The Harbinger: Issue 9 2010-2011

Harbinger the

ISSUE 9 SHAWNEE MISSION EAST PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS JAN. 24, 2011 SMEHARBINGER.NET

THE

ASSAULT

ON PRODUCTIVITY

Increasing use of social media hampers efficiency of students

AndrewGoble Over the last two years, social media and networking websites have emerged as the dominant force on the internet. According to a Nielsen Media Research study in June 2010, almost 25 percent of time on the internet is now spent on social networking web sites— a 43 percent increase from just a year before. Facebook alone reports that it now has 500 million active users, 50 percent of whom log in every day.

Former East debater and journalist passes away of long-term disease

p. 3-4

As social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter gain popularity, they also are becoming increasingly more dangerous ways to procrastinate while trying to do homework. In a survey of 102 students at East , 57 percent listed that social media has made them less productive and 30 percent listed, “Yes, but it just replaced other forms of entertainment.”

A Nucleus Research study found companies who al-

E-readers are being used more often

by East students

p. 7

low their employees to use Facebook lost about 1.5 percent in productivity, while an Ohio State study found that students who used Facebook studied less and had worse grades. Larry Long, Jr., Ph.D, Senior Director of Counseling and Educational Support Services at the University of Kansas, says that part of the issue is that people overestimate how good they are at multitasking.

Continued on page 2

Student starts local charity making toys for pets

p. 12

Take a look inside Natasha’s Mulberry and Mott bakery

If anybody should have, if anybody had a right to give up hope, it was her. She never gave up hope. It’s what fueled her.”

p. 22

Marsha Gribble p. 3-4

#OMG #SO COOOL“LIKE” you look so funny in this picNEWS 1-24-11 <3 U GIRL! Don’t wanna do HW ;) So bored.....wish this Happy Birthday Buddyy!! “HAHAHA” CHECK THIS OUT THAT WAS SO MUCH FUNN!! COMMENT BELOW “LOL” Wish i was there!! “POKE” CALL ME IF YOU WANNEED TO CLEAN MY ROOM..UGHH ANYONE WANN CHILL

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“If they give people some complex tasks to do, like homework, and I say ‘OK, do your homework and then turn on Facebook or Twitter or let’s check your text messages,’ what the person is going to say is that they can do that very effectively and efficiently, but what the research shows that if you are multitasking you tend to perform much worse or you’re not as efficient,” Dr. Long said.

Another difference between social media and other forms of entertainment such as TV is that they are interactive, asking for input or constant attention.

“It’s one thing to just follow somebody on Twitter,” Dr. Long said, “but to post...or to respond to texts or to read the Facebook accounts and “like” something or to respond to someone else’s comment-that would be more interactive multitasking.”

Junior Eli Mitchell estimates that when he was entering high school he was using the computer for 10 to 11 hours a day. He would stay up until 4 or 5 a.m. on weekends, and midnight or 1 a.m. on school nights, usually on social media websites or gaming on the computer. His grades fell dramatically in his freshman year as a result.

“It took kind of a whole pep talk from my parents to realize that I needed to kind of buckle down and stop spending all of my time on the internet and on computers and things like that, so it definitely messed up my transcript in that respect,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell would end up seeing a therapist, who helped him learn that the internet was an “artificial addiction.” Now, as an International Baccalaureate student who goes to bed at 9 or 10 on school nights, he has seen that his productivity has increased “a huge margin” by limiting himself to using the computer to 1 or 2 hours a day.

Senior Jonathan Dawson started using Facebook when he was a freshman. He describes the first two years as a “friend war”—trying to get the most friends on Facebook—and then later as a “like” and “comment” war—seeing who could comment on and “like” the most posts. Now he uses the Facebook Chat feature to communicate with friends he doesn’t see often, such as friends from summer camps.

“There’s a sense of belonging,” Dawson said. “It used to be really exclusive, so that had some appeal to it. Once you get hooked onto it, you’re really into it. It’s like a drug, actually, when you come to think of it.”

He generally uses social media websites for around an hour a day, but still feels less productive because of it. He tries to not multitask too much, but if he feels the urge, he sometimes goes to the library to study.

“They have slower computers at the library,” Dawson said, “so if I want to get my work done, I know I can’t get on Facebook because it’s so slow.”

Social media websites are usually free and funded by advertising from marketers, and now teachers are starting to adapt their curriculum. There is a new social networking and social media section in DECA contests, and Business teacher Jennifer Hair sees integration of social media as important in the future of business. However, since students do not have access to most social networking websites on the school’s internet connection, she says many of these projects must take place outside of school.

“I definitely think that there’s going to have to be some compromise with that,” Hair said. “They have to do it at home, but you know, that’s okay. I have a kid working on a Lancer Boys’ Basketball page and he does it at home, and it’s totally fine.”

Business teacher Mercedes Rasmussen also sees the potential benefit of social networking websites. She hears a lot her students discussing the different ways that marketers reach out to them on different social media websites, and thinks that it will be an important aspect in the future of marketing.

IS SOCIAL NETWORKING

A GOOD USE

OF OUR TIME?

The Harbinger investigates the merit of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other forms of social networking

“A lot of people in big business right now aren’t savvy with social networking, so my guess is that in this age student a n d college kids are obviously very comfortable with those,” Rasmussen said. “I think their skills taken to big business would probably be appreciated because they can teach people how to use it to their advantage with advertising.”

However, she has also seen many issues with her students since the increased use of social networking.

“Good old fashion sales face-to-face and communication, it’s going to the wayside,” Rasmussen said. “When I have to have students come up and do sales presentations in front of the class, they’re completely lost. I’ve seen a huge decline in how well my students have done in sales presentations and sales communication since [social networking has] become so big.”

Jack Martin, Deputy Director of the Office of University Communications at the University of Kansas, works to integrate social media with students. Among other duties, he is in charge of maintaining the university’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.

He sees social media as a benefit to the academic world when use properly.

“Social media will continue to play a more important part in people’s lives,” Martin said, “and as a result will be important in the life of the university.”

Facebook pages like Martin’s are becoming part of the wave of academic solutions to students spending hours on the internet per night. KU Admissions recruiters are now on Facebook, and fan pages for the Class of 2015 and 2016 have been created. This way, Martin hopes that students interested in the school can utilize this resource while on Facebook.

“Students interested in KU or students planning on coming here can become a fan of the pages...find out more about KU, maybe interact with some of the people who are going to be in those classes,” Martin said. “It’s a way to start building the KU community before people even arrive on campus.”

Dr. Long also thinks that social media is a good way to help people “get connected to more individuals,” and that it can still remain in the lives of a productive individual. When he works with helping his medical students become more efficient, he first starts by attempting to separate work from any distractors.

“I think the best thing to do is if you are going to get on Facebook, if you are going to text, you should fully devote yourself to that,” Dr. Long said. “If you’re gonna do something else, like study or some other complex task, fully focus on that and you’re going to get more bang for your buck with your time.”

He suggests to his medical students that they experiment for a week without any multitasking at all, and see if they can study for the “least amount of time necessary.” This is also helps reduce the “inertia cost,” what he calls the psychological disadvantage of constantly restarting studying.

“You know how it takes a little while to get into doing homework?” Dr. Long said. “Sometimes it takes people 10-15-20 minutes to even sort of get into a flow with the homework. Well if you are constantly starting and stopping that, starting and stopping that... you lose that inertia time.”

As social media grows in size and in the variety of ways in which it can be accessed, Dr. Long thinks trying to separate browsing interactive media from studying is the best way to ensure that both can be done positively.

“I find most people are just amazed at the end of [not multitasking for a week] how much better it is,” Dr. Long said, “and how much quicker they cut through and how much more they get out of whatever they’re into.”

EAST’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SOCIAL MEDIA *Accoring to a survey of 102 students Which website do you spend the most time on?

Facebook; 78%

Twitter; 2% StumpleUpon; 1% Youtube; 17% Flickr; 0% Other; 8%

How many hours do you spend on the internet per night?

0-1 hours: 33% 1-2 hours: 14% 2-3 hours: 9% 4-5 hours: 2% 5+ hours: 3%

0-1 1-2 3-4

4-5

5+

How has social media affected your productivity?

57%

‘I’m less productive now.’

11% ‘I rarely

2%

‘I feel like I get more done now.’

use them.’

30%

‘It just replaces other forms of entertainment.’

A REASON TO SMILE

NEWS

issue 9

03

Despite her illness, Elizabeth McGranahan was able to stay involved in the activities she loved KevinSimpson The “Goodnight” playlist had always helped put her at ease. Whenever Elizabeth McGranahan, class of 2010, was having trouble sleeping, she would grab her iPad and turn on that playlist. It helped her relieve some of the stress; it helped ease the pain.

So when the doctors and Marsha Gribble, Elizabeth’s mother, finally agreed not to resuscitate Elizabeth on Nov. 30, Gribble knew what to do.

Gribble grabbed the iPad, climbed onto a gurney next to her firstborn child, and turned on the “Goodnight” playlist.

Just as the chaplain walked in, Elizabeth’s favorite song came on — “Hallelujah.” Gribble knew it was time. She held tightly to Elizabeth and watched the heart monitor as it signaled the last few moments of her daughter’s life. Just after the song ended, Elizabeth’s heart stopped. On Dec. 1, 2010, Elizabeth McGranahan passed away at the age of 19.

Her passing marked the end of a long stay at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for Elizabeth and Gribble. They had arrived on April 18, and by May 11, Elizabeth underwent a bone marrow transplant that the doctors hoped would cure her five year battle with aplastic anemia and dyskeratosis congenita. The rare disease stemmed from a shortage of red blood cells, which often caused Elizabeth to suffer from complete exhaustion. She bruised easily due to her low number of platelets. The smallest amount of contact could result in dark bruising that lasted much longer than the typical bruise.

Debate tournaments wore her out to the point that she would be recovering in the hospital the next day.

When blood transfusions became increasingly frequent, the transplant was one of the few remaining options. Gribble cherished the long days and nights they spent together in various hospital rooms “It was a great gift as a parent,” Gribble said. “I got to spend so much time with my high-school-age child. I spent seven and a half months with her in Minneapolis, at her side 24 hours a day. How many people get to do that with their 18-year-old child?”

But Gribble saw Elizabeth as more than her child.

“She was everything to me,” Gribble said. “With her illness, we became not only mother-daughter and best friends— we became partners in this really tough journey.”

But the first few years that she had the disease, Elizabeth worked hard to keep it private from the majority of those around her. She wouldn’t tell others, and when people became suspicious of her increasing absences from school, Elizabeth often made up stories to avoid the truth. She didn’t want it to define who she was; she didn’t want any special favors.

Olivia Sullivan, also class of 2010, was one of Elizabeth’s best friends and one of the few people that Elizabeth told early on about her illnesses.

“She assumed that she would beat her disease, so she didn’t want it to interfere with people’s perception of her,” Sullivan said. “She tried to keep her two lives separate - being sick, and going to school and being normal.”

It was only natural that Elizabeth was unable to completely separate her illness from the rest of her life. She suffered from an illness, yet she inspired people around the nation with her blog. She exhausted herself by spending most of her free time in the debate room, yet she became a mentor to the inexperienced novice debaters. And she spent the last few months of her life in a hospital room in Minneapolis, yet her bond with her supportive mother grew stronger with every transfusion, every smile, every low and every high. *** Elizabeth was a debater. Gribble and Elizabeth’s father met after debating against one another, and consequently hoped that someday their daughter would share in this interest.

Elizabeth joined the debate team during her freshman year, and she quickly emerged as one of the strongest in the program.

“She was really good at just talking to people and adapting her arguments to any type of judge,” debate coach Trey Witt said. “She could be very persuasive if she had someone in the back of the room who was a parent that had no experience judging.”

Sullivan met Elizabeth at a debate camp, and the pair soon became partners for competitions.

“She was one of the best on our team for sure,” Sullivan said. “She was really well spoken, really intelligent, and her determination helped a lot too. I can’t even imagine how good she would have been if she wasn’t sick and was able to put 100 percent of herself into it.”

Elizabeth’s talents were quickly recognized. After her sophomore year, Elizabeth was presented with the coaches’ award, which recognizes leadership among the East debate program. She qualified for the Photo courtesy of the McGranahan family semifinals of State Forensics her junior year, and she Elizabeth was a role model. Once when picking Elizabeth and Sullivan qualified for the Debate Coaches’ Invitaup from preschool when she was three years old, Gribble retional their junior and senior years. calls seeing her daughter consoling a crying classmate, telling Despite all of her accomplishments, Witt thinks Elizabeth her everything was going to be okay. will be remembered for other reasons.

Gribble loved the passion with which Elizabeth lived her “I think she was and is a good role model to younger kids life. The pair often debated whether or not Elizabeth would be to think about the legacy they want to leave behind and what allowed to get a tattoo on her wrist that read “Bravery.” Gribble kind of a person they want to be,” Witt said. “Those are ultisaid that it would look silly if Elizabeth were ever to become a mately the things that people are going to remember about journalist, pointing out that Diane Sawyer would never have her, not her successes or what tournaments she placed in or a tattoo. But Elizabeth never gave in, and on Sept. 24, her 19th how well she did at State.” birthday, Gribble sat in the intensive care unit and promised *** her heavily sedated daughter that she would allow her to get Elizabeth was a communicator. She and her father used to the tattoo. write books together, including one about a dog that Gribble Her determination extended far beyond self-serving purrecently found tucked away in her home. Elizabeth’s commuposes. Over Elizabeth’s four year debate career, Witt and Sulnication skills amazed those around her, including a speech livan saw her constantly supporting the novice debaters, repathologist that she met at age five. gardless of how much time it took away from her own work.

“She was just amazed at Elizabeth’s vocabulary,” Gribble “She really enjoyed teaching the younger kids,” Witt said. said. “She couldn’t believe the words and sentences that were “A lot of them kind of flocked to her, because she was not coming out.” intimidating at all. She had the type of demeanor that kids Elizabeth always dreamed of becoming a traveling jourwould feel comfortable asking her questions.” nalist. She long admired Diane Sawyer, and the two even met Witt noticed that when he told his class about Elizabeth’s during a trip Elizabeth made to New York City. passing, it was the younger debaters that seemed to take the Long before she spent her last few weeks in room 521 of news the hardest. They were the ones Elizabeth had mentored the intensive care unit, Elizabeth chased her passion for writwhen they joined the program. ing in a room by the same number at East. Though she was the Sophomore Eden McKissick-Hawley remembers going to editor of the Harbinger Online, she was able to write about a Wichita last year for her first overnight debate tournament. variety of topics for the newspaper. She reviewed Flight of the She said that Elizabeth always tried to make the novice debatConchords and Britney Spears. She wrote about female self deers feel comfortable around the upperclassmen. fense and she wrote a cover story on the economy’s effect on “We were immediately good friends and really close,” paying college tuition.

McKissick-Hawley said. “She just included everyone and Her final Harbinger story was about the increasing popumade everyone feel welcome. She never made anyone feel left larity of Twitter and how it connects people from all over. out. That’s the kind of person she was.”

Elizabeth was well-aware of the connecting power of words.

McKissick-Hawley and her partner ended up winning the She wrote her own blog, titled “A Reason to Smile,” in which tournament, and she attributes much of her success to Elizashe updated readers with reports on her day-to-day progress. beth’s guidance and support after every round.

“I love to go back and read it, because it’s like I’m still talkStories like McKissick-Hawley’s always remind Gribble ing to her,” Gribble said. “I was always so proud of her and of her daughter’s impact on those around her. Just days after proud of how positive she was. She really had her priorities Elizabeth’s death, a group of her closest friends gathered in straight. She was determined to be the best person she could Gribble’s home to share memories. possibly be and help as many people as she could along the “I came to the realization that she was the person I wanted way.” to be,” Gribble said. “I even made a promise to her that day Since Elizabeth’s death, Gribble has been updating the that every day for the rest of my life I would try to do somepage a few times each week. Each note is a personal letter thing the way Elizabeth would do it instead of the way I written from Gribble to her daughter, and each note ends with would do it.” a reminder that Gribble is loving and missing her “fiercely.” continued on page 4 ***

NEWS 04 01-24-11

T

he illnesses started when he was 15. Nick Larson, a former East student, was diagnosed with cancer when he was still attending Mission Valley Middle School.

Nick had to drop out of school. He went through months of chemotherapy, but after it all, Nick came out on top—he beat the cancer. Although he’s now cancer free, he’s been struck with another serious illness- Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). This illness set in only a year and a half after he found out he was cancer free.

But with the support from his sister, sophomore Hailee Larson, and mother, Sherri Larson, to provide support for him through the fight. Hailee and Sherri have started organizing dinners through Holy Cross Church, in order to raise money for Nick’s treatment.

Their goal is to raise enough money to cover the costs for a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The bout of illnesses that have ailed Nick for the past nine years of his

CURATING A CURE

Student-run charity events helps raise money for CVS treatment life have taken a toll on him, as well as the family. Nick’s health declined; he had to discontinue school, attempting to take Homebound classes, but found himself too weak to complete them. Sherri was worried she was going to lose her son.

“After he received chemotherapy for three months here in Kansas City, they told us he wasn’t going to make it,” Sherri said.

“The prognosis was not good.”

Sherri, Hailee, family and other friends organized fundraisers on behalf of Nick.

They held a golf tournament and silent auction, as well as a pancake breakfast, to raise money for Nick’s treatment. According to Sherri, their efforts yielded approximately $15,000.

Nick pushed through the cancer, but his victory was soon overshadowed by another illness. Only a year and a half after

being cancer free, in Jan. 2008, Nick started to show signs of CVS--increased vomiting, nausea and fatigue. It took doctors almost a year to diagnose him.

Unable to work, yet denied his applications for disability, Nick found himself confined to the hospital more and more. Hailee felt like she had already lost her brother.

“It used to kind of a carefree life, because he fought through cancer, and me and him would always hang out,” Hailee said. “We would see movies and things. And then it all kind of stopped.”

But despite the challenges, Nick is able to maintain a positive attitude. He’s lost his natural color and almost 60 pounds of weight, but, according to Sherri, he refuses to let the illness win.

“I’ll say to him, ‘You’re such a strong young man, I’m so proud of you for not giv-

EvanNichols ing up,’” Sherri said. “And he’ll say, ‘Mom, that’s just not a choice. I’m going to beat this.’”

Maintaining that attitude of strength, Hailee and Sherri have collaborated with Holy Cross Church in order to set up another fundraiser to raise money for a trip to the Mayo Clinic. They plan on using the church’s kitchen and hosting a dinner to benefit Nick. Sherri hopes to use the donations to visit a CVS specialist who can better help Nick in his treatment.

