Issue 6

harbinger

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / 7500 mission road prairie village, kansas

super

slingers

teachers serve food to raise money for PTA

story by michelle sprehe

W

ith all the assignments, due dates and projects that teachers demand students serve them, wouldn’t it be nice to have the teachers serve the students? With smiles on their faces and hopes of tips, East teachers will be bringing out frozen custard and hot ButterBurgers tomorrow between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Culver’s on 79th and State Line during Culver’s 10 percent night.

During that time, 10 percent of all money made will go to the PTA Fund to help pay for after prom and after graduation. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., the band, Stop Time, made up of East students, will also be performing at Culver’s.

“In the past, we’ve had a band from Leawood Middle School play outside on the patio during their 10% Night, and people loved it,” Culver’s co-owner, Lynn Clause said.

“Whenever we have a 10% Night, it’s so high-energy, and a live band just adds to the fun.”

There will be teachers from almost every department serving at Culver’s. Not only will they bring out the food, but they also may even get to make some ice cream.

“Hopefully seeing their teachers bring out their food will motivate students to come,” StuCo co-sponsor, Brenda Fishman said. “I think there may be a fight between the teachers over who gets to make ice cream.”

Math teacher Rick Royer is planning on serving, because he knows how much the PTA supports the school, so he wants to give back and support them.

“It’ll be exciting to see some of my students there,” Royer said. “But I’m not really going to add up everyone’s bill without a calculator like the announcement said. I don’t think Culver’s would trust me.”

For the past few years, the East PTA has received almost $10,000 from Price Chopper and Hen House to help support the after prom and after graduation parties. Last year, there was such a high demand that the stores decided to end the program, causing the PTA to find new ways to raise money this year.

“The Culver’s Night will be a good way to not only bring students together, but teachers as well,” Fishman said. “There are teachers who have been at East for years and some new

teachers that are volunteering. It will be a great way for them to get to know each other and for students to hang out and have a fun time.”

Any non-profit organization, such as schools and churches, can participate in Culver’s 10% Nights. In the winter and spring, Culver’s hosts usually around four nights a month.

Sometimes, they have two discount nights a week. If the 10% Night goes well for East, they are considering another night sometime in March.

“It’s always so much fun and proves to be successful,” Clause said. “The most a school has ever made at our store on a 10% Night is $625."

Six hundred and twenty-five dollars may not seem like too much, but restaurants only get about 25 to 30 percent profit each Night, so Culver’s is giving East about a third of whatever they make.

Patty Hilderbrand, coordinator from the Foundation of Inclusive Religious Education (F.I.R.E.) has experienced a 10% Night three times.

“It’s always a raving success,” Hilderbrand said. “We had the largest one-hour sale since the opening of Culver’s. A total of 350 families came during the three-hour period that we were there.”

Because high school students can drive themselves to Culver’s, East is expected to make more money and have a better turn out than the elementary schools have.

“Usually on a 10% Night the lines are out the doors,” Culver’s employee and senior Kyle Hergenrader said. “We have the same amount of people working that we would on any other night, but it’s all chaos.”

Though there may be large crowds, students are still encouraged to go and have a good time.

“The more people we get to go, the more money we can get, and the better the after prom and graduation parties will be,” after graduation chairperson, Peggy Miller said. “If you’re hungry, you might as well come and support the school while you satisfy your hunger.”

remembering

page 2 / news / the harbinger

Senior passes away from muscular dystrophy

Time with family: Pat spends time with his older brother John photo courtesy of Millett family

H

by amanda allison

e always had red cheeks. Red, freckled cheeks and a loud laugh.

He laughed while he cheated at poker, while he correctly answered every Jeopardy question and while eating cold chocolate and drinking grape Gatorade with his best friend.

But on Tuesday, Oct. 25, senior Patrick Millett returned to East from a field trip ashen-faced, colorless and exhausted. At home that afternoon, Patrick asked his older sister Katie to recline his wheelchair so he could watch TV and just relax, just close his eyes for a minute.

Those were Patrick’s last words, and his last request before he fell into a three-day, semi-conscious state. He died on Thursday, Oct. 27 due to complications caused by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Pat, few called him Patrick, was diagnosed at age five with the most common and most severe of the nine types of muscular dystrophy; he wasn’t predicted to live past 25, when his muscles would be almost non-existent, shrunken and weak.

As a toddler, he couldn’t keep up with the other kids.

He tripped, fell and tumbled.

In fifth grade he got his wheelchair.

By his senior year at East, he could barely move his right index finger.

According to his family and friends, though, Patrick never complained, never discussed death and never stopped laughing.

N News Briefs B

;;;

“Patrick was the only reason I went back,” long time “He once told me that he thought he felt like he didn’t camp counselor and family friend Bryon “Doogie” Gilbert even have a disability,” East Para Anne Wiedenkeller said.

The 18-year old hated being cooped up in his house said. “You would spend a week with Patrick and the other unless it was to hibernate in his room, playing video games kids and come home realizing that everything was pretty trivial … the small things just weren’t as important.” and eating pizza.

At MDA camp, Pat was the center of attention “Oh man, we would go here, we would go there. We would do stuff just to do it,” Patrick’s best friend, North everywhere he went. He was the funny one, the one who senior Andy Espinoza said, his whole face crinkling into a shouted the one-liners (“I’m Rick James!”) and wore the “I’ve got gas” T-Shirts. devious grin. “Whatever he wanted to do, we did.”

“Oh boy was he ornery,” mother Mary Millett said. “He Pat and Andy would “cruise” around town, sometimes was never mean ... just very witty and very honest.” hitting up to 100 mph.

Card night was intense at MDA camp this past June, He went to Chili’s with friends, ordering the standard chicken fingers and Oreo shake; to ACE Sports with Andy Pat’s last summer there.

Take my shirt off, I’m hot! he yelled. Wrap it around my where he could con you into buying him anything; and to head!

Best Buy with his Daddy, stocking up on DVDs and CD’s.

Pat gambled, risked everything that night playing Uno, Pat loved his music, but to be more specific, Pat loved Kings in the Corner and poker. rap.

He would have won all of the games, he was so close, “Oh gosh, why? Why did he like it [rap] so much?”

Patrick’s mom Mary Millett asks. “I have no idea. It was but he got tired. Just too tired to play. He would exit, be wheeled out, leaving the group with a quote from “Super just his.”

As he sat in his corner, dubbed forever “Patrick’s Troopers” or another fart joke.

The room would be quieter after Pat left, the cards Corner” in the East nurse’s office, the max-volume bass could be heard throbbing in his headphones from three lacking a dealer, the others laughing a bit less.

The next day he would again obtain his wheeled seat as feet away.

Kanye West, Nelly, P. Diddy. The occasional Lynyrd the center of attention and make them laugh once again.

Skynyrd or Limp Bizkit.

“You tell Biggie and [Two] Pac what up for me,” Andy wrote in Pat’s online obituary guestbook.

It was his sister Katie who made a mix CD that played quietly above the heads of family and friends at Pat’s wake, the songs fading from “Lose Yourself” by Eminem to “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler.

For now, Pat’s family plans on having his ashes scattered throughout Ireland. He was always proud of his Irish heritage, often wearing his “Irish for Life” wristband. The family will save a portion of the ashes, because it was Patrick’s wish to have them sent up in space so he could be free. So he could finally feel weightless.

The times that Pat felt most free on Earth were the weeks spent at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Dressing up: Pat Mil lett wears a suit for his best friends wedding camp. For one week each summer, for 12 during the past year photo courtesy of Millett family years, Pat was free.

Bake Sale

Trash Bag Sale

Musical Auditions

Who: East students

Who: SME Band students

What: Sell back goods to fundraise

What: Sell trash bags for lawn clean up

What: Audition for a role

When: Nov. 16-18 after school and during lunch

When: All fall

When: Nov. 8-10 and 14-17

Cost: Lawn bags-$9 for a roll of 25 Kitchen trash bags-$9 for a roll of 65

Where: Dance auditions are in the auditorium and singing auditions are in the choir room

Where: On the South Ramp Cost: All bake goods cost 50 cents

Why: To earn money for the band program

Who: Any student interested in being in the school musical Grease

Why: To participate in a school musical

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / news / page 3

Science Support by missy lem After school on Wednesdays, students gather to study for tests, build model airplanes, or design science experiments. These students are members of the Science Olympiad.

The Science Olympiad is a national organization for high school students who enjoy learning about science related topics.

Both physics teacher Morning Pruitt and co-sponsor chemistry teacher Cole Ogdon have promoted the Science Olympiad in their classes, hoping to gain support. Their efforts paid off. With over 30 students involved this year, the size and competition has doubled.

“I think (the Science Olympiad) was promoted better this year than last year,” Pruitt said. “We have two sponsors this year and the older members have been telling their friends to join.”

Because of the increase in members, only half of the students will be able to participate in the events that they prepare for. At an event, each school brings 15 students.

Depending on the topic that the students choose, they either take a test, show off their models, or perform their experiments they designed.

There are a wide variety of topics covered at each event and teams must be very knowledgeable in the topic that they choose. For example, the team that chooses astronomy must be able to identify constellations and solve astronomy problems. For the food chemistry topic, students will be asked questions pertaining to food chemistry, which may include chemical reactions,

characterization, and quantification. Other topics for tests include “Designer Genes,” “Disease Detective,” “Ecology,” “Forensics,” “Chemistry,” and many more.

