Harbinger Issue 6 2020

the harbinger.

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILL AGE, KS 66208 D E C E M B E R 0 7, 2 0 2 0 VOLUME LXIII ISSUE 6

OFF THE CAMERA

UNDER THE

INFLUENCE

A LOOK INSIDE

P04

P05

P14

P18

NEWS

NEWS

FEATURE

A&E

COVID UPDATE INFOGRAPHIC

DISPOSABLE VAPES

UNICYCLE CLUB

SCAVENGER HUNT APP

02 | INSIDE COVER

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

ONLINE

PREVIEW

@smeharbinger

@smeharbinger

@smeharbie

STO RIE S FOLKLORE

EAST ALUMNI PL ANS Scan to read Mia Vogel’s review of the Taylor Swift Disney+ documentary, “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions”

P O D CAST

Scan to read Emma Brown’s feature on a few East alumni and their plans for winter break

GA L L E R I E S

BOYS’ SOCCER RECAP Scan to listen to Broadcast Editor Sam Freund talk with senior soccer players to recap the 2020 season

CARTO O N | n atal i e sc h o l z

BASKETBALL TRYOUTS Scan to view Annakate Dilks’ gallery of boys basketball tryouts

cover design by rose kanaley cover photo by sarah golder

STAFF LIST PRINT EDITORS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley ONLINE EDITORS Riley Atkinson Lauren West ASST. PRINT EDITORS Celia Condon Annabelle Moore ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Sophie Henschel Campbell Wood HEAD COPY EDITORS Phoebe Hendon Allison Wilcox PHOTO EDITORS Sarah Golder Trevor Paulus Julia Percy ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Noelle Griffin Elise Madden Megan Stopperan MOBILE MEDIA PHOTO EDITOR Megan Biles VIDEO EDITOR Lawder DeSantis ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Sydney Williams VIDEO TRAINING EDITOR Roberto Galicia BROADCAST EDITORS Sam Freund Megan Stopperan ASST. BROADCAST EDITOR Brett Pendland Liv Olson PHOTO MENTORS Taylor Keal Megan Biles Annakate Dilks MJ Wolf STAFF WRITERS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley Lauren West Riley Atkinson Campbell Wood Celia Condon Sophie Henschel Annabelle Moore Allison Wilcox Lyda Cosgrove Caroline Wood Sydney Newton Ethan Enderle Lily Billingsley Kelly Murphy Elizabeth Mikkelson Tommy Paulus Sydney Decker Peyton Moore Lauren Dierks Grace Allen Kate Heitmann Cesca Stamati Winnie Wolf Madeline Funkey Grace Tucker Emma Brown Gibbs Morris

Ben Bradley Anna Mitchell Sophie Lindberg Nora Lynn Mia Vogel Caroline Gould COPY EDITORS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley Lauren West Riley Atkinson Phoebe Hendon Allison Wilcox Celia Condon Annabelle Moore Sophie Henschel Campbell Wood Sydney Newton Winnie Wolf Lily Billingsley Elizabeth Mikkelson Lyda Cosgrove Caroline Wood Kelly Murphy EDITORIAL BOARD Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley Lauren West Riley Atkinson Phoebe Hendon Allison Wilcox Celia Condon Annabelle Moore Sophie Henschel Campbell Wood Sydney Newton Lily Billingsley SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL PRINT Sydney Newton NEWS PRINT Lauren Dierks ONLINE Caroline Wood OPINION PRINT Elizabeth Mikkelson ONLINE Winnie Wolf FEATURE PRINT Grace Tucker ONLINE Lyda Cosgrove A&E PRINT Tommy Paulus ONLINE Kate Heitmann SPORTS PRINT Peyton Moore ONLINE Cesca Stamati PAGE DESIGNERS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley Riley Atkinson Sophie Henschel Celia Condon Allison Wilcox Annabelle Moore

Elizabeth Mikkelson Lily Billingsley Lauren Dierks Sydney Newton Winnie Wolf Kate Heitmann Grace Allen Grace Tucker Cesca Stamati Peyton Moore Madeline Funkey Anna Mitchell Sophie Lindberg Nora Lynn Caroline Gould ART EDITOR Celia Condon STAFF ARTISTS Natalie Scholz Sophie Henschel Mia Vogel Lauren Dierks Sophie Lindberg Maria Morrissey STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Emma Kate Squires Maggie Merckens Hadley Chapman Emily Pollock Maggie Klump Tristen Porter Rachel Bingham Molly Schumm Ella Hans Eva Berkley Macy Crosser Helen Rice Lily Mantel Sabrina Dean VIDEO STAFF Lawder DeSantis Sydney Williams Liv Olson Megan Stopperan Roberto Galicia Brett Pendland SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Annabelle Moore ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Sophie Henschel SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Mia Vogel Sydney Decker Megan Biles Grace Tucker Julia Percy Celia Condon Lyda Cosgrove Kelly Murphy Grace Allen Anna Mitchell Liv Olson Paige Zadoo ADS MANAGER Caroline Wood CIRCULATION MANAGER Lyda Cosgrove SOCIAL CHAIRS Peyton Moore Tommy Paulus CONTEST COORDINATOR Celia Condon

design by sydney newton illustration by natalie scholtz

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

EDITORIAL | 03

LOCKED DOWN

The US should have a second lockdown, and take it more seriously than the first one

W

e were all over the state-mandated lock down by the time it was finally coming to a close: we wanted no more forced family game nights or hesitation to use a normal amount of toilet paper. Besides a few select people who are more responsible than the rest of us, we all returned to an almost normal routine. Unless you were one of the wise ones who continued to self quarantine, by June, thing felt somewhat Coronavirus-free: besides the few things still not happening like gathering at concerts and sporting events.

Masks concerned no one until we finally caught on to how much they help in the middle of summer.

It was about mid-July when the pandemic had a sudden sense of real-ness to the people of Kansas City. All of a sudden we knew people with the virus — our coworkers, cousins or friends had it. Some of us had it ourselves.

While some argue that this recent relapse could be blamed on maskless, party-going teenagers who haven’t put much effort in being safe, or the people refusing to wear masks in public settings, the way we all handled the quarantine during March and April is what had the largest long-term effect. While partying teenagers and mask-boycotters don’t help the situation, they aren’t causing the damage that the unfinished short term lockdown did.

In a country like New Zealand, where there was a complete lockdown from March 25 to June 8, cases total at around 4-5 a day, compared to the U.S.’s 136,313 daily numbers as of Nov. 29. New Zealand’s lockdown was 11 weeks long which consisted of closed borders, and everything but essential businesses being closed. Although the thought of an 11-week complete lockdown seems unbearable, and New Zealand’s size is incomparable to the U.S.’s, it could be a start. Being complete hermits for three months is worth the absolute freedom afterwards. We’re all ready to see our grandparents and family members who live in different cities.

With the colder months arriving, it’s hard to see a COVID-free America in sight unless we make the right choices in the next few months, hopefully weeks. We might as well take advantage of this time we have, because at this point a lockdown seems inevitable. It’s just how long we push it off that will make the difference. We are all ready for this to be over, and that starts with a lockdown — one taken seriously this time.

There’s no more time for backyard patio gatherings with neighbors, or secret car hangouts with friends in abandoned parking lots. Now that we have online school to keep us busy, along with a better sense of what a quarantine looks like, those choices should be less tempting.

Let’s lay out a timeline. Say we start lockdown on Jan. 1 and we have a similar scenario to New Zealand. We now also have the hope of a vaccine potentially being put into use sometime in the next few months. That puts us at end of lockdown in mid March. This reopens the idea of seeing our grandparents and loved ones who struggle with health issues. It also brings hope to the thought of hugging people without fear of getting too close for too long. The things that feel more selfish like summer vacations, concerts and graduation parties are also coming back as an option by then.

There’s not much we’re missing by sitting inside throughout January and February — we tend to do that anyway. We’re not losing the opportunity to be at a lake with our friends or family, or missing the first few warm days of sun like we were in April. After all, we live in Kansas and it’s 20 degrees outside for the first months of the year.

With the colder months arriving, it’s hard to see a COVID-free America in sight unless we make the right choices in the next few months, hopefully weeks. We might as well take advantage of this time we have, because at this point a lockdown seems inevitable.

Another advantage, for lack of a better word, is the general knowledge we’ve gained on the virus, as well as how to handle a lockdown. Parents have worked from home, kids have learned from home — we’re no longer going into this blind.

It’s not as if the country hasn’t been planning for a winter lockdown since the end of the last one. Most colleges have already sent people home until the beginning of February, and some places of work haven’t called for employees to return in-person until the summer of 2021.

Americans should begin to take this all a little more seriously. It’s overwhelmingly frustrating to see videos of people refusing to wear masks or refusing to lockdown because it doesn’t “coincide with their rights.” At this point it’s not a matter of rights it’s a matter of saving other people’s lives.

The damage is irreversible and already overwhelming, and having a serious lockdown is where we can start changing what the future will look like for everyone.

COUNTRY BY COUNTRY

F O R : 9 AGA 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.

EDITO RIAL POLICY The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion. The content and opinions of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quotes material may be 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.

a comparison of different countries success rates with lockdown

UNITED STATES

NEW ZEALAND

7 WEEKS OF LOCKDOWN PER TEN 430 CASES THOUSAND PEOPLE

11 WEEKS OF LOCKDOWN CASES PER TEN 4 THOUSAND PEOPLE

AUSTRALIA 16 WEEKS OF LOCKDOWN PER TEN 11 CASES THOUSAND PEOPLE *information from world meters and the CDC

04 | NEWS

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

NEWS

EAST

HIGHLIGHTS Catch up on school, local and national news

A B O V E | Junior Lucy Minor watches the Shawnee Mission School District’s “Surviving an Active Shooter ” video.

by caroline gould

LOCAL

A Peloton showroom opened in Town Center to showcase their equipment and clothing

AMIDST THE NEW COVID-19 restrictions in the Kansas City area, Peloton has recently opened a new workout equipment showroom in Leawood’s Town Center Crossing.

The in-store experience holds pre-booked appointments of up to two people, or walk-in appointments if time slots are available. According to their website guests are offered a 30-minute walkthrough of their showroom and workout equipment pieces upon visiting.

Senior Meredith McGannon has been anticipating the opening of the new showroom after spotting promotional posts on social media.

While working the front desk at Mojo Cycling on the Country Club Plaza, McGannon considers biking and workout equipment to be of big interest to her.

“I do a lot of the Peloton classes, and I’ve done them for a while, so I think it will be cool to have a store with stuff that says ‘Peloton’ and get fun clothes,” McGannon said.

She used to have to rely on the Peloton app for her purchases, but now she’ll be able to browse the equipment in-person at the showroom.

