Issue 14

TURN:TO

issue fourteen april 16 2007 Shawnee Mission East 7500 Mission Rd. Prairie Village, KS 66208

39

USA

THE KC BBQ FOR YOU The Harbinger reviews the best-known local barbecue

PAGE 21 39

USA

Shawnee Mission East Class of ‘07 7500 Mission Road Prairie Village, Kansas 66208 **open to unveil your college acceptance

7TH ANNUAL EARTH FAIR Community members attend fair to see animals, do arts and crafts, and learn more about the environment

PAGE 10 39

USA

THE HOT SEAT WITH ADAM BRODY The Harbinger interviews the actor in a teleconference on his upcoming movie. PAGE 20

26 DAYS TO

PROM

while college letters come big and small, seniors find out the

DIMENSIONS of

acceptance

see story on page 12

page 2 [news]

Reshowing the

Art

by [stephen nichols]

Two students at Westwood View stare admiringly through the thin layer of glass that separates them from the art work on display. The shine of the silver jewelry catches the two girls’ eyes and they whisper among themselves.

“Isn’t it awesome?”

“Yeah, it looks so cool.”

What the girls have seen is the newly introduced traveling art show in the East district. The idea for the exhibit came from a group of fifteen art teacher in the district after the Mission Mall district-wide art display was stopped, leaving teachers searching for a new place to display their students’ art.

Two years ago, there was an annual district art show at the Mission Mall. It was a colossal event because of the sheer number of art that was able to be displayed, but when the mall was bought out and torn down, teachers were left without a showcase.

“Mission Mall is something we all miss,” Sharon Sloan, Prairie art teacher, said. “When we lost the Mission mall, we lost our venue.”

Sloan hated to see the exhibit closed. From the younger students, all dressed up, proudly showing their parents what they had created, to the cookies that Panera supplied, she loved it all. So, after she returned from Vertical team training, which works to develop a program designed to give students the knowledge they need to advance, she wanted to get together with the other art teachers from the East district.

Twelve teachers showed up to the first meeting at the Blue Moose to discuss what to teach during art class. Sloan figures that the location of the meeting probably helped the attendance, but regardless, the teachers from East shared with the elementary and middle school teachers what they felt were important concepts for kids to master before entering high school. By the end of the discussion, some teachers had pages of notes and their entire year planned out.

The meetings grew to fifteen art teachers and they were soon trying to think of a new venue that would showcase their students’ work like Mission Mall had.

“We wanted to find a way to show elementary school students what their peers are doing as well as what awaits them at the middle and high school levels,” East design teacher, Adam Finkelston, said.

During first quarter, they brainstormed potential new showcases. Metcalf South and other malls were discussed, but ultimately rejected. Then the idea for a traveling art show arose.

By second quarter, the details were honed down.

First, every grade would be represented in the art show, kindergarten through senior year of high school. Secondly, the art would come from East and the elementary and middle schools that feed into it. Third, every school would be responsible for supplying the art for two grade levels. Finally, they decided

all graphics are rough sketches. do not freak out. yet.

by [foster tidwell]

After losing their venue, teachers across East district have found a new way to display their students’ art

B R I E F S

Whirley Ball Tournament The Whirley Ball Tournament to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma society will be held April 24 at PowerPlay from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

that having two art shows would be more effective, so at any one time, their will be a show at two schools in the district.

By the end of third quarter, they were ready to unveil the show.

Mollie Steinwart, the art teacher at Brookwood, says it best when describing the overall appearance of the show. “[It] is the progression of art from kindergarten to twelfth grade,” Steinwart said.

The art ranges from a first grader’s project, a picture of a clown made out of brightly colored pieces of construction paper to a high schooler’s elaborate craftsmanship of a silver ring.

The show is relatively small. It covers two of the walls at Westwood View, but it offers different opportunities to the students as opposed to the display at Mission Mall. The fact that the show is in the school for a week allows kids to examine the art multiple times.

“It was really creative, all those different colors,” James Simmons, a sixth grader at Prairie Elementary, said. “I saw it three times a day.”

Lauren Proffer, a senior at East, who has a silver jewelry box in the show, hopes that the by seeing the high school pieces, younger students will be inspired.

“I think [the art show] is a great thing because then kids can find something the want to do and look forward to,” Proffer said.

This has held true for Simmons, who is now interested in taking ceramics and drawing in high school after seeing the show.

The responses to the show have been overwhelming positive. When the display was at Prairie, Sloan put up a comment board and a pen. The board is now filled with comments from teachers and students alike. The students have stuck primarily to phrases like “Awesome”, “Sweet”, and even “Wowza!” The teachers are more detailed in thanking the students for their contributions and creativity, but overall, the show has already been a success in its first year.

Both Sloan and Finkelston are optimistic that the traveling art show will become an annual event, just like the Mission Mall was. “[This] just opens it all up,” Sloan said. “[Next year], it could be an evening event, like an art gallery opening.”

By being exposed to all the different art that encompasses a kindergarten through twelfth grade exhibit, the younger students are able to get the full effect, which is important to Steinwart.

“The kids look around and think ‘Whoa, I could do that when I’m older.’”

Five Minute Film Festival The Five Minute Film Festival is Friday at 7 p.m. at the Ward Parkway Theater, located at 8600 Ward Parkway. Admission is $3. The top movies from those submitted will be shown, with the top three movies being awarded with prize money.

Repertory Plays The Repertory Theater class will present original one act plays today, tomorrow, Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. in the Little Theater.

NAHS Spring Auction NAHS will be hosting the Spring Art Auction on Saturday. Ninety-five students are donating a piece of original artwork that will be presented in a silent auction. The pieces range from paintings to photography.

All proceeds will be donated to NAHS to purchase a new piece of equipment for the art department.

Host families needed Host families are needed for exchange students who will arrive in August from Europe, Asia and South America. For more information, contact Jane Bigler at 492-1969.

Celebrate Success Luncheon The Celebrate Success 2007 luncheon, which will benefit Shawnee Mission Education programs, is Thursday at the Overland Park Convention Center at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $50 for the luncheon and $100 to attend both the luncheon and the Patron Party the evening before. The luncheon and program is held to pay tribute to the state and national achievements of the students and staff of Shawnee Mission. Tickets are available at www.smef.org or by calling 993-9360.

Late Start The late start has been changed from Wednesday to tomorrow. School starts at 9:40.

Due to concerns about the server and what is streaming through, the popular site, YouTube.com has been blocked from all district computers.

“I don’t like the block, in Geography I needed a video from YouTube but couldn’t use it because it was blocked. “

“Blocking YouTube is ridiculous, it shouldn’t matter when we are at school.”

Sophomore Ian Bryant

Freshman Tom Yeast

“I love YouTube, but I understand it should be blocked, school computers should have school use.”

What’s

“I think it’s stupid, YouTube is a good source of information.”

Senior Joe Wheeler

Junior Erin Aitkin

the [harbinger]

Photos by Anna Leek and Mackenzie Wylie

No More Sharing

NEWS

new

with...

Driving Age The bill that would have increased the restricted driving age from 15 to 16 and prevented teens under 18 from talking on cell phones will not be considered until next year.

However, a new bill was passed by lawmakers allowing police to pull over and ticket anyone between 14 to 17 not wearing a seat belt, whether they are a motorist or a passenger.

Traveling Tunes

page 3 [news]

Band and orchestra leave Thursday for performances Orchestra: Boston This Thursday, 80 students are going to Boston, MA to play a concert as well as sit in on rehearsals of professional orchestras. According to orchestra director Jonathan Lane, the trip has been planned for about a year and will cost students around $800.

After going to Montreal two years ago, orchestra members are ready for another trip.

“Going to Montreal was a cool way to learn about music, because you’re immersed in the music world,” senior Christy Beeder said. “It’s different to play in a big city and see a professional orchestra.

I’m excited to do that in Boston.”

According to Lane, the trip will be both an educational and a team-building experience. They will be seeing the Boston Symphony perform, which they’re all very excited for.

“We’re seeing one of the most famous conductors of his time, Andre Previn,” Lane said. “Seeing the Boston Symphony perform in Boston is like seeing the Red Sox in Fenway Park.”

For some students, this will be their first trip with the orchestra—and they’re ready.

“I didn’t get to go to Montreal, so I’m excited for

by [erin morrissey] this,” sophomore Chelsea Olson said. “Going to State with orchestra was fun, so this will be like that, but with more people.”

The students will perform at a festival and be judged, but they’ll be doing more than just making music. They have a very full itinerary of sightseeing. One day, they’ll be going to Salem to see a witch trial museum.

“We’re going straight there after we perform one day,” Beeder said. “But we have these huge all-black uniforms that we’ll be wearing, and there’s no time to change. .”

The orchestra isn’t learning any new music for the trip; it’s the same material they’ve been working on since January.

“Everyone’s pretty sick of it,” Olson said. “There’s not much more we can do with it, but we still work on it and make sure it sounds right.”

For some, it will be their first trip; for others, their last. Either way, one thing is universal: the excitement.

“It’s my last year,” Beeder said. “So I’m excited, because I want to end well as a senior.”

Band: Chicago

art by ren li

Band students will be going to Chicago, IL on April 19. They are going to play at local high school, Bowling Brook, and will see the sights of Chicago while they share their music with other high schools.

According to band teacher Kim Harrison, they’ll visit several museums, including the Shedd Aquarium, one of the nation’s best aquariums.

“It’s all educational stuff that we’ll be doing,” Harrison said.

They’ve been planning the trip since August. They’ve wanted to go for two years, but Harrison finally got the go-ahead in August of 2006.

“The students are excited to go,” Harrison said. “The band members who are seniors now went to St. Louis when they were freshman, and they’ve been wanting to go on another trip ever since.”

The trip will cost the students $350 for three days, which includes their flight and the price of their hotel. The band didn’t have to learn any new material purely for the Chicago trip; they’ll be playing the songs they learned for the state competition, which is on Wednesday.

“It’s not so much the museums and stuff I’m excited for,” Senior Carlie Copeland said. “It’s more just hanging out with the people from my section. That’s always fun.”

Due to budget cuts, Applebee’s in the village closed

A Bad by [elizabeth mcgranahan] Every break and occasionally on weekends, ‘06 East graduate and KU student James Levy made the 45 minute drive from the KU campus, home to Prairie Village. He didn’t make the drive for a special party or even for friends. He made it for work. Levy worked Carside for the Applebee’s in the Village ever since he was a senior in high school. Unfortunately, Levy’s two and a half years of work came to an end when Applebee’s announced March 21 that they plan to close 24 of their locations in 11 states. Among the locations was the restaurant in the Prairie Village Shopping Center, which closed April 1.

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar is the largest casual dining chain in America. There are more than 1,900 restaurants in 49 states and 16 international countries.

“When deciding which stores to close, we look at several factors,” Applebee’s representative Laura Tigges said.

Some of the factors that are taken into consideration include: the restaurant’s profit, distance from another location, competition with nearby restaurants and visibility to customers.

Applebee’s hopes that by closing the 24 locations, there will be a very positive outcome for the company as a whole.

“By closing the under-performing locations we can allow more focus to be on the well performing locations. It helps us to make the remaining locations stronger,” Tigges said.

According to Tigges, the closing of these restaurants will displace a total of 60 to 70 people. Managers and associates are able to apply for another location in order to keep their job, although all waiters, waitresses, hosts and hostesses were let go. Levy was given a job at another location on Metcalf and Johnson Drive.

Junior David Isenberg was a host last summer at Applebee’s, but now must look for another job for the upcoming summer.

“The things I will miss most about working at Applebee’s are my coworkers,” Isenberg said. “Most of them were really nice.”

Senior Ben Ashworth was a host at Applebee’s for almost 8 months, up

until the closing.

“I enjoyed working at Applebee’s,” Ashworth said. “It was a great job to have as a high schooler because I made extra money off of tips. It made it easy to have cash available.”

Even though the village location is closing, there are still several Applebee’s close. Locations include in Mission, Antioch, Shawnee and Oak Park.

“When closing a restaurant, we make sure there is another location close enough for our customers to still enjoy our great food,” Tigges said.

From the business point of view, the closing of Applebee’s was somewhat expected.

“Independent restaurants seem to have better success in the Village,” Prairie Village Shops Manager Donna Potts said.

Restaurants such as The Blue Moose Grill and Minsky’s have been around longer and have been generating more business than Applebee’s.

“When I heard about the closings, it made sense,” Levy said. “We didn’t have great business and even on weekends we were fairly slow.”

From a customer point of view, however, the closing was sudden. The Prairie Village neighborhood had grown used to having Applebee’s as a choice for meals and hanging out.

“We had several regular customers,” Levy said. “There were a few people who would come in every day and sit at the bar or some families would order carside several times a week. I’m sure they will miss Applebee’s.”

However, Minsky’s manager Ryan Carter was somewhat pleased with the news of the closing.

“Even though we serve different types of food, I would hope that the closing of Applebee’s would get us more business,” Carter said.

Although they are closing several locations, there are no plans for any additional closings.

“I can promise you that Applebee’s is as strong as ever, and these closings don’t foreshadow more closings to come,” Tigges said. “We will remain a great and large chain.”

photo by tyler roste

page 4 [community]

OTHER APPLEBEE’S LOCATIONS MISSION 6800 Johnson Drive Mission, KS 66202 103RD ST. 1046 W. 103rd Street Kansas City, MO 64114 METCALF 11000 Metcalf Ave Overland Park, KS 66210 SHAWNEE 11500 West 63rd Street Shawnee, KS 66203 RAINBOW BLVD. 3404 Rainbow Blvd.

Kansas City, KS 66103 OAK PARK 12242 W. 95th Street Lenexa, KS 66215 135TH 13201 State Line Rd. Kansas City, MO 64145 GRANDVIEW 12416 S Hwy 71 Grandview, MO 64030 350 HIGHWAY 9330 East 350 Highway Raytown, MO 64133

page 5 [Editorial]

the

The Drug

Crackdown

ronment where they don’t have to think or reason through moral dilemmas on their own. The ability to exercise free will and decision-making is curtailed and atrophied during a significant period of adolescent mental development.

