Issue 13

harbinger

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / 7500 mission road prairie village, kansas

story by laura nelson and libby nachman Twelve feet below the swimming pool’s gutters, rusted grates that once hid deep drains beneath the floor now lie unused on the concrete. The pool is empty.

On March 10, custodial staff discovered a leak between the drain and the outtake pipe at the bottom of the deep end of the pool – damage that will require two to three months to determine and correct and an estimated $30,000 to $35,000, according to district manager of repairs and maintenance Bruce Kracl. To prevent further damage, the custodial staff drained the pool.

Once the pool has been fixed, athletic director Lane Green said it will look and function exactly as it does now. The leak requires only a “repair to the infrastructure.”

Leigh Anne Neal, district spokeswoman, said the money for the repairs will come from the district’s capital outlay fund reserve funds, which contains money designated for short-term school maintenance. This year, the fund was budgeted for $37,520,344.

The required repairs will affect the girls’ swim and dive team, school gym classes and other community teams that use the pool.

The girls’ swim and dive team was already two weeks into their season when the pool was drained. Swim coaches Rob Cole and Marjorie Sherrard, along with diving coach Shelly King, had to quickly find alternative places for the team to practice while working around the existing schedules of the other district teams.

story continued on page 2

page 2 / news / the harbinger

art by sara mcelhaney

Beating the Leak continued from page 1

“This schedule was difficult to arrange because of how full the other pools already are with other teams practicing,” Cole said. The teams are now using both the Shawnee Mission South and North pools for practices.

Two times a week, for both varsity and JV, practices are at 5 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. For swimmers such as senior cocaptain Monica Garciapaz, early practices are a struggle, especially when practices are at North, a 10- to 15-minute drive.

“It’s awful to have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to get to practice and then jump into freezing cold water,” Garciapaz said. “It’s definitely not what I want to be doing. It’s early, and it’s really unfortunate because everyone is so tired.”

Cole says that 10 swimmers from the JV team have quit because of the different schedule and early practice times, but the practice times they chose were the best alternative.

“Evening practice time would force us to have 66 girls in the pool at the same time,” Cole said. “Safety would be a huge problem. Also, having that many bodies means not getting a lot quality of training for each girl.”

But he said that those who have stayed have been exceedingly positive in spite of losing their home pool and having to practice early.

“We’ve had surprisingly good attitudes,” he said. “The

News Briefs President’s Volunteer Service The President’s Volunteer Service Awards deadline for submitting forms to qualify for the year April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006 is here.

The PVSA is the national program that recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding volunteer service during the 12-month period.

All applications must be turned into the SHARE office, room 404, today.

first two or three days there was a little animosity towards the times, but once the team got onto it, they figured out they could finish homework ahead of time because they are free after school. They see that the schedule could work out.”

The schedule for the pool construction, however, has yet to be worked out. According to Rusty Newman, district director of student services and athletics, before construction can even begin, an outside company must evaluate the pool. Once the company determines the exact problem, they must design a project to make the necessary repairs. The district will then bid out to mechanical plumbing contractors, and only then can the school board approve the bid and allow construction to start.

When construction begins, workers will jackhammer the bottom of the pool floor in the deep end and install a new drain system to stop the leaks. Before the pool can be refilled, the concrete must have time to cure so it will grow stronger.

While the planning and construction continues, gym teacher Debbie Ogden must remake her lesson plans. She had planned a swim unit, scheduled to start today, for her Foundations of Gym classes.

Ogden was “extremely disappointed” upon hearing the news about the pool. “I love to teach aquatics. And I have some kids who were excited because they wanted to learn how to swim.”

NAHS

Cracked drain causes pool complications Ogden is replacing the swimming unit by lengthening both the badminton unit and the dance unit, neither of which she had time to teach last semester. Badminton and dance are both replacement activities on the suggested SMSD gym curriculum, which gives teachers a guide of activities and time length for their class.

The KC Swim Academy, which used the East pool as their main training facility, was also inconvenienced by pool closing. Under the direction of both Cole and head coach Mary Jo Klier, the team prides itself on its ability to prepare swimmers for their high school seasons.

“The closure of the East pool will have a devastating effect on our team,” Klier said. “During the spring months, swimmers train hard to swim fast during the summer. With … no pool, this will certainly hurt.”

The Swim Academy has temporarily turned to the pools at Prairie Life Center and Turner High School.

Though all the Shawnee Mission pools were built at the same time, when a bond issue was passed roughly 35 years ago, similar drain failures have only occurred at Northwest and West, according to Kracl.

With the pool most likely closed for the rest of the girls’ season, Cole is still looking to the future.

“It’s like kids going away to college for the first time: You don’t know how good you got it until you come back.”

Shoe Collection

The NAHS Spring Art Auction, the second one of the year, is April 6 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the SME cafeteria. Every piece sold will be benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The NAHS Annual Fashion Show will be held at Indian Hills Middle School on April 27 at 7 p.m. The show costs $2 at the door.

For those who have mountains of old shoes piling up around the house, the Environmental Club is collecting pairs that people are willing to donate until Saturday. The only requirement is that they don’t contain metal in them. The shoes will be sent to developing countries or inner city schools where shoes are in short supply.

Earth Fair

Issue 12 Correction

Even better than last year, the Earth Fair returns to KC for its sixth year, bringing with it many live animals, eco-products, demonstrations, new alternative fuel vehicles and activities. Those who find a method of getting to the fair other than driving, such as riding a bike or walking, become eligible for prizes.

This year East is teaming up with S M South for the first time.

The picture run on page 4 of the last issue of The Harbinger misidentified a student as a special education student.

Peter Krivena and instructional aide Kevin Still were pictured studying for the Kansas Assessment. Krivena and Still are not affiliated with the Special Ed. Program. The Harbinger apologizes for this misidentification.

Prom Dress Drive

Used prom dresses are wanted by SHARE. Dresses can be dropped off in the SHARE office until Saturday.

Donations will be rewarded with a free cappuccino certificate that can be used at the next Cappuccino Friday. April 8th will be the shopping day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Little Gym. Long dresses will be $25 and short dresses will be $20, regardless of brand name. All proceeds will go to the SHARE program.

Journalist of the Year

Senior Allison Quick won the Kansas High School Journalist of the year award. She was the second member of the East journalism staff to win the award. Her application will now be moved to the National Competition at the Journalism Education Association convention in San Francisco.

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / news / page 3

Starting Over After devastating fire, Overland Park begins reconstruction by vanessa legat Senior Caitlin Doran was finishing up work at the register at Mildred’s Coffeehouse. She was just walking back to get a sandwich order for a customer, when she turned and saw the flames across the street.

Doran was the first person in the coffeehouse to notice the fire on March 1. She yelled for the manager, and Mildred’s was evacuated.

“You could feel the heat behind the counter,” Doran said. When Doran looked at the flames in the Art Gallery across the street she felt simple shock. “It felt like it was happening, but it felt like the fire and where I was were separate,” said Doran. Never before had she seen a $1 million damage fire like the one in Gil Rumsey’s Gallery.

Outside shop owners and customers from along Santa Fe Drive stood on the street, concerned someone might be hurt.

Susan Braun owner of C.F. Porter’s and a friend of Rumsey the owner of the Gallery, called him to make sure nobody was inside. Firefighters arrived and they immediately affirmed this fact.

Doran, who at first didn’t realize she was in danger, soon received a call from her concerned mother who had seen the fire in the news. ”Hearing her so scared made me more scared,” Doran said.

She was glad to have her cell phone in her apron that she was still wearing. Her other belongings were still in the coffeehouse.

People came to watch the fire. Overland Park Fire Department Captain Julie Harper says that the firefighters were concerned about the safety of an especially large number of onlookers.

“A lot of people have emotional ties to Downtown Overland Park,” Harper said.

Freshman Kathryn Rush was concerned about the Culinary Center of Kansas City where she took a class she enjoyed. Rush also feared Papa Keno’s the pizza place might burn down. “The really nice pizza place, they have those huge pizzas and you get to pick the toppings. While you wait you draw on the tables,” she said.

Assessing the damage: Two Overland Park city officials look at the damage from the fire to determine what steps the city should take next. photo by katie james According to Jason Rhodes from the Fire Department there had been a concern about safety issues in the historical area of Downtown Overland Park for a long time and therefore they had been pre-planning in case of an alarm.

The buildings are located right next to each other, also there are no modern fire control devices such as sprinklers.

Nevertheless firefighters kept the 3+ alarm fire well under control.

Three weeks after the fire, the empty space formerly occupied by the gallery, the fire department’s “fire line do not cross” tape still lays in the ashes, is not the only leftover sign of the blaze.

Swim Quik, located north of the ruins of the former gallery, still has not reopened and is deserted after the fire left it with major smoke- and water damage.

Other stores had far more luck.

The History Ford Building south of the ruins reopened faster than employee David Marten would have ever imagined after he had seen the water flooding under his desk. You still can smell the smoke, hanging in the air.

Four air refreshing machines clatter inside the Culinary Center of Kansas City located on the back of the ruins, to get the stinging smoke from three weeks ago out. The center suffered a business loss because of a week and a half of time being closed. Also they lost their garden in front to the flames.