Junior Blake Osborn is a first year member of the Science Olympiad. He became involved in the Olympiad through his friend senior John Sweeny. “(Sweeny) made a video of (the Science Olympiad) last year and I watched it,” Osborn said. “We’re friends so I joined (the club).”

Osborn and Sweeny are working on a project called “The Wright Stuff.” For this project, Sweeny and Osborn will build a model airplane based on the airplane of the Wright brothers. The model airplane that flies for the longest period of time is the winner. They plan on buying the necessary materials for making the airplane and testing it several times before the invitational.

“I hope our airplane turns out right and we do well (at the competition),” Osborn said.

Students involved in the test-taking aspect of the Olympiad will research their chosen topic and learn all about it. They will have to research extensively to do well on the test, which in turn helps the team.

Ogdon and Pruitt will determine who will compete at events based on seniority, skill, and participation.

“The students who are in higher science classes will probably get to participate at the events,” Pruitt said.

Senior Michael Horvath was a member of the Science Olympiad last year and is participating in it again this year. “(Science Olympiad) is fun and challenging,” Horvath said. “This year should be harder, too, since there are so

Science Olympiad gains popularity and doubles in size

Getting Prepared: Junior Blake Osborn and Senior John Sweeny talk about their project for their upcoming invitational. photo by kelsey stabenow many more members.”

Students who aren’t chosen to take part in the events can still contribute by helping others study for tests, build models, or design experiments.

The Science Olympiad’s first event is the Shawnee Mission South Invitational on Dec. 3. Until then, expect to see Science Olympiad members hard at work.

page 4 / opinion / the harbinger

An underappreciated

letter

Honored students in non-sport fields don’t get the respect they deserve an opinion of laura nelson I’m getting a letter jacket for my birthday – I already know. A tailor somewhere will sew ‘Laura’ on the hood, pull my letter from its manila envelope and sew it on the left side of the jacket. My beautiful, white letter with “Band” in bold, black type.

Lettering in band as a freshman is hard – few do it – and 70 points is the minimum. I tallied obsessively. Thirteen pep bands, even before Chemistry and English tests. My rating at the solo competition that cost me a Saturday morning and months of practice. Private lessons.

Outside concert attendance.

52 + 7 + 9 + 2…

After the banquet, I wanted to pin my new letter on my backpack to show that I was someone in this school of 2000 nameless faces. But my happiness was brief.

“So?” A friend asked me when I told her the news. “It’s not like it’s a real letter. It’s white.

Everyone knows that athletes get the real, blue letters.”

What? You mean I can’t walk across the Lancer by the Spirit Circle?

No. Even with a “fake” letter, I can still do that.

But my friend wasn’t just a jealous freshmen who wanted her band letter, too. When I told someone in Algebra 2 about my friend’s response to my letter – that it wasn’t real – his response was, “Well, duh, it’s not.”

Athletes at East receive Lancer blue letters for their jackets that show their school pride and achievements. The music groups, debate and forensics members, though, expose themselves to prejudice and criticism every time they shrug on a coat. Students can easily identify and judge their peers by the color of a letter on a jacket. By issuing two different letter colors, discrimination between athletic and non-athletic groups becomes easy. It creates stereotypes.

It allows discrimination. And this is wrong.

My letter was once a source of pride for me. Seeing the manila envelope sticking out of my

LANCER voice

charlotte gilman - 9

“Marijuana’s a bad thing.

I support the laws that ban it. It can cause innocent people to get hurt.”

background information:

left-hand desk drawer made me smile at how sweet the reward for my hard work was. But now, that white letter cheapens my work, makes me feel different, silently taunts me from my desk, because I didn’t earn my letter in sports. Because I have a second-rate letter.

Just like a swimmer heads to the pool after class, just like a baseball player pays for private pitching instruction and expensive cleats, just like a football player pulls on pads and helmet and a runner travels to out-of-state tournaments, I’ve spent hours each week in stuffy practice rooms after school. I’ve paid for private lessons since fifth grade and a $2000 concert flute.

I’ve worn my itchy polyester marching uniform and my button-down tuxedo shirt. Pep band.

Concerts. Auditions. I even get some exercise – it’s pretty hard to carry music stands and tubas up two flights of stairs while in overalls, straightjacket coat, shoes and a 10-pound hat.

Debaters give up Friday nights at the movies and pancakes on Saturday mornings to tournaments all over the state. Kids in orchestra get calluses on their fingers from having pressed against strings for years. Forensics members recite pieces in half-inch binders until they lose their voices. And yet, they all receive white letters.

It’s an easy problem to solve. It could even be cheaper for the school. Stop the discrimination. Reward students with one letter color. At the band banquet, at the track banquet, at the forensics banquet this May, I’d love lettering students to peel open manila envelopes, pull out little plastic bags and shake Lancer blue letters onto cafeteria tables. It’s that simple.

What do you think about the recent legalization of marijuana possesion in Denver? david webster - 10 “I’m not an advocate of legalization. There are opportunities for exploitation, but at least poilce could focus on other problems.”

drew thompson - 11 “This is a very good thing. I support legalization, because it seems casual, and I don’t believe it’s dangerous.”

kelsey peterson - 12 “Denver shouldn’t be excluded from the laws of other states.

I only support legalization for medical purposes.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 1, voters in the city of Denver, Colorado approved a measure allowing adults aged 21 and over to legally carry up to an ounce of marijuana. Proponents claimed that marijuana use is less harmful than alcohol abuse and that passing of the proposal would reduce alcohol-related traffic accidents and crimes.

They also claimed that police resources could be redirected in more important areas.

issue 1 / september 6, 2005

Wasted time an opinion of ally heisdorffer

I sat down to a family dinner last night, for the first time in about two weeks. I had forgotten how much fun it was to fight with my eightyear-old brother over a meal. I’m leaving for college in a year and nine months and all of it is finally starting to sink in.

I’ve been having a tough time prioritizing lately. I am so fed up with my own monotonous routine that I have let myself slip. I am suddenly worried about spending time with those people that I will lose in a few short months to the inevitable: college.

We work so hard to get to this point in our lives where we can leave our homes and make a living for ourselves. All of the decisions we make now lead to the future and that totally scares the hell out of me. I complain all the time about how much I want my freedom and how wonderful it would be to just get away from here, but with that moment quickly approaching, I’m doing all I can to feel like I’m not wasting my time.

Picking out my college was easy. I have made my decision, but everything I do from now until then is determining my acceptance. These are the days I’m supposed to be enjoying.

These are the last fleeting moments of my childhood. I don’t want to feel like I’ve wasted countless hours working on my plans for the future rather than focusing on being young in this very moment.

I am running out of time to do all of the things I want to do before my junior year is complete. The hardest for me is to see so many senior friends of mine leave for college. At least during senior year you are close to reaching that light at the end of the tunnel: freedom. I don’t even know what I’m going to do on weekends after all the seniors leave. I haven’t dedicated enough time to prepare my goodbyes to the ones that I love. I don’t even have enough time to eat dinner with my family anymore.

There were so many days when I feel like I just want to give up. Some times it just feels like all this work is doing nothing for me. I’ll still get into college without an NHS reference on my resume. College admissions won’t deny you for taking the standard classes. (Gasp! Can you art by ian mcfarland believe it?)

Although these

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / opinion / page 5

High school is almost over, and too much of it has been squandered

things are true, I still feel obligated to push myself as hard as possible and ignore everything I used to think was important. I’m worried that I’m losing a strong grasp of myself. I totally had an emotional break down this week and it’s only the beginning of second quarter. I don’t want to be spending all this time trying to perfect myself academically, but I feel that I have to. Some days I still feel like a freshman and I’ve just walked in those front doors under that holy “Home of the Lancers” banner.

I’m 100% positive that I want to be a journalist. . .or a surgeon, or a movie star, or a fashion designer. If only there was enough time to pursue each interest. I’ve had such high hopes for myself ever since I started the whole system of grade school. I felt as though I was destined to do something great. I want to change peoples’ lives and if I don’t do that, then I won’t feel like I’ve completed anything worthwhile in this life. Even if it was in a small way, at least I could make a minor difference. If people can actually remember how to say Heisdorffer (highs • door • fur), I will know that I’ve accomplished something great.

We are only given a few things to work with in our lives: our bodies, time, and people to help support us. What we choose to do with these gifts molds us. It is our responsibility to try and preserve these very things.

Upon realizing that I’ve wasted time recently on work, homework, and certain people, I decided I really needed to do something about it.

As of now I’m trying to improve my time management skills and I have dropped out of pre-calculus to lessen my work load. All of the small things help.

My best friend will be leaving for college at the end of this year. I don’t even know what I’m going to do without her. The very thought of having her gone when I need her the most is already killing me and our time isn’t up yet. No matter how close she stays, it won’t be the same as seeing her friendly face in the hallway each day to brighten me up.

I am going to steal all of the seconds of the rest of my high school career and try and spend them to make me more prepared for what is coming.

I don’t want to feel like I’ve wasted this time. I refuse to lose another minute.

Faith-based ‘Salvation’

Initiative granted by Bush is being misused

an opinion of ben whitsitt Just when you thought that there are no holes in President Bush’s shining armor, or when you thought that there couldn’t possibly be anymore, I have another reason to criticize the Bush administration.

Bush has reached the point of being nosy and obtrusive in personal affairs.

Due to Bush’s “faith-based initiative” program, American taxpayers gave the Salvation Army children services division $47 million, 95 percent of their current budget. Plus, according to The Washington Post, several Salvation Army employees refused to proclaim that they were Christians. In other words, they would not say that they practice religion in which Jesus is the Savior and Lord and would not say what church they belonged to.

