Issue 1

Harbinger ISSUE 1 | SHAWNEE MISSION EAST | PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS | SEPT. 6, 2011

SMEHARBINGER.NET

DEMANDING SUMMER JOBS PP. 16-17

“MY PLAYERS ARE MY STRENGTH.” CHIP SHERMAN P. 12

photo by Grant Kendall

INSIDE PAGE 4 NEWS—

Former student NATALIE BENDER battles with Stage-4 cancer.

PAGE 5 NEWS—Look

to the NEWS BRIEFS for an update on East this year.

PAGE 27 A&E—

New restaurant URBAN TABLE brings a breath of fresh air to Corinth.

PLAZA SHOOTING LEADS TO CURFEW FOR MINORS recent incident sparks stricter curfew for all entertainment districts

written by Evan Nichols | photos by Jake Crandall Only four days after the Aug. 13 Plaza shoot• The minor is with his ing, the Kansas City Council enacted a new 9 p.m. or her parent or guardian weekend curfew for minors. The curfew was passed • The minor is on an unanimously by the 13 members of the council. This “emergency errand” as di9 p.m. curfew will last from Memorial Day weekend rected by his or her parent to Sept. 25. After that, the curfew will jump back up • The minor is going to 11 p.m. for weeknights and midnight on the week- home from a “school activends. The hours of the winter curfew will remain ity, entertainment, recreunchanged, as specified by the previous curfew or- ational activity or dance” dinance from 1991.

• The minor is returnTalk of a stricter curfew was going on before the ing directly home from shooting occurred, however. On Aug. 8, the mayor work of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, stated that he would • Interstate travel be imposing a 9 p.m. curfew for minors in response through the city to violence and “flash mobs” (large groups of people The last situation proswarming a certain area without warning). This news vides the most leeway for was noticed by curfew advocates of Kansas City, in- minors as it states: “[The cluding the real estate investment trust Highwoods curfew will not apply] Properties, the company that owns the Plaza. One of when the minor is attendtheir lawyers emailed council members asking that ing or traveling directly to Police officers supervise the empty street corner of Nichols Road and Jefferson in the similar action be taken in Kansas City. or from an activity involvPlaza around 9:15 p.m. The new curfew, which went into effect Aug. 19, places a 9:00 The city was also considering an earlier curfew in ing the exercise of first curfew for kids under 18 on all entertainment districts. response to the increased amounts of rowdiness on amendment rights of free the Plaza. Police have had to consisspeech, freedom of assembly or free tently check up on complaints from exercise of religion.” store-owners complaining about Government teacher Nick Paris minors disrupting their businesses supports the council’s decision to • August 22nd, 47th and these past two summers. enact a stricter curfew. other cities with nighttime curfews Mayor Sly James was on the Plaza “It’s an absolute necessity at this Wyandotte on the Plaza the night of the shooting to assess juncture so people don’t get the idea 10:00 p.m. curfew for all • Mayor Sly James was the possible need for a curfew, as he that Kansas City is ‘out of control,” population: minors 50 yards away when had been unconvinced that one was Paris said.

3.8 million necessary before that. He was accomAccording to Paris, people need shootings started 11:00 p.m. curfew Sun.-Thurs., panied by former Kansas City Counto feel safe and secure on the Plaza.

• Two boys and one cilman Alvin Brooks and area minisHad the government not taken some 12:00 p.m. Fri.-Sat. for all population: girl (ages 11, 15 and 16) ters. Before the shootings began, he type of action the Plaza would have minors 2.1 million had even addressed multiple reportlost even more business, especially injured ers stating that he did not believe an with the holiday shopping season 10:00 p.m. curfew Sun.• All victims are stable earlier curfew was necessary. just around the corner.

Thurs., 11:00 p.m. Fri.-Sat. for population: His mind was changed after the The curfew has had a direct im• No suspects in cusall minors ages 16-17 717,777 shootings started. pact on East students as well. Setody, 1-2 people may be Another one of his main concerns nior Eli Mitchell won’t be visiting the 11:00 p.m. curfew Sun.-Thurs., responsible was the fact that parents were dropPlaza as often, and believes that the 12:00 p.m. Fri.-Sat. for all ping their kids off at the Plaza to let curfew isn’t the true answer to the population: minors them walk around unsupervised. problem.

646,889 This has been a concern of other Kansas City Council “I don’t know about the situation as much as 11:00 p.m. curfew Sun.-Thurs., members as well. some Kansas City lawmakers do, but the first step “It is totally irresponsible to be dropping off isn’t to restrict the youth,” Mitchell said. “ I think it’s 12:01 a.m. Fri.-Sat. for all population: young teenagers--and in some cases pre-teens--on ridiculous to punish the entire group for the actions minors under age 17 601,723 the plaza, or any other area, and saying ‘have fun, of a few.” we’ll see you in a few hours,” Council member John Mitchell finds it unfair that all of the entertainSharp said. ment districts fall under such a strict curfew, since The curfew affects all five of Kansas City’s enter- they are some of the few places that he considers entainment districts--the Country Club Plaza, West- tertainment is available in Kansas City. port, Downtown, 18th and Vine and Zona Rosa--and “[The curfew] is addressing the problem, but it’s holds heavy fines for violators. The previous fine for not solving it,” Mitchell said. a first curfew violation was only $1, which was even James even seems to agree with the statement considered a laughable amount by the Kansas City above as well. He has admitted that the curfew isn’t Council itself. The new ordinance now allows up to the perfect solution to the problems on the Plaza and a $500 fine on offenders, as well as the possibility of other areas, but he wants to learn from it “until the probation. The probation would include mandatory cows come home.” It is in no way the only action that “family counseling sessions,” as suggested by health will be taken to cut back on the Plaza violence. care providers.

Although the curfew may remain controversial, http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html There are certain situations that the curfew does James made his message to the youth of KC very http://public.findlaw.com/civil-rights/curfew-laws/juvenile-curfew-laws-25-cities.html not apply to, however. According to the ordinance, clear: “I care about you to be safe.” the curfew does not apply when:

DETAILS OF THE SHOOTING

Latenight Lockdown Los Angeles, CA

Houston, TX

Detroit, MI

Memphis, TN

Washington, D.C.

2 | NEWS

Changes in No Child Left Behind law will allow more flexability for teachers

LANCER VOICE Do you think No Child Left Behind is fair?

FRESHMAN | Olivia Meyers No. It can bring the smarter kids down.

SOPHOMORE | Jordan Hall It’s unfair. Being a teenager is hard enough without tests.

JUNIOR | Cady Carney To a certain level. I f someone has diabilities then it is not fair.

SENIOR| Trent Richardson Yes. Why wouldn’t it be? No one gets left behind.

written by Tiernan Shank | photos by Spencer Davis | art by Kat Buchanan A new decision from the Obama admin- that it is hurting efforts to improve istration could mean Shawnee Mission East schools in America. His proposal is to teachers will have more flexibility in the way grant waivers to states that are able they teach. The Department of Education is to show three things. First, states allowing states to get a waiver from the re- must be working to improve teachquirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. er effectiveness. Second, schools Shawnee Mission School District officials must focus more on helping high don’t know the details yet, but they believe school students be college and cathe waivers might give them more options. reer ready at graduation. Finally, The Act, signed by President George W. schools with low-test scores Bush in 2002, focuses on all children in pub- need to change their programs. lic schools. The law set a goal for all students Although teachers might get more flexto be proficient in math and reading by 2014. ibility after a waiver has been granted to their All states are required to administer stan- state, being considered for a waiver is much dardized tests each year, which determines more difficult. Part of being authorized a whether or not the school has made Ad- waiver includes a rigorous teacher evaluaequate Yearly Progress tion based on student test (AYP). If a school fails scores.

“There is a lot more to to make AYP they are “There is a lot more to determined to be “in teacher effectiveness than teacher effectiveness than need of improvement.” just math and reading just math and reading When the act was scores.” scores. It has a lot to do with passed it changed the building relationships with Director of Assesment and Research way teachers constudents, trust, growth, and Daniel Grumen structed their class. determining whether or not “Before, [teachers] students come out of the might have spent time looking at the intri- class a better person that they went in,” the cacies of “Catcher in the Rye” and compare Shawnee Mission School District Director of and contrast it to another novel, and look Assessment and Research, Daniel Gruman at characterization, plot similarities, and said. the authors motivation,” Assistant Principal “Under the current system, we need reJohn McKinney said. “Now we’ve got to get lief,” Gruman said, “as district and as a state. through so much curriculum to prepare for With AYP targets continuing to climb there the state assessment. The targets are getting is an increasing likelihood that good schools so high it’s going to take away even more won’t make AYP.” time from other elements of teaching to make Shawnee Mission East District school sure our students are ready for the test.” board member, Donna Bysfield says that The Secretary of Education, Arne Dun- there are other problems with standardized can, calls the No Child Left Behind Act a testing, especially with students from a for“slow motion train wreck,” and believes eign country.

“One concern is with foreign students,” Bysfield. “They have just moved here, and if English is their second language, they’re expected to take a standardized test that first year and are expected not to fail it.”

Bysfield also says that Shawnee Mission looks at things other than just standardized test scores. “At Shawnee Mission, we look at the number of students taking honors classes and that are in the National Honors Society, and we factor that in more than just if [schools] are making AYP,” Bysfield said.

Not only is Shawnee Mission East meeting standards, it is exceeding them. Just recently it was released that East exceeded the AYP benchmark for the 2010-2011 school year. The annual target for NCLB reading is 86.0% and 96.2% of East students received the standard or higher. In math, 96.5% of East students met the standard or higher, surpassing the annual target of 82.3%.

“We are in a unique position where we don’t have the at-risk numbers that some other schools do and that our kids traditionally do well on the Kansas Assessment,” McKinney said. “Students at East take [The Kansas Assessment] seriously. We are fortunate to have kids who are committed to representing themselves and their school to the best of their ability.”

Bysfield, Gruman and McKinney are in favor of changing the act, but say it is too early to tell how much it will affect the Shawnee Mission School District.

More details about the reform will be available in September.

look at child left behind now A FLAWED SYSTEM anoquick

Over 80,000 of America’s 100,000 schools failed in 2011

ESL students are at a disadvantage because they take the same test as everyone else

The goal of 100% of students passing in 2014 is unrealistic

NCLB tests are realted to the increase of highschool drop out rates

info from: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/no_child_left_behind_act/index.

NEWS | 3

BENDING THE ODDS written by Jack Howland | photos by Brendan Dulohery

Natalie Bender isn’t allowed to shave her head. Even though she’s already losing clumps of hair to the chemotherapy, even though she wants it all to be gone—her doctors told her no. The irregular bumps and stitches make it an unnecessary danger. But Natalie will get over it. She tries not to worry about what she doesn’t have control over, she tries to enjoy what she has.

Today, Natalie gets to shave her pastor’s head for a benefit event. And that’s good enough for her.

“I’ve never done this before,” she yells at the church dining hall with an energy in her voice. “I hope I don’t cut him!”

As she runs the electric razor through the pastor’s thinning scalp line, the group of onlookers erupt in laughter. One guy yells that he looks like “Crusty The Clown” from the Simpsons with his spotty, frizzed hair.

Another tells him that it looks good and he should keep it. Natalie smiles from ear to ear.

She feels that being around others and laughing helps taper the aching pain in her left hand. It helps to bring clarity to the blurry vision masking her eyes. It lessens the stress of walking. It weakens her most painful headaches. It takes her mind off of her biggest challenge yet: a malignant mass on her brain stem.

She may have no control over her sickness, but Natalie chooses to try to find the good in life. Her pastor sees it everyday.

“Choice plays a big part in our lives. We can choose to live in hell and be down and make this world and our life hell, or we can choose to create heaven on earth,” Natalie’s pastor Clint Reine said. “That’s what she does, she makes that fundamental choice to see the good and to live in heaven. She doesn’t want to live in hell.” *** Natalie was supposed to start school in the fall. She graduated from East last year and was set to go to Graceland University, majoring in secondary education with a focus on history. But the cancer has grounded her. For at least the next six months, Natalie is going to be receiving treatment in Kansas

4 | NEWS

East graduate Natalie Bender is fighting stage four brain cancer

City; living at home as she fights her disease.

“I think she was sad [about college], but she didn’t really show it,” her mom DeAnn Bender said. “She just said ‘something I get to look forward to until next year’ and that’s kind of how we’ve approached it.”

Natalie has stage four medulloblastoma.

She has an embryonic tumor on her brain that is taking control of her body. The malignant mass blurs her vision. It causes her body to be sore. Sometimes it numbs her left hand.

But it was the blurred eyesight that initially warned her something was wrong.

“I woke up and I had to go to work and it was just, like, blurry vision--I could only see so far,” Natalie said. “And I said to my mom ‘Mom, I can’t see anything!’ and she was like ‘eh, you’ll be fine.’”

She went into work at The Learning Tree that day. The computer was hard to see and helping customers was more of a chore than usual, but Natalie still got to wrap presents.

Wrapping gifts was the one thing that gave her joy at her job; she loved making something pretty for someone else. The blurred sight was an inconvenience, but she hoped it would be gone soon.

On June 17, 2011 Natalie thought that it was just whiplash.

That’s the conclusion she came to. After all, she had just been tubing for the first time the previous day. It would be understandable if she was still feeling the effects. With some Tylenol, Natalie felt confident that the problems would disappear. But they didn’t.

Four days after she initially noticed the problems with her vision, she was on her way to the hospital. As she rode in the car next to her mother who remained skeptical, she felt the weight of the unknown. She didn’t know whether she had a diagnosed illness, or if she really just had whiplash. But she was on edge.

When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor walked up to Natalie and shook her hand. She remembers him being very personable, very friendly. She liked that. He took her into his office and told her to sit

down. He shone a light in her eyes. He had her do the “drunk walk.” At the end of the routine procedure, his voice slowed down.

Natalie felt like he was hiding concern.

He told them they needed to get a CT scan to check her brain. Nothing more, nothing less. He explained that it was right across the street and they could have results in under thirty minutes. So they walked to the other hospital wing and waited. Then they did the scan. More waiting. Then an MRI scan, too.

To Natalie all the tests were just affirming the inevitable: something was seriously wrong. The next day when she was called back to the hospital the doctor told her the news. He looked her right in the eyes and told her that she had a cancerous mass on her brain stem.

On June 21, 2011 Natalie learned that she had stage four cancer.

“Yeah, it hit me,” Natalie said. “But then again, what fun would it have been if it was only stage one?”

*** Natalie’s always been naturally happy.

Growing up, her family called her the “peacemaker.” Her two older sisters usually butted heads over anything and everything, but Natalie liked to keep the peace.

Her cheery and upbeat disposition usually ended any argument on the spot; her smile always made them question why they were fighting.

Natalie has had this mind set for as long as she can remember. She learned it from her late grandmother, she says. She saw her quiet wisdom as they methodically put together 1000 piece puzzles together. She admired her outlook; she saw her positivity up until she suffered from a stroke. Her grandma taught her to see life a different way.

“She kind of just lived life no matter what,” Natalie said. “She didn’t really care what was happening around her.”

But Natalie’s cancer doesn’t make it easy to maintain faith. It has tested her. There’s the hour long radiation sessions where the left half of her face can become numb by the

end. The surgeries to put in “ports” on her body. The chemotherapy which cause her to lose her hair and feel weak. The physical toll on her body has been extensive, but Natalie’s kept her inherent cheeriness.

Her optimism has helped her fight the disease. “[The optimism] kind of made it easier to say that I have no control over the situation,” Natalie said. “So I kind of just have to do it and kick its butt and be done.”

Natalie relies on the little things. The parts of the day that keep her going. She loves talking to the nurses. They walk around the ICU and Natalie likes to tag along. She says it keeps her occupied. Natalie’s said she’s always been a good listener.

When Natalie’s friends come into the hospital, she always tries to ask about them.

Reine finds it shocking that she can always flip the conversation around. He may come to her with sympathy, but she will fire back and ask him how he’s doing.

“She’s not dodging the question,” Reine said. “She is that way, and that’s how she gets her energy is by being there for others.

By taking care of people.”

Reine remembers one story from the hospital more than any other. Natalie was just coming out of brain surgery and her face was scrunched; she was still under a lot of drugs. She had tubes in her mouth for oxygen. Her hands were tied down in case she tried to pull them out.

As Natalie’s mom and dad looked at her, Natalie’s hands started to move slightly.

They couldn’t go very far but just enough.

She started to twist them into a shape and then she tried to lift them up over her body but they couldn’t quite make it.

