The Harbinger Issue 14 2023-24

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YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE IS PENDING

Students and their families weigh life-changing college decisions without knowing their future financial situation due to delays and technical difficulties with the newly revamped FAFSA — the government’s gateway to any federal aid for prospective college students

Junior Lincoln King volunteers at St. Paul’s Breakfast every Saturday 16... page 6...

Youth and Government club hosts a panel of local politicians

27...

Varsity girls swim trains to bounce back from a third place state finish

A current event happening in St. Charles MO, according to FHN Today Editor-in-Chief McKenna Hudson

Last Thursday the Francis Howell School Board held an election for the replacement of two board members.

This school year, the district has been receiving backlash for their decision to remove the Black History and Black Literature courses but members of the community hope these new board members will change those policies.

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NORTH HIGH SCHOOL cartoon by julia campbell

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Read an opinion on how Easter baskets have become too extravagant, a news story on the newlyfounded “Lancer University” and a news story on the KC

Current playing their first game and the history being made by the team.

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FIRST, ROE V. WADE was overturned. Now, frozen embryos count as children — according to the Alabama Supreme Court — and presidential candidate Donald Trump has been closing rallies with 15-minute prayerlike sermons.

One common thread connects these political events: the evident rise and influence of Christian nationalist beliefs in politics.

The recent rise of Christian nationalism in politics needs to be quelled before it upends core American values of equality and diversity or distorts society into operating under a Christian belief system for generations to come.

Christian nationalism is when Christian values permeate policy making and are allowed to hold equal value to constitutional principles. In a democracy where church and state are supposed to remain separate this is simply unacceptable.

In a year when political tensions are already high — the imminent presidential election, polarized political parties and a ballot full of hot button issues — the rise of support for politicians actively working to push Christian agendas is negatively impacting our generation’s ability to establish much-needed trust in our government.

The problem isn’t with religion in general — individuals should be allowed to believe in and practice the ideologies of their choosing — the issues arise when these subjective

NATIONALISM

VOCAB

UNDER GOD

The recent rise of Christian nationalism in politics needs to be quelled before it transforms the state of our country

ways of perceiving the world are impressed upon others outside of their community.

Specifically when it comes to politics, one group’s guiding principles shouldn’t take precedence over all others. It is entirely within one’s rights to be opposed to abortion because of religion, but limiting access to in vitro fertilization for everyone because of one group’s morals has blurred the line between religion and government.

ONE

COMMON

thread connects

these political events: the evident rise and infuence of the Christian nationalism beliefs in politics.

Along with having “An Appeal to Heaven” flag hanging in his Capitol Building office, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been quoted saying “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview,” according to The New York Times. This kind of blatant assertion of a viewpoint that promotes the supremacy of one religion over others is dangerous.

The “An Appeal to Heaven” flag was first created amidst the Revolutionary War, adorned with an antiquated phrase from the 1700s. Since then, it’s morphed to represent the vision of an exclusively Christian American society and has been twisted to

Vocabulary used commonly when talking about Christian nationalism

The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against.

fit the ideologies of the Seven Mountain Mandate. The flag should not be hanging in the Capital.

The Seven Mountain Mandate is essentially a prophetic belief that categorizes society into seven core groups and claims that God wants Christians to rise to the top of each of the groups, and from there, Christianity is intended to spread throughout every aspect of society.

Laws and policies should provide equal protection to all citizens regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. In March, a bill eradicating state funding for teaching diversity, equity and inclusion in all public schools was passed by Alabama Republicans. This also prevents transgender students from using the gendered bathrooms that they identify with despite contradicting the core value of equality that America was built on.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump has capitalized on religious conservatives using a blatant technique to appeal to these voters by selling bibles. Many of his supporters are evangelical voters who support him for the conservative Supreme Court he helped to facilitate which can be connected to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, according to The New York Times.

If the government starts to implement more biased and religiously-based legislation, this will be detrimental as it would not be inclusive of all perspectives

and lead to a dominance of the Christian faith. This would send the message to current students that Christians get a louder voice in the government than other religions and denominations.

Young people need to vote against policies that are direct reflections of a select group’s religious beliefs. It’s important to remember the vitality of maintaining the distinction between religion and politics. Even if you identify with ideas proposed by politicians who also support Christian nationalist agendas, take a step back and remind yourself of the slippery slope that comes with a biased and subjectively-ruling government.

This mindset is particularly important for first-time voters, who may be planning to make an “educated” guess when casting their vote, and who are susceptible to be swept up by the same beliefs as their parents or skip voting all together. Now more than ever, it’s imperative to go into any election with a strongly developed understanding of all candidates and perspectives in order to form your own opinions.

Despite the negative implications of Christian nationalism, its infiltration hasn’t gone so far that we can’t re-strengthen the separation between church and state through more conscious voting practices and not letting Christian nationalist beliefs guide our country.

Religion, family, government, education, arts, media and business.

An issue that causes people to feel strong emotions (such as anger) and to argue with each other.

Briefs

THE lancer minute

A video series highlighting photos from galleries and recapping recent events

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Visit YouTube to hear staffer Emma Krause discuss these events and see more photos

ARE YOU ATTENDING THE KSHSAA REGIONAL SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL ON APRIL 13TH?

*Instagram poll of 148 votes

KSHSAA REGIONAL SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL IS ON APRIL 13

THE ANNUAL KSHSAA Regional Solo & Ensemble Festival on April 13 is an opportunity for students around the region to participate in Solo and Ensemble band performances.

Students present pieces to judges at a middle or high school and are rated on a scale of 1-4. One being the best rating, granting an opportunity for students to attend the state competition and four being the worst, according to Alto Saxophone player and sophomore Eli Moon.

“This is our last thing to really focus and work on because after it’s over we just have the auditions for the district and state bands,” Moon said.

The competition is not for any prize,

but instead is something to look forward to and practice for that’s not just what you’re working on in school, according to Moon.

Moon will be performing a solo piece called “Chanson et Passepied.”

“I’ve spent most of my time practicing my piece outside of school because when you’re in school for your band piece you’re going to play at band concerts,” Moon said. “This is more of your own project you work on in the spring season.”

Sophomore Jordin Newell is attending the festival playing a french horn solo, as well as a trio with senior Charlie Muehlberger and freshman Annabel Burkhardt.

Newell is taking private lessons to

91%

practice, and says this is her first year playing the french horn after playing the trumpet last school year.

“I’m excited for the fun opportunity it brings because you can’t really lose anything,” Newell said.

She thinks her trio has a good chance of making it to state, but she really wants to just focus on trying her best.

“If you enjoy band and you enjoy playing, there’s really no reason for you not to do it,” Moon said.

NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY VOLUNTEER DAY OCCURED ON APRIL 6

EAST’S NATIONAL HONORS Society Chapter hosted a volunteer session on April 6 where students created breakfast kits for Ronald McDonald House.

The junior and senior officers along with NHS sponsor and English teacher Melinder DiGirolamo worked on gathering supplies, booking the SME Commons and advertising the event for over a month, according to junior officer Mae Bledsoe.