There is a line being crossed between religion and reality.

Here is the kicker: along with not being Christian, the employees would not give out the names of any gay employees.

I wish I could have been there when they fired those workers. I can’t imagine how they would tell them that they were about to be out of a job. “Sorry, you chose the wrong

religion, looks like you can’t work with us anymore. Oh yeah, get me those TPS reports before you leave.” I couldn’t help throwing in an “Office Space” reference in there because that is what this situation reminds me of: a fictitious working environment where employees are treated like mud.

Many taxpayers in our country are not Christians but still gave their money to a program that is firing workers for not believing in Jesus. Bush’s policy mandates that a religious group can hire and fire employees based on their religious beliefs.

I think I’ve seen a similar kind of prejudice before. But that was 50 years ago.

The $47 million the government gave the Salvation Army makes up almost all of their budget, therefore making it an almost totally federally funded program. How can a government be promoting this kind of system? Tell on the gays or be fired. That is what Bush is trying to say through his actions.

High school students will soon be out in the real world and will have jobs, pay taxes and be making moral decisions.

I do not believe that your status should be determined by what religion you’re apart of.

The fact that you can be fired from your job for being an atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., is outrageous. There is no “free” in any part of this initiative.

Some of our freedoms are clearly being violated because

the taxpayers are being forced to give up their money for federal grants going to religious organizations. Obviously Bush feels above the constitution which says that the government “shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.”

Bush has been very clear that he is a good Christian man and has been trying to promote faith to Americans for quite some time.

But I don’t want to hear about it.

He should stay out of people’s faiths and bedrooms and quit trying to say that Christian always equals good. Religion is a personal, private affair that shouldn’t have any influence on the way our government acts.

Meddling with religion is just a façade for social welfare.

The Bush administration is trying to make the initiative look like they are benefiting the common good. They are actually intruding on the rights our founding fathers set up for us.

Bush started this initiative in 2001 and has continued the religious groups’ competition for federal funding into 2005. I am astounded at the $47 million the Salvation Army received from the government. Federal funding should not exceed 50 percent of that organizations budget, let alone 95 percent. If they want to give more than 50 percent, then they have to include a wider range of people who want to be included.

This discrimination needs to be put behind us and not wrapped up in euphemisms like “faith-based initiative.”

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

and That Time of Year preparation decoration for

Already ?

winter holidays begins too early

Get ready: your senses are about to be assaulted, once for the worse with a drastic focus on the shopping and the gifts. again, by the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday season.

That may never change, but the time at which it It will soon be here, but unfortunately, sooner than before. begins its barrage can. Besides the retailers, radio It’s that sacred time in December, when the onslaught stations are already playing holiday music and shopping of Christmas, Hanukkah and seemingly countless other centers and districts are putting up decorative lights. holidays begins. Amidst the family gatherings and religious People at home are even already putting up lights. reflection, a whole different kind of celebration has taken This all adds up to one conclusion: the holiday season, over, a celebration of materialism. This is the feverous though inevitable, is starting too early. Whatever happened and relentless shopping season. to the traditional start date of the day It’s no secret that many claim to be after Thanksgiving, when anxious moms appalled and disappointed about the would pile outside of Best Buy and Target In order to preserve the “awful” and “horrible” materialism of to be the first to get the best prices? Is more spirit of the season, decothese holidays. And this trend towards time really necessary? Surely a month ration for the winter holishopping and spending money is no full of nonstop buying is good enough. days should not begin until more evident than if you were to take Without this kind of self-control and a look at the greatest indicator: retail. awareness, the feeling and meaning of after Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart is already running the holidays, religious reflection and numerous holiday-themed commercials celebration, will keep drifting away. on television and in movie theaters When it feels like the holidays are starting featuring musical artists opening gifts at the start of November, everyone is on Christmas morning. Other retail tired and desensitized to the excitement agree disagree absent stores have put up displays featuring and uniqueness the holidays bring. By packaging and informational postings December, everyone is sick of it and ready about their “Gift Return” policy. And to get it over with. When it reaches this level, most retail stores have completed hiring part-timers just what’s the point of having holidays in the first place? We might for the holidays. In even more extreme cases, shops have as well move the holidays and celebrations to mid-November. been putting up their holiday decorations since August.

Though the horrid holiday shopping season is unavoidable But the bulk of the blame cannot be put on the in today’s society, there is an amount of self-control that can be retailers, considering they make most of their profit exercised when the time comes. The stereotypical complaint during the holiday months. It’s to be expected that they really is true: with so much emphasis on the tangible, the would try to start their season as soon as possible. whole point is being lost and forgotten. So maybe instead A majority of the blame can fall on the consumers. Though we can lose that insight for only one month instead of two. everyone has heard it before, the nature of the holidays have turned

9-0-2

Editorial Cartoon

by sara mcelhaney

harbinger 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 features page editors katie jones hallie mccormick sylvia shank center spread editor laura nelson center spread assistant editor jenn sunderland mixed editor libby nachman a&e section editor derek martin a&e page editors kevin grunwald sports editor peter goehausen sports page editors bobby miller ben whitsitt ads/buisness kristen crawford claire marston circulation davin phillips

Joe’s diner reserves the right to refuse service to anyone at any time

The USA reserves the right to refuse humane treatment of prisoners of war at any time

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.

copy editors amanda allison bryan dykman evan favreau annie fuhrman laura nelson sara steinwart jenn sunderland 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

off the

road clark goble

Junior Ryan Surface’s Jeep isn’t the only one sitting in the 75th Street lot before school. There’s red, white, and silver Jeeps, Jeep Wranglers, Grand Cherokees, Libertys.

But Surface’s 1990 Jeep Wrangler is one of the few sitting anywhere in Prairie Village that does what a Jeep was designed to do.

Offroad.

Since August, when he bought the Wrangler, Surface has been taking his car out to the hills and slamming it through mud puddles and down dusty slopes. Even with the car taking physical abuse, occasionally amounting in costly trips to the car garage, East students like Surface are making the long trip to prime offroading spots.

“I love to push my car to the limits, get dirty, and dig myself out of the mud,” junior A.C. Maurin, who also offroads, said.

Offroading is truly fun because it creates situations you can’t encounter cruising down Mission Road, Surface says.

Although visions of souped-up Jeeps jumping hills at 50 miles per hour come to mind when offroading is brought up, the activity is actually very safe if done correctly.

“There is no physical risk as long as (the driver) doesn’t attempt anything he or his car can’t handle,” Surface said.

Most offroaders in this area are mud offroading, the less risky of two types. There is also rock crawling, which involves taking the car over large rocks or rock formations.

This usually requires a more specialized vehicle, which Surface’s Wrangler is not. Therefore, mud is the only option for him and his friends.

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / features / page 7

Some students have found a different way to spend their free time: offroading

But the lack of challenging maneuvers doesn’t make trespassing of $500 or more. mud offroading any less fun.

The chances of receiving a fine, while low, don’t scare “Getting the car caked with mud and seeing the people’s Maurin away from taking his car offroading. But, he and his reactions still make things interesting,” Surface said. “Mud friends are sure to be careful before offroading anywhere. (offroading) is definitely the way to go because it challenges “We don’t do anything illegal,” Maurin said. “My dad your car and really isn’t that dangerous.” even encourages (offroading) and is helping me fund my Even though kids at East are becoming more interested new Jeep.” with the activity, it hasn’t become a problem for the Prairie Maurin’s new SUV, a Jeep Cherokee with 6” lift, 33” tires Village Police. Kids who offroad for a hobby know their and rocker guards, is only used for offroading. He made car’s limitations and don’t try to attempt anything too risky, the purchase after finding he had fun with his friends the police officer Steve Hunter said. Area is also a factor in the first time he went offroading with them soon after his 16th lack of criminal charges. birthday.

“There is very little vacant land located in Prairie Village “I’ve been hooked ever since,” Maurin said. that offroading could be conducted,” Hunter said.

Trespassing is the only problem most offroaders have with regard to the law.

The law states that if the landowner gives permission to those offroading on his or her property, there is no violation. If the owner has not given permission, those involved could be charged with criminal damage and • Deflate your tires slightly to provide better traction.

Tips

of the

Offroading in the Mud

• Use a steady momentum to carry you through. Keep speed up and use higher gears.

• If you lose traction and the vehicle is barely moving, turn the steering wheel quickly from side to side in short strokes to get a better grip.

• If muddy conditions force you to drive in ruts, know where your front wheels are pointed at all times.

Juniors, it’s almost time for. . .

Senior Portraits by

Greathouse Photography 913-677-2594 913-302-5854

mark@greathousephotography.com

Trade

page 8 / features / the harbinger

g

by derek martin Starting the Vegan Life

Hating the Vegan Life

vegan tales

My first day as a Before I became a vegan I was pretty sure the whole lot vegan started of them were hippie animal-loving wackos. I, Joe Animal normally Killer, couldn’t comprehend what it truly meant to give up off enough.

