Issue 2 2016

the harbinger

S EPT. 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 VO L. LI X ISSUE 2

S H AW N E E M I S S I O N E A S T H I G H S C H O O L 7500 Mission Rd, Prairie Village, KS 66208

LEVEL UP! After an increase in pay levels for three administrators, SMSD and NEA officials struggle to compromise on teacher salaries and contracts

pageS 16 17

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score admins S62500* teachers S0

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STUDENT SPEECH RESTRICTIONS page 10 TIM KAINE FOR VP page 14 STRANGER THINGS REVIEW page 21

2

EDITORIAL

SHELTERING STUDENTS

Safe spaces should be redefined to make sure they do not obstruct academic freedom and freedom of speech

11

I

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FOR

n 2015, Brown University created a safe space for students to go to during a campus debate about sexual assault in case they felt triggered, or uncomfortable with anything that was said during the debate. According to the New York Times, the room was filled with “cookies, coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh...blankets and a video of frolicking puppies.” The room was, in effect, a space on campus for students who wanted to separate themselves from the ideas they heard during the debate.

When safe spaces were originally created, their intent was to provide a place where anyone could relax and be able to fully express themselves, despite race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Currently, safe spaces are being used as a place, generally in educational institutions, where anyone can go to avoid being

AGAINST

made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome or unsafe. Unfortunately, this tends to harbor students from being exposed to ideas they potentially oppose. These ideas may end up expanding one’s own beliefs or helping one to understand why they disagree with someone else’s.

The Harbinger believes that using safe spaces to avoid uncomfortable conversations is not conducive to a learning environment. Instead, they should be used as areas where all ideas can be discussed in a respectful manner.

East itself has implemented safe zones, which are similar to safe spaces, but they were originally directed towards LGBTQ+ students. Teachers place a sticker on their classroom door or window to alert any member of the LGBTQ+ community that their classroom is a safe zone. In these safe zones, all points of view are accepted.

Everyone is supposed to feel welcomed.

In the Harbinger’s eyes, this is the correct way to use a safe space. Instead of sheltering students from potentially offensive ideas, it protects the right of students to safely share all ideas they have.

In truth, everyone has the right to a safe space: any private property owned. But public land is different, and dissenting arguments and opinions should be allowed. So if a safe space is going to be created in public, every person’s view should be able to be presented.

As a newspaper, we believe in the necessity of protecting the spread of ideas in all spaces. Progress comes from communication, so shutting this down anywhere can only be detrimental.

Safe spaces can be used – but only if all ideas are allowed to be respectfully presented.

THE HARBINGER 2016-2017 STAFF LIST PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEFS Ellie Booton Will Clough Claire Pottenger

MOBILE MEDIA & MARKETING EDITORS Annabelle Cook Grace Padon

ASSISTANT PRINT EDITORS Daisy Bolin Grace Chisholm

SECTION EDITORS NEWS- Emily Fey and Kaleigh Koc SPORTS- Seamus Carroll, Reser Hall & Jet Semrick FEATURES- Ellie Mitchell & Brooklyn Terrill A&E- Annabelle Cook & Sean Overton EDITORIAL- Abby Walker OPINION- Annie Jones & Gracie Kost SPREAD- Katie Hise EASTIPEDIA- Monty Lyddon

DESIGN EDITORS Anna McClelland Yashi Wang HEAD COPY EDITORS Caroline Heitmann Robbie Veglahn PHOTO EDITORS Haley Bell Morgan Browning Kaitlyn Stratman ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHEIFS Ellie Cook Celia Hack ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITORS Morgan Biles Anna Kanaley MOBILE MEDIA & MARKETING EDITORS Marti Fromm Courtney McClelland

EDITORIAL BOARD Abby Walker Morgan Biles Daisy Bolin Ellie Booton Will Clough Ellie Cook Celia Hack Caroline Heitmann Claire Pottenger Robbie Veglahn Courtney McClelland COPY EDITORS Morgan Biles Daisy Bolin Ellie Booton Will Clough

Ellie Cook Emily Fey Marti Fromm Celia Hack Caroline Heitmann Madeline Hlobik Anna Kanaley Courtney McClelland Mac Newman Sean Overton Claire Pottenger Robbie Veglahn Abby Walker WRITERS Porter Carroll Seamus Carroll Harrison Gooley Ava Johnson Lizzie Kahle Gracie Kost Caleb Krakow Ali Lee Elias Lowland Courtney McClelland Mac Newman Grace Padon Lucy Patterson Scout Rice Jet Semrick Pauline Shaver Liddy Stallard Maya Stratman Meg Thoma Brooklyn Terrill Will Tulp Emma Vaughters Robbie Veglahn

Sarah Wilcox PAGE DESIGNERS Porter Carroll Ava Johnson Lizzie Kahle Caleb Krakow Elias Lowland Courtney McClelland Mac Newman Grace Padon Lucy Patterson Scout Rice Jet Semrick Meg Thoma Brooklyn Terrill Will Tulp Emma Vaughters Robbie Veglahn Sarah Wilcox STAFF ARTISTS Will Tulp Maya Stratman ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Diana Percy Ellie Thoma SME PHOTOS EDITOR Carson Holtgraves PHOTOGRAPHERS Elizabeth Anderson Grace Goldman Audrey Kesler

A look at some Tweets directed at safe spaces at universities

SAFE SPACES in under

140 CHARACTERS @hisnameishis

This is how it should be at every campus, safe space eliminates intelligible debates on campus! #nosafespace @felicitymorse

Idea of having safe space to talk, be listened to and be youself without fear is so important. How has it become this much maligned thing? @andrewseraphin

Why the University of Chicago’s Anti-’Safe Space’ Letter is Important: Learn to tolerate things you disagree with.

Annie Lomshek Caroline Mills Katherine O’Dell Morgan Plunkett Maddie Smiley Ellen Swanson Libby Wilson Izzy Zanone Sophie Storbeck

CONTEST COORDINATOR Courtney McClelland

ASSISTANT SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Parker Gordon

VIDEO TRAINING EDITOR Will Hembree

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Sam Brown Lucy Hoffman Monty Lyddon Liddy Stallard Emma Vaughters

INTERACTIVES EDITOR Will Tulp

BUSINESS ADS & BUSINESS MANAGER Grace Chisholm ASSISTANT ADS MANAGER Lucy Kendall CIRCULATION MANAGER Elizabeth Anderson SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Sarah Wilcox

VIDEO EDITOR Diego Galicia ASSISTANT VIDEO EDITOR Nic Bruyere

PODCAST EDITOR Reser Hall BROADCAST EDITORS Seamus Carroll Will Hembree ANCHOR Peyton Watts MULTIMEDIA STAFF Nic Bruyere Anna Dierks Will Hembree Thomas Murguia Peyton Watts Avery Walker

NEWS

3

N E W S I N BR IE F

A recap of the most significant events from the past two weeks

BY RESER HALL

EAST

photos of theweek

( L E F T Junior Maddie Smiley laughs with her teammates while helping build the tennis stayat-home-mom themed float for the Lancer Day Parade. | CARSON HOLTGRAVES

SHARE celebrates 30th Anniversary

This year, the largest student-run community service organization in the nation is celebrating its 30th anniversary. SHARE has been a major part of the Shawnee Mission East extracurricular roster since 1986.

“The 30 year anniversary is mainly a testament to all the people that came before us,” senior SHARE executive Chase Tetrick said. “We aren’t doing anything big to celebrate it but instead adding and expanding projects.”

There are a total of 46 projects this year that are taking place under the SHARE name, 60 student chairs for these projects and over 300 seniors participating in senior service day on Oct. 19.

SHARE has many projects available to students for achieving service hours. These activities range from

LOCAL

socializing with the elderly in Brighton Gardens to volunteering at school carnivals or to spending time with children with disabilities.

The SHARE project that has expanded the most is Junior Board. Junior Board is a program where teams of students research the nonprofit world and compete in April for grant money, presenting a proposal to a panel of esteemed local executives. Last year was a test run of the program and it performed better than many expected, according to Tetrick. This year the executives foresee even more participation than last year.

SHARE looks to continue the tradition that has been established at Shawnee Mission East for many years to come by promoting positive community service.

Local Police Officer Killed By Drunk Driver

A Johnson County Police Officer was killed by a hitand-run driver in a pickup truck around 1:30 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11. Master Deputy Brandon Collins was conducting a routine traffic stop when a pickup truck plowed into the patrol car Collins was in. Due to the impact, the patrol car was engulfed in flames, killing the officer in the process. Master Deputy Collins was 45 and had a wife and two daughters.

The suspected driver of the pickup truck ran from the scene. He was later captured, taken into custody and treated for injuries. The suspect is being held on charges

NATIONAL

of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

“It is always terrible when a police officer dies, especially around here,” junior Thomas Sweat said. “I feel for the officer’s family and friends.”

Collins’ death is the third Kansas City area police officer so far this year, following the shootings of officers Robert Melton and Brad Lancaster. He is the first officer of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office to die in the line of duty in 45 years.

( A B OV E ) Junior and varsity Lancer Dancer Toni Englund smiles as she sets down her flag after performing a routine at last Friday night’s game against Shawnee Mission Northwest. | LIBBY WILSON

Turn to page 31 to learn all about this year’s new SHARE projects

North Carolina Stripped of Hosting Upcoming Championship Games

The NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference have canceled upcoming championship games that were set to take place in North Carolina in response to the HB2 bathroom law. The NCAA Constitution states the values of inclusion and gender equity, which directly contradicts with the North Carolina bathroom law. The law states that transgender people must use the restroom that corresponds to their biological gender.

The NCAA took out seven different championships, including the first and second rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and the Division I Women’s Golf Championship. In total, four Division I championships, one Division II championship, and two Division III championships. In addition, the ACC is also

taking their league championships out of North Carolina for every sport.

“The NCAA and the ACC have misrepresented the laws and insulted the people of North Carolina,” junior Christopher Patrick said. ”It should not be removed because of the law.”

North Carolina has been hurt by this bathroom law, which will cause the state to lose an estimated $5 billion per year, according to a UCLA School of Law think tank.

This isn’t the only sporting event that North Carolina has lost due to the bathroom law. Back in July, the NBA pulled all of the All-Star weekend festivities from Charlotte because of the bill.

Drunk drivers are the reason for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (cdc.gov)

North Carolina’s HB2 bathroom law states transgender citizens must use the same restroom that corresponds with their biological gender

GUN CONTROL BREAKDOWN

BY ROBBIE VEGLAHN

HOW A CONVICTED FELON BUYS A GUN (LEGALLY) IN THE U.S. NO QUESTIONS ASKED

Currently, there are four legal avenues to purchase a firearm. While felons cannot legally own a weapon, they can legally obtain a gun through three of the four avenues with no background check and no questions asked.

DEALERSHIP GUN SHOW

ICE O V FF

STA

Two Harbinger Staffers were asked the question: “How does the proximity of the two recent shootings make you feel about guns and gun legislation?

Has it changed your opinion on gun control?”

ONLINE AD FAM/FRIEND DOES THE PROXIMITY OF RECENT SHOOTINGS CHANGE YOUR MIND?

% OF STUDENTS

East students were asked if the proximity of the shootings changed their opinion on gun control*

33%

65%

YES NO IN:

On the weekend of Sept. 9, two separate shootings in the Kansas City metro area left one dead, and eight wounded. So East students were asked the question – does this change anything? *Data based on poll of 435 students

30%

ZOOM IN //OUT OUT:

EAST

% WHO ARE SATISFIED WITH GUN LAWS*

27% 73%

U.S.

East students were asked % WHO ARE how satisfied they were SATISFIED WITH with current U.S. gun laws GUN LAWS*

Satisfied Dissatisfied

HITTING CLOSE TO HOME

38% 62%

44%

JUNIOR HARRISON GOOLEY The proximity scares me because who really thinks something like that is going to happen so close? But really it doesn’t affect my opinion on gun control.”

31%

OF AMERICANS HAVE A GUN IN THEIR HOME

OF EAST STUDENTS HAVE A GUN IN THEIR HOME

SENIOR MONTY LYDDON I’m very upset that gun violence like this continues to happen in our nation, especially now that it’s so close to my friends and family.

