Harbinger Issue 2 2021

the harbinger.

S H AW N E E M I S S I O N E A S T 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208 SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 VOLUME LXV ISSUE 2

CANDIDATE FOR THE

COMMUNITY

Associate principal Dr. Susan Leonard is campaigning to become a Fairway City Council Member in order to expand her influence from the East student body to a larger community, with the ultimate goal of making people’s voices feel heard

02 INSIDE COVER

THE HARBINGER design by asst. eds cover art by maggie merckens cover design by sydney newton editorial cartoon by natalie scholz and nora lynn

editorial.

card, please ...............................................................3

news.

news in brief ...............................................................4 dancing into the night ............................................5 bird is coming to town ............................................6

table of contents

opinion. opinion highlights .....................................................8 popping the private bubble .................................9 bring on the plans ..................................................10

features. feature highlights ...................................................11 moved from mali ....................................................12 inspiring their confidence ...................................13 limitless ...................................................14/15 lancer legends ........................................................16

a&e.

a&e highlights ........................................................18 music mayhem .......................................................19 munchin n’ brunchin’ ...........................................20 spinach celebration .............................................21

sports. sport highlights .....................................................23 just getting started ..............................................24 fresh on the floor...................................................25 switching goals .....................................................26

& more. retreating to leadership .......................................7 advertisments ........................................................17 local lancers ..........................................................22 road to recovery ...................................................27 shorts to sleeve ....................................................28

staff list PRINT EDITORS Celia Condon Sydney Newton ONLINE EDITORS Sophie Henschel Campbell Wood ASST. PRINT EDITORS Peyton Moore Cesca Stamati ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Lyda Cosgrove Kate Heitmann HEAD COPY EDITOR Campbell Wood PHOTO EDITORS Elise Madden Maggie Merckens ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Rachel Bingham Macy Crosser Hadley Chapman VIDEO EDITOR Roberto Galicia ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Maggie Klumpp PHOTO MENTORS Emily Pollock Grace Allen Lily Mantel MJ Wolf STAFF WRITERS Caroline Wood Madeline Funkey Anna Mitchell Christian Gooley Caroline Gould Mia Vogel Paige Zadoo Greyson Imm Sophie Linberg Ben Bradley Nora Lynn Katie Murphy Luke Beil Maggie Kissick Emma Krause COPY EDITORS Sydney Newton Celia Condon Campbell Wood Sophie Henschel Peyton Moore Cesca Stamati Kate Heitmann Lyda Cosgrove

Caroline Wood Caroline Gould Greyson Imm Nora Lynn EDITORIAL BOARD Sydney Newton Celia Condon Campbell Wood Sophie Henschel Peyton Moore Cesca Stamati Kate Heitmann Lyda Cosgrove Caroline Wood Madeline Funkey Nora Lynn SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL PRINT Madeline Funkey NEWS PRINT Caroline Gould ONLINE Kate Heitmann OPINION PRINT Sophie Lindberg ONLINE Mia Vogel FEATURE PRINT Anna Mitchell ONLINE Greyson Imm A&E PRINT Nora Lynn ONLINE Paige Zadoo SPORTS PRINT Caroline Wood ONLINE Ben Bradley PAGE DESIGNERS Anna Mitchell Madeline Funkey Christian Gooley Caroline Wood Bridget Connelly Luke Beil Emma Krause ART EDITOR Natalie Scholz

ASS. ART EDITOR Nora Lynn STAFF ARTISTS Celia Condon Sophie Henschel Sophie Lindberg Christian Gooley Bridget Connelly Marissa Liberda STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Audrey Condon Charlotte Emley Elle Siegel Georgia McKee Jill Rice Julia Filmore Kate Beaulieu Maggie Klumpp Riley Eck Sabrina Dean Tristen Porter VIDEO STAFF Roberto Galacia Maggie Klumpp PODCAST EDITOR Ben Bradley SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Celia Condon Sophie Henschel ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Mia Vogel SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Madeline Funkey Campbell Wood Christian Gooley Grace Allen Paige Zadoo Sophie Lindberg Ben Bradley Peyton Moore Lyda Cosgrove Nora Lynn Marissa Liberda Bridget Connelly ADS MANAGER Greyson Imm CONTEST COORDINATOR Peyton Moore CIRCULATION MANAGER Maggie Klumpp SOCIAL CHAIR Peyton Moore

EDITORIAL 03

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by madeline funkey

CARD, PLEASE

E D I TO RIAL PO LIC Y The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion.

The content and opinions of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quotes material may be confirmed with the sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content thought letters may be edited for clarity, length or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 413B or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com.

People should have to be vaccinated to be able to attend large events, as well as school

F O R : 9 A GA I N ST : 1 The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against.

P

ICTURE THIS: A Picture this: a 19-year-

old guy with a mask slipping just below his nose walks into a bar. He makes his way over to the bartender, adjusts his red hat and asks for a Miller Lite. When the bartender asks for an ID, the outraged man screams: “That’s unconstitutional!”

Ridiculous, right? Though it’s made up, most of us can agree this hypothetical scenario would be shocking. Bars ask for proof of age to stop underage drinking, similar to the way that asking for proof of vaccination could stop the spread of COVID-19. Most people wouldn’t say the former goes against our Constitution.

B A R S A S K F O R p ro of of a g e t o st o p u n d e ra g e d r i n k i n g , s i m i l a r t o t h e w a y t h a t a s k i n g fo r p ro of of va c c i n a t i o n c o u l d st o p t h e s p re a d of C OV I D - 1 9.

Schools and large events should require proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, despite claims that vaccine mandates are unconstitutional. It’s the most logical solution to finally end the pandemic.

There are already vaccination laws set in place in every state for diseases other than the coronavirus. The COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be treated differently. Nothing in the constitution goes against these laws because they save lives.

The Los Angeles public school district is the first to approve a student vaccine mandate, requiring all students 12 years and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to slow the spread. Enforcing vaccinations would save people from getting infected by a potentially deadly virus, yet the decision has received backlash from district members who claim that it goes against their rights.

Not only would requiring vaccines slow the spread of COVID-19, but it would also allow students to feel safe in their own school. It’s unfair that a fully-vaccinated student could go to school and contract COVID-19 because another student failed to get vaccinated.

Someone protected against the virus can still get it because of someone else’s thoughtless decision.

Requiring all students to be vaccinated is the only way to ensure everyone’s safety and avoid returning to virtual learning as the pandemic persists.

We’ve all heard that the effects of coronavirus can be long-lasting, from respiratory illnesses to heart problems, and in over four and a half million cases, death.

There’s no reason to not protect yourself and others from those consequences — especially now that the Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are all approved by the Food and Drug Administration and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To pass the CDC’s scientific standards for safety, the vaccines had to undergo a rigorous testing process to be proven as safe and effective.

The only two serious health problems that could potentially result from the vaccine — an allergic reaction or a rare blood clotting — are only associated with the J&J/ Janssen vaccine and unlikely to occur, with the blood

clotting only happening at a rate of seven per one million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 years old, according to the CDC. With such a low chance that any seriously harmful side effects could result from the vaccine, it’s safer to get vaccinated and avoid contracting COVID-19.

Schools have been requiring students to be vaccinated against certain diseases since the 1850s, according to Healthline. In Kansas, there are nine vaccinations required for school entry, including Hepatitis A, which has a case-fatality rate of up to 0.6%, according to the CDC. In comparison, the case-fatality rate for the coronavirus in the U.S. is 1.6%, according to John Hopkins University. It’s outrageous that vaccines are required for diseases that are less of a current threat than COVID-19.

Because the CDC recommends those 12 years and older to get vaccinated, kids in grade 7 through 12 could be required to get vaccinated, which would immunize a substantial amount of students in each school district.

Not only should vaccinations be required for students in the recommended age group, but vaccine cards should also be required for entry into large events.

The system could be similar to showing an ID when buying alcohol. It would be as easy as whipping out a laminated vaccine card as you hand over your ticket to the Chiefs game, and you’d be sent on your way.

Football games and concerts are starting back up again despite coronavirus cases continuing

to surge, especially in adolescents. While adolescents represented only 15.5% of total cumulated cases since the beginning of the pandemic, the weekly reported cases in the week before Sept. 9 were 28.9% children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. With school starting and many still unvaccinated, the numbers aren’t surprising.

If students want to enjoy these events without spreading the virus, then the unvaccinated need to get over their stubborn desire to do whatever everyone else isn’t. If you’re anti-vax, you might think you’re better than all of the vaccinated “sheep,” but really, you’re just being selfish.

What’s more un-American: requiring everyone to get vaccinated against a deadly virus to save their lives, or hurting other Americans by avoiding vaccination?

While about 37.5% of Americans haven’t received a singe dose of the vaccine as of Sept.

13 according to Our World in Data, steps are being made to encourage vaccinations.

On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden issued executive orders to vaccinate two-thirds of the American workforce against COVID-19. The act has raised disapproval from the members of the Republican party who claim enforcing vaccinations in an effort to stop a deadly virus is “unconstitutional.” The next day, Biden tweeted a question many anti-vaxxers don’t seem to have a logical answer to.

“My message to unvaccinated Americans is this; What more is there to wait for?” Biden said. “What more do you need to see?”

The approval of the vaccines by the CDC, knowledge that remaining unvaccinated could hurt another person and the possibility that we can end this pandemic should be reason enough to get vaccinated.

04 NEWS

THE HARBINGER

design by caroline gould

NEWS IN BRIEF Catch up on school, local and national news

FAR LEFT AND C E N T E R The Corinth Branch of the Johnson County P u b l ic Lib ra ry .

L E F T Senior Octavio Galicia rehearses for the annual Musical Review with other memb ers of th e ca st.

PHOTOS BY AUDREY CONDON

EAST

LOCAL

The SME theatre department is hosting the annual, Motown-themed musical review

The Johnson County Library hosted their 25th annual Library Let’s Loose Fundraiser

The deadline passed for the FDA to reach a verdict on taking Juul off the market

ON SATURDAY SEPT. 18, the Johnson County Library Foundation held their 25th annual fundraiser, “Library Lets Loose,” on Saturday, Sept. 18. The event was virtual, festive and free for families in the community.

Library Lets Loose was held via Zoom, with a reception that began at 6:30 p.m. and a program that began at 7 p.m.

Emcees Kathy Quinn and Stann Tate lead guests through the evening, with digital storytelling from Johnson County community members.

The event was hosted by long-time library supporters Rick and Denise Mills, and celebrated the Foundation’s 25th anniversary by sharing stories of lives profoundly impacted by the library.

Denise has been a passionate advocate for the public library system for years and appeared in 2006 with thenFirst Lady Laura Bush and then-County Librarian Mona Carmack to accept an award recognizing Johnson County Library as one of the nation’s top library systems.

The hosts have pledged to match all donations up to $25,000. Registration was free, but donations were encouraged. All $100 donations were given a chance to win a gift basket valued at $200.

“The library hosts events throughout the year for everyone from children to seniors,” Mills said. “So we’re confident that all donations will be considerately funneled back into the community through these initiatives.”

Proceeds from the event help to excel their taxpayerfunded budget, enhancing the library’s early literacy offerings, teen programs, incarcerated services, online programming, MakerSpace STEM education and Race Projet KC.

THE FDA DELAYED the decision on whether to permit Juul to stay on the market, while banning the sale of thousands of e-cigarettes from other brands on Sept. 16. Despite the spike in underage vaping, the agency claims they need more time to determine a verdict on Juul.

They rejected applications to stay on the market from about 950,000 e-cigarette brands due to their appeal to teens.

However, the agency has yet to rule on the most popular brand — Juul.

Sept. 16 was the deadline for the FDA to issue decisions on marketing applications from Juul and hundreds of other companies after the agency was sued by anti-tobacco organizations in an effort to expedite their review of vaping products.