In fact, animal products for the sake of health, the environment I didn’t really and animals. In the last week I’ve experienced a complete feel vegan until and total shift in not only the way I feel, but also the way I think, act and live. I think I finally know what it means around lunch time. I got to to be vegan. my table and I began unpacking my nutritiously Shopping Vegan superior vegan lunch: pita with hummus and I began life as a vegan at Whole Foods about two weeks sprouts, some grapes, Fritos and a bottle of water. ago on a Sunday night. As I perused the aisles looking at I took one bite into my pita sandwich and, with products that I had never heard of like trout beans and that one bite my idea of what being vegan meant did a paradigm shift. This sucks, I Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Shampoo, my first impression of thought to myself, and it being vegan did, for that moment. It began to take completely and totally shape. I was sucked. joining a I forced club, an elite myself to swallow healthy club. I The biggest thing that a vegan what was left oflacks my can be protein would use products the The biggest thing that a vegan lunch, persuading common man couldn’t lacks can be protein A typical day of eating vegan to myself with thoughts pronounce. I’d cite facts A typical day of eating vegan to meet protein requirements is: of nutrient deficiency. days. Being vegan was depriving me of the thing I needed that only fellow vegans meet protein requirements is: Breakfast: Basically, I imagined myself lying most: energy. would understand or Breakfast: Oatmeal in the fetal position dying because appreciate. I’d be so Loving the Vegan Life Oatmeal Soy Milk I hadn’t gotten enough nutrients. damn cool.

Soy Milk Bagel Being vegan was no longer cool, it It wasn’t until the second night of being vegan that My trip to Whole Bagel was a curse. I hated that I had aLunch: whole I first experienced the positive side. I had just finished Foods was for one Lunch: Baked week left of this stuff. I wanted to go backPotato eating a salad and washing it down with some chocolate purpose: I needed soap Baked Potato Vegan Beanswhen I realized, I feel really good! And I did, I felt to the food I loved like pizza and nachos and friedBaked soymilk and toothpaste which Vegan Baked Beans Carrots chicken, not tasteless vegan food.

That night after a great. I was full of energy, I was focused, and I just felt were both free of animal Carrots dinner of lettuce with oil and vinegar on topFruit of it, I great. I couldn’t help but smile and bask in the pleasant products, and not tested Fruit cursed the moment I’d agreed to do this stupidDinner: article. feeling I was then experiencing. Imagine the feeling on animals. After going Dinner: Tofu I felt like I had volunteered to be tortured for a week. you get when you hear your favorite song and you can’t up and down each aisle Tofu Broccoli This was not going to be fun. help but be happy. Now multiply that feeling by ten or multiple times I finally Broccoli Brown Rice so. That’s what I was feeling. My spirits were up, I was found what I was looking Brown Rice Almonds Living Vegan for, hemp-seed oil based Snack: breathing easy, I was free of stress, everything was just Almonds I woke up the next day and reluctantly brushed perfect. It was that moment that sealed the deal: vegan soap and tea-leaf/ Snack: Peanut Butter my teeth with the disgusting tea leaf/cinnamon was the way to go. cinnamon toothpaste.

Peanut Butter Crackers toothpaste. Cruelty free, I thought to myself, for the Perhaps the most powerful evidence of how good Oh, how cultured I was.

Crackers animals I guess. I made my way to school and noticed being vegan can make you feel is that after this Dial and Crest were something: I was really tired. experiment, I’ve decided to go vegan full for the commoners. As I’m not really the most awake person before time. In all honesty, it was I walked out of the store with my newly purchased vegan soap and cruelty-free about noon anyways, but this was a whole new level of one of the easiest choices toothpaste, I couldn’t wait to become a member of the being tired. This was like going from getting 12 hours I’ve made. The choice of sleep to getting three out of nowhere; I could barely of whether or not to dietary elite: vegans.

“People will either ask you questions or make fun of keep my eyes open. I shrugged it off as “my body is just feel, “Just, ok,” or to you,” I’d been warned by my friend. Not that I cared of adjusting,” and went on with my day. After lunch, while feel great. course; being full of my soon-to-be-vegan self, I thought I was sitting in sixth hour, I started feeling really weird.

My whole body felt like it was on pins and needles. I tried No animals people would just think it was cool. to ignore it, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. I felt bad. It involved: Vegan took me a moment, but I realized: I was running out of soap has no animal energy. I wanted to just go home and fall asleep for a few products and has never been

giene:

hygiene products sted on animals. al Vegan Hygiene cts include: othpaste ap ampoo odorant

Living without meat products has its ups and Eating vegan downs

Eating vegan

tested on any animals.

Ecology: Clothing:

Being Ecology:

Hygiene:

vegan

Most hygiene products are tested on animals.

Fishers have exterminated 90 Special vegan hygiene Nothing involving leather, skins, percent of large fish poplulations Peopleproducts who don't eat meat include: or furs be worn or carried. in the past can 50 years. need at least 100 mcg daily Toothpaste leather Thisthanincludes More 260 million acres ofpursesof vitamin B12. Zinc, iron, Soap cowboy boots, wallets, USand Forests have been cleared to furand calcium are also very grow grainetc. to feed animals.

Some alternativesimportantShampoo coats, minerals for Deodorant have been made, such as nonAnimals raised for food produce leather birkenstocks.

68,000 pounds of waste per second.

Being

Vitamins:

strict vegetarians.

vegan

Fishers have exterminated 90 percent of large fish poplulations in the past 50 years.

More than 260 million acres of US Forests have been cleared to grow grain to feed animals.

Animals raised for food produce 68,000 pounds of waste per second.

Vitamins:

People who don't eat meat need at least 100 mcg daily of vitamin B12. Zinc, iron, and calcium are also very important minerals for strict vegetarians.

information provided by goveg.com

photos taken by Frances Lafferty

Juvenile Driving by rachel mayfield Sophomore Lauren Omana heart raced with fear as the police sirens sounded and the bright lights flickered in her rear-view mirror. Rolling the window down, she started to panic as the officer slowly walked to the car. She was only 14 years old at the time. Not only did she not have a restricted license, but she also had an underage passenger in the car.

She had been asked by a good friend that had been drinking to drive him and his car home. She knew that if she was caught, she would be in a lot of trouble, but she wanted to help her friend out. Unfortunately, on their way home, she was pulled over.

“I was brainstorming all the things I could possibly be charged with. MIC? MIP? DUI? Driving underage?” Omana said. “All I knew was that I would be in a lot of trouble. I was so scared but thankful that the officer let me go.”

Under aged driving has become common among teenagers. The temptation is hard to resist when you first start driving with a learner’s permit or restricted license.

What many don’t realize though is what the rules and

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / features/ page 9

Consequences of underage driving is not worth the risk

regulations really are instead of what they make them to be.

The consequences can be rough and disappointing. It can range from receiving a ticket or warning to suspension of the license. It is also possible that a driver could lose there ability to drive until the age of 18.

Sergeant Tom Hogard at the Leawood Police Department sees under aged drivers getting caught frequently. In some situations, parents can also receive a ticket if they instructed their child to go somewhere other than school, work or any school related activities.

Whether it’s a wreck that was caused or speeding, the under aged drivers are usually violating the driving laws on more than one count.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your parents said,” Hogard said. “If you aren’t driving to school or work, you are violating a law. If you have a passenger in the car that isn’t 18 years of age or older, you are violating a law. It’s that simple. If the police catch you and you are pulled over, you will get a ticket.”

Sophomore Katie Zimmer drives everywhere, making it

easier on her parents.

“I think a lot kids drive illegally because their parents don’t enforce the law upon them and because of that they have no fear of getting caught,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer has been driving alone for a couple months and just recently received a speeding ticket.

“My biggest fear was what the police were going to say to me and act towards me because I’m not 16,” Zimmer said.

Student Resource Officer Taylor has pulled over a large amount of under age drivers. The police don’t purposely go out in search of under age drivers, but if they come across someone that looks younger than 16, an officer will usually either pull the driver over or run the plates through a computer to check on the cars owner and other useful background information.

“Generally you can tell who the inexperienced drivers are,” Taylor said. “They can’t handle the vehicle well.

Sometimes they drive to close to the line, to fast, to slow or they can’t keep the wheel steady. It’s very risky and not worth some of the possible consequences.”

start up Beginning your own business in three easy steps Create Identify what you want to do:

Prepare • Make sure you have the

equipment needed for your new What are your strengths? business.

• • Are you intersted in

something that could be profitable?

• You will also need to expertly know how to perform your service or make your product.

• Keep in mind what you • Try making a step-by-step want to do as a career as well. This business could be a good opportunity to gain valuable experience.

list of how you will carry out the business process, including paperwork that will be necessary.

Advertise

• Advertise in local newspa-

pers and stores.

• Before you begin the

actual advertising, however, decide who you are targeting as possible customers.

• Create an ad with this in mind.

• Also, make sure your

ad contains a description, contact information, and is eye-catching.

Students find passion, income in disk-jockeying by clare jordan/sara steinwart It was getting late and the DJ the Maurin family had hired was a no show. It was Junior AC Maurin’s sister’s 16th birthday and she had long waited the night where all her friends would arrive ready to dance to a DJ. Maurin watched as his sister’s anxiety increased until he finally decided to pick up a stereo with his friends and start playing music for the party.

“My dad said I had a talent and he encouraged me to make a business of it,” Maurin said.

“He was actually the one that bought me my starting equipment.”

Once he decided he was going to make a business out of being a DJ, he had to get his name out there. He owes a lot of his marketing to his aunt who got him most of his gigs at the beginning.

“At the beginning I even did some free gigs to get my name out there,” Maurin said.

At first, Maurin viewed being a DJ as something that gave him a few extra bucks, but since he has been so successful he hopes of it being his main source of income in college.

