Issue 8

HARBINGER

THE

issue eight december 18 2006

Shawnee Mission East 7500 Mission Rd. Prairie Village, KS 66208

THE HOLIDAYS TURN:TO

photos by katie woods

WHETHER CELEBRATING WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, OR PARTICIPATING IN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, STUDENTS MAKE THE HOLIDAYS THEIRS. SEE PAGE 13.

EMERGING STRONG Senior Ricky Barajas lives to tell of homelessnes and parents’ death 9-10

WORTHWHILE PAIN Students choose to commemorate loved ones, values through tattoos 11

ROCKIN FOR A CAUSE Darfur benefit produces proceeds and fun 12

14 DAYS TO

the new year

page 3 [editorial]

Politically OVERcorrect

the

HARBINGER staff

Avoiding offense comes at a ridiculous cost

Try saying ‘gerontologically advanced’ five times fast. It’s politically correct for the elderly. And frankly, it’s a waste of syllables.

Our society today puts too much emphasis on political correctness.

We cautiously tiptoe (or walk tentatively if one has no toes; or pass tentatively, if one has no legs) around words that aren’t especially derogatory. To offend a human being has become a most shameful sin (excuse my Biblical reference). And although it’s important to respect others’ differences, it seems like in the past century, we’ve taken it a little too far.

Take the recent publication of a more politically correct Bible in Berlin, Germany. Last November, a group of 52 biblical “specialists” released a new version of the Bible in which inclusive language and political correctness have replaced some “divisive” teachings of Christianity in order to present a “more just language” for groups such as feminists and homosexuals.

The new version of the Sacred Scriptures is titled “The Bible in a More Just Language” and refers to God not as “Father,” but as “our Mother and Father who are in heaven.” Likewise, the title “Lord” is replaced with “God” or “the Eternal One.” Although the original Bible may certainly be offensive to women, Jews, and those who are disregarded, it isn’t necessary to rewrite it.

But while they’re at it, these Bible “specialists” might as well start editing any derogatory terms or ideas out of other important pieces of literature. How about The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in a More Just Language?

But even closer to home is the politically correct caution hung over nationalities. Take the term “African American”. It’s used billions of times every day, which is perfectly okay. The problem arises when it’s used to describe Haitian Americans or other dark-skinned nationalities that may not even be close to Africa at all. When being PC is appropriate, we need to make

the

Letter to Editor I am deeply troubled by the article in the December 4th edition of the Harbinger, entitled, “Up in Smoke.” My concern is that Erin Morriseey’s feature article advocates breaking the law.

After reading it, I had a conversation with my father-who also read the article and who is a former Overland Park police officer. He informed me that it advocates breaking more than one law. The obvious infractions include: two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor by Mr. Boehm’s parents. The first is possession of paraphernalia and the second is allowing the use of a controlled substance by a minor, specifically tobacco. Additionally, by allowing Mr. Boehm to have hookah parties with his friends his parents are guilty of

art by ren li

Editor-in-Chief AMANDA ALLISON Assistant Editors PETER GOEHAUSEN LAURA NELSON

Art/Design Editors DEREK MARTIN ELLIE WEED Head Copy Editor HALLIE MCCORMICK

Photo Editor SAMANTHA LUDINGTON Assistant Photo Editor KATIE WOODS News Section Editor PAIGE CORNWELL News Page Editor BERNADETTE MYERS

Copy Editors TOM GROTEWOHL LAURA NELSON SYLVIA SHANK HALLIE MCCORMICK PETER GOEHAUSEN ADRIENNE WOOD LIBBY NACHMAN AMANDA ALLISON

Op/Ed Section Editor RUTH STARK

sure our usage is correct.

Moreover, the term “African American” is hardly an essential in our vocabulary. It’s even AP style to say “black people” or “white people”. Contrary to popular belief, describing people by the color of their skin isn’t a racist action; it’s an observation. To say someone is black and the other is white isn’t saying one race is superior to the other.

Striving to be so politically correct as to be uncomfortable with using these words is causeless. The useless effort accentuates the racial differences even more.

On the other hand, there is a point where we should draw the line. For example, cracking extremely derogatory jokes is stepping quite a few feet over that line. Calling a ‘gerontologically advanced’ person an old hag to their face is obviously going too far. We’re not saying it’s okay to be rude and disrespectful towards another human being. We’re just saying that if you’re still saying ‘his or her’ in your English papers, you need to cut it out.

further counts of CDM for each minor that participates and they can be jailed for that.

The store that sold Mr. Boehm the hookah and tobacco is guilty of illegal sale of controlled substance and paraphernalia to a minor. Mr. Boehm in addition to endangering his own health, is guilty of possession and use of a controlled substance by a minor. Once he turns 18, however, he is no longer a minor and the statutes don’t apply. Until then, he and his minor friends should refrain from this harmful and illegal activity. The contention that “hookah is different because … it’s healthier” does no hold, as the article states directly after that, “hookah is at least as harmful as cigarette smoke.”

Mr. Shteamer’s comment that “… the benefits, like buzzing and socializing, outweigh the risks” is positively farfetched because the article previously states that the hookah is “…containing high levels of toxic compounds like carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals.”

Am I to understand that he believes that putting his health, and the health of those he smokes with, in danger, is better than getting caught and sent to prison?

Another problem I have with this article is that it states information that should not have been publishing a high

Dec. 18, 2006

Opinion Page Editors RONAN MCGHIE CLARE JORDAN Features Section Editor SARA STEINWART Features Page Editors JENN SUNDERLAND RACHEL MAYFIELD Spread Editor LIBBY NACHMAN Assistant Spread Editor STEPHEN NICHOLS Mixed Editor MEG SHACKELFORD A&E Section Editor KATIE JONES A&E Page Editors JOHNNY MCGUIRE JOEY SOPTIC Sports Section Editor CLARK GOBLE Sports Page Editors JAYNE SHELTON NICK RATLIFF

Staff Writers JENN SUNDERLAND HANNA COSGROVE MICHAEL HAKE DANIEL HEADY ALLY HEISDORFFER ERIN MORRISSEY NORA SALLE ADRIENNE WOOD NATHAN YAFFE FOSTER TIDWELL Ads/Business RACHEL BIRKENMEIER Circulation DAVIN PHILLIPS Photographers KAREN BOOMER ABBA GOEHAUSEN JENNY HOWARD FRANCES LAFFERTY PATRICK MAYFIELD TAYLER PHILLIPS KELSEY STABENOW RACHEL WOOLDRIDGE Advisor C. DOW TATE

The Harbinger is a student-run publication.

Please bring Letters to the Editor to Room 521 or e-mail it to smeharbinger@gmail.com

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

The majority opinion of the Harbinger Editorial Board

Each issue the 12 members of the board choose a topic and a member writes the editorial. Before being published a consensus is made and the results are published here. school newspaper that minors read. This information includes several suggestions of where to buy hookahs and other drug paraphernalia, as well as how much they cost and how to use them.

While freedom of the press is one of the lynchpins of our republic, with this freedom comes responsibility. One cannot help but question the responsibility of newspaper that appears to not only condone, but indeed promotes illegal activity among its readership.

Alison Johnston

page 4 [opinion]

an opinion of

J

Nick Ratliff

.K Rowing has Harry Potter, M i c h a e l Jordan has a basketball or the number 23 and Jimi

Hendrix had a guitar.

When I think of these people, I automatically connect them with these objects or trademarks. But people actually see what I’m associated with right away. The thing I’m associated with is my wheelchair.

I was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that is defined as “a birth defect in which the bones do not form properly over the spinal cord”, according to WebMD.com. My mom always used the metaphor of a lamp whenever she explained it to me: she says that I have the lamp, but the cords were cut before they could ever be plugged in.

Because I’m in a wheelchair, it might seem like I would just sit around and feel sorry for myself. But I just take my wheelchair as a part of life. Actually, I think I’m fortunate to have a mild case of my condition. Some kids have to have surgery every six months. I have only had surgery five times in my entire life. I’m also glad that I don’t have a spinal cord injury, because I think it would be a lot harder to know how to walk, and then have it taken from you. You would have to cope with that as well as not being able to walk. For me, not being able to walk is the only thing I know. I’m used to it.

But, depending on the situation, my wheelchair can create problems out of everyday tasks.

For example, some rooms at East -the journalism room included- are pretty much obstacle courses for me. I need to move desks and chairs around and push through tiny spaces to get to certain places. It frustrates me sometimes, but people usually help me. Another thing that happens frequently is the elevator breaking down. A couple of weeks ago, the elevator was out of order and I had to have John

WHEELS KEEP ON TURNING

Junior remains optimistic, despite setbacks McKinney’s seventh hour English class move down to the third floor. All because of me. I felt really embarrassed, but then my class greeted me with a smile and a pat on the back, and I felt OK about it.

And then, the whole situation with girls comes up.

Sometimes, I feel self-conscious that girls will only look at my wheelchair instead of me. I just try to be myself as much as I can by being funny, polite and genuinely nice. Sometimes I

Trick-Fil-A

an opinion of

As I lay there in my Everest Elite sleeping bag in my tent—which provided little Peter Goehausen c u s h i o n i n g from the rockhard asphalt—in the negative five degree winter night trying to fall asleep, I asked myself why am I, someone who rarely eats fast food, camping out at Chick-Fil-A on the coldest night of winter.

When the idea first crossed my mind, during first hour that morning, it didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Camping out with friends to take part in the restaurants’ grandopening promotion and getting 52 free meals—a $249.05 value, at the time, nothing sounded better.

If only I would’ve known.

Before I could ensure my place as one of the first 100, I had to figure out a way to pass as 18—a contest rule. When I was about out of ideas to suddenly turn 18, I came across my older brother’s learning permit from 1999 in which he is listed as 5’4” and weighing 130 pounds- and although he did look young enough to be my son, I decided it was my best bet.

Upon arriving at 3:45 p.m. at the new restaurant on 85th and State Line, I went to the registration desk, flashed the 1999 learning permit and found that I, “Matt Goehausen,” was in. Number 28. After learning that the first person in

get down about it, and think that a girl will never want to be with me, but I know that if I’m true to myself, and make an effort to put myself out there, (ladies, I’m free!) that girls will go out with me.

Along with these setbacks, I still get to have special perks that the average person doesn’t get to experience.

Take, for instance when I, my friend Josh, and my friend Sam went to go see the Strokes in concert in October. We went to the concert pretty early so we could get relatively good seats. There were two lines that we could see to get in, but one of the security guards said that nobody had started a third line to get in because it was by the ramp. My friends and I, solely because of my wheelchair and need to use the ramp, got front row seats at our favorite band’s concert.

Some of my other favorite perks because of my wheelchair are guaranteed front row seats in Allen Fieldhouse, getting to cut to the front of the line in each and every amusement park at Worlds of Fun, getting to do wheelies whenever I want and Camp Mitiog.

Camp Mitiog, which stands for “made in the image of god” is a summer camp in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, for kids with spina bifida only. We stay six days and five nights and play games, laugh and learn about each other.

We each had our own personal counselor and had a class each morning and afternoon. Activities offered include fishing, sports, crafts, cooking, and music. Although this past summer was my last year there -16 is the cutoff age at the camp-, I have made friendships there that will last a lifetime.

I think that the most important thing you need when you have a disability is to be optimistic; always look on the bright side of things. Although there is the occasional elevator breakdown or building with stairs only, I don’t let that get me down, because in retrospect, the good things, in my mind, by far outweigh the bad. As long as people treat me the same as they would if I wasn’t in a wheelchair, it doesn’t really matter. So when you’re feeling down about a slight imperfection, just think, you might find that something good will come out of it. Like the third line at the concert.

For one dedicated senior, camping overnight was but a poultry concern

line, Steve, started camping at 4:00 a.m., I was satisfied to even be in the top 50.

I was then told if I didn’t leave the parking lot radius for 14 hours, or until 6:00 a.m., I was going to be given the free promotional deal, a free XXXXXL signature Chick-Fil-A Tshirt, a free “nugget” buffet dinner and would get to meet the company president, Dan T. Cathy, who comes to every grand-opening in the country.

When I staked out my tent ground with fellow seniors Michael Owens, Matt Summers and Drew Miller, I was surprised that almost all of our new “neighbors” had a power outlet and were equipped with small televisions, video games and space heaters—none of which we had.

However, I learned that anyone in the world who is crazy enough to camp out for a couple free meals is also nice enough to share heat and entertainment for the night—or at least until Chick-Fil-A unexpectedly cuts off the power at 8 p.m. to power up the equipment for their retro deejay.

Coincidently, right when they announced they were cutting off our power, the cold front came in that was so cold it made one man’s spilled 92 degree coffee freeze solid within minutes.

