Issue 15

harbinger

$6000unionstation$5000catering $14000decoration s$1000DJ$500 coatcheck$2000invitations$6000un ionstation$5000catering$14000 decorations$1000D J$500coatcheck $2000invitations$6000unionstation $5000catering$14000decorations $1000DJ$500coa tcheck$2000invitations$6000unionstation$5000cater ng $14000decorations$1000DJ$500 coatcheck$20 00invitations$6000unionstation$5000catering$14000 decorations$1000DJ$500coatcheck $2000invitations $6000unionstation $5000catering$14000decoration $1000DJ$500coatcheck$2000invitations$6000union tation$5000catering $14000decorations$1000DJ$50 0 coatcheck$2000invitations$6000unionstation$5000 With costs soaring upwards catering$14000 decorations$1000DJ$500coatcheck of $20,000 and personal $2000invitations$6000unionstation expenses$5000catering$1 mounting, prom 4000decorations $1000DJ$500coatcheck$2000invi can be anything but cheap. tions$6000unionstation$5000catering $14000decora See page 10 compiled by ellie weed tions$1000DJ$500 coatcheck$2000invitations$6000 photo illustration by amanda allison unionstation$5000catering$14000 decorations$1000 DJ$500coatcheck $2000invitations$6000unionstatio $5000catering$14000decorations $1000DJ$500coa tcheck$2000invitations$6000unionstation$5000cater

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / 7500 mission road prairie village, kansas

No Petty Prom

page 2 / news / the harbinger

Requiring Permission Requiring Permission A change in ruling causes parent approval for students to take sex-ed by ronan mcghie and cay fogel On March 15, the Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to approve a measure that requires all school districts to obtain written permission from parents before their children can take sex education classes. The “opt-in” policy is the inverse of the “opt-out” policy in place now that requires parents to write a note if they don’t want their student to attend sex education courses. Three other states also have an opt in policy: Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. This decision comes less that 3 weeks after the state senate approved a bill that requires all public school districs to require sexual eduation and prohibits abstinence-only courses.

SEX-ED in the classroom

“I think that you have to learn sex ed eventually. Forms are a good way to get the parents involved, but less kids in the class is a bad thing. You can’t hide your kids from sex.

States with similar policies

“It’s a good idea. If a parent want to have their kids enrolled, they should be. The parent should have control.”

“It’s a good idea, because a lot of kids will think its an awkward class to take. I think that we’ve pretty much been informed on what we need to know.”

“I think this has to do with Bush, and whatever has to do with Bush is evil. We’re not very well educated on sex, and it’s important. I wish it was required to have sex ed in school.”

Art Fair Come support East art students at the annual East Art Fair. On May 3-7 there will be a showcase of the best art students’ work.

The showcase awards will be presented at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in the cafeteria. This will be the only night that the showcase is open to the public.

The judging of the work will be completed on Friday.

2004

Liz Jaquinot, 12

Rachel Clarke,10

Awards Program Come celebrate the accomplishments of the seniors and selected juniors and sophomores at the annual Honors and Awards Program. Students receiving recognition will be mailed a letter indicating they will be recognized during that evening. At this time seniors will receive their scholarship certificates during the evening program as well as other honors. This program is happening on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

AP Exams Don’t forget Advanced Placement exams all this week and next week.

The locations and times of the individual exams can be found on the AP exam calendar that can be picked up in the counseling office.

Arizona

Utah 2005

Travis Wiedenkeller,11

Alison Meagher-Manson, 9

News Briefs

2005

Lobster Sale Be sure to swing by the East Spirit Circle on May 13 from 10 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. to pick up your very own lobster. This sale is sponsored by the AFS/International Club. Orders for lobsters are due by May 8.

SHARE packages Anyone interested in receiving that little extra boost from a bag of candy before the week of finals be sure to order your very own SHARE package. All payments are due by Friday and checks must be made out to SME SHARE. Order forms can be found in the April Newsletter or outside the SHARE office (room 404). Lists of recipients will be posted and packages may be picked up May 10-12.

Nevada Blue Moon

Watch out for the largest, most intricate choir performance of the year. The Annual Blue Moon will take place May 11-12 at 7p.m. in the auditorium. Rehearsal for all choir members will be May 8 and 10.

This years’ exciting show will include selections from Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Wicked and many more individual programs. Tickets are on sale now and cost $7.

Jazz Program Take a trip down to the 18 and Vine Jazz District to hear the Knights, the East Blue Notes and the East area middle school jazz bands perform.

This will be Saturday at 6 p.m. at the historic Gem Theater. The proceeds of this event are essential to the jazz programs funding. To order tickets or make a donation complete the order form in the April newsletter.

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / news / page 3

Life after Juvy by paige cornwell This summer, noon will hold a different significance for freshman Trevor Hackl. In years past, it was the time he woke up. Now it will be the time he will be finished with his home schooling session every weekday. Hackl will be making up this past year for the six weeks he didn’t go to school, when he was in the Johnson County juvenile detention center.

Hackl has been at home for five weeks following his release from the detention center and was put house arrest on March 13. He was officially charged on Mårch 23 after pleading guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat.

Hackl was accused of telling students that he planned to put a foreign substance, later described by Hackl as copper sulfate, into his science teacher’s drink. His teacher was not harmed. He was originally charged with two counts of criminal threat, the first charge a result of Hackl writing a letter threatening a teacher, but the prosecution dropped the first charge At the time that he was arrested, he was already suspended from school.

“I remember I was sleeping in my bed, and then there were like six cops there, two in my backyard, three in the front and one in a car patrolling the street,” Hackl said.

He was put in the detention center, where he stayed for the next six weeks. He was only allowed to have visits from family members over 21 and was isolated from all of his friends.

“I know some of them were thinking of me, but I also know they were just living their normal lives,” Hackl said. “The only way they could communicate with me was through letters, and they didn’t have the buildings address, so how would they do it?”

Every day, Hackl would stay in his cell for 12 hours, being released for breakfast and lunch, with an hour of free time in the evening. He felt the least secure when he wasn’t behind the six inch steel door of his cell.

“I saw a lot of people get beat up there, mostly for being racist.

The guards didn’t really care what happened,” Hackl said.

The charges, according to Hackl, against the boys in the detention center, who were ages 11 to 17, ranged from murder to grand theft pony.

“I made friends with the [physically] big people there, and that got me security,” Hackl said. “I tried to make them laugh so that I would have their respect.”

Even though Hackl was given eight hours of “lights out,” he didn’t get much sleep because the other inmates would yell during the night. He guesses that there were times when he was awake the entire night more than once.

“I was basically thinking the entire time, ‘How am I going live through this?’” Hackl said. “It was the most depressing and irritating thing I’ve ever had to live through.”

He feels that his behavior has changed since then.

“People have told me I am calmer, and I think I am. Sitting somewhere for six weeks will either make you crazy, or extremely mellow. I was crazy for the first four weeks and then I started to be mellow for the last two,” Hackl said.

While he was in detention he had a total of two hearings, the first two comprising of his lawyer, Joe Horgan, asking for his

release from the detention center.

Horgan has been asked by Hackl’s mother not to comment regarding the case.

It wasn’t until his psychological evaluation came through that Hackl was allowed to leave and ordered by district judge Brenda Cameron to be placed on house arrest. He was on house arrest for two weeks. “[Being on house arrest] every day you freak out about when the phone rings, because every time you miss a call it is put on record, and they would just take it as intentionally missed,” Hackl said. “Your best bet was to wait until the phone rings, then go to the bathroom or take a shower. Thankfully I got every call.”

At his last hearing March 23, Hackl was sentenced to probation, and was ordered to follow the rules set by his probation officer. He was also ordered to write a letter to his science teacher.

“You do seem like a young man who has a lot going for you … and I hope you can get things turned around,” The Kansas City Star reported Judge Cameron saying at his sentencing.

To follow all the rules set by his probation officer, Hackl has to be home by 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10:30 on weekends, not break the law, and do 80 hours of community service. He is also not allowed to leave the Kansas City area. He is on probation until October 2007, with the earliest time getting off being August of that year.

Hackl feels that the whole ordeal was blown out of proportion.

“I just think the whole thing is an example of ignorance. If the adults had looked into what really happened and the real facts, they would have seen that I didn’t try to kill anyone, and then I wouldn’t be in jail. It just snowballed from a prank to a “malicious joke,” Hackl said.

He also feels that the media contributed to the rumors that he has heard.

“The media doesn’t really care about the person, just about what they should write about,” Hackl said.

“I heard all these rumors about me, and I just think, basically, that anyone can start any rumor about anyone and ruin their reputation, I’ve seen it happen to others and now it happened to me. People want to hear more about the ‘psycho attempted murderer’ than anything else.”

The fact that he now has a curfew has affected his social life. Because of the media attention, some of his friends have been forbidden by their parents to see him, and he has trouble meeting new people, because he is “that kid in the news.”

Hackl has been expelled from the Shawnee Mission school district for one year, and will begin home schooling soon. He plans to go to North for his junior year.

“I am going to go to North just to avoid everything,” Hackl said. “But I am afraid that they [North isn’t] going to accept me because of the media attention.”

Until then, Hackl is optimistic about homeschooling.

“You can finish in about half the time, so I will be done with sophomore year before that summer even starts,” Hackl said. “I’ll be back on track with the rest of my friends, and then it’ll be all hunky-dorey.”

Former East student Trever Hackl is out of the Johnson County juvenile detention center and being homeschooled while dealing with the aftermath of his highly publicized case

Fire takes teacher’s house Environmental Ed teacher Jim Lockard’s house catches fire during school day by cay fogel On April 18 during third hour, Environmental Ed and Systems teacher Jim Lockard was told that the fire department had called the school. His house was on fire.

Assistant Principal Loe got the call from the fire department, and ran downstairs to room 301, note in hand.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” senior Scott Montana said, a student in Lockard’s Environmental Ed class. “Loe just handed him the note and he left the room.”

Loe stayed with the students for the rest of the hour.

Short on information, Lockard left school and drove to his home. He hadn’t yet spoken to anyone from the fire department. He knew that his wife Kathy was at work, his older son Bradley has his own place, but his younger son, Blake, might still be in the burning house.

“That was the scariest thing,” Lockard said.

He was relieved to discover that Blake had gone to class at JCCC that day, and the house was completely empty. When he arrived, the firemen were just putting out the flames.

The fire had begun in the master bedroom, which was converted from a garage, and then spread to two other rooms before it was put out. These rooms were destroyed, and the rest of the house had severe smoke damage to the walls and furniture.

The cause of the fire is uncertain, but Lockard suspects it was an electrical problem.

“We lost most everything,” Lockard said, describing his damaged home. The family had lived in the house for 30 years, and had collected 30 years worth of photos and momentos, most of which were lost. “My wife took it very hard.”

The family was allowed to go back into the burned house, but they didn’t find much that was recoverable.