This only solidifies my opinion that gun laws need to be stricter.” *Portugal is the second highest

NEWS

RECONSTRUCTING

Link Crew

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Link Crew ACTIVITIES Link Crew leaders have planned new lessons to teach every week in seminar classes such as the examples below

During seminar, pairs of Link Crew leaders will be going to different classrooms to do various activities

L

BY MADELINE HLOBIK

ink Crew leaders will no longer have a “set” seminar with different lessons to teach every week this year. Each Link Crew partnership has created one unique activity, which they will present to a different seminar for the first 20 minutes each week.

With the new system, Link leaders will travel to a new seminar every week, and after 20 minutes, the Link leaders will return to their assigned seminar. This new system was devised with the intention of making Link Crew less stressful for Link leaders, since they no longer have to gather materials and prepare a different activity each week.

“The hope is that this way, the [Link leaders] just have to develop one plan, get one set of supplies and then will become more proficient at [their activity] over time,” Link Crew instructor Samantha Feinberg said. “We want them to get to the point where they are just nailing [their lesson plan] every time.”

One of the main goals of this new Link Crew change is to have all seminars visited by a different Link Crew partnership every week. This way, by the end of the school year, students will have had lessons on a widevariety of subject matters. Self-esteem, time management, stress relief, effective test taking skills and teamwork are just some of the topics the activities will discuss.

“We are having the Link leaders cover important parts of high school that aren’t specifically addressed in classes,” Feinberg said.

What do you think of the time saved for Link Crew during seminar?

For example, Link leaders senior Quincy Bair and junior Ben Shackleford knew they wanted to cover the topic of time management. After consulting with Feinberg, they created a modified version of a “medicine wheel”– a circle where students get to map out what people and activities occupy their life the most. This way, students are able to see where they are putting most of their time.

“I think it will help students think about things they wouldn’t usually think of during high school,” Bair said. “Like students may

The hope is that this way, the [Link leaders] just have to develop one plan, get one set of supplies and then will become more proficient at [their activity] over time SAMANTHA FEINBERG LINK CREW INSTRUCTOR

realize ‘maybe I am spending too much time with my friends, and not enough with my family.’”

Feinberg explained that students are more involved and respond better when it is other students talking to them compared to a teacher. Also, with all the changing partnerships and variety in activities during seminar, Link Crew is hoping that students will be more engaged this year.

SCIENCE TEACHER STEPHEN APPIER

They could be beneficial, if it is the right type of activity. I like the idea that this year the activities are student generated.

“I like being able to have the opportunity to see new people every week,” sophomore Dane Erickson said. “I feel like people will be more interested in the activities and it’ll help mix things up.”

However, with this new system being implemented, second year and senior Link leader Andie Ogg explained that she won’t have the same opportunity to fully get to know the other students in her seminar.

“In a way last year could be seen as more beneficial to the students because they could really get to know [their] Link Crew [leader] that [they] had from the beginning,” Ogg said. “But this year, [the students will] get to see and sort of know all of the Link Crew leaders.”

Link leaders won’t be able to establish as deep of bonds with the seminars because they will be traveling to a new classroom every week. However, since some of the Link leaders activities involve teamwork and communication amongst students in a seminar, Feinberg and all the other Link Crew instructors are hoping that this new system aids the development of interpersonal relationships between the students in their assigned seminars.

Although the first 20 minutes of seminar may take some adjusting at first for all involved, the Link Crew instructors are optimistic about the changes being made.

I hope it’s been at least a bit beneficial or amusing for some students, but I don’t ENGLISH TEACHER think teachers AMY ANDERSEN or students have taken it very seriously.

DOING YOGA Will help students relax during the day

PLAYING OCEAN SOUNDS Intended to help provide stress relief

TIME MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY Helps students see where they are spending too much of their time

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UNNING G FOR A

CHANGE

BY LIZZIE KAHLE

I

didn’t even flinch. The headline read “49 people dead and 53 injured.” I nonchalantly scrolled past it. Then I suddenly thought to myself: When did innocent people being shot become normal?

In the aftermath of a horrific slaughter at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, our nation mourned the losses of the lives that were taken that day. But have we mourned every single one of the 272 mass shootings this year?

We send our thoughts and prayers.

We promise change and justice. We move on without a second thought.

And here the United States stands, with nearly 32,000 people dead so far this year from gun violence. Yet, Congress has still not passed any piece of legislation to regulate guns.

When guns are killing more people under the age of 26 than car accidents, I think it’s about time we changed number two on the amendments list.

There is a phrase the NRA likes to throw around: “The only way to kill a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

Some conservatives will rightfully argue that guns are necessary for selfdefense. What they refuse to recognize is that only 1,202 of the nearly 40,000 incidents of gun violence have been for self defense, according to Gun Violence Archive.

The Second Amendment was put into our Bill of Rights when it took

two minutes to reload a gun – not when guns could fire 100 rounds in one minute. The bill was put in place to defend against a tyrannical government; it had nothing to do with the ability to kill our own innocent citizens. So today, when that’s what a majority of all guns are being used for, who in their right mind could argue that we are using our guns in the way they were intended?

Every time a shooting occurs, millions of people begin to call for stricter gun laws. Meanwhile, conservatives argue for keeping the Second Amendment by posting pictures to social media while holding their guns, saying that hunting is a “family tradition” and they “need them for self defense.”

Well, congratulations pro-gun activists, your glorifications of your guns are the exact reasons mentally unstable people get their hands on firearms. Oh... please note I said “get their hands on” and not “purchase.”

For example, the teenage shooters of Columbine High School, nearly 17 years ago, illegally obtained two shotguns and one semi-automatic handgun. After joining a club online that called themselves “Stray Bullets,” they contacted someone who was ofage to purchase the guns used in the shooting. Prior to this, they both had criminal records and had received psychiatric treatment.

And by the way conservatives, owning guns doesn’t kill the ideologies of people who want to use them in the wrong ways. It feeds them.

The Brady Bill, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, is the bill that implemented background checks potential gun owners must go through before being allowed to purchase a firearm. Yet felons are able to buy

GUN FACTS IN THE

UNITED STATES Due to recent increases in gun violence, the country’s gun policy should be rethought

firearms online or at gun shows with “no questions asked.” They simply have someone who could pass a background check buy guns for them, which is exactly my point: If we can’t control who’s behind the trigger, we shouldn’t have them in the first place.

Granted, if the amendment were to be abolished, guns would still be out there. Guns will still be obtainable through the black market by the wrong people. It’s inevitable. But right now we have the power to stop what’s in our control: The Second Amendment. We need to be thinking about the future of our country – for our younger siblings, future children and grandchildren.

Think about it. At the rate mass shootings have been increasing, it is likely that in the future metal detectors will greet you at every door.

We see shootings on the TV every day, yet there are still stubborn conservatives who argue that guns are necessary; that they are what make us such a great, invincible country. We are nowhere near invincible anymore.

Children are dead. Friends, sons, daughters, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives are dead because you believe you need an assault rifle for self defense.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate guns. Guns don’t kill people – people kill people.

As a nation, we should be embarrassed that we have not yet given justice to those who have lost loved ones. I know I am.

If you disagree with me, check the time. In the next five minutes, someone will be killed by a gunshot. After those five minutes have passed, explain to me your reasoning for keeping the Second Amendment in effect.

300 MILLION

There are roughly firearms owned by civilians in the United States

40% - 45% 30% - 34% 17% - 19%

adults own a gun own a handgun households own a gun REASONS FOR OWNING A FIREARM own a gun for protection against crime

67% 66% 58%

own a gun for target shooting own a gun for hunting

Crime and Self-Defense

16,272 murders in 2008, 10,866, or 67% were committed with firearms

out of

GUN LAWS IN

KANSAS

law was passed allowing Kansas 2015 residents to carry a concealed firearm permit or training KANSAS DOESN’T REQUIRE: Firearms dealers to get a state license Gun owners to register their firearms or report lost or stolen guns A limited number of guns that can be purchased at one time There is no permitting requirement for a concealed firearm Permit local law enforcement to deny a concealed carry permit ILLEGAL GUNS: Shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches Handgun cartridges with plastic-coated bullets with cores of less than 60% lead by weight Silencers Spring gun traps MINIMUM AGE Kansas doesn’t prohibit children from buying and owning guns. However, minors under 18 can’t possess guns with a barrel less than 12 inches information courtesy of: http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp http://statelaws.findlaw.com/kansas-law/kansas-gun-control-laws.html

8

OPINION

ICE O V CER

LAN

Girls share their opinions on sharing a bedroom with their sisters.

REMODELING SENIOR HALLIE FRITZ People say that my sister and I talk and act the same and I think it’s due to how close we are. Literally, our beds are five feet from each other.

SENIOR GRACE JONES My sister talks in her sleep a lot so I wake up to her saying the most random things sometimes.

Sharing a room has definitely made us a lot closer.

SENIOR EMILY KHORING I really enjoy sharing a room with my sister and I feel that it has prepared me to have a roommate in college next year.

Why sharing a bedroom with a sibling poorly effects relationships

BY SARAH WILCOX

I

tossed and turned in my twin bed “You should have enough time to clean glancing at my clock – 9:30 p.m. My the room, all you do is play tennis!” she 9-year-old self needed sleep before would yell. the first day of fourth grade. Across from “Well at least I’m good at tennis!” I me sat my older sister, Elizabeth, working shouted back at her. on her homework that was “actually hard Mom, or if we were really in trouble, since she’s in high school.” Next to her, Dad, would soon come bounding up the our pink lamp with the tattered shade stairs into our bedroom to call a cease lit the room. I had grown to despise that fire. I never cared that we had disrupted lamp that kept me from falling asleep each the whole family, I just wanted the last night. I sat up and shouted at Elizabeth to turn off the light. When she didn’t, I yelled for Mom because she always took my When we were younger, many side. arguments began as something Four kids and two parents in a foursmall until we sat screaming bedroom house. This meant two of the kids had to share a bedroom. The across our beds at one another. lucky winners of the upstairs bedroom SARAH WILCOX and its airplane-sized bathroom were JUNIOR Elizabeth and me, since my parents decided we seemed most compatible compared with our other sisters. Even word. One of us would have to “take the though sharing a bedroom forced us to be high road” and go downstairs because we closer in quarters, it drove us apart. simply were not allowed to spend any more Elizabeth is five years older than me, time together. On my way out, I kindly but I used to like to pretend we were the reminded Elizabeth that I hated her and I same age. I was the younger one who stole closed the door behind me before she could a peek at her older sister’s Christmas list say anything else. and secretly asked for the same thing.

Elizabeth finished high school in 2013 When Christmas morning came, Elizabeth and moved to Lawrence. Even though I couldn’t help but give me a dirty look when technically had the room to myself, it was we opened our gifts; coincidentally, we had never mine. She came home frequently both gotten North Face jackets, only mine on weekends and always made sure I was was black and hers was pink. I sat beaming, aware that it was still her room too. When because I was the sixth grader with the she came home, I would find every shirt, same jacket as a sophomore. jacket, or whatever else I had put on her When we were younger, many bed shoved onto my desk. arguments began as something small until Last year was her junior year of college. we sat screaming across our beds at one The KU School of Nursing is in Kansas City another. and happens to be only fifteen minutes

from our house. I hated this arrangement, but she found it convenient to live here while she drove to and from Lawrence. We shared that bedroom up until the day my parents decided to renovate our upstairs.

Adding two more bedrooms to the upstairs meant we would get our own bedrooms for the first time in our lives.

When Elizabeth moved into her apartment, I moved us out of our bedroom so the construction could start. I packed up our floral bedding and pulled down our old American Girls dolls off the shelves.

I boxed up my desk supplies, chuckling when I found a pair of sunglasses Elizabeth stuffed behind my books because she didn’t want them anymore.

Eventually I saw that the bedroom was empty and only the chipped light purple paint remained. The wall in our green bathroom was torn out and another doorway was carved into the side of my wall where the dresser we shared used to be. I stood in the center of the room, remembering all of the good and bad times we spent together in there. I suddenly realized I missed her.

I began to miss the nights we stayed up past midnight to tell me stories about college. Elizabeth told me about her first horrible roommate, who kept her wardrobe on the floor and left dirty dishes in their sink. I think she missed me too.

Over the years I got to visit Elizabeth in all of her new rooms, miles from me. From the seventh floor of Corbin Hall to the second floor of the apartment on Rainbow Boulevard – I know she will always have a place for her first roommate on Fontana St.