“I think it was a really great opportunity

for people to gain volunteer hours, but also a great way to support the Ronald McDonald House foundation,” Bledsoe said.

The team made breakfast kits with protein shakes, breakfast bars, cereal and other snacks along with kind notes to give out to families in need.

Both juniors and seniors attended and successfully filled all 250 breakfast bags required by the Ronald McDonald house, according to Bledsoe.

NOCHE DE BAILE TOOK PLACE ON MARCH 27

THE NOCHE DE Baile dance took place on March 27 at SM North planned by North’s Hispanic Heritage Program and other Shawnee Mission School District students.

East senior Yahir Reyes helped promote the event and attended it to get together with other Hispanic students.

“We wanted to host a dance that would incorporate and focus on a lot of Spanish culture and tradition,” Reyes said.

When the time came for the actual dance, Reyes said he had more fun than he expected with so many people showing up, as it was open to all Shawnee Mission high schools.

“I had a lot of people at East come up to me and say the dance topped any school dance

East has ever [held] and we really did a good job organizing and planning it,” Reyes said.

He also said that people complimented the authentic music played, food provided, the DJ’s appreciation for each school and the other fun activities.

“It was a great success,” Reyes said. “A lot of people told us it was super fun and everyone was so supportive. For a lot of people this isn’t their usual culture and seeing them go and experience it was really nice.”

While East promoted the event over the seminar announcements and through Spanish classes, Reyes and his friends also hung up flyers and reposted them on social media to spread the word.

Bledsoe was very happy with the successful outcome and appreciated how many people showed up to help.

This event was also a unique opportunity for the new junior officers to experience what it will be like for them next year, according to junior officer Porter Stein.

“It was a great chance to work with the current senior officers and build our skills for the rest of the year,” Stein said.

Junior Kate Rose said her first introduction to the dance was when her Spanish teacher Christina Calvano offered extra credit for attending the dance.

Rose and her friends tried new foods such as chamoy fruits and candy, horchata and bread pudding. They also learned how to do different dances from students from other schools.

“I attended the dance with some of my friends who wanted to see what it was like and we had the time of our lives,” Rose said. “We danced in the congo lines, ate all the fun foods and met so many new people.”

ABOVE Freshman Junior Board group presents their presentation over the United Women’s Empowerment organization.

photo by katie murphy

ABOVE The varsity baseball team poses during spring media day.

photo by riley scott

RHYTHMS OF THE DISTRICT

ABOVE SM West student Karla Osorio dances with a group of people during the first-ever district-wide Noche De Baile dance.

TOP Reyes and a group of people we were dancing a traditional dance called merengue. “You can do it with yourself or a big group,” East junior Kevin Gomez said. “When we started doing that everyone started to get the gist of the dance and started to do their own circles.”

SM North held a Hispanic dance called “Noche De Baile” for all Shawnee Mission schools on March 22, which the organizers plan to make an annual event

TOP East senior Yahir Reyes smiles towards the camera while dancing.

“I couldn’t remember a time where I stopped, I felt like I was nonstop dancing,” Reyes said.

“Also I think it was a really good move trying to include people from different backgrounds to kind of experience new things and explore new cultures.”

ABOVE Gomez helped plan this event and danced during the mixer. “This capitalized on all of our traditional dancing and it’s a really good way to bond with people you don’t even know,” Gomez said. “We tried to grab people’s attention and get everyone involved. I’ve had people tell me this was way better than any other dance because of the engagement everybody was doing there own thing.”

madden

photo by alex sajna

photo by alex sajna

photo by alex sajna

photo by alex sajna

IN-PERSON PERSON IN POLITICIANS

Youth and Government club is holding their annual political panel with the hope to educate students about political topics from the perspectives of bipartisan politicians

THE YOUTH AND Government Club is holding their annual political panel where local politicians will answer political questions from students in the Little Theatre on April 23 during seminar.

Students will be able to submit questions in advance on a Google form available on the club’s Instagram page, @smeyouthandgov, two weeks before the panel. The Youth and Government Board will decide what questions are chosen based on the frequency of the questions and their relevance to current events, according to YAG co-leader and senior Emma Krause.

“The panel is a pretty unique opportunity,” YAG co-leader and senior Eve Benditt said. “I don’t think anything similar is really offered at other schools [in] Shawnee Mission or otherwise. It’s a really awesome chance for people to have these direct conversations.”

Last year, the panel consisted of three local Democrats who answered the prewritten questions on topics like abortion and gun rights. This year, the club wants to have both Democratic and Republican politicians present on the panel since the club is bipartisan. However, according to Benditt, getting Republicans to come has been a

struggle due to their busy schedules and the fact that the Johnson County area is blue.

“It’s so important to have a balanced perspective at an event like this,” Benditt said. “It’s really easy to say this is a dark blue area so all we want to hear from are people who are Democrats, but you can’t only hear from people that agree with you, it’s just going to reinforce preconceived notions.”

Senior Maddie Doyle plans to attend the panel to learn more about local politicians and educate herself on certain topics. Doyle believes Republicans should come to the panel because East still has a significant amount of right-leaning students and she’s concerned about potential repetitiveness in the session if no Republicans attend.

“I’m afraid that it’s just gonna be redundant policies and agreements,” Doyle said. “Although agreements are good to an extent, when it comes to politics, it can be pretty difficult because people can become really one-sided. So without having a Republican there to contrast the highyielding Democrats, it’s really just gonna be a one-sided lecture.”

The club has chosen to hold the panel on April 23 because that’s when the Senate will be in recess— taking a break in a trial, other

adjudicatory proceedings or legislative session — according to Benditt. This will allow politicians to have room in their schedule for the panel. However, this means the panel will happen at the same time as the Multicultural Fair, which might make students miss one to go to the other. Although the situation is not what Benditt wants, the club has no choice because all other available times are during Senate sessions.

Students will be able to enter and leave quietly throughout the panel to be able to see the Multicultural Fair as well, but the panel won’t have any intermissions or breaks.

Some social studies teachers like Brenda Fishman and Ben Hendricks are also offering extra credit to students who attend the panel. Fishman’s students can complete handwritten notes about the discussion for five points of extra credit.

“It’s really good to generate interest in local and state elections, because those are the ones that really affect us,” Fishman said. “Kids need to understand that local elections are really significant. The local stuff really affects us [because] you’re talking about your roads or schools for the most of the taxes.”

With many seniors being able to vote

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?

in the upcoming November election, the panel will give them more information and perspective through meeting politicians in person, according to Doyle.

“This panel will be influential in who I vote for, and also in just educating myself,” Doyle said. “Seeing them in person will help with the cognitive biases from family and friends who are saying [politicians] not the best’ and actually connect with them on like a human level.”

Although the panel helps prepare seniors for their first opportunity to vote in elections, student-picked topics the politicians discuss will still be beneficial to underclassmen.