The insurance has yet to tell Lockard and his family if the house will be restored or torn down, or what kind of compensation they can expect. Lockard and his wife and younger son are staying with Bradley, their oldest son, at his house.

page 4 / news / the harbinger

asking for

MORE

New art and science requirements increase stress to complete credits

by joe demarco

What are my

art by ren li

options?

science

here are ideas to meet • your requirements. . .

photos by kevin grunwald

The decision that was made by the Shawnee Mission School Board on Dec. 12, 2005 just made graduating harder for some East students. As of next year, the current freshmen, and every class following them, will be faced with two more specific credits required to gradate.

The two new required credits will fall under the Science and the Fine Arts category. Currently, there are only two Science credits needed to gradate. That number will increase to three. A new fine arts credit has also been created requiring students to have at least one Fine Arts credit to graduate.

“The additional science classrooms that will be added to Shawnee Mission North over the summer have allowed us to add these science credits. Due to all the local and state colleges already requiring these additional credits, it only makes sense that we require them as well,” Cindy Neighbor, one of the district’s board members, said.

Because North will be adding new classrooms, more science will be taught, thus allowing it to be possible for all of their students to get the required credits they need. Now all high schools in the district can accommodate the extra science credit.

According to East Administrator Dr. Ron Mersch 75-85 percent of the senior class is already graduating with at least three science credits. “This is only a minor change. The additional credit requirements will only increase science classroom sizes by roughly five students per hour. Most science educators would recommend at least one credit in the physical science, biology, and chemistry areas.”

But Shawnee Mission isn’t the first district in the area that is requiring more science credits needed to graduate. Olathe schools

Biology 2 AP • Chemistry 1 • Chemistry 2 AP • Environmental Systems AP

require their students to have Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri all require you to have three science credits before you can be accepted.

“Before we can even consider accepting you here at Kansas University, you have to have meet all the minimum required credits in the required areas, like science and math. Our minimum is already at three science credits,” Kansas University administration officer Jennifer Greene said.

The additional fine arts credit has been more controversial subject because of debate not being recognized as an artistic credit.

“Forensics does apply towards fine arts but debate does not which was a state department of education decision,” the district’s fine arts district resource specialist Rosie Riordian said.

Freshman Evan Anderson isn’t too concerned about the two new credits he will have to complete before he graduates.

“It really isn’t that big of a deal because most colleges already require it, so I was planning on taking them anyway,” Anderson said.

The projected science classroom size will increase by five next year, and additional staff maybe hired to accommodate the extra students.

“The ‘typical college prep kid’ is now forced to fit a fine arts class in his or her schedule,” Mersch said. “We have some kids at East there are very math/science minded and take as much math and science as they can get. Now they will be forced to take an art class. On the same token, the artistic students will now be forced to take an extra science credit.”

fine arts

• Human Anatomy and Physiology • Physics 1 (standard or honors)

• Ceramics • Commercial Art • Design • Drawing • Fibers • Jewelry

• Painting • Photography • Printmaking • Sculpture • Studio Art AP • Watercolor

Heinous Hip Hop an opinion of ian mcfarland

issue issue115 / september / may 1, 2006 6, 2005 / opinion / page 5

Prom music should be what students like to listen to skd

Well seniors, it’s about to end. After four years copying worksheets, listening to iPods during Algebra and putting off reading “Crime and Punishment,” our whole High School experience is about to funnel down into one final event: Dancing to bad music at Prom.

For some reason, we always hire the same boring DJs who have played “Who Let the Dogs Out” enough times that they could recite its lyrics in their dreams. Their tastes are about as sophisticated as Kelly Urich on Kansas City’s #1 hit music station, Mix 93.3.

Call me crazy, but I think East is better than that. Thanks to the most important tool the Internet has to offer (Facebook,) one can find that out of all East students registered on the site, 19 list indie rock band “Built to Spill” as a favorite band. In comparison, less than onethird (6) students list themselves as fans of the Pop-juggernaut Britney Spears.

So call me crazy, but the fact that we’re more likely to hear “I’m a Slave 4 U” than any track off of “Spill” ‘s new album released just this month seems to me, I don’t know, pretty stupid.

But the lack of intelligence doesn’t stop there. For as long as I can remember, Hip-hop has dominated school dances. I can sort of understand why, most people find the fat, clear beat easy to move their hips too.

But I’ll be honest, I can’t move my hips. I gyrate about as well as a cinder block cemented into Mission road by two metal rods. I can’t shake anything my momma gave me.

And beside the whole hip handicap thing, how many people that go to East listen to hiphop? I see more kids wearing Coldplay or Dave Matthews Band T-shirts than South Pole jerseys. We should be playing more rock to stay in line with East’s interests.

Maybe I’d be ok with it if Hip-Hop weren’t so boring. I’m not saying it’s all bad; I love Kanye, but not because of the popped polo, and I’m sure there’s plenty of good stuff under Lil’ Scrappy, Lil’ Wayne and everyone else who happens to be lil’. But the mainstream stuff, what the DJ’s pack in their arsenal of a CD collection, is as boring as a cinder block cemented into Mission road by two metal rods.

All the songs are is some guy, likely with more build than a building, monotonously slewing out all the things he would to his woman, such as treat her right, and whatever happens to rhyme with that, like, I don’t know, never with her fight.

The sounds are one continuous beat, no fills, no solos, no nothing. It’s like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going.

I’m not saying we can’t have Hip-Hop. Seriously, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” by West has a pulse-poundingly good beat. And Top-40 radio permeates so many teenagers’ ears that even a restricted diet of Spears might be tolerable. Admit it, “Toxic” is everyone’s guilty pleasure.

I know that acts like Fallout Boy are bound to be played, but I can deal with that. Their power-pop Ø For a mix of indie and pop play Bloc Party’s “Heliwith as much depth as a kiddie pool may be boring copter” and “Positive Tension”. after you hear it twice, but Ø Anything from Ben Folds’ “Rockin’ the Suburbs”, to be honest the fact that such as “Gone” or “Not the Same”. it’s been the biggest song Ø For a mash of alternative and 80s pop with for our demographic this guitars that is sure to get everyone dancing try the year can justify it.

But a concentrated Killers. soundtrack of these ØFor a return to the classics, Zeppelin’s “Immigrant disposable singles will Song” or “Black Dog” should be played. only worsen East’s above average taste in music. We only get one Senior Prom, let’s not make it like everything else, otherwise we’ll just be a bunch of slaves for the music industry.

Suggestions From a Senior:

History Repeating Itself? an opinion of thomas braslavsky I stood on a summer day in Miami Beach, studying the gigantic memorial to the Holocaust which stood before me. It was an enormous bronze statue, an outstretched arm pleading for help from the royal blue sky. It symbolized a silent despair, a noiseless appeal for assistance amid a sea of indifference.

But this had all passed. People were no longer being murdered for their identity; they were no longer crying for help in a world full of apathy. Now, the world understood…right?

I knew that I was wrong. My thoughts had described exactly what was and is currently happening in Darfur, where over the past three years, about 400,000 Africans have been murdered by the Arab Sudanese government and Janjaweed militias, only because they are black. Millions more have been raped, driven out of their homes, and tortured. And what has the world done to stop this genocide? Nothing.

After the Holocaust, people were horrified. How could they have let something so terrible happen? The world swore a solemn oath: never again would it stand still while people faced such persecution.

In 1994, the entire world turned its back on the Rwandan genocide. United Nations peacekeepers evacuated all Europeans and let the Africans get slaughtered. The United States later said “sorry” to the people of Rwanda for not acting. But “sorry” did not bring 800,000 people back to life.

Once again, the world is silent. As over two million refugees live in the worst conditions on earth, everyone else looks the other way. As the people of Darfur call out for help, their voices are muted. As they reach up into the sky, hoping someone will grab their hands and bring them up, all they get is the dusty desert air, barren of sympathy.

America stays silent while genocide occurs in Darfur

Since news of the Darfur situation has come out, our own country has not done anything in particular to stop the murder. The government has labeled the situation genocide, something which the UN for some reason still refuses to do. However, there is a big difference between words and action, and we have not done enough of the latter.

Not once in this year’s State of the Union did President Bush even mention Darfur. Not once did he mention the critical need for international assistance. How could we not care about this, when we are seeing history repeat itself in front of our very eyes?

How must the refugees feel? They are being murdered, “cleansed” of their “inferior” qualities (i.e., the color of their skin), and no one is even paying attention. Then again, maybe this is what they’ve come to expect from the outside world, one which does not care about Africa.

We must prove the skeptics wrong. If the rest of the world doesn’t want to help, it does not mean that we can’t. If our country really cares about human suffering, if we really have a commitment towards fighting for freedom and against racism, then we must make our voices heard.

Yesterday, thousands of people gathered in our nation’s capital to call on our government to help save Darfur. People united across all divisions in order to give help to those who really need it. But advocacy cannot stop there. Not at one rally, not at one event.

We must send a message that we have not forgotten the lessons of the past. We must substantiate our promise, which until now we have not kept. We must show that we have not turned our backs on our brothers and sisters when they need us most.

If we act now, then hopefully we’ll be able to set a precedent for the future. Hopefully next time that we see an arm stretched out, reaching for help, we will not hesitate to take hold of it and help it up. And not turn the other way, leaving the hand to touch only the empty, indifferent sky.

page 6 / opinion / the harbinger

Hating the Immigration debate brings about prejudice against Mexicans an opinion of adrienne wood “I hate Mexicans.”

I have heard this from people that I know, like and respect as they drive by Hispanic construction workers.

I’ve thought about why anyone with intelligence and morals would ever say such a racist thing. And I don’t get it.

We all judge others whether we want to admit it or not. But I can’t comprehend judging an entire race and voicing that negative opinion so openly.

So I decided to investigate why some people don’t like Mexicans. The assumption is that all Mexicans are illegal immigrants. The responses were more or less, “They ruin our economy and take our jobs.”

The immigrants aren’t taking our jobs. How many East students work in a meatpacking plant or roof houses for below-minimum wages? Illegal immigrants come to America desperate for money to support their families and are forced to take the worst jobs our economy offers. They are the voices behind the drive-thru window, the maids behind the clean hotel rooms. But they don’t complain; they are just happy to have a job.

I’m not trying to solve the illegal alien debate. I’m not a politician or an immigration expert. But I do know that racism is ignorant and immoral.

Racial slurs should never be acceptable. The same people who get uncomfortable when they see a swastika or who celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day are too ready to forget political correctness at the sight of a Mexican, whether they are illegal immigrants or third-generation citizens.

America is a nation founded by immigrants. We all have immigrant ancestors, most of who came to this country searching for economic opportunities and protection from ethnic and religious persecution. Many were historically oppressed minorities.

We are all essentially immigrants, and most of our ancestors suffered at the hands of discrimination. But with the recent wave of Mexican immigrant publicity, we have a new minority to look down on. A minority that is immigrating to America—land of opportunity—just like our ancestors.

Throughout history, our “melting pot of culture” has never blended very well. There have always been certain ethnicities to hate and distinguish.

