NETP), will take place across the country in an effort to accomplish the Department’s goal of leading the world in college completion by 2020. During the State Educational Technology Directors Association Education Forum when the Department released the plan, US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke of the importance of incorporating technology in education. “We must dramatically improve teaching and learning, personalize instruction and ensure that the educational environments we offer to all students keep pace with the 21st century,” Duncan said. As East and the entire country look to the future of education, educators plan on incorporating the latest technologies in the classroom in order to remain competitive in the technology-driven 21st century. Whether that’s through new technology or teacher instruction, technology will remain a key component to the school’s success.
NEWS issue 06
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East students and teachers have differing opinions about their online interactions, causing them to...
their
Reevaluate Relationships
all photos by RileyMuerer
Q: What do you think of teachers being friends with their current students on Facebook? A: I don’t really see what wrong with it. It depends on the teacher’s personality, and if you think they would look to see if you’re breaking rules and write you up for something. Q: When is the appropriate time for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook? A: Whenever the student feels comfortable. It can be a helpful tool to communicate with them.
ALLIE CHESBROUGH
Q: What do you think of teachers being friends with their current students on Facebook? A: It’s probably not appropriate because it’s more than the teacher-student relationship. Q: If you found a teacher on Facebook, would you send them a friend request? A: I would and I have because I think it’s a fun way to keep in touch with teachers I’ve had in the past.
scares some students which is why senior Claire Perkins won’t add her teachers. In her opinion students need a life outside of school that teachers are not a part of. She worries that if she adds a teacher they could take something innocent out of context. “It’s not that I have anything to hide on my page, I just think it’s weird that my teacher could dig into my personal life whenever they want,” Perkins said. Bonjour recognizes the risks a teacher takes when accepting current students as Facebook “friends,” but an even bigger reason why she doesn’t accept current students’ friend requests is because she aims to draw a distinct line between her work and personal life. “From 7:20 to 3:20 I’m all yours, but when I leave school I have a social life,” Bonjour said. “I am friends with my adult friends on Facebook and want to keep that part of my life separate from my students.” Associate Principal Heather Royce agrees with Bonjour’s decision and chooses to conduct herself in similar way when using Facebook. Royce believes there might not be a problem with what teachers post on their own Facebooks but what the teacher’s friends may post on their “wall.” “I may be acting completely appropriately [on my Facebook] but maybe I have a friend who is quite the jokester and posts something on my Facebook,” Royce said. “If a student sees that then it reflects my personal image.” While there may be arguments from both sides teachers and administration agree it is a tough decision to make. If it were up to Lisa Soronen, a staff attorney for the National School Boards Association she would tell all teachers to avoid it completely. “Those are not the kinds of relationships that teachers are supposed to have with students,” Soronen said. “Every interaction between students and teachers should be professional.”
AMANDA CHAO
Q: What do you think of teachers being friends with their current students on Facebook? A: I think it’s kind of strange. It might make it harder for a teacher to have authority when their students can see their personal information. Q: If you found a teacher on Facebook, would you send them a friend request? A: No I wouldn’t if I’m still in their class. That would just be awkward.
SENIOR
DREW HARDING
JUNIOR
A student from each grade level gives us their opinion on teacher-student interactions on Facebook
FRESHMAN
LANCER VOICE
ing to him, at least 500 of them are either current or former students. “I don’t care, [I’ll friend] any of my kids,” Nickels said. “It’s just a communication site. It is a nice way to keep in touch. You can reach all kinds of people and people can find you.” According to Nickels, he uses Facebook with students solely to discuss assignments for his class. Occasionally, he says, he will use Facebook to remind students of projects or to apologize for something that occurred in class. He also adds that the “newsfeed” is a good way to get a general feel for what is going on around the school. Although Principal Karl Krawitz didn’t comment on specific teachers’ behaviors, he does have concerns with teachers using Facebook to communicate privately with students. In his opinion private conversations on Facebook between students and teachers could easily be misconstrued. Others reading the posts may feel the it has an inappropriate overtone even if the teacher or student meant nothing by it. He adds that when a teacher accepts their students as “friends” their integrity is really on the line. “Unfortunately, my opinions get swayed by [the] media and the press that talk about the negative things that happen rather than the good things, so I find that all scary,” Dr. Krawitz said. “Would I think teachers would make good choices? I’d like to say 100 percent, but I know that’s not true.” The district currently does not have a policy regarding teacher interaction with students using social media websites. Anastasia Goodstein, founder of Ypulse.com and author of “Totally Wired: What Teens And Tweens Are Really Doing Online,” believes this could cause problems in the future. There needs to be a clear policy outlining how teachers can interact with students on social media websites, Goodstein said. Also, she said, teachers need to understand they will be obligated to report certain behaviors they may see on Facebook, such as drinking or drug use. Teachers being able to see their profiles is something that
SOPHOMORE
AlysabethAlbano
Across the United States teachers are faced with a new challenge: Facebook. They are forced to decide whether to have a profile and more importantly, whether or not to add their students as Facebook ‘friends.’ In New York, three teachers were suspended from public schools for inappropriate behavior and communication with students over social media sites such as Facebook. Similar instances have occurred in North Carolina, Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. With so many teachers facing backlash for their social media behavior, other teachers must now decide how to handle themselves on Facebook. In “The Teacher’s Guide to Using Facebook,” Bernadette Rego, the author of the “Guide,” lays down some basic rules for teachers when creating and using Facebook. She explains that adding students is fine as long as you create boundaries from the beginning. In her guide she encourages teachers to demand the same respect online as they do in the classroom. Her main rule: always remember that the way you communicate with students should reflect your role as a teacher. English teacher Jeanette Bonjour likes to air on the side of caution, choosing not to add her students until after they have graduated. “If they still want to be friends with me a year into college then we can reevaluate the situation,” Bonjour said. “There are only certain times I make an exception to that rule.” One time Bonjour made an exception to her rule was when she added a student she had known since the student’s freshman year. Instead of waiting a year, she friended her shortly after graduation. The student had been in her class as a senior and also participated with Bonjour in East’s literary magazine of the time, “The Voice.” Because of their closer relationship Bonjour felt the student was someone she could trust to see what she put on Facebook. In her opinion adding current students to your Facebook is inappropriate. However, social studies teacher John Nickels disagrees. He doesn’t mind being friends with his students. He currently has 547 friends on Facebook and, accord-
SCOTT WATSON
Q: What do you think of teachers being friends with their current students on Facebook? A: I think it’s really weird. I don’t think it’s okay. It’s breaching the teacherstudent relationship. Q: When is the appropriate time for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook? A: After graduation because that’s an easier way to keep in touch, especially for our generation.
NEWS 04 11-15-10
the briefs College Connection
week in 3 photos
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Additionally, there will be another clinic in March called Getting Started, and it will concentrate on ACT and SAT test preparation, counselor support and testing schedules. Handy suggests that seniors and juniors try to attend the program, and thinks that parents who have kids in high school for the first time would definitely benefit from the meeting.
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hawnee Mission East’s College Connection will be held at 7 p.m. in the Library. Cathy Handy is the “president elect” of the PTA - taking the role of president next year. She describes that the event will give students information on college; financial aid, tips on filling out applications and picking the right school will all be included in the seminar. “I think it does [helps kids],” Handy said. “The program has been revived in the past few years - I know Barb Haviland and Barb Nichols kind of brought it back to life - my son’s a junior so I guess this year I’m more interested in this stuff.” Once inside the clinic, the students will receive pamphlets and information, as well as hear speakers. This winter’s program will be led by Sharon Goble and focuses on paying for college. It will include information on financial aid, grants and loans.
taking a look at November’s upcoming events
he Lancer’s 9-1 football season not only improved upon last year’s record, but broke school milestones; including wins in a season. The Lancers ultimately ended up winning the Kansas 6A District 2 Title and got a share of the Sunflower League Title for the first time since 1966. And at the conclusion of their season, the Lancers have one closing act left. The end of the year football banquet will take place at 4 p.m. in East’s
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countdown
Nov
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CAN DRIVE AUCTION Main Gym 7-9 p.m.
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main g y m . The event will be open to players, friends and families. Senior John Schrock was a quarterback on the team and has been in attendance at the event for the past four years. Schrock describes that the event will start off by head coach Chip Sherman talking about the teams and reflecting on the season. Than, coaches from other teams - JV, Sophomore and freshman - will get their chance to talk to those in attendance. After this, seniors receive certificates; and Coach Sherman talks one last time about the seniors. The ceremony concludes with the seniors reflecting on their careers in front of the crowd. Shrock thinks this year will feel different for him, since he’s graduating next year. “It’s like the finale for our football careers,” Schrock said. “It’s kind of weird for us, we’re all getting ready for next season; done with it all.”
Footba ll
Nov
19
MORP
Cafeteria Cafeteria 7:30-10 7:30 - 10p.m. p.m.
Nov
22
WINTER MEET THE COACHES NIGHT
Banque t
Main Gym 7-9 p.m.
Nov
24-29 THANKSGIVING
Senior Betsy Blessen gives a motivational speech to her team about their first win in the dodgeball tournament since their freshmen year. “It is such a fun event, and something I will miss come my years in college,” Blessen said.
Prepping before their halftime show, senior Rachel Duvall balances herself on senior Julie Chalfant.
The East football fans point at the opposing team and chant, “we got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit, how about you?” all photos by DanStewart
BREAK Students out of school
NEWS issue 6
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COMMUNITYEFFORT Monthly meetings for Public Learning Communities encourage departments to create common assessments
Q: What kinds of things are physics classes doing to meet the goal of common assessment? A: We are looking at redoing the unit exams. We look at the results and make sure [there are] fair questions and ask, “Did we teach that fairly, equitably and adequately?” Q: How similar are the tests from different physics teachers? A: The guideline is 80 percent common questions with 20 percent of our own strengths.
goals and no deadlines and leaves it to the teachers to decide on what to do and how to do it. Teachers are often asked to prepare presentations or worksheets to give to their colleagues, but with no incentive, this rarely gets done. “It’s really challenging in English to look at data in things other than skills,” Bonjour said. “You can’t keep subjectivity out of essays. It’s hard to see if students are getting as much help and support that they need based on the data at PLC meetings.” The goal of PLCs is to create the best possible learning environment for students. Teachers, after assessing the data, can determine which topics need more time in the classroom. Instead of moving on when half a class gets a question wrong on a test, teachers, using PLCs, can re-teach and enable a student to re-learn the material. The PLCs allows teachers to discover which methods work and which don’t. “The key is collaboration,” Hailey said. “Unless we’re talking to each other, collaborating and working together, we’re not going to reach the needs of the students as effectively.”
THE FIVE W’s of PLCs
WHO: Teachers divide up into their departments WHAT: Meetings for Public Learning Communities WHERE: Various classrooms around the school WHEN: The first Tuesday of each month WHY: To collaborate with one another to find a method of common assessment that each teacher can install into their curriculum
KEVIN SIMPSON LUCY RUPF
Q: What exactly is a common assessment? A: Common assessment means that you’re trying to write a single evaluation — it can be a test but it doesn’t have to be — that you would use for all students. Q: How do the math classes meet the goal of common assessments? A: Every teacher that has honors PreCalc students [for example] can take the same evaluation. We have always traded information and swapped tests.
NICK PARIS
Q: What are the goals of the PLCs? A: We try to make each of the American government classes a pretty similar experience. Obviously Mr. Stallard, Mr. Elliott and I have much different personalities, but the goal is a common assessment. Q: How does your department try to get that common assessment? A: We’re trying to give the same tests, or pretty close to it. We come up with similar questions that ask about the same concepts.
ENGLISH
MILES MARTIN
to evaluate their students. For English 12 this year, it was a college essay assignment. Teacher Jeanette Bonjour is the volunteer for the English 12 district-wide PLC. “We talked about how we all approach it, how we teach it, what’s the process; the nuts and bolts of it,” Bonjour said. “At our next meeting in January, we’ll talk about how the essays worked and how satisfied our students were with the end result.” After these meetings, the volunteers meet back with their building PLC group and discuss what was done at other high schools within the district. This allows the teachers at East to talk about and decide on the best way to help students. According to two teachers who wish to remain anonymous, there are a few setbacks to the PLC meetings. Teachers with more than one subject have to split the meeting time to go to two separate meetings. Some teachers have upwards of two or three different subjects. There are also no rewards or consequences for fulfilling the PLC requirements. The system is set in place by the district, but there is no enforcement. The district sets no
SOCIAL STUDIES
Teachers express their views on the PLCs and their impact on the learning environment
SCIENCE
LANCER VOICE
cialist who supports all the English teachers in the district. She says the district’s adoption of the system is indicative of the district’s conscious effort to find a better way of doing things. “It was really a new concept for the district,” Hailey said. “But there’s an open-door policy and we hope to encourage sharing between teachers.” At East, teachers meet monthly to create common assessments and common ways of teaching the material. Each teacher is still able to create their own lesson plan, but the goal is for each classroom to yield equivalent results. The district mandates which skills need to be known by students, but it is up to the PLCs to determine the best way to teach these skills. All freshmen read To Kill A Mockingbird in their English 9 class. The English 9 teachers met in their PLC to create quizzes and tests that would best reflect the students’ abilities, and will meet again to discuss the success of their students. They will be able to assess which teaching strategies worked and which didn’t, why some teacher’s students scored better than others and discover the best way to teach their classes. “At first, some might be a little threatened because the assessments are based on their students’ scores,” Hailey said, “But it should be a fostering environment and a learning experience, not a way to embarrass teachers.” Four times a year, one representative per subject and grade level meets with other instructors in the district to confer with teachers of the same subject to discuss what works and what doesn’t in the classroom. Going off the District-mandated curriculum, the volunteers decide on an assignment by which
MATH
KatyWesthoff
On the first Tuesday of every month, while East students get to sleep in for the late start, teachers report to school on time. Teachers meet in their Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, with colleagues that teach the same subject. These meetings are designed to standardize the different teacher’s classes, create common tests and curriculum and an overall equal learning environment for students. The Shawnee Mission School District adapted the DuFour model of PLCs two years ago. Richard DuFour, a teacher and superintendent from Illinois, created the model in 2004. The administrators had seen the DuFour model working in Derby, Kansas, as well as across the nation. They discussed a number of different options and decided on the DuFour model because it works better for teachers with the same subject rather than across grade levels. The district mission statement reads: “The educational community will relentlessly empower each student to succeed through an intentional multi-tiered system of support.” Both high school and middle school have the PLC system in place. While teaching at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, DuFour came up with his idea for the PLC. Instead of isolating teachers to their classrooms and on their own, he decided to create a learning community among teachers. “To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results,” DuFour wrote in his explanation of PLCs. Carol Hailey, the Language Arts coordinator for PLCs in the district, is a resource spe-
SKIP GRAHAM KEVIN SIMPSON
Q: Why are PLCs beneficial? A: It’s to benefit the students. The idea is that this way we can exactly pinpoint where strengths and weaknesses are. It’s not Q: What is a potential drawback of PLCs? A: It’s not about determining who’s a good teacher and who’s a bad teacher. I think that’s the danger — that’s the risk. You potentially pit teachers against each other, and I don’t think that’s a healthy situation.
EDITORIAL 06 11-15-10
ANNOUNCE-MESS
Letters to the editor should be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editor’s discretion.