“Honestly, there’s no one at East who isn’t going to benefit from the panel,” Benditt said. “I think that the younger [students] can get involved [and become] more wellrounded voters at the polls in a few years.”

TFAIR MULTICULTURAL

Student leaders in the Multicultural Student Union are planning a Multicultural Fair on April 23 for the first time in over 20 years

HE MULTICULTURAL STUDENT

Union is hosting a Multicultural Fair on April 23 with 20 studentled stands representing worldly cultures from the Dominican Republic to the Philippines, each bringing in snacks and artifacts like Moroccan gummies, white rabbit candy and Gambian wooden carvings.

SM North’s Hispanic Heritage Program will perform a traditional fast-paced dance, and Chinese Club will perform a lion dance. MCSU is hosting the fair to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of our community and expose the student body to global cultures.

“I hope students will get to see their peers in a light they don’t normally see and that different elements of their diversity will be highlighted in a positive way,” District Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Kaitlin Shulman said. “That’s beautiful and awesome, and should be celebrated.”

Each grade will cycle through during seminar in the auxiliary gym. All stands are led by student volunteers from MCSU, and each stand will have a tri-fold poster with pictures, decorations, fun facts and music. After making the Year of the Dragon mural for Lunar New Year and designing a bulletin board of underrepresented historical figures, the 65-member club has spent the past two months preparing for the culture fair in the cafeteria.

“We wanted to find a way to celebrate people’s different cultures instead of always focusing on [discrimination],” MCSU coleader and senior Katie Murphy said.

The idea for a culture fair was inspired by SM North’s annual “International Night,”

which mainly represents South American countries. Although a similar event was held at East by Student Council in 2002 called the “Diversity Festival,” this will be the first event celebrating cultural diversity at East in over 20 years.

Murphy and co-leader senior John Mendy secured funding for fair decorations and food after presenting a $2,000 funding proposal at a STUCO meeting on March 6, securing enough funds to subsidize every stand with $50.

“We believe in helping some of the other organizations that need some help getting off the ground and have some good ideas but don’t have the funds to do them,” STUCO sponsor Brenda Fishman said. “It’s a good thing we were about to help them out.”

The MCSU was established following backlash caused by the racial assault in East’s hallways in November, which triggered a series of meetings with student leaders, East administration and Shulman to create a safe space for everyone at East.

“The incident really sparked a lot of activism and unrest with a lot of students,” Mendy said. “A lot of different groups were trying to start their own student unions like Black Student Union and Latinos of Tomorrow, but there’s not so much diversity at East, so we decided to bring all of those groups together so we could stay unified and organize events like [the fair].”

Some stand organizers are worried about how effective the fair will be at educating the student body and how well it will be received. East’s minority enrollment is 15.9%, more than three times less than the national

average.

“Being a part of the East area growing up, there isn’t a lot of appreciation for other cultures and in fact, at times, there’s some pushback,” India stand leader Shubra Durgavathi said. “I really hope that [the fair] is appreciated and that people have a positive response to it because it is East.”

MCSU teacher sponsors Anna Thiele and Samantha Feinberg however, are more optimistic about the fair’s potential because of the quality of the work of the volunteers.

“I really hope that when students encounter somebody else’s culture, they do so with respect and a willingness to listen and learn,” Thiele said. “If East students maintain that attitude, this will absolutely be a success because the work that the MCSU students have been putting in has been really, really consistent.”

Although MSCU and the culture fair has been mostly led by seniors, Murphy and Mendy hope that the club will become selfsustaining and that the culture fair will happen every year, without the need of administrative supervision or financial support. Murphy’s vision is for MSCU to have representation in many of East’s programs, giving input at Student Council and Pep Club meetings and helping plan school-wide events.

“I’ve always wished that there was some sort of Asian affinity group at East or a culture club in general, but that never existed when I was an underclassman,” Murphy said. “Now, even as a senior who’s about to graduate, it’s important to me to help start up a sustainable club to be the kind of safe space I wish I had.”

FEATURED CULTURES

Some of the cultures that will be featured at the Multicultural Fair

BEING FORCED TO sit through 90-minute-long classes four days a week is draining. It’s simply ridiculous — we don’t need that much time in class.

Being expected to not check my phone or listen to a lecture for that lengthy amount of time is simply absurd, I don’t have the attention span or level of interest. I refuse to let my day go to waste when I could be jumping from class to class every 45 minutes-staying focused and constantly on my toes.

I’d much rather travel back to 2020 when three days a week consisted of seven-period days and only two useless block days. I need a change of scenery and moving to seven

different classrooms and walking through different halls every hour does exactly that. The shorter lectures and change of scenery engages me in more than just math class. Feeling the temperature change on the different floors and seeing what mood my teachers are in makes me feel like I’m starting over. Meanwhile during block days, the air grows musty and my eyes get heavy so I have to find excuses to use the bathroom every 30 minutes.

Administration should consider moving to only seven period days. The constant change in scenery might give me the opportunity to be less drained all the time.

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Polls and information about current trending topics in media

COMIC STRIP

Block days are draining and don’t allow students to move throughout the day. TAKE

candy salad

The new snack that is circling TikTok recently is the iconic candy salad that consists of exactly what you would think: candy.

DO YOU LIKE THAT TANKINIS ARE TRENDING AGAIN?

*Instagram poll of 160 votes YES

HAVE YOU MADE A CANDY SALAD?

*Instagram poll of 219 votes 35%

HOOKED

ON CROCHETING

Artistic hobbies, such as crochet, improve time management and

SITTING ON MY bed, I squint to loop a needle around the fluffy, green yarn wrapped around my hand. As I crochet the leaves of a miniature plant, my phone lights up with a notification from Instagram: You have one new message.

I wince as the notification has broken my concentration from crocheting but continue to stitch anyway. Instagram will have to wait, I’ll check later.

Three weeks before picking up a crochet hook and some yarn, I would’ve immediately gotten on my phone and fallen into an hour-long doom scroll on Instagram. Not only would I have completely lost my motivation to continue crocheting, but I would’ve yet again surrendered all my time to my phone.

Artistic hobbies, like crocheting, can be outlets to promote positive mental health and improve time management. Crocheting has become my outlet to decompress and increase productivity after a strenuous track workout or grueling math test.

Two hours and 24 minutes. That’s how long I spent watching Instagram reels each day prior to spring break. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I needed to stop but I never knew how. I tried all the cliche tips: don’t get on your phone in the morning or set screen time reminders, but none of them actually stuck with me.

That is, until I picked up the simple craft of crocheting.

A 15-minute YouTube video retaught me the basics of crochet, as my mom had originally taught me in third grade, and I had my first fuzzy crimson, tiny octopus cranked out in 30 minutes. Since the completion of my first creation, I’ve made a towel, headband and miniature plant. All in two weeks. Oh, and my daily Instagram screen time? 29 minutes.