OPINION

9

A

WRECKLESS L E G AC Y

Despite a family history of car wrecks, there is still hope to avoid getting in an accident

BY KATIE HISE

M

y mom was very specific: don’t take Mission Road.

Construction was everywhere and it was a mess. My sister Maddie didn’t listen, as many teenage girls don’t.

What was supposed to be a simple errand for my mom ended in a crash.

My mom’s phone rang a number of minutes later.

“Mom, I just rear-ended someone on Mission. Please come.”

I hated hearing about all of these crashes. Each time my parents got these calls, I was reminded of my own fears of crashing. The freakish stories of bashed in bumpers and people being ejected out of their car scared me more than anything.

And that sixth crash of my sister’s made me think, maybe these aren’t accidents. I mean, after six of them, this can’t just be bad luck. Maddie was flat out a bad driver. However, it has to be just her. My brother Tommy couldn’t be as bad. Could he?

I was half asleep in my bed, scrolling through Twitter in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. I heard Tommy rush in the side door: “Mom, I just hit Katie’s car.”

My little navy convertible was parked behind Tommy’s in our driveway, a reasonable distance back I must add.

With the music turned up, he whipped out of the driveway and took part of my left front headlight with him. It was

smashed in along with his back bumper.

It would be an understatement to say that my parents and I were upset. If this was his first crash, it might have been different. However taking after Maddie, he has been in four crashes now.

His worst accident was getting T-boned on Ward Parkway. He was approaching a stop sign and began to brake. Unaware of the black ice on the streets, his tires skidded straight through the stop sign into the middle of Ward Parkway towards oncoming traffic.

He’s also been in two other more trivial accidents. One was when he backed into someone in the sophomore lot and the other was when he backed into a random lady on a side street.

So adding it up, as of 2016, the Hise family totals to ten crashes among the kids. Ten. And this is just the oldest two kids so far. This makes me wonder, as I approach the age of receiving my full license, am I cursed with this “prone-tocar-crashes” driving style? I can wish and pray that this isn’t true. But I can’t not worry about it.

I can only hope that maybe I will break this trend.

As a 9-year-old, seeing the massive wreck in “The Blind Side” sealed the deal: crashes have and will always be my biggest fear.

I’ve been a passenger in two crashes in my life, but neither were that traumatic.

Once I was in the back seat of my mom’s car when she was switching lanes. An ambulance was in her blind spot and sideswiped the car. With little damage to the car, this crash was more of a freak out than anything. The other was one of Tommy’s, when he hit a car in the

sophomore lot.

So, being a pre-teen who was overly eager to start driving, I told myself I would do anything possible to avoid crashes.

Now, after driving for a little over a year, knock on wood, I am still crash-less.

Well, besides that one time a car bumped my back bumper at a stoplight. I didn’t do anything about that and didn’t tell anyone, though, because there was no damage (sorry, dad).

I can only imagine how pissed my parents would be if I did get in one.

They quit helping pay to fix Maddie and Tommy’s damage after two crashes. I am sure they would have lost their patience and not helped with any of mine, and I don’t know if they could let themselves pay Progressive any more money.

When Tommy hit my car, he asked if he should call Progressive to get an estimate for the damage.

“No, don’t call them,” my dad said.

“We’ve had too many accidents with them.”

With the number of crashes slowly dwindling between each kid, my parents stay hopeful for my eighth grade sister Libby and I. Libby has gotten into driving recently – just learning in church parking lots with our parents and maybe driving down the street.

Her driving skills look promising so far with a clean record, but she has yet to deal with real life driving. My advice to her: be careful in the East parking lot after school, always stop at stop signs and don’t crash your driver’s ed car – we should’ve known Maddie would be a bad driver after that one.

PHOTO BY ELLIE THOMA

teens &

WRECKS

6

teens ages 16–19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries.

teen drivers ages

16-19

are nearly 3x more likely than

drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. statistics courtesy of cdc.org

The Hises &Wrecks: Maddie: (6)

Tommy: (4) Katie: (0)

10

OPINION

Students should have the right to discuss controversial subjects in school

BY MAYA STRATMAN

T

he assignment was simple: select a social injustice in today’s society on which you would like to create a presentation on. Sophomore Ava Brooker and I scanned the most popular social issues, but without seeing anything that was compelling we kept scrolling through dozens of topics. Our eyes flashing across things like Afghan refugees crossing the border and the impending climate change. None of these were ones social issues that everyone didn’t already know about. None of them had any points that hadn’t already been covered multiple times.

Nothing until we hit the bottom of the page.

“And what’s your topic, ladies?” our English teacher Kristin Anderson said.

“Abortion.”

She paused and looked at us, took a deep breath, and started to say something. After stopping herself, considering for a while and studying us some more, she said no. She told us it was too controversial. She sent us back to our seats to find a new topic because we happened to have picked the ONE social issue in the world that wasn’t tolerable.

She explained that the pictures we would use in the presentation to make it meaningful or substantial would be horrific and that they would not be appropriate for the classroom. Even though the restrictions of talking about abortion is not a district policy, Anderson still felt like it was a rather non-agreeable topic. I thought the purpose of the assignment was to address the controversial topics. I guess abortion is too controversial for our classrooms.

I don’t find it just that we aren’t permitted to talk about these topics because other people have been allowed to overpower the debate.

According to Gallup, pro-choice supporters have been in the majority since 1995. The one exception to that was in 2012 and until recently more people have been siding with pro-life. Although, pro-life still hasn’t surpassed the number of pro-choice supporters it made me wonder what has changed over the years that has impacted the abortion debate.

One reason is that the pro-life group has produced and received more publicity. From the TV, to the computer, to about everywhere you look, pro-life protests are occurring. On Aug. 12 of this year, protesters appeared at about 320 abortion clinics around the nation. These gatherings held anywhere from a few protesters to thousands of retailers.

The other reason the pro-life advocates have gained support is through their guilt-inducing propaganda which I personally have experienced. On the way to Indian Hills Middle School I used to see a poster with a baby on it and a message about choosing life. I have only recently realized that this image had more power than I thought. Now my mind automatically goes to the poster when abortion is brought up.

When I see even more promotion’s such as “Abortion doesn’t make you unpregnant. It makes you the mother of a dead baby,” I can’t help but feel attacked for my views. I can’t say I’m surprised in the

growing numbers of pro-life supporters when the prolife movements are constantly supported. Without pro-choice supporters making an effort to be heard, how can changes in the debate be made?

Staying quiet on these taboo subjects will not make it go away. It only makes it easier for other groups of people who are more open about the subject to dominate this controversy completely. People could be made to feel more powerless until they decide to speak out. It makes so only one group feels like they have the power and right to talk about it.

Wherever I go, pro-life posters are pinned up on every bulletin board and store front window. I am confused as I wonder where all the pro choice propaganda is. And I have come to the conclusion that there isn’t a ton. People are only getting one side of the story. I don’t find it fair how other schools and churches are allowed to put up excessive posters clearly stating their beliefs and I’m not allowed to do a one minute presentation in class to express my own.

To have an even the argument between the two sides, pro-choice supporters need to voice their opinion just as loudly. To help with this, schools, including teachers and parents, must learn to discuss these subjects.

Abortion should be seen not as a prohibited topic but one that can raise awareness to other social issues and injustices. Since abortion brings to light other questions such as faith, religion, women’s rights and even men’s rights, it is a good topic for people to go in depth and discuss. It can help get people talking about even more things than abortion. The more leaders in our school express being open to these discussions,the more students will follow that example to form an open environment for conversations such as abortion.

It’s important to talk about both sides of the argument. If we don’t they simply won’t be discussed.

So let’s get people to talk about them.

Maybe it’s not that easy though. I suppose that some teachers don’t feel comfortable talking about these things because they don’t want a wave of angry parents coming for them, or maybe teachers just aren’t comfortable talking about these things themselves.

A way to help improve the conservative atmosphere of classrooms is by having teachers let parents and students know ahead time that they are allowed and will be talking about controversial subjects, like abortion, for they have the right to do so.

Not only has this English project made me question what it is about abortion that makes it so unacceptable, but also what teachers are not comfortable talking about. It’s made me question why we don’t talk about these things, and what we can do so people feel like they can. I want to voice my opinion. I want to make people think. I want to talk about the things people feel like they can’t. I want to talk about abortion.

PHOTO KAITLYN STRATMAN

LITTLE

LANCERS ( FA R R I G H T ) Kindergartners through second-graders rush to the snack table to grab Cheez-its and water provided by the cheerleaders. | AUDREY KESLER

( R I G H T ) Sophomore Maggie Gray stunts for third-graders. “I decided to help with the clinic because I love kids,” Gray said.

“When I was little and would go to the clinics, I remembered really looking up to the older cheerleaders.

That is something I always wanted to be.” | KAITLYN STRATMAN

( A B OV E ) Senior Lilly Horton explains to the girls the rules for the stage gym. She encouraged them to have fun but to be safe.

“It was really fun to watch all of the girls learn the new skills and improve throughout the day,” Horton said. “It’s also really fun to see them so excited to perform in the games and for their parents.” | KAITLYN STRATMAN

PHOTO ESSAY

11

The Lancer cheerleaders held a camp on Friday morning to teach elementary school kids stunts, cheers, and other skills

( FA R B E LOW ) Junior Caroline Erich jumps up and down to music with everyone in her group. The Lancers then invited girls up one at a time to perform a stunt or cheer they knew. | KAITLYN STRATMAN ( M I D D L E B E LOW ) Sophomore Carolyn Simpson tries to quiet the girls when they are learning a new cheer. “I love little kids and asking them questions and teaching them,” Simpson said. “My favorite part was meeting the girl on my back, Layla. I also liked helping them out and making them want to be cheerleaders when they are older.” | HALEY BELL

( FA R L E F T ) Third-grader Lilly O’Neil balances upside down on her head during tumbling. The Lancers brought the girls to the stage gym to practice stunts on the mat. The cheerleaders helped some girls fly while others ran around and did somersaults and cartwheels on the mats.

I KAITLYN STRATMAN

NEW

&

NOTEWORTHY

BY YASHI WANG

The East community has played a role in three people’s music careers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TY NANOS

TY NANOS

U

nder the warm amber lighting and gleaming wood accents of Harlowe Bar in Hollywood, guitarist Ty Nanos looked with satisfaction over the packed house.

Given, most attendees were the friends she and her bandmates had rallied for support, but it was their first gig, after all.

Unexpectedly, that was the night when an event coordinator first approached them and the band started booking shows.

When Nanos graduated from Shawnee Mission East in 2014, her goals were simple: take a year off, move to Austin and pursue music to wherever it led her. Maybe apply to some music schools later on. But just weeks after she tossed up her cap, Nanos found herself preparing to move to Los Angeles instead, although her musical aspirations were at least intact, and they would remain so even as more “unexpected” changes became her norm.

Within a few months of moving to LA, Nanos became the guitarist for a new indie rock band, Springfield. She became the manager of a Starbucks and started taking online classes for a degree from Arizona State University. She found that she could finally follow her own pace in academics and that she was, in fact, pretty good at math. She also discovered that she has become more extroverted and active since she left East.

“I’m a completely different person now, the person I thought I was in high school is just not the same,” Nanos said.

“I definitely felt like I hadn’t really found a niche because there really [wasn’t] one. There were artists and there were musicians, but there weren’t artists and musicians that were who I was.”

Nanos found that, within the arts scene, there are countless strangers in LA who have potential to become very positive influences. She has met many people who are pursuing the same thing but have totally different experiences from her.

Collaborating with these people helps her create music she could never create on her own.

“Sometimes, the types of experiences that LA offers — the bar scene, the night life, the oceans, the mountains and everything — it just offers a completely different perspective that you wouldn’t otherwise get,” Nanos said.

In this new environment, she can finally feel like herself.

Amidst playing music in the wilderness of Santa Barbara mountains, trolling Queen Latifa at Starbucks and spending

nights just walking on the beach with her own thoughts, she realized that she had never really felt like herself back in high school.

“I definitely found the sound and the people I wanted after I moved,” Nanos said.

Nanos is finally solidifying her new goals in academics and in music and becoming satisfied with where she is in life.

Although she doesn’t have much time to study between work and music, Nanos makes time for two or three classes at a time as she follows an interest in psychology and neuroscience.

Someday, she’d like to become a music therapist and pursue what she loves, not only from the performance side but also from the psychological.