“I really like that on their app they have a bunch of strength classes, and other different [workout] classes that I like to do,” McGannon said.

“When I was at home, I did a lot [of their classes] during quarantine, and it was really nice that they had a lot of options.”

McGannon knows a lot of people have been working out at their house.

She feels now is a perfect time for Peloton to open a store to spark sales and increase their customer base.

“I definitely think it was a good idea because I think that a lot of people, especially now, are finding different options for working out at home,” McGannon said. “I feel like a lot of people choose Peloton for treadmills and [other workout equipment], so I think that they can get a lot of sales, especially with the time being, as people are staying home from their gyms and studios.”

With the current spike in COVID-19 cases in the area, Peloton is making sure to safely open their new store. The in-store experience requires masks, hand-sanitizing before entering, social distancing, daily professional cleanings and contactless payment only.

Teachers required to display school shooting informational video

SINCE THE KANSAS government leaves the decision of which crisis drills to practice each year up to the individual school districts, East administration chose to talk about what to do in the event of an active shooter.

To focus in on the subject, teachers showed the active shooter video to their seventh hour students on both Nov. 17 and 19 to fit into their in-person days with hybrid schedule.

School Resource Officer Anthony Woollen played a role in the creation of the video by working with SMSD’s video production team to come up with a script, which he then narrated.

“The Chief of Police from the school district has an overall philosophy that in the preparedness for the school, he wanted everybody to be on the same page with being ready in the event of a safety concern with a shooter,” Woollen said.

To break down the procedure if an active shooter were to enter a school, they demonstrated the content in two videos — one

N AT I O N A L

showing teachers their role in keeping their classroom safe, and the other teaching students about the ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ method.

The process of making the video involved many people — including students — who participated as actors in the video, along with Officer Woollen and the production team.

“Between corresponding, between the video production team and everybody that’s involved, it’s unbelievably complex,” Woollen said. “We did several different takes and shots on each segment over and over again until the video production department captured exactly what we were trying to communicate.”

Woollen sees the main goal of the video was to educate students and staff on what do in the case of an active shooter and satisfy the state mandate without creating too frightening of a tone.

“We didn’t want to instill fear, but we still wanted to do it in a serious tone, because it’s an unbelievably serious topic,” Woollen said.

President Biden’s communications team will be run by only women

WITH THE BIDEN Administration slowly transferring into power, they’ve begun to release their White House staff members — announcing that their senior communications team will consist of only women.

This staff includes seven women who will, according to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, “communicate clearly, honestly and transparently with the American people.”

Sophomore Libby McShane believes that appointing all women to this staff is a step in the right direction, as she thinks it will show women that they can hold a powerful position in the upper government, which has been primarily run by men in the past.

“I think it’ll give a different point of view from what we’ve seen over the last many, many years,” McShane said. “Women have such different perspectives than men, as women have had more restrictions on themselves,

so I think that women bringing their good point of view into upper government is just a step forward.”

While McShane is entirely on-board with this decision, senior Jack Haulmark emphasizes that this is only a good decision if these women are fit for the job.

“I think it’s important, because women have historically been pushed down in a way, but in a way it needs to be [the] right women,” Haulmark said. “Just because it’s necessarily a woman doesn’t mean that it’s progress.”

McShane believes the selection of an all women team will result in progress, especially when it comes to women’s rights.

“I think with women’s rights being in question by multiple people in the government, that this could ensure that we’re one step closer to achieving those rights and having those rights no matter what we do or who we are,” McShane said.

design by lauren dierks photo by ella hans

ELECTION UPDATE by eth an en derl e

AS PRESIDENT TRUMP and many Republican allies attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, the next step in the election process nears — election certification.

While each state has their own certification deadline — Kansas’ is Dec. 1 — the national deadline is Dec. 8. The certification deadline allows each state to finalize their results at least six days before electors from each state vote on the winner of the electoral college

KEY DATES Kansas Certification Deadline: Dec. 1 National Certification Deadline: Dec. 8 Electors Vote on Winner of Electoral College: Dec. 14

HOW IS IT CERTIFIED? IN KANSAS, AN audit is conducted and disputed ballots are reviewed. Each county has an elected or appointed board of bipartisan canvassers, who vote to certify the election results from the county. Once county election results are certified, they go to the state board of canvassers. In Kansas, the Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State vote to certify the results of the state.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? ONCE THE ELECTION is certified, there is no chance of contesting the election as the numbers become final. After the election is certified, electors from each state vote on the winner of the electoral college. Most states have laws against electors voting against their state’s popular vote.

Penalties can be fines or even jail time.

The electoral college vote officially decides the next president, and marks the end of the election process.

design by catherine erickson

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

NEWS | 05

DEPENDENT ON

Disposable vapes are becoming more popular than Juuls among students due to a variety of flavors and lower cost, but they have both health and legal consequences by kelly murphy

*information from multiple student surveys

*names changed to protect identities

J

unior Joe Miller* uploaded a picture of brightlycolored cool mint, pineapple lemon and watermelon Puff Bars with the caption “puffs” to his private Snapchat story. Then he waited.

Within minutes, his notifications were flooded with messages from eager underage customers. Within hours, he was sold out of his disposable vape supply, which may or may not have been legitimate product.

“It was really easy,” Miller said. “I could sell 200 Puff Bars in three days. I had someone buy 60 from me one time.”

Puff Bars are the latest trendy, flavored vaping devices that seem to have replaced Juuls, according to senior Will Johnson*. Teens like Johnson drive down Mission with a Puff Bar in one hand and the other on the wheel — others prefer passing them around at parties or “ripping” them in secluded school bathrooms.

Although he caught 25 students last year, assistant principal Britton Haney didn’t catch anyone vaping on campus during hybrid school. He hopes they’re “making smarter choices” due to restrictions on bathroom usage and social distancing guidelines.

According to Advent Health Pulmonologist Dr. Mike Nelson, little is known about the relationship between vaping and COVID-19. However, a team of researchers recently found that teens who vape are five times more likely to receive a COVID diagnosis.

In an Instagram poll of 151 students, 70% said COVID-19 hasn’t made them more reluctant to continue vaping. According to Miller, there’s been an increase in vaping this year because kids can’t get caught when they’re home alone during the day. If parents get suspicious, they can just toss their Puff Bar into the trash.

While Juuls are designed to be recharged and refilled, Puff Bars are disposable and non-refillable. According to a poll of 99 students, 26% have switched from using reusable vapes to disposable vapes. “[Puff Bars] last pretty long for what they are,” Miller said. “They’re the best disposables.”

A temporary legal loophole allowed for the recent increase in Puff Bar popularity. On Jan. 2, 2020, the FDA banned fruit, mint and dessert electronic cigarette flavors, limiting them to methanol and tobacco.

However, those restrictions only applied to refillable cartridge-based e-cigarettes like Juul and its pods. Since Puff Bars are disposable and non-refillable, they were not subject to the flavor ban.

With limited Juul pod flavors, Puff Bar’s lineup of 25 fruity flavors convinced many students to switch, according to a survey conducted via Google Forms of 68 students.

But in July, the FDA ordered Puff Bar to remove their products from the market, causing them to suspend online sales nationwide. Now, anyone with a craving for a Puff Bar has to purchase a potential knock off or similar brand like Bidi Stick from a smoke shop or gas station.

That doesn’t bother students like senior Grace Smith* though.

“I’ve had [knock offs,] and they still taste good,” Smith said. “There are no issues with the taste, it’s more just the inconsistency of whether you’ll get buzzed or not.

Basically how many hits you get per [bar].”

Besides the flavors, surveyed students said that disposables are more convenient, cost less than Juuls and don’t need to be charged.

“It’s easier to hit, or smoke, a disposable,” Johnson said. “It just comes out easier, whereas a Juul you might have to suck harder. And they’re so much cheaper.”

Puff Bars are around $10, while a Juul costs $45 plus an additional $10 for a two-pack of pods.

Advent Health Pulmonologist Dr. Mike Nelson, who specializes in the respiratory system, believes that the companies that produce single-use vapes purposely set a low cost of entry to make them more appealing to youth.

I could sell 200 Puff Bars in three days. I had someone buy 60 from me one time.

joe miller | junior “The companies that make these things do that primarily for marketing because they say, ‘Let’s make something and make it look cheaper, but in the long run you use it more, and you actually end up paying more,’” Nelson said. “So it’s really more of a scam than anything else.”

Although COVID hasn’t dissuaded most teens from vaping, it has led some — including Smith — to rethink their vaping habits.

After her sister tested positive for COVID last month, Smith decided to try to protect her lungs by taking more breaks between trips to the gas station to buy Puff Bars and Juul pods.

Not only is vaping dangerous for your health, it can also result in school disciplinary and legal consequences, according to Haney and School Resource Officer Seth Meyer.

The first offense is a two day out-of-school suspension, though students have the option to knock off a day by completing a four hour vaping education program.

For repeat offenders, Meyer issues a citation for minor in possession of tobacco products in addition to the suspension.

“People vape because their peers do it, and their peers do it because somebody convinced them that it was a good idea,” Nelson said. “But the reality is if I told you to sit behind your car and inhale the exhaust pipe, you would say, ‘Why would I do something like that?’ Well basically you’re just inhaling chemicals to make yourself feel a little bit better.”

STUDENT POLLS STUDENTS WHO HAVE USED A DISPOSABLE VAPE FEMALE MALE

47% 65%

HOW MANY DISPOSABLES USERS GO THROUGH IN A WEEK

21% 50% 29%

LESS THAN 1 1-2 MORE THAN 2

REASONS FOR THE SWITCH EASIER TO USE MORE FLAVORS CHEAPER

VAPING AND COVID-19 Research claims that vaping may leave people more susceptible to the affects of COVID-19

5X

According to a study by Stanford School of Medicine, individuals who have used e-cigarettes are five times more likely to contract COVID-19.

According to a study by the University of Rochester, vaping increases the receptors on cells for an enzyme called ACE2, leading to more severe infections.

ACE2

06 | NEWS

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by celia condon information from New York Times

COVI D CRASH COURSE A breakdown of how different countries’ COVID-19 policies have impacted their case numbers and situations

by lauren dierks

TH E U N I TED STAT E S D ESPITE THE MANY warnings against traveling for the winter holidays, millions of Americans ignored the dangers of the virus. As a result, there was a record-breaking outbreak of over 13 million total cases nationally as of Nov. 27. The

total cases in the U.S. have increased by five million since October with death tolls climbing alongside.

While there has yet to be an official national mask mandate, many states have implemented protocols of their own.

