Issue 11 of the 2012-2013 Harbinger

Shawnee Mission East l 7500 Mission Road, PV KS, 66208 l February 19, 2013 l Issue 11 l www.smeharbinger.net

THE HARBINGER

THE

MIX OF FAMILY

Harbinger discusses modern families in a special pull-out section

2 | NEWS

THE WEEK IN PHOTOS

DO YOU KNOW THE NEWS? Take this quiz and find out.

1. Who will be replacing Dr. Krawitz as principal next year?

THE NEWS BRIEFS

A. Mr. Higgins B. Mr. McKinney C. Mrs. Armstrong-White

FEB. 19, 2013

HEADLINES AND HIGH SCHOOLERS written by Julia Poe

Above: At the SHARE Blood Drive, senior Lacey Gassaway prepares to donate blood.

photo by Caroline Creidenberg

art by Miranda Gibbs

For more information scan the QR code above

SENIOR WINS SCHOLARSHIP On Feb. 4, Kansas State University awarded senior Gracie Tapp with the Presidential Scholarship. The award would pay for Tapp’s tuition, room and board at K-State. At $80,000 of total benefits, the award is the largest scholarship in the state of Kansas.

“I was in musical rehearsal and they called and left a message on my phone,” Tapp said. “I was so surprised, because there were so many eligible

applicants. I’m really excited and my family is so happy for me.”

Tapp applied online in December and was admitted into a group of finalists on Jan. 15. She was informed that she had won the award the night after her final interview with university officials on Jan. 17. She was one of two scholarship recipients in Kansas to receive the award. The other recipient was Olathe East senior Riley Gay. Tapp’s college commitment is still undecided.

2. Where did the manhunt for an excop turned murderer take place?

A. Oklahoma B. California C. Colorado Above: Senior Addison Steiner holds snakes during Enivronmental Ed.

photo by Hailey Hughes

took off running,” said Sgt. Gary Mason of the Overland Park Police Department. “I think it was a deterrent for him to continue on. She’s visibly shaken and upset.”

Police are continuing to investigate the situation. Anyone with information on the incident should contact the TIPS HOTLINE at 816474-TIPS or the Overland Park Police at 913-344-8750. The student chose to remain anonymous.

bill failed in the House and was replaced with the removal of Saturday delivery. Although the change will save money, it has raised concerns with citizens who rely on the mail for their small business or for medical reasons.

These concerns were reviewed and seen as necessary risks. The bill avoids making any salary or benefits cuts to postal workers while still reducing costs.

A. Pope Benedict XVI B. John Paul I C. John Paul II 4. How many inches of snow did the blizzard in New England produce?

5. Where did a Carnival cruise ship catch on fire?

Above: Freshman Samantha Belanger dives to hit the ball at Table Tennis Club.

photo by Kathryn Jones

A. The Atlantic Ocean B. The Gulf of Mexico C. The Mediterranean Sea 6. What caused the fire department and the bomb squad to come to East last week?

A. An explosion in the boiler room.

B. A fire in the foods room C. A chemical reaction in a science room

POSTAL SERVICE CUTS COSTS After acknowledging a need to cut costs, the Postal Service made the decision on Feb. 6 to stop delivering first-class mail on Saturdays. The plan is expected to save $2 billion annually and is part of a plan to make the service more financially viable.

Last year, the Senate attempted to pass a postal bill that would have cut costs while avoiding removing a day from the mail rotation. However, the

3. What was the name of the pope that most recently resigned?

A. 20 inches B. 30 inches C. over 40 inches

ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION An Indian Hills student was approached on her way to school Feb. 15 by an armed man in a white pickup truck. She ran away after he told her to get into his car and reported the incident upon arriving at school. The man was described as having a trimmed beard and mustache and wearing a blue hoodie and wire rim glasses.

“He displayed a handgun, told her to get in the vehicle, she refused and

The answer: B

Last week it was announced that assistant principal John McKinney will replace Dr. Krawitz after he retires.

Above: Drawing teacher Jason Filbeck holds up his pencil while instructing students who are drawing in the hallway.

photo by Katie Sgroi

The answer: C

A chemical reaction in the refridgerator in Mr. Appier’s room. According to the administration there was no immediate danger to students.

For more information scan the QR code above Answers 1. B 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. C

NEWS | 3 Right: Seniors Myisha Heinen and Jordyn Liddicote try and think of an answer so they can continue to the next round.

Far right: Seniors Anna Sheridan celebrates after getting through another Round at the Brain Bee. Below: Students prepare to answer a question in the second round.

KNOWING THEIR NOGGINS

High schoolers in the area compete at the Brain Bee for the opportunity to do research in a lab and win prize money

written by Maddie Hise photos by Annie Savage

“The fourth chromosome being altered causes what disease?”

Senior Tori Davis gets nervous. Is it Huntington’s? Parkinson’s? It’s 50/50. She has to get this right to move on to the next round. Let’s go with Huntington’s, Davis decides.

“The answer is Huntington’s,” announces the speaker.

I’m going to the fourth round? Davis thinks.

I didn’t think I would make it past the second round of the Brain Bee, we didn’t even learn this stuff in class. * * * The Brain Bee is a competition held by the Society of Neuroscience that East students attended Feb. 12. It is an international competition held in any city containing a chapter of the Society of Neuroscience.

This is the fourth year the Kansas City chapter put on a Brain Bee. Thirty East students, primarily from anatomy classes, attended the bee. The final five East students made it to the fifth round before being eliminated.

“I thought it was something beneficial for them,” anatomy teacher Rubye Davis said. “They got to learn some things about the brain that we don’t typically cover so they have questions more in depth. Like they talked about Parkinson’s, just other things that we don’t typically focus on.”

Participants are put through a round of seven questions. If they got the predetermined amount of questions correct, they moved on to the next round. The competition consisted of eight rounds. The final four people left in the competition moved on to the final round, in which the students continued to answer questions until they got three questions wrong and were eliminated. The order they got out in determines the order in which they finished.

The third place contestant received $50, the second place received $100 and the winner received $300 and a place in the national brain bee held annually in Baltimore.

The national competition is held in March, the winner of each local brain bee is sent to participate. The rules for the national bee are the same as the local bee, but at this competition the winner gets to go to the international bee.

This year, the international brain bee will be held in South Africa in July. More than 30 countries compete in this bee including: Canada, Germany, India, Kenya, Romania and Singapore.

The winner of the international competition is awarded $3,000 and a summer research fellowship with an acclaimed neuroscientist that will be decided according to what country the winner is from.

Senior Elizabeth Wilcox said it was impres-

sive how prepared some people were for the competition, because the chance of internationals would be a big deal if you are into neuroscience.

The local brain bee also presents an opportunity for students to get to meet the scientists in the area.

“It’s like a day for them to network with people,” Rubye Davis said. “Because they tell when they’re done to come talk to them because they’re all scientists and in years past we’ve actually had students who have gotten jobs working for the summer with them. So it’s a good way for them to do more with science.”

The biggest part of the bee is to get the students excited about neuroscience.

“Really anyone who participates here can intern here or work in the lab in the summer,” Stefanie Kennon-McGill, secretary for the Society of Neuroscience Kansas City said. “It’s a really great opportunity to get involved and kind of get a leg up on their research careers instead of waiting until they get to college.”

Overall, Wilcox made it to the third round and enjoyed the experience.

“Looking back, I am really glad I did it,” Wilcox said. “We got over 10 points of extra credit for doing it and my grade definitely could use it.

I could have prepared myself a little more since I didn’t study at all and didn’t do very well.”

STUDENTS WHO PROGRESSED TO THE 5TH ROUND:

*NOT PICTURED: SENIOR COURTNEY DENNIS

Round 1 What is the outermost layer of the brain called?

Round 2 What separates the left hemisphere from the right hemisphere of the brain?

Round 3 Which lobe of the brain is involved with vision?

Round 4 What are symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease?

Round 5 What disease is characterized by plaques and tangles?

Answers: 1. Cerebral Cortex, 2. corpus collosum, 3.

Occipital lobe, 4. Tremors, weakness, stiff muscles, 5. Alzheimer’s disease

There were eight rounds, but by the 5th round a majority of students were out

HOW FAR WOULD YOU MAKE IT IN THE BRAIN BEE?

SENIOR CHLOE HUBLER

“I wasn’t expecting to do so well, I thought maybe I would do it for extra credit and ended up making it to the 5th round.”

SENIOR IAN HARMON

“It was a really cool experience getting to see how many kids in our area are interested in neuroscience.”

SENIOR TORI DAVIS

“I was actually really surprised to get passed the first round because I didn’t prepare at all.”

4 | NEWS

EAST ALUMNI ATTEMPT TO PURCHASE HOSTESS BRANDS

Entrepreneurs and twins, Austin and Zach Hurst, have plans to buy the well-known Twinkie brand written by Sophie Tulp On an average week in high school, Austin would be juggling school and 13-15 projects simultaneously. He recalled the times when he would sneak his flip-phone under his desk and correspond with paying customers via text. It was before cell phones had the enormous popularity they have today, so he could freely manage his business without worries of a teacher catching him with a phone.

“When you are that age all people in the business world care about is inspiring the future of entrepreneurship,” Austin said. “When they see someone at that age doing things that are radical and different, and trying to make a difference in the community, then they try to take a more parenting approach than a business approach.”

Sometimes he would even sneak off to the library for computer access to set up accounts for the new customers. Austin says that in the long run, getting an early start made FLASHBACK-2005 EAST YEARBOOK all the difference. He could ask busiAustin Hurst Voted Most Likely to be the next Donald Trump ness people all the obvious questions and not have to worry about Personally, I dont think I’ll ever have a billion dollars. It’s a possibility, and credentials like having a college dewith inflation you never know. But if you rank it with the current value of gree, or a perfect portfolio. the dollar, I don’t think I’ll ever have as much money as Donald Trump.

“He was always coming in to get on the computer, and was always trying to do something new with his business,” Austin’s former marketing teacher Jennifer Hair said. “I knew he had a maturity level greater than that of other juniors and seniors. He was always so committed and motivated and driven; with those three characteristics you can do anything.”

In the winter of 2005, after leaving East, the Hurst brothers founded an Internet Company called 1Dawg. photos courtesy of Austin and Zach Hurst com. The website was a video downRegardless of how the Hostess deal turns out this March, the loading and sharing site, and eventually became ranked as the fifth most popular “Youtube-like” Hurst brothers are just content to have come so far as entrewebsite. 1Dawg.com peaked at 6.4 million daily active users preneurs. They credit all the people who helped them when in it’s first four months, ultimately making it one of the fastest they were just teenagers, giving them the tools to point them towards where they are now. growing websites of all time.

“Its not always about winning, It’s about how far you have In their next project, the brothers went on to create and patent a video transcoding engine, and contributed most come in the process, and this deal has created more value for of their base code to public use. Even companies as large as me than I could have ever dreamt,” Austin said. “But I understand where I came from. I have plans of creating a foundaGoogle used the Hursts’ code, and continue to use it today.

Since then, things have progressed rapidly and success- tion where we can go inspire the youth to build a business fully for the Hurst brothers. They now have national atten- while still in school. I look back and see how many people tion for the Hostess deal, drawing crucial investors towards helped me when I was just 16 and I think how can we do that their company. The brothers have even been featured in the for people today?”

Wall Street Business Journal, something that even someone as confident in their business as Austin finds hard to believe.

“

Class of 2005

“

Eight years ago in the 2005 edition of the Hauberk, Austin Hurst was named “Most likely to become the next Donald Trump.” This profile turned out to be more than just a commemorative “send-off” for the young entrepreneur. Austin and his twin brother Zach have proven this prediction was more accurate than they ever believed possible. Now at only 26-years-old, the successful entrepreneurs are knee-deep in their pursuit to purchase the well-known company: Hostess Brands.

Hostess Brands, makers of the famous “Twinkie” cakes, received national attention in November when they filed for bankruptcy. Hostess attempted to receive aid in bailing out their company in January, with the hopes of preserving jobs and benefits for workers. Later that month, the company had to close its doors, cease production and begin the process of selling the company. On Jan. 31, Hostess Brands released a statement on their website informing the public what action would be taken regarding the sale of the company.

“Hostess Brands has requested that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court authorize the company to proceed with an auction for the majority of the assets of the snack cake business on March 13,” Hostess Brands published on their website. “The Company will select the highest and best offer at the conclusion of the auction. The sale to the winning bidder requires court approval.”

Potential bidders for the company began emerging, hoping to make opening bids on the Hostess Brand. One of these companies was founded by the Hurst brothers. Hurst Capital LLP, their Private Equity fund, has been based out of Sarasota, Florida since 2009. Currently it holds interest in five different companies and is competitively working towards making Hostess Brands number six.

The Hursts admit that they had no idea what they were getting themselves into with the Hostess deal. Prior to Hostess, they had zero knowledge of the banking industry, and no experience in dealing with bankruptcy or liquidation. But what they did know was their potential as entrepreneurs.

“We really just jumped into it,” Austin said. “People say to me ‘Looks like you’ve got your feet wet in this hostess deal’ and I say ‘No, we just dove into the freaking ocean.’ But I knew that I was good enough to rally a team with the knowledge of those subjects, I knew if I could put that team together, then we had a fighting chance.”

Austin and his twin brother Zach began as entrepreneurs early in their teenage years. They began a business called Dominant Designing Group when they were only 15, that designed websites for other businesses in the Kansas City area.

The brothers worked hard on finding other entrepreneurs to work with them as mentors, and build upon their network of contacts in the business world.

“I was able to network well, and get my foot in the door to a lot of companies early on,” Austin Hurst said. “It brings your agency a lot more credibility to have a portfolio that is constantly growing. People were willing to help me because they wanted to see me succeed because I was only 16-years-old.”

Austin offered East students 15 percent of the income from the project for introducing him to their parents. He used that technique to get the attention of several larger companies, including Sprint. From that point on, his agency has grown and they now have over 30 Fortune 500 clients invested in their company.

Present Day

6 | EDITORIAL

T

he Kansas House of Representatives passed its first bill of the new legislative session, House Bill (HB) 2023 on Feb. 7. The bill, if passed through the Senate and signed by Governor Sam Brownback, will stop professional employees’ organizations, or unions, from using any periodic payments from a member’s paycheck to go towards political activities. This bill should not be passed because it could strip teachers of a collective political voice, that might it turn, negatively affect the quality of our education.

Unions are often created to maintain or improve working conditions, protect their profession, and increase wages.

Members must often pay dues to the unions which are used in various ways. That money is often used to support lobbyists, campaigns, and candidates.

A group of unions in particular that have raised their voices in protest of this bill are the teachers’ unions. The teachers’ unions are upset because the money that they have previously received from teachers’ for member dues, through automatic payroll deductions, can no longer be used in any political means. If the bill is passed, the unions will have to ask their members to support them in political activities through personal payments.

We believe that this bill is not giving teachers a collective voice. Others are disagreeing and saying that teachers never had a voice from the beginning.