After the front-man of her previous band Springfield went abroad to Europe, she started a second band, Indigo Child, with her previous drummer Kelly Grass and new bassist Einar Huber, whom she met at work. She performs as both frontman and guitarist and writes most of their music, a blend of Springfield’s acoustic indie rock and harder, bluesy sounds.

To her excitement, the band seems to be taking off. As they perform more and continue to network in the music world, Nanos finds that the music she pursues — her only constant while adapting to a drastically different life — is finally within reach.

“Especially in the sense of competing with other bands, we stand up, we’re good enough,” Nanos said. “Discovering that you’re a ‘good enough’ band in LA is really powerful.”

They are planning to take a week off sometime soon to record some music in San Diego where Huber’s father owns a professional studio, then send recordings on to Ty’s father, a producer, and hopefully release some music.

As far as new bands go, Nanos is happy with how talented her band-mates are and how quickly they pick up the new songs she writes for the band. But now, settling into her new life in LA, she is embracing change and growth. In the next few years, she hopes, they’ll branch out in styles and create music with more detail and depth.

“The more I write and come to them with new songs,” Nanos said. “The more that we’ll be able to create things together and change the sound.”

IRIS HYDE S

BY ANNABELLE COOK

S

ocial studies teacher David Muhammad takes a deep breath as he thinks over the lyrics of his original rap, “Sorrow.”

While recording, he has to make sure to breathe through his diaphragm and match the tempo of the beat, all while making sure not to rush the words, and convey the right tone and energy.

He is preparing to release his innermost thoughts to the microphone in front of him, as well as the room full of music producers on the other side of the recording studio’s glass.

It’s another late night for Muhammad, recording and putting in long hours to perfect his “Hunger Games”-based album, which comes out in December. He arrived to the studio at midnight and left at 3 a.m., emotionally and physically drained, and then arrived at school at 7 a.m. the next morning .

Two years ago, alumnus Kaycee Mayfield suggested basing the album off of “The Hunger Games” because of its social relevance.

According to Muhammad, the album covers social issues like racism, socioeconomic inequality and the forced image of beauty that the media promotes. Like Mayfield, many other students at East inspired and contributed to Muhammad’s music, and in the process, he hopes to inspire them. “[Creating the album] was really humbling,” Muhammad said.

“Doing something new and putting yourself out there for the sake of art. For me, it was exhaustingly refreshing because it was something that I’ve really been wanting to do for a long time.”

However, Muhammad wasn’t alone in his endeavors. For his album, he recruited the vocal talents of junior Harper Mundy and alumni Chloe Kerwin and Charlie Jensen, who are doing the job pro bono. He had worked with them all before through Coalition and events like the Love146 Concert. Senior Eva Tucker is creating album artwork for T-shirts and related items, while senior Emma Chalk is in charge of album photography.

“Why not support their potential futures?” Muhammad said.

“They want to do music, they want to do art. This would be a chance for them to get their work out there and really connect with

ophomore Iris Hyde sits on the couch of her living room, an acoustic guitar resting in her lap. As she begins to strum, the chords to “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver, one of her favorite songs to play, ring throughout the room.

She belts out the lyrics, her mother sitting in front of her recording on her iPhone.

Come on skinny love just last the year. Pour a little salt we were never here. My, my, my, my, my.

Hyde uploads the video to her Instagram page. She receives an abundance of positive feedback as comment notifications flood her phone: “Amazing!” “Why are you so incredible?” “I love this song!”

This was only one of many videos that Hyde shares on social media, displaying her talent for her followers, which include students from East and from her old school in Lawrence, Bishop Seabury.

Posting videos of herself singing and accompanying these songs on the guitar started as a simple way to share music.

However, it quickly transformed into her way of connecting with people on social media, even if she couldn’t play for them in person. “[Instagram is] just an easier way to get music out to larger amounts of people that wouldn’t normally view my music,” Hyde said. “It’s easier for people to look at their phone than to come to a show.”

This came in handy last year, when Hyde moved from Lawrence to Kansas City. She began school at East her freshman year and immediately struggled with not knowing many people. However, because of her music, Hyde became more than just a girl in people’s English or biology class. They would see

FEATURES

13

the music she was doing on social media and recognize her more and more often. People she didn’t know would come up to her in the halls and compliment her voice. For Hyde, it meant much more to her than a comment on a phone screen, because she could tell them how much their feedback meant to her. “[Instagram is] a filtered version of what you want people to see,” Hyde said. “But that’s a major part of who I am. It’s a good way for people to see that part of me.”

Eventually, Hyde realized that she was posting her music more for other’s approval, instead of her own enjoyment. It began to be a chore, rather than a hobby.

“I wasn’t enjoying music as much cause I was obsessing over if something would be well-received on Instagram,” Hyde said. “I had to take a break from that for a little bit and think more about why I wanted to do music.

After this six month break, she came back to social media and discovered that the reason she fell in love with music was all those little moments that come along with playing it.

Whether it be being able to tell a story through lyrics, even if she didn’t write them herself, or that moment when she finally got a song right on the guitar, or stepping on stage to perform a gig at Homer’s Café in Overland Park. “[Music] is just something that I’ve always loved, like I loved to sing,” Hyde said. “And everyone can relate to music, it’s my way of connecting with people.”

somebody. I’d rather help somebody that I know than just pay for somebody that I don’t have an attachment to.”

Students at East also made inspirational contributions to the album. Whether that be participating in a sport, working a part-time job or traveling overseas for a humanitarian cause, Muhammad was impressed by the heavy involvement of students in extracurriculars.

“I was like, man, these kids are going after it,” Muhammad said.

“I didn’t want to lose that hunger. Seeing that has really inspired me.”

East students also supply Muhammad with feedback and critiques. For the past year, Muhammad has visited Ms. Anderson’s Writers’ Workshop class to share bits and pieces of the album, whether that be lyrics themselves or theme concepts. Muhammad utilizes the school environment as a sort of testing ground to gather information on what he can improve upon.

The process of creating the album as a whole was a lengthy, indepth one, according to Muhammad. He started by mapping out all of the themes and characters of the “Hunger Games” and how they related to each other, as if he was writing an extensive thesis paper over the books. He had to draft lyrics, redraft, find a producer, curate guest artists, record and more.

But the point of all this was never to obtain wealth and fame and the luxurious lifestyle of a rapper. The purpose was to share more than just a beat with meaningless lyrics. It was to use music as an extension of the classroom, to teach the listener about certain social issues and to preach the ideas that were put into every lyric.

Muhammad hopes for his music to be used as a pulpit to share ideas and concepts through his songs.

“Music is a universal language,” Muhammad said. “Nowadays with social media and things being so quick it spreads so fast. So if an artist has a really strong positive method, it has a big impact.”

DAVID

MUHAMMAD

PHOTOS BY HALEY BELL

14

FEATURES

Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine’s local roots help establish his authenticity in this year’s election

BY MORGAN BILES & ROBBIE VEGLAHN

J

ust a few weeks after Shawnee Mission East football took on Rockhurst for the first time in decades, another group of men will be visiting the school for the first time in decades. On Oct. 14, former Rockhurst High School graduates will gather in the Barry Student Commons for their 40th reunion. Among those celebrating will be a law firm partner, a Commerce Bank executive, an East gifted teacher – and maybe even the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.

Forty years ago, Senator Tim Kaine walked those same commons as Student Body President. Now, he is 270 electoral votes away from becoming the Vice President of the United States.

As the alumni reminisce about their high school days, they will undoubtedly reflect upon the lessons they learned at Rockhurst – the very same lessons that Sen. Kaine spoke about in his DNC acceptance speech.

“We had a motto in my school, ‘men for others,’” Sen. Kaine said in the speech.

“And it was there that my faith became something vital. My North Star for orienting my life.”

Raised by Republican parents Kathy Burns and Albert Kaine in a historically Republican area, Sen. Kaine attributes his current liberal political beliefs to his Rockhurst education. The Jesuit institution stresses questioning, examination and mission work as the core of learning. However, his education taught him more than just calculus and government, but also about compassion and service. Throughout his whole career, this moral compass welded in Kansas City has stayed with him, from his nine-month-long mission trip in Honduras to the Governor’s Mansion and the Capitol.

Back in high school, Sen. Kaine’s classmates, including current East gifted teacher Alex Migliazzo, took note of how he was

truly living up to the Jesuit school’s motto. “[He was] very bright, very friendly, approachable and he was very involved in the mission program in high school as well,” Migliazzo said. “He was a nice guy who seemed to get along with everyone.”

According to the senator’s nephew, Curtis Kaine, this is still true today. Sen. Kaine’s family sees the reputation he earned at Rockhurst play out today in both his private and public life.

has long struggled with gaining the public’s trust.

“Honestly people have told me that the only reason that they are voting for Hillary is because of my uncle,” Curtis said. “They think he’s a much more likable candidate than Hillary, and they like that he’s on the ticket.”

At times though, this authenticity works against the senator. In an election full of Twitter wars and e-mail scandals, Sen. Kaine has been labeled by many voters and news outlets as “boring.”

“It’s understandable for a 58-year-old, The uncle cracking jokes at Catholic white dude to be called boring,” Curtis said. “But I think it’s his actions Thanksgiving dinner is the same and what he’s done that speak about man as the candidate who imitated his character and who he is as a person.

Donald Trump during the DNC. I think that’s what people see.”

Another objection Sen. Kaine faces within his own party is for being too conservative on issues like abortion. CatholiThe boy who grew up a half mile from cism has guided the politician to be personFranklin Park is the same politician who ally opposed to abortion. However, he is worked down the road from the Franklin D. careful to avoid letting doctrine dictate his Roosevelt Monument. The uncle cracking politics; Sen. Kaine has repeatedly voted in jokes at Thanksgiving dinner is the same favor of pro-choice legislation. candidate who imitated Donald Trump “He’ll get flack from the left and the during the DNC. The Kansas City native right,” Curtis said. “But he knows that who makes frequent stops at Arthur Bry- there needs to be separation and that his ant’s is the same Virginia Governor who beliefs shouldn’t affect others who don’t spent an hour talking with a visiting Vir- have the same beliefs.”

It is these more conservative views that, ginia family at the National World War I in Migliazzo’s opinion, make Sen. Kaine a Museum.

“When I talk to him he is the same guy, good running mate, as these views have the this really nice guy who can carry on a con- potential to pull in a more moderate demoversation with anybody,” Curtis said. “It’s graphic to the democratic party.

If Sen. Kaine is able to break from camjust astounding to me, because he’s like that in personal conversations, but then paigning for the votes of those moderates he goes up and speaks in front of a million and return to his Rockhurst roots at the reunion, he will have a least one former classpeople, and he comes off the same way.”

It’s this authenticity that put Sen. Ka- mate waiting to shake his hand.

“I’m hoping he shows up,” Migliazzo ine on the VP shortlist in 2008 and why political analysts believe he is such a good said. “I would love to go and talk with him match for Hillary Clinton – a politician who and tell him he has my vote.”

1975 elected as Rockhurst High School student body president

1976 graduated from Rockhurst High School

1994 elected to the City Countcil Richmond, Virginia — Kaine’s first public office

1998 elected Mayor of Richmond, Virginia

2001 elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

2005 elected Governor of Virginia

2012 elected to the Virginian Senate

2016 nominated as Democratic vice presidential candidate

FEATURES

15

DANCING PAST DRILL TEAM After being cut from Drill Team, senior Bailey Riecker continues her passion by teaching dance classes

BY MARTI FROMM

S

enior Bailey struts into the hiphop room lined with wooden bars and mirrors and begins to play “Surrender” by Cash Cash.

“5...6...7...,” Riecker says to a group of pre-tween, third grade girls wearing slickedback low-ponies and size 4 black tap shoes.

During her time on competition team, Riecker was a substitute teacher for hip-hop, lyrical and jazz at Dancerz Unlimited. This is the first year she has had the opportunity to step into her big-girl pointe shoes and teach a class, continuing her dance career after being cut from drill team last year.

Typically, if a girl is cut from drill team, the dancer doesn’t pursue dance after that, according to JV dancer Sarah Grimm. But Riecker still wanted to take part in her life-long passion. For Riecker, teaching is a way she can still dance, but not have the pressure and competitive edge Lancer Dancers brought.

“My favorite part of dance is being able to tell a story,” Riecker said. “And I feel like I don’t need drill team to give me that.”

Since she was three years old, Riecker has always had a passion for the dance floor.