The decrease in screen time, specifically Instagram, I found directly correlates to my productivity. Now, when I get assigned a long-term project I work on it that same night instead of waiting until the day before it’s due. The thought of being able to crochet another 10 rows of my octopus or miniature plant motivates me to finish my work.

cro•chet

a handicraft in which yarn is made up into a patterned fabric by looping yarn with a hooked needle

The beauty of crochet is the repetitive motion. I get to sit back and let my hands go on auto-pilot while I plan my

outfits for the next week or contemplate upcoming club meetings — crocheting is basically my free therapist.

Crocheting, and all textile crafts, can bring joy to people to clear their minds and fuel their creativity through one fun task. Since picking up crocheting, I can stay focused for longer and stay in a calm mindset even after I finish the next couple of rows on my octopus or towel.

And I’m not alone in the positive effects I’ve seen from my new hobby, or other kinds of hands-on crafts. According to a 2024 study by Harvard Health Publishing,

I COULD PICK UP a ball of yarn and a hook sitting in a rocking chair as a 98-year-old woman or on the sidelines of my child’s soccer game. I can’t say about running a 3.1-mile cross country course

HOTTEST HOOKS

Sophia’s favorite projects she’s crocheted

hobbies that “involve creativity, sensory engagement, self-expression, relaxation and cognitive stimulation are linked to good mental health and well-being.” These feelings of productivity and mental clarity aren’t some fabrication of my mind — they’re scientifically based.

It’s important for me to find a hobby such as crocheting in high school because I won’t do sports forever. I see myself quitting my current “hobbies” like cross country and track shortly after high school, but I’m convinced I won’t quit crocheting. It’s easy to bring my hook and yarn anywhere with me and the activity is inexpensive compared to $250 running shoes.

I could pick up a ball of yarn and a hook sitting in a rocking chair as a 98-year-old woman or on the sidelines of my child’s soccer game. I can’t say the same about running a 3.1-mile cross country course.

The action of staying dedicated to an artistic hobby for long periods of time helps to build positive mental health through releasing built-up emotions in the repeated task.

Crocheting isn’t the only hobby that can reap the benefits of mental health and time management. Pick up cross knitting or collage-making on the side, either way, it’s time we all focus on our creative sides and begin an artistic hobby.

DOT THE OCTOPUS

TIME: 30 minutes

DESCRIPTION: one-inch tall burgundy octopus named Dot

SOPHIA’S CUTEST PROJECT

HANGING PLANT

TIME TAKEN: 36 hours

DESCRIPTION: fve-inch tall hanging potted plant made from YouTube video

SOPHIA’S PROUDEST PROJECT

WASH CLOTH

TIME TAKEN: 4 hours

DESCRIPTION: small washcloth that Sophia uses SOPHIA’S MOST REWARDING PROJECT

design by emmerson winfrey

photos by lyla weeks & molly scott

A BASIC NECESSITY

Feminine products should be available free of charge in all of East’s restrooms to ensure every student is comfortable

SHIFTING IN YOUR seat, you discreetly text your friends a plea for help mid-class. Your period came early, and you just weren’t prepared. None of your friends have a pad or tampon you could use, so you’re forced to craft something with toilet paper or fill out a nurse’s pass, leaving you in discomfort until the nurse is able to see you or walk around for the rest of the day with toilet paper shedding over your newlystained underwear.

Students have to do all of this just because your school doesn’t stock the bathroom with essential period products, free of charge.

Menstrual products should be present in all of East’s bathrooms free of charge, providing hygienic products to students so they can learn and feel comfortable at school.

Paying for materials that you need to take care of your personal business in a public setting is unreasonable. It’s simply a basic human need. Just as schools don’t charge for your use of toilet paper, menstrual products need to also be free of charge.

Schools are places for education, and it’s unreasonable to expect students to focus on a lesson when they can feel the blood soaking into their pants because they don’t have access to tampons or pads. This leaves students physically uncared for, and unable to focus on their education. At East, lack of menstrual products leaves students in nine of the 11 restrooms uncared for.

The lack of provided products isn’t due to the disinterest of students, either. In an Instagram poll of 254 people, 93% agree that menstrual products should be offered free of charge in East’s facilities.

In addition to the physical detriment caused by the lack of menstrual products, unavailability can cause emotional and, in a school setting, academic damage. The discomfort of bleeding through your pants and stress of your peers noticing the stain is enough to ruin a day, and distract from any learning. Students shouldn’t have to leave school due to the embarrassment of bleeding through.

If someone on their period can’t access the necessary materials to care for themselves, they can face health concerns like reproductive and urinary tract infections which may result in future complications. Schools should have free menstrual products because it’s best for the students.

According to the Mayo Clinic, UTIs occur when bacteria enters the urinary tract through the urethra and

spreads to the bladder. Women are more likely to contract a UTI due to their anatomy. When a woman isn’t able to clean herself, bacteria spreads more easily, increasing the risk of infection. UTIs can result in complications down the line in birth or in becoming pregnant, among other issues, according to WebMD.

Scarcity of menstrual products in public schools proves adverse to academic success, according to East’s supplier of menstrual products, Aunt Flow.

Nowadays, educational environments are shifting towards student-focused learning, catering learning towards student-specific needs but wet underwear isn’t conducive to a focused learning environment, nor is it hygienic. Period hygiene is a necessity, just as using the restroom is for everyone else. If anything, providing menstrual products for students and staff would benefit the productivity of students.

To East’s credit, there are two restrooms in our building with free menstruation products available to students. But there are 11 restrooms for femaleidentifying students including the locker room and gender neutral restrooms — we can do better.

According to school nurse Stephanie Ptacek, the current products available in 2/11 of the restrooms cost $150 per 500 tampons. Having the products provided in all of the restrooms would cost only $1650 in total. That equates to only 0.09% of the district’s $1,897,149 available under the Health Reserve (Fund 057), making it not only a feasible solution, but the obvious one.

According to East bookkeeper Joan Burnett, items such as soap and toilet paper are provided by the district Operations and Maintenance Department, which has a separate budget. Because of this, providing period products wouldn’t disrupt the supply of other products necessary for physical hygiene.

Additionally, per Week 7 of the 2023 session of the Kansas Health Institute HB 2009, sales tax exemptions are provided for diapers and period hygiene products, effective on July 7, 2023. Because of this, the price of products are lower, making it all the more reasonable for East to provide them for free.

Considering that these products provide physical comfort and care for many of our students there’s no valid reasoning behind East not providing products to students.

Students shouldn’t have to panic when their periods come early, they should have a solution: period products should be available, free of charge, in all of East’s restrooms.

ABOVE Dispensers like this one provide free menstrual products. They are present in two out of 11 restrooms for female students.

WHAT’S

Menstrual products that are currently available for free and how to access them AUNT

FLOW PRODUCTS AVAILABLE?

Tampons and pads can be found in the women’s restroom by the main gym and in the OTHER BRANDS

Students can fll out a virtual nurse pass and get products from the nurse’s offce

design by maggie kissick

photos by molly scott

story by mary gagen

design and photos by

The girls soccer program held its 17th annual alumni game for former players on Saturday, March 30

FAMILIAR

“It’s great to see [the alumni] in person face to face and let them know that even though they graduated, they’re still a part of the program and our community,” Kelly said.

