the
Issue 11 02.22.05
harbinger
a publication of Shawnee Mission East • 7500 Mission Road • Prairie Ross Boomer
M
ost dads make their daughter’s kindergarten graduation, camera in hand. But David missed his daughter’s, saying DEA agents were recruiting him in a bar. Most dads wish their daughter good luck when she calls to tell him that she’s leaving for the navy. But David responded to his own daughter’s call by saying God was getting him a new Saab. And most dads, upon discovering that their elementary school-age daughters found a man smoking crack in the backyard, would try to shield them from the sight. But David sat his daughters down and taught them how to use a crack pipe. He isn’t like other dads: David’s schizophrenic. And for his three daughters, including East students Amy and Sarah, life was filled with strange encounters, frustrations of not having a real dad at home, and a biological father who – because of his mental disorder and drug abuse – became a phone number flashing on the caller-ID every few months. David didn’t always have his condition, however. Serving the Air Force in the 1970s, David experimented with a variety of drugs, including cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine. His substance abuse later brought on “drug-induced” schizophrenia. “He always had the possibility and the genetics to be schizophrenic,” Amy said. “But what brought it out was the drug use.” Although his former wife Anne married him during his military service, the disease wasn’t apparent at the time. Five or six years into the relationship she started noticing signs. “One night I came home from work and he was outside kneeling,” Anne said. “He crept over and whispered, ‘They bugged the house. They know I did drugs in the military. We can’t go in.’ At that point I was like ‘Riiiightt.’” Despite constant paranoia being a common sign of schizophrenia, Anne tried to ignore the condition, and David
Village, KS • 66208
only got worse. “We would be in the grocery story and he would pull me over and whisper, ‘all these women want me,’” she said. “Only later did I find out he actually believed that.” Trying to intervene, Anne got David professional help, and he was put on medication. “[But] schizophrenics realize they are different, so they go through stages when they say strange things and stages when they hold it back,” Anne said. “He was stable when the medication worked. But when he was really whacko, he would throw [the medicine] down the sink.” Because she still had faith in a more stable future, Anne decided to have children with him. “I eternally thought he would get better,” she said. “But it just got worse and worse and worse. Medication and counseling didn’t work.” Thus their whole childhood David’s daughters were aware of something different about their father. Amy first realized this fact one day at the mall when she was four. As the two went up an escalator her father randomly spun her around and he lifted her up above the moving stairs. “You’re this tiny thing … and you think you’re going to fall and die. At that point I truly realized, ‘Oh my gosh! Who would do that to a little kid?’ “ Peculiar behavior like this became commonplace as Amy and Sarah continued to grow older. Whether he kept them secluded in a room because he felt the rest of the house was dangerous or made the daughters stay on the lookout for an escaped convict while he left to flag down a cop, David’s behavior never surprised his daughters. “It’s kind of like our childhood was an adventure because he always thought someone was looking for us,” Amy said. “It was like we were in a war the whole time.” David also continued his drug use. “If he could get his hands on it, he would use it,” Amy said. “We never caught him, but you could smell it.”
continued on page 12
DANGEROUS
MIND
Father with schizophrenia puts stress on daughters
2 news
the harbinger
Bryan Dykman
art by Sara McElhaney
Debate over
EVOLUTION
The debate over the origin of life evolves. On Feb. 2, more than 500 filled Schlagle High School’s auditorium in Kansas City, KS, for a public hearing on proposed changes to the Kansas science standards. The Kansas City Star reported that a newly elected committee, composed primarily of conservatives, decided to increase the emphasis on earth sciences while once again decreasing the emphasis on biology. But what truly drew the crowds’ attention was a proposal drawn up by eight of the committee members asking the state to recognize a new theory: intelligent design. According to the Intelligent Design Network, a nonprofit organization that seeks objectivity in science’s origin, the theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection. “Maybe [intelligent design] could be taught as a sociological/theological, separation of church and state discussion. This is a science classroom. In here my job is to make students aware of what science most widely accepts: currently that is evolution,” biology teacher Tom Heintz said. Senior Stuart Sudekum agrees. “We can understand down to the single celled amoeba with relatively little controversy,” senior Stuart Sudekum said. “But as far as the origin of that amoeba is concerned, we should leave that to philosophy class and teach what we are certain of in science class.” However, there are some who would like to see some diversity when teaching evolution.
news BRIEFS
Summer School
“Students should have a couple of choices when it comes to learning evolution, creationism, or in this case, intelligent design,” sophomore Emmie Scott said. “Perhaps when the issue of the origin of life comes up, divide the class by how they believe so that they each can examine their respected issue without undermining anyone else’s beliefs.” This is not the first time that proposed changes to the Kansas science standards have been made. In 1999 the Kansas board of Education voted 6-4 to downplay the teaching of evolution. They removed many references to evolution from the state standards and allowed individual school districts to decide if they wanted to teach it. “When I heard this I felt like ‘here we go again,’” Heintz said. “Who says evolution is not God’s intelligent design? I would certainly feel presumptuous in saying so. Is relativity in question as well, since the King James Bible doesn’t mention it?” Soon after Kansas chose to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution, the state was ridiculed on the national stage. As a result, voters elected a moderate board that restored evolution to the state standards. But in January, the committee was reelected, and once again the conservatives hold the majority. “When schools feel uncomfortable with an issue, one of two occurrences can happen: They can either keep out of the issue completely or embrace the most popular opinion,” former biology teacher and current assistant principal Dr. Ron Mersch said. “I believe that students should be helped to find a common ground, and educators should assist the students’ understandings of these issues in order to be fair
STUCO Speeches When: Freshman - today at 10:30 a.m. Sophomores - Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Juniors - Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Where: Auditorium
When: Sign up for summer school started Feb. 7 and is continuing
What: Students will present speeches for STUCO during the week for which position Where: Talk to the counceling center they wish to have for the following year. Lisfor sign up information. ten to each speech then vote for your STUCO What: Students can take certain cours- representatives for next year. es in the summer. Check to see if the course you want is offered.
Feb. 22, 2005
Most Popular Theories
• Intelligent Design: theory that nature and complex biological structures were designed by intelligent beings instead of being created by chance. • Creationism: Belief that God created the universe and all living things according to the Bible. • Darwinism: Theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of inherited variations that increase the individuals’ chances to compete, survive and reproduce. to both sides of the argument and the students.” The committee concluded that intelligent design is too new to new to be taught. Instead, they are asking that students be presented with multiple theories of evolution, not just Darwinism. The committee plans to continue having hearings in order to help them draft the best possible revisions to the state standards. The standards could be approved and implemented as early as late summer or early next fall. “I am not here to challenge what you believe in. In 22 years of teaching at East, there have been only three instances where individual students expressed concerns and we’ve always worked through them,” Heintz said.
Free Concert When: Friday at 7 p.m. Where: The concert will be located at First Baptist Church of Shawnee, 11400 Johnson Drive Shawnee, KS 66201. Ask sophomores Johnny McGuire or Joey Soptic for directions from East. What: The Case is a local band with sophomores Joey Soptic, Johnny McGuire, and Taylor Henson and Tommy Dewolfe from Rockhurst. The band will pass out free CDs if you come to the concert Friday night!
issue 11
news
a time to
SHINE
3
As the fashion show approaches, student designers and models work hard to earn time on the runway
Laura Nelson
Lights shine. Cameras flash. All eyes are on the model as your ribs, with a floral design cost $5 per yard for the she saunters down the runway. denim alone. While the jacket can be sewn with a normal Small girls dream of becoming models and having sewing machine, it will take hours to make. their time to shine; however, these are dreams that are But Fischer isn’t in it for the money. often unattainable. For fashion-oriented students at East, “It would be nice to get a prize, and I can add this to modeling and designing clothes is possible. my college portfolios,” she said, “but I really do it to have Through the Fashion Affair, a fashion show run by a good time.” seniors Cynthia Goldman and Emily Boullear, students from Seeing her designs modeled is one of the best parts all five Shawnee Mission high schools have the opportunity for Fischer. She loves to see the audience reactions to her to submit and model original apparel. Designs will range clothes and loves to be onstage. from duct tape to trendy—and everything is created by “It’s really fun to see my own dress [on a model],” students. Fischer said. “When people think it’s the For coordinators Goldman and really cute, I can say, ‘I made that!’ ” Boullear, the fashion show has been For senior Cicy Li, preparation and What: The district fashion show. difficult to arrange. Sponsors were designs more casual. Her design? Duct When: the show is currently being hard to find and only 20 applications tape. rescheduled for late March. “Last year, I made a shirt and a skirt were turned in on the due date, as Price: $1. Proceeds go to UNICEF. out of duct tape,” Li said. “This year, I opposed to last year’s show, where Who: Student models and there were over 90 participants. The think it will be a dress.” designers. show has been rescheduled for late Li first got the idea of making a It’s not too late to enter! The fee is $5. March. duct tape dress from the scholarship Most of the money for the five competition “Stuck at Prom.” The prizes comes from the standard entry competition offers $2,500 to the best fee, which is five dollars, and sponsors. However, neither prom attire for a couple made entirely of duct tape. Student Council nor the Art Club donated any money While Li didn’t have time to make an entire prom towards the event. Boullear hopes that advertising by ensemble, she wanted to make a duct tape outfit. She only flyers and press releases in the Kansas City Star will help uses silver tape, about one and a half rolls, and outfits raise more money and more entries. Tickets cost $1, and all take three to four hours to make. She places sticky sides proceeds will go to UNICEF. towards each other. Junior Erin Fischer someday dreams of going to the New “Otherwise,” Li said, “It would be a really, really painful York Fashion Institute of Technology to become a fashion prom dress to get off!” designer. Her dreams are slowly becoming reachable Though Li’s inspiration comes from “Stuck at Prom,” through Broadmoor Technical Center’s fashion classes and Fischer’s inspiration mainly comes from magazines. She opportunities to design and model through the fashion receives almost every fashion magazine available, every show. month, from Elle to InStyle. Fischer will model a yellow chiffon dress, sewn herself, Fischer also admires designers like Marc Jacobs, Oscar SENIOR fashion show coordinator Emily Boullear works on which is intended to slip on over a bathing suit. It took her de la Renta and Louis Vuitton. over a day to make. The materials were free; her Broadmoor “It really amazes me that [these designers] can keep cutting and sewing fabric for her Fashion Affair dress entry. teacher donated the chiffon. Other outfits were more coming up with new ideas and see new things before and another completed a prom dress with a long train made expensive. anyone else does,” she said. of feathers. Another of Fischer’s designs, a green silk skirt with pink Last year, designs ranged from common fashions, like “The audience and the people love the fashion show,” tulle underneath, cost her $10 per yard. A denim bolero skirts, heels and jackets, to more wild designs. One prize Boullear said. “It’s a chance to show off all of your hard work jacket, which is a cropped jacket ending at the bottom of winner designed a dress made entirely out of popcorn bags, and ideas.”