Teachers cannot choose where their money goes when they pay their dues to the union. So while one

teacher may be against a particular political candidate or issue, their money could end up funding that candidate anyway.

This bill have arrived at a peculiar time, just after the Kansas public school funding was deemed “unconstitutionally low” by the Kansas courts. The courts called for the previously approved budget of $3,838 per student to be raised to $4,492. In an effort to maneuver the court’s ruling, some legislative members have brought up a constitutional amendment that could lower the Kansas court’s ability to direct where funds should go.

We think that HB 2023 was made to stop teachers from having a voice in the public school funding issue. Teachers’ unions are going to have a harder time being able to lobby against this bill, support candidates behind it and publicize the issue. This in turn affects us as the lack of funding halts us from having an adequate education. How can a couple hundred students from Prairie Village, KS going to be able to convince Kansas legislatures to fund the extra $392,400,000 needed for the 600,000 public school children? Teachers’ unions are a strong, collective voice that we need. Stripping this powerful voice won’t provide us with the best education the state of Kansas can give to us.

This bill should not be passed. HB 2023 is denying teachers a collective voice that could in turn, impact us.

EDITORIAL BOARD VOTES

FOR AGAINST ABSENT

THE HARBINGER a publication of Shawnee Mission East high school 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208

Editors-in Chief Anne Willman Chloe Stradinger Assistant Editors Andrew McKittrick Katie Knight Art & Design Editor Paige Hess Managing Editor Jennifer Rorie Head Copy Editor Matt Hanson Assistant Head Copy Editor Sarah Berger Copy Editors Anne Willman Chloe Stradinger Andrew McKittrick Katie Knight Erin Reilly Morgan Twibell Sarah Berger Matt Hanson Julia Poe Jennifer Rorie Sophie Tulp Grace Heitmann Morgan Krakow Ads Manager Sophie Tulp Circulation Manager Greta Nepstad

The Harbinger believes House Bill 2023 should not be passed because it could strip teachers and officials of a collective voice

8 5 0

STAFF 2012-2013

Editorial Section Editor Jennifer Rorie Editorial Board Chloe Stradinger Andrew McKittrick Anne Willman Jennifer Rorie Katie Knight Grace Heitmann Matt Hanson Julia Poe Kim Hoedel Duncan MacLachlan Sarah Berger Sami Walter Morgan Krakow Staff Writers Mike Thibodeau Emily Perkins Rock Caroline Kohring Michael Kraske Susannah Mitchell Taylor Bell New Section Editor Sarah Berger News Page Designer Julia Seiden Opinion Section Editor Kim Hoedel Opinion Page Designers Greta Nepstad Morgan Krakow

Quieting their Voice

art by Paloma Gustafason-Ika

The Harbinger is a student run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the Shawnee Mission School DIstrict, East faculty or school administration.

Feature Section Editor Hannah Ratliff Feature Page Editors Maddie Hise Pauline Werner Will Oakley Caroline Kohring A&E Section Editor Tiernan Shank A&E Page Designer Megan McAlister Sports Section Editor Mitch Kaskie Sports Page Designers G.J. Melia Sam Pottenger Grace Heitmann Co-Spread Editors Morgan Twibell Leah Pack Freelance Page Editors Phoebe Aguiar Megan McAlister Sophie Tulp Alex Goldman Maggie McGannon James Simmons Audrey Danciger Jennifer Rorie Business and Circulation Manager Greta Nepstad

Social Media Director Mattie German Staff Artists Emily PerkinsRock Hailey Hughes Paloma Gustafson-ika Photo Editors Jake Crandall Caroline Creidenberg Assistant Photo Editor Maddie Schoemann Staff Photographers Erin Reilly Neely Atha Taylor Anderson Stefano Byer Tessa Polaschek Alexa Young Molly Gasal Annie Savage Leah O’connor Kathryn Jones Connor Woodson Hayden Roste Meghan Shirling Katie Sgroi Hailey Hughes Online Editors-in-Chief Sami Walter Duncan MacLachlan Assistant Online Editors Julia Poe Zoe Brian

Head Copy Editors Jennifer Rorie Vanessa Daves Multimedia Editor Dalton Boehm Convergence Editor Erin Reilly News Editor Pauline Werner Online Photo Editors Marisa Walton McKenzie Swanson Assistant Online Photo Editors AnnaMarie Oakley Paloma Garcia Video Editor Nathan Walker Live Broadcast Editors Andrew McKittrick Jack Stevens Homegrown Editor Maxx Lamb Opinion Editor Taylor Bell A&E Editor Morgan Krakow Sports Section Editors Alex Goldman Mitch Kaskie Blogs Editor Taylor Bell Podcast and Radio Editor

Thomas Allen Eastipedia Editor Susannah Mitchell Interactive Designers James Simmons Will Oakley Anchors Kyle Winston Joe Bahr Morgan Twibell G.J. Melia Tessa Polaschek Mitch Kaskie Annie Foster Webmasters Chris Denniston Jack Stevens Multimedia Staff Dalton Boehm Chris Denniston Maxx Lamb Kathryn Jones Nick Miriani Jack Stevens Mattie Germann Emily Perkins Rock AnnaMarie Oakley Tessa Polaschek Will Brownlee Sophie Mitchell Annie Foster Adviser Dow Tate

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

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OPINION |9

PUTTING THE GIRL IN

GIRL

POWER

Feminist takes interest in women’s rights and fashion Let me preface this column by saying that yes, I am a feminist and no, I (regrettably) don’t own any pantsuits. My hair is growing past my shoulders and my nails an opinion of Susannah Mitchell are painted a nude pink.

I own 16 different lipsticks, lip glosses and lip products: Maybelline, Covergirl and Revlon.

Yes, I am a feminist. And like most other feminists, I’m not a stereotype.

I didn’t know what a feminist was until I was about 12.

My entire life I’d been surrounded by strong female figures: my mom, my two grandmothers and Ellen Degeneres. But never once was I told what a feminist was. No one needed to tell me; I grew up with the mindset that men and women were fundamentally equal to each other, and that was that.

As a little girl, I was totally unaware of the inequality faced by women. Like a lot of girls my age, I played with Barbie dolls incessantly and had “Beauty and the Beast” practically memorized. My obsession with tutus was almost frightening.

My femininity even went to the extreme in preschool, when I began the Dress Club, a club where all members were required to wear a dress every single day. Boys were even allowed to join, if they followed the club’s single rule. If one of the club’s members showed up wearing pants, they were rightfully kicked out. Of course, no boys ever joined the Dress Club. But under my tulle- and ruffle-heavy regime, boys and girls were equal.

The Dress Club was eventually disbanded by several preschool teachers for being too exclusive, no matter how much I wanted to argue that technically, boys were allowed.

The Dress Club incident became the first example of the clash between my feminism and femininity.

There was never a specific moment when I realized just how ignorant I was to sexism. What little bits I did learn, I mostly learned through the media and overheard conversations.

Flipping through the TV channels to try and find a rerun of “Gilmore Girls,” I would catch a tidbit of Rush Limbaugh saying that feminism “was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.” After considering my own personal appearance for a few moments, I would keep switching channels. Or I would be sitting at the dinner table listening to my grandparents talk about women in the senate, hearing what they were saying but not really absorbing what it meant.

When I was confronted with the idea of sexism and gen-

der inequality, I would simply shrug it off. Feminism just didn’t get me.

The first time I realized I cared about feminism was at a Cody Simpson concert back in December. Now you might ask yourself, what’s a bitingly sarcastic, pop-hating teenager doing at a concert for a pseudo-Justin Bieber? I was dragged there by a friend.

Choking on the smell of bubblegum perfume and partially blinded by a malfunctioning fog machine, I was in the middle of a sea of little girls. I could imagine no worse hell.

When Cody’s opening act, the Galaxy Girls, stormed the stage with their booty shorts and spray tans, I knew it would be a long night.

My boredom slowly evolved into anger as I watched the Galaxy Girls grinding on each other and sexualizing themselves in front of little girls. My groans turned into angry huffs everytime the DJ asked the crowd, “Do you think you’re sexy?” I would have stormed out if the walk home wasn’t an hour and a half. It was the first time I’d seen women being objectified in person; and for the first time, I was furious.

Now I haven’t exactly become Gloria Steinem since then. But feminism has a whole new meaning to me.

Feminism isn’t just a boring dinner table conversation or an essay topic. It’s important for people everywhere, not just for an average teenager but for little girls who will grow up in a world where women like the Galaxy Girls are viewed as objects.

Today, feminism is a dirty word. Mention it once and people will go running— men and women alike. Feminists are typically stereotyped as being straightlaced, hippie lesbians. But no matter what Rush Limbaugh says, anyone can be a feminist.

I don’t own a pantsuit. I like to eat pastel-colored pastries and watch “Switched at Birth” in my free time.

But so what?

None of that makes me any less of a feminist than Hillary Clinton or any

of those other “unattractive women” slamming up against the glass ceiling.

So take that, Limbaugh.

Feminism is new to me. The leader of the Dress Club has grown up and found interests other than Barbies and Polly Pockets. And in less than four years you’ll find me at an election party, ecstatically sporting a Hillary Clinton ‘16 button on top of a lace blazer. I’ll be nibbling a macaron and brushing crumbs off of my skirt, knowing that the world is changing for women. And it’s changing for the better.

9 | PHOTO ESSSAY

TheEnsemblers

Senior Annie Sullivan directs her own Frequent Friday, inspired by Saturday Night Live, with students performing improv skits.

Above: Senior Hannah Bautz improvs during a performance. “We did lots of improv games. I loved hearing the funny things people would come up with.” photo by Taylor Anderson

Above Right: Senior Nick Kraske performs intensely, “Improv was definately more nerve racking to perform. You have to think on your feet and it puts a lot of pressure on.” photo by Jake Crandall

Right: Junior Merit Christensen plays dead, “The Ensemblers” was similar to SNL because of the imrpov. It was something that had never been done before. photo by Jake Crandall

Go to smeharbinger.net for a gallery, taping and an interview with director Annie Sullivan.

FEATURE | 11

Ohana family means

written by Michael Kraske

Above: Jars of glass sand from Hawaiian beaches sit in the Meza’s kitchen.

Left: Letters from Celia’s friends in Hawaii hang on her bedroom mirror.

Far Left: Emilia and Celia with their older sister, Olivia, in Hawaii.

Sisters, Celia and Emilia Meza, bond through their move from Hawaii to Kansas

Culture Shock

Emilia and Celia discuss differences between Hawaiian and Kansan culture

photos provided by the Meza family

Sophomore Celia Meza was always the girl who would introduce herself to the new kid at school. She would talk to them until they settled into their social group. She considered herself a helping hand.

But now she’s the new kid. She’s the one who sits alone at lunch. She’s the one having trouble making new friends.

This isn’t something Celia’s used to, but she’s been that new kid for over a year now. * * * “What do you think about moving?”

Shock. Shock and disappointment were the two things that immediately entered Celia’s mind. She was ready for a fun day at the beach with her friends, then everything changed. Her mom pulled up with her two sisters, Olivia and Emilia. What Celia thought was just her mom dropping off clothes for the beach, turned into something that changed her life.

Although her and her sister Emilia had moved various places before, she wasn’t ready for this move. Hawaii was her home.

They knew moving was a possibility. Their mom wanted for the girls’ to have better educational opportunities, and she wanted more experience for her job as a nurse, something she could only get on the mainland. The girls had been told the move might be to California, which got them excited. But they weren’t expecting this. They weren’t expecting Kansas.

Emilia’s reaction was nearly the opposite of her sister’s. She started crying, but not because she was sad. Hers were tears of joy. Emilia was ready to leave Hawaii. The island was so small, she felt like she knew everyone.

“If you say something about someone, they

always find out,” Emilia said. “It seems like everyone’s related, and it’s just annoying that it’s so small. The idea of going somewhere else was exciting.”

The two sisters’ reactions predicted their ability to adjust to the move. While Emilia has had an easy time making friends and adjusting to everyday life in Kansas, Celia has struggled. In addition to cultural, economic and geographical differences, the social differences between her old school and East have been the biggest challenge for her. While Celia likes the classes here compared to Hawaii, making friends has been tough on her.

“It’s pretty hard for me here,” Celia said. “I don’t really fit in at this school.”

Celia’s not used to being the new kid. She’s not used to not having plans over the weekend. She’s not used to sitting alone at lunch.

“I’m used to having a bunch of friends, and here I have like three good friends,” Celia said. “I’m not asking for this whole group [of friends], but I’m not used to being sad all the time.”

Celia’s having trouble adjusting socially, but she doesn’t want pity.

“I don’t want people to pity me just because I’m sitting by myself,” Celia said. “When I’m sitting alone, I always think: it’s going to get better.”

Writing letters to friends back in Hawaii is one way Celia is learning to cope with missing her friends. She updates her friends on her new life and they keep her updated on the one she left behind. Coming home to one of these letters is something she considers the best feeling in the world. After she reads it she hangs it up on her mirror next to other letters.

On the other hand, Emilia is having a

much easier time adjusting to life in Kansas.

Although Emilia misses things like the beach, her friends and the food, she has gotten used to Kansas as a whole.

Emilia has acquired a friend group, gotten used to the food and weather and even found a boyfriend. Part of the reason this has happened is because she went to Indian Hills Middle School for a few months right when they moved, and she got to meet people there. “[Making friends] is really good for me,” Emilia said. “I already made friends when I went to middle school, so it’s been really good for me.”

Although the sisters are having very different experiences with the move, they can agree on one thing: Hawaii is their home. Not only do they consider it their home because they grew up there, but they consider it their home because they both miss it so much. They also agree that they want to visit. But moving back would be too hard for the both of them. They don’t want to have to deal with saying goodbye again. * * * One day a few months ago, while sitting at lunch with two friends, Celia noticed a kid sitting alone in the cafeteria. Knowing how it feels to sit alone, she went up to him and asked him if he would like to sit with her and her friends. After awkwardly cleaning up the milk he had spilled on himself, he came over and sat with Celia and her friends.

There have been times since the move when Celia needed someone to give her a chance like that. But she’s learning to get by without one. She’s learning to adjust like Emilia has. She’s learning to be that helping hand she once was again.

In Hawaii, students don’t wear shoes to school, instead they shuffle to and from class in slippers.

Emilia: “Here it’s really weird, that’s why I don’t like wearing shoes.”

Unlike on the mainland, Hawaiians view rice as a delicacy and it is served with nearly every meal.

Emilia: “You know how you sort of eat mashed potatoes with everything here? That’s how it is like with rice.”

As a sign of respect, Hawaiians call parents Aunty or Uncle before their names.

Celia: “Your mom, lets say her name is Mary, I’d call her Aunty Mary, or Uncle for a dad.”

Hawaii Pidgin English is a creole language based partially on English and is still used among Hawaiian residents.

