Issue 2

Harbinger ISSUE 2 | SHAWNEE MISSION EAST | PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS | SEPT. 19, 2011

SMEHARBINGER.NET

NEW ULTIMATE FRISBEE CLUB P. 29

21%

of students have either received a MIP (Minor In Possession) charge or are close with someone who has.

PAGE 2 NEWS— A look at the relationship between students and alcohol, as well as the severity of MIPs

results from a survey of 218 students

INSIDE

9

Junior Kim Hoedel reflects on her struggle with faith

13

Family adopts boy from Ethiopia

27

Kansas City-based denim store Baldwin opens

32

Photos from the SHARE fair on Sept. 8

Walking the

LINE

The community is learning how to deal with MIPs and their consequences written by Jeri Freirich | photos by Grant Kendall It was a Saturday night. Jessica Martin* and a few friends had received a call about a party. Her friends told her that the party was small, but it grew bigger as the night went on. As Martin walked down to the basement, there was a handle of McCormick’s vodka sitting on the bar counter and a case of beer hidden in a cabinet.

The loud music coming from the basement could be easily heard from upstairs, which led to the arrival of the cops at the front door later.

Once there was mention of the cops, almost everyone ran and most got away except for Martin and her friend. They were both interrogated with the familiar question “have you been drinking tonight?” Martin quickly answered yes to the cop and was given a Minor in Possession (MIP).

This has become an all too common sight around East this year. According to a recent poll of 218 students, 63 percent know someone who has received an MIP. Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz says that while the reported number of MIP charges has not increased from last year, the attitude towards the punishment has gotten worse. Even though there isn’t an increase incidences, he feels upset that students are not taking it seriously enough. Krawitz believes that despite their knowledge of potential dangers, they choose to drink anyway.

“Just about everyone knows what is right and what is wrong,” Krawitz said. “If something happens and the person knows it wasn’t right in the first place then why does it have to go to some other level?”

Martin says that she knows the potential punishment of getting MIPs. She notes that having one on your personal record can affect college, and even when searching for a job. But while she sees them as a big deal, Martin says most do

2 | NEWS

not.

He says the penalty of receiv“Some kids don’t take it seri- ing an MIP is even more severe for ously,” Martin said. “Kids start on high school students. diversion and even get to proba“Penalties are harsher for high tion because they keep failing schoolers than for college kids,” tests and don’t even care.”

Brokaw said, “because of the age Krawitz is ultimately upset issue.” with student’s mindset towards An MIP will go on a student’s MIPs. When a student has a meet- permanent record, effective iming with him about his or her mediately. It counts as a criminal charge, most of the time he no- offense and is only issued to mitices them and even the parents nors as the name suggests. This lying to him about the situation. results in the minor’s attendance “I would of diversion or like to see “I did it because my even the minor people just being placed admit what friends and everyone at on probationthey did the party were doing it, I -meaning that wrong in- thought I needed to do it to they will have stead of try- be accepted by my friends” a set of rules ing to find to follow for a SOPHOMORE MORGAN SMITH* certain amount ways to get around of time; no conit,” said sumption of Krawitz. “People come up with alcohol or use of drugs and no mysterious ways of trying to make missing class with an unexcused their argument a legitimate argu- absence. Additionally, the offendment and it almost seems funny.” er will be required to do commuKrawitz knows the dangers of nity service, and is suggested to drinking. Since he was an EMT undergo counseling sessions. If (Emergency Medical Technician), these rules are not followed, the he has seen kids who have been diversion or probation will be reclose to death because of alcohol voked, which could potentially consumption. lead to jail time.

Krawitz doesn’t know why Krawitz has taken an effort students don’t see this as a major to prevent this problem. He has issue. He says it’s sad to see kids given speeches for many years lose their lives when it’s all pre- about how bad underage drinkventable. The rise in teen-related ing can be and what it can result incidences involving alcohol in. He has been working with the over the past few years has upset Johnson County prevention group Krawitz. to create programs that could Five years ago the District At- help decrease underage drinktorney’s office noticed the initial ing. To keep the awareness up, he spike in crashes related to under- has brought in quadriplegics and age drinking and more serious parents of a teen from Blue Valcrimes. Realizing this increase, ley Northwest who was killed in a the DA came up with an under drunk driving accident. aged drinking task force. Squads “We know that pounding of officers now go out during big the information about drinking events like Homecoming and doesn’t work,” Krawitz said. “We Prom to crack down on this issue. have to just keep people’s awareAccording to Leawood police of- ness up.” ficer, Doug Brokaw, each month Despite his best efforts to warn they issue about fifteen of MIPs. students about the present danger

of drinking, the problem has persisted. For students, peer pressure is often the reason.

“I did it because my friends and everyone at the party were doing it,” sophomore Morgan Smith* said. “I thought I needed to do it to be accepted by my friends and a lot of the population at East.”

When Smith was caught by the police, she was at a garage party. The police arrived and lined everyone up and breathalyzed them one by one. If they passed they were released, but Smith was not. She was stuck waiting for her charge of an MIP. She couldn’t help but feel regret.

“I decided to drink because everyone was doing it and it was fun,” Smith said. “Now that I have gotten in trouble it makes me realize it is not worth it.”

Krawitz knows that the issue will not magically disappear.

He has been doing what he can to eliminate this issue including working on a project with the Johnson County prevention group. They are working on getting a program started that has to do with the neighborhood watch programs. The watch programs already look out for burglaries, but this program will be on the watch for big parties. According to Krawitz, we will save more people by doing programs, but it is not going to reach out to everyone.

In the end, it’s the students who make the decision; he hopes they can dictate their own future.

Smith, among others, has learned through her experience that drinking isn’t worth it.

“I realize how one sip of alcohol can change your whole life,” Smith said, “and you don’t need alcohol to have a good time or be accepted by anyone.” * Names have been changed to protect identities

FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, VISIT

WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET

GETTING

‘MIPPED’

1 2

3 4

The party starts.

The cops arrive and the party is busted.

Arrests are made.

Your case appears in court, a process taking anywhere from a few weeks to months.

5

There are three options for the final step. The first two, jail time and probation, don’t allow the MIP to be expunged while the third, diversion, does.

CUTTING DOWN ON CLEAN East reduces custodial staff, forcing students and teachers to help keep school clean

written by Holly Hernandez | photo by Jake Crandall Due to the recent cut back in hours for the custodi- off the floor, having students do that, picking up trash in al staff, janitors are finding it difficult to get everything the hallways and erasing the boards,” Beachy said. “Any cleaned and organized by the time their shift is over. This spills, we [teachers] just clean up. A lot of things I don’t year, East had to let go two members of the custodial even think to contact a custodian, because I think ‘well staff. According to Ken Johnson, who has worked as a they’re too busy and I guess I can do it.’” janitor at East for five years, letting go of two staff memShe says that she really understands the custodial bers has made all the difference in work load. staff’s frustration because the time they are given to get “We have nine people to clean the whole entire build- their work done is not enough and that’s equally as frusing,” Johnson said. “And before we had 11, so we had trating for teachers. to split those other two open areas up, which put more “We’re kind of in the same boat,” Beachy said. work on everybody else.”

According to principal Karl Krawitz, public areas like If there is an extra part of the hallway or classroom the cafeteria, the kitchen, restrooms and locker rooms that hasn’t been mopped or cleaned, whoever is still will remain being cleaned the same as before following there by the end of the night is usually the one to finish the guidelines of Board of Health regulations. the leftover areas. Sometimes, that turns into working When it comes to the noticeable things, Krawitz said unpaid overtime. Usually, there just isn’t enough time in that perhaps classrooms with tile flooring may not get the day or night to get everything done. swept everyday. Instead of dusting every other day, janiAs Johnson arrives for his first shift from 3-11 p.m., he tors will be doing it once a week and the glass may get sweeps and mops the cafeteria. Then it’s time to set up wiped down only once a week. for volleyball games or any school events happening that “I think for the most part, people notice things in the night. During his second shift from 5 a.m.- 1 :30 p.m., he high traffic areas faster than if you went into a classtakes on the hallways and his assigned area. room,” Krawitz said. “The strategy behind the plan basi“This is a pretty good-sized building, and as far as a cally means not every area is going to get cleaned every lot of the other things we’re doing like sweeping, dump- day.” ing the trash, dusting—there’s just not enough time for Sophomore Natalie Frische said the school seems sigall of that,” Johnson said. “Plus setup and breakdown for nificantly dirtier to her, and she’s noticed a change from all the activities: football, basketball, cleaning up after. last year.

It’s kind of impossible to do all of that.”

“In the bathrooms, there are gnats in the trash cans, English teacher Laura Beachy says that because of no paper towels, no soap, no toilet paper—ever,” Frische this, she spends class time and time before and after said. “I think the janitor cuts are going to impact East beschool doing small things that the janitors don’t neces- cause people will get sick more often, and talk and gossip sarily have time for. about how gross the school is getting.”

“I am all the time cleaning desktops, cleaning trash up This is the first year Krawitz said that they had to cut

THEN

Changes for the Janitors

11 Night Custodians Custodians were able to clean entire class rooms Three Shifts

people, not just their hours.

“An eight hour day would be cut to a seven hour day or if they were working additional hours on the weekend, they couldn’t because it would put them in overtime,” Krawitz said. “And they couldn’t work those extra hours; we would have to assign someone who was working less than 40 hours.”

Maintenance Supervisor Mike Webb says there’s not much else that any of them can do.

“We have to prioritize the restrooms, locker rooms, fax area and the counseling office,” Webb said. “Basically, as for the custodians who are left, the area is divided up as equally as we can among them.”

Dr. Krawitz says that it’s not just the janitors, but all the areas of public education that are up for budget cuts.

He says that if there is no relief found or put in place and we are only cutting more, then it’s going to be very difficult to maintain the integrity of the programs here at East.

“Eighty-seven percent of the budget in this school district goes to paying people,” Krawitz said. “If you’ve messed around with just 13 percent of the other budgets and you’ve cut them to the minimum—you can’t cut them any more, so now it’s got to be people from this other sector that have got to go.”

Dr. Krawitz said that could very well mean cutting more teacher jobs, more food service people and more custodians.

“I don’t necessarily see a whole lot of light at the end of the tunnel,” Krawitz said. “I’d like to hope that someone will have come up with a solution in three years. But the solution will have to happen in Topeka, not here.”

NOW

9 Night Custodians Teachers are now cleaning more of their rooms Two Shifts

NEWS | 3

CONCUSSION QUIZ

WATCHING YOUR HEAD ncussion awareness and precaution SMSD steps up co

INSTRUCTIONS: Read each scenario and then choose the best choice of action.

The correct answers with explanations are at the bottom.

You just got layed out by a 270 lb. defensive end. You landed hard on your head. You get up slowly—why is everything so blurry?

written by Adam Lowe | photo by Anna Dancinger The minutes ticked by as junior Sam “Before, we would ask a kid how they Stewart finished his concussion test. During were feeling or if they could walk in a straight his first test, just two weeks before, it took line, but now we are finding out that doesn’t him no more than 20 minutes. This second cut it,” Wollenhaupt said. “We actually have attempt seemed to take much longer. It was to dig deeper and find out how the kid is doonly three days before that Stewart had suf- ing mentally before sending them back to fered a concussion in the SM East football play.” team’s home opener against SM Northwest.

According to Kansas High School AcThe test revealed that Stewart had a concus- tivities Association (KSHSAA) representative sion and his doctor told him he would not be Brent Unruh, one of their main goals this able to play in the next week’s game. school year is to educate people about conRecently the Shawnee Mission School cussions.

District has been taking concussions more “Because there is a lot of brand new reseriously. The number of concussions show- search coming out about concussions, we ing up in high school sports was growing at felt it necessary to make some things that a fast pace. Over the last several years, doc- used to be recommendations, requirements,” tors and school administration have been in- Unruh said. “Overall there has just been a creasingly concerned with concussions, due bigger push for greater concussion awareto research that shows that concussions are ness and education for everybody, for coachmore serious than previously thought. Dr. es, for players, and for parents as well.”

Greg Canty of The Center for Sports Medicine This school year KSHSAA now requires at Children’s Mercy is one of the doctors be- all athletes to sign a copy of the state’s Sports hind this research.

Head Injury Prevention Act to make sure that “Concussions have really just come into people understand the seriousness of conthe forefront in the past five to seven years,” cussions. This state wide act contains the Canty said. “Because of a greater aware- return to play guidelines and also states that ness of concussion symptoms, we are now “any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms becoming more capable to decide when ath- or behaviors consistent with a concussion letes are ready to return to play.” shall be immediately removed from the conAt the beginning of the 2010 school year, test and shall not return to play until cleared East football players began taking a neuro- by an appropriate health care professional.” cognitive baseline test, called ImPACT. AthThis act has been in place since 2007, but letes take the test online and do a variety of this season KSHSAA is taking it one step furtasks that test memory, attention span and ther and forcing parents and athletes to sign reaction time. With the help of this test, it before play begins. there would be collections of data involv*** ing the athlete’s brainpower and ability to As Stewart ran down the field chasing his react to stimuli. Doctors would then be able SM Northwest opponent he lowered his head to compare back to this if an athlete were to just a little more than normal and crushed get a concussion later in the season. Starting his head right into the ball carrier. He fell this year ImPACT is now taken by all contact into a heap on the ground and his brother, sport athletes in the SMSD. junior David Stewart, immediately ran to First-year East Athletic Trainer Ron Wol- help Sam. lenhaupt is optimistic about the use of the “I was able to get up, and the next thing I ImPACT testing on athletes. remember was being on the sideline,” Sam “It is excellent for athletes, because we said. “So I don’t really remember running to are looking at the kid’s mental health as well the sideline at all.” as their physical health,” Wollenhaupt said.

Neither David or Sam could tell that Sam He believes that the added information had a concussion initially—that was somethat comes from ImPACT and other studies is thing that was left up to the doctors and to great to educate not only players and coach- the ImPACT testing to discover and confirm es, but now also the parents. the next day.

4 | NEWS

A. Take a play off. Get some water, go back in after resting a couple minutes.

B. Sit out the rest of the game. Tell your coach you don’t feel well.

C. Sit out the rest of the game and find the trainer. Tell him or her how you feel.

D. Shake it off. It will pass. Don’t let coach think you’re weak!

“When I was laying there, right after the hit, the left side of my face was numb all the way down to my waist—but just on my left side,” Stewart said. “For a minute I really thought I broke my neck, and I was just laying there like, ‘Oh my god.’ But not too long after that I was able to get up and walk off.”

As soon as Sam made it to the sideline, he was met by Canty and Wollenhaupt. They both were fairly confident that Sam had a concussion.

“You look for it, every play, you are looking for it,” Wollenhaupt said. “You look for how a player carries himself off the field and onto the sideline. Sam just did not look right and we could tell right away.”

As doctors and trainers continue to educate parents, players and coaches, they hope to see the number of athletes diagnosed with concussions to get lower and lower.

“Concussion education doesn’t prevent concussions from happening, but hopefully it will begin to help our athletes to recognize what they can do to reduce the risk of this growing problem.,” Canty said.

With concussions under a microscope in Kansas High School athletics this year, the push from doctors and trainers is moving in the right direction. Monitoring athletes progress is becoming much easier and more effective through the ImPACT program which is really helping doctors and trainers make the right decisions concerning athletes.

“Without using the program we wouldn’t have a very good idea as to when to let players like Sam go back and play,” Wollenhaupt said. “He was symptom-free a couple days after the concussion, but the ImPACT testing told us he really was not ready to go back.”

Even though Sam felt better physically, his brain had not had the time it needed to repair from the concussion. Without ImPACT doctors would have not identified the problem, and Sam would have returned to play too early.

“I thought I was ready to play a couple days after the diagnosis,” Sam said, “but now I’m finding out there is a lot more to concussions than just how I feel—it’s also what you can’t feel that makes a difference.”

You’re playing Ultimate Frisbee in the park and two of your friends collide pretty hard.

One is very slow getting up and seems dizzy.

A. Give him a minute to get their bearings again and start playing again.

B. Stop playing, get him some ice and some acetaminophen (Tylenol).

C. Tell him to watch where he’s going next time. Some people just don’t pay attention.

D. Tell him to get up and keep playing. The teams have to stay even, right?

Your dad is cleaning out the gutters. The latter he gives out and he falls and hits his head on the ground. He gets up by himself, but later that night you notice he is very moody.

A. Ask him how he’s feeling; if the moodiness persists, schedule a doctor’s appointment.

B. Call 911 immediately and tell them your extremely scared for your father’s health.

C. Don’t worry about it, he’s probably just embarassed since he fell off the ladder.

D. Tell him to cheer up and stop being so grumpy.

You’re on the last mile of you Cross Country race. Just as you’re rounding a turn, a kid trips you and you eat it face-first into the dirt. You get up and finish like a champ, but you can’t focus on anything afterward.