Both Hailee and Sherri want Nick to return to his normal life, a life that he’s barely been able to experience because of his health complications.

“I would really like to get support from the school and people in the community,” Hailee said, “because I almost lost him to cancer, and I don’t want to lose him to this.”

Sophomore Hailee Larson poses with her family, including her brother, Nick, center right.

all photos courtesy of the Larson family

A REASON TO SMILE continued from page 3 Gribble has an idea of one thing she plans to do the way Elizabeth would.

“My intent is to get that tattoo myself, and put angel wings on either side of it.” *** Elizabeth was a friend. Though she was constantly dealing with her illness that kept her from attending school on a regular basis, she still offered support to her friends whenever it was needed. Shelby Langtry, one of her closest friends, recalls a time when she missed school the same day that Elizabeth underwent a bone marrow biopsy. When they spoke later that day, all Elizabeth wanted to talk about was how Langtry was feeling.

Langtry was amazed at how much concern Elizabeth showed for others despite all she was going through.

“She was one of my closest friends,” Langtry said. “She was my confidant. I trusted her with everything. I trusted her with my life.”

Stories flew across the room when Langtry and Sullivan gathered both at Gribble’s home and Dragon Inn, Elizabeth’s favorite restaurant, soon after her passing. Gribble wanted to keep her daughter’s spirit alive, and the memories poured out. There was the time Sullivan forced Elizabeth to go to a strip club on her 18th birthday, even when it required pushing her through the door. Or all the times that Elizabeth planned Sullivan’s birthday parties. Or the time when Langtry, Sullivan and Elizabeth skipped homecoming,

and Elizabeth ended up hitting it off so well with a SM South student at a Shell gas station that she went to his homecoming dance just weeks later.

“She had that effect on people,” Langtry said. “They instantly loved her. She had so much love to give. I wish I could be half the person she was.”

Sullivan is reminded of her friend’s death constantly. In a recent collegiate debate tournament, she beat a rival that she and Elizabeth used to compete against. Sullivan’s first instinct was to text Elizabeth. Sullivan also has a bracelet that Elizabeth used to wear, and now, she can hardly stand to look at it. Sullivan does wear a different bracelet in honor of Elizabeth, one that reads, “The future belongs to those that believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

“She was very set on her future,” Sullivan said. “She was very determined to beat her illness.”

The memories weren’t all that Elizabeth’s friends were left with. Gribble gave each of them some of Elizabeth’s possessions as physical reminders of their beloved friend. Langtry received a Tiffany’s necklace bearing a cupcake, serving as a memory for all the times the girls tried to emulate the stars of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes.” Sullivan was given some of Elizabeth’s old clothes and jewelry.

And they all wear the bracelet. “Always a reason to smile” is inscribed on the colorful

bands that serve as a constant reminder of Elizabeth’s attitude toward life. Gribble wears her band on her left wrist, and Sullivan and Langtry on their right.

“Whenever I’m feeling sad or stressed out or mad,” Langtry said, “I like to look at it and remember that there always is a reason to smile.” *** They rushed out of the snow and crowded into the auditorium on Dec. 12. There were teachers and advisers, friends and family. Some barely knew Elizabeth; others were dearly close to her. Langtry strolled onto the stage and sang “The Sun” by Maroon Five.

“I cannot forget, refuse to forget, so glad I met you. Take my breath away, make every day worth all the pain that I’ve gone through.”

The lyrics echoed throughout the large room, accompanied only by the emotions of those who were so impacted by the loss of a loved one.

“I wanted to pick something that would display to people how much she meant to me,” Langtry said. “I will never forget her.

She’s left a lasting impact on my heart and on my life.”

After Witt and forensics coach Jennifer Hunter read a variety of reactions to Elizabeth’s passing from blog readers and Facebook friends, Sullivan took the stage. She held in her hand a speech that Elizabeth had written for her oratory for forensics. The speech

discussed the prevalence of miracles in society. Elizabeth was so proud of the speech that she was upset when that season ended, and she could no longer give it again.

In her oratory, Elizabeth implored her listeners to accept miracles as part of their life, because it would help them see the beauty in the world. She defined a miracle as “something positively life-changing that can’t be explained.”

As Gribble looks back on her daughter’s life, she struggles to describe how her daughter was able to fight her disease with such intensity, refusing to give up the things that she loved.

“I’ve wondered that, her doctors have wondered that, her nurses have wondered that,” Gribble said. “It was kind of her way of coping, because it’s so hard to face your own mortality when you’re a teenager. Life had more value to her, because she knew it could be gone at any day.”

Elizabeth’s undying will to live was not easily explained, fitting her own definition of a miracle.

“She never gave up hope,” Gribble said. “If anybody should have, if anybody had a right to give up hope, it was her. She never gave up hope. It’s what fueled her.”

Though those close to her struggle to articulate the impact she made on their lives, they all agree on one thing—Elizabeth was a miracle.

TAKING IT TO COURT AlysabethAlbano

After last year’s Reduction in Force, many thought this year would bring less cuts. But now it’s a new year and there is still a battle over school financing in Kansas. On Dec. 10, a group of 17 parents, largely from the SM East area, filed a lawsuit against Kansas state officials over school financing, claiming they should be allowed to tax themselves more heavily to decrease district budget reductions.

The group, represented by Tristan Duncan, a lawyer at Shook, Hardy and Bacon, filed the suit in hopes that it would hinder the voting process on Superintendent Gene Johnson’s school closures and boundary changes proposal. Even though the proposal passed on Dec. 13, they continued with their suit. The parent group said in a public statement that this case is not an attack against the district, but aimed specifically against a state law that they claim prohibits them from “protecting” their children.

After receiving word of the lawsuit, the district released a statement saying they were unaware of the case and the parents who filed it were “acting on their own accord without explicit or implicit approval of the Board of Education.”

According to East area Board of Education member Donna Bysfield, the district is currently in the lower 10 percent of funding for all districts in Kansas. Even though Shawnee Mission is the second largest district in Kansas, it is ranked 265 of 296 for district funding across the state. This, according to Duncan and the parents she is representing, is because of the Local Option Budget (LOB), which allows districts to fund over the Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP), and the cap that comes with it.

The School District Finance and Quality Performance Act was passed in 1992 in an effort to provide a basic, fair amount of funding to students across the state. Currently, it provides each district a base of $4,012 per student. However, individual factors such as enrollment trends and how many bilingual,

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NEWS Group of Shawnee Mission School District parents file lawsuit to reverse the local option budget cap for school fundraising

at-risk or bus-riding students a district has are taken in to account. These factors may increase the BSAPP for a district. During the 2008-2009 school year the SMSD received $4,701 per students, 64 percent lower than the state average.

“We simply seek the right to use our own money to correct this imbalance,” Duncan said. “Why is it fair for these other districts to get more money from the state and then prohibit us from trying to achieve a similar level of funding?”

Currently, the LOB allows schools to raise an additional 31 percent of funding through taxation. The parents’ lawyers claim the cap violates the Fourteenth Amendment, because according to the group, it protects a person’s right to participate in his or her child’s education and the right to make decisions regarding how a person uses his or her own property.

The case document explains that if parents wish to implement more taxes for themselves, they should be able to, especially if it helps their child receive a better education. They also claim the state of Kansas is “intentionally underfunding the Shawnee Mission School District and other school districts in Kansas.”

Kansas State Board of Education Chairwoman Janet Waugh doesn’t agree. She supports the current school finance law and doesn’t believe the State Board should be a party in this lawsuit at all. While the Board supports proper education funding for all public schools, she explained, they have no authority to alter or amend the current LOB policy. However, involved Mission Valley parent Meredith Bihuniak doesn’t think the LOB is what needs reforming--it is the LOB Cap. “I don’t think [changing the formula] is a battle we could win,” Bihuniak said. “But I think constitutionally we should have the ability to tax ourselves, if we so vote to do that. That’s the argument not so much changing the way the formula works.”

The result of this cap, according to parents, was the $20

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issue 9

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million in budget cuts the district saw over the last two years.

If the cap stays the same, some parents fear that there will be more cuts. According to Bysfield, their fears are justified—the district will have to make “substantial” cuts again this year.

This can already be seen on both local and state levels. During the Nov. 8 board meeting, Dr. Johnson’s presented his “Charting a Course,” where he proposed cutting 91 full-time equivalent teachers for the 2011-2012 school year. In his Jan. 13 budget testimony, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback laid out plans to reduce the BSAPP to $3,780.

Although the LOB cap was put into place to provide equality for all Kansas districts, parents claim it is doing just the opposite. They argue that it harms all students, whether they are at-risk, special needs or an average student. In their statement the parents go on to argue that the LOB cap prevents students from achieving an education necessary to be viewed as a competitor and that quality public education is crucial to obtaining better jobs and prosperity in the global economy.

Parents are relying on Supreme Court precedents to work in the favor in their suit. Even though this case is still in its beginning stages, parents are confident Kansas will see that the cap is a preventing students all over the state from the education they deserve.

According to Duncan the United Sate District Court, for the the district of Kansas, has put this case on the “fast track” due to its importance. They are expected to have a hearing next month to present their arguments. In addition to allowing parents the ability to tax, Bihuniak believes this could cause the district not to close Mission Valley Middle School.

“I believe that it could be a factor if they knew we had the ability to raise the money,” Bihuniak said. “If we could show them that we had the ability to fund the difference they think they are going to save I think they would consider reversing their decision.”

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Sandra, Student Johnson County Community College 12345 College Blvd. | Overland Park, KS 66210 913-469-3803 | www.jccc.edu “Like” JCCC at facebook.com/JCCC411

NEWS 06 01-24-11

StuCo fights tardiness with Minute Music

Engulfing all conversations and dissolving the endless chatter of the hallways, Ke$ha’s ‘“We R Who We R” streams through the hall speakers. Breaking apart from her group of friends, freshman Kayla Van Thullenar turns in the direction of her next hour: she can’t be tardy again. Racing the clock through the hallways, Kayla listens to music around her. She reaches her class’ door, and lunges into the room just before the bell rings. She’s made it.

This semester, StuCo has decided to begin playing ‘Minute Music’ in hopes it will help to reduce tardiness. The schoolappropriate music plays only in the gymnasiums and the hallways for the last minute of each passing period to remind lingering students to get to class.

“The music minute really helps me because even if I have my phone on me to know the time, it’s not synced with the east bell system, so it’s nice having a guarantee that there is one minute left until class,” Van Thullenar said. “It takes out the guess work.”

StuCo first heard about the idea at a district wide Student Council meeting from the students from both SM West and SM South. Since the music had a positive result at both schools, StuCo decided it would be a good idea to bring the Minute Music to East.

SM West Associate Principle Erica Warren says that within

D.J.Burton

MOVIN’ AND GROOVIN’ KimHoedel

the first two months of using their version of Minute Music, West experienced a 40 percent decrease in tardies.

“I’m not saying we don’t still have tardies, but the number of students in the hall when the bell rings is very low in comparison,” Warren said.

After hearing the positive feedback about the noticeable drop in tardies from various schools, StuCo and the Administration were confident that the music would have the same positive results at East.

“At one point we all thought: ‘OK, we want music in the hallways during passing period’ and this seems to work,” Associate Principal Steven Loe said. “Why don’t we knock out two birds with one stone?”

In order to get the system up and running, StuCo had to purchase a compatible MP3 player and load it with the music that they wanted to be played before the MP3 player could be wired with East’s PA system over winter break.

“I just went through my iTunes library and tried to find something that didn’t have cuss words in it,” StuCo Treasurer Meagan Dexter said. “It’s a limited selection, but it’s on there!”

Meagan loaded the MP3 player with a playlist containing over 150 different hit songs in order to please the largest amount of kids sharing different tastes.

“I wanted Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond,” Loe said. “If

you are going to get kids to go to class you give them that music, right?”

An adapter connects the MP3 player to the Simplex system that the bell system is run through. The MP3 player runs 24/7, but the volume only kicks in at the times machine is programmed to. The adapter also charges the MP3 so that it never runs out of battery. The times of the music and the location of the speakers playing the music can be programmed to fit the system’s specific needs. For instance, the Minute Music is set not to play in the classroom in order to insure minimal teacher disruption. StuCo Sponsor Hannah Pence thinks teachers appreciate the fact the music is limited to just the hallways.

“Sometimes you are trying to talk to student and do things and [the music] would be a disruption,” Pence said.

The future of Minute Music here at East depends on the results of this semester, since the music will continue on to finish out this school year. It is more than likely that the minute music will be returning next year and even the year after that. Loe says that the administration and StuCo will check around with teachers in about a month to see if there has been any noticeable decline in tardies. If so, and if the outlook on Minute Music is positive throughout the school, then it will continue to play on for years to come.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE THEFTS

Thefts plague sophomore lot

HollyHernandez It’s 7:15 p.m. David Sosna walks up to his car parked in the sophomore lot and doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. He opens the front door on the driver’s side to first see his face board gone. What is left is torn to shreds.

A face plate, two 200 watt amplifiers and a 15 inch sub woofer were stolen from the trunk of his car. David thinks whoever did it most likely just went down the line of cars to see whose happened to be unlocked.

Sosna is one of the increasing number of sophomores reporting thefts while their cars are in the parking lot.

Students using the sophomore parking lot are seeing things like face plates, iPods and stereo systems disappear straight from the inside of their cars. Since the lot belongs to the city of Prairie Village and isn’t classified as school property students are concerned and confused with policies that leave the school unable to take action in some cases.

Sophomore Polly Haun was seeing the advanced rep show of 1984 after school. Two of her friends had to leave halfway through the show. They thought they would sit in her car until she got out of the show as a joke, but when they got in realized her radio was gone.

“It was so bizarre just to see this big hole in the middle of my car where the radio should be,” Haun said.

When she made her way to her car after the show was over she immediately called her mom. The SRO later had a picture of a radio that she identified to be hers.

Two other sophomores Tyler Rathbun and Connor Knabe had their cars broken into early October on the same day. Tyler had two iPods and his radio stolen, and Connor had an iPod stolen as well along with the face plate of his radio. Both agree

that putting up more security cameras would help decrease the the amount of break-ins.

“I think it would be a good idea to put more security cameras up because there are cameras in the junior and senior lots, and I just think that there really needs to be more for the sophomore lot,” Knabe said.

Theft at SM East is an ongoing problem that happens on a weekly basis, from students lockers to their cars.

“We’ll investigate here, but because it really is not school property our SRO [Joel Porter] will do most of the work if not all of the work in terms of the investigation,” Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz said. “We have no jurisdiction...the only thing we could do is if it happened during the school day would be to provide a consequence for not being in class.”

However, theft is not only an issue in the sophomore lots.

Dr. Krawitz says that the sophomore lot probably gets hit a lot more because it’s isolated.

“There’s not really a good sight line from anywhere on the property to that lot because it’s up higher than the other lots so it’s tough even though the police station is right nearby,” Dr. Krawitz said.

The only cameras that are placed in view of the sophomore lot are attached to the school and are not very accurate at catching people right on the spot because they are constantly in motion.

“You are either going to get a long view of anything or it’s going to be obstructive because maybe there are trees in the way,” Dr. Krawitz said. “The resolution is just not very good. At a distance you couldn’t make out a person’s face but you don’t get good facial profiling from them or anything like that.”

Dr. Krawitz suggests any removable pieces of equipment that students have within their car like stereo systems and such be removed and hidden.

“You either put it under your seat or lock your car or you put it in your trunk and lock your car,” Dr. Krawitz said.

Porter claims that there are some things that he and Student Resource Officer Richard Pacheco can do to prevent robberies in the sophomore parking lot.

“We’ll go up to that lot and keep an eye on it and when we do hear that crimes have happened we can go back and review footage from the video cameras,” Porter said. “It’s basically a matter of canvasing the area, seeing if there is anybody in the area that saw anything happen and recovering evidence.”

Aside from locking their cars, he advises students to pay attention to what they are leaving in cars. He suggests valuables be hidden and to park as close to the cameras as possible.

“If you are driving to school, it’s not a good idea to show off your stuff--turn off your $3,000 bases before you come pulling into the sophomore lot,” Pacheco said.

Both Pacheco and the principal say that they are doing everything they can to make the sophomore lot more secure.

“The main thing is students have got to start locking their cars,” Dr. Krawitz said. “Believe or not it’s the same problem in the locker rooms. People will not lock their lockers and then they have things stolen. They’ll come in and say ‘I had this stolen.’ Was your locker locked? ‘Uh no.’ It’s the same kind of thing.”

NEWS

issue 9

A NEW LEAF

07

Schools and students are transitioning from textbooks to electronic readers

EdenSchoofs

AnneWillman

In 2010 book sales decreased and a new way to read became more popular—electronic books. Publishers are predicting that in 2011 sales of electronic books will be 50 percent higher than in 2010.

According to Amazon, for every 100 hardcover books they have sold, they have sold 143 electronic books.

Electronic reading devices such as eReaders, iPads and Kindles continue to grow and show presence at East. Students use electronic devices to take notes. They use these devices to try to stay organized and strive to be more efficient during class.

Junior Lizzy McConnell owns an iPad that she uses each day during school.

“I use [my iPad] for the most part during Calculus and Chemistry to take notes,” McConnell said.

McConnell said that the iPad gives her the capability to save time in a fun way. She finds that accessing all of her notes in one place is helpful when studying. Her iPad also serves as a distraction. Her device has games and other sources of entertainment that can cut into her studying time and sometimes leads her to be off task.

East does not have the complete capability to transfer textbooks onto eReaders at this time. It is possible for students to load some textbooks from a CD to their computer.

Students can also access textbooks online. The advantage to

loading a textbook onto a device like an eReader is that an Internet connection is not required.

Some high schools are gravitating towards replacing their physical books with electronic books. A high school in Lamar, Texas has adopted the use of eReaders. The school has thrown out the majority of their physical books in exchange with electronic books. Students at the high school have access to programs, such as Questia. Questia allows students to read articles and books through electronic books. The electronic books also make reading a fun and portable way of learning.

More colleges are also moving toward electronic books. At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, 11 colleges gave iPads to their incoming students.

“My mom is a teacher at Rockhurst University where she teaches accounting,” McConnell said. “She has already sees more kids with [electronic readers].”

East may eventually adapt to the use of electronic readers in the future but due to budget cuts it is less likely to happen soon.

“I think that during these economic times and budget cuts we will not purchase Kindles at East,” East Librarian Chris Larson said. “Other schools are renting out Kindles and eventually, I think that [East] may also.”

