Issue 1

harbinger

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / 7500 mission road prairie village, kansas

Closed briefly this summer, Harmon skate park is now

back in I

ABOVE: A skater flies down the ramp at the recently reopened Harmon Skate Park. ABOVE RIGHT: A local skater flies off a jump photos by Kathleen Sprouse and Samantha Ludington

action

story by sylvia shank

t’s afternoon at Harmon Park and the concrete structure echoes with the clacking sound of wheels on pavement.

Barron Bowling, his arms a pallet of tattoos snaking up his biceps, heads back to the park from the water fountain.

“When I was young, I had to skate for miles just to find a curve like the ones here,” the 43-year-old Bowling says. “That’s bogus that kids are up here fighting when they should be having a good time.”

Bowling is referring to the city’s recent decision to temporarily shut down the three month old Harmon Skate Park in Prairie Village after a mud fight clogged all of the park’s drains.

“I can’t believe kids do it right here by the police station,” says Bowling, glancing at the police headquarters and several patrol cars just across from the park.

Somehow, they do manage.

Graffiti, brawls, smoking, drinking and the recent mud fight have been a problem. And this park has only been open 90 days.

Up until the park closed for 2 1/2 days in late July, the Prairie Village Police had received 43 complaint calls about behavior in the parks.

“We got a lot of favorable reactions from parents once we closed it,” Bob Pryzby, Prairie Village Public Works Director said.

Back in the park, senior Spencer Schanzer picks up his skateboard and carries it up a concrete ramp. He feels that the recent closing was unfair to the skaters.

“The problem with all these fights,” he says, “is that kids from the pool used to come sit on the ledge of the park. They were the ones fighting.”

continued on page 2

page 2 / news / the harbinger

Following acts of vandalism, park reopens continued from page 1 Schanzer jumps onto his board, rolls down the ramp, across and up the opposite curve, and back up the first ramp.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he continues. “They were just trying to punish all the skaters when the people who were fighting and screwing around weren’t even the ones skating.”

Schanzer and senior Alton Easton come to the park almost daily.

Schanzer was a friend of Jake Shepard, the boy in whose honor this park was built. Shepard died of cancer his freshman year, but had always loved skateboarding and dreamed of having a park in this area.

“The closing made me ashamed,” Schanzer said.

Police are closely monitoring the area. Five people have been charged at juvenile court and will be asked to pay for a broken park sign.

In addition, Prairie Village Police Chief Charles Grover has assigned a task force to address the park’s problems. This force consists of a supervising officer, juvenile officer, crime prevention officer, and police officer.

“We’re trying to work this out,” Grover said. “I hope this park doesn’t have to be closed in the future because it gives people a place to go when in the past they’ve skated at school or on commercial establishments.”

Since the 2 1/2 day closing of the park, complaint calls have decreased considerably, but this may relate to schools starting and not as many kids skating.

“It’s very hard to tell,” Grover said. “But whether or not it’s related to school, things have improved around the park.”

Bryan Prill, the parent of skater Ben Prill, who’s home-schooled, enjoys coming to the park to watch his son.

“I think a lot of people were bummed out that a couple of kids would be so stupid,” Prill said. “It’s a really impressive, really nice skate park and I think it’s pleasant to be around here.”

N News Briefs B

Making the Mess Five kids are being tried in juvenile court with criminal charges because they broke the $1600 fiberglass sign that displayed the park rules.

Cleaning it Up Skaters who were caught vandalizing the park were forced to come back and scrub off the graffiti during the two and a half days when the park was closed.

ABOVE: Local skater parctices his moves at the Jake Shepard skate park photo by Samanta Ludington RIGHT: Group of skaters stand by to watch others on the park’s opening day photo by Kathleen Sprouse

Cooler Text What: Sends important athletic updates and coupons from local merchants to players, parents and fans Where: Straight to cell phones When: Whenever urgent sports updates occur How: Sign up at www.smesports.com Cost: Free Why: So students can know sports related announcements as soon as they are released

What: SME band director Kim Harrison is teaming up with the Mission Valley band director to hold a music fair Where: SME When: Sept. 8, 2005 Why: Freshman band enrollment has stedily decreased over the years and this is an attempt to encourage younger students to keep playing instruments and join their high school bands

issue 1 / septermber 6, 2005 / news / page 3

A Vending Vacation the change in vending policy will affect more than student thirst

by annie fuhrman

the cafeteria line,” Green said.

Although the main goal of the policy is to keep the school clean and presentable, the students are paying in other ways besides just the unavailability of snacks during class.

With each beverage sale, the school receives a 42 percent of the money made from that sale. The more than $16,000 earned last year in commission is put into a fund referred to as the “Coke” fund. This money is student money, which can be used by Student Council or other student groups.

“We have bought big ticket items with the Coke money,” Stu Co sponsor Brenda Fishman said. “It gets used for things like patio furniture and we bought laptop batteries for the computers. These are things that benefit every student.”

Some of the items the school used the money to purchase are a new office sign, landscaping for the front circle and trailer area and software.

Green expects the commission to be down by over 50 percent from previous years.

“Everyone comes to Stu Co for money,” Stu Co exec board vice president Cate Stark said. “We have to pay for decorations for dances, and last year half of the ticket sales from dances went to Tsunami relief. We count on that money to pad the budget so we can give money [to these causes]. We are going to have to sit down and have a budget meeting.”

According to the Coke contract each individual school’s principal has control over when the machines are and aren’t on.

“It is up to the principals,” district Purchasing director Ron Roe said. “However they want to run the machines.”

Coca-Cola may not have a say in when the student can purchase drinks from the machines, but they do have the vending machines in the school acting as advertising to students.

“From Coke’s perspective, I’m sure they’re disappointed that the machines aren’t on all the time, but the important thing is that there are still about 20 billboards all over the school,” Green said. “They are trying to influence the buying habits of teenagers. Even if they aren’t buying, it is a very promotional.”

The contract that the Shawnee Mission District has with Coca-Cola is set up so the district gets a set amount of money each year as well as the commission from beverage sale.

“It is called the incentive payment,” Roe said. “It is money we get over the payment of commission. The first year [of the contract] we got $700,000. The second through the fifth Junior Peyton Warwick tries to buy a drink out of the vending machine in the lunch room during first lunch. This year all year [the district will get] $100,000 each year.

Administrators and teachers are enforcing a policy that has been in place for years: not allowing food or drink anywhere in the building, except for the lunchroom.

“This is not a new policy,” administrator in charge of the vending machines Lane Green said. “There just wasn’t any real consistent enforcement [of the policy].”

Now vending machines selling soda, milk, Powerade or food will be turned off between the hours of 7:35 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. All vending machines selling water will be on and available for student use during all hours of the day.

The reason why the vending machines are off during lunch is not because of the policy. The contract the school has with coke dictates that the machines be turned off at that time.

“The [machines] are not on because the [beverages from the machine] cannot compete with the beverages sold in

the vending machines are off during the school day. photo by Kelsey Stabenow

New vending machines Product

Total Fat

Calories

Cherry Coke® 16 oz. bottle

0g

212.68

Skittles® Original Fruit Flavor

2g

170

POWERade® 8 oz. bottle

0g

72

Snickers® Candy Bar

14g

280

Hostess® Blueberry Mini-Muffins

16g

300

*Source: www.dietfacts.com

Right now we are in the fifth year of the contract.”

For the next five years of the contract the district will continue to receive incentive payments of previously specified amounts.

A cause for the recent change in vending machine hours and policy enforcement is what Green called a “tremendous” rodent problem last spring. Another cause for concern is the cleanliness of the building itself.

“About eight or ten years ago the administration decided to allow food and drink [in the classrooms], and the building was trashed out. They discontinued the practice,” Green said.

This year, however, even with the enforcement of the policy the morning of the first Cappuccino Friday, administrators made announcements concerning a mess made in the hallway of the third floor.

“There were spots where [the cappuccino] had been spilled in the hallway, and cups were left sitting there,” Green said about the incident. “I just don’t understand how someone could just drop their cups and leave them there.

It’s not the majority [of students]. Most people do a good job, but there is a small percentage of students who ruin it for everyone.”

page 4 /1 opinion / the 6, harbinger issue / september 2005

how the Buzz stole

Harry Potter

Radio station ruins ending of the newest “Harry Potter” book for student

DJs I was protesting for the failed protest, I didn’t even mind being mooned at the protest by some mindless Buzz drone who came to the protest with four other friends that were stoned out of their minds because he thought I deserved to bask in the glow of his hairy buns.

What I did mind was that these DJs were doing Some people would argue that something that was simply unethical and there wasn’t a Rush Limbaugh is consequence for it.

I mean really, why would they do this? I called up the the biggest hypocrite on the radio.

Some station the next day to ask the DJs what their reason was. would say that After a 20-minute wait on hold, I finally was able to talk the Howard Stern is big guy himself, Lazlo. I asked him why he gave away the the most vulgar ending, and his only response was “It was kind of funny.”

I tell him how thousands of people wait to read this DJ on the air.

These statements book, and that you go out of your way to spoil it for all of those listeners for no good reason. I ask him to may be true, but both of these radio apologize.