Harbinger
The new types of announcements tried out this year have been ineffectual
This year the administration has taken a different approach to the typical mid-morning announcements. Instead of the original over-the-intercom announcements, they attempted to go digital with a PowerPoint shown over the school’s closed circuit TV channel. When the technology for those proved difficult for some teachers, they moved to having teachers read the announcements to their classes. The administrators hoped that teachers would be able to adjust the announcements to fit the students in their class. When the PowerPoint announcements began, the intercom announcements ceased. But the idea of the PowerPoint being more productive then the intercom was a bust. If the District wants to stay with their new “green” policy, the energy of all of the projectors in the school should be used to broadcast prerecorded announcements, not a PowerPoint. Though teachers were encouraged to show announcements over their projectors or read them aloud, some teachers seemed to ignore that responsibility. When students did receive the announcements, they were often presented in a manner that made students pay less attention to them than they might with intercom announcements. Until the intercom announcements recently resumed, it has been nearly impossible for students to keep up with events happening at East. It seemed like more students were getting informed through rumor rather than daily announcements. Even though the PowerPoint announcements weren’t successful, the administration made an effort to take fresh approaches to spreading the news through the school. The fact of the matter is, they didn’t give up and quit trying to make an improvement. Even when the PowerPoint announcements were not going as well as they thought, they kept trying their best to inform the student body about their school’s events. But the intercom announcements are the best option right now. The best and clearest way to get
a message across to the entire school right now is to read them over the intercom, in the same way they call students to the office and announce cancelled sporting events. After StuCo approached the administration about the announcements, the administration considered changing the announcements back to the traditional intercom-style. The intercom announcements finally resumed when StuCo presented the administrators with a unanimous vote by the Council to bring them back. Announcements are important. They inform East students of important dates coming up and the accomplishments of their peers. The absence of effective announcements is unacceptable. Knowing this, the administration made a respectable effort to try keep students informed about their school. But most importantly, the original intercom announcements are back. They are the best option at the time in the past and will continue to be the best option in the near future. The administration and StuCo are currently working on creating video broadcasts to replace the intercom announcements at least partially. The administration made a valiant effort mixing up the announcements, but should have continued with the intercom until the broadcast announcements were ready.
The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board for
against absent
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the
a publication of shawnee mission east high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208
Print Editors-In-Chief Andrew Goble Annie Sgroi Online Editors-in-Chief Logan Heley Pat McGannon Assistant Print Editors Kat Buchanan Evan Nichols Art and Design Editor Emma Pennington Head Copy Editor Kevin Simpson Assistant Online Editor Maggie Simmons Photo Editors Grant Heinlein Dan Stewart News Editor Jack Howland News Page Editors Morgan Christian Editorial Editor
Katy Westhoff Opinion Editor Raina Weinberg Opinion Page Editors Ian Wiseman Emily Kerr Mixed Editor Anne Willman Spread Editors Lilly Myers Toni Aguiar Features Editor Sarah McKittrick Features Page Editors Chloe Stradinger Haley Martin Alysabeth Albano A&E Editor Aubrey Leiter A&E Page Editors Kennedy Burgess Tom Lynch Sports Editor
Corbin Barnds
Nov. 15, 2010 Sports Page Editors issue 6, vol. 52
Matt Gannon Freelance Page Editors Christa McKittrick Assistant Photo Editor Eden Schoofs Freelance Page Editors Christa McKittrick Copy Editors Evan Nichols Andrew Goble Annie Sgroi Kevin Simpson Kat Buchanan Jack Howland Morgan Christian Anne Willman Logan Heley Bob Martin Matt Gannon Chris Heady Staff Writers Grant Kendall Alex Lamb
Chris Heady Julia Davis Zoe Brian Caroline Creidenberg Paige Hess Editorial Board Andrew Goble Annie Sgroi Corbin Barnds Logan Heley Kevin Simpson Jennifer Rorie Jack Howland Evan Nichols Kat Buchanan Bob Martin Morgan Christian Photographers Katie East Grant Kendall Anna Marken Sammi Kelley Samantha Bartow Claire Wahrer Tomi Caldwell
Grace Snyder Riley Meurer Marissa Horwitz Kaitlyn Stewart Ads/Circulation Manager Jennifer Rorie Staff Artist Alex Goldman Online Copy Editors Kennedy Burgess Lilly Myers Online Photo Editor Lindsey Hartnett Multimedia Editor Maggie Simmons Convergence Editor Bob Martin Homegrown Editor Nathan Walker Podcast/Blog Editor Jeff Cole Video Editor Alex Lamb Videographers Thomas Allen
Nathan Walker Andrew Simpson Live Broadcast Editor Jeff Cole Live Broadcast Producers Thomas Allen Tom Lynch Anchors Andrew Simpson Jeff Cole Chloe Stradinger Corbin Barnds Kevin Simpson Nathan Walker Paige Hess PR Representative Chloe Stradinger Online Staff Writers Andrew Simpson 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.
YOUNIVERSITY Where you belong
OPINION issue 6
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Junior feels overwhelmed by college application process, but is optimistic for future We were in sophomore English class, presenting “about me” posters as part of a first an opinion of Julia Davis week get-to-knowyou activity. My mouth hung open in amazement as one of my peers detailed her plans for the future. “After high school, I want to go to either Brown or Georgetown for college, where I will major in political science and minor in international relations and cultural studies. Then I want to work at an embassy, and then four or five years after that I want to go to grad school. Eventually I want to work at the U.N. or the I.C.C. (International Criminal Court), and get my doctorate so I can become a professor at a college.” Our posters had to have a section dedicated to “the future.” Her future section included college mascots, organization logos, and every other detail you could imagine. Mine consisted of a graduation cap, the silhouette of a city skyline, and a wedding dress. I didn’t even know my plans for the rest of high school, let alone college and my career. As soon as I entered junior year, the questions started coming my way. “So have you thought about colleges yet?” “Where do you want to apply to?” “What are your plans for the future?” It was like having the label of “junior in high school” automatically meant that college was now the only thing on my mind. In the midst of kids who knew where they wanted to go, what they wanted to do, and what their third dog’s name was going to be, I felt like I knew less than ever before about what I wanted to do with my future. Ever since fifth grade, when two broken bones resulted in four months with a cast and countless trips to the orthopedic clinic, I have wanted to be a doctor. I used to be one of those people that had it all planned out. I was going to go to some great college, complete four years there, then immediately go to some oth-
er great medical school and coast along until I reached the end result of being a doctor. However, once I reached high school I began having second thoughts about this grand scheme of mine. Before sophomore year, school had always come pretty easily to me. But when I hit that year, I realized how much work it can be when you are taking a variety of challenging courses, all of which expect you to be putting in your best effort and committing a good amount of time to your studies. These are the kind of courses I would be taking for the rest of my career as a student if I really wanted to become a doctor. This got me to thinking if it was all really worth it, all the time that’s required, all the studying, for the next ten years of my life. Is that really what I wanted? Besides the realization of the sheer amount of work my goals would require, a trip that I took this summer also got me thinking about my future. In July, I spent two weeks in Tanzania, teaching English at a school and working in an orphanage. This trip changed the way I looked at the world, and at my life and goals. I realized how much I love traveling and seeing new and different cultures around the world, and it made me wonder if I really wanted to spend my whole young-adult life in school. I wondered if I might instead want to spend these years working abroad. Was being a doctor really right for me? And lastly, this year is the first year that my fellow classmates and I, as juniors, have begun to look seriously at the choices we have for college. Before now, we may have had a few universities that we had heard of in mind, but now we have to start considering all that is out there and everything that factors into our choice: money, location, size--the list goes on and on. This aspect is what makes the process of choosing a college most confusing. Before this year, my knowledge of what universities are out there was acquired mainly by watching college sports and listening in on older friends
Student Voice What has been the most overwhelming thing about the college application process?
Henry Foster
Madeline Goss
as they discussed where they were sending in their applications. Junior year was the first year that I was really exposed to the variety and huge number of options out there that I didn’t even know existed. Each May as I scan through the final issue of the Harbinger and look at the list of colleges that seniors have chosen to attend come fall, there are always eight or nine random schools that I have never heard of. I always wonder how someone found this school. What made him or her decide that they wanted to go there? How did he or she know that this college was worth visiting? College Clinic at East rolled around, and I thought I would finally get some guidance as to what colleges to look at. But instead, I left that night feeling more overwhelmed than ever. I couldn’t think of anything except the hundreds of tables I walked by, the 30 or so pamphlets I picked up but would probably never get a chance to read, and the multitude of colleges that thought I was “right for them.” These thoughts lingered with me for a few days after the clinic, but as I really started thinking deeply about colleges and my future for the first time, something occurred to me.
Although at this moment, choosing the right college seems like the biggest choice in my life, in ten years when I look back on things, chances are I will be content with wherever I end up going. Yeah, I might not get in to my number one choice, but who’s to say that I can’t have a great college experience at my safety school? Every time I log on to Facebook, my newsfeed is full of pictures of friends enjoying their freshman year of college, and I am almost positive that not ALL of them are currently attending the number one school that was on their list. This realization has made the whole process of looking for a college a lot less stressful. Now whatever college I look at, I genuinely try to picture myself there. I know that I don’t have to go to some prestigious, well-known university to have a successful college career. Every college in the country has certain aspects that make it great. Wherever I go, I’ll meet new people, take classes that I enjoy, find my niche there and take advantage of the experience.
This could be YOU.
“Definitely the essays. I have been staying up way too late trying to finish those.”
“For me it hasn’t really been that stressful because I’m just applying to KU and Arkansas and I know the requirements of both.”
Amy Cosgrove
Robert Enders
“Just finding time to do it all, applying for housing and scholarships.”
”Essays. Being busy with school it has been hard to find the time to sit down and write college essays.” all photos by EdenSchoofs
seventeen Four days of
08 11-15-10
OPINION
all photos by KatieEast
The
GUIDE TO G
an opinion of CarolineCreidenberg
I’m not a girly-girl. But we’ve been over that. I’m more of the pony-tail wearing, wake-up-ten-minutesbefore-leaving, throw on a T-shirt and shorts kind of girl. So when I read a blog about a high school girl living by Seventeen Magazine, it didn’t apply to me. Until I thought...maybe I could use some fashion advice, maybe I could wear some makeup every once in a while, but does Seventeen give good advice for people like me? I was going to figure that out. The test: Follow what the November issue of Seventeen Magazine says. It didn’t stop there though. My little “test” got turned into an experiment. I now had a few rules added on by my fashion consul-
Tuesday Boots
Having a late start was beneficial to my sleeping schedule. Waking up at 8:30 a.m., I started my new morning ritual. First was the hair. I decided, since this was going to be the day I get the most sleep, to straighten it. After frying my hair to a perfect pin straight hair-do, I moved on to clothes. Throwing on what I like to call a suction cup skirt and an oversized, yet fitted top, with my new cowboy boots, I felt ready to walk down a runway. No offense to anyone who primps themselves for school on a regular basis, but I felt ridiculous. Why would you get so dressed up to just go sit in a desk all day? Next was the makeup--the challenge of
Staffer
tants, aka fellow Harbinger staff members Chloe Stradinger and Paige Hess. Rules: One, no wearing my everyday hair style— the pony tail—to school. Two, no wearing pants, with the exception of leggings. And three, I have to wear makeup to school, which I have never done before. The experiment began with a scavenger hunt. I had to find the clothes that Seventeen called for. After searching six closets for the right animal print shirts and body flattering sweater dresses and three bathrooms for the bright blue eye shadow, I was ready.
the morning. Running through the steps Seventeen had showed me, and remembering the extra pointers Chloe had taught me, I applied the “flirty” look, as Seventeen called it. Finally, I was ready for school. The first comment of the day was from my English teacher, wondering if I had gotten a hair cut. Three more people wondered the same thing. One of my close friends didn’t even recognize me as I was walking through the cafeteria; I guess having my hair straightened was a bigger change then I realized. Between picking wedgies and holding my hair back wishing I had a pony tail holder, it was a long, uncomfortable day. The minute I got home I walked upstairs and returned to my ever-so-loved running shorts, and threw my hair in a ponytail. Rubbing the blister I had gotten from wearing my boots, I sat down to relax, wondering what the next day would bring.
Friday
Skirts
details
FASHION-BA SE
her
of a conservative, TOMSwearing individual like me. I started with the makeup I knew how to put on: blush, mascara and eye shadow. Then I finally finished off with eye liner. Attempting to put on eyeliner was by far the hardest part. Staring into the mirror, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. There was a thick black line two centimeters below my eye. Clearly, I wasn’t going to be able to pick this up overnight. Sprinting into my parents’ bathroom, I grabbed the makeup remover and scrubbed away at the lines. Through my red, watering eyes I glanced in the mirror and decided to settle with what I had. It may not have been perfect, or edgy (not even one bit) but it was going to have to work. School was not as uncomfortable or long today. The outfit I wore let me sit any way I wanted, which made it more comfortable. And comfort is what I like. Many enjoyed my flashy sequined shress (shirt dress). Someone commented on my shoes while I was walking barefoot, holding them in my hand. The blisters were too much for me and it felt as if my toes were being smashed. Finally the day ended and I quickly changed into a T-shirt and sweatshirt, but left on the leggings. A sign of progression in my girly-ness.
lifes yl e experitm ent
D
Wednesday
Make-up
I wore a full sequined dress/shirt that, oddly enough, belonged to me. Throwing it on top of a pair of black leggings, I was ready to hit up a club. But instead I was going to a day at school. I shoved my feet into the only flats I own and ran out the door. Realizing seconds later that they were two sizes too small. I could feel the blisters forming as I pulled on my grey cardigan. My makeup routine for the morning was rushed and pathetic. I was going for the “edgy” look that Seventeen had showed Rihanna wearing. A hip, edgy, stiletto-wearing singer who was the complete opposite Thursday November 4, 2010 marks the day I, Caroline Creidenberg, a girl who’s never touched a curling iron in her life, curled my hair. After roughly five minutes of staring in the mirror deciding how exactly one is supposed to curl hair, I resorted to Google. Watching a quick one minute video “How to Curl Your Hair”, I went back to the curler and attempted the impossible. Surprisingly enough, I got it on the first try. A successful bouncy curl took shape in my hair. The problem: it was very bouncy. Combing it out and setting the curler on a lower heating, I finished the rest of my hair. Time was ticking and I couldn’t be late to school again, so I settled with a half up hair-do, my perfectly coiffed curls hanging around my face. After spending so much time on hair, I had almost no time for makeup and clothing. A simple natural look
The end was finally here, and I couldn’t wait to be done with this project. Not that it wasn’t fun, but by the fourth day I was ready to put on sweatpants, a T-shirt and sit crisscross without showing my underwear. I accidentally slept through my alarm, leaving me not nearly enough time to get ready. Luckily, I’d set out an outfit the night before. However, I wasn’t feeling the outfit, so I moved on to plan B. Frantically searching for something else to wear, my creative instincts came into play. I grabbed two skirts, putting on the pink animal print skirt for a shirt and the other black ruffle as a skirt. It looked cute, it followed Seventeen’s animal print fad, and I was just going to have to live with the discomfort and obnoxiousness of pulling my shirt up every five minutes.
LAMOUR:
Curls
Thursday
was going to have to work. Luckily, there was a look in Seventeen called “Natural.” Today was also the day for a dress. I pulled out the cutest dress I could fine in the pile of lended clothing, a ruffle scoop neck patterned dress, paired it with a belt and was ready. Walking through the hallway I felt like an American Girl Doll. Curled hair, ruffled dress, and black flats. I’m almost positive an American Girl Doll my cousin owns has the exact same outfit.
I’m just going to admit right now that I did slack a little on the experiment that morning. I tried out animal prints, and that was about it. My hair was left over from the day before, and my makeup...well let’s just say it wasn’t really there. Some foundation and sparkly blush was all I had time for. Falling back into my old habits wasn’t part of the plan. By the fourth day people knew what was going on and they stopped telling me they liked my outfit and starting asking me how glad I was that it was almost over. And I was very glad. I knew one thing for sure, I would not be continuing to live in this world of dress up. Maybe once a week, but definitely not every day. The world of fashion, makeup, and time consumption is not for me. I don’t have the patience to sit in front of the mirror for hours, fixing that one semi-curly strand of hair. I don’t have the love of fashion to try on several different outfit until I find the “perfect” one. But I do understand that it makes you feel confident and put together, and I can respect that.