DeAnn instantly knew what Natalie was trying to say. She had known sign language to a certain degree and knew that Natalie had learned some in Kindergarten. DeAnn had been at the hospital for eleven hours because of the surgery; she was tired.

It was clear what Natalie was signing: “Mom, go home.”

***

THE

NEWS BRIEFS A SNAPSHOT OF THE SCHOOL

A CAFETERIA OF CHANGES

were positive,” Funk said.

Funk has received positive feedback about the new confetti fries offered at schools. It consists of half sweet potato fries and half white fries. They are now serving the confetti fries and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as well. One of the goals of the food service is decreasing sodium. Another new item being offered is the black bean and corn salsa in order to increase legumes.

Students have different opinions on the food. Some think that it isn’t healthy and won’t eat it and others think that healthy choices can still be made.

Junior Sarah Langtry, is a new student at East and has never tried the food in the cafeteria.

“I bring my lunch everyday,” Langtry said. I would try the cafeteria food, but it looks pretty unhealthy.”

“I think the cafeteria food is pretty good. There are equal amounts of unhealthy and healthy options. You can make your lunch as healthy or unhealthy as you want,” junior Connor McGannon said.

Now that these changes have come into play, students have access to a healthier school lunch. Each student is given a take home menu and from that they can easily decide from a variety of options, but it is only up to the students to decide what kind of food they are choosing to eat.

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Former student battles a tumor atop brain stem

When Natalie is alone, she prays. She says it’s constant. If a quiet time arises during the day, she talks to God. She feels like it’s an escape from the realities of her disease. She feels like it helps her get away from all the commotion in the world.

“I just sit and talk,” Natalie says. “And than If I have time, I’ll just sit and listen.”

Natalie has a lot to pray about. First off, she is scared. The daunting future is what frightens her the most. Over the next few months, she knows that she is going to get worse. As her doctors bump her up to a more aggressive chemotherapy, she is going to feel the effects. Her stomach will be queasy. She will feel fatigued.

Natalie doesn’t like to dwell on her disease, though. She says she treats the hospital like a purple ball that she can put in the corner and not think about until she has to. Always sitting there but not used until necessary. She rarely likes to talk about her cancer and doesn’t even like the mention of its name. She wishes it could just be a thing of the past.

“I don’t get to just stop cause it sucks, that’s not how this works unfortunately,” Natalie said. “I would’ve stopped a long time

in

PHOTOS

Sales in the cafeteria decrease as SM East make the change to healthier food

written by Jeri Frierich As junior Anna Colby opens her bag of Otis cookies she notices that there are only two instead of three. She was disappointed by this new change because now her tradition of sharing the cookies with a friend has come to an end. Other students have also complained about this new change also.

Throughout the past years East has gradually been changing cafeteria food to make healthier choices and changing out the food in the vending machines from candy and soda to trail mix and tea.

According to Krawitz, sales have decreased 60-65 percent since these new changes. The problem is that the students won’t buy the healthy food they are now serving because there isn’t a lot of sugar in the products, but the junk food just increases body mass.

The state of Kansas chooses the types of food that has to meet the requirements of a child’s nutritional value and vitamin needs. East has to follow the guidelines for the national school lunch program, which means more fruits and vegetables and less foods with higher calories.

The Child Nutrition Act is improving the popular foods like pizza and hamburgers by using leaner meat and whole wheat crust. Recently, East has changed the pasta to whole grain and uses 100 percent beef. Two new dishes being offered are cheese steak sandwiches that includes onions and green peppers and there is also a rice bowl that includes stir fried veggies and whole grain rice.

Jill Funk, the district’s nutritionist, has been working with the SMSD food services to increase the amount of vegetables and fruits that are being served.

“Before putting the food in the cafeteria, we test the food at various schools before trying it. Most of the responses

continued from page 4

THE WEEK

ago.”

But Natalie doesn’t want this disease to own her. She says she can’t let this one moment define her life. A few weeks ago, she enrolled for classes for Johnson County Community College Online. She wants to be a teacher.

Her goal in life is to work as an educator in the inner city. She wants to help out those less fortunate than herself. She wants to listen to their ideas. It’s a goal that keeps her motivated every day of her cancer.

She knows that in the near future her sickness is going to get worse. She says that the scariest part of all of this is the knowledge that one day she may wake up and not feel like she want to put any more effort.

But then Natalie thinks back to what her doctor said when she first asked him the odds. He told her that it was 0 or 100 percent depending on how you look at it.

And Natalie’s been 100 percent the whole way.

*** Natalie watches as clumps of black hair fall to the ground.

By now, Reine is almost completely bald.

Patches of dark hair remain on the side; just

a little more and it will all be gone. She sits, now, watching as a male member from her church carries out the final steps. He runs the electric razor through one final time.

Natalie can’t help but smile.

She doesn’t know what’s going to happen down the road. Right now, she is beating her cancer. She is bending the odds. Her doctor says that she now has an 80 percent chance of being cancer free in five years.

Her condition has steadily gotten better since she found out two and a half months ago. The doctors think it has something to with her attitude.

Natalie still has months of treatment ahead of her. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen or if her condition will get worse, but she’s not trying to think too far ahead.

She just wants to get the most out of everyday.

Today, she is watching as her pastor and youth director get their heads clean-shaven.

As she sits in the church, she feels optimistic about the future.

“It’s a new day, I get to live another day,” Natalie said. “And that’s exciting.”

Photo by Hiba Akhtar

JUNIOR CHASE AINSWROTH (right), soaks JUNIOR VANESSA DAVIES, with a towel used to wash the cars at the Choir Car Wash. “Everyone was dumping buckets on each other,” Ainsworth said. “[Sophomore] Rob Simpson even dumped a huge bucket of soapy water on Mr. Foley.”

Photo by Jack Crandall

SENIOR and PEP CLUB CO-PRESIDENT TORI HOLT sways with her the school mascot and her fellow classmates, while singing the school song at the first pep assembly of the year. “I thought that this one of the best pep assemblies that I’ve ever been to,” Holt said. “Everyone seemed very excited for the fall sports season.”

Photo by Grant Kendall

SENIOR DYLAN BRETT gets his head shaved by football teammate SENIOR SAM HENEGER. The team shaved their heads in support of COACH CHIP SHERMAN, who is going through chemotherapy, while bat-

NEWS | 5

The Harbinger’s broadcast team is live streaming various events this fall.

Thurs.

9/1

Football @ SMNW

Fri.

9/9

Football vs. Olathe East

Thurs.

9/15

Boys’ Soccer vs. SMN

Fri.

9/16

Football @ SMN

Tues.

9/20

Boys’ Soccer vs. Free State

Sat.

9/24

Football vs. Olathe South

Tues.

Thurs.

Tues.

Thurs.

Fri. Fri.

Mon. 9/26 Boys’ Soccer vs. Leavenworth Fri. Fri.

9/30

10/4

Boys’ Soccer @ South

10/6

Football vs. Free State

10/11

Boys’ Soccer vs. SMNW

10/13

Boys’ Soccer vs SMW

10/14

Football @ BVN

10/21

Football vs. SMW

10/28

Football @ SMS

Football @ Lawrence

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CUTTING THE FAT

New nutrition guidelines prompt cafeteria to shrink portion sizes and include healthier options photo by Spencer Davis As the bell rang for lunch on the first day of the 2011-2012 school year, students filing into the cafeteria were greeted by some surprising new changes concerning their school lunches. Serving sizes in foods such as Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and Pop-Tarts were reduced, and some foods, such as tater tots, were eliminated altogether. These changes stem from new guidelines enacted by the Kansas School Nutrition Programs (SNP) designed to regulate the calories, fat, sodium, and vitamins in foods that schools are selling.

“We feel that school should be a place where children can learn good eating habits that they will carry with them throughout their lives,” Director of SNP, Cheryl Johnson, said. “Because of this, we made it a priority to have realistic portions and healthier alternatives to the traditional school lunches.”

Another major change that was instituted this year in the cafeteria deals with the variety of some of the entrees.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing a major overhaul of school lunch requirements and programs, which would take effect in the 2012-2013 school year. In order to make the next year’s transition into this new regime less drastic, SMSD decided to start making some needed changes this year.

The main goal of these changes is to provide more types of vegetables and fruits, as well as focus on including every

Harbinger Editors-In-Chief Kat Buchanan Toni Aguiar Assistant Editors Emma Pennington Evan Nichols Online Editors-InChief Jeff Cole Duncan MacLauchlan Online Assistant Editor Becca Brownlee Art and Design Editor Chloe Stradinger Head Copy Editors Chris Heady Jack Howland News Editor Tom Lynch News Page Editors Sarah Berger Editorial Editor Julia Davis Opinion Editor Ian Wiseman Opinion Page Editors

food group in the entrees for a more balanced meal.

It is clear from the actions being taken that SMSD has been making an effort to make their cafeterias more health-conscious. However, if the district keeps offering students the kinds of unhealthy foods that are currently available, no change can be made.

Instead of focusing on issues like decreasing portion sizes, SMSD should be looking into permanent solutions that truly lead students to pursue healthier lifestyles, both in the cafeteria and out in the real world.

The initiatives taken by the district this year are definitely a start to achieving this goal.

For examTHE MAJORITY OPINION OF THE ple, students HARBINGER EDITORIAL BOARD now have the choice of reguFOR AGAINST ABSENT lar french fries or “confetti fries,” a mix of both french fries and sweet potato fries. This alternative provides a source of legumes, a type of fruit that many adolescent diets are lacking, according to a study conducted by the University of Georgia in 2007.

The biggest change to the menu so far has been the switch to whole grains, which are now present in all pastas, rice, and bread that is sold by the cafeteria.

“We thought that switching to whole grains was an easy change that could greatly improve the nutritional value of

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many of the foods that we make,” SMSD food manager Nancy Coughenour said.

Although the cafeteria is applying all these new options, many students have stuck to their old ways when it comes to choosing healthy foods and smaller portions.

This can be seen each day in the lunch line, where many students skirt around the new smaller portions by simply buying two bags of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies instead of the recommended one.

“I don’t think that [the new changes] are that much healthier,” Junior Michael Kennedy said. “I usually end up having to buy more than one item anyway because of the smaller servings, and lunch costs way more for me now.”

To achieve a truly healthy cafeteria, it is necessary to cut out the foods that have little to no nutritional value. This way, if students are hungry, they will be forced to eat a nutritional meal. Over time, this could have a major effect on the health of students who buy school lunch. Not only would they be healthier in general, but they would have more energy to face the second half of the school day.

The efforts being made at East to change students’ eating habits are by no means unnoticeable, but as long as there is an unhealthy option for every healthy one offered, there is no way that the school is going to make major headway in the fight towards healthier student population.

Letters to the editor may be sent to room 521 or smeharbinger@ gmail.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel and mechanics and accepted or rejected at the editors’ descretion.

a publication of Shawnee mission east high 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208 September 6, 2011

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EDITORIAL| 7

BITTERSWEETGOODBYE Junior discusses how his relationship with his sister improved as she left for college

It was past midnight, and I sat in an office chair, bent over my laptop.

The walls of an opinion of my Dallas Marriott MATT HANSON room were thin; I heard shouts and laughter from my fellow staff members in the room next door. I tried to concentrate on my assignment at hand: to write a column, presumably about anything personal, and have it ready for my writing class the next morning.

I had known what I was going to write about even before my teacher had assigned the column. This assignment just gave me an excuse to write the story I’d been putting off for some time: a sentimental goodbye column to my sister, one that would celebrate the times we’d had. I blocked out the clamor coming from the other side of the wall, and started to type my story.

I began my story by describing in detail a scene with me looking at an old photo of my sister and me hiking in Colorado when we were younger. I didn’t identify my sister right away. I wrote: I can’t get over it. It just doesn’t seem right.

That girl can’t be leaving.

I was just starting to like my step-sister.

Just the opening I wanted. Already satisfied, I continued writing, my fingers dancing on the keyboard of my Dell laptop.

But Alex Christian has to leave for TCU in August. The girl in the picture is growing up and I can’t help but reflect on the era she leaves behind her in Kansas. Our hometown.

Our era. Our childhood.

Sliding on polished hardwood floors with our underwear capping our heads.

Watching all 243 episodes of “Friends” together on our silky couch in the basement.

Building elaborate basement forts together out of blankets, VHS tapes, and whatever furniture we could find.

I was in the zone. Entire sentences were just flowing onto the page. My story was coming together just the way I wanted it. That is, until I hit the next paragraph.

These were all good memories. But there were bad ones, too.

I paused. The last sentence didn’t exactly fit with the type of column that I wanted to write. But the more I thought about it, the more true that statement seemed. After all, Alex and I hadn’t been as close in the last few years as we had when we were kids. After a moment of consideration, I decided to go with my current stream of thought.

I made a list of all the things that divided us over the years.

8 | OPINION

The time we spent apart when our parents separated.

When she started spending most of her time in high school at her mom’s house.

The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that we weren’t as close as I had thought.

Even in our best times, we hadn’t developed a close relationship.

Watching 243 episodes of Friends doesn’t develop a close relationship between two people. It develops a love of Friends. When your fondest memory with someone is watching TV together, how close can you be with them?

As I came to grips with my shocking realization, I put my thoughts on the page: But as I sit on the cold floor of the office, one thought nags at me: I never knew Alex.

I could never get a feel for who she was. I’ve spent my whole life in the same Prairie Village house with her, but she could almost be a stranger to me.

I sat back and read my last paragraph again. The truth seemed so clear to me when written in my story. How had I never seen it before? Seeking answers that can only be found through finishing my story, I continued writing.

When we asked her about school, she’d share very little. When we asked her about boys, she would share even less. Something tells me she’s not always like this. She isn’t so restrained and cautious around her friends, the ones I’ve never met. From Facebook photos, occasional stories she gives us of her exploits, and the rare character-revealing comment, I’ve seen another side of her.

I just wish I could see that side more.

Maybe I would know more about her had she gone to the same schools as I attended. Or if our parents hadn’t separated. Or if she was my biological sister.

But these are all just excuses that mask the true reason why I don’t feel like I know the true Alex Christian: I just didn’t care enough about her.

I finally stop writing. I can’t believe what I’m writing is true. But it’s been true for so long. Writing it down just helps me see what I’ve been ignoring.

There. I said it. And sitting in that office, I realize this.

And sitting in that empty hotel room, I realized this. I resumed writing, winding up the column that was so far from what I had expected to write.

I make a decision. I’m going to make it up to my sister. For her remaining time, we will be closer than we’ve ever been in the past.

It’s a realization that I think many younger siblings have in the waning months of their

photo courtesy of Matt Hanson older sibling’s time before college. Siblings may fight all their life together, but when the time comes around for that life to end, we finally realize how much we care.

I drop the picture and rise from the floor.

As I walk up the stairs to my room, I take out my iPhone.

Hey sis. What are you doing today?

Two weeks later, back in Kansas City, I dropped my Dell in my sister’s lap, opened up my story on a Word document, and left her to read. At the bottom, I left this note: Hey, I know this isn’t what you expected, but I thought that this could be the start of a renewed, much closer relationship between us. This is my official olive branch, extended to you sis; please accept it.

Matt 20 minutes later, I got a text from Alex Christian.

Come up here.

I excused myself from the dinner table and scampered up the stairs and into my sister’s room. She set my laptop down on her desk.

“Read it,” was all she said, and she left the room.

At the bottom of the page, she wrote much more: Matt, You have no idea how much you even writing this article means to me. I know we haven’t been as close as we could have been, and I take the majority of the blame for that, but you have to know I enjoyed all the time we have spent together over the years and feel extremely blessed that I have such a unique, caring, smart, and funny brother like you. And that’s what you are, my brother. I really do hope that we can continue to grow closer over the years because I never want to lose my relationship with you. I accept bro, I love you a lot. And thank you.

Alex I moved Alex into her dorm at Texas Christian University two days before my junior year started. It had been a few weeks since I showed her my story. On the surface, not much has changed in our relationship. But between us there is now a mutual respect. A bond that is felt, not seen or heard.

When I left her under the hot Texas sun, I left a sister, not a stranger.

LANCER VOICE students share stories about sending siblings off to college

SOPHOMORE | Erin Cosgrove “Anyone who knows Amy and I knows that we’re pretty freakishly linked. We were always best friends first and sisters second. It’s weird, and [having her here] is definitely something that I’m going to miss.”

JUNIOR | Jon Mytinger “My older sister goes to Steven’s now and even when she’s gone we still talk everyday. I miss her presence at school though. But I enjoy sleeping at night because she would blast music. So that’s a plus.”