photo by Kevin Grunewald
Fashion Affair
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Feb. 22, 2005
4
news
the harbinger
Collecting the Ca$h
The East Fund raises money for school improvements Libby Nachman Some kids have Individual Education Plans. Others have the option to take International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement classes. But there’s nothing to help the “middle kids” at East. Kathy Gates and group of parents, faculty, alumni and local business leaders decided to change this when they created The East Fund in 2003. “We don’t really have a booster group for education,” Gates, president of the Fund, explained. The Fund is an endowment fund created specifically to benefit every person that attends East. The goals of the fund are to do a better job providing individualized programs to everyone, and to make crowded SME feel smaller and closer, because “in a smaller environment you can be more effective,” Gates said. In the past school year, the Fund has given out many grants to applicants. The
most common request is for technology. In September, $9,384 was given to the math department for the purchase of 2 SMART boards, 2 SMART board stands, 4 laptops, and Maple 9.5 Software licenses. In December, $2,738.51 was awarded to the Fine Arts department for the purchase of a digital camera, a projector and a replacement lamp. To raise money to fund these projects, the annual “Feast for East” was created. The Feast for East is a dinner with silent and live auctions that take place in the fall. Such things that are sold include trips, homemade items and gifts of time. For example, one of the basketball players sold some of his time to a 5th grade boy. He took the boy to dinner at Mr. Goodcents before an East game, and then let the boy sit with him on the bench during the game. Over $50,000 were raised at the 2004 Feast for East.
Other ways money has been raised is through solicitation. Letters were written to people asking for donations. “Every gift we receive is valued,” Gates said. Since the beginning of the year, 10 grants have been applied for. Five have been funded, and the others are still being reviewed by a committee. The most recent application deadline was Feb. 10. “We all have special needs as people,” Gates said. “This will benefit our school for years to come.”
The SME fund’s goals • Assure the long-term success and continued high standards of SME. • Involve the entire community in defining and celebrating excellence at SME. • Raise funds to meet our community’s goals for a rich and rewarding high school. • Focus on the needs and expectations for all SME students. • Work cooperatively and supportively with existing and future interest groups. • Engage the entire community to broaden and deepen support and resources • Make decisions locally through a board of staff, parents, and community stakeholders.
art by Sara McElhaney
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opinion
issue 11
Left Brain
5
OVERLOAD
Students shouldn’t be required to memorize specific details when there is a bigger picture to be had Erin Morrissey in my own words I sat at my desk, staring at the blank spaces on the test. What could possibly fill this space? Guido da Montafeltro? Gianni Schicci? I racked my brain and tapped my pencil as I tried to determine the correct answer. That was when it hit me...it didn’t matter who Dante Alighieri had a conversation with in the Fourth Bolgia of the Eight Circle of hell in the “Inferno.” Sure, it counted for a point towards my grade in the class. But, in the scheme of things, what significance did that one name hold? Absolutely none. The themes from this book--the real, raw concepts-- those mattered. But were we being tested on that? No. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that English, or any school subject, is insignificant in the least. I’m simply making the case that many classes have become centered on memorization instead of actual comprehension. I’m not trying to blame this on any certain teacher or course. It’s a flaw in the schooling system and it is doing us all a great injustice. Think about it: all throughout our educational careers we’ve had to memorize countless things, only to regurgitate them during exams. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember most of it. Perhaps if in classes like History and English we were tested on things like themes, causes, and links instead of just being asked to parrot back some arbitrary names and dates, we’d remember more of the last ten years of schooling. All this became apparent to me during my last English test over Dante’s “Inferno.” For those of you unfamiliar with the book, it’s the first in a series of three called the “Divine Comedy,” in which Dante the Pilgrim travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. My teacher led several class discussions, in which we talked about the author’s true meanings and whether or not we agreed with them. I enjoyed the lectures. However, I was unpleasantly surprised when I learned that to prepare for the test over the “Inferno,” we would be required to memorize about one hundred names. This came as a shock to me, because, honestly, why did the names really matter? Dante didn’t write the “Inferno” because he wanted a bunch of high school sophomores to be able to recite the names of every character in Circle Six. He wrote it as a commentary on sin and the afterlife. Only after thinking for a while about
this way--memorization valued over than comprehension. They explained to me that testing like that was a great way to determine if we actually did the work. That was quite a surprising answer to me--wouldn’t the teacher be able to tell if we’d read the book or taken notes over a chapter if they asked us questions that actually mattered? Questions like: Why did the Civil War take place? What role did pride play in the “Iliad” and “Odyssey”? Inquiries such as these could surely be a better way of testing students’ knowledge than asking them who, where and when questions. Of course this would involve memorization, but it would be more concrete. There would be much more of a reason for this sort of studying. We’d be reviewing things that would serve us later in
what the book truly meant did I come up with art by Davin Philips some sort of analysis as to the significance of it. He wrote it to teach life. us a lesson that what we do in life is related to what we do I’ve been lucky enough throughout my school in the afterlife, and I don’t think I would learn that lesson career to have several teachers who understood this by knowing who all the characters are. Although this test was a blatant example of the extreme concept. A subject that is commonly associated with the over-emphasis of memorization, it wasn’t the first I’ve memorization of theorems, Math, was introduced to me encountered. I dropped out of Chemistry halfway into the in a new way this year. In the class I’m currently in, we’re first quarter of the year because I couldn’t stand to study allowed to use notes and books on the tests and quizzes. all of those formulas and elements. Maybe I was being This doesn’t mean we’re allowed to cheat. We still need lazy, but I think I had a point. In my life, I’m never going to know how to work the problems on the test, but we’re to need to know how to calculate the velocity of atoms or not expected to know the formulas. It’s a good thing, whatever it is we were doing. Even if I do, it’s not like I’m too, because I wouldn’t be able to remember them. I’d going to remember it. I’m not denying that this kind of probably end up writing them on the inside of my hand knowledge has some relevance. What I’m saying is that before the test anyway. But being able to do this seems were I to ever in my life need to know how to calculate the like preparation for the real world. We’re able to look up density of something, there’s a 99.9% chance I’d be able the facts, but we have to know how to apply them. That’s to look it up. Attempting to retain obscure information how I think it’s supposed to be. I don’t want to whine about the amounts of studying is a waste of everyone’s time. I’d be temporarily storing we have to do. I don’t mind working if I feel like it’s the facts in my head for the sole purpose of doing well on worthwhile. I really enjoy learning-- I just don’t appreciate the tests, rather than to better myself and learn. Making a flashcard in order to cram for an exam isn’t going to help the way we’re asked to prove that we’re doing so. Ask me me retain the information for life. I understand that I’m about the true meaning of something we’ve studied, and going to have to take another science class so that I can I’ll gladly provide an answer. Until then, you can find me graduate, but that doesn’t mean I agree with the concept of begrudgingly attempting to memorize the spelling of ten million names and locations-- accent marks included. asking students to recite formulas and polyatomic ions. I once asked a teacher why so much of education was
Feb. 22, 2005
6
opinion
the harbinger
Living
Life to the
FULLEST It’s time to focus on the things that matter Amanda Allison in my own words
Okay, so let’s get rid of all this hypothetical nonsense that just gets in the way of life, the “what if’s” and “I don’t know’s”. Can we please love who we are going to love and smile when we want and actually follow those trite little saying on notepads: Live Life to the Fullest! Make a Difference! GO! I once read this kohan in my English class as part of a religious literature section, filled with words of wisdom from the more-than-a-handful of amount of faiths in the world. The kohan was said by a monk and went like this: “The world is vast and wide — why do you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?” Exactly. The world is larger than I could ever imagine, filled with too many pockets that I will never explore. I know that, and so with the thought in mind that life is indeed a little shorter than desired, we must enjoy what we have right now. And that is life. And though this idea that I need to experience and be and love during the time I am given may have been realized a little late, I’m going to try and put it to use. I’m going to live. Really live. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of feeling like a dog in one of Pavlov’s experiments — of being told that at 8:35 a.m. I must speak Spanish and go by Adelia and that at 2:50 p.m. I must take my seat in the vast journalism room doing the stuff that I do. That I always do. I come home and do my ‘work’ that I must get done. In those hours I am thinking of nothing but myself while looking at a dingy, plastic notebook, with TO DO’s and SERIOUSLY, DO IT THIS TIME’s scrawled under assignments and pages and numbers. I find it amazing that one can compact an entire day into a seven line box. At night you look at what you have to do, not what you did that day. Did I feel loved? Scared? Intimidated? Was my laugh heard or opinion voiced? I don’t know. By the time I’m sitting at my desk at 12:30 at night, I have forgotten the happenings of the day and am only focused on the NOW and what page has more information about the Austro-Prussian war. Though I may know what my Spanish assignment is, I have no clue or no remembrance of the people I interacted with, laughed with, and wished to be closer to. This is the stuff that directly contradicts what my mom says and what
counselors and colleges say: Get a good education but be well-rounded. Well-rounded meaning having a LIFE, having FUN. If all of those inspirational posters tacked up on the walls to help ‘guide’ us are correct, then why isn’t everyone happy in the world and why can’t I, say, have a movie marathon on a Wednesday night? A school night? We’re not living life to the fullest and we know it. We know it when we pass up those brownies at the party because Spring Break is approaching and, you know, you have to look ‘hott’. We know it when we make others feel worthless—when we shout out our accomplishments and gifts, leaving them with no words, only a blank stare of loneliness felt after hearing that they’re in no way good enough. Because as we’re living and experiencing life, others are too. Tambien. Each of us expands in our little bubbles of happiness and joy. Sometimes bubbles overlap and join. This is friendship. This is love.