A. You’re distracted because you want revenge on the kid who tripped you. Find him!

B. You’re probably just tired from the race.

Take a cool down run and drink some water.

C. Shake it off. Say the ABC’s a couple of times to get your focus back.

D. Tell your parents and coach you can’t focus, and contact a doctor immediately.

ANSWERS: 1. C: Telling your coach how you feel is smart, but a trainer will be able to better diagnose and help you. Don’t even think about going back into the game.

1. B: Ice will help any swelling and the acetaminophen will help relieve pain.

Using aspirin and ibuprofen may make bruising worse.

1. A: Moodiness is a symptom of concussions. If a concussion is ever suspected, contacting your doctor is the best choice.

1. D: Loss of memory and not being able to focus are two of the most common concussion symptoms. Contact your doctor as soon as possible.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concussion-overview

DON’T BE

LATE FOR THESE written by Alex Goldman

NEW SCHEDULE

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

This year, East has switched to a brand new schedule.

Instead of having four block days and one seven period day, the schedule is now composed of three seven period days and two block days. Even though this switch may not sound like a huge deal, many students have expressed their discontent. One of those critics is marketing teacher Mercedes Rasmussen, who was against the idea of block scheduling before it started. But after teaching on the block schedule, she began to think that students benefit more when they have 90 minutes per class.

“I actually voted against block scheduling when they wanted to try it out,” Rasmussen said. “But after a year I realized how much better it was for everyone. It was a much more slower pace and I was able to work with kids more one on one. I even felt like it was quieter because kids had more time to settle in their classes.”

With the new schedule, Rasmussen thinks that students have less time to meet with teachers to get help or to make up work.

“We had more seminars last year and kids were able to use it if they were absent and missed classes,” Rasmussen said. “This year students can hardly use it at all.”

Some students have found the seven period schedule with 50 minute classes is less grueling than having to go to

MUSICAL REVUE

four hour and a half classes. Unlike many of her friends, junior Rae Ehly actually enjoys having a 3-2 format schedule.

“Classes don’t feel so long and laborious because it’s only 50 minutes,” Ehly said. “I feel like the day goes by so much faster. For 50 minutes I can pay attention so much better than an hour and a half. We also get a break from homework during the middle of the week with the two block days.”

Assistant administrator John McKinney, who also teaches leadership classes to students, believes that seeing his students every day with the new schedule will help them learn better.

“The seven period days allow for greater repetition and the ability to follow-up on and discuss the previous day’s learning,” McKinney said. “I also enjoy seeing my own Leadership students as regularly as possible.”

But McKinney doesn’t completely believe in the schedule and says that there are also some cons to the seven period day.

“During block days I can cover more content and there is greater opportunity to check for understanding and for students to start on any assigned work before they walk out the door,” McKinney said.

According to McKinney, the 3-2 schedule will stay in effect for at least the rest of the year, whether students like it or not.

Students and faculty prepare for the annual Musical Revue

DATES Sept. 22

Make up picture day in the Library.

Sept. 23

No school for Parent Teacher conferences.

Sept. 24

All school Homecoming Assembly in the Auditorium during seminar.

Sept. 26

Homecoming!

The Homecoming football game is at 1 p.m. at South District Stadium, with the dance starting at 8 p.m. in the cafeteria.

Oct. 3

No school because of School Improvement Day.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1

Foley says that unlike a normal musical the revue can have more kids participate and show off their skills.

“The great thing about it is we can feature a lot of talented kids rather than a musical where we are limited because there a few roles,” Foley said Junior Lily Kaufman, believes that this years revue may be even more exceptional than last because of the movie song theme.

“I feel like this year will be better than last year. Last year we did the best of Broadway songs which was fun and turned out really well,” Kaufman said. “This year, were doing a lot of songs from the eighties like “Time of my Life” and some songs from “Flashdance.”

The revue will begin on Sept. 29 and go until the following Saturday with two shows on the final day. Shows will be at seven P.M. in the auditorium every night and there will be a four o’clock show on Saturday.

Musical Revue in the Auditorium. 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday.

smeharbinger.net Question of the Week

ARE YOU PLANNING TO

PARTICIPATE IN

SHARE

PROJECTS

in

THE WEEK

PHOTOS

Thursday Sept. 29 students from both choir and theatre will be presenting the annual musical revue. This year’s show will feature various songs from movies such as the 1980s disco classic “Staying Alive” from Saturday Night Fever and old-time greats like “Singing in the Rain” Choir teacher Ken Foley, who helped choose the songs from a list of the top 100 movies, believes there is something for everybody in this years show.

“There are slow songs and up beat song in the revue,” Foley said. “The kids will be singing songs from movies like James Bond to the Lion King.”

One of the best things about the revue is the easy going atmosphere when rehearsing according to junior, Max Duncan.

“We work really hard but it’s a lot of fun. It’s more laid back and there is a lot of variety in the songs we sing.” Duncan said.

IMPORTANT

JUNIOR MAX HOFFMEISTER conducts the marching SENIOR SEAN CEDILLO performs as part of the drumband at the Olathe East football game in his role as line at half time of the Shawnee Mission Northwest Photo by Grant Kendall football game.

Photo by Brendan Dulohery one of three drum majors.

PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER SHEILA TREWOLLA snaps a photos of students at the annual SHARE FAIR. Photo by Emma Robson

328 respondents

News | 05

VISIT US @ smeharbinger.net

IN NEED OF A clean sweep

M

Cuts to janitorial staff lead to new cleanliness concerns

aintaining the cleanliness of East is often more of a struggle than it should be. According to Janitor Steve Peck, most of the messes custodians have encountered this year are unnecessary. On a typical day, there is graffiti scribbled onto the walls of the bathrooms, remnants of food left out in the cafeteria and papers strewn across hallway floors. Peck says one of the problems he has seen in particular this year is even as simple as wrappers left on the floor of classrooms.

For students and staff alike, fixing this problem can be as easy as using the wastebasket. Simple things, like throwing away trash, can help our janitorial staff immensely.

There is no excuse for the extraneous filth.

This year, pitching in with the cleanup effort is more important than ever before. With cuts in the district, our custodial staff has been hurting. For the 2011-12 fiscal school year, the number of night-time workers has gone from 11 to nine due to budgetary reductions. Janitors have had to cut out the third time slot from 10:30-7 a.m. Peck has complained that there’s “less time to get it right.”

While the state board of education is not

at fault for making a tough decision in a dwin- steps taken are only beneficial in the cleanup dling economy, it is the reaction from East process, when there should be a focus on a that has been disappointing. Janitors have preventive course of action. This could entail not seen a decrease in any of the excess trash seminars or meetings where our school’s adaround the building. Graffiti is still prevalent ministration puts an emphasis on throwing and trash still litters the halls. The problem, things away and sidestepping graffiti. instead of slowly dying out, is staying the It’s all about trying to change the way stusame. dents think. Last year, when artists decorated English Teacher Laura Beachy notes that the bathrooms with colorful images, students students in her class carelessly throw papers continued to write on the walls. When envion the ground. She says she still feels like she ronmental club picked up papers, they found needs to remind her kids THE MAJORITY OPINION OF THE their way onto the floor to pick up wrappers and HARBINGER EDITORIAL BOARD anyway. And although worksheets scattered it is far-fetched to think on the floor. Across the that the filth will disapFOR AGAINST ABSENT building, janitors have pear with a speech and seen more of the same. a few handouts, some Peck notes that at the end of the day class- effort by the administration, and even teachrooms and halls are typically a mess. In this ers, can help to prevent the build up of trash financial climate with layoffs affecting our in our building. custodial staff, it’s inexcusable that teachers Beachy says that she always tries to be “at and students are not carrying any weight. least somewhat vigilant about trash.” When Part of the blame lies with the adminis- students of hers get up to leave the room she tration. Although we applaud the various makes sure that everything is accounted for; efforts made around East to keep the school if there is garbage remaining on the ground clean—art murals in the bathrooms, environ- then she sees that it is taken care of. It is this mental club—it is ultimately ineffective. The attitude that is lacking from our staff. If all

Harbinger

Editors-In-Chief Kat Buchanan Toni Aguiar Assistant Editors Emma Pennington Evan Nichols Online Editors-InChief Jeff Cole Duncan MacLachlan 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 Vanessa Daves

Mixed Editor Paige Hess Spread Editor Emily Kerr Assistant Spread Editor Tiernan Shank Features Editor Christa McKittrick Features Page Editors Jennifer Rorie Haley Martin Katie Knight A&E Editor Kennedy Burgess A&E Page Editors Andrew Simpson Will Webber Sports Editor Anne Willman Sports Page Editors Adam Lowe Corbin Barnds Freelance Page Editors Alex Goldman Andrew McKittrick Kim Hoedel

11

0

a publication of shawnee mission east high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208 September 19, 2011 Photo Editor Grant Kendall Assistant Photo Editor Hiba Akhtar Online Photo Editor Brendan Dulohery Assistant Online Photo Editor Jake Crandall Copy Editors Evan Nichols Emma Pennington Kat Buchanan Katie Knight Matt Hanson Anne Willman Chloe Stradinger Toni Aguiar Jack Howland Christopher Heady Online Copy Editors Matt Gannon Kim Hoedel Sarah Berger Ads/Circulation Managers Vanessa Daves

Erin Reilly Leah Pack Staff Artists Sam Stevens Matti Crabtree Connor Woodson Webmaster Chris Denniston Multimedia Editor Thomas Allen Assistant Multimedia Editor Dalton Boehm Transmedia Editor Holly Hernandez Convergence Editor Alex Lamb Assistant Convergance Editor Holly Hernandez Homegrown Editors Andrew Beasley Mason Pashia Blog Editor Zoe Brian Video Editor Nathan Walker Eastipedia Editor

0

teachers make some sort of an effort, custodial worker’s jobs will become that much easier. It’s the reasonable and right thing to do to help out our custodians.

In the end, they will take notice. Currently, janitors are spending a majority of their night picking up a mess that is carelessly left by students. This is not the only thing listed in their job description. Granted, janitors are expected to pick up trash, but there is much more to what they do. They are the ones who set up for events around East and coordinate with other schools for sporting events; the schools electricity and air conditioning is also left to them. When we don’t pitch in, the now nine-man janitorial staff can spend most of their nights scrubbing and sweeping up our excessive mess.

The solution is easy. Students, teachers and administrators need to wake up and begin to make an effort to keep the building clean. It is unacceptable to leave the bulk of cleanup solely to the janitors. Here at East, we need to display a little more effort and a lot more common sense.

Let’s start by using the wastebasket.

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’ discretion.

Sami Walter Live Broadcast Editors Duncan MacLachlan Connor Woodson Assistant Live Broadcast Editor Andrew McWard Online A&E Section Editor Zoe Brian Online Sports Section Editors Matt Gannon Matt Hanson Live Broadcast Producers Thomas Allen Drew Broeckelman Patrick Frazell Connor Woodson Chris Denniston Anchors Tiernan Shank Patrick Frazell Marisa Walton Morgan Twibell Emily Donovan

PR Representative/ Business Managers Alex May Online Graphic Designers Paige Hess Staff Writers Alex Lamb Greta Nepstad Mitch Kaskie Nick May Stephen Cook Morgan Twibell Emily Donovan Holly Hernandez Leah Pack Online Staff Writers Zoe Brian Drew Broeckelman Katie Knight Editorial Board Julia Davis Becca Brownlee Christa McKittrick Kat Buchanan Toni Aguiar Evan Nichols Emma Pennington

photo by Jake Crandall

Jack Howland Jennifer Rorie Matt Gannon Matt Hanson Photographers Spencer Davis Holly Martin Emma Robson Eric Erpelding Anna Danciger AnnaMarie Oakley Haley Johnston Josh Winters McKenzie Swanson Miranda Gibbs Marisa Walton Multimedia Staff Tiernan Shank Andrew McWard Alex Lamb Haley Martin Mary Newman Drew Broeckelman Spencer Davis Matti Crabtree Adviser Dow Tate

THE HARBINGER IS A STUDENT RUN PUBLICATION. THE CONTENTS AND VIEWS ARE PRODUCED SOLELY BY THE STAFF AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE SHAWNEE MISSION SCHOOL DISTRICT, EAST FACULTY, OR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION.

EDITORIAL| 7

A SAD REALITY

Sophomore expresses her contempt for today’s reality TV

What happened to good TV? What happened to “Full House” and “Saved by the Bell”? Why an opinion of have these classic LEAH PACK sitcoms been replaced by reality TV shows?

Shows about the perfect American family and comedic teens from the 90s are now a distant memory in today’s society. These shows can no longer fill the empty part of the brain that the modern American reserves for voting people off the island and fist-pumping.

So what really draws us to the stupidity of scripted dates and camera pans of New Jersey clubs? Maybe, deep down we wish to be on the reality star’s level, gaining fame on TV by doing absolutely nothing worthwhile.

People might turn to reality TV as a way to escape from their problems or to find a connection with others. Is it the contentment we get from watching other people suffer, or the chance to see into others lives that makes us want to fulfill this guilty pleasure?

MTV, which used to promote itself with the slogan, “too much is never enough” has demonstrated why its slogan is no longer in use for today’s content. Reality TV has moved from an amusing distraction to TV’s main attraction. Our society as a whole watches these shows for entertainment, but younger viewers also look to these shows for guidance, to decide what clothing to wear, what to do with their free time, and what kind of relationships they are going to develop.

To understand why other people watch these shows, I watched a few myself.

“Jersey Shore” has been a phenomenon among teens since it originally aired in 2009.

Before watching, I had nothing to base my opinions off of other than what I had seen in magazines and heard people talk about. The show’s Ed-Hardy-sporting, hair-gel-wearing, fake-tanned stars promote their lifestyle of GTL (gym, tan, laundry). They go out party-

ing almost every night, do whatever they want without thinking of other people, and drink alcohol constantly. They do everything but have an honest relationship. Episode after episode shows the cast clubbing, taking home random hookups (what they call grenades), and cat fights galore. Even worse, we are watching thirty-year-old adults do all of this. I mean, really, isn’t it time to grow up?

After wasting an hour of my life watching people make complete fools of themselves, I realized that no one on the show ever recognizes the cast members’ terrible behavior.

The stars never receive any consequences for their actions, and consciously or not, encourage viewers to mimic their outrageous behavior. Younger viewers tend to develop the actions that they see on TV. “The Real Housewives” series thrives on absurd drama. From commercials I’ve seen for the show, I figured the cast members of the “Real Housewives” love to be the center of attention, whether in a positive or negative light. I imagined them to be stereotypical wealthy women, head of all the charity events in their town and involved in every one’s personal business.

My prediction was not only right, but an understatement of the immature behavior that this show encourages. The cast members set an example for all their viewers to create cliques and talk behind peoples’ backs, acting no better than middle-schoolers. Cliques seem to form no matter where you go. By watching older and more experienced people start these, it only teaches us to do the same. Many of the families on the show are constantly fighting, and when we’re living in a country where it isn’t uncommon to have family problems or know someone who does, the idea of learning how to deal with relationships from these reality stars seems ridiculous.

Personally, having a camera in my face 24/7 sounds appalling. Now I understand wanting to get your 15 minutes of fame, or competing to be the best at your talent—but

what about having a camera on you and your family all the time sounds appealing? Shows like “Hogan Knows Best” and “John & Kate Plus 8” have only proven that an extended amount of time under the spotlight won’t lead to anything good.

Seeing old episodes of “Hogan Knows Best” and “John & Kate Plus 8” made me think about the kids of these families. I imagined what it would be like to be in these children’s places, who grew up with the knowledge that every move they make could potentially be watched by the world. That much pressure on not just one person, but a group of people could easily lead to problems that could potentially break a family up. The part that I have trouble comprehending is that we are expected to have healthy long-lasting relationships in our society, yet children and teens are learning relationship skills from people who wouldn’t think twice about picking fame or money over their family.

Not all reality TV promotes bad behavior.

“Ace of Cakes” and “America’s Got Talent” are just competitions to see who is the best at their particular talent. Clearly, I wasn’t clued in on why these shows are being aired--the most creative cake decorator might be better than some of the stars of other reality TV shows, but is it better than hearing the President’s speech? Yes, the President’s speech might be “boring,” but he is talking about our future. By watching these shows, we aren’t only putting ideas into our heads by seeing the star’s less-than-redeeming actions, but we could potentially be ignoring what will matter to us in the next five, 10 or 20 years.

What is the benefit of reality TV? In a world where each country competes to be the best, reality shows only reflect badly on our country. Are a few laughs a good enough reason to indirectly teach our society to behave in these ways? Life imitates art by influencing people to take what they see in the media and applying it to the real world.