Regrets RIGHTING HER

Two months before it happened, I asked my dad a question.

We were driving down Nall Avenue an opinion of ANNE WILLMAN in my dad’s 2000 blue Ford Explorer.

We were coming home from the golf course after playing 18 holes. I didn’t think much of it.

“Dad, don’t you think Grandma will live for a long time?”

He smiled. He nodded. *** The phone rings. My mom answers the phone, the caller ID reads Leslie Mika—my aunt. She hesitates, but decides to answer it. Her eyebrows knit and her mouth begins to open.

“Grandma is in the hospital.”

I turn and glance at my brother. My eyes dart from the phone to my dad and then back to my mom.

I do the only thing I know how to do. Pray.

Dear God, please help her. I know what ever happens is your plan. *** Pancreatic cancer, that’s what the doctors said. I never thought that the diagnosis would be that severe. I thought that it would be more painless, more normal -- if any illness can really be normal. It was just another name to me, something a fifth grader could not fully grasp.

I didn’t notice the signs--the fact that she didn’t smile in the picture we took on Mother’s Day that year or that the special twinkle had vanished from her eye.

I found myself standing in the elevator at St. Luke’s Hospital. My mom, dad, brother.

“Grandma doesn’t want treatment.”

What do you mean she doesn’t want treatment? I didn’t understand. Where was that strong person I’ve always known? That person

TIME WITH GRANDMA The top four moments Anne remembers about her grandmother

Staffer reminisces on precious moments spent with her grandmother

that looked into my eyes and always knew what to say?

I prayed. *** My mom comes into the kitchen. Floral wallpaper covers the walls, dark wooden cabinets darken the room. I sit at the kitchen table watching yet another episode of Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon.

“Anne, Grandma wants to see you.”

I slowly creep up the stairs and turn right.

Her bedroom door is wide open. There she is.

Someone I barely recognize. An oxygen tank sits on top of her mahogany night stand. Tubes are everywhere, the floor, the walls, the bed. It seems as if they are strangling the life out of her.

This person is not my grandma. Not the grandma that greets me with her bright smile.

Not the grandma that offers me a coke when I walk into her kitchen. Not the grandma that I built card houses with. Not the grandma that I was planning to play golf with for the first time this very fall. This person has been robbed of her life, her organs dying.

The bones are visible through her skin, poking. Her hands are small and weak. She sits up.

Smiles. I try not to cry.

“I love you,” she says.

A week later, I feel the eyes on me. I smooth my skirt. I see my neighbors in the back, my family in the front. I approach the front of the sanctuary. The pastor hands me the microphone. I knew exactly what I was going to say. I had rehearsed it numerous times, and didn’t cry once.

“My grandma, I miss her...”

And then I cry. Tears roll down my cheek.

It hit me. She’s gone.

I didn’t know the doctors were going to be wrong. I didn’t know that a month to live really meant a week. I wish I could say that a miracle took place, but I can’t. I didn’t know that in the

bedroom would be the last time I would see her.

The last time she would talk to me. The last time that she would tell me that she loved me.

We will never build another house of cards.

We will never see another movie together. We will never hug. There will always be that empty chair at Sunday dinners. She has never seen me hit a golf ball. I will never see the person who has gotten three hole-in-ones swing a club. We would never play the game together. Never.

I have missed out on those special grandmagranddaughter moments. It will never be the same.

I have lost three grandparents. Three grandparents related to diseases caused by smoking: lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and emphysema.

I have missed out on special times, those special moments that people remember forever all because of these terrible diseases. I was two when my grandfather passed away, 11 when my grandma passed after being diagnosed a week earlier.

And in ninth grade, I saw my other grandfather gradually suffocate.

Everyone lives with regrets. Mine is one that I think of frequently. I never had the opportunity to play the game I truly love with my best friend.

Time is precious and I wasted it. It is so true of the saying: you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. *** This past summer, I stand over a putt. The world seems as if it has stopped. If only she were here, watching me.

This is for you grandma.

I hope that she is watching me. Laughing.

Smiling. I hope she is proud.

The white ball disappears. It goes in.

I pray.

My grandma and I went to the movies once a month followed by going to Winstead’s

Sitting on the porch eating strawberries, we used to watch the hummingbirds We would have competitions to see how high we could stack our cards

In kindergarten, we started an American Girl doll collection

OPINION | 9

All American Girl

I’ve spent most of my summer weekends at the place where I can be me. I don’t have to do my make-up. I don’t have to fix my hair. I can wear what I want, and it doesn’t matter to an opinion of anyone else at all. I can be reJennifer Rorie laxed and free of stress unlike when I’m at home. I can just calm down and unwind from my normal busy life. It’s not like at school where it seems everyone is so materialistic and obsessed with how they look and what others think of them.

I’m a country girl. I love the idea of riding horses, working on the farm and living a slower pace of life. Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of living only a mile away from Target, and I love being able to run to the grocery store if I’m missing an ingredient for dinner. Sure, my Target may turn into a Walmart 18 miles away from the farm, but that’s good enough for me.

My family’s farm is two and a half hours northeast of Kansas City in a small town called New Cambria. It’s my favorite place in the world. My ancestors built the white three story giant house 120 years ago. The house has five bedrooms, so with all 15 members of my family there it gets a bit tight. Since then, the beloved home, and land around it, has been in my family for generations. Both my mom and I have spent our childhood summers there.

The things about the farm that would bother others, like having one bathroom, are what I like most about it. It’s old and rustic, but it’s like my home. The house has five bedrooms, so with all 15 members of my family there it gets a bit tight. Yes, there are spiders and snakes, which I don’t like, but there’s also the deer in the field at sunset and the

10 | OPINION

Junior finds herself at home on family farm

thousands of fireflies on hot summer nights. It’s wonderful waking up in the morning to the smell of my grandma’s Krusteaz pancakes.

My favorite thing to do at the farm is lay in the hammock overlooking the soy bean field. Sometimes I take a much needed nap, or sometimes I will push my little cousins back and forth on the hammock. Often I lay there and read relaxing the day away. And I’m OK with that. My time will come to find projects to do, just like my parents, but for right now, lying in the hammock and playing with my cousins is the best thing I could do.

Eight years ago we got the call from my grandma one night. Mike, the man who runs our farm, called and said a tornado hit the small town of 222 people where the house is and there was debris everywhere. We didn’t know what was left of the house or anything else on the property. The next morning my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles left for New Cambria at six in the morning. They spent the whole day there cleaning up, and brought back videos for my older brother, Alex, and I to watch. Most of the windows were blown out of the house. Three of the five outbuildings were just piles of weathered wood. My favorite place in the whole world was crumbling down right before my eyes.

Paper was literally swirled off the walls inside the house.

Glass was everywhere. The asbestos roof was blown off and all over the yard. Everything was sopping wet. It was bad, but it could have been worse. At least we still had a relatively intact house.

The tornado ended up being a blessing in disguise. It gave us the kick in the butt we needed to start redoing and fixing up the inside of the house. My back bedroom and the front hall are the last ones that need to still get done. My favorite place is becoming normal again. I can play with my

photos provided by the Rorie family little cousins and hang out with my brother and not worry about glass. I can do whatever I want and not feel bad that I’m not helping clean up the tornado.

Being at the farm gives me freedom to just be whoever I want to be. I don’t have to be on my best behavior like when I’m in school or out and about at home. I don’t care if I walk into Walmart wearing my lake swimming suit and shorts with my hair all messy and wet. When I’m there it feels like people don’t judge me on superficial things. I’m at my best when I’m with my family. They know the true kind and loving person that I am. I know that they will love me unconditionally so I can be silly or hyper or be feeling down and they don’t care. That’s the beauty of the farm for me.

I love the farm, some of my favorite childhood memories come from there. Telling old family tall tales while roasting s’mores around the campfire; playing spades around the kitchen table when we don’t. Going on hayrides in the fields and lying on the trailer staring up at the stars. Nobody’s watching me, nobody’s judging me. I can really truly be me.

artwork by Matti Crabtree

Staffer comments on the consequences of 24-hour news channels spinning facts to fit their agendas.

* M S NBC

*{generic Democrat}

Key Points

“BB”: Blame Bush Republicans hate the poor

Love for John

MSNBC adores Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show,” at least when he is bashing republicans. The news anchors sometimes air clips of Stewart’s show when he rips apart FOX, but never when he attacks liberals or MSNBC itself.

Chaos would encircle the globe if every nitwitted notion or erroneous an opinion of we IAN WISEMAN allegation heard on the street corner were true. Barrack Obama would be a Muslim Fascist Nazi Socialist Dictator from Kenya and George Bush would have invaded Iraq and sacrificed thousands of U.S. lives for the sole purpose of oil. Accusations such as these seem a bit harsh—ever take a gander at their origins?

Check your cable news programs.

Yes, in a news world inundated with unchecked opinions and barren of investigative reporting, we newcomers to politics must rely on the notions of a few TV “pundits” to guide our political compasses. After all, who else could possibly steer us through the moronic marsh of Social Security debates, GOP rallies and health care debacles?

Parents, you say. Well, that would be an excellent jumping pad, considering we tend to mimic our parents’ morals—but wouldn’t that also defeat the purpose?

Seeking sources that confirm but never challenge our beliefs. Jumping to verify gravity.

Debate is the crutch of politics.

Through it, we discover where our beliefs and candidates’ beliefs truly lie. So what would happen if society closed its ears to other points of view? What if we immersed ourselves in a mass of likeminded people only?

First of all, the nation would be more polarized than ever before. Congress would pass a bill once every century and politicians would be as stubborn as mules in their convictions.

Welcome to the world of modern American politics.

Unfortunately, this is a world created in part by biased news stations like FOX and MSNBC. Instead of following a course that fits our beliefs, we’re forced to make a decision at the fork in the road: right or left.

These news programs even have the ability to turn the rapper Common, a.k.a. the “Conscious Rapper,” a Grammy winner and former Elmo guest, into a supporter of the killing of police and Bush.

The guy from Elmo. Seriously.

FOX never loses focus of its conservative agenda. In this case, Common was the object of FOX’s diatribes because Obama invited him to the White House.

Thus, the true target was in fact Obama.

Similarly, MSNBC never missed a beat at implying that Texas Governor Rick Perry was a racist.

Words are the TV pundit’s ammunition. We, the viewers, are the target. ***

This just in!

CNN’s green landscape of political middle-ground serves as a safe haven for the weary travelers of infertile, biased lands.

However, the pundits of CNN jump from story to story with the frequency of an M2 Browning machine gun. In fact, a CNN television promo actually boasted that it broad-casted “more stories per hour” than any other program.

Scandals and countdowns and fights, oh my!

CNN has the attention span of a 4-year-old in the candy aisle; even worse, the station lacks a mother reminding it to pick out only one Snickers bar.

More recent, more radical, more shocking—adrenaline-pumping excite-

ment fuels news. Society runs on all that is “Happening Now” or “Breaking News” or “Just in!” Famine in the Horn of Africa isn’t new and therefore isn’t news. The public needs its current event fix now through Facebook posts and text messages and Twitter updates. Flip a story about the mundane public release of a batch of Sarah Palin’s emails into the treasure hunt of the decade; the public will foam at the mouth as it reads the headline, “Palin emails released today. Predictions on the juiciest find?”

More stories, more viewers. More stories, more viewers. Pundits are paid specifically to glue our butts to the couch and our eyes to the TV. Lost in the rush is investigative reporting. Gone is in-depth analysis. Vanished is anything that might help political fledglings learn to fly.

CNN’s relentless bias towards sensationalism stifles original political thought, for in the explosion of “newer, faster, shorter,” the focus on factual evidence and thought-provoking, investigative reporting—the basis needed for directing our own compasses—lay buried in the rubble. ***

Why?

The world is dangerous when we live in a bubble, especially when cable news stations work tirelessly to keep it that way.

Perhaps if we as a nation broke our addiction to unreliable political “analysis,” relying more on facts to inform our ideas, we could foster a less divided United States.

Questioning the motives of not only those who give speeches but also those who cover them immunizes us against the hidden agendas of pundits.

Only then can we truly think for ourselves.

FOX

*

*{generic Republican} Key Points

“BO”: Blame Obama Progressive Democrats want control of our lives

Craziest Quote

“I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people, I’m saying he has a problem.

[Obama] is, I believe, a racist.”

—Glenn Beck, former FOX editorialist

OPINION | 11

C

hip Sherman is not a coach today.

He’s not the face of the defending Sunflower League champion football team. He’s not leading ab exercise in weights classes. He’s not calling the shots from a sideline.

He’s a cancer patient today.

He sits in a reclining chair at Kansas City Cancer Center. Silently. He tries to make his mind blank as he struggles not to think about the drugs and chemicals being pumped into his body. He’s nauseous. His nose bleeds.

His wife Angela visits him for two of the seven grueling hours of chemotherapy. He tries to take a nap. He works on football plays to show in practice the next day. But mostly, he sits. He waits.

As he peers down the aisle of 30 chairs in room 402, and sees patient after patient, he finds most of them to be mad at the world for cursing them with such a deadly disease. They are waiting to die. But Sherman is waiting to live.

*** Usually when Sherman gets out of the pool from a swim, or finishes lifting for the day, he has no troubles breathing. Usually nothing is physically wrong with him. Usually stopped last winter.

“I just got to the point that I was just exhausted all the time and I couldn’t figure out what’s going on,” Sherman said. “I thought maybe I was just getting old. And then I started having some problems breathing and I just couldn’t get a full breath.”

His doctor couldn’t figure out what the problem was initially, after an x-ray and CT-scan, but after they did blood work, they found it: NonHodgkin’s Lymphoma. A type of cancer that takes a tumor form in the lymphatic system, where abnormal cells divide and grow without order or control and old cells don’t die normally.

The best way to treat the cancer is through chemotherapy, an excruciatingly painful process in which a combination of drugs are injected into the blood stream to kill cells, and stop them from dividing.

But the chemo didn’t intimidate Sherman. He was ready to take the cancer head on.

“If I say I’m going to try and do something I’m gonna do it,” Sherman said. “I just went about it with the attitude that I was going to make every day count, and do something good every day.”

When good friend and Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz, who first met Sherman in the ‘80s, first heard the news, he was shaken up.

“Emotionally, it was real tough,” Krawitz said. “I kept thinking, ‘Oh God. Why this man?

Of all the people.’ I think he, probably more than any other person, has been the major reason why we’ve seen such a phenomenal change in this building.”

Sherman began his chemo on June 10. It was the first day he had missed a football related activity that summer. While the football team was lifting and doing everything to get better, so was Sherman. But in a different way. Eight miles away, hooked up to a machine, chemicals pumping into his into his body.

Sherman endured the chemotherapy and still showed up to most all summer activities, even participating with the team in the “team bonding” exercise on Thursdays, the hardest workout of the week. Every player grabbed a 25 pound weight to do various lifts with. Sherman grabbed a 45 pound weight.

“He’s always told them, ‘I won’t ask you to do anything I can’t do,” Athletic Director and assistant coach Sam Brown said. “And that’s the way he still is. Even with this cancer.”

Brown even recalls a particular practice when Sherman’s dedication took full force.

“We were doing a particularly hard

12 | FEATURES

FINDING INNER STRENGTH Head football coach Chip Sherman battles cancer written by Chris Heady | photos by Grant Kendall

running drill and a player came up to me and was like ‘coach, my knee’s hurt.’ And I just kinda pointed over at Coach Sherman who was running hard with the team and said, ‘what do you think he’s feelin’?’ And the kid said, ‘I think my knee’s are okay, coach.’”

Sherman has good days, where the pain is less, but he does have the inevitable bad days, when the ache all over his body is worse, and the headaches are more frequent.

Aug. 24 was a bad day. *** It’s 7:12 a.m. on Aug. 25 when Sherman begins his last workout: chest It’s the day after Sherman received news his chemo treatments weren’t working fully. That the dead cells around the tumor, once as big as a watermelon but now baseball sized, weren’t dying off naturally. The cancer wasn’t getting worse, but it wasn’t getting better. But here he is, working out like usual, like nothing happened.

Sweat drips from his bald scalp down onto his grey SME football shirt. His high white Nike socks and black Under Armour shoes cover up places on his legs and feet where hair used to be, but no longer exist. Half fingernails remain on the tips of the fingers from the dead cells as he reps his body weight. His eyes are clinched tight as he fights through the last few reps.

He’s been in the weight room since 5:30.

Punching lymphoma in the teeth.