“No.” personalities are Why won’t you apologize for going out of your way to sweeter than Starbucks make people’s lives just a little bit worse?

C h a n t i c o “I don’t think it’s anything to be sorry Drinking an opinion of for.”

Chocolate This absolutely flabbergasted me. I compared to art by george hart Lazlo, understand that most people, including a myself, are too lazy and in love with their Kansas City DJ who’s strength Time Warner Cable DVR with hundreds of is being outright unnecessarily and channels to actually get out there and try to unethically mean. make the world a better place, but to go out As I turned the key and the engine of your way to make it a lesser place made started in my car, so did my radio, already me confused and frankly, furious. tuned to 96.5 FM, “The Buzz.” There was And I even could have understood it if no music, rather the voice of the aptly he were provoked. But the simple truth named DJ Susie McDumbbitch, who shares is that he wasn’t provoked—it’s not like a her timeslot with Slim Fast and the leader hoard of Harry Potter fans Teepeeed his of the pack, Lazlo. Susie was talking in house, it’s not like we were stalking him, her normal holier-than-thou voice, as she ian mcfarland it’s not like J.K. Rowling had an annoying said four small words that sent me from a character in the books who was a DJ gleeful mood to one rather gloomy. “(Well-known Harry Potter character) KILLS (other well- named Lazlo.

As a member in the media, as someone who has known Harry Potter character)!”

You should know that I am a Harry Potter fiend, and exposure to hundreds of thousands of members of the damn proud to be one. I didn’t just go to a party for the Kansas City metropolitan area, he should have accepted release of the most recent book, but I drew I a lightening the responsibility that any other figure in the media takes bolt on my forehead for the occasion. I wasn’t just excited on. It may not be a legal responsibility, but anyone who for the release of the third “Harry Potter” movie; I was more even just wants to be a decent human being would at excited for it than the end of the school year four days least try not to do something they knew would aggravate listeners earlier.

But I guess there are always going to be jerks like Lazlo.

So naturally, this not only bothered me, it was probably the worst thing that happened to me this summer. It I guess there’s nothing I can do to stop big meanies from irked me so much that I held a protest. It’s just that, you coming into existence. At least I have my Time Warner know, only one other person showed up. It was kind of a Cable DVR with hundreds of channels. miserable failure.

I didn’t mind being insulted on the radio by the same

LANCER voice What would you do if what happened to Ian happened to you?

“ I guess they

shouldn’t have said it. I wouldn’t have protested. I’m a reasonable guy.

”

jake lipsman - senior

“ I probably wouldn’t care.

It would be my own fault for listening to such a horrible radio station.

”

jimmy allen - junior

would “ That make me really mad! I wouldn’t go hold up signs because I don’t have time to hold up signs.

”

laura wetzel - sophomore

issue 1 / september 6, 2005

A

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / opinion / page 5

Royal Disappointment

The Royals are an awful team this year. Royals baseball the idea. Most fans were watching the games not for hope has been a joke for some time now. I am sure that in other they would win, but rather to watch the phenomena that cities across the nation Royals baseball is thought of as a is the Kansas City Royals. In most of the games during the crying baby: pathetic, sad, and full of youth. streak, the Royals weren’t even close to winning. It wasn’t a The last five years for the Royals have been, shall we matter of luck, but rather a lack of skill. say, rough. The Royals as a team haven’t won more than They look bad now, but this is no time to jump off the 84 games in a season, which is considered an average year bandwagon. for most teams, in more than a dozen years.

The recent losing encourages me to We haven’t seen the light of the playoffs in 20 become even more Royals-spirited, even an opinion of years. more intense and even more diehard.

Over the past years, I think we have all While some fans were admittedly lost a little faith in the Royals due to their lack ‘cheering’ for the Royals to keep losing, of talent, number of playoff appearances in I was watching every game in hope. And our lifetime (zero), and a little bad luck. The I will continue to cheer them on until they trades of Carlos Beltran, Johnny Damon, and get on the right track again.

Jermaine Dye still sting. Watching the Royals But if no one follows my lead, which I spend over 170 million (million) dollars less presume they won’t, and they don’t cheer than the New York Yankees on the players’ on the Royals, the team may pack up and salaries just burns. But I think the 19-game leave. Take the first plane out of town and losing streak, the longest in Royals history, is never look back. Now sure, you might not the worst of all. miss them in the beginning, but in the 19 games. One eighth of the season wasted. clark goble long run, you will. We will beg and beg If you counted each loss on your fingers and for our beloved (OK, semi-liked) Royals toes, you could hold your little pinky down to come back to town. The town will miss and that’s all. The St. Louis Cardinals have lost fewer games the fact they can look in the paper for the Royals results, in two months. I spent over $200 going to games during the head out to a game at any time, and cheer on all-around streak, and each time I watched the game end in a Royals good-guys. loss. Goodbye, new speakers for car. Goodbye, XBOX. Hello, So, Royals fans of SME, be you of the diehard, fairlosing? Am I crazy? weather, or pessimistic fan sort, come out to a game before The streak really was one of the lowest points in Royals the season ends. Even if you don’t enjoy baseball, you can history. All those losses, back-to-back-to-back-to… you get enjoy the Dance-Off, the Sluggerrr Hot Dog Gun or the

Delusional Solution

One fan still supports the Royals after their losing streak

drunken fan jeering at Angel Berroa. You will be glad you went.

This brings me now to the top of the 9th inning on August th 9 , day of the now-infamous Royals-Indians game. The Royals entered the inning up 7-2, with the closer Mike MacDougal coming into the game to shut the door on the Indians and a ten game losing streak. The shaky bridge that is the Kansas City Royals bullpen snapped in half and floated down the river, amounting to a 13-7 Royals loss. One inning, eleven runs, and 15,000 looks of disbelief.

It was my birthday too.

D o e s n’t matter to me. The more I experience the pain of each and every Royals loss, the more sweet the winning will feel. The more games I go to, the better it will feel when they win the World Series (eventually). So even through the hard times, I have something to look forward to.

Why lose the faith now, when the Royals are at their lowest low point?

And for the record, I still believe. art by sara mcelhaney

Leaving Gaza and West Bank to Palistinians poses a threat

No more than a week ago I was 100% in support of Israel’s practice that has yet to be successful. Israel’s rationale disengagement from Gaza. That is to say that one week is that by leaving the Gaza Strip, the terrorists have one less ago, I was pretty uninformed about the whole situation. grievance with the Israeli government and maybe, just There will finally be peace in the Middle East! I thought to maybe, they’ll sit down at the bargaining table instead of myself. In a week’s time however, I have blowing it up done a complete 180. I am now firmly antiBut terrorist groups like Hamas and an opinion of disengagement.

The Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades don’t view the Since 1967 a small contingency of disengagement as a step towards peace.

Israeli settlers have been living in the Gaza They simply see it as positive reinforcement Strip, which is traditionally a Palestinian of the idea that if you kill enough people, controlled area. In the recent weeks though, you will get what you want. How do you in an effort to make peace, Israel has been send a more powerful message than by withdrawing its presence from Gaza and ending a life? physically removing settlers who refused Second, when Israel removes its to leave. presence from Gaza, there will be about The decision to disengage was based nine miles of unprotected border between on optimism, not realism. Rather than Egypt and Gaza. This potentially wide-open maintaining the status-quo Israel has border could allow terrorists to funnel more decided to try something new. It was a weapons, people and money into Gaza to decision made out of a desire for peace, use against Israel. It doesn’t help their cause which is certainly a noble goal to work allows the terrorists more resources derek martin iftoIsrael towards; forcing people to give up their do harm. homes to appease terrorists however, is not Third, the idea that uprooting people the way to reach this goal. from their homes plays a part in the answer to decades of The optimist in me wants to believe that the violence is foolish. These are people who have been living disengagement was the right answer, that it will send both on their settlements since 1967, they are rooted within their groups down a path towards peace. But, when I when I look communities and are strongly religious. They believe it is beyond the instant solution, I see why disengaging was the their right to this land and no government should interfere wrong idea. with that. You’ve gone too far to help another nation, when First, the idea of appeasing terrorists to stop terror is a you start harming your own citizens.

Finally, this whole plan takes one huge variable for granted, the ability for Israel and the world to trust the Palestinian leadership. It is the opinion among some major news outlets that only a small minority of Palestinians are involved in the violence, or that it is only militant members of terrorist organizations that are doing the killing. For those who believe this idea, I offer you a story told to me by a former Israeli Defense Forces soldier who served five years in the Israeli military, Don Ekerling.

One night Don’s unit was assigned to go into the houses of certain Palestinians and make sure they did not go outside, as they were looking for a terrorist. One of Don’s friends went into a house with an elderly woman. The woman begged for him to let her go outside, “I have to feed my children!” she said. Don’s friend had his orders, no one was to go outside, but this was an old woman, what possible harm could she pose? Finally, Don’s conscience got the best of him and he agreed to let the woman out.

“Which door is it?” he asked. She pointed and, no sooner had he opened the door, than five bullets entered his chest and he died instantly. The woman had set him up.

It’s examples like these that show why even those claiming to be freedom fighters should be given no more slack than any terrorist.