Economics teacher Rebecca Murphy has seen more eReaders since the new year.

“I have see students use [eReaders] for pleasure reading and I am okay with that,” Murphy said. “The problem comes when a teacher can’t tell if what us being viewed is for education or personal purposes.”

CHARITABLE PURSUIT

Some students in English teacher Laura Beachy’s classes are purchasing electronic books in class. One student in Beachy’s 9th grade English class chose to purchase an electronic book for his outside reading book for class.

“I was a little skeptical about [the student] reading the book on an electronic device,” Beachy said. “I am a little oldfashioned and like reading the actual book.”

At this point, East will not provide electronic books, but students will continue to bring their devices to help them with their school work and studying.

E-ASY READING?

Pros

Portable—bringing an e-reader on vacation is much more practical than carrying ten books Affordable — you don’t have to wait for the paperback version if you want to save money.

Environmental— if everyone starts using e-readers, the resources used each year for printing books would be drastically reduced.

Cons

Inaccessible—many titles are not yet available as e-books Expensive—though you’ll save money in the long run, the initial start up cost for an e-reader runs from $139 to $199 Impersonal—you might end up missing that crisp feeling of turning a page, and curling up with a piece of plastic doesn’t sound that relaxing

Upcoming DECA trivia night to benefit The Hope Center

MaggieAndriani

In the first ever “Trivia Night” at East, teams and clubs can represent themselves in groups of five and compete against each other by answering trivia questions to become East’s trivia champions. All money earned will be donated to The Hope Center, a Christian-based charity striving to make the urban neighborhoods of downtown Kansas City safe for kids and families. It provides a medical center, a housing corporation and also offers programs to help kids build character and leadership skills.

“Those skills have helped kids push through school and go on to colleges or trade schools,” said Hope Center operations director Matt Nagel. “It’s helped kids get through some tough situations at home.”

The charity event is lead by seniors Julie Aliber, Caroline Doerr, and Jennifer Gray as part of their long-term DECA project. They have been planning “Trivia Night” since early first semester.

The profits from the charity event will

specifically be going to The Hope Academy, the Hope Center’s school that will open in August.

“One thing that they’re really in need of right now is whiteboards, so we’re hoping that the money that we raise will go towards getting whiteboards for those classes,” Aliber said.

“Trivia Night” will take place on Jan. 25 in the East cafeteria at 7 p.m. Letters were sent out to all faculty members explaining the charity event and information on how to form a team. Aliber hopes that athletic teams will attend to compete against each other.

“The other fun thing about it is that we sent it to coaches too so it can be like a competition against football and soccer, cheerleading and drill team, so that will make people interested,” Aliber said.

“Trivia Night” will be hosted by Nate Heron, who hosts trivia games in Westport three nights a week. He has hosted trivia nights at East before for faculty members.

“We hope he’s going to be able to keep it organized and keep it fun, because he doesn’t really do a lot of the academic ‘What’s the capital of this state?’” Gray said. “It’s more like ‘Finish the lyrics to this song.’ It’s like pop culture and music and it’s pretty much whatever we want it to be, and so we told him to keep it fun and entertaining for people our age rather than adults. We’re hoping it’s going to be fun and people will come and get into it.”

Teams will be placed at tables in the cafeteria and then answer trivia questions shown on a projector. Then they can either buzz in their answers or write them down on paper. The teams with the most points will win prizes.

“We’re trying to find sponsors and companies that will be willing to donate prizes,” Doerr said. “We’re hoping to get gift cards to popular places around the area such as TCBY or Peachwave or Chipotle.”

Also at the charity event will be a spokesperson from Hope Center to talk about how to get involved with volunteer opportunities.

Gray wishes the spokesperson will be the founder of The Hope Center and a Shawnee Mission East alumni, Chris Jehle.

“We’re hoping that he’ll be the person to come and speak to everyone and kind of give that viewpoint, coming from East and knowing what we’re going through right now, so it’ll give it more of a personal connection for him to be able to tell stories from when he was here and how he started it after he left,” Gray said.

Along with raising money, another goal of “Trivia Night” is raising awareness for the charity, which was established in 1998.

“As well as raising money for the Hope Center, we’re also trying to spread the name of the Hope Center and get more people involved,” Aliber said. “A lot of people around East are just involved in the SHARE organizations like ‘Operation Breakthrough’ and so people do a lot of volunteering for there.

Instead we want people to understand that there are other options too.”

INTERVIEWING

08 01-24-11 NEWS

ACONVERSATIONWITH

THEBRIEFS

THEMANBEHINDTHE BATHROOMGRAFFITI

Your guide to East upcoming events and more

KimHoedel AnnaBernard

24 25 26

On Jan. 27, the nominated senior candidates will be revealed at the Sweetheart Assembly during seminar. Freshmen and seniors get the first look at the dolled-up candidates during session A, and can watch them parade down the aisle of the Dan Zollars auditorium with their dates on their arms. Sophomores and juniors will be able to see the candidates during session B. The Sweetheart Assembly is a perfect chance for students to see who they can vote for as their Sweetheart King and Queen. The Queen will be crowned at the East basketball game vs.

SM Northwest on Feb. 11 in front of the crowd of cheering fans, while the King will be crowned during the Sweetheart

SWEETHEART ASSEMBLY

27

Dance itself, or WPA, on Saturday Feb. 12. After the assembly, all students will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite candidates in hopes that they are crowned Sweetheart King and Queen.

2

3-5

28 29 Beauty and the Beast 30

The theatre department’s production of Beauty and the Beast opens on February 3 at 7 p.m.

For the past two months, the cast and crew, comprised of over 50 members, has been practicing three to five times a week for several hours.

The musical follows the same storyline as the Disney movie with several

1

6 RESULTS

7

Souper Bowl of Caring: 210 Votes Carnation Sale: 107 Votes Beauty and the Beast: 53 Votes Sweetheart Dance: 34 Votes Spirit Week: 17 Votes

new songs. The character of Belle laments being held captive in the castle in “Home,” and the Beast has an entirely new solo. The crew has also been working to make the familiar scenes come to life. The three main sets—the village, the woods, and the castle—are almost complete.

Senior Katie Cox, who plays the Enchantress, is a first-time member of the cast. She has seen all the previous musicals at East and thinks the audience will particularly enjoy this year’s because of the recognizable plot and cartoon-ish characters.

“We have a smaller cast for this production, so everyone’s pretty close,” Cox said.

“All of our rehearsals are a lot fun, even though we have to work hard.”

8

9

CALCULATING What event are you looking forward to?

Check back on smeharbinger.net weekly for the question of the week.

Results will appear on the briefs.

LAEDAN GALICIA Have you ever done anything at the KC Art Institute -where you attend college - that is close to the work you did in the East bathrooms?

“At the Institute, nothing really on that scale, but I guess a lot of my work has a graffiti feel to it. But no I’ve never really done anything like that at the Institute yet.”

So this was a new experience for you?

“No, I’ve done it before. I basically grew up doing graffiti. I just kind of evolved from there, from doing graffiti to doing other kinds of art.”

What was your inspiration for the graffiti you did?

“A lot of my friends were into it, so I guess we all kind of fell into it.

Coming from Wyandotte you see it a lot, a lot of my friends were into it so I guess that’s how I fell into it too.”

You guys had fun doing this together?

“Yeah, it was just more of a bonding thing, I guess. Just like exploring a different art form than I guess a feeling that applied to us the most.”

How did you hear about the bathroom idea?

“Basically Mr. McKinney just talked to me about it. He just said that we could do whatever we wanted, so I just did my thing I guess. But I still tried to stay with the school symbols and colors and stuff.”

Any challenges that come with painting a bathroom?

“Ceiling actually wasn’t that hard, it’s more the spray painting in an enclosed environment with no windows or anything for ventilation.

That’s a little hard.”

Do you think this will help eliminate the “graffiti” that was in there before?

“In a way, yeah. I think it eliminates the problem in a way of respect, like respecting the art. When you see art, you don’t go tagging on it.”

EDITORIAL

art by EmmaSchulte

09

BREAKING RANK

issue 9 Class rank is not an accurate representation of student achievement and should be eliminated by the District

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

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

There’s something to be said for a school out of the question and a student can be thought of where a student with a 3.5 grade point averas “dumb,” all because of a number. age is ranked in the bottom half of their class.

“The reality is that schools should never squelch Despite being based on only one aspect of the dreams of its students,” Dr. Krawitz said. school achievement, class rank has a profound Dr. Krawitz admits his opinion is not the most impact on students and college admissions. popular, which means the system is very hard to Grade point average is the sole determining change. Class rank isn’t a school-based decision, factor of rank, calculated to the ten-thousandth but a district one. The principals of each Shawnee decimal point. At East, minor differences matMission School District high school would have to ter: these miniscule GPA points can create huge agree to abolish class rank, propose it to the Disdeviations in class rank. A student ranked in the trict, and the district-level administration would seventies may take the same The majority opinion of the have to pass it onto the SMSD classes and be academically on Board of Education, where a vote par with the Top Ten, but that Harbinger Editorial Board for against absent would be taken on whether to keep ten-thousandth point keeps their or eliminate rank in schools. rank lower.

The ideas of class rank remain Transcript records don’t take crucial to the educational society. into account extra-curricular acBeing ranked in the top third is one tivities. Playing an instrument or of many potential admissions qualbeing involved in theater doesn’t ifications to get into public univermatter. Artistic talent or prowess in a sport won’t sities in Kansas, as well as other schools across the help your rank. This categorizes students as either nation. While an East student may reach the GPA academically “smart” or “dumb,” with no way to requalification, their class rank could be lower than deem a bad grade with some other skill. Students a student in another Kansas school with an identimay feel discouraged to try new things or to get incal GPA. volved in school activities outside of the classroom.

As long as the public believes class rank has a Even going to a basketball game is out of the quesmeaning, it will remain. It’s a traditional system tion, for fear of not getting enough study time and that has no place in the modern-day educational falling down the class rank! system, where students do much more than sit in There’s no way to fairly account for extra-currica classroom. Neither GPA nor class rank take anyular activities or school involvement on a numerithing above-and-beyond into account, and this cal scale; therefore, instead of creating a needless narrow standard of “excellence” is not a benefit to competition, the idea of ranking students on such students. a scale should be eliminated.

“Unfortunately, we continue to use old rules, Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz is strongly against even at the detriment of kids,” Dr. Krawitz said. “It class rank. He argues that the unfairness between goes against common sense and logic.”

East and other Kansas schools, the labeling of stuClass rank is just a number: it shouldn’t be the dents and the obsession with the number creates defining characteristic of students at East or any a ridiculous “game” that kids have to learn to play. other school. By abolishing class rank, students will Being ranked in the top third at East compared feel less pressured and the school can do away with to other schools in the state of Kansas can vary exthe ancient philosophy that for someone to win, ponentially. Being ranked low in the class can cause someone else has to lose. limitations in life after high school. College may be

Dan Stewart

Jan 24, 2011 Assistant Photo Editor issue 9, vol. 52

1100

Editorial Board Andrew Goble Annie Sgroi Corbin Barnds Logan Heley Kevin Simpson Jennifer Rorie Jack Howland Evan Nichols Kat Buchanan Bob Martin Katy Westhoff Photographers Grant Kendall Sammi Kelley Samantha Bartow Claire Wahrer Caroline Creidenberg Emma Robson Brendan Dulohery Jake Crandall Sara Baumann Ads/Circulation Manager Vanessa Daves Erin Reilly Staff Artists Peter Hung DJ Burton

Online Copy Editors Natalie Parker Anne Willman Online Photo Editors Lindsey Hartnett Samantha Bartow Multimedia Editor Maggie Simmons Asst. Multimedia Editors Thomas Allen Nathan Walker Live Broadcast Editor Jeff Cole Asst. Live Broadcast Editors Dalton Boehm Duncan MacLachlan Convergence Editor Maggie Simmons Asst. Convergence Editor Drew Broeckelman Homegrown Editor Mason Pashia Asst. Homegrown Editor Jackson Dalton Podcast Editor Robert Martin Blog Editor Natalie Parker

Video Editor Alex Lamb Multimedia Staff Riley Watson Duncan MacLachlan Natalie Parker Live Broadcast Producers Thomas Allen Tom Lynch Drew Broeckelman Anchors Andrew Simpson Maggie Andriani Chloe Stradinger Becca Brownlee Meagan Dexter Alex Goldman Haley Martin Riley Watson Paige Hess PR Representative/Business Managers Becca Brownlee Meagan Dexter Online Photographers Gail Stonebarger Adviser Dow Tate

Eden Schoofs Mixed Editor Editors-In-Chief Copy Editors Emily Kerr Andrew Goble Evan Nichols Spread Editors Annie Sgroi Andrew Goble Chloe Stradinger Assistant Editors Annie Sgroi Toni Aguiar Kat Buchanan Kevin Simpson Features Editor Evan Nichols Kat Buchanan Sarah McKittrick Art and Design Editor Jack Howland Features Page Editors Emma Pennington Jennifer Rorie Christa McKittrick Head Copy Editor Logan Heley Haley Martin Kevin Simpson Bob Martin Alysabeth Albano Online Editors Matt Gannon A&E Editor Logan Heley Chris Heady Aubrey Leiter Pat McGannon Staff Writers A&E Page Editors Online Assistant Editor Vanessa Daves Kennedy Burgess Maggie Simmons Alex Lamb Tom Lynch News Editor Chris Heady Sports Editor Jack Howland Julia Davis Corbin Barnds News Page Editors Zoe Brian Sports Page Editors Jennifer Rorie Caroline Creidenberg Matt Gannon Editorial Editor Paige Hess Anne Willman Katy Westhoff Holly Hernandez Freelance Page Editors Opinion Editor Kim Hoedel Anna Bernard Raina Weinberg Maggie Andriani Matt Hanson Opinion Page Editors Katie Knight Photo Editors Will Webber Drew Broeckelman Grant Heinlein Anna Marken 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.

10

Opinion

01-24-11

&

Melodies Memories

It was a normal family dinner.

Brothers taunting, forks clanging and Sheryl Crow’s voice streaming from Dad’s “dinner playlist” in the next room. “Start Me Up” by the Rollan opinion of Emily Kerr ing Stones popped up next on Dad’s iPod and his eyes lit up as if he was in a reminiscent daze.

“1981. Sophomore year of high school. Driving in my Mustang,” he said in reference to the song playing.

“Dad what are you talking about?” I asked. “How can you remember when this song came out?”

“Come on, you just don’t forget things like that,” he said.

“Music is the soundtrack of your life.”

“You sound like a Disney Channel star,” I said.

But I didn’t really mean what I had just said; that statement was just necessary to preserve my image. Agreeing with my Dad’s clichéd statements would only encourage more of them to come. Image aside, I thought what he said was really true.

I realized that in my own life, some of my most defining moments have had songs that I associate with them. The power of music is incredible: you can be somewhere and hear an old song and instantly be transported back to the time and place you were when you first heard it.

Family dance parties. As crazy as that sounds, that is where my love of music began. This tradition started when I was in kindergarten and continued clear up until third grade until I was far too “cool” for it. These dance parties consisted of my brothers and I choosing a selection of songs from my parents eclectic music collection and dancing around our coffee table together. The song selection ranged from Michael Jackson to Madonna to R.E.M. but ultimately always ended with our favorite, “September” by Earth Wind & Fire.

Whenever I hear the beginning “aahhhh eeehhh ahhhs” I am no longer 17. I am that innocent seven-year-old in my Skechers tennis shoes and butterfly clips dancing with my family oblivious to how ridiculous I looked. To me, that song is my family and all the good times we’ve shared. It’s like an old blanket that I still find comfort in.

Fast forward a couple of years from that naïve seven year old to a 12-year-old on the brink of growing up. It was the final swim team banquet of the summer. Girls in brightly colored sundresses linked arms around sunburnt boys and swim coaches. “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw came on the loud speaker and everyone on the team started to sway back and forth and sing along. Tears started rolling freely from the eyes of the younger ones and the older kids did their best to hold their tears back.

The sadness of swim team ending coupled with the song’s message about how short life is really hit me. This was the first time in my life that I realized things would not always stay the same. Now, when this song pops up on my iPod, I laugh silent-

illustration by DJBurton

ly to myself. It reminds of when I learned the harsh truth of growing up. It takes me back to the time when I thought that I would be forever young, running around with swim team friends without a care in the world.

A little bit farther down the road came high school and cross country. I could tell you about the 4 a.m. race wake up calls, the practice workouts I thought I’d never live through to tell or the number of Asics Gel-Cumulus soles I’ve worn down; but what sticks out most to me is one race and one song. It was sophomore year regionals and all I had to do to make it to state was to stick with one girl. Stepping up to the line, I tried to clear my mind of anything that would distract me. Once the gun fired, my mind went blank, except for one line from one song. “The bliss between giving my all and giving up” from the song “Ooh Ahh” by Grits played on repeat. Every step.

Every mile. It was almost haunting. I was nearing the finish and felt strong, and then something snapped. I had a mental breakdown. All of my hard work went out the window as I felt myself start to slow down and lost the girl.

The song continued to echo in my head even after the race and seemed to remind me how easily failure had consumed me. Once I crossed the finish line I vowed to never listen to that song again. But now I occasionally force myself to listen to it for inspiration. I’m determined to experience the bliss of giving my all.

The last song on my soundtrack is also one of failure. But failure or not, this taught me a valuable lesson. This past summer, my friends and I were cruising around our neighbor-

Favorite Childhood Song Freshman

Wes Johnson 10,000 By: Disturbed “I grew up around this song and my mom’s boyfriend used to play it all the time so it just reminds me of my childhood.”

Junior reminisces about childhood songs and the feelings they ignite

hood, turning up the music to ungodly levels and dancing in my car - just doing what we do best. I was dropping one of my friends off at her house when I glanced at my clock and noticed that I was already five minutes late for curfew. Singing along carelessly to “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts, I put the car in reverse and crunch went my poor bumper against my friend’s solid brick wall. My heart dropped and I got out of the car to observe the damage: the back bumper was crushed in and the tail light was smashed.

“My dad is literally going to kill me.”

I sped home with this happy-go-lucky song in the background and watched as disappointment spread across my dad’s face. I dealt with the consequences and immediately removed that CD from its player. Although I try to avoid this song at all costs, it occasionally pops up and reminds me of that painful mistake I made that one summer night. The mistake that would teach me that I was just as capable of crashing my car as anyone else. The mistake that forced me to take responsibility for my own actions.