“Working out in the morning helps me start my day off right,” Sherman said. “It helps me go about my day with a clean mind and I get all of my stress or anxiety out in a positive way.”

Even through five chemo treatments, he still lifts for two hours every morning. When he finished his workout the morning of the 24th, Sherman made his way down the hall to the locker room. In that time, eight different players visit him before school starts, all asking the same question, “How are you feeling?” and all getting the same response: A smile and, “I’m doin’ fine. It’s a fight.”

On the night of the 24th, junior wide receiver David Sosna posted on twitter that the team had received unsettling news at practice, and to pray for Sherman. Within the next two hours, over 118 tweets from former and current students read the phrase: Prayers for Sherman.

The inspiration that Sherman gives others is widespread, affecting even coworkers like by Head Basketball Coach Shawn Hair.

“He’s attacked it like I hope I would attack it,” Hair said. “He’s an overwhelming inspiration for all of us to live your life the right way.”

But the group who has been inspired most are his players.

“Whenever I’m tired in practice and I look

up and see him, its just a new burst of energy,” senior left tackle Dylan Brett said. “I always try and look for him because he always cheers me up when he’s there. Because I know if he were out there he would try his hardest.”

But the positive attitude is just second nature to Sherman. It’s the way he’s always been.

“On the days that are real bad, I always think how lucky I am to be married to who I’m married to, I have four healthy children, and I have healthy grandchildren, I’ve got two grandchildren on the way, so you know, I think about all those good things,” Sherman said. “You can look at things and feel sorry for yourself, feel how bad you feel and lay around all day, and do nothing good, or, you can go forward and try to make something good happen and have a positive attitude and remember good things,” Krawitz compares Sherman’s internal drive to a motor.

“I mean, even though it’s broke, you’re just never gonna turn it off,” Krawitz said, “it’s that kind of will that if any one’s going to beat this disease, it’s gonna be him.”

Hair has noticed more of the same.

“He just doesn’t complain, it’s not who he is.

He’s not carrying around a ‘poor pitiful me, I’ve got cancer’ cross,” Hair said. “Cancer can take everything but it can’t take your heart. That guy’s got a tremendous heart. He’s gonna keep on fighting.”

*** “You want a zero?” Senior center Sam Heneger asks Brett.

“Yeah, zero’s fine. Just don’t mess it up again” Heneger adjusts the electric clippers, and begins buzzing Brett’s head.

Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean” fills the air on a sunny Friday afternoon before the football team’s Blue and Black scrimmage. Brett squints as light shines in his eyes as his light brown hair is flicked off the clippers on to the ground, fluttering onto the concrete near the corner under the drain, next to the brick wall in Heneger’s driveway.

“Gosh, the ears are the trickiest part,” Heneger says to himself, pulling back Brett’s ear.

The linemen sing along to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield, discuss The Hill’s, a show the team watches together on occasion, and experiment with what Brett would look like with a Mohawk. Finally, he’s finished. Fully buzzed.

Practically bald.

Heneger has been shaving heads of the football team for two months now, a tribute to their coach, who in turn, has no hair due to chemo treatments.

“If he has no hair then we want no hair,” Heneger said. “We all did it to kinda make it not

so awkward for him. I mean, I think he would probably feel a little self-conscious, like the theme for this year is “All In,” and we’re all in this together so we went all in.”

The players have noticed Sherman’s dedication to them: being with them every day, even when he’s noticeably tired, and realize they should give it their all like he does.

“Running 40 yard sprints is nothing compared to what he’s going through,” Heneger said.

After practices when Sherman isn’t there, or they are updated with news that the cancer isn’t progressing, the team prays together. Heneger leads it.

“I just kinda took it upon myself to like get things going and I don’t know, we all need to be praying for him,” Heneger said. “I don’t know where the whole team is religiously but its the only thing we can do to help. We can’t cure his cancer for him but praying will for sure help.”

The team plans on reciting psalm 18:32-42 before taking the field every game. A psalm dedicated to following your leader into battle, and fighting blindly for your team. All for Sherman.

“He’s going to beat the cancer,” Heneger said. “No doubt in my mind.”

The support from his players has not been overlooked by Sherman. The love is felt both ways. That’s why he changed his chemo a day earlier so could coach the first football game.

It’s why he stays the night at school breaking down film, crashing on the couch, the day after games. For his team.

“My players are my strength,” Sherman said, “They get me through most days.”

Sherman’s Lymphoma won’t ever deteriorate fully, since the tumor can’t be surgically removed because it’s weaved into his lymphnodes and the cells won’t fully die off, but that doesn’t mean he won’t keep fighting.

“You can’t let this thing feel like its beatin’ you. You have to go forward and feel like you’re in charge, and if you’re in charge, you’re gonna dictate how it’s gonna act,” Sherman said.

But in his mind, the cancer isn’t entirely a bad thing.

“Y’know, there’s a reason why things happen and maybe I was given this as a challenge, and it may end up being a blessing. Who knows, maybe it will teach me to appreciate life more, who knows what it will do,” Sherman said. “But if you take something negative and learn something from it, then it becomes something positive.”

CROSSING CULTURES

Three junior girls are traveling abroad this year written by Stephen Cook

photo courtesy of the Weindling family, Weindling front left

ISABELLA WEINDLING

photo by Haley Johnston

CAROLINE CREIDENBERG

This semester, junior Caroline Creidenberg will be traveling with American Field Services to Duisburg, Germany. Creidenberg, who was born in Switzerland, had been wanting to go to Europe as a part of an exchange student program.

Creidenberg has hosted two other exchange students from Germany at her house in the past, which has helped her to understand how the exchange process works and has also made her want to become an exchange student herself.

“I’ve grown up in Kansas my whole life and I wanted to go explore other places,” Creidenberg said. “I really wanted to go to Switzerland, but their program is a year long, and Germany was only one semester. My mom didn’t want me gone for a year.”

Even though Creidenberg doesn’t leave until Sept.

8, she has already had a chance to get to know her host family. They have two kids, a son, 13, and a daughter her age.

“I already know the daughter pretty well, she was in the exchange program and I’ve talked to her over the phone,” Creidenberg said.

Additionally, Creidenberg and her host family both share a common bond of enjoying the great outdoors.

“I’m going to be living the average teenage life over there, I’ll be going to school, I’ll have a host family,” Creidenberg said. “But they don’t want you to feel like a tourist, they want you to feel like you’re from there.”

Even though she’s a little nervous, Creidenberg has been using Rosetta Stone to try and work on her German skills before leaving for Duisburg. “[By the end of the semester] I want to be fluent in German,” Creidenberg said. “Other than that, I just want to have a good experience.”

THEY ARE TRAVELING TO...

DUISBURG, GERMANY

Junior Isabella Weindling is going to be spending the semester in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana with 16 other girls from around the world. The girls, along with four teachers and a driver, are going to be camping and backpacking around the countries together. The only time that she will be spending time with a host family is when the group stops in Cape Town for a week.

Isabella is already in South Africa, and has already begun her classes with the other girls. Communication between Isabella and the U.S. is going to be mainly limited to a phone call back home every couple weeks or so.

“They are in a lot of areas where communication can be very difficult. The girls are not allowed to have cell phones or Internet,” Ariana Weindling, Isabella’s mom, said. “This program is all about getting in touch with people, nature and awareness. Technology can often conflict with these lessons.”

Although Isabella is traveling abroad, she is not considered an exchange student. Even though she will be going to school, it will be completely different from the kind that most students know.

Isabella is going to be taking classes on the go, meaning that she won’t be limited to just the four walls of a classroom.

“She will be having classes wherever they can,” Ariana said. “Science class might be in Krueger National Park, photo journalism might be on the Salt Pans, African History will be studying Apartheid.”

The classes are going to be taught by American teachers that are going to travel around Africa with the girls.

Apart from African History and Travel Journalism, Isabella is going to be taking a regular curriculum.

“She was looking for something a little bit different and to be able to meet new people, learn about different countries and cultures. She was ready to do something outside of the box,” Ariana said.

In addition to working on her studies and learning about the different countries she’ll visit, Isabella is going to be taking part in community service projects.

“Hopefully she can touch someone’s life as I am sure her life will be enriched from the people she meets,” Ariana said.

photo courtesy of the Dickens family

CAROLINE DICKENS

Junior Caroline Dickens is going to be spending the entire school year abroad in the city of Solothurn, Switzerland.

As a member of the Rotary Youth Exchange, Dickens is going to be staying with three different families during her time in Solothurn.

“My first family is really nice,” Dickens said. “The dad owns an international company so he’s gone a lot, the mom is really sweet, and they have three siblings, one which just left for Washington. I’ll go to my second family after Christmas.”

While she’s there, Dickens is going to be taking typical high school classes, such as physics and chemistry– except they’ll be in German. The language barrier will be one of the biggest obstacles that Dickens has to face.

“It’s pretty difficult, every state or canton speaks their own dialect,” Dickens said.

In order to work on learning German, Dickens has been going to special classes where she can work on learning the basics of the language.

“My four week long German camp is like German kindergarten because you’re learning all of these basic things that you would learn in kindergarten,” Dickens said. “They’re things that I know are so easy in English so you feel like you should immediately know what it is, but you don’t. You have to start from somewhere and the fundamentals are important.”

Along with Dickens, there are seven other students, including another student from the U.S., that are working on learning the language. She hopes to be able to understand German by the third month and then be fluent by the sixth month.

Dickens is ready and excited to experience the culture and life of a person living in Switzerland.

“It’s something different, something fun, I want the experience, to learn the language, to meet new people,” Dickens said.

SOUTHERN AFRICA SOLOTHURN, (SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA) SWITZERLAND

FEATURES | 13

behind

“

the

lyrics

”“

Whatever road I take music will always be with me By my side all the time and when Im feelin’ empty

Kraske comments on his favorite lyrics from upcoming album “Brand New”

That’s just how I feel about music and rapping in general because whatever I do in my life I always see music being there. Even it it’s not something I choose to do later in my life it’s always going to follow me.

written by Nick May | photos by Anna Dancinger t’s another sunny summer day and through with this, however because of the Junior Nick Kraske, like lots of teen- label’s financial problems. But it did show agers his age, is riding around with Kraske that someone listened to his music, his friends, blasting music from artists like and liked what they heard.

Machine Gun Kelly and Mac Miller, having Kraske’s love of hip-hop has existed a good time. But there’s a problem. Earlier, since he was a kid, listening to 50 Cent or when the group stopped at McDonald’s for Asher Roth, and even though he didn’t some chicken McNuggets, Kraske wasn’t know what most of the vulgar lyrics even hungry and decided not to get any. Now, a meant, he was inspired. He began to write while later, his stomach is growling and he raps in 6th grade, rehearsing them for his has just spotted a stray McNugget that one friends at the bus stop. The combination of his friends hasn’t gobbled up yet. So he of his original gangster lyrics were far from makes his move, and inquires if he could what other pre-teens were writing in Enghave the mouth-watering morsel, but his lish class. He This would become the roots friend won’t give it up that easily. of his deep passion for rap.

“How about I freestyle for it?” Kraske He is a talented writer, and being the son says. of two writers for the Kansas City Star, one His friends perk up, intrigued by the could say writing is in his blood. new developments unfolding. Previously Kraske raps about a wide variety of exhausted from the summer heat, they all subjects, from being a teenager, to lighter, quiet and listen as Kraske begins to rhyme funnier topics like the teen dance club Orabout the many fast food places in the area: lando’s.

“Man, I’m so hungry...”

“It can be serious, like something I’m This may not have been the method dealing with, or my emotions, Kraske said, most average high school students would “But whatever I rap about, it’s just me, and have thought of, but most students don’t that’s what I want people to see.” share his enthusiasm for hip-hop. Most high He continued writing raps just for fun, school students aren’t rappers. with no other plans or motives, up until Kraske has been approached by other about a year ago, when he bought his first rappers, such as SkiL, a rapper who is on mic. a record label, who saw his many songs “I got one for $10 at radio shack and it’s on the music sharing website soundcloud. funny to look back and see how naive I was com and was impressed enough to contact because I thought I could record my raps on Kraske and tell ask if he might that and it would sound like it did on expenwant to collabor a t e sive, legitimate equipment.” Kraske said. in the future.

He realized that if he really wanted to He was advance his hobby, it would cost him some unable money. His second mic was $80, but it was to go meant for podcasting, not songs. It did, however, come with basic music producing software, and with that Kraske learned that

I

”“ ”

I kill ‘em in the booth like John Wilkes

I kill ‘em in the booth, like I kill the track but then it’s also John Wilkes killed Lincoln in the booth and then John Wilkes’ last name is Booth.

You’ll hear rappers say [kill ‘em] just like absolutely murdering a beat, dominating it.

he enjoyed making beats just as much as he did rapping to them.

Creating totally original instrumentals is very time-consuming, so he uses beats from popular songs, and modifies them for his use. He performed on a version of Wiz Khalifa’s “On My Level”, that took him six hours total to produce. He has also experimented with dubstep, a techno as a challenge to himself that he could create an original track for the highly-complex genre of music. It took him four days, working two hours a day, but he did it.

Kraske is always trying to further himself as an artist. He practices his freestyling by listening to hip-hop beats in his ‘96 Civic and rapping about the things he sees, such as nearby buildings or cars, weaving them together in spontaneous rhyme sequences as he delivers goods from place to place for his job.

He’s worked with other aspiring East rappers such as senior Ryan McNeil. McNeil claims he got into rap because he’s “zero percent artistic or musically talented,” and saw hip-hop as an opportunity to be involved in music without having to learn an instrument. Ryan describes Kraske as “Asher Roth meets Lil Wayne”.

Kraske recently bought $400 of new, legitimate equipment, including a professional–grade microphone, that he uses whenever he has free time, which isn’t very often now-a-days with school and homework.

Although it’s mainly for fun, Kraske’s knowledge of music has grown considerably.

“I’ve learned so much and it’s been really cool. And when I listen to a song now, I break it down in my head, like what vocal effects they’re using and what sort of rhyme

And someday I’ll be on the television you are watching Energizer bunny on the beats I am never stopping I like that one because the energizer bunny keeps going and going and never stops and that’s kind of how I approach rapping when I freestyle.

scheme they’re using,” Kraske said. “So even if I don’t continue this stuff throughout my life, I’ll still look at music differently now.”

Kraske is humble about his music. Although he stays optimistic and would love to “make it big”, he is also realistic, and knows what a competitive market hip-hop is. He gives new wannabe artists a message: “Don’t think you’re amazing and tell people you’re the man and you’re gonna make it. I’d encourage people to do it because it’s such a great way to express yourself but don’t go out there thinking ‘this is what I’m gonna do in life.’”

Lately he has been focusing on making his mix tape that he is thinking of calling “Brand New.” The mix tape will feature about 10 songs that Kraske has made on his new equipment. Kraske is hoping to have it released by October.

“It’s gonna have a lot of different tracks on there that will show me as an artist,” Kraske said. “Like slow tracks and fast tracks, funny raps and serious raps.”

Kraske understands that many people think poorly of hip-hop because of its bad reputation, but is trying to change that.

“The reason hip-hop has such a negative connotation is because of the culture that’s surrounding it. When people think of rap, they think of drugs and street credit and disrespecting women, but not all rappers are like that. I’m certainly not.”

He is very passionate about his hobby and the opportunity it gives him to express himself.

“The main thing I want people to know is that I’m in it for the love of music ,” Kraske said. “I just started this stuff and I’m learning as I go.”

He’s in it for the music

Junior writes and produces his own raps

FOR VIDEOS FEATURING KRASKE VISIT

WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET

14 | FEATURES

Harbinger THE

WHAT’S NEW?

1 2 3 ONLINE

GALLERIES

Each gallery is an opportunity for every photographer to have their work published, which makes them the best source of photo journalism that the Harbinger has to offer in one easy-to-access spot.

New galleries will appear on the site periodically with content ranging from sporting events to daily classroom activities; the scope of content is ever-expanding.

VIDEOS

For the latest in convergence with print stories, online exclusive features, Homegrown profiles and more, the video section provides a wide range of content.

Here, stories are tackled from a different perspective, offering a visual component to the audience. New, timely videos, are published three times a week. Check out the video on the ambitions of staff and students online now.

TEAM UPDATES

The signature addition to the sports section online is the Team Updates section. These updates, or beats, published once a week, update readers on the happenings of the different Lancer sports teams. Each team is assigned a writer who covers the team, going to practices, games, and scrimmages, and writing short updates each week. The object of the new beat program is to keep a closer tab on East sports and promote more extensive coverage of all Lancer teams.