In order to stay on the market, companies must show that their products benefit public health — adult cigarette smokers who use the products are likely to quit smoking, while teens aren’t likely to get addicted.

After years of regulatory delays, the FDA is bringing scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar industry and has yet to authorize any vaping product as a safe alternative to smoking.

“Ensuring new tobacco products undergo an evaluation by the FDA is a critical part of our aim to reduce tobacco-related disease and death,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock to CNN. “We know that flavored tobacco products are very appealing to young people, therefore assessing the impact of potential or actual youth use is a critical factor in our decision-making about which products may be marketed.”

The FDA didn’t indicate when they’ll rule on Juul and other manufacturers, and President of the Campaign for TobaccoFree Kids Matthew Meyers pledged to go back to court if the FDA doesn’t finalize its timeline for the remaining decisions.

by mia vogel

THE ANNUAL SME Musical Review will be held on Sept. 22 and 23 in the East auditorium with a $5 admission fee or free with your student ID. The Motown-themed cabaret will feature ten solos, nine duets and two “all cast” numbers performing songs of the genre such as “Please Mr. Postman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Rockin’ Robin” and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”

“It’s a pretty low-key event and a good way to kick off the year and get people involved in theatre,” thespian and junior Kate Whitefield said.

The showcase is no-cut and there are about 25 cast members. The directors — Ken Foley, Tom DeFeo and Brian Cappello — assigned the groups and songs to be performed back in August.

A few previous participants opted out of the cabaret this year because they considered the theme to be cultural appropriation as the Motown genre is deeply rooted in Black culture and the entire cast is white.

“We celebrate music of other cultures in choir all the time — it’s great music, it’s part of the American Song Book, we’re just celebrating the music of Motown,” Foley said.

Last year, the concert was held online without a set theme and about 15 people sent in video performances of songs of their choice to be shown via WebEx. This year, with the event being in-person, the Theatre Department hopes to draw a crowd of 75-100 people as it involves more cast members and has a developed theme.

NATIONAL

NEWS 05

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

design by kate heitmann photo by emma kate squires

DAN I N G NIG HT

INTO THE

A look at what Homecoming will be like this year, with new COVID-19 regulations

by c aroline wood

T

HE HOMECOMING DANCE, hosted by Student Council, will be held outdoors on Oct. 9 due to COVID-19 restrictions set by the school board.

Following the announcement of the district’s requirements for Homecomings, the StuCo sponsors and execs scouted out possible outdoor locations on campus on Sept. 13, before deciding to host the dance on the tennis courts outside of the East pool. Students will walk through the pool hallway, get checked in and then be guided to the other side of the courts to avoid walking on gravel.

Students will not be allowed to park in the South lot and are required to park in the North lot off 75th Street for the dance, since the walk down the steep grassy hill next to that lot poses a safety risk.

To go along with this year’s outside venue, StuCo voted to have the dance themed “Under the Stars.”

“I think the kids’ll be very excited,” StuCo sponsor Brenda Fishman said. “I think [it’s] a cool theme. Outdoors will be kind of fun and different, and people are always complaining that it’s too hot in the cafeteria, so we’ll put them outside, so either bring a wrap or prepare for whatever [weather].”

To get into the dance, students will need their current student ID and ticket — which can be purchased the week leading up to the dance before or after school, during lunch or at the dance.

I F I T ’ S R A I N E D o u t , i t ’s ra i n e d o u t .

T h e re ’s n o ref u n d s , t h e re ’s n o m ov i n g i t i n s i d e .

HANNAH PENCE Sponsor

StuCo

Unlike last year’s Prom, the district is allowing students to bring outside guests as long as they fill out the permission forms found in the office and have them turned in by Oct. 8. Outside guests will be required to bring a form of identification — such as their driver’s license — along with their ticket.

While senior Ellie Neusel was at Union Station for Prom last year, her boyfriend from Rockhurst had to wait for her to finish with the dance since outside guests weren’t allowed.

“Now that he can come in with me my senior year and be able to enjoy one of our last dances together is just super exciting to me,” Neusel said.

Another aspect of normalcy is the mask policy.

Masks will not be required at the dance this year, but the sponsors strongly recommend that attendees bring a mask to access the restrooms inside the hallway where masks are still required. Disposable masks will also be available for students.

“Masks will not be required because we’ll be outside,” Fishman said. “Social distancing, same thing, because you’re outside, we kind of hope the kids’ll spread out a little bit, but we know it’s hard in a dance.”

With the dance being outside the building, unfamiliar issues have come up with lighting, power, crowd control and inclement weather.

StuCo will most likely have to rent lights for the area — the cost of which might end up totaling more than the actual decor. Then there’s the problem of power. The plan is to run power strips out to the courts for lights, and the DJ will charge an additional $200 for using a generator.

When it comes to managing the students, in addition to the StuCo sponsors, administrators and security officers, there will be six additional faculty members monitoring the dance. Another reason the tennis courts were appealing is that they can easily manage who comes in and out of the dance since it’s fenced off.

They’ve made a policy that once a student is admitted to the dance, if they go off the path or beyond the restrooms, then they’ll have technically left the dance and won’t be allowed back in.

With fall weather being so unpredictable, there’s no back-up plan if it rains. The dance would simply be canceled.

“If it’s rained out, it’s rained out,” Pence said.

“There’s no refunds, there’s no moving it inside.”

StuCo won’t be refunding the purchased tickets in the event that the dance is canceled as it would be too much money to redistribute considering that half the school attended the dance in years prior. Instead, StuCo plans on donating the money to charity — most likely the Johnson County Christmas Bureau.

Despite the challenges, StuCo has hopes of delivering a memorable Homecoming experience to all who attend.

“Hopefully it will be really fun,” Pence said. “It’ll be different but that doesn’t make it bad, and I think everybody’s just happy that we can have it.”

THINK YOU’RE READY FOR HOMECOMING? See how many of these guidelines you know to find out

1

Although masks are not required outside, students must have them to use the restrooms

2

Re-entry will not be allowed if a student is found outside of the tennis court or bathroom premises

3

Outside guest paperwork must be turned in before the Friday before the dance

4

Parking will be in the junior lot and the dance be held on tennis courts

5

Ticketing and ID checks will take place in pool hallway

6

Water and snacks will be provided

7

In case of inclement weather, the dance will be canceled

8

Students must have School ID with them (no Skyward or Driver’s Liscense)

LET’S FIND OUT HOW PREPARED YOU ARE

0-2

Only acceptable if this is your first East dance, make sure to review the checklist before you head out for the night

3-6

Not bad, but be sure to check the StuCo Instagram the day of for any last updates

7-8

A seasoned East-dance-go-er, you are all set to attend the

06 NEWS

THE HARBINGER

design by sophie lindberg photo by elle siegel

The arrival of Bird Scooters, a rental scooter company, in Prairie Village has caused differing opinions within the community

IS COMING TO TOWN

by carolin e gou ld

T

HE PRAIRIE VILLAGE City Council approved the implementation of Bird electric scooters to come to the city during a Council Meeting on Sept. 7. Soon, it may be possible that the scooters will be found propped up on street corners on your drive to school.

The council evenly split the vote in a 6-6 tie, with Mayor Eric Mikkelson breaking the tie in favor. Though Ward 3 City Councilwoman Bonnie Limbird is not sure when they will be spotted around the city, she says there will be about 100 scooters stationed in total.

There will be no exchange of money between the city and Bird Rides. Since riders pay for their individual course, adding more scooters from their existing spots in the Plaza and Downtown Kansas City would be ideal for both the company and the city, according to Limbird.

“Bird Scooters are all over Kansas City, Mo. and they’re slowly creeping their way over the state line and into Johnson Country,” Limbird said. “We already see them on corners and in shopping areas occasionally.”

[ I ] WO U L D S AY t h a t t h e e n t i re t h o u g ht p ro c e s s w a s n ’ t t h o u g h t t h ro u g h , i t ’s m o re of a re p u t a t i o n p ro j e c t t h a n a n a c t u a l b e n ef i c i a l p ro j e c t the community.

MICHAEL NEWBOLD

to

JUNIOR

According to the varying opinions of the community, there are both pros and cons to Bird’s eco-friendly mode of transportation coming to the city, which is evident in the evenly-split vote.

Many city councilors who voted in opposition and residents are worried about underage riding — as you must be at least 18 to operate a scooter — intoxicated driving and driving on sidewalks instead of roads. While the Prairie Village Police Department won’t be completely concerned about this activity, according to Limbird, they’re planning on monitoring this behavior and stepping in if necessary.

“What I’m going to be watching for are people using them where they’re supposed to be used, and are the right age groups of people using them,” Limbird said. “If I see egregious misuse of them, I’m going to be one of the first ones to raise my hand during a council meeting and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t working out for Prairie Village.’”

And, if the scooters aren’t working, the city is able to drop their “Memorandum of Understanding” — the city and Bird’s non-contractual agreement — and have them removed from the city. Similar to a Spotify Premium 30day trial, Bird Rides gives the city a one-year trial period and a 30-day out clause.

“So if it’s not working for any reason, all we have to do as a city is cancel the MOU and say it’s causing this issue or it’s causing this problem and we’re done,” Limbird said.

Junior Michael Newbold is skeptical of the need for the scooters in the first place and considers the idea a “logistical nightmare.”

“We’re a car-dominated society, and because we’re car-dominated, for distances that people could travel by scooter, they travel by car, so there’s no real purpose of implementing a scooter,” Newbold said.

Newbold compares the situation to his childhood hometown, Hong Kong, when they implemented a private bike-sharing company. According to Newbold, bikes ended up being laid all over the city sidewalks, causing a blockade in front of both human and vehicle traffic.

While Newbold recognizes that the suburbs of Prairie Village are not comparable to the size of a bustling city like Hong Kong, he still believes that there’s a possibility that a similar situation could occur here.

“You’ll have this situation where you’ll find scooters lying all over the place and unorganized,” Newbold said.

“Since Bird corporation’s only motive is to profit from people riding scooters, I doubt that they’re putting any effort into maintaining and relocating these scooters, or repairing scooters for that matter if they get damaged, displaced or [displaced in unwanted] locations.”

However, according to Limbird, once the city does get ahold of the scooters, Bird itself will engage with a local resident and task them with picking up the scooters every night to be recharged and replaced around town for the next morning.

Regardless, Newbold is still suspicious of the many others that may indefinitely pop up.

“I get where they’re coming from, I mean, you’ve got to admit, getting Bird scooters in your city is pretty cool,” Newbold said. “[I] would say that the entire thought process wasn’t thought through, it’s more of a reputation project than an actual beneficial project to the community.”

BIRD’S VALUES

Bird’s missions for their brand

* info f ro m b ird . c o

CREATE COMMUNITY BRING OTHER ALONG EMBRACE DIVERSITY DRIVE IMPACT

WHAT WE KNOW NOT BE ALLOWED IN 01 WILL JCPRD PARKS ACTIVITY INVOLV02 EGREGIOUS ING THE SCOOTERS WILL BE 03 WILL BE DRIVEN ON THE ROAD

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

01

The age demographic that will use the scooters

02

How displaced scooters will be handled midday

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by maggie merckens

RETREATING TO

PHOTOSTORY 07 Student Council goes on their annual retreat to work on team bonding and plan for the upcoming school year

LEADERSHIP

Sophomore Emma Krause laughs with her friends as they fill out the color leadership quiz. “I enjoyed being able to connect with my classmates and get to know everyone who’s a part of StuCo,” said Krause.

PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN L E F T Senior Campbell Wood uses the whiteboard to explain the rules of the color leadership quiz.

“I went to a StuCo Camp over the summer and one of the big things they talked about was displaying the energy you wanted your council to have. So my main goal was just to be ecstatic and bring everyone together and get them excited for the year,” Wood said.