The problems in the Middle East go far beyond land boundaries, they lurk within the depths of Israeli and Palestinian souls. The disengagement is a temporary fix to what could be a permanent problem.

page 6 / editorial / the harbinger issue 1 / september 6, 2005

Redefined:

Watermarks in New Orleans

School Board Modifies Science Standards, Makes Room for Religion When the Kansas Board of Education voted this summer to adopt a variety of changes to the state science curriculum, it redefined “science,” threw an artificially negative light on the theory of evolution, and implied the existence of a God. By allowing these revisions, the Board chose to splice religion in where it doesn’t belong: the science classroom. The changes also put Kansas students The modification of the at an acute Kansas high school disadvantage science curriculum by failing to teach them the hurts our students. mainstream s c i e n t i f i c principles that colleges and society will expect them to be agree disagree absent familiar with.

The previous definition of “science” in Kansas was standard in that it eliminated the possibility of a supernatural entity being used to explain natural phenomenon. By rewording the definition to allow for the possibility of a supernatural force – God, Hercules and witches are all supernatural forces – the entire nature of the word “science” is changed. “God willed it,” can now be given as a plausible scientific explanation for an observation.

This is ridiculous. Our curriculum needs to be non-secular; it must be free from any religious stigmata. Although nothing in the new curriculum expressly includes religion, it is clear that God has a newfound home in Kansas science standards.

Nearly as disturbing, the new curriculum requires educators to teach materials which paint an altogether inaccurate picture of the theory of evolution. Teachers must now read disclaimers to students, warning that the integrity of the theory of evolution is in serious question. The fact is that evolution is overwhelmingly accepted as the leading theory for how we came to be. Of course

before:

“science is the human activity of seeking natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us”

after: “science is a systematic method of continuing

investigation that uses observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory-building to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena”

editor-in-chief annie fuhrman assistant editors amanda allison evan favreau art & design editor ian mcfarland head copy editor bryan dykman photo editor linda howard assistant photo editor samantha ludington news editor sara steinwart news page editors melissa lem rachel mayfield opinion editor cay fogel opinion page editor clare jordan editorial editor foster tidwell features editor ellie weed

10 - 0 - 1

Definition of Science

harbinger

features page editors katie jones hallie mccormick sylvia shank center spread editor laura nelson center spread assistant editor jenn sunderland

editorial cartoon by sara mcelhaney every aspect of it has not been completely corroborated, that is unrealistic. There have indeed been changes to the theory over time, and there will surely be more to come. But that is science.

It is the nature of science to grow, to expand, and at times to prove itself wrong. By requiring teachers to attack the theory of evolution in the classroom, students are left with the message that evolution is poorly supported. This is just not accurate. There is a reason why the drafters of the new curriculum didn’t require similar disclaimers to be given about every theory encountered in the classroom. Evolution interferes with religion.

When students graduate, there are certain concepts with which they are expected to be familiar. Let’s pretend for a moment that little Johnny has been taught all throughout high school that the moon is made of cheese and is inhabited by Oompa Loompas.

It’s safe to say he is going to run into a lot of trouble when it comes to college science; not to mention cocktail parties. Students who graduate high school with the understanding that evolution is only a poorly substantiated theory which is not widely accepted are going to run into similarly embarrassing situations.

The new Kansas science curriculum pushes aside standards to make room for religion. It grossly misrepresents the theory of evolution and it places our students at a position of disadvantage.

The School Board has spoken, and we should be embarrassed.

letters to the editor should be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@gmail.com. letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editor’s discretion. the harbinger is a student run publication. the contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the shawnee mission east or smsd faculty or administration.

mixed editor libby nachman a&e page editors kevin grunwald derek martin sports editor peter goehausen sports page editors bobby miller ben whitsitt ads/buisness kristen crawford claire marston circulation davin phillips copy editors amanda allison bryan dykman evan favreau annie fuhrman laura nelson sara steinwart jenn sunderland ellie weed staff writers joe demarco clark goble ally heisdorffer jayne shelton joey soptic michelle sprehe photographers katie james frances lafferty emily rappold kelsey stabenow katie woods adviser dow tate

fighting for success

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / features / page 7

by rachel mayfield Making the cheerleading squad was a goal that sophomore Ruth Stark wanted to accomplish at the start of freshman year. The try-out lists were up and all the girls were anxious to see who made it. As Stark looked down the list, she realized her name wasn’t on it. Although she knew that her arm was a disadvantage, she still thought all of her hard work would have paid off. She was disappointed, but she knew she would be able to overcome it.

Stark has an injured brachial plexus- a network of nerves that controls movement in the arm, which was caused by mistakes made when she was in the birth canal. She had wide shoulders, making it difficult for her body to pass out of the canal, and instead of maneuvering Stark’s shoulders out, the doctor pulled on her neck, which unintentionally tore two nerves in her brachial plexus. With the injury, she isn’t able to fully extend her hand above her head or completely turn her hand over.

“The therapist told me that in order to get Ruthie to use her arm more, she needed to eat with her right hand. She suggested putting her food on the right side of her plate at dinner.” Nancy Stark, Ruth’s mother, said. “It took Ruthie about 5 minutes to see that she could grab her food with her right hand and quickly slide it over to her left hand and then eat it.”

Because she didn’t have any motion in her arm until she was 6 months olds, there was nothing that could be done to help her use her arm. It mostly depended on how much motion would return in her arm as she aged.

Growing up, Stark struggled when she tried normal activities. She knew she couldn’t do everything, so she had to decide what she wanted to dedicate her time to. Stark decided; she wanted to be a cheerleader and play tennis.

Stark had been playing tennis since she was six years old and it was a sport she loved to play. She attended many summer clinics and took private lessons. Tennis comes easy to Stark, but she struggled in some areas. It took years of practicing to master her serve with a high toss above her head.

She knew she would get better if she kept pushing herself.

Stark was going to have to train her arm so she would be able to fulfill her goals. If she was struggling when she reached

up to brush the back of her hair, she was going to be up for a much bigger challenge and she knew going into training with a positive attitude would make the situation much easier.

“I thought something was wrong with me and I had no idea what I had done so terribly wrong to deserve the problem with my arm.” Stark said. ������� ��� �� ������ Even though Stark had been working ��������� �� �� �� ����� �� hard to regain strength, she only had 70 ������� �� ���� ������� percent range of motion in her arm. She ����� ��� ������ �� ��� had struggled when she was washing her hair and clasping a necklace on her neck, ������� ��� ������ because her ability to try to do anything that involved raising her hand above her shoulder was limited. �� ����� �� ��� �������� ������� ����� ��� �� When the topic of possible surgery was brought up, she ������ ����������� ��� ����� �� ��������� �� was forced to realize that as the years went by, she would ���� �� ��� ���� ��� ��� �� � ������ �� ��� start to depend more on her left arm, which in the long run ���������� ������� ������� would affect her right arm negatively.

Stark started weight training and did lots of stretching. She “I was scared out of my mind by the thought of surgery,” had done physical therapy and now it was up to her to take Stark said. “But I was also excited because I wanted my arm to get better so I could experience what everyone else already the responsibility to keep working on the therapy exercises.

She stayed motivated and never stopped pushing herself. was.”

“We set up an exercise place for Ruthie in the basement so After research and numerous doctors’ appointments, it was clear that surgery was needed. The family knew that if she could do her therapy,” Nancy Stark said. “She was always surgery had a chance of helping Stark’s arm, it was worth a down there whenever she had a chance to try and develop try. Nancy Stark decided to research the injury online and some muscle.”

When this year’s cheerleading try-outs came, Stark was finally found the right doctor for the operation.

The Stark’s chose Dr. Rahul Kumar Nath, director of the ready to show everyone everything she had been working Texas Nerve & Paralysis Institute in Houston. He has been on. It was a stressful week and she had no idea if all of her nominated as one of “America’s Top Doctors.” Including effort was good enough, but she knew it was the best she Stark’s surgery in April of 2004, Dr. Nath has performed more could do.

When the decision for the squad had been made, Stark than 50 brachial plexus surgeries. was overjoyed to find that she had made the team and proved After the surgery, Stark spent several months in physical therapy and was slowly progressing. Not only was she to herself she accomplished a goal she had been working getting strong physically, her confidence was building. She for.

“Knowing that I worked hard for something, and having was also preparing for freshman cheerleading try-outs in the fall of 2005. When she did not make the squad, she was the hard work payoff is the best feeling,” Stark said. “Nothing disappointed and she had been working so hard but she tops that.” knew she couldn’t give up. She had to keep working.

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page 8 / features / the harbinger

searching the city

Two students decide to take Capture the Flag to the next level by jayne shelton It was the week before school started, and four girls sat in a booth at La Cocina Del Puerco for breakfast. Sophomores Lexie Burgers and Amy Coffman discussed their games of ‘Capture the Flag’ that began at band camp with friends Paige Smith and Charlotte Parrish. With the new school year starting, they figured it would be difficult to continue playing the game and keep up with school work. They thought of last year’s ‘Assassins’ game for the seniors, and came up with the idea for an Ultimate Capture the Flag league.