Alumni

you graduate after you have been on varsity for a few years it’s really fun to be able to play with the older girls after they leave,” Weiland said. “It was really fun to be able to mess around and just have fun playing soccer.”

a

“I think this tradition is important because it’s a good bonding experience for the whole team, including the coaches and past players,”

SCAN ME PHOTO

Scan this QR Code to view photos from this event.

BOTTOM RIGHT The team lines up, bowing to the fans that came to watch the game. It’s tradition for the team to bow after every game — win or lose.

photo by kenna harrington

BOTTOM LEFT

Ashley Koch, Ava Weiland, Emily Mosely and Grace Hastert talk in

circle at halftime of the game. “Once

photo by kenna harrington

TOP RIGHT

Junior Sophia Griggs battles for the ball with alum Emily Moseley.

Griggs said.

photo by kenna harrington

TOP LEFT Varsity Coach Jamie Kelly hugs alum Helen Holzbeierlein as she steps on the field.

photo by kenna harrington

kenna harrington

MASK

Two students recount being in a mascot costume for an event UNDER THE

photos THIS ISSUE IN A look inside student life at East in the past two weeks of school

*photo courtesy of sme band

I WAS THE Lancer in the London New Year’s parade with the band. It was hard to see but I had such a fun time. Somebody gave me a couple of Union Jack fags to wave around and I ran up to a little kid and gave him one in the costume.

*photo courtesy of teddy saylor

MY MOM TOLD me her friend needed someone to be the Easter Bunny for her clients’ work thing. It was funny when random parents just handed newborn babies [to me], and I had to hold them being inside the costume.

FOR THE

Students share what’s on their East-related bucket list

I REALLY WANT to try out for Lancer Dancers. I’m really looking forward to trying out for my sophomore year. I went to my frst football game and [knew] I wanted to do [dance].

RUN A FLAG at a game. I have seen Pep Club do it for all these years, and I just want to be that person who runs a fag. Maybe I’ll do it during soccer season for fun.

CHECK IT OFF

A portion of Nora’s bucket list

Letter in something

Run a fag at a game

Be the Lancer mascot

Interview for the Student Store

Flash mob

Start a club

TOP RIGHT Senior Annabelle Stinson looks at special education teacher Rachel Kirby after feeding the fish in the library at the end of sixth hour.

photo by caroline martucci

THORNBURG JUNIOR

BOTTOM Freshman Ella Siengsukon creates a watercolor painting in painting class.

photo by addie clark

photo by katie cook

design by sophia brockmeier

photos by katie cook

TOP Junior Gavin Baird prepares to hit a volleyball in his sixth hour team games class.

BADGE BEHIND THE

School Resource Officers Tony Woollen and Jeremy Shull’s desire to connect with students makes them more approachable and less intimidating

3 TRIPLE DUTY

1

S2

LAW RELATED COURT COUNSELOR

CHOOL RESOURCE

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

ABOVE Officer Tony Woollen hangs out in the office with senior Caroline Townsend and junior Leila Zotinca during lunch period. EDUCATOR

OFFICERS Tony Woollen and Jeremy Shull kick off every

Thursday morning with a flavorful tradition: burritos.

Before classes start at 8:40 a.m., they turn on the skillet in their third floor office and start scrambling eggs and cooking sausage to put in 30 to 35 breakfast burritos for any students who arrive before the bell.

This tradition started in 2019 when a former student would bring burritos to eat with Woollen and former SRO officer Seth Meyer. After the student graduated, Woollen continued making burritos — and students started showing up and supplying ingredients like eggs and cheese to enjoy them.

“We had to get [a] bigger griddle just to meet the demand of how many kids are coming in [the office],” Woollen said. “We have so many people eating burritos in here, and it’s just a flipping blast.”

Woollen and Shull don’t want to be seen as “scary cops.” Sure, their job description requires them to enforce laws, provide criminal counseling and educate students or parents in classrooms or assemblies. But through burrito days, fist-bumping students in the hallways and supervising sports events, the two are able to push past the traditional scary police officer stereotype to build relationships with students.

“We want the East community to look past our [uniforms] and be able to see our hearts,” Woollen said. “And that’s probably the biggest thing that we do is we’re vulnerable with our hearts. We’re

truthful and honest. And we have a good time being here every day.”

While on duty, the duo makes a point to have fun and connect with students along the way. Every morning, the two walk around the school to ensure that all of the doors are secure. But this task isn’t complete without fist-bumping students in the hallways and stopping inside classrooms to say hello.

“You’d be amazed if you walked with us,” Shull said. “Every time we walk by a classroom, the teacher literally stops what they’re doing to say ‘Hi’ to us, whenever their door is open. Even if you don’t know us and we say good morning to you and give you knuckles, it makes people smile.”

Woollen and Shull’s approachable demeanor has made the SRO office — a place students can go to if they have a pass or during lunch — a welcoming space for mentorship and support. It’s always packed with students cracking jokes with the officers — and that’s how they want it to be. There’s no one in the school they don’t want to get to know, according to Woollen.

Senior Caroline Townsend appreciates how easy Woollen and Shull are to talk to. Townsend started getting close with Woollen her sophomore year, and she loves going to their office to talk to him and Shull — whether it’s chatting about her day or asking for advice.

“[The SROs] are like father figures in my life,” Townsend said. “They’re people I’ve gone to with family problems or other situations in my life. They’re very welcoming, and even though they’re

dressed as law enforcement officers, they’re still humans.”

Woollen feels proud seeing students who started high school making “stupid decisions” end up “making significant improvements” by the time they graduated.

He remembers one student who started high school being involved with drugs and getting in fights. Through mentorship with the SROs, the student ended high school with “awesome grades,” started working out and stopped getting into fights or using drugs. Even after the student was done with their court-ordered probation, they still went in to hang out with the SROs because of their positive demeanor.

“[Getting people in trouble] is the last thing that we want to do,” Shull said. “I mean, we’ll do our jobs. But that’s the last thing, we would much rather work with somebody one-on-one.”

Shull is in his first year at East. But because of the large amount of time he and Woollen have spent together, the two have become close extremely quickly — making them even more successful in their jobs. Shull remembers getting comfortable with Woollen on the job just by walking around the school together or playing their occasional rounds of golf.

“If we have to deal with something, he’s got to be able to trust me and I’ve got to be able to trust him,” Woollen said. “And that’s only built by spending time together. That’s the backbone of why people trust us, because we spend good quality time with each other and with them.”

MEMORIES PINNED

Keepsakes that the officers keep on their office pinboard

GRADUATION PARTY INVITES

SELFIES WITH STUDENTS

THANK YOU NOTES FROM STUDENTS

PHOTO BOOTH FILM STRIP

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

ART FROM STUDENTS

RALLY TOWELS FROM GAMES

The three responsibilities the officers take on

design by bridget connelly

photos by caroline hoffman

story

anderson

WAITING FOR

Students and their families weigh life-changing college decisions without knowing their future financial situation due to delays and technical difficulties with the revamped FAFSA — the government’s gateway to any federal aid for prospective college students

INSTEAD OF BEING out with friends at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night in January, senior triplets Adam, Chris and Reid Minto sat hunched over their laptops in the family living room with their parents.