PHOTO BY MAGGIE MERCKENS

T O P L E F T Ju n i o r Spencer Blackete r raises his hand u p i n the air while he p la ys a game called “ r i f f off.””Basically e a c h grade level was a te a m and we were give n a word and had to s i n g different songs that h a d that specific word in i t , ” sa id Blacketer . PHOTO

BY ELISE MADDEN ABOVE Freshman Madi Ma u p i n uses the whiteboard a s a hard surface to f i l l out her color leaders h i p q uiz. PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN RIGHT Senior Sydney B e c k writes on a po ste r listing information o u t about the can drive p u t on by Stu Co. PHOTO BY MAGGIE MERCKENS

SCAN ME • VIDEO

Use this QR code to p u rc h a s e p h o t o s f ro m t h i s eve nt o n Harbie Photo

R I G H T Senior Sophie Henscial jumps and c h a nt s “ P - A - R - T - Y, p a r t y , p a r t y a l l t h e t i m e !

W h e re i s t h e p a r t y a t ? T h e p a r t y ’s ove r h e re ! ” w i th he r fe l low stuc o m e m be rs . PHOTO BY MAGGIE MERCKENS

08 OPINION

THE HARBINGER

design by sophie lindberg

OPINION HIGHLIGHTS A look into student opinions and the opinion section

THIS WEEK I N T WEET S I T ’ S T I M E T H E S U P E R - W E A LT H Y A N D B I G C O R P O R AT I O N S PAY T H E I R FA I R S H A R E I N TA X E S .

POTUS

9/14/21

OPINION: AOC ACCOMPLISHED H E R M E T GA L A M I S S I O N . B U T P E R F O R M AT I V E S O C I A L J U ST I C E I S ST I L L A P R O B L E M .

THE WASHINGTON POST 9/15/21

“ TO B E C L E A R , I B L A M E L A R RY N A S S A R AND I ALSO BLAME AN ENTIRE SYSTEM T H AT E N A B L E D A N D P E R P E T R AT E D H I S A B U S E ,” S I M O N E B I L E S G I V E S H E R O P E N I N G S TAT E M E N T AT A S E N AT E H E A R I N G O N T H E F B I ’ S H A N D L I N G O F T H E L A R RY

MSNBC

CHEERL E A D I N G, N OT L EA DIN G ON by n ora lyn n

I

Cheerlearders should not be viewed as an object of sexual attraction

F ALL THAT is really needed to describe a cheerleader is a team member that performs organized cheer for a sports team, audience or competition, why is it that as soon as you read the word “cheerleader,” the image of a woman in skin-tight cropped top and booty shorts comes to mind?

While they’re required to walk out on the field in nothing but — let’s be honest — a glorified bathing suit, the biggest issue with cheerleaders is that people view them as objects to sexualize rather than people with lives and aspirations outside of their pom-pom-shaking sport.

Cheerleaders, especially those in the NFL, are portrayed as “dumb blondes” in an outfit that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. These negative connotations dismiss — and even undermine — the accomplishments they’ve had.

Ultimately, the backbone of the stereotype are their uniforms. Uniforms are being blamed for issues created by people who can’t get it out of their heads that the attire or the act of being a cheerleader is the cause of being sexualized — that’s caused by misogynistic people using their outfits as an excuse.

The only real problem with cheerleader uniforms is that many are concerned with kids — especially little girls — seeing them infusing the deep stemmed social construct that women’s

bodies have to be covered to be modest and appropriate.

Some worry that kids will want to wear the clothing that they see cheerleaders in and the uniforms will make them want to dress “sexy” too, leaving them more susceptible to the will of desires. However, a tank top and mini skirt won’t turn a rational human being into a pedophile.

The teams that provide the uniforms should allow the cheer squad to have a say in what they wear. If those uniforms happen to be more revealing than you’re comfortable with, shut it down, because it’s not your body.

NFL team owners getting rid of cheerleaders for their “scantily clad” attire to solve a problem that other people create by objectifying them with their uniforms and other merchandise is like making a kid throw away their candy because their friends keep trying to steal it.

There are only six teams — including the Giants — out of 32 in the NFL that don’t have a cheer team, though some have a designated “spirit squad.” Are the Giants really a “classier” team because they don’t have cheerleaders? Or is that just proof that cheerleaders are still seen as sexual objects?

It has to be realized that society’s issue with cheerleaders is actually an issue with the sexualization of cheerleaders — which they have no control over.

9/15/21

ST U DEN T TA K E S DO YOU THINK THAT CHEERLEADERS RE INAPPROPRIATELY SEXUALIZED? * I n s t a g ra m p o l l of 2 5 3 vo t e s

YES

68%

NO

32%

DO YOU THINK THERE’S MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN KIDS THAT GO TO PRIVATE VERSUS PUBLIC SCHOOL? * I n s t a g ra m p o l l of 2 9 2 vo t e s

YES

76%

NO

24%

DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS BAD TO OBSESS ABOUT HOMECOMING EARLY? * I n s t a g ra m p o l l of 2 87 vo t e s

YES

53%

NO

47%

TA K E O U R P O L L S @smeharbinger

Follow us on social media to participate in the polls

@smeharbinger

@smeharbie

OPINION 09

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

POPPING THE PRIVATE BUBBLE design by nora lynn

Evaluating an experience of growing up in a private school environment to transfering to a public school

THE STATS

by paige za d oo

M

Y FOUR-FOOT-ONE SELF started

first grade at St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School at the age of seven, hobbling through the front doors with my Dora the Explorer backpack that was heavier than me. I continued school there until eighth grade year, when I started at Indian Hills Middle School in hopes to ease my transition into public high school at Shawnee Mission East.

While my one year at IHMS helped my nerves going into high school, the transition from private to public school was still a challenge. I had little exposure to the “real world”. Coexisting with large numbers of people was a foreign concept to me and being independent was a trait I didn’t maintain — I grew up in a sheltered, private school after all.

St. Paul’s is an Episcopalian private school with an average grade size of 28.

An entire grade filled with only 28 kids. My high school’s grade size average is 444 kids — it’s mind-boggling to think that I used to consider a 17 person class normal.

The second craziest part was that the number rarely fluctuated — meaning kids transferring in and out of the school was completely foreign to the St. Paul’s community. I spent my life from ages three to 14 growing up with the same people in my little bubble.

And that’s the problem.

By bubble, I mean the untouchable uprising I had at St. Paul’s. In simpler terms: we were beyond sheltered. The majority of kids at St. Paul’s were from high-income homes which meant meeting families with different backgrounds was rare.

When you’re young, being slightly sheltered is good. You have so many years to innocently enjoy life without being compromised, and that should be taken advantage of. However, when you reach the age where high school and the real world becomes a dinner-time conversation,

being sheltered isn’t necessarily what you want.

At St. Paul’s the last grade you can attend is 8th grade, then onto high school it is. Most kids who grew up in the private school environment further their education at a private high school — like Rockhurst or Sion. For those kids, the adjustment to high school is a far more seamless transition from sheltered to sheltered with just a slightly larger class size.

M Y M OT I VAT I O N A N D s e lf d r i ve o n ly ex i st e d i n a q u e s t i o n a b l e m a tt e r . W i t h a 1 : 8 t e a c h e r - st u d e nt ra t i o , c o n s t a nt ly b e i n g p u s h e d by other people is common. I n eve r re a l ly l e a r n e d t o p u s h my s e lf .

PAIGE ZADOO JUNIOR For me, it was a rude awakening. As we were introduced to only a few new kids throughout several years, many of us — including myself — lacked social skills.

The only friends we were making were practically carbon copies of each other.

The basic ability to socialize with new people is an important life skill for making connections and even just making friends, which I didn’t receive at my school.

The choice to come to East instead of following the pack of 28 kids to schools like St. Teresa’s Academy or Pembroke Hill was a difficult one. I liked my bubble.

The thought of being opened to a world of hundreds of kids on a daily basis felt inane.

But I needed it. I knew this step would be crucial for me to thrive in college and the real world.

After deciding on attending East for highschool, the instant panic hit that I knew nothing about the Shawnee

Mission district or any of my soon-to-be classmates. Once that panic set in, the idea of spending a year at Indian Hills felt safe.

My summer before eighth grade year was filled with reluctance and fear. Was I making the wrong decision by going to a high school with just “mutual” friends?

You could argue that kids at East grow up in a similar way — around similar people in the same privileged area. In reality, SMSD kids only spend around six years at the same school with some of the same people, and transferring is much more common. Your elementary school and seven others flow into one middle school where you can adapt to being in a bigger class and school. For SMSD kids, the transition from primary to secondary school is full of social experiences that private school kids just don’t get from being in the same group.

Not to mention, the hand-holding I dealt with at St. Paul’s sparked — in simpler terms — my laziness. My motivation and self drive only existed in a questionable matter. With a 1:8 teacher-student ratio, constantly being pushed by other people is common. I never really learned to push myself. After all, I had other people do it for me for years.

Once I started in public school, specifically highschool, not being constantly hounded or questioned about my grades and assignments was brand new to me. But it ended up being a relief. I learned to push myself and hold myself accountable for my grades, my assignments, my homework, my community service hours and deadlines instead of it being handed to me.

Since St. Paul’s, I’ve grown and hopefully adapted more to the “real world.” I’ve grown to appreciate more diverse experiences than I had before, taken more opportunities presented to me and become more self-driven and hard working.

AVERAGE ANNUAL PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION:

$12,350 AVERAGE PUBLIC CLASS SIZE:

AVERAGE PRIVATE CLASS SIZE:

20

24

people

people

ANOTHER STUDENT’S OUTLOOK SOPHIE STECKLEIN JUNIOR TRANSFERED FROM:

BISHOP MIEGE

I REMEMBER BEING ve r y ove rst i m u l a t e d [ o n my f i rst d a y a t E a st ] . T h e re w e re s o m a ny p e o p l e . [ A n d ] j u st t h e fa c t t h a t I g ot t o p i c k o u t my o w n outfit was this whole big thing to d e c i d e a b o u t . I re m e m b e r fe e l i n g l e s s a n x i o u s t h a n I t h o u g ht b e c a u s e t h e re ’s s o m a ny p e o p l e i n t h e h a l lw a y , i t ’s j u st l i ke n o b o d y re a l ly c a re s [ a n d ] l i ke eve r y b o d y ’s d o i n g t h e i r o w n thing. *info from nces.ed.gov

10 OPINION

THE HARBINGER

design by sophie henschel photo by maggie merckens

BRING ON

AFTERPARTY THEMES

Afterparty theme ideas for if your group decides to host something after the dance

the pla n s

WILD WILD “EAST”

dress up with a wild west theme... but make it East!

Planning dances early isn’t something to complain about, it’s actually really fun

NASCAR

dress up as Nascar drivers for the night!

RED WHITE & BLUE

deck yourself out in patriotic gear!

SPACE COWBOY

dress up as cowboys/girls, but add some space flare!

JUNGLE

dress up as your favorite jungle animals!

by maggie k is s ick

I

’VE ALWAYS BEEN somewhat of a control freak, stressing about the perfect gift for the annual White Elephant exchange in August and planning outfits for the first day of school several weeks in advance.

As an excessive planner and a lover of every cheesy high school romance movie, planning for a school dance is the challenge I’ve been waiting for.

Dances have always been at the top of my high school bucket list. Growing up as the youngest of three — all who went to East — I watched my older siblings slip into their heels and tuxes for countless school dances. Their routine was always pretty similar: dress up, take pictures, eat dinner, dance and head to an after party. I always watched in awe and couldn’t wait to be a part of that some day. As I watched five years ago, plans always seemed to come together with ease. So of course I assumed it would be the same way when I got to high school.

Every time I try to talk about the upcoming dance, I always hear the phrase “it’s too early.” Getting ready for

a school dance can’t be crammed into one night like that semester-long English project. Restaurants get backed-up with reservations, dresses sell out and photo locations get crowded. When it comes to the dance, it’s better to plan early.