If a student’s decision not to smoke marijuana is based solely on the immediate threat of punishment, when that threat is eliminated, there will be no moral reasoning mechanisms in place to perpetuate the commitment to abstinence.

Free from the forced direction of school administrators, students will struggle through early adulthood unequipped with a critical element of moral individuality.

Such a cold, thoughtless environment is disturbingly reminiscent of the milieu depicted in George Orwell’s 1984.

In his novel, Orwell paints a society in which Big Brother has almost absolute control over all its subjects.

Although life, for the most part, runs smoothly and efficiently, humanity is plagued and doomed by the lack of individuality born by free will.

Of course, unlike the prisons of 1984, the Oak Grove School District doesn’t plan on using torture or mind control to standardize and subdue its subjects. But however superlative, the example nonetheless proves applicable in that it illustrates the consequences of stripping individuals, in this case students, of their free will.

Drug abuse by students is clearly a problem. It demands the immediate attention of our society and needs to be dealt with through a strong, revamped drug education program and a host of positive activities made available to students.

What it does not call for is a mandatory drug testing program that seeks to quell student misbehavior by removing free will and privacy. The consequences of such a policy will doubtlessly prove more detrimental than could ever a few grams of dried, greenish-brown leaves. And although equally prone to ignition, they will carry with them considerably less mirth.

AGREE DISAGREE ABSENT

D

Last month the Oak Grove School District, located near Blue Springs, MO, announced plans for a comprehensive new drug testing policy to take effect next fall. The plan, which mandates that all students either parking on campus or participating in extra-curricular activities submit to random drug testing, has sparked the bowl of controversy across the nation.

The cause for indignation is evident. This policy clearly violates students’ implicit right to an appropriate degree of privacy. By doing so, it provides significant distractions to classroom instruction and strips students of individuality.

The overzealous plan reduces high school to little more than a locked, brick and concrete structure for coerced learning.

The point of this editorial is not to directly question the broad legality or constitutionality of such a policy—although such questions are indeed pertinent—but rather to examine the shoddy reasoning behind the implementation of this particular policy.

In order for students to learn effectively, they require a school environment free from unnecessary distractions. This basic educational principle is echoed in a wide range of district policies regarding dress codes, internet censorship of video game websites and anything else that distracts from the learning environment.

But drug testing students proves a far greater distraction than video games or even the most dazzling display of female midriffs ever could. There’s a certain embarrassing, even traumatic, element to being pulled out of class by the SRO officer and asked to urinate into a cup—even if he offers a friendly smile and a jaunty pat on the back as officer Betzer is so wont to do.

But body fluids aside, the mere presence of a random drug testing policy creates a monumental and omnipresent distraction: Who just got tested? Who’s about to be tested?

Did they pass? How long has it been since I last smoked?

These are all questions and concerns that would constantly permeate both hallway and classroom conversation. The subject would no doubt prove insidious and distracting, interfering with learning by occupying the minds of every single student; even those who don’t use drugs.

More disturbing yet than the element of distraction created by such a draconian policy is the general mood of institutionalized obedience that it inevitably effects. Students are no longer directly responsible for their own health or moral decision-making. Instead, they are placed in an envi-

9

0 D

3

The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board

“It’s awesome, I feel like its designed to get kids help and that is a good thing” Social studies teacher Brian Hanson

“It might cut down on drugs a little but kids will still find a way and it would be expensive” Junior Derek O’Grady

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

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

What does East think “In the corporate world lots of companies require it. It also depends on the benefits but I can’t see the benefit in this situation.”

HARBINGER staff

“They have to have some type of reason. Some times there are indicators but it sets people up for a conflict” Asst. Principal Dr. Mersch

Officer Betzer

April 16, 2007

The full year subscription rate is $12 for a bulk mail subscription and $18 for a first class subscription

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]

Choosing A Different Path

Post-graduation options to consider other than college an opinion of

Military College Career Athletics Successful People Without College Degrees: •George Washington •Abraham Lincoln •Elvis Presley •Eddie Murphy •Lance Armstrong •Walt Disney •Bill Gates

Not too long ago, we juniors got out of our U.S. History classes to have a representative from the Mike Hake University of Missouri talk to us about our futures in college. She cracked lame jokes, rambled at times and was way too cheery, given that it was 8 a.m. After her power point presentation was over, I heard most of my classmates talking about where they wanted to go to college. Me? I was just thinking about how I was going to fake a pass to the library in study hall next hour. But everyone around me knew, or at least thought they knew exactly where they would be going to school after serving their time here at East.

That got me to thinking about my own post-high school future. Would I really be making good use of $5060,000 dollars if I decided to attend Kansas University? I had always figured I would study Journalism at KU, but writing for The Harbinger has given me some second thoughts on that prospective career (Dear Editor: Please delete that last sentence so I don’t get kicked off staff.) Although I won’t be footing the majority of the bill for my college education, I’d rather not waste much of my parents’ retirement fund to study a field I might not even enter.

That’s when I realized how big of a waste of money a fouryear college can be if the student is still unsure about his/ her career choice. At the age of 18, many students who enroll at a four-year college won’t know what they want to do with the rest of their life. Some of the happiest middleaged people I know still don’t know what they will do with their life. My point is: If you go to college without knowing for sure what your career is going to be, you could be wasting tens, sometimes hundred of thousands of dollars for four more years of general education.

I don’t mean to say that four-year colleges are a waste, but there are better alternatives for certain students who are still unclear about which career field they will enter.

One of my friends once told me that he would probably go to Johnson County Community College before he went to a four-year college, if he went to one at all. To this, I sarcastically responded, “Nice goals, dumb…” Well anyway, at first I didn’t really appreciate the logic in this decision.

“Johnson County Community College has incredible programs that work closely with the Kansas Board of Regents, which makes the transition between four-year and two-year colleges much easier for students,” Counselor Heather Royce said. “I think more students should look at it.”

The more I thought about it, though, it made more sense. In my friend’s case, his two-point-something GPA might not be worth investing $60,000 in at KU, so JCCC, where he can still get an education in his career field, might be a much more sensible option. According to the 2006 CollegeBoard College Handbook, tuition and fees at JCCC costs $1860 per year, far less than the $11,049 you would pay at KU for tuition, fees, books and room and board.

Whether you decide to go to a four-year, two-year, or no college at all, the most important thing is determination. Anyone can be successful if they put their mind to it and take advantage of the right opportunities. I’ve heard the phrase, “Nothing worth having comes easy,” and I think that applies to all students in planning for the future, because achieving success in any career take hard work and dedication. I don’t know whether I will enroll at KU in the fall of 2008. I might not even go to junior college. But I do know that I’ll be successful in whatever I decide to do, and right now, having that attitude is even more important than having a set plan for college.

Statistics on College •28 percent of adults have four-year college degrees.

•Working adults with Bachelor’s degree earn nearly twice as much as people with high school diplomas.

•90 percent of the fastest-growing job markets require a college education. source: www.msnbc.msn.com and www.ed.gov

source: www.careerbuilder.com

Lancer Voice “Yes my stepbrother’s friend who is really successful did not go to college.”

Patrick Klein, 9

Is it possible to be successful without a college degree?

“Yes, my dad gave up his dream and couldn’t attend college because he had to take over the family business.”

“Yes, but I think people with college degrees have more of an opportunity than people without them.”

Mallory Stevenson, 10

Molly McGonigle, 11 the [harbinger]

“Yes but it depends on how you define success; its your personal choice.”

A.C. Maurin,12

Fashionably Ignorant

page7 [opinion]

My last instant selfesteem booster was a green Tshirt. I pulled it on and felt all my problems disappear. I could float Laura Nelson through seven hours of school in a haze of self-righteousness – everyone smiled at me.

My kelly green T-shirt screamed “Stop Genocide in Sudan!”

It made me feel warm and fuzzy knowing I was supporting such a great cause.

But the last time I wore the shirt to school, my little T-shirtthat-could did exactly the opposite. It pointed out to me that I knew nothing.

My good mood came to a screeching halt during sixth hour, when I raised my hand to ask a calculus question. But instead of explaining problem 43, my teacher turned to me and said, Laura, it’s great that you’re so passionate about the Sudan. Can you explain the issue for us?

In a nutshell: Laura, do you understand the cause you’re supporting? Do you even know why you’re wearing that Tshirt?

I opened my mouth to explain, and realized: no. No, I didn’t.

It hit me that knowing, understanding and advocating a cause was completely different from what I was doing.

I wasn’t supporting the end of genocide in Sudan.

I was just wearing a T-shirt.

Although this isn’t the first time I’ve blindly supported a “good cause,” I know I’m not the only one. It happens everywhere, all the time. Every person in the school who owns a Darfur shirt can’t possibly know all the details about the conflict, or even about the organization that’s trying to help. I know I didn’t.

And as much as I wanted to feel like I was doing something constructive, my ignorantly supporting the end of Sudanese genocide did nothing useful. The sad truth is, if you don’t know or

an opinion of

care about the cause you’re “supporting,” then you aren’t supporting it at all. You’re only pretending to. You’re only fooling yourself into thinking you are.

I don’t usually blush, but as I tried to explain, I could feel my cheeks getting hot.

“Darfur is a region of Sudan, and people there are um… being massacred… by the ah, military, which is obviously bad…”

I was humiliated. I wanted to rip off my shirt, hide it under a jacket, anything – because I’d been exposed. Underneath my shiny mask of social activism, all I had really done was jump on the bandwagon.

Well, maybe it doesn’t matter if you understand the cause.

That money you donate will still help someone somewhere, right?

Yes, that’s true. Your money probably is helping someone, although you’ll never be sure. But you won’t be able to explain, or advertise, or even answer questions with anything besides, “Oh, it’s a good cause,” because that’s all you’ll know to say.

But sometimes, charities don’t need your checkbooks.

They need your enthusiasm and passion and – most of all – your knowledge, so that you can help them recruit, or spread the word, or even just heighten awareness. And to do that, you have to know the basics.

Your impact for your cause can be so much bigger if you understand why you’re wearing that T-shirt or plastering that bumper sticker on the back of your car. Frankly, if you don’t, you’ll look like an idiot. I did.

For example, most people know that the (RED) campaign has something to do with AIDS. But if someone stopped you on the street, could you tell them what Bono and friends will do with the money from your inspi(RED) tissue tee?

And when everyone wore Livestrong bands, how much did you know before you slid the bracelet on? Were you supporting (a) cancer awareness, (b) cancer funding, (c) support for cancer patients or (d) all of the above? Could you have told someone?

Passionless, uninformed charity is sometimes too easy to find. www.igive.com lets you shop online for products from over 30 stores, and up to 26 percent of the sales price goes to the charity of your choice.

Sure, it’s easy. Yes, it probably helps someone. But there

art by Ren Li

Students wear clothing and advertise causes they don’t understand

isn’t any color. It explains nothing. It’s passionless. Lifeless.

And life, understanding and passion should be at the center of every cause you choose to support. Enthusiasm for a cause can be its best advocate.

After school that day, a borrowed North Face safely covering my bandwagon mentality, I slipped upstairs to the journalism room to research Darfur. In 10 minutes, I’d found out all the basics – enough to know that yes, the cause I’d bought a T-shirt for was worthy of my support.

I washed the shirt and hung it in my closet and I’ve worn it since then, but only after I felt prepared enough to talk about the issue. It doesn’t really work as a self-esteem booster, but it’s a fair trade-off.

Now, I can act as an advocate for the cause and yes, help stop genocide in Sudan - because I know what I’m talking about.

So take 10 minutes out of your day after school, that time you could spend wandering around the house or wasting time on Facebook . Sit down and do some research about a good cause.

Pick that cause and support it because you want to, because you believe in it and what it stands for. Because you want to make a change. Because you care enough to spend time learning about it, so you can be an advocate.

Not because you want to wear the same shirt that everyone else does, or because it’s only a click away online.

So what is really happening in Sudan?

In the Darfur region of western Sudan, the Janjaweed militia group has been carrying out a genocide that targets African villagers. Despite an international consensus regarding the involvement of the Sudanese government in backing the Janjaweed, President Omar Bashir has repeatedly denied his support of their activities, even as he supplies them with helicopters and heavy artillery to terrorize villagers.

It is estimated that nearly 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. Rape of both women and children is prevalent, even once families have been relocated to the theoretically safe refugee camps. The international community has had trouble generating support for sending a multinational peacekeeping coalition to the region, and African Union troops are unable to establish peace in the region.

p

are yK s e t ur o co hot

oo nB

me

r

Ways to donate: [to unicef]

$3 $22 $101 $244

large wool blanket

First Aid kit

April 16, 2007

water kits for 10 families

medical supplies for 1,000 people for three months

page 8 [features]

the

magic touch

step by step

the card trick

Junior’s abilities to perfom magic contribute to many aspects of his life by [ronan mcghie]

photo by karen boomer

Junior Brad Crist sits in a booth between his fellow swimmers.

His friends crowd and hover around him, hanging on his every word and movement. Crist’s clinched fist holds a fork; he asks someone to blow on the fork and magically, like a time lapse of a dying flower, the fork wilts and breaks. His audience is awestruck and bombard him with the question, “How do you do it?”

“How do you do it?”—it’s a question Crist gets a lot. In addition to being in the top 10 of the junior class with a 4.8 GPA, he is outgoing, increasingly social and an integral member of a swimming dynasty. His gift and passion for magic helps him juggle the heavy social, academic and athletic demands.

Crist has been interested in magic since he was a child, when a friend showed him a basic card trick. He was fascinated and figured out how the trick was done. Since that day, a passion for magic grew in Crist; a passion that, along with his competitive spirit and natural intelligence, helped him to become well versed in the art of sleight of hand.

“I’ve always been interested in David Blaine and street magic… so it was a good reason to learn tricks,” Crist said.

With the increasingly heavy workload of a competitive student-athlete, Crist has kept up with magic as much as his schedule allows. But recently his interest has been peaked by another one of Crist’s passions: swimming.

“I’ve kept with magic partly because of the swim team,” he said.

A member of the champion East swim team, Crist has become an increasingly decisive part of the state championship squad.

Seemingly unrelated, Crist’s background in magic has proved useful as a member of the swim team.