Emilia: “It’s like an actual language. It’s like slang. “

MAJOR DEPRESSION Major Depression makes it difficult for a person to work, sleep, eat and enjoy activities

DYSTHMIA

HIGH for the

a

SPREAD | 13

HOW to RESPOND

Depression in school is increasing as different types of depression come out of the woodwork in today’s society

LOW

ultimate

BREAKDOWN of of DEPRESSION DEPRESSION

new

12 | SPREAD

ACT is the main skill taught in the Signs of Suicide program from Screening for Mental Health

A cknowledge:

Listen to your friend, don’t ignore threats. It is important to acknowledge signs and symptoms.

Care:

Dysthmia is chronic depression where a person’s moods are usually low, but the symptoms are less severe

Let your friend know you care. Show your concern for their health and safety.

Tell:

BIPOLAR DISORDER There many different types of Bipolar Disorder, where a person’s moods switch between depressive and manic episodes *info from infographicsmania.com

COMMON SYMPTOMS Persistent and frequent sadness Feeling hopeless, helpless, withdrawn Changes in behavior, loss of interest in usual activities Changes in sleep, appetite or energy Missed school or poor school performance Frequent physical complaints Irritability, fighting, trouble concentrating Thoughts about death, suicide or running away

Tell a trusted adult that you are worried about your friend or a member of a crisis team who knows how to respond.

written by Vanessa Daves photos by Jake Crandall Maybe it’s because she’s always cracking a joke. Maybe it’s because she’s a part of “that” crowd. Or maybe it’s because she’s involved in school, has lots of friends and boys chasing after her.

Either way, senior Natalie Baker* is the last person her friends would expect to be battling clinical depression. But she is. She’s mastered the art of hiding her sadness, her self-harm, her utter loneliness.

“There are a lot of untrue stereotypes, like having the crazy thick eyeliner or wearing dark clothes,” Baker said. “People are kind of ignorant about [depression], and I don’t expect anybody to understand.”

Depression can be anything from a clinical disease to a minor alteration in one’s life that causes temporary sadness. The definition for depression is changing. Because of this, depression itself is increasing at East, and by extension, nationwide. East social worker Becky Wiseman sees 30-35 students every week, a number that has grown since she first started at East five years ago.

“Some students I see more regularly than others, and some I see once or twice and they’re done,” Wiseman said. “Sometimes it’s just something they have to process through for a bit and then they’re good.”

She believes the increase of students she sees is partly because she is becoming more well-known in the school community and partly because depression is increasing among adolescents. According to cbsnews.com, one out of every 10 teenagers will battle depression at some point and over 4,000 will attempt suicide every year.

Wiseman said people would naturally expect East students to be happy because of the affluent community and high achievement -- however, that’s not necessarily true.

In fact, these factors may create more pressure for East students. “[That idea] is not very validating toward people who do suffer from depression because people look at you and go, ‘Well why are you depressed?’” Wiseman said. “If you have two parents, a big house, nice car, a good and safe school, then unfortunately people start to think, ‘Well why do I have depression, and what’s wrong with me and why can’t I get over it?’”

As society has progressed, depression has changed. It now encompasses clinical depression, seasonal depression and adjustment disorder.

Depression can come at any stage or any time in your life. According to webmd.com, when depression hits adolescents, it’s generally after the age of 12. Baker first started experiencing bouts of depression as a sophomore. Although things have gotten significantly easier for her with talk therapy and prescriptions of antidepressants, she still hasn’t figured everything out.

While Baker has clinical depression, other students at East have gone through less severe types of depression. Senior Laura Metz struggles with seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that surfaced in the 1980s. Because she’s an outdoorsy person, being confined inside during the colder months of the winter makes her feel a bit of the blues.

“There’s a loss of vitamin D in your body because you’re not in the sun and you can’t really replace that,” Metz said. “I didn’t really realize I had seasonal depression until this year. It’s more overall. Something that would normally make me happy just doesn’t make me as happy. It just puts a cloud over everything.”

Wiseman is a big believer in seasonal depression. When students are experiencing a break in their “normal,” she encourages them to get the basics in order -- a healthy diet, sleep and especially physical activity. Losing that physical activity and the endorphins that come from it during winter months can have a huge impact on how someone feels.

Similarly, it can also have a large effect on those with clinical depression.

“You think everyone loves spring, it’s a great time,” Wiseman said. “But you’ll find someone with depression where spring is a very difficult time for them, because they don’t want to get out, they don’t want to go do these things. And now it’s noticeable. It’s not just, ‘I’m cold so I’m not going outside.’ It is [that they are] now not into things that other people are [into].”

Another form of depression that has had a significant impact on East is adjustment disorder with depressive feelings. With the loss of senior Tyler Rathbun last November, a lot of students experienced this with the loss of a loved one. Social workers and psychologists from around the area have reported an influx of East students as clients since the passing of this beloved student. Although this type of depression is not generally long-lasting, it can lead to more serious forms of depression.

Depression is increasing because there are more types of depression that are recognized in today’s society. In addition, it is increasing because of factors such as technology, separation of families, losses or other traumatic events.

Society’s shift of communication from face-to-face to technological devices has led people to be able to isolate themselves and lose human contact. Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can create the feeling of loneliness in adolescents.

While spending countless hours scrolling through photos and statuses of people, one might get the sense that other people have better lives than they do.

“Social media can both connect us to people but it can also increase our isolation because a lot of communication is done without really seeing people,” Sociology and AP US History teacher Vicki Ardnt-Helgesen said. “By the same token, social network-

ing can also increase the sense that one has a community.”

Isolation can also be caused by a student’s family struggles, such as the increasing separation and divorce rates. According to patriot.net, one-fourth of marriages in the U.S. today end in divorce. Wiseman has seen the effect that the increasing separation and divorce rates have on students.

“In our school I have seen an increase in families separating and divorcing,” Wiseman said. “It has a huge impact on a person emotionally because it’s a change from their normal of one household to two households, with the parents going through their own emotional stuff at different places.”

With the recent downfall of the economy, financial struggles within families also weigh heavily on students. Wiseman has noticed even more that families are adjusting to a “new normal.” She sees a lot of students moving in with their grandparents because they can’t afford owning their own house.

“I think with our economy there are a lot of people who see struggles of what parents are going through,” Wiseman said. “If mom or dad lost job and is not dealing well with it, of course it will have an affect on a child and you can’t do anything about it. You feel powerless. A lot of anxiety and depression goes along with that. Your lifestyle has changed.”

When Baker was in middle school, her dad lost his job. Her mom, in her state of depression, confided in her about her fiscal worries.

“She told me so much stuff a little kid should never have to know and it wasn’t her fault but I had so much I knew and I was [only] in middle school,” Baker said. “I’m not mad at her for it. You always have to see the bright side, and for me it helped me grow up and it helped me understand things better in the long run. It has helped me to overcome hurdles.”

One indication of the increasing depression is that more people are seeking help for it. Local social workers such as Mike Hanson and Liz Christian have a large number of clients who go to East, and Wiseman has options for students who can’t afford traditional therapy. Johnson County Mental Health Institution has a sliding scale for their clients so they pay only what they can afford. Whether it’s talk therapy or prescription drugs, many are able to find a way to move forward.

“My mom always says, ‘Things will always get better,’” Baker said. “That’s why it’s stupid to harm yourself or do something like that. Things will always get better. So I try to focus on the positives.”

HOW to GET HELP

Are you or

someone you love at risk of suicide?

NATIONAL

SUICIDE

PREVENTION LIFELINE

1-800-273-TALK

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Get the facts and take

appropriate action.

MODERN FAMILY|1 Homosexual parenting is becoming more acceptable and common.

Gender roles in parenting and the work force change with the times.

the

FA M I LY

p. 4/5

Sophomore discusses her adopted brother.

p. 6

Sabates and Grimm families share a life together.

p. 7

Increased divorce rates show among East population.

(A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS) 83% OF of stay-at-home the parents

STUDENTS

SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE

art by Miranda Gibbs

REASON?

26% OF

8.5 MOMS 21% OF

STUDENTS’

how the students are affected

{

OUT OF 10 are

PARENTS

ARE DIVORCED

STUDENTS ARE

ADOPTED HAVE ADOPTED OR

76% BOTH PARENTS WORK

RELATIVES

39% RELIGIOUS

29% OTHER

19%

13%

POLITICAL SOCIAL

POSITIVELY NEGATIVELY NO EFFECT

21%

38% 41%

74% OF

STUDENTS’

PARENTS ARE MARRIED

p. 8

* based on a survey of 245 east students

24% ONE PARENT WORKS

2%

15% MIDDLE SAY NO

p. 2

2 | MODERN FAMILY

Seniors Matti Hayes and Nate Anderson have their parents’ full support in everything they do

newNORMAL THE

written by Katie Knight

Homosexual parenting is becoming more acceptable and common around the country and East

photo illustrations by Jake Crandall

Senior Nate Anderson has three dads.

That means he has to buy three fathers’ day cards when June rolls around each year. Three people he can watch Extreme Homes on HGTV with on the weekends. While many kids around the world don’t have a father figure in their lives, Nate has the luxury of having three.

And it never would have been this way if Nate’s father, Kirk, hadn’t gotten a divorce, come out of the closet and met his partner, Steve, 14 years ago. “[Finding out my dad was gay] has been both positive and negative,” Nate said. “It’s mostly been positive. Even if it was negative at first, it’s made me who I am today. I don’t judge people as much because of this because I know what it’s like to be bullied, I know what it’s like to not have people you can trust. I know what it’s like to go through divorce, to have different lifestyles.”

Slowly yet surely, the number of households led by homosexuals is becoming more common and acceptable around the United States. According to the 2010 census, a quarter of same-sex American households are raising children.

Nate believes that because society is beginning to change the way it views gay people -- specifically in certain religious organizations -- the acceptance of gay parenting will only continue to grow in the future.

“I think people are starting to recognize [homosexuals and their ability to parent],” Nate said. “It’s not as secretive anymore. It’s become more socially acceptable to be gay in our society. I think people are losing some of that rigid religiousness in the sense that they might not like or agree with it but they respect it enough to let it happen.”

Kirk thinks that in the past few decades, most people have had no idea that they know a homosexual person, and now suddenly they’re feeling confident enough to come out even as early as high school. He believes that as society continues to change, they will continue to have the freedom to do that.

“It’s just an exciting time because it’s a huge wave, and you’re not going to be able to stop it,” Kirk said. “And it’s a very peaceful wave, which is really cool.”

Although Nate believes tolerance for gay

couples is growing, there is still a large number of people who are strongly opposed to the legalization of gay marriage and allowing them to have and raise children. So far, only nine states and 11 countries across the world have voted to legalize gay marriage.

“It is changing but there still are some haters,” Kirk said.

“When I’m in a room I can tell you who the haters are, and I feel sorry for them. I don’t think bad of them, they’re just misinformed. They need to relax and make themselves happy.”

Junior Sarah Bromley’s mother, Debra, who is a lesbian, has chosen to keep her sexuality to herself and a few select friends, just because of the potential conflict that could arise from it. It became a natural choice after awhile, especially after being rejected by her own family years before.

“My family, they don’t approve,” Debra said. “They don’t think I should have a child, that I’m perverted.”

After Debra’s rejection by her family, Sarah has been hesitant to tell her friends about her mom. Because of her fear of harsh judgment from her peers, she’s chosen to only tell certain close friends of hers rather than be open about it.

Some kids like Sarah with homosexual parents struggle with teasing and bullying directed at them because of their parents, and AAMFT social worker Susan Dunaway thinks that keeping it to themselves is more comfortable than letting the world know and dealing with the judgment that comes along with it.

“Adolescents are usually supposed to be really centered on their own world,” Dunaway said. “Sometimes they’ll go through this period where they want a pass, like saying they don’t have a family that’s different, and so they might try to hide [their parent’s sexuality] because they fear judgment.

They might be embarrassed about their parents, but, you know, we’re all kind of embarrassed about our parents.”

According to Debra, what has been at the bottom of people’s hate in the past is ignorance. Now that homosexual parenting is becoming more common, she thinks the country has begun to educate themselves and are learning to tolerate it more.

“I think society is accepting it more, and I think people are becoming more educated,” Debra said. “They’re just not worrying about it as much; part of it is because people are coming out more and aren’t really trying to hide it. It’s not a choice, it’s how you’re born.”

According to Debra, the biggest fear most people have in regards to homosexual parenting is the possibility of “raising their kids to be gay,” or not giving their kids proper attention.

“All the research said there was no difference in how the child [turns out],” Dunaway said. “What they’re looking at is the child safe and happy and nurtured and cared for, and they’ve never found anything that points to any major differences. Really what kids are looking for is stable people who love them.”

Kirk thinks that finding differences between heterosexual and homosexual households is a difficult thing to do. Not only are his parenting techniques basically the same, but walking into his house, an average person wouldn’t be able to see a difference.

“If you came into our house and both of us guys weren’t in the room, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t a heterosexual household,” Kirk said. “There’s really no difference. The same chores have to be done, it’s the same structure. We really work as a team and we support each other if that makes sense.”

Senior Matti Hayes, who also has a lesbian mother, thinks that because of society’s general misunderstanding and discomfort in regards to gay people, their first reaction is familiarizing the situation in any way that they can, especially by asking her questions like “Is one mom more of a dad, and the other more your mom?”

“I feel like people always have to try to assign that [gender role],” Hayes said. “I think to some people since it doesn’t really make sense to them, they try to normalize it however they can.”

But like Debra, Matti thinks that rather than hate, true misunderstanding lies at the bottom of homophobia.

“I want people to know that it’s not just a gender/ sex thing, it’s more of a person thing,” Hayes said.

“And if the person you really like happens to be the same gender as you, I don’t think it should really matter.”

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4| MODERN FAMILY

F

ifteen years ago, the Recker family had three kids under three years old, and a problem. With one parent working as a doctor and the other as a lawyer, they knew that one of them would have to stay home. There wasn’t enough time to raise their kids and have their careers.

It was either that, or hire someone to take care of the kids, which they didn’t want to do.

So they made a decision. Neil Recker would stay home, leaving his career as an employee benefits lawyer and starting a new one as a stay-at-home dad.

“One of us needed to stay home, and I was just willing to do it,” Recker said. “My wife had a good job, and she was enjoying it.”

The traditional stereotype of a family, as seen in shows like “Leave it to Beaver” and “Mad Men”, is dad at work and mom at home with the kids.

But the percentage of American families that are made up the traditional way has decreased to 20 percent in 2011. According to Dr. Jessica Hardie, assistant professor of Sociology at University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), it’s by no means a large trend, but society is seeing a change in how families are put together.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of at-home dads has doubled from 2001 to 2011. The New York Times reports that around 626,000 men are primary caretakers of children under 15-years-old while their wives work.

Hardie says that the reason is mostly economic. There are less white-collar jobs that were traditionally filled by men, and more women are being highly educated. Fifty-seven percent of college students are women, according to USA Today. This results in a shift in the balance between genders in the workforce, making it so that women are holding more higher-paying jobs.