According to an employee, 99 percent of the customers have been generous and understanding and attended their classes nevertheless. The center received calls of people asking if they could do anything such as helping to clean up, the employers are overwhelmed and pleased.

Senior Grant McClure said Tonic on the same side as the History Ford Building but further left reopened shortly after the fire. However their business suffered because of news stations reporting Tonic burned down. “Usually we get 300 guests, now we had 150 total the whole weekend,” McClure said two weeks ago.

Mildred’s coffeehouse across the street had a really busy day the first day after the fire, an employee said: ”People wanted to come and watch.”

For Gil Rumsey the publicity can be used positively. He who according to the Kansas City Star lost 427 paintings in the fire, already got newly painted pictures in a show at Leawood’s Gold Bank. According to Gil Rumsey’s Gallery’s website he is grateful for a lot of support he has gotten from customers as well as friends.

The focus for everyone is getting back on track and helping each other with the effects of the fire.

On Metcalf a banner says it out loud: “Downtown Overland Park Still going strong! Come shop & dine today!”

SAT/ ACT preparation program offers cheap alternative by sara steinwart With hundreds of classes and programs that can be taken in attempt to prepare for college entrance exams it can be a difficult task to decide what program would best help. ZAPS is a program that is offered after hours at local schools that helps direct students in their review for college entrance exams. The ZAPS seminar took place at East last Thursday and Friday, but will be offered at other Shawnee Mission schools in the upcoming weeks.

The ZAPS program is offered to juniors at all five Shawnee Mission high schools. It costs $75 and is a two-day seminar lasting

two and a half hours each day. The SAT preparation seminar is offered in the fall, and the ACT preparation seminar is offered in the spring.

ZAPS is a test prep seminar that is offered all across the country aiding students in their preparation for entrance exams. The ZAPS program differs from many other preparation programs because it targets test-taking strategies.

“The program helps students learn how to manage the test, “ Counselor Barb Johnson said, “It goes through each section in an in-depth coverage.”

After going through the test taking techniques, ZAPS hands out booklets

containing a study guide and 27 practice tests to each student taking the seminar.

“This program gave me a lot of helpful materials to use to study on my own, “ Junior Kathleen Bole said.

The ZAPS program claims that taking their seminar will help increase ACT scores two to six points.

“In the competitive world of college admissions, a couple of points on the ACT can make all the difference and the ZAPS program can help students achieve those extra points,” a ZAPS representative said.

One of the main differences between the ZAPS program and some of the more time consuming and more expensive

programs is that the ZAPS program gives you extensive materials, but you must take initiative and study on your own time, while other programs teach and review more content and vocabulary test material during the class. For example, the Kaplan program has a class for both the ACT and the SAT, with classes ranging from 20 to 32 hours each with costs between $1900 and $2900.

“If you have good self discipline and are willing to put in extra time on your own ZAPS is a great deal,” Johnson said, “but you have to have initiative and actually do the work.

page 4 / news / the harbinger

tuning up

School Jazz Band is headed to New York after receiving top honor

TOP 15: The East Jazz Band, recently invited to the prestigious Essentially Ellington School Jazz Band Competition, practices during seventh hour. photo by karen boomer

by derek martin Band Director Kim Harrison stood in his office staring at the phone. As the minutes ticked away he grew more and more anxious. He’d been through this same agonizing anticipation every year for four years, but this year would be different; this year he’d hear what he wanted. The clock continued to tick away the seconds and finally he got so anxious he couldn’t take it any more. He had to leave the room.

Pacing back and forth in the hall he waited, would they make it? Would they be just short? When Harrison finally returned to his office a few minutes later he saw the red light on his phone blinking. He had a message.

He checked the area code of the caller, not sure if he wanted to really see it: 212, New York City. He knew. The East Blue Knights had made it into the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival.

Essentially Ellington is, as Harrison puts it, the “Superbowl of high school jazz festivals.” The weekend of May 18-20 will bring together 15 of the best high school jazz orchestras in the nation to celebrate the life and music of the late Duke Ellington. The festival will be held at Lincoln Center home to the Metropolitan Opera, The New York Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet.

Potential entrants into the festival were required to submit a CD with their choice of three Duke Ellington songs. The CDs were then judged and the bands selected. This year, the Blue Knights were one of those bands. Now they must practice and prepare for their performance at the festival.

Preparing their CD for consideration was no small feat.

Jazz professors from UMKC worked with the band and critiqued their performance for a week every day after school.

The hours spent practicing the tone and, more importantly, the feeling of Ellington’s music has not only improved their performance of those songs, but their sound as a whole.

“We used to just play the songs, and people say you want to be able to tell the story of the song, and now we can tell the stories,” senior Eric Kelley said.

Before they found out whether they’d be in the festival or not, though, tensions were high.

“My friends and I had been checking the website a bunch [to see if the bands had been posted] and we’d calculated that we had a nine percent chance to get in,” Kelley said.

When the announcement finally came Kelley and his friends went jumping up and down through the fourth floor hallway. They’d always

known they were good, but that announcement solidified them as one of the best jazz bands in the country.

“The music [to audition with] was sent to 900 schools in America, Canada, Brazil, all over. Only ninetyfour schools even entered a demo, and only fifteen of those schools were invited to perform,” Harrison said.

Beyond performing, the trip will also include jam sessions, critiques by members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a chance to meet legendary jazz trumpet player Wynton Marsalis, the only person still alive to have won a Grammy for both classical and jazz trumpet.

According to Harrison, this trip can serve as a springboard for the musical futures of members of the band.

“When we went in 2001 a sophomore was with us, now he’s a jazz student at UMKC and is ranked one of the top three trombone players in the world for ages 18-25, and he said that this trip was what really got him motivated.”

For now, though, the sentiment among the band seems to range from nervousness to excitement, “We’re going to be playing in front of all those great musicians and with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, so yeah, I’m nervous,” Kelley said.

The Blue Knights are the only band from Kansas, Missouri or Oklahoma to have ever made it into the festival.

ESC

The Executive Service Corps of Greater Kansas City Looking for parents and grandparents interested in volunterism.

Visit www.eskc.org for more information 800 West 47th St. Suite 202 Kansas City, MO 64112 816.561.5372

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / opinion / page 5

CENSORING the Media

Bush attempts to limit what journalists are allowed to report an opinion of thomas braslavsky

The Bush administration has targeted terrorists. It has targeted Iraqis. At times, it has also targeted Democrats. But now, the Bush administration has a new agenda: targeting journalists.

Because of recent leaks of information, such as the government’s warrantless spying on American citizens and the recent revelation of secret CIA prisons around the world, President Bush has decided that a great way to make sure such information does not go out would be to silence the media from reporting on it. Under the new initiative, reporters could be charged with espionage if they do their job and try to get the truth out to the public.

Why should we care about this? Of course, I am a high school journalist, and though I will probably never be high enough on the ladder to be able to disclose any government affairs, the truth is that you don’t even have to be an amateur journalist in order to worry about these new developments. All you have to do is care about our nation’s values, our constitutionally granted freedoms.

It’s funny how our president speaks so often of freedom, yet he starts a program of suppression and undermines something that has come under fire recently with the cartoons published in Europe: freedom of the press. It is outright hypocrisy to blame journalists for information leaked from government officials.

Another strange thing about this is that these measures, which are claimed to “help protect America,” are being put into place so that information of unlawful government actions or programs (a la NSA spying program) will not be revealed to the public. So the Bush administration is doing something unconstitutional – censoring the media – in order

to prevent any news of its other unconstitutional actions from being brought into the open.

This raises even more concerns. If the administration is threatening journalists with charges of treason now, then what will happen later? Increasing government secrecy and tightening control over civilian enterprises could well move our country far away from its professed image of democracy.

We have already seen a couple of reporters go to jail for abiding by journalistic ethics and not disclosing confidential sources to the government. Who will be the next to go to prison?

When an administration starts to bully the media – the way that the American public gets its information – then it is not difficult to see that our country is turning towards the worse.

Also, if the administration is suddenly so adamant in pursuing journalists, then what other secrets does it have? It seems to me that maybe the government is quickly doing this now because it does not want other news of its “controversial” actions to be brought to the attention of its people. What is it trying to hide?

I’m definitely not saying that we should know everything that goes on behind closed doors in the White House. I am not advocating for reporters to attack government officials or return the favor and spy on them. If there are truly important secrets (which hopefully do not violate American principles), then George Bush should do whatever he can to prevent authorized government employees from leaking art by ren li these to the media. But when it gets to threatening to charge reporters with treason – then you know that the leadership has gone too far.

We never know what may happen in the future. But currently, we can still do something about it. If we are to keep our country an open democracy, then we must oppose all attempts to curtail our rights to freedom. Because if the current agenda is successful, then journalists will not be the only new targets.

Red for Revolution Students should revolt to make changes in school an opinion of kevin grunwald Late one night, the final day of spring break, I pulled up to a traffic light. I quickly became frustrated by the stubbornness of the light, so I pulled all the tricks: rolling back and forth, trying to trigger the light to change, flashing my brights once, twice.

Nothing.

Perhaps it was the movie “V For Vendetta” I had just seen instilling thoughts of revolution into my mind, but I wanted to make a difference. I wondered if I could make a change, and not just between colors. I wanted to write a letter, and ensure that the light be mended. I wanted to write a column in the newspaper about the light, and people who cared would read it. I became suddenly interested in making a change This rebellion against the light was eventually ignored. I went home, turned on season five of “Queer as Folk,” and went to bed. No rebellion, no change.