It has become a tradition for the swimmers to eat dinner at an Olive Garden in Topeka on the eve of the state championships, where they tell stories and Crist performs some of his magic to help the team forget their pre-match jitters and relax.

“It became a fun tradition that soothed our nerves and got our mind off the competition,” senior George Hart said.

Besides the therapeutic value to the team chemistry, magic has also helped Crist.

“Magic is about introducing a trick and knowing your audience,” he explains. “ I’ve learned how to relate to other people with magic.”

Crist’s appreciation for magic and the accompanying sleight of hand has taught him to be a performer and to better interact with people. He uses it to help break the ice, to get to know people better and to impress his friends.

“I was in Mexico with some seniors, and someone said ‘Hey, you gotta see this kid.’ It helped me get to know people,” Crist said.

His magic tricks, success in school, and blossoming social life leave people asking, “How does he do it?”

Ask him and he’ll say magic.

the [harbinger]

Show the complete RED cards and have viewers pick a card

2

1

Riffle through deck to find the CHOSEN card

3

Sneak a PEAK at the card

4

Chosen card jumps to FRONT

Entire DECK of chosen card

6

photos by karen boomer

5

Flip over deck and it becomes BLUE

Going Green

Environmentally conscious student organizes projects to benefit community by [tom grotewohl]

Junior Dylan Lehrbaum is trying to “go green,” and he wants the rest of the world to join him.

“There are steps people can take in their lives to work to a more ecologically-friendly society,” Lehrbaum said. “They’re cheap and easy, and if everyone did them we would have a much healthier planet. But it all starts with the individual.”

As an individual, Lehrbaum strives to practice habits that are as environmentally sound as possible: he turns off the computer when it’s not in use, he conserves water, he even outfitted his home with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), a more efficient alternative to incandescent light bulbs.

“These are things anyone can do,” Lehrbaum said.

“They’re good for the environment, and they actually save you money in the long run.”

Lehrbaum’s green revolution starts at home, but he’s not content with merely fixing his own lifestyle: to reach his goal of a healthier planet, others must change as well. As president of the Environmental Club (which meets every other Wednesday after school in room 403), Lehrbaum organizes programs to promote environmentalist thought and action.

This year Lehrbaum began the first annual Environmental Art Competition, a “contest to connect students with other students thinking about the issues.” Students were to submit artwork and an essay with an environmental theme to be displayed and voted for at the Earth Fair, April 7, another event Lehrbaum helped organize. Lehrbaum, in coordination with the Prairie Village Environmental Committee (of which he is also a member), raised prize money from various private organizations to distribute among the winning entries.

“Overall, the project was not very successful,” Lehrbaum said. “We received only a dozen entries and only one student wrote an essay. But it was our first year. Next year will be better.”

page 9 [features]

Top 5 ways you can help

5.

Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use

1.

Wash only full

the environment

loads of laundry and dishes

4.waTake you

Lehrbaum has grown used to low turnout for his projects. This year’s shoe drive paled in comparison to last year.

The project, designed to cut down on production and consumption by redistributing donated pairs of shoes to impoverished families around the world, received hundreds of pairs of shoes last year, but this year there were a sparse few. Similarly, the SHARE recycling project responsible for emptying the recycling bins around school rarely has enough participation to muster the manpower required.

“At the beginning of the year we had five students,” Lehrbaum said. “Now we have only two. I don’t think it’s that teenagers don’t care about the environment, they just don’t think what they do matters. But it does.”

While participation in Lehrbaum’s projects may dwindle, his resolve in helping the environment does not. Lehrbaum is strongly committed to the environmentalist cause, both in and out of school.

“For the past 11 years I’ve attended river cleanups at the Missouri River and Blue River,” Lehrbaum said. “It has given me hands-on experience in the conservation field.”

Lehrbaum is a certified level two water quality tester with the Missouri Department of Conservation. He received training from the MDC, qualifying him to test for nitrates and other chemicals in the rivers to monitor their health.

This experience has inspired Lehrbaum to pursue a short career with the US Geological Service as a hydraulics technician, for which he will be graduating a year early. While Lehrbaum has plans to eventually attend Northwest Mis-

it in sh ins r car t the tead o a c driv of w ar ewa ash ing y

3.

Cop on b y and p pap oth si rint des er of

Shop with 2. a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags

souri State University to get a degree in wildlife biology, he has had enough of high school.

“I don’t feel that high school is really helping me any more,” Lehrbaum said. “I know what I want to do, so I’m going to go do it.”

And Lehrbaum will “do it” whether he has the rest of the world on his side or not. Whether alone or with others, Lehrbaum is willing to dedicate the rest of his life to going green.

“The environment is a huge part in constructing our future,” Lehrbaum said. “If we don’t help save and restore the environment now, we might not have much of a future left.”

Gender Choir Tuesday 17 6th and 7th Hour

page 10 [features]

Eyeing the Earth Fair

(Left) A student who came to the Earth Fair on April 7 plays with the sulcata turtle from the Environmental Education room. The Earth Fair was put on by science teachers Jim Lockard and Tom Heintz. (Top) East seniors Lacey Meyers and Amelia Mallett paint glass during the Earth Fair. (Right) A student holds the carpet python with the help of student volunteers. The East Earth Fair was one of the many celebrations nationwide on Earth Day’s 37th birthday. photos by karen boomer

Advertise In the Harbinger

Computer gone awry?

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KC Computer Guy! To Contact: Phone: (816) 645-9566 E-mail: kccompguy@gmail.com

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page 11 [features]

It Takes Two

Students take multiple languages in order to further their knowledge “Ça-va?”

It was an easy question, one that sophomore Taylor Harris didn’t even need to think about to answer.

“Estoy bien, gracias,” she said in perfect Spanish.

Her reply would have been perfect, except she was in French class.

Harris is in Spanish IV and French III, and although learning multiple languages has proven to be hard, she still finds the classes beneficial.

Harris’s experience with two languages began in middle school. She enrolled in Spanish I in seventh grade, and in French I in eighth grade.

“I started taking Spanish just because, and I’m not sure why I took French, but I’m glad I did,” Harris said.

Senior Jess Holmes, who is in Latin V and French IV, was inspired to take both languages because she used to live in England.

“I took French because I want to live in Europe,” Holmes said. “And I thought Latin would be a really good foundation, since they are both romance languages.”

Holmes found that learning Latin was easier because of French, but sometimes she still slips up and speaks the wrong language in the wrong class.

“By the time you get to French VI it’s more relaxed, but sometimes I’ll still call my Latin teacher Madame,” Holmes said.

Senior Abby McCrummen, who is in Spanish VI and French I, decided to take French when she realized she had an open class period.

“I had wanted to take French, and I love traveling,” McCrummen said. “I was in Costa Rica with Amigos for six weeks where we didn’t speak any English, so I thought ‘Let’s add another language.’”

Now McCrummen has Spanish third hour and French fourth hour, which makes it hard to transition from Spanish to French.

“In Spanish we don’t speak any English, so when Madame Losey says ‘Bonjour’ my brain is still in Spanish mode,” McCrummen said.

Although the hardest part about being in both classes for Harris is that both her classes are upper-level classes, she has also found that being in both classes can have its easy points.

“Especially with verbs, it is the same idea,” Harris said. “They conjugate the same, and some words are similar.”

Like Harris, McCrummen has found that similar words have helped her French class.

“When I see a word in French, I think, ‘oh I know what that word means’,” McCrummen

said. “So I never study my French vocab.”

Being in two languages can also help to learn a third language. This was especially true for Harris when she was in Italy. Although Harris doesn’t speak Italian, she found that the language was a mix of Spanish and French.

German and French teacher Karen Pearson had a similar experience when she moved to Germany in 1979. Although she had never learned German formally, she was proficient in French, and had been enrolled in other language classes, including Spanish, Hebrew and Latin. This helped her to learn German faster.

“Before I went to Germany, I knew what it took to learn a language, so I think it was easier for me than others to learn it,” Pearson said.

Both Harris and McCrummen plan to continue with at least one language in college.

After college, Harris would like to have a job that involves traveling, and McCrummen has decided she wants to be an elementary school teacher. She plans to major in Spanish in college, but isn’t sure about French, because it is less prevalent in the United States.

“French is an extracurricular thing, a person in front of you might be speaking Spanish, but you never hear people speaking French here,” McCrummen said.

But for now, McCrummen enjoys being in both languages.

“Being in both really does help, they compliment each other and you get to learn both cultures,” McCrummen said.

Holmes would like to use French to study abroad during college.

“I don’t think I will take Latin in college, but maybe branch out and take something more practical, like Spanish,” Holmes said.

“Next year I want to study abroad in a French country, maybe Morocco.”

Although Harris, McCrummen and Holmes haven’t experienced too many difficulties in being in two languages, Pearson suggests that students get a grasp on one language before starting another.

“There is a danger in enrolling in two,” Pearson said. “You need to get a good round in one, and if they are in the same language family, get two years in between.”

Pearson still believes that taking multiple language classes can be useful broadening a student’s cultural perspective.

“For every language you, learn you learn to see the world in a different way,” Pearson said.

photo by tyler roste

by [paige cornwell]

How to say “Hello”

In the 10 most common languages 1.) Mandarin: “Ni hao” (Nee HaOW) 2.) English: “Hello” (Hel-oh) 3.) Hindustani: “Namaste” (Nah-MAH-stay) 4.) Spanish: “Hola” (OH-la) 5.) Russian: “Zdravstvuite” (ZDRAST-vet-yah) 6.) Arabic: “Al salaam a’alaykum” (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAYkoom) 7.) Bengali: “Ei Je” (EYE-jay) 8.) Portuguese: “Bom dia” (bohn DEE-ah) 9.) Malay-Indonesian: “Selamat pagi” (se-LA-maht PA-gee) 10.) French: “Bonjour” (bone-JOOR) photos courtesy of: http://nbsailing.en.alibaba.com

April 16, 2007

Information courtesy of: http://www.soyouwanna.com

page 12 [features]

Seniors cope w ith college reje ctions when they retu rn home and fin d

Unfolding it, she read, “‘This was our largest applicant pool in the school’s history.’ Almost every letter says this.”

Royce doesn’t have a specific answer for why so many schools are receiving record numbers of applications.

“Is it the Common App?” Royce asks. “Is it the online app? I don’t think there’s one set reason why.”

It was the Common App that allowed senior Manali Gadgil to apply to eight schools.

“I applied to a lot because I was indecisive,” Gadgil said. “I only got into a few so applying to that many helped.”

She was only accepted at KU, San Diego and Wisconsin-Madison. She was rejected from UCLA and Berkely and wait listed at John Hopkins, Wellsely and University of Miami-Florida.

She has a 4.0 GPA. Her first choice was Berkely, but didn’t even garner a wait list spot from it.

“I just didn’t get in,” Gadgil said. “It had a million options I like, a big school, it was a good location.”

Royce said that applying to more than six or seven schools could be an indicator for why a student didn’t get in.

“I think if you’re applying to more than six or seven schools, the student needs to take a look at their criteria and their interests,” she said. “Instead of ten selective schools, take time to apply to four or five and tailor your application and essay to that particular school.”

By tailoring, she means not sending the same essay to ten schools. She means taking the time to write each essay to let each school know why the student deserves to attend.

Royce waves her arms wide to illustrate what she calls the “scatter approach” – applying to 10, 12, 15 schools in hopes of getting accepted to one, which usually involves students sending identical essays to many schools.

“It’s not the approach we suggest,” she said.

The scatter approach was the approach used by senior Tyler Enders, who, like Gadgil, applied to eight schools. He, however, got wait listed or rejected from every school except KU. “Everyone – teachers, counselors, peers – was pretty positive about me,” he said. “So I had hoped and I kind of believed I would have gotten into one or two schools beside KU. Then I started to realize after about two [rejection letters] that it wasn’t looking too good.”

He does echo Royce’s statement that tailoring your application could give you more visibility.

“I’ve heard that if you apply for some specific school scholarships then it gives you a separation from the rest of the group,” he said. “It allows the readers to see more of your work and get to know you as a person.”

Enders regrets that he didn’t apply for any extra scholarships to gain more visibility, but he doesn’t regret how he spent a lot of his high school career and is happy with his 4.18 GPA. “Last year, I was really involved with extracurriculars, both in school and not in school and I really don’t regret the grades I got that year,” he said. “But freshman and sophomore year I would have worked harder.”

Still, Enders is satisfied with attending KU – he says that even if he had gotten into Penn, KU still would have been a viable option.

Royce encourages students to have safeties and many options when applying to schools to reduce the impact of rejections and wait lists.

“We try to continue to give kids good advice to be reasonable about where they apply to and to have at least one safety,” she said. “I think the majority of or kids do a good job of being smart and realistic about where they apply.”

THE SMALL ENVELOPE by [libby nachman]

Senior Claire Ryan wants to be an architect. So she applied to the best of the best in architecture schools: University of Virginia, Washington University in St. Louis, Boston College, Davidson College. She got rejected from Davidson and wait listed at the other three. Ryan was accepted at only KU, K-State and St. Louis University.

She has a 4.5 GPA and is ranked twenty-second in the senior class.

“I kind of expected to get into UVA, which was kind of stupid,” Ryan said. “But getting wait listed at three was pretty rough. Once I’d been wait listed at my third school, I was pretty disappointed.”

After getting accepted to KU’s Masters of Architecture program, however, Ryan decided to stay in-state.

“Only 28 out of 800 kids are accepted,” Ryan said. “It made a lot of sense to stay in-state with the best architecture program I would get and a cheap education.”

Still, Ryan isn’t the only one who has had to change her original dreams of college after getting slapped in the face with the harsh reality of college rejections. This year, a record number of students nation-wide applied to top schools, according to a New York Times article, resulting in the lowest acceptance scores ever.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) State of College Admission 2006 Executive Summary, 73 percent of colleges reported that the number of applications had increased from 2005.

Eighty-five percent of colleges reported that they received an increase in the number of online applications; 49 percent of all applications were received online, which was an increase from 43 percent in 2004 and 35 percent in 2003.

