page 2 [news]
What’s
The seventh annual Earth Fair, with When and where the theme, “Lighting the Way to a SusWhen: Saturday 10 a.m.- 3 p.m tainable Future” will focus on help Where: East gym ing the environment and Cost: Free to the public building a better community. The fair is sponsored by the Prairie Village Environmental CommitEarth Fair to be held to tee and the East educate public about environmenthe enviroment tal club.
Lighting the way
Presentations • “Our Climate Crisis”- What does it mean for Kansas and what you can do about it” by: Kristin Riott and Penny Mahon • “Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient” by Dustin Jensen of Kansas City based Metropolitan Energy Council • “Available Tax Credits for Home Conservation Measures” by H & R block
Kansas Assessment Dates Remaining sophomore students and selected junior students will be taking the Kansas Math Assessments next week. English 10 honors students will be taking the English assessments April 9-13.
At the beginning of the month, the Dante Club held a fundraising dinner at Brio Tuscan Grill. While eating an Italian meal, they listened to readings from Stanley Lombardo, a popular translator who is currently working on the Divine Comedy. The eighty attendees’ donations, along with a grant from the PTA, paid for Dante expert Bill Stephany to come to Shawnee Mission East. Stephany, a former English professor at the University of Vermont, has lead summer seminars in Siena focusing on the Divine Comedy. After Kelly Fast met Stephany at one of the seminars, he has continued to help the Dante Club in their reading of the Divine Comedy. Now that the sophomore English Honors students have studied the Divine Comedy, the Dante Club decided to bring him in to talk with them. After spending Friday talking to the English classes, Stephany will go out to dinner with the Dante Club, and participate in one of their meetings.
Exec Board
Exhibits There will be more than 50 exhibits on subjects such as energy efficiency, building design, personal choices and investments, waste and recycling, pollution prevention, protecting air quality, wildlife, landscaping and agriculture.
Science Olympiad The science Olympiad team is preparing for their state competition Saturday at Wichita State. The team took third place at the regional meet, where almost 20 teams competed. One of their biggest achievements was the beating South and Nortwest teams. Juniors Bill Osphal, Xing Ji, Sarah McCandless, Yuzhou Li, Laura Nelson and Danny Lawrence took first place in their categories.
For Sophomores Only
The East jazz showcase will be April 15 from 2-5 p.m. at Unity Temple on the Plaza. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $7 for students. To purchase tickets, contact any jazz band member or Laurie Hamilton at 913-381-3463.
Freshman Cydney Ross has had her poem “Entwined and Bound” accepted to the anthology, “A Celebration of Young Poets.” Cydney’s poem will now be considered for a Top Ten Poet award.
For sophomores only: a chance for sophomores to have a look at KSU, will be April 13-14. Sophomores will get the chance to attend meetings where they’ll learn more about KSU, and parents will learn about financial aid, admissions, and scholarships. Participation costs $18. To register, call 1-800-600-2586. Registration and payment are due Wednesday.
the [harbinger]
Qi Chen David Beeder Lois Wetzel Holly Lafferty
Kansas has joined one of at least 30 other states to strengthen teen driving laws with a new proposal. The proposal has passed through Senate, and now will head to the House. The proposal would also limit nighttime driving, restrict the number of passengers driven by a teen and ban teens from using cell phones while driving.
Poem awarded
Book Sale
Sophomores
Driving Age
Jazz Showcase
SAT deadline
Yuzhou Li Max Gabel Amy Gairns Jeremy Williams
Grant Morris Amy Esselman Paige Cornwell David Spero
photos by Emily Watkins and Frances Lafferty
The deadline to take the SAT on The used book sale will be May 5 istomorrow. To register online, Friday for students and staff and go to www.collegeboard.com Saturday for the public.
Seniors
President: Drew Popplewell Vice president: David Isenburg Secretary: Laura Wetzel Treasurer: David Webster
Hybrid, electrical and natural gas powered cars will be on display.
There will be craft activities for kids eco-products and and garden plants for sale, and exotic birds and animals.
B R I E F S
Dante Club
Juniors
Choirs from Belinder, Briarwood and Corinth elementary schools will perform, as well as “Green Elvis.”
NEWS
with...
Results of class elections
Lunches with various organic ingredients will be served.
The fair will feature three key presentations:
new
photos by Anna Leek
Summer School Brochures and course request forms are currently available in the counseling office for summer school, which will be held at Northwest this year. The cost for SMSD patrons is $120 per session. Enroll at Broadmoor Technical Center, or online at www.smsd. org/parents. Students outside of the district may start enrolling tomorrow.
Turning up the heat page 3 [news]
Three seniors compete in culinary competition
Karsen Brassard by [hallie mccormick and rachel mayfield] Senior Joe DeMarco quickly stirred a mixture consisting of three egg yolks, lemon juice and several other ingredients over a stove. He watched carefully to make sure it wasn’t heated too long, in which case the thick sauce would quickly turn into citrus flavored scrambled eggs. Once there was a subtle movement in the sauce, he removed the pan from the stove, running it to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. As he let the sauce cool in the tub, he began straightening up everything in his work area, throwing away all the lemon peels and sweeping off every last grain of sugar that had fallen from the measuring cup. DeMarco had become extremely familiar with this process. Even the smallest error could potentially affect his chances at a full ride to his dream school in the up and coming culinary competition. *** DeMarco, as well as seniors Franki Triano and Karsen Brassard, competed in a culinary competition on March 17 at the College of Culinary Arts Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC. All three won titles in their competitions. Triano was the first runnerup in the dinner category; this gave her a $33,000 scholarship. Brassard received the gold medal in his cooking competition, and a $3,000 scholarship to The Art Institute of Charlotte. DeMarco was named Grand Prize winner for his dessert. This earned him the title of “best teen chef in the nation.” Participating in this competition was no simple task. Around 1,000 high school students from around the country applied to be in this competition, and only 12 were selected to compete (three of the twelve were from East). Applicants were first asked to pick a dish to prepare. They then had to make an organized binder which outlined all the ingredients and procedures used to create the dish. Triano has had a goal of entering into this competition since she started the culinary class at Broadmoor this past August. “I worked with my teacher, [Bob] Brassard, for several weeks until we found what I should try for the competition.” Johnson and Whales is $85,000 for four years, and having a combined $42,000 scholarship will make it easier for Triano to reach her goal of having a culinary major from the school. “ [Since] I love Italian food and I’m Italian, I might specialize there,” Triano said. “Maybe even have my own cooking show or magazine.” In order to get enough practice, the threesome prepared their dishes 1-2 times a day before the competition. Although practicing so much left them with a tight schedule and minimal time for other classes, teachers were very encouraging and understanding. There are two categories in the competition: entrees and desserts. The students are given three hours to prepare the dish and then it is judged. The judges distribute the points into three different areas. One-third of the points are based on how the dish tastes, one-third of the points are based on appearance and how the dish is presented and the final one-third is based on how clean and organized the student was when creating the dish. All twelve participants win scholarship money, but the first place winner receives a full ride to Johnson & Wales. Being the number two culinary school in the nation,
Johnson & Wales is well known around the world for creating some of the leading chefs, making it a dream school for any culinary enthusiast. *** It was the day of the competition and DeMarco staggered into the Johnson and Whales’ kitchen after his last practice in the hotel. The practice had been “not the kind you want right before a competition” and DeMarco had it on his mind. He began to set up his equipment from the toolbox he had brought with him. He now realized that his bad practice was the least of his worries. “I realized my molds for my dish were gone. I had left them in the hotel,” DeMarco said. “They were the basis to my Fromage Blanc Strawberry Soufflé, and we’re not allowed to leave the kitchen to go get anything—so I was basically locked in. My initial reaction was to just give up and walk out, but then I thought, ‘screw it, let’s just try.’” DeMarco discovered that the kitchen’s measuring cups were the same size as his molds. He set to work recreating his molds with measuring cups and tin foil. Three hours later, the competition was over and Demarco sent his three best dishes to be judged. He decided that his sloppiest dish was the one he was going to have photographed. “It’s a bad tactic to have one of your phenomenal dishes photographed instead of being sent to the judges,” DeMarco said. “Since the contestants only saw the picture of my dish, they probably thought ‘that looks like crap’ because they never saw my good ones that were being judged.” DeMarco employed other strategies to win the competition. He knew that he had to have lots of skills to show the judges. “If you just bake something for the competition and that is your only technique, that doesn’t show the judges all you can do.” DeMarco said. “It can be the best baked thing there has ever been, but that’s only one technique.” DeMarco’s main technique was the use of gelatin by chilling his molds of cheesecake-like substance in the fridge. He also showcased his ability to cook with a difficult recipe. “On a scale of 10, it would be a nine or a 10.” DeMarco said. A part of its difficulty was in the recipe’s length. In three hours DeMarco had to follow six pages of instructions filled with his own twists on parts of recipes put together. For all these reasons, the judges awarded DeMarco first place. This means that he Did you know? was given a full ride to Johnson and Whales, or as he calls it, “the Yale Celebrity chefs Tyler of Culinary schools.” Florence and Emeril Lagasse went to Johnson and Wales, a private university founded in Rhode Island
April 2, 2007
Franki Triano
Joe DeMarco
photos by karen boomer
A Fresh Sketch
page 4 [community]
Downtown renovation of Kansas City hopes to increase visits to the area continued from page 1 This project could potentially draw an NBA or NHL team along with almost 10,000 residential living units and shopping reminiscent to New York’s Soho district- clubs, restaurants, bookstores, and theatres. Similar to the Power & Light District is the planned East Village, a development in the East Loop that would include about half the amount of retail space as the Prairie Village Shops and 1,200 housing units, occupied mostly by those working at the JE Dunn Construction headquarters which will also be in the district. Most of downtown, which is inside the Loop where I-35 and I-70 meet, has been isolated from the rest of urban Kansas City because of the deep gorge the two highways create. This leaves Union Station, Crown Center, and the Crossroads District separated from the rest of downtown, though they are technically within its limits. “We’re currently studying the possibility of capping I-70 on the south end in front of [the Power & Light District],” Carucci said. “Capping” the interstate on the south end of downtown would mean to essentially put a lid over it and create a tunnel, freeing downtown from the noise and busy traffic it generates. On top of the freeway would be a large park or more developments, most likely condos and lofts. “This would be a big step,” Carucci thinks, “It would fuse the Loop with the rest of the city and solve one of many problems facing downtown.” For years, the city’s public transportation has lacked solid ridership, but that could also change.
This November, Kansas City, Mo. approved a proposal for a 24-mile light rail line from the airport to Swope Park, despite limited funding and questions surrounding the efficiency of the route. “Chastain’s proposal was so flawed, there’s no way we’d be able to fund it,” Carucci said. “We’ll be working with the new mayor on a feasible plan, most likely from the River Market to the Plaza to start, allowing us to grow from there.” A light rail plan would provide for more jobs downtown, transportation for those living in the urban core, and be a tool for tourists in getting around”, Carucci said. With the help of new developments and attractions, downtown Kansas City is making a make for itself having gone from a cow farm on the banks of the Missouri, to a city at the center of the Midwest, teeming with new and exciting activity. Carucci said that the blame for downtown’s decline in past years should be handed to suburban sprawl and a lack of activity in the core, with the current developments focusing on doing otherwise. The Downtown Council believes that two years from now, if all goes as planned, the Sprint Center will be up, the Power & Light District completed, East Village potentially under construction, and crowds will be downtown. “The Plaza has been Kansas City’s attraction since the ‘70s,” Carucci said, “and now downtown is making a case for itself. The more development, the better. The only way to go is up.”
A New Beginning New stores and restaurants to arrive down• Sprint Center • AMC theaters • Lucky Strike • Bristol Seafood Restaurant • Gimme Sum Fresh Asian Grill • Sprint/Nextel Retail Store
photos by Frances Lafferty
• Ted’s Montana Grill • Gordon Biersch • Famous Dave’s • Chipotle • Mosaic Lounge • Jos A. Bank
Construction shown behind the Sprint building.
the [harbinger]
Construction between two building with KCP&L building in the background.