Looking back at my “soundtrack,” one might find it to be a random jumble of songs. But hey, that’s life. The beauty of music is that it is relatable at all stages of life. You can be a carefree seven year old dancing to ‘80s funk music. Or a careless driver blasting a summer country song. There will always be a song associated with these memories that will take you to that point in time.

Kenny Chesney put it perfectly.

“Everytime I hear that song, I go back.”

Students share memories from music they once listened to

Sophomore

Anna Sheridan Bye Bye Bye By: N*SYNC “My favorite babysitter always played it for me and we would listen to it every time she came over.”

Junior

Eli Mitchell Take On Me By: A-Ha “It’s so catchy. It’s one of the best songs of the ‘80s. The lyrics really speak to my soul. I love it.”

Senior

Kerri Ricketts Oops I Did it Again By: Britney Spears “My friends and I loved this song and it was always so much fun to sing and dance to it.”

OPINION issue 9

11

Strexts Too many

Sophomore feels stressed about how texting affects her personal relationships

SamanthaBartow

Q: If your house was on fire, what would you grab?

A: My cell phone.

Q: How old were you when you received your first phone?

A: Right after sixth grade my parents gave me my sister’s old phone.

Q: What was your first ring tone?

A: “When I Grow Up” by the Pussy Cat Dolls.

Q: How do you think texting and cell phones effect relationships?

A: It’s helpful for talking more often.

SIMPSON COLEKEVIN HOGAN

Q: If your house was on fire, what would you grab?

A: My phone.

Q: How old were you when you received your first phone?

A: I was 14, I could finally talk with all my other friends who had phones.

Q: How do you think texting and cell phones affect relationships?

A: They can be helpful when you are trying to get in contact with people, but it’s bad when they get to clingy and can easily get ahold of you.

Oh shoot, I almost forgot about that. Thank goodness she texted me!

This, my friends, is what texting should be used for. I am glad I have texting now because a lot of school clubs and groups contact me through it. At the same time, I sometimes wish my mom had never given in. Every Sunday I go to church and leave my phone at home. For a total of four hours, I feel free of responsibility. No one can reach me unless they are with me and, quite frankly, I like it that way. It makes me feel like I’m in a different generation. I once read a book called Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In it, they wrote love letters. Instead of today’s “sexting” they were writing love letters to express their feelings. Long, wordy letters that had meaning. You couldn’t max out your characters. You didn’t have to exchange quick one-word texts that made others have to think about the meaning. The notes had details and they were special. You didn’t receive a love letter every hour, on the hour like you do with texts.

As cheesy as that sounds, I wish it still happened.

I wish notes were still written and people still talked face-to-face. A relationship is not meant to be only texting.

Relationships are meant to form over time and maybe some text messages will help them form. But to communicate only over texting, in my opinion, is wrong. We aren’t in middle school anymore. Why not wait to tell your friend in person that so-and-so just asked you out? That facial expression could make your day...the one that a text wouldn’t have. Taking a break from my phone in the future is something I’m going to work on. I still find myself frequently checking my phone for a “missed alert.” It’s a habit that I’m going to try and change. For now, I vow to stop the awkward texting and keep it face-to-face.

NATALIE PIERCE

Q: How old were you when you recieved your first phone?

A: I was in seventh grade. My older sister had one so it was the cool thing.

Q: Would you rather text or talk in person?

A: I can understand why some people think it’s easier to talk over text, because you can think before you speak but personally, I think it’s a cop-out. I like to talk in person, because texting is an excuse to get out of explaining your real feelings.

SENIOR

EMILY GRAY

JUNIOR

A student from each grade level discusses cell phones, their effect on relationships and their first experiences with phones.

hard. It’s hard in the way that you can’t be sure what others are thinking of you, or how they interpret the text. There are no visible emotions. No hand gestures. No laughs or giggles. Okay that’s a lie, there are “emoticons.” Little smiley faces, frowning faces and even crying faces can be found in my phone’s “emoticons” section. These can not replace actual human emotions. They are merely substitutes for what is true body language. If I had been talking face to face to Boy #1, I would have seen the smile on his face and heard the sarcastic ring to his voice.

Text from Boy #2: Hey Really? Did he really just send a one word text...hey?

Does he actual want to be texting me? Or is he just bored?

I can honestly say I have not sent nor received a “hey” text since freshman year. I’m not one to strike up a cyberconversation; it’s just not how I roll. Maybe a joke to start off a so called “bored” conversation is more of my way. Or even a question. But I will admit I used to be a “hey” texter.

The joy of first getting texting takes over, and you want to talk to everyone about anything. But the thing is...there is nothing to talk about 24/7.

I didn’t get a phone until after eighth grade, and my parents didn’t give us texting until my freshman year. My oldest brother had suffered a whole two years of having a phone without texting (shockingly enough, he survived).

I only suffered a summer. Without texting, I was completely happy. I was completely oblivious. However, my happiness faded quickly, only months after I receiving my phone, my parents let us have texting. The first week I had texting, when it was still a novelty, was my “hey” texting stage. Thankfully, it only lasted a short period of time before I realized how pointless it was.

Text from sophomore StuCo President: Hey guys meeting tomorrow during Seminar B.

SOPHOMORE

LANCER VOICE

FRESHMAN

Text to Boy #1: Hey! What’s up?

Thoughts flood my head.

Should I have sent that text?

Should I have added the exclamation point? What if he thinks I’m an opinion of Caroline Creidenberg too desperate? Will he even respond?

According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, the first text message sent from a cell phone was in 1992. I’d like to say that texting completely altered life as I knew it, but I would be exaggerating. Texting for most teens was a positive invention, a new way for them to become even more connected to their friends. For me, it wasn’t. As much as I use it, it only adds unnecessary stress and depression. Now, when I say “stress”, I don’t mean the stress that I get from finals. And when I say depression, I don’t mean mental institution kind of stuff. I mean stress, the little nagging feeling that you get because so-and-so didn’t respond to your text.

And depression, like the sad feeling you get because your first grade crush threw away your Valentine.

Response from Boy #1: Ew it’s you...

I stop. Read. Then freak out. Is he joking? I mean he has to be, right? He would never actually say that...would he?

I then read on...

Ew it’s you...haha just kidding. What’s up?

I interpret most of my texts negatively. Every time I read a text from a person I don’t know very well, I see it in negative light. Unless there is a “haha” at the end, no one can be sure if it’s sarcastic. To get to know someone through texting is hard. I feel, that you need to know how they operate and what their humor is like in order to understand their texts. That is why I do not think you can get to know someone over text. Texting relationships are so hard, only because texting is

KEVIN SIMPSON PETER YOUNG

Q: How old were you when you received your first phone?

A: I was in sixth grade, and it was exciting not having to use the home phone.

Q: How do you think texting and cell phones effect relationships?

A: Texting is a good way to keep in touch with your significant other when you aren’t in school.

Q: Would you rather text or talk in person?

A: Talk in person, because it’s more personal.

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FEATURES issue 9

Senior Emily Collins hugs her best friend from the trip, Claire Faith. “This girl is the sassiest and most guarded little girl, but in secret moments she is the most loving, passionate girl,” Collins said. “She is who I think of when I think of my trip... She is my Uganda.”

13

Changing the

Truth

Senior takes a service trip to Uganda

photos courtesy of Emily Collins

KennedyBurgess

It’s 1:30 a.m.

Senior Emily Collins sits in the back of the 10 passenger white van adjacent to former East world geography teacher, David Muhammad, passing pastel salmon and yellow colored stucco buildings that line the wide roads of Coppola, Uganda.

The van decelerates as the tires crunch against the driveway. Collins glimpses out the black window. A crowd of jovial kids in school uniforms rush the van. “Emily! Emily! We are so glad you’re here! Emily!” The students of St. Mary Catherine Orphanage open the door and greet her amiably with hugs and handshakes. Suddenly, Collins’ apprehension recedes from her mind.

In October of her junior year, Collins sat with Muhammad listening to Kayley Herman, an attendee of the Uganda trip Collins went on, giving presentation on Change the Truth.

Change the Truth sends volunteers to Uganda and other countries in an effort to teach.

Herman proceeded to ask the congregation if anyone would be interested in going to Uganda, which would take place during Collins’ senior year. Muhammad and Collins raised their hands. Collins had anticipated an opportunity like this since she had first heard of Change the Truth through Coalition her sophomore year.

“I went home and texted my mom, ‘Hey mom, I want to go to Africa’,” Collins said. “She thought I meant go to the zoo, but then she realized I meant the real Africa.”

Collins began saving money for the trip and cycling extra hours for her job working for Sealed with a Kiss, a camp care package company. Her mother, Karen Collins, pitched in money as well. However, Collins new it would mean something more personal to her if she raised the money herself.

By December of her senior year, Collins had raised enough money to go on the trip. She would leave home the 21st of the month and stay until the 28th, missing her first Christmas at home. Before she left, her mother gave her $500 for the trip as a Christmas gift, something that meant more to Collins than an I-Pad or clothes, which most of her peers had asked for.

***

“BAM! BAM! BAM!” Collins’ eyes crack open as the repetitive noise continues through the stucco wall of the diminutive bedroom where she lay.

“BAM! BAM!” She sits up and sees the bundle of grid patterned mosquito nets bunched together from the consistent noise over her feet at the end of the stiff bed. Collins stands up and slumps over to the window to find the source of the racket and sees a farm goat looking up at her through the paned view.

“That’s when I thought to myself ‘Okay, I’m in Africa,’” Collins said.

Collins and Muhammad stayed with, Melissa Mosher, near St. Mary Catherine, the Orphanage where the workshops would be held.

Each morning, breakfast would be served with freshly cooked eggs from the chicken coop in the backyard and crisp produce, grown in Melissa’s garden.

After breakfast, Collins would check the bathroom faucet to see if the water was accessible. If the water wasn’t running, Collins would grab a hefty bucket and tote water back from the well until the tub was full enough to bathe.

Collins only experienced running water 30 percent of the time, and most times the water was bitter cold.

After her first cold shower, Collins dressed for the day and proceeded to St. Mary Catherine. The classroom was a small, five-by-five space filled with mannequins for the children to work on as well as a narrow rectangular desk where two sewing machines were situated.

Slowly, girls began convening towards the room, eager to learn how to sew, one of those girls being 13-years-old, Claire Faith.

“Claire Faith; she was a pistol,” Collins said. “At first, she gave me some of the same attitude I give people at times.”

After class, Collins and Muhammad ate a lunch of plantains and nuts. The time following lunch was freedom for teachers and students to do what they chose. Collins took that time to become acquainted with the kids, teaching them the game Ninja.

Sitting in bed that night, Collins attempted to process that day. She wrote in a journal each night; recording her thoughts of the trip, the people she met, the food she ate.

***

On Christmas day, Collins had an especially difficult time writing a journal entry. Images of her family attending church, eating dinner together around the dining room table, driving to see the lights, and watching a movie flashed through her mind.

During Christmas night, Claire came into Collins’ room to spend time with her. She sat on her bed as they talked, flipping through Collins’ I-Phone. Claire started playing “Christmas Shoes” through Collins’ phone and they sat and listened.

“This is my favorite Christmas song,” Collins said.

Claire looked up imperturbably, “The last time I saw my mom was Christmas,” she said, as the song played on.

Through discussions like that one, Collins realized how children from the orphanage hid the anguish of what they had lost in their past--the pain was undetectable in their smiles.

“They’re happy now,” Collins said. “I kind of got into where you don’t think about your past, you don’t think about your future; you think ‘Right now, I’m jumping rope with a fiveyear-old.’”

Collins began developing closely-knit relationships with many of the kids.

“I didn’t look at them as these kids from Africa who needed my help,” Collins said. “They looked African, they spoke Ugandan, but they wee like any other American child who wanted to be a kid.”

For Collins, those strong relationships are what made leav-

ing Uganda the hardest.

Stepping back into her home on the 29th, Collins’ felt empty. Warm hot showers, a mosquito free bedroom, electricity--these once everyday necessities were unimportant after he experience in Uganda.

The next day, Collins sifted through her cluttered closet.

Disgusted with herself, she piled her unworn articles of clothing into four black trash bags and donated them to charity.

Part of Collins felt lost at first, not knowing how to deal with the abrupt change of pace and scenery. Friends would ask her “How was Uganda?” and Collins couldn’t surface the words to help them grasp what the trip was really like for her.

At home, her daily journal from the trip would sit on her desk; unopened, unread.

Throughout recording her experience in her journal, Collins would occasionally leave blanks where she later plans on filling in, but for now, Collins is slowly reflecting on the experience one day at a time.

***

Collins’ last day in Uganda was flooded with an overwhelming mix of emotions; glad to be returning home to her family, solemn to have to depart from a life she had quickly built for herself teaching at St. Mary Catherine Orphanage.

The kids held a ceremony for the teachers and volunteers outside. They performed traditional African dances, followed by a montage of photos taken from Collins camera during the trip projected for the whole group to see. As each photo flashed on the screen, the children would giggle at themselves on film, clapping joyfully when it ended. Collins recognized this as the last day she would see them.

For Collins’ class, her students put on a runway show, showcasing their best work. The girls would twist and twirl down the runway, showing off the skirts Collins had helped them craft.

Eventually, Collins and the other volunteers had to say goodbye, but Collins couldn’t find Claire.

“When I found her, I sat down and told her how much I wanted her to be successful in life and how much I loved her,” Collins said.

In her last minutes in Uganda, Collins walks out to the white van that would take the volunteers to the airport, Claire by her side. Sitting in the van, children reach for her hand, telling her not to leave, but Claire Faith stands there.

As the van pulls away, Claire reaches in the sliding door and grabs Collins’ bright orange flip-flops off of her feet. She runs off to the back of the orphanage and stands against the wall, dangling the flip-flops in her hand.

Collins looks back at St. Mary Catherine one last time.

Claire looks down as she smirks, then holds up her hand, “I love you,” in sign language.

“That’s the most vivid image of her in my mind,” Collins said. “That’s all see when I think about Africa.”

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16

SPREAD

01-24-11

ChloeStradinger and GracieTapp

High school has been a common setting in movies for years. While other cinema trends come and go, the theme of high school cliques remain the same. Whether it’s the jocks, the nerds or the hipsters, cliques are important to how media portrays high school.

According to a recent Harbinger survey of 100 students, 30.8 percent of students say they’ve felt left out of a clique. In relation to the media, 50.7 percent of students watch Pretty

Little Liars, a clique oriented TV show, and 23.5% of students have read “The Clique” books.

East social worker Becky Wiseman believes that students are affected by cliques in the media.

“It looks fun, and they get to go to the best parties, and they have the best clothes, and they drive the best cars,” Wiseman said. “I think you want that even though you know it’s not reality.”

As a social worker, Wiseman sees

the effect of cliques on East students.

At least once a week students talk to her about feeling left out of cliques or not being able to make close friends.

“A lot of people feel like they have acquaintances [...] but they want a relationship beyond that,” Wiseman said. “That’s a struggle for a lot of students in the school.”

While some students struggle to make close friendships, others thrive on it. The latter type of student is one who is more likely to form a clique.

According to Wiseman, cliques can be anything from protection (as in a gang) to a sign of status. “ I think a lot of people want that kind of closeness and always have someone to talk to and always have someone to sit with and text, someone to hang out with,” Wiseman said, “and if they don’t have that I think that’s more what they yearn for.

Rather than ‘I want to be in a clique,’ they really want that closeness and compatibility.”

The Fine Nine It’s the third quarter of the boys’ varsity basketball game, and the upperclassmen break out into a new chant. With their bodies angled toward the freshmen section, they begin to yell “Stand up Fine Nine! Stand up Fine Nine!” Freshmen Payton Dribber* and Alexa Martilli* try to sink a bit lower into the bleachers and laugh off the chant that’s meant for them. Somehow, in the first weeks after winter break, their innocent little friend group blew up into a big cliquey problem.

It was the middle of October when Dribber, Martilli and their group of girl friends were recognized by the freshman class as a clique because of all the time they spent together. However, the girls didn’t want to define their group as the only people they would hang out with, because it was only the beginning of freshman year.

“Everyone’s still just trying to find their places,” Martilli said.

According to Martilli and Dribber, at first it was all innocent; the girls tried not to be exclusive and their clique didn’t have a name. They flew under the radar, and it was relatively drama free, because only the freshmen class was talking about it.

After lunch one day, Dribber and her group of friends were walking down the hallway when a group of junior boys approached them. They laughed and made a comment about the girls being in the freshmen Fine Nine clique.

“We only found out about it when everyone else started talking about it,” Martilli said.

Then, after Winter Break, rumors starting flying through Facebook and Twitter. “Spotted: Fine Nine walking on 83rd #car-

less #suckstosuck.” “#finenine at swim meet...such an honor.”

The group of freshmen had been officially dubbed the Fine Nine.

East Social Worker Becky Wiseman has seen groups that start out just as friends hanging out, turn into more exclusive groups or cliques.

“Traditionally I think cliques, even though they have a very negative connotation, cliques are started generally out of similarities that people have,” Wiseman said. “If they enjoy the same sports, or kind of just have the same personalities, or take the same classes, I think they’re generally started in kind of a nonthreatening innocent way.”

According to Wiseman, the exclusive element is when groups start to have negative consequences for everyone-both those included and those on the outside of the group.

Helen Brownsdale*, one of the girls rumored to be kicked out of the Fine Nine, said the girls knew about the clique before the rumors. Brownsdale said that four girls, not including her, actually did name themselves the Fine Nine, but when upperclassmen found out they were embarrassed. She heard that the girls made a list of names of people to include in the clique and she was on it, though she wasn’t informed by them.

“I think they were just trying to create a group that they thought was cool and now I think that once all the upperclassmen found out about it, they are denying it because it’s embarrassing,” Brownsdale said.

Soon after the tweets began, the girls were getting taunted about their clique every day. Dribber and Martilli were approached countless times in the hallways by people asking questions like ‘How do I get into the Fine Nine?’, or ‘Who’s the leader?”.

Not knowing what else to do, the girls now just walk away without answering the questions.

“We try to play it off and laugh at it, because what else can we do?” Martilli said. *name has been changed to protect identity

CLIQUE WARS

iBros and iBabes The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, through enrollment presentations, boasts of how students bond through their learning experiences and become close through the power of education.

When junior Luke Holsinger signed up for IB, he knew this, but had no idea just how good of friends he would become with his classmates.

IB History of the Americas teacher Brenda Fishman has seen the effects IB has had on student relationships.

“Anytime you have a smaller class, fewer than 24 kids in the class, you notice a little bit more of a closeness,” Fishman said.