Before Mexicans they were Catholics, Irish, Africans, and Chinese, to name a few.

I once heard that people do everything out of either fear or love. Racism certainly is not a fruit of love, so it must be fear that drives people to stay out of the “Mexican neighborhood.” Fear of the unknown.

We should get informed before we offer our opinions and make sweeping generalizations. No one wants to be stereotyped. I’m not just a “middle class white girl.” And no one’s just a “Mexican.” I’m not trying to persuade anyone to do anything but have respect.

Before you mutter “I hate Mexicans” as you pass a construction site, ask what you really know about the people you are stereotyping. It’s probably not much.

LANCER voice Frankie Pardo - 9 “I think [the new proposal] is bad. How could you get in trouble for helping somebody?”

art by ren li

What is your opinion on the current immigration debate?

Jordan Hadjian - 10 “It’s actually annoying. It’s all over the news, and I don’t get to learn about anything else.”

Drew Miller - 11 “Secondary jobs that Americans don’t take are occupied by Hispanics.”

Katie Westphal - 12 “Personally, I think [immigrants] help our economy, so I don’t agree with [the new proposals].”

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / editorial / page 7

Let’s

[not]

Talk About Sex

Let’s give them a hand folks, the Kansas school board is back in all its closeminded glory, and our state has once again been thrust into the national spotlight: the laughingstock of America.

Earlier this year we decided to protect the spiritual Christian health of our children by teaching that God created the world in seven days, and we have now taken a step further in our desertion of reason by de-emphasizing the importance of sex-education in schools by requiring permission slips for enrollment.

When our now infamous school board voted March 16 to require parental consent forms for children to participate in sex education—already a watered down curriculum, exclusive of certain statistics and imbued with Christian fundamentalism—it once again put Kansas students in a position of disadvantage.

By requiring students to return a permission form signed by a parent to participate in sex education class, we send the message that knowing the facts about sex is not at all important. You don’t have to opt into math or science; there is no permission form required for American history. Yes, the topic of sex is a sensitive one, but that doesn’t make it any less important. By requiring students to turn in a permission form to participate, we will drastically cut sex-ed enrollment.

Sex is, without a doubt, an awkward topic. Students don’t relish sitting through lectures on anatomy and venereal disease administered by the school nurse. If they don’t

School board requires permission slips to take sex-ed class

have to sit through them, it’s safe to say they won’t. Getting out of such an awkward class is simple as not taking home the permission form for your parents to sign.

The problem is that sex education may be awkward, but it is critical to supplying students with the knowledge they need to make healthy and safe decisions. In many homes, parents rely on schools to broach “the topic.” If you take the schools out of sex education, you keep a whole group of children from learning what they need to know about the birds and the bees.

It turns out that after the whole intelligent design fiasco, there are still areas in which religiously biased fundamentalists blind to reason and polarized toward Christian dogma can offer irresponsible and destructive leadership to Kansas.

Sex education has never been taught because it’s fun, or because it’s interesting. The information it teaches is necessary to living a healthy life in the teen and adult world.

Students are going to learn about sex no matter what. If they don’t learn about it in schools, however, they are going to get all their information second and third hand from friends, older siblings, or the internet.

The movement to make sex education opt-in reflects the long-standing pattern of conservatives trying to eschew the topic of sex. It has to do with the idealism in thinking that if you avoid talking about a topic, it will magically go away. Well it won’t, and pushing ignorance never solves the problem.

Our curriculum is already at fault in that it is abstinence-only—it doesn’t teach any disease prevention techniques, only that teens should abstain from sex. Yes, abstinence from sex is the safest, most sure way of preventing disease and emotional harm. Of course it is appropriate to present it as the most effective option. But you have to realize that there are always students who are going to have sex anyway, and failure to teach them the facts does nobody any good.

It’s a lot like the drunk driving education courses in school that refuse to encourage designated driver programs for high school students because they operate on the assumption that teens shouldn’t be drinking to begin with. The message is completely lost on all the students that do drink. Likewise, under an abstinence only curriculum, the entire sex-ed curriculum is lost on students who do have sex.

It seems as if once again our School Board has allowed ignorance to breach the gates of our educational system and harm the welfare of our state. Requiring permission forms to participate in sex-ed decreases the number of students taking the class by allowing an easy way out and making it seem superfluous. The results of this will prove detrimental to our youth.

But if we close our eyes, cover our ears, and imagine an ideal world, maybe the problems will go away.

A majority opinion of the Harbinger editorial board

harbinger editor-in-chief annie fuhrman

news editor sara steinwart

center spread assistant editor michelle sprehe

photo editor linda howard

assistant editors amanda allison evan favreau

news page editor melissa lem

mixed editor libby nachman

assistant photo editor samantha ludington

art & design editor ian mcfarland

opinion page editors thomas braslavsky clare jordan

a&e editor derek martin

ads / business manager kristen crawford

head copy editor bryan dykman

editorial editor foster tidwell

a&e page editor joey soptic ruth stark

assistant ads / buisness manager kevin grunwald vanessa legat

features editor ellie weed

sports editor peter goehausen

circulation manager davin phillips

features page editors katie jones christy beeder

sports page editors jayne shelton ben whitsitt

center spread editor laura nelson

page editors ally heisdorffer rachel mayfield

copy editors amanda allison bryan dykman evan favreau annie fuhrman hallie mccormick laura nelson

Letters to the editor should be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com.

Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editor’s discretion.

staff writers paige cornwall joe demarco clark goble tom grotewohl ronan mcghie stephen nichols meg shackleford adrienne wood photographers karen boomer katie james frances lafferty kelsey stabenow katie woods advisor dow tate

The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the shawnee mission east or smsd faculty, or administration.

page 8 / features / the harbinger

Fashion Struts its Stuff

Students participate in a district-wide fashion show by joey soptic

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: Heather Pavlu tries on Laura Medina’s dress for the fashion show.

�������������������� ���� ������� ���� ������� ��� ������� �������� �� ����� � ������������

����������

��� ������ ��� �������� ������ �����

Broadmoor Technical Institute, the only school in the district to offer a fashion class, will host the second annual fashion show on April 27, giving students from all corners of the district a chance to show their runway and designing talents for all to see. With a $100 cash prize, students can put their sense of fashion to the test and have their pieces analyzed by a group of judges.

As vice president of the show, senior Megan Sexton is responsible for setting up meetings for designers, handling ad management from stores who could be possible sponsors of the show, and setting up on the day of the show.

“I also make sure everyone involved always knows what’s going on,” Sexton said. “And try to get folks pumped up!” Students get into the show for different reasons such as their parent’s jobs, or because of friends that took a liking to clothing design.

“A couple of my friends are really into fashion,” junior Natalie Clark said. “One was in a fashion class at Broadmoor, and that’s how she became good at making things. I modeled for her last year, and I enjoyed that.”

The simplicity of the show and preparations has attracted many girls to join up and if not to design, then to model.

“Its fairly easy,” Sexton said. “All we had to

SAT & ACT Algr Ttr Ar Snc 9500 Glwo Ovrln Pr, Kss 66212 913-648-5483

do was slap on a lot of makeup and do our hair to get ready.”

The designers create their pieces, and pick how their models will look in intricate detail, down to the model’s makeup and hair.

“Some of my pieces are modeled with hair styles kind of like prom,” Senior Laura Medina said. “I have even taught them how to do a few steps on the runway, to show off a little. Nothing too spectacular though.”

All of the models are given a quick lesson on how to do their walk out on stage, and as designers put the final touches on their bits of clothing, the models wait backstage for their turn to walk out into the spotlight.

Until then, the designers get their best designs ready for the big show.

“My favorite piece is a turquoise dress,” Medina said. “It’s beaded and has straps at the top, a very flowing dress.” Though a finished piece now, its design changed several times throughout the past several weeks.

“One of the fun things about designing garments is that you don’t get married to a piece,” Medina said. “It could be one way, and a few seconds later completely different.”

Pieces like Medina’s and many others like it will be displayed for all to see at the show at Broadmoor on April 27. Whether completely for fun or a lifelong dream, the fashion show is sure to have many interesting and appealing pieces.

issue 15 / may 3, 2006 / features / page 9 Anna plays with Jalan after he wakes up from a nap.

Because he was premature, he doesn’t have regular sleep patterns, but Anna spends as much time with him as possible. photo by samantha ludington

small

steps by kristen crawford

March 4, 2006, 2:45pm: Senior Anna Nuby is engaged in a grape fight at work when her pants become damp. She starts laughing, thinking she peed herself. After a call to her mother she is taken to Shawnee Mission Medical Center. Her water has broken.

March 5, 2006: Hooked up to a monitor, Anna watches as her baby’s heart beat continues to drop.

March 6, 2006, 9:57am: Anna is rushed to the emergency room for a C-section. Her baby is eight weeks premature, the lungs have not matured and there are no signs of coordination.

The first thing Anna hears is crying.

As she stares at her mom the nurse lays a 3lbs, 5oz, 16in baby on her shoulder. It’s a boy. With a short kiss and hello, Jalan Royce Clemens is whisked away from his exhausted mother.

Jalan, too small to come home, remains in an incubator in the hospital. His mother visits everyday, twice a day, for three to six hours. *** July 17, 2005: Anna sits in the bathroom of her three-story home on Dibble Street, in Lansing, Michigan, staring at the box of a EPT pregnancy test.

She knew the answer before she ever took the test. This was merely a simple

Teen adapts to life at new school and as new mother

device to settle her nerves. It was simple, not pregnant, pregnant. She could envision the not pregnant reading and waited anxiously, she was due at work in 15 minutes.

When the three minutes had passed she picked up the stick and stared. The not pregnant reading had blurred to pregnant, but Anna was certain she just had something in her eye. But as moments passed on, the pregnant reading never faded and Anna, crying, fell into a state of shock and disbelief.

The test was wrong, it was that simple.

Fifteen minutes later she left for work.

The next day she rushed to volleyball practice.

Another pregnancy test was never needed, she knew she wasn’t pregnant, she couldn’t be.

September 19, 2005: Anna sits on the edge of the table in the doctor’s office. She isn’t feeling well and came in for some regular tests. But the results are far from regular.

She’s pregnant.

All she can do is stare as she is whisked away to do a sonogram. Only then, lying on the cold table, staring at the heartbeat of her unborn child does she cry. She is 16 years old, in high school, recently engaged, and now two months pregnant.

The doctors offer to inform her mother.

She declines.

She calls her fiancé to give him the news,

but he’s not home.

She starts down the long corridor and smiles. She is now not nervous, but excited and is praying her mother will some how forgive her.

Her mom takes the news calmly. She’s disappointed because this wasn’t the way she had planned Anna’s life, but makes the decision to stand by whatever Anna decides to do.

Even with her support, there are many questions that need to be answered. Does she want the child? Adoption? Abortion?

Can she financially support a child? While the questions range on, there is one simple answer. Anna will keep her child.