The only thing harsher than the weather that Dec. 6 night was the way Chick-Fil-A treated us 100 campers. As Owens put it simply, we were treated like livestock—we were numbered, fed minimally and seldom allowed to go to the bathroom.

To ensure that we didn’t leave the parking lot, they would corral us out of our tents throughout the night and count us.

We also weren’t allowed to fall asleep, only rest, or else we

the [harbinger]

would miss a role call.

(It was so cold they should have been doing a role call to make sure no one died throughout the night.) The lone warm spot, the restaurant, was off-limit for us unless we had a bathroom emergency.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of people with “emergencies” that night.

Around 5 a.m., we were woken for the final “livestock” roll call and forced to wait in line to impress the news cameras until we got our 52 free meal cards an hour later.

After they gave us the $250 dollar value, 47,320 calories and 104 grams of trans fat, (fat that is so harmful, it is illegal in New York City) I jubilantly jumped for enduring one of the most miserable yet most memorable nights of my young life. Although, I anticipate giving away most of the free meals to friends and family, it is the experience that I will never forget.

I guess, after all, there are some things worse than being one of the first 100 people to eat at Chick-Fil-a and be “paid” $18 an hour to camp out. And let me tell you, I do rekomend the chikin, however I don’t rekomend camping out for it.

Stuck on fast

page 5 [opinion]

for w a r d

Lessons from ‘Click’ applied to the life of a senior

an opinion of

ellie weed A week after I found out where I was going to college, I went to Iowa for Thanksgiving breathing easy. High school was essentially over for me.

There was the obvious- keep up my grades so DePauw wouldn’t take away my acceptance- but I was one of the lucky ones. Everyone I talked to was jealous that they’re college acceptance and enrollment process wasn’t over like mine was.

We spent the whole day chatting, cheering on whatever football team had better team colors.

After giving up on my uncle’s universal remote -- how coincidental -- for every light switch, DVD Player, stereo system, and cable show on TV we put in Adam Sandler’s “Click.”

My cousin John, a movie buff from California, asked, “Didn’t this get awful reviews?”

His younger brother pointed out that nothing was on HBO, not that we could even find where HBO channels were on the TV because we couldn’t change the channels to save our lives, and this was pretty much our only option.

After watching it, I disagree with those critics.

That movie is not as bad as they made it out to

be. Sure, it’s predictable, and sure, it’s not a message that we haven’t heard before, but it’s just the reiteration of the idea that makes it stick. It’s so easy to fast forward through the hard times, wishing your life away. The anticipation of the things we’re looking forward to make us overlook the subtle moments: the Mondays that really aren’t that bad, the A’s that come from hours of studying.

That movie defines me, as well as every other high schooler, who wants out.

Ask my parents, I’ve always been one of those kids dying to be done with whatever school I was in. I had a countdown to when I would be a middle-schooler since September of my sixth grade year. I took early morning math so that I would at least have a glimpse into high school a year before most of my peers. Every day in at least one of my class, I announce how many days there are until spring break. I started obsessively highlighting and starring pages in my sister’s college books as soon as she got her college acceptance in January of my freshman year. And now, knowing that I’m already in the college of my dreams, I’m on the edge of my seat.

I can’t wait for high school to be over. I can’t wait to be done with those hundreds of notecards and dozens of rough drafts that accompany the senior paper. I can’t wait to enroll for my college classes, knowing that my high school ones are behind me. I can’t wait to get that package of senior letters from Nickel’s class. I can’t wait to open the yearbook and immediately flip to

the back to look through all the ads of my friends and me. I can’t wait to swing my tassel on my graduation cap from one side to the other.

And when I sat there with my family on Thanksgiving, watching that 3-star Adam Sandler movie, I realized that as badly as I want to move on to college, what has a reputation of the best time of your life, I want to envelop myself in high school.

There’s the things that start to get about high school as a senior: the ban on cell phones and iPods, the notes from your parents to excuse you from a class and the ID-checking at the senior doors for lunch, but there’s the great things too. I always recognize someone when I’m walking down the hall, whether it be a teacher after school, a freshman during passing period, or a parent on my way to the office. We get the best seats at the basketball games, and with the upcoming powderpuff game, most of us don’t care, because to be honest, win or lose, we’re still seniors.

And as ready as I keep saying I am to become an adult, being a kid is a pretty easy thing.

I don’t want to have to rewind my life through scrapbooks and bulletin boards of pictures just to remember the great times of high school. I want to live them now, and not wake up one day, on my death bed, wishing I hadn’t wished my life away. Unlike Adam Sandler, we won’t get a second chance.

Tis the season to be giving Kansas City’s Secret Santa helps remind us of the real holiday spirit an opinion of

Michael Hake When asked to donate money for my class’ Franklin Center kid a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but feel slightly hesitant as I reached for my wallet. I don’t mean to sound like a Scrooge, but, after all, I had no idea who I was donating to, let alone how my hard earned money would be spent.

Then I thought of Larry Stewart, the 58 year-old Lee’s Summit man known as “Secret Santa.” Over the past 26 years, Stewart has given millions of dollars to the people of Kansas City. Walking along the street, he’ll approach a complete stranger, hand them one or two $100 bills, wish them a Merry Christmas, and walk away.

He was born into poverty, was briefly homeless, dropped out of college, has been fired from jobs, and even considered robbery once. Yet when Stewart made his millions in cable television and long distance telephone

service, he made sure he paid it forward.

I, on the other hand, have virtually no bills to pay, have never been through any financial hardship, and have been spoiled in Suburbia, USA all my life, yet I still felt oddly reluctant to donate ten dollars.

Constantly during the Christmas season (that’s right, I called it the Christmas season), I notice how family and friends give each other tons of things that we already have plenty of, when there are people everywhere that don’t have anything. The other day at a family get-together, my dad suggested that instead of doing the usual family gift exchange, we donate the money we would have spent on gifts to a charity. Even being the self-centered, SUV-driving Republican that I am, I still felt he made a good point; families shower each other with gifts during the holidays, when some families can barely afford to eat and pay rent.

The truth is, all of us living in our sheltered Johnson County snow globe should be more like Secret Santa. Every time he hit a low point in his life, someone helped him out with money, food, or just hope, so in 1996 when he made his millions at Sprint, he paid it forward by helping out people in situations similar to his old one.

We are privileged with nice houses to live in, reliable cars to drive and enough unnecessary electronics to stock ten Best Buys. But still we want more. I’m just as guilty as anyone. Just the other night while making my Christmas wish list (homework can wait), I caught myself writing “a new sound system for my car,” an item that would cost upwards of $700. Not only would this gift probably make me go deafer than an old man at a Metallica concert, but, I, like most of us, don’t really need any more material possessions.

Scanning my movie shelf the other day, I counted ten movies that I have never watched. Ten. At $20 a pop, that’s around $200 worth of movies that I have gotten no use out of. $200 could easily feed a family of five for a month. Next time you’re listening to music, take a closer look at your CD collection. I’d bet that there are several CD’s that you bought, listened to a few times, and tossed aside. The unnecessary things that we think we need are all around us, while the less fortunate in our community can barely afford what they really need.

Granted, giving might not come naturally. Asking most teenagers to part with their money is like asking Pam Anderson to give up silicone, or Michael Jackson little

Dec. 18, 2006

kids. But trust me; giving a little more will be worth it. Without getting too biblical and corny, sometimes it really can be better to give than to receive.

A great example of this is the Franklin Center kids that came last week. It felt great to see that the money I donated made someone’s Christmas so much better. Watching my class’ kid excitedly tear the wrapping paper off his presents, I heard one of the students in my class say,” I wish I had gotten to do this.” As fun as it was to get a favorite toy as a kid, I think it’s even more fulfilling to know you made the experience possible for someone else.

The main thing I learned from reading Stewart’s story is that good things happen to good people. He was often helped out of tough situations, and made sure he not only returned the favor, but paid it forward by devoting his life to giving money to the needy.

In April, doctors diagnosed Stewart with cancer of the esophagus, a potentially life threatening disease, and he’s been battling it ever since. After a lifetime of doing great things for people in need, we can only hope that good things come back around to him.

page 6 [opinion] an opinion of

This gradecard

Derek Martin

MEANS NOTHING. reason I’ve attained such grades is not because I hate school, and it’s not because I’m an inadequate person; it’s tied to my style of learning. Like numerous others, I learn by making mistakes.

By getting problems wrong and having things explained to me I am able to learn the idea.

Call me dysfunctional, but I don’t walk out of cl a s s understanding every concept just presented to me. I make mistakes in my learning process and then I am penalized for making those mistakes. To succeed in the system there is no room for error.

Ultimately, school should be about fostering intelligence among students. We should not teach how to memorize ideas, but how to create them. Grades go up and down despite intelligence, not because of it. The current system of evaluating students simply rewards work ethic and the ability to focus. These are valuable assets, but to say that they’re more important than the ability to reason and to articulate one’s thoughts is a stretch.

The great William Boley once told me, “Football players don’t work out so they can lift weights on the 50-yard line; they work out so they’re prepared for the game.” Wise words, after all football players are measured by how they perform on the field. Just like we should be measured by how we perform in the field.

I know what I’m presenting is drastic; the idea that class might just be training for the game. We have to realize that education at its core is only preparation for the next step, not the focus of our efforts.

What we need in this school and in this country is an educational system which measures the application of skills, not the acquisition. We should measure how students can take what they have learned and use it. In the system we have now though, we just measure how much a person can remember on test day.

By giving students the option to apply their skills in mock real-world situations, we would not only measure their ability, we would give them a look into the land beyond high school. Imagine if instead of sitting at a desk and

Lancer Voice I think it’s good to have homework and test grades, because then if you really mess up on one test, you can still have an OK grade.

“

JAKE DAVIDSON, 9

“

“

I really like that in discrete math, we can use our notes on tests, so we can apply what we know already, and show that we understand the concepts.

SARAH PAVLU, 10

“

“

What grading policy would you like to see applied in all your classes?

We should have discussion-based grades in classes instead of test grades, because some kids just sit in class and do their homework, but don’t participate.

MICHAEL PERBECK, 11

the [harbinger]

“

Lancer Voice

answering 15 Calculus problems, you were told to take data and analyze the gravitational issues the Space Station was having. Sure, not the most interesting thing on the planet, but a far more interesting way of ascertaining where someone’s at than seeing what problems they miss on a test. Not only that, it creates a more plausible justification for learning than just, “You’ll need this eventually.”

Some will say that the method of teaching and then testing helps teachers identify what areas students are having trouble with, but a system based on the application of knowledge can show you the same thing.

When students reach an impasse, we see why and help them through it.

This not only improves the student’s understanding of the material, it allows them to work through a real problem, not an equation.

Unfortunately, we still live in the world of tests and homework. Grades are still the most important aspect of high school. It’s taken me four years, but I’ve finally realized that the grades I get mean far more than the knowledge I learn. With my transcript in shambles it seems that my life will be forever spelled with B’s and C’s. It doesn’t have to be this way though. We can progress and move beyond this arcane system, we just need to stop training memories and start training minds.

“

In France, we don’t have graded homework, and here, I think that it is good to have graded homework, because then you [learn more].

RAPHAEL CHIKLI, 12

“

If I were to print my transcript in the Harbinger, none of you would know anything about me. If you read what it said, from A to C, it would not be an accurate description of who I am. I am more than letters on a piece of paper.

We all are. Judging someone by the grades they receive for class work is an antiquated and harmful way of making decisions.

At Shawnee Mission East, grades mean everything.

If your GPA hovers north of 4.0 you’re the cream of the crop. Anything else and you’re just a pity case.

Within this class of super-elites and academic heavyweights, though, there resides an invader. We all know him: the kid that gets a 4.0 but can’t formulate an intelligent thought unless you tell them what to say.

The kid who can memorize every conflict in American history but stammers when you ask them what caused the Civil War. These book-smart super-achievers are showered with praise for nothing more than a good work ethic and the ability to memorize concepts – not understand them. While having a work ethic is important, it hardly accounts for having the ability to reason and think creatively. The ability to think logically and work through a problem – to be creative – is one of the most important assets in the workplace. Creativity spawns innovation, and innovation leads to better lives for all of us. The ability to memorize facts and figures only allows people to pass tests. It may come as a shock, but life is not fill-in-the-bubble.

I’m not trying to launch an assault on those with good grades.

Many people who get straight A’s are indeed book smart and articulate. It’s the system that is flawed, not the people.

The system allows for intellectually dull people to be lauded for their supposed intelligence, while those who don’t function within the rigid lines of the curriculum are left in the dust.