It was the beginning of the school year when Holsinger and his IB friends officially became a clique.

They named themselves the iBros and created two rules to entry that made the clique semi-exclusive: You must be a guy, and a member of the junior IB class.

“It was more of a forced clique because we all have the same classes and all just spend so much time together,” Holsinger said.

A few weeks after this clique was formed, the junior IB girls formed the iBabes.

One thing both the iBros and the iBabes share is a way of communication. There’s an IB Facebook thread, where members post questions about homework and projects.

While the iBabes don’t take their clique as serious as the iBros do, they still have a certain degree of camaraderie. According to junior “iBabe” Amy Sachse, upcoming on the iBabes schedule is a slumber party.

Even though the iBros don’t have anything planned for outside of school, Holsinger is glad he made the in-class friendships.

“We just spend so much time together it was really inevitable,” Holsinger said

The doors of Room 211 open and voices fill the air. These are not ordinary voices; they are the voices of the Chamber singers. The singers, selected last year, share sixth hour together, but these 23 students don’t just bond through class time.

Junior Maddie Sullivan, a member of the group, enjoys spending time with the Chamber singers inside and outside of school. They get together after every concert and go out to dinner. They organized a Christmas party and the girls had a cookie decorating party.

But, the singers always have a song in mind.

“When we get together, we always sing and harmonize,” Sullivan said. “Which is kind of expected of us to do.”

Being a junior in the group of mostly seniors, Sullivan looks up to her classmates and asks them for advice. She’ll ask them about their college searches and senior year in general. Senior Olivia Mansfield enjoys conversing with her younger classmates and helping them through tough high school times.

“They also see us and how we are in class.” Mansfield said, “so we set examples on how to manage their

SPREAD issue 9

17

at east

Have you ever been in a clique?

63% No

37% Yes

Do you know people in cliques?

20% No

80% Yes

Chambers

time, get their homework done, choosing colleges, that is all important to us”, Mansfield said Sullivan and Mansfield both like having a break from normal classes and their main groups of friends.

“You go to choir and you can just forget about all of you issues and you can just have fun with people who are in a different friend group than you,” Sullivan said.

Chambers has also impacted the way Sullivan acts around her other friends.

“It has definitely helped in my self-confidence and its nice being around a group that is interested in all of the same things that I am,” Sullivan said. “It’s nice having a group with similar interests.”

percent of students have felt excluded

How do you think cliques are portrayed in media?

19%

negatively positively neutrally

62%

19%

*from a survey of 100 students

all illustrations by DJBurton

MEAN GIRLS LEGACY

Grease

Animal House

The classic story of two high school sweethearts who try to maintain their relationship while fitting in with their respective groups.

The pretty-boy Omegas try to get Delta’s failure fraternity kicked off campus. A hilarious portrait of college life in the ‘60s.

Pink Ladies and T-Birds

Deltas and Omegas

Mean Girls

The Plastics

Lindsay Lohan in her pre-alcohol era plays an outcast invited into the most popular clique in school. High school drama, check. Humor, check.

Heartwarming lessons, check.

The Clique series

Gossip Girl

This time it’s middle schoolers who are doing the backstabbing and shopping. A stereotypical girl book.

Girls and guys share in the drama, sabotaging each other— and looking darn good doing it.

The show has been said to be a “parent’s nightmare.”

The Clique

Upper-East-Siders

Pretty Little Liars

The Liars and “A”

A brand new breed of cliquey TV shows, it gives the played-out clique story a new twist: violence. all photos courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

16

SPREAD

01-24-11

ChloeStradinger and GracieTapp

High school has been a common setting in movies for years. While other cinema trends come and go, the theme of high school cliques remain the same. Whether it’s the jocks, the nerds or the hipsters, cliques are important to how media portrays high school.

According to a recent Harbinger survey of 100 students, 30.8 percent of students say they’ve felt left out of a clique. In relation to the media, 50.7 percent of students watch Pretty

Little Liars, a clique oriented TV show, and 23.5% of students have read “The Clique” books.

East social worker Becky Wiseman believes that students are affected by cliques in the media.

“It looks fun, and they get to go to the best parties, and they have the best clothes, and they drive the best cars,” Wiseman said. “I think you want that even though you know it’s not reality.”

As a social worker, Wiseman sees

the effect of cliques on East students.

At least once a week students talk to her about feeling left out of cliques or not being able to make close friends.

“A lot of people feel like they have acquaintances [...] but they want a relationship beyond that,” Wiseman said. “That’s a struggle for a lot of students in the school.”

While some students struggle to make close friendships, others thrive on it. The latter type of student is one who is more likely to form a clique.

According to Wiseman, cliques can be anything from protection (as in a gang) to a sign of status. “ I think a lot of people want that kind of closeness and always have someone to talk to and always have someone to sit with and text, someone to hang out with,” Wiseman said, “and if they don’t have that I think that’s more what they yearn for.

Rather than ‘I want to be in a clique,’ they really want that closeness and compatibility.”

The Fine Nine It’s the third quarter of the boys’ varsity basketball game, and the upperclassmen break out into a new chant. With their bodies angled toward the freshmen section, they begin to yell “Stand up Fine Nine! Stand up Fine Nine!” Freshmen Payton Dribber* and Alexa Martilli* try to sink a bit lower into the bleachers and laugh off the chant that’s meant for them. Somehow, in the first weeks after winter break, their innocent little friend group blew up into a big cliquey problem.

It was the middle of October when Dribber, Martilli and their group of girl friends were recognized by the freshman class as a clique because of all the time they spent together. However, the girls didn’t want to define their group as the only people they would hang out with, because it was only the beginning of freshman year.

“Everyone’s still just trying to find their places,” Martilli said.

According to Martilli and Dribber, at first it was all innocent; the girls tried not to be exclusive and their clique didn’t have a name. They flew under the radar, and it was relatively drama free, because only the freshmen class was talking about it.

After lunch one day, Dribber and her group of friends were walking down the hallway when a group of junior boys approached them. They laughed and made a comment about the girls being in the freshmen Fine Nine clique.

“We only found out about it when everyone else started talking about it,” Martilli said.

Then, after Winter Break, rumors starting flying through Facebook and Twitter. “Spotted: Fine Nine walking on 83rd #car-

less #suckstosuck.” “#finenine at swim meet...such an honor.”

The group of freshmen had been officially dubbed the Fine Nine.

East Social Worker Becky Wiseman has seen groups that start out just as friends hanging out, turn into more exclusive groups or cliques.

“Traditionally I think cliques, even though they have a very negative connotation, cliques are started generally out of similarities that people have,” Wiseman said. “If they enjoy the same sports, or kind of just have the same personalities, or take the same classes, I think they’re generally started in kind of a nonthreatening innocent way.”

According to Wiseman, the exclusive element is when groups start to have negative consequences for everyone-both those included and those on the outside of the group.

Helen Brownsdale*, one of the girls rumored to be kicked out of the Fine Nine, said the girls knew about the clique before the rumors. Brownsdale said that four girls, not including her, actually did name themselves the Fine Nine, but when upperclassmen found out they were embarrassed. She heard that the girls made a list of names of people to include in the clique and she was on it, though she wasn’t informed by them.

“I think they were just trying to create a group that they thought was cool and now I think that once all the upperclassmen found out about it, they are denying it because it’s embarrassing,” Brownsdale said.

Soon after the tweets began, the girls were getting taunted about their clique every day. Dribber and Martilli were approached countless times in the hallways by people asking questions like ‘How do I get into the Fine Nine?’, or ‘Who’s the leader?”.

Not knowing what else to do, the girls now just walk away without answering the questions.

“We try to play it off and laugh at it, because what else can we do?” Martilli said. *name has been changed to protect identity

CLIQUE WARS

iBros and iBabes The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, through enrollment presentations, boasts of how students bond through their learning experiences and become close through the power of education.

When junior Luke Holsinger signed up for IB, he knew this, but had no idea just how good of friends he would become with his classmates.

IB History of the Americas teacher Brenda Fishman has seen the effects IB has had on student relationships.

“Anytime you have a smaller class, fewer than 24 kids in the class, you notice a little bit more of a closeness,” Fishman said.

It was the beginning of the school year when Holsinger and his IB friends officially became a clique.

They named themselves the iBros and created two rules to entry that made the clique semi-exclusive: You must be a guy, and a member of the junior IB class.

“It was more of a forced clique because we all have the same classes and all just spend so much time together,” Holsinger said.

A few weeks after this clique was formed, the junior IB girls formed the iBabes.

One thing both the iBros and the iBabes share is a way of communication. There’s an IB Facebook thread, where members post questions about homework and projects.

While the iBabes don’t take their clique as serious as the iBros do, they still have a certain degree of camaraderie. According to junior “iBabe” Amy Sachse, upcoming on the iBabes schedule is a slumber party.

Even though the iBros don’t have anything planned for outside of school, Holsinger is glad he made the in-class friendships.

“We just spend so much time together it was really inevitable,” Holsinger said

The doors of Room 211 open and voices fill the air. These are not ordinary voices; they are the voices of the Chamber singers. The singers, selected last year, share sixth hour together, but these 23 students don’t just bond through class time.

Junior Maddie Sullivan, a member of the group, enjoys spending time with the Chamber singers inside and outside of school. They get together after every concert and go out to dinner. They organized a Christmas party and the girls had a cookie decorating party.

But, the singers always have a song in mind.

“When we get together, we always sing and harmonize,” Sullivan said. “Which is kind of expected of us to do.”

Being a junior in the group of mostly seniors, Sullivan looks up to her classmates and asks them for advice. She’ll ask them about their college searches and senior year in general. Senior Olivia Mansfield enjoys conversing with her younger classmates and helping them through tough high school times.

“They also see us and how we are in class.” Mansfield said, “so we set examples on how to manage their

SPREAD issue 9

17

at east

Have you ever been in a clique?

63% No

37% Yes

Do you know people in cliques?

20% No

80% Yes

Chambers

time, get their homework done, choosing colleges, that is all important to us”, Mansfield said Sullivan and Mansfield both like having a break from normal classes and their main groups of friends.

“You go to choir and you can just forget about all of you issues and you can just have fun with people who are in a different friend group than you,” Sullivan said.

Chambers has also impacted the way Sullivan acts around her other friends.

“It has definitely helped in my self-confidence and its nice being around a group that is interested in all of the same things that I am,” Sullivan said. “It’s nice having a group with similar interests.”

percent of students have felt excluded

How do you think cliques are portrayed in media?

19%

negatively positively neutrally

62%

19%

*from a survey of 100 students

all illustrations by DJBurton

MEAN GIRLS LEGACY

Grease

Animal House

The classic story of two high school sweethearts who try to maintain their relationship while fitting in with their respective groups.

The pretty-boy Omegas try to get Delta’s failure fraternity kicked off campus. A hilarious portrait of college life in the ‘60s.

Pink Ladies and T-Birds

Deltas and Omegas

Mean Girls

The Plastics

Lindsay Lohan in her pre-alcohol era plays an outcast invited into the most popular clique in school. High school drama, check. Humor, check.

Heartwarming lessons, check.

The Clique series

Gossip Girl

This time it’s middle schoolers who are doing the backstabbing and shopping. A stereotypical girl book.

Girls and guys share in the drama, sabotaging each other— and looking darn good doing it.

The show has been said to be a “parent’s nightmare.”

The Clique

Upper-East-Siders

Pretty Little Liars

The Liars and “A”

A brand new breed of cliquey TV shows, it gives the played-out clique story a new twist: violence. all photos courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

16

SPREAD

01-24-11

ChloeStradinger and GracieTapp

High school has been a common setting in movies for years. While other cinema trends come and go, the theme of high school cliques remain the same. Whether it’s the jocks, the nerds or the hipsters, cliques are important to how media portrays high school.

According to a recent Harbinger survey of 100 students, 30.8 percent of students say they’ve felt left out of a clique. In relation to the media, 50.7 percent of students watch Pretty

Little Liars, a clique oriented TV show, and 23.5% of students have read “The Clique” books.

East social worker Becky Wiseman believes that students are affected by cliques in the media.

“It looks fun, and they get to go to the best parties, and they have the best clothes, and they drive the best cars,” Wiseman said. “I think you want that even though you know it’s not reality.”

As a social worker, Wiseman sees

the effect of cliques on East students.

At least once a week students talk to her about feeling left out of cliques or not being able to make close friends.

“A lot of people feel like they have acquaintances [...] but they want a relationship beyond that,” Wiseman said. “That’s a struggle for a lot of students in the school.”

While some students struggle to make close friendships, others thrive on it. The latter type of student is one who is more likely to form a clique.

According to Wiseman, cliques can be anything from protection (as in a gang) to a sign of status. “ I think a lot of people want that kind of closeness and always have someone to talk to and always have someone to sit with and text, someone to hang out with,” Wiseman said, “and if they don’t have that I think that’s more what they yearn for.

Rather than ‘I want to be in a clique,’ they really want that closeness and compatibility.”

The Fine Nine It’s the third quarter of the boys’ varsity basketball game, and the upperclassmen break out into a new chant. With their bodies angled toward the freshmen section, they begin to yell “Stand up Fine Nine! Stand up Fine Nine!” Freshmen Payton Dribber* and Alexa Martilli* try to sink a bit lower into the bleachers and laugh off the chant that’s meant for them. Somehow, in the first weeks after winter break, their innocent little friend group blew up into a big cliquey problem.

It was the middle of October when Dribber, Martilli and their group of girl friends were recognized by the freshman class as a clique because of all the time they spent together. However, the girls didn’t want to define their group as the only people they would hang out with, because it was only the beginning of freshman year.

“Everyone’s still just trying to find their places,” Martilli said.

According to Martilli and Dribber, at first it was all innocent; the girls tried not to be exclusive and their clique didn’t have a name. They flew under the radar, and it was relatively drama free, because only the freshmen class was talking about it.

After lunch one day, Dribber and her group of friends were walking down the hallway when a group of junior boys approached them. They laughed and made a comment about the girls being in the freshmen Fine Nine clique.

“We only found out about it when everyone else started talking about it,” Martilli said.

Then, after Winter Break, rumors starting flying through Facebook and Twitter. “Spotted: Fine Nine walking on 83rd #car-

less #suckstosuck.” “#finenine at swim meet...such an honor.”

The group of freshmen had been officially dubbed the Fine Nine.

East Social Worker Becky Wiseman has seen groups that start out just as friends hanging out, turn into more exclusive groups or cliques.

“Traditionally I think cliques, even though they have a very negative connotation, cliques are started generally out of similarities that people have,” Wiseman said. “If they enjoy the same sports, or kind of just have the same personalities, or take the same classes, I think they’re generally started in kind of a nonthreatening innocent way.”

According to Wiseman, the exclusive element is when groups start to have negative consequences for everyone-both those included and those on the outside of the group.

Helen Brownsdale*, one of the girls rumored to be kicked out of the Fine Nine, said the girls knew about the clique before the rumors. Brownsdale said that four girls, not including her, actually did name themselves the Fine Nine, but when upperclassmen found out they were embarrassed. She heard that the girls made a list of names of people to include in the clique and she was on it, though she wasn’t informed by them.

“I think they were just trying to create a group that they thought was cool and now I think that once all the upperclassmen found out about it, they are denying it because it’s embarrassing,” Brownsdale said.

Soon after the tweets began, the girls were getting taunted about their clique every day. Dribber and Martilli were approached countless times in the hallways by people asking questions like ‘How do I get into the Fine Nine?’, or ‘Who’s the leader?”.

Not knowing what else to do, the girls now just walk away without answering the questions.

“We try to play it off and laugh at it, because what else can we do?” Martilli said. *name has been changed to protect identity

CLIQUE WARS

iBros and iBabes The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, through enrollment presentations, boasts of how students bond through their learning experiences and become close through the power of education.

When junior Luke Holsinger signed up for IB, he knew this, but had no idea just how good of friends he would become with his classmates.

IB History of the Americas teacher Brenda Fishman has seen the effects IB has had on student relationships.

“Anytime you have a smaller class, fewer than 24 kids in the class, you notice a little bit more of a closeness,” Fishman said.

It was the beginning of the school year when Holsinger and his IB friends officially became a clique.

They named themselves the iBros and created two rules to entry that made the clique semi-exclusive: You must be a guy, and a member of the junior IB class.

“It was more of a forced clique because we all have the same classes and all just spend so much time together,” Holsinger said.

A few weeks after this clique was formed, the junior IB girls formed the iBabes.

One thing both the iBros and the iBabes share is a way of communication. There’s an IB Facebook thread, where members post questions about homework and projects.

While the iBabes don’t take their clique as serious as the iBros do, they still have a certain degree of camaraderie. According to junior “iBabe” Amy Sachse, upcoming on the iBabes schedule is a slumber party.

Even though the iBros don’t have anything planned for outside of school, Holsinger is glad he made the in-class friendships.

“We just spend so much time together it was really inevitable,” Holsinger said

The doors of Room 211 open and voices fill the air. These are not ordinary voices; they are the voices of the Chamber singers. The singers, selected last year, share sixth hour together, but these 23 students don’t just bond through class time.

Junior Maddie Sullivan, a member of the group, enjoys spending time with the Chamber singers inside and outside of school. They get together after every concert and go out to dinner. They organized a Christmas party and the girls had a cookie decorating party.

But, the singers always have a song in mind.

“When we get together, we always sing and harmonize,” Sullivan said. “Which is kind of expected of us to do.”

Being a junior in the group of mostly seniors, Sullivan looks up to her classmates and asks them for advice. She’ll ask them about their college searches and senior year in general. Senior Olivia Mansfield enjoys conversing with her younger classmates and helping them through tough high school times.

“They also see us and how we are in class.” Mansfield said, “so we set examples on how to manage their

SPREAD issue 9

17

at east

Have you ever been in a clique?

63% No

37% Yes

Do you know people in cliques?

20% No

80% Yes

Chambers

time, get their homework done, choosing colleges, that is all important to us”, Mansfield said Sullivan and Mansfield both like having a break from normal classes and their main groups of friends.

“You go to choir and you can just forget about all of you issues and you can just have fun with people who are in a different friend group than you,” Sullivan said.

Chambers has also impacted the way Sullivan acts around her other friends.

“It has definitely helped in my self-confidence and its nice being around a group that is interested in all of the same things that I am,” Sullivan said. “It’s nice having a group with similar interests.”

percent of students have felt excluded

How do you think cliques are portrayed in media?