The trend continued this year. For example, at Columbia University, they received 21,343 applications, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year, resulting in an overall acceptance rate of 8.9 percent. And these numbers have drastic consequences at East.

“From what we are personally observing from our students and list servers with NACAC and Wall Street Journal articles, this year has been even more competitive than past years and is getting ever more selective as years go on,” counseling coordinator Heather Royce said. “I have seen one, two, three, four letters from Ivies [Yale, Dartmouth, Penn and Brown] and the results were not happy. There might have been one [acceptance].”

C ping with Rejection Safety Schools

The best way to deal with rejection is to have another option. When applying to safety schools, consider schools you wouldn’t be disap- pointed attending. Students tend to see safety schools as the worst case scenario, but they don’t have to be. Pick schools you can actually see yourself attending and enjoying for the next four years. information courtesy of The Princeton Review

What to Do if You’re Wait-Listed

Colleges put you on the wait-list if you’ve met all the admissions requirements, but they’ve already accepted the maximum number of applicants. You’ll be offered a place if space becomes available. If you get wait-listed, decide whether you really want to go to school there before you agree to stay on the list. Also, investigate the conditions attached to being wait-listed: you may lose priority housing or financial aid options. To boost your chances of getting accepted use some of these tips.

a better sense of your chances for ¸ Get admission. that you’ve already achieved ¸ Realize something.

WAIT LIST CHANCES Stay 1 in 3 ¸ involved.

27% ¸ Request another Student’s likelihood of being wait listed last year Last year’s percent of students admitted who were originally on the wait list Percent of colleges that use a wait list

¸ ¸ ¸

35% interview.

Write a letter to the admissions office.

Reconsider the colleges that accepted you. There could be better options.

Study hard. Colleges may ask for grades later on. information courtesy of collegeboard.com

It’s not just the Ivy League schools that are the causes of thin envelopes for students. Senior Emily Riley was rejected from the University of Texas – her top choice. It was the most selective school she applied to, with an acceptance rate of 50 percent.

“I didn’t realize what it [the letter] was and when I found out, I was freaking out,” she said. “I was shocked. I was pretty upset because I wanted to go there.”

Riley did get into KU, Baylor and Southern Methodist University and will be attending Baylor next fall.

“I really like Baylor’s campus and it’s a really good school,” she said.

Royce attributes schools’ declining acceptance rates to the increased amount of applications that schools receive.

As an example, she pulled out the report letter that the school received from Colgate, detailing the results of East students’ applications.

E-Mail the Admissions Office As hard as it may seem, it’s important for you to

ö

contact the admissions to see why you didn’t get in.

From your test scores to not fully conveying your personality, they’ll usually be able to tell you what went wrong and even the positive aspects of your application. However, don’t write a bitter e-mail; you won’t get a favorable response.

the [harbinger]

ˆ ¯

Move On

Look at the positive aspects of the college you will be attending. Get involved in this school and forget about the old one. After all, you are going to be spending the next four years in this school. If you try hard enough and succeed in this new school, you won’t regret not getting into the old one. Getting some sleep right after you get the letter can help. Usually when you wake up, you’ll feel better.

Rising COLLEGE CASH education cost equals: by [nathan yaffe]

$240,000.

According to Sandy Baum, a senior finance analyst for College Board, that’s what a four-year education at the DC-based George Washington University, the most expensive college in the US, will cost for incoming freshmen.

“That’s more than I’d expect to pay for a new home,” Baum said.

George Washington is not unique, however. According to College Board, it recently joined a group of more than 40 elite colleges where total expenses—tuition, room, board, books, travel costs and the rest—come to more than $50,000 annually.

“Tuition at these universities is increasing an average of nearly five percent annually,” Baum said. “That means freshmen next year will be looking at more than $60,000 a year by the time they graduate.”

In recent Congressional testimony, Baum dubbed these colleges “the financial elite” as she and other education experts called for a return to affordable education. Their testimony, in part, is the product of growing concern about education costs, loan repayments and the availability of college education for lower income students.

However, the quandary of unmanageable educational expenses extends past elite private universities. Figures from a recent College Board report indicate that tuition at four-year public colleges—the preferred option for 39 percent of graduating seniors—rose 6.3 percent from the previous year, which doesn’t include additional costs for books and housing. According to the same report, this increase brings the nationwide average cost for public schools to nearly $13,000 with out-of-state tuition. In public schools in the Midwest, that figure is even higher at nearly $15,000.

Given these circumstances, school officials like East counselor Laurie Lamb say it’s no surprise that the price of education continues to dictate many students’ college choices.

“The costs are truly staggering,” Lamb said. “More people are having to choose based on finances, but this isn’t a new situation… Cost has always been a huge factor.”

This familiar factor, however, is receiving more media attention than ever before.

“I remember 15 years ago when I was fixated on the $30,000 mark, and now everyone’s talking about $50,000,” Lamb said.

Is it worth it? Both Baum and Lamb say that decision needs to be hashed out between the student and the parents.

That’s exactly the situation senior Taylor Cantril found himself in when he was accepted to Washington University in St. Louis. The school—frequently called “Wash. U.” by students—is another university flirting with the $50,000 figure. In the end, that daunting sum played a major role in Cantril’s eventual decision to turn down Wash. U. “The school sent me financial projections for the next four years when they accepted me,” Cantril said. “By my senior year, they estimate that total costs will be more than $53,000.”

That figure includes a $6,300 increase from their current cost of $46,400, which puts

Comparing Costs:

Wash U. vs. KU Washington University Projected Net Cost: 2007-2011

2007-2008: $46,400 2008-2009: $48,700 2009-2010: $51,200 2010-2011: $53,700

Kansas University Projected Net Cost: 2007-2011

2007-2008: $16,238 2008-2009: $17,260 2009-2010: $18,384 2010-2011: $19,504

page 13 [features]

CRUNCH

their rate of increase well below the national average.

“My parents told me that covering those costs would be a significant burden for the family, especially with two more kids going to college after me,” Cantril said. “But they said they’d do their best if I felt I absolutely had to be there.”

Cantril, like many of Lamb’s students, decided that going somewhere with less prohibitive costs would be a better option, despite the school’s formidable academic reputation. Now he’s opting for DePauw, where the net expenses of $37,000 are softened by the $26,000 he won in scholarship and financial aid.

Students looking for financial help often don’t end up landing big scholarships, however.

That’s why the issue of paying for college has received attention both from well-known universities and Congressional leaders in recent months.

Congress passed a bill early this year that halves the interest rates of governmentsponsored loans—bringing them from 6.8 percent down to 3.4 percent.

But while this move is a step in the right direction, some student aid experts, such as the publisher of FinAid.org, Mark Kantrowitz, downplay the effect it will have.

“It’s a great sound bite—cutting rates in half,” Kantrowitz said, “but it’s an incredibly expensive proposal with very little student aid benefit.”

And, as Baum noted, it’s widely acknowledged that this move will have little effect on the first priority for student aid reformers: getting more low-income students to enroll.

“It’s great to decrease interest rates, but that 50 percent reduction translates to a decrease in monthly loan payments of only $30,” Baum said. “For students in the lowest income brackets, that hardly means anything at all.”

Aware of this point of view, one liberal arts university in the Northeast— Hamilton College—has taken additional steps to make tuition affordable. Starting in the 2008 school year, incoming freshmen will no longer be offered merit-based scholarships. Instead, 100 percent of aid money will be distributed in the form of need-based assistance.

Although this move will only affect a tiny number of students—Hamilton’s incoming freshmen class has less than 500 people—it’s symbolic of a shift towards making college affordability a priority at more institutions nationwide.

“I think it’d be great if more colleges moved in this direction,” Baum said. “And it’s obvious, based on their efforts, that they’re trying to set an example for other schools to follow.”

Providing educational opportunities for low-income students also ranks high on Lamb’s list of priorities. However, she’s unsure if simply switching to need-based aid will do the job.

“I don’t think when it’s an all-or-nothing scenario, it’s ever a true fix,” Lamb said, referring to the fact that Hamilton’s plan eliminates merit-based aid altogether.

No matter the method, however, there’s one point on which students, counselors and even the College Board itself are in complete agreement: making college available to more is a must.

“Without a doubt,” Lamb said, “that’s always the priority.”

Working the Web: Stellar tips from tuition to aid 1. www.FastWeb.com

FastWeb has information about more than 1.3 million scholarships

worth more than $3 billion. These scholarships range from local and college-specific scholarships to nationwide competitions. The site also includes detailed college profiles.

2. www.FinAid.org

FinAid includes a broader range of information, and even offers

expert advice from college financial planners that can help advise students on what loans to take, how to find scholarships and how to save for college.

3. www.FAFSA.ed.gov

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which

the vast majority of colleges use to determine need-based aid. The website provides instructions for filling out the application, as well as deadlines for applying and status updates from colleges.

4. www.findtuition.com

FindTuition is widely acknowledged to have the largest database of

scholarships on the web, with well over 3 million scholarships listed online. It also has advice on how to reduce and balance monthly loan payments.

page 14 [features]

Each year Newsweek publishes its pick of the best high schools in the nation. For some institutions though, it’s about more than... by [thomas brazlavsky] For the first time since Newsweek’s rankings of the “1,000 Top U.S. High Schools” began in 1998, Jay Mathews, creator of the list’s ranking system, predicts that Shawnee Mission East will make it on the list next year.

Mathews, a Washington Post education columnist, wrote in a recent column, “It has taken awhile, but this has proved to be a slow process for many schools.”

The reason behind East’s expected listing is new district policies for AP testing that are set to increase the number of students taking the exams. While local educators are excited over the prospect of East being recognized, the issue – and the list itself – is still under question by some administrators, who wonder why East was not on the list before and have reservations about the standards used for the rankings.

“There are some problems with the type of system [Mathews] developed,” Superintendent Marjorie Kaplan said. She believes that some information given by the criteria is valuable, while not definitive in determining the rank of a school.

Mathews’ system takes the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests taken by students at a particular school and divides that by the

The Policy

Currently: Any student who wants may take an AP course, although most require a signiture from a previous teacher in the subject area. An appeal proccess is available. To enter the International Baccalaureate program students must achieve an 85% on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in 8th grade, and maintain at least a B average.

Next Year: Any student may take AP classes, but to have it marked with the AP distinction you must take the AP Test. Any student who wants to may participate in the International Baccalaureate program, no 8th grade test scores required although it is reccomended that students planning on enrolling in the IB program take a few honors classes during their freshman and sophomore years.

The List

number of graduating seniors that year. If this ratio is bigger than 1.000, the school is on the list; last year, East’s ratio was 0.815.

Students enrolled in an AP class next year will have to take the test for the class or have the “AP” designation taken off their transcript. A policy is already in place this year where a student with an “A” in an AP class can waive the final if he or she takes the exam. Also, criteria for entrance into the IB program was relaxed, allowing for more people to consider applying. These factors could provide more incentive for taking the exams, though the policies were not implemented specifically with rankings in mind.

“Having the chance to take an AP test is an excellent experience for a student who is college bound,” Principal Susan Swift said, adding that the new policies are just meant to move the district forward. “We’re in the natural progression of change.”

Kaplan added, “We didn’t change the rules to try to make the list,” explaining that being ranked on the Newsweek list is not necessarily vital for he district.

But questions have arisen over the effectiveness of the Mathews’ standards in judging a school. Test scores are not taken into account when compiling rankings – only the number of tests are counted. Administrators have also argued whether the system ranks an entire school, or just that school’s AP program.

Mathews’ rationale is based on the fact that AP and IB courses and tests provide a college-level experience to students, and preparation for college should be the goal of modern high schools.

“Sixty-seven percent of high school kids go to college,” Mathews said, “and AP tests give students a taste of college.”

If most students in an AP course end up taking the test, therefore, that means that their teacher has adequately prepared them for that test. If many students in a school take the exams, then that school prepares students well for AP – and thus, for college. Kaplan tried to explain how she views these standards.

She said that it is difficult to develop a universal ranking system for U.S. high schools because there is no one test that every student takes and every school administers. Also, she said that the reason AP scores are not looked at is that they may not be available to Mathews. His data may be enlightening as to schools’ AP and IB programs, but does not necessarily reflect how good those schools are.

“He’s trying to get a gross idea of how many schools are administering AP tests, and taking the leap from that saying those schools are the good schools,” Kaplan said.

“He provides some good information, but I don’t see how it discriminates as to which schools are good and which schools aren’t.”

Formula Top Ten

The

The Challenge Index is formulated by dividing the number of students taking AP or IB exams by the number of graduating seniors.

In 2006 East had 365 students taking AP tests or IB exams and 448 graduating seniors.

365 = 0.815 448

The

School Name - Location - Challenge Index Rating 1. Talented & Gifted - Dallas, TX - 14.128 2. Jefferson County IBS - Irondale, AL - 9.914 3. BASIS Charter - Tuscon, AZ - 9.909 4. City Honors - Buffalo, NY - 8.140 5. Stanton College Prep - Jacksonville, FL - 7.973 6. Eastside - Gainesville, FL - 7.535 7. Suncoast Community - Riviera Beach, FL - 7.532 8. Science/Engineering Magnet - Dallas, TX - 6.275 9. International Academy - Bloomsfield Hills, MI - 6.127 10. Academic Magnet - North Charleston, SC - 5.833 Shawnee Mission East - Prairie Village, KS - 0.815 the [harbinger]

Another problem that critics see is that Mathews’ system does not include community college programs, such as College Now, in its count of college preparatory exams.

“If we added College Now and AP and IB [tests into the formula], we’d probably be one of the top schools,” Swift said.

“College Now courses are as good as AP.” Mathews considers College Now and other community college credit programs to be easy alternatives to AP. “I’m willing to wager that [College Now final exams] are shorter and less demanding than AP and IB exams,” Mathews said.

However, in many courses, students have a choice of taking either AP or College Now. According to counselor Barb Johnson, the choice between the two programs depends on multiple factors, chief among which is whether the student is planning on staying in-state for college or going out-of-state.

“If a student is doing College Now credit and already knows they’re going to KU or K-State (which is about 200 students in the graduating class), and finds out that the credit already transferred, do they need to take the AP?” Johnson said. She adds that this decision of whether to take the AP test comes in the spring, and therefore the students who choose not to do so have not been prepared any less in that class.