“After breakfast, we were walking around downtown Overland Park and every five minutes someone would throw in a new idea,” Burgers said. Ultimate Capture the Flag is born.

‘Capture the Flag’ is a game where each team tries to find the other’s flag. Burgers and Coffman along with their friends played it at Tomahawk elementary school all summer. The “ultimate” part is spreading it out, making it last all year, and having four teams. The teams will be responsible for hiding the flags, finding other teams’ flags, and writing riddles that hint to the location of them. The flags are hidden anywhere in the KC metro area. Ideas for where to hide them have already been conceived.

“I might hide it somewhere on the plaza, behind some obsolete thing,” sophomore Charlotte Parrish says. Coffman said she might hide it somewhere in the school since probably no one would look there. As for strategy, because of the length of the game, Coffman thinks there won’t be much defense being played.

“I think that we will pretty much find the strategy as we go because obviously some strategy for regular Capture the Flag won’t work here and some will,” Burgers says.

Sophomore Kelsey Wehr has also planned out her ideas for the game, which includes her job at “Hacienda del Espar Arabians” where she works with Arabian horses. One problem with her hiding place is that it doesn’t tie to her strategy, being so far out, near Stilwell.

“I think we should hide it somewhere where it’d be easy to check all the time, but be someplace no one would look,” Wehr says.

The planned teams for the game would have between five and ten

people, and when there are four teams the number of needed players gets pretty high.

The girls had to become creative in getting the word out. Other than circulating the league through their friends and flyers, Coffman and Burgers have started a website with an overview of the game and information on how to play “UCF,” or Ultimate Capture the Flag. They began the website the day they came up with the game.

“A lot of people go on the internet for Xanga and school research and stuff, and it would just be easy to go there and put up the riddle, or check for new stuff,” Parrish says. To publicize the website, the girls passed out business cards with the site’s address on them.

Burgers and Coffman assumed the role of taking care of the website since they were the only two of the group that had much knowledge of HTML. Being in charge of the website ultimately put them in charge of the game itself. While Coffman thinks that the work for the game will be minimal, once it’s started Burgers thinks it will take more.

“It will take quite a bit of work to keep up and make sure everything works the way it should so that it doesn’t fall apart,” she said. “But we’re willing to do it.”

The work that the girls will have to do for the league will be to give out the prize money, taken from the two dollar entry fee, and updating the website with team pictures and riddles.

The riddles that will be posted on the website will help the teams find the flags by hinting at the location. Each team will write their riddle about where their flag is hidden. They will come in rhyming couplets. An example might be: “There was a CAT. He was FAT. He lived in a TREE. That cat is ME.” Burgers and Coffman went over a few different styles of rhymes, and finally settled on couplets because they are the easiest to write. The girls both hope that the process of writing the riddles will be a bonding experience.

“It should be a team effort,” Burgers says. “The teams should get together and write it together as a way of building the teams.”

The teams will be formed on September 16, and the league begins for play September 29— Lancer day.

As for the future of the UCF, Burgers said: “we’d want to just keep it a tradition at East, we don’t want South getting a hold.

Meet the Creators

sophomore

Lexie Burgers

sophomore

Amy Coffman

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / features / page 9

A baby and a blessing

Being a father to his newborn is Charles Franklin’s top priority by ally heisdorffer

“Ooh, a text message!” says Cassie, four-month-old was eating 18, as she passes off her 7-month-old blue paint when I picked him baby Cayden to her boyfriend, senior up.”

Charles Franklin.

“Yea, he was poopin’ blue As she writes a response, a normally for the next week,” Charles happy Cayden begins to fuss and said.

Charles shakes a rattle in his face to As of now, Erin, who is calm him down.

Cassie’s father’s girlfriend, “The hard part is usually just and the only one involved in figuring out what he wants,” Charles any part of Cayden’s life from says as he begins to soothe Cayden.

Cassie’s side of the family, Spending afternoons with a watches Cayden during the newborn child was not what Charles day when they’re both busy. had planned for his senior year; he “Erin is like his pseudodidn’t even intend to finish high school. grandmother and she takes “I did have this back packing trip care of him very well, so I trust planned,” Charles said. “I was just her with Cayden,” Cassie said. going to disappear and never come Cassie decided to move in back. I wanted to go out and just live with Charles and his parents life.” Charles decided that staying in not long after Cayden was school was the best option, though born because it was easier because that is the only way he feels he for her and Charles to take can support a family. care of their son. For Liz, who “[Cayden] doesn’t interfere with my is a yoga instructor, having homework because I do it all in my Cassie and Cayden around the study hall during sixth hour,” Charles house during the day can be 7 month old Cayden gives Franklin an affectionate squeeze. photo by Kelsey Stabenow said. “I never do any homework outside stressful. because of Cayden.” of school.”

“My house is full of baby food, baby clothes, baby toys, Cassie discovered she was pregnant with Cayden the baby this, baby that,” Liz said. “Sometimes I have to go Besides spending all of his time with Cayden after school, Charles also wakes up at 6:00 a.m. to feed Cayden summer after her sophomore year. downstairs to my office and just relax for a little bit.” She and “At first I just thought I was eating a lot because it was her husband, Mark who is a software engineer, told Charles his Cheerios and oatmeal.

“Charles never gets a good night sleep,” Charles’s mother, summer time,” Cassie said. “Then I took one of those right away that they weren’t going to put their careers on Liz Franklin said. “He doesn’t play in his band anymore, magical pee-on-a-stick tests and it all changed from there.” hold for his baby.

Charles was scared when he first discovered that he and on Friday nights he sits home with the baby monitor. It “It’s not what I envisioned,” Liz said. “It’s like starting all has become his first job and top priority; he can’t have a job would be having a son at the age of 17. over again. [Having Cayden] disrupted what I anticipated to “The worst thing is all the time I lost,” Charles said. be a quiet year.”

“I can’t pursue the things I wanted to do and my friends Cassie attended East during her freshman year, but was stopped coming around, but I get to watch my beautiful son kicked out for reasons she did not want to discuss. She then grow up. He’s always smiling, even when he screams.” finished her sophomore year at Center High in Missouri, Charles’s main concern was how he was going to provide where her father lives. Even before she knew she was for the child. Though his parents told him that this would be pregnant, she had no intentions of returning to Center to his responsibility entirely in the beginning, they decided to complete her high school education. help him with finances after Cayden was born.

“I had no desire to sit in an American History class “When my parents saw him, they automatically fell in because I’m never going to use it,” Cassie said. “The only love with him, I mean how could you not?” Charles said. classes I enjoyed were English, choir, drama, and lunch, “A lot of our expenses come from Charles’s car insurance if you count that.” Although Cassie did not enjoy her high which he was going to pay for before he had Cayden,” Liz school career, she does plan on attending cosmetology said. “We buy Cayden diapers, toys, and clothes, but now school when she saves up enough money. that Cassie has a job, she’s begun to pay for more of those Since Charles has decided that an education is vital to things herself.” support his new family, he not only wants to finish high By the time Cayden was four months old, Liz and her school, but now would like to attend college. His goal is husband Mark had paid a total of $4,000 in order to help to be accepted at Pittsburg University so he can study Charles provide for his new family. Because he couldn’t automobiles, which has been a passion of his for as long as balance working 40 hours a week, going to school, and he can remember. As of right now Cassie and Charles must being a father, his parents let him quit his job and now give both put their futures on hold to take care of Cayden. him an allowance of $70 a week for doing household chores Although having Cayden has caused Charles to rule out such as picking up Cayden’s play area, doing the dishes, the idea of going backpacking and has strained finances taking out the trash and doing the laundry. for Cassie’s entrance into cosmetology school, he is by no Besides paying for Cayden’s basic needs, there was also means a burden to either of them. Liz says that the worst the issue of childcare after Cassie decided to take a job part about the situation is all of the stress that Charles must working at Applebee’s a few times a week. now endure.

“We did send him to Children’s Center Daycare, but it “He’s lost the fun time of his life,” Liz said. “He can’t be a was $230 a week and he got his first cold there, and I didn’t teenager again. He must now be a father for the rest of his like that,” Cassie said. “While he was at Children’s Center, life, [but] I really think that Charles will succeed and keep they let him paint, which horrified me at first because my his act together.”

Cayden with his rattle. photo by Kelsey Stabenow

page 10 / spread / the harbinger

gas prices have been rising up, the price affects us

The Teacher

Lonnie Stephenson

by Cay Fogel

L

onnie Stevenson started working at Shawnee Mission East seven years ago. He lived about thirty miles away from campus and had a thirty to forty minute drive in the morning and evening.

But, surprisingly, the travel didn’t bother him that much; gas was sixty cents a gallon.

Stevenson has since moved, but not for any expected reason. His house was burnt down in a fire, and he moved north, close to 89th St. and 152 Hwy. The distance is about the same; he still travels for hours every day just to get to and from work. Same distance, same time. There is only one variable in Stevenson’s trip that differs from when he started working here, less than a decade ago: gas has gone up more than two dollars per gallon.

Gas has been getting increasingly worse over the last three to five years, and with this most recent price bump of

how students get to sch

about thirty cents a gallon, Stevenson says that he is now losing money to the cost of a necessary living.