After three and a half years at this fine institution, I find myself dwelling at the bottom of my class with a rank in the triple digits. The

photo illustration by Samantha Ludington and Laura Nelson

Grading policy measures memorization, not intelligence.

page 7 [features]

. . . y ne

r u o j er

h

An end in sight

photos by frances lafferty

After changing schools during high school, senior Monica Wells concludes her schooling journey by attending K-state in January by [clare jordan]

All East students anxiously await this Thursday; finals will be over and everyone gets to enjoy two weeks of freedom.

Senior Monica Wells has been counting down the days to Thursday as well, but for her it will be end of her high school career.

Like many high schoolers, she has been looking forward to graduating since the beginning of junior year, but had never actually thought she would graduate early since Bishop Miege doesn’t allow it. But, when she was kicked out of Miege for too many demerits, as they call it, and had to start over at East for her senior year she was motivated to look into it.

“The prospect of five more months of school was torture,” Wells said.

Her parents were okay with her decision as long as she did something productive her second semester. She had been on mission trips before with Bishop Miege, so she considered going on one to Rwanda for her second semester of senior year, but she would have lost her health insurance.

Instead, she looked into going to college a semester early. She applied in October to K-State to enter as a freshman, the only difference being she would be coming for the spring semester. K-State quickly replied saying that she was enrolled to start as a freshman on January 11.

Wells had made arrangements to graduate at semester before she knew she was going to K-State. All she had to do was notify her counselor of her decision and then fill out paperwork with her parents. She had all her credit hours except for a full year of senior year English, so she currently takes a night class twice a week at Horizons to fill the requirement.

Wells actually started at East as a freshman three years ago, but her parents thought she would be more focused at a Catholic school. She was neutral about the transfer to Miege at first, but then came to love it.

“I was a high school freak; I loved everything about it. I was

SUPPORT YOUR LANCER BASKETBALL TEAM

always the loudest one in pep assemblies and I would have been pep club executive this year,” Wells said.

She loved how at Miege everyone knew everyone and acknowledged each other in the hallways.

“Miege was like a community, during mass we all had competitions to see who could sing the loudest without getting in trouble for being disruptive,” Wells said.

Wells, not being able to finish to her high school career at Miege wasn’t thrilled at the idea of two more semesters before graduation.

She was apprehensive about coming back to East for her senior year. She hadn’t seen anyone from East since freshman year and didn’t know how they would react.

“It was weird coming back to East because everyone still thinks you’re the person you were in middle school, and that wasn’t exactly my shining glory,” Wells said.

After being back at East for a while she has adjusted. She still hangs out with her Miege friends as opposed to East people, but she likes that East gives you more freedom.

“I like East a lot now that I’ve been here awhile. I might not have been so set on graduating early if I had known,” Wells said.

Although she is now okay with going to East, she still doesn’t regret the decision she has made.

“I am done with all my credits and there is no point staying just to take worthless art classes,” Wells said.

Wells regrets that she will miss out on her second semester and graduation ceremony, but sees it more practical to graduate now.

“I know that I wouldn’t focus on my classes second semester and I’d just be having fun, so it makes sense to move on to the next step,” Wells said.

As for K-State, Wells is a little nervous, but she has done well adjusting to school changes in the past and doesn’t think it will be too hard to make the change.

page 8 [features]

Students discuss their motivations for getting

A

tattoos that feature one by [ally heisdorffer] small design. There are s the tattoo needle pricked all sorts of ways to design senior Ashley Lieb’s skin repeatedly, she sat a tattoo. If someone complacently and endured the process for an chooses a picture of something they want, a hour and 45 minutes.

“I just have a really high pain tolerance,” carbon stencil may be done. A carbon stencil is Lieb said. “It didn’t really hurt at all.”

While Lieb and her mother were in exactly like a real stencil Florida on vacation a year and a half ago, that is placed on your they decided to get matching tattoos together body that has purple in remembrance of her grandmother, who ink on the areas desired to create the shape of passed away during Lieb’s sophomore year.

Lieb’s grandmother first got cancer when the tattoo the customer she was in fourth grade. The process was wants. If someone is painful and difficult for the entire family. getting a larger tattoo, The tumor that originated in her brain was the artist is more likely removed, but the surgery left her with the to draw the shape with a intelligence level of a seventh grader. After paint pen onto the desired that, her grandmother was diagnosed with area. Tattoos may be lung cancer. While it was being treated, chosen from the options her grandmother had a seizure leaving her they provide or the unable to talk and paralyzing her. Lieb’s customer may bring in a grandmother survived a year longer before drawing they like. Tattoos she passed away. It was because of the may also be created on a strong relationship Lieb shared with her computer.

As far as pain goes, grandmother that she decided to get a tattoo.

The look-alike tattoos that Lieb and her Ahlers advised that the mother share feature angel wings on each most painful areas to get shoulder blade with “live in the sunshine” a tattoo would be the hip, tops of feet, the written in the middle of them. It symbolized ribs, any part of the pelvic area and genital her grandmother’s passion for the outdoors tattooing.

“Doing a tattoo in black or color produces and her desire to live every day to its fullest. the same amount Traditionally, senior of pain; it doesn’t Ashley Lieb and her which it is grandmother would ou’re going to be stuck with matter done in. They hurt make bread together equally,” Ahlers the thing for the rest of your whenever they got said. the chance.

Her life, so you’d better like it a lot.

Tattoo artists grandmother’s bread -Chris Ahlers, Tattoo Artist must also be was famous; it had even wary of the safety won awards. Memories like these are what precautions that must be taken before makes Lieb miss her grandmother the most.

“When I was little, I was closer to my anyone gets a tattoo.

“If anyone comes in with AIDS or any sort grandmother than my own mother,” Lieb said. The relationship she shared with her of blood disease, we reject them right away,” grandmother was intimate and sincere. She Ahlers said. “It doesn’t matter if we change takes the message on her tattoo to heart and the needles for them, we just don’t want to take a chance.” tries to live by its standards.

Being careful about who they decide to In the future, Lieb plans on getting more tattoos. Her next one will depict a jellyfish tattoo is only one part of the safety measures running from her armpit to the bottom of her that must be taken before giving someone a tattoo. All needles are single-use, and once back on her side.

“I just think I’m like a jellyfish,” Lieb said. used, are disposed of in a special receptacle.

“They’re wanderers and they just go with They hire someone to come in and take all the the tide of the ocean. They travel in groups, needles and melt them. Before Ahlers starts but don’t respond to one another. I can just tattooing, he preps the customer by rubbing ethyl alcohol on the desired area and also identify with them.”

According to Chris Ahlers, an employee at takes breaks in between tattooing to wash with surgical soap.

Freaks on Broadway, a popular tattoo parlor the affected area Senior J.J. James located in Westport, most people who come was especially in for tattoos range from 18 to mid-20s. concerned with Ahlers does several types of tattooing safety before he from monochrome, which c o n s i d e re d covers the entire body, getting his to one-point n tattoo at to g in d ntha lu Irezumi y sama b to o h p Body Art.

“Y

”

“ I made sure they used new needles and that the environment was sterile,” James said. “I made them show me

D E INK

their license and Above: An artist tatoverall it seemed toos a local woman. like a pretty clean Right: Senior Ashley place.”

Lieb’s back tattoo in James’s tattoo remembrance of her only took 20 grandmother. minutes to get and photos by Karen Boomer is what Ahlers Bottom Left: Senior would consider a J.J. James tattoo “one-point tattoo.” inspired by the movie Located on his “Boondock Saints” left shoulder, “veritas” is written in black print. The Latin word meaning truth was the perfect choice for James.

“That word has always had a lot of meaning to me, personally,” James said. “It had just been a recurring theme that has given me trouble and taught me a lesson in life.”

The idea to get veritas written on his shoulder initially came from the movie, “The Boondock Saints.” After seeing one of the main characters with the exact tattoo written across his hand, James’s interest was sparked and he wondered what the word meant.

“When I found out what [the character’s] tattoo meant I just knew that was exactly what I wanted,” James said.

James described the tattooing process as not exactly painful, but more like an annoying sticking feeling. Afterwards, it just felt like a bad sunburn.

After wanting a tattoo since he was thirteen, James finally got his on Oct. 30.

Walking into the tattoo parlor that day, he hadn’t anticipated getting a tattoo. He intended to only inquire on prices for the design he wanted, but the place wasn’t busy. An artist was available and it just so happened that James had $70 on him, the exact amount for his tattoo.

Although he didn’t tell his parents about the tattoo until he had it for several weeks, they weren’t angry.

“I was just scared of my parents’ reaction, even though I shouldn’t have been, so I didn’t tell them, but they weren’t mad when they found out,” James said. “They just wish I would have told them when it happened.

the [harbinger]

They were just surprised and said it wasn’t like me to be so spontaneous.”

For English teacher, Bill Boley, getting a tattoo wasn’t spontaneous at all. He had thought about it for years before the cross country team from six years ago pushed him to finally do it.

After discussing the prospect of getting a tattoo with some members of the team, Boley was surprised to receive an envelope at the track banquet with “Tattoo Money” written on the front of it. Inside was $50 collected by the team that was to be put towards a tattoo.

“My wife and I went out to dinner a few weeks after the track banquet on a Friday night and decided then would be the perfect time to get the tattoo,” Boley said.

The stylized runner he chose was a design copied from “Runner’s World Magazine.” He reduced the size and it ended up costing exactly $50.

“I wanted to put it somewhere that it would be seen, but so that it wouldn’t be obtrusive,” Boley said. He ended up placing the runner on his left ankle. Boley’s wife didn’t mind ; she even recommended the blue ink that filled in the runner’s outline.

Although the process was painful, each person has no regrets about getting a tattoo.

Every design meant something personal to each of them, which, according to Ahlers, is the best thing to consider when getting a tattoo.

“It’s so important to make sure you love the tattoo you’re getting,” Ahlers said. “You’re going to be stuck with the thing for the rest of your life, so you’d better like it a lot.”

page 9 [features]

Through the wire Senior copes with difficult memories of losing his parents by [daniel heady]

Seven-year-old Ricky Barajas sat by the campfire with his best friend, his dad. They had just finished dinner, a meal only of Bush’s baked beans cooked over a campfire.

Ricky’s dad turned to him and said, “Well, at least you can’t say I never took you camping.”

Ricky chuckled. He was happy, full, homeless.

Senior Ricky Barajas lived in Phoenix, Arizona, until he was a fourth grader. He lived with his mom, Lisa, and dad, Jesse, in a trailer park. Lisa worked for the Infinity Car Company, and then later became the trailer park manager. Jesse worked construction.

This year, Ricky is a senior, living with his aunt and uncle, and plans on joining the military after graduation. But the road to where he is now is one that not many have traveled. After losing both parents and being homeless, Ricky Barajas knows what heartbreak is.

*** It was the day before Ricky’s sixth birthday. While children the day before their sixth birthday should be thinking about whether they were getting Batman or Superman toys, Ricky was sitting at the kitchen table wondering whether it was going to be mom or dad that would stop the fighting first.

Ricky sat at the table looking past the window and out at the evergreen tree. Oh, how I wish I wasn’t here right now, he thought; he wished they would stop fighting for just one day.

“Stop fighting!” Ricky cried as he burst into tears. “You can’t fight on my birthday; that is the only gift I want this year: no fighting.”

His parents were taken aback.

“I guess when a six-year-old yells at his parents to stop fighting, it’s a little startling,” Ricky said.

They finished dinner without another word spoken. It was an angry silence, a silence that was to foreshadow the coming

months.

“My parents got divorced because my mom wanted it,” Ricky said. “My dad didn’t want to get one but he did it to make her happy. He loved her so much that he would divorce her just to make her happy. My parents stayed together up until the point of my mom’s death. They did it for me, because they wanted me to grow up in a home with a mom and a dad.”

After the divorce, Ricky’s parents began constantly throwing parties and sending Ricky to a friend’s house for the night. They didn’t want him to see what was going on.

“I was too young to understand what was actually happening,” Ricky said. “I didn’t know what alcohol was, but I knew what it did. Sometimes I would find where my mom had hid it in the dryer when it wasn’t running, and I would ask her but she wouldn’t talk about it.”

Ricky remembers one party in particular, when he came home and sat with his dad on the back patio.

“We just sat there and looked at the stars. When my dad got drunk he lost all emotion.”

Lisa would drunkenly come out and yell at Jesse, but he would just sit there. He wouldn’t say anything, as he blankly looked at the stars. Ricky didn’t know what to say or do, so he just sat there too.

After Lisa retreated back inside his father was still staring at the stars far off in the distance. Ricky looked away from the sky to steal a glance at his father. He looked over and saw tears to roll down his dad’s cheeks.