P E RC E NTAGE OF CASES P E R CAP I TA 0-1% 1-3% 3-7% 5-7% 7-9%

SPA I N SPAIN RECENTLY BEGAN relaxing

their restrictions and slowly opening up non-essential businesses and public spaces again, but are continuing to maintain strict border control as to not increase their current

ARE

with work as Nigeria faces their second wave of COVID-19.

Hospitals are flooded with patients fighting for their lives, leading to doctors and nurses also falling ill. The country did not

address the pandemic until late April, and by then thousands had already died. According to Worldometer.com, Nigeria currently has 67,412 cases and that number is continuing to rise.

1 3. 4 M

CONF I R MED U S CASE S

2 70K

U S DE ATHS

CON F I R M E D CASE S I N TE R N ATI O N A L LY

TOTAL

CASE

obeying the strict lockdown. Eager to salvage their economy, citizens have ignored restrictions — resulting in a surge of positive cases and leaving them with over 9.4 million total cases nationally.

28 K

162 K

1. 5 M

ONLY

INDIA THE

INTERNATIO NAL DE ATHS

AT

27,800+ cases nationally, Australia’s success comes from their quick reaction to the pandemic which included closing their borders, tracking cases and going into lockdown in order to keep others safe and return to normal. According to the Washington Post,

number in India has been on a steady decline since their mandatory lockdown, but cases in New Delhi continue to increase. This rise in the capital city is the result of citizens’ impatience regarding

63. 4 M

+ 9%

CURRENTLY

1.4 million total cases.

Although their nationwide curfew has been lifted, they are still experiencing surges in large cities, such as Madrid with 348,900+ cases and Catalonia with 304,500+ cases.

N I G ER I A GRAVEDIGGERS OVERWHELMED

AU STR A LIA

KS CASES

1. 7K

KS D E ATHS

JO H NSO N COU N T Y CASE S

Melbourne — the former epicenter for COVID-19 in Australia — hasn’t reported a positive case since Oct. 30 and has since lifted their lockdown. Citizens have been able to return to a close replica of their normal lives, with offices and restaurants opening up and sporting stadiums packed with fans.

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by elizabeth mikkelson

OPINION

HIGHLIGHTS

A look into student opinions and the opinion section

OPINION | 07

THIS WEEK’S ONLINE OPINIONS SCAN ME | MATH BURNOUT Scan here to read Junior Campbell Woods’ opinion about having to deal with the alltoo-common math burnout that occurs with students in higher level math courses at East

N AT I O N A L O P I N I O N P O L L I N G SCAN ME | HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

HOW WORRIED ARE AMERICANS ABOUT INFECTION? 50%

34.2% VERY 34.0% SOMEWHAT

Scan here to read sophomore Nora Lynn’s opinion story about how although Christmas celebrations might look a little different this year, it’s still a chance to create new memories and traditions with your family

THIS WEEK IN TWEETS

25%

18.3% NOT VERY 11.9% NOT AT ALL

I T C A N B E H A R D TO F E E L TO O G R AT E F U L F O R YO U R OW N H E A LT H W H E N YO U K N OW T H AT M O R E T H A N A Q UA RT E R O F A M I L L I O N O F YO U R F E L LOW C I T I Z E N S ( M AY B E P EO P L E T H AT YO U K N E W O R LOV E D ) H AV E D I E D O F CO RO N AV I R U S ,” W R I T E S @ F I L L F I L I P OV I C CNN OPINION | 11/25/20

0

3/1

VERY

4/1

5/1

6/1

SOMEWHAT

7/1

8/1

9/1

NOT VERY

10/1

11/1

11/28

A N A DV I S O RY CO M M I T T E E W I T H I N T H E C E N T E R S F O R D I S E A S E C O N T RO L A N D P R E V E N T I O N VOT E D O N T U E S DAY TO P R I O R I T I Z E H E A LT H C A R E WO R K E R S A N D R E S I D E N TS O F LO N G - T E R M C A R E FAC I L I T I E S F O R T H E F I R ST RO U N D O F VAC C I N AT I O N . W H O S H O U L D B E N E X T ?

NOT AT ALL

HOW WORRIED ARE AMERICANS ABOUT THE ECONOMY?

N E W YO R K T I M E S O P I N I O N | 1 2 /01 / 2 0

75%

54.1% VERY

ST U D E N TS’ TA K E

50%

IS A FULLY VIRTUAL SCHOOL SCHEDULE BETTER SUITED THAN HYBRID FOR YOU AS A STUDENT? 31.5% SOMEWHAT

Instagram poll of 316 votes

47% YES

25%

53% NO 9.1% NOT VERY 3.6% NOT AT ALL 0

3/1

VERY

4/1

5/1

6/1

SOMEWHAT

*information courtesy of FiveThirtyEight

7/1

8/1

NOT VERY

9/1

10/1

11/1

NOT AT ALL

11/28

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

Follow us on social media to participate in polls

@smeharbinger

@smeharbie

08 | OPINION

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

CAUTION:

design by grace allen illustrations by maria morrissey

Staffer believes it’s irresponsible to treat politicians as celebrities because then you don’t hold them accountable for their actions

THINK BEFORE STANNING P by tommy p aul us

oliticians are not celebrities.

I know that statement seems arbitrary, but now more than ever politicians are being idolized — or stanned if you will — too easily and treated more like celebrities than actual change makers.

While it’s become popular to rave about your favorite politician’s smart remarks or aesthetic style, the line between supporting and idolizing can become murky. Yes, glorifying witty comebacks can be easy — cue “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking” montage — but we also have to be wary of who we are really supporting, bad sides and all.

I am in no way saying that a T-shirt or bumper sticker in support of your favorite politician is wrong.

If you support their policies and what they stand for as a politician, good for you. However, if you’re seeking out information like their go-to Starbucks order or their pets’ names, there might be some problems.

When a politician’s career becomes someone’s obsession — and policy barely even comes up in the conversation — they can lose sight of what they’re actually glorifying. When treating a politician as a celebrity, their “fans” tend to put them on a pedestal and see them as perfect human beings.

But, there are no perfect politicians.

A huge factor of this ability to idolize politicians is the echo-chamber of everyone’s thoughts: social media. Apps like Twitter and Instagram make it painlessly easy for users to share and amplify their love for celebrities: that idolization can quickly turn towards politicians.

When I see posts about how cute Joe Biden’s smile is or how adorably he eats ice cream, I wince in disbelief.

People are entitled to their own feelings, but the hype about those random things is honestly disgusting when they’re talking about an incredibly powerful politician. We shouldn’t be praising the president-elect for eating ice cream, while downplaying his multiple problematic slip-ups, for instance referring to Black voters as “not black enough” if they don’t vote for him. stan

b e a n over zea l o u s o r o bsessive fa n of a p a rt i c ul a r cel eb r i t y.

The same can be said for Donald Trump. Whenever I’m scrolling through my explore page on Instagram, I’ll occasionally come across a piece of fan art that depicts Trump praying to Jesus and asking him for guidance running the country. Donald Trump — the man with three wives, controversies with porn stars and once a close friend of Jeffery Epstein — is clearly on a direct call with Jesus Christ.

“Celebritizing” a politician makes people gloss over important issues the politicians either want or don’t want to tackle. We have seen politicians — the same people who will make decisions on foreign relations and war — give “Vogue Magazine” beauty tips. It’s nice

to see them treated as humans, but unlike celebrities, politicians are literally funded by the American people to create change.

We need to start looking at politicians with more of an objective lens, even if fun for some people to find entertainment in politics. Change is needed on both sides — media and individuals should be more objective when it comes to the way they portray and think about politicians.

When politicians are broadcasted on pop culture media outlets like Vanity Fair or GQ, they’re shown in a light-hearted, playful way, which can be relieving.

However, this leads to the infatuation with them as celebrities rather than politicians. Being infatuated with a politician makes it hard to hold them accountable because they seem “too special” to their fans.

T R I CK Y T R ACK R E CO R DS:

Different faults of politicians who are often idolized by their supporters

A L E X A N D R I A O CASI O-CO RT E Z QUESTIONED FOR NOT HAVING A BACKGROUND IN POLITICS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR BEING AGGRESSIVE AND NOT COLLABORATING

DONALD TRUMP “Celebritizing” a politician makes people gloss over important issues the politicians either want or don’t want to tackle.

Taking a more holistic approach towards a politician guarantees transparency for everything they have done. Instead of praising someone like Congress representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for talking about her skincare routine, we should instead be focused on understanding her policies like the Green New Deal, an ambitious climate plan that has many riled up over its extremeness.

It would be better for media outlets to let politicians explain their ideas and answer pressing questions, rather than asking their “favorite celebrity crush” or “shopping must-haves.” Their policy is more important than fun-fact trivia you can find on their wiki page.

If a politician is seen as more of a person whose job is to dictate the country’s operations, rather than a personality who lives in DC, people will have more initiative to do their own research and hold them accountable for their actions.

It’s very apparent how celebritized certain politicians have become, and with that comes high expectations. Politicians are bound to make choices that are not attractive or well-liked — so your similar music taste with Nancy Pelosi isn’t grounds for looking past her choices and failing to hold her accountable — like trying to cover up the government’s role in the 2008 recession.

The inner workings of the American government sometimes seem like a soap opera, but keep in mind that these are people who get paid to debate on behalf of America’s well-being, not for our amusement.

ACCUSED OF NOT PAYING FEDERAL INCOME TAXES FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS MANY OF TRUMP’S OVERSEAS BUSINESS DEALS REMAIN UNKNOWN FROM BEFORE AND DURING HIS PRESIDENCY

JOE BIDEN BEEN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN HIS PAST BEEN CRITICIZED FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH SEGREGATIONIST SENATORS WHO OPPOSED INTEGRATION IN THE 70’S

E F F E CTS O F STA N N I N G Reasons why stanning a politician can be bad

1 2 3

LOSING FOCUS IN THEIR POLICIES MAKING THEM HAVE IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS NOT HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by riley atkinson illustration by natalie scholz

WEARY

OF THE

Staffer gives her opinion on why SMSD should allow students more time to work solo instead of joining required WebExes

N E GAT I V E E F F E CTS

OPINION | 09

WEBEX

M A K E T H E M OST O F I T Some expert tips on how to reduce damage to your eyes during online school

The facts behind why online learning can be harmful to health 12 9

3 6

2x

while doing school, sit about

those who spend more than

2 FEET AWAY

o n t h e i r sc re e n s a re

let your

from the computer screen

7 HOURS a s l i ke l y to h a ve a l owe r psyc h o l o g i c a l we l l - b e i n g

EYES

p ro d u c t i v i t y c a n b e re d u c e d by n o t ta k i n g b re a ks

15-30 MINS

take break every

FROM SCREENS

reduce glare with a

a n d c a n eve n res u l t i n

MATTE SCREEN

BURNOUT *according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and experts at Mayo Clinic

I

by cesca sta mati

t’s 7:39 a.m. and the sound of your phone’s default wake-up alarm is the last thing you want to hear. You roll out of bed and climb into your desk chair, flipping open your MacBook just in time to join first period.