SCAN THIS QR CODE WITH YOUR SMART PHONE TO SEE MORE AT SMEHARBINGER.NET ONLINE | 15

Jobs at East

A statistical look at students’ summer jobs

Did you have a job this summer?

yes

25%

75%

no

Molly Jennings l Vacation Bible School Teacher Senior Molly Jennings has got 99 problems, and they’re all under the age of 10.

However, she might not call them problems, as it seems like she can’t get enough when it comes to opportunities to take care of children.

Her primary job is working at the Village Presbyterian Church as part of their “Evening Childcare Staff.” During the school year, Jennings usually only works on Sunday morning, but in the summer she has a lot more time, and a lot more responsibility. She helps with “Kids’ Day Out” every Wednesday for 8 weeks, along with Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday during another week. To top it all off, she is regularly offered babysitting jobs and has about six families that she calls her “regulars.” Despite her genuine love of caring for children, she admits that sometimes the children can get out of hand.

One day this past summer in Vacation Bible School, Jennings noticed a girl with a

MyVERY BAD DAY

29% other 23% nanny

written by Tom Lynch | photos by Mckenzie Swanson

Eli Mitchell l busboy

14% restaurant worker 14% lawn mower

If he didn’t land a job soon, senior Eli Mitchell was going to be entering his senior year without a car. He had been searching employment since January of his junior year. He needed a job so that he could pay his grandfather $300 for an old 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck. Right after school let out in May, Eli’s mom Sharon found an ad on craigslist.org for Urban Table, a restaurant that was hiring and was owned by the same people as BRGR. Mitchell visited the restaurant that week, picked up an application and returned the next day. He was offered a job as a busboy on the spot and immediately accepted.

Training started Jul. 7. While training, Mitchell and his fellow busboys did manual labor unrelated to busing tables. Mitchell mainly slapped “Urban Table” stickers on every type of restaurant-ware, from drinking cups to salt shakers. Occasionally his

9% lifeguard 9% retail 2% caddy

24% no

What was your hourly wage?

7-8 dollars

$ 48%

9-10 dollars

$ 25%

$ 27%

10 + dollars

*based on a survey of 252 students

16 | SPREAD

Senior Abby Jones fears her return to the bakery like the three horsemen of the Apocalypse. At Dolce Bakery in the Village, there is one customer—who will not be named—that puts even “The Great Gatsby’s” Tom Buchanan to shame in terms of downright snobbery and rudeness.

Jones has only encountered the unpleasant woman once, but according to her colleagues, the woman is a spectre that comes into the quaint bakery to leave a bad taste in the employees’ mouths.

One afternoon over the summer, Jones was working the counter when the woman came in. Jones had not yet been warned of what characteristics to be looking for in order to prepare herself. Just about as soon as Jones noticed her, the lady was complaining of how expensive the cookies are (they’re $1.65).

Once she was finished with her outburst over the prices, Jones was finally able to ask her what she wanted. Maybe the lady had had a bad experience,

THAT

JOB exists?

because she was very wary of the potential for unsanitary practices.

“Well I want a chocolate chip cookie, but I don’t want you to use your bare hands to pick it up!” the woman said.

Jones politely informed the lady that the employees at Dolce are required to where gloves when handling food, and the woman hasn’t said anything to Jones since. After her own encounter, and whenever someone at the counter deals with a rude customer, they retreat back to the kitchen to laugh with those working with them.

Jones wants to emphasize that the rude customers are few and far between.

“I have heard stories of other rude customers, but she is the only one that comes to mind that I’ve personally dealt with,” Jones said. “The majority of the people who come into Dolce are actually really friendly and easy to make conversation with.”

terrible, horrible, no good

What was your job?

Did you enjoy 76% your job? yes

Abby Jones l Bakery worker

curious fascination with the fire alarm in the room. Jennings saw the six-year-old not only staring at it, but also touching it. In retrospect, Jennings should have guessed at what was going to happen next.

Jennings didn’t even think to warn the little girl about what might happen if she pulled the lever until 10 seconds after the alarm began to blast throughout the building. Jennings instead had to locate one of the custodians to inform him of the false alarm.

“I was so embarrassed, because he seemed agitated and annoyed, and I just felt so guilty and stupid,” Jennings said.

Back at the classroom, the other kids wanted someone to blame. Jennings told the class that whoever it was knew not to pull it again. Like all great care-givers, instead of punishing the girl, Jennings turned the accident into a teaching moment for the children on why you shouldn’t pull the alarm.

a look at three extremely weird jobs

manager would have him wrap forks and knives “to give him a break.” After four weeks, and numerous delays to the opening due to faulty air conditioning, Mitchell reported for a mock service. When he arrived, he clocked in. His manager, Chris, approached him.

“Eli, I’ve got bad news for you,” Chris said. “I’m sorry to tell you that we found out recently that we over-hired bussers. So, we’re gonna have to let you go.”

He never even got to bus a table. Mitchell was very frustrated.

“Apparently it took them a full month, to realize that they had over hired bussers,” Mitchell said. “Out of all people, they chose the teenager who needs a car, instead of, for instance, the college dropouts.”

Mitchell forgot to clock out that morning. When he received his paycheck, it was three times what it would’ve been.

Fill-in bridesmaid

We’ve all heard of them—the brides that demand everything must be perfect. Some call them perfectionists, others call them bridezillas. Recently, these brides are taking perfection to a whole new level with the idea of “fill-in bridesmaids.” Brides can go online and select bridesmaids according to their looks. This is an absurd idea for most brides because they want their friends, but others are willing to pay the price for a picture perfect wedding.

Students share their worst days at work

David Katz l lifeguard On most days, the job doesn’t get more difficult than preventing kids from running on the pool deck.

Saves occur only once every few weeks at Homestead Country Club, where Junior David Katz works as a lifeguard. As expected, whenever parents aren’t keeping an eye on their young children, the risk increases.

Katz’s first save happened over the summer on a quiet day when one of the mothers began chatting with another mom and left her 3-year-old son with his 7-month-old sister. Then the inevitable happened.

Young Michael pushed baby Anne head first into the pool. Even if she could have swam, it would have been no use as she was still strapped into her stroller.

Meanwhile Katz was preparing to dismount from the stand when he saw the splash in the corner of his eye.

Katz and his fellow lifeguard sprinted to the drop-site, jumped in the water and retrieved the infant.

“Anne immediately started crying, which was a good sign,” Katz said. “After that, Michael tried to push

Vomit collector

This strange title makes a janitor’s job seem glorious. Responsible for cleaning up people’s puke after roller coaster rides, a vomit collector is often employed at amusement parks to do this less desirable dirty work. Officially dubbed “chunder cleaners,” these men spend most of their days cleaning up people’s lunch. The applicants fall between die-hard roller coaster junkies and people with strong stomachs.

his 4 year old cousin in the same way.”

In the case of this first save, Katz felt incredibly frantic.

“I can’t remember exactly what I did,” Katz said.

“Most times, when something goes wrong, your instincts kick in and you don’t worry about the way you learned it, you just worry about getting there in time.”

Katz’s second save involved a 5-year-old boy and a bee hive. The boy was wandering outside the pool grounds when he stepped into what seemed like a hole. Then the swarm attacked. Again, the parents were not keeping watch, so Katz and his manager yelled to get their attention. The father figured that the solution was to start beating the bee-covered parts of his son’s body with a towel. Katz disagreed and decided to throw him in the pool.

Katz’s adrenaline wasn’t pumping like with baby Ann, but when it was over, he felt just as elated.

“There’s always relief after a save,” Katz said.

Paper towel sniffer This job is pretty self explanatory. These professional sniffers are hired in order to smell different paper towel companies’ products to make sure they contain no odor. If the towels do have a smell, they are sent back to be remanufactured. Although this job may sound unappealing, it is far better than armpit sniffers, who perform this same task for deodorant companies.

SPREAD | 17

Jobs at East

A statistical look at students’ summer jobs

Did you have a job this summer?

yes

25%

75%

no

Molly Jennings l Vacation Bible School Teacher Senior Molly Jennings has got 99 problems, and they’re all under the age of 10.

However, she might not call them problems, as it seems like she can’t get enough when it comes to opportunities to take care of children.

Her primary job is working at the Village Presbyterian Church as part of their “Evening Childcare Staff.” During the school year, Jennings usually only works on Sunday morning, but in the summer she has a lot more time, and a lot more responsibility. She helps with “Kids’ Day Out” every Wednesday for 8 weeks, along with Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday during another week. To top it all off, she is regularly offered babysitting jobs and has about six families that she calls her “regulars.” Despite her genuine love of caring for children, she admits that sometimes the children can get out of hand.

One day this past summer in Vacation Bible School, Jennings noticed a girl with a

MyVERY BAD DAY

29% other 23% nanny

written by Tom Lynch | photos by Mckenzie Swanson

Eli Mitchell l busboy

14% restaurant worker 14% lawn mower

If he didn’t land a job soon, senior Eli Mitchell was going to be entering his senior year without a car. He had been searching employment since January of his junior year. He needed a job so that he could pay his grandfather $300 for an old 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck. Right after school let out in May, Eli’s mom Sharon found an ad on craigslist.org for Urban Table, a restaurant that was hiring and was owned by the same people as BRGR. Mitchell visited the restaurant that week, picked up an application and returned the next day. He was offered a job as a busboy on the spot and immediately accepted.

Training started Jul. 7. While training, Mitchell and his fellow busboys did manual labor unrelated to busing tables. Mitchell mainly slapped “Urban Table” stickers on every type of restaurant-ware, from drinking cups to salt shakers. Occasionally his

9% lifeguard 9% retail 2% caddy

24% no

What was your hourly wage?

7-8 dollars

$ 48%

9-10 dollars

$ 25%

$ 27%

10 + dollars

*based on a survey of 252 students

16 | SPREAD

Senior Abby Jones fears her return to the bakery like the three horsemen of the Apocalypse. At Dolce Bakery in the Village, there is one customer—who will not be named—that puts even “The Great Gatsby’s” Tom Buchanan to shame in terms of downright snobbery and rudeness.

Jones has only encountered the unpleasant woman once, but according to her colleagues, the woman is a spectre that comes into the quaint bakery to leave a bad taste in the employees’ mouths.

One afternoon over the summer, Jones was working the counter when the woman came in. Jones had not yet been warned of what characteristics to be looking for in order to prepare herself. Just about as soon as Jones noticed her, the lady was complaining of how expensive the cookies are (they’re $1.65).

Once she was finished with her outburst over the prices, Jones was finally able to ask her what she wanted. Maybe the lady had had a bad experience,

THAT

JOB exists?

because she was very wary of the potential for unsanitary practices.

“Well I want a chocolate chip cookie, but I don’t want you to use your bare hands to pick it up!” the woman said.

Jones politely informed the lady that the employees at Dolce are required to where gloves when handling food, and the woman hasn’t said anything to Jones since. After her own encounter, and whenever someone at the counter deals with a rude customer, they retreat back to the kitchen to laugh with those working with them.

Jones wants to emphasize that the rude customers are few and far between.

“I have heard stories of other rude customers, but she is the only one that comes to mind that I’ve personally dealt with,” Jones said. “The majority of the people who come into Dolce are actually really friendly and easy to make conversation with.”

terrible, horrible, no good

What was your job?

Did you enjoy 76% your job? yes

Abby Jones l Bakery worker

curious fascination with the fire alarm in the room. Jennings saw the six-year-old not only staring at it, but also touching it. In retrospect, Jennings should have guessed at what was going to happen next.

Jennings didn’t even think to warn the little girl about what might happen if she pulled the lever until 10 seconds after the alarm began to blast throughout the building. Jennings instead had to locate one of the custodians to inform him of the false alarm.

“I was so embarrassed, because he seemed agitated and annoyed, and I just felt so guilty and stupid,” Jennings said.

Back at the classroom, the other kids wanted someone to blame. Jennings told the class that whoever it was knew not to pull it again. Like all great care-givers, instead of punishing the girl, Jennings turned the accident into a teaching moment for the children on why you shouldn’t pull the alarm.

a look at three extremely weird jobs

manager would have him wrap forks and knives “to give him a break.” After four weeks, and numerous delays to the opening due to faulty air conditioning, Mitchell reported for a mock service. When he arrived, he clocked in. His manager, Chris, approached him.

“Eli, I’ve got bad news for you,” Chris said. “I’m sorry to tell you that we found out recently that we over-hired bussers. So, we’re gonna have to let you go.”

He never even got to bus a table. Mitchell was very frustrated.

“Apparently it took them a full month, to realize that they had over hired bussers,” Mitchell said. “Out of all people, they chose the teenager who needs a car, instead of, for instance, the college dropouts.”

Mitchell forgot to clock out that morning. When he received his paycheck, it was three times what it would’ve been.

Fill-in bridesmaid

We’ve all heard of them—the brides that demand everything must be perfect. Some call them perfectionists, others call them bridezillas. Recently, these brides are taking perfection to a whole new level with the idea of “fill-in bridesmaids.” Brides can go online and select bridesmaids according to their looks. This is an absurd idea for most brides because they want their friends, but others are willing to pay the price for a picture perfect wedding.

Students share their worst days at work

David Katz l lifeguard On most days, the job doesn’t get more difficult than preventing kids from running on the pool deck.

Saves occur only once every few weeks at Homestead Country Club, where Junior David Katz works as a lifeguard. As expected, whenever parents aren’t keeping an eye on their young children, the risk increases.

Katz’s first save happened over the summer on a quiet day when one of the mothers began chatting with another mom and left her 3-year-old son with his 7-month-old sister. Then the inevitable happened.

Young Michael pushed baby Anne head first into the pool. Even if she could have swam, it would have been no use as she was still strapped into her stroller.

Meanwhile Katz was preparing to dismount from the stand when he saw the splash in the corner of his eye.

Katz and his fellow lifeguard sprinted to the drop-site, jumped in the water and retrieved the infant.

“Anne immediately started crying, which was a good sign,” Katz said. “After that, Michael tried to push

Vomit collector

This strange title makes a janitor’s job seem glorious. Responsible for cleaning up people’s puke after roller coaster rides, a vomit collector is often employed at amusement parks to do this less desirable dirty work. Officially dubbed “chunder cleaners,” these men spend most of their days cleaning up people’s lunch. The applicants fall between die-hard roller coaster junkies and people with strong stomachs.

his 4 year old cousin in the same way.”

In the case of this first save, Katz felt incredibly frantic.

“I can’t remember exactly what I did,” Katz said.

“Most times, when something goes wrong, your instincts kick in and you don’t worry about the way you learned it, you just worry about getting there in time.”

Katz’s second save involved a 5-year-old boy and a bee hive. The boy was wandering outside the pool grounds when he stepped into what seemed like a hole. Then the swarm attacked. Again, the parents were not keeping watch, so Katz and his manager yelled to get their attention. The father figured that the solution was to start beating the bee-covered parts of his son’s body with a towel. Katz disagreed and decided to throw him in the pool.

Katz’s adrenaline wasn’t pumping like with baby Ann, but when it was over, he felt just as elated.

“There’s always relief after a save,” Katz said.

Paper towel sniffer This job is pretty self explanatory. These professional sniffers are hired in order to smell different paper towel companies’ products to make sure they contain no odor. If the towels do have a smell, they are sent back to be remanufactured. Although this job may sound unappealing, it is far better than armpit sniffers, who perform this same task for deodorant companies.

SPREAD | 17

PARIS

from

to

PRAIRIE VILLAGE

Transfer student Maaike Slosse adjusts to American culture after living in Belgium and France for the majority of her life. written by Paige Hess | photos by Hiba Akhtar Maaike sits next to a picture her family purchased in France.

Waking up to Flemish—Belgian’s native language— speech and American tradition of bacon and eggs were the normal mix of cultures for junior Maaike Slosse. Childhood for Slosse was not the same as every other child, being born to an American mother and a Belgian father.

Slosse believes that it was nice to have the cultural balance. Her mother would make American food while her father would make traditional Belgian food. She would speak English with her mother and then Flemish occasionally with her father.

“Interacting with others that do not speak your native language is something that really changes you as a person,” Maaike said. “Because you begin to be able to adapt to speaking in one language [while] thinking in another is very difficult at times.”

Slosse’s father Bruno Slosse works for Cerner, an international health care information technology corporation at their headquarters in Kansas City. For the past 12 years, his job had him working out of Europe, but he recently accepted his job at their headquarters. He and his family decided that it would be easier on them and on Bruno if they all moved rather than having him trying to fly out every week to some place so far away from home.