These criticisms have led some to ask how much it really matters for a school to be ranked on the Newsweek list.

Kaplan said that when the list first began, she received many calls from parents asking why their child’s school was not on the list. However, once more time was taken to examine the way the schools were ranked, more questions began to arise about the criteria rather than why Shawnee Mission Schools were not included.

“We want courses to be rigorous; we want students to be ready for college...whether we make the list or not,” Kaplan said.

As Mathews’ main goal is to ensure that today’s schools prepare students well for college, Johnson said that even without being ranked as one of the top high schools, East does well in college preparation. “”I get feedback all the time from graduates who say, ‘I was very well prepared for college. My friends in college were stressing about a paper or assignment, and I wasn’t.’

I get that frequently from former students at a wide range of colleges, and to me that’s proof [of East’s academic excellence],” Johnson said.

Kaplan said that the Shawnee Mission School District is ranked highly in other criteria, but that the district is not perfect.

“On the one hand we like to think that Shawnee Mission itself is a leading district in the country - and our students do very well on college entrance exams,” Kaplan said. “But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement.”

The

Expert

Jay Mathews has been a reporter for the Washington Post for 34 years and currently covers education topics for the publication. He is the developer of the “Challenge Index,” a system for ranking public high schools which is used by numerous publications and educational institutions across the country. In a recent article, Mathews said he was “baffled” by how Shawnee Mission East had failed to ever make the Challenge Index. He cited a lack of push for students to actually take AP or IB tests as a reason for this discrepancy. www.washingtonpost.com

page 15 [features]

Right A member of the Blue Knights Jazz band, senior Patrick Montgomery played 11 trombone solos throughout the performance. As well as playing trombone, Montgomery has been playing piano, and is planning on majoring in music.

All That Jazz

Above: Seniors Quinn Jackson, Carly Copeland and sophomore Jacob Hamilton practice alto saxophone for performance.

Above Although junior Jack Peterson has been playing the trumpet for seven years, this is his first year as a member of the Blue Notes Jazz Band. “Classical band and Jazz band are different because the atmosphere and feeling of the music is different,” Peterson said. Because there are only four trumpet players and four spots to fill, there are many trumpet solos. Peterson performed two solos during the show on Saturday.

On Saturday, Jazz Band students from Shawnee Mission East, Mission Valley and Indian Hills collaborated to perform the Jazz Showcase at Unity Temple. photos by mackenzie wylie

Right Trombone player and drum major Cole Spickler, second from right, has been playing music since the fifth grade. He got involved as a drum major his junior year when he wanted to try something new. “I’m tall and loud,” Spickler said, “so it worked out really well.” Spickler plans on continuing to play in the marching band while he’s attending K-State.

page 16 [spread]

Two brothers sibling’s tim

try, n u o C r i e ving th r e S r e t f A f east o s r e b m e family m g to n i t s u j d a are Students

The typica l high scho finds scho ol, sports, and a source o f stress – b ut i ine having one of you rs in Iraq figh ting. For fr esh Matt Payn e and his so ph brother M icha ity. Their st el this was ep -brother Ch deployed to Iraq.

When 23-y ear- old Ch Payne, en listed in th e ar was a matt photos courtesy of families er of carry ing a family trad from a lon with his gre ition. He co g line of m at grandfa m ilitary men the civil war. H – starti e and his fa r who fought for the union arm ther talked nior year c y the about ame to an his enlistm in th end. Chris military co ent as h didn’t hav uld get him e the best concentra to college. grades a ted b So Mission So in 2002 he enlisted a efore he made the n nd ext ste uth. fter gradu ating from When Chri S h awnee s was stil see him oft en because l in high school Matt and Micha he lived w a common el did no ith his mo interest in m.The bro sport that go with ou thers did sh b ro t w u g it h h t their fathe them toge by [ally or watch a ther. They r, John Pay KU heisdorffer] in the Republicgoame. However, once Chnrie, to play football, baskweou tba f Korea the s left for h It’s been a is first ass y saw even “There’s no time to look back and ignme less of him his four ye year now that Chris . has been h ars abroad wonder if you made a bad decision,” , but Matt ome since go fight. T can still re he served he family Jess said. “You just have to shoot.” memb sat a nervously waiting his round taking picture er the day he left to When Jess returned home for s together departure “It was a re . and talkin the second time, Elon noticed ally soberi g, know if he n g e v e n t fo is r going to co several changes in her brother, the me and fo thing , but r m e e v e b ry a ck one or not,” Ma we were a greatest one being his growth in ll thinking tt said. “No . You don’t didn’t wan it -we didn one said a t to go, but maturity. ’t nyreally exp he knew h back.” e ct e the wo h a d “He has really grown up and to. We all ju st prayed h rst. He After two y e come ears in Ko now he’s way easier to talk to,” tioned in R rea, Chris amadi wh w a s Elon said. “He’s really good at d e p loyed to Ir ere he was to clean ou aq. sent out w t insurgen giving advice and now I feel ith an M60 He was stats and dea Chris’ fam gun in a h l with road ily knew a more comfortable calling him.” umvee side bomb emails. W bout his jo s. h b en he got e Jess didn’t want to discuss xtra time h from what sent in lo specific pe e ng group ople or ma his difficulty with the transike short te would write persona things had le l le p g h tters to o o tt n e e n violen tion from the war environcalls. He to want to sc ld the fam are the fam t, but he didn’t give ily that ment to back home, but Elon details ofte ily and wo keep their n. He didn uld tell the hopes up. has noticed her brother’s ’t m e verything Despite wh was fine to aversion towards surprises. news could at Chris told his fam ily, they st be difficult “We have to go in and ill worried . This was would rea . Reading especially d about th the wake him up by tapping e hard for M death tolls next to die o ichael whe a . n d p ra y n him on the feet,” Elon th he a t C hris would When Matt M n’t be the read storie said. “If you surprise him, concerned s about pro .One of his te st s he’ll start to attack you a n d g reatest fea who didn’t te rs was hav the war’s cost he gre su because it has become w ing to face would be p pport the war. He be th o th gan readin repared to er people instinct for him.” g the news defend Ch “It’s rough fri ris. more so h w h e n e Although it was so meone say a mistake,” his s M w e a tt sh said. “The ould back difficult for Jess to brother ha y’ve never of war or th For s a chance had a love at it is transition at times, of dying so it takes to and I’m going to d one over there. M get him ba y returning to the war ck. su ally, as a h exp it against m [When people made pport him and whate for a second time was comments ver y brother. safe.”

He is over ] I took it p “ there fighti ersonan opportunity Jess Matt and h th n g in , k k e e is family k ping us gladly welcomed. packages ept in con realiz of food an ta ct w ith Chris b d candy. T “I was kind of to busy to y sending he is his was all find him c they sent h excited to go back im because are time w he was because I enjoy everyo what I do,” Jess said. “You grow to like that environment and sort of start to miss it.”

Jess returned from Baghdad on Nov. 20, 2006 and now resides on a base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky with his wife. His five-year contract is up this Nov. at which time he plans on returning to the University of Alabama to finish his degree. Elon, who is also planning on attending the University of Alabama, will be a freshman when Jesse is a sophomore.

“It’s weird because he’s seven years older than me and we’ll be in college at the same time, but it’ll be a lot of fun,” Elon said.

Instead of pursuing his criminal justice degree, Jess is now going to focus on saw someone finance and business. Jess doesn’t plan on signing up for the army in the future wounded or once his contract is up. killed, or saw “He’s still my fun brother, but so much more mature,” Elon said. “He has really grown up in the best way possible.” dead body.

g n i n r ReTu

Home

d sniper in n a t u o c s a s a g in After serv turns senior’s brother re

photos courtesy of families

Shooting a gun is instinct for junior Elon Zora’s older brother, Staff Sergeant Jess Zora. Growing up on a farm, he did a lot of hunting as well as target practice. After his freshman year in college at the University of Alabama, Jess chose to sign up for the army in attempt to do what he loved as well as gain knowledge for his intended major of criminal justice. He was sent to fight in the war for the first time in March 2003. “[Shooting] was always just something he was really good at and enjoyed,” Elon said.

His first term in the army was spent as a member of the infantry.

“We were the guys that kick in the doors and shoot,” Jess said.

Jess had spent the previous four months in basic training for his position in the infantry. The training was intended to prepare each man for his physical and emotional strains in the next months they would be spending in Iraq.

“We basically walked through that whole country,” Jess said. “We got about two hours of sleep a night and were carrying these huge backpacks, but that’s what we trained for.”

Jess and his infantry squad were among the first troops during the ground assault in the actual war. Pushing up from Kuwait, they walked through the country, headed north while fighting any resistance met along the way. He and his troops ended up in Mosul, a city in Northern Iraq where they settled for the end of the war.

After spending 11 months in Iraq, Jess was allowed to return home for almost two years. While he was home, Jess continued his training and also got married.

He and his wife were married for seven months before Jess got called to fight for his second term in Southern Baghdad, but this time he would be trained as a sniper.

After returning home from his first term in the war, Jess decided to try out to be a sniper. Jess was then awarded the title of scout after being selected to a group of 30 out of 700. He then spent the next three days undergoing an intensive training session to go from being a scout to a sniper. Only three out of 30 were selected for the position.

In preparation for battle, Jess and the other selected snipers practiced their shooting tactics as well as participating in field craft, an activity designed to stimulate the duties of a sniper. During field craft, Jess would camp outdoors for about a week and play a war game in which each player would act as though they were actually in battle. Snipers learned how to sneak up on people, stay hidden and engage their targets.

“It gets your mind geared towards going over there,” Jess said.

His position as a sniper brought Jess into a highly intense atmosphere where he was left with only two other men to complete their missions.

“If we were caught, we were dead,” Jess said.

Jess’s primary mission was to identify targets and shoot, but his secondary mission involved observing cities to gain intelligence for ground troops to advance into some areas.

the [harbinger]

Iraq,

Service me

47%

embers returning from Iraq in 2007...

% 14% 6%

e

a

had an experience that left them easily startled.

wanted help for stress, emotional, alcohol or family problems.

1%

had thoughts that they might be better off dead or could hurt themselves.

Source: 193,131 Defense Department Post-Deployment Health Assessments from January through August

STRESS

Nearly one in 10 Iraq veterans were diagnosed with PTSD according to a Pentagon study.

More than one-third of U.S. soldiers received psychological counseling after returning.

Nineteen percent met the military’s “risk criteria for a mental health concern” such as PTSD or depression.

Mental health screenings of veterans found that 21,620 out of 222,620 veterans assessed for a year ending April 30, 2004 were found to have PTSD, which can lead to nightmares, flashbacks and delusional thinking.

Iraq veterans have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Of those with PTSD, 80 percent said they had witnessed people being killed or wounded or had participated in combat and fired their weapon. information courtesy of http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11609834/

ilies

Sophomore’s father returns after serving in Africa for a year and a half by [ally heisdorffer] When Master Sergeant Jackson Sherard landed in Virginia, en route to Kansas City, he and his fellow officers were greeted with a standing ovation. Although the returning troops did not know anyone in the Virginia airport, the civilians, seeing the men in their uniforms, applauded them and their efforts. Jackson walked through the clapping terminal to make the transition to his next plane; the plane that would take him to see his family after spending the past eight months in Djibouti, Africa.

“I can’t really describe what it was like to see my family again,” Jackson said. “Everybody had grown! I was just glad to be home.”

Living on a base that had been built in 2002, Jackson was responsible for stopping the flow of terrorists from Afghanistan and Iraq into Djibouti as well as helping the community by inoculating herds and civilians, building hospitals and digging wells.

Although their efforts weren’t going unnoticed, many people had no idea there were troops stationed in Africa. Even Jackson was surprised when he found out he would be stationed there.

“I always thought it was more of a question of when I was going to Iraq,” Jackson said. “I didn’t even know anything was going on in Africa.”

Although there were similar operations all over the globe, not many reporters were as interested in the events Jackson personally participated in.

“We weren’t getting much press, but I wasn’t surprised,” Jackson said. “Not too many people knew about all the good things we were doing in Africa. It just wasn’t as exciting as what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

It wasn’t the first time Jackson had left the country for the Marine Corps, but the last time had been when his children were babies.

“It didn’t really matter when I left the last time, but this time everyone knew exactly what was going on,” Jackson said.

For sophomore Spencer Sherard, his fa-

photos courtesy of fam

ool studen t time to en d work as joy them. by [natalie eisenach] “It is a tou imag gh experie worry quit nce to dea siblings ea l with,” Mic hael said. other peop bit, but you can get “You hman through it le in your b to e w cause you Y o n u a re going th can have h homore know rough the ope to be fo the loss of same thin rtunate en s a reala loved on g. o u gh to e like man someone in y other fam not grieve over hris was Iraq have ilies that h had to do.”

John was e ave had xcited for ized what h is so n from the responsib hris beginning ility he ha service 21 . He also re d taken on years him rmy, it al. He had se self and re entail. rved in the alized wha g on t a Chris’s job “I was pum would mes ped for him soldier tra .

A ft e r all, [comb ins day-in ing at] is what and day-o enemies a an infantr ut to do; e nd come o he y ngage you ut victorio At the sam r country’s u s. ” his se e ti m e th e more of a dangers o reali f having C d the hris at war was in harm ty to his father. Now bec that Chris ’s way. ep was in com ame Matt misse bat he dh e “I love bein aving Chris’s anima te g d a p round him humor to a . He is reall ersonality around. ny situatio ot y humoro n. It was w and then h us; he brin eir e is gone. gs hare It was a big d when you see him year. It wa so often impact no s weird no uld t se t having th empty.” at presence eing him for a whole all around. It When Chri felt kind o s fi ent f “My proud nally came back it w e a st s a big relief moment w re -deploym for the fam as to gree en ily.

Chris for th t to Fort Carson in Ju t Chris’ brigade upo n their ly 2005,” Jo e first at th e arrival ce hn said. “W pride a fath remony, I hen I saw er could fe felt that gre el and reli Michael w atest sense e f; h e a w s a re s lieved to h o home safe back to th ave C and sound f e way it ha .” d been befo hris back and have e changed a verything re he left. lot Matt felt th cused, and from war, but for th at he had e d b ri e tt v e e r. n .