The thought of seven straight hours of Webex meetings is enough to make the easiest electives feel overwhelming, but even more painful are the hours of virtual assignments that follow. By the time you’re done with school work, the sky is pitch black and you realize you’ve spent an entire day with your eyes glued to a screen.

As the familiar, blue-light-induced migraine settles in, you have an even more agonizing thought: you’ll be repeating this schedule every weekday until at least Jan. 22.

To mitigate the daily morning panic and promote an overall healthier lifestyle, SMSD should allow at least two days each week for students to work on their own, with no required Webex meetings.

It could be a system similar to that of hybrid learning, the only change being that the two in-person days would be dedicated to teacher instruction through Webex meetings using the current block day schedule. This model provides students with flexibility, allowing them time to get up from the desk and away from the screen.

One Webex meeting after another, online school forces students into a sedentary lifestyle for most of the day, with no break

time between classes to go on a walk or catch a breath of fresh air. This depressing, repetitive schedule of back-to-back virtual meetings will be everyone’s “day-in-the-life” for the next two months — and students shouldn’t be forced into this unhealthy routine for the sake of their grades.

For me, the most unbearable part of the switch back to remote learning is the requirement to join lengthy calls every day.

The monotony of online school chips away at my motivation to give full effort into any of my classes.

While many of my peers and I agree that hybrid learning was not much better than full-time remote, the silver lining to the system was the two days a week we had to work on assignments independently. Those days were my favorites, since I didn’t have to wake up to a painful alarm only to spend the next 10+ hours sitting in front of a screen as countless Spanish worksheets and Pre-Calc study guides piled up on my to-do list.

Hybrid’s Webex-free days gave me time to get out and move around, something I’m already missing only a week into remote learning. I was able to use my elliptical while watching AP European History videos or go on a walk after studying for Chemistry.

There’s no chance I’d be able to do these things in the mere five minutes we have between Webex meetings — which I now spend fixing WiFi issues.

While I still couldn’t escape doing assignments on my laptop during those two

filter to help your eyes *according to health.harvard.edu days of freedom, I was able to take a break when my headache became too overwhelming or if I found myself restless and irritable.

Being able to relax, drink some water and exercise during these days made me realize how little time there is to take care of my health during online school.

The monotony of online school chips away at my motivation to give full effort into any of my classes I completed work more efficiently when I didn’t have to waste time in a Webex while the teacher spent the first 15 minutes of class asking each student how their weekend was just so they could fill up up a 90-minute class period.

On top of issues with wasted time and the lack of movement during the current remote school system, staring at a screen for so many consecutive hours is downright bad for our eyes.

According to an article by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on the effects of screen time on eyes, excessive screen time can cause eye fatigue, retinal damage and other long-term issues. Long hours spent on laptops during online school can expose students to these harmful effects, most commonly leading to headaches caused by the blue light of the

screen. I’m sick of spending every day letting my English teacher and my headache wrestle each other for my attention — a girl can only take so much Advil.

Before this school year began, I never had headaches. This isn’t an exaggeration, it was extremely rare for me to feel even the slightest pain in my head. But since the beginning of online school, I’m greeted with the the pounding of the same daily headache that makes me want to skip school entirely and spend the day in some fresh air — preferably miles away from any screen.

I understand that certain courses, such as AP and IB classes, need more time than other classes to teach the information that will be on the test, but this can be done without the lengthy virtual meetings. Students can use the extra time on non-Webex days to study for their class and focus on the assignment without having to worry about bouncing to another class. Plus, the three other days of the week for online instruction should be plenty of time for the lessons that are better taught face-to-face.

Schools may think that more hours on Webex are the only way to teach students during online school, but the accompanied headaches reduce the quality of learning that students are getting. Students should have work days at least two days a week during online schooling as a break from the exhausting, yet inevitable Webex meetings.

The Plaid Pen Personalized stationery www.theplaidpen.com

WAGSTAFF CARTMELL

&

EXPERTS IN HIGH STAKES LITIGATION CALL: (816) 701-1100 | EMAIL: RECEPTION@WCLLP.COM

Chad Wood Broker Owner

www.WoodRealtyKC.com

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by grace tucker photos by annakate dilks

FEATURE

HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURES | 11

A CHANGE IN PLANS Students explain how their families celebrated Thanksgiving while following COVID-19 precautions

GIVING BACK

Students volunteered through SHARE at Scraps KC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the homeless

We didn’t have our typical Thanksgiving dinner with our extended family to stay COVID safe, but we did enjoy the company of family friends we had already been around.

thomas gogel | sophomore

My grandparents weren’t able to join us for Thanksgiving like they normally do because they were worried about COVID, so we just stayed home.

lulu mckee | freshman

A B O V E | Junior Evan Broaddus picks up a button while sorting them into piles based on color.

T O P L E F T | Junior Maya Flynn talks to one of the Scraps KC volunteer coordinators about a specific type of yarn she is looking for.

C OV I D T H A N KS G I V I N G Lots of typical Thanksgiving traditions were rearranged or canceled due to COVID-19

DID YOU GO OUT OF TOWN FOR THANKSGIVING? Instagram poll of 405 votes A B O V E | Junior Grace Kloster laughs as junior Evan Broaddus reacts to what she said.

13% YES

V I D E O F E AT U R E S SCAN ME | GREETING CARDS WITH JOB SKILLS The Job Skills and Careers classes, for special education students to practice and learn skills that will prepare them for life after high school, makes and sells greeting cards. by lawder desantis

87% NO WERE YOUR USUAL THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS CHANGED DUE TO COVID? Instagram poll of 401 votes

80% YES

SCAN ME | PUMPKIN BOWL After the freshman football season was canceled due to COVID-19, Coach Hoover put together a scrimmage — dubbed the “Pumpkin Bowl” in honor of Halloween — between the sophomore and freshman teams as a way to end the season. by liv olson

20% NO

12/13 | NEWS-FEATURE

F

by so phi e h ensche l

*names changed to protect identities

inger over the carb. Light the bowl. Inhale.

Release finger. Repeat.

Junior Lucy Johnson* practices the same routine every morning before a remote school day, as thoughtless as a cup of coffee or a quick breakfast. She rolls over in her bed at 7:38 a.m., logs into her English class and immediately turns off her camera — giving her the opportunity to pack her first bowl of weed for the day.

As students navigate high school largely unsupervised, many have noticed the rates of drinking, smoking and drug use among peers during school hours for students at East has grown rapidly — seemingly stemming from increased anxiety and depression for many. According to an Instagram poll of 287 students, 209 believe they have seen this increase since the school year began — a problem virtually unknown to teachers on the other side of the screen.

Prairie Village pediatrician Dr. Amanda Hostetler has seen the number of students with anxiety and depression in her office skyrocket.

Hostetler says many of the kids dealing with these issues turn to self medication through substances, which can quickly lead to misuse. She believes much of this anxiety and depression has stemmed from isolation without school, leaving students stripped of their social groups and support systems.

Having frequently smoked socially in the past, it seemed like an easy outlet for Johnson when her missing assignment list totaled to 43 within the first month of online school. She decided that she would only smoke one or two times a week to eliminate stress. Then it was three times, four, and soon enough every day. It became three to four times a day, over the span of two months — smoking two to three bowls each time she picked up her pipe.

The smoking stemmed from a mental health decline throughout the first leg of remote learning. For Johnson, the deeper she got into the online semester, the more depressed and isolated she felt and the longer her missing assignment list grew — her anxiety kept getting worse. With these emotions growing exponentially, all she knew to turn to was weed.

“I used to...do it in moderation and never had any sort of issues with it and it helped with my anxiety and depression, but it’s to the point where I need it all the time now,” Johnson said. “I think it’s just online school that’s making me depressed because I’m sitting there not getting anything done, frustrated, wondering why I’m not getting anything done, and then the only thing I can do is go smoke.”

According to Kansas City psychotherapist and ADHD specialist Tom Scott, the apparent growth in teenage substance misuse is due to a growth in teenage mental health disorders since the pandemic and remote schooling began. Scott feels there are much better ways for teens to cope with hardships than lighting a blunt or cracking open a cold beer, especially when teenagers become reliant on the substance to get themselves through each day.

When a student is struggling with substance abuse, Scott’s advice is always to ask themselves: what are you lacking in your life that is making

you feel the need to abuse substances, and what are you getting too much of in your life than you need at the time? He believes that if they find those answers, students won’t have to continually bring something from the outside to make the inside feel better.

With privacy accessible through a simple click of Webex’s “stop video” button, there were no notable consequences to smoking during class for Johnson. But when her laid-back lifestyle caught up to her, she realized the only way to improve her five failing classes was to spend all her time doing school. Grinding out her giant pile of missing work would take months, or she could take a deep breath, crack open her window nad smoke a bowl.

She chose the latter.

Scott firmly believes that teenagers, especially during a pandemic, should find self-compassion and realize that this is everyone’s new normal rather than relying on a substance to get them through the day, week or semester.

“On the inside, I would suggest [learning] a little about the neuroscience of anxiety and stress and being able to be as sad or as mad as you really are,” Scott said. “If you need to cry, cry. If you need to get mad, get mad... opposed to hav[ing] the past rear ending itself with every thought, feeling and such one after another like cars on an icy highway.”

But pulling yourself out of an addiction is easier said than done for students. For junior Nathan Rodgers*, drinking during or before the school day is nothing new. Waking up, taking a

as well — not just since online school began, but beginning as far back as the lockdown in March.

He advises any student who may be debating the use of substances during the school day never to make it a habit.

Drinking nearly every day for the past nine months, Rodgers feels the repercussions of addiction — constantly fatigued, throwing up often and suffering through a lack of energy.

He’s tried confronting the issue of drinking before or during school throughout the years, but had no motivation to actually fix it because the physical toll and repercussions hadn’t fully caught up with him. Now, Rodgers is cutting drinking out of his daily routine with a tolerance break — a pause from any substance in which one is struggling with addiction. However, Rogers plans to continue smoking, saying he just isn’t ready to get through the stress and boredom of a school day sober.

“We’ve seen kids that don’t know when to stop,” Scott said. “We see kids that can’t stop. We see kids that are afraid to get off pot and sometimes alcohol in the same almost panicky manner in which someone would take their phone. It’s like a lifeline to the world, it’s like a lifeline to yourself.”