Hardie says that the number of jobs being outsourced are making it harder for to find highpaying, stable work in the U.S. She says that its not uncommon for women to be making the most money in a household and that makes the choice of which parent to stay home pretty simple.

“Younger men are more willing to rethink the idea of ‘career first, always,” Dr. Deborah Smith, interim department chair for UMKC’s Department of Sociology said. This redefinition of gender roles is a factor in the increasing number of at-home dads, Smith said.

According to Hardie, the decline of traditional high-paying jobs for men can be attributed to the fact that many jobs that used to support a family on their own, don’t anymore. A man with only a high school degree can’t support a family like he could in the past. President Obama stated in his State of the Union Address on Feb. 12 that someone working full-time at minimum wage earns $14,500 in a year.

Dr. Hardie points to an increase in jobs in fields that women are drawn to, like healthcare, as another reason that high-dollar employment for women has gone up.

When Recker grew up, there was no taking

MODERN FAMILY|5

1 your kids to soccer practice; if you couldn’t get there on your own, you didn’t go. Nowadays, kids with full schedules can make parents busy driving kids around.

“All this stuff, it’s not like it starts at 6:00 at night or something. It starts at 3:00,” Recker said.

“So how do you have a job and do those things?”

When it’s necessary for one parent to stay home with children, it doesn’t always mean that only one has to earn money. Hardie says that a lot of at-home dads find themselves working from home, on weekends or at night to make ends meet.

“There’s an increase in inflexible work, which means that companies are more likely to hire unskilled workers for a short period of time,” Hardie said. “And not really for steady employment.”

Federal statistics show that men lost two and a half times as many jobs in the recession as women, which also contributed to the rising number of dads turning caregivers. On top of that, between 1960 and today, the cost of raising a child has risen by 13 percent.

A round of layoffs from Sprint in 2001 left Larry Enochs, unemployed with three kids. After four jobs that were canceled before he could get hired, Enochs made the easy decision to pick the kids up from daycare and stay home with them. Then came another set of twins, which prolonged the stay-at home-dad routine.

Boston College studied the effects on children of having dad at home instead of mom. The men surveyed said, whether or not their kids were conscious of the different arrangement, that any effects were “mainly positive ones.”

“There were definite advantages of being able to do things that I never would’ve been able to do if we were both working,” Recker said. Recker was able to spend more time with his kids than he might have otherwise.

Both Enochs and Recker expressed a similar sentiment, saying there had to have been an effect. In the neighborhood where Enochs’ kids grew up, and at Briarwood Elementary, his daughters had several classmates who had at-home dads. With Recker, there were several other dads on the PTA at his kids’ school, some doing more for it than him.

“I definitely think they grew up knowing that a stay-at-home dad is not unusual,” Enochs said.

It’s hard to know if having dad at home instead of mom has any impacts on a growing

child, but Dr. Hardie is hopeful that it will lead to better equality for everyone. She’s hopeful that young boys won’t look to their future and see their only path to fulfillment involving a career, and little girls see their potential for success.

“Hopefully it would be less constraining for boys and girls in terms of how they thought of themselves and their gender,” Hardie said. “I don’t know if there’s been any research on that.”

In the meantime, both the Enochs and the Reckers will continue to raise their kids in the way that works for their family.

“It made sense for our family to do it that way,” Recker said. “ It seemed like the best way to go.”

2

THE GREAT DIVIDE COMPLETE THE GENDER WORD SEARCH

NOTE: no spaces between two-word answers

4

3

6

7

8

9

THE GENDER ROLE EVOLUTION

Gender roles are changing in parenting and at the workplace

ACROSS

1950

Women account for less than 30 percent of the work force.

1850 Women cannot vote, have a job or attend college. Men have the rights to all of the woman’s property, and are sole breadwinners.

written by Pauline Werner

art by Paloma Gustafson-Ika

2009 Of dual-career couples, wives earned more than their husbands 28.9 percent of the time.

Women account for 47 percent of the labor force.

2013 2012

1. This is a nickname for stay-at-home dads.

3. The differences between men and women in social, cultural, economic or political achievements or attitudes is called the ________ ____.

4. Which amendment allowed women to vote?

7. Elizabeth ___________ was the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849.

9. This award show that took place on Feb. 10 eliminated gender segregated categories for the first time ever this year.

DOWN 1. This male fashion designer whose bags can be seen around the halls of East is known for wearing dresses.

2. This company just announced their first gender-neutral colored Easy Bake Oven.

5. What’s the name of the amendment that requires schools to provide equal funding for girls and boys sports?

6. In what city did women first participate in the 1900 Olympic Games?

8. Name the first male Barbie introduced in 1916.

Men begin to take over for moms as 626,000 dads serve as primary caretaker for their children. Stay at home dads have doubled in the past 10 years.

SOURCES WWW.CATALYST.ORG WWW.AMERICA.GOV WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG

4| MODERN FAMILY

F

ifteen years ago, the Recker family had three kids under three years old, and a problem. With one parent working as a doctor and the other as a lawyer, they knew that one of them would have to stay home. There wasn’t enough time to raise their kids and have their careers.

It was either that, or hire someone to take care of the kids, which they didn’t want to do.

So they made a decision. Neil Recker would stay home, leaving his career as an employee benefits lawyer and starting a new one as a stay-at-home dad.

“One of us needed to stay home, and I was just willing to do it,” Recker said. “My wife had a good job, and she was enjoying it.”

The traditional stereotype of a family, as seen in shows like “Leave it to Beaver” and “Mad Men”, is dad at work and mom at home with the kids.

But the percentage of American families that are made up the traditional way has decreased to 20 percent in 2011. According to Dr. Jessica Hardie, assistant professor of Sociology at University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), it’s by no means a large trend, but society is seeing a change in how families are put together.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of at-home dads has doubled from 2001 to 2011. The New York Times reports that around 626,000 men are primary caretakers of children under 15-years-old while their wives work.

Hardie says that the reason is mostly economic. There are less white-collar jobs that were traditionally filled by men, and more women are being highly educated. Fifty-seven percent of college students are women, according to USA Today. This results in a shift in the balance between genders in the workforce, making it so that women are holding more higher-paying jobs.

Hardie says that the number of jobs being outsourced are making it harder for to find highpaying, stable work in the U.S. She says that its not uncommon for women to be making the most money in a household and that makes the choice of which parent to stay home pretty simple.

“Younger men are more willing to rethink the idea of ‘career first, always,” Dr. Deborah Smith, interim department chair for UMKC’s Department of Sociology said. This redefinition of gender roles is a factor in the increasing number of at-home dads, Smith said.

According to Hardie, the decline of traditional high-paying jobs for men can be attributed to the fact that many jobs that used to support a family on their own, don’t anymore. A man with only a high school degree can’t support a family like he could in the past. President Obama stated in his State of the Union Address on Feb. 12 that someone working full-time at minimum wage earns $14,500 in a year.

Dr. Hardie points to an increase in jobs in fields that women are drawn to, like healthcare, as another reason that high-dollar employment for women has gone up.

When Recker grew up, there was no taking

MODERN FAMILY|5

1 your kids to soccer practice; if you couldn’t get there on your own, you didn’t go. Nowadays, kids with full schedules can make parents busy driving kids around.

“All this stuff, it’s not like it starts at 6:00 at night or something. It starts at 3:00,” Recker said.

“So how do you have a job and do those things?”

When it’s necessary for one parent to stay home with children, it doesn’t always mean that only one has to earn money. Hardie says that a lot of at-home dads find themselves working from home, on weekends or at night to make ends meet.

“There’s an increase in inflexible work, which means that companies are more likely to hire unskilled workers for a short period of time,” Hardie said. “And not really for steady employment.”

Federal statistics show that men lost two and a half times as many jobs in the recession as women, which also contributed to the rising number of dads turning caregivers. On top of that, between 1960 and today, the cost of raising a child has risen by 13 percent.

A round of layoffs from Sprint in 2001 left Larry Enochs, unemployed with three kids. After four jobs that were canceled before he could get hired, Enochs made the easy decision to pick the kids up from daycare and stay home with them. Then came another set of twins, which prolonged the stay-at home-dad routine.

Boston College studied the effects on children of having dad at home instead of mom. The men surveyed said, whether or not their kids were conscious of the different arrangement, that any effects were “mainly positive ones.”

“There were definite advantages of being able to do things that I never would’ve been able to do if we were both working,” Recker said. Recker was able to spend more time with his kids than he might have otherwise.

Both Enochs and Recker expressed a similar sentiment, saying there had to have been an effect. In the neighborhood where Enochs’ kids grew up, and at Briarwood Elementary, his daughters had several classmates who had at-home dads. With Recker, there were several other dads on the PTA at his kids’ school, some doing more for it than him.

“I definitely think they grew up knowing that a stay-at-home dad is not unusual,” Enochs said.

It’s hard to know if having dad at home instead of mom has any impacts on a growing

child, but Dr. Hardie is hopeful that it will lead to better equality for everyone. She’s hopeful that young boys won’t look to their future and see their only path to fulfillment involving a career, and little girls see their potential for success.

“Hopefully it would be less constraining for boys and girls in terms of how they thought of themselves and their gender,” Hardie said. “I don’t know if there’s been any research on that.”

In the meantime, both the Enochs and the Reckers will continue to raise their kids in the way that works for their family.

“It made sense for our family to do it that way,” Recker said. “ It seemed like the best way to go.”

2

THE GREAT DIVIDE COMPLETE THE GENDER WORD SEARCH

NOTE: no spaces between two-word answers

4

3

6

7

8

9

THE GENDER ROLE EVOLUTION

Gender roles are changing in parenting and at the workplace

ACROSS

1950

Women account for less than 30 percent of the work force.

1850 Women cannot vote, have a job or attend college. Men have the rights to all of the woman’s property, and are sole breadwinners.

written by Pauline Werner

art by Paloma Gustafson-Ika

2009 Of dual-career couples, wives earned more than their husbands 28.9 percent of the time.

Women account for 47 percent of the labor force.

2013 2012

1. This is a nickname for stay-at-home dads.

3. The differences between men and women in social, cultural, economic or political achievements or attitudes is called the ________ ____.

4. Which amendment allowed women to vote?

7. Elizabeth ___________ was the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849.

9. This award show that took place on Feb. 10 eliminated gender segregated categories for the first time ever this year.

DOWN 1. This male fashion designer whose bags can be seen around the halls of East is known for wearing dresses.

2. This company just announced their first gender-neutral colored Easy Bake Oven.

5. What’s the name of the amendment that requires schools to provide equal funding for girls and boys sports?

6. In what city did women first participate in the 1900 Olympic Games?

8. Name the first male Barbie introduced in 1916.

Men begin to take over for moms as 626,000 dads serve as primary caretaker for their children. Stay at home dads have doubled in the past 10 years.

SOURCES WWW.CATALYST.ORG WWW.AMERICA.GOV WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG

6| MODERN FAMILY

THE MISSING PIECE an opinion of Caroline Kohring

Two weeks ago, my family ate at Salty Iguana. We sat at a long table for six, with one empty seat on the end. To the random passerby, we were just a family of five enjoying a Sunday dinner. But to us, we were a family of six minus one. We were missing the little ball of energy that usually lights up our faces. We were missing the youngest member of the Kohring clan. We were missing Uchan.

That night at dinner, Uchan was just at a friend’s house. But for the first 15 years of my life, we were only a family of five. At dinner, my younger siblings were constantly screaming, singing or both. I was more likely to sit quietly, preferring to watch the show taking place rather than partake in the craziness. We were a good balance. My parents loved us just as much as they loved each other. I thought I had the perfect family. And I was content.

But in August of 2011, I realized something had been missing my whole life. Something I had never noticed. Uchan came into our lives and made our family complete.

I met Uchan on August 18, 2011. He had just stepped off a 17-hour flight. It was the first I time I had ever talked to my then 4-year-old brother. I had known about him for two years, since the day my parents told us they wanted to adopt. But really, I only knew his life story — he grew up in poverty in Gambella, a region outside of Ethiopia, and his mom gave him up so he could have better opportunities. My parents spent two weeks with him in Africa before he came home. There they learned that he liked to play sports, but they had no idea he was actually a superstar. It turns out I had so much to learn about his personality.

Life with Uchan has been emotional, to say the least. To be honest, I’m kind of a crybaby. Uchan has brought me to tears more often than one would think.

I cried as I hugged him when I first met him at the airport. I cried on Thanksgiving when he threw a fit about having to sit next to me. And I cried last weekend as I frantically searched the neighborhood after discovering he wasn’t waiting for me in my car like he was supposed to be.

SOPHOMORE TALKS ABOUT LIFE WITH HER ADOPTED BROTHER UCHAN

photo by Maddie Schoemann

We look nothing alike and we’ve only known each other for a year and a half, but I feel like he was destined to be my brother.

Don’t get me wrong, our relationship is complicated. He is stubborn and thinks it’s hilarious to ignore my hugs and hellos. But I know deep down he loves me, and I love him.

I want to protect him from everything and for him to just be my innocent baby brother forever.

I was scared for Uchan to come to America. I wanted him to fit in. I wanted him to adjust fast. I wanted him to be happy and feel loved. And it took awhile; he had to learn English and he had to get used to us.

I wish I knew what was going on in his head those first few months. It was hard.

He would say things in Amharic, his native language, and then get frustrated when we didn’t understand. I was constantly worrying about him and what he thought about his new life.

I’m not sure when it happened, but suddenly Uchan clicked. He is the comic relief of our family. I forgot what it’s like to have a little guy running around the house since my brother Peter is 11 and my sister Emily is 14. Uchan can say something or just give us a look and suddenly we’re all laughing. The other night at dinner he told us he loves his girlfriend because a baby in a white diaper shot him in the heart with an arrow. And then he gave us his signature “you know what I’m talkin’ about” face. We were blessed with a boy who belongs.

After 18 months, I’ve learned a lot about Uchan. He likes to dance and sing at the dinner table. He has more facial expressions than any 6-year-old I know. He has scored more goals in his kindergarten soccer career than I ever have. He loves to play on the iPad, and has a bad habit of “accidentally” buying $15 apps. He spent the entire summer running around the pool and never took off his swim team suit. He’s your typical American kid — with a few twists.

His skin is so dark you can’t see him when we play hide-and-seek at night. His accent is adorable, but occasionally hard to understand. When he says “that” it comes out like “dag” and he sometimes confuses his verb

tenses. Sometimes he doesn’t understand that his words can hurt, even if he’s just kidding. And we still have to explain things to him that most American 6-year-olds would know. It took him awhile to understand that when you go to the store you can’t just take whatever you want off the shelf and leave.

And when you give your item to the cashier, they will eventually give it back — that one took even longer.

Despite that, I’m so proud of my brother.

I love to go to his basketball games where he towers over every kid on the court. After he scores a goal in soccer, he likes to turn around to be sure I saw him, always with a huge grin plastered to his face. Not only did he learn English quickly, but his reading scores are above the kindergarten benchmarks. He’s a sweetheart with a smile that lights up the room.