Ricky saw him cry for the first time.

“The strongest person I know was sitting there next to me crying,” Ricky said. “I didn’t know what to do or to think.”

Ricky’s love for his father grew that night; from that point on he knew it was OK to cry. He had seen his dad do it, and that was enough to convince him.

*** Lisa had seizures throughout her life.

They never knew the cause, and Ricky remembers watching his dad hold her down to try to stop the seizing.

Although they were divorced, Jesse and Lisa still had lived in the same house, up until now. But Lisa had kicked his dad out and this time he wasn’t around when they needed him.

Seven-year-old Ricky was at home one day with Lisa and his dad’s friend, Zach.

“My mom had experimented with hard drugs and she drank a lot,” Ricky said. “I still know all of the funny smells when I smell them.”

This time Lisa drank so much she went into a seizures. She collapsed and began to shake. Zach held her down, and Ricky’s job was to grab her tongue so she couldn’t swallow it. Even though he tried to grasp it, he just couldn’t do it.

“I couldn’t get my little fingers around it,” Ricky said. “They kept slipping.”

He slapped her, and he yelled at her. He had seen his dad do the same to try and get her to stop and wake up. But it was no use.

She wouldn’t stop. Then Zach yelled and told Ricky to go and find his dad for help.

Luckily, Ricky’s best friend wasn’t far away. He was driving his truck around in the trailer park, “making sure everything was OK,” Ricky said.

When Ricky and his dad got back to the house, the seizure had stopped, but something was different: Lisa didn’t wake up like she normally did. She just laid there.

Ricky’s dad told him to go to bed and he would send Ricky’s friend Avery over to get him in a while. Jesse and Zach took Lisa to the hospital.

When Ricky finally got to visit his mom, he was told that she had Hepatitis B. He didn’t know what it meant or what it was, but he knew it wasn’t good. Lisa was confined to the hospital.

Then the Hepatitis B turned into Hepatitis C. Ricky couldn’t visit his mom anymore.

“She was in there for about a month

Dec. 18, 2006

total,” he said. “Then one day, my dad came home in a suit.”

Ricky’s dad didn’t tell anyone when Lisa died. He cremated her body, and didn’t tell anyone where he spread the ashes.

When Jesse came home, Ricky knew that something was wrong. He didn’t know what, or why, but he knew something was missing. Then his dad sat him down and said “It’s OK, mom’s gone. She’s not in pain anymore. She’s happy.”

Ricky didn’t get to go to his mom’s funeral.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Wait, where is mom? I want mom,’” Ricky said. “But I also had this feeling of ‘I love you.’ I knew everything would be OK because my dad said it was. He stopped drinking for about a week after that.”

Then things went from bad to worse.

A month after Lisa died, an eviction notice came. They had three days to get out. Because Lisa wasn’t the trailer park manager anymore, they had to go.

They packed everything into Jesse’s big blue truck and drove off. They had nowhere eat or sleep, and they had no money to get a hotel room or a meal.

“I don’t want to say my dad was proud,” Ricky says, “but he didn’t like taking help from people if he could help it. He didn’t tell any one that we were kicked out; he wanted to take care of it by himself.”

They went to a pawn shop, and Ricky’s dad told him that anything he did would help the family out. So, Ricky happily gave away his stamp and coin collections. All to help the family.

“After all,” Ricky said. “What is a coin collection good for if you can’t spend it?”

With their pickup truck loaded with small items of furniture, some clothes, random knick knacks, they headed out to the desert.

Despite being homeless these were some of the happiest times for Ricky. He learned a lot about life, and why his Jesse acted the way he did.

continued on page 10

page 10 [features]

continued from page 9

“My dad was one of the most giving men that I had ever met,” Ricky said. “He always wanted to help people, and he never asked for anything in return. He just wanted make sure everyone was taken care of.”

The things he said to him out in that desert would affect Ricky to this day.

As the sun faded and the campfire began to glow on their faces, Jesse began to tell Ricky stories from his childhood: his high school years and how he still holds several track records, his rebellious younger years like the time when he stole his dad’s dune buggy and wrecked it.

Then Jesse shared with his son his life philosphy.

“He told me to always be a good person, and to be honorable, and if you ever stray far from those paths it’s not too hard to get back on them.” Ricky said.

Then Ricky’s dad shared a story with him that he will never forget.

“He told me about the time when his dad showed him and my uncle the paths that the Illegals take to get into the country, and one time they came across a dead body,” Ricky said. “When he told me that I was like, ‘Wow people are dying to just get into this country,’ and now that I look back on that I feel like that is something that I want to protect.”

After graduation, Ricky will join the Army as a human intelligence collector.

After three days of aimless driving, Ricky’s grandma convinced his dad that they should come live with her.

“She got him with the line ‘do it for Ricky’ and because he cared about me so much he gave in,” said Ricky. *** It was Sunday morning, and nine-year- old Ricky was still in Phoenix. He and Jesse were now living with Mary, his dad’s new girlfriend. She lived in what Ricky would call the Mission Hills of the area. Life was supposed to be good again. Normally on Sunday morning, Ricky would roll out of bed to find his dad cleaning the kitchen or making breakfast: chorizo and eggs.

“My dad was a clean freak,” Ricky said. “He was always cleaning. Whether it was the pool out back or the kitchen, he always wanted to make sure everything was right.”

But when Ricky woke up that morning, Jesse wasn’t making eggs.

Confused, Ricky went in search of his dad - his best friend. He looked in the pool. No dad. He looked in the kitchen. No dad. And then he finally went to his dad and Mary’s bedroom. No dad.

He woke Mary and asked her where his dad was. When she said she didn’t know, he left the room and went into the hallway. He looked over and he saw the bathroom door slightly opened.

“Our hallway bathroom had a huge walk-in closet,” Ricky said. “I went into the bathroom and I saw him on his knees, he was bent down like he was praying.”

But he wasn’t praying.

Ricky thought he was sleeping, But he wasn’t sleeping.

Ricky shook him and yelled to wake him up. He didn’t know what to do, so he went in and got Mary. When Mary saw what was going on, she told Ricky to go to bed. Again Ricky was forced to go to bed not knowing what was happening to his parent.

Confused, but obedient, Ricky went to his room and tried to sleep. Half an hour later, Ricky awoke to the sound of sirens and an ambulance outside his house. His dad was on the way to the hospital.

“I knew once that ambulance left I wasn’t going to see my dad again,” Ricky said. “I was told that he was going to into the hospital, and I knew that when you go into the hospital you never come back out.”

Mary rode in the ambulance and Ricky rode with his father’s friends to the hospital. He called family and they all came to the hospital.

Ricky didn’t leave his dad’s bedside for two days. Then his grandma made him come home for a prayer service.

About a week later, Ricky and his family were waiting in the hospital when the doctor came out to talk to the family.

Ricky was there with his aunt and grandma. The doctor explained what had happened. He said that Jesse had StrepB and gave the medical explanation of what happened. But Ricky didn’t understand any of the medical jargon. The two words he did understand were brain and fried.

How could this happen?

Ricky remembers the night before he found his best friend in that closet “He went to bed laughing,” Ricky said.

And now, a week later, Ricky was standing in the hospital waiting room, hearing that his dad’s brain was fried. The only thing keeping him alive was life support.

“My grandma immediately broke down into tears,” Ricky said. “And when they asked her what to do, she said that she didn’t want to make a decision on her son’s life. My aunt immediately walked away” The doctor turned to Ricky.

“I remembered what my dad had told me when my mom died, and I asked the doctor if he was in any pain. He explained that they didn’t know because they didn’t know his conscious state. But they said that he could be.”

Ricky remembered that day when his dad came home in the suit. He said that “mom was happy because she wasn’t in pain anymore,” and when Ricky thought of that, he turned to the doctor.

“I looked at him and I told him I wanted my dad to be

photo by Samantha Ludington

Through the wire; continued

happy, and I didn’t want him to feel any pain, so I told him it was OK to take him off the life support.”

Ricky was 9 years old.

And he was willing to let go of his dad, his best friend, in order for him to be happy.

Ricky went to school the next day. It was his last day of third grade.

He moved from house to house, living sporadically in each. He lived with his dad’s friends. His grandma. Never staying long.

His dad died when Ricky was nine, during the summer.

The summer before fourth grade, his aunt and uncle came from Kansas to adopt him.

It was just another move to Ricky at first, but he has been living with them since.

Now, as Ricky looks back on years of turmoil, he realizes that he missed an opportunity to really see what was important. He loves his dad, and his mom, and he will never forget the time they spent together.

Ricky hasn’t been camping since he shared that can of baked beans next to that campfire. With his best friend, his dad.

Shawnee Mission East

What’s in your trunk?

Technical Trooper Howard Dickinson of the Kansas Highway Patrol talks about a few items to keep in your car this winter. compiled by [libby nachman]

page 11 [features]

Some quick tips for safe driving this winter ∑ Make sure you always wear your seatbelt – no matter what. ∑ Keep all of your fluids up, especially your washer fluid ∑ Be very careful passing a snowplow.

∑ Watch out for overpasses and underpasses. ∑ Keep your car full of gas –it gives the car weight in the snow. ∑ Check your windshield wipers and if they’re more than six or eight months old, get them replaced.

∑ If you begin fishtailing, sliding or slipping, ease your foot off the accelerator. You don’t want to brake. You want to steer the direction the rear of your vehicle is going and the direction that you want to go. ∑ Brake slowly, smoothly and early. Try and stay as calm as you can. Make sure that if there are some things ahead of you, move over as early as you possibly can.

photos by Kelsey Stabenow

People don’t keep enough anti-freeze in their cars. People don’t take the time to clean windows. For your safety, you shouldn’t be lazy in cleaning your windows.

It may be handy to have a little bag that carries crackers, a bottle of water, matches, and a blanket in case you get stuck for a bit.

Keep plenty of warm clothes: sweatshirts, gloves, scarves, etc. in the car – just in case.

Keep a small tin or coffee can of salt, sand or kitty litter in your car for when you get stuck, to help you get out.

GO EAST LANCERS!

Where to get it Sweatshirt’s: Just about any clothing store.

Price differs depending on brand.

Peak antifreeze: Any gas station or Advance Autoparts $7.98 Pound of salt or sand: Any grocery store. Price varies.

Crackers: Any grocery store. $3.69

ROCK for DARFUR

information compiled by [mike hake]

After watching “Invisible Children” at a Youth Group meeting at Village Presbyterian Church, junior Nick Ratliff felt compelled to raise money for the events happening in Darfur. A concert was the best way to do it. Not only would Rock for Darfur be a good way to raise awareness for the genocide, it would also be a good way for “Go Down Moses” to get some experience- this was their first show. Held at the church, over $500 was raised to help the people of Darfur and Uganda.

A video documentary of the hunger problem in Darfur, Sudan plays during intermission while The Case gets ready to perform.

all photos by katie woods

Junior Andrew Tisdale salutes senior Joey Soptic of The Case after a guitar solo in the song “40 Days.”

Lead vocalist junior Josh Dorrell of Go Down Moses sings “Just a Minute” alongside junior guitarist Ryan Clark.

Junior Ryan Clark plays the guitar in his first concert with Go Down Moses. “We were all really nervous, but we did pretty well,” he said. “The best part was at the end when everyone chanted ‘one more song’ .”

Senior Johnny McGuire plays while Joey Soptic kneels down and continues to play while recovering his guitar strap that had fallen off during the song “Feelin’ Less.”

MAKING the

season Students celebrate more than just Christmas this winter

what do

“

“

- Junior Max Gabel

”

k

”

- Senior Taylor Klugman k

“

We celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah at my house, even though we’re Jewish, but we have to hide our Christmas decorations when our family comes over because they’re all Jewish too.

Slosburg

Peterson

”

- Senior Carly Beck k

We go to church Christmas Eve, then when we come home I read to the family from ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The next morning we have cinnamon rolls.

“

When junior Sam Slosburg thinks of the Holidays, he thinks of his lighted Christmas tree with many different ornaments. At the top of the tree is his mom and dad s first ornament, a hand-painted wooden ball with their names carved in it. A handful of ornaments made by him and his siblings when they were young also hang on the tree, particularly hidden towards the back side.

One such ornament is a ball of red, brown and yellow string glued together when he was in preschool. Each kid also has a Santa ornament with swinging legs and their name written on it given to them by their grandma. Slosburg has his own particular ornament given to him by his aunt. It is a rabbi reading the torah. This is because Slosburg and his family are Jewish.