“The most recent proposed raise in my salary will just about cover the difference in fuel price,” he said grimly.

Not only this, but Stevenson is hit with the price gauge from all angles, not just automobile fuel. He owns a small pontoon boat that he occasionally uses on the lake. It moves at an average of two miles per gallon of gas.

“A friend once came to visit from about thirty miles down the river on his boat. He said the visit cost him 100 dollars,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson realizes that there is no end in sight; prices have been steadily rising since the commencement of the school year, and the recent events of Hurricane Katrina on the coast promise to bring even more price hikes.

“You’ve got to compensate by doing less of the fun things

25%

23%

parents

carpool

9%

bus

22% 9% a drive a 12% drivesedan SUV drive a Jeep

best BUYS

poll taken from 70 studen

When searching for a new car, gas mileage should play a large part in the selection. So in order to save as much cash as possible, consider these options.

SUVs

When searching for a high performance, safe SUV, take a look at the Scion xB, which gets unusually good gas mileage. A brand new one will cost around $13,800.

Miles Per Gallon: 34

Passenger Cars A passenger car is designed to carry 10 or less passengers, which applies to the needs of almost every student at East. The best bet in this department is the Honda Civic, which will cost anywhere between $13,000 and $21,000.

Miles per gallon: 51

Compact Cars A compact car is just small than a midsize and is a great choice if gas mileage is important. Try the Honda Insight Hybrid, which will cost between $18,000 and $21,000.

Miles Per Gallon: 66

www.autobytel.com

Katrinadevastation • destroyed at least 20 oil rigs More than 3 million barrels have been lost since last Friday. One of the missing rigs floated ahsore in alabama, and 561 remaining rigs have been evacuated. A pipleine is on fire from a missing oil rig.

why do

OILprices go up?

1 OPEC, a group that controls 40%

of the world’s oil production, can decrease production without demand changing.

This makes gas stations nervous, so prices creep up.

Oil price

3

2

China and India’s econonomies are growing, and they need oil to support their industries. Same supply, more demand. Prices go up.

Just last Monday, Hurricane Katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast, killing well over thousands more. Also, Katrina ...

• caused eight refineries to close Eight refineries are 10 percent of the United States’ refineries. 95 percent of oil output is out of service, gas prices are spiking to $70 a barrel and martial law has been declared on the Gulf

• destruction

airplane tickets they’re gas guz halted, which h shipments of gr

up, up s all, and

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / spread / page 11

it’s not a

GAS anymore

hool

%

The Student

%

Rachel Cope

n

“D

photo by Frances Lafferty

nts

es have gone up. But why? There are many reasons...

The conflicts in the Middle East, including the death of the Saudi Arabian King Fahd in August, has made oil supply uncertain.

Prices go up.

4 Hurricane Katrina destroys sev-

eral oil rigs in the Gulf Coast, cutting off crucial supplies of US oil.

Prices soar.

r a hundred people and injuring

n affects...

s - planes run on gas, and zzlers. Railroads have has halted movement of rain, steel, oil, etc. www.forbes.com

by Jenn Sunderland

o you want to get a smoothie first?”

“Actually, I don’t have any money right now,” Rachel Cope responded to the offer. It was a typical answer for her.

Cope is a junior at East this year and one of many students who drive to school each day. But unlike some East students, she has to pay for her own gas to get there, as well as to get to church and anywhere else she needs to go. With gas prices rising quickly, the task isn’t getting any easier.

“I’m running low on money,” she admitted. Cope worked all summer in order to make enough money to last her for the school year, babysitting for two separate families. She started work the week after she got out of school last summer and didn’t stop until the week before school started this year, taking only a two week vacation in between. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, she babysat three kids; on Friday she worked from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. babysitting one child. Exhausting?

“I’d work all day, then come home and find out what my friends were doing that night,” Cope explained. “I’d go out at night, so I didn’t get to see my parents as much. I didn’t mind, of course, because I was with my friends, but they didn’t like it.”

She made $7 an hour babysitting, a total of around $2000 for the summer. It was enough money to be able to stop working in August before school started.

Not enough money to keep her from working for long, though.

“I’m kind of looking for a job,” she said. “I just got an application to help teach kids after school for

Johnson County Parks and Recreation.”

Cope and her parents worked out a plan months ago: they would pay for the car, a 1996 Toyota Camry, and the insurance coverage; she would buy any gas she needed. Cope still agrees with the idea, even after feeling the sometimes harsh effects, including less money to spend on clothes and a gas bill of about $40 dollars a tank. This summer she stopped by the gas station once or twice a month, but she only has to go once a month now that school started. Don’t expect that to lower her payments, though; new effects of the hurricane Katrina have drastically increased gas prices.

“I’m learning more responsibility and money management, and it’s a challenge for me,” she said.

“I realize now that sometimes I need to save up and not go out with friends.” To keep from missing a good night out, though, Cope has a few money-saving tactics.

“If we go get food, sometimes I sit there and just don’t eat, or I just get a drink and eat some of my friends’ food,” she said. Other times, she purposely doesn’t bring money with her, so she won’t be tempted to spend it. Most importantly, she avoids buying “the little things, like ice cream.”

Most of Cope’s friends don’t pay for their own gas, like her. Instead, their parents pay for their expenses.

“Ultimately I don’t [get jealous] though,” Cope said.

“I’m better off learning to use my money well.” So though she may be missing out on a few smoothies, she’s getting her share of life lessons, instead.

by the NUMBERS

With rising gas prices, going places is costing more and more. How much would it cost to go have fun, starting from East?

6.4mi

Town Center

5.5 mi

The Plaza

Westport

0.4gal

$1.07

0.4gal 7.0 mi

$0.85

Oak Park Mall 0.4 0.3gal 7.1 mi $1.13 gal

$1.13

page 12 / features / the harbinger

Convention Conquest Junior attends Science Fiction conventions every year

photo by Frances Lafferty

by katie jones Year after year, her propeller beanie collects dust until Labor Day weekend. That weekend, junior Signy Gephardt and her family drive to a Hilton near the airport each morning and every night to attend Conquest, a local science fiction and fantasy convention. There, she not only wears her propeller beanie, but wanders from room to room, participating in a worldwide phenomenon that all the hardcore science fiction fans live for.

When ten-year-old Gephardt set foot in her first con, she despised it.

“I was a kid.” Gephardt said. “I just wanted to go out and play, I didn’t want to stay inside and have conversations. That kind of stuff is boring when you’re ten years old. So I hated it and whined and complained to my mom.”

The second time she went, when she was a few years older and more mature, she fell in love with it. Gephardt was hooked for life.

“Once I was old enough to sit still for ten minutes, I found there are all these really nice people there,” Gephardt said.

“Yes, sometimes they are wearing these Vulkan ears or Klingon masks but underneath all that nerdy stuff, they’re just like anybody else.”

When she goes to a con, Gephardt splits up her time in the multiple rooms open to the con members, who are distinguished by identification badges. In the Dealer’s Room, the biggest room at the con, she buys nick-nacks like oriental purses, books, jewelry, and T-shirts, her personal favorite being one saying “American Goth” on it. The T-shirt features the American Gothic painting, but with couple in the painting dressed in Goth clothing.

Books, music, soaps, and other things are also available in the Dealer’s Room. Authors travel to cons, which attract hundreds of science fiction fans. The authors autograph books and hold heated book discussions with the con members.

“I found the first book series I really got attached to, Wild Magic, [at Conquest],” Gephardt said. “I finally got all 12 of them. There was a period when I would alternate everyday

reading my favorite two books in the series. I would read one book one day and the other book the next day. Cons can get you hooked on stuff like that.”

When not in the Dealer’s Room, Gephardt can be found playing cards, Dungeons and Dragons, or other role-playing games in the Gaming Room, watching Anime shows like Bubblegum Crisis in the Anime Room, or snacking upstairs in the Consuites, a place for members of the con to eat, drink, and talk.

“If you enter a conversation you always learn something,” Gephardt said. “You can discover a lot from these people.”

Sometimes Gephardt runs across hilarious characters around the con as well.

“Once at this con I was at,” Gephardt said, “there was a straight guy who dressed up as a transvestite for the cons. He would sit around playing cards in a kimono, boxers, and fake nails, legs spread wide open just going ‘alright, anybody got any aces?’ It was great.”

When Gephardt meets kids at the cons and the day is lagging, they think of alternative ways to amuse themselves.

“When we got really bored one year, we printed out that chain mail--list of things to do on an elevator,” Gephardt said. “We circled our favorite ones and spent all day doing all of them. My favorite was when we all sat down and held hands and rode up and down [on the elevator] singing ‘Kum Ba Ya’.”

When Gephardt isn’t running around with other con kids, she can be found at the con Art Show. An artist herself, she is always tempted to buy artwork when she attends cons. She has even drawn things to put in the art show in the past. She got her inspiration from the main character of a story she was writing a few years back, Lyra Fox. She also drew other anime people or mythical creatures. A few years back, Gephardt sold one of her show items, a picture of a Japanese woman, for $10.