Scott’s words ring true for Johnson, whose addiction leaves her with little room to avoid substances — even if she wanted to. According to her 15-year-old sister, if Johnson runs out of marijuana and her dealer can’t meet her that day, she stays in her bed all day. Johnson has reached such a deep point in addiction that she feels she

I’m sitting there not getting anything done, frustrated, wondering why I’m not getting anything done, and then the only thing I can do is go smoke.

lucy johnson* | junior shot or two and smoking with breakfast has been incorporated into his everyday morning routine since his first day of high school — so it doesn’t surprise him that he downs about five beers during online school days.

Since Rodgers has never had a teacher, even during in-person school, catch on to the fact that he’s shown up tipsy or high, it’s no surprise to him that teachers aren’t realizing what’s going on behind the scenes now that all they see is a muted grey screen with his initials.

“It’s way easier [to get away with],” Rodgers said. “The kids who didn’t go to school high before are coming to school — or I guess, sitting at home doing school — high now.”

According to Associate Principal Britton Haney, although it’s rare with online schooling and yet to happen at East, if students are somehow caught during the school day with alcohol or marijuana usage, they will follow their usual protocols — an out-of-school suspension and the requirement for students to fill out an alternate disposition agreement.

East has yet to issue an out-of-school suspension, though Haney does not yet know what that would look like due to COVID-19 circumstances.

Not only have Rodgers’ consumption rates shot up, but he says nearly all of his close friends’ have

cannot function day-to-day without her weed, and has no motivation to break the cycle.

“All of your days just kind of blend together and it just puts you deeper and deeper in the hole,” Johnson said. “And you’re just like, ‘Well, I don’t have the energy to get out.’ I wish it never happened like that, I wish we never went online, but we had to.”

Even for those who say their drinking during the school day isn’t an addiction, drinking during the lunch break or smoking during a “passing period” is much easier with no parents or teachers around.

According to East psychology teacher Brett Kramer, it’s shocking to hear about this reality.

He doesn’t think about students being drunk or high when brainstorming ways to keep his kids on track during remote schooling.

Although he understands how different this school year has been for teenagers, Kramer believes that whether it be marijuana, alcohol or any sort of hard drug, substance use is never a healthy coping mechanism. It’s clear to him that teenagers participate in these actions just for fun or to have a story to tell, and they have to remember it’s illegal. But those who have taken this up as a coping mechanism are those who Kramer is really worried about.

HITT “I guarantee you will wake up one day and say to yourself, ‘If I could have it back I would never have stepped foot on that slippery slope, it is dangerous,” Kramer said. “Kids think they’re invincible. You’ve got to be careful because with the notion that ‘bad things will not happen to me’ is proven wrong all the time.”

If given the chance to hand one student a piece of advice regarding what to do if they’re about to step foot on this “slippery slope,” he would say don’t even think about it.

For Johnson, and many other East students, the chance to avoid this is long gone.

“Once I stop, I feel sort of a mental withdrawal,” Johnson said. “It’s like I’m just drowning because I am surrounded by a school setting that has completely destroyed my mental health and there’s nothing I can do but drown.

The weed just helps me tolerate it for the time being... Using weed for fun and using weed to cope are very different.”

According to East social worker Emily MacNaughton, it’s apparent that the 2020 school year is especially stressful with a new form of learning and complete isolation. If a student is struggling with substance misuse, the best thing MacNaughton believes students can do is turn to a trusted adult or caregiver, and if they need help getting there, or even feel like they just need someone to tell, to contact one of the East social workers.

Students who contact the social workers will not be reported and all conversations will be confidential, unless the situation becomes threatening of their life.

Beginning by picking apart the problem and getting through why, emotionally, the student chose to turn to substances, MacNaughton would identify what it was they were trying to manage.

After talking through the emotions, although she cannot force help upon them, MacNaughton would guide students in the right direction of going to an adult, and help find the next step for them to get better. This ensures that the student remains in control of what happens to them at all times — even if events like a pandemic that control externally.

But Johnson isn’t convinced that the option itself for students to seek help will solve a problem that looms this large.

“As a teen, hearing, ‘Go to a trusted adult’ means nothing,” Johnson said. “I advise you to work on yourself. Start planning out your days and making a schedule for yourself. Tell yourself that your grades will go up and it will get better. I believe that everyone can pull themselves out of the hole that they dug, they just have to want to.

Wanting to is what’s hard.”

design by catherine erickson photo by sarah golder

TING THE BONG Some East students are using substances such as marijuana and alcohol during the school day as a coping mechanism for the heightened stress of online school

I NST E A D O F

THE BOOKS

14 | FEATURES High school boys start an unofficial unicycling club

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by annabelle moore photos by mj wolf

HEL L O N WH E E L M E E T T H E ‘CYCL E RS

Rides a 5-foot giraffe unicycle

G R IF F IN K IN G FRESHMAN

Hell on Wheel members unicycle at the Prairie Village Skate Park and the Pavilion

by lyda cosgrove

S

ucked into a hole of endless YouTube videos, freshman Griffin King stumbled upon one video featuring a unicycle.

Knowing his fellow Dungeons and Dragons club member, sophomore Eero Alber, had recently picked up the one-wheeled hobby, he proposed what seemed, at the time, like a crazy idea.

“Yo, Eero,” King sent in a text over the summer. “What if I get a unicycle and we start a unicycle gang?”

What started as a Dungeons and Dragons club in middle school has morphed into the unofficial unicycling club, dubbed “Hell on Wheel,” teaching this group of six teenage boys commitment and providing them a close-knit group revolving around a wheel.

Hell on Wheel is comprised of King, Alber, sophomores Spencer Collins and Luke Kounkel and juniors Alex Blickhan and Flynn Brundige, who the group deems their “diversity hire” because he opts to ride his skateboard over a unicycle.

[Unicycling] feeds my ego. People look at you and they think ‘Oh my God, it’s a person on a unicycle, that’s amazing.

That person is so cool.

griffin king | freshman “It was a bit of a domino effect,” Alber said.

“Me and Griffin learned first, then Luke did because he hung out with Griffin a lot. Then

after a few weeks, we finally convinced my friend Spencer to get a unicycle and learn.”

When Hell on Wheel co-founder Alber received his first unicycle from his grandfather last summer, he wasn’t sure if he could take on the challenge. But it soon became a part of his daily life. Now, it’s rare for Alber to go a day without cruising around the neighborhood.

“The main reason my Grandpa wanted me to start unicycling was because it’s a good way of teaching commitment,” Alber said. “It’s a good way of sticking with something...and good things come if you work hard at something.”

For the group, learning to master the craft of unicycle-riding was a process of trial and error, with no real step-by-step way of learning. And for the members of Hell on Wheel, it only took two weeks — with a few sprained wrists and scraped up knees along the way.

“When you start unicycling, you push off of a wall and you fall immediately for like the first week,” Alber said. “You might get five feet out or seven feet out, but you still fall, and it can get really discouraging. But once you push your [distance] record or you go a little bit past your maximum, it just feels amazing.”

It’s just like riding a bike, according to Collins. Once you build your core strength and figure out the balance, it becomes second nature.

Hell on Wheel meetings occur sporadically, usually with just a few members at a time once or twice a month. It’s nothing too structured — just a small gathering in one of their backyards.

They start out with a card game like Poker before mounting their unicycles and riding around the neighborhood.

As a stark contrast to the cookie-cutter

suburban streets of Prairie Village commonly filled with kids in strollers and fluffy dogs on walks, the unicyclists are used to the odd glances from passersby.

“That is the best part about riding a unicycle,” King said. “It feeds my ego. People look at you and they think, ‘Oh my God, it’s a person on a unicycle, that’s amazing. That person is so cool.’”

Unicycling isn’t just a hobby for Alber, it’s his main mode of transportation: riding the onewheeler to school, friends’ houses, the Prairie Village shops — you name it. But for Alber and the other members, Hell on Wheel has given them more than just a new way to travel around.

Bonding over their unique passion has given them some of their closest friendships.

“Back in middle school and elementary school, I only really had like one friend, which is weird because I had a bunch of superficial friendships,” Alber said. “I had a bunch of people that I knew around school that I could get along with, but I never really connected with anyone on a deeper level. Once I got to high school, I actually found this friend group and we had a bunch of similar interests like everyone in the group played D&D, we’re all nerds and we all love unicycling.”

The members all agree that their sociallydistanced and masked meet-ups, allowing them to stay active while bonding over their passion, have been a source of light throughout the pandemic. With everything from dangerous trick attempts to tossing Swedish Fish and Twix to neighborhood kids, there’s never a dull moment for the members of Hell on Wheel.

Rides a 36-inch road unicycle

EERO A L BER SOPHOMORE

Rides a 20-inch unicycle

LU K E KOU N K EL SOPHOMORE

Rides a 20-inch unicycle

SPEN CER COL L INS SOPHOMORE

design by kate heitmann

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

FEATURES | 15

COPING MECHANISMS Different ways to relieve stress and ease anxiety exercise

validate your feelings

get a good night of sleep

write thoughts in

The Minding Your Mind Club helps students express their emotions. by phoebe hendon

“So, how is everyone doing?”

Senior Liam O’Sullivan’s question hangs in the air for a few seconds. Someone stifles an uncomfortable chuckle; another shifts around in their chair. Eyes dart around art teacher Adam Finkelston’s classroom until finally, someone answers: “honestly, not great.”

Immediately, the rest of the room begins chiming in with responses, nearly talking over each other, yet all in agreement — it’s been a terrible year. Compared to when your social studies teacher asks how everyone is doing at the beginning of class before launching into a Civil War lecture, the tone of conversation among the members of Minding Your Mind Club is much different — there’s no pressure to forge a hopeful “I’m fine” or “I’m okay.”

After months of quarantine and social distancing, Minding Your Mind Club meets to release teens from the pressure of putting on a brave face and provide a safe space for students to open up about the mental impacts of isolation and remote learning.

When O’Sullivan was first introduced to Minding Your Mind Club, he was merely tagging along with his older sister and East alum Sarah O’Sullivan, who helped run the club during her senior year. Despite being one of the only juniors in the club and the only boy to show up at most meetings, he never felt uncomfortable. He was almost surprised with the other members’ willingness to be open about depression and anxiety — issues he’d long struggled with, but never truly opened up about.

When his sister graduated, O’Sullivan wanted to share with others what the club had given to him — a community. He recruited his friend, senior Elisa Byers to be a co-president the club with him for the

next year. Heading into the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, O’Sullivan felt the club was needed more than ever given the impacts of COVID-19 and remote learning put him and his peers at a higher risk for mental health issues.