Slosburg s parents were both raised Jewish, however, his mother was also raised in a strong Christian environment as she had very many Christian friends and would sometimes go to church with them. This is why the family now celebrates Christmas as a secular holiday. They see it as a time to give gifts and enjoy the spirit of Christmas- a time of giving and being with friends and family- rather than the religious aspect of it.

This unique mix of a Jewish and Christian holiday season can be seen throughout Slosburg s house. Slosburg s favorite part about the season is watching the lighting of the menorah candles next to the Christmas tree lights in their living room. On Christmas Day they will also often eat Potato Latkes- a Jewish snack consisting of fried potatoes shredded together to make a potato pancake. By combining their unique Jewish heritage with the secular aspect of Christmas, the Slosburgs create a holiday season that is truly unique.

according to... Jack

by [nathan yaffe]

We open Secret Santa presents with my mom’s side on Christmas Eve…We all chant the name of the person who’s opening the present and then the person who gave it after it’s been opened.

Christmas and Hanukah

Christmas

you do for the holidays?

We post a wish list on Thanksgiving and everyone takes a name for Secret Santa, then we all exchange gifts the day of Christmas.

by [meg fracol]

according to... Sam

traditions

holiday

page 13 [features]

Hanukah

according to...Sophie

It’s Christmas Eve night and Jack Peterson is ready for bed, but before he can sleep his family must hang their stockings by the fireside. It s a yearly tradition.

Peterson’s family is Christian, but part of the United Church of Christ denomination.

The family has been celebrating Christmas with their yearly traditions ever since he was born, so Peterson knows the Christmas routine by now and can picture how the next morning will follow.

His sisters will wake up at 6:30 a.m. and run into his parents room, waking them up. Then they will proceed to his room to wake him up. After about half an hour of pleading to open presents, the entire family finally gets up and walks downstairs... in chronological order, another family tradition. Peterson pictures his dad reaching the half-point on the stairs and stopping, so that only he can see the presents while the kids upstairs peer over his shoulders. Finally, they reach the tree and the decision of who gets to play Santa and pass out the presents begins. Peterson and his two sisters used to take turns playing this role, but as the years went by they began to forget whose turn it was and so now it usually depends which of his sisters wants to pass out the presents more. Once the presents are passed out, they begin opening them in chronological order again, only this time starting with the youngest. Peterson remembers the best gift he ever received was his IPOD a few years ago. This year he s hoping for a new tennis racket. Once the unwrapping is over, cinnamon rolls are eaten as another yearly tradition and the rest of Christmas day begins calmly, involving playing with the neighbors and hanging out with the family. Peterson thinks about all these Christmas traditions every year as he hangs up his stocking with the rest of his family. As he sleepily goes to bed another Christmas Eve and thinks about the early morning waiting, he decides his New Year s resolution- to get more than 6 hours of sleep a night from now on.

”

- Sophomore Lauren Gruenebaum k

and Phoebe Unterman

Junior Sophie Unterman sits at the lunch table and pulls chocolate covered coins wrapped in gold foil from her lunch bag. Hanakuh pictures such as menorahs and stars of David decorate the shining gold top. Sometimes her friends ask her what she’s eating. She explains they are a Jewish candy eaten around Hanakuh called gelts. Sophie and freshman sister Pheobe Unterman are from a Jewish family and so have many different holiday traditions from their friends at school who celebrate Christmas.

One of Pheobe’s favorite holiday activities is to play the classical Hanukah game of dreidel with her sister. In this game, a top with different symbols on different sides is spun. Depending on the side it lands on, the player must give or receive certain amounts of money or some other barter. Usually the Unterman family plays with poker chips.

A large part of Hanakuh for the Untermans is the lighting of the menorah. The family has many menorahs with varying decorations. Sophie and Pheobe each got their own around their bah mitzvah, a Jewish celebration for their 13th birthdays. Pheobe’s says “Shalom”, which is Hebrew for peace. Sophie’s menorah displays people dancing. Their father also has one from when he was young with a lion and a star on it. Usually they will light the candles the first, middle, and last nights of Hanukah and say a prayer together. Pheobe and Sophie will often have contests seeing who can guess which candle will burn out first and which candle will last the longest.

But for the Untermans, Hanukah is less about the games and more about giving to others.

Their biggest night of the week-long celebration is the night of mitzvah, when everyone is supposed to do something good for someone else. On this night, Sophie and Pheobe go with their temple youth group to a nursing home and sing Hanukah carols. Their favorite part about this night is seeing the people at the nursing home smile when the kids come to visit.

It’s the night of mitzvah that shows Hanukah is more than the symbols and traditions. It’s a time to be with friends and family and give to others.

What is Kwanzaa

?

• Kwanzaa is a Pan-African holiday, meaning it is celebrated world-wide • It originated in Africa, where it celebrates the first harvest of the year

• it is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili

• The American branch of Kwanzaa was developed in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University, in order to promote African American culture • The seven basic principles of Kwanzaa are Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith

• The colors commonly associated with Kwanzaa are red, green and black

Dec. 18, 2006

page 14 [spread]

PARIETAL LOBE

THE TEEN BRAIN

The parietal lobes are immature until age 16 and control your... language and reading functions

in development

According to Dr. Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health, the brain is still developing during the teen years.

response to internal stimuli

The brain gets a second wave of overproduction of gray matter, when the brain produces mass amounts of neurons. It was thought that the overproduction only occurred once, in the first 18 months of life.

spatial comprehension

After the overproduction, the brain makes connections among neurons. Neurons that are not used are allowed to wither away, while those that are used stay, often called “use it or lose it.”

This process makes the brain more efficient by strengthening the connections that are used most often and eliminating the clutter of those that are not used at all.

The positive of this overproduction is that teens have the ability to choose how their brains are wired and which connections are strengthened.

in emotions

sensory comprehension sense of touch

FRONTAL LOBE The frontal lobes are restructured during the teenage years and control your... creativity physical reactions judgement sense of smell problem solving behavior attention libido initiative inhibition

how t

W

These lobes ma and control how w

Teens do not read and understand emotions the same as adults do. They use different regions of their brains while discerning emotion.

Adults use their frontal lobes, which is where goal-oriented rational thinking happens, to read emotion, while teens use their amygdala, which is a structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in discriminating fear and other emotions.

In a study at Boston’s McLean Hospital, psychologist Deborah Yurgelun-Todd found that teens often misread facial expressions. Those under age 14 often see sadness, anger or confusion instead of fear, while older teens answered correctly more often and showed a shift from the amygdala to the frontal lobe. courtesy of http://www.actforyouth.net/documents/may02factsheetadolbraindev.pdf

BrainFood

by [adrienne wood]

Certain food and beverages can either help or hinder your brain

Try these meals to help improve your brain’s learning abilities

Frequent binge drinkers are more susceptible to memory loss

Books aren’t the only food your brain needs. According to studies conducted at Boston University and University of California at Irvine, certain foods can increase performance at school as well as improve memory and learning abilities. Here is a brainiac’s ideal menu.

• The most important meal of the day is now the smartest meal of the day. For breakfast, beans on toast provide a high-fiber kick, which is shown to improve cognition (the ability to acquire knowledge).

• For lunch, try an omelet, salad and yogurt. Eggs are rich in choline, which is shown to reduce the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and age-related memory loss. Antioxidants found in green salads improve cognitive skills, while the tyrosine in yogurt decreases stress, thus improving alertness and memory.

• End the day with the best brain food of all: fish. The omega-3 fatty acids feed your still-developing brain and stave off dementia.

Purple fruits and vegetables, including blueberries, cranberries, grapes and beets, may increase the chemicals that regenerate brain cells and improve communication between neurons.

According to studies conducted by Duke University Medical Center, a nasty hangover is the least of your worries after a night of binge drinking. Dr. Aaron M. White of Duke showed that adolescents who frequently binge drink (100 times or more) are even more susceptible than adults to brain damage, including memory deficit, verbal learning impairments and decline in cognitive abilities.

The studies suggest that heavy alcohol or drug usage during teenage years results in lower scores on memory and attention tests taken nine years later. The repeated use of alcohol during adolescent years could alter the “normal trajectory” of brain development in permanent ways.

So what does this mean? Binge drink now, forget things later.

Good The

Bad The

memoriz

making the most of

Students use different tactics to he by [paige

It’s the night before a test, and sophomore Natalie Hoffmeister is “c Marijuana impairs user’s memory She is trying to memorize everything she needs in a short time, att long after using the drug remember it for tomorrow. ”I do study a little bit before then, but most of my studying i If you needed anbefore,” Hoffmeister said. “I doesn’t really affect me if I study a lo The other reason to avoid just cram. If I study a lot before, then my grade might be a little marijuana, here it but I don’t really study that much.” is.

Besides affectAs finals approach, students use different techniques, suc ing short-term memory during use, cards or reading a chapter from a textbook, to help them r THC, the main active ingredient in Flash cards, jokes and mnemonic devices all work to help pot, travels through the bloodstream retain information, but cramming and distractions such as to inhibit the parts of the brain that as deterrents. control pleasure, thought, concentraWhen a person is cramming, the short term memo tion, sensory perception and coordiwhich is defined as, “a system for temporarily storing a nation. In studies conducted by the ing information required to carry out complex cogn American Academy of Neurology, such as learning, reas long-term users showed a 70 percent comprehension,” accord impaired performance in recall, recMedical Dictionary. ognition and executive functions of Although cramming m the brain, although they abstained student remember informa for at least 24 hours before testing. test the next day, the informati This means that memory abilities harder to retain for a final exam late remain damaged long after a user’s Psychology and history teacher Nick final joint. uses humor to help students remember.

“I always like to make a joke while teaching, bec students remember the joke and then they remember learned,” Paris said.

He thinks the key to memorizing is to find out what study technique each person.

“Whether note cards, noise or trying to make it a game. The key is to avoid dis Paris said. “And get yourself isolated, where it’s quiet.”

Ugly

the [harbinger]

page 15 [spread]

Keeping

OCCIPITAL LOBE

yourBRAIN

safe

The occipital lobe controls...

learn about traumatic brain injuries

vision some of your reading skills

the brain

What is a traumatic brain injury?

TEMPORAL LOBE

WORKS

The temporal lobes are still developing after age 16 and control your... auditory functions additional memories some hearing musical functions fear some speech sense of identity visual memories

ake up the teenage brain we think, feel, see and act

CEREBELLUM The cerebellum... receives positional data controls balance coordinates body movement sends signals to muscles

zation

ory is used, and managnitive tasks soning and ding to the

may help a ation for a ion will be er.

Paris often

cause then what they

e works for

stractions,”

What causes TBI?

The leading causes are: Falls (28 percent) Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20 percent) Struck by/against something (19 percent) Assaults (11 percent)

Who is at the highest risk for TBI? Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI. The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are ages 0 to 4 and ages 15 to 19. courtesy of http://www.biausa.org/elements/aboutbi/factsheets/factsaboutBI.8.29.05.pdf

Use these 6 techniques to learn faster Post the card up in several places (refrigerator door, computer screen, mirror, briefcase, etc.)

Close your eyes and from memory see the words in your head

Science teacher Ron Puls finds Carry the card with you and look that study tactics like, “just reading Get scented markers and mark up at it several times a day the textbook” won’t work. the words “I talk to the people who have Tape record the words and play it trouble, and they always tell me back on a portable casette player Say the words out loud whenever they read the chapter, but for most people that doesn’t work,” Puls said. (while you are driving, etc.) you see the card “They are reading the chapter and courtesy of http://academic.udayton.edu they don’t cue into the true meaning of chapter. They read it like a novel, instead of knowing the concepts and No one learns exactly the same. See what [remembering] the bolded words. Scicategory you fall under. ence is a slow-reading thing. Physics books tend to not be real page turners.”

According to a recent study by UCLA, These people learn best when informaThese people learn best when information is predistractions, such as a television or an iPod tion is presented visually and in a picsented visually and in a written form.

They benefit playing, use the wrong parts of the brain to store ture or design format. They relate well from information obtained from textbooks and information. When focusing on one thing, the study to information obtained from the images class notes.

They visualize information in their found that the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved and charts. These learners may also be “minds’ eyes” in order to remember something. with sorting, processing and recalling information, was active, but artistic and enjoy visual art and design. when multitasking, the striatum, which is used for habitual tasks, became active.