Maurin charges $65 an hour. Gigs are typically three hours, plus he receives a small tip making it a total of $200 a night. A lot of his profit goes to updating equipment. This past year he spent around $800 buying a new mixer and amp.

Although the equipment he needs in order to be a DJ takes a big portion of his income he was plenty left over to buy accessories any teenager would want.

“I just dropped a load of money on an off roading car,” Maurin said. “it took most of my

savings and now I am saving for parts for the car.”

This weekend Maurin has one of his biggest shows of the year. He will be a DJ for around 300 people at the Kansas City Country Club for a party thrown by six Sion girls.

Another East DJ is junior Irving Cedillo. He began being a DJ because he heard a DJ on the radio and wanted to try it.

“I heard Mix 93.9 DJ Kirby mixing on the air and I knew I had to do that,” Cedillo said.

Cedillo charges $85 per hour for his services. Like Maurin, he usually DJ’s for several hours at a time.

Throughout a night being a DJ Cedillo has one goal: to keep the crowd going.

“It is a success for the DJ if the crowd never stops,” Cedillo said.

He usually gets his music from songs and samples or makes his own mixes. Over the past six years of being a DJ Cedillo has spent over $4000 on equipment and supplies.

“It is a lot of money, but in the end it is worth it,” Cedillo said.

in the

money

$

DJs like Irving Cedillo and AC Maurin can spend thousands of dollars just buying equipment to start their businesses.

$25 strobe light $800 two turn tables $849 22” disco ball $1250 mixer

$2924 total

Q& A

with Shelby Burford graphic designer, started “Shelby Burford Design” company.

Tell me exactly what you do.

I do graphic design for different companies. My company is called Shelby Burford Design.

Why did you start your company?

I liked art and I liked computers, and it just fit. Well, I don’t know if you could say I like computers. It’s the only way you can make money in art.

Who are your clients?

I work with anybody from small businesses to large companies. I did some things for Borders recently.

What are some of the projects you’ve done?

Tons of logos. Also, I’ve made t-shirts, direct mail advertising, invitations – things like that. I made concert tickets for a Fox Four Love Fund concert.

How much money do you make per project?

Logos right now are $325. I recently had to raise it after I was on the news everyday last week. I’ve had seven requests for logos this week. Usually I only have about one a month.

Why were you on the news?

They heard about me because I did the concert tickets for them. I won their “Reaching for Excellence” award.

They showed teasers of my story every day and then did a news segment on my business.

Interest in fashion sparks clothing business for sophomore girl by sara steinwart While some students sit at home playing PlayStation, others are out doing what they love and making money for it.

Starting a business is a good way for students to do something they enjoy and make cash on the side. A common way that students start their own businesses is by using their artistic skills.

••• Sitting at home the summer after her freshman year, sophomore Holly Harvey had nothing to do. She finally decided to get busy by taking up a new hobby: making clothes. She had always been a creative person and making clothing came naturally for her.

“While I was sitting at home this summer I wanted to find something to do,” Harvey

said. “My grandma decided to teach me how to use a sewing machine and I began making clothing.”

Harvey makes mostly shirts and skirts with a bo-ho and preppy mix. Although she does not usually wear her own clothes, she looks for inspiration for her clothes in popular teens stores where she shops. She then goes to thrift type stores to buy material and begins turning those old clothes into new, more trendy things.

“I just want to make popular clothes like those sold in stores and sell them at a cheaper price,” Harvey said.

The pricing on Harvey’s clothing ranges from $10 to $15. She sells these clothes in stands at art shows around town.

In the future, Harvey wants use her talent to open her own fashion line. Since she started making clothing, she has become passionate about it and sees herself as a successful fashion designer. She wants to include some of the same styles that she uses now.

“I like my style, Harvey said. “It is laid back and will stay in trend.”

page 12 / features/ the harbinger issue 1 / september 6, 2005

A day in the life of a Custodian by katie jones

When late night custodian Tom Evard comes in for work every afternoon at 3 p.m., he grabs a radio, his broom, a nubby rag, and a bottle of Enzo-Bac cleaner. He plugs the radio into a wall socket and tunes it to a rock station. Unlocking the first room on his rounds, he opens it to find little bits of holepunched paper circles littering the tiles and starts to sweep them into the middle of the floor. His shift begins.

Each day, Evard and the other custodians spends hours spraying desk cleaner on each table top, sweeping change and pencils and bits of lint into neat piles at every classroom door, and scraping crusty ketchup off the walls. He does these things until 11:30 p.m. Since some custodians have late schedules like this, it takes away time from their personal lives.

Most custodians applied because they had no other option.

Singing Indian tunes under his breath while he worked, Custodian Darshan Punnu said he got his job right after moving here from India. Because he speaks little English, custodial work was one of the only choices he had.

However, a few of them have specialized jobs. These jobs, unlike Punnu’s are focused in one specific area. Leading the

team, Maintenance Supervisor Mike Webb and Team Leader Ed Clausing moderate the rest of the custodians. Also, there is a specialized kitchen man, who helps put away food, a grounds man, who marks the football field and removes snow, and a maintenance man, who fixes heating and electrical problems.

“We have specialists on our custodial team that are better than any in the whole state.” Webb said.

Whatever their duties, some of the custodial team at East work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. and from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, the late night team members stay at the school from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., like Evard, and from midnight to 3 a.m.

For some custodians, the late hours don’t affect them.

“It’s not so bad,” Evard said, “A job’s a job…I’ve been working here for around 20 years, so I’m used to everything by now. I just get here, start, then after a while it’s time for me to go. Sometimes there’s pop and stuff that’s a pain to clean up, but [it doesn’t] take too long.”

For some the late night hours are a major inconvenience, like custodian Jeffrey Misigo. He relocated to Kansas City from Washington, D.C., for the cheaper housing and a better environment for his three kids.

“I have a senior girl and a freshman boy…and a six-year-

old girl,” said Misigo, “My youngest doesn’t understand why I have to be away from her. That is the worst part about my job—I am working when I need to be with them.” Misigo said.

Even though there are downsides to custodial work, Misigo says there are some things you see that you just have to laugh at.

“Once, I went to clean the bathroom and—I don’t know if the kid wanted to wash his clothes or something—but there was a shirt and pants in the toilet! Things to make you chuckle.” he said.

But Misigo and the other custodians agree that setting up for events, like the plays and games, is the best part of the job.

“That’s when you really get to interact with the kids. You get to see what they are all about. You get to see their true colors. And that’s what it’s all about.” Misigo said.

The life of a custodian isn’t a particularly fun one, but it’s more interesting than one might think. When they get to share a few laughs or talk with the students, the smell of Enzo-Bac isn’t so bad.

mixed

THEPAGEABOUTLIFE

TED

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / mixed / page 13

the library welcomes two

feathered friends

Age: two months Lifespan: 15-25 years Personality: Bites more than brother Ed. Enjoys hanging with Ed and ripping up the toys in his cage.

Background: Raised by night custodian Ed Clausing, who raises parakeets and other birds for the pet store Fins and Foilage.

Named for another custodian, Ted Kechem.

did you know?

PARAKEETS

• The word ‘parakeet’ means long tail.

• They belong to the parrot family and come from Australia.

• They are very sociable and live in groups of 20-60 birds in the wild.

photos by frances lafferty

• Parakeets come in over 100 colors, but primarily come in green and shades of blue, gray, white and yellow.

• They pluck out their feathers when they are lonely or bored. courtesy of http://animalworld.com/encyclo/birds/ parakeets/parakeets.htm

in seas n what’s hot what’s cool

by Laura Nelson

ED

Age: two months Lifespan: 15-25 years Personality: Friendlier than brother Ted. Enjoys hanging with Ted and flapping around his cage.

Background: Raised by night custodian Ed Clausing. Has been in the library for two weeks. Named by librarian Kathi Knop for Clausing.

30seconds with...

yesterday

Striped. Polka dotted. Critter-fied. Those cute li’l rain boots. Perfect for puddle-jumping, glomphing down the halls and leaving long, black streaks on the tiles, rain boots were comfortable and cute with a little denim skirt. It doesn’t matter that the janitors will be at school until 4 a.m. cleaning up after you! It doesn’t matter that it it’s sunny! It’s for the sake of fashion, right? Right.

today

Yeeeehaw, pardner! Grab your 10-gallon hat, yank on your real leather cowboy boots that cost more than a small car, and you’re ready to face the world: a bucking horse, an F on that history test… even a bad hair day. It’s all under control. Cowboy boots are like a teddy bear and a paper cut all rolled into one – ready to comfort you with their huggable cuteness one moment, pointy-toed murder the next. But it’s OK – you can still be cute while limping into the sunset.

tomorrow Bulky and scarily similar to an orthopedic shoe, moon boots with all their dull silver-and-gold-ness will sell faster than fresh doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. Who knows? We’re getting closer and closer to intergalactic travel, so it could come in handy. Maybe we’ll have something to talk about with the extraterrestrials – fashion.

Connor Dennis HOW DO YOU EAT AN OREO? Definitely with milk. Do I twist it off? I don’t know. I usually just eat the whole thing at once.

WHAT WORD WOULD YOU MAKE UP? You know that stuff you get on your fingers after you eat Cheetos? I don’t know what it should be called, but it should have a name.

TELL ME A JOKE. What do you get when you mix an elephant and a rhino?

El-if-i-no!

WHAT SHARE PROJECT WOULD YOU START? Something to do with environmental conservation.