In a study done by the Center for Promise at America’s Promise Alliance, 3,300 teens aged 13-19 were surveyed with more than 1 in 4 respondents reporting increased mental health concerns since switching to remote learning. Respondents mentioned symptoms including heightened depression, losing sleep to anxiety, feeling under pressure and experiencing lower self-esteem — all issues the members of Minding Your Mind have been tackling in-person during after school meetings this semester.

It was really good to connect with those other people who are going through the same thing as you because you don’t really know that you’re not alone until you really talk about it with people

kennedy kaufman | senior The same study went on to show that of the respondents who said they had available resources for bettering mental and emotional health, 93% felt these resources were helpful to them. For the members of Minding Your Mind, the club is their emotional support group, with many members appreciating the meetings given the lack of genuine support they felt from the school itself.

“I do think that [teachers] could reach out to their students a little more and talk about the hard stuff that you might not want to talk about openly in class or

cry if needed

get some sunlight

let someone know how you are feeling

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS some symptoms of anxiety and COVID-19 may look similar ANXIETY

ANXIETY & COVID-19

COVID-19

rapid heart rate

shortness of breath hot flashes

fever

feelings of impending doom

chest pain

dry cough

feelings of being out of control

chills

trouble breathing

abdominal cramping

shaking

extreme fatigue

take a walk

disconnect from social media

with your peers,” senior and club member Kennedy Kaufman said. “They could even just acknowledge [mental health] more.”

Kaufman found the club through Byers, but when she showed up to her first meeting, she wasn’t sitting down next to a close friend or someone she’d confided in before. Unfamiliarity aside, it only took a few minutes of reading the room and observing how vulnerable everyone else was to get comfortable enough to open up. When O’Sullivan or another member of the club threw out a question about academic stress or isolation anxiety, Kaufman didn’t bite her tongue in the background — she spoke up.

“It’s good to get your feelings out there sometimes,” Kaufman said. “I don’t really talk about [mental health] with my friends that much, and I think it’s good to take time to really express yourself and talk about some of the ugly things in life that you’re not supposed to talk about all the time.”

Along with attending club meetings, Kaufman takes time to practice other forms of self-care, going on walks to get fresh air and going on drives for a change of scenery.

There’s a difference between being alone and taking time for yourself, she says, and with the possibility of a second lockdown in mind, she’s making sure to pay attention to her mental and emotional needs.

Similar to Kaufman, other members of the club have been thinking about how to practice self-care. During one meeting, members took turns sharing one healthy coping mechanism of theirs to inspire others, along with an unhealthy coping mechanism they have in, order to open conversation about how to correct harmful behaviors. Meetings are judgement free — one member gushes about how their new baking hobby calms them after a long day, while another follows with admitting they’ve been struggling with emotional binge eating.

sweating

stretch

hydrate

O’Sullivan and Byers make sure to give time to a myriad of talking points during their meetings, even opening up the floor to others who have questions for the group.

Meetings start with necessary introductions of new members followed by someone, typically the club’s presidents, posing a question to frame the meeting conversation around a relevant issue.

“Elisa and I usually come up with one big question for the meeting, and then we usually let the conversation steer itself,” O’Sullivan said. “So far we’ve covered the election, broken households and quarantine.”

Though O’Sullivan is technically the club’s president, he’s glad to see other members of the club using their meetings to seek help for issues they want to discuss.

One meeting may start with a question about anxiety levels and bounce around between relationship fears, eating habits, sleep schedules and even addiction struggles.

It doesn’t matter to O’Sullivan that one conversation might get derailed and move to another topic; he’s just happy to know his club allows people to share the troubles N AT I O N A L S U I C I D E PREVENTION LIFELINE 1 - 8 0 0 - 27 3 - 825 5

they’d otherwise bury inside.

Though SMSD has reverted back to fulltime remote learning until Jan. 22 at the earliest, the club’s members have promised to coordinate over their GroupMe to meet virtually over WebEx to check in with each other, making sure no one gets lost in the stress of holidays and finals season.

“You’re not alone,” Kaufman said.

“There’s plenty of people out there who can help you get through it, and we’re here to listen.”

SCAN ME | LINK scan this to be added to the Minding Your Mind Club GroupMe

*information courtesy of the national institute of mental health

16 | A&E

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

A&E

HIGHLIGHTS

SCAN ME | STORY Scan here to read staffer Mia Vogel’s review of “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions”

Catch up on what’s trending in the arts and entertainment world

TO P O F T H E CH A RTS MUSIC

design by tommy paulus photos and information courtesy of Spotify, Apple and Barnes & Noble

RECENT RELEASES PL AYLISTS

A L B U M | E L U LT I M O TO U R DEL MUNDO

MOVIES MOVIE:

P L AY L I ST | H Y P E R P O P

SPUTNIK

GENRE:

RUN TIME | 21 H 20 MIN

A R T I ST | B A D B U N N Y

SCI-FI

R E L E A S E DAT E | N OV 27

This new album sees Bad Bunny delve into a more alt-driven style, something unusual for the artist. It still has a reggaeton style, yet is experimental.

A L B U M | P L AST I C H E A R TS

This playlist is full of upbeat and electronic songs. Some songs may seem a little too all over the place, but that is par for the course.

RUN TIME: 1 HR 54 MIN

SUMMARY: A Sci-Fi spin on the story of the American space race. It takes a twist when the head astronaut finds out he has a parasite stuck in him.

P L AY L I ST | F O L K M U S I C

A R T I ST | M I L E Y C Y R U S

MOVIE:

RUN TIME | 31 H 22 MIN

R E L E A S E DAT E | N OV 27

Plastic Hearts is an ambitious rock project from resident pop super star Miley Cyrus. There are plenty of head-banging songs to satisfy.

RUN

GENRE:

If you need a playlist to finish your homework on a cloudy day this is the one for you. Full of lowfi acoustic songs, this playlist will satisfy your folk needs.

HORROR

RUN TIME: 1 HR 31 MIN

SUMMARY: Another fantastic piece with Sarah Paulson as the lead. She plays a violently overprotective mother who is hiding a secret from her home schooled daughter.

A G U I D E TO: BOOKS

K C L I G H T S TO P S C A N DY C A N E L A N E WHERE: 79TH & OUTLOOK LN.

A LTA S C I E N C E D I S P L AY WHERE: 103RD & METCALF RD.

AUTHOR: ED YONG

GENRE: SCIENCES

PAGE COUNT: 400

RECOMMENDATION: A witty and thought provoking

BEST TIME: SUNSET

BEST TIME: L ATE NIGHT

piece by Science Journalist Ed

LENGTH: ~15 MIN

LENGTH: ~20 MIN

countless functions of microbes

CHARM: A C U T E B U T G R A N D D R I V E -T H R U N E I G H B O R H O O D S H OW

CHARM: A M ASS I V E PA R K-A N D WATC H ST Y L E S P E CTAC L E W I T H OV E R 200 K L I G H TS

Yong. This book delves into the in our lives.

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by sydney newton photos by megan biles

A&E | 17

H O L I D AY H O T S P O T Santa’s Bakeshop, a holiday pop-up shop, is the perfect to get into the holiday spirit

A B O V E | The front of Santa’s Bakeshop, located in Martin City, Missouri.

I

by lauren west

f you’re having a hard time putting away the pumpkin spice candles and can’t seem to control your leftover turkey intake, Santa’s Bakeshop in Martin City is the perfect holiday pop-up to prepare for the Christmas season.

Hosted by Martin City Brewing Co., the pop-up allows visitors to grab a quick bite to eat at the original bar and restaurant before heading across the street to enjoy some delicious baked goods and local holiday shopping.

After stopping to take pictures out front with Santa’s sleigh and the colored lights, I made my way into the outdoor makeshift bakery space. The inside was filled with a large Christmas tree and fake-chimney-hung stockings — making me wonder if Santa himself would make an appearance.

Christmas lights were strung every possible way on the ceiling, and the smell of hot chocolate filled the tarp-covered outdoor space, prompting me to jump in line for some yummy treats.

I waited on socially-distant circles as I browsed the menu for what to eat. With a variety of baked goods under the “Santa’s Sweets” section to different options for hot chocolate toppings, I landed on a little bit of everything.

The Blitzen Brownie was rich. For just $4 the dark chocolate brownie with fudge icing and festive sprinkles hit the sweet spot, but left my mouth in desperate need of water.

If the rich desserts aren’t for you, the chocolate chip cookie or PB & Chocolate Rice Krispie would be a great alternative.

TOP P ICKS CHIEFS FIGURE

Nothing in the winter time pairs better with baked goods than a large cup of hot chocolate — especially when it’s as creamy as this one. For $4.75, you can get a 16-oz cup of hot chocolate with your choice of one of the following toppings: mini marshmallows, whipped cream or crushed candy cane and whipped cream. For $15 extra you can purchase your hot chocolate in a KC Christmas keepsake mug — but my kitchen cupboard heavily dedicated to Christmas mugs told me I better pass.

If you happen to visit Santa’s Bakeshop on a warmer winter day — which is very likely given Kansas’s inconsistent weather — a list of 10 different ice cream flavors are available for $3-5.

Partnering up with The Scoop, a neighboring ice cream store, Santa’s Bakeshop has holiday flavors like gingerbread and eggnog to unique “every season flavors” like chocolate oreo and cold brew.

If you’re not bold enough to try eggnog ice cream like me, a scoop of peppermint goes perfectly with the holiday tunes and fake snow flying around the bakeshop. And if you’ve had enough Christmas-flavored items, the banana cream pie ice cream is another great option, with actual pieces of pie in each scoop.

There are a few tables spaced apart that are perfect for sitting with family and friends. Just next to the bakeshop is a large flat screen T V displaying the day’s sports games — making my Sunday Night Football a whole lot more festive.

The cutout of the Grinch and flashing lights make it easy

to get distracted while chowing down, but don’t forget to check out the local gift items stationed at the front of the pop-up.

This year it’s more important than ever to shop local, and with the holidays coming up, Santa’s Bakeshop offers the perfect sample of different local goods with a range of items from Kansas City shirts to handmade decorative snowmen.

Wooden tables fill the left corner of the bakeshop and are covered with holiday decorations, Kansas City cardstock drawings, jewelry and more. If you don’t find something you want to purchase while browsing, business cards are scattered around each item so you can check out the local stores another day.

Other items like heartshaped tote bags are available for $20 where 100% of the profit will be donated to the local food pantry, which is a great way to give back to the community.

Santa’s Bakeshop is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 4-9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m., for the rest of the holiday season.

Some of most popular treats at Santa’s Bakeshop

PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM

HOT CHOCOLATE WITH WHIPPED CREAM

BLITZEN BROWNIE

18 | A&E

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

A WILD GOOSE

C H AS E

Three staffers explore the city through the virtual scavenger hunt app, GooseChase

by anna mi tchel l

design by rose kanaley photos by rachel bingham

by peyton moore

COMPLETING MISSIONS LIKE participating in a 100-meter footrace or adding a touch of pink to your hair is the perfect challenge for any family or friend group looking for a change of pace from days spent lying around the house. The GooseChase app is a free, customizable and virtual scavenger hunt that works perfectly for our socially distant world.