He is more e Now C year and is mature, fo planning o hris has been study ing at JCCC n staying fo transfer to for the past r another another sc y h e a o r, where h ol li The war h e plans to asn’t consu ke KU. experience med Chris’ but he usu s life. He’s happy to d ally tries to He has vid iscuss his avoid talk eos ing about These scare from the humvee o the violen f his units’ d Chris an ce. off-base ex d soldiers would be co cursions. because th ming back e didn’t kno .

Matt watch w if they ed one of th a narrow o e v id e os. It was fi ne -way ro lmed whil ad li pletely sile e driving d nt except fo ned with buildings own and cars. It r the moto tension as was comr of the ca the soldiers r.

T h look e scene wa “It was a p s filled wit retty vulne ed for car bombs. h of [the cars rable situa ] could hav tion. It wa s eerie bec e gone off.

Matt said. ause anyo They were ne waiting fo Chris share r the wors s h t,” is experien ells. Usuall ce through y, he talks the videos about the he troops and storie war he is tr and suppo s that he ying to rais rt them. He st iends from e awarene ill keeps in his unit, th ss for to e u y s unit got se ch with m were very any of his clo nt r Chris it is back to Baghdad – th se. Soon after he wa s released important ey will be , there for a for everyo d how the ne to know nother yea y were tre r. a th te e troops w d. Chris ke periences ere receive eps up wit in Iraq help d h politics a to “[My relati s well, and onship wit shape his opinions. his h Chris] is king , ‘Wow a lot st , I hope he comes back ronger. When he le ze you can ft I was .’ You put ’t take it fo stuff in pe r granted. in reserve rspective a We’re than s and he co nd kful uld get call with him. ed back so he is back, but now I know him I try to spe a lot more yone”. nd a lot of , he is con nected a lo t more wit h

feeling the

Chris Payne

s at East deal with the their older me spent fighting in the war

page 17 [spread]

April 16, 2007

ther’s absence didn’t register until later.

“When he walked away in the airport, I didn’t cry, but it was weird knowing that I wasn’t going to see him for half a year, or even forever,” Spencer said.

While Jackson was away, his family members, which include former swim coach Marjorie Sherard, Dana, 14 and Spencer, began going about life without him.

“After he left, I kind of got used to him not being there,” Spencer said. “It was like [his absence] was normal.”

Although he was away, Jackson e-mailed regularly, sending pictures and telling his family as much as possible of his whereabouts.

“It’s always harder on the family because I knew where I was and what I was doing and that I was okay,” Jackson said. “The hardest part was worrying about my family worrying about me.”

Although the main goal of Jackson’s mission was to keep terrorists out of the Africa, much time was spent trying to promote the welfare of the civilians.

“I’ve never in my life seen such poverty as I have seen in Africa,” Jackson said.

Trash piled two people high. No bathrooms or public sanitation. Poor health issues and a lack of food. Jackson’s greatest task quickly became trying to help the community as well as survive amongst the poverty-stricken country in the 140 degree, humidity soaked weather.

Upon his return home, Jackson spent a majority of the next two months sleeping and trying to get back to his normal routine.

“We were excited he was back so it was hard to realize how much he needed the sleep,” Spencer said.

Jackson will be retiring from the Marine Corps in February of 2008 after 20 years of service. Until then, he spends one weekend a month, as well as two weeks in the summer, in Belton training and touching up his skills as a communications chief.

Because he only has six months of service left, he has no plans on returning to the war.

Sitting on his front porch a couple of weeks after his return, Jackson, who lives just a few blocks from East, heard the school band practicing outdoors.

“My greatest satisfaction was sitting there and listening to them play,” Jackson said. “Listening to them, I just thought that that’s why I do it and [being away] was all worth while.”

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Good ‘Times’ Nashville based Kings of Leon score with new album, ‘Because of the Times’” by [johnny mcguire]

When the brothers of Kings of Leon released their debut album, “Youth and Young Manhood,” in 2003, most music critics were transfixed on their garage band sound. Their southern roots gave the band a southern rock/punk edge with distinctive vocals that were hard to pin a name on. While achieving some success in Europe, the band still struggled to win American listening ears.

Two years later, when their second album was released, appreciation finally began to take place. The energetic “Aha Shake Heartbreak” made it sound like all of the members had been through some emotional hell. Their veteran fans approved of the album, and America was finally beginning to catch on to the Skynryd-sounding group.

The new release, “Because of the Times,” sounds like the band has taken in tons of different southern influences, creating a dark blend of rock and roll.

The album starts off with a seven minute ballad called “Knocked Up,” which tells the story of a pregnant girl and her boyfriend. The first couple minutes are slower, with eerie high pitched guitar notes. When the song picks up and the guitars get loud, the song sounds like something you’d hear in a dark creepy sewer.

“On Call,” the third song on the album, sounds like Dave Matthew’s “American Baby,” but with a gloomier feel and broader vocal range. The repetitive chorus of the song annoyed me at first, but after a few listens I found myself singing along to it. The song is catchy and its repetitive chorus helped make it one of my favorite songs on the album.

One thing that makes this album easy to listen to is the diversity in its songs.

There are songs for Lead singer Caleb Followill rocks out at a recent concert. The tour was to support hard rock fans, punk the release of their new album, “Because of The Times.” kids and even friends

of the folk scene.

“Fans” and “The Runner” sound like two smooth folk ballads that could have come out of the 1960s. The band’s religious upbringing and Bible belt background can be heard in “The Runner,” with its references to Jesus and other biblical stories. The vocals sound similar to Robbie Robertson, from the influential 60s group The Band. A similar yet smoother “Fans” made my foot tap, and the drum beats made me want to dance. Matthew Followill’s lead guitar riffs spice up the soft sounding acoustic songs, and the range of guitar volume make them diverse.

The punk side of the album is discovered in songs like “Black Thumbnail” and “Camaro.”

4 out of 4 stars Still, the more punk sounding songs don’t go overboard on sound or volume. The songs are a mixture of traditional “mountain man” music with a touch of My Chemical Romance. “Camaro” sounds less punk than “Black Thumbnail,” and the guitar solo sounds similar to The Black Crowes.

The guitar and bass are really introduced on a new level in “Charmer” and “Ragoo.” “Charmer” has a dark, muddy sounding vibe that almost seems like it came from some haunted voodoo hut “...seems like it came from in the Deep South. “Ragoo” could be considered the most complex song on the album. It has catchy some haunted voodoo hut in lyrics similar to the second album. The chorus is unexpected, and like the songs says, catches the the Deep South.” listener “with his pants down.”

At first this album might come off really different, and almost weird. But, I think anyone who wants to get into this band has to give them time. Once your ears get used to the vocals, you begin enjoying the songs on a different level. For starters, listen to “On Call,” “Fans,” “Knocked Up” and “Arizona.”

“Because of the Times” proves to be an even better album than the first two. All of the different varieties of sounds and diversity in music help keep the album interesting. The voice of Caleb Followill still is hard to put a label on, but my best guess is a rough voiced southerner who gets excited easily. I think this band is destined for even more, and this album is my proof. After listening to it, I keep wondering how much cooler sounding this band can get.

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&

career decision?

First, I love what I do. I try to find roles that are connected to me and what I do. You just have to find something that will excite you in life.

with actor D Adam Brody

o you keep in contact with the other

actors? Do you think you will ever work with any of them again?

I do keep in contact with them. I’ve been hanging out with Ben [McKenzie] a lot lately. I probably won’t work with them again, that would probably be weird for an audience.

by [derek martin]

In a teleconference with Brody, The Harbinger’s Derek Martin talked to him about his upcoming What is it about Carter (Brody’s characterin the film) that makes him a unimovie “In the Land of Woman”

Y

You have two upcoming movies which one are you more excited about?

Well definitely “In the Land of Woman.” I’m not so sure the other one is coming out anymore.

O.C. was such a big hit, what do you enjoy doing more t.v. or movies?

Film, only because scheduling and I like the idea of being able to tell one story. Artistically I think you run dry on stories for TV.

What are the similarities between your character on the O.C. and in movies?

They are similar, it’s weird. It’s sort of an accident and planned. At first I wanted to make the character very different from me and then as it progressed it got as close to me as possible.

Do you plan on continuing in film, t.v. or both?

I’m pretty excited about film right now. I figure sooner or later I’ll be back in t.v. on some capacity.

What attracted you to this film?

Well, the script looked fantastic. This film was a very mature script. It’s one of the old fashioned movies.

What high school experiences impacted your Grind 2003

Your normally typecast as kind of a sarcastic guy, is there a type of role you would really lik to play? Bad guy?

I would love to be an a-hole. I love to be a d**k. I am not saying I am in real life, I just think it would be fun to play that part some time.

would

versal character?

I think he’s really just looking for answers in life.

I think everyone can relate to that.

What was it like to work with Meg Ryan in the up coming movie?

It’s great. She is fantastic. She’s really a good person to work with. I will always remember the first time we rehearsed a scene together.

What was it like working with the director (Jon Kasdan) on the set of his first movie?

It was interesting. He doesn’t come off as a first time director. I didn’t feel like I was working with a first time director at any time during filming. We were able to hang out and got to become friends before we started filming.

How does this movie differ from other films you have done?

For one, I am in it for more than two minutes. It’s very non-cynical, and a good old-fashioned story.

With this being your first lead of a feature film, When what was your impression?

It’s hard work. Cameos are amazing, you go in for two days and have fun. When your lead, your definitely working a lot harder.

as actors go, there is a lot I would like to work with but Rob Lowe is definitely one who I would really like to act with.

this movie comes out, what

should we expect of it?

They should expect the greatest movie of all time. I really do think people will enjoy the movie and have a good time.

Who is a director you would really like to work for? An actor you would like work with?

to

Definitely “Shaun of the Dead” director Edgar Wright. As far

The O.C. 2003-07

Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2005

The Brody Bio

State Music Fest Wednesday 18

Thank You for Smoking 2006

In the Land of Woman 2007

The Ten 2007

Staring- Jessica Alba, Brody and Paul Rudd Plot- A series of ten stories all inspired by one of the ten commandments

page 21 [a&e]

Cutting Edge the

Recent Super Paper Mario mixes old school game with 3-D images by [clark goble]

Ever since Super Mario Bros. was released in 1983, the portly plumber Mario has been the face of the Nintendo franchise. His giddy laugh, thick mustache and sheer volume of different games, ranging from Mario Tennis to Mario Party, have made him the most well known character in the world.

But his latest venture, the first on the new Nintendo Wii, should become one of the all-time favorites. Super Paper Mario, released last Tuesday, shows that Nintendo has not run out of great plans for its red-capped Italian superstar.

As is the usual in Mario’s adventures, Princess Peach is captured by the ever-evil Bowser. And once again, Mario attempts to save her.

But the journey is much, much different.

The player is now able to switch between the NES 2-D world and the Mario 64-esque 3-D world with the touch of a button and access paths and fight enemies unseen in the 2-D world. Sure, you can still squash Goombas and pick up mushrooms, but the addition of the 3-D world takes the game to another level.

The feature of the Wii also adds to the experience.

Instead of using the Wii Remote to point at the screen and direct movements, you hold the controller horizontally as you would an old-school Super Nintendo controller. This in turn makes the controls very simple. Two buttons and one directional pad. Easy.

But don’t think the motion-detecting aspect of the controller isn’t used. You can add style to your G o o m b a stomping with a shake of the

controller or point the Wii-mote at the screen to let your fairy companion help you find items and enemies.

It isn’t just Mario doing the stomping either. As the game progresses, the player is able to take control of Peach, the highfloating princess, Bowser, the fire-breathing monster, or Luigi, the high-leaping sidekick who I dressed up as for Halloween in 6th grade.

I’ve got kind of a soft spot for him.

But Mario is by far the most capable character since he is the only one who can jump from two dimensions to three and reveal new aspects to every level. And truly, the switching back and forth is one of the most interesting parts of the game.

There are even puzzles that force you to switch dimensions to solve them.

Still, it’s the smooth gameplay that has been present for decades that makes this Mario a classic. One thing I thought Nintendo made a mistake by leaving out was the “run” button that was available in some of the later Mario series games. Running at one speed is nice in the real world, but in a video game, you just want to be able to mash a button to make you run faster. It’s video game instinct.

Overall, Super Paper Mario is a game that takes elements of tons of past Mario games and throws them into one allinclusive game. The characters, the story, the levels--most of it remain the same. But simply, the gameplay uses its classic roots and the Wii’s new technology to make the most

Mario

from

1980s

PASTto

PRESENT

art by sara mcelhaney

memorable Mario in years.

There’s only one question that remains: If Mario can bash home runs (Mario Baseball), be a character in a board game (Mario Party), and change from 2-D to 3-D with the touch of a button, what does he have left to accomplish in the video game world?

Maybe Nintendo is teaching him how to throw hand grenades.

Mario Bros. is created, which featured Mario as the titular hero.

Mario is created as a carpenter named “Jumpman” in the arcade game Donkey Kong

1983

1990

Paper Mario, with a unique graphical style, is released in the United States.

Super Mario World is published, which offered more technical possibilities for the system.

2001

New Features

TheDifference

Variations of past Mario games

Super Paper Mario is a mix between the Super Mario and the old Paper Mario. The original Paper Mario, which featured 2D, paper-like characters in 3D environments, was developed for the Nintendo 64.