“Adam, have you tried yet?” Page refresh. “I’m trying, Chris are you in?”

“No, reload again.”

Five computers were open to the same online form: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, that was redesigned this year for the first time in decades.

The technical glitches making the form take weeks to finish — instead of the hour it would’ve taken in past years — were a minor annoyance to the Mintos. A new formula change, giving families with multiple children less aid, has caused more major distress.

But the worst part for the family is not knowing where the brothers can afford to go to college with less than a month until college enrollment deadlines. The triplets have been checking their financial aid portals every day since March to see if their delayed financial decisions have arrived.

“I understand that they wanted to make the application easier, but these changes are painful,” Adam said. “The not-knowing is incredibly stressful. It’s highs and lows — we’re getting accepted to colleges, but then it’s anxiety of how much are these schools going to cost?”

The FAFSA — the government’s gateway to any federal aid for prospective college students — is delayed and strewn with technical difficulties this application season due to a legislation-mandated revamp of an outdated form, forcing students and their families to weigh life-changing college decisions without knowing their future financial situation.

The Mintos had originally planned to complete the FAFSA in October, when the form has opened for the past 40 years, but

its opening was delayed to December, then January. Now, thanks to further delays in processing time, only a fraction of colleges have received FAFSA data necessary for financial aid decisions.

Financial Aid Expert Brendan Williams at uAspire, a national nonprofit committed to increasing college access, calls the FAFSA the “key to unlocking financial aid for college” because it can determine the three main sources of funding: federal, state-based and institutional aid. He says the unprecedented changes this year have caused a great increase in stress for the dozens of families he works with.

I UNDERSTAND THAT they wanted to make the application easier, but these changes are painful. The not-knowing is incredibly stressful. It’s highs and lows — we’re getting accepted to colleges, but then it’s anxiety of how much are these schools going to cost?

ADAM MINTO SENIOR

“With the delays and other technology issues, it’s been the hardest FAFSA year that I’ve ever been a part of in over 10 years,” Williams said. “The FAFSA hasn’t undergone an overhaul of this magnitude in at least 30 years.”

The FAFSA overhaul began four years ago during a bipartisan push to reform a financial aid application that hadn’t been updated

in decades. In December 2020, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act as part of the end-of-year budget, so Williams saw the changes coming and anticipated an easier FAFSA this year. The Department of Education was allocated funds and tasked by legislators to implement a new form using a more modern coding language that doesn’t run on an archaic IBM mainframe, as well as reducing the questions on the form from 100 to less than 40.

“Most of the issues are honestly with the rollout and implementation of the changes, not exactly the changes themselves,” Williams said. “It certainly seems like the Department of Education needs a little bit more funding to make a better product. If we’re passing laws and requiring the DOE to make certain changes, we need to ensure that we’re funding them.”

The FAFSA has historically begun to send financial information to colleges by Oct. 4 and has been due on June 30. This year, the application is still due on June 30, but colleges only began receiving financial information from the FAFSA in mid-March, according to the Department of Education.

“Students used to have financial aid offers by this time of the year, so they could actually understand how much they’re going to pay for college,” Williams said. “But right now colleges don’t have the FAFSA information. Financial aid offers might not come out until from the early to mid-May at the earliest for schools that rely on the FAFSA, forcing students to make one of the most expensive decisions of their life in a shrunken timeline.”

The delay in aid packages has caused stress for students like senior tennis player Ellie McDermed, who is waiting for her FAFSA results before committing to a college. She submitted the form in January and all of her athletic and academic scholarship offers were finalized last month, but she’s waiting for need-based aid to determine which

colleges she can realistically afford.

Her commitment deadline of May 1 was pushed back to May 15 in consideration of the FAFSA issues. Still, McDermed says her stress about college has doubled due to the FAFSA issues, even compared to the athletic recruiting process itself with tournaments, campus visits and calls with coaches.

ARE YOU CONFUSED BY THE FAFSA THIS YEAR?

*Instagram poll of 119 votes

“Two months ago, I realized that all I’m waiting for is the FAFSA,” McDermed said. “I’m in contact with schools, and I need to tell these coaches my plans soon but I’m still waiting for FAFSA. For someone who is a student athlete who maintains high grades, I just wish I was done with this instead of being stuck.”

Senior Ayden Beverage-Calvin is already committed to the University of Kansas to study pre-business, but he’s still concerned by the delayed FAFSA. He’s set to receive his financial aid package in May. But to him, May is too late — his housing accommodations deadline already passed on April 1, forcing him to make decisions about where he’s living next year without complete financial information.

Plus, he’s worried about making enough money this summer to cover both housing and tuition, but he believes that the worst part is that he doesn’t know how worried to be.

On have prevented completing around complete National million this year FAFSA Kansas Missouri Network, access postsecondary helping years, and FAFSA submissions Ivory local schools families

She says have left successfully errors. workshop their FAFSA “My and find most of issues,” a financial consultant. professionals answer wait to I can’t give Another this year, replacement Contribution” formula

Unlike account that are multiple

“If I had my financial aid information, I would know how many jobs I need to work this summer,” Beverage-Calvin said. “Maybe I should be working more now, but I don’t know. At this point, I’m assuming that I’ll be working two jobs from graduation until the first day of college. I was already stressed about paying is making

story by katie murphy

THE HARBINGER design by avery

paying for college, and the uncertainty making it that much worse.”

top of delays, technical problems prevented students from successfully completing the FAFSA. In recent years, 1.9 million students nationwide complete a form by March, according to the National FAFSA Tracker, but so far only 1.3 students have submitted the FAFSA year — a 30% decrease.

FAFSA Consultant Camry Ivory is the City-area representative for the Missouri College & Career Attainment Network, a nonprofit that helps students postsecondary education. She’s been students submit the FAFSA for 15 and she partly attributes the drop in submissions to technical issues. Ivory runs weekly FAFSA workshops at schools where she helps around 30 families fill out their FAFSA forms at a time. says the majority of families this year left the hour-long workshops without successfully submitting due to unresolved In previous years, most of her workshop attendees would successfully file FAFSA in less than 15 minutes. job is to help students apply for aid find scholarships, but recently I spend of my time troubleshooting technical issues,” Ivory said. “I’ve become less of financial aid expert and more like an IT consultant. It’s been really hard for us professionals to constantly not know the and tell families that they have to find out life-changing information. give them any guarantees anymore.”

Another major change to the FAFSA year, according to Williams, is the replacement of the former “Expected Family Contribution” calculation with a different yielding a “Student Aid Index.” the EFC, the SAI doesn’t take into the number of children in one family in college, meaning households with multiple children in college are no longer

guaranteed more federal financial aid.