To test it out, my friends and I split into teams and set out on an adventure around KC, snapping pictures of our odd tasks to hopefully come out on top of the leaderboard.

Creating our own holiday themed

scavenger hunt — “Turkey Chase” — was very simple. The site explains how to add missions made by other creators or you can even create your own. This feature allows you to add in the upcoming holiday missions such as finding a Santa look-alike or a tricky mission like family-specific trivia. When starting the chase, simply download the app and enter the game code. Both the site and app are so selfexplanatory that even my not-so tech savvy grandma could participate in our virtual holiday celebration.

Missions have point values ranging from 200 to 1000, with things like

smashing your face in a cake for a mere 300 points or playing human jenga for a whopping total of 1000 points, sure to set you higher on the leaderboard. The best part is that each mission requires no contact between teams, so no need for the awkward conversations between distant relatives.

The Mighty Mitchells, Chez’s Chicas and Peyt’s Mates competed against each other in the “Turkey Chase”, safely speeding around our Kansas City bubble to complete up to 40 missions in only 60 minutes. Here’s a look at how each team’s experience went.

M I G H T Y M I TC H E L L S

WHILE THE APP itself said the Mighty Mitchells ranked a sad second place, we were the real winners. Forcing my three older siblings — Will, Kate and Ellie — to tag along and complete missions all over Kansas City, we settled the usual sibling fighting and brought lots of memories as we sped from 95th Street all the way to the WWI Museum.

We started off at the gas station staging a picture “running over” Ellie, getting $0.11 of gas and drawing Sharpie abs on Will — securing 400 points. Eventually we made it to Hen House for a thumb war with a stranger and a tight squeeze into a tiny grocery cart before heading over to Loose Park for a family pyramid, all while the 60

minute time limit ticked down.

We ended with 6,200 points, even though the app shut down on me in the middle of Loose Park. Mighty Mitchells ended on top in my heart, as it brought a family bonding experience and added a little competition to our Thanksgiving break. Rather than watching “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” for the third time on the couch, the scavenger hunt forced us out of our comfort zones and gave us a chance to have some fun around KC. If you are up for something different and feeling bored of the chaos that is 2020, creating your own GooseChase hunt is totally for you.

CHEZ’S CHICAS by cesca stamati

IN NO OTHER situation would I ask McDonald’s workers to smile for a picture or lounge in a shopping cart in the middle of a Price Chopper parking lot all in one day. Full of fun tasks to keep you busy for an hour, this scavenger hunt had Chez’s Chicas driving frantically around town to get the most points.

While we didn’t quite make the mark — placing third with 5,100 points — sophomores Greta Stechshulte, Morgan Turpin and I had a great time racing against

by peyton moore

WHILE JUMPING FULLY clothed into the Meyer Circle fountain could’ve made us legends in our “Turkey Chase”, we decided our mugshots popping up on the activity feed might scare away our competition. So, instead we started by making a complete fool out of ourselves by playing leap frog at Loose Park and finished in the McDonald’s parking lot — landing us at the top of the podium.

With no rules set before the competition, me and my most idiotic friends placed first by doing less-than-desirable missions. Our competitors claimed that my team had an advantage as the game makers, but it was all about strategy.

We constantly refreshed the app’s feed to see our competitors’ location and tactics.

By focusing on the food-oriented tasks, we not only shot

P E Y T ’ S M AT E S up to the top of the scoreboard, but satisfied our growling stomachs. GooseChase gave us the opportunity to eat three cookies, three large sodas, a $0.50 meal from McDonald’s, a rainbow Quik Trip slushie, a hamburger and an energy drink — all of which had to be downed in less than 30 seconds.

The GooseChase app isn’t perfect, as it froze half way through the competition, but my team members were able to download the app and prevent a loss of time.

With minutes to spare, we found our shining light, freshman Blake Hanson, who pushed our score over the top by posing for the 400 point “freshie” mission and aiding in our win of the ultimate prize — bragging rights. With no competitive spoons or thought-provoking family trivia this holiday season, creating a GooseChase to finally beat your crazy great uncle is the perfect activity for our not-so-normal month of joy.

the clock and doing embarrassing tasks in public places.

I ended the chase with three chocolate chip cookies from different places — giving my team the perfect reward for all our hard work.

My experience with GooseChase can be described as fun, memorable and an unusual way to spend time with friends. If you’re bored of doing the same old activities and feel like mixing it up, I absolutely recommend kicking your comfort zone to the curb and going on an adventure with GooseChase.

20 | SPORTS

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

SPORTS

design by peyton moore

B R E A K- U P w i t h

HIGHLIGHTS

Updates, schedules and an opinion about the winter sports season

BASKETBALL

A staffer’s experience getting cut from basketball as a senior and going through the five stages of grief by meg a n b iles

AS I WALKED into Coach Archer’s office on the last day of basketball tryouts, I never expected my plan for this year would be in tatters when I walked out. The precedent for as long as I’ve been at East was that seniors don’t get cut. Sure, maybe I shouldn’t have gone into tryouts with that mindset, but that was why I was so shocked when Archer said there wouldn’t be room for me on the team this year. My heart immediately sank. I’ve played basketball since I was five years old, and imagining my life without it brought on an immense feeling of pain through the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

DENIAL: How could this happen? No one believed me when I told them I got cut. It wasn’t until my mom could hear me completely bawling my eyes out over the phone that she realized I wasn’t kidding. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this program the past three years, so getting cut at year four felt like a knife through my back. It didn’t seem real.

A B O V E | Senior Reese Althouse breaks through Freshman Abigail Long’s defense to make a layup during scrimmage. photo by julia percy LEFT | Sophomore Ethan Curran throws a low pass during a layup drill. photo by hadley chapman

T O P | Junior Greer Hembree gets free throw help from assistant varsity coach Matt Jacobsen. photo by lily mantel

L E F T B O T T O M | Re m ai n i n g si x- fe et apar t , a t h l etes began stretching to warm-up for the second day of tryouts. photo by tristan porter

M A R K YOU R CA L E N DA R A few important sporting events in the future

DEC

10

FEB

16

GIRLS BAKSETBALL |

WRESTLING |

VARSITY SME VS. BSM

VARSITY @ SMW

@ BSM

D O N ’ T F O R G E T. . . a ticket is required for entry mask must cover mouth and nose keep 6-feet between spectators

ANGER: With almost everything else stripped away from my senior year, basketball was supposed to be the bit of normalcy I would get despite the pandemic. But it was taken away from me by a coach who still called me “his favorite player.” I wanted to hate the coaches; I wanted to get them fired. However, I couldn’t help but point the finger towards myself, trying to figure out what I did wrong, what I did to deserve this.

BARGAINING: I created a lot of “what if” and “if only” statements in my head. “What if I had tried harder in tryouts?”, “If only there had been less seniors trying out.” I formulated ways to potentially get back on the team, but the coaches could only offer me a manager position.

I declined the offer. It would have been nice to still see the girls I had grown up playing with, but I would have been miserable watching everyday what could have been.

DEPRESSION: The feeling of rejection left me heartbroken. I dropped lower and lower with each word of Taylor Swift’s breakup song, “All Too Well,” blaring through my speaker. She’d been dumped by Jake Gyllenhaal, and I’d been dumped by basketball. Barely making out the words between each tear and sniffle, I not only hated the world, but thought the world hated me.

ACCEPTANCE: Accepting this decision was no easy task — how could I let go of something that had such a big impact on my life? It wasn’t until I was able to start picturing my life without basketball that I was able to try and move on. Without basketball, I’ve decided to try other things that have sparked my interest, like trying out for the musical or fostering a dog. Accepting the coaches’ decision was the only way I could truly move on and start to make myself happy again.

GRIEF DOESN’T NECESSARILY ever go away. There will be days when all the pain comes rushing back: I have to remind myself, it’s ok to be sad. In the meantime, I keep my score sheet from tryouts hung on my mirror as a reminder that you SCAN ME | STORY can’t expect anything in life — you have to earn it. And even though this Scan to read the full version year hasn’t turned at all the way I of Megan’s planned, I get through it each day by story about getting cut from remembering there’s so much more to basketball life than basketball.

design by lily billingsley photo by trevor paulus

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

WEIGHING

SPORTS | 21

KSHAA and wrestling team hope to reduce unhealthy weight loss strategies practiced by wrestlers through regulations and proper training

THE CONSEQUENCES by sophi e lind berg

S

itting in a sauna an hour before the weigh-in at his club wrestling tournament, junior Max Franklin wanted to make sure that he would make weight for his competitions. Aiming to sweat out some water weight, sitting in the sauna for 15 minutes was about the equivalent of going on a quick run.

Former and current wrestlers on the East team have experimented with methods of rapid weight loss — such as dehydration and short periods of fasting — in order to meet the benchmark criteria of their desired weight class for the sport, but there are rules and precautions in place by KSHSAA to prevent this from being taken to an unhealthy extent.

Before wrestlers hit the mat, they’re required to hit the scale to determine their weight class placement — competitors in the same weight class are paired together.

The weight classes are used to maintain as fair of a match as possible. According to those in the wrestling community like 2018 East Alumni and former wrestler Dane Erickson, dropping down a weight class gives you an advantage over your opponent. If you can quickly lose temporary weight and wrestle someone that’s smaller than you, you’re generally the stronger one. “[Wrestlers] will try to lower their body weight, and often use extreme means to do so,” psychologist and Director of the Eating Disorder Center at Children’s Mercy Dr. Kathryn Pieper said. “I will say that these days, a lot of high school and college coaches have been educated on how dangerous this can be, and it can put someone at risk for developing an eating disorder.”

Mental health can become a bigger issue the worse or more rapid the weight loss situation gets, says Pieper.

Limiting food and water not only plays into muscle fatigue, but without necessary nutrients, the brain isn’t properly fueled. With these combined, losing sleep can become a problem as well.

“We see some athletes in the Eating Disorder Center at Children’s Mercy that are affected by what they think they’re doing is rigorous training for their sport, but sometimes it tips over into an eating disorder,” Pieper said. “And then they become dependent on using these methods to either keep the body weight down or sometimes they’re relieving the psychological pressure that they’re under.”

Erickson explains that common rapid weight loss methods he and other wrestlers have used are dehydration and short periods of fasting. Dehydration being the most effective — wrestlers would avoid water for half a day and enter lower weight classes.