P L A N N I N G I N A DVA N C E i s j u s t my t h i n g . I t ’s f u n t o o b s e s s ove r t h e l i tt l e things.

Planning in advance is just my thing.

It’s fun to obsess over the little things, like which of the five dresses you ordered from Lucy in the Sky you’re going to wear or what Pinterest-inspired after party theme you’ll pick. I don’t see a problem in deciding these highly important things a month in advance.

Some things can’t be figured out in the final days before the dance. You never know if the restaurant you wanted to eat at has limited seating or if your corsage won’t match the color of your dress. It’s better to be over-prepared so you have plenty

of time for the mishaps Homecoming can bring.

Many girls buys their dress online, which can take one to three weeks to arrive, and not to mention that sizing is different for every website. That doesn’t even include the wacky after party outfits you have to order — I’d like to know if those metallic sweatpants don’t fit two weeks in advance instead of two days before.

Maybe my expectations are too high.

However, half of our student body hasn’t gotten a real dance yet, so don’t spoil the fun of letting us plan. Homecoming is the glimpse of normalcy we’ve all been craving.

With the exception of Prom, none of us had a dance last year — and no, the fake Homecomings in backyards and basements don’t count. So why not go all-out this time around?

I always worry about things too far in advance, but I do it for a good reason.

Planning for me relieves the stress that the beginning of the school year brings. After being online this time last year, jumping back into a semi-normal school year with

a more strenuous workload hasn’t been easy. So why not use the dance as a way to relax and celebrate your first quarter accomplishments. The week of the dance shouldn’t be spent freaking out over groups or after parties. By planning in advance, you allow yourself to enjoy the dance.

With plans sorted and finalized, the final days before the dance can be spent being excited instead of stressing about things that should’ve been figured out weeks ago. Why not live out your “obsessive high school” fantasy by creating Pinterest boards and ordering too many dresses off of the internet? Throw yourself into the planning experience and make this one count.

Even with the non-traditional outdoor dance this year, we should be thankful that we even get a dance at all. It’s fun to picture myself dancing around in sparkly high heels and being able to hang out with my friends outside without masks on. So when the actual dance comes up, I’ll be happy and confident knowing that my night is planned to perfection.

THERES SHOPPING TO DO

Clothing outlets with high school dance attire to plan ahead your outfit

SCAN ME •

Dresses

R evo lve w e b s i t e fo r h o m e c o m i n g d re s s e s

SCAN ME

*photos from Revolve, Lulus, Nordstrom and Macy’s

Suits

N o rd st ro m s w e b s i t e fo r m e n ’s suits

SCAN ME

Dresses

Lu lu ’s w e b s i t e fo r h o m e c o m i n g d re s s e s

SCAN ME

Suits

M a c y ’s w e b s i t e fo r m e n ’s s u i t s

FEATURE 11

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by anna mitchell photos by elle siegel

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS T H I S W E E K I N P H OTO S The first spikeball tournament took place in seminar on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Spikeball is a new club this year that will compete for a championship.

A B O V E Seniors Spe n c e r N ew to n , A n d rew C a r r a n d B ra d y Smith play each othe r i n s p i ke b a l l i n t h e f i rst to u r n a m e nt of the spike ball club.

A B O V E Seniors Griffin O’Neill and Noah Martin compete at the spike ball tournament and prepare to win th e p oint.

A B O V E S e n i o r E l la B u n d e s m i le s a t h e r te amate after t h ey wo n t h e po i nt i n t h e i r f i rst s pi ke ball ga me.

F E AT U R E D

U N I Q U E TA L E N T AV E RY GUCK LOV E S TO C O L L AG E A N D H A S N O W C R E AT E D A N I N S TA G R A M B U S I N E S S

HOW DID YOU GET INTO COLLAGING?

T H I S W E E K I N F E AT U R E 12 13

M OV E D F R O M M A L I Sophomore Abdoulaye Check Kanté is a new student who moved to Kansas City from Mali, Africa for a better life and education

INSPIRING THEIR CONFIDENCE Chemistry teacher’s relationship with his professional pitcher brother impacts his teaching style

“I DID SOME [COLLAGES] ON AN APP CALLED PICSART DIGITALLY AND REALLY LIKED HOW THEY TURNED OUT. THEN I SAW SOME ON TIK TOK AND INSTAGRAM AND THOUGHT THEY LOOKED REALLY COOL, SO I

14

LANCER LEGENDS East traditions through the years

TRIED DOING THEM PHYSICALLY AND WAS SUPER BORED DURING QUARANTINE SO I JUST KEPT DOING THEM FROM THERE.”

THE STEPS TO GUCK’S COLLAGES

1

ONLINE PREVIEW

A look at a few of this weeks online feature stories

LOOK AT THE PERSON’S INSTAGRAM TO FIND FOCUS OF COLLAGE

2

SEARCH THROUGH BIN OF RIPPED UP

3

START GLUING PIECES DOWN ON CANVAS

MAGAZINES AND BOOKS

AND SMOOTH OUT WITH GIFTCARD

SCAN ME • FEATURE M a t h t e a c h e r J a re d G ov i n is also a co-pastor with h i s w i fe a t t h e V i c t o r y H i l l s C h u rc h of t h e N a za re n e

SCAN ME • FEATURE A l o o k a t t w o of t h i s ye a r ’s j u n i o r t e a m c a pt a i n s a n d t h e i r re s p e c t i ve sports

12 FEATURE

THE HARBINGER

design by cesca stamati photo by hadley chapman

MOVED FROM

MALI, WEST AFRICA population of 19.66 million literacy rate of 35.5%

MALI

national language French about

Sophomore Abdoulaye Check Kanté is a new student who moved to Kansas City from Mali, Africa for a better life and education

A NEW LIFE

70% of MALI’S

population earns less than

A DOLLAR

New changes in his life in

per day.

Kansas City

SPECIAL SIGNATURE

playing on the JV soccer team living away from most of his family class notes on Macbooks instead of notebooks

Abdoulaye’s signature is a source of pride for him because of his unique name.

ABOUT THE JIHADISTS Since 2012, Mali has been experiencing an insurgency from jihaists — a terrorist group of Islamic extremists who forcefully recruit boys.

by christian gooley

L

IFE IN AMERICA is living, life in Mali is surviving,” Sophomore Abdoulaye Check Kanté said when reflecting on the difference between America and his home country: of Mali, Africa.

Kanté moved to Kansas City about a month and a half ago to live with a host family. Moving away from his family in Mali wasn’t a choice — it was a necessity.

Kanté was born in Baltimore, Md. in Jan. 2005 and at 7-months-old, his family moved across the Atlantic to Mali.

A year ago, the Mali government was overthrown by jihadists, turning Mali from a country of peaceful neighborhoods to a terrorist breeding ground. For young men like Kanté, there was basically no choice — you were joining the jihadists .

Kanté’s father was terrified that his son was going to be forced to undergo the jihadist’s horrifying recruiting group, according to Kanté’s host father, Paul Beirne.

Standing at 6’7”, Kanté was the ideal target for the jihadists. For him, there was no way to escape the jihadists without escaping Mali.

“If 15 boys lined up, Kanté would be the one chosen due to his size, and that was his biggest threat,” Paul said.

Kanté took six days before arriving in Kansas City to visit his two sisters living in New York. He is not the only person in his family that has come here for a better life and to better themselves as a person.

The relationship between Kanté’s birth family and his host family began years before they sent him to America. His host mom, Tammy Beirne, is a doctor who sets up and builds clinics in Mali to help sick kids without healthcare access. Kanté’s birth father assists in setting up the tents in preparation for Tammy’s arrival. He plans to stay until he is done with college.

“Kanté had the realization that he needed to get out of Mali in order to obtain a good education so that he can help his family back home, and positively affect the world the way his father and Tammy do.” Paul said.

Kanté’s cousin, Boi Malobalitie, is a senior at Rockhurst High School and also lives with the Beirnes. Paul Beirne is a teacher at Rockhurst and his family assumed that Kanté’s would be attending as well.

“Rockurst did not end up accepting Kanté. At that point we were lost until someone told me that public school would be perfect for him,” Paul said.

This was a huge letdown for his cousin and for his host family according to Boi. They felt stuck with nowhere to go because they were unsure about public school.

“This made me really sad. I was excited to be able to go to school with Kanté,” Boi said However, all this was surely a disappointment for both the Beirnes and Boi, but all they could do was keep their positive mindset. After all, anything was

better than the dangers Kanté faced in Mali.

“Every time a door closes, a new one opens,” Paul said. “That was our mindset during this time.”

Paul has been long-time friends with basketball coach and weights instructor Shawn Hair, so he gave Hair a call to ask about Shawnee Mission East’s culture and if it would be the right place for Kanté.

Coach Hair immediately invited Kanté to

W E G OT T H E R E a n d i m m e d i a t e ly E a st s e e m e d l i ke t h e p e r fe c t p l a c e fo r h i m . T h e t h i n g I w a s s h o c ke d by t h e most was how nice and welc o m i n g t h e st u d e nt s w e re .

1 5 c ro s s c o u nt r y k i d s i nt ro d u c e d t h e m s e lve s right away.

PAUL BEIRNE

HOST DAD

East, becoming his biggest supporter in the transition.

Though Kanté was still disappointed about Rockhurst, he went that week to tour the school with Hair because he was excited to learn. The kindness of the other students and the quality of the sports equipment stood out to him. Paul and Kanté were more than happy with how the visit went.

“We got there and immediately East seemed like the perfect place for him,” Paul explained. “The thing I was shocked by the most was how nice and welcoming the students were. 15 cross country kids introduced themselves right away.”

During their walk back to the car following the visit, Kanté looked to his host dad and said “Mr. Beirne, I want to be a Lancer.”

“I love East and I am so happy to go here, and all the teachers are amazing and care so much about me,” Kanté explained.

Kanté decided to begin his East involvement immediately by trying out for the soccer teem just a week after settling into the school. He made the JV team and has already formed strong friendships with his teammates. Now, he’s being invited to pool parties and saying “what’s up” in the hallways. His true passion is basketball, and he plans to try out at the end of the fall.

“We love those boys and truly we get more from them than they get from us,” Paul said. “They are the nicest young men you will know.”

Kantè may miss his family, but he’s happy to be here with the chance to be great.

“I miss my family everyday, but I know that I can get a better education here, and my family is very happy I am here,” Kantè said.

FEATURES 13

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by kate heitmann photo by sabrina dean

Chemistry teacher’s relationship with his professional pitcher brother impacts his teaching style by kati e m ur phy

H

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN

A timeline of Steve and Kevin Appier’s careers

1987 Kevin is drafted for the Royals

1990 1992

Steve attends Chapman University to get his Masters in teaching

1995 Steve starts teaching at East

2004 Kevin retires

IDDEN

AMONG

THE

stray Meteorology worksheets and Chemistry textbooks in science teacher Steve Appier’s classroom sits a Kansas City Royals pitcher bobblehead. Not many of Steve’s students notice the figurine tucked away on the shelf beside the pencil sharpener. Even fewer are aware that the figure isn’t just player #55 — it’s Kevin Appier, Steve’s little brother.

Steve doesn’t bring up Kevin around his students. The bobblehead — a six-inch player winding up for a pitch — is the only trace of Kevin in Steve’s classroom.

Steve isn’t embarrassed of Kevin, he just doesn’t want to come off as full of himself. “My brother was a professional baseball player,” isn’t his favorite conversation starter.

Don’t be misled by Steve’s modesty and the singular token of his brother in his classroom. Kevin’s impact on Steve’s life is much larger than the palm-sized bobblehead that honors him. Without Kevin, Steve wouldn’t be at East.

Or even teaching at all.