Sadly, reality TV is our art.

ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH REALITY TV? You refer to the Real Housewives as “your girls” and talk about them like they’re your best friends/worst enemies

8 | OPINION

You try to live your life

by Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation”’s motto: Gym Tan Laundry

Your TiVo is clogged with more than three reality TV shows that you just can’t live with out.

VIA TWITTER,

YOU CAN NOW KEEP UP WITH MORE THAN THE KARDASHIANS a quick look at the most ridiculous reality stars’ tweets “Fist Pump Push Up ChapStick #FPC” PAULY D, JERSEY SHORE

“I’m up late so you should make me giggle. My sense of humor is lacking BUT tomorrow night is GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Gnarly.

Lots of skinnygirls.”

Bethenny Frankel, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NYC

“New rule: ditch the dating slackers and start dating the mackers (mack daddy...boo-yah)!

PATTI STANGER, MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER

info via twitter.com

You’re offended by this column because you think that reality TV is the best thing that’s happened since the invention of the TV.

t

bonding with believers

Junior staffer shares how she is inspired by those who have faith

God, please bless everyone around the world the way you have blessed me, if not more. Please let them all have long, wonderful, nonsuffering lives. Unwinding an opinion of my fingers, I flip over and KIM HOEDEL lay still staring at the ceiling above my bed. Am I crazy?

Did I just spend that last five minutes talking to myself ?

Was anyone listening?

I’ll just say it: I’ve got trust issues. Major. I keep secrets from everyone. I keep secrets from my closest friends. I keep secrets from my family. I keep secrets from myself.

My mind was born to doubt.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always been an overthinker, a skeptic. I tend to think the worst in people, even my friends. Maybe it’s because I’ve been let down so many times before.

I doubt people. I doubt their motives and promises. I doubt their friendship. I even doubt happiness—whether or not people truly feel it or whether they’re just faking.

People often call me heartless because my mind works in such a no-nonsense and harsh-reality sort of way.

I guess that’s why I have a mental block against God. It seems impossible for me to jump in and put all my trust in an all-powerful being I’ve never seen. I can only question the things I can’t prove; I don’t have faith. Along with the missing joint in my left hand it was something I was just born without. Faith is sacred, beautiful and scary.

It takes courage to have faith. It isn’t something that can be proven, it just is. That’s why faith is special. The unique thing about it is that it’s not something that can be forced.

religi a poll of 142 East students on

Believe me, I’ve tried.

My family was never very religious. We’d drop by our church twice a year on Easter and Christmas—super original. Even as a little kid sitting in church, I was always doubting. I remember when I was five years old, I went to day-care at Old Mission Church. Each week we were taught a different lesson about good morals and how to help people in need.

One day we were brought into a classroom that was littered with twigs, sticks and leaves. The teacher sat at her desk and sadly told us how the wind had “blown everything through her window into the classroom.”

Like good little kids, we helped her clean the room, but as we were leaving I turned to her and, in a matter-of-fact tone, told her that adults weren’t supposed to lie and that I knew full-well that she had thrown the sticks around herself and that once we left she was just going to do it again for the other class. That went over well.

That was the attitude I took to church. I would listen, and I would doubt. I was too stubborn to just believe.

I went through a period where I felt empowered by my lack of faith. I felt like I was ahead of everyone else. It was as if I saw the world clearly and everyone else was living in the shadows. I thought that denying a god made me unique, and I enjoyed that. I liked feeling independent. I wanted to feel like I could do it on my own, and I didn’t need a god to fall back on. Then I went to Jesus Camp.

Crooked Creek Young Life Camp in Colorado, to be specific. I could rattle on forever in cheesy summer camp clichés about how that was the best week of my life, but that’s not what is important. I’ll be honest, I was looking forward to camp with the thought that all the experiences and activities would be great and I could just “suffer through” the Agnosticism Atheism Other

Judaism Islam Buddhism

n

Christianity

58% consider themselves religious

religious stuff. But I didn’t. I ditched my ignorance and, finally, I listened with open ears.

I listened to peoples’ tragic stories and the ways they found strength in God. I listened to the voices of the camp as we belted the lyrics to Katy Perry’s Firework. I listened to my Young Life leader tell me that God is fighting for me.

I listened to strangers call me a sister under God. I did not listen to my doubts.

Now, every Sunday, I stand in front of a community of people and sing with the Village Voices choir at Village Presbyterian. As I stare out at the hundreds of faces watching us—some recognizable, others strangers—I feel whole. Not because the spirit of God is filling me with peace and righteousness, but because I am looking into a mosaic of faces who all care about me as if I were their own, yet don’t know my name.

It’s a group of people who would never have been brought together under any other circumstances. People who are bound together under God as one family: a family that I am a part of.

I envy people who have faith. I’ve been working to fight my mental-block. I work at it every day. I don’t know if I will ever win the battle, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to have faith to be a child of God. I realize now that whether or not I believe in God’s existence doesn’t matter.

The community I am a part of is real. The people are real and the love is real. Their stories exist. Their prayers exist. Their faith exists. Their trust and love inspires me.

For my faithless mind, I don’t find strength through a trust in God: I find it in the courage and love of those who do.

I may have been born to doubt, but the people around me have taught me to believe.

42%

actively attend a place of worship

7 out of 10 people

believe in a god or a higher being

OPINION | 9

JOGGING through

GENERATIONS

Staffer reflects on a shared love for running with grandmother as she runs her last marathon at age 80 Left, right.

Left, right.

My steps are uneven as I climb the hill.

Left, right. an opinion of GRETA NEPSTAD Left, right. My breath tears its way out of my throat, leaving it raw.

Left, right. Left, right. Just have to get up the hill.

This is my second year running up and down hills on the cross country team at East. I’m on the C-team, but I’m part of the team nonetheless. It’s my second year of going to practice five times a week and a meet every Saturday morning. And I love every minute of it.

I wasn’t always this optimistic. I used to hate sports all through elementary school. I would beg my parents to let me skip soccer practice; when that season ended, I begged them to let me skip softball practice. I hated how awkward and clumsy I felt wearing shin guards or a softball glove. Staying home and watching TV was a much more appealing idea. I would say almost anything to get out of doing exercise. Every attempt I made was a failure. Apparently, I wasn’t grateful to have so many opportunities.

“When I was a girl, I didn’t have any of this!” my mom told me. “All I did was make dinner for my brothers after their baseball practices. And just think about how Farmor would feel if you gave up.”

She had me. Whenever I thought of my grandma, or Farmor, as I’ve always called her, I felt guilty. So I signed up for cross country without knowing anything about it other than the fact that it is a running sport.

I stumbled into the cross country season blind my freshman year. I had no experience, and I had no idea what I was doing. I had missed the summer running groups and wasn’t even sure if I could do a mile without stopping. So after we were assigned three miles to run on the very first day, I was ready to quit.

OPINION | 10

And then Farmor came over for dinner. She was so proud of me for joining the cross country team. She told me how it’s such a great form of exercise, how it’s a wonderful outdoor sport and that I would make so many new friends.

So I showed up to practice the next day.

Another three miles.

When Farmor started running at the age of 52, she wasn’t very good either.

Her self confidence was so low that she would wait until after the 10 o’clock news to go on her runs. She couldn’t even make it all the way around the block. But once she did, there was no turning back. A year later in 1984, at the age of 53, she ran her first marathon in New York City. This would be her fastest time at five hours and 30 minutes.

That’s a bit slow, but she ran the entire 26.2 miles non-stop.

In the last 27 years, she has done walks, races and marathons all over the U.S. She’s competed in Portland, Green Bay, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Chicago, Anchorage and Washington, D.C. She finished her 20th and final marathon in Salmon, Idaho, on Sept. 10.

She’s also expanded her experiences beyond the U.S. She went to Athens, Greece, to run the original marathon Phidippides ran in 490 B.C. She ran another marathon 400 kilometers above the Arctic Circle in Norway. She walked the 190 miles from the Irish sea to the North Sea, across northern England.

Running my two and a half miles in Topeka sounds bland in comparison, but it’s my reality. I’ve never known true pain until running cross country, the pain of my breath being squeezed out of my chest or the screaming in my legs as I struggle up that last hill. Yet, day after day, I come to practice. I do it for me, and I do it for Farmor. I do it for the woman who makes the best molasses cookies, who gives me socks for Christmas and buys me a book for my birthday every year. I do it for the ultra-marathon runner who has done nothing but support

me.

She supported me when I ran my first race at the age of four. In second grade, my entire class put on the Italian Car Race, and she was cheering me on.

For the past seven years in a row she has gotten me to run in the Mother’s Day 5K. This event I will always cherish, because it is something that reminds me of my Farmor. Even when I told her that my soccer team didn’t score any goals for an entire season, she still congratulated me on playing the game.

This woman has put so much faith in me. When I was born, she was hiking in Cuzco, Peru. After learning that she had a granddaughter, she cried. She cried and thought about all the different ways my life would be different from hers. My world would consist of Title IX, which was an act passed in 1972 that allowed participation in any club or sport regardless of gender. I would be able to do any sport I wanted to.

It’s odd to think that I once loathed having a sport to do. I was never a good soccer player, I was terrified of batting during a softball game and I’m on the C-team of cross country. I am not the strongest athlete, but I’m going to be an athlete no matter what.

Now when I think of Farmor, I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel guilty about not being as athletic or as accomplished as her. I don’t feel guilty about once hating the thing she loves.

I feel inspired.

Once, Farmor couldn’t run around her block without walking. But since then, she’s completed ultras, marathons, relay runs, 12Ks, 10Ks and 5Ks. And she’s always finished the race. For now, I can only say that I’ve run 5Ks and two and a half mile meets. For now.

Finally clearing the hill, I run towards the finish line. Farmor says it’s a “wonderful thrill” when you reach the end and the crowds are cheering for you. She’s right. The crowds keep me going. Farmor keeps me going.

80 years old

AND STILL TRAINING Farmor’s training schedule in preparation for her marathon

7/2 she ran

10 MILES

7/9 she ran

22 MILES

7/16 she ran 11 MILES

7/23 she ran 23 MILES

7/30 she ran 21 MILES

8/6 she ran

10 MILES

8/13 she ran

24 MILES

8/20 she ran 11 MILES

8/27 she ran 23 MILES

Behind the smiles, college football teams ruin the game for fans by cheating. written by Nick May | photo by Alic Erpelding

S

ix T-shirts, a baseball hat, a lanyard, a shot glass, a license plate holder, a pennant and last but not least a fleece pair of pajama pants. Those are all of the things I own that bear the name or logo of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Add that to a campus tour last summer and you could say that I’ve done a lot to support The Ohio State University—but other than draw negative attention from the nation for cheating, what has it done for me?

In the past 10 years, head football coach Jim Tressel has given me a lot. In 2002, the Buckeyes were the first team in 105 years to go undefeated in the regular season and win the national championship game. Since then, Tressel and his sweater vests have won six Big Ten championships and gone 8-1 against our despised rivals, the University of Michigan Wolverines.

In May, however, everything changed. I was eating a ‘78 Classic cheeseburger for dinner at Johnny’s in Corinth Square when my friend poked me and pointed to one of the TV screens showing ESPN. I looked up and saw a large red banner that read, “OHIO STATE: SCANDAL,” and immediately leaned back, sighed and braced myself for what followed.

In January, I was at the same restaurant cheering and celebrating and laughing in the face of a friend and Arkansas fan as Ohio State defeated the Razorbacks 34-25 in the Sugar Bowl.

But this time I groaned as the SportsCenter anchor revealed that my boys in Columbus were under fire for a scandal that involved six players selling memorabilia for tattoos at a local tattoo parlor. This would later lead to the suspension of six players, including star quarterback Terrell Pryor who left early for the NFL and the resignation of our beloved coach. Tressel resigned because he released a form saying he didn’t know about the player’s actions—in reality, he did.

I’m very upset by what has happened in the past six months. Maybe if the students were taking steroids or the coaches were paying off the referees I would feel like the punishment fits the crime, but the rule that they broke needs to be rewritten. The official rule states that no players can receive money or gifts during their time in college sports, which is understandable when talking about bribes. But in reality, this is not what happened to the OSU players who got in trouble—it’s almost the exact opposite. They traded their awards, rings and memorabilia for tattoos.

The reason they got in trouble for selling their things is that apparently those items technically weren’t theirs under NCAA regulations. They were property of the University and not theirs to give away.

This makes no sense to me. The players were the ones who put years of time and effort into training hard and performing well, not the college itself or the NCAA. They earned those accolades, and without athletes like them, the university’s football program would not be as successful or as popular as it is today. If the players earn that award, it should be theirs to do with it as they please. If it doesn’t hold sentimental value, why should they be forced to hold onto it?

The university already makes millions of dollars off of these young athletes. Think about all the tickets sold to the countless scarlet and grey fans packed into the 105,000-person Buckeye “Horseshoe” Stadium that is always full. Think about the fan apparel that fans, like me, all across the United States buy. You can even buy a jersey of your favorite Buckeye player—the problem is that it will be the university and the NCAA who are getting your money and not the hard-working player himself. If he does get money, he’ll get suspended at the very least.

What Ohio State did compared to some other teams

is barely even comparable.

How about the Miami Hurricanes, who had 72 players and coaches in football and basketball receive an estimated $2 million in benefits? These benefits include crazy sex parties in posh hotels and on the private yacht of the booster himself, an accused Ponzi schemer, Nevin Shapiro. The man even paid for an abortion for a girl that one of the players knocked up.

Currently, the NCAA is threatening the possible use of the “Death Penalty” for Miami, which means the school’s entire program will be shut down completely for a few years. This has only been used five times in all of college sports and just once in football. In 1987 and 1988, SMU was given the penalty when it was revealed that it was paying 21 athletes $61,000.

Thankfully, because the Buckeyes cooperated with the NCAA, they weren’t given the harsh penalties that the USC Trojans suffered after a similar scandal with Heisman-winner Reggie Bush back in 2005.

As of now, things are starting to get back to normal for Ohio State. We won our first two games and currently ranked 15th in the nation. Hopefully the new coach Luke Fickell will be good enough that I’ll be able to continue trash-talking my KU-supporting friends and coaches in both football and basketball. OSU finished the regular season last year ranked number one over the number two Jayhawks, just in case you basketball fans have forgotten. Hopefully, we can put this whole mess behind us, and we can escape with our reputation intact.

In the big picture of college football cheating, what Ohio State did was pretty minor. The nation should be focusing on the bigger and more corrupt programs, such as Miami, Oregon and many other teams that are being investigated—and hopefully penalized severely.

I guess they’re right: cheaters never prosper.

FORGOTTEN FANS The Coach

What Happened: Oregon

The Athlete

What Happened:

Reggie Bush’s sports agent showered the running back and future Heisman winner with improper benefits.

The Fan

The Parent

What Happened:

ties as of now.

dured a two-year probation from post-season play and lost 30 football scholarships.

The father of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton tried to secure up to $180,000 from colleges in order for his son to play football there.

The Penalty: Cam was at first declared ineligible, but was then reinstated by the NCAA

www4.pictures.zimbio.com

www.washingtonpost.com

bentcorner.com

Coach Chip Kelly is being accused of paying $28,000 to recruits.

The Penalty:

No penali-

The Penalty: USC forfeited its BCS title, en-

OPINION | 11

LIFE after

DEATH Junior deals with a rare connective tissue disorder, a heart condition and a brain cyst

written by Matt Hanson | photos by Hiba Akhar

Twenty-seven pairs of eyes watch as junior Chloe Vollenweider picks up her Vera Bradley bag. They follow her as she leaves her classroom with five minutes left until the bell. She ignores her classmates’ stares. They may judge her, but they don’t know.

They don’t know that she can’t travel during passing periods because the slightest bump from another student could dislocate her shoulder. They don’t know that she has to use an elevator because stairs are bad for her reconstructed heart.

She just silently walks the lonely halls to her next class.

Having to leave her classes early is a trifle inconvenience for Chloe when compared to everything else she’s been through.

Chloe was born with a deformed heart. Her pulmonary artery was coming out of her aorta; she had two holes in her heart and she had extra muscle mass around it. Her problems called for a full heart reconstruction when she was five days old.

The next day, she had a heart attack while recovering from surgery.

The next day, she died.

She wasn’t dead for long. Twelve chest compressions later, Chloe was back. *** Four years later, Chloe and her mom Melissa were watching TV together when one of the characters died.

“What happened?” Chloe asked Melissa.

“Oh, he just went to heaven,” her mother replied.

“I was there.”

“What?”

“Well, remember when I died?” Chloe asked.

Melissa was shocked. No one had ever told Chloe about her death. But somehow, she knew.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I went to heaven.”

Then, for the first time, Chloe told her mom what death was like.