The game showcases new abilities and power-ups, including a space helmet: Mario is seen floating in mid-air, shooting enemies with a ray gun, and running sideways down a wall in the trailer. Newer videos and information reveal more items available in the game, some of which have appeared in info courtesy of http://wii.nintendo.com/site/spm/ preceding Paper Mario games.

art courtesy of www.cubemedia.com

What’s New New • a&e event ticker What’s

David Sedaris, Uptown Theatre, Apr. 20 • The Decemberists, Uptown Theatre, Apr. 21 • The Wilders, Knuckleheads, Apr. 21 • Andrew Blue Note, Apr. 22 ~Girl Bird, Scout honor

April 16, 2007

page 22 [a&e]

Summer Festival Preview

The Harbinger takes a look at upcoming festivals in the local area compiled by [derek martin]

Location: Clinton Lake State Park - Lawrence, KS

Location: Crossroads District and Downtown KC

Location: Southmoreland Park, Kansas City, MO

Price: $140-150

Price: varies by event

Price: up to $15

Dates: June 7 - 10

Dates: July 26-29

Dates: June 18 - July 9

Info: The Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival is entering its Info: The Fringe festival has been a staple in the Info: The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival has been in exisfourth year in existence. Quickly becoming one of the biggest festivals in the midwest, Wakarusa looks to draw upwards of 15,000 people this year. Featuring some of the biggest acts in the jamband and alternative music scene, Wakarusa promises to be a four day improvisation heavy musical experience.

It is not to be missed.

Kansas City community for years. It features up and coming local artists. According to their website, the goal of The Fringe Festival is to “provide artists an opportunity to create and perform new material right here in our backyard.�

tence since 1993 and features one or two different Shakespearean plays each season. The festival has showings every evening during the span of the festival except for a few select dates. The shows are put on in an outdoor amphitheater with both traditional and blanket seating available.

Acts to look out for: The Slip, The Waybacks, RAQ, U-Melt

Acts to look out for: Everyone

Acts to look out for: I, II, and III.

Saturday, May 19th Country Club Plaza Kansas City, Missouri 10am to 6pm Followed by family entertainment from 6 to7pm Bring your family and experience this page turning event.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Main Stage Culinary Stage Kids Stage

National, regional and local authors Cookbook chef demonstrations Storytelling, kids authors and kids activities

Poets Specialty Authors Exhibitor Booths

Poetry reading for all ages Crafts, gardening, mystery, sports and more Literary groups, small publishers and authors

To volunteer, exhibit or obtain more information, email us at KCLFvs@kc.rr.com www.KansasCityLitFest.org

Sponsored by BOOK-A-FRIEND

Turn your treasured T-Shirts into a lasting memory

Your T-Shirt Quilt $250 To order call 913-526-7344

the page about life

mix ed

the

FoodGuide

page 23 [mixed]

a quick list to suit your cravings at restaurants around the city

what you didn’t know about...

Top10 restaurants you should try:

Top10 places to get pizza:

1

The Mixx

1

Aixois

2

Saigon 39

3

Classic Cup Cafe

4

Genghis Khan

5

Cafe Provence

6

7

Carmen’s Cafe

7

8

Waldo’s

Blue Koi

8

Minskey’s

Jimmy John’s

9

reVerse

10

2 3 4 5

Brice Mullane

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN TOWN? -Dos Reales or Margarita’s, they both have amazing tacos and enchiladas. Plus, when it’s your birthday, the waiters at Dos Reales come out wearing sombreros and give you a huge dessert. It’s usually impossible to finish, but I did it.

ANY PLACE YOU’VE EVER WANTED TO GO TO BUT HAVEN’T? -I’ve always wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, and I’ve also heard that Sidepockets Bar has really good food.

IF YOU COULD MAKE A SMOOTHIE WITH ANY FRUIT, WHAT WOULD YOU MAKE? -A strawberry and pineapple smoothie, those are my favorite fruits.

6

9 10

D’Bronx Pizza 51 Spin!

Wheat State Pizza California Pizza Kitchen Uno’s Pizzeria

Grinders Papa Keno’s

Top 10 places to get ice cream and refreshments: 1. Murray’s 6. TCBY 2. Foo’s Fabulous Custard 7. Angie’s Italian Ice Cream 3. Balsano’s Gelato Cafe 8. Cherries Ice Cream 4. Mely’s 9. Tea Drops 5. Sheridan’s Custard 10, Beanology

photo by anna leek

Frozen Hot Chocolate: - 3 tablespoons sugar - 1 envelope (2 to 3 tablespoons) of Hot Cocoa Mix - 1/2 cup of milk - 2 tablespoons butter - 1/3 cup chocolate chips - 4 cups of ice cubes - whipped cream Set all ingredients except chocolate chips over gently boiling water, stir until melted. Then add chocolate chips and stir.

Cool to room temperature afterwards. Place chocolate mixture in blender and blend if necessary. Top with whipped cream (optional)! Takes: 10 minutes

Peanut Butter Smoothie: - 1 cup vanilla or chocolate ice cream - 1/4 cup milk - 2 tablespoons peanut butter Blend all together in a blender, makes 1 or 2 servings.

Takes: 5 minutes

April 16, 2007

photos by katie woods

Easy and refreshing drink recipes to cool you down:

Fruit Smoothie (of your choice!): - 2 8-oz. cartons of plain fat-free yogurt - 2 small, ripe bananas - 1 cup of sliced fresh strawberries - 1 cup of fresh mixed berries: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries… any berry of your choice!

In a blender, combine yogurt, bananas and berries, cover and puree until nearly smooth. Makes 4 servings.

Takes: 10 minutes

Back page 24 [a&e]

in

season The second half of HBO’s popular show Entourage’s third season starts strong by [peter goehausen] photo courtesy of www.movieweb.com

Often titled as “Sex in the City” for guys, HBO’s hit series “Entourage” has seemed to find a place in every male viewer’s heart (and ladies daring enough to try to understand the male psyche). The show, which features a quartet of friends from New York who move to Hollywood and make it big, first aired on HBO in 2004. Instead of featuring how women talk about their sex life, “Entourage” focuses on the male sex and how a quartet of friends seems to get along now matter what is thrown in their way.

The plot, which is loosely based upon Mark Wahlberg’s up and coming as an actor, features the four friends who live off their lifelong friend Vince who made it in Hollywood.

Acting as his personal employees, the three other friends, Eric, his half-brother Drama and Turtle live in Vince’s million-dollar crib and drive around in his Maserati.

Along with the quartet of friends, the show features key outsiders who are the real reason the show has succeeded.

Leading that way is Vince’s agent of five years, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven- two-time Emmy winner) who seems to steal the scene every time with his cocky persona and memorable one-liners. The show also casts multiple celebrities who play themselves (Mandy Moore, Jessica Alba, Lamar Odom) which makes the already realistic series even more real.

After spending most of the fall and winter months

replaying the first three seasons of “Entourage,” I have are juggling their new endeavors in the first two episodes. memorized everything about the show down to every plot Between girlfriends, new TV shows and trying to shed his line, one-liner and even the car license plate used in the role as the pot-smoking slacker the other three seem to have shows opening: QSV 11427. Thankfully, before I was able to the show heading for its best season yet.

For those who have not caught onto the “Entourage” memorize Vince’s entire wardrobe, HBO finally started the second part of season three on April 8. To make the must- bandwagon, it alone is worth an HBO subscription. It is the see show even better, creator Doug Ellin added one of the show that takes every guy’s dreams and make them come hottest women in the world, Carla Gugino, true: the cars, the money and the women all come to life through “Entourage.” All at the to play Vince’s new agent. same time, the show sheds light into the reguAs the last season ended with the boys larly untouched aspect of male bonding and firing Ari, the new season started with them the reason the show has been nominated for feeling more unsteady than ever. Though six Emmys. Though they may fight with each they have their perfectly-cast hot new agent Creator- Doug Ellin Amanda, she seems insistent on Vince Staring- Adrien Grenier, Jeremy Piven, other, in the end they always seem to be loyplaying in a Sci-fi movie he is uninterested Kevin Donolly, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara. al.

The best part about “Entourage” this in. However, due to his newfound affection Plot- “Entourage” chronicles the life of Aand desire to get with Amanda, he fakes an list movie star Vincent Chase and his group summer: three weeks after the eight-episode of friends from New York as they navigate third season ends, season four starts. interest.

Welcome to paradise.

Ari, desperate to get his biggest client their way around L.A. back, tells Vince he can get him his dream Airs- Sunday night at nine on HBO job Medellin, the story of notorious cocaine “ It is the show that takes every guy’s cartel Pablo Escobar.

Aside from Vince’s new love triangle dreams and makes them come to life.” with Ari and Amanda, the rest of his crew

“Entourage”

What’s your flavor?

page 25 [a&e]

A look inside of some of Kansas City’s finest barbecue by [landon mcdonald] Kansas City is widely known as the unofficial barbecue capital of the world. If this is true, and we really are the best, then who’s the best of the best? KC is home to dozens of fiercely competitive barbecue restaurants.

I’ve narrowed them down to a group of local operations generally referred to as the Big Three. They include Oklahoma Joe’s, Gates, and Arthur Bryant’s. Each of these barbecue behemoths has been graded on food quality, atmosphere, service, location, and overall dining experience. Each mini-review also includes scraps of information concerning the restaurants’ individual histories.

Arthur Bryant’s Up first is Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. Long considered a cornerstone of Kansas City’s barbecue community, this restaurant is the original KC smokehouse and has been around for nine decades. It was founded in the early 1920s by renowned local grillers Arthur and Charlie Bryant. Thanks to its distinctive flavor and favorable location at 18 and Brooklyn, Arthur Bryant’s soon became known and renowned nationwide. President Harry S. Truman once called it his favorite place to go for barbeque.

Going to Arthur Bryant’s today is an experience all its own. Although the drive over takes almost 35 minutes from East,

the food is definitely worth the wait. The rib platter in particular comes highly recommended because of its unconventional taste and warm, peppery seasoning.

Although the red brick exterior looks somewhat dilapidated, the inside is warm and appealing. The seasoned staff is pleasant enough, a game is always on, the blazing oven fire crackles in the background, and classic riffs of Kansas City jazz play softly while you eat. Best of all, the whole place has a tantalizingly smell all over, like the inside of a barbecue bottle. Signed pictures of local celebrities like Soren Petro and Frank White adorn the walls, giving the place an aura of hometown prestige. Besides its far-off location, the only other warning I can give about Arthur Bryant’s concerns the sauce. I personally enjoy its tart and tangy appeal.

However, its uniquely bitter flavor may leave some customers wishing for ketchup.

Gates Next up is Gates BBQ, specifically its closest location at 103 and State Line. Started by the affluent Gates family in 1946, this chain of local restaurants is easily recognized by bright red roofs and the famous strutting mascot. This is the place to come for the best in hickory-smoked meat. The beef on bun is one of their signature dishes. The fries aren’t

half bad either. Also, you get your choice of sauces. They include mild, original, extra spicy, and ketchup. Like the meat, Gates sauce is light and zesty, with a distinctly hickory aftertaste that stays with you.

The barren restaurant is nothing much to look at inside. The lines are always horribly slow, the “Hi, may I help you” employees are extremely loud and unfriendly, and the place has apparently never heard of a real nonsmoking section. Nonetheless, the food is so good that people just can’t help coming back for more.

Oklahoma Joe’s Last but not least is Oklahoma Joe’s, whose 47 and Mission Road location is a Shawnee Mission East favorite. Started by Jeff Stehney, his wife Joy Stehney, and their good friend Jim Howell in 1996, Joe’s is based out of a local Total gas station. Don’t the setting throw you though; Joe’s has some of the best barbecue around. After all, Stehney and his grilling team, the Slaughterhouse Five, were BBQ champs long before the place opened.

They’ve won the American Royal multiple times and were the Kansas City Barbeque Society’s Grand Champion “Team of the Year” in 1993.

The restaurant itself is remarkable. Upon entering, the gas station façade fades away

Lancer Voice: Select-a-sauce Gates’s sauce is classic. Its bite is the perfect amount, and it’s just a classic.

It is tangy, and tastes like no other sauce.

It has both a spicy and a rich taste.

I like Oklahoma Joe’s because it is fairly mild, but still really good.

-Spencer Yohn, senior

-George Hart, senior

-Brian Haverty, junior

April 16, 2007

in favor of something far grander:dozens of gigantic golden trophies and blue ribbons line the walls on all sides. A colossal soda machine offering both Coke and Pepsi products jets out of the back. There s a lot of room and you never feel cramped, no matter how crowded the place is. The staff, meanwhile, is by far the friendliest of the Big Three.

Oklahoma Joe’s sauce is incredible, combining all the positive aspects of Arthur Bryant’s and Gates singular sauces into one premium package. The spicy, piquant taste is there, as is the hickory aftertaste. The brisket sandwich, Hog Heaven (pulled pork and sliced sausage), and the Z-Man sandwich (brisket and smoked provolone, all topped with two onion rings on a Kaiser bun) are all highly recommended. Also, the fries. Light, crispy, salty, and seasoned to perfection, these fries are reason enough to make the trip.

Well, the results are in. Oklahoma Joe’s is without question the final victor. However, all the above mentioned restaurants have something outstanding and diverse to offer.

You can decide who your personal barbecue champion is by trying all three of these place as soon as possible. After all, this is the barbecue capital of the world. We just live in it.

Below: A cook from Arthur Bryant’s makes ribs and sandwiches during an evening. photos taken by Frances Lafferty and Abba Goehausen

page 27 [sports]

Practice makes perfect All baseball players strive to improve throughout a strenuous game schedule

Far above: Coach Tim Jarrell addresses the team during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer Above: Senior David Justice winds up for a swing at a recent game in preparation for a pitch. photo by Tyler Roste Far left: Freshmen Ryan Olander and Greg Welsh stop practice to listen to instruction during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer.

Left: Olander prepares to scoop up a grounder in the infield during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer

Rep Plays

This Week

3 pm

page 27 [sports]

Practice makes perfect All baseball players strive to improve throughout a strenuous game schedule

Far above: Coach Tim Jarrell addresses the team during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer Above: Senior David Justice winds up for a swing at a recent game in preparation for a pitch. photo by Tyler Roste Far left: Freshmen Ryan Olander and Greg Welsh stop practice to listen to instruction during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer.

Left: Olander prepares to scoop up a grounder in the infield during a recent practice. photo by Karen Boomer

Rep Plays

This Week

3 pm

page 28 [sports]

SET APART BY SPORTS by [mollly tidrick]

The morning begins early at the Kirby household with Ms. Kirby waking up Allison around 5 a.m. for her early morning practice, and ending with picking up Mallory from soccer around 6 p.m.

This is an ordinary day for the Kirby family during a school week at East.