A link to the past An opinion of TomLynch After reading the Great Gatsby in English class this past month, I realized something: I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t be living in this day and age. I’m just not cut out for life in the modern world. No, I’m not a Luddite. I don’t fear that machines controlled by Skynet will someday take over the world and annihilate humanity. I just want to go back to a time much simpler than this—a time known as the Jazz Age. And no, I’m not condoning alcoholism. It isn’t the drunkenness that I admire. It’s the hedonistic attitude that the decade embodies. The people of the twenties took the phrase “all good things in moderation” and said “the hell with that crap!” And they decided to live life to the fullest. To put it plainly and simply, that generation had more fun. The technologies of today have really advanced leaps and bounds from those of the 1920s, and these advancements pose a threat to our enjoyment of life. They give us too many choices to make. Take for example our choice of vices for people to indulge t h e m selves in. To d a y there are a whole host of recreational drugs that weren’t around back in the twenties. Every day it seems, people are finding new things to get high off of. With so
RETRO ACTIVE
OPINION issue 6
Junior reflects on a simpler time when life didn’t revolve around rules and technology
many choices, many end up feeling lost when it comes time to choose which vice is right for them, when it comes time to escape the woes of their monotonous lives. People may become preoccupied with the decision making process, and instead of escaping them, people end up making the headache of our daily lives even worse. Back in the twenties though, it was easier. Back then people didn’t have to think through all their choices—because they didn’t have any. If someone wanted to indulge in unhealthy behavior, they hadn’t any choice but to pour themselves a deep glass of whiskey and drink their troubles away. With less time deliberating on every decision, they had more time to have fun. Now that it had to be bootlegged, alcohol was more expensive than ever, but it didn’t matter to the Americans of the Lost Generation, because they had money to burn. Which brings me to my next point: people back in the twenties knew that there are in fact a few material things that are worth the money. Examples include flying first class, a nice watch, or in the case of the flappers, good liquor. On the other hand, today all around me, people are obsessing over saving on everything, sacrificing a pleasurable lifestyle. These people buy generic groceries, with generic tastes, and it’s no wonder that their lives follow suit, and are completely generic. They become so obsessed with whether they need something or not, whether it might be possible to get by with an inferior product, that they completely ignore how much they want it. Whether it’s a $5 Frappuccino from Starbucks, or a $250,000 Lamborghini, there are indeed things in this world that bring joy to those that who purchase them. Then there are those who are occupied with living as healthy of a life as possible. Some call this living their “best life.” But, it doesn’t seem like one to me. My best life is the most pleasurable one. I don’t care if eating more than the prescribed six ounces of red meat a week is going to
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shorten my life a little. I’d rather have a happy short life, than a long one where all I ate was celery sticks and all I drank was water. Are these things needed? No, but they make one’s life much more enjoyable. Of course, the government tried to control them. They said that this behavior was “taking a toll on society,” and passed Prohibition. But, the stubborn population of flappers and their male counterparts didn’t let Uncle Sam rain on their parade. Instead they drank more than they had ever drunk before. They opened up speakeasies and installed hidden doorways in their homes that lead to their own fully stocked bars. This is the final thing that made life in the twenties so admirable. They didn’t let the government push them around. They asked themselves how the government could possibly know what was best for their own health. They weren’t hurting anybody. So, they just ignored the law. Furthermore, despite their drunkenness, the twenties were a time of economic prosperity. Well, maybe not so much, I believe they called that wake up call the Great Depression. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, the stock market didn’t crash until late 1929--that’s nearly ten years of perceived prosperity. And it really is all about perception, isn’t it? At least that’s what they’re teaching us International Baccalaureate candidates in Theory of Knowledge. Imagine what it must have felt like for the guy that went through the twenties eating cabbage once the Great Depression set in. I bet that the party-goers were pretty happy that they had spent all their savings on booze instead of letting it sit in the bank. Our generation could learn a lot from the flappers. We need to stop debating about how many calories are in each cube of sugar and instead start dumping the whole jar into our coffee. At least that’s the life I want to lead—I guess I was just born in the wrong decade.
Staffers share their thoughts on which decades would be best to live in
Yes, the 1940s was a time of the second World War and the Great Depression, but there were great things that came out of this decade. For one, women were being looked at as strong forces in the workplace . I could only hope to meet someone as charming as Ryan Gosling’s character in the “Notebook” and express our mutual love for swing music. KennedyBurgess
Why the 1910s? They’ve been forgotten, outshone by their decadent and more inviting neighboring decades. Take me back a century to an even simpler time than that of the 2k10 era, where my Facebook status doesn’t need to be constantly updated and the brand of my jeans isn’t scrutinized by onlooking peers. KatBuchanan
1910
1940
1960
I can’t think of a better time to live in than the 1960s. It would undoubtably be easier to own my dream car, a yellow VW bus, back then than it would now. I would drive my bus up to Woodstock, New York to catch a piece musical history. Perhaps I would take up residence in Venice beach to “bump into” Jim Morrison. RainaWeinberg
all photos by GrantHeinlein
10
OPINION
11-15-10
The Lancer football program had never won eight games in a season - until this year. It hadn’t won a Sunflower League title since 1966 - until this year. For seventeen straight years, the East football team was pummeled by the SM West Vikings an opinion of Kevin Simpson until this year. On Oct. 22, a program with limited football success took a huge step toward ending each of those streaks by dominating the Vikings the entire game. With 1:16 left in the fourth quarter, senior Robby Moriarty kneeled the ball for the third straight play. As the final seconds ticked away, the Lancers finished off the biggest win in school history, tying a school record for wins in a season with seven. It was a 21-10 masterpiece in which the Lancers never trailed, and the Nut Cup - the one we compete with West for, anyway - was returned to East for the first time since 1993. It was a victory that made a huge statement, one that said the East football program, often cast aside due to a lack of success, could be a major player in the Sunflower League under the direction of head coach Chip Sherman. While I watched the replay of the game on Metro Sports, one thing stuck with me. It wasn’t the steady leadership of Sherman and quarterback John Schrock. It wasn’t the impenetrable effort on the defensive side of the ball, led by coordinator Chip Ufford. Actually, it didn’t have anything to do with the onfield action. During the celebration after Moriarty’s kneel, play-by-play announcer Kevin Wike made the comment that left me speechless. “Everybody has this idea that it’s a bunch of country club kids living in rich neighborhoods,” Wike said. “But I tell you what, they’re some hardworking kids that really put in the time, and good coaches, and they were able to turn this program around.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. During the biggest win in program history, the economic background of the players was being discussed on local television. Rather than complimenting the preparation or the discipline or the execution of the Lancers, Wike chose to comment on perceived stereotypes of Shawnee Mission East athletes. While Wike appeared to be trying to squash the stereotype, he ends his comment by pointing out that Lancer athletes do, in fact, work hard. This was the part that truly bothered me. The comment implied that there is a perception that SME student-athletes don’t put in the necessary effort to succeed in athletics. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’ve played four sports at East, yet never attained a varsity letter. I’ve seen first hand in all these sports just how hard my fellow classmates and teammates have worked to reach the success that they have experienced. Senior Ross Guignon has been playing multiple hours of tennis a day for more than a decade. The seniors on the boys’ soccer team have competed in premiere soccer leagues and tournaments year-round for as long as I’ve known them.
I’ve seen Shawn Hair’s basketball team attain second and third place finishes in the state basketball tournament despite facing off against teams that boast far superior athletic ability. It is the fitness, desire and intensity displayed by Hair’s teams that keep them in the game, and these traits directly correlate with a work ethic that apparently comes as a surprise to those outside the East community. Anyone that is surprised when they see a hard working Lancer athletic team simply hasn’t been paying attention. This work ethic has led to eight combined state titles in boys’ and girls’ cross country, three in girls’ soccer, two in baseball and one in girls’ basketball. None of these are considered “country club” sports, yet East athletes have proven that they are able to succeed in these as well. Labeling East as a “country club school” affects both sides in a negative way. State championships for golf, swimming and tennis are greeted with a yawn, and success in other sports is overlooked by those determined to prove that East’s only athletic achievements come from elsewhere. Wike’s comment is not only inaccurate, but it also helps perpetuate popular stereotypes about East athletics that are far from true. For years, East has been labeled a country club school, and the success of our golf, tennis and swim and dive teams does little to dispel that notion. However, this also implies that there is a lack of success in other sports, which is simply not the case. Despite a lack of state championships in any sport other than golf, swimming and tennis since 2000, there certainly hasn’t been a lack of success in other sports. This fall sports season alone, the soccer and football teams both captured Sunflower League titles to go along with those earned by the girls’ golf and tennis squads. This marked the first time since 1966 that the Lancer athletic department could boast four league titles in a single season. Those that heard Wike’s comment probably had no idea that Shawnee Mission East has found success in a variety of sports. Money can buy advantages in any sport - soccer, golf, basketball, track, you name it. There are pricey baseball bats. There are pairs of basketball shoes that cost a small fortune. There are soccer cleats that are significantly more expensive than others, but no shoe is going to put the ball in the back of the net for you. No shoe I know of, at least. No matter what perceived advantages money can purchase, it still boils down to which team puts in more hours in the offseason and executes more sharply on gameday. This year’s Lancer football team was an example of a team that was well-coached (they did have the winningest coach in Missouri high school football on the sidelines) and was so consistent that they rarely beat themselves with costly penalties and turnovers. Money can’t buy ball security. It can’t teach George Brophy and Josh Mais to properly follow the defensive scouting report. These guys learned these things the hard way, with no help from neighborhood they returned to after practice.
athletes share stories of ways they’ve been
STEREOTYPED sophomore Joe Bahr
“A lot of other teams stereotype us as small, white guys who don’t stand a chance. It’s kind of annoying but we prove ourselves on the court.”
BASKETBALL
junior Lilli Stalder
SWIMMING
“Other schools are like, ‘Oh, they’re only good because they swim country club,’ but they swim Blazers and Swim Academy too. Swimming in the summer leagues isn’t what makes us better.”
senior Chris Melvin
SOCCER
“When other teams see our gear they make jokes about it like, ‘Only at East would you get all that gear,’ because we buy our own matching warm up jackets. They think it’s ridiculous, but in reality they wish they were us because it’s sweet.”
AFALSE PERCEPTION
Staffer explains frustration with the false generalization that East is only a competitor in country club sports
FEATURES issue 6
THE HARBINGER’S
Dish of Choice
THANKSGIVING
Students talk about their favorite dish for Thanksgiving
DAY PARADE
There’s no other time of the year I want to eat [turkey]. I just want to eat it on Thanksgiving. It’s comparatively better than the others. It’s the food that you think of for Thanksgiving. Sophomore ChloeVollenweider
EmmaPennington
THANKSGIVING IS A HOLIDAY THAT’S CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. Let’s be honest, when people think of
I only eat [stuffing] on Thanksgving so it’s more special. And it’s my favorite dish to have on Thanksgiving. Senior CarolineDoerr
Thanksgiving they think of a day of eating good food and having yummy leftovers in the following days. This page gives a deeper look into students’ Turkey Day thoughts. Everyone seems to have a different favorite food, different memory and different thing to be thankful for.
When you eat [mashed potatoes] when it’s not Thanksgiving it can always take you back to what your thankful for. I love the way it leaves your belly happy. Junior AndrewHerst
What are YOU thankful for?
[Rolls] are buttery and delicious. It’s just a weird thing I have. You can use them to make sandwiches with your turkey and ham. They are just so versatile. Senior BeccaThrasher
The Harbinger takes a look at what students are thankful for this season
Junior Tyler Germann
Mouthwatering Pie Graph
We asked 30 students what their favorite Thanksgiving pie was. It was fairly obvious how we would present the results:
I am really thankful for my relationships with friends. With college so close, knowing I won’t be seeing them everyday makes me thankful for my last few months with them.
Apple
Senior Emily Fuson
Pecan
I’m definitely most thankful for my family, no matter how far apart this year they are. We still stick together through the thick and thin. I’m also thankful for the opportunities God has given me to play music this year in four (and possibly two more) states. Junior Kristen Shedor
Thanksgiving Memories Molly Jennings
Every year we go to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving and my Grandma cooks practically everything. One year, as usual, the pumpkin pie went in the oven last, and when it finally came out after much anticipation we discovered that she had forgotten to add the sugar. Needless to say, we didn’t have dessert that year and we still haven’t let her live it down.
Maggie Niven
French Silk
Cherry Pumpkin Other Key Lime Students tell us about their most memorable Thanksgiving moments
Last year I wanted to be different by having Chinese food. We were planing on getting takeout and going home to eat it with my mom, so my dad and I went to see a movie first then planned to get the food. By the time we got out everything was closed. The only place open was CVS! I ended up getting nacho cheese dip, tortilla chips, microwave cake, Diet Coke and the closest thing to Chinese foodmicrowavable Thai noodles. No turkey for me, just some quality CVS grub. It’s a Thanksgiving I will never forget.
Eli Mitchell
I do remember the time when my sister had to heat something up because it had been sitting out for a while, and she accidentally set the microwave to three hours instead of three minutes. One near-house-fire later, we were all too shocked to finish our meals. We still laugh about it every Thanksgiving.
Meghan Dickinson
all photos by SamanthaBartow
My mom is healthy and rid of cancer for good and all surgeries are done and she is very happy. My dad coming home from the Middle East after two years of being away and getting promoted in the Navy. My parents have jobs.
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Well, this is not a good memory, but it was funny. I was trying to be like my dad, who ate a piece of bacon all in one bite. So I tried the same thing and it ends up with me choking on the bacon and my mom freaking out, my dad running in from the other room wondering what the heck is going on, and everyone else just sits in the other room watching television. Meanwhile, I have already pulled the bacon out of my own throat, and the kids are still sittin’ there watching television.
FEATURES 12 11-15-10
The
y n i a br h c n u b
m gories teaartin t the Cate M
ok a
a closer lo
Every Tuesday afternoon, as students are scurrying to their cars, the bus, anywhere other than the hall of East, a group of seven or eight students head to room 317. While the rest of the school is looking to escape the learning environment, the Categories team is actively engaged in a frenzy of knowledge. Similar to Jeopardy, Categories is a basic trivia competition that pits two teams of five from different area schools and districts against one another. The game has two rounds that keep things varied for the teams. In the first, a moderator poses questions one at a time to each team. In the second, a rapid fire question is
Bob
all photos by DanStewart
posed, and the first team to buzz in gets the chance to answer. The team with the most points from answering questions correctly at the end of each match wins. Filmed at the “Indian Creek Technology Center,” every game is televised on the Shawnee Mission School District’s cable channel. Under the direction of teacher Nick Paris, East has a formal uniform worn to every competition. The black and gray argyle sweater over a white dress shirt and tie is an outfit the team regards highly, and is easily the most distinguishable part about the East squad. With eight members this year, the team is made up of all skill levels.
the veteran, Peter Bautz
Sporting the vest one last time, senior Peter Bautz returns for a third and final year of Categories. The team’s most experienced member, Bautz has only competed in three competitions before this year. Being a younger team member, he was often forced to watch the games from another room rather than actually play in them. This time around, that will change. “This year I’ll probably be playing in almost every match,” Bautz said. With roughly four matches in the official season and up to two in the post season, Bautz could feasibly be competing up to six times this year depending on the team’s success. This is something the senior strives for, despite the team being comprised of almost all rookies. “I’m hoping this year will be a lot like my sophomore year, when our all-rookie team managed to take first place,” Bautz said. Throughout his Categories career, Bautz has always enjoyed the friendly yet competitive nature of the game. It’s one where everyone’s friends the minute it’s over, laughing, shaking hands, and exchanging high fives. This is the environment Bautz feels best in, and the one he hopes to find himself in frequently for the next few months. “Once you get in the seat, you’re having your competition, and you’re really competitive, but the minute it’s done, everybody’s like, ‘Hey, we’re good friends’ and shaking hands,” Bautz said.
the future, Polly Haun
the rookie, Charlie Hotchkiss
Sitting down to the relatively daunting 86-question test, senior Charlie Hotchkiss was prepared to add something different to his final year at East. He’d considered going out for Categories last year, but like many students, just didn’t have time for it in his schedule. Around 25 other students joined him for the tryout, attempting to answer questions about everything from cars to sports history and even math equations; it was designed to only be passed by those who are well rounded. “I had gone home, and told my mom I definitely didn’t know any of the questions, Hotchkiss said. “I was just really surprised that I actually made the team.” Having never competed in a Categories competition before, Hotchkiss must prove himself once again before dawning the iconic vest worn by champions of the past. Hotchkiss believes that those who get to compete are based on who’s answering the most questions, which questions they answer, and those who show they can take on any subject.