“I was amazed someone actually liked my pieces,” Gephardt said. “I was so excited, but then I realized I didn’t

learn KLINGON ENGLISH

KLINGON

Greetings, what do you want?

Nuqneh

State your business

Qapla’

Success

Qa tlho’

I thank you

Tlhingon

Klingon

Tlhingon hol

Klingon language

Tlhingon mah

We are klingon

Qapla’ batlh je

Success and honor

Nuq daq yuj da’pol

Where’s the chocolate?

Dah yidil

Where’s the restroom?

Nuq daq o’ puchpa e’

color her shoe. It’s one of those things where you want to kick yourself, but nobody else really noticed.”

Gephardt would like to go to more cons each year, like Conastoga in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Demicon in Demoines, Iowa, but at about $500 to $600 a con, it’s too expensive for her family. However, Gephardt says it’s worth every penny.

“If you’re into science fiction and fantasy, you want to be there.”

mixed

THEPAGEABOUTLIFE

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / mixed / page 13

this is the mixed page: full of interesting profiles and quirky information. have an idea for the mixed page? send it in. have a story, poem, piece of artwork? send it in. this page is all about you. send all sumbissions to room 521 with your name, grade and contact information, or email to www.smeharbinger@gmail.com

ICE

New cell phone innovation can help save lives by sylvia shank

CRA ZY conversation

Certain phone companies throughout the US are asking you to ICE the name of an emergency contact into your cell phone directory.

ICE (In Case of Emergency) is an acronym coined by British paramedic Bob Brotchie as a way to provide a contact for any information needed on an injured person who is unable to speak. ICE comes in handy in situations such as car wrecks, when emergency medical personnel need to know your medical history immediately.

“Most people don’t carry their medical information in their wallets,” Lisa DeWolfe, KU Medical Center nurse said. “You don’t know if people have underlying diseases or certain allergies and that kind of information is vital before can operate or give them medicine.”

Here’s how it works: type the word ICE followed by an emergency pictures by Katie Woods contact name into your cell phone directory (i.e. ICE-Mom-913123-4567). You may want to do a second ICE number in case the first cannot be reached.

With so many car accidents, and so many teens carrying cell phones, ICE means that medics will know quickly and easily who to call of 15- to 17to obtain vital medical information year-olds own for you.

75 percent cell phones

courtesy of publicati ons.mediapost.com

73 percent

of 18-year-olds own cell phones

did you know?

the amount of TV that the average American watches per day: over 4 hours the hours per year that the average American youth spends in school: 900 the hours per year that the average American youth watches TV: 1,023 the hours of TV watching per week shown to negatively affect academic achievement: 10 courtesy of www.tvturnoff.org

con•fab•u•late v.

to talk casually, chat to fill in gaps in one’s memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts

dys•som•ni•a n. a disturbance in the normal rhythm or pattern of sleep...such as school.

ses•qui•pe•da•lian n. a long word...for instance, the word ‘sesquipedalian’ is a sesquipedalian.

tme•sis n. pl. separation of the parts of a compound word by one or more intervening words...what a wonder-amazing-ful word!

30seconds with...

William Kobylinski

If you were a cereal, what would you be?

Froot Loops, colorful and stupid.

Do you prefer antique or contemporary furniture?

Contemporary, because I’d break the antiques.

Would you rather have a lifelong headache or stuffy nose?

Headache, because you can take Tylenol every day.

Microsoft or Apple?

Microsoft; Apple’s not good.

What would you do for a million dollars?

I’d do plenty of stupid things fo a million dollars.

page 14 / a&e / the harbinger

iTuning

The Harbinger sorts through the many products that promise to clearly broadcast your ipod by joe demarco Now that everyone has an iPod, the next step is taking it in your car, and playing it through the radio. Companies such as Sony, Griffin and Monster are putting on the market different products to make this a reality.

I personally tested three different brands and types of Audio Transmitters: Monster’s iCarplay, Griffin Technology’s iTrip, and Sony’s Cassette FM Audio Transmitter. I evaluated each one of these products, available at Microcenter, BestBuy or even Wal-Mart, on price, sound quality and simplicity.

Monster iCarplay – Monster loves to promote

how simple it is to tune the iCarplay to your cars radio. You plug it into your cigarette lighter and turn it on, and you’re in. However, you trade simplicity with quality. The quality produced by the iCarplay is down right horrible. It will spontaneously send a buzz or a pop through your car’s audio. You can expect the buzzing to increase in volume as you accelerate.

This gadget will cost you quite a bit, and you don’t get what you pay for.

Price: $69.95 Griffin Technology’s iTrip - Griffin Technology’s iTrip is a disappointment.

The iTrip plugs into the top of your iPod and attempts to tune in with the car radio. This process

usually takes around 5-10 seconds, making this the only transmitter that takes time to calibrate. The sound quality is right on par with Monster’s iCarplay, with periodic ear piercing static noises. If you want to change the iTrip’s station, you have to go to your computer, load special software and then program the iTrip back in with your car. This is a very time consuming, confusing process. I also found myself repositioning the location of the iPod in my car in order to avoid static. The bottom line to the iTrip is that it is too expensive. Ironically, it has a cheap sound quality.

Price: $39.99 Sony Cassette FM Audio Transmitter - This Audio Transmitter may

look pre-historic, but its looks are deceiving. After trying Monster and Griffin’s products, this one works the best. This cassette shaped Interface inserts into your car’s tape deck. Since this is inserted into your cassette player, as opposed to via radio, there is no static or loss of frequency. This also is the least expensive. Another plus to Sony’s Cassette Audio Transmitter is that this doesn’t only work with iPods, but any audio device you can plug headphones into you can play in your car. The sound quality you get from the Cassette Player isn’t perfect, but it’s the best you are going to get, and it’s reasonably priced.

Price: $19.99

what if....

My car only has a cd player, and I want something better than an FM signal to transmit my music?

Am I out of luck?

Not quite. Monster sells a device to transmit iPod music to your car using wires. It’s called iCruze, and runs about $180-$280, including cables. USA SPEC, features an iPod car adapter for about $120, plus cables. These choices are expensive even when compared with the iCarplay. But with CD quality, the iCruze may be worth the hefty price

Don’t forget to catch •football •boys’ soccer •girls’ volleyball •crosscountry •girls gymnastics •girls golf •girls’ tennis Fall schedules are available at:

www.smesports.com.

GO LANCERS!

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / a&e / page 15

Drawing up Plans:

Death Cab for Cutie reworks sound for fifth album by joey soptic Only a very catchy instrumental rhythm and sound can rescue a song with a name like “Brothers on a Hotel Bed,” from certain destruction by critics. Such an example is present in Death Cab for Cutie’s new album “Plans.” One might wonder what influenced parts of the creation of this album, which brought with it a slight change in style for Death Cab. The uppity, brisk sound that albums like ”Translanticism” brought about was slowed into a crawl on “Plans,” which in turn, slowed down my interest in it.

The slowed pace of the songs was lead by a more piano driven tone. Songs like “Brothers,” and many others on the album rely on a striking drum beat and bass line to back up shards of piano that fuse with the ever present synthesizer parts. Nothing on “Plans” has the energy and catchy momentum of songs like “The Sound of Settling.”

This record is much exceeded by probably the band’s best work, Translanticism, which was more guitar driven than “Plans,” which is dominated by keyed instruments.

However, the guitars are still quite often used in “Plans.”

“

“Summer Skin,” was a good example of the uncertainty one might have about this album lyrically. As happened several times, I would be sitting listening to a song and actually digging into the song and pulling it apart, and I would be trying to picture in my head what was going on in the song, a mellow crooning of summers passing, when I would be hit by something like, “On the night you left I came over. We peeled the freckles from our shoulders.”

I originally pictured someone losing their Death Cab for Cutie: Jason McGerr, Chris Walla, Nick Harmer, and Ben Gibbard s u m m e r skin when they went to the store to buy managed to get me through the album, which I probably themselves some pens, pencils and books would’ve been tempted to pass over the rest of.

Overall, Death Cab took a slight step down with their for school. Not peeling pieces of their sun seemingly experimental piano and keyboard driven songs baked skin off.

“Your Heart is an Empty Room” is a track that can be in “Plans,” and also decided to use some strange names for related to the earlier albums with a more lively feel to it. songs and for lyrics in their songs. Just look at “Different From the beginning, “Empty Room” is a commanding Names for The Same Thing.” It sounds logical to me to just song that holds this album together by the few threads that name the track “Synonyms.” GRADE: C+

Plans ...overall, Death Cab took a step down...

What’s on your

iPod?

Ryan Surface, Junior 1. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 2. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 3. The Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again 4. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird 5. Parliament - Give Up the Funk 6. Guns ‘N Roses - Sweet Child of Mine 7. Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love 8. Van Halen - Dance the Night Away 9. AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip 10. Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water

”

‘Exorcism’ divinely scary

by ian mcfarland

Emily Rose isn’t your typical girl next door.

She’s devoutly christian, has 11 cats and died after being possessed by demons.

A blend of horror and courtroom drama, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is the most divine scary flick in this year of “White Noise”s and “The Ring Two”s.