People don’t react to small injustices because they don’t see it. At school they feel they have no power, no opportunity to change anything, but they forget they always have a voice. We need to stand up with the power that we have.

Now I wonder how many others feel inspired to change something but end up in bed asleep. I’m curious to see how many others just don’t bother. I’m curious to see how many others are annoyed by the procedures of the attendance center, or how many others wish to speak at graduation. I want to test how many of us will stand up against the injustices and imperfections of this school. I want to see who cares. Let’s do a head count.

I want everyone who disagrees with the injustices, who finds fault in the school to wear red this Friday. Your reasons for doing so may differ from mine, but I find inadequacy in attendance, graduation, and animals.

I feel disappointed when passes from the attendance center come into my classes. I would rather learn something than generate an excuse for being late or absent. I wish the attendance center could wait until my class is over. I think the collegiate approach to attendance is much more effective. Attendance at college is never a big deal. Either you come to class, or you fail. This simplicity is more sophisticated than the complicated proceedings of high school, but no one does a thing about it.

Jim Lockard, environmental science teacher, does not get to leave on vacation during breaks. He has animals to take care of. These commitments, with no substantial help from students, have led Mr. Lockard to decide to sell or give away most of the animals in the science rooms. He can’t be expected to take care of a zoo while everyone else has the option of tanning in the Bahamas. I say that taking action on the issue is good, but if more students would get involved in the caretaking process he might be able to keep the animals.

Students need to take it upon themselves, so stand up.

It all begins with a bright red T-Shirt, the classic color of revolt. Wear red this Friday if you care. Wear red if you would rather hear what your teacher has to say. Wear red if you would like to speak at graduation. Wear red if you think Jim Lockard should get the help he needs to feed turtles, ferrets and parrots.

So fight back against the frailties, because you have the power to make a change. I urge you to wear red, to be part of those that care. On Friday we will see just how many there are. Wear red.

page 6 / opinion / the harbinger

A World of Difference Dominican children stay happy in spite of hardships an opinion of adrienne wood Three broken crayons mean nothing to me. I would sooner throw them away than attempt to peel the paper back from the wax. But in one of Dominican Republic’s poorest villages, the schoolchildren treasured our gifts of crayons and paper.

During my spring break on the Village Presbyterian Church trip to the city of La Romana in Dominican Republic, I couldn’t stop wondering how people with nothing but two shirts and a one-room cement house could find more joy in life than the most fortunate people in the United States.

At the countless preparation meetings before the trip, our leaders repeated the phrase, “You will learn more from the people than you can teach them.”

They were right.

I taught a dozen children how to wash their hands, take pictures with my digital camera, and do the “Great Green Globs” clapping rhyme. In return, the kids reminded me of what really matters. For the bars of soap and ringaround-the-rosy sessions I gave, I received a refreshing lesson in happiness. They reminded me that I can be happy without buying new things or getting an “A” on my Dante paper.

Every day, dozens of sparsely-clothed children crowded around our construction site, eager to help load wheelbarrows with cinderblocks. They erupted with laughter at the ridiculous Americanos attempting to speak Spanish. When we pulled a baseball and bat out of our bags, twenty excited boys scrambled to the makeshift bases, ready to play. The

underfed children with calloused feet and scraped knees were the happiest I have ever met.

Clichés aside, I think I can say for most of us, life is good. There isn’t the risk of having our fingers sliced by a machete at work. We’re more likely to suffer from overeating than malnutrition. So the relatively less-important issues become the center of our lives.

As teenagers, we have plenty of reasons to be in bad moods—hormones, school work, college, pressure, popularity…the list is endless.

I’ll be the first to say that I complain a lot. But are all these things really worth wasting away the years moping about?

If the Dominicans find satisfaction without our material advantages, then maybe we are looking for happiness in the wrong place. Logic says that we have more stuff, so we should be more grateful and content. But something is lost along the way.

I think it is appreciation for how lucky we are.

If the most economically disadvantaged people in the world can make the best of their situations and be optimistic, then we have no excuse to complain—we’re lucky to even be in high school.

I’m not saying we should feel guilty for all that we have, but that we should make the most of our advantages while remembering the simple joys in life. I am definitely guilty of pessimism and grumbling. But I think that if we all took a step back and looked at our situations in life, we would see how incredibly lucky we are to even have these things to worry about.

So from now on, before I carp about my upcoming Chemistry test, I’ll imagine how silly and insignificant I would sound to the barefooted children in the Dominican Republic who never stop smiling.

Graduation

Students should not be so eager to leave school an opinion of michelle sprehe

“ W h o’s ready to graduate?!” Dr. Cocolis’ voice boomed through the speakers in the cafeteria at the senior meeting a few weeks ago.

An instant uproar of clapping and cheering began.

I was one of the few who stayed motionless. I could not join in with my peers who were hollering for their freedom because I am not in a rush to graduate and I don’t see why everyone else is.

It’s hard for me to picture leaving the familiar faces of East.

I’ve gone to school with some of these people since we were five or six. I’ve watched my classmates work through speech impediments and nose-picking habits. I’ve watched them develop their four-square skills. I’ve watched them go through the pain of braces and the embarrassment of puberty. I can’t believe this will be the last year I will ever see some of these people. So is it wrong to want this year to last as long as it can?

Seriously. What is the rush?

I’m in no hurry to go to college. I’m used to the classrooms of East and the comfortable, though sometimes monotonous, schedule. Everyday I know I’m going to see certain kids in the hall. I may not know their names or who they are, but it’s their presence that I appreciate as I pass by them; it makes me feel at home. At college, it will be fun meeting new people, but I’ll miss crossing paths with ol’ “what’s-his-name”.

We don’t realize how easy we have it in high school. We have seven classes that last only 50 minutes rather than four classes that last two or three hours each. We don’t have

to break a sweat trying to walk half a mile to get to our next class on time. When we get to college, we will be bombarded with gargantuan essays, tests and reading. I bet at that point you would give anything to write your senior paper or a gathering essay rather than some 20 page-long paper.

I’ll admit there are times when I can not wait to be out on my own. I want to meet new people and experience new places and things. But I’ve developed strong relationships with teachers and I have made so many good friends this year who are juniors, sophomores and even a few freshmen. I don’t want to leave them behind.

Senior year is supposed to be the best year of high school. And for me, it has been, but I just don’t want it to stop. I enjoy the perks of being a senior; I don’t know if I’m ready to be called a “Frosh” again and I don’t want to be put at the bottom of the totem pole again next year.

Every so often I’ll talk to one of my parents’ friends and without fail, they always seem to ask the question, “So are you excited to graduate?” I sheepishly smile and say, “Yeah”.

I don’t mean it.

Now with third quarter over and the end in sight, it is so easy to race towards the finish line and take our last year at high school for granted. We should try to cherish the ordinary things of each day, such as the comfortable routine that we all have fallen into and the small talk we share with people in each class. Once we hit May, nothing is the same. Time flies.

You get preoccupied with finals and last minute lessons. You forget to take note of things such as the solid tone that releases us from class or the pungent smell of formaldehyde in the science wing when the biology students are dissecting rats.

I will miss almost everything about high school: the students, the teachers and the building. I say, let’s enjoy high school while we can. Before you know it, you may be walking up the treacherous hills of KU, then you’ll long for the flat hallways of East.

issue 13 / april 3 / editorial / page 7

the harbinger Packing Heat a publication of shawnee mission east high school 7500 mission road, prarie village, kansas 66208 april 3, 2006 issue 13, volume 42 editor-in-chief annie fuhrman asst. editors amanda allison evan favreau art & design editor ian mcfarland head copy editor bryan dykman news editor sara steinwart news page editor melissa lem opinion page editors thomas braslavsky clare jordan editorial editor foster tidwell features editor ellie weed features page editors katie jones christy beeder center spread editor laura nelson center spread asst. editor michelle sprehe mixed editor libby nachman a&e editor derek martin

page editors ally heisdorffer rachel mayfield photo editor linda howard assistant photo editor samantha ludington ads / buisness managers kristen crawford kevin grunwald vanessa legat circulation manager davin phillips copy editors amanda allison bryan dykman evan favreau annie fuhrman hallie mccormick laura nelson staff writers paige cornwall joe demarco clark goble tom grotewohl ronan mcghie stephen nichols meg shackleford adrienne wood photographers karen boomer katie james frances lafferty kelsey stabenow katie woods adviser dow tate

a&e page editors joey soptic ruth stark sports editor peter goehausen sports page editors jayne shelton ben whitsitt

Letters to the editor should be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editor’s discretion.

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, or administration.

With a new state law passed March 21 in Topeka, permits will be made available allowing citizens to legally carry concealed weapons. When the law takes effect July 1, Kansas will join 46 other states in allowing citizens to apply for the permits. But despite the majority of states allowing concealed weapons, the new law creates a completely unnecessary risk to our state.

Granted, the law isn’t a carte blanche for people to haul weapons anywhere. Applicants, who must be 21 or over, will need to be without a felony history and go through a background check, as well as completing a training program before being issued the permit.