page 5 [editorial]
the
Expelling our problems HARBINGER Instead of helping troubled individuals in need of staff assistance we tend to leave them in the dust
Editor-in-Chief AMANDA ALLISON Assistant Editors PETER GOEHAUSEN LAURA NELSON
Freelance Page Editors LAUREN ERICKSON RUTH STARK JOEY SOPTIC Sports Section Editor CLARK GOBLE
Art/Design Editors DEREK MARTIN ELLIE WEED
Sports Page Editors SARAH LUBY NICK RATLIFF
Photo Editor SAMANTHA LUDINGTON
Ads/ Business MELISSA MCKITTRICK
Assistant Photo Editor KATIE WOODS Last July when multi-millionaire actor and director Mel tor present, he was given a long term suspension until the end Gibson was arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxi- of the second semester. In other words he was expelled with cated, he spewed anti-Semitic remarks that he will always re- only three months left in his senior year. gret. The intoxicated Gibson proclaimed that “f-ing Jews were Three months away from high school graduation. Three responsible for all of the wars in the world.” Gibson made the months away from college football scholarships. Three remarks to the cop, believing he was Jewish. months away from becoming the first of his three siblings to In an apology statement issued the following week, Gibson make it to college. said that he enrolled in an ongoing recovery program, and In this case, the administration, district court and educaasked the Jewish community to help him on his road to recov- tion disciplinary system as a whole made a major mistake. ery. Gibson even stated his interests in meeting with leaders Instead of trying to help a child in obvious need of help, they of the Jewish community in order to find the “appropriate path dropped him off on a curb and left him out to dry. for healing.” In other words, Gibson sought a chance to atone The logical punishment for this senior would have been for his senseless comments. a long term suspension followed by counselHis apologies worked, and five months ing for both behavioral and drug/alcohol use. Grounds for Suspension later his film “Apocalypto” topped the box •Violation of any published regulation Now the senior, instead of playing college footoffice in its opening weekend, grossing 14 ball and being given a second chance, will be for student conduct adopted by million dollars. forced to get his G.E.D. and take community Last month, an East senior was placed Board of Education college classes next year. in the same precarious position of regret Administrators at East aren’t the only one after making drunken, deprecating com- •Conduct that disrupts, impedes in America who do not handle the disciplinments toward an administrator. Unfortuary system correctly. The federal disciplinary or interferes with the operation of a system of throwing convicts directly into jail nately, he wasn’t given the same opportupublic school nity to apologize. also fails to correct people’s problems. He was caught drunk by school adminThe judicial system apparently feels the istrators at the South varsity basketball •Conduct that interferes with the best way for a young ignorant convict to regame. In accordance with district protocal, safety or rights of others at school, deem themselves is to lock them up. he was asked to leave and notified that he Jailing convicts isn’t the problem, just like would be suspended for five days. The real on school property suspending the senior wasn’t either—it’s what problems began, however, when the angry you do with them once their punishment is senior arrived home. With a blood alcohol •Conduct which constitutes a felony over. While they need to be sent to half-way level over three times the legal limit, the houses, tutoring and counseling, they are instudent proceeded to send vulgar yet nonstead sent back to the streets, where they are •Conduct at school, on school prop- somehow expected to make something out of threatening e-mails to three East adminiserty or at a school event that would their lives. In reality, however, they can’t. trators. The slanderous e-mails contained constitute as a misdemeanor On average only 20 percent cons released slang phrases the likes of which are utfrom jail stay out of jail for the rest of their tered on a daily basis by teens across the •Disobedience of an order of a school lives. country. While it was rude and completely Did he make a juvenile mistake? Yes, but authority, or impingement of others that’s not the question. inapropraite, it certainly wasn’t criminal. Rather, the series of mistakes he made, rights Did he deserve a second chance? Yes. bebeginning with drinking, all show marks cause maybe he could have made something of teenage immaturity and lack of reason. of it. Just like Mel. Early the next week, the senior, who didn’t recall sending the messages until the next morning, was told to come to a school district court hearing to determine the extent of his suspension— or so he thought. During the 45 minute court hearing, the senior was allowed to state his case and apologize and was asked what he thought should be his punishment. As he said, he expected a 10-day suspension. He expected a second chance. A chance to stray away from the path of his older sister. She often ran into trouble with the law and failed to graduate high school. The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board However, based upon the opinion of the lone administra-
AGREE DISAGREE ABSENT
D 9
D 0
April 2, 2007
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Copy Editors TOM GROTEWOHL THOMAS BRASLAVSKY ADRIENNE WOOD LIBBY NACHMAN RONAN MCGHIE
Head Copy Editor HALLIE MCCORMICK News Section Editor PAIGE CORNWELL News Page Editor DEVEN O’BRYAN Op/Ed Section Editor DANIEL HEADY Opinion Page Editor NATALIE EISENACH MOLLY TIDRICK Features Section Editor SARA STEINWART
Staff Writers ERIN MORRISSEY ALLY HEISDORFFER MEGAN BENSON LANDON MCDONALD MICHAEL HAKE FOSTER TIDWELL ELIZABETH MCGRANAHAN SAM LOGAN NATHAN YAFFE Circulation DAVIN PHILLIPS
Features Page Editors RACHEL BIRKENMEIER BERNADETTE MYERS RACHEL MAYFIELD
Photographers KAREN BOOMER ABBA GOEHAUSEN JENNY HOWARD FRANCES LAFFERTY PATRICK MAYFIELD TAYLER PHILLIPS MARISA STEVENS RACHEL ENGLISH MACKENZIE WYLIE ANNA LEEK SALLY DRAPE TYLER ROSTE
Spread Editor LIBBY NACHMAN Assistant Spread Editor STEPHEN NICHOLS Mixed Editor MEG SHACKELFORD A&E Section Editor KATIE JONES A&E Page Editors JOHNNY MCGUIRE Adviser C. DOW TATE
The Harbinger is a student-run publication.
Please bring Letters to the Editor to Room 521 or e-mail it to smeharbinger@gmail.com
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The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board
Each issue the 11 members of the board choose a topic and a member writes the editorial. Before being published a consensus is made and the results are published here.
page 6 [opinion]
a mistaken image College applications don’t show true self
an opinion of
A three-page essay, four 150- word short answers and two letters of recommendation. Not to mention a meticulously prepared Common Application. In my mind, it all Nathan Yaffe added up to one thing: a full-ride scholarship. That meant I’d be getting a $40,000-a-year education completely free. Sure, I hadn’t heard back from the selection committee yet, but how could I not be one of the 40 finalists? It’s a scholarship for students interested in international relations, and I design presentations about world hunger and poverty in my spare time. I live and breathe international relations. I had to get something, right? *** When I opened the letter, I was devastated. The selection committee could have spared me the 200-word thesis about the “incredible difficulty” of their decision by writing two simple words: “no money.” But the money issue—and the reality that it meant I wouldn’t get to attend my dream school—wasn’t even the biggest blow for me. What bothered me the most was the nagging question in the back of my mind: does this mean I’m inadequate? I’d spent hours reworking sentence after sentence, trying to convey my passions and potential with the best possible phrasing . . . if my best work wasn’t good enough, that must mean I wasn’t good enough. And yet, I thought, it can’t be that I’m simply delusional about my uniqueness. I’m the only guy I know who starts reading random sections of United Nations Resolutions to anyone who happens to be in
J RE
Ivy League Colleges and Acceptance Rates:
the room. My parents don’t yell at me to turn off the video games; •Brown: 13.8% •Columbia: 9.6% they yell at me to stop reading BBC World News. Determined to find the fatal flaw that ruined my application, I printed off a copy of the piece that formed the heart of my scholar•MIT: 11.7% •Harvard: 9.3% ship application: a 900-word analysis of a contemporary issue in political thought. Essay in hand, I holed up in my room, resolving •Dartmouth: 15.4% to stay there until I’d ripped it apart. I must have read through that essay half a dozen times. Typos? None. Thesis? Logical. Conclusion? Solid. •Brown: 12.6% •Yale: 8.6% And that’s when it hit me. No matter how many times I read and re-read it, I couldn’t find myself in that essay. Yeah, it was my kind of topic. It mirrored my voice. •Princeton: 10.2% But those 900 words didn’t capture my essence. Maybe that sounds too philosophical, but that’s what it comes down to: no application can capture the essence of a person. No admissions decision is a reflection of a person’s character or worth. We are more than “The Common Application,” more than a fill-inthe-blank form can reveal. Admissions committees don’t judge people: they judge pieces of paper. It’s ridiculous to allow your self-worth to be determined by a panel of middle-aged geeks. They were right when they spoke of the “incredible difficulty” of their decision, but not because rejecting so many promising candidates is hard to do. No, their decision is difficult—I would venture to say impossible—because in their attempt to assess the potential of a person, they’re restricted to looking at numbers and ink on a page. Success in a mission like that is much more than just “incredibly difficult.”
photo by Mackenzie Wylie source: www.admissionsconsultants.com
Shawnee Mission Selfish an opinion of
D TE C E
It’s 10:24 am and you’re walking down the hall. Some kid you’ve never seen before drops their armful of books and papers, scattering them across the floor. Now I have a simple question to ask you – would you stop to help them pick their things up, or would you just keep walking? If you say you would stop to help, I think Devin O’Bryan you’re lying. At least that’s what I observed during some testing in the halls between classes. My goal was to see how courteous East students are towards one another – not very, as it turns out – but little did I know I was just scratching at the surface of a much bigger issue. In between classes I dropped a handful of note cards in the hall, expecting someone to stop and help me pick them up. Out of the nine times I tried this I was helped twice. Most people just stared at me and walked past, and I could tell they were all thinking something like, “Geez, I’m so glad that’s not me,” or, “Oh, that’s awful. How embarrassing.” Now I could have shrugged this off as rude behavior and a lack of common courtesy at East, but there was one situation that made me think this was a bigger issue. I let some papers fall out of the bottom of a binder in the center stairs pretending I didn’t see it happen. I kept walking, expecting someone to stop and at the very least tell me I dropped something. But nobody did. Nobody. And there were at least twenty people around at the time. Did anybody think I might need some of the papers I dropped? Is it really that difficult to tap me on my shoulder, point and say, “Hey, you dropped something”? It’s like we’ve all forgotten the golden rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated. If it was you that dropped your papers, wouldn’t you want someone to help you pick them up? This is where things go beyond a lack of courtesy. There’s a bigger problem here – most of us
Experiment reveals lack of courtesy in the hallways
don’t genuinely care about the welfare of others, especially if we’re not directly affected. I know this is a broad statement and some people don’t fit into this category, but most of us, including myself, do. And I don’t know if it’s apathy or just plain selfishness, but not helping someone because you’re in a hurry, or because you don’t know them, or for any other reason is pretty self-centered. I’m not excluding myself from this accusation. I know I’m guilty of acting selfish pretty much every day. I have to catch myself when I realize I’m talking about me too much. I have to stop when I’m about to cut someone off to add a personal anecdote to a conversation. It comes so naturally I don’t even realize I’m doing it. We’re all so wrapped up in our own issues and personal drama that most of us don’t consider how things we say or decisions we make may affect others. If it doesn’t involve us, why should we? Most people think, “And why should I care?” when hearing about someone they don’t know or something in the news that doesn’t affect them personally. Well why should you care? Because it does affect someone. Because if you were in the same situation and needed help or advice, you would want someone to care. Because if you dropped stuff in the hall you would want someone to tell you. It’s pretty selfish how we want all of these things for ourselves but don’t give anything kindness in return. I don’t know what the solution to this problem is. We need to realize that even though we may not know it, our actions have an impact on other people’s lives. As cheesy as it may sound, your smile could brighten someone’s day just as easily as someone with a bad attitude could ruin yours. We should want to do community service for the positive impact it has on other’s lives, not for hours and college credit. We should treat others the way we want to be treated. It’s not that difficult. I know this is all easier said than done, but at least help someone who looks like they need help. You never know, they just may return the favor someday.
the [harbinger]
page 7 [opinion]
RAPE KIT
High price of security
an opinion of
Rape victims pay too much for exams and DNA evidence testing Erin Morrissey
photos by patrick mayfield
A rape can be the most devastating and emotionally debilitating experience of a woman’s life. Not only does rape leave psychological scars, but there are often physical consequences that the woman was not prepared to deal with—pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease or even injury. And any woman who has to go through all that deserves justice. Unfortunately, some hospitals in the country are making that difficult. While reading the Kansas City Star several weeks ago, I came across an article that talked about rape kits—the process of collecting physical evidence from a woman’s body after she reports a rape. In order to try to catch and prosecute her attacker, a woman almost always needs to have a physical examination as soon after the rape as possible. This includes even the tiniest details—hairs on her body, swabs of certain parts, collection of the clothes she was wearing during the attack. Without this, it’s nearly impossible to put her rapist behind bars. And you’d think that every person who was raped would do this immediately. You’d think that it wouldn’t be a question. But it is. There are the common reasons: she’s embarrassed, she’s scared, or she doesn’t want her family to find out. But there’s another reason that I’d never even considered: she can’t afford to report the rape. In many Kansas City hospitals, women are being charged up to $500 for the administration of rape kits. The woman may apply to be reimbursed by
Protecting yourself after rape 1) Do not take a shower or change clothes 2) Go immediately to the hospital and call the police on the way 3) Doctors will examine you for injuries and collect evidence for rape kit (such as hair, saliva, and semen) 4) Doctors will administer tests for diseases and pregnancy 5) Doctors will give you a pregnancy prevention pill (60%-90% success rate) 6) Schedule an appointment with your doctor for a follow-up exam 7) Keep in touch with your doctor or social worker to help you recover
familydoctor.org
the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund, but that’s not always a sure thing. Even if it were guaranteed that she’d be repaid, not everyone can afford to put $500 up front. So some women go without the rape kit. Some women don’t report the attack because they just don’t have the money. And that means some incredibly guilty criminals are walking the streets, scot-free. According to the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, only about 16 percent of rapes are reported. That means 84 percent of these assaults go unnoticed. And while not all of the non-reported cases are due to the financial issue, I’m willing to bet that many of them are. The reason for the $500 price-tag is simple: lack of government funding. Administering the rape kits is an expensive, involved process. Nevertheless, it needs to be done. The Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the organization that handles the kits, is petitioning the government for $500,000 in 2008. They want to stop charging the victims, period. Because, simply put, even if a person can afford the rape kit, they don’t always want the charge to show up on the hospital bill or their health insurance. That’s understandable. If a crime were committed on a possession of yours—say, your car was burglarized—the police wouldn’t send you a bill for their investigation and collection of evidence. Well, a woman’s body after she has been raped is a crime scene in its own right. And it’s just plain wrong that women are being expected to pay $500 for being a victim.
More problems with rape kits There are hundreds of thousands of rape kits that have gone untested in America, sitting on shelves for decades. It costs the police department $500-$1000 to run the DNA tests and enter the results into the national database. Ex-police officer Howard Safir found 16,000 untested kits in storage. He now estimates that there are between 300-500 thousand untested kits in America. ABC’s 20/20 gave one department half the money needed to test 50 of their kits. With the information gained from the analysis, five cases were solved and one wrongly accused man was exonerated. It is estimated to take another $4.5 million dollars to finish testing all the forgotten rape kits. abcnews.com
April 2, 2007
Facts on rape * Every two minutes someone is raped in America * One in six women are victims of sexual assault * One in 33 men are victims of sexual assault * 44% of rape victims are 18 years old or younger * Only 37% of rapes are reported * One in four rapes take place in a public area * 31% of victims report that their offenders were strangers * 68% of rapes happen between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
paralumun.com
page 8 [features]
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Film festival grants opportunities for local students to express their creative abilities through a film making competition
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th
ANNUAL
he all-familiar phrase “everyone will get their fifteen minutes of fame” is becoming true for the students participating in the Five Minute Film Festival. This annual competition gives students a chance to put there filmmaking skills to the test. In previous years, the festival has only been a competition throughout the Shawnee Mission district. But because of growing popularity, the festival is able to spread into the Blue Valley district, as well. Many changes have been implemented to make this a better competition. When the festival first began six years ago, the competition was only held at Shawnee Mission East. It was an idea thought up by the StuCo vice president, Stephen Lichty. “This is the only outlet for students at East who like making films,” said senior Annie Krieg, the Special Events Chair in charge of the film festival. Many students who have never entered a film are trying it out for the first time this year. Freshman Jake Davidson is directing his film which is about teenage girls who make their boyfriends do everything for them. “It’s nothing really serious, just fun,” Davidson said. Comedy seems to be highly popular throughout the films. “A lot of people don’t do school settings, which would be really great,” Krieg said. Another common type of film is one with no dialogue, but instead, music. One of the most famous five minute films is one called “Band Wars” which was an indie-artsy motion picture with music in the
background. “I think that video (Band Wars) pretty much sets a standard for all films,” Krieg said. Mrs. Fischman, who is the StuCo sponsor, also notices the popularity of the music videos. “I don’t think they’re as challenging as having to write and edit a script,” Fischman said. Another change that has been made to better the competition has to do with AMC theatres. The film festival has always had sponsors such as local recording companies, which helps pay the prize money, but this year, AMC has granted $1000 towards the festival, which StuCo is going to match to make a total of $2000. Also, on April 20 the showing of the winning films will be shown in the AMC theaters in Ward Parkway. The only drawback could be a seating problem. The auditorium seats about 1100 people, while even the largest movie theatre can only hold 300. “I guess we’ll just have to raise ticket sales, and first come first served,” Fischman said. But if there is enough audience, AMC will allow two theatres to play the films, and possibly a showing at Town Center on a week night. The donated money will allow first place winners to receive a prize of $1000 instead of the $500 in previous years. The second place winner will receive $600 dollars and for third place $400. “This is a really big thing. We just hope they continue to support us in the future,” Krieg said.