Even though Uchan’s adjusted, I still worry about him. I worry about racism. He’s a little kid, and we all know little kids don’t exactly have edit buttons. In preschool, he was asked why his skin was so dark. My mom was sitting by him and she says he just shrugged and ignored it, but I wish I knew what he really thought. He’s the one who told me his skin was so dark you can’t see it at night. The comment was light hearted, but I still wonder if it had deeper meaning. I wish I knew if he cared.

I want to walk around with him every day at school and explain to all his friends that he was adopted from Africa. I can tell everyone he meets, that way they don’t have to ask. And he’ll never have to explain. I want to protect Uchan from everything, but I can’t.

He’s grown up faster than any kid should have to, but he’s still a little boy inside. He’s not immune to racial comments, whether someone’s joking or not.

I want Uchan to know he is so perfect.

He’s talented, sweet, smart and funny. He’s the best little brother anyone could ask for, and I’m blessed to call him mine. I love him more than anything — I always will.

But most importantly, I want him to know that he’s the reason our family of six is finally complete, and we couldn’t be happier to call him ours.

THROUGH

HIS EYES

Uchan talks about his experiences with Caroline

“We go to Target and Caroline was driving and I got a video game and we went to the ice cream place.”

“That was Halloween and I was an army guy and I go trick or treating and I got candy.”

“We were swinging and I like to play on the trampoline with Caroline too.” photos courtesy of the Kohring Family bottom photo by Maddie Schoemann

MODERN FAMILY | 7

written by Hannah Ratliff photos by AnnaMarie Oakley

ents couldn’t be happier together.

“I couldn’t even picture anyone else with my mom,” Victoria said.

As Lindsey became more comfortable with the new parent in her life, she began to see how it was changing her relationship with father.

After making it through the difficulties of divorce together, conversations were more open. Though their relationship was rocky when he first began to date again, their bond has been reinforced by all that they’ve been through together.

“I kind of learned to roll with it,” Lindsey said.

“I know that my dad is East families the Grimms and Sabateses grow incredibly happy, and I love them like my own closer despite unconventional circumstances siblings, so it just works...

I’m so grateful that [considering] the situation, how awesome we work together.”

Though the transition from friends to family hasn’t always been easy, the girls are grateful for a bond that they never imagined they’d have.

Catherine never thought she would get the opportunity to be the big sister Above: Top row, left to right: Lynda Sabates, Victoria Sabates, and Peter Grimm; Middle: Catherine Sabates, Jan Grimm; she is to Lindsey’s younger twin brother and sister, Peter Bottom: Lindsey Grimm, Buck Grimm, and Sarah Grimm and Sarah, while Lindsey is ecicture a house in Prairie Village. A house with five such an abrupt turn of events. Her parents’ separation was static to have two sisters so close in her age to relate to. difficult to comprehend, just as her friends Victoria and kids, two parents and one enormous black lab. PicThe girls’ families worked to become even closer once ture a family who makes a point of having dinner together Catherine’s parents’ split had been roughly a year ago. they blended their family traditions. The tradition of goBut when Lindsey and Victoria found out that there every Sunday night. A family whose Christmases are filled ing bowling together on Thanksgiving began when the were new relationships in their parents’ lives, their reacwith food, laughs and a lot of the movie “Elf.” But don’t be Sabates and Grimms became one family, allowing them fooled by the white picket fence. This is not the picture of tions couldn’t have been more different. When Victoria’s a holiday that didn’t belong to one or the other -- it was any old typical East family. Funny thing is, the kids sitting mom had told her that she was dating again, she was at uniquely theirs. And even though the Sabateses had never around the dinner table are technically just friends, and peace with her mother, Lynda Sabates, seeing someone new. But another sudden change was not as easy for Lind- celebrated Christmas with fondue on Christmas night the two parents aren’t even married. until they became a part of the Grimm family, this tradiWhen an 8-year-old Lindsey Grimm met Victoria Sa- sey to handle. The divorce was fresh in her mind, and she tion was just another opportunity for the two families to bates during a summer swim practice at the Carriage Club, felt uncomfortable with the idea of her dad around a wombecome one. But at this point, they don’t even have to try an who was not her mother.

But what upset her even more she thought she was just meeting a new member of her reto mesh anymore. lay team. But after a few days of swimming together, it was was not just the fact that her father had a new girlfriend -- it “This was the first [Christmas] where we were together clear that Lindsey had met someone who would become was who he was seeing. Lindsey couldn’t imagine her fathe whole time,” Catherine said. “The whole day and night ther dating any other woman, let alone Lynda, the mother one of her closest friends. we were together. Usually my mom and dad would split “We were inseparable over the summer,” Lindsey said. of one of her closest friends.

“I was shocked,” Lindsey said. “Because [Victoria and the day and we would go to my grandparents’... but I had “We lived at each other’s houses... It was like a gang.” more fun here.”

Since they clicked right away, it made sense that Lind- I had] grown up together and been a part of each other’s For a full day, all the Grimms and Sabateses were one. sey could pass her summer nights staying up late and lives for so long, and then, oh, my God, our parents are datChristmas was spent opening presents, having three equalreading teen magazines with Victoria and her little sister, ing.” ly gluttonous meals, and being happy and grateful togethBut as their parents’ relationship became more seriCatherine. No one was surprised when the trio’s budding er. Everyone, including Lindsey’s mother, Amy, was able to ous, the girls’ shock began to wear off.

Slowly -and somefriendship became a special bond. But the girls never could coexist and share the holiday that was meant to be spent have guessed that four years later, they would have an what awkwardly -- the two families learned how to blend into one. Their new home together, lovingly referred to with the ones you love. They may not be conventional, but even more unique bond -- as almost-sisters. there’s no denying that they’re a family. When asked what When Lindsey’s parents separated in 2008, the change as “home base”, has offered them a place to bond, even if they hoped life would be like once the house was completwas difficult. Frightening. Confusing. She took parents’ the kids only stop by occasionally since the home’s renoed, Victoria answered “I don’t know. What we already are.” divorce hard -- how any 13-year-old who was blissfully vations aren’t complete yet. Gradually, the girls started to “Family,” Sarah responded. unaware of her parents’ marital problems would handle a notice what they didn’t in the beginning: that their par-

the lancer bunch

P

8 | MODERN FAMILY

A look into divorce at East and its effects on students written by Sarah Berger

art by Miranda Gibbs

According to a recent study done by the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, the current divorce rate in America is 50 percent, earning the United States the fifth highest divorce rate in the world. With a new divorce taking place approximately every 13 seconds, divorces are becoming more and more common.

“Other counselors might have a different percentage,” East social worker Rebecca Wiseman said. “But I would say probably a good 60-65 percent [of the students I see at East] have parents who are divorced or are divorcing.”

According to Patty Davis, a family therapist at Children’s Mercy Hospital, the way divorce will affect a teenager depends mostly on the way it is handled by the parents. Wiseman believes that most of this comes down to communication.

Divorce does not have to have negative impacts on their development if the parents can properly communicate and respect each other. On the other hand, she says it can have negative consequences, such as depression or anxiety on students, if their parents cannot get along.

Davis has broken down divorce and its effects on teenagers three different stages, the first being shock. The next stage is denial and then there is moving, when one or both parents move into new or temporary living spaces.

After that is acceptance. This step can take anywhere from a year to several years depending on the situation.

“Communication along the way is very important,” Wiseman said. “At the end of the day, parents may not like each other but they need to respect each other.”

Wiseman says one of the most common issues she see with divorce at East is the students feeling as if they are caught in the middle. When parents do not properly explain to their child what is going on it often creates confusion and feelings of being excluded.

“Its going to be heavy and make it hard to concentrate,” Wiseman said. “If I were a kid I wouldn’t want to be home.”

Age and maturity level also have an impact on the ways a child will handle their parents’ divorce in the beginning stages, according to Davis. If a child is younger, they will be mostly confused and will not fully understand the situation.

If children are in elementary school when their parents divorce, Davis believes they will have many questions about the situation, again not fully understanding the concept of divorce.

Once children hit the pre-teen and teenage years they will understand divorce and outcomes from it much better. Davis says she sees teenagers deal with their parents’ divorce in

different ways. Often times she sees them deal with it socially, talking about it with friends, or alone, spending time by themselves thinking about the situation.

Junior Zoey Gibson’s parents divorced when she was one and then her mom got divorced for a second time when she was 10. At the time, her mom was just starting a new bakery so Gibson had to rely on herself while coping.

“It was a really difficult time not to have either of my parents around, but I made it through,” Gibson said.

Gibson dealt with her mom’s divorce by making jokes about the situation in order to diffuse the situation, making it less serious. She believes that is when she developed the sense of humor that she has today.

Davis also believes that divorce forces children to gain appropriate coping skills. These coping skills can help teenagers with divorced parents later on in life since they have learned to deal with tough situations at a young age.

Both Wiseman and Davis believe that the amount of time it takes to accept a divorce depends on the individual and their maturity level. The average time it takes to gain acceptance of the situation is about a year.

Divorce can still present challenges for teenagers even after they have accepted it. According to Wiseman, students at East with divorced parents often struggle when a new stepparent or step siblings come into the picture.

“Blended families are tough,” Wiseman explained. “Some kids are very open to parents being remarried, but what I see

a

situation

t i l sp

the most is a hard transition.”

Gibson’s dad remarried when she was 10-years-old.

Although she said it was hard at first to figure out where everyone fit in the family, it has become normal for her.

“Well, [growing up] people were always like ‘Why do you have two houses?’ and I was like ‘Why don’t you? That’s so weird,’” Gibson said.

According to Davis, once this acceptance is gained life can start to feel normal again. Gibson feels that she has gained more than they have lost. She enjoys spending time with her friends at her mom’s house in Colorado as a result of her parent’s divorce. She also enjoys having two Christmases.

“I don’t understand how people that don’t have two Christmases get excited for Christmas,” Gibson said. “From my point of view that’s like having half of a Christmas which is no fun.”

Effect of Divorce on Children at East

*This is a result of the confusion involved when a parent is no longer in the home.

“Teenagers either deal with [divorce] socially with their peers, or they deal with it alone in their room just thinking about it.”-Patti Davis, a family therapist

Emotions

^ ^

Preadolescent and adolescent children tend to be affected most by divorce.

Gender

^ ^

^ ^

Age

Males are typically more at risk than females for emotional damage due to mother receiving custoday more often than not. *Without a male role model in the house, it makes the transition difficult during the divorce

51.3% 48.7%

Boy

Child sex Girl

The most common emotions experience by children pulled into divorces: *Anger *Confusion *Frustration *Conflicting Loyalities “There’s a lot of sadness when the family changes or looks different.”Rebecca Wiseman, the school social worker

MAJOR DEPRESSION Major Depression makes it difficult for a person to work, sleep, eat and enjoy activities

DYSTHMIA

HIGH for the

a

SPREAD | 13

HOW to RESPOND

Depression in school is increasing as different types of depression come out of the woodwork in today’s society

LOW

ultimate

BREAKDOWN of of DEPRESSION DEPRESSION

new

12 | SPREAD

ACT is the main skill taught in the Signs of Suicide program from Screening for Mental Health

A cknowledge:

Listen to your friend, don’t ignore threats. It is important to acknowledge signs and symptoms.

Care:

Dysthmia is chronic depression where a person’s moods are usually low, but the symptoms are less severe

Let your friend know you care. Show your concern for their health and safety.

Tell:

BIPOLAR DISORDER There many different types of Bipolar Disorder, where a person’s moods switch between depressive and manic episodes *info from infographicsmania.com

COMMON SYMPTOMS Persistent and frequent sadness Feeling hopeless, helpless, withdrawn Changes in behavior, loss of interest in usual activities Changes in sleep, appetite or energy Missed school or poor school performance Frequent physical complaints Irritability, fighting, trouble concentrating Thoughts about death, suicide or running away

Tell a trusted adult that you are worried about your friend or a member of a crisis team who knows how to respond.

written by Vanessa Daves photos by Jake Crandall Maybe it’s because she’s always cracking a joke. Maybe it’s because she’s a part of “that” crowd. Or maybe it’s because she’s involved in school, has lots of friends and boys chasing after her.

Either way, senior Natalie Baker* is the last person her friends would expect to be battling clinical depression. But she is. She’s mastered the art of hiding her sadness, her self-harm, her utter loneliness.

“There are a lot of untrue stereotypes, like having the crazy thick eyeliner or wearing dark clothes,” Baker said. “People are kind of ignorant about [depression], and I don’t expect anybody to understand.”

Depression can be anything from a clinical disease to a minor alteration in one’s life that causes temporary sadness. The definition for depression is changing. Because of this, depression itself is increasing at East, and by extension, nationwide. East social worker Becky Wiseman sees 30-35 students every week, a number that has grown since she first started at East five years ago.

“Some students I see more regularly than others, and some I see once or twice and they’re done,” Wiseman said. “Sometimes it’s just something they have to process through for a bit and then they’re good.”

She believes the increase of students she sees is partly because she is becoming more well-known in the school community and partly because depression is increasing among adolescents. According to cbsnews.com, one out of every 10 teenagers will battle depression at some point and over 4,000 will attempt suicide every year.

Wiseman said people would naturally expect East students to be happy because of the affluent community and high achievement -- however, that’s not necessarily true.

In fact, these factors may create more pressure for East students. “[That idea] is not very validating toward people who do suffer from depression because people look at you and go, ‘Well why are you depressed?’” Wiseman said. “If you have two parents, a big house, nice car, a good and safe school, then unfortunately people start to think, ‘Well why do I have depression, and what’s wrong with me and why can’t I get over it?’”

As society has progressed, depression has changed. It now encompasses clinical depression, seasonal depression and adjustment disorder.

Depression can come at any stage or any time in your life. According to webmd.com, when depression hits adolescents, it’s generally after the age of 12. Baker first started experiencing bouts of depression as a sophomore. Although things have gotten significantly easier for her with talk therapy and prescriptions of antidepressants, she still hasn’t figured everything out.

While Baker has clinical depression, other students at East have gone through less severe types of depression. Senior Laura Metz struggles with seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that surfaced in the 1980s. Because she’s an outdoorsy person, being confined inside during the colder months of the winter makes her feel a bit of the blues.

“There’s a loss of vitamin D in your body because you’re not in the sun and you can’t really replace that,” Metz said. “I didn’t really realize I had seasonal depression until this year. It’s more overall. Something that would normally make me happy just doesn’t make me as happy. It just puts a cloud over everything.”

Wiseman is a big believer in seasonal depression. When students are experiencing a break in their “normal,” she encourages them to get the basics in order -- a healthy diet, sleep and especially physical activity. Losing that physical activity and the endorphins that come from it during winter months can have a huge impact on how someone feels.

Similarly, it can also have a large effect on those with clinical depression.