“It was presented sort of as a name change, but the backend formula also changed quite a bit,” Williams said.

“This is seriously impacting families with multiple kids, especially twins, triplets and quadruplets.”

For the Minto triplets, this new lack of aid is devastating as they wait to hear back from the delayed FAFSA.

“Paying for college is hard enough, but paying for three colleges all at once is tough,” Adam said. “In November, I had a list of colleges that I was interested in, and cost was not on the forefront of my mind. Now that I understand the FAFSA changes, I’ve started to keep a spreadsheet of tuition, room and board and other expenses and have narrowed it down to only a few affordable options.”

IF I HAD my financial aid information, I would know how many jobs I need to work this summer. Maybe I should be working more now, but I don’t know. At this point, I’m assuming that I’ll be working two jobs from graduation until the first day of college.

AYDEN BEVERIDGE - CALVIN SENIOR

The lessened aid for multiple children families is also stressing East parent Beth O’Bryan’s family as her high school senior daughter Hallie applies for federal aid with an older daughter already in college. She’s nervous to receive less aid than she expected

before the switch to SAI.

O’Bryan remembers filing a FAFSA for her first daughter three years ago without issues, but the family has been unable to file a form this year due to technical issues. They’ve been trying to submit since the first day the form opened.

“Over the past two months, we haven’t been able to link my IRS data and account to Hallie’s to submit the form,” O’Bryan said. “I’ve sent multiple emails, many chats and have been calling but there’s a message of a high volume of calls and there isn’t even an option to hold. It’s a loop with no answers that really stresses me out.”

According to Ivory, many families have experienced issues linking parent and student accounts due to the Department of Education’s new collaboration with the IRS meant to transfer parent financial information directly to the FAFSA. Though the change was meant to streamline data entry, she says the rollout has been riddled with errors.

“In past years, technically one person could go in and do everything,” Ivory said. “But this year, the student has to do their section and the parent has to do their section, they’re completely separate. Unfortunately, oftentimes the student and parent are doing everything right but the connection won’t go through.”

Senior Bella Stowe is experiencing this error and worries about exactly how many loans she’ll need to take out next year to afford school. She committed to Drake University to study nursing in December and has been trying to file a FAFSA since January.

“On my end, the form says that my mom needs to finish her portion,” Stowe said. “But on her end, it says that I need to finish my portion. I’ve tried every week, and I guess I’ll keep trying.”

The Department of Education recommends for families waiting for FAFSA results to use financial aid calculators to estimate aid

in the meantime, but some don’t trust the reliability of the calculators, including the Mintos and the O’Bryans.

“When we did the FAFSA with [our oldest daughter], we used the calculator beforehand which gave us an estimate of what would be reasonable for us to pay for her college,” O’Bryan said. “And I’ll just say we’re paying a lot more than the estimate.”

Ivory hopes that this is the “worst FAFSA season ever” and that the form will be improved for next year. In the meantime, as college commitment deadlines approach this May and June, Ivory recommends that students having trouble filing a FAFSA reach out for help through online resources and contacting MOCAN experts for free.

ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE APPLYING FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID FOR COLLEGE THIS YEAR??

*Instagram poll of 70 votes

“Ultimately, families shouldn’t feel defeated or that they aren’t smart or don’t deserve financial aid,” Ivory said. “This is a challenge for everybody this year. It’s really important that students advocate for themselves if they’re going to miss deadlines and communicate that with colleges. We’re finding that most colleges understand that the FAFSA issues are out of our control. The best thing families can do is just reach out for help.”

SCAN ME HELP SITE

Resources for help with the FAFSA and people to contact with questions or issues

KING OF SERVICE

Junior and future SHARE Executive Lincoln King spends every Saturday volunteering at St. Paul’s Breakfast in North Kansas City

ALL OF JUNIOR Lincoln King’s

Saturday mornings are booked. He arrives at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in North Kansas City at 8:20 a.m. with an assortment of family members — always his dad and sometimes his uncle, brother and grandma when she’s in town.

Along with other St. Paul’s Breakfast volunteers, his family spends the next couple of hours preparing, packaging and bagging food to hand out to low-income Kansas City residents.

“There are a lot of people I recognize that come by every week,” Lincoln said. “There’s also a lot of new faces. Unfortunately, a lot of the people that don’t return we see come back months later or [are] in jail. I’ve had maybe 50 people that have disappeared and come back and been like ‘Oh yeah, sorry. I was in jail for a little bit.’”

Though Lincoln can’t solve all of their problems, he enjoys having a positive impact on the residents’ lives by talking to them and providing them with hot meals. Volunteering at St. Paul’s allows Lincoln to form connections with both his fellow volunteers and families who are there to pick up food.

People will walk or pull their car up to the drive-through system at the church and Lincoln will hand them plastic bags of potatoes, eggs, ham, oatmeal and toiletries.

“A family will walk up and tell you that they’ve had a bad week and their heater just

broke and they can’t afford a new one, and you can help them out,” Lincoln said. “You can give them two weeks worth of groceries. It just leaves you with a good feeling that you can go home and be happy the rest of the day.”

Every week when Lincoln arrives at St. Paul’s, the organizers of St. Paul’s Breakfast, Kathy and Trish, greet him with a smile. They’ve gotten to know him over the span of seven years and have both written Lincoln recommendation letters for Eagle Scouts and band leadership roles.

“Whenever I walk in, they recognize me,” Lincoln said. “They go, ‘Lincoln, what’s up? How are you doing? I knew you’d come. We were waiting for you.’ So it’s great because I know them and they know me.”

Another recurring person Lincoln talks to at St. Paul’s is Dennis Wilson — a religious man Lincoln calls “the Reverend.” Wilson often swings by the church to pick up food to pass out around the neighborhood. Lincoln’s dad Scott King believes that Dennis hits all the bus stops along Minnesota Avenue, but most of what he does is a “mystery” — neither Lincoln or Scott have ever gone with him.

“He loads up his little car from floor to ceiling with food and takes off and he’s always got stories about people that he’s taking it to and going up and down the street and finding little bus stops,” Scott said. “He’s just always got stories about something.”

Every week, Lincoln helps prepare food for Dennis to take around the city. Sometimes the

bags include sweet treats like donuts and cakes. When Dennis arrives, he and Lincoln discuss topics ranging from the weather to the welcome sign Lincoln has been building for the Donderdag Cyclocross Bike Park in Western Shawnee. According to Lincoln, the two will talk about whatever’s on their minds.

“Just last week, he came up and we were talking,” Lincoln said. “He was like, ‘You know what? I’m really proud of you. You come out here every week and you work so hard. I just can’t imagine this without you.’ That was really nice [to hear].”

Dennis has known Lincoln for two years and considers him to be like an “adoptive son.”

“I love this man’s attitude,” Dennis said. “I love his fortitude. I love his integrity because he keeps coming. A lot of young boys are home with the video games or still asleep. But [he’s here], and I applaud him for that.”