19%

negatively positively neutrally

62%

19%

*from a survey of 100 students

all illustrations by DJBurton

MEAN GIRLS LEGACY

Grease

Animal House

The classic story of two high school sweethearts who try to maintain their relationship while fitting in with their respective groups.

The pretty-boy Omegas try to get Delta’s failure fraternity kicked off campus. A hilarious portrait of college life in the ‘60s.

Pink Ladies and T-Birds

Deltas and Omegas

Mean Girls

The Plastics

Lindsay Lohan in her pre-alcohol era plays an outcast invited into the most popular clique in school. High school drama, check. Humor, check.

Heartwarming lessons, check.

The Clique series

Gossip Girl

This time it’s middle schoolers who are doing the backstabbing and shopping. A stereotypical girl book.

Girls and guys share in the drama, sabotaging each other— and looking darn good doing it.

The show has been said to be a “parent’s nightmare.”

The Clique

Upper-East-Siders

Pretty Little Liars

The Liars and “A”

A brand new breed of cliquey TV shows, it gives the played-out clique story a new twist: violence. all photos courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

18

FEATURES 01-24-11

harrison

HARMONY East family has a long line of musical talent PaigeHess At 12 years old, Band teacher Kim Harrison won a talent show for playing the trumpet, and was rewarded $75.

Soon after, he realized that he could make money off of his musical talent, and decided he wanted to play professionally.

He toured with a “Chicago” style musical group called Bridge when he finished high school, and he recorded two albums in Los Angeles and Nashville. Kim was the second chair horn player, but believed that he was not cut out for the professional business. This notion lead him to the decision that he would become a teacher; he spent the next couple years at Kansas State University (KSU) earning his undergraduate degree.

The Harrisons had a daughter named Kellyn shortly into his time teaching. About a year after that, they had a son named Cole. Now 14 years later, Kim now has both junior Kellyn and sophomore Cole in his music classes.

After going to KSU, he taught at a private school until he switched in 1982 to what is now Indian Woods Middle School. He worked there for three years, then took time off in 1985 to attend Wichita State University. While he was there earning his Master’s degree, he met his eventual wife, Gretchen, during a music class they had together.

In 1986, he was hired as the band director at East, and has been working here for 25 years.

With both parents having a passion for music, the kids were surrounded by it from the day they were born.

The constant submersion in music ensured that by the time Kellyn was in fourth grade, she wanted to play a band instrument.

She has been singing since before she can remember and has played the piano for ten years now. But, when she was in fifth grade she wanted to try something new. Kim has been involved in music for so long that he can tell which instrument a person will play, just by judging their personality. He told Kellyn that she would be a French horn player, and after playing it for a while she learned to how much she liked it.

“I really like how uncommon it is, not a ton of people play it,” Kellyn said. “It’s an interesting instrument, and is

DanStewart

probably the hardest brass instrument to play.”

Cole began expressing an interest in music at a young age and the piano was his first instrument that learned to play. To this day, it is still one of his favorites. Being able to express his feelings through sound is what he considers the emotional drive behind playing an instrument.

“Piano is my favorite instrument because I can play it for hours on end and just forget about everything else going on around me,” Cole said.

Cole was same as Kellyn. He did not like the trombone when he first played, but realized he enjoyed it later. As Cole grew older, he showed interests in playing multiple instruments. These instruments including the trombone, piano and guitar. He started playing the piano at age two and has loved it ever since. Just like he had with Kellyn, Kim always said Cole would play the trombone. At first, Cole hated it. But, as years went on, he started to really like the instrument and became more talented. On top of those instruments, Cole wanted to play the guitar.

Outside of the classes Kellyn and Cole take at East, they both practice and perform out of school. Cole still loves the piano and plays up to two hours daily. He also has private lessons for all the instruments he plays once a week, alongside extensive voice lessons. He is one of two sophomores who just recently made All-State for the trombone. As for the future, Cole is planning on majoring in music in college although he is not quite positive

where he’d like to go.

“I would either want to be a professional musician or some kind of music teacher,” Cole said.

Like her brother, Kellyn aspires to pursue a career in music after she finishes with high school; she would love to become a choir director. The classes she has taken in the past and her growing interest in singing gave Kellyn the idea of becoming a choir director.

“I love singing and teaching others, so when you put the two together you get a choir teacher,” Kellyn said.

Kellyn recently has been practicing a lot of the time outside of school. In December, she had 13 performances in the span of 14 days, both choir and band. She also takes private lessons and is a member of a the Kansas City Youth Symphony, where she’s in the top level of the orchestra. At school, Kellyn participates in the Chambers singers, Choraliers, orchestra and band.

At East, their father teaches their band class and music becomes an even more of a way for them to bond. They have over 20 instruments in their house, ranging from an organ to Kim’s gold-plated trumpet, made in 1899.

Although they all have different instruments that they enjoy playing, the family members agree that having a strong background in music ties them together.

“It is really cool how we all have something that we can connect over,” Kellyn said,.

theHarrisons’

instruments

cole

“I like to play the piano because when I play, I can just forget about everything else that’s going on.”

kim

“As a kid, I played the trombone.

But as I am getting older, I am realizing how great all of them are. So, I don have a favorite instrument. I like them all.”

“My whole life, my dad had been predicting that I would play the french horn and Cole would play the trombone. Then when we were trying out instruments, I loved the french horn so it was meant to be.”

kellyn

T

FEATURES JenniferRorie

hen an eighth grader, Jane Smith* sits on her couch with tears streaming down her face, contemplating suicide. “What if I went in the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and stabbed my heart?” runs through her mind. Sitting there contemplating this idea is a girl who’s mom just passed away, and didn’t know what to do with herself. But Smith is still here today, with great thanks to therapy.

According to East school social worker Becky Wiseman, there are more and more students turning to therapy and counselors everyday to help them with their high school struggles. Some are as serious as Smith, but some, like Rachel Jones*, just have friend problems, mainly with “drama,” and need to talk them out or get a better perspective on the issue at hand.

“It’s just someone who doesn’t have an opinion or will tell anyone about it,” Jones said.

Jones goes to a therapist for different reasons than Smith, but they go through the same teenage girl issues—like who likes who and what happened last weekend—that you can’t talk to your parents about. For Jones, a therapist is someone who is a guide, someone who teaches you how to deal with situations you don’t know how to. Going to a therapist for Smith is a way to digest what is “normal,” and what she can attribute to the loss of her mom. “[Therapy] helps me put into perspective what is grief related or teenage girl stuff,” Smith said.

There are many therapists in the Kansas City area that specialize in pediatrics or teenagers, but the one therapist that a lot of East students see is Liz Christian, a specialist in teenagers ages 12 and up. She sees students who have problems like family or friends, to students dealing with depression and anxiety, to even some with eating disorders.

“Many people just come in to find new ideas and ways to fix the same kinds of problems and challenges that we all have, ” Christian said. “They just want to find faster and more direct ways to deal with them than they’ve been aware of before.”

Christian knows many of the stories and rumors about East and many other schools like Pembroke Hill and St. Teresa’s. With many clients from all over she has become convinced that “East is a harder place to go to school than others.”

She sees an environment where high academic expectations, a fairly rigid social hierarchy and the strong culture of partying contribute to much of what kids at East struggle with.

“I work with many kids who feel stuck in the social groups and cliques that they got involved in earlier and get in the di-

lemma of wanting to branch out, but don’t want to lose their original friends,” Christian said.

Jones is one of Christian’s clients, and has been going to her since the beginning of this school year. According to Jones she has learned to let things just blow over and not to take every little thing so seriously.

Smith’s therapist is Dr. Martha Bernard, she has been seeing Bernard since her mom died in seventh grade. Smith has largely been trying to sort out grief related to her mom, but also has been working on not judging people when she first meets them.

“I’m very judgmental so I have high expectations of people, so I get disappointed a lot,” Smith said.

Therapy is something that not only girls are turning to. According to Christian about 15 percent more teenage boys are going to therapy than in the past, and realizing that they don’t have to pretend they have it all figured out or don’t have any issues of their own.

“A safe and neutral place to [talk] is probably more important for [guys] in some ways because girls tend to process their feelings with each other,” said Christian.

Christian finds that most of the teenagers that she sees are just confused with all that high school has to offer. About 30 percent of Christian’s clients are adults, and she sees many similarities and differences between the two age groups. According to Christian, teenagers don’t necessarily have more problems than adults, but they sometimes just aren’t certain about the best ways to deal with them.

“Teens are just at a developmental stage, and a time period in life, when things are presenting themselves to be dealt with and teens are able to feel, think, choose and incorporate more for their experience and that can result in confusion,” Christian said.

Opening up to a therapist was hard for Jones at first. She found that is got easier over time and eventually her therapist became more of a friend and she became more comfortable.

Smith doesn’t necessarily tell her therapist everything, but sometimes she still has to remind herself she needs help.

“There is some stuff I know I did wrong, but I just know that she’s gonna help me and that’s what I have to tell myself,” Smith said.

Neither Jones nor Smith have it all figured out quite yet.

They are only in high school and don’t know where life will take them, or how long they will continue therapy. However, Smith knows one thing for sure, “I’ve come so far, and I have so far to go.” *names changed to protect identities

issue 9

19

Quick facts about therapy from Therapist Kyle Roste

Q A 4 40%

of his patients are teenagers

What are some common misconceptions about therapy?

One of the big misconceptions is that there’s going to be a lot of Top reasons focus on the teenagers themselves, teenagers see but I can speak for my practice at him least, we focus a lot on the family.

It’s really important to focus on the •Depression family and get their support. Teens •Anxiety •Family Problems think they’re going to go in and get bombarded by all of their problems, •Drug Issues which isn’t true.

Junior Andrew Long

3

The number of years Long has been in therapy

2/14 Q Q A A

The number of days Long goes to therapy every two weeks

How has therapy helped you?

It’s a way to get things out you may not feel comfortable talking to other people about. You can express how you feel about certain things and just get to talk over what’s going on in your life.

What are some common misconceptions about kids in therapy?

A lot of people think you have to be depressed or have problems or be crazy to go to therapy but really everyone can go because everyone has problems. It’s not even about problems all the time but about self realization and learning to be confident in who you are.

Let’s talk therapy

illustration by PeterHung

therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing A number of East students•issues are • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discussgoing • cure therapy •toanalysis to•therapists discuss • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice personal issues• discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing •issues • treatment • talk • diagnosis • therapist • advice • discuss • cure • therapy • analysis • talk • healing

Mixed

{the page about life}

LookingForward

ew n t s e Weird esolutions R n s ' r ofte a e r e o Y m

Staffers give their pop culture predictions of what will be popular in 2011 Music Fashion The Strokes

Back in 2006, the Strokes released their third studio album “First Impressions of Earth.”Surprisingly, this was announced to be their last, with front man Julian Casablancas pursuing a solo career. Now, after a six-year hiatus, the band has announced an album to drop on March 22. The band’s faithful followers can finally give out a collective “phew.”

The Strokes are back and hopefully can match the catchy, addictive songs done in previous works.

Their musical resurgence is bound to be one of the hottest stories in 2011.

ell co B ll a T to n to che 1. Go r Eli Mit olutio s e r a r io made erwea -Jun d I n 7 u s my n I wa with 2. Whe y socks m idcoe match an Kelly P hm -Fres

Lace

Light and airy, white lace is perfect for your spring wardrobe. Whether it’s an accent on earrings or embellished on a tank, it will add a touch of girliness to any outfit. To wear it this winter, pair it with a dark skirt and boots. Or, put it with a pink top and cozy sweater for a perfect Valentine’s Day outfit.

et to g n d lve g o reso f talkin e onc ar o n 3. I my fe inso k c r i n D ove phone k gha e e M to dun h t r le b o i a n o be al - Ju nted t all go

Chloe Stradinger

a tb de I w the baske a r g ht of second 4. In lowest heig McKittrick on the an Andrew m -Fresh

Jack Howland

Sports Connor Wilkins

Wilkins got a taste of sprinting success two years ago when he placed second in state in the open 800 meters. After an injuryplagued junior campaign, Wilkins is poised to make some serious noise for the Lancers in late May. He’s a versatile runner that is capable of long and short distances, giving Wilkins several opportunities to stand atop the podium at Cessna Stadium as a gold medal winner.

Movies Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Swedish film adaptation of the literary phenomenon was Europe’s highest-grossing movie in 2009, and with directing powerhouse David Fincher (“The Social Network,” “Fight Club”) helming the American remake, it’s sure to be both a giant box office and critical hit in the U.S. as well.

Alex Lamb

Kevin Simpson

The average American spends on Facebook every week

12.25

the number of long, warm showers you could take in that time (sorry eco-friendly readers)

98

2.17

how many times you could ride the Mamba (attempt amount of at your own risk) times you could drive to Lawrence (QT trips included)

32.67

minutes

Guess Who?

*

Can you match the teacher with their high school picture? B

the number of miles Hicham El Guerrou (current mile record holder) could run

28.57 A

C A-Mr. Chaffee B-Mr. Boley C-Sra. Sieck

MIXED 20 01-24-11

CHECK OUT PHOTOS OF ALL THINGS EAST AT WWW.SMEPHOTOS.COM

22

A&E

01-24-11

‘MOTT’ HALF BAD

Natasha’s Mulberry and Mott bakery provides delicious desserts and a unique environment

HaleyMartin

Walking into a bakery and being greeted by the smell of freshly baked sweets is almost paradise, and it becomes even more so when the whole right wall is covered in delicious looking treats. So was the case when I entered the quaint venue of Natasha’s Mulberry and Mott, a French bakery close to the Farmer’s Market. I took my time looking at the right wall, not wanting to miss a single choice: croissants, pink marshmallows, macaroons, brownies, curds. Along the decadent right wall, there were highly-decorated, exquisitely-layered wedding cakes varying in size, from minuscule to massive. By the cash register, there were approximately ten large jars, each full of cookies. The classic flavors ranged from triple chocolate to snicker doodle.

At Natasha’s, they typically do not make the same baked goods every day. They make the same type of item, but the flavors are varied or the bakers add an item or take one out.

The bakers decide on the menu for the day at 6 a.m. the morning of. One item that they do make everyday is a ham and cheese croissant so good that it’s said to be sold out by 10 a.m. almost every day. The cashier told me that

most customers buy it in the morning, then save it for lunch.

After much contemplation, I decided on three different delicacies: a Triple Chocolate cookie, Pan au Chocolate, and a Passion Fruit Bavarian with Mango Curd. The baker behind the counter served each of the items on a different-colored, different-shaped plate.

I tried the Triple Chocolate cookie first.

The cashier told me upon my purchase that it was their staple cookie, and that the bakers make it almost every day. When I dissect the name of the Triple Chocolate cookie, I assume that it will have a chocolate batter and two different flavored chips of chocolate intermittent throughout the cookie. But this cookie had a tan batter, and was smaller than my hand but larger than my fist. First biting into it tasted delicious: there was a hint of orange, which mixed well with the moist inside of the cookie. With each bite, there was a faint difference in flavor, whether it was the chunks of white and milk chocolate, or the varying degrees of orange flavor. The differences are what really made the cookie. I would recommend this treat to anyone who has an affinity for cookies, or just sweets in

general. It was only $2.50, and worth every penny.

For my next treat, I decided to try the Passion Fruit Bavarian with Mango Curd; I had never tried anything like it before. It is served in a clear cup, cold, with a white chocolate stir stick, and features two different layers.

I first tried the top layer on its own, which is very sweet, and even a bit fruity. It was good on its own, but I still expected more.

Next, I tried both the bottom layer and the top layer together, which is where things really warmed up: this flavor combination was wonderful. It was a unique sweet and tart mango flavored combination, one of those wildly unique flavors that I now expect from Natasha’s vast selection. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest either one of the layers a la carte, but dipping the spoon and tasting both layers at once is superb. I can only equate it to that of a mango smoothie. If you do not like super sweet or tart things, or if you are on a tighter budget, then I would bypass this $5.50 treat.

The final dessert I tasted was Pan Au Chocolate, which I learned is a French way of saying “chocolate croissant.” This specific chocolate croissant was warmed up for me

beforehand, an action that I would highly suggest to the next recipient, seeing as it increased the rich taste tenfold. When I first bit into it, I tasted a fair amount of flaky meltin-your-mouth bread, which in itself was amazing, but left me wanting to taste the real chocolate. On my second bite, I reached the lukewarm, melted, 70 percent dark chocolate. As a dark chocolate fan, I loved it; I can imagine eating it for breakfast, or warming it up for a sweet after school snack. The bread encasing the chocolate melted instantly in your mouth, and the juxtaposed chocolate was rich and enjoyable. It was a perfect combination with the warm 70 percent dark chocolate filling. The size was perfect and proportional, and the dessert only cost a small total of $3. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes dark chocolate.

Natasha’s is an aesthetically-pleasing bakery with tasteful but relatively pricey goods.

In my opinion, this would be a great little place to eat in because not only is the food great, but the atmosphere is timeless and completes the experience.

BREAKING IT DOWN: WHAT HALEY ATE Name: Passion Fruit Bavarian with Mango Curd Price: $5.50 Favorite Part: “I liked the cold mango flavoring.”

Name: Triple Chocolate Cookie Price: $2.50 Favorite Part: “I really loved how the chocolate cookie had a tint of orange.”

Name: Pan au Chocolate Price: $3 Favorite Part: “The warm chocolate in the middle was delicious.” all photos by SammiKelly

STAR SCALE

CHECK PLEASE

AVERAGE

DELIGHTFUL

CULINARY GENIUS

A&E

issue 9

Schmear Genius

Staffer reviews multiple bagel joints in the Kansas City area

EINSTEIN BROTHERS BRUEGGERS

23

AnnaMarken

CLASSIC CUP

all photos by SaraBaumann

3939 West 69th Terrace 13713 Metcalf Avenue With walls covered in art and the smell of fresh bagels and pastries wafting from the kitchens, the atmosphere in Einstein Brothers is very warm and appealing. It is similar to a small, downtown bistro, full of modern art and furniture. The small restaurant is very cozy, which, if the crowd is light, is a good thing.

A large crowd, however, makes for a loud dining experience, and difficulty finding a place to sit in the limited space. The service is quick and the workers are always friendly. A recent visit to the restaurant during the breakfast rush left me waiting in a line almost out the door and without a place to sit.

By the time I got to the front of the line, my bagel of choice was sold out. My first bagel was Plain with Plain cream cheese. The thick, fluffy bagel was served with plenty of cream cheese. It was very soft and easy to eat.