I don’t think we have anything like that at East.

page 14 / a&e / the harbinger

‘Get Rich’ is a rapper’s delight

50 Cent’s acting is a bit shaky, but the movie ends up working as a whole by ben whitsitt 50 Cent’s inspiration for “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” must have come from the movie “Hustle and Flow” because it has the same plot, some of the same characters and almost the exact same story start to finish. I am not saying that this is bad; both movies are actually very good. If you like rap then you will like “Get Rich Or Die Tryin.”

This movie is riddled with songs by 50 Cent and has a good story to tell behind the music. It is a biography about Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Marcus) and how he leaves drugs and violence to make a name for himself in the rap world.

I know that it seems a little clichéd to have another rags to riches story, but this one involves 50 Cent and his hot beats make up for the commonplace story line.

Terrence Howard (Bama) is also in this movie, who also was the star in “Hustle and Flow.” He plays 50’s manager and pulls off a solid performance with a shoot first and ask questions later style.

You could actually make a case that everyone wants to kill everybody else. Whether it’s for drugs or because someone had sex with someone else’s mom, everyone has it in for each other. I was cringing in my seat as one of the gang members pulled gold crowns out of his boss’s mouth with a pair of pliers and finished him off by suffocating him with a plastic bag. It was sick, but I enjoyed it at the same.

While I enjoyed some aspects of the violence and degradation, I didn’t enjoy some of the full frontal nudity. One scene involved several nude prisoners taking showers and then one of the cellm

mates pulls out a knife and tries to kill 50. They were sliding around on the floor and it added nothing to the story. In fact it was just plain awkward.

I also had some unanswered questions after the movie was over. After 50 gets out of jail he denounces the game and tries to go clean by starting his rap career. Somehow he comes up with recording studios and a way to come up with his beats for his songs. He has no money but he raps away in the studio, trying to make a life for himself. I guess 50 is too gangsta to tell me where he got his tools of the trade.

I looked past the lack of information and continued to watch people get shot.

Oh yeah, just in case you didn’t know, 50 Cent isn’t the greatest actor in the world. That is why his mouth was wired shut for a part of the movie and is forced to not say anything. It didn’t matter though. I could barely tell what he was saying when his mouth wasn’t wired shut.

If I could see this movie again I would. Not just because Joy Bryant (Charlene) is extremely hot, and not because I like to hear 50 Cent slur his words together, but I liked how the movie kept me interested the whole time. From the SUV’s booming bass in the beginning to 50’s solo performance in the end, I watched with interest the whole time.

This movie involved guns, sex, violence and loud noises: all things that make me happy. A good story line helps too and good supporting actors are a plus. For the most part this was a solid movie and one I suggest you see if all the afore mentioned characteristics of a movie are ones that interest you. GRADE: B-

Fortune found?: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Terrance Howard and Joy Bryant fill out the cast of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” based on the life of Jackson photos courtesy Paramount Pictures

Original Compilation The fifth “O.C.” mix hits the right notes by ellie weed “When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.” Horns start to play, and “Your Ex-Lover is Dead,” track 10 of The O.C. Mix 5 begins. It is the fifth soundtrack that the hit TV show has produced. This latest mix has the potential to carry on, if not surpass, the success of the first four CDs. Not once did I touch any of the buttons on my CD player while I was first listening to this compilation except the volume dial. I never skipped a song. I even listened to a few of them more than once.

A familiar song made an appearance at the end of the soundtrack, but in a little more of a mellow way. Phantom Planet’s “California,” the O.C. theme song on the show, is played in a more acoustic guitar and piano based version.

In comparison with the four other mixes, I would definitely say it surpasses them all with long strides. It

has more of a range of songs that appeal to more than one genre, although most of the songs are still considered alternative rock.

For such a teeny-bopper show, the soundtrack never ceases to impress me. Every mix, including this one, has a perfect variety of songs: some that has the artist yelling at you, some that are perfect to sing along with even if you don’t know the words, some that will put you to sleep, and at least one that will make you get up and dance.

With the success of the bands from the past OC Mixes, I wouldn’t doubt that a few of the bands from this CD become prominent artists on someone’s iTunes playlist.

The fifth of the OC Mixes has the type of artists on it that make you feel hip when you’re blasting music out of the sunroof of your car. Yeah, that’s right, I listen to Of Montreal and the Shout Out Louds. They are the type of bands you read about in Rolling Stone as up-and-coming artists that anyone wishes they say they listen to. GRADE: A

Artists from the OC mixes who that have made it...

Survey says?

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / a&e / page 15

Seniors voice opinions on where to eat for open lunch

In third option was Einstein brothers in the village, for those craving a bagel or sandwich of that sort and prefer it Many seniors at East take advantage of their open lunch over Panera. ability and go out to area fast food establishments and Other frequently visited eateries were Arby’s, Panera, and restaurants for lunch. With only a mere 30 minutes to make Blender’s. Arby’s is the cheapest of these, with mediocre food their way out, eat, and get back, there is a restricted radius but is somewhat cheaper of a meal. Panera has much better in which a person can travel without being late. Two of the food but is more expensive, and tougher to make it in and top things looked at by seniors are affordability and speed. out of the restaurant quickly. Some students also head down Those being so, to the Prairie the person can V i l l a g e’s keep from getting B l e n d e r ’s his pass revoked and make a and minimalize meal out of Hen House Hen House: 26% tardies. a large, fruit Other 26% Hen House smoothie.

31% Home/Friend’s House: 16% ranked number With time s one in places as a major nt Home Einstein Brothers: 14% that seniors most limiting ce d 16% frequently found factor on the oo % G 13 themselves. With lunch period, r.

Einstein Mr. Goodcents: 13% M a large Chinese many are not Bros. and oriental food able to go to 14% Other: 31% area, inexpensive their favorite 3 course meal and places to eat. only slightly over a Chipotle was mile from east, Hen House makes itself an attractive choice first on the list for places students would go if they had the for those looking for a quick lunch. Hen House’s egg rolls are time or money. The enticing 1000 calorie burritos and spicy most appealing, and the fried rice is a good addition to any tomatillo sauces attracted the interests of many seniors. meal.

Also, strangely enough Taco Bell showed up quite frequently, The next most popular option was going home for lunch hinting that many students would love to have Mexican food and saving the money spent on food by eating at home. So given the time to every day. Lastly, in third place in this for those students, the only expenditure is gas. However, category were the students who found themselves too far students who choose this option are under the assumption from home to be able to go there and eat and make it back that there is something to make at home, and that they have in time. time to make it.

by joey soptic

If I only had the time I’d go to... “...to the moon, to eat cheese.”

-Patrick Haverty

The Breakdown:

“White Castle” -Michael Woodsmall

“I’d get some sushi.”

-Will Weinstein

The Locale: Travel Time: Village: 1-2 minutes Corinth: 1-2 minutes

Mission Road

Nall Ave.

75th Street

83rd street

Above: The China Garden Buffet at Hen House in Corinth.

A mere two minutes’ drive from school, China Garden is the perfect mix of value and location.

Below: Mr. Goodcents, only a minute or two away, offers a lot of food for a low price. Convenient, cheap and tasty.

page 16 / sports / the harbinger

Center of attention?

With new season, Lancers forced to shift focus away from Christie

by peter goehausen After having accomplished a second place Sunflower League finish and beating all of its rivals, the boys basketball team was extremely confident heading into last seasons sub-state final against SM Northwest.

“We all expected to win,” junior center Bryan Nelson said. “We knew they would they load up on J.D. (Christie) and we’d have to step up.”

With a minute and thirty seconds left, the Lancers trailed by one and before Christie could lead the comeback, he committed his fifth foul and final foul which turned into a four point Northwest lead. The team didn’t know where to turn when their leading scorer Christie, ten points, fouled out. Northwest closed out a six point victory and East became victim of their third straight sub-state finals loss.

“Everyone panicked because J.D. had a bad day,” Nelson said. “That is why this year even more so then last year [the rest of the team is] focusing stepping up.”

After last season’s season ending loss against Northwest, the Lancers saw how teams will contain Christie this year, which is why the teams main goal is for all the players to step up.

“This season we will have to have more guys stepping up,” senior forward Garrett Webb said. “We know we can’t just rely on J.D.” Webb, one of four returning starters, will be looked upon as one of the main players to take the reliance off Christie.

Last season Webb averaged ten points and five rebounds a game while starting all 22 games. The other returning starters are junior guard Ross Simpson and center Bryan Nelson. Nelson will playing the low-post position while Simpson will run the offense at the guard position. They will also have one of the deepest teams in recent memory

with the potential to play ten or more players.

“We have so much depth,” Simpson said.

“We will be able to play harder because we know every time we come out someone just as good will be coming in.”

The Lancers are expecting to benefit the most from their depth on the defensive side of the ball where they are planning on running a 1-3-1 full-court press which will allow them to create more points off of turnovers. Hair blamed the Lancers bad defense as much as he did the Cougars good defense in the loss to Northwest.

Another issue of concern will be defensive rebounding where they only have one player who averaged more then five defensive rebounds a game.

“We have to rebound more consistently,” Webb said. “Last year we allowed our opponents to have too many second opportunities.”

According to Christie, if the depth strengthens the defense, the Lancers feel they can beat anyone offensively. With eighty percent of their scoring returning from a year ago, the Lancers are planning on running the same offense as last season.

One area of concern offensively, however, is the team’s outside shooting, as only one player shot above 35 percent from behind the three point line, Webb. When teams run the box-andone defense, such as Northwest, and stack the post, the team’s shooting from the behind the three point line will be crucial.