And the law has exceptions to where concealed weapons may be carried. Concealed weapons will be banned in all courtrooms, government buildings, libraries,

Newly approved concealed carry bill puts Kansans at risk

schools, bars, sports events and places of worship. Buildings can also post their own signs declaring that concealed weapons are banned from the premises.

But the fact remains that allowing concealed carry will put more guns in public places. Gun activists and proponents of the law argue that carrying around a hidden weapon increases personal safety. But it is ignorant and extreme to suggest that you need a pistol in your pocket to safely walk around public areas.

The primary problem with the law is not that those applying for permits will now commit crimes with a gun. It’s the fact that introducing a gun into any situation immediately elevates a problem to a new level. Therefore, passing a law that provides for concealed weapons is detrimental to public safety.

Police officers have also

commented on why they are wary of the law, with the Prairie Village Police Chief saying that having more guns on the street is never safe for the general public. Dealing with a situation that doesn’t involve a gun will always be preferable to a situation with a gun.

The law doesn’t mean that hidden weapons will be found everywhere: Sen. Phil Journey, who spearheaded the push for the law, estimates that between 10,000 and 12,000 people would apply for the permit each year. And even without the permits people can easily break the law by carrying a concealed weapon.

But the idea stands that throwing more guns into the public mix will likely end up causing more harm than good.

A majority opinion of the Harbinger editorial board

Letters to the Editor

Dear Harbinger, My thanks to you for printing the article “Trying something new” about special ed. students being mainstreamed into regular ed. classes next year. The picture next to the article was of an unidentified regular ed. student who was preparing for a test. I’m told he was teased and called a “retard” by his friends afterwards. This name calling is not funny or acceptable, it’s prejudice. It’s also too bad that the article didn’t include the opinions of any special ed. students, even though your article says there are 164 of them at SM East. Maybe that’s because they were too hard to find.

The special ed. students are a sub-culture of this school. Many, if not all of them, take core English, math science and history classes in the resource rooms with special ed. teachers and paras. It’s no wonder they seem invisible.

If you could see the special ed. students, you’d see them struggling to do many of the things that others take for granted, like tying their shoes, answering the phone, paying attention or memorizing the multiplication tables. These are on top of the usual struggles at this age, such as getting your driver’s license or hoping you get invited to a dance. These same special ed students learn so much just by being around other students. In return, the regular ed. students can learn things like acceptance, perseverance, joy and hope for interacting with the special ed kids. We all have strengths and weaknesses.

I’m grateful for IDEA and its guarantees for our kids. Their struggles would be horribly worse without a federal law to ensure that they have the same chances to learn that everyone else has.

I don’t believe the special ed kids will “… slow down the learning…be a distraction,” as some students said. On the contrary, you might be surprised at what you learn if you open your eyes and your hearts to fellow students. Acceptance would be great, for a start.

-Cindy Rubaie

Dear Harbinger, Last spring, candidates signed up to run for Student Council of the Senior class of 2006. Apparently, the candidates were informed that whoever was elected President of the class and Executive Board would get the privilege of speaking at graduation. I’ve got to say I wasn’t aware of this change, and if I had been, I may have worked towards another solution. Although I understand the decision is irreversible now, I find it unfortunate that our class was not made aware of this monumental change in the tradition of graduation, and that our Presidents are not fighting for the privilege to go towards their classmates.

We should not stand for such a swift elimination of an opportunity available to the seniors for years.

Although graduation may be a “gift” given to the students from the faculty, it has been a tradition for years that seniors give speeches based on content, not position. The attitude of the Executive Board President is disturbing. I believe that, in the interest of the students graduating in May, the privilege of speaking at graduation is something worth fighting for, disregarding the convenience factor of appointing Presidents to do the speeches.

The reason I truly felt compelled to reply to the previous letter and to this issue in general is the lack of connection I feel with the Presidents that are speaking at graduation. Although these students were supposedly elected, the voters were not made aware that the elected would be speaking for their entire class at our one and only high school graduation. It is a shame that the senior class had no choice over who would be speaking and no knowledge that this privilege would be taken away because of previous class’s mistakes.

Good luck, Juniors, Libby Zanders

page 8 / features / the harbinger

s ta

what’s inYOUR yin

g healthy

ju n k

f o od

GROCERY BAG?

With summer fast approaching, the best way get ready is to eat healthy. Nutritionists recommend this information to help you lose weight and get in shape.

100 CALORIE by ellie weed

photos by Kelsey Stabenow

avoiding the

JUNK FOOD Try to cut down on eating out. Limit fast food to no more than twice a week.

TRY THIS INSTEAD: Back to Nature Peanut Butter Cookies- found at Whole foods.

Look for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil- this will limit your intake of trans fat.

staying away from

treats to fill your food craving

1 cup unsweetened applesauce 2 fresh peaches 2 cups strawberries 2 cups of baby carrots 2/3 cup raisins

3 plain rice cakes 2 low-fat granola bars 7 reduced fat Triscuts 6 low-fat graham cracker squares 12 reduced fat Wheat Thins

SODAS

in one king-sized Coke from McDonald’s...

There are 430 calories, approximately 10 percent of a teenager’s diet There is 108 grams of sugar There is 108 grams of TRY THIS INSTEAD: carbohydrates, which is 36 Tazo Tea- can be percent of an average daily found at Starbucks, value 35 calories Eating a quarter-pounder from McDonald’s has less calories than drinking a king-sized diet coke

Wait 10-15 minutes after starting a meal before getting seconds.

Cut back on butter, oil, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and gravy.

the most important part of the food pyramid:

Choose foods that are baked, broiled, or grilled when possible, not fried.

FRUITS&VEGGIES

TRY THIS INSTEAD: Fruit Leather can be considered one serving of fruit- available at most grocery stores.

SNACKING what’s the best way to have a healthy snack?

Do your best to avoid skipping meals or go too long without eating.

Limit snacks to less than two per day.

Don’t eat out of a bag or box.

Read the nutrition label and portion you food into baggies, using the number of servings indicated on the label.

Each snack you eat should be around 150 calories.

TRY THIS INSTEAD: Terra Baked Vegetable Chipsavailable at Dean and Deluca.

drink more

WATER

Drink between 6-8 FULL glasses of water each day Measure water out in a pitcher or water bottle and drink it throughout the day.

Eliminate sugar drinks like juices, pop, and sports drinks.

Every person should eat between three and four vegetables a day, and between two and three fruits each day.

If you aren’t a big fruit and veggie person, try something you haven’t ever tasted or haven’t eaten in a while. When is the last time that you had a grapefruit for breakfast instead of cereal?

Start out by eating one fruit or vegetable a day and work your way up to the recommended amount of servings.

If fruits and vegetables aren’t considered your favorite, encorporate them into meals with foods you enjoy.

what does it mean when something’s

ORGANIC?

Organic foods have very minmal imputs from off the farm like chemicals.

The main goal is to keep the soil, the environment, the animals and the people of the earth as healthy as possible.

Organic foods do not have any artificial pesticides

TRY THIS INSTEAD: Whole Grain bread has less carbs and more healthy vitamins than white bread.

Anything that is considered or identified as “organic” must have a USDA seal proving that 95 percent or more of that food’s contents are organically based.

There is no universal accepted definition of organic foods. all information provided by Children’s Mercy Hospital and nutritionist Liz Wells

r e r t a dul Mas

Mo

by meg shackelford

When you walk into Geometry teacher Brock Wenciker’s classroom, you will notice it stands out from all other rooms in the building.

He has modular origami on his hall window ledge, and on top of the dry erase board. The shapes are of all different sizes, variations and colors. There are pinks, greens, yellows, blues… all of the rainbow, there’s even a shape made out of 72 pencils that forms a hexagon-like figure.

Modular origami is a make-up of individual pieces of paper that are all the same size, but they are put together to make a larger geometric figure. The shapes can hold up to more than hundreds of pieces of paper, depending on how big you want them to be. There is no glue or tape involved.

“It takes a lot longer to actually make the pieces than put them together,” Wenciker said.

In 1995 Wenciker discovered the modular origami; it was when a student teacher from another school brought a 30-piece to school.

It was always in the back of his mind because he thought it was really cool. Not until he and another colleague took a road trip to buy a dresser did he really start getting curious.

“We stopped at a Wal-Mart so we could buy construction paper and we just started making shapes in the car like she’d said,” Wenciker said.

Later in 1998, Wenciker bought a book about it and started making different variations, and from then on he was hooked.

“I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed because everyone has a hobby,” Wenciker said. “This is my creative outlet.”

He says that origami develops spatial reasoning and gives the students an ability to manipulate the shapes individually.

It also calls for algorithmic thinking, which is sequential and gives the students instant feedback.

He uses this in class by teaching his students step-by-step how to do modular origami

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issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / features / page 9

Mathematical origami provides pastime for teacher

“It’s kind of unbelievable he has that much time on his hands,” sophomore Mike Hake said. “The origami is interesting to look at, though.”

Wenciker doesn’t make modular origami everyday. The time it takes to make a shape depends totally on how big the shape is going to be, if it’s going to require 90 pieces, it generally takes under an hour according to Wenciker. The majority of the shapes around his room are 90-pieces.

Last semester, Wenciker started a “Phiz” unit, short for PentagonHexagon Zig-Zag, which is a type of modular origami shape, and his students would make these and put them together.