Sophomore Polly Haun trusted that her prior knowledge and experiences would serve her well when she tried out for Paris’s squad. She’s in honors classes like European History AP, and even advanced in a geography bee in the 8th grade. Alongside two other sophomores, Haun essentially serves as the future of the team. “We’re not the weakest links or anything,” Haun said. “I’m not too worried about next year. I think we’ll be able to continue on having a good Categories team.” A newcomer to the Categories experience, Haun doesn’t expect to get much play time in her first year. She also understands that the older team members may very well know more about specific topics than she does. “I guess there are times when it’s more apparent, like when they ask a question that most people learn in American History AP, and we don’t know it,” Haun said. The younger team members still feel that they need at least some chances to compete in order to understand the process for when they are takeover next year. Small aspects of the game like reaction times and playing the buzzer to their advantage are things that can’t necessarily be mastered in practice. Haun and her fellow underclassmen know that mastering these are vital to their success.
the coach, Nick Paris With Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings’ almanac of over 8000 trivia questions on his desk, and a huge grin on his face, Categories sponsor Nick Paris rattles off question after question. After one question about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and the group erupts into a lively discussion about the upcoming film. Another asking who was known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” leaves the contestants scratching their heads. The team is just as excited as their fearless leader, and jump at the chance to get a correct response. With 23 years of Categories behind him, sponsor Nick Paris knows exactly how these teams work. “The best Categories teams have balance,” Paris said. “It’s nice to have five people on the team that all
answer five [types of] questions.” Before each competition, Paris must decide who will be part of the team and who will sit on the ‘bench.’ This is largely dictated by who comes to practice each week, and how well they perform on the sample questions, but according to Paris, this doesn’t necessarily mean a student is ready for show. “In practice they’re great, but you never know,” Paris said. “Those lights come on, the cameras start rolling, and some people go, ‘Gosh.’” Paris has no lack of confidence for his team, and believes that alongside veteran members Jonathan Dawson and Peter Bautz, this year’s crew will be extremely successful.
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FEATURES Orchestra raises money for trip by throwing a
issue 6
15
middle school mixer ErinReilly
On October 22, the Shawnee Mission East Orchestra held its first mixer, a fundraiser that would benefit their trip to Boston in the spring. It invited all middle schoolers in orchestra to come to the “Neon Jungle,” and drew over 400 kids from Indian Hills and Mission Valley to generate an estimated $3200 in profit. Behind the success of this mixer is sophomore Ali Felman, who was the head chair for the fundraiser. “We had a meeting at the beginning of the year to brainstorm fundraising ideas,” Felman said. “I suggested we that we do a mixer, since we hadn’t done one before, and our parent sponsor, Judy Wiseman, put me in charge of the project.” Felman spent a lot of her free time organizing the mixer by handling a tight budget and jumping through the district’s many hoops. “Our decorations were pretty bare bones, and we invested most of our money in a DJ, who was actually pretty good,” Felman said. “But the worst part was all of our left over food. Apparently kids in middle school don’t eat.” Felman also had to create an “Orchestra Club,” endorsed by orchestra director Jonathan Lane, to acquire the proper insur-
ance to be able to host the mixer in the East cafeteria. “Mr. Lane was really helpful,” Felman said. “He got the word out to the middle school kids, since he’s the director for their orchestras also.” The mixer was a success. “The turnout was incredible!” Felman said. “I expected only like two people to show up, but we ended up having about 400-450 come.” Felman and Lane both were happy with the middle schoolers’ reception of the event. “They just came and danced to their J Beibs and Ke$ha,” Felman said. “There were so many people that the windows were fogging up! They were having a blast.” “Ali did a wonderful job organizing it, and I think it was a really good learning experience for her,” Lane said. All orchestras will be present on the trip to Boston, with approximately 95% of orchestra students in attendance. The cost for the trip is about $850 per student, and about 100 students will be going. “Individually divied up, it isn’t that much money, but all together, for what it was, the mixer made a lot of profit,” soph-
bridge politics club
omore Emily Colebank, who volunteered at the mixer, said. The orchestra has done several fundraisers so far this year, most notably their sale of chocolate and their annual carwash. They’re looking to have at least two more fundraisers, by selling Price Chopper coupon books and poinsettias for the holiday season. The fundraising will pay off when Orchestra members from every grade fly to Boston to perform in competitions and explore the city. From March 31 - April 3, the Symphonic, Philharmonic, Chamber, and Concert orchestras will perform in the Heritage Music Festival, as well as tour Fenway Park, take a “Duck Tour” of Boston, and listen to the Boston Symphony. Due to the popularity of this first mixer, Felman says plans are being discussed for another mixer in the February, hoping to have an even bigger turnout. Like the International Club’s “Lobster Landing,” Felman said that orchestra may make this an annual event. “We know how to party,” Felman said. “You can quote me on that.”
Members of new club meet to discuss political views MorganChristian
Senior Rebecca Thrasher asks a question at Bridge Politics Club.
GrantHeinlein
The classroom is abuzz with chatter. Students—a few freshmen, a few sophomores, several juniors and a few seniors—are in and out of desks, standing, sitting, crossing back and forth between aisles as they catch up with friends. Sugar cookies and Sun chips are passed around, feeding an energy that remains high throughout the fifth meeting of the Bridge Politics Club. Enter Travis Smith, campaign manager for Johnson County’s newest U.S. congressman, Kevin Yoder. The students’ talking dies down, but their energy does not. They are ready to ask questions—about everything from political ads to Tea Partiers to the different aspects of a successful campaign—and they are ready to listen. Whenever the conversation turns to the effort that goes into grassroots campaigning, Smith looks to junior Becca Brownlee, leader of the club, to help him recount stories. This summer, Brownlee served as a high school intern at the Yoder camp, making phone calls to random strangers, canvassing neighborhoods, and crunching numbers. Brownlee was the youngest member on staff. The experience gave her a greater appreciation of her political involvement. “I realized that even though I couldn’t vote, I could still have a say in who won elections,” Brownlee said. “If I made a few hundred phone calls, and changed ten peoples’ votes, then I would have more of an impact on the election than a person that voted once.” Brownlee was confident that other students at East would want the same opportunity. So she started Bridge, which aims to connect students to politicians, giving them opportunities to volunteer on their campaigns. “The life lessons you can learn on a campaign are astounding,” Brownlee said. “Not only do you learn the process of an active campaign, but you
realize who the people are behind your vote.” Brownlee was able to use her connections with the Yoder campaign to secure volunteering opportunities for the 15 club members who were interested in doing so. Brownlee had contacted Stephene Moore, Yoder’s opponent, about volunteering, but according to Brownlee, no club members were interested in working for Moore. Junior Tyler Germann made phone calls for Yoder and participated in “poll watching,” or collecting results from a voting location the day of the election. This helps campaigns to construct a picture of the way the results are trending. Germann enjoyed his experience. “I loved that I was able to meet my new congressman,” Germann said. “And I loved seeing everybody at work there and supporting my ideals.” Even though midterm elections are over now, Brownlee hopes to increase members’ political activeness. She plans on picking one political topic for discussion at each of the weekly meetings, as well as bringing in guest speakers. Then she will reach out to Johnson County’s Democratic and Republican offices to find volunteering opportunities for members. “We’ll talk about current issues when we meet, and then people can go out and pursue the things we’re talking about,” Brownlee said. “I think it is critical that people start their political involvement at a young age.” Brownlee is optimistic about the club’s future. “I think the new political climate will heighten the club’s activity and bring in new members because there has been a heightened awareness of political change following this election,” Brownlee said. “The more students that are involved, the better our generation is prepared to vote and make tough decisions in the future.”
16
SPREAD
peace
Finding
11-15-10
SPREAD issue 6
through art
17
Members of drama class read scrips during the hour. According to Pillman, theater has proved a successful outlet for him. AllphotosbyDanStewart
Freshman looks back on a suicidal past and how he found an outlet in creativity KatBuchanan
Jacob Pillman is angry. The 13-year-old drags his father’s shaving razor down his arm without wincing. The physical pain is nothing; his torment is mental. You’re pathetic, you’re stupid, no one likes you. Beads of blood form on his now-jagged skin, the patterns on the back of his arm glowing red in the light of his attic bedroom. But the small, flat blade scrapes merely the surface of Jacob’s skin, removes only a few layers. The attempt, at least for now, seems futile. A shaving razor will not do the trick. After six precise cuts into his left arm’s exterior, he gets up. He kneels at the edge of his bed and retrieves the two spare blades to his father’s Xacto knife that he had stashed under his mattress earlier that evening. The slanted tip of the blade is sharp. Unused. It draws blood with the first incision. Jacob begins up high, sliding the cold edge along the skin near the crease of his elbow, then moves downward, going harder, getting deeper. Cut, cut, cut. His skin is raw, shredded, delicate.
Pillman kept a collection of his drawings from 2009. “You can tell that I was really sad when I drew them,” Pillman said.
He slits his wrists horizontally across his vein on both arms. Dizziness fogs his mind rapidly, threatening to take him under, but after a few long moments he realizes that he is not yet dead. He begins to dig at the center of his left arm like mad, deeper and deeper, straining against his vital vein. The blood loss is too immense for him to stay conscious. Jacob collapses on the carpet in front of him, the blood streaming from his wrists like spilled ink. “Feel the blood dripping down my arms; I call it a gift, you call it self-harm.” -Jacob Pillman, 2009 The glossy floors of Sylvester Powell Community Center squeak underfoot as Jacob walks casually up to his friends across the fluorescent-lit gymnasium. “Hey Jake!” a thin boy in a neon green Mr. Fish T-shirt yells. Kamran, Joe, and Nick sit in a huddle up against the far wall, lounging, gossiping and griping about their teachers after a long day at school. Jacob drops his bag on the wood floor, temporarily exposing his left wrist. The boys eye Jacob’s month-old scars with familiarity, not missing a beat. “Took you long enough,” Joe says with a shove, though he’s careful not to knock him down and upset him. Kamran leans over and dives into a conversation with Jacob, before being abruptly cut off by Nick. “Let’s go see if you can actually lift something today,” he laughs at Kamran, throwing his jacket to the floor and trudging up the stairs to the workout area. “C’mon, Jake.” Jacob follows suit, completely at ease. His best friends knew the full story of what he was going through: the mental illness, the failed suicide attempts, the drug abuse—even when his own parents did not. His “brothers” know to keep an eye out for him. Jacob had been “classified as weird” by his peers from a young age, and was made fun of for being different. He was artistic: inter-
ested in theatre, drawing, writing, the release of emotion through the creations of his own mind. He used the acting lessons he enrolled in to cope with the harsh emotions he often felt towards himself. Being on stage did not prove to be enough. When Jacob was 10 years old, he found an old rope in the basement, tied it around the rafters exposed on the ceiling and made a noose. He stood in front of it for hours the first time. “I realized that life is delicate and it can so easily be gone,” Jacob said. “If I did this, everything could be gone. And in the end, it scared me.” The pros outweighed the cons, and he made the decision to give things a while longer to shape up before he would take his own life. In the weeks that followed, he lost his great-grandmother, his grades slipped below average and his self-esteem was left shaken. Two weeks after his first suicide attempt, Jacob rehung the old rope. He stood up on a stool and gently kicked at it with his foot as he hovered above the noose. But yet again, Jacob spared his own life. As he braved forward through his childhood years, his condition of living within his home and at school worsened. He became overwhelmed. After composing an apologetic suicide note a year after the first two attempts, he popped his recently-prescribed Zoloft pills one after the other, far past the recommended dosage. In a drugrelated stupor, he involuntarily vomited the pills, tore his suicide note in half and fainted. “Suicide is selfish, I’ll admit that suicide is selfish,” Jacob said. “But when you’re dead, you don’t care.” His mother was the one to shake him awake, trying to make sense of the ripped-up message. Jacob passed it off as nothing, but was soon after sent to a different psychologist to analyze his abnormal behavior. “It’s a very scary thought to think that he would be so overwhelmed with whatever it is that he’s feeling, fear or loneliness, that he would do that,” his mother, Hether Pearson said. With the help of the new psychologist as a 12-year-old, Jacob was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness that accurately attested to Jacob’s instability. “The reason it’s bipolar is because their moods generally go to extremes,” said Brad McFadden of Mental Health America, a treatment center in Kansas City, KS. “What that means is that at one end of the spectrum, the behavior is considered manic, where they’re on a high. And the other, of course, is depression, the negative thoughts.” Jacob was set on two different types of medication, one for mood stabilization and another, a new antidepressant. He was subject to therapy sessions to talk openly about his normally bottled-up feelings, sessions that led to his growth as a performer. “As soon as I got used to it, I got more used to speaking in public,” Jacob said. “Because if I could talk about something personal with another person, I could talk about anything to anyone.”
Jacob had made it through his rocky elementary school years before his next attempt at suicide occurred. In eighth grade, he was more depressed than ever. His newly-formed bonds with boys in his class offered no reassurance to Jacob in his downwardspiraling mental state. In December, he began smoking marijuana. From there, his substance abuse ranged from weed to methamphetamines, his Ritalin pills. The drug usage and crippling depression sent Jacob back to the basement and back to his only known source of escape.
other. “Yeah, okay. Okay,” Clay says edgily, repeating himself, fidgeting with his pant leg. He must be hearing voices again, Jacob thinks. Or seeing ghosts. Despite his new roommate’s abnormalities, Jacob still felt a connection to him; they were both checked into the hospital for an indefinite stay.
“Try to imagine what I have done, imagine what I lost; Imagine everything that I’ve done right, but you leave it in the dark.” -Jacob Pillman, 2009
Jacob devoted the beginning of this year, from Feb. 5-12 recuperating in the 24-hour mental hospital, with access to tutors and psychologists around the clock. He returned home from the facility in mid-February to an onslaught of well-wishing notes. “As soon as I got home, a week later, I saw a whole bunch of messages like, ‘I hope you’re okay,’ and, ‘Get well soon,’ and, ‘We want to see you again,’” Jacob said. “It actually made me happier. It made me realize a lot of people do care about me.” The final months of his eighth grade year and the duration of the summer were spent rehabilitating himself, and, now a freshman, Jacob can call himself “stable.” Pearson can see the changes in her son and uses the techniques she learned from his time at Marillac to tend to his needs. “We communicate better and we’ve learned to watch his moods,” his mother said. “We just have to make sure that he knows that he’s loved and that everything’s okay and nothing’s his fault.” Having been drug-free for five months, Jacob has pushed his addiction in the same direction as his suicidal thoughts. As was the case in his childhood, Jacob uses different forms of art to find peace. He has recently begun writing a novel about a high schooler coping with bipolar disorder, a boy who is “trying to survive high school.” The story is drawn from his own personal experience. Bipolar disorder causes Jacob to experience certain peaks in his rapidly-shifting moods, and without taking his medication he feels the full effects. But Jacob’s own high school experience is not all lows. “I know he’s good right now,” freshman Kamran Tavakolinia said. “Since the incident, he hasn’t let anything get to him. He’s loving high school and making the best of what he’s got.” Jacob has continued to pursue as many creative outlets as he can, using the self-expression as an escape from his disorder. “I see the potential to do a lot of good in the world,” Joe Vincze, a friend and freshman at SM North said. “I think the changes he’s made are mostly the steps he took to improve his outlook on life.” This past month, he starred as a lead member of senior Riley Watson’s Frequent Friday, “Assorted Ideas,” a comedy film presented in the Little Theater. Jacob now treats performance as the only rush he needs. “You know everyone is looking at you, everyone’s watching your every move,” he said. “I just love that feeling.”