On October 29, 2006: Anna moves to Prairie Village. Her fiancé stays in Michigan.

Her first day of school Anna learns to adjust from a predominantly black student population to a predominantly white one. She is now six months pregnant.

She begins to practice balancing pregnancy and math homework alone.

Her fiancé visits only three times during her pregnancy. *** April 10, 2006: Jalan, at 4lbs 8oz and 17in, finally comes home.

Anna stays by his side every day, all day.

She has been working with a tutor to stay on top of school and will return May 8. Jalan’s

father has never seen his child and they are no longer in contact. She vows to never ask for child’s support.

After high school Anna will continue on to college to become a surgical technician, then wind her way back up to Michigan to work with her aunt. But no matter where she goes from there, Anna has pledged to always have Jalan by her side.

page 10 / features / the harbinger

planning and paying for PROM

what to know about the dance

by ellie weed

How much does all of this cost? a rough estimate provided by Mrs. Ardt-Helgeson Prom budget $20,000 thegivenapproximate to the juniors every year to work with (most years, the budget is exceeded)

number of couples that purchase 400 theticketsaverage for the dance the approximate cost of the decorations, including lighting, $12,000 tables, plants, stages, and designs of entrance.

$6,000 cost $800-$1,000 theof aapproximate disc jockey costs accumulated through $5,000 extra miscellaneous items the cost of renting Union Station for one night

Boys’ Expenses TUX approx. $70 TICKETS $50/pair CORSAGE approx. $15 DINNER approx. $70 (figure provided by Lydia’s)

GAS approx. $5

(driving to dinner, the dance, the afterparty, and driving your date home)

ESTIMATED TOTAL COST

$210

Girls’ Expenses

����

����� ������� ������

������� ������ ����� ���� ������� ���� ��������

���� ������ ����� ����� ������ ������� �������

Price: $25/ticket Theme: JUMP JIVIN’ Time: 9-11 p.m.

Who’s Invited: JUNIORS, SENIORS AND DATES

Afterparty: 11:30 p.m.-

ESTIMATED TOTAL COST

1:30 a.m. at Powerplay

$320

Hold the door open when she walks into a room.

Have her home by curfew.

������� ����

STATION

purchase of products (MAC) HAIR varies, $20 to $80

Ways to best impress your date to prom:

������� �������� ���� ����

Location: UNION

MAKE OVER $40

��� ���� �������� �������� ������� ����

Date: MAY 13

DRESS cost varies from $10 to $400, depending on whether it’s vintage or designer.

NAILS $45 for a manicure and pedicure BOUTONNIERE $15

�������� ����

����� ����� �� �������� ��� ����� ��� �������� �� �������� �������� �������

���� �������� ����

Introduce yourself to her parents.

Pay for her dinner (should be a given).

Drive, don’t make her drive.

����� ����

����� ���� ���� �������� �������� ������� ���� ���������� ����������

����� ����

��� ��� ����

����������� ���� ��� �� ������� ��� �������

���� ����

Craving 4th quarter senioritis

After three years of dedication, seniors feel it may be time to slack

s

by annie fuhrman

enior Megan Koch deserves some play-time.

After three-and-a-half years of working past midnight on homework, keeping straight A’s in all of her classes, and pushing herself to do her personal best in all of her academic endeavors, she is ready for a break.

She is ready for senioritis.

Fifteen school days remain until the end of seniors’s high school careers. College decisions have been made, lazy summers have been planned and senioritis is in full bloom.

“I pretty much told my parents after winter break that I wouldn’t be working as hard,” Koch said. “I knew that I wanted to enjoy my last semester of high school, and have fun going out with friends, and having lunch with my sister and working at my new job because I worked so hard at school that I separated myself from those things. They don’t want me failing, but they are fine with [me taking a break].”

For Koch, a major relief from school work stress came when she made the decision to attend Boston College.

Knowing that the school did not consider second semester transcripts too important allowed her to ease up and enjoy what may be her last few months in Kansas City.

“I have so much to look forward to now that I know where I’m in and I know where I’m going.” Koch said. “I don’t see the point in doing too much outside of class, I don’t mind

coming and participating, but I don’t want to spend my time doing things outside of class.”

While Koch’s college decision helped take a burden off her shoulders, for Brandon Young, his college plans are the reason he has kept busy with his school work, and on top of his grades.

“My school is out of state and does look at second semester transcripts,” Young said. “That has kept me motivated to keep grades up—I don’t feel a huge need to go above and beyond anything, but I don’t want to drop into oblivion either. I’m not trying to show I can do everything my senior year and then some, I’m just trying to show that I still want to learn and still want to keep my GPA solid.”

Young believes that no matter the school’s policy on second semester grades, students should think about how colleges view their performance, and try to keep standards high.

American Government teacher Nick Paris has plans to keep his senior students focused by making lesson plans for every day and keeping students accountable for their participation.

“Attendance has been a chronic problem with this class,” Paris said, “so I do a participation grade to keep them interested and they lose points unless they want to do make up work.”

English 12 teacher Donnna Skates has her own way to keep her students on track while the year is dwindling

down, and her own ideas about students starting to slack.

“I believe in any job [you should] work until the last day—so I have no tolerance for [senioritis]” Skates said.

Skates believes that most of the AP students she teaches talk about senioritis, but still understand their obligations to stay focused until the last day. This year Paris, too, has seen fewer students take the plunge into apathy, something he believes is due to the amount of student involvement in activities outside of school.

“This year’s group is good in discussion, and I’m pleased they’ve stayed so interested,” He said about his government classes. “This is an involved class—[more students] are out in the real world with work study programs and Model U.N. and things like that to keep them aware of what is happening.”

Koch has dealt with her bout of senioritis by making sure she has activities to look forward to at the end of the school day. She believes that keeping busy with outside activities will keep her interest up in her last few weeks, and recommends it as a deterrent for students finding themselves drifting in school.

So, after four years of hard, focused work, Koch is starting to relax—taking the time to work at her new job at the Classic Cup, having a night for dinner out with friends, or even allowing herself to put off homework until lunch the next day.

She is loving every minute of it.

Gaining

issue 15 / may 1 / features / page 11

Citizenship

Sophomore awaits his naturalization to the U.S. while balancing two cultures

Ren Li is like any other high school kid.

He swims for the boys’ school team and eats at McDonald’s. Like his friends, he complains about teachers and the week’s workload. Like the other debaters, he discusses politics and global policy. Like other honors students, he rarely goes to bed before midnight.

But unlike his peers, Ren has two parents who cannot vote. Where other students carry a driver’s license, he must carry special government identification. Unlike his classmates, sophomore Ren Li is not a citizen.

Li, his mother, Yu Qi, and his father, Li Baobin, are green card holders, meaning the government allows them to legally stay in the United States on a perminant basis. According to the U. S. Office of Citizenship, green card holders have almost all the opportunities that a citizen has, but these residents are not allowed to vote and must carry identification declaring their legal permament residence status.

Li and his family could become citizens whenever they want – but they aren’t in a hurry. *** China’s Beijing University was the epicenter of rioting after the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square. There, government soldiers gunned down thousands of students marching in protest of the Communist party’s policies.

Li Baobin, a researcher at the university, had a difficult choice to make: riot with the students, practically his own age, risk death and face any punishment the government gave him or stay silent and not show the world his opinion of unequal treatment. They had no other country’s citizenship and nowhere to flee if bad things happened.

But he rioted anyway.

Baobin was lucky enough to survive. But as punishment for his rebellion, the government prevented him from ever moving up the social and professional ladders.

When their son, Ren Li, was born Sept. 19, 1990, Baobin began to realize his son would have better career and education opportunities in another country. Four years later, Baobin immigrated with his wife and four-year-old son to Lansing, Michigan in search of a place that would offer his family the opportunities no longer provided for their family in China.

“Dad knew that staying in China wouldn’t be the best option for me or them,” Li said. “They sacrificed all of

art by katie woods

by laura nelson

what they had China to get me over here. They left behind everything: family, culture, everything they were accustomed to.”

When Li’s family arrived in the United States, they were legal immigrants. Becoming legal permanent residents was difficult and time-consuming, but after eight years of adapting and amending their lifestyles, Li’s family became legal resident aliens. But they aren’t in a hurry to become citizens.

“My parents are [becoming citizens] mostly for me,” Li said. “They don’t really care about being citizens or voting that much. They don’t view the U.S. as their homeland – China is where they spent the majority of their lives. All that they’ve done is for me.”

It takes eight years to become eligible for a green card, which is what Li and his parents hold right now.

Immigrants must prove that they are law-abiding citizens and capable of supporting themselves. Once green card holders, the option of becoming a citizen through naturalization is available. The cost of one legal alien’s naturalization is $330. It will cost Li and his family almost $1000 to become citizens of the United States.

Their citizenship paperwork is almost ready, but the government processes it slowly, and each application is time consuming – just one has 10 pages to complete.

When the paperwork has been completed and processed

by the government, he and his family will take a test covering basics of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, as well as questions about American history and trivia, like who invented the light bulb.

One reason Li says that the family isn’t in a rush to get their citizenship is that they feel it won’t change any part of their lifestyle. He knows he will have his citizenship before he’s 18 and ready to vote, so there won’t be any immediate repercussions.

Li predicts his family will become naturalized in the next few months. But for now, he’s adapted to the culture. He doesn’t really care when citizenship happens. He’s found a comfortable blend between his heritage and his environment, although when he first lived in the United States, he didn’t understand the culture.

While he lived in Lansing, Li attended Headstart, a government-sponsored program designed to help children in low-income families catch up in education. During his two years there, he ran into his first culture and language barriers.

“In the beginning, I thought I was speaking English, but I was actually speaking Chinese,” Li said. “I didn’t realize that people spoke different languages. It was kind of embarrassing, I guess, when I realized that no one knew what I was saying.”

But now that Li is fluent and fully understands American culture, his parents believe it’s important to find a balance between their traditions and American culture – and to not completely give up their native way of life.

They have a koi garden in their back yard and they eat traditional Chinese food every night. Ren speaks a mix of Chinese and English – “Chinglish” – at home. But at school, he speaks English without a trace of an accent. His parents had him baptized in a Catholic church while they lived in Lansing. He’s learned to adapt and mold his two cultures into one.

“We don’t want to give up our culture, because, especially after Mao [Zedong], China has learned that it’s important to realize and appreciate your culture,” Li said.

“At the same time, you can’t just keep every bit of your culture. When you come to America, you try to naturalize yourself, and still compete with everyone else and still try to get along with regular life. It’s extremely difficult, especially for adults. We aren’t in a rush.”

Dog Grooming School Presented by Puppy’s Playpen For furthur information contact Andrea @ 913-648-3647 or Leslie @ 913-220-6042

At Spangler’s 913-362-7756 Fine gifts, accessories for you & your home

compared!

story by Michelle Sprehe

AMIGOS

It’s a good thing Allison Hemer stuck with violin. If not, there would be no recommendation for People to People, which means she wouldn’t be boarding a plane to France this June.