Memories in the hippocampus are easier to recall in different situations, but memories stored in the striatum are tied to the specific situation where they were These people learn best when doing a These people learn best when informalearned, meaning they cannot be recalled as easily when taking a test. physical “hands-on” activity. They tion is presented out loud. They benefit Repetition and memorization also help the brain to recall and retain information. Engbenefit from instructors who use from listening to lecture and participatlish teacher Donna Skates often has her students memorize poems as a learning device. in-class demonstrations, handsing in group discussions. They learn “I don’t believe in memorizing things that are worthless, but poetry you need to hear, so I ask on experiences, and fieldwork best when interacting with others in a students to memorize. I ask them to remember a poem from each period, so they know who what outside the classroom. listening/speaking activity. when of a time period so they have the knowledge,” Skates said. “And it’s just fun, I read a critic that information courtesy of http://www.ion.illinois.edu said you never truly get to know a poem until you memorize it.” art by ren li

ch as flashremember. p the brain s music act

Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the U.S.: • 50,000 die • 235,000 are hospitalized • 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department

MEMORIZE ANYTHING

cornwell]

is the night ot before or e bit better,

What happens to people who get TBI?

courtesy of “The Human Brain” poster by MMIV Jaguar Educational

elp memory before testing

cramming.” tempting to

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain.

4

Ways to Learn Visual/Verbal

Tactile/Kinesthetic

Dec. 18, 2006

Visual/Nonverbal

Auditory/Verbal

page 16 [features]

Outofplace

photo illustration by taylor philips

In Sue Chipman’s Health class, students went around the room introducing themselves and telling the each other a pet peeve of theirs, Senior Cecilia Nuby noticed that one freshman girl continue to talk throughout everyone’s chance to speak. It was finally Nuby’s turn to talk. She said her name and then let the class know her pet peeve.

“I can’t stand freshman who talk all the time, like that girl over there,” she said as she pointed out the girl who had continued to talk right up until Nuby had singled her out.

This may seem like a rough exchange between a seniors and a freshman. Seniors aren’t typically enrolled in freshmandominated classes but when they are, they tend to make their presence known.

Seniors can end up in freshmandominated classes for a variety of reasons.

Whether it is transferring from another high school or just putting it off until their last year at East, some seniors find themselves in these classes such as Health and Computer Applications in order to meet graduation requirements.

N u b y transferred from Michigan, where she wasn’t required to take a Health class to graduate, but after enrolling at East, she found herself enrolled in Health to meet graduation requirements.

Her teacher, Sue Chipman, who teaches five health classes, encounters seniors only sporadically in her freshman-dominated class.

“Five [seniors] in a semester in all my health classes is a lot” said Chipman.

If this class wasn’t a graduation requirement, Nuby wouldn’t be there with the freshman, learning about peer pressure, sexually transmitted diseases and the dangers of alcohol, but she has found a reason to enjoy at least part of it.

“At first, I wanted to just get it done, but I’ve grown to like the class because I get to set an example,” Nuby said.

Chipman believes that it is a helpful teaching tool when younger students get to hear stories from older students, not just the

freshman normal freshman level classes

Seniors stand out in freshman level classes

by [stephen nichols]

as a

•Alegbra I •Health •Gym Foundations •World Geography •IIS Science •English 9 •Computer Apllications •Art Foundations •Concert Choir

teacher.

“It’s great to have seniors be there because they are three years ahead so they are open to talking about experiences,” Chipman said. “They talk in very obvious honest ways to their younger peers.”

Other seniors, like Camilla Claiborn, are enrolled in Computer Applications because of the districts requirement that every student must complete at least one semester of a computer course before graduating.

Claiborn has waited until this year because she was focused on foreign language, forensics and debate. She has no problem taking the class and occasionally, she’ll walk around the room and help the younger students with a step in the assignment because she tends to finish faster than anyone else.

“I help out when others need it,” Claiborn said. “The class itself is fine; I have no

problem taking it. I’ve learned from it.”

Her teacher, Sara Marshall, agrees with Chipman about the experience that seniors contribute to the class.

“They all have a good attitude. Seniors are more task-oriented because they are more mature,” Marshall said.

Freshman Bryan Barrow doesn’t see any negatives in having seniors in his Computer Application’s class. In fact, he thinks that the good class habits exemplified by the seniors are helpful to the underclassman.

“It’s more of a positive than a negative.

They show a good example by staying on task,” Barrow said.

When it’s all said and done, Chipman believes that overall, the seniors are dedicated to making an effort in her class.

“They usually work very hard. They understand the importance of the class in order to graduate,” Chipman said.

the page about life

No more Juice

page 17 [mixed]

by [davin phillips]

photo by katie wo

some reactionsto the closing: It was hard to figure out which new drinks corresponded with the old ones.

- Sophomore Dana Hemmingsen

“

I didn’t really go there, I didn’t even know what they really had, maybe they should have advertised better. -Junior Chris Robles

“

“

“

I wish I had gone there more, they did make really good smoothies. - Senior Lauren Proffer

“

“

It’s sad it’s gone, it was a good place to go because it was the healthy alternative.

- Freshman Maggie Townsend

“

I used to go to Blenders all the time, I liked Blenders better than Juice Stop because product-wise, they tasted better. -Junior Taylor Henton

“

Since Nov. 5, Blenders, formally Juice Stop, has been out of business. After the name change on Nov. 1, business slowed, because customers were unaware that only the name of the store had changed. Changing the name to Blenders was due to the Juice Stop Smoothie Franchises charges for the use of their name; unfortunately the name change affected the business.

“I was called and told I didn’t have to come into work that day,” senior Leah Graybill, former Blenders employee said. “When I asked why, they told me that Blenders was closed down.”

In order to try and re-establish familiarity with customers, Blenders did the same before-school sales Juice Stop had, although sales were down. Blenders also attended Carnivals and other events to sell not only the drinks, but the new name as well.

“

ods

“

’t n d i d u t... o y t a wh ow abou t kn Hobar David WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON? - Just sit around at my house.

ridge

woold chael

s by ra photo

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUN TRADITIONS? - My mom does this thing where she hides a decoration on our Christmas tree and we have to find it. Whoever finds it gets a weird present, one time I got the Caddy shack gopher.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY PRESENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? - The continent of Asia, it’s very vast. I also want an arm pad for rugby.

ANYTHING ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR YOU LIKE PARTICULARLY? ANYTHING YOU WANT TO CHANGE? - I like getting stuff. I don’t like those TV-made movies or specials about Christmas. Like the movies with the poor kid who’s adopted by a millionaire and everything is happy. It’s cheesy.

Top10 cookies to eat

during this holiday season

1. thumb prints

2. gingerbread 7. snickerdoodle 3. chocolate chip 8. peanut butter 4. no-bake 9. pumpkin 5. meringues 10. oatmeal raisin

make your own! thumb print cookies : - 1 cup butter or margarine - 2/3 cup sugar - 2 egg yolks - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 1/3 cup peanut butter Dec. 18, 2006

6. sugar

* Cream butter, add sugar and egg yolks. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour and salt to mixture. Then chill it. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, pressing thumb into each ball, leaving indentation.

Bake them at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Afterwards, spread frosting in thumbprint if wanted.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy! photos by tayler phillips

page 18 [features]

Growing up a Witness: Sophomore discuss her childhood in a religious sect by [nora salle]

Sophomore Dena Rice had her first birthday party when she turned 13.

When kids at her grade school brought in chocolate chip cookies and pink-sprinkled cupcakes for their birthdays, she couldn’t have one.

And when Christmas came each year, the bright lights and gift exchanges were no more than an observation.

Rice spent the first 13 years of her life going door-to-door talking to people about her beliefs.

She spent her first 13 years having non-believers slam their doors in her face.

For 13 years Rice was a member of the Christian religious sect called Jehovah’s Witness. Now Rice is living free of the restraints of her life-long religion.

“I really liked the people,” Rice said. “They were really nice. They teach forgiveness and help people. I really liked the unison.”

Jehovah’s Witness is a fundamental missionary religion that believes God’s name is Jehovah.

Followers worship three times a week and go door-to-door talking to people about their beliefs in Jehovah and the religion.

Rice’s father was born into the religion and her mother joined when she was six. She and her family lived in Shawnee, where they worked, worshiped and preached. Her parents divorced when she was in seventh grade. Though divorce is looked down upon in the church, they still followed through with it and stayed involved with the religion for another two years.

The kindness of the congregation and family beliefs kept Rice and her parents involved. But the almost daily worships, crude refusal from strangers and questionable doubts about the truth of the Bible led to the end of her parent’s involvement with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“It just wasn’t what they wanted anymore,”

Rice said. “They stopped believing.”

Even after Rice’s parents stopped worshiping, she went with her grandparents, who are still strong believers. But Rice was becoming less and less involved. She began to doubt the truth of the Bible and was growing tired of being refused by strangers. Rice was leaning further away from the religion.

“I was going around talking to people with my grandma one time,” Rice said. “And we went to this house where the owners didn’t want us there so bad, they sicked their Great Dane on us. We just stood there frozen until it left.”

By the time Rice was in high school, she and her mother had become agnostics. They were used to strict beliefs, but they just couldn’t trust them.

Rice’s first holiday celebration was Christmas, her freshman year. She didn’t celebrate with her father because he was still having a difficult time adjusting to being free of his lifetime religion. She and her mother went to her mom’s boyfriend’s house.

“Christmas was so new and amazing because of all of the lights,” Rice said. “Everyone was so happy. My mom and I weren’t used to getting gifts, and it was nice.”

The reason Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t allow holidays is because they are believed to be pagan. Rice was also not allowed to salute the flag and couldn’t hang out with kids outside of the religion.

Today, Rice is enjoying life as a teenager. She can finally hang out with her friends, and has a boyfriend of 11 months, sophomore Eric Dickinson, which otherwise wouldn’t be allowed in the religion.

“I miss the people,” Rice said, “but it was so Sophomore Dena Rice decorates her Christmas tree for the second time ever. Rice grew up practicing the nice to start celebrating holidays and hanging Jehovah’s witness faith until she was 13. photo by Rachel Young out with my friends. It was also nice to not have

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Q&A

System.out.print(“Enter col start ===>>”); DecimalFormat output=new Decimal System.out.print(output.format (board[x][y])+ “ “); System.out.println(“\nLab26B POINT VERSIO {0,0,2,3, page 19 [features] public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception { knight.displayBoard(); knight.displayBoard(); knight.displayBoard(); {0,0,3,4,6,6,6,6,4,3,0,0},<min&&(board[bigRow-2+2][bigCol-colPos=s BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in)); private int startRow; while(!finished) System.out.print(“Enter col start ===>>”); 2+1])==0) int mo min=-5 System.out.print(“Enter dimension of a: “); int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; int min=-5; while(!finis][bigCol-2]=num;2’’’> int m = Integer.parseInt(in.readLine());][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;][bigCol-2]=num;(board[x][y])+ “ “);,0,0,0 int a[] = new int int BigBoard;[m]; for(int y=0;y<8;y++) for(int y=0;y<8;y++) y=0;y<8;y++) for(int y=0;y<8;y++) for(int y=0;y<8;y++) for(int on his team’s third placefor(int victory in computer programming competition aty=0;y<8;y++) K-State Knight knightiii/ System.out.print(“Enter dimension of b: “); by [foster tidwell] computer programming, we work only with int n = Integer.parseInt(in.readLine()); 3.) How did you first get started program1.) What exactly do you do software. Software programming and computer int b[] = new int[n]; {0,0,3,4,6,6,6,6,4,3,0,0}, { in computer programming ming computers? hardware are very different. I definitely wouldn’t I just took the class Intro to Programming in Java for (int i = 0; i < m; i++) { {0,0,3,4,6,6,6,6,4,3, competitions? be able to build a new computer from scratch or sophomore year. It’s nice because it is laid back They give you a bunch of anything.

System.out.print(“Enter a[“ + i + “]: “); and there is really no strict time schedule. It’s problems and you have to write solutions. There’s 6.)

Do your future career aspirations include a[i] = Integer.parseInt(i. a lot of matrix building problems. For pretty much all self-taught. Right now I’m working on my IB project which is designing a program work in the computer-programming field? for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {g example, one train leaves a stato help teach Spanish. It just puts together Well kind of. I want to go to medical school evention at one time, and another System.out.print(“Enter vocabulary activities and quizzes to help tually. This could help me by letting me develop at a different time, and you b[j] = Integer.parseInt(in.have to figure out when teachers organize. research simulation models. But programming also helps just by making you think differently. for (int i = 0; i < m; i++) and where they meet. You Right now I’m working It helps to have a basic understanding of objectthen have to program for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {>> orientation. This is pretty much the system that a model to solve the on my IB project which is System.out.print(format(a[i]* problem in every possible computer programming is about. The data is supdesigning a program to posed to work with the functions and methods.

System.out.println();srTin instance. The problems are example, if you have a car, the data would be help teach Spanish. For private static String format(i kind of boring. the speed and RPM. You run the models off these String istring = String.valu 2.) What set your team basic functions. Maybe I’ll major in computer science. return “ “.substring(i apart and allowed you to win?