For lunch, I ate the Turkey Bacon Thin, one of Einstein Brothers’ specialty bagels. The sandwich is served on a thin bagel, either plain or whole wheat. The bacon and lettuce were both very fresh and crispy.

Einstein Brothers is my go-to place when I need a quick meal. With quick service, friendly workers and excellent food, it is the perfect restaurant for any time of day.

The inside of Brueggers was very welcoming, with large windows and a view of the bakery in the back. Despite arriving in the middle of the lunch hour, there was no line and hardly anyone in the restaurant. The decor was that of a small French bakery, with warm colors and art and a diverse menu.

The menu was full of unique bagel flavors such as Salt, Egg, Cranberry Orange and Rosemary Olive Oil. The list of cream cheese options was equally unusual: Garden Veggie, Bacon Scallion and Jalapeno were some of the choices.

I opted for Cinnamon Sugar with plain cream cheese. The thick pastry came with a decent amount of cream cheese and was served to me warm, fresh out of the oven. The warmth melted the cinnamon-sugar seasoning and spread the flavor throughout the bagel.

My other meal was the BLT. I was given the choice of having it made on bread or a bagel. The sandwich can be made on any flavor of bagel, but I chose plain. The bacon was a bit spicy, but balanced out by the light, cool lettuce and tomatoes.

Bruegger’s greatest downside was its distance. It took me 30 minutes to get there, and by the time I got there I was more relieved to be done driving than to be able to eat. However, he location was for the most part balanced out by the quality of the food.

301 West 47th Street Upon entering the Classic Cup, I felt as though I was in a fancy restaurant. The European style cafe is ideal for a nice breakfast or brunch. The sophisticated environment, complete with a bar, attracts an older crowd than the other restaurants. As a sit down, somewhat classy restaurant, the Classic requires a more dressed up attire. Not black tie, but not jeans and t-shirt.

The menu was full of fancy entrees such as fritattas and eggs benedict. I chose the Lox (salmon) and Bagel Platter, a bagel with salmon and several vegetables on the side. The salmon seemed to be a day or two old, but paired with the plain bagel and cream cheese, it offered a very different taste from any bagel I have ever eaten. The cream cheese took on the flavors of the salmon, adding a unique zest to the meal.

Even my plain bagel with plain cream cheese was full of flavor. It was lightly toasted and the cream cheese was thick and creamy. The bagel itself was not as large as the others, but it was so rich that it did not matter. The Classic Cup had by far the best plain bagel out of any of the restaurants.

With its balance between a casual restaurant and a swanky bistro, the Classic Cup is the ideal place for a meal with family or friends. It offers unique dishes at a fair price and a fun, interesting environment.

Stacking up the bagels: Anna’s ratings of all the necessities for a terrific treat [On a scale of one to five bagels]

atmosphere schmear quality service prep speed freshness

atmosphere schmear quality service prep speed freshness

atmosphere schmear quality service prep speed freshness

24

A&E 01-24-11

Upcoming movies with...

SUPER HEROES Seth Rogen delivers an uneven but humorous superhero romp

ROGUE HERO AlexLamb

Ever since the first “Spiderman” film came out back in 2002, there has been a continuous onslaught of superhero blockbusters that dominate the box office. The genre has only grown in popularity with each passing year, and 2011 alone will see the release of five new superhero flicks. But before Marvel and DC take over the screens in the summer, audiences can start the year with the far less ambitious, yet much more comedic superhero spectacle of “The Green Hornet.”

Slacker-extraordinaire Seth Rogen plays Britt Reid, a wealthy playboy living off the success of his newspaper editor father (Tom Wilkinson) and doing nothing productive with his life. When dad up and dies from an allergic reaction to a bee sting, Britt meets his father’s mechanic and coffee maker Kato (Jay Chou), and the two quickly become friends. Britt soon realizes that Kato’s talents include a technical wizardry that allows him to build almost anything as well as a mastery of martial arts. After Kato saves him from a mugging, he decides they have what it takes to become superheroes and clean up the city’s massive criminal infestation.

Britt and Kato form the Green Hornet pair and build the indestructible, weaponenhanced “Black Beauty” car to fight as good guys. But in the eyes of the law, they’re seen as criminals as they go around destroying the different gangs and drug rackets. Pretty soon they’ve got both the cops and the criminal overlord Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) on their tail as they fight to save the

STAR SCALE

city from Chudnofsky’s control, posing as rival criminals in order to take down the actual bad guys.

Rogen co-wrote the film with his “Pineapple Express” and “Superbad” writing partner Evan Goldberg, and just like those two films, the story jumps around a bit and could’ve used more focus and tone balancing, but it nails the friendship between the two leads. However, that’s not the most important aspect of the movie, the superhero action-comedy formula is. In that regard, “Green Hornet” delivers a familiar, pretty entertaining experience, even if it is mostly just forgettable popcorn entertainment.

But it’s the chemistry between Rogen and Chou in addition to the bedazzling visual style of imaginative director Michel Gondry that stand out about this superhero romp, not to mention it’s pretty funny, too.

Rogen isn’t exactly easy to take seriously as a superhero, so he’s used mostly for the comedy whereas Chou does the majority of the ass-kicking. Think “Rush Hour,” except with a not-annoying Chris Tucker, a younger, subtler Jackie Chan, and more over-thetop action.

People who like Seth Rogen will enjoy him here, but “Green Hornet” isn’t going to change the mind of anyone who doesn’t.

Chou on the other hand is a wonderful find from Taiwan, a new face for American audiences that is both coolly confident and a skilled martial artist. The first time he unleashes his fists of fury is one of the coolest scenes of the film, particularly because of how he flies across the screen and dispatch-

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RENT IT

Captain America es the enemies in sensational slow-mo.

Gondry is known for his unique, vivid visuals in his films, and while they aren’t as wild as usual here, the movie still sports Gondry’s personalized stamp. Every time Kato enters fighting mode, the action looks like a cross between something in “The Matrix” and a hyper-kinetic video game. And in one sequence where Britt figures everything out, Gondry portrays his thoughts one after another like some sort of off-thewall, quick cut music video.

Yet even with the highlights of Gondry’s inspired direction, there’s a lot about the rest of the film that disappoints. Cameron Diaz plays Britt’s secretary, but her character feels like a throwaway role. Even worse is the fact that Waltz, in his first role after winning an Oscar for his menacing performance in “Inglourious Basterds,” has very little to do as the movie’s villain, being criminally underused.

In addition, somewhere in the middle of the film the story loses focus and wanders around until the lengthy, awesome set piece at the end. The 3-D is also rarely noticeable, another worthless conversion that gives the extra dimension a bad name.

Then again, audiences weren’t exactly clamoring for a movie based on the “Green Hornet” radio serials from the ‘30s and ‘40s, so expectations were never very high for this movie.

January is always a slow month at the cinema; at least “The Green Hornet” is better than the usual fare for this month, providing a moderately fun ride while it lasts.

WORTH SEEING

Chris Evans stars as the leader of the Avengers in his origin story, spanning from WWII to current day.

Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds stars as a pilot given an alien ring with otherworldly powers, tasked with keeping the universe safe.

Thor

Newcomer Chris Hemsworth stars in another Avengers origin story, this one about the Nordic warrior sent to protect Earth.

OSCAR WORTHY

A&E

music

movies

Led by cryptic front man Bradford Cox, Deerhunter came as the year’s biggest surprise for me. Their fourth studio release and my first exposure to the group, “Halcyon Digest” excels in a way that beckons back to Radiohead’s best work. Incorporating a very ambient tone alongside the moaning and often free verse style of Cox’s vocals, Deerhunter establishes themselves as the darkest and best of Cox’s many projects.

3 KANYE WEST His first album since a prolonged spat with the press and masses, Kanye West returned in 2010 to reclaim his throne as hip hop royalty. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” serves as a culmination of the rapper/producer’s decade plus of experience and expertise in refining this genre as we know it. Moments like the simple, extended repetition of a piano’s ‘E’ note leading into a nine minute blowout on ‘Runaway’ or the devilish Nicki Minaj breaking out with furious passion on her verse in ‘Monster’ easily make ‘Twisted Fantasy’ Kanye’s best work yet. Looking back on 2010, it’s certainly safe to say “Yeezy Taught Me”.

Refusing the notion of a ‘sophomore slump’, the ivy league scholars of Vampire Weekend released ‘Contra’ in the first month of 2010, and the final product is some of the smartest music of the year.

Even after falling into the roll of a radio friendly teenage sensation, the outfit is still following through on everything that made their self-titled debut such a hit. Incorporating a wide mix of sounds and influences from around the world, Vampire Weekend makes songs that are impressive and stand tall against many of their pop rock counterparts. Everything about ‘Contra’ felt right, making it a perfect followup and a great start to the year.

2 SURFER BLOOD Hailing from sunny Palm Beach, Fla., Surfer Blood took my listening habits by storm this year. Their debut ‘Astro Coast’ maintains a classic garage-rock sound all throughout, while still featuring enough reverb to keep the ‘surf’ in their title accurate.

With songs titles like “Floating Vibes” and my personal favorite track of the year “Take It Easy”, the band caters to the ‘laid back’ experience, but can also handle the slow ballad unlike many other groups in their early 20s. More than anything, Surfer Blood understands the concept of ‘catchy’ and creates song after song that beg of repeat listens.

the

TOP

10 of

2010 BobMartin

ZoeBrian

TOPFLOPS what didn’t make the cut in 2010

Lil Wayne: Rebirth

5 MICMACS

French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) returns from a five year hiatus with a film that stays true to his whimsical style while delivering a story unlike any other.

“Micmacs” follows Bazil (Danny Boon), a man searching for revenge on the companies that made the bullet he was shot with and the bomb that killed his father. As he plans to turn the companies against each other, he is introduced to a ragtag crew of outcasts and finds his home. Despite seeming to have a serious premise, the film is a hilarious romp through hijinks, friendship and love.

This summer, “The Social Network” delivered to the masses the unbelievable story of Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, and the struggles he faced while making his mark on the Internet and becoming a multi-billionaire.

“Social Network” not only has a brilliant script, that is funny as well as tragic, but an amazing score by the one and only Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails creator and frontman) and Atticus Ross.

MGMT: Congratulations

THE WORLD

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is just another indie kid playing in a band, sharing a bed with his gay roommate and fighting to the death with seven evil exes in order to win the girl of his dreams. Typical.

Director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) brings his personal touch to the comicbook world of Scott Pilgrim with rapid-fire dialogue and quick cuts. While the chemistry sparks between Scott and his paramour, Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), it’s the hilarious dialogue that surpasses every performance given. The sharp banter and battle scenes are accompanied by songs inspired by the graphic novels as well as an original score by Beck.

2 I LOVE YOU,

PHILLIP MORRIS

After a near-death experience, Steven Russel (Jim Carrey) decides to stop living a lie as a straight man and to lead a ‘gay lifestyle.’ But the one thing he didn’t realize about being gay was how expensive it is. So he does what any sensible man in this situation would do: he becomes a con-artist and ends up in jail where he meets the love of his life, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). The film’s disposition is dirty to say the least, yet as Carrey delivers each punchline with a sweet southern drawl the phallic humor becomes oddly endearing.

1 TRUE GRIT his most sacred beliefs. Slow build ups and heavy drops are everything throughout these nine tracks. Far removed from his youth, Murphy still has the ability to take control of the dance floor, even if the club and world around him are in pieces. Unlike any other artist this year, LCD Soundsystem was captivating and made songs that I truly loved.

ZOE’S FLOPS

1 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM At age 40, LCD Soundsystem’s grizzled frontman James Murphy by no means fits the role of an electronic-dance-pop messiah, but 2010’s stunning “This Is Happening” would indicate nothing less. Between heavy synth and a sense of desperation, Murphy triumphs through songs about growing old, falling in and out of love and struggling with even

25

10 THE FIGHTER 9 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP 8 TOY STORY 3 7 GHOST WRITER 6 CATFISH 4 SCOTT PILGRIM VS.

a review of the best albums and films from last year 3 THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BOB’S FLOPS

10 GORILLAZ: PLASTIC BEACH 9 DAS RACIST: SIT DOWN, MAN 8 BEST COAST: CRAZY FOR YOU 7 LOCAL NATIVES: GORILLA MANOR 6 ARCADE FIRE: THE SUBURBS 5 DEERHUNTER 4 VAMPIRE WEEKEND

issue 9

Daybreakers

The Wolfman

The Coen brothers have taken cowboys and duels to new heights with this comedic Western that not only has a sentimental side, but is also action-packed and blood-curdling. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfield) is a smart-mouthed 13-year-old farm girl seeking revenge on the man who killed her father.

In typical Coen brother style,

the film is full of fast-paced and witty banter, but balanced with gun-fights, snake pits and plenty of blood. But the true gem of this film is Hailee Steinfield. A new face to the big screen, Steinfield portrays Mattie with a whipsmart attitude that commands the screen even as she battles established co-stars Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. www.moviewebs.com

SPORTS 26 01-24-11

OF SPORTS

Ten Commandments Staffer prescribes ten different ways that sports could be improved

I’m a big fan of the “what if” game.

What if McDonald’s sold hot dogs? What if you choked a Smurf, what color would it an opinion of Chris Heady turn? I’ve always questioned society with “what if,” and what if life was the way I thought it ought to be.

Recently, the most intriguing “what if” question of all popped into my mind while I was watching SportsCenter. What if I could write my own personal rule book for sports that everyone had to follow? My own personal improvements to the game that would be effective immediately after this column was published. My first thoughts were the obvious changes: replay used in every sport, no BCS system; the usual

Randy Moss goes back a year and stops himself from ruining his career. This deep-threat was an easy Hall-of-Famer before this season, but after his comments to the media about his coaches and teammates, no one wants this guy on their team. He falls under the category of “team parasite” with T.O. and I wish he wouldn’t have ruined his career. I truly enjoyed watching him tear up secondaries, but it seems like the talent that was Randy Moss will forever be overshadowed by the words that were Randy Moss.

Brett Favre is never allowed to retire.

Lets be honest with ourselves, we love Brett Favre. The Wrangler Jeans commercials, the grey beard, the fact he took pictures of his genitals and sent him to a smokin’ hot Jets employee. What’s not to like? He obviously can’t make a decision about whether to retire, so lets make it for him. I want a “Favre Clause” in the NFL rulebook, banning Favre from retirement. Let’s see how long this guy can go for.

The NFL Pro-Bowl goes back to its original scheduling, after the super bowl, so the players of the respective super bowl teams can play. The reason why their teams are in the super bowl in the first place is partly because of them, so let them play. It makes no sense why they should be punished for making it to the super bowl. I see no reason why the changed it in the first place. Sometimes, change isn’t a good thing, so change it back.

As of recent years, watching the NBA All-Star game has become, in ESPN’s Bill Simmons words, “Is like watching your drunk uncles play NBA Live on your PS2.” It’s decently entertaining for the first quarter, a n d after that it just becomes a bit old. I feel like there is zero competitive elements in the NBA All-Star game, so here’s my solution: the game is used as a game for home-court advantage in the Finals.

Whichever side wins, East or West, gets game seven at their place. It just makes the most sense to up the ante on competitiveness.

6.

1.

With the exception of the first three games of the season, I’d like to see men’s college basketball adopts the women’s college basketball type of scheduling: Top 5 ranked/ premiere programs playing each other every year, or more often. It gives us games we may not see in the tournament that we are dying to see, I feel like every other week #1 plays #3 on the Women’s side, while men’s #1 Ohio State plays Western Carolina.

BASKETBALL

2.

10

3.

4.

5.

First off, everyone needs to agree that there will never be another Michael Jordan, and comparisons to him and modern day players cease immediately. Compared to any modern day NBA players, Jordan is head and shoulders beyond everyone, both on the court and off.

His presence was always known when he was on the court, all eyes were drawn to him. In-game, he could single handedly dismantle a team, completely demoralizing and embarrassing them in the process.

Thus, no more debates on if LeBron or Kobe will ever dethrone MJ at the top of the “Best Players Ever” poll. No one can touch his “Airness.”

7.

8.

Reggie Bush gets his Heisman Trophy back. Bush was found guilty by the NCAA recently for accepting money from endorsement deals and apparel, and the reprocussions for the NCAA violations was to give back the most prestigious award in all of sports, the Heisman, back to the NCAA. Bush’s year that season was one of the best College Football has seen and he deserved that award more than any award I’ve ever seen given out. No amount of money or endorsements could have affected the way he performed b e tween the white lines, and he deserves to have his name in the 2005 Heisman spot, rather than a blank line.

9.

Everyone forgives Michael Vick for the dog fighting incident.

I’m a dog lover. I have two of my own, both rescued, and I love them both to death. It’s imperative that you understand that for an extended period of time, I hated Vick. I couldn’t even look at people or respect them if they dare wore a Falcons Vick jersey in my presence. But Vick served his time in Leavenworth, did his probation, accepted what he did was wrong, apologized publicly to everyone and now has all of my respect. Vick’s comeback and MVP-like year this season with the Eagles proved to me that though he made some very, very poor choices, he deserves a second chance from everyone.

10.

FOOTBALL

No, Maya Moore could never guard Bill Walton, and Tina Charles wouldn’t stand a chance to a sky hook from Kareem-AbdulJabaar. The UConn women’s baskektball team couldn’t stay up with the UCLA men of the ‘74, but the win streak of 90 wins was impressive. Everyone needs to accept it. What they did was impressive. I don’t see how it wasn’t, and I’m sick of people down-grading their achievement because they are women.

I’ve been called for one, count them, one technical foul in my entire 10 year basketball career. I may or may not have said a derogatory word in the direction of a certain ref that may or may not have looked exactly like the Monopoly guy. My dreams of playing professional basketball faded around sixth grade and I’ll be honest, I’ll probably be the over-enthusiastic coach for my daughters fourth grade rec basketball team in 20 years. I accept I’m not the greatest baller to grace the court, so I don’t feel like I’m entitled to receive a call every-time I am scratched in the paint. NBA players on the other hand, do. And to be quite frank, need to just shut up.

They complain about every other call when arguing a call has never changed the call.

So I want more technicals called for complaining. There’s no use for it. Just accept the call and move on.

complaints of the general public.

But then I really started to dig into it all. If I truly had that power, what would I improve If I had the chance? Basketball and football, on the other hand, could use a sprinkle or two of Chris Heady improvements. The top five improvements for each sport proceed as follows:

SPORTS

K

issue 9

VanessaDaves

aty Perry’s “Firework” is blasting through the speakers as cowbells, horns, and the cheers of spectators echo throughout the course. But ceramics teacher Wanda Simchuk focuses on one thing only: passing the people in front of her, one person at a time.