Then he started a project of his own, a Stage 2—which is the second biggest you can make a shape in modular origami—cube called a “Moseley Cube.”

Wenciker had his students bring in business cards for extra credit points, and he used those business cards to make the pieces of the cube. The cube keeps growing and growing and thousands of business cards have been used. He thinks that students have really enjoyed his business card craze.

“Even the students will tell you that bringing in the business cards really brought in the community, using all of their various businesses,” Wenciker said. “I liked using the business cards.”

Wenciker even went to a conference for Regional NCTM—or National Counsel of Teachers of Mathematics— and presented a paper on modular origami. In April he will go on to present another paper about “Modular Origami in the Classroom,” in St. Louis, but this time it will be national.

Geometry teacher Lucy Rupf has taught origami in her classes before and believes that it is useful for students’ learning skills. According to Rupf, some students can become rather frustrated because they may not understand the sequence of how to put the origami together.

“It all depends on the students’ cooperation for the concept to really work, it could become mass chaos because of not paying attention and just getting lost,” Rupf adds.

Make Your Own...“Popper” Step 1: Fold a piece of square paper in half

Step 2: Open and lay flat

Step 3: Fold again, diagonally

Step 4: Open

Step 5: Unfold, and re-fold along the other diagonal

Step 6: Push all the folded edges into the center for final shape Step 7: Repeat 11 times assemble to make the “Popper”

photos by katie woods

‘05-’06

e t h

in

Although you may be desperate for a tan and don’t want to wait to get one naturally, many sunless methods are unhealthy. Learn to protect yourself as you get that golden glow.

prevent eye damage

... by choosing good sunglasses.

Though playing outside can be fun, your eyes need protection from harmful UV rays or y develop eye diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration. People who spend long in the sun or who are on certain medicines (like tetracycline, sulfa drugs, birth control p diuretics) are more susceptible to eye damage from the sun. Sunglasses are the best f protection from the sun’s UV rays.

types of UV rays There are three types of UV rays...

• UVA - not absorbed by the ozone. UVA rays cause 90 percent of the damage that cause premature aging.

• UVB- mostly absorbed by ozone. UVB rays cause sunburn. UVB rays are emitted by tanning beds.

pick the right sunglasses

Your sunglasses should...

• Reduce glare filter out 99-100 percent • Protect your eyes • Are comfortable to wear • Do not distort colors

• UVC- completely absorbed the ozone. UVC is completely absorbed and does not affect the skin

compare:

tanning options

There’s more than one way to get a sunless tan, each with its own high and low points. We’ve looked into four different ways, the process and the risks involved with each method. courtesy of about.com

spray tan

Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is sprayed over the body.

DHA is a colorless natural chemical that interacts with amino acids in dead skin cells, causing a brown color. It changes the physical skin color, so there is no risk of streaks.

Danger: DHA is considered harmless.

tanning pill A capsule that contains canthaxanthin, a color additive, tanning pills are only available illegally in the US. The pill causes carotenoids, the pigment that makes carrots orange, to build up and form a dark orangebrown color.

Danger: Hepatitis A, liver damage, blindness and It will last: Tans will last five to seven days, depend- increased blood pressure are possible results. ing on how quickly skin cells are shed.

It will last: If the pill is discontinued, two weeks.

tanning bed

su man pigme skin fro browner c

Danger: UVA causes gen allowing cancer to develo It will last: Tans will comp

avoid sunburns

... by using sunscreen correctly.

how to apply

• Be sure to apply enough sunscreen. As a rule of thumb, use an ounce (a handful) to cover your entire body.

• Use on all parts of your skin exposed to the sun, including the ears, back, shoulders, and the back of the knees and legs. Be sure to cover your feet as well because burning the tops of your toes is very painful.

• Apply thickly and thoroughly.

when to apply

how to pick a sunscreen • Pick a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against UV-A and UV-B rays and has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.

• Use a water-based sunscreen if you have oily skin or are prone to acne.

• Read product labels. Look for a waterproof brand if you will be sweating or swimming.

Buy a nonstinging product or one specifically formulated for your face.

• Apply sunscreen approximately 30 minutes before being in the sun (for best results) so that it can be absorbed by the skin and less likely to wash off when you perspire.

• Remember to reapply sunscreen after swimming or strenuous exercise.

• Reapply throughout the day to ensure complete coverage.

• Sunscreen ingredients degrade over time, so be sure to check the expiration date on the bottle before using.

courtesy of Center for Disease Control

you might g hours pills or form of

photos by kelsey stabenow and karen boomer

• Shake well before use to mix particles that might be clumped up in the container.

Consider using the new spray-on or stick types of sunscreen.

weigh your options

... by understanding cancer’s causes.

normal skin

cancerous skin

UVA rays

s

too many UVA rays

t of UV rays

skin cancer epidermis

tan

d

netic damage to cells, op more easily. pletely fade after a month.

veins

dermis

Tanning beds are clamshell-like metal beds with ultraviolet A lamps below and above a plexiglass urface. The UVA rays nipulate melanin, a ent that protects the om burning, causing a color.

hair follicle When skin is exposed to UV rays, the thicker layer of skin and a pigment called melanin protect the cells from being damaged. Melanin produces a darker brown color, which shows up as a tan.

Too many UV rays lead to damaged or mutated cells, which then multiply into a cancer: melanoma, squamous or basal.

Basal and squamous cancers are benignn and can be removed easily.

page 12 / a&e / the harbinger

Scrapbook of Sounds: Flaming Lips combine last 20 years into new album by tom grotewohl

photos from flaminglips.com

2006 marks the 20th anniversary of The Flaming Lips’ debut LP, “Hear It Is,” a fairly standard hard-rock crapfest.

Needless to say, the album has not aged well. Fortunately for us, The Lips have, as shown with their newest release, “At War With the Mystics.”

The one redeeming quality of early Flaming Lips records such as “Hear It Is,” other than comic relief, is that they quite strikingly illustrate the difference between The Flaming Lips of past and present. Gone is the band that once had to evacuate a gig because the motorcycle engine they were revving into the microphone was releasing toxic fumes.

Gone are the sloppy power chords and scream-sing vocals.

Somewhere along the line, The Lips underwent a massive transformation, and, after all the rough edges had been sanded away, we were left with a sleek and shiny pop group that sang about superheroes and talking robots.

“At War With the Mystics” continues in this same vein, offering far more pop than punk. But what makes “At War” unique from other recent Lips’ records is its incredibly varied content, both in quality and style. It is a mishmash of all the sounds the band has experimented with over their lengthy existence, flowing freely from sweet classical guitar to Beach Boys freak-rock and everywhere in between. The result is an album that may not be entirely coherent, but that is musically omnivorous enough to keep us entertained throughout.

A perfect example of this is “The W.A.N.D.,” the most spastic song The Flaming Lips have delivered in years. The track begins with a cheerful handclap rhythm straight out

of a barnyard hoedown, and we are deceived into visions of a charming country family enjoying the pleasantries of farm life. Instead, The Lips shatter this gentle imagery and assault us with a vicious guitar line. While on paper these conflicting elements seem jarring, The Flaming Lips manage to package them into an excellent song thanks to their inventive arrangements and expert production.

Unfortunately, almost as frequently as the genre of music changes, so does the quality. “At War” kicks off with “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” a tune which will in no time have you screaming, “No, no, no!” The track utilizes vocal harmonies in a way so irritating that it teeters on the edge of auditory rape. While it is great to hear the band explore foreign territory in their sound, it is not quite so great to want to destroy the CD after track one.

The next song, “Free Radicals”, provides no immediate relief, offering us such lyrical gems as “You’re a poor man’s Donald Trump” and “You think you’re radical / But you’re not so radical.” Rhyming ‘radical’ with ‘radical’? Genius!

Luckily for us, creative lyrics aren’t all “Free Radicals” has going for it. Once again The Lips assail us with their freakish vocal harmonies, and at one point I had to check to make sure my browser hadn’t accidentally stumbled onto HamsterDance.com.

Thankfully after this rocky start the album finds its legs, and The Flaming Lips make a swift return to excellence.

“The Sound of Failure,” which coincidentally describes the first two tracks of the album, starts off with simple Spanish guitar, a welcome return to normalcy. From there it launches into a wonderfully overproduced seven-minute epic,

eventually resolving into the avant-garde space orchestration that has become group’s forte. The track is nothing we haven’t heard from the band before, but already it feels like a Flaming Lips classic.

“At War” bounces back and forth between brilliance and mediocrity, but eventually the brilliance prevails. And even in its absence, the irritating tracks like “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” are at the very least interesting to listen to.

Besides, such songs have always been part of the appeal of The Flaming Lips. They force us to sit through their bizarre experimentation, and, for better or worse, we come out of it having heard something completely original.

While nothing on “At War” can be easily classed into a specific genre, it is still quite distinctly a Flaming Lips record - and a good one at that. It is not quite as catchy as “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and is nowhere near the masterpiece that is “The Soft Bulletin,” but that is because “At War With the Mystics” establishes an identity all of its own, complete with its own set of flaws and triumphs. In the end its melting pot of conflicting ideas provides for an odd meal, but it is tasty all the same. Grade: B

mi xed

presenting

S

You know what music you like.

But what if there was an easy way to find more?