“You think everyone loves spring, it’s a great time,” Wiseman said. “But you’ll find someone with depression where spring is a very difficult time for them, because they don’t want to get out, they don’t want to go do these things. And now it’s noticeable. It’s not just, ‘I’m cold so I’m not going outside.’ It is [that they are] now not into things that other people are [into].”

Another form of depression that has had a significant impact on East is adjustment disorder with depressive feelings. With the loss of senior Tyler Rathbun last November, a lot of students experienced this with the loss of a loved one. Social workers and psychologists from around the area have reported an influx of East students as clients since the passing of this beloved student. Although this type of depression is not generally long-lasting, it can lead to more serious forms of depression.

Depression is increasing because there are more types of depression that are recognized in today’s society. In addition, it is increasing because of factors such as technology, separation of families, losses or other traumatic events.

Society’s shift of communication from face-to-face to technological devices has led people to be able to isolate themselves and lose human contact. Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can create the feeling of loneliness in adolescents.

While spending countless hours scrolling through photos and statuses of people, one might get the sense that other people have better lives than they do.

“Social media can both connect us to people but it can also increase our isolation because a lot of communication is done without really seeing people,” Sociology and AP US History teacher Vicki Ardnt-Helgesen said. “By the same token, social network-

ing can also increase the sense that one has a community.”

Isolation can also be caused by a student’s family struggles, such as the increasing separation and divorce rates. According to patriot.net, one-fourth of marriages in the U.S. today end in divorce. Wiseman has seen the effect that the increasing separation and divorce rates have on students.

“In our school I have seen an increase in families separating and divorcing,” Wiseman said. “It has a huge impact on a person emotionally because it’s a change from their normal of one household to two households, with the parents going through their own emotional stuff at different places.”

With the recent downfall of the economy, financial struggles within families also weigh heavily on students. Wiseman has noticed even more that families are adjusting to a “new normal.” She sees a lot of students moving in with their grandparents because they can’t afford owning their own house.

“I think with our economy there are a lot of people who see struggles of what parents are going through,” Wiseman said. “If mom or dad lost job and is not dealing well with it, of course it will have an affect on a child and you can’t do anything about it. You feel powerless. A lot of anxiety and depression goes along with that. Your lifestyle has changed.”

When Baker was in middle school, her dad lost his job. Her mom, in her state of depression, confided in her about her fiscal worries.

“She told me so much stuff a little kid should never have to know and it wasn’t her fault but I had so much I knew and I was [only] in middle school,” Baker said. “I’m not mad at her for it. You always have to see the bright side, and for me it helped me grow up and it helped me understand things better in the long run. It has helped me to overcome hurdles.”

One indication of the increasing depression is that more people are seeking help for it. Local social workers such as Mike Hanson and Liz Christian have a large number of clients who go to East, and Wiseman has options for students who can’t afford traditional therapy. Johnson County Mental Health Institution has a sliding scale for their clients so they pay only what they can afford. Whether it’s talk therapy or prescription drugs, many are able to find a way to move forward.

“My mom always says, ‘Things will always get better,’” Baker said. “That’s why it’s stupid to harm yourself or do something like that. Things will always get better. So I try to focus on the positives.”

HOW to GET HELP

Are you or

someone you love at risk of suicide?

NATIONAL

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444 W. 47th Street, Suite 500 Kansas City, MO 64112 816-932-9908 Direct 816-359-3166 Fax

james_hise@ml.com http://pwa.mil.com/HOWEHISELOWRY

The

TIME

written by Anne Willman

Man

FEATURES | 15

East parent writes for Time magazine from his office in Kansas City

photo by Molly Gasal

T

witter feeds are exploding. FOX News and CNN are turned on across the nation.

It’s May 1, 2011.

People are tuning in to confirm if it is true — if Osama Bin Laden had been killed.

East parent David Von Drehle is doing something else. He is contacting Time magazine.

“I got on a phone call that night, as soon as the president announced [that Osama Bin Laden had been killed],” Von Drehle said. “I said: I’m here, I’m fresh, we got to do this. It is the biggest news event of the year. We have to rush out another magazine.”

Time had just finished two magazines that week for the first time in the magazine’s history, covering the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And Von Drehle, an Editor-at-Large for Time felt that a third should be published.

Von Drehle started working. The story had to be finished in a little over 24 hours and he was the person to get that done.

Reporters around the world began to work — reporters at the Pentagon, White House, in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. Time contacted terrorism experts and gathered sources that had any connections with the mission. Information was posted on the Time website as Von Drehle was getting it. There was little sleep. Von Drehle slept for about three hours from the time that he started writing to the time that he finished. His first draft was completed the next night following the revealing of the news.

“On a breaking news story like that, where you have pieces all around the world where much of the information is highly secret or highly classified, where these SEAL team members who were involved had not been even debriefed fully,” Von Drehle said. “That first rough draft of history is sometimes a little rough and you have to do the best you can and understand that you are probably going back and going back, correcting things and clarifying things.”

After completing this story, he added it to his list of cover stories that he’s completed for Time. Von Drehle has written cover stories on the 2012 presidential election, when the Supreme Court ruled on ObamaCare and when President Obama was elected and named Time’s 2008 Person of the Year.

* * *

He started his career early. During his senior year in high school in Aurora, Colo., his journalism sponsor, Peter Mindock, got him a job working in the sports department of The Denver Post. According to the staff, he was the youngest writer in Post history to write there.

“It was kind of a screw up, when I applied, the sports editor had heard that I was a senior and he thought that I was a college senior when I went in to apply for the job,” Von Drehle said. “By the time he figured out that I was still in high school, he had already offered me a job.”

He continued to work part-time at the Denver Post until he graduated from the University of Denver. He then received a Marshall Scholarship, a scholarship given to American students from the British government to attend graduate school at the University of Oxford in England. There, he received a Master of Letters degree.

After graduate school, Von Drehle wanted to continue his career in journalism. He moved to Miami and worked for the Miami Herald for six years, where he was a reporter for four and a New York City correspondent for two. He then started working for the Washington Post at the end of 1991. While he was there, he interviewed politicians — George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He also interacted with other reporters, one that would become his wife. Von Drehle met his wife, Karen Ball, then a reporter for the Associated Press as they were both covering the 1992 presidential campaign.

“I had just gone to work for the Washington Post newspaper in Washington and was covering the campaign also,” Von Drehle said. “So we would find ourselves on airplanes flying around with Bill Clinton or someone like that.”

While at the Washington Post, Von Drehle covered a variety of areas — arts and entertainment, features and politics.

And then, in 2006, he was approached by Time.

“I had several friends at Time that were very long-

time friends,” Von Drehle said. “We talked back and forth about whether I would ever work there for a lot of years and I didn’t expect that it would ever work out, but then they approached me with kind of a dream job and at that point, I couldn’t say no.”

Von Drehle has not always imagined himself as a journalist working for one of the most well-known publications in the world.

“I was kind of mixed up as a college student,” Von Drehle said. “On one level I wanted to be a college professor, but on another level, I pictured myself being a journalist. When I was younger, that was more of a goal to be at Sports Illustrator than to be at Time, but then I became a news reporter.”

Von Drehle has the opportunity to pitch stories and write in the areas that he is interested in. In his spare time, he has written four books, with his most recent book, “Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year,” that was published in late October.

“I would like to write some more books,” Von Drehle said. “My goal at this point is really always to stay fresh and interesting, not fall into a rut where everything starts to sound the same.”

He stays connected with Time while he resides in Kansas City by speaking to his boss, Michael Duffy about once a week. While Von Drehle gets opportunities to interview people like President Obama and cover historical events, he still remembers his past.

“I have to remind myself that if anybody had told me when I was 17 years old and walking into The Denver Post for the first time that someday I’d have the job that I have now, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Von Drehle said. “When I do get tired of the world, I just remind myself how lucky I am.” photos courtesy of MCT Campus

IMPRESSIVE

INTERVIEWS A look at some of the people Von Drehle has interviewed in his career

WARREN BUFFETT

Second richest person in the U.S. according to Forbes magazine (September)

CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

BILL GATES

chairman of Microsoft richest person in the U.S.

according to Forbes magazine (September)

JOHN ELWAY

former Denver quarterback Currently the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for Denver

BARACK OBAMA

President of the United States

16 | FEATURES

Brotherly Love

written by Mike Thibadeau photos courtesy of Lineback family

Sophomore’s relationship with brother grows after his lifethreatening surgery

S

itting in his seventh hour, sophomore Murphy Leinbach got a text from his mother.

Taking Mick to the hospital. His throat’s gotten worse.

Murphy was shocked. His third grade little brother, Mick, hadn’t been feeling great for the past two days, but he didn’t seem like he had been that sick.

“I knew he was really sick, but it’s one thing from being really sick and missing a week or so of school and then going to a hospital, like Children’s Mercy,” Murphy said, “The hospital’s the end of the line.”

Just days before, Mick was stuck in bed with what looked like a normal case of strep throat. The sore throat and a fever, the usual symptoms. But there were a few major differences. He couldn’t move his neck without sharp pain and he couldn’t stop drooling, something that puzzled his family.

“The first day, I thought he was just totally overreacting,” Murphy said. “But then I saw him the second day.”

That next day, Murphy saw what looked like a ghost of his brother.

“His eyes were so red, he was so pale,” said Murphy, “He was just so flushed, he was empty.”

That second day, Murphy’s mother, Tara Leinbach, took Mick to the doctor’s office. The doctor asked him to open his mouth for a swab; he couldn’t. He asked him to look up; he couldn’t. That’s when the doctor knew something was really wrong. He took a few tests and found that is was more serious than just strep throat.

Tara had Mick admitted Mick to Children’s Mercy South shortly after. Doctors immediately started running tests. Blood tests, white blood cell

counts, MRIs. It didn’t take them long to figure out what it was.

Mick had grown an abscess, an inflamed area stretching from his throat all the way down into his chest. A growth that’s common in younger kids and can kill if it isn’t treated.

The doctors hooked him up to IV antibiotics, hoping that they would be able to stop the abscess from growing, shrink it and then get rid of it.

Over the next few days, when Murphy came home from school his mother and Mick were gone. No Mick to play Gears of War with or to watch some Cartoon Network show with. He couldn’t walk down to the basement to see if Mick wanted to hang out anymore. He just had to hope that his little brother was okay and that he’d be able to go to the hospital to see him soon.

He was finally able to go and visit his brother. Mick was miserable. His veins couldn’t handle the IV, and would pop, collapsing in on themselves, making them unusable and causing him more pain.

“He looked awful, kind of like someone who was shot in a movie and you know they’ve lost a lot of blood and they just look really gone,” Murphy said, “Their eyes are basically the only color they have left; just gone.”

But when Murphy came in, something changed in him.

Mick was a happy little eight-year-old again, instead of pale, thin ghost of a child. He’d be just Mick. He’d laugh at Adventure Time quotes with Murphy and they both got in trouble for accidentally messing with Mick’s IV when they hit it with a bouncy ball. His mood was improving, and briefly, he was happy again.

But while his mood was improving, his condition was getting worse. His fever was still high, his neck was still stiff and there was a red rash growing over where the abscess was. The antibiotics hadn’t worked and they had to move to their last resort: surgery. Mick was moved across town, to Children’s Mercy North, for surgery.

Murphy was sitting in the hall waiting to get out of weights when the anesthesiologist put the mask over Mick’s face to put him under for surgery.

“This is real,” Murphy thought. “This is serious. He isn’t

just sick.”

While Murphy sat worrying about how the surgery would go, Mick’s surgery ended. Murphy wasn’t even out of his seventh hour yet.

The surgery was a success. The abscess was gone and it wasn’t going to come back. Immediately, Mick could swallow again and he was even able to start moving his neck.

By the next morning Mick had a full range of movement in his again.

Mick was in the hospital for another week after the surgery with a fever. His brother was there with him almost everyday. Together they’d sit around and watch “Hot Rod”, talk to Mick’s favorite nurse, Kevin, or even joke about Mick’s other nurse with her annoying, high-pitched voice.

“My mom always told me that Mick really looks up to [me] so much and I never really believed it,” Murphy said. “I never really thought he listened to what I said. He was sick, he was crying, he just felt awful. I’d come up there to visit him and instantly he’d just sit up and he’d just start laughing and trying to show that he was tough and that he was pushing through the pain that was going on.”

Almost every day the Mick was in the hospital after his surgery, Murphy watched his brother start to get better. He saw his fever go down, watched him start to move his neck again and he was there when Mick finally came home.

Not long ago Murphy came home and found his brother sitting down, looking pale and winded. Immediately, the worst sprang to his mind. Murphy walked over to him and asked him what was wrong. Mick panted proudly that he had just done 50 sit ups. Murphy just laughed and high-fived him. He realized just how proud he is of his little brother.

Murphy is back to being just Mick’s older brother. He doesn’t have to come and cheer Mick up at the hospital anymore. He doesn’t have to worry about trying to make it up to Children’s Mercy to see him. He doesn’t have to worry about any more blown veins, surgeries or IV’s. He just has to ask him if he wants to hang out.

GUILTY PLEASURES

MIXED | 17

We all have those little things in life that we do or watch or are a fan of that we don’t really want other people to know about us. They’re the little things that we love, but only admit that to those closest to us and really don’t like to tell people about. Well, here are mine — my favorite books, TV shows, movies and music that are my little guilty pleasures. written by Jennifer Rorie

ooks Nicholas Sparks writes guys that are meant to be my soulmate. And what 17-year-old girl wouldn’t want to read a story about their soul mate?

I know my English teachers will cringe in reading this, but I love them.

From the first chapter, I know that the girl will fall in love with the guy, something will separate them and by the end they will live happily ever after. The first one I ever read was “The Last Song,” and let’s just say I’ve read more than a few since then. Last week, when I finished “Safe Haven,” I wasn’t surprised that Katie ended up with Alex and living happily ever after in her North Carolina small town. I know that the books are cheesy and make a lot of people want to barf, but it’s comforting knowing that in the end they will be together. Maybe it’s because I secretly want to live in the South and have a boy fall madly in love with me and restore an old mansion, but I’m not ashamed by it.

I’m a reality TV addict. I don’t know what it is about them, but I love it. My go-to show is “Say Yes to the Dress,” on TLC. My dad continuously makes fun of me for watching it, but every Friday two new episodes record, and I watch them Saturday morning. Last Saturday, when I watched it with my mom and the bride with cancer ended up finding her perfect dress, we couldn’t help but cry. She looked beautiful, even with her bald head. I do also have a lighter side. Some people may think I’m crazy, but I love “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” Something about the silliness of that family is addicting to watch. They do insane things and are famous for absolutely nothing, but I still can’t get enough of them. An added bonus, is it helps me realize how functional and normal my family actually is. At least compared to them.

LANCER VOICE

What is your guilty pleasure?

art by Paloma Gustafson-Ika

I’m in love with the Jonas Brothers. There, I said it. From the first time I heard “Year 3000” on Disney Channel, I was hooked. In seventh grade, I was convinced that I was going to marry Nick (not so much anymore.)