Long before Steve was balancing chemical equations, he was playing catch at the neighborhood park with Kevin. Their parents were divorced, and the two lived with their mom in Lancaster, CA. Their dad’s absence and the eight-year age difference between the pair made their relationship more father-and-son than brotherand-brother.

[ K E V I N ] TAU G H T M E t o t r u st s o m e o n e . I f I s e e p ot e nt i a l i n a st u d e nt , I know that I don’t need to push and push a n d p u s h . B u t [ i n st e a d ] , i n s p i re t h e m . A n d t h e n l et t h e m d o w h a t I k n o w t h ey c a n d o .

STEVE APPIER

TEACHER

Steve remembers being shocked to see Kevin throwing and hitting a ball with a plastic bat before Kevin turned one. It was clear that Kevin had exceptional hand-eye coordination. While Kevin dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player when he grew up, Steve wanted to be a doctor — his favorite subject was math.

To friends and teachers, Kevin was just another young boy in a sports phase who would grow up to work a 9-to-5 office job. But not to Steve, who regularly took Kevin to the park to practice throwing after school and on weekends.

By age four, Kevin was pitching. Steve drilled him relentlessly, always reminding him, “You can be a

professional baseball player, you can be a professional baseball player.”

“He always believed because that’s what I told him,” Steve said. “That he could do this.”

Steve got Kevin signed up for a little league team after Kevin turned eight. 16-year-old Steve went to game after game, arguing with coaches about Kevin’s technique, cheering loudly — known infamously as “that guy.”

“If he becomes a professional baseball player, how is my heart going to handle that?” Steve would tell his mom. “If I’m this stressed out over little league games?”

Professional coaches soon took over, and Kevin made his Major League pitching debut for the Kansas City Royals in 1987. Steve was no longer coaching Kevin, but he wasn’t done teaching. After realizing that medical school wasn’t for him, he began working toward a masters in teaching at Chapman University.

Steve brings the skills he learned while coaching Kevin into his classroom. Looking back, Steve admits he may have been too demanding with Kevin. Their sisters would complain that Steve was “too mean” and “should give Kevin a break.” He keeps this in mind in his classroom, making sure to encourage behaviors instead of forcing them. “[Kevin] taught me to trust someone,” Steve said. “If I see potential in a student, I know that I don’t need to push and push and push. But [instead], inspire them. And then let them do what I know they can do.” wHe loves those moments when students finally grasp a new concept. It reminds him of days when Kevin would be a little off while pitching. Steve would ask him, “What should you do to fix this? What are you doing wrong? Why?” His students hear the same things while calculating significant figures. He makes sure that they learn by struggling, like Kevin, instead of simply being handed solutions.

“When you guide someone and they figure it out, that’s hard to beat,” Steve said.

After visiting Kansas City, Mo. several times to watch Kevin’s Royals games and liking the area, Steve left his first teaching job at Quartz Hill high school in California to teach at East in 1995.

While Steve remains at East, Kevin is now retired and spends his time doing home improvement projects at his 80-acre ranch in Michigan. Despite only visiting each other twice a year, the brothers’ lifetime bond has endured.

“The only person who hates talking on the phone more than Kevin does is me,” Steve said. “But, on that rare occasion that we talk, for some reason, we’ll talk for hours.”

Steve’s room is regularly full of Chemistry students asking questions and hanging around to chat before and after school. He continues to inspire and encourage students today, the same way he did for Kevin. In fact, his encouragement is what led him to win the prestigious Wolfe Teaching Award in 2020 after being nominated by a student.

“People will tell you ‘you can’t,’” Steve said. “You’ll

LIMIT LIMIT

14 FEATURE

LESS Associate Principal Dr. Susan Leonard is running for Fairway City Council, in the hopes to continue using her passion for helping others and making them feel included not only at East, but in her neighborhood

by sydn ey n ewton & s op h ie h e n s ch e l AST ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Dr. there, Leonard had the realization that

E

Susan Leonard has always had a knack for students who are passionate about any given cause within the school. She’s spent her last 5 years at East dedicated to establishing a connection with the student body, working to make them feel like their voice matters. Through advocating for the Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging initiative, fostering studentadministration connections and being an ally for students when they bring issues to her attention, Leonard always makes sure to show her support in as many ways as possible.

Now she’s running for City Council.

After officially signing up to run on June 1, Leonard is now in the campaigning process with one opposing candidate, David Watkins. The mail-inballot voting will begin Oct. 13 and the election will be held Nov. 2.

Since she’s always told her students to stand up for what they believe in, even if that means taking risks to get

she needs to practice what she preaches, taking a risk of her own in expanding her impact to the city level.

“I feel like I’ve been telling kids forever to jump out of your box and put yourself in an uncomfortable position and learn and grow,” Leonard said.

“I hope that people can look at this, whether I win or lose, and [see] that I can be served with a lesson that you’re never too old to stop learning and growing and challenging yourself in whatever ways.

When I tell you to do this, I even do it myself so I’m not just telling you to do something I wouldn’t do.”

If elected to City Council, Leonard will continue to work at East as an associate principal. This seems to be a relief for the East community, including alum Annabelle Merchant.

Growing up with Leonard as a family friend and role model, Merchant can’t imagine East without her. Merchant feels that Leonard has a unique ability to make both students and faculty feel

seen.

“She’s an ally,” Merchant said. “And an advocate. Having a supervisor that you feel comfortable enough to approach and talk to in a comfortable manner, it’s just really nice to have that. It brings people together.”

I H O P E T H AT p e o p l e c a n l o o k a t t h i s , w h et h e r I w i n or lose, and that I can be s e r ve d w i t h a l e s s o n t h a t yo u ’ re n eve r t o o o l d t o st o p l e a r n i n g a n d g ro w i n g a n d c h a l l e n g i n g yo u rs e lf .

SUSAN LEONARD ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL If elected as a councilwoman, one of Leonard’s main focuses will be improving and expanding diversity and inclusion in her neighborhood.

Though official meetings don’t begin until after council members are elected,

Leonard already works to speak for her community by talking to neighbors and getting their opinions on local issues as often as possible. She’s seen the harsh realities of discrimination in hr own neighborhood, which has inspired her to continue to make a change.

This June, Leonard witnessed an incident in her neighborhood that was a turning point in her pride for her community. A couple in the Ward 3 community hung a pride flag outside their home. A few days later, a car full of people drove by and verbally abused the couple, shouting homophobic slurs.

Instead of the incident becoming a source of neighborhood gossip, Leonard watched as her community rallied together.

An anonymous neighbor printed out pride flags pasted on printer paper, with the story of what had happened on the back, and passed them out to every house in the Ward 3 area. Leonard watched as nearly every house in the neighborhood had the flag in their window, with the

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by celia condon

C AN I DAT E C AL E N DA R

NOV.

ADVANCE VOTING BY M A I L B EG I N S

O CT.

A DVA N C E VOT I N G I N P E R SO N B E G I N S

REGISTRATION B OO KS C LO S E LAST DAY TO R EG I ST ER

O CT.

O CT.

01 12 13 13 23 02 O F F I C I A L LY F I L E D TO R U N FOR COUNCIL

O CT.

JUNE

The process of running for Council has taken place over the past few months

A DVA N C E BALLOT A P P L I CATION D E A D L I N E - 5 P. M .

GENERAL ELECT I O N - POLLS OPEN 7 A . M . - 7 P. M .

A W E LC OMIN G C IT Y Leonard discusses the challanges she believes Fairway could face in the future, and what she hopes to accomplish.

I do believe that we have a moment in Fairway to lean in to our proud history of being the first city in JOCO to break the devastating covenants of the JC Nichols era. I hope we are able to convey that our city is one who welcomes, values, respects, appreciates and honors ALL people and that attracting a more diverse residency will help us to make our great city even better. *Info from votejoco.com hopes that the offenders would drive by and see the unconditional support.

It was inspiring to watch her neighborhood match her own passion to make the area they call home a better place, according to Leonard.

“I love my neighborhood [for rallying] around a cause,” Leonard said. “I just want to serve my neighborhood. It’s just, how do I make sure that people feel safe, valued, seen, respected, happy and at home in final stages.”

Leonard’s conviction to be a voice for others doesn’t go unseen by her neighbors. East parent and citizen of Ward 3, Lara Shelton, was beyond excited when she heard Leonard would be running to represent their neighborhood. Shelton watched Leonard make impacts on the East community and has full faith in her to be an advocate for the neighborhood — enough to jump on board with Leonard’s campaign, digitally designing her stickers and signs they soon plan to give out.

“I think she would listen to all of us

in the neighborhood and hear concerns and take that to the next level,” Shelton said. “To support her friends and neighbors in general, but specifically

ward

a d i st r i c t i nt o w h i c h a c i t y , t o w n , p a r i s h , o r ot h e r a re a i s d i v i d e d fo r a d m i n i st ra t i o n , e l e c t i o n of re p re s e nt a t i ve s , et c .

when referring to the East community, I just see her passion and compassion for kids and their opportunities, and just wanting all kids to have equal and awesome opportunities.”

Leonard has always had a passion for leading students to stand up for their beliefs, which she’s implemented in numerous ways. She restarted a program to bring together students of color, now called Kick Back, initially sponsored by former East teacher and Coalition sponsor David Muhammad.

“We started this again with [Adrian] Pearson last year called Kick Back,” Leonard said. “I’m really proud that we

have that going. I’m hoping that can flourish into a Black Student Union or a HALO organization.”

Muhammad, who also worked with Leonard to grow the Diversity and Inclusion Club, has seen Leonard’s impact on the East community firsthand. While Leonard has always been someone for kids to listen to, a lot of her work is behind the scenes, according to Muhammad.

As an administrator, Leonard has helped other teachers, including Muhammad, implement programs such as Race Project KC and brought students to seminars such as the K-State Black Student Union conference or UMKC Women of Color day. Muhammad has seen how welcome Leonard’s made students feel, and hopes her welcoming personality will extend into the city of Fairway.

“She’s always used her platform as assistant principal to empower other people’s voices and empower the rest of the community to be a representative

of those who don’t have that platform,” Muhammad said. “She’s a team player.

She finds ways to not make it about herself, but about the needs of the community. I think in many ways she’ll use her platform on City Council in the same way.”

Psychology teacher Brett Kramer thinks that Leonard leads by example, from treating people with respect to always being open to suggestions. She’s made the East community feel like a family, he said — and he can’t wait to see her use those leadership skills in a broader community.

“Her potential is limitless,” Kramer said. “She’s just the kind of person that is all in wherever she is. Either teaching or being an administrator or any activity that she’s involved in, she just pours herself into it. If she’s elected, it would give her the opportunity to influence our community positively in a greater way than just our high school.”

16 FEATURE

THE HARBINGER

design by campbell wood ph oto by j u l i a fi l l m ore

LANCER LE GENDS E a st t r adit

by gibb s morris HETHER

W

ITS 40-PLUS senior boys loudly chanting “BAÑO” in the language wing boys bathroom or a packed student section screaming at the Lancer Day football game, East’s traditions have been passed down through generations and some stuck in a decade — but all played a significant part in the high school experience.

The parade down Mission Rd, sporting floats decorated with both style and lancer pride, is just one of several traditions associated with Lancer Day — but it wasn’t always that way.

The evolution of traditions at East spans back decades, so much so that it’s difficult to trace back to the first one.

io n s

But that doesn’t mean that all of the traditions of past alumni have been lost to the sands of time. In fact, many East alumni still recall their own traditions from the years leading to their graduation.

East parent and 1989 East alum Peter Sowden experienced some of his own lancer traditions, but also heard rumors passed around of ones outside of his activities.

The nontraditional rituals lead Sowden to believe that he and his classmates were part of a unique era of East tradition.

“Most of my friends or a lot of my very good friends played football,” Sowden said.