She told her what she remembered. She was an adult looming over her infant body, surrounded by a hue of pink.

People stood all around her. Chloe felt like she knew them, like she should know them, but she didn’t. A woman approached her.

“Chloe, we don’t have much time,” the mysterious woman said. “You can stay here, or you can go back. Life will be difficult for you, but the people around you will make it okay.”

The woman embraced Chloe, and Chloe made her choice.

She walked on into life, and love. *** Chloe is still walking. She hasn’t stopped since she chose life over death.

As the woman from her death predicted, it’s been a difficult journey for Chloe. Her entire life, she’s struggled with various health problems. As she got older, Chloe and her parents began to realize that her initial heart issues were just the beginning of her ailments.

“I had a lot of health problems that we could never really find an explanation for,” Chloe said.

12 | FEATURES

JUNIOR CHLOE VOLLENWEIDER applies bandages to stabilize her arm muscles with the help of her mom.

Chloe began to get her explanations as she got older.

When she was seven, doctors told her parents that her reconstructed heart will need a valve replacement every 15 years for the rest of her life. Her next open-heart surgery is scheduled to happen in the next year or two.

When she was nine, an MRI revealed that she had a brain cyst resting right next to her optic nerve. The cyst, always fluctuating in size, could blind her should it grow to a certain size. If it threatens to grow to that size, Chloe would have to have potentially-life-threatening brain surgery.

When she was 14, a geneticist diagnosed her with EhlersDanlos syndrome (EDS), a rare connective tissue disorder that causes her joints to pop out of their sockets easily.

Before the diagnosis, she had always fractured her bones easily. She would walk around for days at a time with her shoulders hanging out their sockets. She lived in constant pain — she says she’s never had a day without pain—and she had no idea why. The day she finally got the diagnosis was one of the “happiest days of her life.”

“If I could put a name on it, I had a reason behind it,” Chloe said. “I had just lived with so many symptoms my whole life, and it was just so nice to have a way to connect them.”

Soon after she was diagnosed with EDS, she started to take the necessary measures to deal with it. She began going to weekly physical and occupational therapy sessions, where she does the type of repetitive exercises that are normally so painful to her, like curling her arms with exercise bands. She will be doing these type of exercises for the rest of her life. When high school started, Chloe quickly realized that walking through the halls was hazardous to someone with EDS, and she began leaving all of her classes five minutes early to avoid contact in the halls. Now, she can be seen wearing pink medical tape on the insides of her arms, designed to keep her elbows from dislocating.

Chloe hasn’t let EDS get to her.

“I mean, you can’t cure EDS, but you can live with it,” Chloe said. “It’s so much better than the alternative: being in a wheelchair, or being paralyzed, or things that could come from me having a worse situation than I’m in now.”

Her life has always been tough, but Chloe has developed outlets to help her deal with the struggles she faces. *** Theater has helped her release the emotions she suppresses normally and has given her a close family away from home that she can rely on.

Working on the teen advisory board at Children’s Mercy,

FOR AUDIO INTERVIEWS WITH CHLOE, VISIT WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET

where she helps raise money for hospital projects, has allowed her to put her issues in perspective. Not only does Chloe get to give back to the place that has become her home away from home, but she gets to hear stories that help her to appreciate what she has.

“I kind of live by the rule of thumb that if everybody put their problems on a table you’d probably take yours back, whenever you see what other people are dealing with,” Chloe says.

Chloe’s family has also helped her through her problems. Her parents, Melissa and Doug Vollenweider, have been to every cardiology appointment Chloe has ever had, just in case she gets the news she dreads: that she has to have her valve replacement. They’ve always encouraged Chloe to live her life to the fullest.

“We don’t really wait on things,” Doug said. “If we have an opportunity for either her on her own, or as a family, to experience something, we’re going to do it now.”

Melissa and Doug have worked very hard to keep their family optimistic, even when Doug was laid off from his job two years ago. In the eight months that Doug was unemployed, Chloe’s six-year-old sister, Gigi, began her own physical therapy, adding on to the family’s mounting medical bills. To make matters worse, Doug’s job search was limited only to jobs that offered the top-notch health insurance packages that Chloe needed.

Even then, Doug and Melissa stayed confident and optimistic.

Their optimism has been passed on to Chloe, who never lets her problems get her down. Chloe’s optimism can also be tied to the memories she has of her death.

Those memories have kept her going.

“I’m not afraid of death,” Chloe says. “I’m afraid of dying and not being with the people I love. But I’m not afraid of death itself.”

Her bravery comes in handy, because Chloe faces the possibility of death in her near future. Either of her two surgeries—the inevitable valve replacement and the unlikely, but still possible, brain surgery—that she might have to have could kill her.

But she’s fine with that. She knows what awaits her on the other side. For now, she can just hope that her next valve replacement goes well. Or that her cyst doesn’t grow.

Or that if her cyst does grow, then that surgery goes well.

One of those things could go wrong, but until she meets death, she’ll keep walking.

She just might have to start walking a few minutes early.

UCHAN

BRINGING HOME

written by Chloe Stradinger | photos provided by the Kohring family Handprints, small and imprinted in chalk, still mark the back of Kraig Kohring’s sports jacket. The prints are from a stubborn, funny and sensitive boy named Uchan. The jacket belongs to a happy father of four, Kraig Kohring. After Uchan met his dad Kraig for the first time and hugged him with chalky hands, he made his first imprint on the Kohring family. But it certainly wouldn’t be the last. *** Molly Kohring had it all—three healthy children, Peter (10), Emily (13), and Caroline (15), a newly remodeled home nestled in the heart of Prairie Village, and a devoted husband of 27 years. Christ-follower and soccer-mom, she wanted to share her American dream with someone who wasn’t as fortunate.

She had thought about adoption for nearly six years. A kind of maybe we could... or it’d be awesome if... thought.

Then, her family volunteered through the church to host two girls from the Uganda Children’s Choir, Paska and Fiona, for a night while the choir passed through Kansas City.

The Kohrings and the girls really connected; Emily and Caroline sent them off with two of their favorite American Girl Dolls, and Paska and Fiona left Molly with the feeling that she was ready to turn her dream of adopting into a reality.

“It really solidified the feeling that maybe we could do this,” Molly said.

Kraig and Molly had touched on the topic of adoption before, but never with the tone of seriousness Molly had when she started the conversation one fall morning on a run. Molly was sure that he’d have his usual “go-for-it” attitude. So as soon as they talked about it and Kraig said “yes”, Molly started her research.

Using Google, she began her hunt for faith-based adoption agencies as well as countries and continents open to U.S. adoption. She landed on the country of Ethiopia and the adoption agency All God’s Children.

The Kohrings were eager to get started. They learned from their research that the process could take anywhere from two to four years.

The first step, the application, took them nearly three months to fill out--but this was only the beginning. After they submitted the application, they decided it was time to tell their kids.

They broke the news to Caroline first, who was ecstatic but not too surprised about her family’s decision. Her siblings were excited as well, but more reserved about taking a new member into their family.

Caroline did a project for her middle school SEEK class about the culture of Ethiopia, and Emily chose the country to do a class report on. These projects were one way the girls started to tell their classmates about how they were adopting a brother. The family originally agreed that they didn’t want to spread the word too early, but once they got further along in the process they started to tell people.

In March of 2010, the Kohrings received news from the agency that their application had been approved. They were then put on a waiting list to adopt a young boy. Families were ranked in an order of first come first serve, and the Kohrings started at number 69.

Finally, in April of this year, the Kohrings received an e-mail from the agency with information about a four-yearold boy named Uchan was looking for a new family. The Kohrings looked at his profile and decided that because of

his age, gender and personality traits, he would be a great match with their family.

This little boy, living in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was soon going to be a member of their family.

The next step in the process was actually meeting Uchan and going to court to get the adoption finalized. Their court date was set for July of this year. Kraig and Molly went alone while the kids stayed at home, continuing with their busy summer schedules.

Traveling to Addis Ababa requires a thirteen-hour plane ride from D.C. to Ethiopia. Molly and Kraig were both nervous, but for different reasons; Molly gets anxious traveling and Kraig was nervous about the language barrier. He could only say a few words in the same language as Uchan, which he learned from internet programs and by practicing on flight attendants.

The adoption agency told the couple that they wouldn’t see Uchan until a day or two after they arrived, but when they checked in at their hotel they received an itinerary that scheduled them to go to the orphanage that very afternoon.

Uchan had only been at the orphanage, Hannah’s Hope, for three months. He grew up in orphanages all over Gambella, an Ethiopian country on the border of Sudan.

Hanna’s Hope is a well-kept orphanage with about 40 children from infants to ten-year-olds. The orphanage is run by “special-mothers” or women who are caretakers for the children. Though the orphanage, made of two duplexes put together, has no official school. Instead, there’s a room with a chalkboard and craft tables. This room was where Uchan was when he first met Molly and Kraig.

As soon as Molly opened the door with Kraig right behind her, Uchan, expecting their visit, ran to them with outstretched arms.

“It was weird. It just automatically felt like he was our child.” Molly said.

Molly and Kraig only stayed about a week. Along with some sight-seeing, they visited Uchan every day. They brought him Legos and a Lightning Mcqueen toy car from the movie Cars to play with. Also, they brought a box of Froot Loops and string to make Froot Loop necklaces with all of the kids. By playing with him and watching him interact, they learned a lot about his personality.

“What we really loved and noted was that he shared really well. He shared us [with the other kids].” Molly said.

Along with his great sense of humor, they also noticed that he was tidy; he always put his toys away without being asked.

Even though they couldn’t communicate clearly, there was no awkwardness.

“You kind of didn’t need words,” Molly said. “He knew we were his Mommy and Daddy.” Much to their relief, their court appointment was “no big deal”. The judge was a young girl around the age of 18 who wore jeans and asked the family a few casual questions about their home life and children before dismissing them.

Returning home was hard. Although Molly and Kraig were ready to be back in the U.S., they weren’t ready to leave Uchan.

They knew it would be hard going back to the U.S. when they had a child in Africa.

“The way we felt about everything--the kids our, family-all of a sudden was about to change. And there’s a part of

you that’s a little sad it’s going to change but really excited and hopeful for what was getting ready to happen” Molly said.

Luckily, they received word that they could go to Ethiopia to take Uchan home less than four weeks later on August 18th. Since it was the first week of school, Molly needed to stay home, so Kraig went alone.

Kraig picked Uchan up from the orphanage as soon as he could. They went back to the hotel where they stayed and hung out for two days before catching a flight home. “[We were] just a couple of dudes in a hotel room getting to know each other.” Kraig said.

On the plane, Uchan was intrigued by the complexity of the plane’s TV and remote and kept pushing the buttons in amazement.

The family was ecstatic to welcome Uchan home. Molly picked the kids up from school early to go to the airport where they waited for their family’s arrival.

Now, Uchan is adjusting to life in the U.S. He constantly watches TV and movies, like the Lion King and Toy Story, to help him learn the English language. He also loves listening to music—especially Justin Bieber’s “Baby”.

Though the family is communicating with Uchan through simple words and actions while he learns English through immersion, there are still some communication issues, still irregularities within their interaction. When the family went out to a self-serve ice cream place, Uchan sprinkled Cajun powder as well as other funny toppings on his ice cream. Kraig and Molly couldn’t tell him that it was a gross combination, so they just had to watch him eat around it.

According to the adoption agency, the family is supposed to “cocoon” Uchan and make him feel safe. This means that there shouldn’t be a bunch of non-family members in and out of the Kohring household and that Kraig sleeps in the same room so Uchan gets the feeling that someone will always be there looking out for him.

Kraig is on a three month sabbatical from his law firm to spend time and bond with his new son. While Peter loves his brother, it’s hard to watch his dad spend so much time bonding with someone else. But Peter and Uchan’s relationship grows each day when they wrestle and go to their sister’s soccer games and Peter teaches Uchan American sports and activities.

All of the siblings are getting along great; every day, Uchan rides his new bike to Prairie Elementary School to pick up Peter. He also runs to the door to hug his sisters every time they come home from school.

Every day isn’t all smiles, though. Uchan has good days as well as bad ones. He sometimes has breakdowns where he can’t stop crying; often they’re a result of frustration from failed communication, but sometimes he just cries for no reason anyone but him knows. These breakdowns get shorter and occur less often as Uchan continues to adjust.

But Uchan is not the only one who has to adjust to this new life. With a four-year-old in the house, everything changes. Some things are hard to adjust to, such as using simpler language around the house with a younger kid.

Others are fun; Kraig recently took Uchan to the park for the first time, which was a fun, first-time trip for Uchan.

“It’s fun experiencing things you’ve done before fresh through his eyes.” Kraig said.

FEATURES | 13

To be gReek or not to be

Greek life means friendship and opportunities for some, partying and stereotypes for others written by Emily Donovan | art by Kat Buchanan From house parties to charity work, brainless frivolCeremonies may not be the only place fraternal alum- the likelihood to drink in excess. ity to strict academic requirements and hazing to friend- nus gather. Rather than on a college campus, picture “If there’s an opportunity for alcohol, you have the ships, undergraduate fraternal organizations stand for a the exchange of secret handchoice of deciding if you want variety of lifestyles and Greek life varies accordingly be- shakes and Greek symbols in to participate in it or not,” PiTotalfratmove (TFM) tweets tween colleges. a business’ conference room, geon said. “When members entertaining, stereotypical comments Greek life has a reputation for bad behavior, but there’s between corner offices, in conof a sorority are looking at pertaining to Greek life one aspect that many students don’t take into account: gress or even in the Oval Ofpledges, they’re not looking bonding. Senior Maddy Pigeon, who plans to join a soror- fice. at how many shots they can ity at her first-choice college next year, admires Greek life Though only 8.5 percent of do so much as how well they for its sense of community. all current undergraduate colcan live with each other.”

“You have a bunch of girls looking out for you and al- lege students in the U.S. are Rather than counting @totalfratmove ways making sure that you are around people who care a member of a Greek society, shots, a fraternity or sororabout you,” Pigeon said. “You’re going into a group of former fraternity or sorority ity member may be countFollow friends that will accept you.” members consist of 120 CEOs ing donations. Most modern Having heard her mother’s stories about timeless of Fortune 500 companies, Tweets Favorites Following Followers Greek societies focus on philfriendships, Pigeon believes that going into Greek life about one third of current conanthropic work done locally, totalfratmove Total Frat Move means meeting a new friend group. Pigeon is among gress members and 48 percent through charitable organizaWearing a bow tie is a way of expressing an aggressive many students with this belief. Senior Caroline Dodd, of all United States Presidents. tions like Girl Scouts of Amerlack of concern for what other people think. TFM. whose brother and father have been involved in fraterThanks to the widespread ica, Make-A-Wish Foundation 5 minutes ago nity life, thinks Greek life is a fun opportunity. success of these graduates, and Ronald McDonald House totalfratmove Total Frat Move “There are a lot of events and it seems like a great many fraternities and sororiCharities and through major Marking your ball on a mini golf date. TFM place to meet people,” Dodd said. ties pride themselves on breedfundraisers. Though the dol50 minutes ago While joining an established community of like-mind- ing future leaders through a lar sign varies by fraternity or ed individuals may be enticing for some, finding friends number of elected officer posisorority chapter and by year, totalfratmove Total Frat Move through a structured organization isn’t as alluring for oth- tions like president and treaGreek donations and charity How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? I don’t know, but one of the Fall pledges will. work is a huge part of what ers. In some cases, like-minded might mean close-mind- surer that are ideal for résumé TFM ed: traditional Greek society members are sometimes ste- padding. Additionally, many keeps the system alive and 4 hours ago reotyped as conservative business majors with wealthy organizations enable their in good terms with the comparents. This is by no means universally accurate, but members to make connections munity both on and off the many students perceive limited diversity in fraternities with internship programs and future employers in the campus. and sororities and choose to search for a less stagnant area through alumnus.

Instead of charity work, the media and the public friend group.

Even though some fraternities or sororities may pro- tends to focus on scandals. Alcohol poisoning, forced “I don’t see the point of it,” senior Eli Mitchell said on duce successful leaders, Greek society’s effect on grade public nudity, mandated sexual aggression and dehujoining Greek life for community. “It’s just an outdated point average (GPA) is much more controversial. While manizing scrutiny of bodily imperfections are much more tradition. Why can’t we just be individuals and have our some colleges report increased GPA for the average frater- popular stories. own friends that we find on our own?” nal member than the average unaffiliated student, others Hollywood depictions of rushing and pledge week are Tradition, however, is exactly what Pigeon hopes to report the inverse. enough to turn anyone away from the Greek system but find. However corny they may at times be, Pigeon feels “I think there’s a possibility that [Greek life] could many believe hazing gone awry should be considered an that ceremonies that bring old alumnus back show how interfere with studying… a big possibility,” Dodd said. outlier rather than the norm. timeless a fraternal community can be.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to balance both so I can get good “I believe that in some schools—the major, major grades but also have fun.”