KIDS in the Hall
Freshman Candyze Harris
Sophomore Amanda Levy
“Creation, because I think it’s better to use your imagination.”
“Evolution. We have evidence and scientific reasoning for it.”
Feb. 22, 2005
We need to be careful not to pop anyone’s bubble, because if that happens, they are never the same and afraid to ever expand again. And that is a scary thought. So after all of this postulating and murmuring of paper words, I have a proposition. And I’m not about to tell you to do anything I’m not willing to do. Promise. I say we all record in our planners and socio-organizing books of pages all that we did that day. The good, the bad, the pretty and the corrupting. At night, before drifting off the sleep, make the resolution that you will be you, simply you, the following day. Don’t let bells change who you are, hour to hour, band to biology. Expand in your bubble—melt into another’s and find happiness. Don’t be a fake or a perception. Be someone who could write their own bundle of inspirational placards for others to paste on their refrigerators and locker doors. Be you who isn’t afraid to live.
Evolution OR Creation? Junior Austin Tschudy
“Creation, because that’s what I’ve always been taught.”
Senior Stephen White
“Evolution, because it sounds better and makes more sense.”
editorial
the harbinger
7
Assessing Assessments Standardized testing, No Child Left Behind, state assessment tests are useless for East Apparently no one told President Bush that standardized of poor performance on the assessment. Even if a student testing isn’t the best way to win a had tried to fail, unlimited retakes are tender place in the hearts of teachers available. The retake policy stands for Writing, Reading, and and students across the USA, yet he other assessments as well. and Secretary of Education Margaret Standardized tests are, by their Math Assessments are Spellings are backing efforts for very nature, nonspecific and basic. ineffectual. yearly assessments for all high The recent writing assessment was to be graded on Six Trait writing criteria, school students. These scores would be included in Adequate Yearly which, because of its restrictive and categorical approach, many students Progress(AYP) for the No Child Left agree disagree absent Behind law. Standardized tests not hadn’t practiced since elementary school. This means extra time was only waste time in the classroom, but they are poor indicators of academic taken out of class to discuss the expectations of such criteria and allow time for practice and achievement or improvement. The Kansas Writing Assessment that juniors took 3 questions. The same applies to a social studies or science weeks ago is rife with examples. Not one student from assessment, in that the testing material must be reviewed Shawnee Mission East has ever failed to graduate because beforehand, and this eats up time better spent advancing in
letter to the editor Dear Editor, I am a parent writing in support of the senior guys who dress up and paint themselves in blue to show their support during the basketball games. They have shown their unfailing attendence and cheers at all of the games, home and away. They have also provided us with some good laughs. I think I have even seen hem get a couple of smiles out of Coach Hair! The Blue Guys, cheerleaders and student fan support have all been tremendous this year. They are definately the “6th man” on the team. At the SME vs. Rockhurst game, SME won not only on the court but in their overwhelming fan attendance that closed down the ticket gate even before the Varsity game tip-off. It was awesome to have HOME COURT advantage at Rockhurst. Thank you students and Blue Guys, for reminding me how much fun high school can be. Kay Nelson
harbinger
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Editorial Cartoon
Michael Pope
10 - 0 - 1
the curriculum. This is especially frustrating for advanced classes, such as AP courses, in which every minute counts. In this case, a few days used for a state assessment equals a few days wasted before the AP test. Which test is really more important to the student? State assessment scores won’t land students in ivyleague universities: the statement “my class made AYP” isn’t exactly résumé-worthy, and no one is going to send their writing assessment to a college as a sample of their best work. Considering only two tests, the Kansas Reading Assessment and the Kansas Mathematics Assessment, comprise the testing portion of yearly progress, it’s reasonable to suggest that the facets of East’s intellect will be grossly shortchanged. Is more testing the solution? That’s one question we all know the answer to.
Ian McFarland Evan Favreau Erin Morrissey Curtis Shank Peter Goehausen Ben Whitsitt Sara Steinwart Tom Grotewohl Cay Fogel Amanda Allison Amanda Allison Courtney Condron Cay Fogel Bryan Dykman Evan Favreau
Danny Mapes Ross Boomer
Letters to the editor should be sent to Rm 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. Letters can be edited for length, clarity, mechanics, and libel, and accepted or rejected at the editors discretion.
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Adviser
Derek Martin Clare Jordon Scott Peterson Joey Soptic Davin Phillips Sara McElhaney Michael Pope Bryan Dykman Maggie DiSilvestro Lauren Kelly Erin Morrissey Meg Fracol Emily Rappold Samantha Ludington Molly Magoon Kelsey Stabenow Aimee Slater Kate Larabee Katy Garringer Kevin Grunwald Dow Tate
The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the Shawnee Mission East or SMSD faculty, student body, or administration.
Feb. 22, 2005
grandmas Kn t
8
features
the harbinger
just
for
Students join knitting club and donate to charity
Sylvia Shank
The handwritten sign scotch-taped to the front door reads “KNIT KNOTS.” Nothing more. Inside, the family room of the Mission Woods home is filled with the muted clicking sounds of busy needles. A monthly knitting group is getting together this Sunday afternoon. It’s not, as one might suppose, a group of kindly grey-haired grandmothers who are meeting today. Rather, it’s a group of SME students. Among the needles and yarn are t-shirts from Hollister, and American Eagle. A voice-activated, digital video-camera phone rings while Annie Lynch, junior, winds the yarn around her needle’s point in this centuries-old craft. “People say only grandmas knit, but I taught my grandma to knit,” Amanda Haviland junior and co-chair of Knit Knots said. “We’re a SHARE project and we meet every month to learn new patterns. We donate a lot of what we make to groups that need scarves and hats, like kids with cancer,” co-chair Lynch said. Most of the Knit Knots are knitting scarves and different kinds of hats. They are learning beanie-style hats today that will be donated to a project called Kaps for Kendall. The project collects all kinds of caps for anyone, particularly children, going through chemotherapy. Mary K. Holdgraf, an SME parent and veteran knitter is on hand today to answer questions and help instruct the
knitting club. “No, to d o a purl, you need to hold the needles like this,” she calmly demonstrates to one girl. “It’s a way to exercise your brain,” Holdgraf said. “It involves both your left and right brain and it’s actually very therapeutic.” “Back when the Arizona Cardinals were the St. Louis Cardinals, the entire team used to either knit or needlepoint when they traveled,” she adds. “A friend of mine used to travel with the team.” Haviland has prepared several mugs of steaming hot cocoa and has put out a snack table full of Twizzlers, fresh fruit, chips and hot nacho cheese dip. One knitter, junior Grace Brulatour, takes a break to grab a few grapes from the tray of fresh fruits. Knitting isn’t the only activity she is involved in. “I volunteer at Brighton Gardens,” she said. “And I run cross country and track. I didn’t even know how to knit until this year when my mom taught me.” So, do you have to know how to tell a knit from a purl to join the knitting club? “No, you don’t have to know how, to join,” Lynch said. “Although most know at least a little when they begin.” The co-chairs of the club, Lynch and Haviland, did not start
Knit Knots. “It was started several years ago,” Lynch said. “We also have some people who come to a meeting and then just knit at home because they can’t 1 out of 3 women knows come to other meetings. They how to knit. donate what they make to us 2 out of 3 who knit do it for charity and all the time for relaxation. they spent knitting still Since 1998, there has been a counts as community 400% increase in women under the service.” age of 35 who knit. “Usually, we Source: http://iwpshopinfo.inte meet at The Studio, rweave.com a knitting shop near the Plaza,” Lynch said. “They let us work downstairs.” The Studio also hosts Friday ‘Teen Nights’ at which teenagers are invited to knit and socialize. The Studio provides snacks and teens bring their own music. It’s open to all teenagers and they have the option of working on their own knitting projects. “We also have funky patterns for teens like hand warmers, leg warmers, and unusual purses,” Ali Scholes, owner of The Studio said. “They’re the kinds of things adults probably wouldn’t make.” But this is the kind of party most adults would be surprised to find teens having.