This year sophomore Hemer, along with freshman Laura Robertson, will travel halfway around the world to become a student ambassador for a three-week trip that spans across France, Greece and Italy.

Becoming a student ambassador for People to People requires a recommendation. Hemer’s came from a student that takes violin lessons from the same teacher.

The goal of People to People is to help strengthen our relations with foreign countries by letting them meet American students, who are known as student ambassadors during the trip.

Mary Bingman, who has been a trip sponsor since 1989, explains that People to People lets people from other countries get a real feel for what Americans are like, instead of making assumptions and stereotypes based on what they see on the news and read in the papers.

In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower created the People to People program and now, 50 years later, the program has expanded to almost every continent on the planet.

For three weeks they will be immersed in European culture.

They will travel across the Greek Islands, visit the Olympic ruins, see the Vatican in Rome and also go to Venice and Paris.

As exciting as all this sightseeing will be, the People to People sponsor for the trip, Mary Bingman, believes that home stays are the key difference between People to People and a family vacation to Europe.

Home stays, which are set up by People to People, put the students with foreign families with kids the same age. For two days the student ambassadors will stay with the families to get a deeper feeling of what it’s really like to live in France.

“That’s the best education a student ambassador can get. You get to find what their culture is about. We get to see and do things you wouldn’t on family trips,” Bingman said.

Hemer is excited to try and speak with her home stay family in France. After this year, she will have completed French 3. She will be able to talk and experience the opinions and viewpoints of her home stay family.

“I’m interested to see their opinions on things that the U.S. are doing,” Hemer said.

However, she’s worried that the family might ask her a question about U.S. politics that she should know, but doesn’t.

Robertson on the other hand isn’t so much worried about political questions but the language barrier instead.

“They [the families] don’t need to know English. Most of the time you go by yourself,” Robertson said. Bingman, on the other hand, says that the majority of the families speak English.

Although they only stay for two days, Bingman says that strong relationships are built in the short time that they have together, “We have kids that are still communicating with their [homestay] families from years back,” Bingman said Bingman estimates that about 95 percent of the students who go on these trips come back again to go on another one. She has traveled the globe with them, noting Russia and Germany as two of her favorites. Russia, because she got to drive the Moscow Chief of Police car and Germany, because she saw the Berlin Wall after it was taken down, and brought a piece of it back home.

But souvenirs aren’t the only things students bring home.

Bingman says that students come back with not just a different perspective of the world, but themselves as well.

“It’s a life changing experience,” she said. “We’re letting them see us for what we are, not what they hear.”

who’s going where?

amigos

people to people

o i One Wednesday night in February, junior Miles McGonigle found himself trying to construct a puppet using only paper towel rolls, string, tape and fabric for a puppet show he was about to put on. A month later, he was speaking Spanish to pretend store owners- learning what to do and not to do and how to communicate. But McGonigle is used to doing tasks such as role playing and creating things because it’s all AMIGOS training for when he goes to Paraguay this summer.

AMIGOS is a program that lets students who are at least 16 years old and in Spanish two or higher go to South American countries for five to eight weeks to help out in communities and play with children.

“We go down there and see what the people in their community need and then work around their needs,” McGonigle said. “We’ll be doing things like constructing latrines and teaching children about hygiene.”

McGonigle heard about AMIGOS from a former East student who spoke to his Spanish two class about the experience. He then went to the first meeting and decided to get involved from there.

“AMIGOS is for people who are interested in a cultural experiences and have a love for volunteer work,” president of the Kansas City chapter, Mike Thompson said.

With 25 different chapters around the U.S., anyone can apply to be in the program. Students and their parents go through an interview process before they can be a part of AMIGOS. Once they’ve been accepted, the students must attend training classes every other Wednesday from October to May that will aid them in helping others. Students can list their top five destination choices, but they do not always get their first choice.

Senior Liz Jacquinot is going to Masaya, Nicaragua, which was her fourth choice. At first, she was disappointed, but after looking through a brochure and hearing about how beautiful it is, she thinks she’ll really like it.

“The fact that I got my fourth choice makes me feel foolish for not putting it as my first,” Jacquinot said.

Jacquinot is excited, but she is also worried about her health – she has type I diabetes. She will have to be very concerned about the food she eats and her sugar level.

“I’ll have to carry around a small backpack or purse with me wherever I go so that I’ll have my meter and some sugar with me all the time,” Jacquinot said.

Though Jacquinot will not be doing too many strenuous things while she’s there, she will be playing soccer and games with the kids, which can dehydrate her and put her in danger. She has talked to her doctors and will get one last check up before she leaves for Nicaragua on June 14.

“There is one other student with diabetes who is going down there and the people I’m staying with are aware of it,” Jacquinot said. “But it kind of scares me knowing that there’s not a hospital just 10 minutes away in case something does happen.”

Although McGonigle, who is going to Paraguay, does not have any serious health problems, he has taken health precautions.

He was vaccinated for diseases such as yellow fever, typhoid and meningitis.

“Some vaccines are required and others are just recommended,” Thompson said. “The most common ones are malaria and yellow fever.”

The health risks don’t discourage Jacquinot and McGonigle too much because they are looking forward to learning about new cultures and improving people’s living conditions.

“I’m kind of excited to be secluded with no running water or anything,” McGonigle said. “I want to experience what the people down there experience every day of their lives and I hope it will change me for the better.”

Hond

Carrie P Sarah S

Parag

Liz Jacq

Nicar

Liz Jacq

Italy/

Allison H Laura R

Mexi

Ellie We Danny L

Brazi

Brian G

Costa

Abby M

g

story by Stephen Nichols

People to People

• the program focuses mainly on helping others in less fortunate countries, with an emphasis on community service and physical labor.

• the program focuses mainly on helping peers from other countries develop a better understanding of our culture, and vice versa.

• students stay for roughly two months with a host family in the country they have been assigned.

• students stay for roughly three weeks with a host family and stay in different places depending on their designation.

T c

duras (AMIGOS)

Paulette - junior Souder - senior

guay (AMIGOS)

quinot - senior

ragua (AMIGOS)

quinot - senior

/France (P2P)

Hemer - sophomore Robertson - freshman

ico (AMIGOS)

eed - junior Lawrence - junior

il (AMIGOS)

Goldman - junior

a Rica (AMIGOS)

McCrummen - junior

forming a

global connection.

Through different summer programs, students from East find connections to other students and teenagers around the world

Stuck on

page 14 / a&e / the harbinger

‘Stick It’

Sticking the landing: Burt (Jeff Bridges) helps Haley (Missy Peregrym) work on her handstands. photos courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

Movie offers new take on bad-girl gone good by ian mcfarland

once.

Another attribute of the film that makes it an obvious product of the MTV generation is its music – every five minutes another beginning of a song reaped from Punk-pop and Power pop genres is infused into the film. The feel it gives is a bit off, by only playing short segments of each song a fake vibe comes out; but the power chords and heavy beats all work well. Without ever having to be loud, the tunes make you want to get up and move (but not enough to get you to stand up and embarrass yourself in front of the rest of the theater.)

But maybe the most obvious factor that characterizes the film’s younger demo is its message. Through Hailey’s voice-over narration, Bendinger’s punk-rock theme is made unmistakably clear –whether its a mother who wants you to train harder than hard for the Olympics, or judges who reward monotony and take off points for originality; the film makes blatantly clear that trying to please anyone who isn’t you is wrong (and not very cool either.)

Most films fall flat it trying to relate its message, especially the teen genre. Most of their scripts preach something dull that you’ve seen in a dozen other films before – like if you really try hard, you too can go to the State Football Championship, or if you give that girl who wears glasses a chance, you just might fall in love with her!

But the message in “Stick”, although it may be treaded water, works differently.

By placing the theme in something as unexpected as the world of Gymnastics instead of somewhere more expected like a half-pipe, its theme becomes more universal and ultimatelly easier to relate to.

It’s the film’s ability to do this, along with throwing in some above-average jokes and its extreme visual appeal, that makes it stand out as one of the best of the teenage genre. GRADE: A-

How it happened, I don’t know. But a teen comedy about gymnasts isn’t just not bad. It’s too good to be a guilty pleasure even. No, “Stick It” is a great film about conformity and breaking the mold.

“Stick” centers on Hailey (Missy Peregrym), a “punk” (or as punk as you can be in a mainstream movie) BMXer who gets handed two options: go to Military school or a gymnastics school.

Weary of an unrevealed event that scared her from the world of gymnastics, the former superstar of the blue matt chooses in favor of the latter choice, avoiding the sport like a popped collar. But thanks to adults in the picture, Hailey gets the opportunity to sport a leotard for the first time in two years.

The film, written and directed by Jessica Bendinger (who wrote “Bring it On”) makes obvious that this is a film marketed towards teens through its photography. The gym that serves as a home for these girls feels like a workout, red and white room that would fit in with “Tron;” full of long but simple lines that seem, for lack of a better word, cool.

The visual flair continues through the gymnastics themselves. It’s also, well, cool to see someone jump in the air three times and dive into a blue mat face-first. One could go so far as to call it extreme, only this is the kind without frat brothers whose fridge has more beers than their brains have IQ points.

It gets even better, as competitions layer each gymnast’s performance over the other – you’ll have eight girls twirling on top of a balance beam at the same time, each with a different, vibrant color to make sure your eyes won’t blink

12

Balanced: (left) The girls practice for their upcoming meet. Sweet victory: (right) Tricia (Tarah Page) celebrates after her winning routine.

three bands that will

by Derek Martin

Dutch duo Kings of Convenience is the turn of the century’s answer to Simon and Garfunkel. Combining vocal harmonies you can melt into with soft guitar riffs and cameo appearances by a thousand other instruments, Kings manages to create a minimalistic sound that’s not lacking anything.

They won’t have you dancing, but if you’re a fan of spacing out to mellow grooves while you ponder the essence of life itself, then Kings of Convenience are for you.

After a wildly successful U.S. tour last year, featuring many sold out shows, Kings have taken some time to relax and write some new material. Ultimately, if you like good music, you’ll like Kings of Convenience.

john brown’s body

Rapidly ascending to the throne of jambands, this sextet from Chicago offers a helping of prog-rock with a side of improvisation that will make your spine tingle.

Born from the ashes of the South Bend music scene in the mid-90s, Umphrey’s McGee started out as a band playing Phish covers for fraternity parties. Over the years though, they’ve managed to create a rocked out improvbased sound, never playing a song the same way twice, but always playing it well.

Their shows are littered with “improvised composition” in the form of the ever changing song “Jimmy Stewart.” Umphrey’s McGee brings the jamband scene back down to earth, singing more oft about partying than patchouli.

kings of convenience

umphrey’s mcgee

change your life

3

Square Bob Marley and multiply him by pi and you come close to the reggae explosion that is John Brown’s Body.

This roots reggae group from upstate New York will have you grooving from the first note.

Combining deep, thumping, original bass riffs with horns and lyrics that can save the world, John Brown’s Body represents all that is good about reggae/ska music.