“I played travel hockey, but that was not a school sport. Although, I did hear from older kids on the football team and outside of it about a farm ritual.”

The farm in question was the site of the freshman initiation ritual Sowden had heard about from classmates. Selected freshmen would be taken out to an unspecified farm by seniors to undergo an initiation process.

“An older classmate had a family farm and a few seniors would grab a group of like 10 guys to go out to the farm and swim in this horrible pond as initiation,” Sowden said. “It was all in good fun and nobody was ever forced to do anything they didn’t want to, it was just something we had as one of our own traditions.”

The past also included traditions that didn’t leave students soaking wet in pond water.

Shannon McKee, 1990 East alum and mother of

t h ro

ugh

t h e ye a rs

three East students, experienced the prom server and cheerleader breakfast traditions.

McKee fondly remembers trying out for prom server. The job — which you had to “audition” in front of a panel of judges, typically seniors, — for entailed managing, upkeep and serving hors d’oeuvres at prom, which was was held at the school rather than Union Station like it has been for the last few years.

I H AV E D E F I N I T E LY

noticed it’s all a bit less than it used to be in terms of how many traditions I’ve seen now.

TREY WITT 2003 East alum “It was so much fun, but it was also embarrassing, people would make you do silly things instead of actually giving good reasons why you should be a prom server,” McKee said. “They’d make you bark like a dog sometimes, it really had nothing to do with talent at all. It was still fun though, and sort of a privilege to be able to be chosen as a prom server.”

McKee also recounts a cheer team tradition — one that still continues 31 years later.

“I was also part of the East girl’s cheerleading team and I remember if you made the squad, the girls would kidnap you in the morning and take you to breakfast to tell you,” McKee said. “It was so exciting when I got help with the process once I was on varsity and saw how happy it made them

after finally breaking the news to them.”

While there are old East traditions clearly remembered by students of the past, there are also East alumni still close with the school who attended at times where new traditions were less common. 2003 East alum and debate teacher Trey Witt has a much different reflection on his time in high school.

“I was heavily involved with the debate and forensics teams while I was at East, but I never personally experienced anything tradition other than Lancer Day or pep assemblies,” Witt said. “I did hear a little bit about secretive thespian initiations, but I never did that myself or heard specific details.”

Witt also feels as though traditionoriented activities have started to peter off as time went on after he graduated and eventually came back to teach.

“From what I’ve heard and seen, a lot of things like that have kind of begun to fizzle,” Witt said. “I don’t know, whatever it is, I have definitely noticed it’s all a bit less than it used to be in terms of how many traditions I’ve seen now.”

Despite Witt’s response, running through the evidence to see that every generation and the students that were part of them brought along their own unique traditions.

Some may have only been practiced by the classes of that decade, while others are still being used in school to this day. The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is that students of any era have continued to come up with new ways to cement their classes in the history of East tradition.

CHEERS OVER THE YEARS

RETIRED RITUALS

?

’80s

New and old traditions that are East staples

TRIVIA NIGHT

ASSASSINS

DANCES SHARE CARE FAIR

East traditions that ended freshman football kidnapped to farm & swam across pond

’90s underclassmen try out to be a server at prom

RENOVATION sensation

HOMES TOUR

SEPTEMBER 22 www.SMEastSHARE.com

18 A&E

THE HARBINGER

design by nora lynn art by nora lynn and sophie lindberg photos from spotify,

A&E HIGHLIGHTS Catch up on what’s trending in the arts and entertainment world

RECENT RELEASES MUSIC

MET GALA

PODCASTS A L BUM | I DON’T WANNA TALK ( I JUST WANNA DANCE ) A R T I ST | G L A S S A N I M A L S R E L E A S E DAT E | S E P 1 0

T h i s n ew s i n g le b r i n g s a tte nt i o n to t h e re a l i t y of t h e wo r ld d u r i n g t h e p a n d e m i c w h e re t h e i n a b i l i t y to m a ke memories this ye a r le a d s u s to lo o k to o u r p a st.

P OD CA ST | DIS A P P R EA R A NCES NE W E P ISOD E | ETA N PAT Z

Sta r t i n g a s a t r i b u te to S a ra h Tu r n ey w h o d i s a p p e a re d a b o u t 2 0 ye a rs a g o , h e r s i ste r A l i s s i a te a m s u p w i t h P a rc a st to discuss t h e re a s o n s p e o p le di s appe ar .

A L BUM | SHIVERS

P OD CA ST | PA R K S A N D R ECOL ECT ION

A RTI ST | ED SHEERAN

NE W E P ISOD E | P ILOT ( S 1E1)

RELEA SE DATE | SEP 10

A s i n g le d e s c r i b e d a s “ love st r u c k p o p ”

by Ro l l i n g Sto n e s a d d re s s e s b e i n g e n ra pt u re d w h i le fa l l i n g i n love w i t h someone in a fe e l - g o o d wa y .

F e a t u r i n g Ro b L owe , a n a cto r a n d N F L fa n , a n d A la n Ya n g , a d i re cto r a n d M o u s e Ra t b a s s i st , ta l k a b o u t t h e m a k i n g of t h e c o m e d y s e r i e s , P a r ks a n d Re c re a t i o n .

for a cause

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ O c a s io-Cortez’s controversial a tt i re was designed by Brother Ve l l i e s and Aurora James, and was i nte n ded as a political statement w h i le at a party where tickets start a t $ 35,000. Some took offence to i t c a lling her a hypocrite, while ot h e rs saw it as a response to Joy V i l la ’s “Build the Wall” dress from 2 0 1 9, according to CNN.

CAROLYN MALONEY Designed by Antonios Couture, Maloney’s dress was a salute to the suffrage movement and brought attention to the Equal Rights Act, according to the Independent.

This act is designed to legalize the equality of men and women so neither are inferior in any way.

UPCOMING EVENTS G R O U P LOV E CONCERT LIBERTY HALL SEP. 23 8 P.M.

M A C H I N E G U N K E L LY CONCERT AZURA AMPHTHEATER OCT. 3 7: 30 P.M.

BILLIE EILISH A c c ording to CBS N ews, Eilish agreed to wear Oscar de la Re nta to the Met Gala u n d er the condition t h a t he cease the s a le of fur in his co llection s.

A&E 19

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by sydney newton photos by rachel bingham

A review of independently-owned record stores in the Kansas City area by greyso n i m m ’ve always been one to plug in my earbuds

I

BROTHER’S MUSIC

5812 Johnson Dr Mission, KS 66202 MARKED BY A bright green sign on the storefront of its location on Johnson Dr., Brothers Music was the second stop on my vinyl tour.

I was immediately greeted by a helpful employee before I could take a step through the doorway.

While Brothers doesn’t have nearly as large of a selection as Vinyl Renaissance, their records featured a variety of genres, with a heavy emphasis on jazz and classic rock. I sorted through the new record crates and found When We

All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish. I also picked up Court and Spark to add to my ever-growing Joni Mitchell collection. I would have grabbed a few more LP’s I spotted like Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon II and Pressure Machine by The Killers, except I had to stick to my minimum wage budget to save my bank account.

My three out of five star rating isn’t due to the quality of the records, but the limited supply they carry. Similar to Vinyl Renaissance, these were moderately priced and decently affordable for a student working part-time like myself. I would definitely recommend Brothers to anyone who’s searching for a retro-themed, local shop with a small business charm and niche assortment of music.

V INYL RENAISSANCE

and listen to my 30+ hour-long playlists in the background of whatever task I’m doing — nothing pairs quite like math homework and Phoebe Bridgers.

Though I enjoy the convenience of streaming Spotify on my phone, I wanted to get deeper into my favorite music, so I invested in a record player for my room. New to vinyl collecting, I

9038 Metcalf Ave Overland Park, KS 66212

AS THE STORE recently moved locations, I had to search around before spotting Vinyl Renaissance — an unassuming shop tucked away in the corner of an less-than-affluent strip mall off of 91st and Metcalf.

Chipping plaster and worn down parking lots don’t exactly scream high-end or extravagant.

The impression I got from looking at the outside of the store couldn’t be farther from how it was on the inside. The spacious interior was packed with record crates organized by genre and artist. Album posters plastered every inch of the store, and cardboard cutouts of musicians like Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift lined the walls.

Not to mention the many rooms for testing records and audio equipment that ensure music-enthusiast consumers the ultimate listening experience. The decor of Vinyl Renaissance was an explosion of all things music, and of course you can’t miss the giant stage for live performers in the back of the store.

I walked out of Vinyl Renaissance with three new LP’s — Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Highway to Hell by AC/DC — both from the $2 bin — and Lorde’s Solar Power. I had to limit myself to just these three, but I found so many more vinyls that I had to part with.

The store’s massive assemblage of records of any variety and prices ranging from $1 to as high as $250 justifies my rating of four out of five stars. I could spend hours in Vinyl Renaissance looking through the countless bins of records, CDs and tapes.

amassed my small collection of records by either digging through my parent’s ancient collection or ordering from big box retailers like Target, Walmart and Barnes & Noble.

However, I wanted to expand my music taste, so I visited three of the most acclaimed record stores in the metro area — Vinyl Renaissance, Brothers Music and Mills Record Company.

M I L L S RE C ORD C O 4045 Broadway Blvd, KCMO 64111 In the heart of Westport, Mills Record Co. can been seen from Broadway Blvd., inviting the curious shopper through the tall set of double doors and into vinyl paradise. A classic rock record I hadn’t heard before was playing over the loudspeakers and customers were busy chatting and contemplating their selections.

I didn’t know where to look first — one of the many “New Arrivals” shelves, the countless stacks of new and used vinyl, the staggering bookshelves or the CD and tapes section. An employee must have seen my overwhelmed expression, because I was quickly pointed in the right direction of what I was looking for.

Folk, pop, rap, R&B, rock, jazz, country and any genre you could think of was on display at Mills. Every record on my “to-buy” list was here. Needless to say, I took my time combing through the many wooden crates scattered about the store to make my final selections.

After an excruciatingly difficult decision process, I made my way to the checkout counter with Boygenius by Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus as well as Sufjan Stevens’s Carrie and Lowell.

This store truly deserves a five out of five star rating. There isn’t anything that would make my experience here better — the service was great, the selection was varied, the atmosphere was fun and busy. Combining the lively community aspect and a vast assemblage of some of the best quality records I’ve seen, Mills Record Co. was the epitome of what vinyl collecting is all about — and the timeless epicenter of the record collecting scene in KC.

20 A&E

MUNCHIN’ &

THE HARBINGER

design by madeline funkey

brunchin

The recently opened breakfast & lunch restuarnt, Homegrown Kitchen, is a charming new addition in Brookside

MENU The atmosphere and the BLT-A-E from the restaurnt, HomeGrown Kitchen.

PHOTOS BY RILEY ECK

must trys

The three dishes Madeline tried and her star rating of each

by madeline funkey

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IT

Biscuits topped w sausage gravy, served w roasted rosemary potatoes & two fried eggs

E

Bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayo & fried egg. On eight grain toast

5 CO

EE CAKE

4

Coffee cake served w warm Buttermilk caramel sauce

FF

The BLT-A-E had discrete layers of each item. The thick wheat bread made for a nice cushion to hold together all the flavors. It was full of smoky flavor from the bacon, the refreshing crunch from the tomato and lettuce and the creamy touch of the fried egg. When I come back, I’ll definitely rely on this sandwich as a go-to.

When I took a bite of the biscuits and gravy, I couldn’t help but aggressively nudge my friend to hurry and try it after

5 B LT - A

I a m , I w a s s l i g ht ly ove r w h e l m e d w i t h t h e a m o u nt of m o u t h w a t e r i n g e nt re e ’s s t a r i n g a t m e f ro m t h e l o n g re c t a n g u l a r p i e c e of p a p e r .