Knit-Picked Knitting Facts
Out of the fire and onto the shelf Sara McElhaney
Students make money creating and selling art
photo by Kevin Grunwald
Senior Jessie Holswade descends the paintings. He remembers one painting in staircase into his basement nearly every particular that he had been working on afternoon to fire up his torch and work on for several days. The oils were beginning his glass creations. Unlike many artists, he to pile up on the canvas, when Szafransky won’t be sentimental about losing his tiny accidentally jostled the painting and the beads—they will be carted off to Auntie’s whole piece slammed to the floor, spattering Beads in Corinth Square to be sold at thirty oil paint all over the room. He peeled the dollars per set. canvas off the ground where it had hit, and “It’s not unusual, I just don’t think that instead of starting over, he decided to exhibit many people do it,” Holswade said of his it in a show. glasswork. “And that’s one of the ones that sold!” Though less common than yardSzafransky said. clipping or burger-flipping, East art While creating an original piece may students are making use of their talents be important when painting, beads are by selling their art for money. Senior Dale often treasured for their uniformity. Szafransky and Sophomore Jodie Maurer “Once you make a name for yourself, also share Holswade’s interest in showing you can do whatever you want, but for and selling art. Szafransky’s show now I’ll make whatever people want to experience comes mainly through Open buy,” he said, “I’m a teenager and I could Studio, a fall program run by the Kansas use the money.” SENIOR Jessie Holswade works on glass sets after school to be sold at Auntie’s Beads. City Art Coalition. The program spans two What do students do with the money weekends in which people can visit houses, they make? Maruer saves most of hers, restaurants and other places where local but Holswade puts his money back into his some of her own acrylic paintings along with her aunt’s artists have an exhibit. He participated last year with his work, and she has been having annual art shows every fall creations. Recently he purchased a twelve-hundred dollar mother, who is a local artist. torch for glass working. since then. “I guess I’m pretty lucky because I have some “It’s kind of like the Cadillac of torches,” he said. Though she has sold more than thirty pieces, Maurer connections through my mom.” Szafransky said. Though Holswade plans to continue sell beads through doesn’t think selling her art means selling out her integrity. Maurer also has some family connections to the art “If a certain type [of painting] sells more, then I might college, the others see their hobby as just that: a hobby, world. When her aunt visits from St Louis, she often brings look more into that subject, but if I had to paint on someone though lucrative at times. her Mexico-inspired silks, jewelry and paintings with her. else’s schedule, I wouldn’t enjoy it.” Maurer said. “I’d become a waiter before I’d sell art for a living… On a few occasions, her aunt has had an art show out of Szafransky has the same attitude, and doesn’t think of [painting is] more for me than anything,” Szafransky said. her house. About three years ago, Maurer decided to show his art as a commercial endeavor, though he has sold several
Feb. 22, 2005
features
issue 11
9
Kathleen Bole Five whistles, five minutes. One whistle, one minute. A thirty second whistle. Finally the last whistle, and they’re off. Every summer sophomore Abigail Harlan moves with her family to Door County, Wisconsin to sail on Lake Michigan. She races with the Ephraim Yacht Club. Harlan learned to sail when she went to camp and has been sailing ever since. “When I first learned to sail, I hated it, but once I started competing, I loved it,” Harlan said. “[Sailing] teaches me patience; you have to sit there and listen for where the wind is coming. You have to think a lot but it’s also really relaxing and peaceful,” Harlan said. “I just love being outside a lot and I love the water and the setting. Sailing keeps you sharp because you have to be
Sailing Terms
starboard - right side of the boat portboard - left side of the boat leeward - direction away from the wind windward - in the direction of the wind spinnaker - run going away from the wind beamreach - sideways to the wind broadreach - sail farther out jib - sail in the front of the boat
thinking all the time. It just has so many different dynamics that I love about it.” On a typical day, Harlan sails in the morning with friends. In the afternoon she goes to work at an ice cream shop, and returns to race in the evening. “During the day, we just mess around; we have ‘pirate days’ where we’ll pirate each other’s boats or launch water balloons,” Harlan said. Harlan races in a Monday, Thursday series. She warms up at 4 p.m., sailing for half and hour to make sure everything on the boat is working well. Harlan is a crew member, in charge of checking the jib (the front sail) and keeping the boat balanced. A more experienced member skippers. “You have to move really fast and really precisely. You’re so sore by the end of the day,” Harlan said. There are five whistles, issued by the committee boat, that count down to the start of the race. The contestants sail six times around the boats, rounding the windward mark and then the leeward mark. After every two laps you take a break. “You want to be the farthest inside because then you’ll get the best wind. You don’t want to be behind a boat because then they’ll slow down your wind,” Harlan said. A race can last anywhere from one hour to three hours depending on the weather and the water conditions. At the end of each summer, there is a big race called the Regatta. Last year Harlan helped on the committee, but this year she plans to help with organizing the 100 Regatta. “Tons of boats come to the Regatta from all around the Midwest. When you line up it’s tense because you don’t want to hit any of the other boats and get disqualified. You have to be quiet; you don’t want to tell your plans for the race,” Harlan said. One year at the Regatta, Harlan started sailing in the morning when it was stormy with turbulent water.
Feb. 22, 2005
photo courtesy of Abigail Harlan
Sophomore races sailboats in Wisconsin
PREPARING for a race, sophomore Abigail Harlan works on the jib, the front sail “My partner and I couldn’t keep the boat down, so we called in an extra person and went out,” Harlan said. After they came in for lunch they went back on the lake. The storm had subsided and it was hot and miserable. “We had all this extra weight; we just sat there for three hours praying for the committee to end the race,” Harlan said. “Not a single boat even made it over the finish line; we had to be towed in.” Sailing isn’t just about racing for Harlan; she also sails with her sister, freshman Haley Harlan and friends. “On Monday night after we race we go to taco night and then on Thursday nights we go bowling. There’s a drive-in and we just do fun stuff like that,” Harlan said. At the end of the summer Harlan is sad to leave her friends in Wisconsin, but excited to see her friends back in Kansas City. “It’s such a fairy tale world up there; once you get there you don’t want to leave,” she said.
Ordinary
RITUAL
Church on S
Fasting during Lent.
Students work religion into their life Starting the Day It’s 5:40 a.m. and senior Reed Fagan is just getting up. He doesn’t have to go in to school early for homework help, and he doesn’t have a sports practice or workout this morning. He’s waking up to pray to God and read the gospel. Praying every morning is just a part of Fagan’s daily routine. He does it to talk to God and prepare him for the day. At about the same time, sophomore Carly Beck is just rising out of bed. A rainbow-colored bubble letter sign hanging above her bed is the first thing Beck reads each morning. Along with a daily calendar of gospel quotes, it’s her spiritual prep for the day. “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God,” the sign reads. “I interpret it as bread is a trivial thing and it’s just a material that’s insubstantial when you compare it to a relationship with God,” Beck said. It’s students like Beck and Fagan who use this morning prep to keep their relationship with God in mind the rest of the day, in everything they do.
Meg Fracol
The Daily Habits It’s a Wednesday morning and Reed Fagan’s just finished his morning routine. He hops into the car, puts in a Christian CD and heads to Homer’s Coffee House for a Christian club gathering. Later that day at lunch, Fagan will sit quietly, head bowed and hands clasped. He prays before eating lunch in the school cafeteria. Kids around him talk about classes or what went on this weekend, but he’s only focused on one thing: thanking God. “I pray because Jesus said that’s the way to get closer to God,” Fagan said. His other friends are used to this daily ritual by now. At the beginning of the year, they used to think he was falling asleep, mumbling with his eyes closed, until he explained he was praying. Now they wait quietly or talk until he’s finished and whenever someone tries to interrupt him who doesn’t know his routine, they stop them and let them know he’s praying. Simon Kass, a Jewish friend of Fagan’s, enjoys being able to talk to Fagan about things like the Bible and differences in their religion . “The cool thing about Reed is he doesn’t try to force his religion on you,” Kass said. St. Agnes Parish Administrator John English has seen an increase in the number of teens participating in church activities over the past four years. While he feels the 30-50 age range questions religion the most because they’ve reached a point where they’re examining their lifestyle, teenagers still ask good questions about basic church beliefs. “I would say they don’t “buy” it totally so to speak, but they do ask and ponder in-depth about it. They ask good questions…and we don’t always know the answer,” English said. Those who consider themselves religious don’t always remember to pray all the time or regularly every day. That’s why some, like sophomores Emmi Scott and Carly Beck, have special reminders. Beck wears a golden cross necklace given to her by her grandmother. It’s a sign to her of what she believes
in and when she feels the weight of it, it’s a reminder to pray. Scott, on the other hand, wears several reminders upon her fingers. One is a nail ring that symbolizes the nails on Jesus’ cross and is a reminder of the pain he was put through. She also wears a silver band with a maroon gem and tiny, circular designs in the silver around the stone. This is her promise ring, a reminder that she’s going to remain chaste until marriage. She will also draw thick black crosses and fishes on her hands. “After a while seeing it every day it’s something new to remind you that God’s there because you get caught up in the everyday stuff that goes on. With school, friends, and the everyday drama you forget about God,” Scott said. Both Beck and Scott agree writing bible verses is even better to relate it to their day and the things they go through. Scott always writes down Philippians 4:13 before going on stage to sing. “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me,” the bible verse says. Scott first found meaning in this quote at a Christian camp. She was supposed to sing and play guitar in front of an audience. Nervous about her performance, she talked to her counselor who kept repeating this quote for her. Since then, it’s been a prep before any show. “I’ll still be nervous, but it gives me peace at the same time just knowing that I’m not by myself and God’s with me,” Scott said. Beck and Scott also agree the best method of praying is just talking and making their own prayer as they go rather than reciting known prayers. “I find a lot of cool symbolism in the Our Father, but in the Hail Mary you zone out because you don’t really focus on what you’re saying,” Beck said. “It’s more personal,” Scott adds. Purpose of Religion Sophomore Emmi Scott explains why she feels it is important to pray and talk to God. “ It’s like any other relationship. If you don’t talk with your friends you’re not going to keep that relationship with them,” Scott said. Not all religious people live their life for the same reasons, although most do involve keeping their relationship with God strong. Sophomore Carly Beck, who volunteers at her church to help teach religion to a middle school group, sees it more as to set an example for others. “It’s not just to get to Heaven, but to be remembered as a role model for people to come. You don’t have to touch the masses, as long as you touch one person,” Beck said. While different sects of Christianity have differing opinions on the little rituals and Judaism and Christianity differ on Jesus’ divinity, almost all religions include an explanation to the creation of the universe and human beings. As Fagan says, it’s this mystery that attracts people to religion. “It’s a really wonderful thing to be able to talk with the creator of the universe,” Fagan said.
But when it comes life, for some it’s
the
lit
that it so
Sunday.
.
s to everyday
ttle
make o real.