Making their midwest debut at the Wakarusa festival in 2005 the band showed that aside from knowing their roots, they can also get down. Improvisation rears its head in many of the bands tunes and live tracks are truly the best way to apprecate them. Live or not though, John Brown’s Body knows how to bring it.

mixed wee t

. S oa re

Missy Engelhardt

sec

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TO PROM? A dress from Jessica McClintock. It’s really lacy and poofy with gold on it.

30

ond

sw

ith.

..

su

gar

WHAT DO YOU PUT ON YOUR TOAST? I like butter on my toast. And with cinnamon and sugar sometimes.

su

b

st

itu te

FAVORITE THING TO DRINK? Organic milk because it doesn’t taste chemically...is that a word?

s

.

t Bu

no

TURNIPS OR CABBAGE? I’m gonna go with the cabbage.

ta ll o

f them.

The

lowdownon

sweeteners Artificial sweeteners are becoming more and more common in all sorts of food and drinks. With everyone trying to lose weight and go on a diet, they’re everywhere. We’ve got info for you on eight common substitutes —and which ones you should not be eating.

GUM

sucralose sugar alcohols tagatose

aspartame acesulfame

saccharin

such as Dentyne Ice, Eclipse, Extra, Freedent, Orbit, Trident

information courtesy of http: //www.cspinet.org/nah/05_ 04/sweet_nothings.pdf

ICE CREAM

such as Edy’s or Dreyer’s No Sugar Added

SODA

such as Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi (from fountain).

SAFE Sucralose

Sucralose is sugar chemically combined with chlorine. Since our bodies can’t burn it, sucralose is low-calorie. It passed all animal safety tests and there is no reason to think it is dangerous.

Neotame

Neotame is a combination of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It has bonds that are very hard to break down. It is relatively new, but as of now, there have been no problems with it.

QUESTIONABLE

Sugar Alcohols

NOT SAFE

Sugar alcohols are made by adding hydrogen atoms to different types of sugars. The problem with them is that too much unabsorbed sugar alcohol in the intestinal tract can cause bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Saccharin

Tagatose

Acesulfame

Tagatose is a manufactured milk sugar (or lactose). It isn’t well absorbed, so large amounts can cause problems similar to those of sugar alcohols like flatulence, bloating and nausea.

Aspartame

Aspartame is made of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It’s dangerous to people with the rare disorder phenylketonuria because they can’t metabolize phenylalanine. Whether it causes headaches is unclear.

Saccharin, a synthetic chemical, has been debated since 1977 when the FDA tried to ban it due to increased cancer in animal studies. It wasn’t banned, but a recent study found that saccharin increases the risk of bladder cancer.

Acesulfame is a synthetic chemical that was found to produce tumors in rats. The tests were done in the 1970s, but the FDA questioned the accuracy of the tests due to an argument by the product’s manufacturer and didn’t do any more testing. It hasn’t been completely proven to cause tumors, but it’s probably safer to stay away from it.

Stevia

Stevia, an extract from a shrub found in Brazil and Paraguay, was found to cause infertility and weak offspring in rats. The FDA and other health organizations ruled that it couldn’t be in food, but it’s still sold as a supplement.

photos by frances lafferty

Spring is s

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / mixed / page 15

page 16 / a&e / the harbinger

Get Out Your Weed Killer

Newest Vines CD lacks the punch found in previous albums by ian mcfarland Stuffed with progressing guitars, easy-to-sing along to lyrics and even an electric organ, the third track of the Vines most recent album “Candy Daze” has everything it takes to be a great Rock-Pop single. Too bad you’ll never remember it.

In the 2002 Garage Band explosion, the Vines were the leaders of the revolution. Along for the ride were the Strokes, the Hives and even the White Stripes; but at the forefront was the high-octane Vines single “Get Free.”

Pumped with more energy than a 12-year-old high on a sixpack of Red Bulls, the song was addictive and catapulted the reputation and potential for the Australian band then deemed to be a blend of Nirvana and the Beatles.

But fame wasn’t an easy game for the Vines; their 2004 sophomore follow-up, “Winning Days” came out with little more attention than having its first of only two singles featured on a Toyota commercial. And with the bands most recent album, “Vision Valley,” you have to be a fan to know of its existence.

And it’s not hard to understand why. Although “Days,” which improved on the Vines top-40 Rock-Pop with a more defined and edgier sound, was cheated out of fame, “Valley” seems like a mediocre album forced out by the band out of fear of being forgotten.

It’s not to say the album is without its pleasures. The band keeps its distinct sound – poppy, easily digested riffs with a more hardcore twist to add flavor – with flying colors. From the first few notes of the opening track, there’s

no question that a Vines album is beginning. It’s this sort of off-center mainstream sound that makes the Vines so addictive, it’s difficult to dislike a rock band with tunes so simple but at the same time, almost innovative.

It’s hard to not to love a Vines rock ballad, and with “Valley,” we get four more. “Take Me Back,” “Going Gone,” album capper “Spaceship” and the title-track all feature a sound that’s to big not to dance to, but mellow enough that anything more than waving a lighter feels overly festive. It may cause confusion on the dance floor, but on your iPod they make for surprisingly pretty Rock songs.

The album tries to spit out another “Get Free” through the 78-second track “Gross Out.” To be fair, the latter has just as much energy as the former, but it’s so unrelenting, so short and so jam-packed with chords that you don’t have any downtime to appreciate how much motion is crammed in. It would sound great in concert, but when it’s coming out of speakers it’s just a lot of noise Which leads into the major short-coming of the album: it’s not long enough. It may have a standard 13 tracks, but put them all together and you barely get a half of an hour of Rock.

Each track is too short – half of the songs are 2 minutes or less. This might be forgivable, but these brief tracks feel cramped for space. Few of the songs are given the time to stand out, and it’s even harder to stand out when the next song comes along and obliterates any of the last song’s positive bits before the song is given time to stick to memory.

It’s easy to see how “Vision Valley” could have been a

Discography Winning Days - Contained the hit song “Ride.”

- Released on March 23, 2004

Highly Evolved - Contained hit song “Outtathaway!”

- Released July 16, 2002 great album, keeping up with the obvious improvement found in between the band’s first two albums. But as is, the songs feel rushed. They’re like taut but immature demos that the band needed to jam to more in the studio for them to become fully realized.

Let’s hope that the next album the Vines gives us shows more energy and more innovation, or they may be doomed to little else but more Toyota commercials. Grade: C+

HOMER’S Coffee House Live Music, Great Refreshments, Amazing People 7126 W. 80th Overland Park • 913.381.6022 • Mon.- Sat.

‘05-’06

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / a&e / page 17

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST starring JOHNNY DEPP, ORLANDO BLOOM, KEIRA KNIGHTLY, BILL NIGHY opens JULY 7

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III starring TOM CRUISE, KERI RUSSEL, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN opens FRIDAY Maybe Tom Cruise is nuts. Maybe Oprah should have a restraining order placed on the scientologist, but I don’t care. The fact that he’s staring in J.J. Abrams incarnation of the third “Mission: Impossible” is more than enough for me to forgive him for glibbing Matt Lauer last year. Abrams has helped to create dozens of action sequenecs on his two televised babies, “Alias” and “Lost” for less than $2 million, imagine what he can do with 100 times that budget.

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND starring HUGH JACKMAN, HALLE BERRY, IAN McKELLAN opens MAY 26 This writer can fondly remember being taken to see “X-Men” in theatres for the first time.

Only 13 yearold, the only word I could think of to describe it was “Dudical.”

Flash forward six years, and the last of the planned “X-Men” trilogy comes out Memorial Day weekend. We’ll still get a “Wolverine” spin-off, and there’s even a “Magnito” prequel spin-off in the works, but “The Last Stand” is the last true X-Men we may ever get. For, you know, 20 years; when Twentieth Century Fox

I’ll tell you a secret: I think that the first 2003’s “The Curse of the Black Pearl” was the most overrated movie of the year. Yeah, Depp was more than memorable as the bumbling buccaneer Jack Sparrow, and the special effects were great; but at over two hours, it just too much for what was supposed to be a silly action/adventure. It needed to find a better combonation of action and laughs to work.

But with a second film comes a second chance, and to be honest I’m looking forward to “Dead Man’s Chest.” It wouldn’t be surprising if director Gore Verbinski found a better balance between Jack fighting ghosts and Jack drinking rum.

If it’s done right, this “Pirates” could be the ultimate summer spectacle. But if they can’t find the right formula, don’t be surprised if this sequel is a sinker.

decides to reinvent their super-hero franchise (see top right.)

But how will “Stand” stack up? One can only guess at this point. Although the trailer promises another plot with a mix of action and metaphors for Civil Rights, this last entry has a new director. Filling the shoes of Bryan Singer, who helmed the first two is Brett Ratner, whose mixed resumé of both “Rush Hour”s and most recently “After the Sunset” leads to some anxiety. Can he tackle something as delicate as an “X-Men” film, demanding high-stakes fight scenes and a level of seriousness matched by hardly any other big budget action fest?

But I guess we’ll just have to wait to see how dudical “Stand” will be.

BACK FOR MORE

SUPERMAN RETURNS Starring BRANDON ROUTH, KATE BOSWORTH, KEVIN SPACEY opens JUNE 30 19 years after “The Quest for Peace,” Superman is back in a franchise rebirth . Little is known of the film, save that it deals with the big guy returning to Earth after leaving for undisclosed reasons.

This fifth film in the franchise is helmed by Bryan Singer, who proved his worth for the super-hero genre in the first two “X-Men” films.

But does Hollywood really need a resurrection of Supes? After “Spider-Man” set off a chain reaction of comic book franchises, isn’t America getting tired of our super-natural crime fighters?

Only box office numbers will tell this July 4th weekend.

MEN IN TIGHTS: Tom Cruise (top) and Hugh Jackman take on various sources of badness this summer in “M:i:III” and “X3,” respectfully

photos courtasy of movieweb.com

Summer’s back and so are action sequels. From the superheros and secret spies, here’s a preview of the most promising. by Ian McFarland

page 18 /sports / the harbinger

hitting it hard.

Softball team works to come back from a 4-13 record and prove that they have what it takes.

On the field: (above) Senior Kristen Crawford gets down and ready in anticipation for the ball.

Crawford is a first year letter winner and has had a possitive impact on the team. (far left): Infielders huddle prior to an inning to go through fielding strategies. The team has a 4-11 record and has five games remaining. (left):Senior DeAnna Young throws her bat and takes her base after being walked.

Young has been the starting varsity catcher and team captain who has brought leadership to the field. photos by kelsey brown and frances lafferty.

Place your Prom Boutonnière or Corsage and receive a 10% discount with student I.D.

Village Flower Company 6978 Mission Road Prairie Village, KS 66208

Prairie Village Shopping Center

(913) 722-1325 Fresh Flowers Daily for Every Occasion

Weekdays 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-5:30pm, Sun 11am-3pm

Senior Coffee May 19

Beginning at 7 a.m. in the Cafeteria

Seniors,

parentsandfaculty welcome

SponsoredbyPTA

go glam for the prom dance!