PANDORA

thepageaboutlife

Thanks to the Music Genome Project, there’s Pandora.com. The Music Genome project is “the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken,” and has analyzed over 300,000 songs and 10,000 artists. Here we’ve given you a preview of Pandora as well as explored some of its unique features.

What is

Pandora?

a website made by the Music Genome Project as a way to help people find new music.

Th

Why “Pandora”?

The name Pandora means “all gifted” in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. She was also very curious. The people at the Music Genome Project have made it their mission to “reward the musically curious with a never-ending experience of music discovery.”

it’s free online at www.pandora.com, where you can make your own customized music stations.

ntrols o c

Pandora lets you pause and play your music just like any other music-playing program.

However, its music license does not let it play music on request.

Because of this, you can’t replay a song or skip ahead indefinitely to find a specific song. It has a limit of 10 skips per hour per station.

e

tions ta

When you feel like you want to find some new music that is similar to music that you like, just create a new station.

Enter the name of a song or artist and Pandora will create a custom station for you. You can have up to 100 personalized stations at one time.

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / mixed / page 13

?

What’s in a

name

Five students share their opinions on having names that are more interesting than Joe Smith

It’s easy to bubble in on standardized tests.

ing

How was

YOUR pring

s

break?

Freshmen Nic and Chris Hasselwander had a nice time with their Harbinger while on spring break at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. photo courtesy of the hasselwander family

Clicking on the album of the song that is playing gives you the options of buying the song from iTunes or the album from Amazon. It also lets you add the song to your Favorites page, which helps you keep track of the songs that you like.

n

Person

ali

z

rack t g

Keepi

The “Guide Us” menu helps edit the station. It has thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons, which affect your station greatly.

When you click thumbs-up, the station changes to play more songs like that song.

When you click thumbs-down, it bans the song and plays fewer songs like that song. The “Guide Us” menu also answers “why is this song playing?”

Pandora will describe musical qualities of the song that are similar to other songs on the station, such as the “subtle use of vocal harmony” or “mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation.” This is very interesting to both the musically inclined and the non-musically inclined.

all information courtesy of Pandora.com

Xu Xu

first and last names are the same

I get a lot of people coming up to me that they think it’s cool that my name is the same forwards and backwards.

Mike Kim

name is a palindrome

People are constantly asking me if I’m related to the actual president.

John Adams

has a president’s name

[When we] explain to a teacher, they get confused and go on a rant about how we shouldn’t have done that. they have the

Paige C. same name and Anderson are unrelated

Paige E. Anderson

It’s pretty confusing ... that’s basically it.

Our Computer Apps. teacher got a kick out of it. photos by frances lafferty

page 14 / sports / the harbinger

THEof theLURE GAME

an opinion of clark goble

Today’s Opening Day, and even though I love Sluggerrr and the whole Royals gang more than a school improvement day, there’s something missing.

Usually, I find out the date of Opening Day the day the schedules are released, and start planning the excuse to get out of school early to head out to the K. In years past I’ve had doctor’s appointments with sluggerologist Carlos Beltran and dentist appointments with Mike Sweeney and missed almost the whole school day. But this year, I barely even miss the end of seventh hour due to the 3:10 first pitch.

My passion for the Royals hasn’t changed. I still throw on my ragged Angel Berroa T-shirt in pride, knowing his Rookie of the Year numbers and skills will return. I cheered for Canada over the US in that World Baseball Classic just because Royals outfielders Matt Stairs and Aaron Guiel were on the Canadian roster.

Nope, I’m not blaming this lack of enthusiasm on me. It’s going on the Royals management.

I’ve never seen a professional sports franchise give up as much as the Royals have in the last few years. Maybe I was blinded by my love for The Boys in Blue, but I didn’t feel they were giving up much before last year. But somewhere between the third and eighteenth loss of that 19-game losing streak, it started to set in.

Sure, everyone and their grandmother criticize the trades of Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon, but those moves had to be made with one of the lowest payrolls in the game. It’s what we got in return that is so troublesome. In exchange for those All-Star caliber players, the Royals should have received young, inexperienced players with potential to become All-Stars, not inexperienced players who scouts deem career minor-leaguers like Mark Teahen.

This year, I am almost sure they are giving up and hoping to restart from square one, which is precisely what was supposed to happen five years ago. Being season ticket holders, our family received a “personal” letter from GM Allard Baird regarding the upcoming season. It

Royals management resorts to tempting fans with products, not talent

went something along these lines.

Dear Season Ticket Holder, Welcome to another exciting year of Royals baseball. We have acquired many veterans with playoff experience*, such as Reggie Sanders and Doug Mientkiewicz that can help guide our youth movement. The Krispy Kreme Dozen-For-Donuts deal is still in place. Yes, a dozen hits gets one of the fattest cities in America a dozen free donuts! A dozen donuts, free! Simply buy a ticket, watch 12 hits, and get free donuts. Is there a better deal than that?

Yours truly, Allard Baird *Our “veteran experience” also consists of one-year-wonder pitchers and overpriced past-their-prime sluggers. Go Royals!

What Allard didn’t tell us, along with the fact that Zach Greinke is MIA (Missing in Arizona), is that adding these has-beens and will-never-be-agains is slowing down the Royals franchise. The Royals should have continued along the path they treaded last year: losing games but giving potential starters needed experience. Sure, this year wouldn’t have been much better than last, but isn’t a playoff appearance in a couple years better than a .500 year in 2006?

But since this is “Our Team” and “Our Town,” as the fancy new banners that hang over the Plaza describe, we are supposed to head out to games and watch a losing team with no real hope of a playoff series. Who does the Royals management think us fans are?

Because of all of these factors, Opening Day just doesn’t have the same swagger as it used to. Sure, the stadium will be sold out. But an embarrassing Royals loss on that day could very well push the Royals fan base over the edge and they might not ever return. Only idiots will return.

Sadly, I am one of those idiots. I will continue to head out to Kaufman and be one of the eight fans sincerely cheering on the Royals in August and September long after the playoff dreams are eliminated. Why? For one thing, pure desire to ensure that a professional baseball franchise remains in Kansas City as long as I’m living here. Mostly however, it’s just that feeling I get inside after those rare Royals wins that keeps me coming back.

Or maybe that’s just the Krispy Kreme.

Tutor

Algebra

SAT ACT Art

Sanchez

913.

648.

5483

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / sports / page 15

LOSINGASATEAM

After their defeat at the state championship, the basketball teammates support each other

Ending their legacy: (From left) Seniors Garrett Webb, Will Gates, Brian Tagg, and J.D. Christie hug after receiving their second place medals at State. The seniors led the basketball team to its first trip to state in fourteen years and first ever to the championship game. They lost 53-51 to Wichita Northwest. photo by linda howard

by peter goehausen

While boys basketball coach Shawn Hair was watching the West Virginia- Texas game in the NCAA tournament March 23 he couldn’t help but to recall his team’s final game of the 2006 season.

He watched as West Virginia fought back from a 12-point half time deficit.

Just like his team had.

Then he watched as West Virginia hit a three with seven seconds left to tie the game.

Just like his team had.

Then what he saw next was all to familiar to him, as he saw West Virginia surrender a game-winning bucket as time expired.

Just like his team had.

After a little more than three weeks to the day, there has not been a day when Hair has not thought about what happened inside Emporia’s White Auditorium. The game losing turnover, watching the best player he has ever coached cry, and standing in front of a desolate locker room telling “the best team he has ever coached” that even though in defeat they accomplished something that no other East team had.

“It was definitely the toughest loss I have ever experienced,” Hair said.

With 30 seconds left it looked as if Hair would seize the school’s first State title instead of his toughest loss. The Lancers had the ball and the momentum after rallying back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

When Hair called a time-out with 26 seconds left he was sensing he might collect his second state title, his first came as a player at Rockhurst in 1981.

After the Lancers in-bounded the ball, the intention was to give to sophomore Michael McRoberts, who scored 16 points in the game and 41 in three games at state, and have senior J.D. Christie set a pick for McRoberts and give him the option to drive to the basketball or pass it back to Christie off the roll.

While the Lancers had one expectation from the play, their opponent, top seeded, Wichita Northwest had another.

After dribbling off the pick McRoberts was met by a NW defender, who poked the ball away. He went on to hit the winning free throw after McRoberts fouled him to prevent an open lay-up.

“I just didn’t see him coming,” McRoberts said. “ Then after he stole it I didn’t want to give him the open lay-up, so I fouled him.”

McRobert’s teammates, who unanimously agreed he made the right decision to foul him, reiterated to him that ‘we win and lose as a team’ and ‘we wouldn’t have been in that position without him.’ Though they all agreed it was a hard way to lose.

“My heart dropped when he stole that ball,” senior forward Brian Tagg said. “ I was in pure shock that my basketball career ended that way.”

Tagg, who compared the loss to one the football team suffered to Olathe South, was one of six seniors who had to watch their East playing days end in heartbreak. “(The loss) stung all Spring Break,” senior guard Will Gates said. “It took awhile to realize how big of an accomplishment our run was.”

The run wasn’t only a big accomplishment but also a first at East. As a six seed, the Lancers defeated the three seed, Wichita Southeast, and the two seed, Olathe South, to make

the schools first appearance in the State championship game before losing to Northwest.