Dante’s “Inferno”
stimulates
DISCUSSION
Cay Fogel
Sophomore honors English teacher, Kelly Fast, suggests that students take an online quiz early in their second semester. The quiz decisively places each quiz-taker in his or her appropriate level of hell, while suggesting each student’s torturous punishment. Fast only suggests the quiz because it’s structured to emulate the religious and moral standards of Dante’s Inferno, required reading for his class. It’s the only book in the required reading list that acts as an authority about religion and morality. And it’s taught in a public school. The reason it works is a combination of the way it’s taught and the atmosphere in which it’s received; the book generates a great deal of free discussion, and excludes any lectures or rules. “I think that some teachers mishandle the book, “ Fast said. “Some people can’t help but preach to their students.” Sophomores learn about an academic, hypothetical, theoretical hell with intense emphasis on humanity, morals and art. The religion of the book is acknowledged, but only in the form of citing allusions to biblical parables and characters. Fast doesn’t teach Dante’s hell as the Hell that students learn from their parents and their priests, and he uses the text to challenge students to discover their own morals and beliefs. The idea is to get involved, to become submerged in the strange, twisted culture and contraposso of Dante’s Divine Comedy. But the religious aspects of the book don’t go unpondered by the non-denominational class. The book’s plot is a man’s journey through a Christian hell, and his
gradual understanding of sin and its consequences. Fast thinks that the book affects non-Christian students in his class, because one of the levels of hell concerns the virtuous unbelievers; those who don’t believe in Christ but are moral people are sent to Limbo to suffer through a lonely, melancholy eternity. The idea of innocent individuals being sent to hell because of their unfortunately timed births tends to turn a few stomachs. “It makes students feel that Dante was a kind of a jerk. Usually they come around by the end, though.” Fast said. “Most of the reactions actually come from kids who say that they are atheists, and don’t believe in God.” It’s not like reading any other book, students agree. It’s an experience, complete with projects and background research and myths and metaphors. The class never turns their books back in without at least one person being affected. Students read and emerge from the edge of hell with their own ideas. “It’s like a scary movie,” said sophomore Ben Ashworth, “I know it’s fake, but I still get scared at the idea of crap being shoved down my throat for all eternity.” This is Dante’s divine punishment for gluttons. And of course, some students are barely affected at all. “It was entertaining.” said Weston Anderson, “But it didn’t, like, change my life.” This is exactly the point. A sophomore class can read a book about heaven and hell and walk away thinking that it was not offensive, but entertaining.
12 features
the harbinger
Students deal with schizophrenic, absent father
At one point the mother found marijuana growing in the basement. “[So] I killed it and told him not to do it again,” she said. “But he would then go do drugs with his friends.” David’s strange behavior also involved his deep religious faith. “He would think he was a disciple of God,” Amy said. “If he didn’t get a job, he said it was because they didn’t like Christians.” It was religious faith that also kept the mother in the marriage. Despite the father’s drug use and declining mental health, Anne believed that she was supposed to stay married forever. Only after at least 19 accounts of indecent exposure did she finally decide to separate from him. “You get to the point when you finally realize that there is more damage than good,” she said. “You’re going to end up hurting yourself, hurting the kids, hurting those that love you if you stay with him. When Amy was in first grade and Sarah still in preschool, the two parents separated and two years later divorced. Besides occasional visits when he still lived in Kansas City, the sisters still rarely saw their father. And when they did, Amy would make herself sick to avoid staying long. “Being around him would make me so physically nauseous that I would start throwing up,” she said. “After the first time I got sick around him because of food poisoning … my body kind of figured out, ‘Hey if I get sick, my mom will be able to pick us up.’ So my sisters would be like, “Amy do something to make yourself sick,’ and in an hour or two I would be throwing up.” Two years after the divorce David moved to South Carolina, and the sisters started to live life without a father. “Around ninth grade I would see father-daughter breakfasts and father-daughter dances,” Amy said. “At first it was kind of annoying, but I brought a friend’s uncle because he was … someone I was close to who was male. After that I accepted the fact that I didn’t get to do those types of things. [But] if I wanted to, I’m sure there was a way.” Sarah was too young to remember her father when her parents separated. “I’ve never really known what it was like to have a dad, so I don’t really miss it,” she said. “I think about what it would be like, but I don’t envy it at all.” To make up for her lack of a father, Sarah grew attached to her neighbor’s dad, even giving him Father’s Day gifts. “I would spend the night there a lot of times, and he would always tuck both of us in,” she said. “In my mind I viewed him as more of my dad than my actual dad because I was around him a lot more.” Even with substitute-father figures, the girls still felt the stigma of having a schizophrenic dad. “Everybody from my elementary school knows he’s crazy, but not schizophrenic,” Amy said. “If I went through middle school and high school with him here, I believe that I wouldn’t have that many friends. People would castigate me because of my dad. In fifth or sixth grade people wouldn’t come to my birthday party because they were afraid of him.” Following the divorce, life went on. After eight years the mom remarried. The daughters got used to their new situation. And like a growing number of high school students, Amy began to drink.
art by Michael Pope
story continued from page 1
Schizophrenia
Uncovered • Schizophrenia is a severe brain disease that interferes with normal brain and mental function. • There are many theories of the cause, all unproven, that include genetics, problems during pregnancy, and drug use. • It can trigger hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and significant lack of motivation. • It affects the ability to think clearly, manage emotions, and interact appropriately with other people. • It does not involve multiple personalities. • It affects 2.2 million Americans, or approximately one percent of the population. • It can affect anyone at any age, but most cases develop between ages 16 and 30. from www.webMD.com
Despite the fact that she was arrested last December, Amy disregarded the alcohol counseling she initially received. “I used to tell them that everything was fine, so I didn’t have to prolong the sessions,” she said. “I didn’t actually improve. I was thinking, ‘Screw it, why not do more stuff?’” Disregarding her probation, Amy would go out with friends to parties in Westport. “People would snort heroin right in front of me,” she said. “I wouldn’t do anything but sit there and watch these people wasting their lives. I realized that was exactly what my dad did. … When people would be tripping out and say something that you would normally be like ‘Are you on crack?’ – but they really are – I would be thinking that was something my dad would say.” Amy was arrested the past year again for alcohol consumption. This time Amy took it seriously. “[I realized] I can turn out so much worse just because I hit the genetic lottery,” she said. “My genes say that I can become schizophrenic if I travel down the road I was
Feb. 22, 2005
headed. In many ways I’m gad that I got caught twice.” Practically disowned from his parents, David currently lives on his own as a freelance photographer and church janitor in South Carolina. He still calls his daughters every few months. “But sometimes we avoid talking to him,” Amy said. “We’ll see him on caller-ID and be like ‘I’m not home.’” The daughters don’t keep their father’s phone number written down. They only recognize the area code on the caller-ID. “He’s very good at guilt trips,” Sarah said. “We’ll be on the phone and we’ll say we love him, and then he’ll be like, ‘Do you really?’ and we’ll be like ‘Yeah,’ and then he’ll be like, ‘Are you sure?’ and we’ll be like, ‘Yeah, we love you.’ He makes us feel sorry for him.” This guilt is the only reason they remain in contact. “I never hear him talk about friends,” Amy said. “He’s such a lonely person. … I love him for the fact that he gave me life and that he is supporting me any way he can. …But then I found out that he was doing drugs while we were around, and that was when I pretty much stopped respecting him.” Three summers ago Amy and her sisters went on a trip to visit relatives in South Carolina. While they were there they also arranged a two-hour visit with their father in a Borders bookstore café while the mother browsed for books nearby. Afterwards the encounter sparked Amy to write an entry in her journal she had been keeping since her freshman year. She noted how aged her father had looked from the drugs: the sisters had almost passed him, thinking he was an 80-year-old man. She described her father staring blankly at his children, trying to recollect what he had known about them She wrote how much her father had missed in his daughters’ lives: He missed greeting us as we came home from camp each summer filled with a world of excitement in our eyes. He missed soccer games, shows, dances, all the smiles in our lives. He missed heartaches of getting over first boyfriends. … He chose to miss out on the best thing that ever happened to him because he chose drugs and poor decisions. … He is now schizophrenic for the rest of his life. It wasn’t the “good trip” he was looking for.
features
13
courtesy photographs
issue 11
Derek Martin
A
s
the wind blows and the wood in the old house creaks, two figures with flashlights walk through the area. Carrying cameras, and making sure not to disturb anything, these two creep slowly and thoughtfully through the doorway into a new room. These shadowy figures aren’t thieves though, rather they are participants in an activity known as “Urban Exploring”, where those involved explore and take pictures of old buildings, houses, tunnels, and more. Looking for, “anything interesting,” nothing is beyond the range of an Urban Explorer’s camera. While it takes place in the city, Urban Exploring is not confined to the streets of New York or LA, right here in Kansas City groups of Urban Explorers take to the streets to explore the history of the city. East Juniors and Max Mehlstahb and “Lydia”, are two Urban Explorers who document the architectural history in downtown KC. “It’s cool to know that if something gets demolished, I’ve been there,” said Mehlstahb about why he enjoys Urban Exploration. Mehlstahb said he got started Urban Exploring through friends. “I didn’t know anyone else who did it except for a few friends, and it sounded interesting.”
“I really enjoy the photography aspect of it,” said Lydia. “It’s also interesting, in the fact that that the building sort of takes on characteristics of its own when you’re there, even though there aren’t people in it. I also like figuring out what the building was made for.” Those who pursue Urban Exploring follow the creed of “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” These Urban Explorers scout out different places in mostly urban settings and explore them, taking pictures of what it is that they see. “We usually spend about a day driving around scouting out places to explore,” said Mehlstahb, “old buildings, tunnels, abandoned houses, anything that looks interesting. Then we spend another day actually exploring and taking pictures.” While exploring, those involved take along an array of different equipment from headlamps to respirators. “The places we’re explore are pretty old,” said Mehlstahb, “so there’s risk of asbestos or, if the paint is chipping, there could be lead in the air, that’s why we take the respirators.” Both Lydia and Max agree it doesn’t take a special
kind of person to be an Urban Explorer, it just takes a certain amount of knowledge to do it right. “I’d recommend people Google “Urban Exploring” or “Urban Exploration” and read up on it before they start,” Mehlstahb said, “It helps to have some knowledge of what you’re doing to stay safe. I heard a story one time about a guy who was running up a flight of stairs and halfway up the stairs were gone and he fell like a story or something. You have to keep your wits about you.” Lydia also noted that it’s not something to take lightly, “It’s a pretty serious thing, you have to maintain your integrity and exercise a certain amount of caution.” Also, while Urban Exploring might be an enriching activity it is technically illegal. For those who explore are usually trespassing in the areas they choose to look around. “It’s really benign trespassing,” said Lydia, “usually people are ok with it once we explain why we’re there.” “It’s kind of cool knowing that it’s iffy, legally,” Mehlstahb said, “but if I ever got caught, I’d fess up, we’re not there to do anything malicious, just take some pictures.”