Being on varsity crosscountry, track, soccer, and swimming, freshman twins Mallory and Allison Kirby have gotten themselves involved at East with their athletic skills. Spending the majority of their time with sports has paid off while being at East.

Mallory and Allison both started taking part in athletics at the age of 5 while being in kindergarten.

Throughout elementary school, the twins both were involved with soccer and swimming.

They started going in different directions in their athletics around

mallory

fourth grade; Allison started doing competitive swimming through Blazers and in fifth grade Mallory joined Avelino, a premier soccer team. They went their separate ways for reasons due to individual choice.

“I quit swimming because I didn’t like it and it was more Allison’s sport,” Mallory said.

Allison soon lost interest in soccer and wanted to focus more on swimming also around fourth grade.

“I didn’t like it and swimming was a lot of commitment,” Allison said.

Once arriving at East, Mallory quickly got involved with cross-country and did extraordinarily well and mainly being number one on the team. While Mallory did cross country, Allison focused on swimming while also doing well, traveling with the team, and swimming around 20 hours a week.

Mallory didn’t do just cross-country, but at the time she was also playing for a new premier team, KC Strikers. Once spring sports came along, Mallory quickly got involved with soccer and track. During the week of tryouts, she went to track, left early, and then quickly headed over to Mission Valley for tryouts. After four days of tryouts, Mallory found out that she had made the girls Varsity soccer team.

“I’m really happy to be on the varsity team, but it is hard to do both soccer and track at the same time,” Mallory said.

Being only one of two freshmen on the team, it took Mallory a while to get comfortable with all of the older girls.

“I was really intimidated the first week, but the older girls are really nice and supportive,” Mallory said.

Mallory so far has done well in soccer and in track she set a record in the 800 at a quad meet.

Although Mallory is very busy with soccer and track, Allison has decreased her hours of swimming while being on the high school team. Going from 20 hours of swimming a week with the Blazers, to only around 10 hours a week with East, she has had more free time and relaxation. Already Allison has made state times for the 200- IM and the 200-

TRYING FOR CHEER

Above: Senior cheerleaders teach the group the hand motions that go along with the chant. Seniors on varsity made up each element of the tryouts, the chant, cheer, and dance.

Left: The girls started the day’s clinic doing kicks and jumps, led by this years senior cheerleaders.

Right: Senior Danielle Larrabee teaches the chant to freshmen Amanda Peirce and Megan Russell.

the [harbinger]

Freshmen twins use sports to define differences

breast stroke and she is looking forward to state this May. Though the twins are interested in many different things and aren’t much alike, they are commonly mistaken for one another.

“Usually we are known as the Kirby twins, but our personalities are different and we do different sports,” Allison said.

According the Mallory and Allison they have “absolutely nothing” in common, except for some minor things. They are both committed to school and sports and like the same music.

Though their closer friends are different, every once in awhile they will all go to a movie and they all get along.

Though the twins look very much alike, their sports set them very much apart and they hope someday they will no longer be known as “the Kirby twins.”

allison

Last week, girls attempted to out-cheer one another for spots on next year’s squads

The seniors walked around during the clinic helping the girls learn all the moves to the dance. Senior Beckie Warren shows freshman Hannah Mallen a move to the cheer dance.

The senior captains, Ashlan Fischer and Kelby Polfer, created the dance for try-outs. photos by samantha ludington

page 29 [sports]

Above Par

Sophomore Chase Lucas proves to be an asset to the golf team

by [sarah luby]

Above: Sophomore Chase Lucas tees up at Meadowbrook Country Club one day during a practice. photo by paige ledbetter

While scouting out the incoming freshmen at golf tryouts last year, Coach Ermanno Ritchel remembered one golfer that stood out from the rest. “[Sophomore] Chase Lucas separated himself last year,” Ritchel said. “He has a very competitive nature and had a good tryout last year.”

Most of the varsity golfers had been playing a long time and Lucas is no exception. He has been playing golf since he was five years old.

“I wanted to be as good as my dad,” Lucas said. “He is a good golfer.”

Now that Lucas has surpassed his father, he has made a new goal.

“I want to play at the college level,” Lucas said.“I don’t care where I go, but my dream is to go

photo by samantha ludington

to Mizzou.”

Lucas started to improve in sixth grade. During this time he started to play every day during the summer.

“I would go across the street to Indian Hills [Country Club] to play nine holes and hit at the driving range for two hours,” Lucas said.

Because of this dedication, Lucas played the three spot on varsity last year, and currently plays the two spot on varsity, behind junior Scott Willman who tied for second place at state last season.

“Chase has definitely improved from last year,” Willman said.“He is hitting the ball better and has also changed putters.”

Although Lucas had not practiced in the six months leading up to his first day of tryouts, he played surprisingly well, birdieing

three times. He said he owed his success to natural talent.

“My first day of tryouts went really well this year,” Lucas said.

“I shot a 35 par, which was better than Scott [Willman] and Tommy [Kennedy].”

Lucas feels that being so high on the ladder is a huge accomplishment.

“It’s hard to make varsity because East is a ‘country club’ school,” Lucas said. “And since a lot of kids here belong to country clubs, there are so many good golfers at East.”

Coach Ritchel agrees.

“It’s not too common that a freshman or sophomore makes varsity,” Ritchel said.“But when it happens, as it has the past three years (with Lucas, Willman, and Kennedy), it is a good feat.”

Don’t forget about the girls Girls’ sports at East deserve and should get more credit than what they’ve received

an opinion of

Sam Logan Thank goodness for women. Without them, there would be Tom, but no Katie, no reason for that style of poetry known as rap and life would be an everlasting frat party, a complete mess. Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.

Obviously, women are a staple in the development of mankind, the most important link in the chain of human life. But when it comes to sports, they’re the missing link, at least, in too many people’s minds.

Let’s use the 2004 Athens Olympics, for example.

When it comes to basketball, the women placed gold; men, bronze. Who’s got the dream team now? In the baseball/ softball competition, the women took gold, while the men didn’t even send a team, and in the world’s most popular sport, soccer, it was the same old story: women taking the gold, while the men didn’t even qualify.

But did you hear about any of those victories for the girls? About the softball team allowing only one run the entire tournament? Or the soccer team’s overtime win over Brazil in the gold medal match? Sure it was two and a half years ago, but the same problem exists at East today. Did you hear about the girls’ basketball team going 15-7 and

winning their games by an average 14 points?

Be honest if someone asks you after reading this how many girls’ basketball games you went to this year. Sadly, it’s probably not too many, and I’ll be the first to answer.

I went to two. Pretty weak coming from a guy who only missed one of the boys’ games.

What’s even more of a shame is that the Lady Lancers went almost unnoticed in one of their most successful seasons ever. Finishing the season in the top 10 in Kansas, they made it just as far as the guys, to the sub-state championship.

I know it’s sometimes thought of as being a “different game.” Usually slower-paced and lower- scoring, but that shouldn’t overcome the fact that they deserved just as much credit or attention as the boys. Sure there are no alley-oops to Bryan Nelson, no heated games against Sion; I mean, what good would a “we’ve got guys” chant do? And there wasn’t the added hype of being state runners- up. But, there was the same McRoberts to Nelson tandem in Taylon Johnson to Rachel Kaegi, games against South and that same possibility to win the state championship.

But still, no one showed up, and no one even talked about it. I’m not bashing anyone- I didn’t talk about the girls’ team either. But it’s now, more than a month after the season ended, that I realized what the problem was.

We were obsessed with the guys’ team, and rightfully

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so. That’s not necessarily a problem, it’s just when it overshadows the other active teams that it is.

It seems that nobody cares. It’s sad but true, and if this is really a school with some of the best fans in the state, maybe we should consider living up to that reputation.

It’s more than being bold and trying to be a member of the Looney Tunes in the student section, it’s more than being a student. It’s about being a true fan. Every team deserves more credit, especially the girls’, not just the football and boy’s basketball. It’s a problem the school has to work on as a whole, more so than fighting for MORP or open lunches.

It’s a gift to have girls’ teams. Some schools can’t afford them, some don’t get the girls to play and most don’t get fans to the game. We should. Girls’ sports this year have actually been more successful than boys. Instead of cheerleaders being the only students at a girls’ basketball game, how about some senior representation? Some junior, sophomore and freshman?

It’s a matter on hand that is the same for every high school, but we should be able to do better. I mean seriously, can we get some love for a girls’ sport other than Powderpuff? After all, we are Shawnee Mission East, home of the sixth ranked drill team in America.

watson Q&A adam junior•baseball page 30 [sports]

Watson, who lettered last year, is playing his second year on varsity. As one of three juniors on the pitching staff, Watson looks to step up and help the Lancers improve on their success from last year.

On his pre-game rituals...

“Before a game, I just try to keep positive thoughts in my head and try not to get too caught up in the moment.”

On the different pitches he throws...

“I throw a two-seam fastball, a slider and a changeup. My slider is definitely the pitch I throw to strike a guy out.”

On how he keeps his arm loose between games...

“After I pitch, I ice my arm for about thirty minutes and I go running as often as I can. That gets the blood flowing through my shoulder and into my arm”.

On his expectations for the season...

“I think the team’s expectation is to get back to state and build off of what we did last year.”

On his favorite major league pitcher...

“Ben Sheets [of the Milwaukee Brewers] would probably be my favorite major league pitcher, because he gets a lot of strikeouts and has a good curveball. I kind of try to pitch like him.” compiled by nick ratliff

Come watch the

Lancer

S W I M

Invitational Prelims: Friday 20, 4:30 pm Diving: Saturday 21, 9 am Finals: Saturday 21, 1:30 p.m.

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5 1

2

page 31 [sports]

ways to enjoy Royals games

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...even when they are losing

Heckle. The Royals will often be

3

down by numerous runs and you will need something to fill the time. Prior to the game, use MLB.com to look up key statistics of the opposing player, including their hometowns and high schools. Yelling “Hey! Jefferson High baseball sucks!” is something players will definitely understand.

Only go on promotion nights. Buck

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Night might be one of the most afforable dinner options in the history of man. Hot dogs, peanuts and small sodas are all one dollar. The best way to enjoy this night? Pledge to eat one hot dog and drink one soda per inning. $18 for nine hot dogs and nine drinks. Towards the end, you might feel a bit sick, but achieving the goal is well worth it.

Play stupid games. There are tons

4

of betting games that have been invented just for bored fans. After each half-inning, the catcher will roll the baseball towards the mound. And each half-inning, the fans will pass a cup between them and put in a dollar each time the ball does not land on the mound. Trust me.

It gets intense.

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Meet some new people.

There are so many different people who go to Royals games, including the baseball-smart statisticians and the drunks. You can learn a lot by talking to them. Maybe it’ll be about baseball, maybe it’ll be about life. You just never know.

5 Actually watch the game.

Sure, the talent level may be sub-par, but the ticket prices are the most affordable in the four major sports. The AL Central is loaded this year and the other four teams in the league have realistic World Series hopes. Catch them while you can.

predictions from clark goble

The Royals will fall to last place in the AL Central before the end of April, but recover and finish fourth. Zach Greinke will lead the team in wins.

Junior Andrew Pennington will win the 300-meter hurdles state title, run in the 110-meter hurdles final, and the boys will place in the top five overall.

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If junior Nick Young stays at USC for his senior year, the Trojans will take the title of college basketball’s best team.

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No matter who the Chiefs select in this year’s 2007 draft, he won’t be able to keep them above .500 next season.

:03...... :02...... :01......

TODAY

photo by tyler roste

Boys’ baseball @ SMNW- The road to state continues against the Cougars.

Senior Matt Page has a low-90 mile per hour fastball and will pitch at Evansville next year. If he pitches, catcher David Justice (left) will have to call a great game for the Lancers to stay alive.

THURSDAY, 4/19

Girls’ soccer @ Olathe East- The girls, who were 3-1 as of last Tuesday with the lone loss against powerhouse SM West, face another tough opponent in the Hawks.

SATURDAY. 4/21

Co-ed track @ Kansas Relays- Last year, the 20,000 people at KU’s Memorial Stadium got to see a close finish involving Olympian Maurice Greene. The meet is often regarded as being more difficult than state to place well in, since teams from out-of-state are present.

players

moment

JEREMY WOLF- JUNIOR- BASEBALL- As of Tuesday, Wolf had posted a stellar 0.00 ERA and a 2-0 record. While just pitching two innings in both victories, he was expected to be the starter last Thursday. Pitching will be where the Lancers need to improve if they wish to distance themselves from the rest of the Sunflower League.

AUDRA STALZER- JUNIOR- GIRLS’ SWIMMING- Stalzer has already made state with the qualifying time coming March 15. The girls have cut times in numerous events, including the 200 and 400 meter freestyle relays, which have each cut at least three seconds off their times. Their chances at state keep getting better with more and more girls qualifying for the state meet each week.

Performing Arts Assembly Thursday 19 3rd Hour

photo by samantha ludington

games

The ball goes up for grabs during a recent lacrosse practice. The team fell to Rockhurst 27-1 but beat SM South.

page 32 [photo essay]

Left: Well underway on construction by the third day, the home designated for the Jocobo family is flooded by enthusiastic local construction crews, with their progress covered by the local news. photo by Katie Woods

Below: Senior Melanie Trost and her architect father, Wolfgang, stand in front of the finished home that he designed. Much of the house, including furniture and building materials, was supplied by local merchandisers. It took 90 hours to complete the process. photo by Katie Woods

Lower Left: The Jocobo family is overwhelmed as they see their new home, presented by Extreme’s host Ty Pennington, for the first time.

Building a New Life

On March 11-18, a dedicated cast and volunteer crew worked around the clock on a North Kansas City family’s new home.

The Jocobo family, made up of 10 people, was chosen by CBS’ Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the show will air May 13, Mother’s Day.

Above: Inside the tent reserved for V.I.P. passholders, granted free meals from local restaurants and an exclusive standing space behind the barriers, people line up for lunch provided by Zarda Barbecue. photo by Katie Woods

Right: Designer Michael Moloney walks across the house’s unpaved driveway with a tech crew member as local volunteers pour concrete in the background. photo

by Katie Woods

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photo by Katie Woods