5 minute film Joe festival INSIDE: Wheeler’s stepsto zombieapocalypse
3
by [lauren erickson]
stardom
1 pre-production
Budgeting: One of the most important aspects of the film production. Elements to look at while budgeting include Casting, Story Rights, Music Royalties, and Visual Effects. Scheduling: The planning out of what days the filming will take place, hours etc. Casting: This step is a vital pre production process for selecting a cast. Location: Finding where the production will be filmed. The setting should match the film content.
2 production
Principle Cinematography: This step is probably the most expensive phase of the film, where the movie itself is shot.
3 post-production
Left: Senior Bailey Armstrong paints Junior David Isenberg’s face with diaper rash cream in place of face paint to prepare his zombie face. Below: Senior Weston Anderson did all of the filming for Wheeler’s movie. Here he shoots Isenberg acting as a zombie after having devoured a victim in the introduction. Senior Cole Easterday watches the shoot with amusement. photos by Katie
Editing: The connecting of shots to create a sequence. The footage is imported into a computer and edited using an editing program such as Final Cut Pro or Avid.
Woods
Post Effects: Adding in sound or visual effects to the film after it has been shot. Effects are provided in most advanced editing softwear. If the film is going to be bought by viewers, royalties must be collected from the music artist that the producer intends to use for the soundtrack. Exporting: This stage is one of the most critical parts of the film. The finished product must be exported according to the format the theater is using. Framerate, FPS and audio level should be set to match the format of the film.
Right: Senior Erika Moore waits to devour Easterday and Wheeler as they reluctantly prepare to escape from the car. They try to devise a plan to escape the zombies. photo by Katie Woods
the [harbinger]
the
facets of by [elizabeth mcgranahan]
Junior Kate O’Neill sits motionless on the debate and forensics couch. She stares blankly into her one inch black binder. She’s memorizing a poem for an upcoming tournament. The room is near empty when she turns to look at the clock, it’s 7:30 p.m. She’s missed dinner with her family for the second night this week. O’Neill isn’t the only forensicator known to be in the classroom after hours. The room is rarely empty, with kids in every corner practicing their performances in front of the coaches, memorizing work, or finding new pieces to perform. “I like how there is a wide variety of things you can do in “All of the time forensics takes makes it hard forensics like public speaking to be with my family. My parents understand, but and acting events. It’s fun.” my brothers joke and pretend to forget my name.” JUNIOR MICHAEL PERBECK O’Neill said. Forensics is said to extend beyond the class hour, in fact forensicators often refer to it as being more than just a class. “It’s a lifestyle,” said junior Patrick Kennedy. Time consumption is the main side effect of forensics. Kennedy spends an average of an extra 10 hours of work a week outside of school. O’Neill is also known to be one of the first and last out of the forensics room. “I like forensics because its “I get here when it’s dark, and I leave when it’s exciting and challenging to dark.” O’Neill said. have to think of things off After having experienced forensics first hand, the top of your head.” JUNIOR SYLVIA SHANK people compare it to a sport. “It takes just as much commitment, passion, and talent as a sport. “ Kennedy said, “It’s basically the same as a sport, except our letter jackets are uglier.” The whole course revolves around students performing and perfecting plays, poems, and speeches along with other events. Students go out on weekends to tournaments where they can compete under the public speaking category, acting “I’ve got all this energy category, or both. The public speaking category is that I funnel into a cake similar to debate, and often draws a lot of debate and then I eat it in front of kids in. Its events include writing speeches about the judges. They love it and current events and other topics. Whereas the acting they usually want to share side has events such as reading poems, performing it with others.” JUNIOR VAUGHN ENGLISH plays, along with others.
the forensicators
Girls
Softball
Varsity
FORENSICS “One of the reasons I love forensics is because it is one of the few places where one minute I can be doing a speech about Fidel Castro, and the next I can be reading a poem with a French accent. It’s truly unique.” Senior Aishlinn O’Connor said. Forensicators participate in three rounds at a tournament; they are left in a room alone with a judge, who judges them as they perform based on certain criteria for each specific event. The top six usually go on to finals. Where they perform again for a new judge, those who rank in the top two after finals then qualify for state. Due to the extensive time commitment, most friendships and relationships are created in forensics. Forensics kids spend their entire day working with each other, and then on the weekends they spend their time competing with them. The only free time they get is with forensics kids. “You become friends with them.” Kennedy said. It has also become a common joke among forensics kids that the squad is virtually one big dating ground. “I can really only think of a few people who date outside of the squad” O’Neill said. “The reason that we date within the squad is because everybody outside of the squad is scared of us, they see us so involved in something that they have no idea about and it makes them nervous. Either that, or they just don’t understand the things we are interested in.” Forensics has been known to conflict with other schoolwork. “When there is a big competition coming up, we spend so much time practicing that it makes it hard to get other homework done or study. Grades will sometimes drop” Kennedy said. Although grades fluctuate, teachers notice that forensicators work hard to keep up. “Kate is an exceptionally talented student, but she does seem eager to leave my hour and head down to the forensics room.” said teacher Nick Paris. Forensics teachers are sympathetic to the fact that forensics can interfere with other schoolwork. “It’s sad when a student struggles in other classes
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because t h ey ’v e allowed t h e m s e lv e s to become obsessed with one activity like forensics,” forensics teacher Jennifer Stucky said. “I am always proud of the kids when they make responsible decisions.” O’Neill, Kennedy, and O’Connor along with several others all have brought in a large amount of awards for EAST, but on a personal junior Vaughn English, a scale they have all gained forensicator, competed March something more special 17 to qualify for state. from their forensics experience. “I’ve made a lot of friends through forensics.” O’Neill said. Also, “I’ve learned better social skills, and I’ve become less nervous when asked to do things like give a speech for a class. I give speeches every weekend. It’s no big deal.” The skills learned in forensics can be applied not just for assignments, but daily. “On a daily basis I do things that are easier due to my forensics experience. Forensics has been extremely helpful for speeches, and just in general helping me form my thoughts and opinions well.” Kennedy said. ”Forensics has been an extensive time commitment,” O’Connor said, “ but it has also been an incredible experience that I am so glad I got involved in.”
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Juniors Maggie Blake, Emma Austenfeld, senior Abby Bavely and junior Kristen Altoro rehearse a typical day playing Trivial Pursuit while helping Olive resolve her issues in her relationship.
page 10 [features]
photo by Mackenzie Wylie
Trivial Pursuit ODD COUPLE VERSION Why did East pick the female version instead of the original? Who wrote “The Odd Couple”?
odd
after adapting to a busy schedule and rehearsing day and night
East’s upcoming production of
‘The Odd Couple’ is
ANYTHING BUT by [ellie weed]
Somewhere in the middle of the choir concerts, Student Council election speeches, band rehearsals, and Dramatic Literature classes, the theatre department has found a way to fit in a spring play. An updated, female version of “The Odd Couple,” based on the original 1965 Broadway comedy, will be performed in the auditorium this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. “A lot of people think the stage is locked up all day and then all the theatre kids come in and run around in costumes,” drama teacher Brian Capello said. “But in the spring, with all of the activities in the auditorium it’s hard to fit the play in the schedule.” With a smaller cast and a lighter topic, both Capello and technical director Tom DeFeo hope the broad comedy will be more relatable for the audience. They decided to pick the 1985 female revision of the play because it was more current, and to be honest, “it was just funnier.” The play revolves around the relationship between Florence and Olive (Felix and Oscar from the original screenplay). Florence, an uptight neat-freak, is kicked out of here house and moves in with Olive, a relaxed, unorganized bachelorette. After spending time with Olive, Florence starts to adapt
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to her new home and starts to annoy the hell out of Olive. The purpose in the play is ultimately about their love-hate relationship. “We try to chose something light, because in the spring, with the nice weather, it’s hard to get an audience to come in to the theatre and watch a play,” Capello said. And it’s not just the audience’s attendance they’re worried about. They pursue students that are willing to work despite the warm temperatures. “When it’s 75 degrees outside, kids want to be outside running around,” DeFeo said. “In the fall, when there’s snow on the ground, it’s easier to get people to stay and work until 7 or 8 at night. In the spring, they keep checking their watch, saying ‘Are we done yet? Are we done yet?’ And in reality, so are [Capello and I].” While the plot and comedy type may be simplistic, the set won’t be. The entire set has to be modular so that it can be constructed and taken down every night for rehearsals. “After a show, people will ask us why we didn’t do certain things with the set,” technical director Tom DeFeo said. “But
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the [harbinger]
What are the names of the characters in the original male version of the play? How many times was the original play performed? Instead of poker, what game to Olive and Florence constantly play with their friends? When will the play be performed at East?
ANSWERS: Drama teachers considered the humor to be more present-day Neil Simon Oscar and Felix 966 times Trivial Pursuit This Thursday, Friday and Saturday
they don’t realize we’re having to find a place to put these sets every night.” It just goes to show that the production of this play is encompassed by both the set and the acting. Neither is more important than the other, and neither could even happen without the other. The happy-go-lucky style makes it easy for the production to adapt to the busy schedule.
Season of Sacrifice
During two major religious holidays, students give some insight to what will be changing for them by [paige cornwell]
It was a few days after Lent started, and sophomore Paige Ledbetter wanted to check her Facebook to see who had written on her wall. Since it was her homepage, she opened her internet and started to type in her password. It started processing, and only then did she realize what was wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be on Facebook. Ledbetter wasn’t in trouble, and she wasn’t giving up Facebook just for her well-being. She gave up Facebook to observe Lent. Lent, the six-and-a-half-week period before Easter ends this Saturday, known as Holy Saturday. Passover, considered an important Jewish holiday, starts tonight at sunset and continues for seven days. Whether for 40 days and 40 nights or one week, religion is a bigger part of some students’ lives. *** Lent is a period traditionally observed in preparation for Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ. For many churches, Lent is the time to sacrifice something to remember Jesus’s 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. For senior Rachel Kaegi, that sacrifice will be all sweets. “I gave up all dessert foods, and it sucks,” she said. “For my birthday I only had one piece of cake. I wanted to give up something that would really kill me, so it’s a big sacrifice.” Although it has been hard, the sacrifice has made Kaegi think about her religion. “I’m Catholic, and I always have given up something. It’s a tradition, and it makes you realize His sacrifice,” Kaegi said. And when Lent is over, Kaegi plans to celebrate. “On Easter Sunday, I’m having the biggest chocolate bunny,” she said. Christians used to fast, or give up food during Lent, but instead of food, Ledbetter decided that Facebook would be a better sacrifice. “I was obsessed with Facebook, so I wanted to see if I could give it up as a joke,” Ledbetter said. “But now I’m doing it.” The first week proved to be the hardest. “The first week was so hard. I’d get e-mails saying so and so had written on my wall, and I wanted to check it but couldn’t,” she said. Like Kaegi, Lent has helped Ledbetter to better understand what Jesus went through. “Jesus did this in 40 days, and I’ve given up something not as hard for Him, and you figure out how much Jesus went through,” Ledbetter said. Lent used to be a time for Christians to fast or prepare for baptism, but some religions influenced by the Anabaptists, including certain denominations of Baptists, Puritans and Mennonites, do not observe Lent. This derives from when the Anabaptists discarded all Christian holy days in the 16th century.
page 11 [features]
Religion in Perspective
What is LENT?
Although his church observes Lent, sophomore Jonathan Stepp, who is Baptist, has chosen not to observe Lent in the traditional way, for his own reasons. “I think it’s cool that they sacrifice something for 40 days as long as they actually do it and they are mature about it,” Stepp said. His reasons for not sacrificing have to do with the story of Lent. “To me it’s a big discipline thing because you have to understand that someone actually went 40 days without food,” Stepp said. “You can’t just say you’re giving something up and then take it back It’s a time where you A time to spend a few because that takes away the whole point of lent.” give something up or extra minutes thinking *** change your habits to about the sacrifices that While Easter celebrates the resurrection, Passover make time for God. Jesus made, and the ultimate sacrifice of when commemorates the freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt and Haley Dalgleish, 9 he died on the cross. the birth of the Jewish nation. Courtney Pennington, 11 For sophomore Jonathan Stiefel, Passover means remembering the Jewish past and visiting with friends and family. Catholics use “[Passover] reminds me of people that were enslaved and I’m Lenten wreaths glad that they got out so I’m not one of them,” Stiefel said. “The same to represent spirifeeling goes for people who still are enslaved or have no freedom.” tual darkness and Stiefel attends temple and the seder, which is a service specifically waiting for Jesus for Passover. to light the world. “My family and I usually go to a family friend’s house,” Stiefel said. “It’s always been nice because I see some people that I only see a few times a year and we eat.” During Passover, Jews traditionally do not eat any risen bread. According to the Torah, the Pharaoh allowed the Jews to leave after the last plague, and they left before the bread could rise, but junior Michael Lebowitz usually doesn’t miss the bread. “My mom goes all out on Passover and makes all of this delicious food so I can’t and usually don’t complain,” Lebowitz said. “It’s the same with my grandma [who] goes into cooking mode and it’s all A seven day comIt’s a time when you’re good food.” memoration to the not supposed to eat His family also meets for Passover to remember their own past. Exodus of Egypt and leavened (risen) bread. “Every year my family has a huge Passover dinner at my the triumphs of one It symbolizes that the grandma’s house and Grandpa always tells a story about coming to God over many Gods. Jews did not have time America from the Holocaust,” Lebowitz said. “[He tells] how it was to let their bread rise. Adam Levin, 9 only him and Grandma and now we have a family of 28 and how Michelle Braslavsky, 10 he’s so proud of all of us.” *** The purpose of the With one week to go, Ledbetter hasn’t had any trouble keeping seder meal is to her sacrifice. As the days have gone by, she has found that going symbolize important without Facebook has gotten easier, and has helped to increase her features and lessons faith even more. of the Exodus and the “I know I could never do what Jesus did,” she said. “What I’ve redemption. did.” he what of half done is not
What is PASSOVER?
sources: www.catholicism.about.com and www.jafi.org photos by Samantha Ludington and Mackenzie Wylie
Advance Repertory Theater performs modern twist on Shakespearean plays
Left In the Advance Repertory Theater’s performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), narrator senior Kelsey Lehman flips through her story book. Seated next to her is senior Abbey Bavely. The characters are trying to find where they left off in the story of Romeo and Juliet after the death of Tybalt.