Greek colleges—to some extent, it’s true [about hazing],” A growing number of fraternities and sororities com- Pigeon said. “I do believe that they are heightened up a lot pel their members to strike this balance. In addition to and they do take away the good parts of Greek life.” event attendance, many Greek societies require their Those opposed to the Greek system agree that the members to maintain a minimum GPA, ranging between attention-grabbing stories aren’t always to be trusted.

2.0 and 3.5, to remain in the fraternity or sorority. “[Hazing in the media] is obviously not realistic,” Success, leadership and academic encouragement Mitchell said. “I have no doubt that hazing happens but aren’t what popular entertainment associates with fra- portraying it like that implies that it happens more often ternities and sororities. Thanks to movies, headlines and than it does.” comedy websites, Greek life is synonymous with two While hazing may not be a common screening prothings: alcohol and hazing. cess, all Greek life comes with one hefty membership Partying, say Greek society advocates, isn’t exclusive requirement: a membership fee. This fee varies by fraterto Greek society. Many argue that the failings of certain nity or sorority and can range from anywhere between a members don’t necessarily indicate a systematic prob- few hundred to a few thousand dollars for living in-house. lem, especially when dealing with college students.

Some Greek houses pride themselves on being more af“If a person wants to drink, they’ll drink to their fordable and enjoyable than living in an off-campus heart’s content, but if you don’t like to drink you probably apartment or in the dorms, but each formal dinner, 80s won’t drink much,” said senior Evan Westhoff. “I don’t themed mixer and toga party cuts further into a college think [Greek life] affects a person’s fondness for alcohol.” student’s pocket.

Despite the stereotype, many students, like Westhoff, Greek society is different at every college; the comPigeon and Dodd, don’t consider alcohol integral to Greek munity, alumnus, academics, parties and cost all vary life. Certain fraternity and sorority houses may be known between fraternities and sororities. Even with a stigma for hosting parties that involve drinking, but being a fra- of bad behavior, community and philanthropy show that ternity or sorority member does not necessarily increase Greek life is about much more than partying.

Total Frat Move

14 | FEATURES

11

9. .01

Q

We will never forget

A

written by Emma Pennington | photos courtesy of mctcampus.org

Forever changed

Harbinger investigates the lasting impacts that September 11th had on our nation Tiernan Shank

10

Airport security

9

Before 9/11, airport security was virtually nonexistent.

Security checkpoints were for guns and knives, not explosives. Now, flying is full of scanners and long lines.

War on Terror On September 20, 2001 President George W. Bush declared war on the terrorist group Al-Qeada. The purpose of the War on Terror was to destroy terrorist organizations and end the government support of terrorism

7

6

Construction on government buildings Prior to 9/11 the construction of a building didn’t mean much to architects and designers. But now security and safe construction are vital for building virtually every structure.

4

Department of homeland security In response to 9/11 the government created the Department of Homeland Security whose mission statement is to ensure that our homeland is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism.

Security around private building Not only is their heightened security in airports, but also in most high profile public buildings.

3

Muslim discrimination Soon after the 9/11 attacks Muslims and Arabs became the targets of discrimination.

Today, they still face racial profiling, especially in airports.

8

Tighter U.S. immigration policy In the aftermath of 9/11 most immigrants have to face tighter regulations on entering and remaining in the country. Since all 19 of the hijackers entered the country legally, the U.S. government had to be more thorough in their investigation of the people entering the country making it more difficult for immigrants to receive Green Cards and Visas.

A A

2

Lasting effects on children With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 still in our minds we have to think of the millions of children who lost parents in the nationwide devastation. These “9/11 babies” are a new generation of children who will never know their mother or father.

“It was in second grade and half way through the day [my teacher] told us that something had happened really close ‘cause we were two hours away from New York City. They said that we were going to have to stay in our classrooms but call all of our parents to make sure our parents were okay. A lot of my friends parents worked in New York City.

Then after our parents personally had to come pick us up from school.”

ReeAe Jordan Senior “I was about seven, I was in the first grade and I was at school.

It was playing on the TVs in our classrooms. I remember people were talking about it in the halls.

A lot of the fifth and sixth graders.”

Sam Tulp Junior

Patriot Act Following 9/11 the government passed the Patriot Act which allowed law enforcement agencies to do more searches of telephone, e-mail, medical and financial records. This was especially helpful in tracking terrorists and other criminal personnel.

1

16 | SPREAD

Military personnel stand holding flags at the entrance to the 9/11 memorial honoring those who died and their heroic actions.

5

Fear of flying According to World Press, moments after 9/11 some 1.4 million people cancelled their travel plans and chose to either not go or drive. Even today many Americans fear the possibility of a terrorist attack on their plane.

What do you recall from that day?

“I remember Richie Wagstaff one of my little freshman at the time, saying, “Ms. Beachy do you think this means we are going to go to war?” And I looked at him and I thought, Gosh if we do, would kids like him? Would my students have to go fight and be recruited? That was really hard, that was here, that was something I could see, the fear on their faces.”

Laura Beachy Standing on the side of one of the reflection pools, a mourner takes time to remember those who were lost in the plane crash.

Q

A

Q

How were you notified, what did they say?

A

“A colleague of mine who doesn’t teach here anymore came in and I remember her face and her exact words. She said, “Oh my God Laura, a plane flew into a building in NY.” I really didn’t think that much of it. I thought, “Oh well that’s a bad accident, strange things happen all the time.” She looked very shaken up and I didn’t understand why.”

A

“I was in school, they didn’t tell us what happened but they just said something bad happened then all of our parents came and picked us up.”

Sam Tulp

A

Junior

A

“My mom explained it to me. I was at a picnic in second grade and I remember seeing all the planes fly back to the KCI airport.

I remember seeing the actual footage of it and I thought it was a movie or something.”

Zach Jacobson Senior

English teacher

Rebuilding the hope A look at the newly constructed 9/11 memorial and museum

“It was more like I didn’t quite understand because I was really young. My parents tried to explain it to me it was like all over the news so I know my parents were constantly watching it so it was more like i just didn’t understand what was going on.”

ReeAe Jordan

Laura Beachy English teacher

A

What was your reaction?

Senior

“My mom was in the news at that point so when I got home she was busy and running around; it was a pretty hectic day. My dad still had to go to work and he was busy; he worked with the banks so Wall Street was shut down at that point. It permeated my life for that period.”

Q

A

“Well we obviously have the debt crisis and that began all our debt because we went to war. It led to all the jobs that were lost, it is just like a chain.”

Zach Jacobson Senior

A

Sam Tulp Junior “I was actually really naive about it. I came back into my house, walked upstairs and both of my parents were just sitting on the couch watching the news. They just kept repeating the same video of the towers falling down.

I just kind of looked over there and was like, “Oh, so, Hey I got out of school early.” Then my mom kind of took me aside and said, “Mark, do you know what happened?” Then she told me everything and I was like. But in my second grade self by the next day I had completely forgot about it.”

Mark Towster Senior

How do you feel the country is still dealing with the aftermath?

“I mean, it affected what we did after that point. We went to war over it. We were focusing on that event, and our reaction really shaped the US. It still matters today—it is obviously very important, it affected nearly 3,000 lives, which is quite a few people.”

Sam Tulp Junior

A

“I still feel like we’re the same people but we just have a lot more regulations and restrictions on freedoms just because it’s like, if you’re wearing a turban in the airport you have a bomb.

Our mind-set has sort of shifted.

It shifted to like, “We hate Arabs.”

And then finally now we are kind of shifting back once we realized that they don’t have weapons of mass destruction and it was only Osama Bin Laden.”

1

In order to honor the Twin Towers, the architects designed two pools; one for the North Tower and one for the South. Carved around the edges of the pools are the names of many people who died in the attacks.

2

In this pavilion is the wall of faces which shows photos of the victims of the attacks and the last steel column found at the World Trade Center sight.

A woman receives a body scan while going through airport security. This was just one of the many newly implemented procedures after the attacks.

Mark Towster Senior

um Muse ion l i Pav North Tower Pool

American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 people.

pool South Tower Tree park

3

400 trees cover the plaza of the 9/11 memorial. These trees bring fresh life to a once desolate ground.

4 Holding 480,000 gallons of water, this second pool is identical to the North pool.

SPREAD | 17

11

9. .01

Q

We will never forget

A

written by Emma Pennington | photos courtesy of mctcampus.org

Forever changed

Harbinger investigates the lasting impacts that September 11th had on our nation Tiernan Shank

10

Airport security

9

Before 9/11, airport security was virtually nonexistent.

Security checkpoints were for guns and knives, not explosives. Now, flying is full of scanners and long lines.

War on Terror On September 20, 2001 President George W. Bush declared war on the terrorist group Al-Qeada. The purpose of the War on Terror was to destroy terrorist organizations and end the government support of terrorism

7

6

Construction on government buildings Prior to 9/11 the construction of a building didn’t mean much to architects and designers. But now security and safe construction are vital for building virtually every structure.

4

Department of homeland security In response to 9/11 the government created the Department of Homeland Security whose mission statement is to ensure that our homeland is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism.

Security around private building Not only is their heightened security in airports, but also in most high profile public buildings.

3

Muslim discrimination Soon after the 9/11 attacks Muslims and Arabs became the targets of discrimination.

Today, they still face racial profiling, especially in airports.

8

Tighter U.S. immigration policy In the aftermath of 9/11 most immigrants have to face tighter regulations on entering and remaining in the country. Since all 19 of the hijackers entered the country legally, the U.S. government had to be more thorough in their investigation of the people entering the country making it more difficult for immigrants to receive Green Cards and Visas.

A A

2

Lasting effects on children With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 still in our minds we have to think of the millions of children who lost parents in the nationwide devastation. These “9/11 babies” are a new generation of children who will never know their mother or father.

“It was in second grade and half way through the day [my teacher] told us that something had happened really close ‘cause we were two hours away from New York City. They said that we were going to have to stay in our classrooms but call all of our parents to make sure our parents were okay. A lot of my friends parents worked in New York City.

Then after our parents personally had to come pick us up from school.”

ReeAe Jordan Senior “I was about seven, I was in the first grade and I was at school.

It was playing on the TVs in our classrooms. I remember people were talking about it in the halls.

A lot of the fifth and sixth graders.”

Sam Tulp Junior

Patriot Act Following 9/11 the government passed the Patriot Act which allowed law enforcement agencies to do more searches of telephone, e-mail, medical and financial records. This was especially helpful in tracking terrorists and other criminal personnel.

1

16 | SPREAD

Military personnel stand holding flags at the entrance to the 9/11 memorial honoring those who died and their heroic actions.

5

Fear of flying According to World Press, moments after 9/11 some 1.4 million people cancelled their travel plans and chose to either not go or drive. Even today many Americans fear the possibility of a terrorist attack on their plane.

What do you recall from that day?

“I remember Richie Wagstaff one of my little freshman at the time, saying, “Ms. Beachy do you think this means we are going to go to war?” And I looked at him and I thought, Gosh if we do, would kids like him? Would my students have to go fight and be recruited? That was really hard, that was here, that was something I could see, the fear on their faces.”

Laura Beachy Standing on the side of one of the reflection pools, a mourner takes time to remember those who were lost in the plane crash.

Q

A

Q

How were you notified, what did they say?

A

“A colleague of mine who doesn’t teach here anymore came in and I remember her face and her exact words. She said, “Oh my God Laura, a plane flew into a building in NY.” I really didn’t think that much of it. I thought, “Oh well that’s a bad accident, strange things happen all the time.” She looked very shaken up and I didn’t understand why.”

A

“I was in school, they didn’t tell us what happened but they just said something bad happened then all of our parents came and picked us up.”

Sam Tulp

A

Junior

A

“My mom explained it to me. I was at a picnic in second grade and I remember seeing all the planes fly back to the KCI airport.

I remember seeing the actual footage of it and I thought it was a movie or something.”

Zach Jacobson Senior

English teacher

Rebuilding the hope A look at the newly constructed 9/11 memorial and museum

“It was more like I didn’t quite understand because I was really young. My parents tried to explain it to me it was like all over the news so I know my parents were constantly watching it so it was more like i just didn’t understand what was going on.”

ReeAe Jordan

Laura Beachy English teacher

A

What was your reaction?

Senior

“My mom was in the news at that point so when I got home she was busy and running around; it was a pretty hectic day. My dad still had to go to work and he was busy; he worked with the banks so Wall Street was shut down at that point. It permeated my life for that period.”

Q

A

“Well we obviously have the debt crisis and that began all our debt because we went to war. It led to all the jobs that were lost, it is just like a chain.”

Zach Jacobson Senior

A

Sam Tulp Junior “I was actually really naive about it. I came back into my house, walked upstairs and both of my parents were just sitting on the couch watching the news. They just kept repeating the same video of the towers falling down.

I just kind of looked over there and was like, “Oh, so, Hey I got out of school early.” Then my mom kind of took me aside and said, “Mark, do you know what happened?” Then she told me everything and I was like. But in my second grade self by the next day I had completely forgot about it.”

Mark Towster Senior

How do you feel the country is still dealing with the aftermath?

“I mean, it affected what we did after that point. We went to war over it. We were focusing on that event, and our reaction really shaped the US. It still matters today—it is obviously very important, it affected nearly 3,000 lives, which is quite a few people.”

Sam Tulp Junior

A

“I still feel like we’re the same people but we just have a lot more regulations and restrictions on freedoms just because it’s like, if you’re wearing a turban in the airport you have a bomb.

Our mind-set has sort of shifted.

It shifted to like, “We hate Arabs.”

And then finally now we are kind of shifting back once we realized that they don’t have weapons of mass destruction and it was only Osama Bin Laden.”

1

In order to honor the Twin Towers, the architects designed two pools; one for the North Tower and one for the South. Carved around the edges of the pools are the names of many people who died in the attacks.

2

In this pavilion is the wall of faces which shows photos of the victims of the attacks and the last steel column found at the World Trade Center sight.

A woman receives a body scan while going through airport security. This was just one of the many newly implemented procedures after the attacks.

Mark Towster Senior

um Muse ion l i Pav North Tower Pool

American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 people.

pool South Tower Tree park

3

400 trees cover the plaza of the 9/11 memorial. These trees bring fresh life to a once desolate ground.

4 Holding 480,000 gallons of water, this second pool is identical to the North pool.

SPREAD | 17

A Divided Education Parents are deciding to send their children to public schools after years of homeschooling written by Will Webber | photos by Brendan Dulohery Before attending Shawnee Mission East high school, schooling offered. Without the restrictions of a rigid routine, Max Kurlbaum was in a class of one. He could wake up at she could work in a way which amplified her strong subjects noon and study math in his pajamas. His parents were right and amend the weaker areas. there for help when things got difficult. But in his first days “I learn better on my own so it was nice to work at my at East, he found himself competing with 20-30 students own pace and get ahead,” she said. for the teacher’s attention. While the ultimate goal of public Max also heavily relied on himself for teaching, which school and home-school is an excellent education, they are allowed him to accommodate his own learning style. At the drastically different in essence. Current East students had beginning of each year, Max would receive textbooks with different reasons for initially choosing home-school, but thorough lesson plans. He did more and more self-teaching had similar experiences in making the transition to public. as he grew older.

Max was born with two very important teachers. They Many parents believe this focus on personal learning is taught him how to speak. They taught him how to walk. lost in the public school environment. With East class sizes They taught him how to read, how to tie his shoes, how often exceeding 30 students, even Principal Karl Krawitz to choose friends, how to decide what is right and what is believes lack of attention can be an issue. Teachers have to wrong. They invested every bit of themselves with the hope consider the needs of the entire class above the individual. that he would flourish as a student and person. When the While Krawitz agrees that larger class sizes are not the time came for Max to enter school, his parents believed they ideal learning environment, he strongly believes teaching could do a better job teaching him than the surrounding straight from textbooks is an inadequate method. He feels schools. that much more is gained from interacting with an actual “We used to live in Wyandotte county and the public teacher. schools are just awful,” Max said.

“There is no substitute for being in a classroom with a The district is indeed the lowest performing in the state professional who can bring to the table so many things to of Kansas. Max received the education he needed at home heighten the ability of a student to understand and learn and continued to perform highly on his annual tests. His material,” he said. “It’s really hard to share the emotions of a family saw no reason to make the switch to public school circumstance through textbooks or online courses.” immediately after moving into the Shawnee Mission area.