“take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.”
‘MY SPACE’ on the Internet
New advancements in blogs allow students to expand connections Scott Peterson
Sophomore Holly Worthy sits at her computer on a Monday night. It’s 9 p.m. and she is updating one of her online logs (blogs), My Space. She checks her friends list and smiles at all the people who have subscribed to her. My Space is among several of the new blogs that are similar to Xanga, one of the original blogs that is often credited with the creation of them. With a subscription system that allows members to have friend groups that span thousands of people, My Space is becoming more and more popular among bloggers.
“My sister got me into the whole scene, but most people probably just find the sites depending on how much they explore online.” Worthy said. The websites are built so that a new member can sign up and get their own page, where your personal info is posted for other members to see. It also shows what groups they are part of and their interests. Fellow members sign up to be your friend, and as a friend, can easily access sites they are subscribed to, as well as join more groups. The groups allow members to have
thousands of friends, but Worthy says that it’s rare to have so many. “I’ve seen as many as four hundred, but that’s about it. Really it’s all about how you look in your pictures.” She said. A question some people are asking is: Is this just another fad? “In some ways these sites are just popularity contests,” Worthy said, “I don’t think people you list as “friends” really are your friends. On a rating site you aren’t basing your friendship on much. Also a lot of people just add others because they are hot, or because they have similar music tastes.
Feb. 22, 2005
Friendships are generally based on surface personality, at most.” Worthy said. As for communication, My Space does have an instant messenger service, however it isn’t fully developed. Worthy says she doesn’t really talk much to her friends anyways. “On My Space there are a few friends I have that I’ve added since getting to know them on Live Journal or Xanga, but aside from that there is only one person I’ve ever talked to online.”
the harbinger
What I was like in high Teachers confess what they were like during their teenage years
W
Courtney Condron
V
oted “Teachers’ Pet” in her yearbook senior year, Associate Principal Susie Ostmeyer spent her high school days performing in the marching band, participating in aerobics and StuCo and staying out of trouble. Ostmeyer played the oboe, but was a flag girl in the marching band. For fun, she stayed involved in afterschool activities, going to all of the sports games. Her hair was short and feathered, and she wore her academic letter sweater every Friday. Perhaps Ostmeyer’s most memorable lesson learned in high school came when she was 16, three days after she received her driver’s license. “I was driving the wrong way home, and I learned a very valuable lesson about having two hands on the wheel,” Ostmeyer said. “I ended up through the median and on the other side of the road. The officer came up and said ‘What I want to know is how you got from all they way over there to all the way over here’.” Even in high school, Ostmeyer always wanted to be a teacher, but she has learned many life lessons since then. “I’ve learned to not be so attached to what’s comfortable,” Ostmeyer said. “In high school, you just want to do what’s comfortable, but I’ve learned not to be so afraid of new experiences.”
M
ath teacher Rick Royer spent so much time at his high school girlfriend’s house his mom said it was like her family was his second set of parents. She didn’t mean for people to take it literally though. “How could you give him away?” Royer’s mother’s friend asked her. Her friend honestly thought that they had given Royer away for his girlfriend’s family to raise. It wasn’t hard to believe though with them constantly together, dating from sixth grade until they were married with only two break-ups in between. “I still think of my wife as that high school girl; I don’t think of her any differently,” Royer said. And that’s just they way Royer sees himself too. “I’ll probably be a teen at heart for the rest of my life,” Royer said. “I could just as well see myself
school
Susie Ostmeyer • Attended John Adams High School in South Bend, Indiana • It was a 6A school with about 500 kids in each grade • Had a boyfriend in high school and they dated into their 20s • Went to high school in the 80s • Style was button down oxfords, jeans,
loafers
• Had “great friends” and still keeps in touch with a few • Went to Prom junior and senior year and it was very similar to what it is like at East now • Played the oboe Teachers’ pet
sitting at that [student] desk as my own desk.” When Royer was a teen, academics weren’t exactly at the top of his list. Playing jokes and making others laugh proved to be more important in his eyes. “I didn’t do bad in school, but academics weren’t my main goal when I woke up in the morning,” Royer said. “I just enjoyed harmless, mischievous fun, and teachers were usually oblivious to the fun I was having. There were times when Royer’s teachers weren’t quite so unaware. In addition to being uninvited to his Geometry class except on test days for the entire second semester, he was also kicked out of his choir class when his choir teacher somehow received the notion that Royer had given him an obscene hand gesture. “It didn’t happen and so later we had a conference and he told
ith no baseball team at his high school, English teacher Bill Boley had to resort to running track instead. Still, he just couldn’t stay away from his love of the game. His father set up a summer baseball league in Leavenworth just so that Boley would be able to play. “I grew to love track and I loved the competition, but really baseball takes up a lot of my childhood memories,” Boley said. Boley’s group of friends consisted mainly of guys on his track and baseball teams, but although he was an athlete he “never felt comfortable with all the ‘jock’ stuff”. Outside of sports, he and his friends spent their Friday and Saturday nights at Teen Town, where they could dance to the Top 40 music on the jukebox, play ping pong and hang out. Ft. Leavenworth, a nearby army school, also had their own facility like Teen Town, but it was called Brats Club. “My dad was in the army, so I had a membership card for that club too, so we could go check out all the Ft. Leavenworth girls,” Boley said. Boley did find a girl his senior year in high school that he dated into college. “I didn’t go to my senior prom because she was a sophomore and they would only allow juniors and seniors to go,” Boley said. “I didn’t want to risk taking someone else and losing the girl.” Between the track meets and episodes of American Bandstand, Boley was also the vice presidents of the Literary Club, where students read books and discussed them after school. Perhaps, this led him to the classroom today.
me to apologize and everything would be fine, but I didn’t do it so I wouldn’t apologize,” Royer said. “So, he told me to apologize or don’t be in the class anymore, so I wasn’t in that class.” Royer was mischievous in school and continues that way in his classroom today, always keeping a sense of humor present. “[In high school] I had absolutely no idea what I was going to be when I was older,” Royer said. “I guess I thought I would be a kid the rest of my life, which proved to be true.”
ROYER (far left) sits on top of a demolished car after a school pep assembly during his senior year of high school. Royer attented Abilene High School in Abilene, Kansas. photo courtesy of Rick Royer
Feb. 22, 2005
BOLEY graduated in 1963 from Leavenworth High School in Leavenworth, Kansas. Here he is as a senior in high school. photo courtesy of Bill Boley
Bill Boley
• Played baseball and ran track • Participated in ROTC • Dad was a car dealer • Listened to the radio station 710 WHB • Always listened to the new Top 40 listing
each week
• Vice President of the Literary Club
Rick Royer
• Graduated in 1969 • Played basketball and football • Drove a 1954 orange Chevy • Listened to records • Buzzed hair for football senior year, and decided to keep it
photos by Kevin Grunwald
14
features
mixed
the harbinger
the section about life
30thoughts second
15
with
What color is your aura? Pink
Harry Potter or LOTR? Harry Potter
How much animation would be in a powerpoint of your life? Hardly any. My life is in real color all the time
Why is April Fools Day the most important holiday in the world? It’s the only day I can lie and people believe me.
How long does it take you to make Ramen Noodles? 10 minutes if I don’t burn them.
EAST history
Harbie
Snapshot
By Cynthia Goldman
lancer: (n.) A cavalryman armed with a lance.
In 1968, the select juniors and seniors chose the Knights as the school mascot. However, most of the seniors thought that the Knights were too cliche and unoriginal. So someone, their name long forgotten, mentioned the Lancers and since no other school was using that, here we are.
topgrade what’s cool
what’s hot
today
There are currently no happy times for celebrities. Some are in jail, a few are working, but most are wishing they had some talent.
Edi t o H a r b r L i bby N ie m a n n e l s o n w equi n S e i t h rg e i
yesterday
•lookout•
Donald Trump married Slovenian model Melania Knauss on Jan. 22. $1.5 million engagement ring and a $200,000 wedding dress. And yes, I was invited, along with my fellow posse of billionaires. But alas, I don’t have a hotel named after me-I have a well, like I said. It happened YESTERDAY, so there’s no point wasting my valuable breath on it. But the decor was simply lovely.
Prince Charles has announced he is marrying Camilla Parker Bowles, who is blamed for the ruin of Charles’ and Diana’s marriage. The ceremony will be in Windsor Castle on April 8 and will undoubtedly cost a fortune. Yo, Char-Dog, in order to save you some money, there’s no need to send an invite. I’m coming and I’m bringing a lovely gift for you and the girl.
And if you swear that there’s no truth and who cares •Bright Eyes• •feat. Emmylou Harris • how come you say it like you’re right? Feb. 22, 2005
16 a&e
Your cup of 1980’s Asian fad provides fun ways to get your herbal fix Clare Jordan
Bubble tea is a fun-to-drink alternative entertaining the drinker with its bubbles and tapioca pearls, which are sucked out with a little extra effort through a wide straw. The health craze that has swept the country can also be attributed for bubble tea being viewed as a desirable substitute to your highly caffeinated coffee. Although each store selling bubble tea is unique in their own right, they all share a common denominator: each restaurant strives to create a calming atmosphere with bamboo sticks, soothing water fountains, and seating that contrasts with the high stress atmosphere of your typical fast paced Starbucks.
Tea Drops 4111 Pennsylvania, KCMO
What is bubble tea?
A drink originating in Taiwan as an after school treat for school children. The tea itself is a typical tea with various fruit flavors. Once the flavoring is added, the drink needs to be shaken, creating the phenomena of bubbles- hence the name. Certain tea stands began adding tapioca pearls, which is tapioca starch. The tapioca pearls are like black, gummy candies in your drink. The tapioca pearls create a drink that one either loves or hates.