Above Students in perform a scene from the story of Romeo and Juliet. Binvolio, played by senior Karl Wiederaenders, confronts Romeo, Abbey Bavely, about going to the Feast of Capulets. All of the students in the class are in charge of directing the Frequent Fridays and have been involved in drama since their freshman year.
Right Seniors Abbey Bavely, Hannah Lehman and Avery Fischgrund perform a modern rap for the story of Othello. The girls took turns telling how Othello’s jealousy towards his love Desdemona led him to kill her. Fischgrund raps, “So he come back home and smothers the chick.” Later, feeling guilty, Othello commited suicide after a friend revealed that Desdemona was actually pure. Bavely says, “This is getting pretty scary,” as Othello realizes his mistake. Then Fischgrund says, “so he pulled out his blade and did the hairy-Kari.” photos by Anna Leek
April 2, 2007
eatures] page 12 [features]
For students in classes like marketing, economics and accounting everyday is ...
as Business usual
ge mana ncial udents a n fi st s is ester, classe iness e entire sem s u b th wn ying ter bu ss kno r. Through s e e l r m e e s h e r Zerr the ot ed the ovs] ne of t by Jennife r hey sp said. O e t . y e d m d disc n m n a a h e r a t g G e 0 t r r u t 0 e e r a e t t e d ,0 s k na ment, Stock Mar f with $100 r money,” Z t last seme -key. by [ber i an of e the t r r y a a a t gemen se the l tty low e d of f s s p The ents increa ncial mana is also pre itely pulle know d . o s u t t n u S s o t “ i k s n s st na lly e oc as efi y que t thos took fi ling st The cl ket and I d o don’t rea have in d essa dents. Bu work as h nd sel r Todd Witt learn a lot. r n u a w a a o e y s m l p u y eo ock at C l st blem bus Senio ough you the st e class to p rage out th th pro high schoo rry about t a u h t o m t b , a ment. ave d th lot a d th nts to wo ts for sheets anage Any stude . ere learned a mmen ou need to M o s Work assignmen don’t have l c e a e i d r i c s y “I I’d an ks. rov career and if pical lasses aid. “ in Fin s to p k boo the ty business c Witt s out money East i nd in their t these ou do ciling chec ging house t y ,” a ’ t a s ‘A e h a t a n b a s n i l s a n h o e l t s f a a c i a t g l l e c t n g n m r i de hin r in ess e is no anyth s.” also in ce and busin somet ents. se late next et Gam ar insuran ss job, but lu g k u r n signm oint of the actually u heets isn’t i c a t l a n nging M c e c a u t n k i o h c p u s c s d c l o o c e u t k s b u a r i o Th s, h The S lso learn a ed in any b hey c rk and wo , whic classe es.” the kills t o ts a e us in our ow off class ncial s Tech n b s s e e s n d n e a with s ut homew i nging ng u c t c s a c l a S u s h u l b n c l B s i t fi r s o k d e fo le ju e’r alle se s icati Giving believe in. tudents up hese aren’t w to hand lass c of the d. “ W t commun i c a a s s o s s t r r t e h , s h re . teache efinitely se said. “But ents learn and ju ,” Zer holds er also teac ess. nd can r the flashy ie making r n lege a said. r i l y e s o r “ We d na Shanks nting stud . Z u c e s out fo ing t r B v v y l n o o f a ’t a s u l t s n m i o k i a s u e i g c , s n i a o c h w ba rD ha cc ign ta gt plor oD teache class like a it and credi ol is a good g classes,” S elp with at year t iness Tech re web des signin ore time ex e d e h o s b o l m tin ch deb an . “Bu In a uch m ar wil to be nd to high s lege accoun s classes c g 2 classes ext ye spending m ulum uters.” s ents a ounting in l n c n n e i i i o t m r s n c t e r asses. i e s t h s k e u a a r g l p c st ese cl ese class ss c u tak com ically ng bu 1 and Ma is also tau lps h g acc e i o t s n h n y h a i i n t g i s b k n e u t a u e “T lB he wh and som ing es se th thro eres Digita club book p you r college is t for Market eting class Plus it also ed int ents can u l s e e a h h e T r c ly d “ fo in di er tu ark real said. boost ge cre ration our M l be an rrer said. “S Some Prepa gives colle covered in Rasmussen sports creation. re wil . e e g Z h t n i ,” t e on te or ke , JUCO erial edes websi er hopes m fe applicati n Mar ingles East. t of the mat acher Merc rned i s, writing j phar li r a l e e a l Z e e o t s r l l l g n i “A have rketin ssionally.” life sk presentatio spaper. Em e to “ They e,” ma many c e w r colleg resent prof one of the clude sales school ne g confiden e v .” p re in the es fore elopin v you to king skills a urriculum ng ads for e d d ple an Spea cts in the c s, and selli th peo e y i j a o l w r p p k s i r of the window d ing to wo rn ng creati aced on lea l s. p k s s i a sis ese t h t h c a appro
Play Cuts are this Week! Tuesday 3, 3rd Hour
the [harbinger]
page 13 [features]
A step in the right
direction
Students prepare for careers while still in high school by [meg shackelford]
For senior Elizabeth Allen-Cannon, taking art classes isn’t just for fun: it’s business. She’s preparing for her dream job as an art museum curator. A combination of the East art classes she has taken and four years of volunteering at the Nelson art gallery helped her decide her career as someone who puts together art exhibits for a museum. Usually curators have a concentration in a specific area, such as Western European art. Allen-Cannon is currently interested in Japanese and Chinese art, but she often changes her mind between this and German art. “I have an appreciation for the art because of working at the Nelson,” Allen-Cannon said. “I’ve seen how good their collection is. They have furniture from Japanese homes, jade pieces, all meticulously done. I really like their intricate style.” Since Allen-Cannon had been volunteering at the Nelson by giving tours to little kids, it wasn’t hard for her to find out about their job offers that they advertise mostly to high school kids. With her job, she was able to give presentations
to Rotary Clubs about the museum, telling them about new exhibits coming up. Ever since she was little, Allen-Cannon has been taking art classes because the skills came naturally to her. That’s why she’s currently taking three art classes, including Art AP. She has taken painting four times and her favorite class, Art Seminar, twice. They have all been beneficial to her in some way because they teach her something about art history. “Whenever I’ve done an art project the teacher always relates it back to a specific artist,” Allen-Cannon said. “Part of art history is studying the artist’s technique, and I think it helps that I’ve actually experimented with the techniques. So the classes are good backgrounds for me.” One of the techniques that stood out to her in Art Seminar was Picasso’s Cubism where she was assigned to draw something, then get up and draw it from three other angles. This was difficult for her to learn because she had to see things from all different angles. After college, Allen-Cannon hopes to start her own art museum, hopefully in Philadelphia. She needs to decide between getting her Bachelor of Fine Arts at KU, or going to the University of Delaware to learn art conservation. Her decision depends on her acceptance to Delaware, which she will find out in a week or so. If she’s accepted, she could be thrust into a totally different work path because Delaware is one of the only colleges to offer art conservation. “I would much rather go to Delaware,” Allen-Cannon said. “Because art conservation is something I’m definitely interested in because I like how it’s more hands-on.” ***
Junior Brett Hidaka always felt strongly about trying to fix global warming. After seeing the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” he took a real interest in the subject and began to research it. Having John McKinney as an English teacher last year made Hidaka really think about becoming a teacher since he enjoyed the class so much. This year he became fixated on global warming and started reading up on it, deciding that his career could be a combination of teaching science and researching it. He’s dreaming of a job at a university where he would receive funding from the state, and the funding would be spent on his research. Right now, Hidaka is enrolled in Tom Senior Elizabeth Allen-Cannon asks her art teacher for a suggestion about her watercolor painting. Heintz’s Bio II class and is thinking about going to KU and majoring in either Bio-
April 2, 2007
chemistry or Biology, exactly as his brother is doing. “The classes I’m taking are more like backgrounds to help with the things I will be studying in college,” Hidaka said. “They will be more specific and focus on one thing.” Next year Hidaka is planning on taking Chem II and Environmental Systems, and he also wants to be a cadet teacher for Heintz’s Honors-Biology classes, where he hopes he will gain teaching experience. Hidaka would have to organize a unit and teach the class, all on his own. It would be very time-consuming job since he would have to plan everything down to the last detail and put it on a calendar. “I think it would be very good for him because he’ll get a lot of background in teaching,” Heintz said. “He’ll have to introduce the topic and learn to take it from beginning to end.” Hidaka’s good friend, junior Ginny Hodgson, thinks that Hidaka would be a very entertaining teacher and would make the material very interesting. “ H e wouldn’t be boring at all,” Hodgson said. As far as his plans to stop global warming go, Hidaka recently printed out some copies of ideas from books like “Field Notes from a Catastrophe” and “Man Nature and Climate Change.” These ideas could all steadily save energy in the home. An action as simple as unplugging an iPod charger from the wall immediately after use could save a lot of energy rather than leaving it plugged in for hours. And instead of using fluorescent light bulbs, Hidaka says that incandescent light bulbs save at least 25 percent of electric bills each year. “He seems very interested in the job,” Heintz said. “You don’t take both of the Biology classes if you’re not.” Heintz told Hidaka his career would involve a lot of schooling. It would take four years to get his bachelor’s degree, another two for his Master’s and finally, it would take two years to get his PHD. “He also told me that my job wouldn’t make a lot of money,” Hidaka said. “But it’s not about the money for me; it’s more about alerting society.”