“I had been in Paris for three years and was on sports teams there and academic clubs,” Maaike said. “I had found my place at that school. Leaving a place that was exactly what I wanted and having to start from scratch has just been really hard.”

Not seeing her friends and having no way of public transportation are two of several large transitions for Maaike and her family. Moving from one continent to another has been extremely difficult for Maaike with the change in language, culture and way people reside there. She was very used to French and international traits, such as language, that are so different than here in the United States,

USA VS. BELGIUM AND FRANCE 18 | FEATURES

but is embracing the experience.

“One huge culture shock that me and my family have been affected by is speaking English all the time,” Maaike says. “We would speak it in our household and with friends but just when you are on the road, or speaking to anyone you don’t know or ordering pizza or buying a car, you have to do all of those transactions in English where as we are so used to doing it in a different language. Now doing it in our native language makes it more of a fun thing to do.”

According to Maaike, France is the best place to be in your adolescent years. The typical weekend day for her and her friends would be to take a train and metros to meet each other. This was followed by shopping on the main street or having ice cream at Haagen-Dasz. They would stroll down the Champs-Elysees- one of the greatest streets in all of Paris according to Maaike-- for its array of french restaurants and very expensive shops.

Maaike feels fortunate to be able to say that trips to sites such as the Eiffel Tower and known-renowned museums were part of her everyday life. She believes there is a difference between viewing the sights as a tourist and embracing them on a daily basis.

“One of my favorites memories that I would have repeatedly had living in Paris is that going out with my friends and just the normal hang out to Trocadero,” Maaike said. “I would just have lunch there in the area right in front of the Eiffel Tower and was just so casual for us to go there as an after school experience or every weekend we would go there.”

Maaike attended the International School of Brussels in Belgium and the American School of Paris when living in Paris. She spent nine years in Belgium and the past three in Paris. In the school in Paris, 30 percent of their students were Americans. Like American schools, the International

on food:

“In Europe they’re more traditional; Belgium is known for their stews, & in France there’s a lot of weird things like frog legs and snails. Here, they have a ton of things to offer, like doing their own spins on Italian food, & Japanese places with crazy rolls. ”

schools teach in English, with the option of either Spanish or French as a second language. The difference is that these schools have a wide range of nationalities and their native languages.

“One of my favorite things about the school I went to in Belgium was that they had something called the International Festival that was held in these two gyms that we had,” Slosse said. “Each nationality was represented in a stall and people would hang up their flags and decorate there stall with things from their country and artifacts. It was a big gathering of the entire school to celebrate the unique nationalities.”

When she and her family were deciding which school to enroll her at, being able to go back to Europe was a large factor.

“My family and I chose East because it offered IB so this diploma gives me the chance to go and have a higher education back in Europe where as if I didn’t have the diploma, you can’t really be accepted to any colleges there” Maaike said.

Maaike believes that attending International schools and being around all cultures made her very tolerant to other peoples’ beliefs, custom and languages. It encourages people to not criticize the choices that some countries make that might be different than their own.

“One of my best friends was Pakistani, another one from South Africa and another was a third Norwegian, a third Chinese and a third American,” Maaike says. “There were people from all over the world attending this school.

It was beneficial to me as a person to know people from all these different places because you would hear a lot of different stories and facts about these countries.”

on clothes:

on people:

“Here, I see a lot of girls wearing shorts and T-shirts to school, but where I used to go, fashion was such a huge thing probably because there were a lot of shops. The shops in Europe are different because different parts of the world have different ideas about what you should wear. ”

“The main difference here is that everybody is really nice, whereas in France, a lot of the people were used to tourists, and were just so snooty. But in Belgium, they were also really nice, because it’s not such a touristic place. ”

MIXED

A PAGE ABOUT LIFE

5 MONDAY

written by Greta Nepstad | photos by Emma Robson

WAYS TO BEAT A

HELPFUL HINTS Myth vs. Fact: recommended amount of sleep

will of sleep p. s t h ig n e Two good or no sle Myth: e nights of little fiv even out at least s d e e n n tee t in average e h T ach nigh as : e t p e le Fac s f e roductiv 5 hours o 8.5 to 9. as healthy and p be . order to next day e h t le ib poss

CAKE POP Move over cupcakes, the cake pops are here! The idea of a cake ball stuck on a stick has risen to such levels, that even Starbucks is selling them. For $1.50, one can get either a tiramisu, a birthday cake or a rocky road cake pop.

Caffeine Drinking your favorite caffienated drink will boost your energy level.

1

2

Twitter You know you love laughing out loud when you read a hilarious tweet while walking down the hall.

Crushes Sitting next to that cute crush of yours will make any class go faster.

3

4

Crosswords These little guys will save you from a boring afternoon.

Friends Dominating the tables at lunch is what they’re there for in the end.

5 MIXED | 19

A&E SHOWDOWN

The best of what’s happening this fall in entertainment written by Holly Hernandez | photos from allmoviephotos.com & stock phtoos.com

BON IVER

UPTOWN THEATER l 7:00 PM Let the artsy side of you come out. Instead of just chilling with your laid back buddies, get the group together and head to the Bon Iver concert this fall. If you just want a night to hang out and listen to good music, Sept.

9th at the Uptown Theater is the night to do it. Get back into that relaxing fall atmosphere by closing your eyes and letting Skinny Love weave through your ears as you enjoy the sound that is Bon Iver.

SEPTEMBER

16

FOO FIGHTERS

SPRINT CENTER l 7:00 PM SEP. 9

50/50

Select Theaters l 12:00 AM Starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen, “50/50” centers around a 27-year-old guy named Adam (Levitt) who finds out he has cancer and must battle through it finding humor in the most unlikely places. Adam’s best friend Kyle (Rogen) accompanies him throughout this sad yet funny journey. This film will have you laughing and crying all at the same time. Head out with a couple of your friends and see it on Sept. 30.

SEP. 30

OCT. 25

SEPTEMBER

27

THE WHOLE LOVE

WILCO

20 |A&E

TAROT CLASSICS

Surfer Blood l Seventh Studio Surfer Blood released their first album “Astro Coast” after recording the entire thing in their apartment. Their newest album, will be featuring a more electric sound. If you liked the gritty tunes of “Astro Coast,” then you’ll love their second album, “Tarot Classics” which comes out on Oct. 24. Get your copy fast so you can learn the words to the new songs before catching them on their upcoming tour this fall.

OCTOBER

12

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

UPTOWN THEATER l 7:00 PM

WELCOME TO GOOGLE +

Staffer tells about the world of Google Plus, how it stacks up against the competition and what exactly those circles mean

GOOGLE PLUS VS. FACEBOOK Comparing the features Video Chat. Google Plus has group hangout, Facebook does not.

Advantage: Google Plus.

Games. Facebook has the well-known games we’ve all come to love.

Google Plus falls short.

Advantage: Facebook.

Profile. Undoubtedly similar, but Facebook has the classic look we’ve been familiarized with by now.

Advantage: Facebook.

Home Page. Google Plus’ sleek look gives its home page the upper hand.

Advantage: Google Plus.

written by Mitch Kaskie | art by Matti Crabtree When I first heard of Google’s new social network to the next feature, ‘Huddle’, for when you actually project, the first thing that clicked in my head was it want to hang out, in person. The idea behind Huddle has to be better than Facebook. is being a group chat for your phone. If you have an Facebook is a great tool, but not as fun as it once iPhone or Android, this can actually be a very helpful was. For me, a notable day on Facebook includes feature. I have an android, and I found it is quicker clogging up group chats with needless amounts of and easier than even texting. You can start a Huddle asteriks and wishing people I have little or no connec- can be between a couple friends, or a whole Circle. It’s tion to a “happy birthday.” Not to mention countless extremely simple to get a message across to a group. hours Facebook stalking anyone- usually complete Facebook does have group chat, but when you go mostrangers- that somehow find their way into my News bile it’s just a regular message or email string, which Feed. I was craving something with a little more to it, can be a hassle. It might not win over Facebook users something modern and different. Clearly, with Face- immediately, but it’s a feature that can come in handy. book I was just, bored.

Google tries to provide another simple, user friendFacebook is a very large network. I wanted to ly feature with instant upload. The idea is that with know, what would actually make people want to com- the app, any picture or video you take, it will be inpletely switch to a totally new, and fairly empty one. stantly uploaded to a private album on your Google+ What would make someone have both? So with that, account. It’s simple, but I never had any problem with I did some research and found people were thinking merely selecting a few photos from my phone to upthe same thing. People claimed Google+ was the big- load to Facebook. My photography is a little shaky, gest push to challenge social network giant Facebook. so I don’t want a hundred blurred photos I end up I took the virtual tour, and it was hard not to compare. deleting clogging up my account. Instant Upload just As soon as possible, meaning I did it all my phone, seems like an attempt to be original and simplistic. I I created my 18 year old Google Mail account (I’m would recommend disabling it on the first use. only 17). I had my friend send me an invite, and from The ‘Sparks’ feature on Google gives you a taste there discovered the world of Google+. After playing of Twitter. Sparks gives you the ability to search an around with it all night, I found five major features to interest, and articles featuring that interest will start distinguish Google+ from Facebook. flowing your way. It’s a helpful and easy way of getting Google+ is completely strung together by the idea information, similar to following on Twitter. I like the of “Circles.” Circles give you an attractive way of or- idea, although I can’t honestly say I would use it that ganizing friends and deciding who you are comfort- much. There’s no real relationship between ‘Sparks’ able sharing certain information with. I know I’m not and Facebook. Google+ gets another plus here for besties with all of my Facebook friends, and Circles originality. are how Google+ is addressing that weakness in The rest of the Google+ structure is pretty similar to Zuckerberg’s armor.. The idea is that in life, you have Facebook. You can attach videos, photos, and links to distinctive ‘Circles’ of friends. Whether that might be any post. A post can be commented on, and the post friends, teammates, or best buds, it’s up to. Whenever and the comment can both be +1-ed, or liked, by your you post something, you can choose which of your friends. Photos can be put into albums and tagged by circles can view it in the stream. friends, all reminding me a little of Facebook.

The most innovative idea on Google+ is the “HangGoogle+ is a good contender to Facebook. It has outs.” Hangouts are group video calls, where you... some really well put together and out there features, hang out. The feature is unique and sounds attractive, but the fact is the Facebook is a part of our daily lives. putting Google+ ahead of the game. Facebook recent- It is the Google search engine for people. 750 million ly added video calls to their chat system, but does not people. It may take a completely different angle on sohave a group video call system. Hangouts moves us cial networking to take the reign.

A&E | 21

Bring your own mug and get 50% off your coffee order!

RECYCLE

your Harbinger architecture / planning / interior design www.hmnarchitects.com / blog.hmnarchitects.

ABOVE THE LAW Irish cop comedy infuses wicked laughs with eccentric characters written by Alex Lamb |

W

HEN IT COMES TO MEMORABLE COMEDIC COMBINATheir investigation progresses with difficulty, as the TIONS, FEW PROVE SO POTENTLY SUCCESSFUL AS DARK drug smugglers bribe all the other officers until eventually coming to a showdown with Boyle and Everett. Composed COMEDY AND IRISH ACCENTS.

Politically incorrect Irish wisecrackings garner quite the comical response, and in the black comedy “The Guard,” Brendan Gleeson zestfully delivers those in spades.

Best known as Mad-Eye Moody in the “Harry Potter” films, Dublin native Gleeson plays Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a laid-back, unruly policeman in a small Irish town. It’s clear from the opening scene, where Boyle consumes a hit of acid he finds on a dead passenger at the scene of a car crash, that he’s no ordinary upholder of the law. He’s hilariously offensive too, evidenced later that day with a bevy of ignorant racist comments during a police briefing; he slyly explains himself by saying that racism is a part of Irish culture.

Leading the briefing is straight-laced American FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle), who’s looking for a group of drug smugglers waiting for a shipment in the town. When Boyle is the only one with any clues on the case, they are forced to team up, creating an odd couple whose incendiary verbal sparring matches are the delightfully witty highlight of the film. From Everett sarcastically disproving Boyle’s inherently racist beliefs to incredulously listening to Boyle openly describe his drug use, how he spends his days off with Dublin hookers and even about his trip to Disney World by himself, the culture clash is uproariously entertaining to watch.

STAY HOME

THE MANY FACES OF Brendan Gleeson

of Liam Cunningham as the shrewd leader of the operation, Mark Strong as the cynical, agitated hired hand and David Wilmot as the sociopathic wild card, their conversations prove quite amusing as well. Arguing over topics like why it seems as if all the great philosophers are English, they’re far more intellectually stimulating than the average bad guys, and Strong in particular is a real hoot in a satiric portrayal of his usual villainous persona.

It’s no coincidence that “The Guard” bares a strong familial resemblance to the brilliant 2008 black comedy “In Bruges,” which starred Gleeson in a similar role and showcased a comprable off-beat sense of humor. Writer/director John Michael McDonagh seems to have taken some cues from his brother Martin, who made that film, and it shows in the clever, sharp dialogue, the endearing characters and the sublime transitions from the hysterical to the meaningful.

McDonagh maintains his own style too, craftily working in a couple of unique pop culture references here and there to great effect and getting the most out of the Irish setting with the stunning landscapes and quaint locals. His coolest touch is employing an exciting, guitar-heavy score that feels straight out of a spaghetti western, which adds to the persona of a cowboy that Boyle slowly resembles more

RENT IT

“Mad-Eye” Moody “Harry Potter”

Screaming fangirls (and boys)

BUY the TICKET Ken (the hitman) “In Bruges”

and more as he takes on the responsibility of the mission at hand.

Gleeson portrays Boyle with such a grinning exuberance and blissful ignorance that he’s immediately lovable, delivering one of his most enjoyable performances yet. His more tender and vulnerable side comes out while visiting his ailing mother (Fionnula Flanagan) and as he solemnly realizes he must face the dangerous drug smugglers head-on. It’s the emotion Gleeson brings to those scenes that make them and the entire transition of the third act into more dramatic territory work (a tonal change that’s a staple of most great dark comedies), instilling a touching underpinning to the boisterous humor.

Cheadle slides into his role just as smoothly. He usually sticks to more serious acting, but here he lets loose a little and his chemistry with Gleeson sparks with dry, sardonic wit. It’s fun seeing him play outside his usual zone, even if he is still playing the straight man. His scenes with Gleeson are so satisfying you’ll wish there were more.

“The Guard” isn’t the funniest movie so far this year, but it’s definitely up there, far and above anything out of Hollywood. Dark comedies of this pedigree only come along once in a blue moon, and the fact that it’s out of Ireland only makes it a rarer achievement. Gleefully foul-mouthed but with a heart, acutely (and very darkly) comic, a little strange and a lot original, this is one encounter with the cops you won’t regret.

OSCAR WORTHY

‘Monk’ McGinn “Gangs of New York”

Sheriff Hank “Lake Placid”

When did that come out?

A&E | 23

An Eastern View of Western Parenting Controversial new book by Chinese parent Amy Chua criticizes “easy” parenting

It turns out that the Internet joke and stereotype “High Expectations Asian Father”— the one who jokingly frowns upon violin pieces in B minor instead of A major— might have some basis in truth. This stereotype has been echoed in everything from movies to the rise of Asians as a “model minority”— one that succeeds more than the average citizen because of parents’ high expectations.

Amy Chua’s controversial new book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” tells a slightly different story: it’s the moms, not just the dads, who have high expectations for their children. In her memoir depicting the dramatically different style of Eastern parenting, Chua has tapped into one of the fears of American parents, the fear that they are not adequately preparing their child for the world after college. She asks for neither criticism nor approval from the American public, yet has received both. “Tiger Mom” has become a national phenomenon, yielding a Time Magazine cover and an appearance on the Today show.

Whether it was from shock value or the underlying competitiveness in today’s world, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has generated buzz across the country. It seems to be one of those books that rises to the top of the American consciousness because of its controversial nature.

For most families in communities like Prairie Village, the image of Chua refusing to accept a birthday card made by her younger daughter, saying “I deserve better,” is a powerful contrast with the American mentality of “be proud of your child, no matter what.” Chua’s book includes many of these memories akin to a car crash— in some way horrifying (at least to American society), yet impossible to look away from.

“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has raised attention to the concern of the growing dichotomy between Eastern and Western worlds, and the decline of American dominance. While not a must-read for high school students, Chua’s memoir offers insight to the stereotyped world of Asian parenting.