LUSCIOUS CURLS OR SUPER STRAIGHT

•Teen Facial, $25•Waxing Service, $12.50•Express Pedicure, $25•Teen Manicure, $12

Bring in this ad to receive $5 off the pedicure, waxing and hair!

call for an appointment: 913.345.2266

4030 W. 83 St. Corinth Square

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / sports / page 19

Following in his family’s footsteps, freshman Chris Fotopoulos is expected to do big things for the Lancers by clark goble Freshman Chris Fotopoulos knows tennis. His aunt was an East singles state champion three years in a row, throwing together a 71-0 record. His father played for East and won a state championship as well. He’s played over 75 matches from Columbus to Kentucky to Palm Springs in national tournaments this year alone, some on clay courts, some on grass, some on hard.

But soon he will experience something he doesn’t know.

What it feels like to be a freshman high school tennis player with a shot to take the state title.

“It’s always tough with all the expectations,” Fotopoulos said. “But I don’t worry about that. I just go and do my thing.”

Fotopoulos has been doing his tennis thing since age two, when he picked up a tennis racket for the first time.

His father fed him tennis balls and he would return them over the net, a good foot higher than his head. At age seven, he went to his first nationally ranked tournament, playing against other seven and eight year old “prodigies” with dozens of tournaments under their belts. The result?

His first national tournament title.

Say goodbye to Game Boys and Silly Putty and hello to topspin winners, 128-player tournament brackets and three-hour plane rides to Florida.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s fun to travel and see different places you don’t usually see,” Fotopoulos said. “But the main reason I do it is because I love to compete.”

Fotopoulos began taking organized lessons when he was around four and started national tournament play with his tournament victory at seven. After being ranked in the 400’s nationally in the Under-16 division his eighth grade year, he has leaped to 243rd this year. He just finished play in the USTA National Spring Championships, better known as The Easter Bowl. He was winless in two matches, losing his second match in the third set, but he doesn’t worry about the results.

“It’s a big tournament and there is such variety between the players and how they play their matches,” Fotopoulos said. “The two guys I played were older than I was and had a lot more experience, so I’m not upset about it.”

Fotopoulos found that he needed to change the way he played his game to become a better player than he was. Therefore, he has played his last few tournaments using a different style than he is used to playing. He compares the changes in his game similar to the changes Tiger Woods made after winning numerous Masters and U.S. Open’s.

“Sometimes when you need to change things (about your game), you can’t let the results distract you from becoming a better player,” Fotopoulos said. “Tiger changed his swing and lost a little in the beginning, but eventually that made him a much better player and helped him in the long run.”

Fotopoulos has been around solid competition in his

King

of the

last November. Christian placed third in the state last year and is expected to place higher this year.

“JT (John Thomas) is a great player and he really works hard,” Fotopoulos said. “He is a good competitor to play against.”

Fotopoulos could meet Christian in the state tournament, but he doesn’t want to think that far ahead. He very well knows he may not even be the best player on his own team, let alone the state.

That title might fall to experienced senior Will Gates, whose two losses this year have come to players with state tournament experience. Fotopoulos knows no one expects anything of him, being a shaggy-haired freshman that played his first high school match six weeks after the season officially started. But he likes that all the better.

“If I’m not nervous and play loose, I think I can compete with anyone,” Fotopoulos said. “If there’s no pressure, I got a shot.”

Fotopoulos came back from the Easter Bowl April 16. By that time, he had missed around 15 school days this semester due to participation in 10 national tournaments. Making up the work hasn’t been a challenge.

“You need to know how to manage your time and get it done before the trip so you aren’t thinking about it,” Fotopoulos said. “If you communicate with the teachers, it isn’t too difficult to keep up in school.”

Although unable to discuss his grade, English teacher Laura Beachy has found that Fotopoulos is persistent in getting his work beforehand, and his grade hasn’t suffered because of missing class.

While most of the tournaments Fotopoulos has gone to lately have been singles, and the Easter Bowl was a singles tournament, Coach Chipman might have him play doubles as well. His best national tournament finish came in doubles, a third place in a USTA Super National Tournament in Chicago. He isn’t worried about what he plays. “(Doubles) is definitely something I would like to play,” Fotopoulos said. “Whatever Coach Chipman feels is the best for me I will be ready for.”

Schooling pressure or coaching pressure, neither matches up to what Fotopoulos has had to deal with his whole tennis career: his last name and the expectations that come with it. That 71-0 record his aunt, Angie Fotopoulos, compiled came in just three years of high school play. Ninth graders attended middle schools in 1971.

“I’ll just say I’m glad I’m not a girl, because living up to that would be a challenge,” Fotopoulos said.

Being a guy doesn’t take him out of the family spotlight. His dad won the title as a junior in 1977.

“Some of the guys up at Harmon Park ask me about my last name because they remember playing with my dad,” Fotopoulos said. “But I try not think about it and just concentrate on my game. It’s my game and not theirs.”

As he takes his first swing of the first game of his first match of his East tennis career, a slight smirk emerges. He’s no longer two years old, no longer looking up at the tennis net and his father standing across from him. The name on the back of his Dri-Fit top, a Columbia blue, block-lettered Fotopoulos, means nothing now. The national tournament titles, the medals, the rankings.

Nothing.

It’s him and his Miege opponent. No one else.

Even after all that tennis, all those years spent between those thick white lines, he’s still having fun playing a game he loves. He smiles as he hits a winner and jokingly grimaces as he hits one an inch past the baseline.

But he lost his first game. Is he too young, dealing with too much pressure or too immature?

He proceeded to win the match 8-1.

He’s ready.

Court

national circuit and has even faced a couple players he might play against this year. He has beaten junior teammate Tim Akhmedow twice in three tries, albeit two years ago, and has glared over the net into Olathe Northwest sophomore John Thomas Christian’s eyes during a third-set tiebreaker

page 20 / sports / the harbinger

Speed, strength, determination take boy’s track to the top by ben whitsitt

run MAKING A

FOR IT

At the meet: sophomore Terrance Thomas runs the 100 meter dash at a meet. He is currently .3 seconds behind the all time East record of 10.4 seconds photo by emily darling

The boy’s track team may be inexperienced, but their work ethic and talent show otherwise.

Their results show that although they are composed of mainly underclassmen, they are still state contenders. They have won every meet so far this year, not including the Kansas relays, putting themselves in the top three schools in 6A. Even though the running team is made up of mostly sophomores and juniors, there are only five seniors, two of which are long distance runners John McCormick and Connor Dennis. McCormick has won all of his individual events, the half mile, the mile and has also won the 4x400 relay every time.

“There is a lot of talent out there, there are a lot of freshman and sophomores, but we are good on everything,” McCormick said.

The Lancers weren’t ranked high to begin the season, but after such a strong start, the guys only have to deal with Lawrence Free State and Olathe East at the end of the season in order to win state.

“As a team, we are very good, we have a good chance at winning state,” McCormick said. “But I am planning on winning the half mile at state.”

McCormick’s best time this year in the half mile was 1:56, only two seconds off the school record of 1:54.

Not only is McCormick concentrating on beating the school record, he also has to focus on his 4x400 relay team along with juniors Alex Hodges, Taylor Cantril and sophomore Andrew Pennington.

“The hardest part about running all the events is that

I don’t have enough time between the relay and other races,” McCormick said. “I don’t get to cool down as much.”

McCormick isn’t the only runner who has been tearing up the track this season.

Breakout star sophomore Terrance Thomas recorded 11.1 seconds in the 100 meter dash at the Kansas Relays. He was eighth at the relays but is third in 6A. Thomas’ success will be just one reason that the Lancers will take the state title.

The other reason will be riding on senior Johnny Sullivan’s running and leaping. Sullivan is the one of two hurdlers on the team competing in the 110 meter high hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles. After running the 110 meter hurdles in 15.5 seconds at the Kansas Relays, Sullivan is ranked third in state and is poised for being one of the top two.

Sullivan’s success is due to his training last winter and this winter with fellow teammate Andrew Pennington.

Pennington’s dad helped both hone their skills and is now the current hurdling coach.

“I feel like I could be a lot better than I am but training during the off season has helped a lot,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan runs along side with Pennington, and being in the leadership position has been different for him.

“It makes me feel like I need to set an example,” Sullivan said. “Some people may slack off but I just have to show that I am serious about running and set the tone,” With a limited amount of experience, the boy’s track team has made the most of their talent by winning.

record breaking • 10.4- All-time SM East 100 meter dash record fred merril nearly 40 years ago.

• 10.68- Time Bryce Perry won the 100 with last year at state.

• 10.7- Thomas’ personal record he set during time trials • 11.1- Thomas’ time at the KU Relays • 8th- Thomas’ place he took at the Relays out of 35, the second best sophomore • 1st year of running organized track

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / sports / page 21

Student lives with the ups and downs of having

sportscaster dad

by libby nachman It is freshman Taylor Twibell’s surprise party for her 13th birthday. All of her friends are gathered at Homestead Country Club, a Mix 93.3 DJ is there and customized TShirts with her birthday, Sept.. 13, are the favors. The only thing missing is her dad.

Taylor’s father is Roger Twibell, the award-winning play-by-play golf announcer for ESPN. Announcing for tournaments often takes him away from home; Twibell can be gone for months at a time in places as far as Australia and Russia. He announces for golf tournaments such as the PGA tour and the LPGA tour.

Birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings – he’s missed them all at some point. But to Taylor, her mother Michelle, her younger brother Connor and younger sister Morgan,

it’s what they’ve always known.

“Other kids think it’s weird not to have him here,” Taylor said. “I’ve kind of gotten used to it.”

She’s used to waking up, expecting to see her dad, only to realize he’s not there, only to realize she won’t see him while she cheers or swims, only to realize her mom will be the one she relies on to drive her.

“We kind of joke around and call my mom a single parent,” Taylor said. Michelle, who describes herself as very independent, is often left as the one to juggle schedules for three kids who have to be three different places at three different times.

“I am the one parent home for five days or for five weeks,” she said. “I don’t like it – it’s not my first choice – but we reap the benefits. I appreciate it so much for what he does for us.”

When Twibell is home, though, he’s really home. He’s there all day, to wake the kids up for school, to drive them, to be there when they get home. And on the weekends he’s home, he goes to every one of Connor’s soccer game, every game Taylor cheers at.

“Poor thing runs ragged when he’s here,” Michelle said, laughing. But it’s what Twibell wants to do.

“When I’m home I try to be there for them as much as I can,” Twibell said. “My wife and kids may have learned to live without me but I’ve never learned to live without them. They may not need me as much as I need them.”

Twibell makes every effort he can to be a part of his kids’ lives. While he’s gone, he’s constantly in touch over the phone.

“I need to hear their voices,” he said.