page 14 [features]
Caught in the Act English classes perform different classic plays
Donna Skates’ senior AP class:
Hamlet
Debe Bramley’s freshman honors class:
Great Expectations
Above: Katie Woods studies her part as the ghost of Hamlet’s father Above Left: Tom Grotewohl studies his part as Horatio Left: Alice Cousineau reads up on her parts during some free class time
the [harbinger]
Above: Ben Galloway and Duncan McHenry study their parts. Above Left: Jordan Pfeiffer goes in for a fake kiss on Anna Petrow during a love scene. Left: Tess Duncan jumps with others during a wedding scene
s
by [katie jones]
ROADto
the
home
enior Max Belousov and his family had no idea hurricane Katrina had demolished their house until they saw that it happened on CNN. He, his sister, and his parents were safely snuggled under the polyester sheets at a Super 8 in Houston, where they fled the day before it hit. It was only then that they realized the extremity of this particular category five hurricane. “At first we didn’t think there was too much damage,” Max’s father, Andrei Belousov said. “It was nice weather, people in the French Quarter were drinking beer. But then we saw footage from a helicopter. We saw the flooded city. It was a sunny day, a quiet day. But the whole city was under water.” Their family was one of the many who made the decision to leave their home in New Orleans before hurricane Katrina struck. They also made up the many who spent two years hopping from one guesthouse to the next. After months of fighting with insurance agencies, his family finally found a stable home Kansas City last January. Driving towards the Super 8 in Houston, they could hardly imagine what was in store for them. They had driven down to Texas to avoid approaching storms more times than Max can count on one hand. It was almost a routine for them. But this time was far from routine. That night in their motel room, they learned that the Lakeview levee, their local water barrier, had broken. All of the houses in the Lakeview parish were flooded. “Most of the damage wasn’t even from the hurricane itself,” Max said. “It was just because the levees broke a few days later. That’s why there was all the flooding.” However even after they discovered their parish was flooded, they still thought there was a chance they would be able to save the house. That day Andrei left the motel to buy a generator at Home Depot to dry it out. A few hours afterwards, they found out how extensive the damage was— eleven feet of water was rushing through their neighborhood. Andrei returned the generator the same day. His old life was destroyed with his old neighborhood. Things happened so fast, it took a while for the Belousovs to wrap their heads around it. Max remembers the morning his mom mentioned the incoming storm. He was far from panicking. “My mom came in that morning and told me there was a hurricane coming and to pack some of my stuff so we could go down to Texas for a few days,” Max said. “I wasn’t worried, this kind of thing had happened before. That evening, hours before he left for Texas, seven of his buddies sat around a local park, throwing jokes around like playground gravel, casually discussing the upcoming storm. A couple of his friends said their families were going to stay at their homes. One of his friends who stayed, Chris, was later rescued from his house with his parents in the Westbank parish by a helicopter. A few hours later, his parents left him, while they headed off in a rescue bus out of the city. Chris had to find his own way out, and had to be relocated to an unknown family in another state. Belousov never heard from him again. Stories like these make him feel lucky that his family made the decision to leave the city before the hurricane hit. “My family had the common sense to get out of there,” Max said. “I took all my valuable stuff, my electronics. I left my paint gun, though.” … After his family discovered their house had been destroyed in Houston, they dropped Max’s sister off at a nearby subway station so they could return to school at Tulane University in New Orleans. Their dog went with her. Then, they headed to a nearby church, where the Red Cross had set up a station that offered basic necessities like food and clothes for people who had lost their homes. They also found a man who offered to let them stay in his condo until
page 15 [features]
senior Max Belousev moves to Kansas City after living through the devastation in New Orleans
Before moving to Kansas City, Belousev took a picture of what was left of his house. they made other arrangements. “It felt really weird, being on the other side of that situation,” Max said. “They just gave us all these clothes and stuff. I felt like I was some homeless person.” And in a sense, he was. They had left New Orleans with four people and a dog squished in the car, which only left room for a couple of suitcases. However, after a few days, they settled into their condo in Pasadena, and Max started attending the nearby Pasadena Memorial High School. “I liked it there,” Max said. “It didn’t have a strict dress code like my school in New Orleans, and I made friends fast.” But after only one week, Max had to leave Pasadena for Boston. One of his dad’s friends had offered them a place to stay in Walthman, a city suburb. In Boston, Max finished out the school year at Walthman High School. During the semester, his parents returned to New Orleans to meet with their insurance agency and asses the damage. The city, Andrei explained, looked like a war zone. The streets were full of garbage and tattered palm leaves, the electric lines didn’t work, the windows were broken. Only about one out of every fifty homes in their neighborhood were occupied. There was a dirty water line on every house, wavering from parish to parish. It marked the rise and fall of the water level was during the flood. The sight of their own house was the most shocking for Max’s parents, though. There was dirt on the floor, no ceilings, and overturned, unrecognizable furniture everywhere. As they sifted few the wreckage, they found one of their three cats, Sonya. Andrei buried her in the backyard. After they returned to Boston, Tulane University, where Andrei had previously worked as a neuroscience professor, contacted him. He reluctantly agreed to teach there for two more terms. In the meantime, while Max finished off his first semester at Waltham, he began to search for a new job. “Starbucks Coffee became my new office,” Andrei said. “It had wireless internet, and I spent most of my time there, emailing old graduate students. I soon realized many people I knew were doing the same.” In December, the family moved back to New Orleans so Andrei and Janna could continue working at Tulane. They stayed in a guesthouse owned by Andrei’s coworker, a professor of biology. The guesthouse was used as the servant’s quarters long ago, and its small size was difficult to adjust to. It was two stories, and about as wide as half of an average East classroom. Moreover, Andrei was tired of New Orleans. He hated the heat, the everyday violence, and the
frequent storms. “But it was okay. We were all okay,” Andrei said. “We were worried that Max would have a hard time with all the moves, but it seems like he adjusted well.” After all, Max was used to moving—his dad’s job as a neuroscience professor has taken the family from Russia, to McGill in Canada, to Stanford in California, and finally to New Orleans when Max entered the fourth grade. These childhood travels helped him adapt to his recent moves. Besides, Max was happy to see his old friends again. He spent most of that last year in New Orleans with his three friends Corey, Brennan and Shane, “riding around in the car, playing basketball, and chilling. Just chilling,” Max said. After Max found out his parents had found jobs at KU Medical Center, he started staying at his friends’ houses more and more often. He didn’t want to say goodbye again. “Right before winter break, I just went from house to house so I could spend some time with my friends,” Max said. “Actually, the day I left I was at Shane’s house, playing air hockey. My parents picked me up there that morning.” Two days later, the Belousovs crossed the Kansas border. At first Max was disappointed—all he could see were wheat fields. But finally they arrived in the city, where they rented a small house halfway between KU Med and East. They bought a bigger house farther south two months later. “I hated the first house,” Max said. “There were two bedrooms, but mine didn’t even have a door. I didn’t have any privacy. When we finally moved [to this house], I was excited. I’ve got a big room, a nice view. Sometimes I even see deer.” Andrei and Janna are happy with the move as well. The city has a safe feeling that wasn’t there in New Orleans. It’s not as humid, either. “I like this place,” Andrei said. “It’s not hot. It’s the first time after a long time that I’ve felt winter—not since ’92, back in Montreal. But I’ll have to work on my Celsius conversions—I’ve never lived somewhere that I’ve had to convert to Fahrenheit under 32 degrees.” Max has made yet another smooth transition into a new city. He takes night classes in English, works as a host at Outback Steakhouse and was recently accepted into KU. He plans majoring in business there next year. “Kansas—it’s alright. I’m staying here for college,” Max said, pointing to his Sigma Chi t-shirt. “And I’ve got a feeling my parents are going to stay here for a long time, too. After all those moves . . . we’ve finally found another home.”
T
page 18 [features]
AT THE
That status of global warming was the subject of a report released last month by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of scientists representing more than 130 countries. Their report warned of the negative environmental and human effects of global warming and reiterated that human actions, specifically greenhouse gas emissions, were to blame. This report caught the attention of lawmakers and led to the drafting of a bill by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that would require an 80 percent reduction in American global warming pollutants by 2050. But despite the growing consensus about the need to reign in global warming, the specific strategies for accomplishing that remain unclear. To address the scientific aspect, Congress has been calling on experts—members of the IPCC and others in the scientific community—to testify as to what national policies would be most effective. IPCC scientist and Brookings Institution scholar Brian Mignone has taken a leading role in reducing
POINT
In part two of our global warming coverage, we take a look at what is being done nationally to combat high 1) BURY THE PROBLEM carbon dioxide levels, a key cause of g n oMni e- States. “The most popular method for trapping carbon is called Carbon Capture and Storand his team by [nathan yaffe] ozone depletion age,” Mignone said. This process involves think trapping carbon from plants could eliminate one wedge. According to the ICPP, one quarter of the world’s carbon emissions come from these plants, and there are nearly 1,000 such plants in the United
replacing a power plant’s smokestack with an absorption tower that picks up the carbon and compresses it. After compression, the carbon is injected into geologic formations up to 2 miles underground for permanent storage.
the issue of cutting carbon emissions into manageable—and comprehensible—pieces. At present, he says, human pollution—caused by everything from driving to heavy industry— emits a total of seven billion tons of carbon every year. “When the United Nations talks about the worst case scenarios for violent climate change, they have in mind this type of rate—14 billion tons or more,” he said. Mignone and his team started by setting a goal: keep carbon emissions at their current level. “Due to natural population and industry growth, it would increase to 14 billion,” Mignone said. “If we want to keep it at seven, that means we have to prevent seven billion tons of growth from happening.” With that in mind, they broke the goal down into seven wedges, each representing one billion tons of carbon. They then suggested seven methods for reducing emissions—each of which, according to them, could reduce emissions by up to one billion tons a year.
2) COOKING WITH GAS According to Mignone, converting existing coalfired power plants to natural gas-fired power plants could, without any other steps, eliminate another billion tons by itself. Doing this, he says, would not even involve shutting down existing coal plants. “If we converted as few as 1,400 coal-fired power plants. . . to gas-fired plants, that’s an easy billion tons right there,” Mignone said.
3) CUT THE CUTTING 4) BLOWING IN THE WIND 5) SOLAR SOURCE According to the founder of the Land Institute, Wes Jackson, one wedge could be eliminated by not cutting down trees. “The principle is simple,” Jackson said. “Vegetation uses carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, meaning forested land traps carbon that would otherwise be floating around in the atmosphere. Carbon in, oxygen out.” Naturally-occurring carbon
containers such as forests and oceans are called “natural sinks.” In a recent talk at the Kauffman Foundation, Jackson warned that deforestation was a major contributor to global warming. “Our current rate of deforestation is transferring carbon from forests to the atmosphere at an astronomical rate,” he said. “If you cut the effects of deforestation by 50 percent over the next halfcentury, it would lead to a carbon emissions reduction of at least one billion tons a year.”
6) AGRICULTURALLY ADEPT Using a process known as conservation tillage could account for another billion tons. Normal agricultural methods involve tilling the land—that is, churning it up with tractors to remove weeds and soften soil. When that soil is churned up in agricultural machines, carbon that’s been trapped in the ground for millennia is released into the air. Conservation tillage avoids that problem.
Increasing the world’s current wind production 80-fold, according to Mignone and his team, could eliminate another billion tons of emissions each year. As of 2006, the American Wind Energy Association reports that wind energy produces more than 11,000 megawatts (MW)
Cited by Jackson as one of best potential methods for addressing carbon emissions, this process employs crop rotation and environmentally-friendly irrigation systems to avoiding destroying the earth and releasing carbon. “Cutting holes in the earth does nothing but harm,” Jackson said. “Everything we destroy releases carbon.”
of electricity each year, much of which comes from windmills in the Midwest. “Saudi Arabia is OK for oil,” Jackson said, “but we need to look at a different type of Saudi Arabia. If we consider the potential for energy production, the Midwest is the Saudi Arabia of wind.”
Another underutilized energy source, according to Mignone, is solar power. His team believes that as much as 2,100 gigawatts (GW) of energy could be produced from solar collectors each year. That amount, produced by a standard power plant, would produce well over one billion tons of carbon each year. With solar energy, that number drops to zero. Most recently, California State University installed solar panels on top of all its parking shelters. A rooftop covering 700 parking spots—less than East’s total parking capacity—is currently providing 20 percent of the University’s energy demand.
7) NUCLEAR KNOW-HOW The final wedge of carbon, according to Mignone’s team, could be provided by tripling the nuclear power output. In environmentalist circles, nuclear power rarely comes up—other when it’s a discussion about how to shut nuclear plants down. But nuclear may provide a legitimate alternative to carbon-heavy options in upcoming years.
“Those hoping for a revival of nuclear power will see more support if carbon management becomes a higher priority,” Mignone said. The necessary tripling could be accomplished, Mignone argues, simply by replacing 700 coal-fired plants with nuclear plants as the coal-fired plants reach the end of their productive life.
EARLY DISMISSAL THURSDAY APR. 26 get some extra sleep!
2 New Events •
page 19 [a&e]
Taking a closer look at two ticker events
Plays at Starlight May 1
• The Denver based quartet formed in 2002
The Fray
• They have only released one CD How to Save a Life but their hit song “Over my Head” quickly surged into the top 10 on Billboard singles chart. * Although they just came last October, they seem to be a hot ticket; it sold out within a week.
Rod Stewart Stewart comes to town on April 13 at Kemper Arena
• The 67 year old Stewart will be showcasing his new album Still the Same • Stewart was recently inducted in UK Hall of Fame in 2006. He also recently won a Grammy for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. * The tickets range from $55- $126, but the best bet maybe finding a ticket on eBay.
Good Luck to
Boys Varsity Tennis at the Shawnee Mission
District Tournament
•Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner all day •MC/Visa/Discover accepted •Counter service •Non-smoking/ $4.95 to $6.50 range •Winner Best Mexican Food AOL
Kansas Reading Assessment
Make-Ups:
Monday 2 Friday 6
page 20 [features]
Dancing tothe
top
Junior becomes member of elite dance team and dances on Dancing with the Stars by [davin phillips]
The fast paced swing music echoes up the ramp and down the hallway. One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock rock. Five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock rock. It only grows increasingly louder behind the cafeteria doors. Nine, ten, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock rock. Past the blue metal doors, smiles swell as bodies whirl and arm and hand movements intertwine flawlessly with the music. After a few weeks of attending Swing Dance Club, regular members have improved from their days of unsure foot placements and flailing hands. Junior Michael Lebowitz started the Swing Dance Club as a way to not only share his passion for swing dancing, but to practice teaching in order to reach his goal of instructing swing dance nights at Louis and Company Dance Studio. Lebowitz joined the Swingsters dance group to try and reach this goal. Jean and Bill Dunn Sr. of Cristo Rey High School contacted Louis Bar, owner of Louis and Company and Dance Studio and founder of the Swingsters six months ago about creating a fundraising event for the school that the Swingsters could be involved with. Cristo Rey High School is a Leavenworth prep school for kids who otherwise wouldn’t be attending school. Together they came up with “Kansas City Dances with the Stars” which replicates the national known
inside DECA
“Its great to see the improvement in program “Dancing with the Stars”. everyone,” Having the same scoring system: Lebowitz’s interest in swing by audience and a judge panel, and dancing sprang from the comments the same template as the national of his exchange student Raphael show does. Each star will perform Chiki on the lack of nightclubs their practiced routines for their America has for minors to go to. spotlight dance. Money raised Lebowitz attended Swing Nights at by the event will go towards the Louis Company and Dance Studio national “Dancing with the Stars”. with groups of friends. Learning Having the same scoring system: new steps and putting them into by audience and a judge panel, and a dance was Lebowitz’s ideal the same template as the national Saturday night. By early December, show does with the Swingsters as Lebowitz’s passion was further the professional entertainment for increased by the chance to try out the evening. for Swingsters, a dance group made “ [It’s a} great cause [for] a great of six couples that entertain the school to be supporting,” Jessica Kansas City area. Gittleman instructor at Louis and “Swing dancing is just a lot of Company and Dance Studio said. fun,” Lebowitz said. “It started off “This is a way we can give back just being a weekly release [and] to the community and to kids Junior Michael Lebowitz twirls with Senior Kate Burgers at as I improved it became more of a directly.” Swing Club. photo by hannah brewer passion,” Louis Company and Dance Studio In order to become a better dancer, Lebowitz began taking is the premier group to help kids in the area and work largely with the community. They offer classes to children private lessons with Gittleman. An hour was dedicated to between the ages of 8-18 and have project classes teaching private lessons three times a week. Proper turns and foot children ballroom in the studio. In the Blue Valley and the placements were practiced during the private lessons and Shawnee Mission districts the studio has taught at some of at home as Lebowitz tried perfecting his dancing on his the Elementary and Middle school levels and will teach at own. Saturday night Swing Nights gave Lebowitz more time Cristo Rey High School in order to start working with the to perfect his routines and enabled him to meet his former High school level as well. The stars that will be dancing in the partner, Blue Valley North sophomore Gabrielle Chiklit. “We started dancing and something just sort of made show have received 10-20 free lessons with their partnered Swingster. They’ve practiced the specific style of dance they sense [for us to be partners],” Lebowitz said. On the day of the Swingsters auditions Lebowitz and will be performing during their spotlight dance. Lebowitz will be performing with his new partner Whitney Hanaga, Chiklit performed the routine they had practiced tediously who graduated from East two years ago. The show will take for a month in about 10 minutes. Following the audition, 30 place at the Kansas City Starlight Theater Stage House, so minutes passed waiting for the call on who would be part that it’s and indoor event, on April 14. Tickets have been sold of Swingsters. One pair of partners were being chosen to for $155 each. They can be purchased from the theater or join the Swingsters out of eight pairs of partners Lebowitz threw Louis and Company Dance Studio. Doors will open at and Chiklit heard their names called out making them the 6 p.m. with the show starting at seven and lasting till around newest and youngest members of the dance team. “Dancing is my passion and I want to make it other 10. “We’ve practice once a week [for the show],” Lebowitz said. peoples as well,” Lebowitz said. Right: Junior Bobby Miller Jr. concludes his campaign speech for Kansas DECA officer with two thumbs up. Miller continued to be elected as Vice-President. photos by sally drape
a close up look at the state DECA competition
Above: Junior Bobby Miller Jr. works with DECA advisor Jennifer Zerrer in preparation for the opening session. Right: Junior Quinn Rodgers works on his comprehensive test as the room clears. Rodgers’ team placed seventh overall in the travel and tourism competition. photos by sally drape
Above: Junior Alison Sayler distributes candy to voting delegates in Candidates Row as part of her campaign for Kansas DECA officer
the [harbinger]
photo` by sally drape
Unknown Illness
page 21 [features]
Sophomore Aubry Gabbard’s life changed greatly after being diagnosed with a mysterious disease by [adrienne wood]
or viruses, like mono. Doctors have yet to pin down a cause, but unless her symptoms return and testing is continued, Gabbard may never know. As Gabbard’s legs strengthened, her doctors advised that she return to school. But it wasn’t just a matter of being able to return to classes. After missing nearly two months’ worth of curriculum, Gabbard knew she couldn’t make up the work in her honors classes and electives. She began by going to school for half-days and enrolled in new electives, including Sign Language and Economics I. She was constantly met with skepticism from students and teachers, who wondered why she didn’t drop Honors English and European History AP despite the constant flow of makeup work. “I have to try,” she said. “I’m determined. Now I only have one test left to make up in EHAP.” Now the only medical symptom Gabbard suffers from is occasional dizziness, but Sophomore Aubry Gabbard walks down the stairs with her she is aware relapse could occur cane. Because her legs were so weak, she often had to use and carefully monitors what she it to walk from place to place. eats and does. “There are a lot of restrictions on what people think I can do, and I’ve always been an independent person but now it’s harder and frightening to be independent,” Gabbard said. “When my doctors finally confirmed it would be OK for me to swing dance, I began to dance a lot because I realized I could lose the ability to dance at any second.” Because she missed so much school, Gabbard has decided not to enroll in I.B. next year, but now that doesn’t seem as important to her. She is enrolled in classes she enjoys and still writes for Teen Star and the KC Writers’ Group. The pain and confusion of those few months is over, and Gabbard may never know what caused her condition or if it will return. “I thank heaven or whatever else is up there that this happened,” Gabbard said. “The experience really changed me—now I tell myself that I can do something so I should. I like to dance, so I will.”