Their concert here in 2009 was the first and best concert I’ve ever been too. I don’t know if it was because I was so in love with them, or just because I was excited to be at a concert, but I loved every second of it.

Now that I’m a bit older I still have all of their albums on my iPod. No, I’m not embarrassed by that at all. I love jamming out to “Burning Up” or “When I Look You in the Eyes,” when I’m not in a country mood. I even watch “Married to Jonas” on E!, yes, that awful show where America found out that Kevin married an extremely boring woman. There is still the possibility that Nick will show up in a five second clip that makes watching the whole season worth it. I have a pull-out poster from “Seventeen” hanging in my closet, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. I will probably listen to them forever. So, don’t worry my kids will definitely know all of their hits.

Ask my friends -- I hate scary movies and action movies aren’t exactly my cup of tea either. Rom coms (romantic comedies, for those of you who don’t live with a teenage girl) are the only way to go. I know that they always end up cheesy and totally predictable, but I love that aspect of them. I love watching “people” fall in love on the silver screen. My favorite movie ever is “Pride and Prejudice.” Now I know you’re saying that isn’t a rom com, but it has the same principles. Two people who shouldn’t fall in love end up not being able to live without each other. I don’t know if it’s the hopeless romantic in me, but I can’t get enough of these movies.

Whether it’s awful movies like “Valentine’s Day” or wonderful ones like “P.S. I Love You,” I’ll watch it. Even though my life won’t probably end up like any of the characters, it’s nice to live vicariously through them every once in awhile.

SENIOR PAIGE STEIERT

JUNIOR TESSA DJIKO

SOPHOMORE MIRIAM NAWZARI

FRESHMAN HARRY DYSINGER

“I really like Pinterest because I have a lot of followers and so every time I log on and see that people have repinned my stuff, it gives me a little boost. “

“I enjoy watching ‘Gossip Girl’ with dark chocolate pretzels. I do this on Saturday mornings. My favorite character is Serena because she’s fabulous.”

“My guilty plasure is YouTube. I get on every single day. I watch videos of Jack and Finn, Kingsley and Casper Lee.”

“I play too much Minecraft.

I play on the weekends, it’s basically what I do on Saturdays. I can do wahtever I want — it’s architecture and I like that.”

18| A&E

Beyoncé, be my baby?

LANCER Senior professes his love for his celebrity crush VOICE

written by James Simmons

The lights faded for halftime, a fire blazed from the stage and at that very moment, I first recognized the love of my life.

Beyoncé’s electrifying Super Bowl XLVII performance nearly broke my heart along with the lights in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. And quite frankly, my mind couldn’t have been farther from the competition that had just recessed.

It isn’t easy articulating my affection for my celebrity heartthrob, yet that night I felt a connection with her, much like the bond shared between a man and a certain baby Clydesdale horse.

Watching her violently tangled hair flipping seductively and passionately to the rhythm as she spilled out her soul through the lyrics, I fell even more hopelessly in love with her.

Despite my unanswered prayers for a Janet Jackson esque wardrobe malfunction, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing the majority of the kisses she blew out into the screaming crowd that night were intended for me.

Beyoncé first caught my attention with her glistening beauty and vocal aptitude in the DirectTV commercial performing her song “Upgrade U.” Now she taunts me with her songs “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it),” “Irreplaceable” and my personal favorite, “Irreemplazable,” her entirely Spanish recorded album in collaboration with Shakira.

I love her. And yes, I

photo courtesy of MCT Campus

JAMES’ PLAN TO ‘PUT A RING ON IT’

know love is a very strong word.

I’ll be there for her through the thick and thin (though I much prefer thin), I’ll be there when her singles no longer go platinum, I’ll be there when she is no longer the most gorgeous seductress attending the Grammy’s and I’ll even be there for her when she can no longer “Say My Name.”

Sadly, we’ll have to push back the wedding date because Beyoncé’s recently announced tour caused too many scheduling conflicts.

Although the tour bus may not have a stop scheduled for KC, I’m confident she’ll come visit me because everyone knows she can’t have “sweet dreams or beautiful nightmares” without seeing my wonderful smile every once in awhile.

Beyoncé and I have a lot in common. She has an obsession with the number four and even named an album because of it. Her birthday is Sept. 4, her current husband’s is Dec. 4 and her mother’s is Jan. 4. Coincidentally my birthday is Oct. 28, which obviously is divisible by four.

When I miss her too much while she’s on the road and my hour-long phone conversations with her voicemail don’t suffice, I find myself curled up in the couch with tears in my eyes, violently devouring a box of chocolate while watching Beyoncé’s HBO documentary “Life is But a Dream”, that aired Feb. 16.

I mean, I guess there is one obstacle to our love affair.

She might be married to rapping superstar Jay-Z and I guess it could be Destiny that they have a Child.

Honestly, what does Jay-Z have that I don’t, besides 17 Grammy’s, part ownership of the Brooklyn Nets and $475 million? If you check out my Soundcloud you would know I have several Grammy’s on the way, and I may not be in the NBA but I was almost inducted into the GABL All-Star Team in eighth grade.

Beyoncé, if you’re reading this like I know you read all of my articles, I’m Crazy In Love with you.

Why do you love Beyoncé?

SENIOR SAMIE FETZER

“She has a fantastic voice and her music speaks to me. She encourages me to be a strong independent female.”

FRESHMAN THOMAS ALLEGRI

“I love Beyoncé because she has a lot of money.”

SENIOR HELEN PETROW

“She is a mother and still a great performer and gives confidence to other mothers.”

FRESHMAN LAKE GIRON

“I just love that Beyoncé is a single lady.” photos by Hayden Roste

12345

Serenade her with my rap songs that blow Jay-Z out of the water.

Write her poetry, let her see my sensitive side.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, the sun is hot and so are you.”

Bake her cupcakes, every woman appreciates a good cook.

Send her a shirtless mirror pic with my Beats by Dre headphones on.

Actually put a ring on her finger with the ring I made in jewelry.

A&E | 19

SERVING UP ‘A.M.’AZING TREATS

Staffer reviews breakfast restaurants in Kansas City written by Phoebe Aguiar

THE CLASSIC CUP

atmosphere leaves me without the warm, fuzzy, lazy day, breakfast feeling I’ve come to expect from a breakfast outing, the food made up for the lack of breakfast charm. After reading over the menu and much deliberDUTCH BABY ating, I ordered a Dutch Baby. It is a thicker type of pancake that is baked in the oven where it rises and then once it cools the middle collapses and the crater can be et’s just start by saying the filled with a variety of fruit, or other breakfast foods. food was warmer than the atMine was heaped with pineapple, strawberries and canmosphere. The Classic Cup is taloupe, dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied classy. It was stiff and dark with its white tablecloths and with two slices of bacon. It was as adorable as its name, plus numerous pieces of silverware. The red and green menu it had the added bonus of being delicious. I had definitely was the most colorful thing in the restaurant. Even if the made the right choice too, because one of my friends that

L

LITTLE FRESHIE

could find in my house for free, I was in zombie mode.

But Little Freshie made crawling out of my bed mere hours after getting into it worth it. It’s the kind of place I would want to run around taking pictures and then LITTLE FRESHIE COOKIES Instagramming them, just so I could feel trendy (thankfully for everyone my phone was dead.) The wall with the weathered shelves, with Hammerpress cards, local y excitement level was at and artisan candies and other sweets. It’s more of a cofabout zero, getting up on the fee place than restaurant. It doesn’t have tables or chairs, Sunday morning after WPA only a counter with stools to sit at but they have an array to drive to the Crossroads and spend money to buy food I of baked goods and other goodies. I had a blueberry scone and Americano, which is two shots of espresso with hot water. If you think that Starbucks has good coffee then you

M

THE CLASSIC COOKIE

and some tables were shared, which is a break from the normal feel of a restaurant. The small space and atmosphere were endearing and immediately put me in a friendly and cheery mood, which is a rare occasion on PARFAIT & ENGLISH MUFFIN a Sunday morning before noon. After a quick peek at the menu and daily specials written on the chalkboard in the corner, I picked a parfait with strawberry yogurt, lthough the Classic Cup and grapes, bananas and granola with an English muffin. It Classic Cookie have a similar was simple, but satisfying. The coffee wasn’t bad either. name these two places could When I had scraped the last of the strawberry yogurt out not be more different. The Classic Cookie, located in Waldo, of bottom of the cup and the check arrived the price wasn’t is tiny, pink and full of quirky furnishings. The small space exorbitant and I was happy to pay it. Before leaving, I had and crowd meant that everyone was packed close together,

A

Buy the frozen food version

Only if there is a Groupon

photos by Marisa Walton

accompanied me, their food was less than desirable. Then there was the coffee, good coffee is important to me and the Classic Cup had coffee that was good straight black. As good as breakfast was, I could have gone without the $18 price tag and $4 tip the waitress for her inattentive and dismissive service. Overall the Classic Cup is the place to go if you are feeling sophisticated or your parents offer to take you and are going to pay.

301 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64112

have to expand your palate. This was by far a much better (and cheaper), and made the trek well worth it. The scone was also soft and flaky with good flavor. Both hit the spot perfectly. Along with breakfast, I also had to treat myself to a champagne macaroon, because it was just too tempting to pass up, even in the morning. The little blue and white sparkly cookie was crispy on the outside and the inside and filling was soft. Little Freshie was the perfect low key but satisfying place to grab some breakfast or even a sweet treat.

811 W. 17th St, Kansas City, MO 64108

to try a cookie. I mean, after all it is the Classic Cookie, I couldn’t leave without sampling its namesake. After much deliberation, I chose a gingersnap cookie, which was, in the simplest term, perfect. It was soft in the middle but crisp on the outside and had just the right amount of ginger and molasses. The Classic Cookie is somewhere I would willingly return, not only for breakfast but for their cookies and charming atmosphere as well.

409 W Gregory Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64114

I would go again

Culinary Magic

TO KANSAS C-INDIE

BROADWAY CAFE

HANG-OUTS

RESTAURANTS

4106 Broadway St, Kansas City, MO 64111

1 H & R Block Way Kansas City, MO 64105

ole’ indie fun.

HI-HAT COFFEE

5012 State Line Rd Westwood Hills, KS 66205

Just down the street it’s named after lies Broadway Cafe. However, contrary to its name, there isn’t anything musical or theatrical about this little coffee house.

Now if you aren’t a coffee drinker, like me, I highly recommend the Chai Tea. Iced or regular, it sure beats the heck out of anything Starbucks could whip up. Plus, it comes with that brown and white design in the foam that you see all over Instagram. No wonder hipsters love this place.

Before you head out the front door, make sure to check out the information boards. They’re on either side of the door and are overflowing with flyers, ads and business cards. You never know when you might need that Tae Kwon Do lesson.

Down the back alley to the right of Broadway Cafe on Pennsylvania Ave. lies a little shop called Tea Drops. The high ceilings and bright green walls invite you in and provide a cheerful environment.

But besides the gluten free pastries on display up front, Tea Drops sells one thing and one thing only: tea. And one thing they specialize in is bubble tea.

Bubble tea has become the craze in drinks lately with carts opening up all over malls and street corners. The ‘bubbles’ in bubble tea are boba, small, black balls of tapioca, are served in a sweet tea and sucked up through a large straw. So pick one up before the crazed become crazy, and there is no more boba in Kansas City.

If you take a drive down State Line, right past 50th Terrace you’ll come across a small, brick shack — think Snow White’s cottage. This little hut is Hi-Hat. Walking in the door you find truth behind the saying “three’s a crowd.” For a non-coffee drinker such as myself, ordering was a whole new experience. With no idea what to ask for, I stuck with a simple, “Can I get a coffee?”

It worked. They never knew for a second that I had no idea what I was talking about. And after pouring in a good third cup of cream in, it wasn’t half bad. So I sped off to school with a warm cup of joe and a new developed taste for caffeine.

THE LIVING ROOM

THE NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM

1818 McGee, Kansas City, MO 64108

4525 Oak St Kansas City, MO 64111

LOOSE PARK

Theater in Kansas City is great what with companies like the Coterie and the Kansas City Repertory Theater, but if you’re looking for an edgier experience, make your way down to the Crossroads and visit the Living Room. Right off of 18th on McGee sits this quaint little production house.

They also provide a homey feel by seating the audience in couches and lounge chairs, making them feel as if they were at home in their own living room.

Another aspect they emphasize is audience involvement in the shows which may include the actors squirting fake blood on the first row. But the gooey red stains on your clothes won’t be the only thing that stays with you from the show. The performances are shows like no other, ensuring a unique, memorable experience for all.

Some may say the Nelson Atkins is an art museum, but to a hipster, it’s Kansas City’s most glorious collection of Instagram-worthy items.

With so many different rooms to explore and new exhibits coming to town all the time, you are bound to find something new every time you visit. You could spend an entire day there and even stop in to the café to grab a bite to eat.

But you don’t have to go to the Nelson just to look at art. The huge front lawn provides a nice look over the plaza area, which goes perfectly with a sunset on a summer night. The neoclassic building itself is gorgeous, so give it a go and don’t forget your camera!

Loose Park, which sits on the corner of 51st St. and Wornall Rd., is the 75-acre beauty of Kansas City, our very own Central Park, if you will.

Loose is a place you find yourself when you have nothing else to do. A lunchtime picnic can easily turn into a whole afternoon of ultimate frisbee. And with loads of free space to run around, you never have to worry about another group interrupting your game.

Lying on a blanket in the shade of a tall maple tree could be all you need to relax, at Loose. And without the traffic and noise of a place like New York City, our little, big park is the perfect addition to Kansas City.

BUNKER

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY

4056 Broadway Kansas City, MO 64111

3918 Broadway St. Kansas City, MO 64111

At the very heart of Westport is The Bunker. Somewhat of a spin-off of Urban Outfitters, but with more accessories and less clothing.

If you ever happen to stop in, you have to check out the shoes. With everything from TOMS to light pink stilettos, it’s a collection like nobody else has and can easily please any customer.

Besides the shoes, they also have quite the collection of accessories. After all, they are the authorized dealer of brands such as Nixon accessories and Herschel Supply Co. Backpacks. Bunker supplies its customers with so many diverse products that you could walk out with a pair of RayBan sunglasses one day and a pair of yellow corduroy pants the next.

More hippie than hipster, this music and clothing store off the corner of Broadway and 39th St. provides a nice glimpse back to a time where peace signs were the norm and everything was “righteous, man.” With rasta and tye dye covering almost every inch of the tiny, dimly lit shop, it’s hard to keep the tune of “Three Little Birds” out of your head.

Walking around the store the sweet smell of patchouli fills your lungs and there are racks of band tshirts arranged alphabetically. From AC/DC to ZZ Top, they’ve got it all. And don’t forget the extensive collection of records, tapes and CDs in the back where you can almost always find an album to match one of those shirts.