Blue Koi 1803 W. 39th St., KCMO THE walls are adorned with classic Asian china and wines. This is a “noodle and dumpling” restaurant located in the trendy restaurant district of 39th street. It is an independent, family owned business that serves a full menu, but is regarded for having a special blend of bubble tea. I went down there on Valentine’s night and realized the place was jumping with “hip” mid twenty-year-olds who were out on a date. The vibrant atmosphere created a mood that the restaurant typically conveys. The mood, setting, and crowd is what made sipping my bubble tea at Blue Koi the most enjoyable comparatively. I considered the bubble tea pleasing, but nothing made it stand out from anywhere else in Kansas City except for feeling I got sipping my bubble tea in the cultured surroundings of Blue Koi.
tea
BUBBLE tea at Tea Drops is served in plastic cups with lids sealed on top in order to prevent spilling and larger straws that help to suck up the tapioca pearls.
Bo Ling’s 9055 Metcalf, OP
THE inside of Tea Drops is decorated to induce relaxation. Fitting right into the general idea of tea stores: calming with an Asian undertone, Tea Drop differs in the sense that it exclusively sells tea and takes their product very seriously. Every teabag has a timer on it for the customer to know when it’s done brewing. Ordering a bubble tea at Tea Drop can be quite an experience, with the array of flavors you have to choose from the decisions can be daunting. They have one of the biggest selections in town. For a first timer, it is helpful to ask the servers what makes the mixture just right. Upon my trip to Tea Drop I decided on mango tea and said I wanted it warm, the servers were more than happy to tell me that was drink that would taste much better shaken and frozen. On the other hand, my bubble tea-drinking partner ordered a drink that did not fit their taste. In the end, making a bubble tea at Tea Drop is your own creation and its up to you to find the concoction that fits your taste buds. Tea Drop is a place with enough variety that anyone with any interest in bubble tea can find the drink to suit them.
BO Lings features a family atmosphere and Chinese art. This is the only one of the three stores that is a chain restaurant located all over Kansas City. I dined at a Bo Ling’s in a suburban area, which made it more of a family-crowd atmosphere. This restaurant sells all the typical Chinese foods, but manages to make their menu a little more authentic by offering things such as bubble tea. There was only one choice to make upon ordering: you order a bubble tea and they decide how the mixture will be. This quality I believe ultimately made the drink better because the restaurant has already decided whether a crushed ice smoothie, cold, or heated style works best for each flavor. I had the opportunity to taste the jasmine green tea and peach tea, making me come to the conclusion that when ordering bubble tea it is suggested to order an already Asian tea instead of just a fruit flavor when at Bo Ling’s.
Not really your thing?
Bubble tea isn’t for everyone. If it doesn’t strke your fancy, try these other beverage shops.
Mildred’s
7921 Santa Fe Dr.
Hattie’s
Homer’s
Daily Dose
Hi Hat
4195 Somerset Dr.
7126 W 80th St.
12056 W 135th St.
5012 State Line Rd.
Pontiac Sunfire 2002 Silver Metalic 4 Door Perfect Condition Chrome Wheels Must Sell (913)-722-1697
Braxton’s Formalwear Rent your tuxedo from Braxton’s Formalwear and enter your name in a drawing to win $500 cash and a $250 Jovani prom dress from The Gown Gallery for your prom date. Drawing will be held March 12. Tuxedo must be paid in full before the drawing. Restrictions apply.
Braxton’s Formalwear
(bubble)
photos by Aimee Slater
If you’re looking for a unique alternative to your typical coffee break, experiencing the new phenomena of a bubble tea is suggested. Sipping your grande double shot espresso at Starbucks are days of the past. Bubble tea, a new trend from Taiwan, fits right in with the other Asian fads, such as feng shui and zen that are increasing in popularity in the United States. Bubble tea, which was created in the 1980’s in Taiwan, has been imported into urban areas in the U.S., specifically those with high Asian demographics. With bubble tea’s success in New York City, Los Angeles, and the Bay area it has found its way in Kansas City over the past three years.
the harbinger
(913) 829-5710 Inside the Great Mall of Olathe
Feb. 22 2005
a&e
issue 11
Heaven vs. Hell
17
‘Constantine’ portrays the ultimate battle Ian McFarland
for Britney Spears and Justin Keanu Reeves has fought armies of robots (“The Matrix”), Timberlake, gives the movie a dealt with explosive buses (“Speed”) and aced his twelfth grade fresh feel missing from other history presentation (“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) but with comic book movies such as the horrible “Elektra” or even the his latest effort he can add another job to his resume – exorcist. Falling somewhere between “The Matrix” and “Underworld”, decent “X2: X-Men United.” “Constantine” is a movie about exorcist John Constantine The only major flaw with the film is (Reeves) trying to redeem himself for that one-way ticket to that while “Constantine” may only be heaven. But Constantine isn’t guided by his blind faith: he’s seen two hours long, it feels like forever. the henchmen of God and the Devil, he’s been in Hell once before, There are a wealth of characters, subplots and and he knows that if he can’t get on mythology that give the good guy’s list, he’s destined to the movie a feeling of a lifetime of hellfire and damnation depth that helps immerse you down below. into the movie but at the same time In the meanwhile, Constantine guarantee’s that you’re checking your has to help investigator Angela What’s really surprising is that watch by the second half of the flick. Dodson figure out why her identical this first effort from a music Also distracting is Reeves as twin sister killed herself, or why video director doesn’t suck. the main character. His acting is someone made it appear like she ambiguous: you can’t tell if he’s trying committed suicide. to give John Constantine a sense of “Constantine” has beautiful urban and monochromatic sets for all of the scenes. You can often look at sarcastic humor or if he just can’t act at all. As you get into the visuals and connect them to the drawings of the DC comic the movie, you think about it less and less, but for the first book on which this movie is based (“Hellblazer”) without having 20 minutes or so you’ll notice it. But overall, “Constantine” gives us a great setting in the read the book. What’s really surprising is that this first effort from a music City of Angels with angels and demons, characters with video director doesn’t suck. Usually they are among the worst more personality than Michael Jackson, a platform that movies of the year (think “Torque” and “Charlie’s Angel’s”). But could invite many sequels but most of all, a fun movie. “Constantine” director Francis Lawrence, who directed videos
“ ”
SHIA LaBeouf plays Constantine’s teenage apprentice.
Down for the count
Latest CD from 3 Doors Down is lacking originality
Seventeen Days
“
I want back the 3 Doors Down that spent more than 17 days on their albums...
DJIMON Hounsou plays Midnite, a helpful witch doctor.
Joey Soptic Three Doors Down, the band that has appeared dormant the last two years, set the stage for a big release with “Seventeen Days.” Yet the stage was set for a show that never came. Listeners expected new unique music from the band, but instead they got boring, stale songs with lyrics and guitar riffs that have been heard thousands of times before. Nothing stuck with me and no songs had my friends telling me to stop singing. Almost every song on this CD bored my normally open mind. “Seventeen Days” is aptly named, for according to the band that’s how long they took to write it. It’s obvious, though, that even several more days couldn’t have saved this CD. Whereas their first two CDs gave listeners an anthem for their day, their newest release gives little of the catchy lyrics and guitar riffs of their earlier years. Back when “Kryptonite” was released,
ANGELA (Rachel Weisz) receives help from Constantine.
any semi-conscious person heard the song daily, and several more times in their head later on. The song gripped the charts like mortar. Other songs like “Better Life” cemented themselves to the crevices of your brain, echoing endlessly for several hours. It is this power that “Seventeen Days” lacks. That ability to bring out anything special. It’s almost as if 3 Doors Down is having an identity crisis, something clear in the CD’s opening song, “Right Where I Belong.” It has an extra energy surge that isn’t really what you expect from the band that released “Away From the Sun.” The CD attempts to stand out with “Lost in London”, a song played with musician Bob Seger. He only has one meager guitar part in the song, for whatever reason. For something with such a glowing name on it, you would expect a song that tore through your speakers and sucker punched you out of your chair. Instead, the song just kind of flopped out onto my computer table. After the song ends, however, you are
Feb. 22, 2005
photos courtesy Warner Bros.
Constantine
brought back to the fact that the rest of the CD is even more disappointing. Where “Kryptonite’s” gripping lyrics and magnetic guitar parts succeeded, songs like “Right Where I Belong” are unexpected from the band that brought so much with their past two albums. They are usually excellent at the instruments they play. Their guitarists can absolutely shred a scale, while their drummer can spit out maniacal drum rolls and fills. However, it’s just that everything they offer on the new CD is dull and doesn’t really fit right. It’s not because of how it sounds but because its nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special. I want back the 3 Doors Down that spent more than 17 days on their albums, the 3 Doors Down that brought music I cared about, the 3 Doors Down that made it so when I wanted to stop listening, I couldn’t because it had rooted itself into my head. That’s where the new album fails: it grew no roots.
18
sports
the harbinger
Catching their
BREATH
Team’s relaxed attitude helps them to undefeated season photo by Emily Rappold
JUNIOR Brandon Barnds gasps for air as he practices for the 100m freestyle relay. The four-man relay team has yet to lose a race this year.
After defeating one of his biggest rivalries in the 200yard freestyle at league with a time of 1:43.9, sophomore Luke Tanner was welcomed to the wall of the pool with a crowd of his teammates congratulating him on his win. This wasn’t anything unusual—both the swim and dive team encourages each other this way for every big event and important race for swimmers. “We get pretty fired up, especially for league and state,” junior Mike Chalfant said. Mostly, the swimmers and divers support their teammates the same way that their coaches do. By allowing them time to get to know each other, the swimmers and divers have become good friends. The atmosphere at the beginning of practice is very relaxed. For the first 15 to 20 minutes of practice, the team sits around the bleachers and pool area to converse. When their coaches walk into the pool area, the stretching normally starts, followed by a warm up set for the swimmers. “Everyone loves our coach,” Tanner said. “He lets us joke around, but he also lets us know when it’s time to get busy.” The divers have no choice but to time their dives so that they won’t hit the swimmers in the pool: both the swim and dive teams practice together and share the pool. “I’ve nicked a couple of swimmers a couple of times, but I’ve never completely nailed someone,” senior state diver Scott Borgmier said.