photo by sally drape
Sophomore Aubry Gabbard woke up one day last October, still feeling sick to her stomach despite days of gastrointestinal tests and visits to doctors with no answers. She shifted her legs to get out of bed and get a glass of water, but the left leg didn’t respond. “I looked down at my leg and told it to move,” Gabbard said. “Nothing. It wouldn’t stand up.” She sat in bed panicking for several minutes, waiting for the pins and needles sensation to leave her leg. She called downstairs to inform her mom who urged her to stay in bed, thinking it was a reaction to a virus. She hopped around the house for a day, expecting her leg to come back to life. Her leg continued to “not work” the next day. And the next. By the time her right leg stopped working five days later, Gabbard was clueless as to what could be the cause. “After the initial shock, I didn’t really know what to think,” Gabbard said. “I’m 15 and I’d never had serious medical problems before this. My mom has MS [Multiple Sclerosis] and is in a wheelchair, so of course that was a fear.” The mysterious condition and growing symptoms persisted well into November, and she began using a walker at school. The constant fatigue and inability to travel led to piles of makeup work. She had the strength only to attend classes once a week, and when she did go, she suffered from dizziness and stomachaches. From October to December, gastrointestinal and neurological doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Headache and Pain Center examined her and took blood samples, slowly eliminating one disease or condition after another. Because no one could explain her symptoms, she went through psychological evaluation to confirm that they weren’t all in her head. “It seemed like I was in and out of a doctor’s office almost every day,” she said. The Children’s Mercy neurologist ruled out gastrointestinal disease, Crohn’s Disease, Vertigo, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and even cancer. “We’ve been down so many different paths with this and that and it was another worry that I wouldn’t know how to cope with her having these diseases they mentioned,” Janice White, Gabbard’s mother, said. “At least if it was MS I could help guide her.” Throughout the winter Gabbard missed a total of about two and a half months of school, and she dropped her electives, keeping only the core classes. Most days she arrived at school for fourth hour and switched Honors English class to sixth hour so she wouldn’t miss it as much. Beginning in late October, Gabbard’s parents brought files and files of medical documentation to weekly meetings with administrators, who advised that she accept homebound instruction for a long-term illness. “Homebound Service is provided for students with long-term illnesses or hospitalization,” Associated Principal Dr. Ron Mersch said. “The student meets with a Homebound instructor a few days a week for the core classes, but because high school courses are so diverse, the instructors might not have in-depth knowledge for things like Chemistry or AP History.” But because Gabbard continued to report to class once a week, she never met the 10 absences-in-a-row requirement to qualify for Homebound Services. Gabbard and her family decided not to use the program because it provided lessons in only non-honors core classes. As her legs continued to grow weaker and weaker, Gabbard struggled to assist her mother with her wheelchair and her battle against MS. But Gabbard appreciated her mom’s first hand experience and support. “Now that I was suffering from my own medical problems, she was there for me,” Gabbard said. “She helped me realize that it could be worse.” Not only did Gabbard begin to see her mom in a different light, but she also noticed that other people were seeing her differently as well. After she started using her walker, she was terrified of seeing other people and being treated like she was sick. “The first day I went out with a walker, I was really self-conscious,” Gabbard said. “My friends gasped and said ‘Oh my God look at our friend,’ but they didn’t treat me differently even though I was sick.” When her condition was at its peak, Gabbard tried an electric scooter for a day to get around school, but quickly gave up trying to use the bulky machine. “The day I went to school in the wheelchair I couldn’t operate it at all,” she said. “I couldn’t navigate it through the doors so one time I stood up and lifted it out of the room—I was always able to stand even if I couldn’t walk more than a few feet.” By winter break Gabbard could get out of bed without assistance. The accompanying symptoms began to weaken, and her neurologist noticed a steady improvement, although no one knew which of the various treatments was helping. “Around that time I was beginning to think, ‘I have to accept this,’” she said. “But fortunately I didn’t have to stick with it because it started to improve.” The potential diagnoses shifted from life-threatening diseases to reactions to allergies
What is
Homebound?
‘Homebound’ means that the child is discharged to home but does not leave the home for school or other activities. When a child has missed 10 consecutive days of school, a teacher comes to the home from the local district for up to two hours per week. information courtesy of http://www.medhomeportal.org
April 2, 2007
page 22 [a&e]
Want
Wetzel’s
Album?
If interested, let her know through email. The CD should be ready in about a month. (Contact her at
Born to Play
Already recording her own albums, East junior takes her passion to the next level by [ruth stark]
laurawetzelcd@yahoo.com.)
When junior Laura Wetzel was five-yearsold she loved to sing in the family room while her mom played “How Much is that Doggy in the Window,” on their piano. Wetzel would chime in at the “woof woof,” her favorite part. The home videos of moments like these made Wetzel’s musical passion evident from a young age. Now her drive for music continues and is now developing into her first album. “I was just kind of playing on the piano one time and I came up with this melody and all of a sudden I started singing words to it it was kind of weird,” Wetzel said. Wetzel draws her inspiration from all the things going on her life; from precalculus tests to stressful times that come in and out of her daily routine. She sees her song writing as means of expressing herself and her life experiences. “Certain things I go through [are what inspire me] and it helps to write it down in song form, Wetzel said. To relieve stress some people go on a run or listen to music, I just write it and play it.” On the Saturdays when Wetzel is not busy with Varsity swimming, she makes trips to Lawrence to record her songs. She often goes with friends like Seniors Phillip Wolff and Mary Coulson.
Wetzel’s brother Luke who lives in Lawrence helps her get her songs recorded with the studio he has set up in his house. The makeshift recording studio is a hallway closet with blankets for sound proofing. “There is one blanket with three bears on it that I look at, I always focus on the bears eye,” Wetzel said. Wetzel will record the piano or guitar parts first and then listen to them in her headphones while doing the vocals. Having her own pair of headphones is Wetzel’s favorite part of the recording experience. Wolff, close friend of Wetzel’s has made the trip to Lawrence with her while she records and was fascinated by the process and time that goes into recording. It might bore a lot of people because it’s a very long and tedious process, said Wolff. The combination of the piano, acoustic Wetzel intently records a track in a makeshift recording studio at her brother’s in Lawguitar and gentle vocals has made friends rence. Blankets block out background noise outside the tight space. photo by mary coulsen compare it to the musical styles of Norah Wetzel didn’t start recording with the intention of Jones and Joanie Mitchell. making an album, but with encouragement from close friends My mom said it sounds like she could play in a coffee bar,” and family members she hopes that one day soon she will Wolff said. One of Wetzel’s first songs, “My Smile,” is her favorite have her first album. Promotion from friends and especially because it’s an upbeat headbopper song. It talks about her her mom will help the album get publicity. “Sometimes she’ll do a huffy breath or roll her eyes at tough time with a math test, but nobody would know because me when I tell somebody about her singing or show them a she keeps a smile on her face. It’s kind of about being stressed or bothered but not letting song,” Wolff said. “People are always amazed when they hear her stuff though.” it get to you or letting people know,” Wetzel said.
Fresh Bread Fresh Location Customer’s Choice
Great Harvest frequently polls their customers to see what kinds of bread are most popular. Here are some recent favorites:
•Salt-Free Sunflower • Sprouted Wheat •Whole-Grain Goodness • High 5 Fiber Bread • Whole-Grain Cinnamon Burst
by [sara steinwart]
When I heard that Great Harvest Bread Co. was moving just over a mile to Corinth Shopping center, it didn’t matter to me. It made no difference that there would be a bread store closer to home. Little did I know that the number of trips I had taken this bakery would double within one week of my knowledge of its re-opening. Reading the “We Serve Sandwiches” sign up in the window as I drove to Hen House for lunch, I thought maybe that would be a good stop. It wasn’t until the next day when I actually stopped I found my new favorite 20 minute school day lunch stop. When first entering the shop the aroma of freshly braked bread flooded the air and got even me, not a bread lover per say, excited. I picked up a sandwich order form and chose from the six made fresh daily sandwich bread options, five meats, three cheeses and a whole array of veggies. As I turned around to take a seat at one of the three inside tables I caught sight of a sample table. Taking advantage of the no limit bread a cookie samples, I
What’s New New • a&e event ticker What’s
Cafe relocates close to East, creating a convenient out-to-lunch alternative
consumed two pieces of raspberry cobbler bar, a piece of green sprinkled sugar cookie and a slice of apple cinnamon crunch bread with apple butter. By the time the five minute wait had passed I was barely hungry for my sandwich by I still decided to splurge and spend the extra $2 to get a six inch oatmeal raisin cookie and a bag of my favorite Mesquite BBQ potato chips. Sitting down at one of many open counter seats, I began my lunch with a surprising 15 minutes to enjoy it. The quick service and no line were thoroughly appreciated in the usually rushed open lunch period. I caught sight of the dozens of loaves of bread on the wall to my right. Just as I was walking out the door I was suckered into buying the still warm 5 inch apple cinnamon crunch loaf I sampled earlier. It was too good not to take home and be able to eat at my leisure. Although Great Harvest is not a $2 Hen House kids meal, it is will worth the extra $3.50 for a half sandwich on fresh bread baked that morning, freshly sliced meat and cheeses and crispy veggies, a cookie and potato chips. It is a fresh, healthier alternative lunch that is now my number one lunch time choice.
Scout honor Guster, Liberty Hall, Today • Umphrey’s McGee, Blue Note, April 4 • Yo La Tengo, Granada, April 11 • Rod Stewart,~Girl Kemper Arena, April 13 the [harbinger]
A case worth reading City of Tiny Lights offers a thrilling murder mystery by [meghan benson]
Welcome to the city of tiny lights, where it takes a lifetime to get somewhere you’ve no particular desire to go. Patrick Neate’s novel opens up in present-day London and is set around the story’s main character, Tommy Akhtar. In his mid thirties, he’s not what you would call very established. He’s an Indian- Ugandan private investigator living above his family’s failing taxi business. Neate describes Tommy as a war veteran who seems to spend more time in his office thinking about his unsuccessful life than solving any actual cases. He’s a mess. His breakfast consists of chain-smoking and drinking Wild Turkey bourbon. The cases he solves mostly revolve around jealous housewives trying to find out whether or not their “scum bag” husbands are cheating on them. Adultery has become a bore to him, and he’s more than ready for a change. That’s when he finds a most unexpected guest waiting for him in his office. With her coy attitude and unforgettable walk Tommy recognizes her as a prostitute. And not some random trashy whore - but rather a‘high-class’ prostitute. But what is a prostitute doing in his office? Referring to herself as “exoticmelody”, she puts her case on the table. She’s
looking for her flat mate Natasha (a prostitute as well) who has disappeared and was last seen at a hotel with her latest customer. She wants her mate back and she’s willing to shell out the big bucks for him to help find Natasha. Intrigued, Tommy decides to take the case. The story gets a sharp twist when he figures out that Natasha’s latest ‘customer’ is a dead government official. It then takes a whole new turn when Melody fills him in on some details she didn’t mention earlier. Tommy starts to become aware of what exactly he’s gotten himself into, and wonders how he’s going to get out of this mess. It seems to be unclear on what exactly Neate is trying to emphasize. First it’s the prostitute looking for her missing friend. Then the story takes a twist and the main conflict turns into the prostitute looking for a mysterious man. Then it changes again. There’s a difference between an action packed murder thriller and an overly constructed plot. The opening of the book grabs the reader’s attention with Neate’s dry humor and Tommy’s overly sarcastic attitude. Through the plot twists and turns, the reader is left wondering what Neate is trying to accomplish.