After falling in love with ballet and tap, Riecker expanded to other genres such as lyrical and hip-hop. Riecker attributes this love to her mother, Melissa, who danced throughout her childhood and into college.

“I wanted [Bailey] to dance because

I know how much I loved it,” Melissa said. “It was always a part of the plan for all of my children to pursue [dance].”

Coming up with choreography, choosing a song and teaching when to point or flex a foot makes Riecker feel like she’s impacting another girl positively. She never wants her students to fall short of their goals.

After having danced for eleven years, Riecker decided to try out for the Lancer Dancer drill team her freshman year. Butterflies flying throughout her entire body, Riecker was determined to show her ability. However, with the amount of girls trying out, Riecker wasn’t able to make the team.

“When I was in middle school, I saw how much the students loved the team,” Riecker said. “I knew I wanted to be cheered on like that one day.”

Even though she couldn’t pursue her dream for the first year of high school, Riecker decided to try out again her sophomore year. Having competed in four years on another competition team, Riecker felt prepared for the challenge.

But once again, Riecker was unable to show off the Lancer Dancer uniform.

Even after having her aspirations crushed twice, Riecker decided to try out again for what had been her goal since middle school. The title of being a “Lancer Dancer” was something that she wanted

to identify with. After a third round of auditioning, Riecker met her goal of being a Lancer Dancer. Even though she didn’t make the varsity team, Riecker performed on the JV team as the only junior.

The sisterhood of the team is what drove her motivation to audition for her final year of high school. After scanning the list, trying to find her name, Riecker came to discover her name wasn’t on the sheet. She was cut.

“She was a great teammate who was always willing to help and such a fun person to be around,” JV Lancer Dancer Sarah Grimm said. “Dancing is such a huge part of her life, and she realized there is more to dance than drill team.”

For Riecker, teaching youth has given her much more of a sense of accomplishment than the moment she made the drill team. Teaching the girls has been something that has brought her what dance brings her every day – pure joy.

After being cheered on at basketball games and pep assemblies, Riecker fulfilled her dream since middle school. But instead of being cheered on by fellow classmates, she’s being cheered on by parents of the girls she teaches. And for Riecker, that’s more rewarding than any standing ovation in a Lancer Dancer uniform.

MARVELOUS

MOVES

I S O L AT I O N S

LEAPS

JA Z Z S Q UA R E S

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compromise for the coins

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WORKING TOWARDS THE JACKPOT 17 16

T

eachers across the district are waiting to see if a federal mediator will resolve a stalemate between National Education Association and SMSD representatives regarding teacher salaries for the 20162017 school year.

At the end of a meeting on July 20, the SMSD and the NEA were unable to reach a contract agreement, so they declared an impasse. Federal mediator Peggy McNeive was assigned to the case to begin mediation, in which a mediator helps opposing parties reach a non-binding decision on an issue. After their first mediation meeting on Sept. 6, both sides decided to meet again Oct. 6 to discuss teacher salaries.

Teachers are struggling to pay their bills. History teacher Curtis White has downsized twice in the past 10 years, moving into a smaller home in 2007, then a condo last year. Despite economic hardships, White’s love of teaching has kept him in the profession.

“Teachers are not keeping up with the cost of living,” White said. “My wife and I have talked about [my leaving the teaching profession]: ‘Do you stay in teaching or do you find something more lucrative?’ [The decision has] been on the line.”

SMSD teachers are paid on a salary schedule. On this schedule, teachers’ salaries typically increase as they gain years of experience and college credits. Years of experience are considered steps, and levels of education are considered columns.

Teachers were unable to move up on the pay scale during the freezes in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In the 2011 and 2013 freezes, teachers were also unable to move over a column even if they received college credit hours; they remained frozen on their current position.

Teachers were frustrated after the SMSD publicized the approval of raises for three top administrators over the summer. The district approved raises of 9.5 percent, 9 percent and 15 percent in June 2015 for Superintendent Jim Hinson, Assistant Superintendent

for Instructional Leadership Michelle Hubbard and Deputy Superintendent Kenny Southwick, respectively.

The SMSD released the records of the approval to the public after the Shawnee Mission Post filed a Kansas Open Records Act request. These pay raises were given because administrators took on new duties, said NEAShawnee Mission president and East spanish teacher Linda Sieck.

Due to confidentiality agreements, the NEA declined to comment on the updated status of negotiations.

Under the same instruction, both SMSD board president Sara Goodburn and Assistant Superintendent of Communications Dr. Leigh Anne Neal declined interviews.

Adam Goldstein, a lawyer from the Student Press Law Center, said that federal mediators request confidentiality to prevent negotiations from occurring in the media, but there are no laws requiring privacy.

Dr. Neal issued this statement for the district: “At the end of the July 20 meeting, negotiating teams representing the board of education and NEA-Shawnee Mission agreed they were at impasse. Formal paperwork requesting an impasse determination and the initiation of mediation was filed with the Department of Labor on Aug. 2 as the next step to help the teams come to an agreement on a new contract for professional employees.

Meetings between the teams and a mediator have been scheduled and are underway. During the mediation process, which is conducted in closed sessions, team representatives are instructed by the federal mediator to maintain confidentiality during the mediation process.

Therefore, the district is unable to provide an interview on this topic at this time.”

The plan of the NEA as of Aug. 18 was to ask to eliminate steps 21 and 25 on the pay scale. This would mean that two “years of experience” would be added to a teacher’s total, ideally leading to an increase in salary.

The hope was that this change would regain some of the

credit of experience teachers lost during previous freezes, Sieck said.

In addition to freezes, the workloads of many teachers increased to six class periods last year, as opposed to five.

Science teacher Susan Hallstrom felt the effect of teaching six class periods last year. She said she was working 11-hour days and 70-hour weeks to give her students adequate attention, including extensive feedback on lab reports and homework.

“If we do what our students deserve, our workload is unreasonable,” Hallstrom said. “So I’m trying to find ways to make my workload reasonable that will have as little negative impact [on students] as possible.”

Class sizes have also grown, which means more work, Hallstrom said. While administrators do work hard, according to Sieck, teachers find it difficult to hear that there is no money while raises for administration are approved.

“We feel like we’re last in line,” Sieck said.

According to Hallstrom, it’s inappropriate for administrators to receive pay raises while teachers’ salaries are being frozen, and their workload is increasing.

“I thought it spoke very poorly of our district,” Hallstrom said. “When money is not available to pay the teachers – who have direct contact with students – I thought it was an embarrassment that the administration would even accept [raises].”

Mediation will continue until the SMSD and the NEA can accept a new contract or decide they can’t reach an agreement. They’ll then have an outside party analyze the facts of the case and create a binding solution. According to McNeive, mediation has no time limit or standards; it can require 30 meetings or just one session of a few hours.

While teachers have the option to earn more college credit to increase their salary during some years, they have to pay the cost of college classes out-of-pocket.

While stipends — one-time payments — were granted in

2011, 2012 and 2013, a stipend is not an effective solution to lost wages, according to Sieck. She said many teachers work second jobs or take positions coaching or tutoring in order to make up the difference.

As the mediation process attempts to bring the two parties to a decision, teachers will operate under the contract of the 2015-2016 school year. The SMSD and the NEA last reached an impasse four years ago and were able to compromise. They also mediated during the 1990’s, according to Sieck.

Teachers such as Hallstrom hope that the outcome of the meetings results in better compensation for teachers.

“We need to give [teachers] enough of a salary increase that they feel valued,” Hallstrom said. “It’s a terrible thing for morale when your workload increases and there’s no increase in compensation.”

According to McNeive, mediation is successful 80-85 percent of the time. Once representatives from both the NEA and SMSD have reached an agreement, that contract will be accepted or rejected by members of the NEA.

years of experience

BY GRACE CHISHOLM

15 14

$69,967 $72,295

Key BS = Bachelors Ms = Masters DOC = Doctorate # = credit hours

$62,633 $59,171

13 13

$56,436

12

$48,938

11 10 9 09 08

$66,202

$45,607

$42,607

BS

BS

BS+10

BS+10

BS+20

MS

MS

MS+15

MS+15

MS+30

MS+45

9

* these number s are the combined value of salary increases for administrators vs. teachers

13

The NEA and the SMSD continue mediation on teacher salaries for the current school year

Below are the maximum amounts of money that a teacher can make at X credits of education with Y years of experience in the SMSD

MS+60

DOC

credits of education

16

SPREAD

compromise for the coins

SPREAD

TIME 370

world 1-1

17

sm s d

WORKING TOWARDS THE JACKPOT 17 16

T

eachers across the district are waiting to see if a federal mediator will resolve a stalemate between National Education Association and SMSD representatives regarding teacher salaries for the 20162017 school year.

At the end of a meeting on July 20, the SMSD and the NEA were unable to reach a contract agreement, so they declared an impasse. Federal mediator Peggy McNeive was assigned to the case to begin mediation, in which a mediator helps opposing parties reach a non-binding decision on an issue. After their first mediation meeting on Sept. 6, both sides decided to meet again Oct. 6 to discuss teacher salaries.

Teachers are struggling to pay their bills. History teacher Curtis White has downsized twice in the past 10 years, moving into a smaller home in 2007, then a condo last year. Despite economic hardships, White’s love of teaching has kept him in the profession.

“Teachers are not keeping up with the cost of living,” White said. “My wife and I have talked about [my leaving the teaching profession]: ‘Do you stay in teaching or do you find something more lucrative?’ [The decision has] been on the line.”

SMSD teachers are paid on a salary schedule. On this schedule, teachers’ salaries typically increase as they gain years of experience and college credits. Years of experience are considered steps, and levels of education are considered columns.

Teachers were unable to move up on the pay scale during the freezes in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In the 2011 and 2013 freezes, teachers were also unable to move over a column even if they received college credit hours; they remained frozen on their current position.

Teachers were frustrated after the SMSD publicized the approval of raises for three top administrators over the summer. The district approved raises of 9.5 percent, 9 percent and 15 percent in June 2015 for Superintendent Jim Hinson, Assistant Superintendent

for Instructional Leadership Michelle Hubbard and Deputy Superintendent Kenny Southwick, respectively.

The SMSD released the records of the approval to the public after the Shawnee Mission Post filed a Kansas Open Records Act request. These pay raises were given because administrators took on new duties, said NEAShawnee Mission president and East spanish teacher Linda Sieck.

Due to confidentiality agreements, the NEA declined to comment on the updated status of negotiations.

Under the same instruction, both SMSD board president Sara Goodburn and Assistant Superintendent of Communications Dr. Leigh Anne Neal declined interviews.

Adam Goldstein, a lawyer from the Student Press Law Center, said that federal mediators request confidentiality to prevent negotiations from occurring in the media, but there are no laws requiring privacy.

Dr. Neal issued this statement for the district: “At the end of the July 20 meeting, negotiating teams representing the board of education and NEA-Shawnee Mission agreed they were at impasse. Formal paperwork requesting an impasse determination and the initiation of mediation was filed with the Department of Labor on Aug. 2 as the next step to help the teams come to an agreement on a new contract for professional employees.

Meetings between the teams and a mediator have been scheduled and are underway. During the mediation process, which is conducted in closed sessions, team representatives are instructed by the federal mediator to maintain confidentiality during the mediation process.

Therefore, the district is unable to provide an interview on this topic at this time.”

The plan of the NEA as of Aug. 18 was to ask to eliminate steps 21 and 25 on the pay scale. This would mean that two “years of experience” would be added to a teacher’s total, ideally leading to an increase in salary.

The hope was that this change would regain some of the

credit of experience teachers lost during previous freezes, Sieck said.

In addition to freezes, the workloads of many teachers increased to six class periods last year, as opposed to five.

Science teacher Susan Hallstrom felt the effect of teaching six class periods last year. She said she was working 11-hour days and 70-hour weeks to give her students adequate attention, including extensive feedback on lab reports and homework.

“If we do what our students deserve, our workload is unreasonable,” Hallstrom said. “So I’m trying to find ways to make my workload reasonable that will have as little negative impact [on students] as possible.”

Class sizes have also grown, which means more work, Hallstrom said. While administrators do work hard, according to Sieck, teachers find it difficult to hear that there is no money while raises for administration are approved.

“We feel like we’re last in line,” Sieck said.

According to Hallstrom, it’s inappropriate for administrators to receive pay raises while teachers’ salaries are being frozen, and their workload is increasing.