Based on a true story, “Exorcism” centers on the trial of a Catholic priest (Tom Wilkenson) who is charged with homicidal neglect after instructing a young parishioner, Emily Rose, to stop taking medication to treat what doctors are diagnosing as epilepsy. Oh yeah, he thinks she’s possessed by multiple demons and tries to perform an exorcism on the college student.

The film frequently flashbacks to the possession of Ms. Rose to qualify as a horror movie. It’s in flashbacks like these that we get to see Emily go nutzo and yell at family and friends in dead tongues, writhe in the pain of what appears to be some pretty nasty muscle spasms and of course, run from delusions of twisted demon people. The scenes are a minority of the film, but they store enough scares to make up for their absence.

No, most of the scenes deal with Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), who the priest’s lawyer, and her faith. Bruner describes herself as Agnostic, but more than that just someone who doesn’t know what to believe. But as she begins to hear Rose’s story and talks to witnesses, she questions what’s real and what’s not.

The film, furthermore, is about faith in general and

Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) while posessed. how it is born in a person. As scary as some moments may be, the ones focusing on Bruner’s take on all of this religious nonsense are the ones that make the movie.

So as scary as this “Exorcism” is, what makes it stand out is its ideas about faith. GRADE: B

page 16 / sports / the harbinger Senior Kelly Zumbehl runs free of defenders at practice. Zumbehl will start at the half-back position. photo by linda howard

running from the past Football team tries to overwrite past woes and make a mark on Sunflower League by peter goehausen They wanted to end their season. Multiple seniors on last season’s football team wanted to give up on their season. During a game. A playoff game. In the programs history, East had only beaten Olathe East once in eight tries. Their was no reason for them to believe that this game would be any different. They ended up being right as Olathe East beat them 42-14, three games away from the 6A championship and they didn’t want to be apart of it.

“They all just wanted to get the season over with,” senior half-back Kelly Zumbehl said. “ Towards the end of the season there was a lot of complaining.”

Not all of East’s football teams have ended as bad as last season, most of them have ended worse. Amidst all of the coaching changes, lack of esteem, and lack of players the East football team has only had 16 winning seasons in the 46-year school history.

Of the eight coaches East has had, only one of them has left the school a winner, William Schaake. As the first coach at East, Schaake finished 5-3-1 before starting a reappearing trend of leaving after one or two seasons.

“Staying for two or three years doesn’t help a program,” Stonner said. “You can’t develop much in that little time.”

About 21 years after Schaake, Harold Wambsgans coached at East for two seasons, and after compiling 18 losses in that time, he went to coach at West, where he won a state title four years later. Then another 20 years after Wambsgans was Todd Dain, who fled to Olathe Northwest after three seasons. Dain seemed to be on his way to rebuilding the program with back-to-back district championships, when there was only one winner and

Harmon and Wyandotte weren’t in East’s bracket. Once Dain left, so did the programs chances of rebuilding quickly. When coaches come and go quickly, there is no chance to build repetition and traditions in a football program, which is one of the main reason’s East football has always struggled.

Coaching hasn’t been the sole purpose for the struggles.

Another reason for the lack of success has been the lack of belief within the program and community.

“When peers and people in the community have a negative attitude on the team,” Stonner said, “ It is hard for the players to believe in themselves.”

In 1991, East hit rock bottom as they finished the season 0-9 under former coach Bill Stiegemeier, current South athletic director. Along with nine loses that year, East was labeled as a pushover in the Sunflower League. East has only had two winning seasons since then, and has not been able to build up the program enough to have faith in the program.

In comes the domino affect, lack of consistency in the coaching staff leads to one bad season in which the program hasn’t been able to rebuild from because of inconsistency. Lastly, when the team isn’t winning, players don’t want to be apart of a losing team when they can be take apart in one of the other activities East has to offer, which in turn leads to a lack of depth.

“The good players at East were as good as any other in the league,” former head coach Harold Wambsgan said.

“It’s just that they didn’t have as many of them.”

At East there are well over 50 extra-curricular activities to participate in, including clubs, groups, and athletics.

Whereas other Shawnee Mission schools such as North,

there aren’t even 20. Stonner believes that another struggle the program has faced is getting the depth due to the multiple activities.

In the last year alone over ten JV/V players stopped playing football due to their participation in alternate extracurricular activities and their lack of passion.

“It wasn’t worth it anymore,” junior Peter Fetterling said. “The practices were too much if you didn’t have the passion for the game.”

To fix the depth issues, Stonner’s goal is to have 140 athletes in the football program.

“There are so many activities to chose from at East,” Stonner said. “ You have to have a passion for football to chose to stick with it.”

In hopes of bringing back the passion to the East football program, Stonner has started multiple new traditions to keep the players and parents involved. Some of the traditions include; a senior canoe trip, a mother-son breakfast, and sideline passes for players parents. When kids and parents believe in the program, and are unselfish about the program, Stonner feels that there is a much better chance to succeed.

“Parents play a vital role to the program,” Stonner said.

“Everything we can do to include the family and the team will help build the program.”

With 20 returning starters, Stonner might have his best chance to help build the program with the first winning season in four years.

“If we can just put together one winning season,” Zumbehl said, “then the younger players in the program will get accustomed to winning and can build on that.”

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / sports / page 17

DIGGING

DEEP for another

YEAR

Junior Tiffani Burch reaches for a volley, during a varsity practice. photo by Katie James

Junior Emily Watkins passes the volleyball to one of her teammates. Watkins is one of six juniors on the team. Varsity’s next game is September 8 at Olathe South. photo by Katie James

by michelle sprehe

The East gym is filled with the sound of yells, hits and clapping as the varsity volleyball team begins running and stretching to warm up for their two-hour practice after school. It sounds much like it did last year- the only difference is the lack of eight senior voices.

This is the youngest team head volleyball coach Terry Wright has ever had, with only three returning varsity player: juniors Taylor Heinlein, Tiffani Burch and Caroline Wardlow. But the players aren’t willing to let age and inexperience stop them from going to the State Championships for the third year in a row.

“Some older girls tend to be on the team for the social aspect more than the athletic aspect,” Wright said. “I think a younger team works harder because they are more dialed in and focused on the game and that’s what makes the difference.”

And they have been working hard.

During the summer, all the girls on the varsity team took third place in the South Summer League, a summer volleyball league competing against other high school players from Kansas and Missouri.

“Seeing the girls play this summer woke up a few people and alerted them that this year’s team could be good even though we lost eight people,” Wright said. “Most of the other coaches think that this year will be a rebuilding year, but they’re in for a surprise.”

Playing on the summer team brought the girls together and built leadership in this year’s captains, Heinlein and Burch. The pair was often in charge of making a team line up and coaching themselves,

forcing the team to learn cooperation and to motivate and depend on one another.

“When ever one person is down, they can look to anyone to pick them up,” Heinlein said.

The team takes care of one another like a family.

When sophomore Alex Surface injured her knee and started bleeding during an afternoon practice, her fellow teammate, Caroline Wardlow, was prepared with a band-aid in hand.

“I think our team’s bond is even stronger than it was last year,” Burch said. “Last year we were the babies on the team, but this year we’re the upperclassmen so we’re more outgoing and loud.”

The constant echoes of “Mine!”, “Nice up!” and “Aw team!” make loud seem like an understatement.

The players learned from last year’s varsity team that high team spirit played a pivotal role in their winning record of 33-9. This year they keep their bonds strong and spirits soaring with Wednesday night team dinners, trips to Juice Stop, movie outings and bowling games.

“We’re all best friends on and off the court,” Burch said. “It’s not like our coach is making us hang out. It’s our choice, that’s what brings us together.”

Together, they plan to surprise their opponents by surpassing their low expectations.

“The fact that everyone thinks we’re not going to be any good after losing a bunch of seniors gets us even more fired up to play more aggressively and win,” Burch said.

Cooler Talk: How do you think the juniors treat the underclassmen on the team?

freshman sydney danner

“

“

sophomore kasey sauls

“

They all give me lots of encouragement because I’m the youngest on the team. So I do my best to step up to their level.

“

They don’t really treat me differently. We’re all equal on the team, no one looks down on anyone else.

“

“

I’ve always been one of the oldest so it’s weird having the juniors around, but they do a good job taking charge.

sophomore alex surface

page 18 / sports / the harbinger issue 1 / september 6, 2005

Swimming for the future Luke Tanner travels to Caifornia to compete in Junior National Competition by ellie weed Finishing his stretch while listening to the end of Rolling Stones song, junior Luke Tanner gears up for his best event—the 50 freestyle—at the Junior Nationals in Irvine, California. After the signal, Tanner is the first one in his heat of six swimmers down in ready position, as he always is, not wasting any time. Knees bent, fingers tucked underneath the front edge of the block, ready to explode.

Visualizing the perfect start, he hears the beep, telling him to dive in.

Tanner was one of eight high school boys in the state of Kansas that qualified for junior novice, along with senior John Cook, a member of his 200 meter and 400 meter freestyle relay. Seeded 24th out of the 78 people in his event, Tanner’s training over the past five months has paid off.