“If we break those fluorescent lights, I bet we could use the shards to slash our wrists,” Clay says eagerly. Jacob laughs, the sound echoing forcefully in the small, square room. “Or you could drown yourself in the toilet,” he retorts. “Maybe I’ll climb on top of the cabinets and jump,” Clay deadpans. “Or we could tie our blankets into a noose around the shower head.” “We could beat each other with the insides of the lightbulbs,” Clay grinned. “It’s amazing how many ways there are to kill yourself in a suicide-safe room,” Jacob responds jokingly. It is his fifth night at Marillac Children’s Psychiatric Hospital. He had only just met his newest roommate, the six-foot-seven schizophrenic Clay, before they began joking about their impending demises. After his most recent suicide attempt in his bedroom almost a week before, Jacob had woken up alone on his blood-stained carpet with clotted gashes down his arms and wrists, his father’s Xacto knife blades at his side. “I was so angry that I didn’t die,” Jacob said. “That day was one of the most angry days of my life.” The following day at school Jacob showed his friend Chris his scabbed-over wounds and was advised by him to see the counselor. At first he refused but was soon tapped out of class and taken to speak with his counselor. Word had spread, and after writing a note explaining the circumstances, he was asked to show his counselor the cuts on his wrists. The counselor contacted Jacob’s mother from the school office to inform her of her son’s situation. The suggested behavior came as a shock to his mother; she and Jacob’s father had been unaware of his immediate depression. The next day Jacob was in the hands of the professionals at Marillac, removing the string from his sweatshirt and replacing his shoelaces with zip ties. “I’m going to try and get some sleep,” Jacob says, turning over in his cot to face the steel-protected window. The two boys have already been up half the night sharing their stories with each
“I finally can care, My life is as good as the summer breeze, And I feel free like the air.” -Jacob Pillman, 2010
facts
just
the
What is bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder is divided into several subtypes: bipolar I, bipolar II and cychlothimia. The exact symptoms of bipolar disorder vary from person to person. Some people with bipolar disorder have rapid mood shifts. This is defined as having four or more mood swings within a single year.
Bipolar disorder doesn’t get better on its own. The most prominent signs of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can include explosive temper, rapid mood shifts, reckless behavior and aggression.
Severe episodes of either mania or depression may result in psychosis, a detachment from reality. www.mayoclinic.com
16
SPREAD
peace
Finding
11-15-10
SPREAD issue 6
through art
17
Members of drama class read scrips during the hour. According to Pillman, theater has proved a successful outlet for him. AllphotosbyDanStewart
Freshman looks back on a suicidal past and how he found an outlet in creativity KatBuchanan
Jacob Pillman is angry. The 13-year-old drags his father’s shaving razor down his arm without wincing. The physical pain is nothing; his torment is mental. You’re pathetic, you’re stupid, no one likes you. Beads of blood form on his now-jagged skin, the patterns on the back of his arm glowing red in the light of his attic bedroom. But the small, flat blade scrapes merely the surface of Jacob’s skin, removes only a few layers. The attempt, at least for now, seems futile. A shaving razor will not do the trick. After six precise cuts into his left arm’s exterior, he gets up. He kneels at the edge of his bed and retrieves the two spare blades to his father’s Xacto knife that he had stashed under his mattress earlier that evening. The slanted tip of the blade is sharp. Unused. It draws blood with the first incision. Jacob begins up high, sliding the cold edge along the skin near the crease of his elbow, then moves downward, going harder, getting deeper. Cut, cut, cut. His skin is raw, shredded, delicate.
Pillman kept a collection of his drawings from 2009. “You can tell that I was really sad when I drew them,” Pillman said.
He slits his wrists horizontally across his vein on both arms. Dizziness fogs his mind rapidly, threatening to take him under, but after a few long moments he realizes that he is not yet dead. He begins to dig at the center of his left arm like mad, deeper and deeper, straining against his vital vein. The blood loss is too immense for him to stay conscious. Jacob collapses on the carpet in front of him, the blood streaming from his wrists like spilled ink. “Feel the blood dripping down my arms; I call it a gift, you call it self-harm.” -Jacob Pillman, 2009 The glossy floors of Sylvester Powell Community Center squeak underfoot as Jacob walks casually up to his friends across the fluorescent-lit gymnasium. “Hey Jake!” a thin boy in a neon green Mr. Fish T-shirt yells. Kamran, Joe, and Nick sit in a huddle up against the far wall, lounging, gossiping and griping about their teachers after a long day at school. Jacob drops his bag on the wood floor, temporarily exposing his left wrist. The boys eye Jacob’s month-old scars with familiarity, not missing a beat. “Took you long enough,” Joe says with a shove, though he’s careful not to knock him down and upset him. Kamran leans over and dives into a conversation with Jacob, before being abruptly cut off by Nick. “Let’s go see if you can actually lift something today,” he laughs at Kamran, throwing his jacket to the floor and trudging up the stairs to the workout area. “C’mon, Jake.” Jacob follows suit, completely at ease. His best friends knew the full story of what he was going through: the mental illness, the failed suicide attempts, the drug abuse—even when his own parents did not. His “brothers” know to keep an eye out for him. Jacob had been “classified as weird” by his peers from a young age, and was made fun of for being different. He was artistic: inter-
ested in theatre, drawing, writing, the release of emotion through the creations of his own mind. He used the acting lessons he enrolled in to cope with the harsh emotions he often felt towards himself. Being on stage did not prove to be enough. When Jacob was 10 years old, he found an old rope in the basement, tied it around the rafters exposed on the ceiling and made a noose. He stood in front of it for hours the first time. “I realized that life is delicate and it can so easily be gone,” Jacob said. “If I did this, everything could be gone. And in the end, it scared me.” The pros outweighed the cons, and he made the decision to give things a while longer to shape up before he would take his own life. In the weeks that followed, he lost his great-grandmother, his grades slipped below average and his self-esteem was left shaken. Two weeks after his first suicide attempt, Jacob rehung the old rope. He stood up on a stool and gently kicked at it with his foot as he hovered above the noose. But yet again, Jacob spared his own life. As he braved forward through his childhood years, his condition of living within his home and at school worsened. He became overwhelmed. After composing an apologetic suicide note a year after the first two attempts, he popped his recently-prescribed Zoloft pills one after the other, far past the recommended dosage. In a drugrelated stupor, he involuntarily vomited the pills, tore his suicide note in half and fainted. “Suicide is selfish, I’ll admit that suicide is selfish,” Jacob said. “But when you’re dead, you don’t care.” His mother was the one to shake him awake, trying to make sense of the ripped-up message. Jacob passed it off as nothing, but was soon after sent to a different psychologist to analyze his abnormal behavior. “It’s a very scary thought to think that he would be so overwhelmed with whatever it is that he’s feeling, fear or loneliness, that he would do that,” his mother, Hether Pearson said. With the help of the new psychologist as a 12-year-old, Jacob was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness that accurately attested to Jacob’s instability. “The reason it’s bipolar is because their moods generally go to extremes,” said Brad McFadden of Mental Health America, a treatment center in Kansas City, KS. “What that means is that at one end of the spectrum, the behavior is considered manic, where they’re on a high. And the other, of course, is depression, the negative thoughts.” Jacob was set on two different types of medication, one for mood stabilization and another, a new antidepressant. He was subject to therapy sessions to talk openly about his normally bottled-up feelings, sessions that led to his growth as a performer. “As soon as I got used to it, I got more used to speaking in public,” Jacob said. “Because if I could talk about something personal with another person, I could talk about anything to anyone.”
Jacob had made it through his rocky elementary school years before his next attempt at suicide occurred. In eighth grade, he was more depressed than ever. His newly-formed bonds with boys in his class offered no reassurance to Jacob in his downwardspiraling mental state. In December, he began smoking marijuana. From there, his substance abuse ranged from weed to methamphetamines, his Ritalin pills. The drug usage and crippling depression sent Jacob back to the basement and back to his only known source of escape.
other. “Yeah, okay. Okay,” Clay says edgily, repeating himself, fidgeting with his pant leg. He must be hearing voices again, Jacob thinks. Or seeing ghosts. Despite his new roommate’s abnormalities, Jacob still felt a connection to him; they were both checked into the hospital for an indefinite stay.
“Try to imagine what I have done, imagine what I lost; Imagine everything that I’ve done right, but you leave it in the dark.” -Jacob Pillman, 2009
Jacob devoted the beginning of this year, from Feb. 5-12 recuperating in the 24-hour mental hospital, with access to tutors and psychologists around the clock. He returned home from the facility in mid-February to an onslaught of well-wishing notes. “As soon as I got home, a week later, I saw a whole bunch of messages like, ‘I hope you’re okay,’ and, ‘Get well soon,’ and, ‘We want to see you again,’” Jacob said. “It actually made me happier. It made me realize a lot of people do care about me.” The final months of his eighth grade year and the duration of the summer were spent rehabilitating himself, and, now a freshman, Jacob can call himself “stable.” Pearson can see the changes in her son and uses the techniques she learned from his time at Marillac to tend to his needs. “We communicate better and we’ve learned to watch his moods,” his mother said. “We just have to make sure that he knows that he’s loved and that everything’s okay and nothing’s his fault.” Having been drug-free for five months, Jacob has pushed his addiction in the same direction as his suicidal thoughts. As was the case in his childhood, Jacob uses different forms of art to find peace. He has recently begun writing a novel about a high schooler coping with bipolar disorder, a boy who is “trying to survive high school.” The story is drawn from his own personal experience. Bipolar disorder causes Jacob to experience certain peaks in his rapidly-shifting moods, and without taking his medication he feels the full effects. But Jacob’s own high school experience is not all lows. “I know he’s good right now,” freshman Kamran Tavakolinia said. “Since the incident, he hasn’t let anything get to him. He’s loving high school and making the best of what he’s got.” Jacob has continued to pursue as many creative outlets as he can, using the self-expression as an escape from his disorder. “I see the potential to do a lot of good in the world,” Joe Vincze, a friend and freshman at SM North said. “I think the changes he’s made are mostly the steps he took to improve his outlook on life.” This past month, he starred as a lead member of senior Riley Watson’s Frequent Friday, “Assorted Ideas,” a comedy film presented in the Little Theater. Jacob now treats performance as the only rush he needs. “You know everyone is looking at you, everyone’s watching your every move,” he said. “I just love that feeling.”
“If we break those fluorescent lights, I bet we could use the shards to slash our wrists,” Clay says eagerly. Jacob laughs, the sound echoing forcefully in the small, square room. “Or you could drown yourself in the toilet,” he retorts. “Maybe I’ll climb on top of the cabinets and jump,” Clay deadpans. “Or we could tie our blankets into a noose around the shower head.” “We could beat each other with the insides of the lightbulbs,” Clay grinned. “It’s amazing how many ways there are to kill yourself in a suicide-safe room,” Jacob responds jokingly. It is his fifth night at Marillac Children’s Psychiatric Hospital. He had only just met his newest roommate, the six-foot-seven schizophrenic Clay, before they began joking about their impending demises. After his most recent suicide attempt in his bedroom almost a week before, Jacob had woken up alone on his blood-stained carpet with clotted gashes down his arms and wrists, his father’s Xacto knife blades at his side. “I was so angry that I didn’t die,” Jacob said. “That day was one of the most angry days of my life.” The following day at school Jacob showed his friend Chris his scabbed-over wounds and was advised by him to see the counselor. At first he refused but was soon tapped out of class and taken to speak with his counselor. Word had spread, and after writing a note explaining the circumstances, he was asked to show his counselor the cuts on his wrists. The counselor contacted Jacob’s mother from the school office to inform her of her son’s situation. The suggested behavior came as a shock to his mother; she and Jacob’s father had been unaware of his immediate depression. The next day Jacob was in the hands of the professionals at Marillac, removing the string from his sweatshirt and replacing his shoelaces with zip ties. “I’m going to try and get some sleep,” Jacob says, turning over in his cot to face the steel-protected window. The two boys have already been up half the night sharing their stories with each
“I finally can care, My life is as good as the summer breeze, And I feel free like the air.” -Jacob Pillman, 2010
facts
just
the
What is bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder is divided into several subtypes: bipolar I, bipolar II and cychlothimia. The exact symptoms of bipolar disorder vary from person to person. Some people with bipolar disorder have rapid mood shifts. This is defined as having four or more mood swings within a single year.
Bipolar disorder doesn’t get better on its own. The most prominent signs of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can include explosive temper, rapid mood shifts, reckless behavior and aggression.
Severe episodes of either mania or depression may result in psychosis, a detachment from reality. www.mayoclinic.com
18
FEATURES
11-15-10
IN AND OUT photos courtesy of MargoBrookfield
EmilyKerr
All it took was a text from her sister, and she was confident with her decision. All it took was a phone call to her mom, and she was signing her second semester away at the drop of a hat. No second guessing. No time for regrets. Within half an hour, she had made a decision and put down the initial deposit on something that would take most people months to decide. Senior Margo Brookfield was to embark on her second trip with the Traveling School, this time to Central America. And she knew it was the right decision. “With big decisions like that, I don’t think about them, I kinda just go with my gut,” Brookfield said. “I know that if I was sitting here second semester of senior year, with not much to do I would be like, ‘OK, I wish I was with Traveling School.” And her gut instinct has served her well. Last fall, Brookfield traveled to Africa with Traveling School, an organization that takes a group of girls to different places around the world to experience things they would never get to in a traditional school. Carrying all possessions on their backs, the 13 girls trekked across Africa, making stops at towns and hostels. They whitewater-rafted down rushing rapids, camped out under the stars, watched the sun rise from the top of a sand dune, volunteered at local schools and spent science classes drawing the strata of rocks. Oh, and they somehow managed to fit a semester’s worth of schooling in there, too. Aside from the views begging to be placed in a National Geographic shoot or the school lessons that were actually interesting, it was the self-discovery that urged Margo to go back. It was from the diverse people and challenging experiences that she learned a lot about herself. These experiences are what Brookfield craves instead traditional classroom learning. One of her most life-changing experiences was when they were in Botswana and took an open-air jeep to a salt pan, an old dried up sea the size of Switzerland. Everything was completely silent. They were no bugs, no trees, literally no life. All that was visible was miles and miles of empty white space. They set up a campfire and beds and were instructed to walk away as far as they want in complete silence.
“I walked out there completely alone, pitch black on this salt pan,” Brookfield said. “It was literally complete silence. I cried as I looked around and was like ‘Shoot, I’m in the middle of Africa in a salt pan. What am I doing?” She didn’t cry for fear or for loneliness though. They were tears of pure wonder. “I can’t describe it,” Brookfield said. “It was the coolest experience ever. I was just trying to grasp everything, I was so far away from home and I had so much left on the journey and it was awesome.” Brookfield remembers the ride home from the salt pan vividly. “It was kind of like one of those moments that you realize you are growing up and are on your own,” Brookfield said. “You realize that you are almost an adult.” At the heart of her journey of self-discovery, were the teachers guiding her through. Ranging from the sixth best kayaker in the world to an advocate for women’s rights in Pakistan, these teachers represented a diverse and accomplished group of women. “Just the fact that these four women who are mid-thirties are leading a group of people through a foreign country is just so inspiring,” Brookfield said. “I think a lot of people have a mentality that girls couldn’t do that because guys are stronger but it was just so cool to be with this group of girls.” She often looked to the teachers as role models for her own life. “The teachers that I have had and know I am going to have, have been the most inspiring people I have ever met in my life,” Brookfield said. “I’m going to college next year and I really want to gain insight from them to figure out which path I want to take in my life.” Another reason to return was for the girls. On the first trip, Brookfield was exposed to people she would have never imagined. Phoebe from Wyoming spent half of her life in Nepal and her dad was a National Geographic explorer. Kendall from New York had spent her life traveling through the Caribbean on a boat. Not exactly the kind of girls one would encounter in Kansas. With this set up of 13 very different girls spending every waking minute together, it would appear to be a recipe for disaster. But
OF AFRICA
Senior Margo Brookfield plans to spend another semester abroad
in fact, was quite the opposite. “The fact that we all had very different backgrounds helped us get along,” Brookfield said. “It was kind of like we could learn something from each other because we all had such different experiences. We all got really close.” Besides the obvious changes: new girls and new country, Brookfield anticipates there will be other adjustments. The last trip she went on to Africa, they took a truck, whereas this one they will mostly take public transportation. They also will be staying in a lot more hostels, instead of huts and villages in the cities. Brookfield also expects to contribute to this trip in a different way. Having one more year of experience and being at a different place in her life, she views the purpose of the trip in a different light.