“Teams can’t beat us otherwise,” Christie, who shot 26 percent from the three point line, said. “We know we will have to beat some teams with threes.”

The Lancers will have their first chance to see how the defense will play Christie and their offense in the opener Dec. 2nd at South.

After beating South twice last season by a combined four points, Christie and the Lancers are expecting another close game with South returning 6’6” forward Ryan Jehle.

After last summers 26-1 record, Christie said, the Lancers next tough game will come at the Springfield Tournament which features some of the best teams in Missouri, such as Popular Bluff who was the runner-up in Missouri last year.

“These seniors hate to lose,” junior Ross Simpson said. “They are some of the best seniors in awhile and will step up.”

The projected seven seniors will be the most since two seasons ago where they lived by the slogan ‘Now or Never,’ this year with the school all-time leading scorer in his final season the Lancers feel it will have to be ‘Now.’

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / sports / page 17

Transition by bobby miller

Just as his sweat begins to dry on his forehead after 7 a.m. morning weights, senior Brian Tagg knows that he will begin to sweat in about an hour at speed camp and then a couple hours after that at baseball practice, then the two basketball games he has after that. Playing three varsity sports has him sweating a lot.

Tagg’s summer consists of 245 innings of baseball, 120 quarters of basketball and 40 halves of seven on seven for football. That is 5,960 minutes of athletic events While athletes who only play one sport have the entire year to train for it, Tagg has had one week to get ready for the upcoming basketball tryouts. Switching from basketball to baseball he has even less time. The past two years he has had two days to transfer from basketball to baseball Tagg is the only male athlete in the school to play on the varsity football, basketball and baseball teams. He was a twoyear starter at free safety and a captain on the football team, varsity forward in basketball and will be a two-year starter as an outfielder in baseball.

“I never have to push him to do anything.” Michelle Tagg said. “He is very self motivated and never wants to miss an athletic event.”

If he letters in basketball he will be up for the elusive gold crown award, given to athletes who letter in three varsity sports.

The buffer week, a period which gives athletes one week off before winter tryouts, is the loudest week in the Tagg house. The bouncing of a ball and the barking of their dog Sandy, trying to steal the ball away from him are constant noises throughout the day. Even though this week was designed for an athlete to receive a break before their sport begins, this is the only time Tagg has to get ready for the basketball season.

“My mom tries to get me to stop sometimes,” said

SP

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

BRYAN DYKMAN PETER GOEHAUSEN BOBBY MILLER BEN WHITSITT

Tagg. “But she knows what a rush I’m in. She is very understanding.”

Tagg and his mom spend a lot of time with each other. If you go over to the Tagg house at around 6:30 every week night you are almost certain to see them trying to guess the words before Vanna White puts them up on “Wheel of Fortune.” He is an only child, getting all the attention in his house. He also doesn’t have a father. He has never known his dad; he has never been around in his life, and he doesn’t know where he is.

While many boys were listening to their fathers teach them to catch a football with their thumbs together Brian had to rely on his natural instincts to learn to throw a spiral.

His mom was always quick to go out to the backyard to play catch with him before an upcoming game and his Grandpa and Uncle would come by about twice a month to play with him, but he has taught himself to be successful in his sports.

He has never felt though like he has missed anything.

“It has never bothered me,” he said. “I never knew what I was missing out on and I’ve always been happy with my mom.”High-school sports haven’t all been perfect for him though.

His freshman basketball season ended before it started when he was cut from the team. When he went in the morning after tryouts he looked at the list, and when he didn’t see his name and came out to his mom’s car and just shook his head, which signaled to his mom he hadn’t made the team.

“It was very tough on him,” his mother said. “It was his first failing experience, and in the long run helped him out.”Tagg now looks at it as motivation for the rest of his sporting career.

“I told myself I would never let it happen again,” Tagg said.

“It really grounded me and I knew from then on I had to make the coaches notice me.”

Tagg took for granted that he would make the team because he had played for seven years before, but when he

BOYS BASKETBALL

photos courtesy of the Tagg family

got cut he knew that nothing would be given to him in highschool and he would have to work for it.

That summer he put on 15 pounds of muscle to get ready for his sophomore year and to make sure he never felt the taste of failure again.

His sophomore year was his breakout year when he began to emerge into the sports spotlight. He was forced to take over quarterback for the sophomore team after they lost Brett Condie to the varsity team. It was the first time in his life he had to play quarterback so he had adjust quickly.

“When I played quarterback it made me take a leadership role,” Brian said. “It was the first time I had to step up. It gave me confidence and made me be more vocal, which I didn’t like to do.”

Getting into an underclassmen’s face isn’t what he wants to be remembered as.

“I like to lead by example,” he said. “I want people to see my work ethic and notice what it takes to be a varsity athlete.”

His junior year was his first year to start a varsity game. He started six games on the football team until a sprained ankle sidelined him for the rest of the season. He was also named an honorary captain of the team which is usually awarded to seniors but that year Tagg received the award from his fellow teammates. In baseball he started every game and helped lead the team to the state tournament.

Going into his senior year, his expectation raised. In his final football season he dictated the team’s secondary, caught three touchdown passes and returned two punts for a touchdown.

His goal for the upcoming basketball season is to work his way into a starting position and in baseball to maintain his hitting spot as the leadoff man. Tagg also wants to lead both teams to the state championship game.

Then, after a state title he might consider giving himself a break.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

WRESTLING

BOYS SWIMMING

BIG XII BASKETBALL

FINAL RECORD CHIEFS

SM East

Olathe South

Free State

BV Northwest

Oklahoma

10-6

SM East

SM South

Manhattan

SM East

Oklahoma

10-6

SM East

Olathe East

Maize

SM East

Texas

11-5

SM East

Olathe South

Hutchinson

SM East

Kansas

9-7

page 18 / sports / the harbinger

Two of a kind

the extra work is necessary.

“It is a good young team,” first year head coach Chip Ufford said. “We have one or two seniors coming back. Both are four year letter winners. They both went to state and are potential placing leaders, but hopefully the young guys will step up in the 12 other spots.”

The team has lost state champion Ryan Sonderegger, state placer Logan Rutherford, and league champion Marshall Martens. The returning seniors are Peter Fields and Angelo Santos.

To improve the seniors and the rest of the team, Ufford helped the wrestlers get involved in wrestling camps, clubs, and other places for them to get practice over the summer.

“The more mat time the better they are going to be,” Ufford said.

Although the team has always gone to camps and done clubs like Kids, a pre-high school training program, they did a lot more weight training.

“It makes sense. I mean he is the weights coach,” junior John Carr said.

The team got a lot of mat time on the Big guns: Seniors Angelo Santos, left, and Peter Fields, right, wrestling mat in Carr’s basement. The mat will have to use all of their strength if they want to repeat the was to be thrown away by the school, but accomplishments of East alumni and last year’s state chamCarr saved it from the dumpster and took it pion, Ryan Sonderegger. photo by Linda Howard home.

“It’s kind of like underground wrestling,” by jayne shelton Carr said. “I invited everyone to come.”

Only a few wrestlers came every time, and senior Peter he sound of weights slamming to the ground Fields was one of them. He said that he wanted to wrestle resonates from the weight room, even after over the summer and was bored anyways, so he wrestled school. It is the wrestling team working over time, something they’ve done all summer to prepare for with Carr for practice.

“It’s like remembering plays in football: it’s easier when the upcoming season and with the loss of three league you have done it more recently,” Fields said. “Most guys in champions, a runner up in state and a state champion, all

T

Seniors have big shoes to fill after loss of state champion the league haven’t wrestled since last February.”

According to Fields, all the practice is a year’s worth of practice that they have over the other teams they will face this season.

The team is eager to see if that experience shows in several duels and tournaments. The Bobcat Classic, Johnson County Classic and a duel with Olathe North and SM South are a just few of them.

“The Bobcat Classic is a two day tournament,” Ufford said. “It is kind of a measuring stick of where we are going to be in state.”

The team is especially gearing up for the duel with Olathe North. Junior Drew Robinson thinks that the teams are fairly equal, although they may have an edge in some weight classes. The Eagles have a wrestler who won second in state returning.

“Olathe North and Olathe East have a real variety with their skills,” Robinson said. “They have a returning state runner up.”

Fields thinks the team will have a strong year. St. Thomas Aquinas and Emporia, two of the dominant schools in the league, have dropped from 6A to 5A wrestling making the class easier to win.

“We have a junior stacked team,” Fields said. “Usually we have like four upperclassmen total, and this year we have like 10.”

Robinson thinks that the year will be a building year because the team is so young and has little experience, and that next season will be the stand out year since the team will have several more seniors and the underclassmen will have improved.

“There will be a few more seniors, and good juniors -next year will be really, really good,” Robinson said.

Carr thinks this year will be as good as any other, even with a young team.

“I think we will surprise people,” Carr said.

Enthusiastic group of fans lends their support at state XC meet by foster tidwell Junior Alex Hodges raised the blue plastic horn to his lips and let blow a deafening bray.

This was the signal they had all been waiting for. Senior John McCormick and Junior Peter Reisz were sprinting towards them.

A dozen boys painted head to toe in blue shoved their way through the mass of spectators at the state cross-country meet and grouped themselves together alongside the track.

On the chests of some, white letters spelled out “East;” on others, “John,” in support of Senior cross-country star John McCormick.

As soon as Hodges and his gang were assembled among the spirited crowd of East supporters, McCormick came charging toward them along the narrow grassy path amid a pack of runners.