4.) Do you consider The other guys [senior Cole Easter7.) What are perks of winning this award? Do import java.io.*; ghe day and junior Marshall Hecht] and I yourself a computer colleges like it? Did you get a prize? import java.text.DecimalFor geek? worked well together. I was really good Not much, other than it just demonstrates interest (big laugh) No, I just do startRow=Integer.parseIn at coming up for the ideas behind the in the field. This might help in me getting into the it in class pretty much. models, and Cole and Marshall did most computer science degree track at a college. Other System.out.print(“Enter c of the actual programming. Marshall is I’m much more into than that, we just each got a medal. startCol=Integer.parseInt( ridiculous at programming. It’s like all martial arts and weight 8.) Do you participate in Internet dating? lifting than I am propublic void displayBoard()t he does. He’s insane.

No. I don’t think I even have the capability. I don’t gramming.

DecimalFormat output=new DecimalFormat(“00”); even have a MySpace. You’d be surprised how 5.) PC or Mac— many people that compete aren’t just nerds. There for(int x=0;x<8;x++) which is superior? are a lot of athletes. Programmers are more physifor(int y=0;y<8;y++) I don’t really know,

with senior Duncan Renfrow-Symon

“

photo by rachal wooldridge

”

but I use PC. In

cal than you would think.

Recycle Your Harbingers

q

G

er

page 20 [a&e]

pho tos by

kare

n bo

om

reat ifts

‘Tis the season to start trying to find some decent gifts for your loved ones

by [jenn sunderland]

The Coffee Drinker

For

Mom

The Couch Potato

12-Cup Black Coffee Grinder Home Depot $29.99 to someone who knows nothing about coffee, this looks handy.

For

Personalized Rubik’s cube (Personalizationmall.com $25.95) Even better than television.

Dad

The Runner

The Handy Man

Nike + iPod Sport Kit Store Mac Store$29.99

Sonic Laser Tape (Home Depot $29.99) It cuts time and effort and looks cool too

Your mom only thinks she has everything she needs

The Book Worm The Music Man

The Complete Novels, Deluxe Edition By Jane Austen Amazon.com $19.99 An ode to one of the most revered fe-

“James Taylor At Christmas” CD by James Taylor (Amazon.com $12.98) You’ll never have to listen to bad Christmas music again

male authors, plus it looks expensive.

For your

Sister

The Pretty Girl

The College Student

Dior gloss Show lip gloss (Saks Fifth Ave. $26) It sounds designer; it is designer.

Rachel vintage locket (Nordstroms $16) Something every girl will appreciate.

For your

Brother

The Pet Lover

The Adventuresome

Sea-Monkeys: Wrist Aquarium (Toys ‘R’ Us, toysrus.com $15.99) Take it from me, these are the best pets a kid could own – plus you can put them in the wash.

The Disney Channel Watcher

Shell Gift Card (Shell Stations, svmcards.com $25.00) Not the most original gift, but we all buy gas.

Wristwatch Walkie-Talkie Set (Discovery Channel Store $19.95) The coolest toy you can buy for $20.

The Jock

High School Musical DVD game (Best Buy, bestbuy.com $19.99) Since almost every middle school girl has at least a mild obsession with this movie, this gift won’t fail you.

Smartball speed-display baseball (Discovery Channel Store $24.95) Now you can prove that you’re still a better athlete than he is .

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

~Girl Scout honor ~Girl honor The Deftones, The Uptown Theatre, Today • Tran-Siberian Orchestra, The Kemper, Dec. 26 • The Kansas City Ballet Nutcracker, KC Scout Music Hall, Dec. 2-24 the [harbinger]

page 21 [a&e]

A Happy

‘Holiday’

A seasonal film ‘The Holiday’ is pleasant and entertaining by [johnny mcguire] The last time I went to see a movie that starred Cameron Diaz I was in the sixth grade. That movie was “Shrek,” and since then I haven’t really seen much of Diaz. Yet, this year I was assigned to write a review on her new movie “The Holiday.” Around Christmas each year I tend to go to more movies, and I think it’s the cold weather.

“The Holiday” starts out in London, with ex-Titanic actress Kate Winslet. Winslet, known as Iris in the film, plays a hard working editor at a newspaper. She is in love with her boss, actor Rufus Sewell, who has just asked another woman to marry her. Cameron Diaz plays a successful American movie director named Amanda. Her ex boyfriends claim she is impossible to live with, and she is complete denial of it.

The two women, desperately in need of a vacation away from men, find each other online. While looking for a place to go, Diaz comes across an English cottage that is available for a house swap. The owner of that cottage, Winslet, agrees to switch houses with Diaz, and fly to America to stay at her L.A. mansion. They are eager to leave town, and agree to fly out for different countries the next morning.

I found it kind of weird two women, who just met online, already had enough trust in each other to swap houses for two weeks. If some stranger I met online was coming to stay at my house I would be a bit freaked out. It would b e

strange having someone you’ve never met stay and sleep in your bed while you’re gone.

Once settled in their vacation homes, both photo from www.movieweb.com women begin getting used to their new homes. Iris finds the sunny L.A. area absolutely beautiful, and the previously depressed Winslet looks like she is moving on. Diaz on the other hand doesn’t quite fit in with London’s weather and the driving side of the road. She nearly wrecks a car on her first day in town, and this so called vacation looked like it was becoming a big mistake.

At this point I was surprised I wasn’t bored. I sometimes have trouble sitting still in movies, and surprisingly I was looking forward to what would happen next.

The first night in London, Diaz is awoken by a drunken Jude Law, who plays Winslet’s charismatic brother named Graham. Not knowing the house swap had taken place, Law is pleasantly surprised to find Diaz staying at his sister’s cottage.

In L.A. Winslet meets Miles, Jack Black, who plays a movie score composer. From their first meeting the two seem to have interest in each other. Throughout the movie Winslet and Black deal with ex partners, and they both have a hard

time getting over them.

Although the way the people meet in the movie is a bit unrealistic, it doesn’t take anything away from the movie.

I was able to push that aside, and just enjoy the somewhat unpredictable plot. For instance, some of the characters decisions about love will catch you off guard. It’s not just a so called “chick flick” either. Jack Black’s easy going attitude towards life brings a charming and funny side to the movie.

Director Nancy Meyers hired the right actors for the movie, as well as picking the right spot to film. Each actor seemed to fit their part well, and they all look like they could actually all be friends. The setting changes during the movie from a snowy England to a hot Los Angeles. This essentially helps the film stay interesting, and it’s easier to pay attention to the movie. This movie has a great love story that girls and guys would both enjoy. The humor in this film comes at appropriate times, and some of Jack Black’s lines made me laugh out loud. I think if you’ve enjoyed any of these actors movies in the past, then it’s a must see.

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page 22 [a&e]

To Wii or Not To Wii

PS3 sales hindered by concurrent release of Nintendo Wii

Wii What is with the

PS3

VS

Wii controller?

What is

Nicknamed the “Wiimote” uses an array of sensors to detect its position in space and allows for a more complex game play. It can be connected to other devices for different games.

PS3 Blu-Ray Technology?

Blu-Ray is the name given to the short wavelength high capacity DVD technology allowing 25 to 50 Gigs of information to be stored on a single disk.

Your Opinion? by [bernadette myers]

Price

Availability

“The reason for getting a PS3 would be to have a Blu-ray player. Otherwise there are better games on the Wii.”

“Nintendo Wii claims they will be shipping 4 million units by the end of the year and PS3 doesn’t really tell anyone about that stuff.

There aren’t many PS3’s because it’s brand new hardware so they can’t just go out and buy the parts they need.”

“The PS3 works well on new high definition TV’s, but on old ones it doesn’t work as well as it should.

However, Wii isn’t as focused on graphics.”

“Wii is probably more innovative just because of it’s controller. PS3 is more linear because it’s just added more powerful features than the PS2.”

“Though the controller that is more advanced in the Wii, PS3 is more powerful and has used the cutting edge of technology.”

“I think Wii would be more for the casual player who comes home and plays maybe once a week. The PS3 is not worth the money at the moment, however it could come out with more games later and end up attracting more people.”

“I’m more excited about the Wii. It’s much cheaper and I don’t think it’s worth the extra $400 for the PS3. Plus PS3 games are $60 and could be raising to $70 while Wii games are staying at $50.”

“Both systems are difficult to find because they are selling out as soon as they get shipments in, but more Wii’s come in larger shipments than PS3’s so there are more Wii’s available.”

“PS3 is more focused on graphics. It’s definitely more life-like and more cinematic.

Wii is not at same level because their focus hasn’t been amazing graphics and it comes off as more artsy.”

“Wii is definitely more innovative.

PS3 has just added more power and advanced technology.

With the Wii you’re not just pushing buttons anymore.”

“Eventually with the PS3, there will be more complicated and more sophisticated games with better graphics. For example, PS3 uses Blu-ray technology which will become the next generation of DVD’s.”

“You should buy the PS3 if you care more about graphics or if you really want a Bluray Disc player because those can normally cost up to $1000. If you want to save money and are more about just having fun then you should buy the Wii.”

“PS3 grossly overestimated the amount of people that would be willing to pay $600. It’s a great price if you’re looking for both a Bluray Disc player and a gaming system, but for just a gaming system the Wii is the much better price.”

“So far Wii’s are selling more than PS3’s, but that is just because there aren’t as many PS3’s out yet. The PS3’s have had some problems with manufacturing because the Blu laser in the Bluray player is extremely hard to make and takes a long time.”

“The graphics of the Wii are definitely under whelming and though graphics don’t make the entire game, they certainly help.”

“The Wii has really innovative game-play.

Innovative games can come on any console, but the Wii will foster innovative technology just by its design.

Yeah, the PS3 is innovative in technology. but not in game-play.”

“The PS3 uses a cell processor which is a completely new core for gaming systems. It will create a new generation of games.”

“Wii is definitely the more fun system to play. When I first got it my whole family played together and it was easy for them to learn. Buy the PS3 if you are looking the latest in graphical technology, but otherwise get a Wii.”

Senior Duncan Renfrow

Senior Cole Easterday

Senior Nick Lundgren

Graphics

the [harbinger]

Innovation

Technology

Overall

Pei Wei is a tasty trip

page 23 [a&e]

New oriental restaurant in Overland Park is worth a try

Featured Item:

Jungle Curry

the dipping sauce with which they were served to be unsuitable.

My only real complaint with Pei Wei is the service. It was not all-around bad—just inconsistent.

My first visit was during lunchtime on a weekday, when the restaurant was brimming with whitecollar workers on break.

It was pretty busy, but the hostess managed to seat us within a couple minutes. Our food was served in a timely manner. On my return visits, the service was not so efficient. On a Friday night, it took about 20 minutes to get our table. The wait staff seemed inattentive and annoyed. I understand that working at peak time like that is stressful, but they should at least check up on their tables every now and then. On a Sunday evening, the workers were nicer, but it still took a little too long to be seated. Perhaps the service will improve with time—it did just open, so employees could become better with experience.

Despite its shortcomings, Pei Wei is a promising new restaurant that anyone who likes P.F. Chang’s or Bo Ling’s should try. It’s an inexpensive place to go for a casual date or a night out with friends. The extensive menu and variables with every dish provide a combination that is sure to please. photo by patrick mayfield

by [erin morrissey]

something palatable when I go out to eat. However, my dish It’s hard to be a “hip” and “cutting edge” restaurant, but still very affordable at the same time. Pei Wei Asian Cuisine at Pei Wei was a pleasant surprise. The tofu was cooked to the perfect consistency—not too soft, but not very rough at 91st and Metcalf attempts to strike a balance between either. The vegetables were a perfect combination of snap the two. The décor is minimalist and dark, which helps to peas, green onions, carrots, and water chestnuts, coated make the small space seem less crowded and more cozy. in a chile sauce that was just the right amount of salty and Huge pots and pans hang from the ceiling surrounding the sweet. Even though the portion was large, I finished it all. open kitchen. Paper lanterns adorn the lights, creating a One of my dining companions was not quite so pleased. dim atmosphere. The owners of the restaurant obviously She ordered the Pad Thai with Tofu, and was disappointed want diners to feel like they are in a hip, happening Asian to find a piece of chicken mixed in with the noodles. She restaurant and it kind of works. said the seasoning was a little off, and she was unable to Three larger-that-life boards contain about two dozen finish her meal. She took a few bites before pushing her choices of Pan-Asian entrees: dishes from Japan to Thailand bowl away and filling up on fortune cookies. and everywhere in between. All are composed of basic I also got to sample the Japanese Udon Noodles, which ingredients, such as vegetables and spices. The diner then were fairly enjoyable. I am a big fan of spicy food, so the chooses whether they want their dish to be made with tofu, bland seasoning was not exactly my cup of tea. I could see chicken, pork, steak or shrimp. Prices vary depending how someone who doesn’t like very hot food would like this upon what protein is chosen—from about $6.50 dish. The noodles were thick and soft, and for tofu to $8.50 for shrimp. Selections on the the vegetables were well-cooked. menu range from Pad Thai to Japanese Udon A friend of mine ordered the Pei Wei Noodle soup, with something sure to please even Spicy Chicken, which resembled the classic the pickiest of eaters. Some of the dishes come General Tso’s Chicken. My friend enjoyed with a heaping portion of steamed rice, which it but said that it was too salty and a bit can be ordered either white or brown.