Krawitz believes public school offers many valuable inWhile the Kurlbaum’s decision to home school was out teractions. Home-schooled children enjoy more family time of necessity, junior Mary Kate Peterson and her family’s than the average student, but have less opportunity to be decision was driven by their educational philosophy. Kirk around a variety of peers. Parents agree that they cannot Peterson, her father, found that his own public school ex- shelter their children forever; it’s necessary for them to be perience valued grades over actual learning. He wanted a exposed to more people and their respective ideas before different route for his five children. college. Once their kids reached higher level classes, the “Our hope was to cultivate in our kids a desire to learn, parents found it increasingly difficult to teach. Janet and because we should be lifelong learners,” he said. “If we could Kirk Peterson attempted to learn Latin one summer, but uldo that, we could equip them to be successful in anything.” timately decided it would better be taught by a specialist.

Mary Kate came to embrace the freedom that home- High school was the right time to enter.

Kurlbaum entered public school in eighth grade; Peterson, in ninth. But senior Kasha Prinzing was initially reluctant when her parents decided it was time for her to make the transition last year. Her parents chose to home-school because it allowed them to spend more quality time together as a family. After a lifetime of home-schooling, Kasha found East to be a strange environment.

“My parents taught me not to try to blend in, because I wasn’t going to, and that’s OK,” she said. “There was the acknowledgment that I’m not like everyone else.”

Kasha embraces her unique qualities and complements them with a unique education. Even though she is takingAdvanced Placement (AP) English, Spanish and art classes at East, she continues to take her math and science classes at home. She has kept a foot in each world, but at first, going from the sheltered home-school environment to the massive halls of East was a culture shock.

“I would jump whenever I heard the “F” word, which you hear like a hundred times every passing period. I’ve kind of become desensitized to it now,” Kasha said.

By the second semester of the school year, she felt accustomed to the routine of the new school. Kasha was never fazed by the competitive nature of East; she feels no need to compare herself academically to others. Her own pace of learning is what’s best. Max, on the other hand, thrived on the encouragement of other students.

“I feel like at East, the competition really makes students strive to try their hardest,” Max said. “Smart people are actually valued here.”

While not every public school experience has been enjoyable, the students are glad they have become used to the environment before entering the real world. They have made the transition to successful public school students with the love and support of their tight-knit families. The school is beginning to feel a lot more like home, but these students would change nothing about their past education.

HOMESCHOOL vs. PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2.04 million kids are homeschooled 30 percent higher test scores amount of money spent on home$500 median schooling each year

18 | Features

National Home Education Research Institute

of students enrolled at East 1,802 number for the 2011-2012 school year amount spent, per pupil, in the 2010-2011 $11,839 school year 25.3 average ACT score at East WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET FOR ADDITIONAL VIDEOS, VISIT

Shawnee Mission School District

creating

HOPE Junior Maggie Niven creates her own SHARE project to raise awareness for AIDS and HIV

written by Sarah Berger | photos by Spencer Davis

T

om Prager sits in a hospital bed waiting for a breathing tube. He expects he is about to lose his battle against AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Prager puts his hand on his good friend, Beth Niven’s, pregnant stomach and says, “Take care of her. I really wanted to meet her.”

*** Fast forward 16 years. That baby that was once in Beth’s stomach is now junior Maggie Niven. The man in the hospital bed was who she calls her Uncle Tom. Maggie’s mother met Uncle Tom while working at Julliard, and they had been good friends for ten years. During those years, Uncle Tom had become infected with HIV/AIDS. “We have had numerous friends that have passed away from AIDS,” Kip Niven, Maggie’s dad, said. “It’s a disease that knows no boundaries.”

Because of Maggie’s close ties to the theatre community and the AIDS epidemic, she has decided to start a SHARE project called AIDS Awareness.

“My parents are both in the theatre community--my mom was and my dad still

is--and they knew many people that died inform families and students about the orfrom AIDS and still people today [that] are ganization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights [struggling with AIDS] ,” Maggie said. “It’s AIDS. Every costume will also have a red just a horrible disease and any way to help accent in it, which is the color of the AIDS cure it and help people that are struggling ribbon. through it is a great idea.”

“We are going to have a whole lobby One of Maggie’s display to help show main inspirations to I hope they learn [AIDS] families how to dostart the project came is not a joke, anyone can nate and do other last spring break when things throughout the she went to go see the get it and it’s a serious year.” Maggie said. musical “Memphis” on disease. Instead of jokBroadway Cares/EqBroadway. After the cur- ing about it we should do uity Fights AIDS was tain call the actors came something about it. started by the Actor’s out and collected monEquity Association JUNIOR MAGGIE NIVEN and was the organizaey for the organization Broadway Cares/Equity tion Maggie chose to Fights AIDS. She decided to incorporate work with. The Actor’s Equity AssociaAIDS awareness into a director’s gift. tion was formed in 1913 and represents “For the director’s gift for the Musi- over 48,000 actors and stage managers cal Revue we got them AIDS ribbons today. The organization helps to provide and picture frames and that’s what got support for people in the theatre compeople at East aware of this organiza- munity that are affected by HIV/AIDS and tion,” Maggie said. “And this year again raise awareness and money to help find a we have decided to make it a whole proj- cure.

ect.”

Maggie’s main goal for the project is to This year, during the Musical Revue, show kids that AIDS is an important issue the project will create an entire display to and to help them become more informed.

She also hopes to carry on the project throughout the year by doing activities for National AIDS Awareness Day and talking to the health classes in hopes of informing students more about the disease.

“I hope they learn [AIDS] is not a joke, anyone can get it and it’s a serious disease. Instead of joking about it we should do something about it,” Maggie said.

Two of the main reasons Maggie will always want to work for the cure is her Uncle Tom and the reward she gets from knowing she is helping to cure the disease that took him.

“I’m sure that he would be very pleased with this and anyone who passed away from [AIDS] would be pleased,” Maggie said. “I hope that they would know there is still hope for people out there today.”

Maggie also hopes to continue to raise AIDS awareness until they do cure the disease.

“When I’m older I hope to become a director for theatre, television, and film. If I ever work on Broadway I definitely want to a lot to help the [AIDS] community,” Maggie said. “I want to do every bit I can until they do find a cure.”

HIV & Aids by the numbers 1 MILLION people

in the

US

have

HIV

information via http://www.avert.org

75percent ofteenagers adults & About

AIDS

with

are men

600,000 people have

in the

died US

AIDS

from

Over

African Americans

make up 27% of the

population followed by US’s AIDS

Whites, 27%

& Hispanics, 19%

FEATURES | 19

MIXED 4

A PAGE ABOUT

Learn the ins and outs of the popular pastime

STUDENT FLICKRS

HOW TO DRESS LIKE PRINT PHOTO EDITOR

TO CHECK OUT

“ “

PHOTOGRAPHY

1

GRANT KENDALL

2

“ “

3. Spencer Davis, spencertain

1. Evan Warren,

Grainy Tropics

Photography is a way for me to not only keep a record of my experiences, but to leave a mark on them, their remaining beauty lingering long after the days and nights.”

It’s one of the easiest ways to create something that hasn’t been created before. It’s full of experimentation, and never gets old.”

2. James Fink,

4. Stefano Byer, Ste.a.no.

mr. fink

It’s a good way to document how you feel, and the world around you.”

Capturing a moment is the best part about photography, because things only happen once.”

3

4

HOW TO SUCCEED AS A PHOTOGRAPHER: DIFFERENCE IN LENS Long:

Used to simplify the background of an image, makes the subject more important.

It let you get close images without being close to them. It’s great for shooting sports like football and soccer.

20 | MIXED

Short:

Good for everyday use. There is nothing you cannot get with this and you can always have it with you. You can be as close as you want to your subject in order to fill the frame.

Slow:

This is between 50-160th of a second. They are for low light situations or when you want to have your subject in a blur.

This is useful when trying to get an “artsy” photo.

Fast:

This is between 400-8000th of a second. These work well for sports photos. You can capture every second of what you are shooting because the shutter is moving so fast.

1. THICK FRAMED GLASSES

2. NICE PAIR OF SKINNY LEVI’S

3. STRIPED WOOL SOCKS

4. A QUALITY LOOSE FIT T-SHIRT

5. FAUX LEATHER JACKET

SHUTTER SPEEDS art by Paige Hess and Kat Buchanan

Go LANCERS! Get your MOOSE on for our all you can eat SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET 10 am­ 2 pm Lunch Brunch Dinner

Place your Boutonni Place your boutonniere or or Corsage corsage order byorder Wednes-by Bring your day, September 21st and reown mugWednesday, Septemb ceive a 10% discount by and get st mentioning this ad.a 10 receive 50% off21 and your coffee by mentioni order! discount Homecoming dance is September 24th this ad

!"#$%&'()%*"()%+),'')%-,./,/'%0/11.2'3%4+%5%6"78*9986!#7

Homecoming Dance Village Flower Company 6978 Mission Road September (913) 722-132524th

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

www.villageflowercompany.com Village Flower Comp 6978 Mission Road (913) 722-1325

www.villageflowercompany

senior photos. 2-4 friends. all save $100 on studio fee Get some great photos of the people you’ll remember forever.

Normally my studio fee is $350, but if you book a session for 2 to 4 people you each pay only $250! And that covers individual senior photos as well as some fun group shots.

.com

913.940.8900 photo@53tom.com

BREAKING NEW GROUND New places around Kansas City spark interest Ever since the addition of the Power and Light District, it seems that downtown Kansas City has undergone a major transformation. What once used to be a tired collection of buildings has now become a major hubbub of entertainment. This entertainment, provided mainly by the Sprint Center, has

drawn major performers from all over the world. Other buildings, such as the Nelson Atkin’s Museum of Art Bloch Building, have showcased our city’s appreciation for modern art. But the largest of these construction projects is the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, one that has been under construction

Kauffman Center Performing Arts

FOR THE

We’ve finally reached the big leagues, folks. Starting with the addition of the Sprint Center and now with the grand opening of the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, Kansas City has now established itself as a center of architectural integrity. This spectacular $413 million building which resembles the Sydney Opera House’s design, all sprang out of the vision of Muriel Kauffman and is a testament to our city’s appreciation of the fine arts. In 1994, Kauffman passed away and donated millions of dollars to this project, which then was passed on to her daughter, Julia Kauffman. Sixteen years later, Muriel’s dream has come to life in a building that boasts unique features such as a figaro system (a feature that allows patrons to read translations of words on the back of their seats) and shimmering lights that create the effect of an 18th century theater.

Think the structure is impressive? The lineup of musicians is bound to blow your mind even more. From performances by YoYo Ma, Joshua Bell and the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony and Disney In Concert, there is something for everyone here. Most ticket prices are around $50-60 dollars, which makes this a must see activity for even the most frugal high-schooler. Whether it be a night at the ballet or an orchestra performance, these shows are sure to be different than any of your run-of-the-mill movies.

since 1999. This construction project comes to a close with the grand opening this September.

The next major construction project, H&M department store, is also set to open this fall and will be located on the Country Club Plaza. Although H&M is not a provider of the fine arts,

THE Plaza H&M ON After increasing amounts of requests from customers, Highwoods Properties has listened and decided to add an H&M department store to the plaza. Because H&M does not have an online store, this will be extremely beneficial to those that are not able to make it to their stores in other states.

Set to open around the holidays, this enormous store will be located between Pennsylvania and Broadway next to the Gap on the Country Club plaza. H&M is a perfect combination of Forever 21’s trendiness and Bloomingdales’ classiness and will propel Kansas City forward in terms of fashion culture. One thing that may make H&M appealing is that this 22,137 square foot space will be home to seemingly endless amounts of clothes for men, women, teens and children. These clothes can be anything from a plaid button down to a metallic one piece jumpsuit. Another positive aspect of H&M is that it also has jewelry, hair accessories, shoes, purses and little knickknacks.

The only drawback of this massive space is that shoppers can feel overwhelmed by the amount of floors to cover and racks to go through. However, H&M’s garments are well-made and affordable, making it well worth your time. Make sure to add H&M to your Christmas shopping list, as you are in for an all-day adventure.

written by Emily Kerr

it still increases the sophistication and variety of our downtown shopping district. Lastly, on a more local level, Pizza 51 will be opening this fall in Fairway.

With all of these newly constructed buildings it is becoming apparent that Kansas City is making great strides towards becoming a city of culture.

Pizza 51 IN Fairway Fairway residents rejoice! The newest Pizza 51 plans to open their second site at 60th Street and Mission Road in your neighborhood. With innovative design, laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth deliciousness, this place has everything you could hope for in a restaurant. Also, being only minutes away from both Shawnee Mission East and Indian Hills, this restaurant is bound to be overflowing with hungry teenagers and parents alike. This pizza joint will serve mouth-watering pizza by the slice and is sure to give Spin a run for their money.

Owner, Jason Pryor, began construction on the old Sinclair gas station in May and plans to finish early this fall. From the white and black checkered floors to the stainless steel fixtures and candy apple red accents, this place screams hip. The menu features a unique assortment of original pizza combinations such as the Cowtown Lovers or the Highway Special, yet also offers sandwiches, wraps and salads. Pizza 51 is also sponsoring the first Annual Prairie Pride 5K and one mile Fun Run, which will take place on Saturday Sept. 24 with a course that winds around the neighboring area. The proceeds from this run will go towards supporting Prairie Elementary School and will help to spread the word for this up-and-coming restaurant.

WESTERN

AUTO

22 | A&E

H&M

PIZZA 51 OPEN

KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

the

2011 FALL MOVIE PREVIEW

written by Alex Lamb | photos from allmoviephoto.com

The high-octane spy action of the new “Mission: Impossible” is going to blow up the box office in December, but this adaptation of John Le Carré’s classic novel takes center stage in the spy genre this year, telling a realistic suspenseful tale of espionage and deception during the Cold War. While “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is much lower-key spy fare than standard genre entries, it’s equally as intense. Veteran Gary Oldman leads as a retired secret service agent called back into the field, tasked with uncovering a Soviet mole who’s infiltrated the highest levels of MI6. Supported by the likes of Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong, this twisting slowburner should be among the year’s best.

George Clooney’s making some big plays for an Oscar this year. Not only is he an early contender in the Best Actor race for the dramedy “The Descendants,” but with “The Ides of March” he has a shot for Best Director as well, especially if he delivers like he did with 2005’s subtly poignant “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Ryan Gosling stars as the maverick young campaign manager for the democratic presidential candidate (played by Clooney, a political activist in real-life too) in the upcoming election. But along the campaign trail, the opposing side tempts Gosling and he becomes entrapped in a game of dirty politics. A timely political thriller bolstered by a sizzling cast, “The Ides of March” holds lots for thoughtful viewers to look forward to.

Over the past decade, Clint Eastwood has become one of the most dependable directors for strong, effective dramas, and after the slight misstep of last year’s “Hereafter,” Eastwood returns to form with a biopic on J. Edgar Hoover. As the first FBI director, he reigned for nearly 40 years, but his personal secrets could have wrecked his career.

Leonardo DiCaprio certainly has his work cut out for him in portraying the extremely powerful, widely influential and surprisingly controversial leader.

Insights into Hoover’s alleged homosexuality and relationship with his longtime roommate Clyde Tolson (“Social Network” twin Armie Hammer) look to further the intrigue, and as is par for Eastwood films, expect all-around superb performances.

Dec. 23

Dec. 9

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Ides of March

Dec. 11

Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, this true story about how the Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) changed the recruiting game should give all moviegoers something to cheer about this baseball season. Pitt stands as possibly the most reliably impressive, consistently charming superstar working in Hollywood today, and he’ll no doubt hit it out of the park here. And in an atypical, serious yet deadpan performance, Jonah Hill stars as the whiz who helps Beane build a winning team based off straight statistics instead of star power.

Even for those who don’t care about the sport, “Moneyball” should deliver an entertaining crowdpleaser, while also achieving a clever, highly enjoyable look into the inner workings of the game.

Nov. 9

Oct. 7

Sept. 23

Moneyball

J. Edgar

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo As engrossing as the original Swedish film is, this American remake almost guarantees a superior adaptation of the best-selling novel, and there’s one main reason for that – director David Fincher.

A master of the serial killer mystery genre (look no further than “Se7en” for proof), Fincher perfects every aspect of his productions and creates compelling atmosphere and searing tension like few others can. With absorbing performances from Daniel Craig as the journalist trying to solve a 40-year-old disappearance and up-and-comer Rooney Mara as the titular punk-hacker who assists him, Fincher’s “Social Network” follow-up assures one hell of a gritty, electrifying thriller.

The Adventures of Tintin Rarely, if ever, has an animated film held as high a pedigree as “The Adventures of Tintin.” Coproduced by Peter Jackson and directed by Steven Speilberg, this adaptation of the Belgian comics about a boy and his dog’s adventures (here searching for a lost, mystical treasure ship) will provide the family-friendly, wondrously exciting hit of the Christmas holiday. It’s easy to get lost in the dazzling visuals of “Tintin’s” world from the trailer alone (this one needs to be seen in 3D), and with lots of motion capture work, including from mocap acting master Andy Serkis, the performances should offer great depth as well. If Spielberg knows one thing, it’s how to captivate audiences, and here’s a prime example.