“Last trip, I was newly a junior and I wasn’t even thinking about college or what I wanted to do in the future,” Brookfield said. “Now I want to talk to the teachers and see how they got to where they are now.” She also wants to focus on getting to know every girl on the trip. “On the last trip, we got to the end of the trip and there was one girl and I didn’t know she had a brother,” Brookfield said. “It was crazy because I had spent four months with this girl and I hadn’t even asked about her family.” “My goal is to from the beginning get to know each person, not just one or two,” Brookfield said. As for now, Brookfield’s goal lies solely in making the days pass. “I think about it every day,” Brookfield said. “It’s still so surreal. I’m counting down till February 1st.”
Brookfield’s Best Stops
Margo shares her favorite experiences from three different countries on her trip
Zambia
“We got to help build a school for a remote town while we were there. We had to mix the cement and build the walls.”
South Africa
“While we were here we visited a place that took in orphaned children. They kids sang and dance for us. It was an amazing day.”
Botswana
“We had the oppurtuinity to sleep under the stars on a salt pan. It was the size of Switzlerland and there was absolutely no life on it.”
MIXED
MIXED
issue 6
19
a little bit of this and a little bit of that
FASHIONS THROUGH THE FALL
Preppy
Classic Jacket: $30 Macy’s
Stylish
Chic
Shirt: $80 j.Crew
Coat: $120 H&M
Belt: $12 Macy’s
Coat: $220 The North Face Store Boots: $35 Macy’s
Jeggings: $40 Urban Outfitters
What is the worst trouble you have been in this year? Getting a D on my chemistry test.
Five Guys
W. 75th Street
169
SME
W. 75th Street
SME Winstead’s
Mission Rd.
Nall Avenue
Lamar Avenue
W. 119th Street
47th Avenue
Metcalf Avenue
W. 103rd Street
Mission Rd.
W. 95th Street
SME
Roe Avenue
Five Guys is a great place to hangout and eat some great fries while devouring an awesome burger!
Nall Avenue
What do you like most about senior year? The freedom to take whatever classes I want. I really only have to worry about English and Government.
Enjoy some great Kansas City barbeque before the craziness of MORP occurs. It is reasonably close, convenient and you get an opportunity to get messy!
Metcalf Avenue
At East? One time I stole Ms. Beachy’s little plastic turtle and she got very mad at me and made me give it back to her. So your dress mod, what does that mean? Sometimes I wake up and just feel like wearing a suit.
where to eat before MORP Oklahoma Joe’s
Mission Rd.
r Senio MILLLER FORD
Shoes: $100 Nordstrom’s
Lamar Ave.
30
with
Pants: $40 Urban Outfitters
Mission Rd.
s d n o Sec
Skirt: $68 j.Crew
Have a steakburger and enjoy the atmosphere of a ‘50s theme. Don’t forget to order a skyscraper!
C. Jack’s Sidewalk Cafe 6937 Tomahawk Rd. In the Prairie Village Shops 384-2445 cjackscafe.com
*
Bring in THIS COUPON for a FREE COOKIE with the purchase of a sandwich, salad, wrap, or panini. one coupon per customer, per visit. Not good with any other offer.
2,200 members of the Prairie Village community
WILL READ THIS AD.
E-MAIL SMEHARBINGER@GMAIL.COM TO ADVERTISE
www.smeharbinger.net
Earn college credit while in high school
“College Now classes gave me college credit at a price lower than I’d pay at a larger university.” Liam, transferred 19 College Now credits to Kansas State University
College Now at Johnson County Community College is the only nationally accredited concurrent program in Kansas. See your school counselor for details or visit www.jccc.edu/collegenow
smoothie operator
Staffer visits three unique smoothie shops in the Kansas City area
Tropicana 830 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108 Even if you were willing to shell out the money for a smoothie, which, I found out, are pretty darn expensive, every few days, it would take you months to sample all the cleverly-named combinations that KC Juice has to offer: Jackhammer, Galaxy, World Cup, Big Kahuna, Brain Freeze. These different variations of smoothies took up three good-sized wooden signs mounted on the wall. But I didn’t have much time to waste pondering the menu options. My failure to find a parking spot in always-crowded Westport resulted in me parking illegally. I resorted to the time-tested technique of asking the cashier what his favorite was. He suggested the Screamer, made with watermelon juice, yogurt, raspberry sherbet, raspberries and strawberries.
Standing in the small, mangocolored space of Paleteria Tropicana, I wished I had taken Spanish instead of French. The bright orange, yellow and pink signs in front of me were written entirely in Spanish. Familiar words like “platano” and pictures of the smoothies helped me decipher the menu. At least there were only three types of smoothies to choose from: wild berry, tropical and berry-banana. The small space was surprisingly packed for mid-morning on a Friday.
But, even more embarrassingly, I chose a different smoothie: “Triple Play.” I’m glad I did. I sucked down all 24 ounces of that blend of lemonade, orange sherbet and strawberries in the time it took for my friend’s smoothie to be made. It was pure smoothie heaven, complete with a cool Styrofoam cup and a price of around $4, significantly lower than the other mediocre smoothies. The shop seemed fairly new still and was pretty empty. Granted, it was latemorning on a Friday. But I was partial toward the locally-owned feel of the café. The lines of the shop were clean with a long metal counter near the window, large clean windows and concrete and light blue walls. The shop seemed almost unfinished though, judging from the
Mochi-Yo
4425 West 119th Street Leawood, KS 66209
issue 6
21
ToniAguiar
Unlike many smoothie places, there wasn’t any mod white plastic furniture, oddly-shaped hanging lanterns or cheery signs extolling the virtues of smoothie-drinking. Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and homemade ice cream-filled the clear refrigerated cases that easily took up half of the shop. I ordered a berry-banana smoothie as rapid Spanish was spoken all around me. My spirits were lifted slightly as I saw one of the waitresses add an entire banana to the blender as well as
exposed back section that resembled a basement. But then again, maybe it’s considered “cool.” There were no toppings or artwork behind the counter. Just a juice machine, a freezer behind the counter filled entirely with brightly colored fruit like strawberries, mangoes, and peaches and sherbet and several utility-sized blenders. Even though winter is fast approaching, I’d be glad to go back to KC Juice. The wide variety of flavors means that you’d be hard pressed to find a smoothie you don’t like. If Jamba Juice ever tried to open a shop in Westport, they’d be run out of business by the small chain. Now I just have to suppress the urge to drive up to Westport every time the urge hits me for a snack.
If, according to its website, appealing to “soccer moms and students alike” is Mochi-Yo’s goal, then it succeeds—to a point. But judging from the abundance of strollers, it wasn’t somewhere I would meet to work on a Calc BC take-home test or even spend non-existent free time with friends. Its interior is Peachwave-esque down to the friendly bright walls, futuristic tables, and array of toppings. It just tried too hard—from the cute little logo to the orb chairs and newbie waitress who had to call her manager to learn how to make a
A&E
several strawberries. Fresh fruit had to be a good sign compared to the sugary liquid that some cafés use. The smoothie was perfectly adequate. Nothing special, nothing horrible. Although—horror of horrors—I did find several chunks of ice in it. The flavor was good, but nothing new. As I sucked down more of it I realized that I paid $5 for what I could make at my house—without the 20 minute drive to northern Kansas City.
KC Juice
4141 Pennsylvania Avenue Kansas City, MO 64111
smoothie. But when it came time for me to order, Mochi-Yo tested my secondrate culinary skills. The concept is interesting: pick your yogurt, pick your fruits and they’ll blend it for you. Their list of fruits is fairly varied, and four yogurts are offered for you to choose from at a time. I chose raspberry-flavored frozen yogurt, pomegranate seeds and strawberries. And it was really, really good. The ability to choose your ingredients was a revolutionary idea for me instead of blindly choosing the smoothie with the most legitimate name.
The yogurt made the smoothie creamy and flavorful compared to the icy Tropicana one. It was a quality smoothie with quality ingredients. But it wasn’t worth over $6 a pop, and certainly not with the small shop packed with harried moms. So if you just want to grab a smoothie to take home and have an extra couple (or seven) dollars in your pocket, Mochi-Yo is good choice. But if, like me, you’re not willing to spend almost $10 on blended fruit, just forget it (and go to KC Juice instead).
all photos by MarissaHorwitz
STAR SCALE
CHECK PLEASE
AVERAGE
DELIGHTFUL
CULINARY GENIUS
Craig Kelly, SIOR Director of Land Services 2600 Grand, Suite 1000 Kansas City, MO 64111 T 816.412.0279 C 816.305.0655 F 816.842.2798 Craig.Kelly@cassidyturley.com cassidyturley.com
Commercial Real Estate Services
Cassidy Turley
PHOTOESSAY issue 6
23
WALKERS, JOGGERS, RUNNERS Over 500 participants came to help out the Walkers, raising close to $10,000
Juniors Lanie Leek and Elli Walker, above, pick out bands for Ellie to wear. “The fire was very sad. I felt really bad for the family, and when it happened I was sick to my stomach knowing Ellie had to go through that,” Leek said. “However, Ellie had such a great spirit.”
DanStewart Carrying Tommy Sherk, right, sophomore Alec Crampton helps pass out donuts to hungry walkers.
EdenSchoofs
For additional coverage including a soundslide on the Walk for the Walkers, visit smeharbinger.net
Senior Hanna Jane Stradinger, one of the event founders, shows the Walker sibilings the course and direction they will be running. “It was nice to see that so many people came out to support the Walkers, because they have reached out to so many,” Stradinger, far above, said. “It isn’t over, but it was a good start.”
EdenSchoofs Above, junior Elli Walker and her younger brother Dan lead the walk.
DanStewart
24
A&E
11-15-10
GALLERYGALORE {blue gallery}
S
tanding across the street from Kemper Art Gallery, I’m already anxious to go in. Bright lights bounce through the large windows of the gallery and I can see an array of colors from the art. The Kemper Art Gallery, a run-off of the Kemper Art Museum, features different artists’ work every Friday, while students of Kemper run each exhibit. Entering the gallery, I could see the art covered the space from floor to ceiling; whimsical fabric, flowers sprawled across the floor, paper art hung in frames around the room. It was like stepping into a child-like imaginary world. I
a review of local art exhibits put on every First Friday in the Crossroads Art District KennedyBurgess
T
he antiquated garage space, known as Blue Gallery, was simple to say the least. Artist Rich Bowman’s landscape oil paintings hung on the plain white walls of the gallery, while children sat on a circle of couches playing on their parents’ iPad in the corner of the gallery. Bowman was just one of the local artists Blue Gallery features. The placement of the art throughout the gallery was carefully thought out, leaving the art to speak for itself. As I stood in front of Bowman’s landscape oil painting “Back Country Roads,” I felt like I had stepped into the scenic countryside
of Kansas. Bowman captured the essence of western Kansas that most people overlook. I could see the crisp cuts of the pallet knife as I looked closer, the neutral greens and blues merging together within the brush strokes. I would have gladly hung any of his pieces in my house. Bowman’s use of mute colors in contrast with loud, exuberant colors represented the nature of Kansas well. The Blue Gallery showcased a clean, crisp exhibit that featured Bowman’s work in a way where viewers could appreciate it for what it was on its own.
{kemper}
also felt a sense of Latin inspiration from the artists work. The fabric used to make the floor piece looked as if it could have been apart of a montage of “Day of the Dead” decor. Though the art was zestful, it didn’t have me eager to stay for much longer after looking at a few pieces. There was a lot of repetition in each piece of work and none really stood out on their own from the rest. I was entertained by the variety of mediums used in the artwork though, as well as the use of luminescent spring-like colors.
all photos by GrantKendall
{art incubator}
LOOK
{
BEHIND the
ART
T
he three story brick building that was once a warehouse, sat on West 18th street between Baltimore and Wyandotte as diverse First Friday goers piled in the door. Everything about this gallery was intriguing: the name, the space, the art. The actual gallery show doesn’t begin until you make your way up the narrow white staircase to the second floor of the building where you find yourself surrounded by a maze of miniart studios, wooden floor panels splattered with paint paving the way to each artist. As observers made their way through the gallery, a local folk duo hummed acoustic melodies, adding an easy going vibe to the
blue gallery
kemper
atmosphere. Each studio featured a different artist, each artist diverse from the rest. It felt like I was in the artists’ personal studio, and I basically was. Incubator provides a creative environment for many local artists to work straight from the studios that make up the exhibits. The multitude of art featured in Incubator ranged from handmade jewelry pieces to acrylic on canvas to mixed media. No matter what medium, every piece of art made me stop and think. Blue Gallery gave me a look into the artists’ personal work space while still putting on a captivating gallery show.
art incubator
A&E
issue 6
A MEGA MASTERPIECE
Highly-touted animation comedy lives up to expectations
allmoviephoto.com
ZoeBrian
The basic superhero vs. super villain movie is given an edgy twist in DreamWorks’ newest animated feature “Megamind,” when the neurotic bad-guy actually kills the town hero in the opening act. So much for good always defeating evil. Megamind (Will Ferrell) and nemesis Metroman (Brad Pitt) have been fighting ever since they were babies sent to Earth in pod-like spaceships. As a child Megamind tried to do good but realized that, no matter how hard he tried, he was destined to be evil. Megamind dedicated his life to destroying the one person who ruined his childhood and adult life, but when he finally defeats Metroman, Megamind finds himself without a purpose.
Opposite Ferrell is Megamind’s crush Roxie Ritchie (Tina Fey). Roxie brings a sensible voice to the otherwise over-the-top characters of Metroman, Megamind and his minion, Minion, a fish with a robot body built by Megamind. Minion is voiced by the evertalented David Cross, who plays his typical adorably clueless sidekick reminiscent of past roles such as Tobias Funke of “Arrested Development”. Ferrell and Cross’ on-screen bromance is permeable even through the animated masks. Minion’s soul purpose in life is to protect and serve Megamind: he cleans the lair, drives the invisible car and is even Megamind’s personal evil-outfit designer. Megamind often calls Minion his ‘fantastic fish’ and even says that “sometimes...it’s just me
RIGHT ON TIME AlexLamb
Zach Galifianakis may just be the most entertaining buffoon in Hollywood. In his second collaboration with “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips, Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. team up in “Due Date” and make for one of the funnier, more memorable odd couples in recent years. The film is a fairly standard road movie, but the chemistry between the two completely opposite stars overcomes the familiar story to deliver a hilarious ride. Downey Jr. plays Peter Highman, a stressed-out architect about to fly from Atlanta to Los Angeles so he can make it home to his wife (Michelle Monaghan) for the birth of their first child. At the airport, he encounters bumbling idiot and aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis), who happens to sit right behind him on the plane. After Ethan starts talking about bombs, terrorists and cell phones to Peter, he gets them both kicked off the flight and put squarely on the no-fly list. With his wallet and luggage stuck on the plane, Peter finds himself with no options but to accept a ride from Ethan for a cross country drive to LA. If it wasn’t bad enough that Peter had to spend three days in a car with the most annoying person he’s ever met, things start to spiral out of control almost immediately as Ethan leaves a wake of destruction in his path due to his social ineptitude. Trouble progresses from bad to worse as one mishap occurs after another: Ethan spends all their money on medical marijuana, Peter gets beat up by a cripple and Ethan falls asleep at the wheel and totals their car. Even worse, Ethan gets Peter arrested and accidentally shoots him in the leg. Peter’s chances of arriving in LA in time for his child’s birth continue to dwindle as just about everything that can go wrong does. Writers Alan. R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel and Todd Phillips model the film’s structure off of the 1987 John Hughes classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and the likeness is instantly recognizable. Both movies are about
STAR SCALE
STAY AT HOME
and Minion against the world.” While Pitt is top billed on the poster and in all previews, he takes a backseat to Jonah Hill who plays Roxie’s cameraman turned super villain Hal. Hill’s superbad character is a step away from Hill’s usual background roles, yet he eases into the spotlight seamlessly and delivers a convincing performance. Pitt is in the film a total of 10 minutes while Hill becomes an evil leading-man. Channelling his angsty nerd background, Hill’s character develops from love-struck dork to vengeful villain with the use of voice-cracks as well as deep guttural cries of anger. The witty dialogue of first-time writing duo Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons is relatable for children yet still has lines aimed at the older demographic, a trait found in
any good animated film. The naivety and desire to be ‘bad’ is displayed through lines like “Oh, I’m shaking in my custom-made baby seal leather boots” early on in the film creating a balance between potty-humor and more subtle, educated humor. The dialogue is heightened by Megamind’s speech impediment, which causes him to mispronounce school as ‘shool’ and Metro City as ‘Matrocity’. Even though Megamind is the ‘bad guy,’ his character is revealed through flashbacks and conversations to be a sensitive soul who really wants to do good. The 3D adds an extra dimension as well as a more realistic sense to the animation. Keeping with the tradition of objects leaping ‘out’ of the screen, “Megamind” manages to seamlessly incorporate these gimmicks while also keeping them to a minimum. Things ‘pop out’ of the screen less than three times. One instance is when Minion plays keep-away with the invisible car keys, his arm swings out over the audience and is retracted with a snap. This use of 3D creates a more effective visual while not distracting from the story, many times I even forgot I was wearing the 3D glasses. Although there are cliches built into the otherwise unique plot, the film is supported by the vocal talents of gifted actors and twists that will keep the viewer on their toes. “Megamind” may not have been as successful as “The Incredibles” but it is sure to be a superhero film for the ages.