Both Tanner and Cook have been swimming eleven times a week through the summer. Their weekdays start at 5:30 a.m. with a three hour practice in the East pool. Longtime coach Mary Joe Claire trains with a large number of boys on the varsity swim team. With a few hours off in the afternoon, they’re back at it again at 2 p.m. at Shawnee

Luke Tanner’s Medal History •First at state in 50 freestyle •First at state in 200 freestyle relay •Third at state in 100 freestyle •13th in the 50 freestyle at Junior Nationals

SP

CLARK GOBLE

PETER GOEHAUSEN BOBBY MILLER BEN WHITSITT

Mission North for a two more hours of practice.

Others on the varsity team have been training hard this summer too in hopes of winning league and state this season for the East team; just like they did last year.

“I’m expecting really big things for us this year. My relay team of [seniors] Kevin [Reene], Brandon [Barnds], and John Cook should be really good. We’re hoping to break the state record this year in the 200 and 400 free relays,” Tanner said.

With only one day off a week, swimming has limited him from spending time with his friends on the weekend.

“Sometimes I really hate it when my friends tell me of a concert they’re going to or a basketball game that I miss, and I know I can’t go because of swimming,” Tanner said.

“But when I swim a really great race. I know it’s worth it.”

But if he goes after his biggest goal, the Olympics, there would be no more late Friday nights and sleeping in until noon. There really wouldn’t be much of a social life outside of his swimming friends.

“It’s kind of a long shot, but I know if I really wanted to be in the Olympics I would put in the work,” Tanner said.

He hopes to swim at Olympic time trials for the upcoming summer games. His best time in the 50-meter free is less than one second away from most Olympic time trial times.

“It’ll be really competitive, they normally take around three new swimmers. It would be pretty extreme.”

But college swimming isn’t nearly as far-fetched as Olympics. Tanner hopes to swim at Cal-Berkley or any other highly noted school in California for its swimming program.

After getting a few letters from some smaller schools, the SM East varsity swim coach, Wiley Wright, recently received interest from more notable schools.

“He told us that he got a letter from Stanford a couple of weeks ago,” Tanner said. “Now that we’re on more of a national level, we’ve been getting noticed a little bit more.”

A school of that magnitude shows how much of an impact the varsity swim team has made at national and state meets.

BOYS SOOCER

**** A little over halfway through the 50 meters, quickly turning his head to the side, Tanner takes his first and only breath of the entire race. He remembers the key elements to a successful race: long strokes, limited breathing, strong kicking. If he doesn’t, his dad will always remind him.

A member of the All-American relay team at University of Illinois, Luke’s dad, John Tanner, constantly gives Tanner advice and encouragement regarding his techniques. His mom was there in California with a video camera in hand, along with his sister and dad who were in the stands cheering him on. Luke accredits his parents for part of his success.

“They’re really supportive of me. They don’t push me too hard, but just enough. They always remind me to keep up with weights and keep up with everything,” Tanner said.

Not only does he have practice and weights, but he also has to watch what he eats.

“Whatever you put in your body is just going to limit how you do in your next race.”

But eating is one of the only things he really has time for after school. His afternoon schedule usually consists of swim practice, schoolwork, dinner and by that point it’s usually time for bed. **** In the last ten or 15 meters of his event, Tanner puts everything he has into the race. It’s the hardest part, but he considers it the strongest part of his race. He starts pulling hard and digs in to find any energy he’s got left to get a good closing speed.

“You’ve gotta just go crazy ‘till you hit the wall. On that last stroke, I turn on my side and stretch out as much as I can to touch the wall.”

With a time of 24.58 seconds, Tanner gets the 13th fastest time. Not as good as he was hoping, but his parents and teammates are there to congratulate him. But the countless first place medals will always keep the chance of another state championship looming in the back of his mind.

FOOTBALL

GIRLS TENNIS

VOLLEYBALL

BIG XII FOOTBALL

SUPER BOWL

Olathe East

SM West

SM East

Oklahoma

Colts

Blue Valley NW

Lawrence

Texas

Chiefs

SM East Hutchinson SM East

SM East

Texas A&M

Patriots

Olathe South

Aquinas

Texas

Steelers

Aquinas

Aquinas Hutchinson

SM East

SM East

issue 1 / september 6, 2005 / sports / page 19

“

LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD

ON PLAYING FOOTBALL AGAIN AFTER LAST SEASON’S SUSPENSION It is a great feeling, when we practiced at South it was great to know that I’d be playing under the lights again soon. One of the things I missed is when your adrenaline is pumping so fast you can just zone everything out except for football. That will be a great experience.

After suspension, junior linebacker back in action

ON ADVICE TO ATHLETES WHO CONSIDER VIOLATING THE ALCOHOL POLICY It is not worth the risk at all. Considering all of the consequences there are and being kicked off the team, it isn’t worth it. All last season I just kept thinking of how great next season (this year) will be.

ON FELLOW LINEBACKING CORPS We are really experienced with three seniors and me all having played varsity. The other three are really strong and they are all big hitters.

ON THE JUNIOR FOOTBALL CLASS Coming into East, I thought we’d be one of the best teams in recent history. A lot of kids have found out other things are more important to them and others don’t have passion. We still have some core players but we lost a lot of talent with kids quitting.

It is nice, though, to have kids who really want to play football.

ON WHAT COACHING FIFTH GRADERS LAST SEASON TAUGHT YOU ABOUT FOOTBALL It gave me a whole different perspective on the game.

Instead of being mad about having to run, I was having to run the kids. It made me understand why coaches make us run to push us to do our best.

ON THE PRESSURE OF LIVING UP TO YOUR DAD PLAYING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT KENTUCKY I don’t really look at him as a former college football player, he has always been very helpful to me and has always given me extra tips about football. My suspension last season probably was just as hard on him as it was on me.

ON THIS SEASON’S TEAM We’ll be a lot better than we’ve been in along time.

We are very strong and experienced on both sides of the ball. Everyone has been putting forth a lot of effort compared to last year when there wasn’t so much.

ON YOUR PERSONAL UNDEFEATED FOOTBALL RECORD (10-0) WHILE PLAYING AT EAST I’m proud to have always had the talent around me to have won so much. However, I would have much rather been out there losing some games last season and being with my team, then keeping that record.

Goins, a junior, plans on helping the Lancers win more than two games this year.

ON THE BIGGEST ASSET YOU BRING TO THE TEAM THIS SEASON I think I’ll bring more toughness. Sometimes I’ll be into a game so much that I forget about my own personal well-being and just think about winning the game. -As told by Peter Goehausen

photo by frances lafferty

The Week Ahead

”

What to watch for in Lancer Athletics By Peter Goehausen TUESDAY 9/6 - FRIDAY 9/9

Boys Soccer at KAMO Soccer Tournament It’s the beginning to the end for a talented senior class that features D-I talent (Webb, right gets his shoes shined by senior Patrick Kohnle after scoring). After taking second in the Sunflower League last season at 8-2-1, the Lancers should be among the favorites this season after only losing five seniors who played significant minutes on varsity.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Lancers return junior goalie Peyton Warwick who took part in seven shutouts last season.

SATURDAY 9/10

Girls Volleyball at Johnson County Invite

In the first season after losing the best volleyball player to ever come through East, Stephanie Bruggeman, the team first must find a replacement to make up for all of the kills and blocks that Bruggeman brought. Last season, East didn’t even make it out of pool play, it will be key to avoid that this season, as they are too inexperienced to rebound from that this season.

Cross Country at Topeka West Invitational

As the lone varsity returnee on the boys side, John McCormick will have to show the underclassmen how it is done in their second meet. On the girls side, talented underclassmen will be expected to lead the way.

SATURDAY 9/10

GAME OF THE WEEK- Football vs. Olathe NW

After having the first 2-0 start since ‘99 last season, it will be vital for the Lancers do it again this season if they want to want to be on the top of the Sunflower Conference. In year two of the rival game against former coach Todd Dain, East and junior running back Colin Hertel (above) will need to exploit the Ravens weak defense. Offensively, Northwest lost QB Vinny Gay but returns talented receiver Josh Kirts.

SATURDAY 9/10

Girls Tennis at SM District Tournament

After coming in second last season at State, the Lancers return their whole team including state champion Kristen Bleakley, senior, who will make a switch to double’s this season with junior Laine Mackey. Taking over the number one single’s spot will be sophomore Emily Whitney. The Lancers should cruise through the district tournament as they have the past two photos by linda howard seasons.

page essay6,/ 2005 the harbinger issue201 / photo september

Senior Emilee Weltner writes blood in red marker on senior Caroline DeGoler’s forehead to promote their project, The Blood Drive. During the assembly they placed red tear drops on students and fellow SHARE chairs cheeks. photo by Emily Rappold

Senior John Cook screams and hollers to get students attention while waving his sign in the air. photo by Samantha Ludington

Care to SHARE SHARE chairs and execs promote their projects in crazy attire and get students involved

Senior SHARE Exec Caroline Goehausen leads students into the gym and gets them excited. photo by Linda Howard

Juniors Kortney Jones and Ellie Leek play in between assemblies with their leftover decorations. SHARE chairs decorated the gym and presented their projects to students as part of the assemblies. photo by Samantha Ludington