A&E | 23

A FLAWED SYSTEM

New documentary takes at increased pressure on students to succeed written by Stephen Cook | photos by Brendon Dulohery Teaching vs. results, learning vs. pletely agrees with this, one of the cenmemorization, happiness vs. pressure, tral themes of the film. health vs. stress-induced illness — the “We have what I would call ‘knowlright choice seems so easy to make, but edge smart’ kids -- I don’t think we have is that really all there is to it? very intellectually smart kids,” Krawitz According to the new documentary, said. “There’s a difference—knowledge “Race To Nowhere,” it isn’t all that easy. is the ability to take information in. To The film discusses how due to pressures me, intelligence is the ability to use that and the unhealthy way of teaching, stu- knowledge for something, because if dents aren’t being helped; they’re being I don’t use it for something, why am I hurt. learning it? To take up space?”

The film was shown in the Dan ZolKrawitz believes that this system of lars Auditorium on Sept. 6 by the PTA remembering information for the test, to an audience of parents, students and but not applying it to issues in real life teachers. Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz isn’t what we should be doing. promoted the documentary in hopes of “The point is in education, we’ve getting the message out to parents and lost purpose, and unfortunately it’s hapeducators. pened because even in our profession, “We do a great job of preparing kids we have poor leadership,” Krawitz said. to take tests — we don’t do them a good When Krawitz was taking classes service getting them ready for life,” to become a school administrator, Krawitz said. there were professors leading classes “Race To Nowhere” paints a vivid pic- on teaching and school administration ture of the American education system. who had never even had any experiAccording to the film, youth are be- ence holding those positions. Instead of ing turned into “little professionals.” knowing how to teach and connect with They are being “roboticized:” only the students from personal experience, learning information so that they can they could only go by the book. spit it back at test time and quickly forThe film explains how teachers can get it afterwards. In a culture where suc- essentially end up forgetting about helpcess and money is perceived as the ulti- ing and connecting to their students in mate goal, students leave their creativity the process of getting good test scores. and problem solving behind and instead This desire to achieve high scores is learn from a “script.” They perform well, driven largely by numbers— teachers but don’t receive proper preparation for want to meet national standards and recoping in a world that doesn’t have a ceive bonus payments for student perscript. formance.

Principal Dr. Karl Krawitz sees simi“I think the testing industry has lar patterns happening at East and com- shaped American education in the

Do you feel all the pressure in high school to do well will pay off in the long run?

24 | A&E

Tori Davis junior

I wouldn’t say after college. I’d say most of what we do is for college. I think a lot of the activities at East are meant to go on college applications. The pressure for grades is for college so that you can get a better job and that effects the rest of your life.

theracetonowhere.com

wrong direction and unfortunately in our culture we’ve come to such a large acceptance of what it represents that we’re blinded by our own research,” Krawitz said. “It tells us it’s one of the worst things we should be doing.”

The documentary also addresses the issue of how many students are simply overloaded with things to do. Their schedules are filled with sports, clubs, church, volunteering and on top of all that —homework.

Senior Andy Hiett is taking five Advanced Placement (AP) classes this semester in addition to playing on the varsity football team.

“I’ve done it a little bit before, but this year I kind of took a few more than I have in the past,” Hiett said. “It’s just hard playing a sport because you get home at night and you have a couple hours worth of homework to do, and if practice goes ‘till six or seven o’clock it’s tough to get it all done.”

For involved student-athletes such as Hiett, striking a balance between

Lilly Myers senior

I think it does pay off because when you work hard to get good grades and involve yourself in a lot of activities. You learn how to multitask and learn how to handle a lot of responsibility at the same time.

The skills of having to handle a lot of different things at once and having different responsibilities benefits you later in life.

academics and athletics can be difficult.

Practices that run late into the evening mean staying up late into the night working on homework.

“The first couple weeks we had practice, we’d get done at like six or so at night and you’d just be really tired and the last thing you want to do is turn and start working on your homework,” Hiett said.

In the film, a high school science teacher described how he had done away with homework, and test scores actually improved. “Race To Nowhere” goes on to discuss how reducing or doing away with homework actually makes students more eager to learn, because they aren’t burdened down with even more school after the final bell rings.

“I discovered one thing about learning that I didn’t have while I was in school, up through all my degrees,” Krawitz said. “I can enjoy learning when I don’t have to do it for anything.”

For more info on ending the “Race To Nowhere”, visit endtherace.org

Tucker Styrkowicz senior

It’s not going to do anything with me for college but I’ve developed more interests and I wouldn’t really know what I liked if I hadn’t done all the stuff I’ve done in high school.

I don’t have any regrets regarding any of the activities I’ve done in high school.

Please Recycle Your

2,200 members

H

WILL READ THIS AD.

Harbinger Thank you.

of the Prairie Village community

E-MAIL SMEHARBINGER@GMAIL.COM TO ADVERTISE

F O R G E T Y O U R C A M E R A?

WE DIDN’T. smephotos.com

>

<

<

INFECTED with FEAR

Contagion compensates with star power, but fails to shine

written by Vanessa Daves | photo from collider.com

For a thriller, Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion” was less than thrilling. Sure, the topic was unique and interesting, but the acting lacked energy, the plot never really got anywhere and, although I was adequately scared into using more hand-sanitizer, I found the film rather boring. I went into the movie expecting to be scared out of my skin, but I left Leawood theatres with more yawns than screams (however I did close my eyes out of fear during a particularly gruesome autopsy scene).

“Contagion” tells the dramatic story of an unknown pandemic that rapidly spreads and leaves the world in chaos.

The movie begins with Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) coughing eerily during a layover in the Chicago airport after a business trip to Hong Kong. She is speaking nonchalantly on the phone while eating out of a bowl of peanuts at a bar.

The peanuts, as well as the credit card she gives the waitress, would begin the spread of this unknown pandemic.

Taking the viewer through a day-by-day process, “Contagion” slowly, and I mean very slowly, picks up pace as the movie continues. The opening scene starts on day two, with Beth showing symptoms of something as harmless as a cough - faulty vision, coughing and perspiration. Within days she has a seizure and dies, as does her infected son (Griffin Kane).

The scenes that follow show people with similar conditions: a man in China with cloudy vision, a perspiring model in Paris and a man in an elevator experiencing a seizure. By day 12, eight million people worldwide are infected, and by day 18, the world is in chaos. At this point, Alan Krumweide (Jude Law), is claiming the discovery of his supposed cure, forsythia, a yellow flower that the Chinese have used in traditional medicines. Mitch won’t let his daughter out of the house without him. Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburn)

STAY HOME

26 | A&E

RENT IT

and Leonora Orantes (Marion Contillard) are searching desperately for a vaccine. Stores have shut down, millions are dead, and the smart ones don’t leave their house. By day 21, all major cities are shut down; no one can come in or out.

After that, everything started getting a bit redundant.

Even though “Contagion” was not satisfactory, it still had an impact on me. I find myself noticing the amount of times I touch my face, or other objects such as doorknobs, pencils and sinks. I notice every cough, sneeze and sniff. In fact, my mom made a point to lean over and whisper to me halfway through the movie that “there’s a guy coughing back there,” and offered me hand-sanitizer the second we got into the car. This movie is not for germaphobes.

Don’t let the outstanding cast fool you; Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburn and Kate Winslet might be enough to lure you in. However, the acting was not phenomenal. The supporting actors were not up to par either, and in a scene with Damon, playing the role of Mitch Emhoff, and his daughter, played by (Anna Jacoby-Heron), the acting came off so uncharacteristically fake that it ruined the flow of the movie.

The only real thing that scared me about this thriller was the brutal honesty it showed about the human race: we will do whatever it takes for ourselves and our loved ones to live, which in some cases, such as the one portrayed in this movie, means total and complete chaos. As a person who rarely sees thrillers or sci-fi movies, I found the topic of “Contagion” thought-provoking. If you want to see a tedious movie with ideas that keep you thinking even after it’s over, see “Contagion.” But if you’d rather watch a movie that will keep you laughing, crying or just simply engaged, save this one for when you have nothing better to do.

BUY the TICKET

OSCAR WORTHY

Pandemics that didn’t end the world Here are a couple apocalyptic diseases that you’ve probably forgotten about by now.

Bird Flu: 2003-2007 This strain of flu relentlessly tortured the world for years. Want to eat chicken? Forget about it. Think that feather on the ground looks neat? You’ll die if you pick it up! In reality, this strain of the flu almost exclusively affected birds and never touched the U.S.

Swine Flu: 2009

This outbreak began in Veracruz, Mexico, but continued its warpath all the way to Johnson County. Those of us who were unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with this horrifying disease (seemingly the entire population of Shawnee Mission East) will never forget those 4-6 days of mild coughing and discomfort.

BALDWIN’S BEST MADE TO FIT

Andrew the in-house tailor gives customers the option of getting that pair of a-littletoo-long denim cut down to size before leaving the store.

‘FREE’ INSPIRATION

Seeing as Matt Baldwin calls the American publication GQ a joke, he provides his customers with a wall of the Japanese-published lookbook Free & Easy to peruse—a rare find in the States.

GROOMABILITY

Along with offering menswear, Matt gathered up his favorite Baxter hygienic products to sell, including facial wash and moisturizer just for men.

WELL-CONNECTED

A small hallway to the Hufft-designed Standard Style Boutique next door provides an easy transition from men’s club to ladies’ night out.

FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, VISIT

WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET

MIDWEST MANUFACTURED & RAISED written by Kat Buchanan | photos by Grant Kendall

Local Kansas City-based men’s boutique gives the heart of the Midwest a fresh look

Matt Baldwin is a busy man.

“You should stick around,” Andrew Rayl, Baldwin’s in-house tailor tells me as I browse the racks of the men’s store, waiting for the tall 30-something to finish chitchatting animatedly with a customer. “He’s very hard to catch. He’ll be out of here at five.”

The founder of the Kansas-City-based boutique Standard Style seems elusive as ever as he walks past me in pursuit of a certain pair of his self-designed raw denim. He grabs the ruggedlooking jeans off of a low-to-the-ground rack and offers them to the customer, urging him to try on this specific cut. He then turns to help out a hurried-looking woman who had just pushed through the unmarked door with a return, striking up another conversation with ease.

Just one month earlier, Matt Baldwin was at the Aug. 26 grand opening of his self-designed, self-created, self-branded and self-owned luxury denim and apparel store, aptly named Baldwin.

Now, he and the seven other men on his team have it operating like a well-oiled machine— which is exactly what the store’s interior resembles.

The menswear boutique is what Matt refers to as “modern-timeless.” The rustic wood-andmetal interior is cold and masculine, but very attractive. Working with local architecture company Hufft Projects, Matt jumped on the chance to “play the architect and designed the look and feel of his dream store—within a week of obtaining the location in the up-and-coming shopping district One Nineteen.

Using the finest fabrics and textiles from American and Japanese companies, Matt de-

signs and sells everything from wool “KC” ball “Someone could just go to, you know, the caps to classic oxfords co-designed with George Gap—not to bash the Gap—and buy a pair of Esquivel, a modern American shoe craftsman. but that’s the Gap’s jeans, not their jeans,” written byjeans, Kat Buchanan | photos

by Grant Kendall In between, the store offers somehow-expen- Matt said. “If you buy a pair of raw denim, it besive-looking T-shirts and V-necks, crisp button- comes you the longer you wear it. That’s why downs and, of course, a wall of custom denim. people buy it—it’s so worth it.”

Along with their own products, Matt brings in Just as Baldwin does not only offer denim, it other small American-made labels to stock in does not merely specialize in menswear. A small the Baldwin store as a means of offering a wider hallway in the back of Baldwin connects the variety of products to the man who seeks them men’s store to the new Standard Style building out. next door. Though Matt had a problem with alBefore opening the official Baldwin Denim ways being “a men’s’ section in a women’s store,” location, Matt and his wife, Emily Baldwin, were he capitalizes on the market for women’s raw selling the signature raw jeans at Standard Style denim and T-shirts with the help of his wife and on the Country Club Plaza and Town Center co-owner of Standard Style, Emily Baldwin. The Plaza. He launched the initial design in the fall Baldwin label is moving toward expanding their of 2009 and has been developing the cuts ever merchandise to reach a larger audience with since. women’s shorts and even children’s jeans.

The market for high-end men’s fashion prodAs Matt begins looking toward the future of ucts does not only extend to wealthy adults in the store, he smiles. He begins discussing the Matt’s opinion. Though Baldwin is currently an ideas behind it and the way he views men’s fashinternational company—with 18 different stock- ion on the whole. He admits that he and his wife, ists of their products worldwide ranging from despite being the owners and running the show Des Moines to the Netherlands to Tokyo, Japan— behind Baldwin and Standard Style, work norMatt feels that there is a market for the everyday mal hours and try to be as hands-on as possible man and even the high school student. within their business.

“Some guys just get it,” Matt said. “It really de“I have a wife, three kids—and a nanny to pends on what they’re exposed to—where they make it all work,” Matt laughs. “And “B,” he adds, travel, what blogs they look at, what their par- looking down at the massive golden retriever ents tell them about. We have some young guys lounging happily on the store’s dark tiled floor. that come in here that are into it, that just get it.”

Matt Baldwin may be busy, but he’s doing Matt sees the high-price tags on Baldwin exactly what he wants to be doing—providing Denim products as an investment rather than a hand-picked products to the public and bringing splurge. Spending $250 on a pair of jeans can much-needed menswear notoriety to the center be justified by the quality of the American-made of the Midwest. product.

WARDROBE

} } BALDWIN MUST HAVES

ACCESSORIES

} } THE HENLEY | $ 220

Baldwin’s denim is made to fit like they were sewn specifically for anyone’s personal preference.

THE WILLIAM CHAMBRAY | $ 180

A blue chambray button-up goes timelessly well with any pair of denim.

THE KC BALL CAP | $ 60

The signature KC hat is a homage to the town where Baldwin was born. It ‘tops off’ any wardrobe by adding a casual touch.

THE WRIST WATCH | $ 75

A wrist watch can give anyone’s wardrobe an effortlessly sophisticated look. It can never hurt to be on time, either.

A&E| 27

MAINE ATTRACTION

Transfer student from Maine transitions into his new life at East written by Mitch Kaskie | photos by Haley Johnston and Danielle Norton unior Austin Wilcox locks hands with I knew it was the right move for them and his teammates and walks towards the their lives,” Wilcox said. center of the field. It’s a late summer Starting his high school career with a night at BVDAC, and it’s the Shawnee Mis- completely new set of people was difficult, sion East boys’ soccer team’s first game of not to mention he was in the middle of a dithe season. The announcer gives the start- vorce that was out of his control. It was hard ing lineups: “Number seven, Austin Wilcox.” to adjust, but during this hard time Austin The national anthem proceeds, then it’s time found his outlet to be soccer. for kick off. The starters huddle in the mid“Soccer was the one thing that kept me dle of the field. The guys surrounding him sane, it was the one consistent thing that were unfamiliar faces just a month ago, but was in my life at the time and I could count now they are his teammates; the colors he on being there for me,” Wilcox said. wears--black and Colombia blue--now sigAt this point, soccer was becoming a nify a team. major part of his life. Coming into freshman But one thing in his life had not changed. year, Wilcox played for a Super Y League The ground beneath his cleats is still a soc- team. The Super Y League is a step above cer field, and as the team breaks it down, ev- premiere, and develops players for the erything clears out of his head. This is where Academy level. Their coaches looked for 18 he wants to be: playing soccer. players to play against other teams around *** the country--and Wilcox made the cut. After Wilcox was born in Kansas City. When he the camp Wilcox, was also invited to play for was only two, his family moved to Colorado, Seacoast United, a top Academy team. He then two years later moved again to Hol- was at his peak, but he wouldn’t let up. lice, Maine. There, things settled down. And The high school season began, and Wilthere began his passion for soccer. Wilcox cox along with two other freshman made began playing when he was six, just in rec- the varsity squad. That year, Wilcox didn’t reational leagues, but found his talent when get much playing time; the team was loaded he was only eight, playing four years up for a with talented seniors who ended up taking 12 years old and under premiere team. Two the Class A State Title in Maine. However, years later he switched to a club team called Wilcox, a sophomore now, was in the startOdyssey, until he had an unexpected turn in ing lineup and was given more playing time. direction before his freshman year.

These two years were critical for Wilcox, not Wilcox’s parents decided it was better to just to build as a player, but to make good go separate ways. For Wilcox, this meant grades in school through this hard time. new friends, a new house and a new school.