Another Galifianakis-driven film fills gap between “Hangover” and its sequel nicely
a businessman paired with a blundering idiot as they must drive across the U.S. to make it to their families, but the troublesome fool inadvertently causes problems at every corner. “Due Date” doesn’t measure up to “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but it more than succeeds in providing the kind of madcap humor that studio comedies often lack nowadays. However, it falters in giving the characters more of an emotional background. Peter slowly warms up to Ethan, but the tender moments in their friendship, such as when Ethan talks about his recently deceased father (whose ashes he carries around in a coffee tin) are too sparse to achieve the level of sympathy they aim for. These segments certainly get the point across, but occasionally they actually slow the pace of the movie until the adventuring starts up again. Thankfully, Galifianakis and Downey Jr. work so well together that such problems are only a minor speed bump in their wild journey. Phillips utilizes a variety of visual gags between the two of them that always elicit a big laugh, and for the most part he keeps the jokes flowing very steadily, waiting for just the right moment to unleash an uproarious surprise. If only the trailers hadn’t spoiled many of these scenes, they would’ve been even more comical. While Ethan is almost the same character as Alan from “The Hangover,” just quirky in different ways, the similar antics don’t get old. Maintaining nearly the same heights of hilarity here, Galifianakis treats exceedingly odd and stupid behavior as fully normal, to great comedic effect. Last month, Galifianakis expanded his range by displaying his dramatic
RENT IT
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allmoviephoto.com
acting skill in “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” but “Due Date” shows him at what he does best. Casting Downey Jr. across from Galifiankis was a stroke of genius, as the two complement each other’s acting style wonderfully. The suave Downey Jr. often verbally attacks the bearded, teddy bear-like Galifianakis with his quick-witted, lively outbursts, and Galifianakis reacts completely oblivious to the matter at hand or like a little child. The result is a match made in comedy heaven. “Due Date” doesn’t quite live up to the expectations attached with being Phillips’s follow-up to “The Hangover,” and it doesn’t feel nearly as unique and original either. In reality, the film is really just a raucous pit stop between “The Hangover” and it’s sequel, but the best comedic pairing of the year makes this a trip that’s definitely worth taking.
WORTH SEEING
OSCAR WORTHY
A&E 26 11-15-10
WINTER HOTSPOTS
Staff members share their favorite places to enjoy the winter
TEADROPS
AnneWillman AnnaMarken
4111 PENNSYLVANIA
KANSAS CITY, MO Tea is an interesting drink and not served every-
SammiKelly
CROWN CENTER 27TH ST. & MAIN KANSAS CITY, MO Driving into Crown Center, a feeling of holiday cheer rushed over me. With thousands of twinkling lights, the Mayor’s 100-foot Christmas tree and the Ice Terrace skating rink, Crown Center is the holiday haven for all. Crown Center offers a variety of activities for any time of day. In the morning, grab a warm, cinnamon roll from Big Momma’s or a bagel from Einstein Brothers. Afternoons can be spent shopping at any of Crown Center’s unique stores. Z-Teca, Panera and d’Bronx offer quick service and inexpensive food for lunch. Nightlife at Crown Center includes 11 sit down restaurants and four theatres. My personal Crown Center favorite is the Ice Terrace. Nothing gets me into the Christmas spirit like ice skating under the Mayor’s tree with the quiet hum of holiday tunes in the background. Despite the occasional crowding, Crown Center is still the greatest holiday hot spot.
OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH
3039 TROOST AVE
KANSAS CITY, MO
One of my greatest holiday memories from recent years is the three days I spent a Operation Breakthrough over the break. Located on 31st and Troost, Operation Breakthrough provides a safe, educational environment for inner city kids. With over 600 children enrolled, the center is always looking for volunteers to spend time with the children and help the teachers in their classrooms. For these children, having someone play with them and hug them is better than any toy they could open Christmas morning. I made connections to some of the kids in the room I was in. Everyday before I left, I was swarmed by children and given hugs. Spending time with the children is greater than any gift I have ever been given.
where. As I entered, I saw young people, heads buried in laptops. I felt that there was some disconnection between people. It seemed as if everyone was only concerned about himself or herself. I am not sure if I would come regularly because I wouldn’t feel welcome. If the main goal is to get away from everyday life and to get something done, then it’s the right spot. The interior shows that Teadrops is for a younger, creative crowd. The seating arrangement is open and the ceiling is high. I went out on a limb and tried the taro bubble tea. It was interesting—my taste buds absorbed the taste of sugar cookies. It was a little sweet for my liking but I didn’t despise it. I would be more than happy to go back,it’s a good place to escape to and stay warm during those dreary winter days.
SamBartow
PARK PLACE 5260 W. 116TH PLACE
LEAWOOD, KS
Located a few blocks from Town Center, Park Place is a closer alternative to Crown Center. Like Crown Center, there are a variety of activities, the most popular being the ice skating rink. Park Place is more compact than Crown Center, which makes it easier to experience many things at once. There are several unique shops and restaurants right next to the ice and a five minute drive puts you at Town Center. After dinner at Ingredient, my friends and I made a 30 second walk to the rink. When we paid for our skates, we were given a wristband that allowed us to leave the ice and return for no charge. After skating for an hour, we got bored and left to get gelato from Paciugo. We then decided we wanted to skate again and went back to the ice. This flexibility is Park Place’s greatest quality: you can return to the ice anytime within the day.
MarissaHorwitz
BROADWAY CAFE 4106 BROADWAY KANSAS CITY, MO
As I drove up to Broadway Café, I felt a sense of uneasiness. Outside of the door sat five men drinking coffee. As a teenage girl, I felt out of place. Once past the awkward moment of walking by and into the front door, I felt more comfortable. Some people were lingering in the back area, which was more quiet and relaxing than the front. It was difficult to choose from the menu because everything was at a low, affordable price. I went with their latte. It offered an interesting, wonderful taste. I felt that it was equally as wonderful as Starbuck’s. The flavor was a nice blend of sweet and savory. The building looked very antique. I am not one for old places but the old feel brought about coziness. I enjoyed Broadway Café but I was not too excited about the location. With a few friends, it might be a good place to study or hangout, but I will not step into the door by myself. Stepping into the Broadway Café made the world stop in a sense because it offered a quiet and different surrounding.
HOMER’S 7126 WEST 80TH STREET
KANSAS CITY, MO
The small inside gave off a cozy, calming feeling. Tables were scattered about able to accommodate a surprisingly abundance of people in such a confined area. Everything inside—table, chairs, paint-color and counters appeared to be newly remodeled. The coffee shop is a hangout for all ages. A woman and a little girl sat on one side while other older adults were seated on the other. Two groups had laptops while sipping their drinks. Quiet music filled the air and the smell of brewing coffee was present. As time dwindles and finals come closer, Homer’s will be a great spot to sit down, enjoy a latte or coffee and get some uninterrupted studying completed.
SPORTS issue 6
27
&
the
OLD the
NEW booster club transitions to a new sports website
EvanNichols
Nov. 4 marked the final outlines of the transition from smesports.com to smesports.org. The new website, smesports.org, is student-designed and easier for coaches and parent volunteers to update. The .org site is slowly taking on the full role as East’s official athletic site. Still operating right now, the old .com site is still being operated as of deadline by the Miller family, with East graduate Blake Miller and his father Bob Miller serving as webmasters. Although the site has been up since 2003, it will soon be redirected to the new .org site, which holds the official sponsorship of the All-Sports Booster Club. The Nov. 4 meeting between athletic director Jeremy Higgins, Booster Club President Al Simmons, Booster Club Vice President Jan Creidenberg and Bob and his wife Peggy laid out the expectations for smesports.com, with the main goal being redirecting the .com site to the new .org site. According to Simmons, this redirection will be going into effect no later than Nov. 20, in an attempt to have only one website operating before Meet the Coaches night on Nov. 22. Originally, the plan was for the new site to be built on the .com domain, but the Miller family said the domain was their property. Therefore, the Booster Club purchased the .org domain and built the site there. The process for redirection has been a lengthy one. Initial requests for a redirection arose in early summer and the Miller’s contract with the Booster Club for their site ended on Oct. 31, yet the final transitions are now just occurring, almost three months after the new site went live. Along with that, the old site smesports.com has continued to display the statements “Official Website of Shawnee Mission East Ath-
letics” and “Sponsored by the ALL-Sports Booster Club.” Simmons believes the reasoning these statements stayed up was because the program used to design the site may have made it difficult to remove the statements. Creidenberg had never sent emails explicitly telling them to take down the statements, but he did ask them to place a prominent hotlink to the new site, since it was being used as the official site. Instead of a prominently displayed, newly designed hotlink, an exact picture of Creidenberg’s email to them asking to create the link was placed near the bottom of the homepage. The picture itself listed the .org website and stated below in parentheses “this should be a hotlink.” Below the picture was a statement claiming that the .com site would remain live even with the .org site operational. This picture has since been removed. Both Bob and Peggy Miller declined to comment on the transition and statements remaining on the .com site. Despite this months-long process, the Miller’s contribution to East athletics has been significant. As members of the Booster Board in 2003, they were the first ones to push for the construction of a new website, and ended up taking on that responsibility themselves. Early this summer, Jan Creidenberg was asked to modernize the site by the Booster Club. He first met with the Millers in the fall of 2009 to talk about refreshing the content of the old site, and making it easier and more navigable for viewers. “[Our goal] was refreshing the look and feel of the website,” Creidenberg said. “We wanted to bring it into the year of 2010.” He asked for a proposal by the Millers to refresh the site. Creidenberg was presented with a sec-
ond option during Spring Break of 2010. While on vacation in Colorado, Creidenberg began talking with East graduate Tim Shedor about the possibility of creating a new website. After discussion, another proposal was requested from Shedor for the creation of the new site. Collaborating with senior Logan Heley, the two created a proposal for the Booster Club to build a new site for East athletics. In April 2010, the Booster Club decided to go with Shedor and Heley’s proposal for the new site. The site, built using Wordpress, was up and running by August. According to Creidenberg, it allowed for a much easier content management system, meaning coaches and other administrators could update the site instead of all information funneling through Miller family. Creidenberg also enjoyed seeing students involved in the site instead of soley relying on a third party. According to Creidenberg, these were the two main reasons he decided to choose the student’s proposal over the Miller’s. According to Simmons, the old site acted as a “safety net” for the new site, in case of failure or crashes. It remained a source of East athletic news and information, but the true sponsorship of the site was transferred to the .org site when it went live. Although the .com site was still live as of deadline, the transition is almost complete. As Creidenberg says, the intention from the beginning had been to shift to one, official sports website.
To watch live broadcasts of East’s sporting events, go to www. smeharbinger.net
the new site: smesports.org five aspects that make the new site easy to use Navigation: the site’s organization and separation of each sport’s roster, schedule and links makes it easy for viewers to navigate from each section, as well as calendars and Booster Club news. Content Management: the new site allows for easier updating by coaches and the Athletic Director because the site allows for multiple administrators to update information. Functionality: the site’s organization and separation of each sport’s roster, schedule and links makes it easy for viewers to navigate from each section, along with an updated recent varsity final scores section. Recent Scores and Live Broadcasts: the site has a column of updated scores from the most recent East sporting events. It also has links to the smeharbinger.net’s live broadcasts of games. Link to smephotos.com: This link allows viewers to see all photos taken by the Harbinger and Hauberk of East activites. They are available for viewing as well as purchase.
SPORTS 28 11-15-10
The Millers’ Way With three Millers having completed their high school careers at East, their mark on the program is undeniable
CorbinBarnds
The only comfort senior Brett Miller could give to his father after beating Shawnee Mission South was an apology. At the time in tears, Jim Miller wasn’t able to find the words he wanted to say to his son; but just by Brett’s few apologetic words, he laughed and broke out a smile. He couldn’t have been more excited for Brett. On their senior night, Brett, along with all of his teammates, beat SM South to give their team an eighth win, becoming the winningest football team in Shawnee Mission East football history. The eighth win was one more than none other than Brett’s father and the rest of the 1975 team. “Sherman said over, over and over that, ‘If you blow this, you’ll never forget it,” Brett said. “The West game won’t feel special if you blow this.’ We had to go out and play our hardest. After that game it was the biggest moment in most of our lives, just because we were in the history books forever.” Although East’s football history certainly isn’t illustrious, the small periods of success have the Miller family fingerprints all over them, and it doesn’t just lie with Jim and Brett, but also 2007 graduate Bobby Miller. Out of East’s 20 winning seasons in 53 years, the Millers have been involved in 25 percent of those; putting the Miller’s all-time East record at 36-18 compared to the cumulative losing East record. There have been back-to-back winning seasons only two times. Both times, one of the Millers were there. All of these statistics place the Millers at the pinnacle of Lancer football. Starting with Jim on the 1975 team, the Lancers set a mark that wouldn’t be beaten for 35 years by going 7-2. The previ-
all courtesy of the Millers
ous season, the team went 6-3. Next was Bobby with the 2005 team that went 6-3. Bobby’s following season, the team went 5-4. Bobby and Jim were a part of the only two teams in history that managed to have a winning record back-to-back years. Now, Brett and the 2010 edition of the Lancers finished 8-1 in the regular season, the best season in school history. Although these winning seasons are the collective work of an entire team; it is nearly impossible not to see the connection: when a Miller is on the Shawnee Mission East football team, they are always successful. “We are very fortunate to play on the teams at the times we did,” Jim said. “Football is a team game; you’ve got to have all the chemistry to make it work. I don’t think it’s all because of us by any means.” Although these improbable seasons are majorly a coincidence, between the Miller boys, they have used their East football careers to feed their competitiveness. The three Millers always compare who is the fastest, strongest, or smartest on and off the football field, so naturally the comparison of football teams comes up. Before this season, Jim and Bobby sat at the top above Brett. Both had better records as a Lancer, and both were taller. But this year it all changed. Brett outgrew his brother, and beat his father’s season win record sitting Brett at the top and he lets it be known. “I knew individually it would be very tough to match my brother,” Brett said. “He was all-metro, all-state — all everything. My thing was the team thing. I thought it would be pretty easy. Going into the season, I wanted to match my dad
A Blast From the Past 1975 Big East Win: Rockhurst New Trend: The Rubik’s cube along with discos, started to get big Hit Movie: Jaws
2006 Big East Win: SM Northwest New Trend: The first iPhone was released by Apple Hit Movie: Juno
like crazy. From high school, middle school to elementary school; all the time.” Growing up, Brett went to all of his brother’s games soaking in every play on the field and every ounce of the Friday night football atmosphere. Brett likes to think that they grew into the team’s biggest fans. “My thought process was basically how incredible high school was going to be,” Brett said. “How much I couldn’t wait and how much I wanted to be as succesfsul as them. As well as carry on the tradition.” Before the season began, the seniors drove down to Southern Missouri for a canoe trip, continuing a tradition that had been going since his brother’s time at East. During the trip, the team set what their goals would be going forward among winning league, and going farther in the playoffs than any other team in East history. Brett brought up to the team having the best record in school history. “When I said that, we all agreed,” Brett said. “We wanted to break some sort of school record.” Right before the season began, Jim sat in on a team meeting where the players reiterated their goals for the upcoming games, he remembers them talking about winning eight games and beating his team’s record. “It wasn’t cockiness, it wasn’t a crazy prediction, “ Jim said. “They believed they could do it. Hearing them say it meant a lot to me because I was a part of that record. I’m not totally surprised; they said they were going to do it and they did.”