An ancient Thailand overcooked. The huge portion seemed like After my group ordered, we were given a too much to handle. dish that consists of number on a big red circle, which we clipped to When it comes to appetizers, Pei Wei a stand at our table. As for seating, Pei Wei has fresh basil and lemon sticks to the basics like Edamame and all the bases covered: low, cozy booths, familygrass combined with Crab Rangoon.

I tried the spring rolls and appropriate tables and high-top tables with tall sweet pineapple. Its found them to be delicious and fried to a stools. Our order was brought to our table after about 10 minutes, which was a bearable wait. flavor comes from the pleasant crisp. The sauce that accompanied them, however, was a “Sweet-and-Sour” The only problem: they brought our food out erotic, red curry sauce. that was too sour and not sweet enough. separately. Bringing the dishes at the same time A companion of mine tried the Chicken is important to many people, so this would be Lettuce Wraps and was very happy with considered a faux pas. them.

The crispy Chow Mein noodles that come with them On my first visit, I ordered Spicy Korean Vegetables with provided the perfect crunch. Unfortunately, she, too, found Tofu. Being a vegetarian, it’s always a challenge to find

HARBINGER ONLINE COMING JAN. 1 www.smeharbinger.com Stories - online only.

Videos.

Staff blogs.

Polls.

Hundreds of photos.

Tell us your ideas.

SHINS

page 24 [a&e]

shine

mature and grown-up new style pays off with success If you like The Shins, Most Notable you might like...

Songs • Modest Mouse • Caring is Creepy • New Slang Wincing the Night Away • The Apples in Stereo • Zumpano • Kissing the 1. Sleeping Lessons • Guided By Voices Lipless 2. Australia • Beachwood Sparks • Chutes Too 3. Pam Berry • American Analog Set Narrow 4. Phantom Limb 5. Sea Legs Soundtracks and Compilations 6. Red Rabbits The Shins have been a part of 7. Turn on Me 8. Black Wave • Garden State Soundtrack 9. Split Needles • Spongebob Squarepants Soundtrack 10. Girl Sailor • In Good Company Soundtrack 11. A Comet Appears • Sub Pop: Patient Zero • A House Full of Friends

by [ronan mcghie]

The Shins’ new album, Wincing the Night Away, is a metamorphosis filled with the angst and awkwardness of the teenage years, but also the promise of greatness.

The album has its growing pains and weaknesses, but its promise and high points far out weigh the albums faults.

Wincing the Night Away was slated to be released sometime last summer, but The Shins wanted more time; they felt that musically they had matured since the beginning of their album recording and wanted Wincing to reflect their growth.

For The Shins, who usually record quickly, their newest album stands testament to their maturity as a band. Wincing the Night Away shows their extra work in the studio paid off.

Wincing is a complete album with few low points and such soaring high points as “Sea Legs”. By far their best song to date, Sea Legs combines layers of a hip hop beat reminiscent of Beck (thank veteran engineer Joe Chiccarelli), instrumentals, and of course James Mercer’s melodic voice at the core. Sea Legs only fault is making the rest of the album weak by comparison.

The album’s single, “Phantom Limbs”, is a transition from the groups poppy past to their experimental, more exciting future. Inspired by Jesus and Mary Chain, the song uses sweeping guitar and synthesized beats while echoing the band’s earlier sound.

New Events • 3

The opening track “Sleeping Lessons” uses distorted vocals and generated beats set to a dreamlike xylophone background. The song begins quiet and unassuming but builds into a fast, upbeat, experimental song. Sleeping Lessons is far from The Shins roots in basic, acoustic tunes and represents the bands new, experimental, and somewhat risky future.

Risky, because The Shins experienced a surge in popularity after the movie Garden State, which featured the band in its soundtrack. With moderate success with their first two albums and a growing fan base that fell in love with the sound of the “old Shins,” Wincing might be a slap in the face. Although still characterized by the driving vocals of Mercer, The Shins have rapidly changed their sound and may have left their still evolving fan base in the dust.

Wincing the Night Away will be released January 22 via Sub Pop records. This album fulfills the band’s obligation to the label, and rumor has it that The Shins will jump ship, possibly favoring self-management.

Wincing the Night Away isn’t without its faults, but they can be attributed to the growing pains that come with any band changing direction. As The Shins come closer to defining their sound, the result is a consistent album that shows incredible promise for the band’s future.

Taking a closer look at three ticker events

The Nutcracker The Kansas City Ballet’s annual performance • Runs now through Dec. 24 • Is the largest production of this show within an eight state region • Call the box office for tickets at (816) 931-2232 ext. 375 • Get $5 off anything at Topsy’s with a ticket purchase

Download their new single, “Hole on Earth” on iTunes today

Deftones

Trans-Siberian Orchestra They’ve released five CDs of Christmas music blending rock, Broadway and R&B.

See them live at Kemper Arena Dec. 26.

photo courtesy of www.deftones. com

photo courtesy of www.kansascityballet.org

~Girl Scout honor Coming tonight the Uptown ~GirltoScout honorTheater go to www.ticketmaster.com now for tickets

the [harbinger]

page 26 [sports]

MISSING: AN

IDENTITY

The basketball team looks to step out of the shadows of dominating teams and form their own dynasty

photo by frances lafferty

“For us, everyone is friends in the end,” Jenby [jayne shelton] Only three games into the season, the girls nings said.

While Kaegi played varsity when she came to basketball team has proven their skills in speed, defense and teamwork. The defense of this team East, Jennings made the jump to varsity her junior is important since the young team is trying to im- year after playing on the sophomore team the year prove last years 10-10 record and give the team an before. The thing she liked about the team when she started was the people. Once they graduated, identity.

Competing in a school of athletic excellence, the she had to get used to the underclassmen on the team seems to have gotten lost among the champi- new team. After two years, she likes having a young onships and top ranks of the other sports. With the team and the attitude they bring to the court. “[Since they are young,] everyone is really exshadow of the state finalist boys basketball team looming over them, the girls have to work harder cited about playing basketball, and we all help each other,” Jennings said, “no one is really selfish.” to make their Rhoades play stand agrees with out.

Jennings Coach about the R i c k enthusiasm Rhoades of the underhopes that classmen. the defense “ T h e y will help. have a fresh “ Y o u o u t l o o k ,” can tell in a Rhoades game that said, “most we spend of them only most of our know winpractice ning from time on our photo by samantha ludington their other d e f e n s e , ” The team holds hands during the national anthem at SMNW. teams, so they really have the win attitude.”

Rhoades said.

The team, lacking in size, are making up for it Senior Rachel Kaegi thinks that another thing that stands out about the team is the bond the girls not only in their defense, but also in their aggression. have with each other.

“I think we should be known for our speed and Kaegi, one the team’s two seniors, has been on varsity since she moved here from Macpherson, aggressiveness,” Kaegi said, “It is fun to watch, it’s Kansas two years ago. She says that besides the not like slow basketball.”

Jennings agrees that the attitude is important, stronger defense at East, this team has more chemnot only for the underclassmen, but the entire istry.

“At McPherson, everyone basically had to have team. “[We should be known] for our hustle and detheir own backs,” Kaegi said, “but here, we all have fense and heart, we aren’t the biggest but we hustle each other’s backs.”

Senior Abby Jennings values the relationships the most and try the hardest,” Jennings said. she has made on the team.

Jennings waits for a rebound in a game vs. SM South. She is one of two seniors on the team.

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the [harbinger]

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5

minutes with...

taylon johnson

“

junior • girls’ basketball

photo by samantha ludington

Taylon Johnson is a junior point guard for the girls’ basketball team. This will be her third year at the starting position. She leads a team with only two seniors.

On what two years of varsity point guard experience has taught her- It helps me to known about other teams and their styles.

On Coach Rhoades’ trapping defense- His trapping defense is what I have grown up doing, so I love it. Our goal is to get a lot of steals.

On her knack for making steals - Our pressure defense helps me to get the steals.

did you know?

On her superstitions before games- I always have a Goodcents’ sub and a Powerbar before each game. During the game, I put my water under the third chair. I wear the same pair of socks every game.

On expectations for this year- The Sunflower League is very balanced this year, any team can win on any night. If we play our game and play with energy, we could do well this season.

”

News in Lancer sports you might have missed

Senior Bobby Miller was recognized by many different associations for his work as wide receiver and free safety this past football season. He was First-Team All State, First-Team All Sun County and First-Team All Sunflower League. Throw in a Metro Player of the Week for basketball and you could say Miller has had a good month.

page 27 [sports]

4 1

2 3 4

CAN’T MISS GAMES OVER WINTER BREAK

Dec. 23- KU vs. Boston College- Now that all the Jayhawk basketball bandwagon fans have jumped off, it’s time for the Jayhawks to start playing with a purpose. Boston College senior Jared Dudley is one of the top five players the ‘Hawks will play all season. They need to shut him down to come out on top.

Dec. 28- K-State vs. Rutgers- Freshman QB Josh Freeman takes the Wildcats down to Texas to take on surprising Rutgers. While K-State fell to rivals Missouri and Kansas this season, they can restore some Wildcat pride with a win.

Dec. 29- Missouri vs. Oregon State- Tigers QB Chase Daniel has been very impressive this season, being named Big 12 Player of the Week after tearing the Jayhawk defense for 300+ yards.

However, Oregon State has been on fire lately, winning their last seven games, including one over USC. Dec. 31- KC Chiefs vs. Jacksonville JaguarsThe Chiefs may be out of the playoff race by this point, but if they are still in the hunt, a win against the feisty Jaguars would be cause for an early New Year’s celebration.

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

THURSDAY, 12/21

Boys’ basketball @ SM Northwest- The basketball team continues on their “Journey to the Tourney,” making a stop at sixthranked SMNW. They lost last year in the final minute after senior Bryan Nelson received a technical for hanging on the rim. If the team can keep their heads, expect a Lancer victory.

WEDNESDAY, 1/3

Wrestling @ ON/SMS Double dual- The wrestling team is off to their best start in nearly 20 years after finishing second behind a tough Derby team in their last meet. The team returns many state qualifiers, including seniors John Carr and Drew Robinson and junior Matt Baker. Carr and Baker took first place in the 160 lb. and 189 lb. weight classes respectively at the Cougar Invitational.

WEDNESDAY, 1/10

Bowling @ SM Northwest Tri- Bowling is back and ready to “roll.” The Lancers take on SMNW and Sumner in this meet. Senior Samantha Kirkwood has state ambitions and needs to get off to a good start.

players

TANNER JOHNSON- FRESHMAN- WRESTLINGMaking a huge impact as a freshman in wrestling is tough to do. Seniors have three more years of weight lifting and technique practice than any freshman, so Johnson’s performance at the SMNW Cougar Invitational is more outstanding that it appears. He took first place in the 130 lb. weight class, one of the three Lancer wrestlers who won their class. Two wrestlers finished second and three finished fourth, the best finish ever by the Lancer wrestling team.

MIKE MCROBERTS- JUNIOR- BASKETBALLWhat a way to find out there isn’t a Harbinger cover curse. McRoberts and the boys’ basketball team kept a SM West team that qualified for state last year under 30 points and came home with the victory. McRoberts had 14 points with two threepointers. No player for West had more than seven points in the 41-29 East victory.

Dec. 18, 2006

moment

6 5

4 3 2 1 It’s difficult to show a swimming “play” with Xs and Os, but this moment definitely deserves some description.

Flashback to the 400-yard freestyle relay Dec. 9. SM East was behind Olathe East heading into the final 100 yard sprint. Lucky for the Lancers, senior Luke Tanner (lane 3) was the last swimmer. By almost all accounts, Tanner was 20 yards behind on the final lap and made a miraculous comeback to pass the Olathe East swimmer (lane 4) and win the relay. compiled by Clark Goble