“Looking back on it, it was an incredible ride,” senior and McDonald’s All-American consideration forward J.D. Christie said. “ If we just could have executed better offensively, and shot better we could’ve easily won it.

Christie, who led all scorers with 19 points and 15 rebounds in the championship, and the other seniors agreed that the feeling of ending their high school career was tougher than losing the state title.

As senior Mike Drier walked through the basketball locker room, on March 24, to turn in his number 45 jersey, it hit him that it was over. No more Coach Hair, no more games against rival South, and no more East basketball.

“It was a really weird feeling turning it in” Drier said.

“This team has been such a big part of my high school and now it is over.”

Though the practices and games are over, the seniors plan to keep their close ties as potentially all six of them head off to play college sports and will always remember their run to state.

Christie and Gates, who have played together since third grade and are now looking onto college. Christie is looking at either Evansville or Illinois State. Gates signed with DePauw to play tennis and possibly basketball. And both said that though they lost in the end, it would be hard to ever look down on this season “Not until we all got to together after we got back from Emporia did we realize how great of an accomplishment it was,” junior guard Ross Simpson said. “We made history at East.”

page 16 / sports / the harbinger

Professionals of the Trade Three senior baseball players are taking their talents to the next level by ben whitsitt

Logan Wysong C Logan Wysong Senior catcher Logan Wysong’s prioritizes baseball over almost everything. The opportunity to start next year at catcher is too tempting to pass up. The important thing is that he plays at Fort Hayes State, he is almost guaranteed to start next year.

“With a change like that, you have to be more flexible and go into new places and meet new people. I know I will always have my high school teammates as friends but I think it will be good to do what I’m doing,” Wysong said.

Baseball has been a huge part in Wysong’s life and some of his best friends have been because of baseball.

Ever since the Golden Spikes, Wysong has been with six of the current seven seniors on the team.

But now everyone is going their separate ways.

All players, including Wysong vie for attention during their showcase tournaments for their respective club teams. Wysong plays for the Johnson County Hornets while the other six seniors play for the Sluggers.

“You get a chance to play the best teams in the country and you get to know some guys from different places. It helped develop my skills a lot and if you play well, it helps get your name out there,” Wysong said.

During showcase tournaments, scouts around the area and sometimes from different parts of the country watch as the players strut their stuff in order to increase their recruitment value. Wysong’s case was a little different.

During the past summer, while he played for the Sluggers, Wysong played with a batting coach that helped him hone his skills. That instructor was given a job at Fort Hayes State and then suggested that Logan come out and visit.

Wysong worked well with the coaches and players and so did other players on the Sluggers. Logan was offered a scholarship to play on Feb.. 23 and signed with the team on March 2.

“I made the decision that was right for me, no one else on the team (Lancers) looked at Fort Hays, but I knew some of the guys from the Sluggers going,” Wysong said.

Wes Stancher 3B Wes Stancher It is the beginning of senior Wes Stancher’s last year of high school baseball but the he is already thinking about his first year of college baseball. The Lancers are ranked third in state and after last year’s loss in the second round of the playoffs to Manhattan, they are looking forward to another chance at glory.

“All of us have been thinking about and have wanted to win state since seventh grade,” senior Wes Stancher said.

Stancher plays third base and plans on going to Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas after they offered him an $11,000 scholarship. Although the signing deadline for baseball is on July 17, Stancher and others have already decided where they want to go unless they play well during the “showcase” tournaments.

“It is possible for other schools to find you during the tournaments. Scouts come from around the state and it all depends on how you play,” Stancher said.

Baker is in the NAIA, normally a step below a D-III NCAA team, but Stancher believes that they could easily play up to a D-II NCAA school. It wasn’t just the unofficial rankings that made Stancher lean towards Baker, but Coach Lee Jarrel’s connections with the University.

“Coach knows everybody and he recommended me to them during the fall and he sort of helped me get in there,” Stancher said.

For Stancher, it’s all about starting new: new people, new team, new life and it is mainly academic. His best interest is getting into Baker’s medical program and his athletic scholarship certainly helps him out with cost.

“I am putting education over baseball. Baker has some good medical programs and I can get the tuition pretty low,” Stancher said.

With no help from his parents on tuition, Stancher will have to take out student loans in order to pay for all of his expenses, which will end up being around $8,700.

Nevertheless, Stancher has faith that he can pull it out and that his work ethic won’t change next year.

Sean Finley OF Sean Finley On Nov.. 10, 2005, senior outfielder Sean Finley signed a letter of intent to play at University of Missouri. It’s a big deal for a couple of reasons. Missouri is currently ranked 29 in the nation according to college baseball polls and is in the top 20 of best baseball programs of all time.

None of that matters to Finley. He’d rather talk about their medical or engineering program and how they just got a new life-science center. Education is priority to Finley.

“I want to get my education first, give college baseball a shot and see if the passion is still there. I will keep improving and then see how it goes,” Finley said.

Finley decided that going to the pro’s straight from high school was not the route he wanted. After receiving offers from teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, Finley turned them down saying that he wanted to go to college and get an education.

“They would probably send me to play single A first, until I mature, but it is just too much travel,” Finley said.

Part of the reason Finley decided to play at the college level was Coach Jarrel.

“He has influenced me more than anyone else. He knows the game, he’s coached in college and he tells you stuff that high school kids don’t normally hear,” Finley said.

Though Finley is weary of losing longtime teammates next year, he knows some of the guys from the Sluggers that are going to play at MU. His roommate next year has played against Finley and has gone to several baseball camps with him too. According to Finley, the Sluggers have helped him beyond just meeting other baseball players.

“The competition we see are the premier players around the nation. They will be the kids I will be facing next year. It has helped a ton. I have improved 100 percent since last year, it’s intense,” Finley said.

Finley can only go up at this point. Whether he becomes a doctor or the center fielder for the New York Yankees, his passion and work ethic are what have gotten him to be at such a high level.

JAVELIN.

issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / sports / page 17

putting in the effort

Javelin considered one of the most misunderstood events in track by stephen nichols While the sprinters and relay teams practice around the track, the javelin throwers practice in seclusion up on the stretch of field next to the baseball diamond. They’re supposed to perfect their throws with endless hours of technique practice, but when junior Taylor Cantril, a runner for the track team, looks up towards the javelin field during practice he doesn’t see the dedication.

“From what I see on the field, it seems like runners work harder,” Cantril said.

“If done right, javelin could be of similar caliber to track.”

Junior javelin-thrower Kevin Warnecke says that when it comes to practice, “There are a lot of kids that goof off.” But for those who are serious about javelin, it takes time to learn the proper technique.

“Most people think it’s like throwing a baseball, so kids throw down,” said javelin coach Chuck Seawood, “but in javelin you have to throw up. People try to muscle the javelin, but it’s all about your arm-whip.”

“It took me pretty much the whole season [to learn the technique],” Warnecke said. Warnecke, who is also a varsity football player, says that it takes more discipline to throw a javelin compared to playing football.

“Football is a team sport. In javelin I’m my own coach,” he said. “In javelin I have my own routine.”

Junior Bailey Armstrong, who has been throwing javelin for two years, is also a cross county runner. Think of javelin as cross-country for you arms.

“You only have to run two laps [for javelin practice], but it’s really hard on your arms, “Armstong said. “You’re throwing two hours a day. The way you throw, you have to torque your body and you can really tear up your arm.”

Armstrong started track last year not expecting to be a javelin thrower. Instead she tried her hand at pole vault and says now that it wasn’t for her. When her friend Anee Sofia Jackson introduced her to javelin, she stuck with it, not just for the sport itself, but the social aspect as well.

The social aspect doesn’t mean talking instead of working out. Instead, Armstrong and her friends on the track team hang out on weekends and they assign people to bring food for meets where they have a big picnic From the perspective of senior John

Duvall however, javelin is not a social sport.

“When you are competing you have to stay focused,” Duvall said. “You’re going for your best throw. It’s just how well you throw it.”

He, like Warnecke, did not learn the “awkward motion” of throwing the javelin in just a few days.

“It takes a long, long time to even start to look good at it,” Duvall said. “Throwing a javelin isn’t like throwing a baseball.”

Duvall says if not done right, “When you’re twisting you can tear a tendon or pinch a nerve.”

Coach Seawood was able to maximize Duvall’s throwing distance when he was able to see that his arm was going down after the throw.

“It’s such a fast movement, but he can really tell,” said Duvall. Now, after three years of practice he placed second in the East Quad with a throw of 153 feet.

Even with Seawood’s help with technique, he knows that hard-working kids on the team will motivate themselves to become better athletes.

“It’s not a high-intensity sport, “Seawood said. “You bring it on yourself.

It’s your inner-intensity that makes you do what you need to do.”

Dive talking: (above) senior john duvall after throwing a javelin at a track meet at East. (below) A group of javelin throwers gathers together to talk about strategy. (right) Junior Kevin Warnecke shows good form as he launches the javelin during the first meet of the year for varsity. photos by kelsey stabenow and katie woods

page 18 /sports / the harbinger

Early

Junior soccer player commits to college before peers

JUGGLING: Junior Blair Slapper juggles a soccer ball at practice. She has already committed to Nebraska. photo by Linda Howard

E

by paige cornwell

ver since the beginning of the semester, junior Blair Slapper has been slacking off in her ACT/ SAT preparation class. Instead of listening to she has been thinking her teacher talk about the SAT about how to stretch out her ACL and when her next soccer practice will be. What the teacher is talking about is useless to her, because she doesn’t need to take the SAT; she already knows where she is going to college. Slapper knows, as a

junior, that she will be playing soccer at the University of Nebraska.