Shouts and cheers emanated from the crowd and the noise grew deafening.

“The energy level of our guys was just amazing,” McCormick said. “At one point I came running around a bend, and [Senior Graham Stark] was standing there in the middle of the path, screaming and shaking his arms at me. I nearly hit him.”

Such steadfast and energetic fan devotion is something both new and welcome to the cross-country team.

“Traditionally we have had terrific parental support,” Coach Michael Chaffee said. “But we have been lacking in the area of having energetic young people supporting our runners. It’s a great aspect to have.”

All this excitement took place in Lawrence, Kansas – nearly an hour’s drive – before the clock struck 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

But for about twenty of the team’s most hardcore fans, the event began at 8 a.m. in Graham Stark’s front yard.

“We all jumped out of our cars, tore our shirts off, particularly difficult part of the course and see all the and immediately ripped open the paint cans,” Junior Ben people there cheering, it makes me just want to run faster,” McNamara said. “At first we tried to be quiet because it was McCormick said. “So I do.” so early. We gave up pretty quick though.”

Reisz agrees that the fans have a positive effect on The increased support certainly appears to have paid off performance, but he is affected differently than McCormick. for Reisz and McCormick, East’s two participants in the state “When I come running into a group of our guys,” Reisz meet at Rim Rock Farm, just outside of Lawrence. Reisz took said. “It just forces me to calm myself down and look fourteenth in the event, and McCormick took fourth. composed.”

As quickly as he had approached, Simply pretending to be McCormick was gone and out of calm can give him a boost in sight, a blast of air following in his confidence, which translates into wake. additional energy and hopefully, But the crowd’s enthusiasm a lower time. didn’t wane.

But for the supporters, There was just enough time showing up at a meet with the before Reisz came breaking around majority of their bodies painted the bend for several of the painted bright blue isn’t just for the benefit boys to turn their backs toward the of the runners. course, revealing a second message “We had a great time out there.” of “Pete.”

Alex Hodges said. “I mean, it isn’t As Reisz tore past, his face red every day that I can get up in the and singlet clinging to his sweaty morning and run around with my shoulders, the crowd cheered shirt off and chest painted blue, with the same fervency as it had screaming at the top of my lungs.” when McCormick had passed just For McCormick, the meet seconds earlier. was the last he will ever run in McCormick acknowledges that a Lancer uniform. But Reisz, the wild fans probably don’t have projected to be one of the top a huge effect on the final outcome runners in the state next year, of the event – he comes in with a hopes the increase in fan firm plan for how hard he will run War paint: Juniors Ben McNamara and support for cross-country wasn’t at what parts of the race – but they Quinn Stauffer prepare themselves to just a one-time occurrence. do give him a jolt of energy when he cheer on the runners. photo by Emily “They were great,” Reisz said needs it most. of the fans. “I hope the same Darling “When I get to a level of support carries over to

5

issue 6 / november 14, 2005 / sports / page 19

minute guide Everything you need to know about the upcoming winter sports season

by peter goehausen

Five athletes to watch...

John Cook (Swimming) -Cook will

be expected to be the senior leader in his third season as a varsity swimmer. He was one of the top swimmers in leading last season’s team to winning state. He placed third in fifty freestyle, fourth in 100 free, led his relay team to first in the 200 free relay, where they set a new record, and lastly he was on the winning 400 relay team.

J.D. Christie (Boys basketball)- Entering his fourth year on varsity, Christie (right) will hopefully be at the top of his game as the boys’ basketball team has their sights set on winning state. Last season he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds a game. Christie will also leave the school as the all-time leading scorer in school history.

John Carr (Wrestling)- Carr, who is the lone returning state placer on the wrestling team, will be expected to lead the young group of wrestlers this season. He will be wrestling in the 152 lb. weight class.

Luke Tanner (Swimming)- Tanner is making himself out to be one of the best boy swimmers to ever swim at East. Before going to Nationals this summer he helped the Lancers win the state title with a first place finish in the 200 freestyle, third in 100 free, and was a part of the 200 and 400 freestyle relays that took first.

Taylon Johnson (Girls basketball)- As the lone returning starter on the girls’ basketball team, sophomore Taylon Johnson will have loads of pressure on her this season. Johnson, who played two varsity sports as freshman, averaged four points and 3 steals a game last season. Rhoades is expecting her tough defense to create opportunities for the team offensively.

Five games you don’t want to miss...

Dec. 2- Boys Basketball @ SM South- After winning three of the last four games against the hated rival, this game will be a huge tone setter for the rest of the season. Last season’s finale against South went into four overtimes before East came out victorious.

Expect this one to come down to the wire as it has in the last four games. Even though South lost 6’9” center Brian Gettinger, it still returns the highly acclaimed senior forward Ryan Jehle.

Dec. 12- Girls Basketball @ SM South- The second East- South basketball battle will be a true test of how much Head Coach Rhoades will be missing Sarah Parker and Jennifer Franklin. Last season South tied East for third in the Sunflower Conference, but they return the majority of their lineup from a year ago including D-1 prospect Dana Olsen who averaged 26 points a game in two games against East last season.

Dec. 16,17- Wrestling @ the Johnson County Classic- This tournament that features every team in Johnson County will be a good tournament to determine how East will do the rest of the season. Some of the top teams such as Olathe East and Olathe North will be the favorite in the tournament and in 6A this winter.

Jan. 27- Boys Basketball vs. Rockhurst- Let the battle begin! In what has turned into one of the biggest rivalry games of the year, this is another game Coach Hair has wanted to win. Rockhurst, though returning the majority of their team, will most likely struggle against East as East manhandled them over summer, not losing to them once.

In last season’s final minute thriller, the sixth man (the crowd) ended up being the game winning factor as Rockhurst center Max Ward missed two free-throws.

Feb. 18- Boys Swimming @ State- After returning the whole team that won state and went undefeated last season, state should be the first test for the swimming team this season. Seniors John Cook, Brandon Barnds, and Kevin Reene will be looked upon to lead the team back to state along with junior Luke Tanner. Last season the only team within 100 points of them at state was BV Northwest, who will most likely challenge them again this season. Regardless, expect to see the state swimming title at East again this February.

photos by Kevin Grunwald and Samantha Ludington

Five stories that will headline this winter...

Replacing the Sondereggers- The heroic Sonderegger duo of coach and athlete has moved on from the wrestling program at East. Ryan Sonderegger won state the last two seasons before signing to wrestle at the University of Missouri this year. Though new head Coach Chip Ufford said he will miss Ryan, he said that to succeed as a team it is better to have more consistently good wrestlers then just one dominant wrestler. Junior John Carr is the lone returning state qualifier from a year ago.

Lack of senior girls- Last season new head Coach Rhoades was blessed with one of the best senior duo’s to play girls basketball at East. Guard Sarah Parker and forward Jennifer Franklin led the girls to a third place finish in the Sunflower League. This season Rhoades will only have two seniors, Katelin Clark and Molly Stewart. Though neither of them saw much varsity action last season, Rhoades said he expects them to lead a strong defense. The starting lineup is likely to see two or more sophomores including the lone returning starter Taylon Johnson.

Will it succeed?- In its first season as an official KSHSAA sport, the first thing the Free King: Senior Brandon Barnds works on his freestyle, Barnds was on the bowling team will have to worry about is fielding a team. Though it has been a club sport for the past two years, it has yet to attract much interest or a coach. The season starts 200 and 400 meter free relays that won state. in January and concludes with a state tournament in March. Wichita Northwest is the last three seasons, all in heart-breaking fashion, but will start the season as one of the defending champion from the club league last year. front runners to contend for the 6A state title.

Can they ever live up to expectation?- Two years ago the slogan was “Now Can they be stopped?- Not to inflict the ‘Harbinger Jinx’ on them, but it looks like or Never,” this year that slogan will be in full effect as seven seniors will play their final it should be another state championship for the boys swim and dive team. After blowing season at East. Senior forward J.D. Christie, quite possibly one of the best basketball everyone out of the water last season, they return their whole team including junior players to ever play at East, will finally have the help he has been looking for with six Luke Tanner and seniors Brandon Barnds and John Cook. Coach Wiley Wright is slowly fellow seniors and two other returning starters. They have lost in the sub-state finals the turning the boys swim team into a juggernaut.

page 20 / photo essay / the harbinger

Donate Blood

save a life

Nervous: Senior Brittany Atha lays in her chair, waiting to get her blood drawn. Vonae Greene with the Community Blood Center looks over some last minute paperwork before she takes Brittany’s blood. Brittany is one of the three co-chair’s for the blood drive through SHARE. The other chairs are Emilee Weltner and Caroline DeGoler.

17 and 18-year-old students give blood to those in need

Feeling Woozy: Junior Mike Perry lays down in a bed after getting sick. Other student’s who weren’t feeling well after donating blood regained their strength with free cookies and juice, or they layed down for awhile.

A Little Lightheaded: After senior Frances Clay passed out by the cookie and juice table from giving blood, Brenda Givens and other members from the Community Blood Center helped Frances up off the floor and onto a bed. Frances then rested until she wasn’t feeling so dizzy and regained her strength back.

Blood Drive Mascot: Senior J.W. Vanderloo dressed up in the blood drop costume holds senior Caroline Goehausen’s hand while she waits for her blood to be done being drawn. Senior Andy Peterson stands by to help cheer up Caroline, but is distracted by J.W.’s jokes.

photos by Linda Howard