24 | A&E

LIONS AND TIGERS AND HELICOPTERS, OH MY! Breaking down the types of parents at East written by Toni Aguiar | photos by Spencer Davis

TIGER MOTHER

Characteristics:

Tiger moms (and dads, for that matter) are often, but not always, Asian.

While plenty of Western parents are domineering, tiger mothers go far beyond the average parent that lives vicariously through their child’s successes.

Being a tiger parent has come to mean pushing your children to the limit of their capabilities. It means expecting the best from your child. It means being able to call your daughter garbage and know that she’s strong enough to take it with her self-esteem intact. It means that the hard part isn’t practicing any instrument every day, it’s practicing for two hours.

Fun, for them, means being the best.

CHILD “I think that being Asian might have to do with them being so pushy, if I listen to stereotypes.

They’re always nagging me to practice violin and do homework and not laze around.”

PARENT “It’s more important to make sure your child is successful.

Don’t get me wrong, being supportive is good too, but you can’t be too supportive. I want [Jeemin] to be independent and successful.”

Junior Jeemin Kim & her father, TJ

HELICOPTER

Characteristics:

Helicopter parents get a bad rap.

Sure, there are the type that call teachers, coaches and college admissions administrators to ensure that their kid gets what they need. They can be smothering, at times.

But for every negative helicopter parent, there’s a parent that genuinely tries to be the best. These are the parents that institute a parenting plan of action according to what benefits their child— whether it is to let them figure out what they like or emphasize some other value. Helicopter parents ultimately care for their children through a system; it’s up to them how much freedom that system allows.

CHILD “[Their attitude] makes me work harder because I can do things for myself, but they push me to be interested in what I want. As long as I try my best and are safe, they’re ok.”

PARENT “We tried to expose them to different types of fields.Being nurturing towards our children, them being safe and having our protection at all times is key. We believe in a systematic approach.”

Sophomore Utsa Ramaswami & her mother, Beena

CHILL AS HECK

Characteristics:

So-called “chill parents” are either viewed as enablers of inappropriate activities or advocates of freedom and self-discovery, depending on the situation. Much of the decision to adopt this relaxed attitude depends on the personality of the child in question. Since hands-off parents rely more on their child’s ability to make decisions for themselves, the nature of the kid matters more so than with other parenting types.

In some cases, chill parenting styles can backfire, leaving the parent with a kid who neither realizes nor cares about the consequences of their actions. In others, it creates independent, strong individuals.

CHILD “I’ve gained wisdom from making my own decisions because I won’t always have my mom with me.

Sometimes I wish she was a little more involved in sports.

But she keeps a good distance.”

PARENT “My parents were very strict, so I wanted to trust my kids and do things differently. Some kids, if restricted, will do something simply because it’s bad. We have trust; they’re open with me.”

Sophomore Victoria Sabates & her mother, Lynda

IN THE MIDDLE

Characteristics:

Though parents with somewhat unorthodox methods tend to get more attention in the media, the vast majority of parents lay somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

If your parents set rules but give you a rationale for them, if they seem to follow their gut parenting, or if they seem more traditional than other parents, then you probably have a middle-of-the-road parent on your hands.

These parents can take their parenting tips from Parenting magazine or from the Bible. It just depends on the attitude with which they approach problems and rules-- typically with a mutual sense of respect.

CHILD “My parents are reasonable with most of their rules.

They’re open to me talking to them if I disagree, and they’ll explain how they decided. They want us to know their values.”

PARENT “Parenting is a long walk and your kids need different things from you at different times.

We have high expectations of them— less about grades and more about character.”

Senior Nathan Are & his father, Tom

TH E

Art EXHIBITION of

photo courtesy of velhetica.com

Modern art has warped the familiar into the unfamiliar. Leo Villareal is a “sculptor” working in the 21st century and thus is using modern tools: LED, Plexiglas, stainless steel and programmed computer software. Unlike the neon lights of Las Vegas, the sometimes neurotically flashing colors have inspirations other than aesthetics: math and nature.

Villareal creates original computer software which run mathematical formulas based off of patterns found in nature. His codes are simple, yet the effect of Villareal’s show in a gallery space is unlike any other.

The cavernous white walls are illuminated by the art itself, changing color as LED tubes glow green, blue and white; the typical hum of airconditioning is punctuated with the restless squeaking of strobe lights.

Not simply a flashing lights show, this exhibit is the technological result of a mathematical view of nature. As Villareal himself said: “The essence of the piece is the code; colored light is the manifestation.”

Don’t Miss

NELSON

Heavens: Photographs of the Sky & Cosmos

photo courtesy of infozine.com

written by Emily Donovan

Landscapes East/Landscapes West

NELSON

NERMAN

Leo Villareal

Staffer explores best new art exhibits in city

photo courtesy of nelson-atkins.org

Like standing suspects in a police line-up, the easiest way to compare two things is to put them side-by-side. “Landscapes East/Landscapes West” highlights the contrasts and parallels of art from all ages and medias.

Walking through this small exhibit is like getting a crash-course in recognizing cultural style. Chinese painters would attempt to emulate earlier masters; Japanese work tends to be highly romanticized; Westerners would learn from painting “en plein air.” Eastern and Western styles are so different at their cores that paintings of the exact same subject are strikingly unique. The similar subject matter of certain displays emphasizes the contrast in techniques.

Across hemispheres and through centuries, “Landscapes” demonstrates compelling correlations and divergences. The work in this exhibit represents a national pride and a reverence for the beauty of the natural world.

Photography is about more than pointing a camera at the sky, clicking the shutter and exporting to Facebook. “Heavens: Photographs of the Sky & Cosmos” is an extensive collection of photographic techniques and styles that brings a new depth to photographic documentation and expression, presenting a “universality of meaning” that reads much further than any Facebook post about the colors of the sunset.

Worth noting in this exhibition are the photographic hard-hitters.

Next to trimmed panoramas of the surface of the moon and other galactic textures from the final frontier captured by NASA lies one of Ansel Adams’ most acclaimed prints: “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.”

Prints of Adams’ original work— renowned for their depth and clarity— are famously expensive, but this particular photograph takes the cake; an original print of “Moonrise” sold for $609,600 in 2006.

Multiple artists combine symbols to force a new perspective on the viewer. Flip Schulke combines the silhouette of a woman with the trail of a space shuttle in “Mrs. Gordon Cooper watches her husband pass overhead in Gemini capsule” in order to examine the largely ignored human aspect of the great space race of the sixties. Likewise, Lewis DeSoto uses loaded imagery in “Observatory,” projecting a distant star constellation onto a house in the night to combine the safety of a home and the vastness of the universe, questioning man’s place in the cosmos.

This collection of celestial photographs offers a broad array of perspectives on the sky and stars. From technical experiments brought to extinction by the dawn of Photoshop, to aesthetics of clouds, stars, satellites, and more, “Heavens” offers a poetic and mysterious depth that might bring a new appreciation for the night sky.

A&E | 25

LEFTin

MOVIES

NO ONE

DARK

the

SHOULD WATCH IN THE

DARK

Don’t be Afraid of the Dark fails to live up to expectation If you are under the impression that fairies are cute, sparkly, mythical creatures that live under mushrooms, you are dead wrong. Such is the case for 10-year-old Sally Hirst (Bailee Madison), who discovers that something severely more sinister lurks within her new home at Blackwood manor.

Loosely based on the 1973 made-for-TV movie of the same name, producer Guillermo del Toro’s “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” surrounds the misfortune that befalls Sally, her divorced father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) when Sally releases a centuryold evil upon herself from the depths of her bolted-up furnace.

First of all, just as a basic rule, if you cannot see where a voice is coming from, you do not listen to it. Secondly, if these voices say such blatantly disturbing things as “Your parents don’t want you, but we do,” and “We’re so hungry,” you do not follow any other instructions they give you—especially if it involves unlocking a heavily bolted furnace grate that’s clearly been closed off for a reason. Of course, what’s a horror movie without a few bad judgment calls?

This film stays true to past del Toro films: the

STAY HOME

KIM l KATIE HOLMES SALLY l BAILEE MADISON ALEX l GUY PIERCE

26 | A&E

plot is haunting but sentimental, and the creatures are as unsettlingly macabre as the setting for the film (think “Pan’s Labyrinth” minus the Nazis). However, “Don’t Be Afraid” contrasts with del Toro’s past productions solely due to the fact that it is just as ludicrous as it is horrific.

This fact was further evidenced by the audience, who laughed more than they shuddered, and was best summed up by the large black lady sitting next to me during the credits: “How in the hell did Katie Holmes get dragged off by one pound gnomes?”

I laughed at that—I mean, who would honestly be scared of little critters who only want to eat children’s teeth? Hollywood must be out of ideas, because that bordered more on bizarre than terrifying. The other comment that really lampooned the movie was from my sister, who

in

described the evil faeries as “house elves,” and when one died she whispered ominously to me, “That one was Dobby.”

Still, I will give credit where credit is due. Del Toro’s stunning set design in “Don’t Be Afraid” is one of the clear highlights of the film. The baroque-style furniture and ornate carvings that are found throughout Blackwood manor not only enhance the antique aura of the house, but also characterize how ancient the evil within the house is. Since art becomes a central theme in the story, the beautifully twisted carvings only add to the disturbing nature of the film.

The plot buildup appeared to be promising, but, in my opinion, failed to deliver at the end. If you’re looking for a good B-list thrill, this one’s the ticket. There’s a reason the original was a television movie.

BUY the TICKET

RENT IT

MOVIE CHARACTERS

written by Erin Reilly | photos courtesy allmoviephotos.com

OSCAR WORTHY

Blaire Witch Project This mockumentary style film leads viewers through suspense filled situations up into the chilling end.

The uncertain conclusion is nightmare inducing.

The Descent This movie will make you never want to go hiking again. The movie follows two hikers as they become trapped and hunted by uknown predators

BRIEF

BEGINNING Upon moving into Blackwood Manor with her father and his girlfriend, Sally Hirst begins to hear her name being whispered to her throughout the house. At first, naive curiosity fuels her desire to comply with the demands of the mysterious voices, until the demands become increasingly sinister.

VS. TV VERSION Critics said this film failed to deliver the scares as well as the original. However, it was plenty frightening with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 58%

VS. PREVIOUS FILMS True to del Toro’s past style, the creepily baroque atmosphere and ornate furnishings reflects the ancient evil lurking within the depths of the house. With beautifully twisted paintings (esp. the mural, pictured below) of the manor’s mythical beasts stowed within the concealed basement, you get an unpleasant vibe as soon as the camera enters the house.

The Exorcist The image of the possesed Regan McNeil projectile vomiting green slime will forever be an infamous, haunting sight.

URBAN TABLE in Corinth Square is a fresh of breath air, offering not only a bistro, but a bakery, bar, coffee shop and mini-mart all in one.

UPSCALE & upside-down Eccentric restaurant Urban Table’s arrival in Corinth Square is well-met

written by Andrew McKittrick | photos by Kat Buchanan Walking in the door of Urban Table in Corinth Square, I instantly notice the well-used kitchen table hanging upside down above the dessert display. The owners say it was a last-minute addition, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. The worn off paint and scratched up surface match the atmosphere of Urban Table, as if the table came out of my own kitchen. The natural light coming in from the open garage door accents the earth tones of the dining area. No barriers exist within the seating area, so I can see everything from the kitchen, to the bar, to the couches along the wall.

Urban Table is a great place to go when you have 30 minutes for lunch but don’t want fast food. This works well with the fact that the dinner menu boasts higher prices and a more non-traditional selection. A half sandwich and bowl of soup at lunch is $8 while many of the meals during the dinner hour are closer to $15.

After I decided on a Good Day Deal consisting of a BLT with avocado and a side of tomato soup, I walked up to the counter and ordered. Many of the dishes on the lunch menu are new spins on classic favorites. From a BLT with avocado to a Roasted Chicken Panini, the lunch menu offers a variety of hot sandwiches. If hot paninis are not your thing, there is also a large assortment of salads and soups, such as a Grilled Chicken salad or the Shrimp Nicoise salad.

BRIEFING THE LUNCH started off with a BLTA—Urban Table’s signature rendition of the classic BLT, featuring a fresh slice of avadcado to add flare to the original.

I was then given a number and allowed to choose a seat anywhere in the restaurant, from the full wall of padded booths to the strip of patio lining the café. The service was excellent and the food arrived in about seven minutes. The way of ordering helped add to the feel of the restaurant—it was a refreshing combination of fast ordering but with a more personal touch.

The BLTA from Urban Table is in no way average. If only I could make these on lazy Sunday afternoons during Chiefs games. The warmth of the bread and bacon made it feel as though it had just come out of the oven, while the coolness of the avocado and tomato felt as though they had just come out of the refrigerator. The combination provided a particularly nice crunch. Instead of storebought, tasteless tomatoes, my BLTA was filled with ripe, juicy ones. The bacon wasn’t the same as what comes out of my microwave at home; this bacon felt as though it was a perfect piece coming from a prize pig. The BLTA overall tasted extremely fresh—as if all the ingredients had been picked up that morning from a local market.

I’ve never before enjoyed tomato soup; however, I decided to see if this restaurant’s take could change my mind.

The soup arrived and was a sizzling hot broth mixture of tomato and various other herbs and spices. My taste buds were changed for the better by the soup with due credit to

the mellow tomato flavor and the mixture of spices.

The whole time I was eating, I noticed the counter top filled with desserts. I kept telling myself that there was no reason to buy one, but finally, I gave in.

Whoopee Pies from Hen House give these a bad name, but Urban Table changes that. With two cookies sandwiching a mousse-type icing, the dessert can only be described as ambrosial. The cookies were soft and chewy, the mousse divine, the creamy texture of the mousse blending perfectly with the cookie dough. All of this combined to make a mouth watering, heavenly, and savory dessert. When the pie was gone, I found myself wishing that I had another.

The presentation of both my meal and my dessert was superb and fit right in with the rest of the decor. My BLTA and tomato soup arrived in a basket that matched the number holders and rustic lighting fixtures perfectly. With a wax paper lining, it feels extremely plain and simple.

The quick service and home like cooking of Urban Table are a nice accent to the local bar feel and gourmet food of fellow Corinth Square restaurant, BRGR. Bread & Butter concepts have made another great local restaurant that offers a different menu from BRGR, but keeps the same neighborhood atmosphere alive.

ANDREW’S URBAN TABLE PICKS AT A GLANCE THE TOMATO SOUP, the listed Soup of the Day, tasted homemade but was not overwhelming in flavor; it proved a worthy addition to the sandwich.

FOR DESSERT, Andrew tried a Chocolate/Vanilla Whoopie, consisting of two cookies with chocolate mousse in between. The treat can only be described as “awesome.”

A&E | 27

FRIENDSHIP DRIVES GOLFERS TO NEXT LEVEL TWO SENIOR GOLFERS PLAN TO PLAY AT K-STATE written by Leah Pack| photos Alic Erpelding Seniors Conner Schrock and Henry Simpson are on the driving range. Seeing a flag in the distance, they make a bet: whoever can hit the flag the most times wins a good deal of money. The star golfers hit ball after ball at the flag. Schrock quickly gains hits on Simpson, winning in the end. Schrock gives his friend a break and lets Simpson off without paying. It’s a testament to their friendship they’ve developed over three years of golf at East.

Schrock and Simpson both recently signed on to play golf at Kansas State. Not only will they be facing much more intense competition in college, but they will be facing the competition side by side as best friends.

Looking back on the past year, Schrock has won regionals and the invitational at SME. Henry has won some smaller tournaments around the area and is working towards getting over the hump to pull off a big win.

“We really had no idea that we would end up going to college together,” said Simpson, “it’s just really cool that it worked out that way.”

Both golfers feel that attending K-State will be nothing but a beneficial experience. In addition to the constant competition and the pressure they will be able to put on one another to continue to grow as golfers, they will be coached

by Tim Norris, who holds records for the lowest round in a competitive environment and has played in a professional tour.

“We’ve always been really competitive,” said Schrock. “But we’re best friends, so it’s never gotten in the way of our friendship.”

Schrock and Simpson first met in middle school while playing on the same basketball team. Their friendship really took off after spending hours together on the course during their freshmen year of golf.

“Practices during season take place every day after school,” explained Schrock. “We definitely spend a lot of time together so that could be why we are such good friends.”

The golfers’ friendship sustains an inner

GOLFING GOLD HENRY CONNER

“

Schrock and Simpson’s scores from State stacked up against each other

4

6

2

4

5

3

5

4

5

4

5

4

3

3

3

4

4

5

73

3

5

3

5

4

2

4

4

4

5

6

2

4

4

3

5

4

6

73

The front nine was tough but at the turn I talked to coach and Schrock they helped to cool me down to get ready for the back.