Come to the
Spring
Play
Friday 6, 7 pm
U S E D B O O K S A L E Friday 6
April 2., 2007
page 23 [a&e]
Patrick Neate’s
Other Novels Musungu Jim
A story of a banana republic on the verge of a revolution. Old African traditions and ancient witchcraft all play in the story, creating an action packed plot.
Where You’re At The rapid globalization of hip hop is investigated in this novel. This book takes you on a journey from New York to Tokyo, experiencing the history and culture hip hop brings. photos courtesy of google.com
photo courtesy of www.modestmousemusic.com
page 24 [a&e]
‘MOUSE’
in the
MAINSTREAM
Though catchy, recent album by Modest Mouse offers nothing by [joey soptic] Modest Mouse probably should have named their newest CD “Good News for People Who Love Repetition.” If you love Modest Mouse, and “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” you will probably like this CD. If you are not a big Modest Mouse fan, you will most likely find it no more appealing than counting ceiling tiles or watching paint dry. Modest Mouse’s fifth studio album, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,” though very catchy, is a ramble down the same beaten trail that singer Isaac Brock and the band blazed in the mid-nineties. Brock wastes no time in showering listeners in a torrent of his usual throaty yells. Strew some of this incoherent yelling around, toss in some smooth guest vocals by Shins lead singer James Mercer, and the vigilant guitar work of Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, and cram the tracks full of lyrics that make absolutely no sense, and out of this turmoil rages, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” One thing for certain is that the theme of the lyrics stays the same throughout the
entire CD. This theme of course is that there isn’t one, at all. Brock screams, “This coffee you bleed, like the leaves of a tree. Ahaha! Ahaha!,” in the CD’s opening track, “March Into the Sea.” Hardly the lyricist of the century in terms of having any meaning. Fortunately for Modest Mouse, the lyrical aspect is not what makes some of the songs so addictive. “Dashboard” was the first song leaked to the public in early January, and its intense blend of quick guitar movement, horns, synthesizers, and kick drum was devoured by the public. The guitar parts seem to be a perfect match for each other and make for a great song early on in the CD. With news of guitarist Johnny Marr joining the band, no one knew the direction Modest Mouse would take, and “Dashboard” was the first chance that anyone had to hear the band’s new guitar at work. Another one of the songs that seems
far too catchy for its own good is “Steam Engenious.” Following the trend of guitars that seem to dance in and out of the song, and more lyrics that make no sense, “Engenious” is a nice addition to the CD. It is really this type of chaotic song that is so appealing. The drums are so distinct and memorable that it is easy to find yourself hammering out a steady rhythm on your computer table or steering wheel. One track that Shins singer James Mercer makes an appearance on is “Missed the Boat.” Unlike most of the new album’s rough-edged songs, this one sails out smoothly. It even has
a hint of a pattern to its lyrics, a change from the majority of the CD. Mercer and Brock cry out their dismay at the downhill spiral that is life with “Oh, and we carried it all so well… Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell.” The majority of the other songs are all like previous Modest Mouse; slightly bizarre, obnoxious, and not worth getting too excited over. They seem like more of the same type of song that you can hear on previous CDs. If I sparked your interest you should check out the album and dig up the gems that can be found in it. If not, then there are plenty of ceiling tiles to count.
the page about life
page 25 [mixed]
what you didn’t know about: mike schepers
Sweet Lady
a poem written and submitted by jon clay
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? I like going to shows and sitting in the woods. Sometimes I like to just wander aimlessly and see how far I can get.
mixed WHERE ARE THESE WOODS? Like 40 minutes away. I like to go there and make fires. I go there sometimes when I want to get away from everything.
WHAT IS SOMETHING ODD ABOUT YOU THAT PEOPLE WOULDN’T GUESS? I still think Pokemon is awesome. Sometimes when I leave the house, I carry a Poke-Ball on my belt just to see what people say. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT SPRING? The promise that I will soon be able to escape the insidious rat cage that is Shawnee Mission East.
photos by anna leek
photo by abba goehausen
and
Tips Tricks
art
to prepare for spring
by k a
tie
woo d
s
by [rachel mayfield]
To get easy highlights: If you comb some lemon juice through your hair and then let it dry in the sun, your hair will get subtle highlights. Feeling Crafty? Try making a Hemp necklace. Go to http://www. spazzticcrafts.com/hemp/hemp-knots.php for easy to understand instructions.
Give your bed sheets a refreshing and relaxing scent. Try looking for a floral linen spray or fresh cotton scent and spritz your sheets.
things to spice up your spring
Since bugs will soon be emerging, those bug bites will be coming back to annoy too. When you get a bite, apply soap on the itching area and you will feel instant relief! When working outside or even spring cleaning around the house, you may find yourself with a nasty splinter. Instead of picking it out with a needle, resort to scotch tape. As silly as it sounds, just put a piece over your splinter, then pull it off. It removes them painlessly and easily! information from www.debra4homes.com/f/spring_cleaning_tips.htm
1. have a cookout with all your friends 6. get tickets to an outdoor concert 7. plant a vegetable garden 2. have a picnic in a park 3. work on your tan 8. have a water fight 4. play a game of miniature golf 9. take late night walks 5. deck out your driveway with 10. fly a kite sidewalk chalk and play hopscotch
April 2, 2007
page 26 [a&e]
can we
avoid the
emotional storm that could come from
‘reign’
Some consider the three movies that have come out about 9/11, including the upcoming film ‘Reign Over Me’ as insensitive and untimely by [landon mcdonald]
In the new Sony Pictures film “Reign Over Me”, Adam Sandler’s character Charlie Fineman is driven into an intense state of self-destructive depression following the tragic loss of his entire family on 9/11. His grief over their deaths forms the emotional core of the entire movie, yet the film’s two theatrical trailers don’t mention 9/11 at all. Not once. There’s a reason for this glaring omission. Even nearly six years later, Hollywood still isn’t entirely convinced that America is ready for a movie that boldly addresses that infamous day and its devastating ramifications on the public psyche. Sandler’s movie is only the third major studio release to tread on this dangerous ground. The first two films to evoke 9/11, Paul Greengrass’s “United 93” and Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”, each chose to address the hot topic in unique ways. Greengrass chose to make his movie a wrenching and realistic reenactment of Flight 93’s doomed voyage that was deemed almost too real by moviegoers who claimed that the film industry was trying to exploit the nation’s greatest tragedy for financial gain. Despite being critically acclaimed and garnering two Oscar nods, the movie did very poorly at the box office, earning less than $15 million. “It still may be too early,” therapist Mark Sichel said. Sichel, who worked as a volunteer at the New York Disaster Counseling Coalition after the attacks in 2001, believes that sometimes films like this are made at the wrong times for the wrong reasons. “Everyone knows that money often comes first in Hollywood,” he said. Stone’s “World Trade Center”, meanwhile, was dismissed by critics and audiences alike as a cheesy melodrama with an overly happy ending that cheapened the disaster. The film ended its run as
only a minor monetary success that barely managed to break, even with its bloated budget. These two polar opposite artistic visions offered by Greengrass and Stone seem to be currently incapable of reaching a compromising medium of any kind. This failure has led many to question if it’s still too soon for Hollywood to tackle this most painful of subjects. Not so, according to Professor Charles Figley, the director of Florida State University’s Traumatology Institute. “My sense is that it’s not too early. It’s just right,” Figley said. “This movie provides an opportunity for people to talk about it, both the survivors and the people who were not directly impacted” Local theater proprietors have their own thoughts about 9/11 themed films. “I think that as long as the movie’s in good taste and is respectful to the families that suffered, I would have no problem seeing it or showing it here at the Leawood. No one’s forcing anyone to see these movies, we’re only giving them the option,” says Dawn Bird, assistant manager at Ranchmart’s newly opened Leawood Theaters. With an issue this sensitive, the opinions that matter most in the end are those of the general moviegoing public. Before viewing “Reign Over Me” or any other movie that addresses 9/11 as a main theme, it’s important for every viewer to carefully assess his or herself to see if they’re really up for the film on an emotional level. Seeing these movies can be a healthy and constructive way to process the tragedy of loss on any scale, but only for those who feel comfortable enough to take the harrowing journey. So, are you ready?
WHAT THE CRITICS HAD TO SAY: the three 9/11 feature films UNITED 93
Rolling Stone gave it 4 out of 4 stars, and asked the public, “Is harsh reality forever out of bounds at the multiplex?”
WORLD TRADE CENTER Viewers gave it 6.5 out of ten stars, but in 2006 it won the Hollywood Movie of the Year.
REIGN OVER ME Hollywood.com gave this movie 2.5 out of four stars, but says that “it’s not a 9/11 movie, nor is it trying to be.”
BIG NAMES FROM THE FILMS
}
Adam Sandler Don Cheadle Liv Tyler Jada Pinkett Smith Donald Sutherland Christian Clemenson Trish Gates Maggie Gyllenhaal Nicholas Cage Michael Pena Jay Hernandez
Reign Over Me
} United 93
}
World Trade Center
the [harbinger]
‘Reign Over Me’ proves to be more atrocious than admirable
by [landon mcdonald]
“Reign Over Me” does what no other mainstream film has done when addressing the events and ramifications of 9/11. And that’s not a compliment. This movie shamelessly exploits the tragedy of that lifechanging day and manipulates the audience into thinking that what’s happening here is respectful. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster of a movie, stitched together with pieces from far better films, with nothing original to offer besides offensive drivel dressed up to look like art. It’s like watching make-up being put on a pig. This is all quite a shame, because “Reign Over Me” had the makings of greatness in it. The film, starring Adam Sandler and KC native Don Cheadle, deals with the daily struggles of Sandler’s character Charlie Fineman, whose wife and three young daughters died in the 9/11 attacks. Following his horrible loss, Fineman represses the disaster so much that it nearly costs him his sanity. He goes through the next five years in a music and video game-fueled haze, desperately hiding from the outside world, especially his clinging in-laws who want to see him institutionalized. That all changes when he runs into his former dental college roommate Alan Johnson (Cheadle), who tries to convince him to seek the help he needs. It’s strange that a movie with this interesting a premise could end up being so boring and tasteless. The problems are legion. First, the movie can’t decide what it wants to be. Is it a quietly devastating meditation on one man dealing with the ultimate loss? Is it a quirky dark comedy? Is it a slapstick buddy pic? The film erratically switches gears from one to another in rapid and maddening succession as the actors struggle to keep up. Second, the film squanders its considerable acting talent. Sandler, who previously proved his dramatic chops in 2002’s “Punch Drunk Love”, brings the tragic Charlie to life in an intensely realistic way that few other actors could have pulled off. However, he is plagued throughout the movie by horribly contrived dialogue and incomprehensible motivations. The same goes for the usually spectacular Cheadle’s overworked and underappreciated dentist character. Donald Sutherland’s irate judge and the surprisingly praise-worthy Liv Tyler’s compassionate psychiatrist are the only characters not struck down by Mike Binder’s awkward soap opera of a script. His writing seems bound and determined to hit every genre cliché, cheap laugh, and weary tear-jerk in the book. The fatal flaw here though, is the films’ ersatz reverence for the victims of 9/11. In the last twenty minutes of the movie, “Reign Over Me” literally takes the open wounds of the victims and their families and proceeds to rub the audience’s collective face in them. This blatant offense, disguised as dramatic high art, is to this reviewer unforgivable. It’s a cheap shot, like a kick to the groin, and it feels just as painful and undeserved when it comes. I have no problem with films displaying strong emotions and employing controversial techniques to get their point across, even if it winds up being interpreted as exploitation. Michael Cimino’s Vietnam epic “The Deer Hunter”, Oliver Stone’s bloody media satire “Natural Born Killers”, and Martin Scorsese’s religious lightning rod “The Last Temptation of Christ” fit the bill here. There must, however, always be a point to the pain, a cause for the controversy. “Reign Over Me” has neither. It resorts to exploitation due to a lack of creativity in its script and directing and nothing more. The only regard this movie deserves is more reviews like this.
page 27 [a&e]
Pride & prejudice Although Lionsgate’s new movie “Pride” tells an inspirational story of a black swim team, it fails to separate itself from any other race oriented sports movie (Above) Jim Ellis (Terrance Howard), the coach of the all black team, ponders the team’s future poolside. (Below) Bink (Tom Arnold), the coach of the all white team, cheers on his team. Howard and Arnold are rival coaches as Howard’s team works on breaking through the color barrier. photos courtesy of movieweb.com
by [ally heisdorffer] inspirational. There was no doubt in my mind that ElWhen Jim Ellis, an African American college gradu- lis would overcome his obstacles and the misguided ate, goes looking for a job at a prep school in Philadel- neighborhood boys would eventually clean up their act phia, he is met with disinterest. Ellis can’t get the job and find hope in the swim team. Boring. because “a person like [him] couldn’t communicate Being a swimmer myself, I can respect the struggles properly with [the white] students.” After searching for the real-life PDR swim team had to undergo to obtain a teaching job and being dismissed because of his race, such improvement, but the movie didn’t resonate. Ellis ends up cleaning up the Philadelphia Recreational It lacked critical emotion and I left the theater feeling Center (PDR), preparing for its demolition. robbed of two hours and eight dollars. In the process of his work, Ellis disThe movie never went deep covers a rundown pool in the recreationenough into its themes. The issue of al center. His passion for swimming leads race was prevalent, but I never felt like him to clean up the pool in an attempt to the PDR swim team really overcame attract some neighborhood boys to the “It lacked critical emotion and I racial conflict by the end of the movie. sport he so dearly loves. left the theatre robbed of two hours The opposing white swim team was “Pride,” which is based on a true story, and eight dollars.” still prejudiced. The PDR team hardly was just another sports movie, but with a redeemed themselves with one vicunique twist. This is the first time there tory. It ended entirely unsolved. The gangs were also has been a film about an African American swim team, a theme of the movie that could have been taken to a but unfortunately the movie fails to move out of the deeper level. The film made it seem as though the boys classic “struggling team fights for victory, overcomes were really struggling to stay off the streets, yet there obstacles, and ultimately learns life lessons, blah blah was only one scene where not being a member of a gang blah...” Think “Remember the Titans,” but with differ- truly seemed like an issue. The boys never seemed to ent sport, and way more predictable. have any real conflict other than the fact that they were The element of predictability was clearly the down- black and members of a swim team. The whole time I fall of this film. I’m sick of seeing sports movies that was watching, it just felt like something was missing. can’t seem to break out of the classic plot every other I’d have to say my favorite part of the movie was the sports film follows. Although Ellis truly overcame fact that they didn’t drag it out. There was never any some difficult struggles, the film failed miserably to be unnecessary drama or scenes that were shown and the
Pride
film ended after 104 minutes. It was clear and concise. Any longer, and I would have truly wanted to smash my head against the back of my seat. I respect the hard work that Ellis went through to get those boys looking like a decent swim team and the fact that this story was based on true experiences is touching, but the film lacked the ability to portray to the audience just how moving Ellis’s experiences were. The moments meant to be inspirational felt cheesy and overdone. The moments that could have been more inspirational were overlooked. This movie just seemed to fall apart in all the wrong places. I’m sick and tired of the predictable struggling team story line. If there is going to be a movie about a team that has to overcome racial and physical obstacles, it better be unique because those themes have been used way too many times. If you’re ready to waste an evening, I’d recommend “Pride.” Otherwise, save yourself some cash, read the synopsis and I’m sure you’ll be able to tell me exactly how it ends without setting foot in the theater.