2010 Big East Win: SM West New Trend: Justin Bieber explodes onto the music scene, iPhone 4 is released Hit Movie: Toy Story 3
an outside hand softball girls’ swimming Deon Slemp- 3 years
baseball
lly
miKe
Sam
ley said. “Also, coach stays in contact with us during the summer by coming and watching our club games.” In Slemp’s mind, there are many disadvantages to being away from his players during school, mainly the lack of communication. Texts and e-mails can only do so much, and he feels that he really lacks a certain connection with players before the season starts. With three daughters that have gone to East, though, Slemp still feels like a member of the East family. “I’m here almost everyday,” Slemp said. “My office is always open, and players are free to walk in at anytime. I actually know many of the teachers and I can help players when they need it. When players are concerned about a game or an injury, I’m still going to be there for them, like any other coach.” MaxStitt
Jerrod Ryherd- 2 years
The players sprint to the field in a wild bunch, bounding with excitement. The pitcher takes the ball and pitches it just how the batter wants it. Slow and smooth. With a sweeping strike the rubber ball sails through the air, heading towards the shortstop. Suddenly a mass of pint-sized athletes lunge at the ball from every which way. The P.E. teacher, clad in a sweatshirt with the bobcat of Brookridge Elementary stretched across the front, just chuckles at his P.E. class. Baseball coach Jerrod Ryherd loves the challenge of coaching. Whether it’s a bulky senior, or the shrimpy first-grader that can barely throw a ball from second to third, he loves educating kids about the world of sports. “I just love teaching kids to play the game the
issue 6
29
a look at East’s out-of-school coaches Rob Cole- 11 years
MattGannon
Deon Slemp has always been around fast-pitch softball. He watched his mom coach teams throughout his childhood summers. He helped his daughter, Kyra, learn the game and has coached club teams for 25 years. So naturally, when Kyra entered her freshman season of East softball, he knew he could help the struggling East team. “I didn’t have any intentions of becoming the head coach,” Slemp said. “I just knew that the team was having trouble and I knew I could bring something to the team.” After only one year of being an assistant, he applied for the open head coaching job, left by former coach Jennifer Horn. He knew it would be a challenge to take on such a role, because he was already working as a casino dealer and coaching a yearround club team. But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up; he couldn’t wait to rebuild the program with his daughter and her friends. Junior Shannon McGinley had played competitively against Kyra and her dad in club softball, and because of her friendship with Kyra, the absence at school of coach Slemp doesn’t make a huge impact on her. “Kyra tells everybody what’s happening with the team, which is a big help,” McGin-
SPORTS
right way,” Ryherd said. “At Brookridge, they always want to play. I never have to push them, and the enthusiasm is already there. High school kids can be more stubborn, but they are really just elementary kids in a bigger body.” Ryherd return to his coaching roots when took job at East last year. Years before, he was an assistant coach back when John Stonner was leading the Lancers. “It was my dream to get this job,” Ryherd said. “I felt I could build a strong winning tradition here.” Because of the separation from his team there are constant struggles that Ryherd faces everyday. “It’s hard to communicate with them, which means a lot of phone calls for me,” Ryherd said. “It’s rough that I don’t get to see them as much, and I feel like I never get to spend time with the younger kids on the freshmen and C-teams because I’m so busy with the older ones.” Whether Ryherd is running his squad through batting practice in the blistering heat, or teaching a kindergarten class how to dribble a basketball, he does it with pride, passion, and encouragement, the strong characteristics of a coach.
“Come on Dad! Watch! I can do a flip.” Swimming coach Rob Cole stared in disbelief, as his 4-year-old son jumped into the freezing water of the Lake of the Ozarks. “I had just taught him how to dive, and I couldn’t believe what he was doing,” Cole said. “It made me proud, and it’s a memory that I will never forget.” After swimming at Missouri State, Cole became a gym teacher at St. Peters high school, and for the past 11 years he has been the head coach of the girls’ swim team at East. “When I took the job at East, I knew it was a program that needed rebuilding,” Cole said. “I had coached a few kids in the East
area on club teams, but at the time none of them were attending the high school. Still, I knew that this was a school and an area that had a lot of pride and tradition.” Cole’s love for the water extends far past the swimming lanes of Wiley Wright Pool, though. He and his family frequently go to the Lake of the Ozarks, where Cole spends time with his sons, Hayden and Gannon. They spend days fishing, tubing, diving and four-wheeling on these adventures. Cole wouldn’t trade these moments for anything in the world. But Cole wishes that he had more days to bond with his team. He wants to be there for them, but is restrained by his job. It frustrates him, but he has learned to see it as more of an oppurtunity. “By not being able to see them everyday, I can’t always be there for them when they are having a bad day,” Cole said. “That’s why we do a lot of team-building stuff during the pre-season, so we can still have a strong connection. I think that the kids really see me as more of a mentor than a teacher, and they really look forward to the time we have together.”
SammiKelly
cross country Tricia Beaham- 12 years Winning state has always been cross country coach Tricia Beaham’s mission. The cross country team won state twice during her first two years at East from 1982-1984, with Beaham finishing in the top 20 both times. The team fell short during Beaham’s senior year, finishing second, but Beaham finished strong, taking first at state. Now in her 12th year of coaching, she strives to push her cross country family back to glory days. “During the season, it’s a thrill to see the magnitude of our team,” Beaham said. “When the kids that really want to coached surface, it makes me enthusiastic about what our team can do.” Beaham loves creating strong friendships with her runners and believes that only being a coach at East can be very comforting to her athletes. “Yes, I know I’m not as accessible to the runners, but they know that I am not just a coach but also a friend,” Beaham said. “I give my runners my cell and e-mail, and I’m there for them 24/7. Modern technology has made things a lot easier.” To make things even simpler and stress-free for the runners, Beaham made one of her best friends, T. Michael Chaffee, an assitant coach. “With him being at East, he can step in if there is an emergency and the staff or
student cannot get a hold of me,” Beaham said. “I can always trust him to step up when needed.” Beaham knows that being a coach outside of East has its challenges, but she refuses to let that effect her and she always looks for the positive in every situation. “Being a alumni, I take great pride in the program,” Beaham said. “Even though I have a lot of things to do as a mother, coaching and running have always been passions of mine and the kids make everyday of practice that much easier.”
EdenSchoofs
SPORTS 30 11-15-10
A new era begins
Girls’ basketball team’s new coach brings fresh ideas to the team ChristaMcKittrick
To see a video feature on Coach Stein, visit smeharbinger.net
It’s a Sunday afternoon before the girls’ basketball team will play in the fall league. Senior Logan Weckbaugh’s phone rings with a call from Coach Stein. He asks if she’s ready and jokes about how the running during season will be rough. He gets Logan psyched for the game and her mind focused on the upcoming basketball season. Scott Stein, the new head coach for the girls’ basketball team, has made this type of phone call a routine to some of the returning JV and varsity girls to make sure that they are coming to the game that evening. Although the phone call is primarily for that reason, he takes the time to joke around and talk to each of his players. These phone calls are just one of the ways that Stein has made an impression on his players. This winter will be Stein’s first season as head coach for the girls’ basketball team but he already has the support of the team. “I think he’s a really good coach,” Weckbaugh said, “He understands where we are as a team and will push us as far as we can go.” Stein is a new head coach at East, but the school’s basketball program isn’t new to him. In the 2000-2001 season Stein was the varsity girls’ basketball team’s assistant under Lane Green. He left the program when a head coaching job at Eudora High School became available. When the opportunity came up this year for a head coaching job at East, Stein was interested even though he knew there was no teaching position available. Stein liked the idea of returning to a school where he had felt
welcome several years ago. Now with Stein teaching at Schlagle High School, he will have to make the thirty minute trip to East for practice after school. Another challenge that Stein will face is coaching a team that graduated seven seniors. Senior Molly Rappold thinks that the team’s lack of varsity experience could help the team. “We don’t have very much varsity experience,” Rappold said. “but it will actually be good because there won’t just be two scorers, we’ll all have to step up.” Weckbaugh is also confident in the team because they play so well as a group. Last year the JV team went 19-0. “I think we’ll be able to pull it off because this years varsity is basically last years JV so we have a lot of experience playing together,” Weckbaugh said. “I think we’ll just gel better than last year.” Another change for the team besides losing a majority of the varsity squad is the playing style. Stein plans on altering the offense and defense style a bit to make up for graduating several taller seniors and to utilize his team’s quickness. “We are going to play an up-tempo offense,” Stein said. “We are going to try to push the ball and take advantage of opportunities before the defense gets set.” Stein wants to play a fast offense partially because of the team’s size. They don’t have a huge post player, so Stein plans on running an offense that will use their size and speed to their advantage. “We want to play a five-man motion
offense as opposed to a post presence,” Stein said. As far as defense goes, Stein likes to run an aggressive man-to-man defense. He also plans on trying to draw some of the bigger players away from the bucket. At team camp in Oklahoma, Stein introduced some of his playing styles in the game. After seeing the girls trying his playing technique, Stein will alter the offense and defense based on what he saw and who he plans on playing in different positions. Another change that junior Shannon McGinley anticipates is concerning practices. McGinley expects Stein to pay extra attention to the fundamentals of basketball at the beginning of the season—things like shooting and shuffling the defense. “Even though we all already know how to [shoot], Coach Stein will make sure we know how to do it correctly before learning the plays for the season,” McGinley said. “We want to make all of our basic skills almost perfect before learning other things.” Overall, Stein and his players hope to translate last years JV team’s success to this year’s varsity team. Stein’s number one goal is to try and win the league. Outside of that he simply wants to do well and improve as the season goes on. McGinley trusts Stein to help them get the job done. “He’s a go-getter,” McGinley said, “He’s quick to the point at telling us what we’re going to have to do, so we’ll get a lot accomplished.” Photo illustration by
“
ClaireWahrer
Getting to know Coach Stein beyond the ball “I like [the Royals] even though we’re not winning, I’m still a die-hard Royals fan. I was an A’s fan and when the A’s went to Oakland it was a great disappointment. When the Royals came to KC I was a fan right from the start.
”
Coach Scott Stein
Kansas City Royals
GO-TO TEAM
FAVORITE PASTIME
Coach Stein’s favorite book he has recently read is Geno, a biography about Geno Auriemma, coach of University of Connecticut’s womens’ basketball team.
Spending time with family Stein has four sons and eight grandchildren he loves to spend as much time with as possible.
Basically I just love spending time together. I think that’s a lost art. I think it’s great to have them over and just sit down with them. With the grandkids, I’ll take them fishing. Coach Scott Stein
”
GENO
I like the things [Geno] had to say and I like how he approaches the game. Coach Scott Stein
”
INSPIRATIONAL READ
5Winter Sports
SPORTS
Minute Low-down On Storylines to Follow
Names to Know Shannon McGinley
As a two-year varsity starter, the junior will provide much of the experience and leadership on a team that lost six seniors off one of the best teams in East history. McGinley is a very safe ballcarrier that knows how to read the defense as well as run her own offense.
Zach Schneider
As the former Sunflower League freshman of the year, the sophomore Schneider is argueablly the most talented player on Hair’s squad, and he will have to carry the load for East to be succesful. Playing power forward and center, Schneider will dominate the paint with senior forwards Sean Cameron and George Brophy.
issue 6
Can boys’ basketball overcome their youth?
The Breaststrokers
Coach Wiley Wright may not be known as a breaststroke coach but these past couple seasons give reason to think otherwise. The Lancers have the potential to place four breaststrokers in the top eight in the state. Not team has dominated an event like this ever before
GrantHeinlein
Games That Will Make a Difference Boys’ Bball at Rockhurst 1/28
showdown will once again bring out the best in both of these squads. Shawnee Mission East will be much improved from their 6-15 season last year, but the question is whether they will have the size down low to bang with senior Dan Tapko and the rest of Rockhurst’s frontcourt. If East can get hot from behind the arc, East will have a very good shot at pulling off the upset.
Swimming at Blue Valley North 1/18
OUR SAYthe sports panel BBall vs. Rockhurst Rockhurst
Corbin Barnds
Cheerleading or Drill Team
East’s inexperience, will come to hurt them in this big game environment.
SM East
Matt Gannon
This young team will regain control of the rivalry, with a big win.
SM East
Kevin Simpson
George Brophy and Sean Cameron will stand up to the Hawklet front line in a big way.
Rockhurst
Kevin Simpson Patrick Mcgannon
Still too young of a team to pull it off but we’ll shine in the future.
Drill Team
With drill team, it’s always something new, and always good
Drill Team
What’s better than energetic music and unique dance moves?
Drill Team
The beats at the pep assemblies make me want to throw my hands up in the air sometimes.
Drill Team
Fast-paced dancing with relevant music gets the nod over a capella claps.
After a 6-15 season last year, Hair’s squad is still in rebuilding mode although they are definitely on an upward trend. The team will most likely go with a youth movement in the starting line-up, starting only one senior to compliment what could be three sophomores. For this team to be a threat in the league they must overcome their inexperience.
Despite losing productive seniors, wrestling continues to improve
Before Coach Chip Ufford arrived, East wrestling struggled to put a competitive team on the mat. Ufford has completely changed the culture of East wrestling but after losing state placer Jeff Rutherford the team has a major hole to fill as well and then some before they can compete for league. Senior Chase Woofter and sophomore Tommy McGillicuddy will provide much of the Lancer’s scoring.
Where does the girls’ basketball team get their size from?
This duel in the pool will feature the two perennial swimming powers in the state and will once again act as a preview to the state meet a month later in Topeka. Due to the format of the meet, East will most likely be the favorite to win the meet, but they must win by a sizable margin to be the favorite to win their sixth state title in seven years. The 100 breast, 200 individual medley and 50 free will be the defining events.
GrantHeinlein
31
After losing a senior class that put up one of the best records in school history, the Lancers will need to find a post prescence to fill the hole left by Janna Graf. Under a new coach, expect to see a change in playstyle more suited for a guard lineup but the void in the paint needs to be filled.
Can boys’ basketball overcome their youth?
Once again Wiley Wright looks to have his team poised to contiue their underwater domination in the state; a league championship looks to be a forgone conclusion but state will be very close, with Blue Valley North providing the competition. The title chase will be aided by an impressive freshman class.
Winter Sports Stud Troy Demoss
Swimming the backstroke as well as the IM, Demoss will be huge to another ring
Chase Woofter
This experienced wrestler is set for a breakout season under Sherman’s leadership
Zach Schneider
As one of two returners to the team, Schneider has been thrust into a role of leadership.
Shannon McGinley
With last year’s seniors out of the way, its her time to shine.
Another Swimming Title? Yes
Wiley Wright has a way of getting it done at state. He does it again.
Yes
East’s dominence in the water continues, as the team takes another title
Yes
The strong freshman class will join forces with Andrew Watkins and Troy Demoss to take home the crown.
No
A lack of strong relays will haunt the Lancers.
32
PHOTO ESSAY 11-15-10
Dodging For a Good Cause 40 teams go head-to-head in a dodgeball tournament benefitting Wilhemina’s Kitchen in Kansas City
Giving a post-game speech, senior Betsy Blessen, far above, congratulates her team after winning for the first time in four years. “Our team name was ‘Fourth Year In, It’s Time To Win,’” Blessen said. “Up until Monday night we had played every year and never won a game.” GrantHeinlein Before starting his first match, senior Mark Mergen signals to his teammates, ‘Los Locos Boys,’ that all eight of the dodgeballs are present. SamBartow
Senior Drake Winn, of the Algebros, attempts to catch a hard thrown ball. “This was my first year playing,” Winn said. “[Dodgeball] is a lot of fun. Playing is a good way to release anger.” GrantHeinlein Seniors Julie Aliber and Drew Auer, left, laugh after bumping into each other during their match. GrantHeinlein Anxiously waiting for the referee to begin the match, senior Madison Haverty prepares to grab the dodgeballs for her team. GrantHeinlein