“When you’re living in a hotel five days a week and only in your own bedroom a couple days a week, it’s nice to hear their voices. It’s not like sitting down and looking them in the eye – that’s the part I miss.”

Taylor tries to talk to him every day that she can. They talk about her day at school, how his tournament is going, but it’s the small things in Taylor’s life that they don’t talk about.

“I forgot to tell him about [the dance],” Taylor said, clapping her hand over her

mouth. All of her friends went to the Father/Daughter dance, eating barbecue with their dads beforehand at freshman Libby Jandl’s house, but because Twibell was in Augusta, Ga., announcing for the Master’s, Taylor stayed home doing her Spanish homework.

To stay connected to Twibell and let him know that they care about his work, the family TiVos or watches every broadcast that Twibell does.

“We like to watch the golf stuff,” Taylor said. “[So] if we do miss him, we can see him.”

The missing feeling comes sporadically, though. Taylor, Michelle and Twibell all stress that this is all the family has ever known.

“It’s what we’ve always done,” Michelle said. “I have to brag – we’re very good at it.”

Still, the family finds ways to incorporate Twibell’s job into family vacations. Taylor gets to travel with her father to some of the tournaments, such as one in New York City a few years ago and got to sit with him in the announcer’s box and wear a big pair of headphones.

And every winter break, the family goes with him to Hawaii where he announces for the Sony Open.

“There is a trade-off,” Twibell said, “[but] it’s really what they’ve grown up with.”

Seventh inning

s t r e t c h Off to a shaky start, the Lancers hope to improve this season as a team

High fives: (left) The team giving each other high fives in a huddle at a game against SM North on April 10. They won 17-2.

Pitching: (above left) Senior Wes Stauncher pitching against Olathe Northwest on April 17.

Slide: (above right) Junior David Justice trying for an out at the game against SM North. The runner was safe.

Pound: (right) Senior Logan Wysong and junior Sam Speer pound fists as they pass each other on the field at SM North. Their next game is a league game at SM West. The first time they played West they lost 7-8 in extra innings. photos by katie james

photo by frances lafferty

page 22/ sports / the harbinger

makes It’s all about... Freshman sacrifices to

DIVING by ruth stark

She coasts down K-10 in the passenger seat of her dad’s car, studying the vocab she was assigned in Honors English.

Upon reaching Lawrence, it’s a complete change of gear.

The next two hours she will spend tirelessly perfecting her inward two and a half tuck with a private dive coach. Still damp and smelling slightly of chlorine, she hops into he car and heads to South where she will muster the energy to spend another hour and half diving for East.

And it’s only Monday.

You never hear her complain.

Freshman Logan Kline has been diving competitively for six years. This has earned her a spot among the top divers in the nation. As of last summer, Kline is ranked 13 in the nation on the three-meter board and eighth on the one-meter board in the girl’s 14-15-year-old-group.

“It gets my mind away from school and all the stress in my life and I can just go and dive,” Kline said.

Kline’s first serious sport was gymnastics, which she started at the age of five. She spent countless hours in a gym at 161 st. and Metcalf. A badly sprained ankle and joint aches and pains made Kline and her parents realize this sport wasn’t going to be a long lasting one.

They saw diving as a good transition sport that would take her more places in the long run. Kline soon took the skills and disciplined work ethic she learned from gymnastics to the diving board.

“Logan doesn’t like losing; I think gymnastics brought that out,” Carr Kline, Logan’s dad, said.

Kline’s dive schedule consists of East practices six days a week and private lessons at KU four days a week. Kline’s private coach, Eric Elliott said she’s a remarkable kid who is very talented and hard working.

Her teammates and family feel the same way about her.

“A lot of times we get lazy, but then we look up and see Logan doing a dive non-stop and we get back up there. I am amazed by her,” fellow freshman diver, Rikki Eymann said.

Loren Kline, Logan’s mom says she’s proud of the way Kline supports and cheers on her team members and even her opponents.

With the schedule Kline has committed to, time with friends and family, including her six other siblings is hard to come by. Her friends used to be baffled by the amount of time she spent diving, but now they understand that it’s just a very important part of her life.

“I remember one time she had to miss WPA for a dive

become one of the best nationally

meet,” freshman Legna Cedillo said.

While Kline’s friends were getting their hair done and dancing in the East gym at Polar Palace, she was in Orlando at an international dive competition.

“I didn’t care too much because I didn’t really know who I would ask. In a way it was kind of nice,” Kline said.

Last weekend Kline also qualified for the U.S. Open on the one-meter board.

“Most of the girls were older and there were some Olympians there so I was excited,” Kline said.

Kline plans on diving in college and making it to Senior Nationals. For now she is keeping the 2012 Olympics in her head while she finishes finding the areas of regular polygons for geometry.

One, Two, Jump: Freshman Logan Kline bounds off the board during a dive meet. photo by megan koch

hectic schedule

Since her competitive diving debut six years ago, Kline has two practicies a day leaving little time for her homework and social life. Take a look at a typical day’s scheudule

5:00-7:00 p.m.

Diving at KU with private coach

7:00-7:30

Drive back from Lawrence

7:30- 9:00

East dive practice

9:00

Dinner, homework and bed

recycle your

P A P E R S

issue 15 / may 1, 2006 / sports / page 23

“

LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD SENIOR GOLFER CHARLIE GREENE

at Mission Hills Country Club in the summer of 2004. I aced the 168 yard second hole with an eight iron. My best round was a 66 over the summer at MHCC.

ON HOW YOUNG YOU STARTED PLAYING GOLF I started playing at six, but I didn’t start caring about it until the summer of my sophomore year. I tried out for the golf team sophomore year as a joke, and I ended up loving it.

ON WHERE YOUR GOLF GAME WILL TAKE YOU IN THE FUTURE I am going to University of Nevada Las Vegas to try to get a golf management degree.

ON BEING THE TOP SENIOR ON THE GOLF TEAM I don’t feel to much pressure. The hardest part is filling the void left by Sam Dodge and Charles German. But its fun to be the big guy on the team and help the younger guys play their best.

ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND ON GOLF I normally spend two hours a dayon the course all year except when it gets to cold in the winter months. In the winter I try to go to the driving range at least once a week.

ON THE MENTAL CHALLENGES GOLF PRESENTS The toughest mental part of golf is staying focused for 18 long holes. I am unlike most guys, though, when it comes to hitting a bad shot. I always try to just laugh off a bad shot or hole because then it is easier to regroup for the rest of the round.

ON YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON THE COURSE My biggest single accomplishment was a hole-in-one

ON WHAT ONE DOES WITH A DEGREE IN GOLF MANAGEMENT When I earn the degree I will become a member of the Professional Golf Association (PGA) and can get one of about 128 jobs. I want to eventually become and executive at Titleist or Taylor.

ON LIVING LIFE IN THE SIN CITY LAS VEGAS UNLV is an awesome campus and the weather will be nice enough to play golf year round. I think school and golf will keep me occupied and away from the Strip.

Greene, one of two seniors on varsity, is hoping to perfect his golf game in the final weeks of the season before he works on a golf degree at UNLV.

ON YOUR TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL CHANCE AT STATE If everyone keeps playing consistent we should have a shot to fair well at state. We made it as a team to state last year and we should do that again this year.

”

Greene shot a season best 74 last Monday, April 24, at Topeka Country Club. He’ll lead the team today at the East Invitational at Meadowbrook, the team’s home course. as told by peter goehausen

photo by katie james

The Week Ahead

What to watch for in Lancer Athletics By Peter Goehausen TUESDAY 5/2

Boys Tennis @ Blue Valley North

Before league begins next week, the Lancers have one tough opponent left tomorrow in Blue Valley North. The undefeated Mustangs have run through their competition in the EKL. At Shawnee Mission districts, East easily won behind senior Will Gates and juniors Bryce Warnock and Teymour Ackmedow. The team’s chances at making a run at the state title got much better with the arrival of nationally ranked freshman Chris Fotopolous. In his first match two weeks ago, Fotopolous won number one singles 8-1.

WEDNESDAY 5/3

Girls Soccer @ St. Teresa’s

With a 3-2-1 record in Sunflower League play, the girls soccers season is going much better than expected after losing an all-league goalie and defender. After their tie against Olathe North last week, the stood sixth in league standings. The teams strong defensive play has kept the team afloat while the offense has struggled at times. They have also gotten much unexpected help from three freshman: Libby Jandl and Nicole and Dana Hemmingsen.

FRIDAY 5/5

Track and Field @ North Relays

The boys track and field team is having one of their best seasons in recent memory. One of the main reasons for that is because of sophomore Terrance Thomas, (right) who finished eighth at the KU Relays, and senior distance runner John McCormick, who finished 18th at the Relays. On the field end, junior high jumper Peter Helmuth, pole vaulter Eric Chapman, and senior shot putter Don Atkinson are leading the team in the points category. Chapman has been an especially big surprise this year. His 13 foot personal record would’ve placed him fourth at state last year. photos by katie james and kathleen sprouse

TUESDAY 5/2

GAME OF THE WEEK-Boys Baseball @ SM West

Last May the baseball team was embarrassed by West in the 6A state consolation game, losing by eight runs. This year the Lancers, who stand three games behind West in the League, will be looking for revenge. Highly touted in the early season, the team hasn’t met their high expectations thus far with a 3-5 record. They will be looking for the seven experienced seniors to lead them on a late season run starting with today’s game.

SATURDAY 5/6

Girls Swimming and Diving @ League

The girls swim and dive athletes will have one final chance to qualify for state and win their second straight league title Saturday. If the swimmers can pull through the team should have a good shot considering the dive team is led by the best diver in Kansas, Logan Kline, who has broken nearly every record in Kansas diving.

page 24 / photo essay / the harbinger issue 1 / september 6, 2005

Practice time: (left) The rugby team goes through stretches before they begin to practice and then move into drills. (center) Bishop Miege student Garrett Scott chases after senior Hunt Davis in a defensive drill while coach Rob stands near by. (right) The boys do push-ups as a punishment for dropping the ball during a passing drill. The rugby team practices twice a week at Franklin Park. The team consists of all East boys except for a few members from Bishop Miege. photos by linda howard

Rugby Goes Unrecognized

The East Rugby team, a less talked about club outside of school have made their mark competing against local schools and the Junior Blues, one of the best teams in the nation

Run for your life: Junior Zach Lehr runs with the ball while being chased.

Rugby is played by two teams of 15 players on a rectangular field 110 yards long. photo by linda howard

Fighting for the ball: East (in solid navy) battles against the team “Junior Blues” for the ball. The Junior Blues are currently one of the best teams in the nation, and although East gave it all they had, they lost in the end. photo by linda howard

Battle wound: Junior Zach Lehr ices his hurt knee on the sideline while a few teammates gather around. Rugby can get extremely brutal due to the fact that no one wears pads to protect them from viscious tackles. East has struggled with the loss of key players such as Josh Hobart and Matt Mahoney this year, but they’ve managed to keep a good record. photo by linda howard