Dispatch Health water is essential in regulating functions of the body. If the body runs low on water, it can cause physical weakness, less endurance and bring on a set of impaired brain functions such as trouble with grammar, math and other tasks requiring excessive brain functioning.

Franklin recalls times where he would limit his food intake the night prior to a competition, though he notes fasting is a rare method of cutting weight for most of the

team. Dehydration tend to be more effective in rapidly losing the weight, where as limiting food eaten can be more of a gradual process.

Some athletes may over-exercise and wear layers of clothes that cause them to sweat more to shed off water weight quickly.

According to prevention.com, these short-term weight loss methods can bring forth a multitude of issues like dizziness or lightheadedness throughout the day, or feeling overall fatigue due to a drop in blood glucose. Losing this glucose can make athletes “hangry” putting them in a bad mood, referenced by Erickson.

“It’s amazing how much weight you can lose in one day,” Erickson said. “I’d go and usually weigh-in Saturday morning. So I go on Thursday night, Friday morning, weighing three pounds over and have no problem getting down to the weight I need to be. Oftentimes after practice Friday nothing enters your lips. So no water, no food after practice Friday.”

Precautions and education surrounding these issues are required by KSHSAA as an effort to eliminate the issues before they become severe, according to Pieper.

KSHSAA requires all wrestlers to pass a hydration assessment before the alpha weigh-in — the one prior to the beginning of the season — and the certification weighin, which decides the lowest possible weight class for each wrestler.

The wrestler provides a urine sample after the alpha weigh-in and before the certification weigh-in. The assessment cannot be passed until the sample expresses a correct level of hydration, and once passed, the wrestler can continue to the certification weigh-in, according to KSHSAA’s Wrestling Handbook.

This assessment is to get the most accurate representation of the athlete’s weight in order to categorize them correctly.

It guarantees that the wrestler did not cut water weight prior to the weigh in to make a lower weight class, effectively giving them an advantage over the other wrestlers in that weight class.

Franklin thinks wrestling is a very physically demanding sport that can sometimes be difficult to stick with, but believes that as long as wrestlers follow a healthy diet and exercise only within healthy amounts, there shouldn’t be a reason to cut weight rapidly in most circumstances.

Boys’ wrestling coach Chip Ufford agrees with Franklin, and says that it takes courage to step on the mat and go one-on-one with another wrestler. He has respect for the people that make it through the season and come out stronger and healthier. Aware of the pressure wrestling can put on athletes, Ufford makes an effort to preach healthy eating and lifestyles in order to keep his team in shape and successful.

“We tell [the wrestlers] that they’re a race car and need race fuel,” Ufford said. “That means eating clean: Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, avoiding sugar eats, pops and all that stuff. And are there some guys that don’t do that and try to lose weight the wrong way? Yes, there are. But we want them to try to work towards their ideal body weight.”

A B O V E | East varsity wrestler competes during a wrestling match against Shawnee Mission West last season.

KSHAA REGUL ATIONS GROWTH

WRESTLERS ARE ALLOWED A TWO POUND GROWTH TO BE ADDED TO THEIR CERTIFIED WEIGHT BEFORE JAN. 1, 2021

HYDRATION

ALL WRESTLERS MUST PASS A HYDRATION ASSESSMENT WITH A 1.025 GRAVITY BEFORE THE INITIAL WEIGH-IN

8% LOSS

THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, WRESTLERS’ WEIGHT CAN’T INCREASE OR DECREASE BY MORE THAN 8% OF THEIR INITIAL WEIGHT

22 | SPORTS

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by madeline funkey

PUSHING FOR PLAYING TIME How East Alumni are planning for their college sports seasons with COVID regulations

NCAA GUIDELINES Former goalkeeper of East’s varsity soccer team Izzy Zukaitis is now a freshman and soccer player at Lincoln Memorial University. photo from Izzy Zukaitis

A

Former member of East’s track and field team Toni Englund is now a junior on University of Kansas’ track and field team. photo from KU Athletics website

by allison wi l l cox

s the fall semester comes to an end, college students lack certainty as to what their winter and spring sports seasons will look like.

During the fall of 2020, colleges mitigated the spread of COVID-19 through sports teams by enforcing regulations that included mask requirements and regular testing.

With the pandemic worsening over the past few months, winter and spring athletes are still in the dark about whether or not they’ll get the chance to compete. However, schools are expecting to continue holding their regular seasons with precautions, according to the NCAA. East alum and freshman at Illinois Wesleyan University Kathleen Stanley plays on the Women’s basketball team and has been attending daily practices and weight training to prep for the upcoming season in January.

While the team has had limited contact time during team drills and some canceled winter break practices, they’re still planning to begin their season as long as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin continues to allow sports and teams to play.

“It’s all up to how many COVID cases

there are and if it is going to be safe for us to play,” Stanley said. “I would assume if teams have limited cases or no cases before games and if the county which schools are located have limited cases [we could play].”

Stanley and her teammates have been unable to participate in their typical preseason games, but since basketball is in the

At times I find it a little difficult to stay focused and motivated in my training knowing that ll the work I am putting in may be for nothing if our season ends up being canceled.

toni englund | junior at University of Kansas winter, she’s still able to play during the normal season.

Although Stanley will be able to play during the usual winter season, other athletes haven’t been so lucky. East alum and freshman at Lincoln Memorial University Izzy Zukaitis plays soccer, a fall sport, which

Former member of East’s varsity basketball team, Kathleen Stanley is now a freshman at Illinois Wesleyan University and is on the women’s basketball team. photo from kate nixon

was canceled until the NCAA made the decision to move their season to the spring for this year.

LMU follows a guideline made by the school which states that if more than 50% of the team, including coaches and players, were exposed to COVID-19, practice would be suspended for two weeks. Zukaitis expects this exposure rule to become even more serious once the team begins competing against other schools.

Similar to Zukaitis, East alum and junior at the University of Kansas Toni Englund expects the school will enforce strict regulations with social distancing and masks to ensure a spring Track and Field season.

While Englund’s season is still scheduled, her team won’t be competing in as many meets as in years past.

“KU Relays, the outdoor meet we host in the spring, has already been canceled,” Englund said. “Most of our meets will be within the Big 12 conference and of close proximity to Lawrence. With a reduced budget, we can’t afford to fly as often as we used to. [The] administration has mentioned taking more buses so athletes can spread out more and attend meets with only three or

How the NCAA plans to adjust to keeps athletes & staff safe social distancing temperature checks testing sanitation disinfection of high-traffic areas

four teams. In the past, there would be meets with as many as 30 plus team entries.”

Even though Englund’s team has been following COVID-19 regulations, including limiting indoor practices and wearing masks and goggles during weights, there is still uncertainty as to whether the season will proceed as planned.

“At times I find it a little difficult to stay focused and motivated in my training knowing that all the work I am putting in may be for nothing if our season ends up being canceled,” Englund said. “But in a sport where training is so crucial, I remind myself that training now is preparing me for not only my upcoming season, but my senior year season as well.”

While sports and regulations are constantly changing in response to COVID-19, athletes are hopeful that colleges will follow through with sports during the winter and spring seasons.

“Right now it’s a go,” Zukaitis said. “I think athletics are pretty determined to keep things as normal as possible for all the students. I don’t really know what it would take, but I think it would take a lot to cancel the whole season.”

design by photo editors

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

PHOTOSTORY | 23

TG IBF

THANK GOD IT’S BLACK FRIDAY Shoppers take advantage of the Black Friday sales while following the state COVID precautions

A B O V E | At Lululemon on The Plaza, workers wait outside to greet the line of people coming in and ensure safety precautions are being followed. photo by megan stopperan

A B O V E | Sophomore Kate Cronenwett shops at Urban Outfitters on The Plaza. Cronenwett says, “I was kinda nervous about COVID, just because I didn’t know how many people would be there.

But for most of the part, I wasn’t worried because I could keep my distance and keep my mask on.” photo by taylor keal RIGHT | To keep people safe this Black Friday, many stores had rules for mask wearing and set occupancy limit. For Francesca’s, the occupancy limit was 23 people in the store at one time. If the limit was met, people had to wait outside the store to get in. photo by sarah golder

ABOVE | On the morning of Black Friday, an out of town shopper asks a Plaza security guard how to navigate the busy shopping area. photo by sarah golder L E F T | A Bath and Body Works employee talks to a customer waiting outside in the line.

The Bath and Body Works store had social distance markers on the sidewalk outside the store. photo by trevor paulus

24 | ALT-COPY

THE HARBINGER | DECEMBER 07, 2020

design by nora lynn photos by tristen porter

SEROTONIN B ST

YOGA

liv olson

Staffers share activities they’ve found give them instant serotonin boosts

I ONLY STARTED doing this recently, but it is so relaxing! I watch Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube and follow her bedtime yoga routines. The movements, music and dialogue relaxes you and helps you get sleepy and clear your head. She runs you through some basic breathing exercises and positions that release stress. And don’t worry — it’s not intimidating — she doesn’t include any complex stretches and poses. Check it out!

SOMETIMES ALL YOU need to lift your spirits is as simple as getting out in the sunshine, listening to that perfect Spotify playlist or reorganizing your room for the hundredth time. Finding that little happiness booster can make the biggest difference in your day and finding it isn’t always easy. Here are some suggestions from the Harbinger staff for activities that will give you an instant seratonin boost while trying to beat seasonal depression.

LIGHT A CANDLE sarah golder

WHENEVER I’M FEELING off, I always light a few of my favorite scented candles and then paint which is really calming. I’ve also found adult coloring books are a really nice for a mindless, destressing activity.

JOURNALING sydney newton

DURING QUARANTINE I got to the point where I was so bored I started journaling.

Now, journaling is my go-to activity when I’m in a bad mood. Whenever I’m super stressed out, I make a to-do list for the day or even the week because then it feels like less on my plate. I also make lists of things I’m grateful for, or even lists of things that make me happy.

ORGANIZING ethan enderle ON SUNDAY OF each week, I take the day to clean my room, do my laundry for the upcoming week, fill out my calendar, etc. At the end of every week, there are dirty clothes all over my room, my school work space is disorganized and everything is just not in its place. It gets this way because I go from school to work, and then work to home. When I get home, I’m so tired I just want to go to bed. Tidying up on Sundays is really satisfying and prepares me for the upcoming week.

BAKING

rachel bingham I LIKE MAKING cookies after I’m done with a hard test or after I finish a lot of homework. It makes the house smell really good and they taste great right out of the oven.

The whole family enjoys them and if you have even more time, you could decorate or try a new recipe. If you’re going for more of a healthy reward, slice bananas, cover them in peanut butter on top on a cutting board and put them in the freezer for 30+ minutes. Once they’re done, it’s almost like a homemade ice cream.