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April 2, 2007
Ward Parkway Center 8600 Ward Parkway, KCMO (19, C6)
track and HEAL
photo by katie woods
page 28 [sports]
Junior Daren Chesbrough and sophomore Marcus Webb run in the 100-meter time trials March 14. Both played varsity football in 2006. Webb hopes to be the starting running back and Chesbrough a starting receiver next year.
Football players are using track to rehab an injury or just get faster by [mike hake]
Just over two months ago, junior Daren Chesbrough’s left arm was in a sling to hold his once separated left shoulder in place. He couldn’t work out with the rest of the football team. He couldn’t even do simple tracks like getting dressed without help. With his last two varsity seasons plagued by injury, Chesbrough is focusing on his senior season of football. Chesbrough originally separated his left shoulder in a game early in his sophomore season. After rehabbing, he was able to return only for the last two games of the season. He then spent the whole summer before his junior year rehabbing more, only to re-injure it on the first practice of the year. “It really frustrated me because I knew the doctors had the wrong diagnosis the whole time,” Chesbrough said. “My shoulder was really loose and a lot of motions hurt. Everyone just kept telling me to continue rehabbing.” After six weeks of careful practicing and limited contact during football practice, Chesbrough came back to play in the last four games, and played varsity as a rotating second wide receiver to senior Bobby Miller. Chesbrough had surgery on his rotator cuff in November, and had to wear an awkward, gray sling that held his left shoulder in place until early January. He’s been rehabbing ever since. Now, with his shoulder nearly back to full strength, Chesbrough is ready to focus on his senior season of football and is running track to get back in shape. “It’s been really hard, just because it’s so easy to get out of shape,” Chesbrough said. “Getting back in shape takes much longer, and a lot more work.” With his sling on from late November
to early January, there was little physical exercise he could accomplish. He gained ten pounds. He even had to drop weight training, as there was little more he could do than ride the stationary bike. When off-season football conditioning began in mid-January, it was like starting all over again. “The constant conditioning without a break was extremely difficult,” Chesbrough said. “Running stairs was the hardest part; you use your arms a lot more than you would think.” After winter football conditioning ended, Chesbrough decided to run track to condition himself for his senior season of football, and to help strengthen his left shoulder that he separated in his sophomore football season. “The running motion uses several of the muscles in your shoulder, so I figured running track would be the best way to rehab it,” Chesbrough said. “I feel like [my shoulder] is back up to about 75 percent strength right now.” Head Football Coach John Stonner encourages his players to do off-season training programs suck as speed camps, track and field, or spring football conditioning with Defensive Backs Coach Jason Filbeck. “I really want to see the running backs and skill position players out there running [track],” Stonner said. “It’s exciting because it tells me they really want it.” Every day after school this spring when Chesbrough goes out on the track and runs sprints, he will have his goals in mind for his senior football season. “I just want to be injury free in my last season,” Chesbrough said. “I really want our football team to be contenders at state, so I’m going to do everything I can to help make that possible.”
page 29 [sports]
Fab four look to the future Returning letter winners look to make this season memorable
by [daniel heady]
Name: Audra Stalzer Year: Junior Main event: 200 IM Best time: 2:18.24 On the up and coming swimmers: “We have a young team that’s fresh and ready to swim
Name: Darcy Letorneau Year: Senior Main event: 100 Fly, 200 IM Best time: 1:03.7, 26.3 About the team: “Our team is a diverse group this year.”
Name: Kathryn Munsch Year: Junior Main event: 50 Free, 100 Fly Best time: 26.3, 1:03.4 About the strength of the team: “We look strong and have a lot of depth this year.”
Name: Melissa Melling Year: Senior Main event: 100 Free Best time: 56.7 On the chemistry of the team this year: “We are really close and support each other and we make each other better.” photo by samantha ludington
Scrummin’ around Right: Sophomore Grant Morris (left), David Hobart and Senior Drew Robinson get ready to scrum during a practice. Below: Senior John Brickson is hoisted up to intercept the ball during a practice. photos by tyler roste
Far Above: Senior Sam Lawler gets ready to toss the ball after recovering it from a fumble during a practice. photo by tyler roste Above: Senior Jimmy Allen tackles freshman Scott Rainen during a practice. photo by tayler phillips
April 2, 2007
New Coach on the Block
page 30 [sports]
JV girls’ swim team adjusts to new coach and style by [ally heisdorffer]
When the girls’ swim team found out that former JV coach Marjorie Sherard would not be returning, they were shocked. “I decided not to do swim team again because I just didn’t know who would be replacing her and if they would be any good,” senior Ellie Leek said. Sherard’s retirement was not based on a conflict, but rather just a change in schedule. During the day, Sherard works at Notre Dame de Sion as the swim teacher for the P.E. program. Just this year, her schedule at work got a little more hectic. “I can’t really discuss it and it’s a situation that not even everyone at my workplace knows about,” Sherard said. “Hopefully it’s temporary, but my schedule’s just so unpredictable this year I didn’t ever want to leave Rob or the girls hanging.” Spending her whole day working with the preschool through eighth graders, Sherard then works as a swim
coach for the Blazers on Monday and Wednesday evenings. “My kids swim on the Blazers team I coach during the week, so for me, it was just another way to spend time with them,” Sherard said. Soon after turning down the coaching job at East, Sherard’s daughter tore her ACL, causing her to make trips to physical therapy three or more times a week. “After my daughter tore her ACL, it kind of turned out to be a blessing I turned down the job at East because I need to run her back and forth to the physical therapist constantly,” Sherard said. To replace Sherard, varsity coach Rob Cole found another Blazers coach whom he had worked with previously, Gail Gibson. “Because Gail and I had already worked together, we had some expectations and it was an easy adjustment [from Marjorie],” Cole said. Gibson and Cole had some meetings about expectations for the swim team this year, but other than that there was no training Gibson had to undergo. “I haven’t felt lost at all,” Gibson said. “It turned out to be a really good decision [to coach] in the end. It’s a really great group of girls. What more could you ask for?” Aside from being the assistant coach, Gibson also coaches for Tsunami, another local swim team, in the evenings. Sherard’s retirement may not be permanent, but the job has now gone to Gibson who may choose to continue coaching in the future. “It’s not like I’ve been there for 10 years and someone’s taking my spot,” Sherard said. The coaching staff is positive about the transition and, according to Cole, the girls seem to be taking it well. Above: New JV girls’ swim coach Gail Gibson tries to pump up one of her swimmers during a practice. Left: Gibson and the JV swim team huddle together for a team meeting. Gibson took over after coaching local team The Blazers. photos by Karen Boomer
creative _________________
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the
5
minute guide to spring sports
the five games that will matter the most
3 4 5
May 3- Varsity baseball @ Lawrence Free State- Free State is the only Sunflower team ranked above the Lancers in the preseason poll. Coach Jarrell will have to adjust to having a young pitching staff, likely starting three juniors. May 18- Varsity track @ Regionals- The boys’ team looks to repeat a regional title last year on the back, rather, the legs, of junior Andrew Pennington (see profile right) and senior Robin Kresinszky. May 26- Varsity soccer @ State FinalsThe girls made it to the regional final last year but have the talent to make it to the state tournament this year.
senior•softball
senior•soccer
-Received a full scholarship to University of Nebraska -Plays striker -Will be a leading goal scorer for the team -Was Honorable Mention AllSunflower League player last year
-Qualified in two hurdle events at state as a sophomore -Lettered as a freshman and sophomore -His dad is head hurdles coach at East, also won the state title during high school -Placed 5th in the 300-meter hurdles last year
Foster Tidwell
-Four-year letter winner -Going to Fort Scott Community College next year to play -Plays third base -All Sunflower League Honorable Mention
Chris Fotopoulos sophomore•tennis -Finished 3rd in singles at state last year -Will return to tennis team April 20 after playing in the Easter Bowl, a large national tournament -Ranked #224 nationally in 18 and under boys’ singles -Part of a team that lost no state qualifiers from last year
Tinkering with No-Tolerance an opinion of
Emily True
junior•track
Blair Slapper
April 21- Girls’ swimming @ Lancer Invitational- This meet actually starts April 20, but the finals are on Saturday. Coach Cole has said his team has the experience and talent to win state. April 25- Varsity tennis @ RockhurstRockhurst junior Jack O’Flaherty is a top 100 national prospect in 18 and unders and will be a tough opponent. This is the second time East will have taken on Rockhurst in spring sports, the other coming in lacrosse.
Five games and five players to watch and watch for this spring
Andrew Pennington
photo by samantha ludington
1 2
page 31 [sports]
The Shawnee Mission School District’s no-tolerance policy toward substance abuse by athletes is well-intentioned. By requiring athletes to sign a contract pledging abstinence and threatening expulsion from the team if that contract is broken, the district is trying to combat substance abuse by students. But the plan is a failure. On one level, it fails because athletes continue to drink and to smoke and to do drugs, but even more alarmingly, the policy fails in that it actually aggravates the
very problem it seeks to address. Athletics provide an encouraging and positive environment for students to grow and to learn. By kicking the violators off teams, all the district is doing is taking away the remaining positive influences and activities from those who need them most. Instead of having to struggle through the running, bear-crawls and pushups that an athlete caught drinking would face as punishment at the hands of their coach, violators of the policy are simply sent home to watch television. Most everyone agrees that substance abuse by teens is a problem that needs to be addressed. That isn’t the issue. The question is in how we address the problem. Many other school districts have chosen to either mandate a one or two game suspension or leave the disciplinary decision entirely up to the coach. This course of action is effective because it allows the coach to fine-tailor the punishment to the individual, making it possible to rectify personal problems without merely abandoning the student. Unfortunately our district doesn’t subscribe to this manner of thinking. Instead, we insist on doling out the maximum punishment possible, regardless of the negative affects on students. Dealing effectively with the issue of teen substance abuse involves examining its root causes and attempting to provide help and support instead of non-constructive punishment.
Scott Willman junior•golf -member of Sunflower League Champions in 2006 -Placed second at the Olathe North/South tournament with a 71
-Placed first at Hutchinson 36-team tournament with a 68 -Averaged 74.9 strokes per 18 holes in 2006, putting him in the top 3 in the region compiled by nick ratliff
The drug and alcohol policy for athletes is not achieving what it sets out to do
The advantage, of course, to the no-tolerance policy is that it sends a clear and unwavering message to students: the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco is unacceptable. As SME Athletic Director Gary Howard points out, “Students who go out and make the decision to drink or to do drugs know perfectly well ahead of time what the consequence of their actions will be if they are caught.” But the logic has holes. If I decide to go out and tip the bottle Saturday night, I’m already taking a significant legal risk, even without having signed a contract. It’s not uncommon for the police to bust a party, running down all the partygoers they can and slapping them with a Minor in Possession charge. It’s a dangerous world out there. The legal ramifications of being charged with a crime and having to spend half a year on diversion are so powerful that the additional threat of being kicked off a sports team seems inconsequential. In other words, if I am already committed enough to drinking to go ahead and take that first swig of Natural Light, even in the face of significant legal dangers, the fact that I signed a contract with the school doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s a non-factor. The tiny affect it may have on the decision making of student-athletes in regard to the question of whether or not to drink is overwhelmingly eclipsed by the negatives of the policy. If the policy is intended simply as a scare-tactic to discourage committed students from drinking or smoking, then why doesn’t it hold members of other activities accountable as well? There is no contract required to participate in debate, journalism or the Lumberjack Club. Does drinking eat away at the rhetorical abilities of debaters? yes; the news writing skills of journalists? yes; the pancake eating and tree chopping abilities of lumberjacks? probably not, but still, it’s illegal. My point is that the no-tolerance policy fails, as well, in that it holds certain student groups—sports teams—at a higher standards than others. In the best interest of the students, the district needs to thoroughly reexamine the tobacco, drug and alcohol policy. In doing so, they need to ask themselves which tactic holds ultimate priority: discouragement through draconian punishment or helping students by continuing to provide constructive activities.
April 2, 2007
page 32 [photo essay] Below Olive oil is added to the pesto sauce which will add flavor to the salmon. photo by karen boomer
Far left Senior Franki Triano adds finishing touches to her pesto salmon plate as her teacher, Bob Brassard, watches. Left Triano’s pesto dish won first runner-up in the dinner category which included a scholarship worth $33,000. photos by
sweet taste of success
karen boomer
Two seniors practice for the Johnson & Wales University’s Chef of the Year Competition that took place in Charlotte, NC. Senior Joe Demarco was awarded the grand-prize winner in the dessert category for his Fromage Blanc Strawberry Souffle with Berry Citrus Bash Garnished with Crispy Coconut Tulis. photo by karen boomer
the [harbinger]
Brassard closely watches Demarco as he creates his dessert. As the grand prize winner, DeMarco won a full to tuition to Johnson & Wales University worth $80,000 as well as $1,500 from the Florida Strawberry Grower’s Association. photo by karen boomer