ARIZONA TRADING CO. 209 Westport Rd. Kansas City, MO 64111

SHOPS

TEA DROPS

Dubbed one of America’s top cities for Hipsters by Travel and Leisure Magazine and ranked 24th out of the 29 top places to visit this year by refinery29.com, Join the Harbinger as we review some of the best places for some good

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20| A&E

Walking past Arizona Trading Company (ATC) where Central Street meets Westport Road, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a consignment clothing store or a dismantled mannequin shop. These plastic, armless figures with teased hair and blacked out teeth line the windows, masking the somewhat softer atmosphere that lies inside.

The great thing about ATC is that it’s a consignment shop, meaning you can buy, sell and trade your clothes.

Yes, ATC is quite the little shop of treasures. You can find items from a vintage suede vest to $40 True Religion jeans. It’s a great place to get some bang for your buck with quality used clothes, and hipster or not, who doesn’t love that?

Wornall Road and 51st Street

SPORTS | 21

Slow and Sick written by Morgan Twibell

Athletic Director and coaches look to improve quality of pool

photo by Hayden Roste

Nine State titles accumulated over 10 years of boys and girls swimmers dominating the pool. Yet the East pool has remained the same as when it was constructed in 1973.

Even though minor renovations were done five years ago, swimmers are still complaining that the pool is causing them discomfort.

“When they fixed our pool in the construction, I really thought it was a plus,” gym coach Debra Ogden said. “I thought the humidity was less and the pool water temperature was regulated better.”

Many swimmers, both boys and girls, have noticed that they do not swim as fast in the East pool as they do in other pools out of district.

“Some other schools out of district that we swim in have salt water pools which are more buoyant and cleaner,” junior swimmer Peter Milledge said. “Our pool has high chlorine levels to keep it clean which affects the speed of the pool and it makes it harder to breathe.”

Complaints from boys swimmers about the pool have recently been brought to athletic director Sam Brown. Two members of the swim team informed Brown of their issues with the pool and how it had been affecting their health.

“I went straight to the district athletic director, Rusty Newman, we had Robert DiPierro, who oversees all the facilities, and Mike

Webb, our head custodian, come down to talk about our pool,” Brown said. “We ended up buying two fans to circulate the air flow in the pool area.”

A maintenance worker from the district comes to the pool every day to check the chlorine levels and makes sure that they meet the district requirements. Since the boys swim during the winter and can’t prop open the doors due to low temperatures, they are unable to get good airflow in the pool area. This leaves them with humid and chlorinated air in the pool area. Girls swim coach Rob Cole says that complaints from swimmers about the pool may have to do with the fact that the pool is used by so many people, with it being rented out by club swim teams, used by gym classes and used by the East swim team. The district has to keep chlorinating it to make sure it’s safe for the swimmers. Brown and the coaches have been doing the best they can to make it a good environment for the swimmers by checking the chlorine levels, cleaning the pool frequently and running newly purchased fans.

Junior Jackson Granstaff, who has been on the swim team since freshman year, has had continuous issues with chlorine from the pool. It has gotten worse this season due to the high amounts of chlorine. Granstaff has to use two different inhalers to help deal with the symptoms from RADS (Reactive Airways

Dysfunction Syndrome.) This is not just from the East pool though, it is from the pool at East and being in the chlorine so much.

“We just have an old pool and bad air flow,” Granstaff said. “Our coaches do everything they can you know they crack it and put one of those big fans up and blow it out the window so it takes some of that chlorine out and it helps.”

To fix this problem, the building of a new aquatic center on open land in between the Prairie Village pool and East, to be used by our swim team has been a subject of discussion recently. However due to the economy right now, it doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, but Brown thinks it would definitely be a good move to make for the swimming program.

“I certainly think it’s great that the community wants to build a pool with the help of the school district,” Brown said. “For some reason the cost in building pools seems to go where the spectators want it to go and it’s in the talks, but obviously I have to tell the coaches we can’t promise anything yet” Brown thinks that the swim parents and booster board members would be more than willing to help make a new pool but as of right now, the main priority is keeping the pool clean and the swimmers healthy.

You can tell a healthy pool from its appearance, it should look clear and blue.

VOICE

How is the pool affecting you?

SENIOR DAVID MARTINEZ

“There’s algea growing in the sides and the chlorine levels always make me cough if the door is not open.”

JUNIOR JOE NORDBY

“The pool is filled with dirt and other nasty stuff which tracks it into the pool.”

SOPHOMORE PATRICK HORNUNG

Ways to Not Get Sick in the Pool Showering before entering a pool helps keep contamination to a minimum

LANCER

Pool water should always be circulating, listen for cleaning equipment and constantly moving water

“Most days the air gets so bad that it is hard to breathe and you build up a constant cough too.”

22 | SPORTS

SMS

SME

R I VALRY BY THE NUMBERS

54-54

East’s overall record vs. South

5.2

Miles apart from the two schools

1-5

Since 2009-2010, East’s record vs. South

22-10 10-5 11-5

Coach Hair’s record vs. South

Coach Hair’s home record vs. South

Coach Hair’s away record vs. South

MOUTH ABOUT SOUTH The South-East rivalry doesn’t just end in basketball. Here are other athletes’ take on the rivalry.

S

UNFLOWER HOWDOWN photos by Alexa Young

written by Alex Goldman

With every second ticking down, the fans grew louder. Raiders students slouched their faces to their palms as the Lancer fanatics braced themselves for the buzzer. After four quarters and an extra overtime period, East claimed the 2006 Sunflower League championship over their bitter rivals, Shawnee Mission South.

Among the fans sat Jake Caldwell, a fifth grader at the time. Wide-eyed and wearing his favorite Lancer fastbreak club T-shirt, he watched as the rowdy East fans flooded the court after the final seconds passed.

“It was one of the craziest game I’ve been to,” Caldwell said. “The place was of the walls and just completely hectic. After watching the fans storm the court I couldn’t wait to be part of the action.”

Seven years later, Caldwell will look to lead his team to victory over their rivals, but instead of wearing Lancer blue, he will be donning gold and green.

“It is kind of weird looking back and now being on the South side of it,” said Caldwell, who decided to attend South instead of East in order to participate in their engineering program. “Early in elementary school I would’ve never imagined going to South because of the rivalry. Over the years I met more South players through camps and decided to make the switch and I don’t regret it one bit.”

The Raiders are undefeated this season and have a legitimate shot at the state title. Despite being demoted to the 5A class, SM South has not lost a game all season and are the second best team in the state of Kansas, with East right behind them at third, according to MetroSports.

“They will probably be one of the most talented teams we play this year,” East senior guard Vance Wentz said. “South has a very balanced team. They’re a really good team with a lot of talented guards and big men. Really any of their five starters could lead in scoring on any given night. They can all shoot it and get to the rim.”

This Friday’s game will be the 108th meeting between the two teams with the series tied 52-52. Along with Sunflower title on the line, the game will not lack any big storylines.

Last year the Raiders came to East and had a 24-point blowout victory. The game at SM South was much more competitive, going into double overtime with Schneider hitting key threes at the end of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game. But in the end, East still could not grind out the victory and the Raiders pulled away late.

Boys’ Soccer

Football

East takes on South this Friday in what should be the biggest game of the rivalry’s history

art by Miranda Gibbs

“We all really want this win against South,” senior forward Zach Schneider said. “Personally, I’ve only beat South only one time in my three years on varsity. It would be great to get back at them and beat them one more time.”

The players aren’t the only ones that will be hungry for a Lancer victory with several fans looking for payback against their least favorite team. One of them will be senior Patrick Blackburn, who despises Raiders.

“I hate South,” said Blackburn. “There is no school I dislike more than Shawnee Mission South. They know it and they don’t like us either. The football games against them are intense but you can tell the fans get more involved in the game. This game is all about revenge from losing to them last year.”

With only a little over five miles separating the two schools, the SM South rivalry usually brings the rowdiness in both fans. Vance’s father, Dave Wentz, who played for the Lancers in the 1980s, cherishes every moment of the rivalry.

“It’s really something special for a high school kid,” Dave said. “Back then the community between was more meshed together through summer teams and just different boundaries. Despite how much we interacted with the kids, the games were still extremely intense.”

Before stricter crowd control rules by the administration, Dave recalls several instances where fans would brawl and even throw marbles onto the basketball court. At one point, the police force escorted both teams to and from the games for their own safety.

“We never really felt threatened, we actually thought it was funny and had fun with it,” Dave said. “You never know when you’ll play against a crowd like it. There’s nothing like a gym packed with hundreds of fans and just being in the middle of the atmosphere.”

Of course, with more administrative supervision, the rivalry’s extreme rowdiness has decreased but has not lost any of its luster for those who play in it.

“There’s nothing that could even compare to the EastSouth game,” Caldwell said. “Crowd-wise, we’ve had big games but there’s so much intensity between the teams that it’s just one of a kind.”

With what should be a packed East gymnasium, bragging rights and the Sunflower title on the line, this Friday’s showdown between two of the best teams in the state of Kansas should prove to be a fun one.

“We’re both winning a lot of games and having really strong seasons,” Vance said. “With the way we’re both playing it will good one. We’re going to approach it like any other game and do what we do best.”

Girls’ Soccer

Lacrosse

SENIOR JACK SHOOK

SENIOR WILL SHORT

SENIOR ANNA COLBY

SENIOR PAT SIMMONS

“I wouldn’t say it’s as big as basketball or football but it is an important game because if we lost we would have tough practices.”

“It’s probably one of the loudest places to play. It’s really fun and we all consider it a really big game.

“Because it just is. I love it so much. Life is great here in Johnson County. GO EAST!”

“We always blow them out by at least 15 goals. We always know we’re going to win but still really want to win.”

SPORTS ROUND UP

THE

SPORTS | 23

written by Mitch Kaskie photo by Annie Savage

CATCHING UP WITH

ALEX DRESSMAN > Sport: Soccer > College: William Jewell

How did your season go?

Our main season is in the fall and we did really well. This is our first year where we are eligible to go to the national tournament, because this our second year as a Division II team for NCAA. So, we made it to the first round of the national tournament and that was really exciting for us and really fun. We got out but it was a really cool experience to go play at that kind of level. Unfortunately, I did not get to play much this year because I broke my wrist. I had to get surgery for it. I carried an injury into preseason and then I kept playing on it and it just wasn’t good.

How is playing in college different from high school?

Its a lot more time consuming. It’s literally a step up both physically and mentally. It’s a whole different arena when you are playing with big, more strong girls. The best part about college ball for me is the traveling.

We traveled a lot, to different places. It was really fun because we would always take a big charter bus and the girls and guys team would always travel together. That was fun and a good source of team bonding because you’re always together. The biggest thing also is there are so many rules that you have to follow for NCAA — like when you can practice, how many hours you can practice a week, when training is allowed, what kind of GPA you can have.

What tips can you give to high school athletes pursuing a college career?

Don’t settle for the first offer, keep your consideration open for what you really want out of a school, not just being blind sided by wanting to play a sport there. Make sure they have your major, you should always try to imagine yourself there if you weren’t playing a sport. Keep your options open and don’t settle for the first offer. And go and visit, watch the team play.

Favorite part/ moment/ goal/ etc.?

My favorite moment was we went to play St. Joseph and this is when I was hurt and we didn’t know that I had broken anything yet and I would always travel with the team to back up the goalie that was playing, just in case she got hurt. So, finally toward the end, we were beating the team pretty badly and my coach said “Alex get your gloves on” and it was like “Oh! I’m going to play” and I was able to play for a solid 20 minutes and get those jitters out of the way. That was fun.

SME

“

HARBIESSAIDIT.

STUDENT SECTION EDITION

Alex Goldman Sports Editor

“

Morgan Twibell Spread Editor

Bananas, no doubt. I love going crazy Favorite chants against South? and pushing people around.

SME

Lets go Lancers. Classic.

Has the attendance No, we need to bring out the enthusiasm that we had No, the fans should be as good as the team at games been at the Rockhurst game. Our players thrive off a crowd. and we’re cheering like South fans right now. good enough?

We need to get to know the freshmen How should the The seniors in the front row need to be louder seniors get the girls better so they’re more encouraged. crowd pumped? so that the kids in the back can hear the cheers.

Risky Business Perfect. I love wearing my boxers out in Great theme. Every girl likes to throw public and especially to basketball games. theme for South. on a pair of boxers, they’re breezy.

Good or Bad?

I N BOUND

Two East winter sports will likely continue into the post-season

B OYS’ B A S K E T B A L L They boys’ basketball team is

photo by Annie currently ranked second in state, Savage and will be looking to hold their seeding for sub-state in their next two games. The game this Friday against SM South — although arguably the biggest game of the year due to the rivalry and fight for the Sunflower League Title — shouldn’t have any effect on the Lancers’ seeding going into substate.

Unless Blue Valley Northwest, the one seed in 6A state, were to lose, the Lancers will be the second seed in sub-state, and if they were to make it to state would likely be the second seed there as well. If the season ended today East would play host Wyandotte in the first

W R E ST L I N G

This past weekend the wrestling team went into Regionals looking to qualify wrestlers for state.

Seniors Jack Mitchell and John Reuter were favored to win their region, but are confident they can qualify all their wrestlers for state.

“Our goal is qualify all 14 wrestlers at Regionals,” Reuter said. “If we do that I think we’ll have a good shot when we’re in the state tournament.

The team lost key wrestlers from last year including brothers Blake Hill and Blaine Hill.

The team has had a solid season so far, placing third overall at the Sunflower League Meet. East missed second place by just one point.

“We were top three, so that’s good,” Coach Ufford said. “After graduating a lot of guys last year who were good wrestlers, our guys lead this tournament in pins.”

Junior Grant Hollingsworth and seniors Chipper

round of sub-state and then play Blue Valley Northwest looks the winner of three seed Shawnee to be the team to beat in all the Mission Northwest and Blue Valley state being the runner-up 3 years also at home. straight. They lost only a couple This year at State looks to be key players from last years team the best chance for a team from and are led by Iowa State commit the east side of Kansas to come out Clayton Custer. victorious since Perry Ellis is gone No matter what, this seems to from Wichita Heights who won be the best chance Shawn Hair has four titles in a row. Another Kansas seen to get a state championship commit Conner Frankamp from since East all-time leading scorer Wichita North looks to be the best J.D. Christie was a senior in 2006. player in the state this year having multiple 50 po int outings.

Frankamp who played on TWEET OF THE WEEK Vance Wentz AAU team is @SME_Swimming about to become the all-time 10 straight league highest scorer in the City titles won the League where all the Wichita Wright way schools play.

pic.twitter.com

Jorns and Jack Mitchell all placed first in their weight classes. Sophomore Barrett Cooper and John Reuter both placed third in their classes.

Once at state, the wrestlers will have 16 competitors in each weight class. The tournament is double elimination, meaning if you lose, then you still have the chance to win third place in the consolation round.

photo by Taylor Anderson

Scan to see the results from boys’ swimming at the KSHAA State Swimming Meet.