BISCU

G R AV Y

A S T H E I N D E C I S I V E p e rs o n

me. The spices that layered my tongue in each bite made for a potent taste. The creamy gravy had pieces of sausage mixed in each bite and the biscuit was almost cake-like.

Saving dessert for last, my friend and I were both excited but hesitant to go in for the coffee cake. The universal cake seems to be a staple at most brunch places, so we were critical when taking our first bite.

Luckily it came with a side of buttermilk caramel sauce to set it apart from the rest of its competition. The cake was dense and rich, perfect for splitting between two or three friends. Soaking the cake in a layer of the caramel made each bite satisfying, but the cake was too rich to finish, so I got a to-go box.

When we were finishing up, the manager came over and checked in on us, asking what we thought of the new place — making the experience feel more personalized and memorable. The kindness and ease of the employees was a pleasant surprise considering they had everything smooth and running after only being open for two months.

After we left, I made sure to add Homegrown Kitchen to the number one spot on my “KC breakfast lists” note page.

Next time I’m in Brookside, you can catch me going back to try out one of their homemade poptarts.

&

cure me from the exhaustion of last week’s pile of AP Stats and Environmental Ed homework: Sunday brunch.

A relatively new, Wichita-based restaurant called HomeGrown Kitchen opened its second location in Brookside on Aug. 9. Drawn in by its locally produced ingredients and homey atmosphere, I had to see what this breakfast place has to offer.

As a brunch fanatic, I was eager to see it’s rank in my master “KC breakfast” list.

Walking into HomeGrown Kitchen, my friend and I were greeted by the host who immediately sat us at a booth. The interior is aesthetically pleasing, with navy accented walls and honeycomb tile details.

Having read the reviews right before going, my expectations were high considering the heavy number of 5-star ratings — so I was excited to get my hands on the menu.

The menu was full of mouth-watering entrees, which was slightly overwhelming considering how indecisive I am. From the croissant french toast to the homemade poptarts, I was craving it all. My friend and I ordered the BLT-A-E (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado and egg), biscuits and gravy and their popular coffee cake to share.

I’ve tried my fair share of breakfast places around KC — First Watch, Eggct., Snooze and more — and have been searching to find one that checks each of

my nit-picky boxes. For me, it’s a mix of how good the service is, quality of food, presentation and uniqueness. When I’m looking for the perfect brunch spot, it’s difficult to be satisfied with all the criteria — but HomeGrown Kitchen was pretty high on my list.

Getting lost in talking about our hectic week ahead, we barely noticed the little time go by before our food was carried out by our waiter. Eyeing the beautiful platter stacked with the sandwich, biscuits and cake, I couldn’t wait to dig in.

S

T

HERE’S ONLY ONE thing that can

A&E 21

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by katie murphy

P PIC

S P I N AC H

C E L E B R AT I O N Lyda Cosgrove reviews Lenexa’s annual spinach festival and its Spinach Caf é

A B O V E Ju n ior Lyd a C os g rove p a ys for s a m p le s of var i o u s s pi n ach inspired foods f rom the Sp i na c h C a fé PHOTO BY KATE BEAULIEU

NOT BAD, BUT NOT GOOD

ESPINACA

DIP

FOR ONLY A DOLLAR EACH, YOU DEFINITELY GET A BANG FOR YOUR BUCK WITH THESE TENNIS BALL-SIZED BITES — DECENT FLAVOR AS WELL

by lyda c osg rove

I

WOULDN’T CALL myself a spinach fanatic by any means. Sure, I enjoy a hearty green-filled salad and experiment with a handful of spinach into my smoothies every now and then.

But when I heard about Lenexa’s 39th Annual Spinach Festival, I had to see for myself what could possibly warrant a festival entirely dedicated to the leafy vegetable.

In the 1930s, Lenexa was hailed “The Spinach Capital of the World,” — a title they’ve proudly celebrated for the last several decades with their Spinach Festival every September.

I was through the gates of Sar-KoTrails park at 11 a.m. — just in time for the serving of The World’s Largest

SCAN ME • VIDEO B r i ef v i d e o h i st o r y of L e n exa , K S — t h e s p i n a c h c a p i t a l of t h e world

Spinach Salad. While it certainly was the largest spinach salad I’ve ever seen, I can’t imagine how a plastic baby pool filled with plain spinach leaves can really qualify as a “salad” — let alone the biggest in the world.

The festival itself wasn’t nearly as big as I expected — a handful of food trucks and tents crowded towards the front of the entrance and a section of art vendors as you walked further in. Kids events like rock skipping and music were scattered throughout the day, though the main

attraction for them remained the park’s playground.

Next on my agenda was to scout out the best spinach dish from the “Spinach Café.” I expected an abundance of vendors offering all types of spinach variations, so I was disappointed to find a singular tent offering only six options.

Surrounding the tent were several other vendors selling generic fair food — funnel cakes, cotton candy, candied nuts, etc. How could the Spinach Festival only have one actual Spinach-specific vendor?

In the terms of pricing, everything was surprisingly cheap compared to the usual jacked-up prices I find at festivals.

I got espinaca dip and chips, two spinach balls, two spinach apple mini cakes, a serving of The World’s Largest Spinach Salad and a bottle of water all for only $11.

Although spinach was the star of the day, the amount of styrofoam and plastic packaging for each item came at a close second. The food easily could’ve been put on paper plates, cardboard trays or even combined into the unnecessarilylarge containers. With a stomach and teeth full of spinach and an “I LIKE SPINACH” t-shirt in hand, I wouldn’t go as far to call the day a success, but definitely an experience. For being the Spinach Capital of the World, I can’t say my expectations were exceeded.

S

LY D A

’

s

TO

K

Having tried espinaca at Mexican restaurants many times before, I was interested to see if the Spinach Festival would put a unique twist on the usual recipe of white queso and spinach shreds. However, after one bite in, it fell flat. It wasn’t at all flavorful and was something I could easily pick up at Salty Iguana any time. And somehow, in the two-minute walk from the vendor to the picnic table, the warm temperature that usually makes espinaca dip so delicious had already cooled, leaving the entire experience feeling lukewarm and lackluster.

These cheesy spinach clumps were not appetizing to look at by any means, but I didn’t shy away. The menu claimed it was featured in their “Spinach Thyme Cookbook,” made with stuffing, spinach, parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme and onions — coming across as the most flavorful item on the menu, which it was. It very much reminded me of a breakfast quiche — rich with a sharp, cheesy tang.

Although the mushy and clumpy texture kept me from going back for seconds, I enjoyed the pockets of strong flavor.

SPINACH

BALLS

SPINACH APPLE

MINI CAKES

WORLD’S LARGEST

SPINACH

SALAD

The menu’s description of “a sweet frosted spinach dessert” was vague, and I didn’t see how “spinach” and “sweet” could possibly fit in the same sentence. As it turns out, these mini cakes were exactly what I needed to satisfy my confused palette. This may be because I couldn’t even detect the spinach flavor or texture, but the apple and cinnamon combined with the smooth cream cheese frosting was simply delicious, so I’ll take it!

Although the presentation of the spinach salad itself already lost my interest, I knew I couldn’t pass up the classic dish. Tossed in homemade vinaigrette and topped with cranberries and bacon, it sounded promising. After the first forkful, I was taken back to the espinaca dip — this salad is exactly like something I’d toss together in five minutes for school lunch.

It’s not that I didn’t like it — the spinach was fresh, vinaigrette had a nice bitter balance and the bacon and cranberries added pleasant bursts of flavor, but there was nothing special about it. I was expecting more from a spinach salad at a spinach festival.

22 LOCAL LANCERS

THE HARBINGER

design by celia condon

TO M M Y

WHAT IS YOUR NAME, AND WHY IS IT YOUR NAME? My name is Robert Thomas Marx, and I was named after my great, great grandfather, Robert. He was a part of the Manhattan project, which created the atomic bomb. I was also named after my grandma’s brother, Tom. I’m not sure why, but I think its very interesting. I like it.

And then I go by Tommy.

WHAT IS A MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU HATE? I hate “The Office” because it’s so over-hyped. I think everyone’s like, “Oh my God, ‘The Office.’” It’s a show.

There’s so many other shows, I think everyone should be talking about some other show for once. I think there’s some funny parts in it, but it’s definitely over-hyped.

WHAT IS AN ITEM OR THING THAT YOU REGRET SPENDING MONEY ON? I definitely regret spending money on a slice of pizza a few months ago. It was unsatisfactory. It was down in Westport, and I’m not too sure what the place was called. It was weird, not just because of the pizza they had, but also, I was about to take a bite of pizza and all of a sudden over the speakers I hear a choir singing. The music was weird.

WHAT IS ONE ROUTINE THING OR ACTIVITY THAT YOU DO EVERY DAY OR WEEK THAT YOU DON’T THINK YOU COULD LIVE WITHOUT? Playing the piano. Definitely. I used to take lessons, but I just didn’t like it. I would always think, “Can I just do my own thing?” And I did do my own thing, and I’ve done it ever since. I’ve been playing piano for like a few years now, maybe three or four.

IF YOUR HOUSE CAUGHT ON FIRE, WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU GROW UP BEFORE YOU LEFT? If we were speaking kind of unrealistic unrealistically, I would grab my piano. And then I’d also grab my phone, and my cat. My cat’s name is piggy. Don’t let that fool you though: she’s a cat.

SPORTS 23

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 design by caroline wood

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS Updates, schedules and quotes about the fantasy football

M A R K YO U R C A L E N DA R

F OOTBALL FANTA SY What students predict so far for their Fantasy Football teams

RYAN WARD

SENIOR

TOP PLAYER | Alvin Kamara

140 points

BEST STEAL | Amari Cooper PUNISHMENT | Has to sit at Waffle House for 24 hours, every waffle consumed shaves off an hour WHO DO YOU THINK WILL DO THE WORST? Jackson Moulin

Important upcoming sporting events

SEPT

SEPT

SEPT

21

23

24

S O C C E R | B OYS

VOLLEYBALL |

F O O T B A L L | VA R S I T Y

VA R S I T Y V S

VA R S I T Y T R I A N G U L A R

V S O L AT H E S O U T H

O L AT H E E A S T

V S M U LT I P L E

@ Olathe District

@ Shawnee Mission

SCHOOLS

Athletic Complex

Soccer Complex

@ SME

B A S E D O N T H E S E F I R ST W E E K S , H OW I S YO U R S E A S O N LO O K I N G ? I t h i n k i t ’s l o o k i n g g o o d , I t h i n k I c a n t a ke h o m e a c h a m p i o n s h i p .

GRAHAM MOSHER

JUNIOR

TOP PLAYER | DeAndre Hopkins BEST STEAL | Dave Montgomery

125

points PUNISHMENT | Have two lowest players box, then loser of that will have punishment decided by winner

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL DO THE WORST? Brayden Reynolds

B A S E D O N T H E S E F I R ST W E E K S , H OW I S YO U R S E A S O N LO O K I N G ? I t h i n k I ’ m g o i n g t o b e s o l i d .

I l o s t t h i s w e e k , b u t I h a d t h e m o s t p o i nt s b e s i d e s t h e p e rs o n w h o b e a t m e

BROOKS MOORE

FRESHMAN

TOP PLAYER | Alvin Kamara BEST STEAL | Ezekiel Elliott PUNISHMENT | Has to jump in a “nasty” pond

136 points

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL DO THE WORST? Chase Keneman WHO’LL BE THE TOUGHEST COMPETITION? Jack Broghammer

B A S E D O N T H E S E F I R ST W E E K S , H OW I S YO U R S E A S O N LO O K I N G ? I ’ ve w o n by a b u n c h , s o I t h i n k i t ’ l l b e p rett y g o o d .

A B O V E Junior quarterback Parker Liese spirals the football at the game against West.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE EMLEY L E F T The student section cheers wearing their Chiefs gear, as part of the theme.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE EMLEY T O P L E F T Senior cheer captain Lindsay Brown calls out for the “Let’s Go La n cers” cheer.