“I thought it spoke very poorly of our district,” Hallstrom said. “When money is not available to pay the teachers – who have direct contact with students – I thought it was an embarrassment that the administration would even accept [raises].”

Mediation will continue until the SMSD and the NEA can accept a new contract or decide they can’t reach an agreement. They’ll then have an outside party analyze the facts of the case and create a binding solution. According to McNeive, mediation has no time limit or standards; it can require 30 meetings or just one session of a few hours.

While teachers have the option to earn more college credit to increase their salary during some years, they have to pay the cost of college classes out-of-pocket.

While stipends — one-time payments — were granted in

2011, 2012 and 2013, a stipend is not an effective solution to lost wages, according to Sieck. She said many teachers work second jobs or take positions coaching or tutoring in order to make up the difference.

As the mediation process attempts to bring the two parties to a decision, teachers will operate under the contract of the 2015-2016 school year. The SMSD and the NEA last reached an impasse four years ago and were able to compromise. They also mediated during the 1990’s, according to Sieck.

Teachers such as Hallstrom hope that the outcome of the meetings results in better compensation for teachers.

“We need to give [teachers] enough of a salary increase that they feel valued,” Hallstrom said. “It’s a terrible thing for morale when your workload increases and there’s no increase in compensation.”

According to McNeive, mediation is successful 80-85 percent of the time. Once representatives from both the NEA and SMSD have reached an agreement, that contract will be accepted or rejected by members of the NEA.

years of experience

BY GRACE CHISHOLM

15 14

$69,967 $72,295

Key BS = Bachelors Ms = Masters DOC = Doctorate # = credit hours

$62,633 $59,171

13 13

$56,436

12

$48,938

11 10 9 09 08

$66,202

$45,607

$42,607

BS

BS

BS+10

BS+10

BS+20

MS

MS

MS+15

MS+15

MS+30

MS+45

9

* these number s are the combined value of salary increases for administrators vs. teachers

13

The NEA and the SMSD continue mediation on teacher salaries for the current school year

Below are the maximum amounts of money that a teacher can make at X credits of education with Y years of experience in the SMSD

MS+60

DOC

credits of education

FEATURES

Senior moves to Kansas City with her family for more opportunities

F

BY CLAIRE POTTENGER

redonia to Buffalo to Yates Center to Burlington, then a straight shot on I-35 until Kansas City. Three hours there, three hours back. Senior Kaley Lindsey knows the route well.

Nearly every weekend for a year, Kaley’s entire family would leave early Saturday morning from Fredonia, Kansas and drive to Kansas City for her 13-year-old sister Megan’s dance classes and competitions.

Sitting in the backseat of the Chevy Suburban every weekend, Kaley never imagined Kansas City would replace their lifetime home of 2,930 people in southeast Kansas. It was something her parents had always mentioned but had never acted upon.

Then last year, the Lindsey family officially decided to become four out of the 467,007 and make Kansas City their permanent home.

They were spending enough time and money traveling there to further Megan’s dancing career that it logistically made sense. But even more so, Kaley’s parents, Allen and Lisa, felt that Kansas City held an innumerable amount of opportunities for their daughters

compared to Fredonia.

Allen found a job in Kansas City, and Lisa found one shortly after. After years of talking about moving, they finally felt like there was nothing left for them in Fredonia. By the end of June, after looking all over the metropolitan area, the family moved to a temporary apartment off of Metcalf.

Despite having to uproot her life the summer before her senior year, Kaley knew that moving was the right decision for her and her sister’s future. Kaley didn’t want to live in a small town for the rest of her life, and she was more excited about the prospect of a new place and new people more than anything.

“It really wasn’t a huge deal for me to leave,” Kaley said. “I was ready to leave and so was my sister. And now that we have moved it’s completely changed our lives.”

In such a small town there is a culture that if a person wasn’t born in Fredonia they are an outsider, according to Kaley’s mom, Lisa. Kaley’s parents moved to Fredonia in 1995 in order to be closer to Lisa’s parents. The Lindseys hadn’t lived in town their entire lives and said there was definitely a feeling of being an outsider.

“It even goes back to grandparents, even great grandparents,” Lisa said. “If you’re not originally from Fredonia, people just don’t think about you the same. It’s very much like ‘well your parents didn’t go to school with my parents, and I don’t think I need to be your friend.’”

Getting away from the small town culture and going from a school with a graduating class of 50 to 350 has been one of Kaley’s favorite parts about moving. Everyone knew your business in Fredonia, according to Kaley, and here she feels there is not only more privacy, but more acceptance.

Another benefit of moving is finishing out her senior year playing sports at East. Although she had to miss out on volleyball season due to transfer rules, Kaley intends on playing softball in the spring.

Softball was a large part of Kaley’s life in Fredonia, but it wasn’t always an easily accessible hobby.

The

majority of her career was spent playing in recreational and summer leagues, because her high school only had a team during her sophomore and junior year. And even then, during her junior year the team combined with another high school from a nearby town. That season the Fredonia team would take a 45 minute bus ride one way to and from practice.

Now, when spring rolls around it’ll take Kaley less than 15 minutes to get to and from her house to the practice fields at East.

But the driving force to move wasn’t just to improve Kaley’s high school experience, it was to broaden her options for life after graduation.

Due to the small size of Fredonia, her future career paths were incredibly limited, according to her parents. “[Allen and I] just realized, if something happens and Kaley doesn’t go to college, there are only a few places around that Kaley can get a job,” Lisa said. “There is a job at the hospital working at the cafeteria, a housekeeping job, a job at the grocery store or a job at dollar general.

We knew she didn’t want that.”

If Kaley had gone to college, they still felt her choices would have been restricted. She would have most likely attended Neosho Community College or Independence Community College.

And even then so many kids end up living back in Fredonia because their family is there, according to Lisa. Allen and Lisa both didn’t want Kaley and Megan to feel limited because of that pattern.

Moving to Kansas City opened a new set of opportunities for Kaley. She is currently planning on earning a degree in dental hygiene at UMKC or JCCC, both of which have much stronger programs for that particular field than her previous options.

As the Lindsey’s settle into their new life in Kansas City, they all agree that despite the initial uncertainty of leaving their home of 15 years, they made the right decision for their family.

“The main thing is that we wanted more opportunity for our girls to make a better life for themselves,” Allen said. “I would just hate for our kids to be limited or stunted and to have just a mediocre life. I want them to have chances so that they can go as far as they want to go.”

fredonia vs. kansas city Fredonia has

people, but Kansas City has

KC goes to while Fredonia goes to...

need gas?

18

Shawnee Mission School District has

5

high schools

Fredonia Unified School District has

1

high school

Yellowjackets

Lancers

stay at

if in Fredonia, but Kansas City has over

15

PHOTO MORGAN BROWNING

PHOTO ESSAY

19

( FA R L E F T ) Senior Christian Hense cheers amongst a sea of students during the pep rally. | HALEY BELL

( L E F T ) Senior and football captain Eli McDonald gives a pep talk during the pep rally. “It was weird. I’ve always hated talking in front of crowds so this was hard for me to do, but the reaction I got made speaking worth it,” McDonald said. | AUDREY KESLER

East students participate in the annual Lancer Day parade and pep rally before the first home football game of the season

Day Scan using the Harbinger App to view a complete gallery of the Lancer Day Parade

( L E F T ) Junior Bella Stamati holds still while a friend applies glitter for the parade. | AUDREY KESLER

( A B OV E ) Seniors Christian Hense, Ellie Mitchell, Lilly Lyddon and Hope Dunn cheer during the pep rally.

“When we got to TCBY, I started sprinting like I’ve never done before,” Dunn said. “When we got to the crowd, all the seniors pushed our way to the front. I screamed my lungs out during that pep rally.” | AUDREY KESLER ( R I G H T ) Sophomores Elle Angelo and Sophie Strick ride the zoo-keeper themed cheer float. “All of us were super proud to be on the float because we had all worked really hard on it,” Angelo said.”We built the float over course of the week and hand painted all of it, which ended up with a lot of us covered in paint.” | ELLIE THOMA

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PHOTO ALLISON STOCKWELL

I WALKED into Cinemark clutching my bag, regretting even coming into the theater. I had bought a ticket to “Don’t Breathe,” which was not my idea of a perfect evening. I hate horror. Even going to Worlds of Fun around Halloween is out of my box, so when I agreed to watch this thriller with Pauline, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy myself.

I got what was coming to me. For most of the film I hid behind my popcorn, watching three people attempt to break into the house of a blind veteran.

Following the plot was difficult because my eyes were tucked behind my knees.

Whether it was good or not, I was too scared to care about the actual content.

All I wanted to do was run out of the theater. Pauline, however, stared at the screen blankly, occasionally checking her phone.

Each time the thieves began their many escape attempts and ventured into new parts of the house, I tensed up, knowing something awful was coming.

Hiding in a room full of tools and other sharp objects couldn’t possibly have a happy ending.

Neither could fumbling around in a pitch black basement.

Every time the characters would run, hide, get caught, almost killed and then escape again, I would clutch my popcorn tighter. All I wanted was for the credits to roll, so this repetitiveness only prolonged my already awful experience.

By the time the last girl escaped the house, I was relieved that the other people with her had already died. No longer could anyone be killed or scared, including me. Finally, the movie came to a close, and my terror was over.

I went into the movie thinking I was making a mistake and came out feeling the exact same way. Those 88 dread-filled minutes, spent clutching onto my seat, were a mistake. I don’t think that horror movies will ever be my first choice for a Friday night.

S CA R IE S T AS PE C T S O F D O N ’ T B R E AT H E BL

W H AT M AK E S A G O O D H O R R O R M OV IE SU

SPENSE

ONG PLO TR

U

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AND GO

RE

ABBING ST

hatchet — but he seemed a lot more partial to a handgun, a substantially less gory weapon of choice.

Around the third or fourth escape attempt, I sunk into a deep state of boredom. The element of surprise is essential to any horror movie, and not only were there a minimal amount of plot twists in “Don’t Breathe,” they were all completely predictable.

The old blind man thwarted each and everyone one of the two remaining robbers’ getaway plans, which instead of being alarming, was highly irritating.

When he started to smell around for them in extremely exaggerated sniffs, I became dangerously close to laughing.

Several times, I glanced over at Brooklyn, hoping maybe to see a similar note of exasperation at the uninspired storyline. Instead I saw a wide-eyed, horrified expression half-hidden behind a giant bucket of popcorn. So much for that.

Not only was the story lacking in the requirements for a good horror film, but also for a movie in general. Somehow, I don’t think anyone is entertained by watching the same thing happen over and over again. I certainly wasn’t.

T

SPL A TT OD O

ER

G RAN LING ST

OVER THE LAST couple of years, countless horror filmfilled Friday nights and a love for “American Horror Story,” have made it so scary movies don’t really phase me anymore. In fact, my newfound tendency to laugh at inappropriate times, like when some dimwitted girl named Sally gets mauled by an axe murderer, guarantees scornful glares from fellow audience members.

That’s exactly what happened when Brooklyn and I went to see the newest horror-thriller combo “Don’t Breathe.”

A good horror movie is full of suspense, guts and gore; it should have anyone watching on the edge of their seats, waiting for the next scare to make them jump out of those seats completely. Despite the fact that Brooklyn was completely petrified before we even walked through the doors of the movie theater, I was hoping for a truly terror-inducing experience. I was sadly disappointed.

At first, it wasn’t all that bad. The traditional scary stuff happened: first guy gets killed, everyone else freaks out, blah blah. The creepy blind veteran had potential — I was waiting for him to attack with a chainsaw or bloody

G

BY BROOKLYN TERRILL

BY PAULINE SHAVER

S

B

rooklyn Terrill, who hates even being scared by her little brother, and Pauline Shaver, who spends weekends watching “American Horror Story,” review “Don’t Breathe.” This horror film follows three young thieves as they try to break into the house of a blind veteran. Not surprisingly, the veteran turns out to be a killer and chases them around his house throughout the entirety of the movie.

22

A&E

BY ABBY WALKER

E

THREADS CHARLIE HUSTLE

I’M NOT GOING TO LIE, I like my KC Heart Charlie Hustle T-shirt as much as the next girl walking through the halls at East. What I didn’t realize is that Charlie Hustle has so many other cool vintage style shirts than a basic KC heart.