“When I race, I am usually thinking, ‘Go get whoever is in front of me and don’t let anyone catch me,” said Simchuk.

Although she busies herself with teaching, meetings after school and driving her kids to and from after-school activities, she makes time to train for the cyclocross season during the fall and winter.

Cyclocross was originally started as a way for athletes to train during the off-season, and is a mix between road racing and mountain biking, Simchuk says. The races take place in forests or fields, where competitors bike through a one to two mile loop as many times as they can in an allotted time period.

The length of their racing time is determined by the category and age group bikers are in.

Within the course, natural barriers cause riders to dismount their bikes and carry them. Fallen trees, steep hills, sand and small hurdles are common obstacles found in a cyclocross course.

“Cyclocross has every aspect of cycling,” said Mike Berning, friend of Simchuk. “One of the beautiful things about cross is not only do you have to be fit, but you have to overcome your opponents and overcome conditions.”

Cyclocross is a community, says Simchuk.

Her friendship with Berning developed over the past few years when they continued to run into each other at races.

Simchuk has been riding bikes since she was 6-years-old. She met her husband, Todd Simchuk, while they were out bike riding and he introduced her to cyclocross. He told her it was just like long distance running, or cross country, only on bikes.

“I bet we can do it,” he told her.

She tried it once and she was hooked.

Simchuk and her husband love cyclocross because it is both the most challenging and most fun thing they have ever done.

“Look at the conditions: it’s snowy, it’s cold, you’re up and down hills, you’re jumping on and off your bike,” she said. “That’s the best part, finishing and feeling great that you accomplished this.”

When Simchuk first started racing, she lived in Wyoming. She continues to be amazed at the growing popularity of cyclocross. When she first started racing, she would usually be the only woman to show up, along with ten other men, Simchuk says.

“We would just show up, make a course on the fly, and do it,” she said. “We all went off the block at the same time and raced for an hour.”

After marrying and having kids, she had little time to participate in cyclocross. However, she was keeping herself updated by frequently checking localcycling.com. In 2007, the National Cyclocross Competition was held in Kansas City, and there was a notice on the website asking for host families.

Nationals is a five day event where bikers from all over the country gather to race. Her

27

Cycling Past Challenges Ceramics teacher Cyclocrosses in her spare time

guests, Brian, Jeremy, and Peter re-inspired her to participate in cyclocross, she said.

“It was the [best] time I ever had,” said Simchuk. “After they left I was just like, ‘I have to do this.’”

She started training and competing in local races after nationals that year, but in February of 2008 she had an accident that kept her from cycling for several months.

“I was coasting down a hill and a dog ran in front of me. I hit the dog head on, my bike flipped over and I fell on my chin,” Simchuk said. “To this day I don’t remember the crash.”

The doctor determined that she had suffered from a broken neck as a result of her crash and had to get a metal plate and two screws inserted in her neck. Her skin was hanging in pieces off her mouth and she has many scars where it was stitched back together.

When she landed on the concrete, her helmet split. She sent her broken helmet back to the company with a letter explaining the accident. In response, the company decided to keep the helmet on display to show how well it worked.

“My helmet saved me,” Simchuk said. “I am the biggest advocate of helmet-wearing; I yell at kids I see on the street who aren’t wearing helmets.”

After six months of physical therapy and continuous epidurals, the pain was still persisting. Finally, she went to a neural surgeon for a second opinion. He was shocked that her previous doctor had been giving her epidurals because they were severing her spinal cord, which should have paralyzed her from the waist down.

He operated on her and when she woke up from surgery the pain was gone. She started training as soon as the doctor gave her the okay, in August, and she raced about three weeks later.

all photos by SammiKelly

“I couldn’t wait to get back on my bike because I couldn’t remember the crash,” she said.

Simchuk has a cyclocross bike that weighs about 20 pounds that has knobby tires for the extreme conditions in which they ride. Her shoes click into the pedal of her bike, which helps her to go faster on her bike. She wears water resistant socks when needed and tight clothes to keep her warm in the cold weather. Cyclocross races are rarely canceled, and riders are used to the extreme conditions.

“This is cyclocross,” said Sandy Collins, friend of Simchuk. “Snow, mud, ice. It’s just blood and guts.”

At the last race of this cyclocross season, there was about a half-inch of snow on the BIKE CARRYING ground. It was slick, but that didn’t stop Sim“Everyone is in chuk. When she passed through the finish the same boat. line, everyone was cheering wildly for her as Just another asshe placed first in her category. pect of the race.”

“Everybody [roots] for everybody else,” announcer Roger Harrison said. “It’s just one big blast.”

HURDLES Harrison is a long time friend of Sim“Your goal is chuk’s. Although he doesn’t compete, Harrison promotes cyclocross by playing music at fluidity. I don’t think- I just do the competitions.

Simchuk loves the atmosphere of races it. It’s part of the because of the great feeling of comeradery race.” among the bikers. After racing, friends congratulate Simchuk on her win, and those who came in right after her banter about WEATHER CONDITIONS “Everybody races how they will beat her next time.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in the same condiin my lifetime,” she said. “But I’m going to tions. It was snowride as long as I can.” covered today, so

Looking into Cyclocross

it was slick.”

28

PHOTO ESSAY 01-24-11

CUTTING THEIR LOSSES

Boys’ basketball team works to overcome five-game losing streak

Drawing a new play on the whiteboard, coach Shawn Hair, left, tries to rally his team. The Lancers went on a third quarter run, but still lost 44-32. “I think the team is better than people think we are,” senior Zach Nass said.

“Teams have slumps, and this is just a slump we’re having.”

EdenSchoofs Junior Andy Hiett, below, calls the play to the rest of the team. “We need to execute on offense better and do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Hiett said.

GrantHeinlein Junior Alex Shoegler, far below, closely guards West point guard Matt Smith. “It’s my job to shut down the other team’s best player,” Shoegler said. “I face guard him and keep him from touching the ball.”

GrantHeinlein

Focusing on the goal during a free throw, sophomore Vance Wentz tries to cut West’s lead late in the game. Wentz is leading the team in scoring and averages 16.5 points a game. “We need to integrate what we do in the practices into the games,” Wentz said. “We’ve been practicing real well.”

GrantHeinlein Seniors Scott Watson, Zach Colby and Will Severns watch intently as East attempts their comeback. The Lancers won their first four games, but now have lost five in a row.

EmmaRobson

All boys’ varsity basketball games can be seen live at www.smeharbinger.net

Using Their Heads MattGannon

“Remarkable.”

Principal Karl Krawitz thinks that the girls’ soccer team is remarkable. Remarkable not just because of their 15-2-1 record, one of the best seasons the close-knit team ever achieved. No, this squad is remarkable because they were recently awarded one of the most prestigious achievements in high school athletics—the Academic All-American award.

The award is given to athletic teams that achieves a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. It is given to roughly 254 schools nationwide. The 20-girl soccer squad didn’t just squeak into the standings; instead they placed seventh in the country with a cumulative GPA of 4.2.

“This is huge,” Dr. Krawitz said. “Without a doubt this shows commitment and success both on and off the field. It is a truly remarkable achievement when you really think about it. When almost 60 to 75 percent of winners were private schools, this really shows that public high schools can still compete academically and athletically.”

Head coach Jamie Kelly had always

known he had a smart team of young athletes.

“There were always less girls having to turn in eligibility cards compared to the boys team,” Kelly said. ”A lot of these girls are on the honor roll, and I could definitely tell when I heard them talking to each other about classes like AP English and Calculus and Chemistry.”

Kelly felt that girls would surely qualify for the award, but he never thought that they would score so high. He has always preached the philosophy of family, then school, then soccer, and his players understand that their high school education is a critical part of being a student-athlete.

“It feels good to be the coach of such a dedicated group of girls,” Kelly said. “They obviously work hard in the classroom, which shows how much these young women want to be successful, especially after their high school soccer careers are over. They have definitely set some high expectations for the future.”

Junior Amanda Chao has always been planning for her future after soccer. Even while she was playing on a premiere team

SPORTS

issue 9

29

Girls soccer team earns Academic All-American 2010 honors

for years before coming to East, she was also trying to challenge herself in the classroom. She is currently enrolled in the International Bachelorette program, which offers more difficult classes with the benefit of an extra grade point. Though she knew she was doing fine in school, she was still stunned when Kelly announced the accomplishment to the team.

“I was a little shocked and amazed,” Chao said. “I really didn’t think our team was there. I knew we were a smart bunch, but not that smart. I actually didn’t know that award existed, but it really shows how all of us bring something to the table, not just on the field, but also in academics.

Like Chao, junior Caroline Dodd has also decided to take the rougher classes at East. She is enrolled in English IB, Spanish 4, Biology 2, and Psychology.

“It’s a tough schedule, but I’ve grown pretty used to it,” Dodd said. “My parents have always encouraged me to take advantage of these learning opportunities.”

Both Dodd and Chao were unaware of the award before they received it, but Dr. Krawitz always had a feeling that the team

always had a shot at contending for the award.

“I wasn’t really surprised that they qualified due to the traditional academic excellence this school is known for, but this award shows that this cluster of young women really have their act together,” Dr. Krawitz said. “It really shows how they unite as a team. They didn’t setout for this, but it shows how committed they are to not only academics, but also each other.”

Dr. Krawitz hopes to have a plaque made along with a picture of the team, to be displayed in a prominent area of the school. Kelly has already framed the team’s certificate and placed it in the trophy case.

“This team’s success is not just about what these accomplished,” Dr. Krawitz said. “It’s about how they can motivate others to follow their lead and earn their spot in East’s history.”

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30

SPORTS

01-24-11

Q&A WITH

SCOTT STEIN HEAD GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH

ClaireWahrer

SIMPSON: How do you think the older team members have STEIN:

SHAWN HAIR HEAD BOYS BASKETBALL COACH

CarolineCreidenberg

SIMPSON: Would you rather have these losses against really

responded to your arrival and your changes?

Well you know we have a little different style. I might be a little gruffer, I might be a little older and I might be a little crustier but they’ve done a pretty good job of adjusting to that particular situation and that they understand that I’m gonna get after them when they do things wrong but I don’t mean anything personal by it.

HAIR:

SIMPSON: Where do you place yourself in the season?

I don’t think we’re halfway there. When we get after the tournament in late STEIN: Well January to me that’s really the halfway point, even though your past halfway, but you make all kinds of adjustments and then you go play a mid season tournament and you try and wrap things up and get ready to go because February is pretty intense, because you have most of your league games in that particular time and it comes to whether or not you can get it done in February.

SIMPSON: Where does your team need to improve? opinion we play great defense. problem is for us though that sometimes we STEIN: Indon’tmy make some decent shots. Since Christmas, we worked hard on shooting over [Christmas break], we’ve improved it significantly, we got 60 against Shawnee mission northwest, so hopefully we’re feeling more comfortable offensively.

SIMPSON: Where do you think you’ll end up in post season play?

STEIN:

In my opinion here’s what you do athletically. Number one you wanna win your league. Number two you wanna do well in the post season. Number three you wanna grow as the season grows and keep getting better and better. So you know we’re still in the league race right now we only have one less so we will concentrate on that. We will concentrate on getting better and hopefully we’ll be playing our best basketball when we get to the end of the season because we have good kids.

They play hard, and when you play hard you always have a chance of winning.

38 YEARS COACHING 6 STATE TOURNAMENTS

413-270 OVERALL RECORD 1 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

good teams, or be perfect against some easier teams?

Obviously we’d love to be 8-0, but it doesn’t do you any good to play competition that’s not very good. When you get to sub-state and when you get to state, the competition is gonna be good. You’re not gonna say, ‘Oh, we should easily beat that team, or easily beat that team.’ Your competition across the board’s gonna be good. and so right now its much better for us to play a tough schedule and play tough teams and see where we stack up. I told our team the other night, ‘You wanna be in that position again: down 1 with the ball against a really good team, 11 seconds to go and be able to make a play and finish the game.’

SIMPSON: How do you plan on going from close losses to wins?

HAIR:

We gotta do some little things better. We’re not a dominant rebounding team so we cant give up offensive rebounds. Offensive rebounds are gonna hurt us. We’re not a dominant scoring team to where we can go out and get 80 points any nights we wanna get it. So we gotta take care of the ball better. Those two things are probably the most crucial. We gotta get offensive boards, cant turn the ball over, we gotta get some shots on offense.

SIMPSON: How are the players attitudes after these losses? attitude is unbelieveable. They just compete so hard. We have no issues on our HAIR: Their team with you know competitiveness, drive, will to win, any of that stuff. Our kids have done a great job of being competitive.

SIMPSON: How important is the Rockhurst game? always important. It’s a big game. It’s become more than just a game, it’s an HAIR: It’s event people talk about for a long time. It’s great for our kids, it’s great for their kids, its great high school atmosphere, it’s a great rivalry, but when it’s all said and done, it’s just one game on your schedule, but for that night there couldn’t be anything more important.

15 YEARS COACHING 187-124 OVERALL RECORD 17-14 STATE TOURNAMENT RECORD

SPORTS

GrantHeinlein

BORDERa closer SHOWDOWN look at rockhurst

minutes

Rockhurst’s season thus far has not necessarily been a disappointment, but their 8-5 record doesn’t quite measure up to the success their football team has experienced, partially due to the loss of 6’5” center Dan Tapko. With seniors Frank Arbanas and Matt Lampo, Rockhurst is much more experienced than East; juniors Pat Jones and Clarence Kirkwood round out the team. Many picked Rockhurst as the second best team in Missouri pre-season.

with Junior Andy Hiett

How are you feeling going in to the Rockhurst game?

I’m pretty excited, but I’m also nervous just because its going to be a crazy atmosphere and we really need to win this game.

Do you feel like there is more pressure to win this game considering you went to Rockhurst as a freshman?

I feel like I definitely have to prove myself and it’s kind of bragging rights between me and my friends over there. I’m sure that I’m going to get some traitor chants everytime I touch the ball.

EAST

I think the Rockhurst one is a little more intense, just because it’s once a year but South is a good one too. I think the fans at Rockhurst are a little bit louder, which makes it a little bit tougher.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I think I’m good at distributing the ball and getting teammates open; scoring on occasion. But I think I need to work on scoring a little bit more and not turning the ball over.

Front Court

East’s forwards have struggled so far this season to put up major points in the post but George Brophy has proven that he can shut down premier forwards.

Vance Wentz provides much of the Lancers’ scoring punch.

Outside of Wentz, East’s guards have been neutralized despite the steady play of Hiett at point.

Which game is more intense: Rockhurst or South?

The East student body always comes out in force for this matchup and will be a factor despite not being at home. Hair also gets the nod as the better coach.

Push

EDGE ROCK

Evan Nichols Kevin Simpson Nothing says rivalry like the cheers of the East-Rockhurst game. Rockhurst has been the face-off I await patiently for every year, ever since the first time I saw the two teams play each other in 8th grade.

These were the days before chants got “censored,” (“It’s alright, it’s OK, you’re going to work for us someday!”) and it changed my life. No other game I’ve been to yielded such an intensity and excitement from the fans, and with some of my grade school friends starting for the Hawklets this year, it’s the true rivalry for me.

South still hasn’t earned that respect.

JustinSkeens

ROCKHURST

The loss of Dan Tapko is huge because he would have been too much for East to handle but Arbanas is still a threat standing at 6’5”.

With his scoring in the high teens, Matt Lampo carries the bulk of the load for the Hawklets, but his fellow guards aren’t far behind and are experienced.

Intangibles

Sidenotes South’s little man syndrome will never allow them to realize that they aren’t our primary rival. After one of their students several years ago tried to pull one of our SRO’s guns in a brawl, I took my safety much more seriously than I did the Raiders’ status as a “rival.” Rockhurst, on the other hand, is what comes to my mind when I think of a rival. The annual showdown with the Hawklets from across state line is the one game that justifies a three hour wait in the cold. Although their creativity and execution of their cheers may be superior, our ability to exploit the all-boys school factor evens it all out.

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Back Court

compare the East rivals: SM South and Rockhurst

Corbin Barnds

issue 9

Rockhurst is the true rival. It is the East-Rockhurst rivalry that brings the massive crowds, the Metro Sports trucks and the mutual hatred that has been around for years.

Head coach Shawn Hair is 7-5 all-time against his alma mater, making for an even matchup. The momentum has consistently swung back and forth, and the Lancers are primed to take it back this year.Against South, however, Hair has compiled a 22-7 record. That’s not a rivalry; that’s the story of a little brother getting put in his place.

EDGE EAST

No crowd is as synchronized and loud as the Rockhurst student section and that will undoubtedly play a factor in the game. East is slightly better coached though.

The Week Ahead Tomorrow

The boys’ swim team will end their regular season at the Topeka Invite. This year’s invite will act as a good dress rehearsal for the state meet, since it’s being held at the same pool with the the same scoring system and they will see many of the same swimmers that will be at state.

JAN

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Wednesday

The girls’ basketball team also has a chance to play in the same place at which they hope to soon be competing for state. The Emporia tournament runs from Wednesday to Saturday.

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Saturday

The varsity and junior varsity wrestling teams will spend their Saturday at the Olathe North Invite. The meet is not a particularly big meet for Ufford’s squad, but they will have a chance to finish in the top three.

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PHOTO ESSAY 01-24-11 Going through the routine, senior Kirsten Clark, left, teaches the second graders specific moves for their dance. “Our group chose to do a hip-hop dance because hiphop is my thing,” Clark said. “[The group] thought it would be extra cute if the girls whipped their hair to the song ‘Whip My Hair’ by Willow Smith.”

DanStewart Entertaining an aspiring Lancer Dancer during a warm-up game, sophomore Kaitlin Morgan lifts a girl into the air as she strikes a pose. DanStewart

by Drill team hosts annual clinic for 127 girls ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade Explaining a dance step, junior Sarah Cook, above, shows her group of kindergarten girls the moves for their routine. “Teaching [the kindergarteners] was really hard because they’re so young,” Cook said. “They’re so cute. We were hoping that if they messed up it wouldn’t really matter” DanStewart Sophomore Helen Petrow, left, helps lead the second graders in their performance during halftime of the boys’ varsity basketball game. GrantHeinlein

To see and purchase additional photos from the Little Lancer Dancer Clinic, go to SMEphotos.com.

Sophomore Abigail Heying, far left, gives her congratulations to a young dancer after completing her performance. “I think [the performance] went pretty well,” Heying said.

“For how little of time that we had, it was great that the girls picked up the moves.”

GrantHeinlein