-Henry Simpson

”

SPORTS | 28

competition that keeps them focused. Knowing that in the end golf is a team sport, Schrock and Simpson still compete with the goal of outplaying each other. Their ambitious nature fuels their friendship.

“Obviously we are pretty competitive,” said Simpson. “I think it has bettered us as friends but also as golfers. If one of us beats the other we always go up to the range until we feel like well, maybe I can beat him now.”

Before getting offered a partial scholarship, Simpson had his doubts about playing college golf.

“I kind of debated playing in college over the last two or three months,” Simpson said. “I thought it would be cool, but obviously you have to be realistic with yourself and kind of say do you really think you have a chance of making it or not.”

Simpson’s desire to play in college fluctuated with how well he was playing. In the end, the good days far outnumbered the bad, and when the offer was presented to him, he quickly decided to sign with the Wildcats. In contrast, Schrock knew he wanted to play golf in college from the time he started.

“I really had a passion for it early on, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.

Even when Schrock was in the middle of a really tough round, as easy as it is to give up, his love of the game helped him to get in the right mindset and keep going.

“I definitely want to try to make a career out of it,” said Schrock. “I’m going to work really hard in college and hopefully just see where it takes me. If I can’t play professionally I’d like to work within golf, be a teacher or something like that.”

Schrock and Simpson’s signing didn’t come as a surprise to East golf coach, Ermanno Ritschl.

“Over the past [three] years they have improved their game and mindset tremendously,” Ritschl said. “They both work very hard. That’s the main reason they’ve been so successful; it’s a combination of hard work and talent.”

“

I felt good early and wanted to stay strong but really had a rough back nine. It was a relief that my score didn’t end up hurting us.

-Conner Schrock

”

“

They are both very competative, but that eggs the on the other to do better. It’s definitely positive competition.

-Ermanno Ritschl

”

the

SPORTS ROUND-UP

on the

sideline

written by Kennedy Burgess | photos by Marisa Walton

Seven Fall teams, how many league titles?

SENIOR | Hayley Hansford Tonight, Tonight Hot Chelle Rae

“It is a really good pump up song and you can easily scream to it. It’s one of those ‘tonight is going to be a good night’ songs.”

SENIOR |Sam Henegar Riot Tedashii

“It has a sweet bass and it has lyrics that transfer to football. It gets you ready for the game.”

Soccer, over or under 10 wins?

Girls’ Tennis

Austin Wilcox -Soccer-

Three

Push

Football

Mitch Daniel -XC-

Four

Push

Cross Country

Annie Kuklenski -XC-

Four

Under

Football

Elliot Faerber -Football-

Two

Over

Anne Willman Junior

Chris Heady Senior

Matt Gannon Senior

Matt Hanson Junior

CROSS COUNTRY

PANEL

Fall sports stud?

SENIOR|Tucker Styrkowicz All the Above by Maino

SOCCER

Cross Country’s annual time trials, held at Shawnee Mission Park on August 27, hosted a course to over 200 team members with both the boys’ and girls’ teams combined. The boys ran a 5k and the girls’ course was a 4k, both challenging in different aspects. The varsity boys’ team was led to the finishing line by Senior Mitch Daniel, with a time of 17:32. Fellow senior Adam Simmons followed Daniel by 20 seconds, finishing second overall.

On the girls’ side, Anna Colby set the pace for the girls, finishing first with a time of 17:33. Sophomore Annie Kuklenski and freshman Hannah Arnspiger finished closely behind in second and third. However, a majority of the girls’ team consists of seniors, the top three runners are respectively setting the pace for the season as equal leaders on the team. Seniors Emily Kerr and Kennedy Burgess led the rest of the seniors to the finish line, all within 14 seconds of each other collectively.

Team with the most potential

Favorite song to listen to before a game?

“I started listening to it during freshman year of track. It just has a good beat and gets me psyched for meets.”

The 25 marked the date of the annual black and blue soccer scrimmage for the Lancer boys. Losing 17 seniors after last year hasn’t lowered the expectations the players have for each other. Varsity triumphed over JV with a 3 – 0 victory.

Junior Mitch Kaskie proved he is a force to be reckon with this season, scoring two out of the three goals. Junior Tyler Rathbun finished off the game with a “cherry on top” goal.

The varsity team showed strengths in their ability to move the ball quickly and followed through with goal opportunities. Senior Jeremy Young has stepped up as a leader on the team this season a long with junior Clint Dunn. Junior transfer student from Maine, Austin Wilcox, stepped into the spotlight unexpectedly, showing he too is a leading candidate to take the team far this year. Even with a lack of seniority on the team, the Varsity boys are a promising component to the fall sports lineup this season.

the sports

from an athlete’s perspective

FOOTBALL

With new quarterback Dakota Collins filling the role John Shrock left after last fall’s 8 -1 season, there is much anticipation as to what this year’s team can accomplish this season. Collins, a transfer from Wyandotte High School, has been practicing with the team since before the season started last winter. During the Blue/Black Scrimmage on the 26, Collins showed that his consistent training with the team has paid off.

Expectations are higher after last season’s record and coach Chip Sherman looks determined to lead the boys to another exceptional season. Players are more motivated to lead the Lancers to many wins this year since the word of Sherman’s diagnosis of Lymphoma type cancer. During Sherman’s chemotherapy, coach and athletic director Sam Brown has been temporarily taking the reins. The coaches hope to bring the boys all the way to State this year.

SPORTS | 29

FULFILLING A PROMISE

New quarterback keeps his grandmother at heart throughout the game

written by Corbin Barnds | photos by Grant Kendall

Dakota could only hold her hand. Riding in the backseat of her husband’s car, she was on the brink of collapse and couldn’t garner the strength to say a single word. But she had made the decision to be there, and that was all Dakota needed. It’s his motivation.

Like many days before, six hours of chemotherapy and she was on the sun-covered football field watching her grandson that day. The doctors had said that exerting herself like that might kill her, but what would really kill her was if she wasn’t there watching Dakota play.

Dakota’s relationship with his grandmother was different than most; he had been living with her most of his life. As a strong believer of the idea that anyone could accomplish anything through hard work, she adopted Dakota’s obsession for football.

Anything Dakota ever needed, she was there, and even with the cancer, her life was devoted to making his life perfect.

“When she came down with cancer, I promised her that I’d try my best to get a scholarship to play in college, and try to make it to the pros,” Dakota said.

On Aug. 19, 2009, Dakota was called to the office.

With his head coach and mother standing there, he could only imagine that he was in trouble but then Dakota was dealt the news by his coach: his grandmother, his inspiration, had passed away.

Despite his coach telling him to take some time off, that next day Dakota was with his teammates back at practice.

“That’s one thing that she would have wanted and I’m just that passionate,” Dakota said. “Not that I don’t care about my grandmother, but she would have wanted me to do that.”

His sophomore year at Shawnee Mission North, Dakota was finally given the opportunity he needed to bump him up to second string.

But with the starter firmly in place Dakota was on the move the following year. First it was Wyandotte High School, but it wasn’t the right fit. He was set on moving again. He had to get as much exposure for colleges as he could, which was all about finding the perfect offense and the perfect situation.

He and his mother had it down to three options: entering the Missouri public school system, go to Bishop

30 | SPORTS

Miege, or lastly, go to Shawnee Mission East. With academics sitting at the front of his mind, moving to Missouri wasn’t that much of an option. It came down to Bishop Miege and Shawnee Mission East. Knowing what he’d heard about Sherman, there’s no way he could have turned it down.

“I knew that they were a very good passing team, they were winning and they had Elliot Faerber who had committed to Illinois,” Dakota said. “All of that mixed together would hopefully get me a scholarship somewhere.”

Dakota had always thought he had what it took to make it to the next level, but that belief was faltering. He hadn’t gotten any serious division one interest which caused him to seriously question if he could make it. At one of KU’s high school quarterback camps held during the summer, Dakota regained the confidence he needed.

Standing on the Kansas turf practice fields, Dakota and the Olathe South quarterback had been selected as the top two quarterbacks of the camp--a camp of 150. As Dakota strayed away, he noticed a body approaching.

He turned around to the sight of Turner Gill, the University of Kansas Head Football Coach.

“He said, ‘Dakota, we are looking very forward to your season and good luck to you. Hopefully we’ll be seeing you on down the line,’” Dakota said. “This all made me feel like a 100 bucks and gave me the feeling that ‘maybe I do have a shot.’ There was always that thing like, ‘you don’t have the varsity time, and you don’t have the stats’. It just gave me a shot and I’m going to take it.”

That wasn’t his only summer camp success; along with going to Missouri’s Quarterback camp, he also went to Terry Shea’s, an ex-NFL quarterback coach, Camp and ended up winning camp MVP. Dakota didn’t just stumble into the starting job at East, his summer performances highlighted his vast improvement and warranted his move from back-up quarterback at North to starter at East.

“Coach Sherman determines every position and gives all the players opportunities whether through the weight room or summer practices to show if you have

the ability and he definitely has come through as the [starting] quarterback,” quarterback coach Sam Brown said.

Although last year’s quarterback, John Schrock, left some big shoes to fill, Dakota looks to be a replacement that will make the team’s position transition more smoothly. With a strong arm and a smooth, natural throwing motion, Dakota will be able to beat the defenses deep through the air but if need be, his athleticism will allow him to scramble.

“A lot of players don’t have that special ability, whether it’s to catch or whether it’s to run or block,” Brown said. “He has a special ability to throw the ball.”

Despite being talented, his strongest attributes might be his passion and leadership. Although he prefers to lead by example, when a teammate misses his block or drops a pass, Dakota will be the first player to call him out and he’ll be brash. Although he’s only been at East for a year he’s not afraid to be the vocal leader which he naturally is.

Because he knows that this offense’s, this team’s successes but more their failures will lie on him.

“There’s pressure because I have John [Schrock] who was the greatest quarterback last year, I have to replace him,” Dakota said. “I have to keep a winning team; I have to expect to go further because we want to win state.”

Before the game in the locker room, Dakota will lace on his cleats. On one of the cleats will stand a “BC” marked in Sharpie, on the other will be marked a cross. A raggedy black dish towel will be tucked into his waist. That same towel was the one his grandmother used in the kitchen daily.

Both are for his grandmother, both serve as his motivation to fulfill his promise to her.

UPCOMING GAMES

9/9 vs. Olathe East 9/16 @ SM North 9/24 vs. Olathe South 9/30 @ Lawrence H.

NEW COACH

NEW RULES E

Coach Polzin threw out one uniform from each squad because he didn’t like them. He also ordered new Nike cheer shoes along with Lancer tube socks.

12 9

3 6

Last year, the practices were twice a week in the mornings from 6-7. This year, cheerleaders practice five times a week for two hours a night.

SME There are nearly twenty new chants that the cheerleaders were required to memorize in just two weeks. Polzin tested the team on the chants with the threat of failure resulting in being benched.

A NEW DIRECTION

New cheer coach Jake Polzin works to flip the cheer program around

written by Morgan Twibell | photos by Emma Robson As cheer practice begins, all of the cheerleaders stop talking and get prepared for the stunts, cheers and chants they will be learning. New head cheer coach Jake Polzin shows them how to do a stunt they have never seen before involving flips, twists and tosses. On the first attempt they crash to the ground, but with Polzin’s encouragement, the cheerleaders try it again. By the end of the two-hour practice they are hitting it perfectly each time.

This year the cheer-leading program is doing things differently than before. Polzin wants to show the school that cheer-leading isn’t just about shaking their pom poms and yelling “Lancers, show us how you shake that thing!”

When Polzin stepped in, he had a head full of new ideas, like making the cheerleaders have practice every day for two hours after school and teaching them complicated stunts and tumbling routines. Since they had never had a coach like this before, the reactions to the changes varied between excited and nervous.

“I’m just really excited and very optimistic about it, I feel like we are all moving in the right direction,” varsity captain Maggie Thomas said.

Over the summer, the cheer squads had practice almost every day for three weeks, where they would improve their skills and hope to get better before they went to NCA cheer camp.

NCA cheer camp is a four-day camp in the beginning of August, where the cheerleaders put together performances and compete against other schools in the Shawnee Mission School District.

When East swept a whole category of awards they knew that all of the hours of prac-

tices had paid off.

“It was definitely one of my best camp experiences,” Thomas said. “Other schools might have rolled their eyes that East won because of the way we have been known but we really worked hard and everyone put in a lot of effort.”

Even the parents in the stands at cheer camp noticed the difference in East’s technique when the squads got a roar of applause after they hit all of their stunts and motions perfectly.

“I can’t remember the last time an SME cheer squad had every level win the category - it’s never happened.” Principal, Karl Krawitz said, “They were crisp, they were sharp, and that included all the way down to the Freshman too. I was impressed.”

The success at cheer camp helped give the cheerleaders a new perspective on all of the changes for the upcoming season. Not only has Polzin taught them new skills but he has told the squads that they are worth something.

“He’s changed our attitudes to knowing this is a sport, and if we work hard we will get the goals we want.” Thomas said.

At the pep assembly on Thursday, August 25th the cheerleaders showed off all of the new improvements they’ve made to the squad during their routine.

“You can’t help but act positive when you see the cheerleaders flipping and twisting and doing all kinds of fun stuff,” Polzin said.

Even people who weren’t on the team last year have noticed how much better the squads have gotten.

“They have amazing stunts and they always look sharp, but most of all they look re-

ally happy and energized.” Freshman cheerleader Mackenzie Sweat said.

The way Polzin coaches has made the cheerleaders consider the idea that this can actually be a sport and not just a “pep program”.

If the squad members don’t know all of the cheers perfectly, they will be benched for their first game. If they are off task, messing around, or if they drop a girl during stunting they are forced to condition, which is where they do suicide runs, V-up sit ups, push ups and other drills.

“One day we had to do leap frog jumps; I couldn’t go upstairs or sit in a chair for two days because I was so sore.” Thomas said. “It definitely opened our eyes though because we’ve never had to do anything like that before.”

The one thing that helps the cheerleaders get through the conditioning without complaining is knowing that they will be getting better, and if they are better, then the crowds at the games will actually want to watch them and cheer along with them.

“I’m just really excited and very optimistic.”

Thomas said,” I feel like we are all moving in the right direction and I feel like everyone has a positive attitude. I think the whole program as a whole is going to grow and become cooler at east rather than just the girls who didn’t make a different team so they did cheer-leading.”

Not only have the East cheer teams improved skill wise, but their commitment to the team has improved as well.

“The cheerleaders used to get made fun of,” Varsity cheerleader Caroline Savage said.

“I think it’s time for change and time for a new reputation.”

FOR VIDEO CLIPS, VISIT

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SPORTS| 31

PLAY

PREPARING TO

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Varsity football progresses as a team before the first game of the season The East football team has been training in the face of the sweltering August heat in preparation for their opening season game against SM Northwest. On Friday, August 26, the team held their annual Black and Blue scrimmage to improve on a few types of plays they had been struggling with. Following the 8-2 season that earned them first place in the Sunflower League, the Lancers have high hopes for this year. “This year, everything has fallen into place for me,”junior CONNOR RELLIHAN said, right. “I feel great about this season.”

GRANTKENDALL

COACH CHIP SHERMAN, pictured above, commands players during the Black and Blue scrimmage. Despite his ongoing battle with lymphoma (see cover story), he doesn’t falter in his duties as a leader, and is an inspiration to the team.

GRANTKENDALL

ELLIOT FAERBER, above right, slips through the fingers of a defender as he moves the ball up the field.

Faerber, a wide receiver, has confidence in the team’s ability for this season. After practicing every day, they finally feel well-prepared to take on the other teams in the Sunflower League. “We’re confident, but we’re not cocky,” FAERBER said. “We know we still have to go out there and play the game.”

GRANTKENDALL

When COACH SHERMAN began running practices, the players wondered about how the cancer would affect his performance. But their concerns were soon put to rest. “The thing about Sherman is that you’ll never know when he’s in pain,” FAERBER said, right with SHERMAN. GRANTKENDALL

32 | PHOTO ESSAY

VANCE WENTZ, right, catches a pass during an after school practice as the coaches look on. The team’s continuous weight regimen over the summer as well as watching film on Saturdays help the team improve every aspect of their overall game. As soon as they play their first game and the season starts, they will have less time to practice, making this one of their last official scrimmages.

JAKECRANDALL