Judging by their popularity and Instagram, I was expecting the store to be hip and exciting, however it was underwhelming and did not quite live up to my high expectations. It was dimly lit and eerily quiet for a Friday afternoon.

Not letting my initial disappointment get the best of me, I walked around to scan the shirts they had displayed out.

My favorite by far was the KU “Danny and Miracles” 1988 shirt. They had shirts ranging from other college sports programs to MLB and NFL to other generic KC shirts.

ver since the Royals won the World Series, I’ve started to realize how cool Kansas City actually is.

I’ve gained a lot of respect for this amazing city. With that I’ve started wearing a lot more KC native clothing, from the classic Charlie Hustle KC heart T-shirt to East shirts even when I’m out of town. I’ve started showing my pride. We’ve all seen the “LA, KC, NY” shirts and worn our columbia blue East shirt countless times, so here’s a breakdown of where hometown pride can be diversified.

Charlie Hustle also has other KC accessories like their hats, socks and coozies. All of the hats have the classic Charlie Hustle style and design, utilizing typography to the max, but keeping things clean and simple.

For the avid sports fans out there, skip the cliché designs Charlie Hustle offers and dig a little deeper.

There’s tons of other stylish Royals shirts to wear to games – like the Champagne City shirt, which offers another side to the boring World Series 2015 theme.

Overall, Charlie Hustle doesn’t have much to offer if you’re looking to go beyond the T-shirt department. Although I certainly would never overlook it for a cute shirt or if I’m trying to find a KC sports shirt my dad doesn’t already own.

SME STUDENT STORE

HIGH SCHOOL IS a time to make memories. Along with that we get the privilege of spirit wear. My brother, who graduated in 2010, has a pair of sport shorts that he got at East and still wears to this day. I could always get a shirt from my future college after I’ve graduated, but now is the time to pick up all the East wear you can get.

The student store, which is open during fifth hour only, brings a special opportunity for those of us who will proudly wear our East shirts years after graduation.

With all new designs this year, the possibilities are endless. My favorite is probably the $15 dark blue T-shirt with the Lancers written across the KC bridge. This is a

MADE IN KC

WHEN I HEARD a Made in KC store was coming to Corinth Square, I knew I had to go. I’ve scrolled through their website countless times, gazing at the T-shirt and print designs they sell, wanting to see them in person.

As soon as I walked into the bright store, the pleasant aroma of several candles on display near the back of the store struck me. Made in KC is small, about the size of a living room, complete with a couch in the middle.

However the store still manages to fit two full walls of T-shirts, tables of KC books and trinkets like key chains and coasters. And the much awaited wall of prints, which mostly consisted of watercolor paintings of KC landmarks.

I immediately made my way to the print section, since I already knew it would be my favorite part of the store. The top

shirt that could continue to be worn at college with some of the comfy Lancer sweatpants that are also sold in the store.

The black sweatpants are $35 and they’re the perfect thing to pull out with your friends while watching Halloween movies like Halloween Town, one of my favorites.

Another must-buy is the Lancers jersey. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m tired of wearing my KU basketball jersey to anything jersey-themed, and this would certainly switch things up for only $10.

With only a couple more years of high school and shameless spirit wear left, now is the time to take advantage of the great apparel that other schools don’t necessarily have.

PHOTOS BY MADDIE SMILEY

half of the wall holds the larger prints that are in frames, and the bottom has shelves which hold smaller 5-by-7 and 8-by10-inch prints. They range from KC landmarks like the Nichols Fountain on the Plaza to watercolor paintings of the 2015 World Series Parade last fall. I was impressed with their variety as every print was unique and different – I even ended up buying a watercolor painting of Kauffman stadium for my dad’s birthday.

I wandered around some more and admired the wide display on T-shirts. Made in KC doesn’t make most of their T-shirts and some of them are actually from Charlie Hustle, but they still have a good variety of shirts from Bellboy Apparel, Bozz Prints and Made Urban Apparel. I love the wide array that Made in KC has to offer, and I will, without a doubt, be back very soon. .

23

New Netflix original “Stranger Things” captivates audiences with government conspiracies and science fiction aspects

L

BY ANNA McCLELLAND

et me preface this by saying I do not like scary movies or TV shows at all. I can’t even sit through a scary movie trailer. So when I saw the Stranger Things trailer earlier this summer, I had no desire to watch it. But one rainy August night at home alone, I ran out of things to watch.

So I went out on a limb and hit play on the first episode of Stranger Things.

Stranger Things is an eight-episode Netflix Original series.

It’s science-fiction plot opens with a sinister kidnapping and peeks in on a secret government facility. The show follows three young boys that encountered a strange girl who helps them find their missing friend.

To put it bluntly, I loved it. It has everything I could ever want in entertainment – aliens, conspiracy theories, parallel universes, CIA experiments, high school and the supernatural. How could I resist that?

The characters were expertly developed – besides Barb, but we’ll get to that later. The child actors were absolutely brilliant, you could tell that they were genuinely friends.

Seriously, I think most of them did a better job than the adult actors. The show’s creators, the Duffer brothers, actually had to fight against other

producers to get the child cast that they did.

Also, props to you, Winona Ryder. I don’t think I could have put up with anyone else’s ‘going insane’ face.

I loved how the show displayed inklings of elementary romance, innocent crushes and harmless flirtation. But it also tells the story of a more complicated romance, one girl torn between the cool guy and the outcast. And my favorite, the unbreakable bond between father and daughter, Dr. Brenner and Eleven, but the show never explicitly confirmed that fact.

Though the characters were perfectly portrayed and the stories they told were enticing, some parts of the plot didn’t dive in deep enough. Take Barb, for example. Barb was swallowed up into The Upside Down, only to be forgotten and never mentioned again. Or that none of the townspeople questioned the secret government facility that’s not even a mile from their town, or that Eleven’s “dad” was an evil scientist. Could somebody please show me a birth certificate, because I’m really confused.

I think the show spent too much time on the suspense and less time on the mystery. I got so sick and tired of squinting at my screen to stare at the dank, sticky Upside Down. I would have rather the plot focus more on how Eleven has magic powers or how Mike just stumbled into the Upside Down.

If I were creating a science fiction show, it would focus more on the science side of the plot. Like really, how could Mike control Christmas lights to send his mom messages?

While the plot was slow-moving on the science side of things, I was absolutely enthralled in Nancy and Steve’s romantic subplot. When Jonathan butted in to Nancy’s romance, I was actually swooning. The show put an exciting spin on the cliché good guy vs. bad guy romance story by winding in Jonathan’s missing little brother and, as Nancy likes to call it, “monster hunting.”

Their monster hunting would have seemed stupid and elementary if the show wasn’t set in a sleepy, wooded town during a chilly 1980’s fall. I could almost smell the fallen leaves as the boys rode their bikes through the woods. It was a work of cinematic art. They created a setting full of so much authenticity, you really got that Anywhere, USA feel.

Everything seemed cold and chilling, which contributed to the haunting, creepy vibe.

All in all, I loved it enough to watch it in two days and to favorite countless Twitter memes about Mike and Eleven. I hope that season two gives me some clarity about Eleven’s real parents, and I hope that Winona Ryder doesn’t have to use her mental breakdown face as much. I’m sure her cheeks are very sore.

EPISODE: ONE CHARACTER: NANCY SUBPLOT: GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY SCENE: WHEN ELLE FLASHES BACK TO HAWKINS LAB AND OPENS UP THE UPSIDE DOWN R AT I N G : G R E AT

4/5

24

FEATURES

OU SAY PHOTOS CAROLINE MILLS & HALEY BELL

BY GRACIE KOST

Standing in line to order at You Say Tomato, I glance at the shelves, which hold everything from soda and tomato sauce to plastic dinosaurs scattered about. Above the selfserve local Parisi coffee machine are dozens of decorative snowmen and pumpkins. Cluttered tables are tucked into corners throughout the quaint building of You Say Tomato, located at the corner of 39th and Holmes.

Even though You Say Tomato’s exterior isn’t a head turner, it ended up being a hidden gem.

As I pulled up, the only hint that this was where I needed to be was “You Say Tomato” in fading letters across the red and white-striped banister. A few brunchers sat at tables with mismatched chairs chatting and waiting fo r

their meals.

The minute I stepped inside I was comforted by the dimly lit atmosphere of the eclectic cafe; going to You Say Tomato was a phenomenal experience. The little restaurant offers speedy service, great prices and remarkable food.

The menu was written neatly on several white boards in different colored markers and illustrations of each meal. Your craving is sure to be met whether you’re into greek or craving a breakfast flatbread, I however, decided on the baked french toast for breakfast.

My two friends and I sat opposite the little supermarket against the wall and covered a collection of random portraits: a spiral staircase, an old chinese woman, Cuba’s landscape and a soldier. The interior reminded me of a hodge-podge work in progress.

My table ordered the french toast, grilled cheese, biscuits and gravy and a cinnamon roll. When our waitress brought our food, no more than ten minutes later, each meal was served with the pinkest and most flavorful watermelon I’ve ever had.

The french toast was three thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread, drenched in batter and served with walnuts sprinkled on top. It was cooked perfectly; crispy on the outside with a doughy inside, and the syrup that came on the side was a sweet complement.

The dish itself was very filling. I only finished about half of it because I had to save room for a little bit of everything, but I made sure to pack it up in a to-go box.

The unbelievably tasty grilled cheese was made with mozzarella cheese on ciabatta with pickles on the side. When the plate was placed on the table, cheese still oozed out of the sides and

steam piped through the bread.

The sandwich itself dominated a whole plate – you definitely get your money’s worth.

The half order of biscuits and gravy was plenty of food.

The plate held a baseball-sized biscuit completely drenched in sausage gravy. The gravy didn’t stop steaming from the time it got to our table until it was completely demolished by our forks.

Our last treat was an enormous, melty cinnamon roll the size of my face. It took up the entire plate, and it was heavily drizzled in sweet, gooey frosting. Even with three people, we were barely able to make a dent and had to take it home.

All in all, You Say Tomato would earn 10/10 stars on my rating scale. Between the fast service, outstanding food and comforting surroundings, I was more than impressed. The atmosphere is fitting for an early brunch with grandma or an afternoon lunch date with a group of friends. You Say Tomato? I say let’s go!

BY ELIAS LOWLAND

3

BOY’S SOCCER

KEY PLAYERS

2

Senior varsity soccer player, Oliver Bihuniak returned to Kansas City from Spain, where he had been playing for 16 months, and has been excelling in columbia blue. Bihuniak has already surpassed his goal total of two from last year with three goals and two assists this year in three games.

“He does a really good job of recognizing space and when and where to distribute the ball,” Coach Jaime Kelly said. “He is a fantastic passer and his composure on the ball is second to none.”

PHOTO BY AUDREY KESLER

GIRL’S GOLF

Senior and varsity golfer, Jessica Parker placed fourth at the state tournament last season. This season Parker has shot an 86 at the Shawnee Mission East invitational, placing ninth out of 61 golfers at Indian Hills Country Club on Sept. 12. She shot an 87 at the Shawnee Mission Northwest Invitational at Lake Quivira Country Club on Aug. 29, placing sixth out of 54. “[Parker] pulls the team up when we’re not playing well and always picks up the team score,” said junior Marti Fromm.

VOLLEYBALL

RIVALRIES

1

A 360 view of what is going during fall sports season CROSS COUNTRY

Sophomore Griffin Keeter, varsity cross country runner, started his high school career promisingly. He finished in the top 50 in the state his freshman year, according to Kansas State High School Activities Association, or KSHAA results, with a time of 17:23.60, setting a personal best time. Keeter demolished his record by setting a new personal best of 16:40.69 on Sept. 10 at the Joe Schrag Invitational in Topeka.

FOOTBALL

The volleyball team hopes to defeat Olathe Northwest. East is ranked in the top three with a record of 9-2, while Olathe Northwest is ranked just outside the

top five, maintaining a record of 8-1. East will play against Olathe Northwest on Sept. 27 at Olathe Northwest High School.

This season East football will be challenged by rivals like Olathe North. In 2014, East defeated Olathe North on a two point conversion that sent East to the state championship game for the first time in school history. Olathe North

is 1-1 this season while East is 2-0. The two schools will play on Sept. 23.

“They have top level athletes and have a great coaching staff which will make them tough to beat,” junior Milton Braasch said.