Slapper verbally committed to the college after she received an offer from the head soccer coach John Walker.

Although the middle of junior year is considered early to commit, Slapper decided not to wait for other offers because she loved Nebraska so much.

“Something just felt right about going up there,” Slapper said, her face breaking in a smile. “The coaches have been there for ten years so they have been there for a while and hopefully they are going to stay there for awhile, and they are just really good coaches and easy to talk to. And Nebraska is really academic too so it is a good combination.”

She has played varsity soccer since freshman year, and plays club soccer for KCFC. She has practiced every day for the past two years. If she could, she would play for the rest of her life.

“There aren’t really that many opportunities for women to play after college, I mean there is the national team but I don’t think that will ever happen to me,” Slapper said. “So I thought that if I could play after high school I might as well take the opportunity to play, because I knew that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t.”

Slapper first became interested in the Division I Nebraska during the summer when she went to the official soccer camp held at the campus. It was there that she got to meet the coaches and talk to the players, and see what the team, currently ranked 21 in the nation, was like.

After the camp was over she started receiving e-mails from head coach John Walker expressing interest, and

she continued to e-mail them her schedule and further information about her soccer activities.

She continued to send and receive e-mails until Nov.. 9, when she received an e-mail from coach Walker asking her to play for them.

“I remember I had just gone to bed and suddenly my dad came into my room crying, and he told me that I needed to go downstairs to see something. Then I read it and I started crying,” Slapper said. “I just felt so relieved that it was finally happening.”

Without any hesitation, Slapper e-mailed the coach back and committed to playing.

Although there is an agreement between Slapper and the school, it will not be official until her senior year, when she can sign the official national letter of intent. According to athletic director Lane Green, Slapper can back out of the agreement at any time before she signs the letter of intent, but after that neither she nor the school can back out without being penalized. Before the letter is signed, the school can also back out if her grades dramatically fall or if she has an injury. Because of this, she has worried about an ACL injury.

They are common for high school female athletes. She tries to prevent this by doing extra exercises and conditioning.

Since then, Slapper has felt a decrease in her school stress level. She doesn’t have to worry about impressing a school anymore.

“I see girls all frantic and worrying about their school work, and it’s just a breath of fresh air to have that off of your shoulders,” Slapper said. “All [I] have to worry about now is keeping my grades up and getting better at my sport.”

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issue 13 / april 3, 2006 / sports / page 19

Raising the bar Coach helps students reach their work out goals by rachel mayfield

The laughter of students was soon replaced with the clinks and clanks of 50-pound weights dropping to the black rubber matted floors. The upbeat tempo of “Thunderstruck”

by ACDC blared from the stereo and the overpowering echo of Coach Chip Ufford’s voice chanted “Pain is weakness leaving the body” buzzed around the room as his students obediently completed each strenuous lift.

Ufford stood boldly in the center of the room, chest out and arms crossed. His eyes wandered around the room, carefully scanning each student. Attempting to critique, Ufford threw out any useful tips concerning anything from squat form to feet alignment. He’s a proportionate cross between “The General,” Bobby Knight’s disciplinary coaching and “Weird Al” Yankovic’s silly horseplay.

“Mess around, mess around, soon you won’t be around.”

“In life there are contenders and pretenders. Contenders come in and work hard and pretenders don’t. The amount of time pretenders put into the weight room is about as much time they are played in varsity football games-not much.”

The humor works. In his two years coaching weights, football and wrestling at East, Ufford has nearly tripled the number of athletes in the 1,000-pound club. He is constantly telling athletes to get in the weight room and condition, which is why other coaches point to him as a reason for the significant improvement and success of their athletes.

Ufford provides a varying workout every day that includes the core lifts—Back Squat, Power Cling, Push Jerk and Bench Press mixed with other auxiliary lifts that strengthen the other lifts. He also keeps the students focused on great technique and what he describes as “a size 12 kick in the rump inspiration.”

“There is no substitute for hard work,” Ufford said. “What you put into the weight room, you’ll get out of the weight room.”

Although Ufford has a humorous side to him, this does not mean he tolerates slacking or messing around. Ufford is looking for hard working students and doesn’t have time to mess around.

Sophomore Mackenzie Payne is one of Ufford’s weight students. Payne recalls once when she and some other girls were messing around and Coach Ufford made them leave class and they received a zero for the day.

“I’m not here to make friends,” Ufford said. “Sometimes I have to say things that my students don’t want to hear and they get mad at me but in the end they are the ones who will benefit from it.”

SP

SPORTS PANEL SPORTS PANEL SPORTS PANEL SPORTS PANEL SPORTS PANEL SPORTS PANEL

CLARK GOBLE

PETER GOEHAUSEN

JAYNE SHELTON BEN WHITSITT

Ufford emphasizes that he’s not doing any of the work for the students and that everything they accomplish is through hard work and motivation.

Junior John Brickson is one of Ufford’s varsity football players and weight students who as a sophomore played defensive end in his first varsity football game versus Olathe East.

“He was getting thrown around out there,” Ufford said. “He wasn’t listening to a thing I said.”

Later, Brickson watched a tape of the game and soon realized this was something he needed to work on.

“I was just getting dominated,” Brickson said, laughing to himself. Getting to the top: ‘Coach Ufford came over to me Coach Chip Ufford and said, “Brickson…remind me advises sophomore Anto never make you a defensive end drew Collingwood on his again.’ I was embarrassed at first, weight lifting. photo by but it actually motivated me to work samantha ludington really hard.”

Since then, Ufford has motivated to do squats.

Brickson to prove that he is dedicated to becoming a better “Coach Ufford is always walking around the weight room player. This past football season, Brickson was named and observing everyone,” Duvall said. “He saw that when Second Team All Sunflower League Defensive End. I did my squats, I was putting all my weight on my toes Ufford pushes his students to create good habits in the instead of on my feet which was just destroying my knees. He weight room and to set realistic lifting goals to meet at the immediately started working with me and made sure I was end of the quarter or semester. He lets them know that some doing them the right way.” could improve their lifting by 10 pounds or by 50 pounds Duvall played football for Ufford and by teaching him how but it all depends on the individual and how hard he/she is to squat correctly improved the strength in his knee which willing to work. kept him playing football. Next year, Duvall will be playing “It’s black and white for me,” Ufford said. “Either you hit it football at Princeton. hard or you don’t.”

“Retraining yourself is a slow process,” Ufford said. “But if He is constantly reminding them to never sacrifice you work hard for it and you are patient…you’ll get there.” technique for weight and that technique is more important Ufford is hoping to have about 20 kids in the 1,000-pound than the amount of weight lifted. The whole body is being club by his fourth year coaching at East. He is also working used in the lifts and bad technique could cause an injury. on getting his students to improve each day so they can meet Ufford is always willing to work with anyone who their individual potential which is most important to him. He needs help with technique. He always reminds everyone is trying to show his students that if they learn to value their how important lifting and conditioning is for the body. It potential, then they will have the mind set that they are being strengthens ligaments, joints and bone density making it the the best they can be. number 1 activity to do in order to prevent injuries.

“We work hard for coach because we know all he wants is During the year, Ufford spent a lot of one-on-one time with for us to improve,” senior John Sullivan said. “Plus, we have senior, John Duvall attempting to teach him the correct way to keep our ‘guns’ defined.”

BOYS BASEBALL

BOYS GOLF

GIRLS SWIMMING

BOYS TENNIS

ROYALS RECORD

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

SM East

Olathe East Olathe East

SM East

72-90

George Mason

SM West

Hutchinson

Blue Valley North

SM East

76-86

LSU

SM East

Lawrence

Blue Vally North

SM Northwest

83-79

George Mason

Maize

SM East

Blue Valley North

SM East

81-81

Florida

page 20 / photo essay / the harbinger issue 1 / september 6, 2005

Second Place Trophy: Senior J.D. Christie holds up the second place trophy for the fans at the end of the Kansas boys 6A state basketball game. J.D. carried the team throughout the season and had an all time record at East, and the Sunflower league, of 1,562 points in his high school career.

Jumping for Joy: Varsity cheerleaders jump up and down in a screaming frenzy as East beats Olathe South in the semi-final photo by linda howard game for state. The cheerleaders were a great support throughout the season and got the fans riled up during every game. photo by linda howard

Defense: Sophomore Michael McRoberts plays defense on a player from Olathe South. East beat Olathe South 44 to 41. photo by linda howard #1 Fans: Students go crazy in front of the Metro Sports camera during the second half of the Final state game. Hundreds of fans supported the Lancers all season long, sporting their Coach Hair T-shirts and blue face paint. photo by linda howard

From Cheers to Tears After a hard fought season, the East basketball team took second in state, and left the tournament in a roar of bittersweet emotion

Hard Loss: Senior J.D. Christie leans over to collect himself behind his team during the awards ceremony. East lost 53-51, but couldn’t have been more proud of themselves to get second. The Lancers proved themselves after a four game losing streak and showed what talent they really had. photo by linda howard