“In order for me to play soccer, I have He moved with his mom to Scarborough, a to be doing well in school, and I love to town just 15 minutes out of Portland where play soccer so that drives me to do well in his dad was living. school,” Wilcox said.

Throughout the whole situation, Wilcox Wilcox finished out his sophomore year tried to stay positive. with Scarborough High ending their state “My parents’ divorce was hard. We had title hunt in the quarterfinals. Wilcox was always been a very close family,” Wilcox. “I young, and had two more years to make his could see later on that it was the right thing name at Scarborough High. He was hopeful for them to do because they weren’t meant and anticipating a great high school career. for each other--but, to be honest, I don’t *** think they worked hard enough to make it Wilcox walks out the door for school like work.” any other day. But today, when he shuts the Although he had doubts, Wilcox accepted door behind him, he sees the packed up his situation and moved in a new direction. boxes inside, and knows his life will change “I wanted to see my family happy, so once again.

Wilcox’s mom was moving to California.

She had a job opportunity there and a boy-

J

28 | SPORTS

friend she had frequently traveled to see.

Austin knew it was the best for her, but like any other kid would, he wanted her to stay.

“I just supported her through it, but I did realize how much I wouldn’t like not having my mom,” Wilcox said. “I told her I’d be sad if she moved, but I never really told her not to. I don’t really regret not doing it.”

Although Wilcox was positive, the question still lingered over him: Why? “I just didn’t understand why she was leaving,” Wilcox said. “I knew she was going to make more money there, and I think she thought I’d eventually come out and live with her. But, it was hard for me to justify moving in with my mom in California, and leaving my dad when he was there with me [at the time].”

With less than a month’s notice, Wilcox was standing in the parking lot of an Outback Steak house with his mom, giving her a final goodbye. He would see her on occasional vacations, and Wilcox knew it would be hard--but this wasn’t the end.

With the high school season was over, Wilcox was back on the field with Seacoast Academy, and improving every day. He was without his mom now, and with surmounting hardships, soccer was his defense. *** Wilcox is closing out his sophomore year at Scarborough High. The first week of summer, Wilcox is on a plane to a showcase with his Academy team. He knows he won’t be seeing his friends again, but they do not.

Wilcox knew very well that he would be moving to Kansas City the next week. His grandma didn’t have family and was getting old, so Wilcox and his dad decided it was best to move back with her. His friends were completely clueless. Wilcox had been keeping it a secret.

Since he knew he would be living in Kansas City, he wanted to have Sporting Coaches check him out, and this showcase was where it had to happen. It’s painful for Wilcox to keep his secret from his friends, but he knew telling them could jeopardize his chance at Sporting.

Ever since Wilcox was six, it was his dream to become a professional soccer player. It was his passion, and this was his

chance. If his Academy coach knew he was moving, that would all be lost. He would not be played in this tournament.

“I felt like a liar and an awful friend, because I wasn’t able to tell them,” Wilcox said.

On the car ride to Kansas after the showcase, Wilcox began to formulate a message to his friends.

“It was not an easy message to type,” Wilcox said. “I knew that many of them would think it was not for real, but they eventually got what I was saying. Once school started for Scarborough back in Maine, I got a lot of messages from kids wondering where I was.”

Just a week after his old high school was released for summer, Wilcox was living in a completely new city, but soccer was still there. Wilcox was already at Swope Park trying out with Sporting. The sun was beating down on him, never letting up. There was a 40-degree temperature difference between Kansas City and Maine. Nevertheless, soccer was once again the consistency, always there to fall on. *** Wilcox has found a spot into the young boys’ team, and has found his teammates very supportive.

“I think I have fit in well, Coach Kelly has done a great job of finding a place where I fit into the team and we seem to have great chemistry. My teammates are extremely cohesive no matter who is on the field, and that’s very important.”

It’s been a journey, but Wilcox --playing in his first game at East-- is on the short grass field at BVDAC, and he hears that whistle blow.

“Any anticipations about a game can be made, but at kick off its nothing but the players and 90 minutes of soccer,” Wilcox said.

Soccer is just that for him. It’s the consistency in his fast-paced, unpredictable life.

Wilcox is now settling in to East. He misses his mom, his friends, and his home, but things are looking up.

“I just try and take my situation and make it into one that will help my future,” Wilcox said. “My situation makes me a little frustrated sometimes but that can also help fuel the fire for soccer.”

DISC-OVERY students start ultimate frisbee club and team at East

written by Christa McKittrick | photos by Holly Martin, Hiba Akhtar and Mickela Miller n array of red and white Frisbees clutter over the summer about the club and parks to make sure they could use their the air as the players toss them casually learned that they just needed to talk to fields for practice. across the field, waiting for the last few book-keeping to get a form to fill out and get East’s ultimate team is similar to East’s players to roll in before starting their game. the club going. There was an ultimate Fris- Lacrosse and Rugby teams: the school does Ten minutes later, a loose draft ensues bee club formed several years ago, so they not officially endorse the team but they use and the teams split into two teams: Shirts didn’t need to talk to the district. All Katz the school’s name and are affiliated with and Skins. Five guys casually strip off their and Slapper had to do was fill out the form it. After everything was approved, McNeil tank tops and jerseys, tossing them to the and they could become the official leaders scheduled tryouts and created a Shawnee side. of the Ultimate Frisbee Club.

Mission East Ultimate Facebook group to “Ultimate!”

The club meets once a week on Tues- reach fellow players.

The game has begun. The Frisbee spins days and any ultimate player is welcome to McNeil and several other team leaders, through the air, arcing low for a tank-top- join their casual games of Frisbee. A more including Slapper, Katz, and senior Josh clad, high-sock-sporting player to dive exclusive ultimate group is SME Ultimate, a Cook, ran casual tryouts where they split down to snag. Cheers and groans of frus- club team founded by senior Ryan McNeil. the group into two teams and played sevtration are sprinkled amongst calls for the This is McNeil’s second go around with eral games. disc. an Ultimate team.

“We looked for ability and effort,” Cook Porter Park has become the home of “I tried to start a team [sophomore year] said. “A lot of guys are good but we wanted SME’s ultimate Frisbee club and team with but being an underclassmen, no one really guys who would be running up and down regular meetings at least three times a paid attention to me,” McNeil said. “All the the field.” week. The sport has recently gained popu- seniors were like ‘Yeah let’s do it!’ but then McNeil and the others took the role of larity amongst East students; this year both nothing happened.” coaches and decided who to cut and who to a club and a team have taken root.

Flash forward two years to McNeil, a keep. They decided to keep around 15 playThe club, headed by juniors Scott Slap- now seasoned ultimate player playing a ers. per and David Katz, is all-inclusive and less pickup game of ultimate Frisbee with some The leaders of the team have taken restructured than the team. friends. Once again, the topic of a school ul- sponsibility for some of the aspects, such as “Scott and I play a lot of disc and we de- timate Frisbee team comes up but this time making cuts, that normally a coach would cided since we don’t play sports it’d be fun McNeil decided to pursue it. be in control of. Slapper thinks that the to do something to keep active,” Katz said.

Whereas sophomore year McNeil ap- guys on the team are mature enough and “We thought maybe there’d be some other proached the team like a rookie, first able to make decisions such as subbing kids at East who’d want to do that, so we contacting the players, this time he went without a coach. started the club.” straight to Sam Brown, the East athletic “We all are on the same page as far as Katz and Slapper contacted the school director, and talked to the Prairie Village who’s better and who’s not so we’re fine with

A

that,” Slapper said. “I don’t think we really need a coach because we know when we’re tired.”

Along with not having a coach, the sport ultimate Frisbee itself does not necessitate referees. Slapper likes this feature of the game because it relies on the sportsmanship and honesty of the players.

“You’re supposed to be honest... if there was an awesome catch in the back and you crossed the back-line, you’re supposed to make your own call and you’re supposed to be fair about it,” Slapper said.

This factor of the game exemplifies their maturity. At practice, when a player fouls, they back off and apologize of their own accord. Debates over end-zone boundaries are solved graciously. The guys play hard during the game but acknowledge when they are in the wrong. They’ve mastered the art of slipping between joking camaraderie and intense competition.

Along with the friendship it brings, the boys’ favorite thing about the game is its simplicity.

“While some of the other sports take a lot of things like how to shoot a basketball or how to kick a soccer ball,” Katz said. “In Frisbee all you have to do is keep your wrist flat and that’s what’s fun.”

THROW LIKE THE PROS

FOR VIDEO TUTORIALS OF THE THROWS, VISIT WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET

Senior Brady Forbes demonstrates three basic throwing techniques

“THE BASIC”

“THE REVERSE”

“THE HAMMER”

This is the go-to throw for all the newbies out there.

Thumb on top of the disc, pointer and middle finger on the bottom. Cock your wrist and snap it forward to release.

This throw is a bit more advanced. The thumb remains on top, with only the point and middle finger underneath. Just like regular forehand, the throwing power comes from the wrist.

Hold the disc as if you were throwing a forehand, but flip the disc upside down (you should be able to see your pointer and middle fingers). Throw the frisbee like you would a baseball and snap the wrist down.

SPORTS | 29

A SERIOUS WEAKNESS

Trends in high school girls tearing their ACL’s has parents and doctors concerned

written by Haley Martin| photos by AnnaMarie Oakley Then freshman, now senior Alex and she tore her ACL. Dressman is preparing to punt the Once an ACL is torn, there are soccer ball. Next thing she knows, two possible options -- one option wham! The shooter slide tackles her is avoiding surgery and risking the right leg. As she falls, Dressman knee giving out unexpectedly, and hears a pop and the back of her knee the second being reconstructive surbegins to throb. That faint noise was gery.

Dressman’s anterior cruciate liga“Right now there is a movement ment (ACL) tearing. to use the tissue that is already in Tearing the ACL is eight times the knee to reconstruct the ACL, but more common in females than it is we have not been successful yet,” in males. This means that often girls Latz said. “So, you can use the tissue do not take the time to build the nec- which is typically the hamstring in a essary muscle around their knee female, or cadaver tissue.” and hamstring. With the high risk of Surgeons use a cadaver ligament tearing their ACLs, this year the girls to reconnect the femur--the thigh teams are taking preventative mea- bone--to the tibia, the shin bone. Afsures, like using shoe inserts and ter the surgery athletes have a short strengthening their hamstrings, to recovery period and then they begin protect the ligament. physical rehabilitation for approxiAccording to Dr. Kevin Latz, an mately six months. orthopedic surgeon at Children’s “It is suggested to work on Mercy Hospital, the ACL is a pinky- strengthening your body, work on sized ligament connecting the front jumping and strengthening awareof the femur to the back of the tibia, ness and strengthening your hamstabilizing the knee. Teams of doc- strings,” Latz said. tors have been working on finding a A little over a year after Dressman reason why female athletes are more was fully recovered from her right susceptible to tearing their ACL, but ACL injury, she was at soccer practice no definite reason has been found. with her club team playing five verAccording to an article in the New sus two when her teammate passed York Times Magazine suggests, as her the ball and it hit her left knee. girls’ estrogen levels rise, their liga- After another trip to the emergency ments become more flexible and are room, she found out that she had more injury-prone when not accom- torn the ACL in her other knee. This panied by enough muscle. Female is increasingly common in female athletes who are especially dedicated athletes who are extremely competito their sports often do not give their tive in their sports and therefore do muscles enough time to rest in order not take the time to rejuvenate and to build the muscle needed to sustain rest. While a way to prevent ACL intheir activity. juries in females is to strengthen the “Two thirds of the injuries are leg muscles, in order to add muscle non-contact,” Latz said. “Usually the athlete needs to take a day of rest they occur when there is a rapid after a hard work out. The rehabilitachange of direction.” tion includes plyometrics, which is a Senior Andrea Erikson’s injury series of controlled jumps. Some athduring her sophomore year softball letes go through pool exercises that tryout fell into this category. She will strengthen the knee area and the sprinted around the bases toward hamstring. home, slowed down because the With the injuries to girl’s teams base was in front of a pole in the aux- in the past, Dressman and Erikson iliary gym. As she changed her direc- both are going to move forward with tion split-second, her knee gave out a little more precaution.

It is one of four When the ACL is torn, Preventing ACL inju

ACL all about the

30 | SPORTS

ligaments in the knee.

Along with the medical collateral ligament (MCL), lateral collateral ligament and the posterior cruicate ligament.

the patient has to have a replacement surgery with either a cadaver’s ACL or they have to use their own hamstring or patella tendon.

ries requires intensive workouts centered around the knee area and the hamstring. It includes squats and workouts on stairs.

After ACL reconstruction surgery is complete the patient must complete 4-12 months of intense athletic rehab before returning to full strength.

the

SPORTS ROUND-UP written by Andrew Simpson

3

Coach’s Clipboard: Soccer with Coach Jamie Kelly

Corner Kick Plays

Key Players Nick Pirotte

2

After a long-tern ankle injury to starting QB Dakota Collins, it is now up to junior Nick Pirotte to help lead the Lancers to come together again as the incredibly determined team we saw during the last quarter against Olathe East.

Adam Lowe

2

Returning from an MCL injury, senior running back Adam Lowe will prove to be key component of the rebuilt Lancer offense. Lowe, who averaged six yards per carry last season, will use his lightning speed to get around defenders and make every touch count.

2

2

2

1 4

Connor Relihan

As a punter, secondary defensive back, wide receiver, corner back and possibly a Wildcat quarterback, junior Connor Rellihan is the utility player of the team. He will literally be all over the field.

1

1

1 Waits in position for an

3 2

2 Moves towards the goal

3

chance to recover if the play fails 4 Clears space and moves into position

2

The biggest moment of this season is undoubtedly the injury of to starting quarterback Dakota Collins. As Collins recovers from his broken ankle, the entire team must shift and now revolve around Pirotte. However successful Pirotte turns out to be, this might cause problems later in the season should the Lancers decide to return Collins back to the starting line and return to his style of offense.

the sports

PANEL Matt Hanson Junior

Chris Heady Senior

Number of fall teams with a better than .500 record?

Six all but gymnastics Three Football, Cross Country, Girls’ Tennis Four

Matt Gannon Senior

Favorite fall sport to watch?

Football, Soccer, Cross Country and Girls’ Tennis

Team with the best squad of seniors?

Soccer

Cross Country

Volleyball

Football

Soccer

Corbin Barnds Senior

Football

3 Goes to midfield for a

THE

POLL

Noah Eidemiller Favorite East sport to watch?

-Soccer-

Kaliegh Frigon -Girls’ Tennis-

Cross Country

Hannah Arnspiger -XC-

Football

Noah Eidemiller -Soccer-

Four

Football, Cross Country, Soccer and Girls’ Tennis

Underclassman with the most potential?

opportunity to score

yb ir all ls ’T en ni s

Moment

2

Vo l G le

1

The first two games of the season showed very different Lancer football teams.

When the Lancers pummeled SM Northwest 28-3, they showcased a powerful offense and an intimidating defense. But during a 27-35 loss to Olathe East, it was easy to see that injuries and confusion on the field helped the Hawks run through a weak Lancer defense. However, the last two quarters of the East versus East game proved to the fans that when the Lancers decided they were going to stop giving up ground, they did. Andy Hiett made an incredible 74 yard punt return. The Lancer defense made several successive stops on the field. Pirotte stepped up and completed six of seven passes. For starting the second half down 21-7, East made an impressive comeback for coming up short in the final minute.

Cross Country

2

Games

olf s’ G tics l r Gi mnas Gy

Boys’ Soccer

Football

SPORTS | 31

SHARING PASSION THEIR

Every year, the SM East student body participates in the SHARE Fair, which introduces various community service projects through the SHARE program. Students can choose which areas to get involved in, and the project leaders recruit underclassmen to sustain their projects.

Senior CASSIE STERBENZ, above, applies makeup to fellow senior KELLIE JOHNSON. “Dressing up is really important for the SHARE Fair,” STERBENZ said. “It helps get people’s attention to sign up.”

EMMAROBSON Junior MOLLY HALTER, left, pumps up the attendees of the SHARE Fair by loudly advertising her project, Village Shalom.

MARISAWALTON Junior ANNA COLBY, below, dances in an attempt to attract attention to her booth. COLBY’S project, Girls on the Run, helps promote female empowerment. “Hopefully we can get a ton of underclassmen who can carry on the project in the future,” COLBY said.

GRANTKENDALL

Senior ALEX LAVAYEN, left, encourages a freshman to sign up for her project at Deana Rose Farm. “I think [Deana Rose] will be super successful,” LAVAYEN said. “We have two full sign up sheets.”

JAKECRANDALL

FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, VISIT

WWW.SMEHARBINGER.NET 32 | PHOTO ESSAY