Q& Shelly King A with boys diving coach
I hear you were a National Aerobics champion. Yes, when I was 39. Then I coached a national champion.
What is an aerobics competition? It’s basically like a gymnastics floor routine. You have to do a certain amount of skills and then you can add on whatever you want. So how did you get into diving? I started diving really young. I won 3rd place in the city when I was nine. I got my first coaching job at 15.
While they are swimming, coach Wiley catching part of the Wright yells encouragement from the side of basketball game. the pool. Despite the good “When he’s yelling at practice, it’s never friendships, all malicious. It’s always encouraging,” junior swimmers are still very Jack Chalfant said. competitive. After At the other end of the pool, dive coach taking first, second, Shelly King is warming up with the divers third, and fourth by practicing half-approaches and practice place in the 100-yard jumps. freestyle at league, “[Mrs. King] isn’t strict, just helpful,” every swimmer shows Borgmier said. they want to do just as Towards the end of the season, the good as the others. coaches and swimmers have been thinking “We’re really of new ways to lower times for big meets like competitive. I know league and state. Any little bit of time will we don’t want to say it, make a big difference. Before these big meets, but we are,” Cook said. most swimmers shave their legs. Last week, He placed second, they all tried something new that completely .3 seconds behind backfired. Tanner. Knowing that muscles tense up in the last But even though bit of a sprint, they put on a muscle-relaxant they are still tight like Icy Hot to allow them to finish strong. The competitors, each still ointment didn’t react well with the chlorine, values their friendship and all of the swimmers were in extreme with each other. pain. “We’re each “I was almost in tears,” junior John Cook competitors, but we’re said. “You couldn’t do anything, you just had friends again right to wait until it cooled off. I was in excruciating SOPHOMORE Andrew Block skies into a back when we get out of the pain.” pool,” Tanner said. dive at the East Invitational meet. He is one of From the four divers to qualify for State, the maximum Both their other end amount from one team. competitiveness and of the pool, friendship has shone the divers heard them all through—after much encouragement, Cook has become screaming in pain. a stronger swimmer since his freshman year and now “It must’ve really hurt,” hopes to swim in college. Junior swimmer Brandon Barnds Borgmier said. “They convinced him to swim all year round with Swim Academy. were all running around After a summer of practicing for two hours at 5:30 in the the pool. Their skin was morning, Cook became more serious about his swimming. all red on the parts where “Now Brandon and I are good friends,” he said. “I’ve they had put the cream.” gotten to be a lot better of a swimmer than I was a couple Despite the pain, it of years ago.” obviously worked for With two seniors qualified for state and 9 underclassmen, them—both Barnds and the swim team will be able to bring a lot of their strength Cook swam their fastest back again next year. 25-yard sprints ever. “We’re losing a lot of leadership, but I think we’ll have a Because of the six days lot of the same swimming talent next year,” Tanner said. a week spent practicing, As for the next couple of years, most of the swimmers the team now spends are planning on spending the off-season in the pool and time together outside of weights room. the pool. After a Friday “I don’t know what to expect,” Mike Chalfant said. “I just practice, some of the know we have a great opportunity to do really well.” varsity swimmers will grab a bite to eat before photo by Molly Magoon
Ellie Weed
Feb. 22, 2005
Double Duty In the midst of a busy basketball season, Coach Hair juggles his time between coaching and parenting Peter Goehausen
sports
19
photo by Samantha Ludington
issue 11
It was 5:30 on a Wednesday afternoon. The head boys basketball coach, Shawn Hair, sat in his office working on a game plan for the teams upcoming tournament in McPherson. An animated kids’ program was blaring from his television. His two kids were crawling around in his office distracting him from creating his game plan. Coach Hair’s top two priorities in life were in that office, COACH Hair signaling his plays in the Feb. 9 game against Leavenworth. Though they lost, East still sits near the top of the Sunflower his children and his basketball team. League while being ranked fifth in KC Star big class poll. “When I was younger I was a lot harder on my at Springfield Greenwood. There he learned a lot about the rest of this season are to win the Sunflower League and players,” Hair said. “Being a dad has helped me understand the game under their coach Larry Atwood who is in the go to state. To win League, however, the Lancers must beat what is going on in kids lives.” Missouri Hall of Fame. the team atop the league, Lawrence Free State, tomorrow Along with coaching the basketball team, Hair is a single “Atwood was a great coach,” Hair said. “He taught me night at Free State. The Firebirds are 14-3 and led by senior parent with two children, 7-year-old Lucas and 3-year-old everything I know about basketball.” guard Brady Morningstar, and his 19.5 points per game. If daughter Grace. To help Hair with his children is their When his assistant coaching days were over, he had the Lancers beat Free State and South, they will capture nanny, senior Ada Johnson. The children are constantly short coaching jobs at King City, Oak City and Branson High, their first Sunflower League title under Hair. moving from place to place when Hair has to scout other all Missouri high schools. After his second year at Branson, “[The Free State players] are very quick and good,” teams, go to games, or go to practice. Also to help out Hair the coaching job at East opened up and he decided to go senior forward Todd Crawford said. “We’re going to have to with his kids, his ex-wife recently moved back in town. back home and pursue the job. come out of the game with a lot of fire.” They live with her two days a week, and him three, and they “We interviewed a lot of coaches,” Athletic director Lane What makes Hair such a good coach? Over the last 17 switch off weekends. Greene said. “ Shawn was the most qualified of all of them. years of his coaching career, Hair has mastered shaping a “Coach Hair is the best dad,” Johnson said. “His kids He had a great record and learned from great coaches.” game plan for every game. He is known as being a great always come first and he is so loving around them.” In the fall of 1996, Hair started his coaching career at scout of other teams and players and drawing up his game Hair’s life in coaching began at a young age: his dad and East. He was taking over the program from Craig Fletchal, plan accordingly. Also, helping his case is his dedication his uncle were both coaches. His dad was his coach and who went on to pursue opportunities at a higher rank at and passion towards his team and the sport. Whether he athletic director at his grade school, St. Elizabeth’s. Neosho Community College. is watching film, scouting another team or drawing up his “Coaching is just in my blood,” Hair said. “My brother, “We had good teams under Fletch (Fletchal),” Green said, game plan Hair spends the majority of his off time in his uncle and dad are all coaches.” “but Hair came in and has just continued to build up the office. His main strategies are to run in transition game to In high school he played basketball and football. program.” score buckets and he rarely switches from the man-to-man Football being his number one priority, he was the starting Building up the program is exactly what Hair has defense. free-safety his junior year when the won the state title. accomplished He was a win percentage just above .500 “He knows everything about every team,” sophomore After attending Southwest Missouri State for four percent since he has been here, and has led the team to guard Ross Simpson said, “and knows what our team needs years and helping out with their program and their coach the sub-state championship in seven of his last nine years. to do in every game to win.” Charlie Spoonhour, Hair found an assistant coaching job Though he has yet to lead a team to the next level, he has One of those games was the Rockhurst game this year, still had great which Hair says was one of the best games he has ever has success thus coached. The score was going back and fourth all game far at East. until Rockhurst center Max Ward missed two crucial free“Coaching throws at the end. Coming in as underdogs in the game, G Edward Spencer 1997- 2001 Spencer transferred here when he moved in with his AAU coach. Played here has Hair had all of his players playing at the top of their game a season at East. Led the ‘00-’01 squad to sub-state final before losing to been great,” and executed his game plan. West. Hair said. “Everything we have done this season,” Hair said, “has “ All of my been because of my players playing well not because of the G Roland Coppage 1996- 2000 Like Spencer, Coppage lived with his AAU coach while playing for East players have coaches.” for two years before playing college basketball. Ninth in all time-scoring. been very He does however make his players better, in what he coachable and says is his favorite part of coaching, practice. Hair has been C Adam Jones 1997- 2001 smart.” recognized for being a very fierce coach, for his loud yelling Better known as “Dr.. Jones,” he was a 6”2 post player who is fourth on and his intense practices. One of the worst parts, his players the all time in scoring list. Played alongside Coppage and Spencer. This season, say, is doing 10 in 60’s, or running 10 times across the Hair has led sideline to sideline until they make it in under a minute. F Michael Johnson 1993-1997 the team “The practices can be hard,” Simpson said, “but they Only played a year under Hair, but is the all time leading scorer at East. to a 12-5 makes us better prepared for the next game.” Played at OSU for two years before transferring to William and Mary. record (8-2 in As Coach Hair’s legacy continues at East, his coaching league) with ability could pay off sooner then most would have thought F J.D. Christie 2002- Present big wins over with a trip to state and the championship. Christie brought hope back to East basketball after a rough ‘01- ‘02 season. R o c k h u r s t “If we don’t do it this year,” Hair said, “ next year could HAIR has coached for 17 seasons, nine He should be the all time leading scorer by the time he graduates, he broke and SM South. potentially be one of the best seasons at East.” at East. the 1,000 point barrier in January. Possibly the best in the Hair era. His hopes for
All Coach Hair Team
Feb. 22, 2005
20 photo essay
the harbinger
Love is in the Air Students are feeling the love as they celebrate Valentine’s Day
ABOVE: Junior Steve Hennelly creates valentine couplets in Susie Schweiker’s Writers’ Workshop class.
JUNIOR J.W. Vanderloo shops for a Valentine’s Day card at the drug store for senior girlfriend Brooke Badzin. J.W. finally found the perfect one after searching through several rows of cards.
Feb. 22, 2005
JUNIOR Brooke Bublitz smells her carnations she received from her boyfriend, senior Scott Miller. The carnation sale for Valentine’s Day was very successful and many people received flowers throughout the day from friends and loved ones.
photos by Linda Howard