NIGIL HOUSTON

MOMENT

Senior Nigil Houston has rushed for two touchdowns in each of his first two games this season. He played alongside many of his current teammates in

elementary school up to eighth grade but was forced to change schools and go to Shawnee Mission West when his mother decided to move.

( A B OV E ) Junior Tommy Nelson chases after the ball | ELLEN SWANSON

“I’ve grown up with and known most of my teammates since elementary school; when we step on the field it will feel like old times again,” Houston said.

( A B OV E ) Senior Trevor Thompson attempts to make the tackle | MORGAN BROWNING

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Before the game...

TENNIS

SOCCER

I put on my earphones

SENIOR JOIE FREIRICH

and listen to some

The team gets together

good upbeat music. I

to play FIFA and relax. It

do a couple of shadow

can get pretty intense.

swings to get loose.

JUNIOR MAX MADAY

( A B OV E ) Senior Gretchen Cooper returns the ball | ELLEN SWANSON

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27

unexpected

STRUGGLES With the crutches Crutches left him to standing in one place the entire practice, mobile by golf cart only

Still feeling the rush players get with the energy from the stand of students and band but not getting to play Knowing it’s his senior year and he couldn’t play Rockhurst and other big games

on the

SIDELINES

Coaching yet immobile makes it hard to see exactly what’s going on in the play

PHOTOS KATHERINE ODELL

Varsity football player spends his senior year on the sidelines due to third injury

S

When players celebrate on the field and he can’t be in the on field huddles

BY SEAMUS CARROL

enior Peter Haynes is surrounded by his teammates as the SM North district football stadium shakes with excitement. The roaring student section is overflowing into the parents’ seating, the band is blaring and the cheerleaders are smiling with excitement. It’s Friday night, and the Lancers are decked out in their new columbia blue uniforms. All of them except Haynes. Instead of pads and the columbia chrome helmet, he sports crutches under each arm and a rigid brace around his left leg.

Over the summer Haynes injured his meniscus during a summer workout, forcing him off the field and onto the sideline, coaching.

After previous meniscus injury, he was ready to start preparing for the next season at his summer workout. He hadn’t run in months.

“We were doing some start and stop drill where you make cuts, and I just cut wrong and felt a pop in my knee,” Haynes said.

At first Haynes stayed positive, hoping it was a hamstring injury or something not as

severe as a meniscus tear, which was the same with the offensive line, especially the newest injury he has had two previous times in high additions, seniors Steven Shipley and Charlie school. After dreading the MRI results for Kephart. days, he got his answer.

Standing on the sideline next to the “I was still denying it, and when the doctor coaches, he watches their footing and blocking, came in and told us it was torn was when it making sure they are doing everything right. all became real in my head,” “Peter has done Haynes said. “I realized a good job and is that I would probably staying a valuable never play again and member of the I was still denying it, and when the that was a really team,” Delaney doctor came in and told us it was torn crushing moment.” said. “The kids Head Coach all respect him, was when it all became real in my Dustin Delaney so when he head. called a meeting says something Peter Haynes with Haynes after he they know what SENIOR heard the news that he he is talking about. wouldn’t be able to play I think that’s the his senior year. most important thing that “He is an integral part of the team and will he has everyone’s respect.” still have a huge part in our success,” Delaney Before being confined with a brace and said. “He will help the guys that don’t know standing on the sidelines, Haynes was the [what to do].” starting left tackle, which is considered the Haynes is at practice everyday after school, most important spot on the offensive line just as if he were playing. He works mostly since it protects the quarterback’s blind spot.

One of his earliest coaching assignments was prepping his replacement and friend since fourth grade, senior Steven Shipley, for the job.

“The first week was hard,” Shipley said. “My mid sticks weren’t the best and he came over to me and showed me what to do. He told me to try and get my hand on them first and now they are getting better.”

Injuries are not a new thing for Haynes.

Last year, during the first football game of the year, he tore his right meniscus, forcing him to sit out three games. Later that spring, he tore it again, squatting at max outs trying to set a new record. The frequency of the tears is due to an overgrowth of meniscus in his knees, causing them to be more prone to tearing.

Despite not being able to play his senior year, Haynes still stays positive and encouraging with his team.

“My teammates don’t treat me any different from if I was playing,” Haynes said. “They still joke around, and it’s still that same feeling that I would have had if I were still playing.”

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SPORTS

STANDING UP FOR THE FUTURE

Junior Sofia Stechschulte learns how to cope with a serious injury after surgery PHOTOS GRACE GOLDMAN

BY LUCY PATTERSON

J

unior Sofia Stechschulte knows that she has to play through her pain. She can’t let her teammates down. During the first quarter, she feels fine. Second quarter, she feels worse but the pain is still tolerable.

The buzzer for the third quarter sounds, and Stechschulte keeps going. She is playing a dangerous game. Girls who are over six feet tall and three times her weight are pushing and shoving her. Finally, falling onto the wooden court, Stechschulte grabs her hip in pain.

By mid-June, Stechschulte had been experiencing pain in her hip for a few weeks.

Her hip hurt when she ran, and it felt like it was getting caught on the bone when she walked. Her dad, an orthopedic surgeon, had seen this injury before and said that it was safe for her to continue to play as long as the pain remained tolerable. Stechschulte was playing in an Amature Athletic Union basketball game in Dallas. After she fell, it was discovered that Stechschulte had torn her labrum, the lining of the hip’s socket.

“It just got to a point after that game, where I was just like, ‘Dad, I can’t run. I can’t play,’” Stechschulte said. “And you could tell that there was an immediate difference in the game after I tore it.”

Stechschulte took the rest of her summer basketball season off and rested her hip, hoping that it would recover. But after six weeks of rest, Stechschulte still couldn’t run or walk without pain shooting up her leg. During this time, it was also discovered the she had an

irregular bone growth.

“At that point, it just became so painful that we had to make a decision of either pushing through the pain and risking tearing it more and being in so much pain that I physically couldn’t play,” Stechschulte said. “Or getting it fixed right away and hoping for a good recovery so that I could play sports again.”

She and her family made the mutual decision for her to have the surgery in hopes that she could return to sports quickly.

Her dad, Dan, chose Dr. James Voos, the head physician for the Cleveland Browns, for the surgery. He specializes in labrum repairs and is also a past colleague of Dan’s.

Sofia and her dad traveled to Cleveland for the surgery during the first week of school.

Her hip was repaired, so technically the surgery was successful, however, Stechschulte is not allowed to play any sport for the next six months, so she’ll miss the basketball and tennis seasons. In addition to missing sports, she also had to use a wheelchair at school, wear a hip brace and use crutches for several weeks.

This helped to keep her hip in place while healing.

“It’s so frustrating for me, because I am such an active and independent person. I like doing things on my own,” Stechschulte said.

“And it’s really difficult for me to do anything; I can’t get myself food, and I have to go up and down stairs with help.”

After several weeks in a wheelchair, Stechschulte is now off crutches and out of a

The Healing Process Sofia’s recovery was diagnosed to take five to six months

29

hip brace, but she still faces challenges every day.

“It’s hard for me to see the tennis and basketball girls. My sister and cousin play tennis for East, and they talk about it a lot.

That’s hard for me to hear, especially because I wish I could play,” Stechschulte said. “And basketball recruiters have emailed me, asking what tournaments I will be playing in this season. And I have to, sadly, tell them no, and that I will be out for awhile.”

While her parents, Satu and Dan, have been upset to see their daughter go through this, they are proud at how well she has handled it.

“Sofia has been unbelievably resilient through the whole surgery and recovery,” Satu said. “She doesn’t complain and goes through her days as if nothing has happened.”

Although she is guaranteed to miss all of tennis season, Stechschulte and her teammates are hoping to have her back by the end of basketball season.

“We are going to have a big loss with her out with the injury. She’s a great player with a lot of varsity experience,” senior and varsity teammate Josie Clough said. “She’s one of our main post players and our team will struggle without her height.”

After starting as a sophomore last year, Stechschulte was looking forward to this season and what the team was going to accomplish.

Although she will not be on the court, head basketball coach Lauren Lawrence will still

Sofia was wheelchair bound for eight days after her surgery took place

Sofia was on crutches for two weeks

treat Stechschulte as a member of the team.

“Stechschulte is a very team oriented girl and a big part of our team here at East,” Lawrence said. “She will suit up for the games and sit on the bench with the team. We are all hoping that she has a quick and speedy recovery.”

Until then, Stechschulte has had to make a few lifestyle changes.

According to Stechschulte, her appetite has changed and now she is less hungry. She also has been trying to limit her junk food.

“So far, I don’t feel out of shape, but I know that I will be by February when I am allowed to play again,” Stechschulte said.

In three months, Sofia will be allowed to start running again.

“I really hope to get back into as good of, if not better shape, as I was over the summer, but I know that there is a long road ahead,” Stechschulte said. “I don’t really know what the future holds, I’m just hoping for a fast recovery.”

Sofia’s surgey took place Aug. 19 in Cleveland. She is hoping to return to basketball halfway through the season

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S TA R T U P S

SCHOOL BUDDIES SCHOOL BUDDIES is an organization where students go to different elementary schools and help with anything, from tutoring students to helping the teacher or just hanging out with the kids.

BY CALEB KRAKOW

SHARE IS the largest student run organization in the country, goal is to get students involved in service work, make it easier to get involved and help the community because it would be to hard to do on your own.

K V C G I V E S AT RISK YOUTH FUN AC T I V I T I E S L I K E . . .

K V C H E A LT H SYSTEMS THE GOAL of Kaw Valley Center Health Systems is to enrich and enhance the lives of children and families by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services and education. SHARE members will help to decorate projects and set up events.

TRICKO R - T R E AT I N G

H O L I D AY D E C O R AT I N G

C OAL I T I O N & S A F E WA T E R COALITION AND SHARE will be teaming up to co-fund a new project with Safewater on Oct. 15.

Safewater is company that helps distribute water purifiers to communities in countries that don’t have access to clean water.

SAF E WAT E R G IV E S T H I R D W OR L D C O U NTR I E S WAT E R P U R I F IE R S SO THEY CAN H AV E C L E A N , S A F E D R I N K I N G WAT E R

TWO NEW SCHOOLS

OV E R L A ND PA R K E L E M E N TA R Y

T O M A H AW K E L E M E N TA R Y

MIKAH MINISTRY & UPLIFT

MICAH MINISTRY is an organization that SHARE students go to every other Monday. The students take a bus to the Independence Boulevard Christian Church in Kansas City, MO. They help serve food and drink to the homeless population.

The students also take clothing orders from families who are in need of everyday clothing.

Uplift is an organization that sends out trucks on different routes in downtown Kansas City, MO. These trucks deliver hot dinners and supplies to the homeless.

SHARE students will be riding on trucks to help deliver items with other volunteers.

We went around in trucks and distributed meals, it was a really cool way to see the other side of KC i had never really seen before.

KATE HIGGINS SENIOR SHARE EXECUTIVE

32

PHOTO ESSAY

( R I G H T ) Senior Kalin Lamus performs a backward role during the dance portion of her beam routine. “It’s nervewracking being on the beam because you can practice a lot and still fall on little skills,” Lamus said. | HALEY BELL ( FA R R I G H T ) Coach Jennifer Terflinger spots senior Kalin Lamus as she practices her back walkover. “I don’t have a very flexible back, but a back walkover is a requirement for the beam,” Lamus said. “Whenever I do it, I know it’s going to hurt but I have to do it anyways.” | MORGAN BROWNING

( B E LOW ) Senior Rachel Rodgers wraps her ancle to ensure that it doesn’t twist when she performs her floor routine. | MORGAN BROWNING

FLIPPING FOR FIRST The gymnastics team competes in the annual Varsity Invitational at Shawnee Mission North.

The meet took place on Sept. 24.

( A B OV E ) Freshman Abby Gordman performs her beam routine, which she choreographed herself. “I put my hardest skills at the beginning: my cartwheels and my turn,” Gordman said. “I threw in a couple of poses in between each skill, so it was broken up enough that it wasn’t just skill after skill.

I saved my easiest skills for last so that I could get the harder skills out of the way.” | MORGAN BROWNING

( L E F T ) Seniors Kalin Lamus and Rachel Rodgers tie the Lancer Gymnastics sign to the railing above the gym floor. Every school that competed sat behind their team sign as they watched other schools compete. | MORGAN BROWNING

( FA R L E F T ) The team waves to the crowd as they are introduced at the beginning of the meet. | ANNIE LOMSHEK