PHOTO BY CHARLOTTE EMLEY

24 SPORTS

THE HARBINGER

*all records as of sept. 15

CROSS COUNTRY SMASHING

JUST GETTING

STA RTED STARTED

RECORDS

GRACE MEYER WYATT HAUGHTON

football a ll b y lle

TEAM RECORDS

vo

ou ss c

ntry

boy s

oct. RIVAL SME vs. SMS

1-1

cro

BIG GAMES

L

s o cc e r

FO

OT

L BA

RECORD

upcoming football games that are significant matches according to senior Brian Heneger

07

HOCO sept.

SME vs. ON

21

oct. SENIOR SME vs. OW

CAPTAINS miles crosser junior left defense porter mosely midfield

senior

vini bortolini senior midfield

TE

IS N N

VARSITY STATS

6 32 67

players on the state team players on jv/varsity players on jv/varsity

TENNIS SENIORS

ch

3-7 3-4 jv varsity 3-6 3-6 soph. freshman

r ee

aina lewis

football

maddie van asset

t e n nis

courtnay tetrick

EVAN JANTSCH JUNIOR

vo lle yb

SME V SMS

ella bunde

01

er e h

”

s country cros

otfo

sept.

o u r f r i e n d s i s a w h o l e d i f fe re nt

w h i c h i s o u r b i g g e st c h a l l e n g e .

ten ni s

ALL

D ef i n a t ly t h e e n e rg y f ro m t h e

a l s o h a ve b e e n d o i n g h a rd e r st u nt s

c

SENIOR NIGHT

30

“

ll

EYB

what are the main differences between this year and last year for cheer?

ex p e r i e n c e t h a n j u st p a re nt s . We

19:35 previous 16:00 18:05 now 15:35

VOL L

CHEER

st u d e nt s e c t i o n a n d c h e e r i n g fo r

An update on the start of the fall sports season

5K

design by peyton moore photos by charlotte emley, riley eck, macy crosser, elle siegel

bridget

epstein

emma

BO YS

brown

SO

CC

ER

SPORTS 25

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

FRESH T H E FLOOR

design by luke beil

ON

The Lancers Dancers are now allowing freshman on Varsity, which has brought a new atmosphere to the team

CLARA

by anna mitc h ell

W

HEN FRESHMEN CLARA Burdick, Grace Demetriou, Lola Condon, Lucy Wolf and Parker Paben each stepped onto the East parking lot’s black pavement for a Varsity dance party, they had no idea what exactly being on dance team would look like. They’d just received an official “welcome to VARSITYYYYY!!!” text, telling them to meet in the parking lot immediately.

The dance party was created as a way to welcome the freshmen — who were the first to ever be on Varsity.

In previous years, the Varsity Lancer Dancers team has only consisted of sophomores, juniors and seniors while freshmen were only able to make Junior Varsity at best.

East was one of the last SMSD schools to finally allow freshmen to be grouped with all other dancers due to past SMSD regulations of having freshmen make JV prior to Varsity.

Dance team coach of 11 years Alexis Close, also known as Bubba, had been thinking about changing the rule for some time now. She thought it made more sense to group together the highest level dancers, regardless of their grade.

“I just felt like I had a really welcoming, kind and inclusive group of seniors coming this year and thought it was time,” Close said. “When I saw the seniors organized a dance party in the East parking lot, it warmed my heart and I knew I made the right decision.”

While Close doesn’t think the team dynamic has changed much, if at all, it’s clear that having freshmen who’ve never experienced a school dance team brought out more leadership and responsibility for the upperclassmen.

To help make the transition easier, senior and Varsity captain Finley Condon initiated bonding activities for the team with senior co-captains Kay Kay Winn and Sydney Beck such as dance parties, team sleepovers and Starbucks trips.

“The night the lists were sent out, I organized a dance party in the parking lot to just welcome the new dancers,” Finley said. “Since my sister is one of the freshman, I picked her up and her friends and it was just a nice way to get to know everyone.”

Finley’s younger sister, Lola, is one of the five freshmen

FRESHMAN FAVORITE CLARA BURDICK Being around the fun people.

who made Varsity this year. While they already had a sisterly bond, being Lancer Dancers together made them even closer — from seeing each other in class three days a week to Thursday practices to running routines at home and making sure they both hit every beat.

While the Condon sisters became tighter, the team as a whole is closer than ever, despite the variety of ages and grades within the four walls of their dance room. After officially starting learning routines and how drill team works in June at overnight camp, the girls now go out to eat, have team sleepovers and hangout as friends outside of team related events.

When the freshmen first joined the team, it was hard to not stay in their isolated freshmen corner and talk to themselves. However, the outgoing and welcoming environment made their bonding natural.

While Clara says she’s naturally outgoing and has her sister, junior Adya Burdick, on Varsity with her, she’s grateful to have welcoming upperclassmen to make her feel comfortable as a newbie.

“I think it is really easy for upperclassmen to just stare at you or not talk back to you, but drill team isn’t like that,” Burdick said. “They go out of their way to come talk to us and it has made dance team and East as a school easier.”

The five freshmen already knew each other through Indian Hills Middle School, but had no idea they’d bond so tightly so fast. With little knowledge of each other, besides Parker and Lola previous studio dance relationship, none of them had touched a flag, danced on the sideline of a football game or experienced a team like East’s Varsity drill team. “[Being the only freshmen] for sure brought us closer, especially at the beginning of the year before we had really met everyone,” Demetriou said. “We would talk to everyone then kind of find our way back to our little group.”

The five freshmen walk into every class, practice and game, feeling like they’ve known every girl on the team forever. Not only did they make Varsity dance team, but they also joined a new community who loves to dance just as much as they do.

BURDICK

GRACE

DEMETRIOU

LUCY

WOLF

LOLA

CONDON

PARKER

PABER

Each freshman;s favorite aspect of Varsity dance team

GRACE DEMETRIOU The social aspect and performing for the school.

LUCY WOLF The people on the team and the dancing aspect.

LOLA CONDON

Hanging out with everyone & the family aspect.

PARKER PABER The team bonding and relationships.

26 SPORTS

THE HARBINGER

design by caroline wood photos by macy crosser

SWITCHING Soccer players decide between sticking with their club team or switching to the school’’s

by emma krause T WAS NEARING the end of the spring

I

season for the Sporting Kansas City Academy (SKCA) U17 team and despite it being his 5th year, junior Jack Lucas was spending more time watching his team from the bench than playing alongside them. He needed a change.

The straining choice many elite teen soccer players go through is whether they will stay with a year-round club or play on their school team. Lucas made that decision and left his club to play high school soccer. However, in a similar position, sophomore Wesley Cribb confidently chose to stay with SKCA. “I want to pursue [a] career in trying to be a professional soccer player, and I think Sporting Academy is much better in quality and they play more quality teams,” Cribb said.

“I think that’s what is going to get me into a really good college or on a really good

GOALS

professional team.”

Cribb believes staying with his club team will boost his chances of playing soccer at one of his dream colleges — University of Virginia, The University of California-Los Angeles and Gonzaga University.

With two-hour practices every weekday and weight lifting afterwards, one to three games per weekend and traveling for away games, Cribb’s life resolves around soccer. The workload and speed of play at Sporting is more rigorous than at other club teams, according to him.

But in the long run, the packed schedule and high-intensity training will be worth it for a better shot at playing soccer in college and professionally.

After 5 years on SKCA, Lucas felt it was time for him to pursue the rest of his soccer career with a new club. After talking to his understanding U17 coach, Rumba Munthali, Lucas moved on to a new team: Kansas City Scott Gallagher.

It was hard leaving his teammates and coaches that he had formed such strong relationships with, but he made strong friendships with, but he knew it was the right decision for his future in soccer.

With his new team having more flexibility than the last, he had the opportunity to play soccer for East as well — Lucas made the varsity team when he tried out.

Now playing under Coach Jamie Kelly, Lucas has found that the coaching styles of Munthali and Kelly are generally similar despite one coaching club and one coaching high school.

“Coach Kelly is a great coach and gives great advice,” Lucas said. “The coaches at Sporting were really good too.”

According to Lucas, the main differences between SKCA and East soccer is the quality of players and how intense the environment is. Sporting coaches expect more from you than they do at East.

Lucas noticed when he was at SKCA there was a lot more passing and connecting with your team on the field whereas East players focus on possessing it themselves while also working with their teammates.

Lucas is having a lot of fun with high school soccer and enjoying himself. Being able to have light-hearted practices and play alongside his friends helped make the East soccer experience better.

“The practices are really fun and just getting to talk with my teammates and the bus rides are hilarious,” Lucas said.

The choice between playing for the club they’ve been with for years or joining their high school team of friends they know from school, ultimately came down to what they think is best for their career goals.

MOVES MADE What teams Jack and Wesley have previously played soccer on

JACK LUCAS junior

WESLEY CRIBB sophomore

Toca FC

Sporting Blue Valley

Blue Moose Soccer Club

ESI

SKCA

SKCA

KCSG and East

R

27 PHOTOSTORY

O

THE HARBINGER

Y ER

design by elise madde n

O R T E D V C O A After senior Kyler Haughton underwent collarbone surgery due to a football accident, friends and teammates drove by his house to show support

S e n i o rs G re e r H e mbree, Morgan Woods, Sadie McDonald, A s h ley G a r ve r i c k and Sydney Newton greet Haughton with s i gn s an d dr i ve r Pa rker Leise sh a kes h is h a n d . PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN A B O V E Organi ze r of the drive-by sen i o r Maeve McGra t h gives Haughto n a fist bump. “The b e st part was see i n g Kyler outside wh i le we were all driv i n g and honking, we had gotten our P e p Exec shirts but sin c e he hadn’t been a t school I got to ha n d him his shirt and te l l him to feel bette r , ” McGrath sa i d .

PHOTO BY RILEY ECK

M I D D L E Haughto n wa ve s as friends and te a m m a te s drive by to show s u p p o r t . “ A s far as positions g o , a lot h a s changed since my i n j u r y , b u t the bond has grow n st ro n g e r .

The team has s h ow n a lot of support,” Hau g hto n s a i d .

PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN

SCAN ME • PHOTO U s e t h i s Q R c o d e t o p u rc h a s e p h ot o s f ro m t h i s eve nt o n H a r b i e P h ot o

A B O V E Junior CJ Leonard pulls up to H a ughton and gives him a high five along w i t h oth er footb a l l tea mma tes. PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN L E F T Haughton walks to greet his te ammates an d f rien ds af ter th e driveby . The team and close friends gathered a f terwards to talk and give him gifts. “I have re ceived a lot of candy, junk food and gift c a rds,” Haughton said.

PHOTO BY ELLE SIEGEL

THE HARBINGER

28 ALT COPY

design by celia condon photos from Spotify

Spotify

PLAYLIST

Shorts to Sleeves

Home

As the seasons change, so does the music: Here’s a mix of newbies and oldies for your transition from 80 degree days to sweater weather

Search Your Library

Create Playlist

Young Folks

Liked Songs

Remember When

Peter Bjorn and John

Wallows

Moon

SCAN ME • PLAYLIST S c a n h e re t o l i s t e n t o t h e re st of o u r s u m m e r t o fa l l p l a y l i st

Kanye West

Dog Days Are Over Florence and the Machine

Almost (Sweet Music) Hozier

You And I LEON

September Earth, Wind, & Fire

Magnets Disclosure, Lorde

Use Somebody Kings of Leon

Old Pine Ben Howard

Writer’s Block

4:39

Nothing Happens

2:35

Donda

2:36

Lungs

4:11

Wasteland, Baby!

3:37

LEON

3:44

I Am

3:35

Caracal

3:19

Only By The Night

3:50