Lincoln has enjoyed meeting new people, whether that be KCK residents or other volunteers, and says that it’s important to spend time in a community apart from the one you live in.

“It’s easy to get in an East mindset,” Lincoln said. “If our heaters break, we can buy a new one or repair it. But it’s really important to go and see that not everyone is that same way. There’s a difference between the East community and the middle of KCK. St. Paul’s really broadened my mindset.”

past projects

Some of Lincoln’s past volunteer jobs

• Marathons

• Cyclocross bike races

• Union Station Exhibits

• Science City Maker Studio

• SHARE Chair for Pack of Pals and St. Paul’s Breakfast

SCAN ME SIGN UP

design by veronica mangine

photos by paige bean story by aanya bansal

Junior Lincoln King spends his Saturday morning handing out food for St. Paul’s Breakfast with his father and Kansas City resident Dennis Wilson.

Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold — Don’t worry we’ve got both!

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2024!

BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW

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HANK DODDERIDGE

Freshman Hank Dodderidge practices and competes in esports and competitive games of Rocket League

HOW DO YOU PRACTICE FOR ESPORTS?

I normally warm up for around a half hour with music or something and then I just try to play for about two hours to just try and get reps in. After, I’ll look over one of the games and just try to get a review to see where my decision-making is off, that type of thing. Other days I am in a program where I practice with about fve other people and our coach, which is really helpful because I get to play with people who are better than me and our coach helps us with our mistakes. So whenever I’m not in practice I try to work on the things that he gives me to work on.

HOW DO YOU COMPETE IN ESPORTS?

I’ve played on a few esports teams, but never really for a long time. The league that professional teams play in has open qualifers where anybody can play, so I’ll just go in with a few people that I know are around my skill level and try and do well because if you make on top 128 you get paid. It’s not that much, but getting there is still pretty cool.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED GAMING?

I had older siblings who had an Xbox 360 when we were younger, so I was put on to [gaming] by them. And over time, I watched more video games on YouTube and got another Xbox later. It’s just fun that I get to hang out, talk and play with friends.

An

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Sophomore and advanced art student Julia Fisher uses beads to bedazzle the photos she takes

EVERYTHING THAT I made use pictures that I’ve taken. I used these plastic shimmery, chrome beads and glued them on of the people in the photos. I’ve done them by color because I kind of see people match certian colors JULIA FISHER

TO

CHEERS MOCKTAILS

Popular mocktails taking over the social media platform TikTok have some health benefits but don’t fully live up to the hype

IALWAYS HAVE a drink in my hand. Whether it’s a Celsius in the morning, my mandatory Starbucks coffee or a night time Sonic run, I’m always sipping on something.

But most of my drinks are filled with caffeine or sugar — which I’ve realized isn’t the best for me. Healthy mocktails have been flooding my TikTok For You Page, so I took that as a sign to switch my nightly Sonic drink to a cherry juice or a tea filled mocktail.

The first mocktail I tried was the one I saw most often on TikTok — a “sleepy girl mocktail.”

It included tart cherry juice, a raspberry Poppi soda and magnesium powder. It’s recommended by the influencers to drink this around an hour before bed to help you get better sleep and relax.

However, sipping on this drink woke me up more than it put me to sleep thanks to the drink’s overpowering sour taste and the grainy texture from the magnesium powder. Yuck. Even though I choked it down, I’d never choose this drink solely for its taste.

SIPPING ON THIS drink woke me up more than it put me to sleep thanks to the drink’s overpowering sour taste and the grainy texture from the magnesium powder. Yuck.

After chugging a whole glass of what tasted like warheads juice, I hoped the rumored relaxing effects would make up for it, but I was severely disappointed. I felt slightly more relaxed than normal — but nothing I couldn’t get from a cup of nighttime tea.

The idea of this mocktail is more appealing than the final product, especially considering the cherry juice alone was $10. It’s simply another overhyped TikTok drink people make for the aesthetic.

The next day after my very average sleep, I gave a tranquil blueberry mocktail a try.

This one was made of simpler ingredients including blueberries, basil leaves, lavender honey syrup and sparkling water — a focus on the natural benefits of foods rather than supplements. It supposedly relaxes and de-stresses you with noticeable effects appearing on the first day of drinking, according to influencers.

After mixing this drink, I was suspicious of its off-blue color. The first sip tragically proved my

suspicions right. It was somehow bitter, sweet and tart all at once. You couldn’t pay me to drink it again.

After assaulting my taste buds, I was expecting the “de-stressing” results to be equally disappointing. However, soon after finishing the drink I did notice I felt more relaxed and my procrastinated AP Language homework seemed slightly less daunting.

While this drink isn’t a new go-to, if you’re in desperate need of a little more zen during AP testing season, this drink is worth a shot. Just prepare your taste buds first.

Bu•tter•fly Pea Pow•der

Butterfly pea flower is sometimes referred to as “blue matcha.” It is a common ingredient in many herbal teas and is rich in antioxidants.

Finally, I tried the “witches brew mocktail” which is supposed to help with blood sugar levels, along with hair, skin and even gut health.

This recipe called for lemonade, a ginger lime Poppi and the star of the show: Butterfly Pea Flower.

The appearance of this drink immediately won me over with its beautiful purple tint from the Butterfly Pea Flower.

The taste matched its beauty with its sweetness from the lemonade mixed with the bitter tang of the Poppi. Even if this drink has no health benefits I’d happily swap it out with my usual Starbucks.

The “witches brew mocktail” however, should be dr consistently over time to show results unlike the others that give results after just one drink.

I had this mocktail every day for a week and while I didn’t notice any huge differences, my skin felt slightly less dry than usual. While I can’t speak exactly for my blood sugar levels or gut health, I also noticed feeling less sluggish throughout the day or after meals.

This drink is well worth whipping out your cocktail shaker for the taste and appearance alone — the effects are simply a bonus to this delicious concoction.

Going out of your way to try every TikTok concoction you see isn’t anything I’d recommend, but if you’re looking to change up your regular beverages or even some extra wellness in your day these drinks may be worth a try — just don’t get your hopes up.

ENTICING MIXERS

A closer look at some of the ingredients and benefits that come from mocktails

TRANQUIL BLUEBERRY BASIL

decreases anxiety and stress

basil leaf

blueberries

lavender honey syrup

sparkling water

CHERRY TART

increase sleep duration

cherry juice

magnesium powder

sparkling water

WITCHES BREW

boost immune system

butterfy pea powder

lemonade

sparkling water

muni

muni IN THE MARKET

The new Thai-Mexican fusion restaurant in the River Market called Muni is a spicy and flavorful hit owned by East parents

ILOVE THE convenience of restaurants in the East area like Spin and BRGR, but sometimes it’s worth it to try a new spot and explore a different style of food — even if it means driving 30 minutes to the River Market for a rice bowl.

The newly-opened restaurant and bar Muni, owned by East parents Ted and Pam Liberda, is seated in the heart of the ever-growing River Market area and provides a unique mix of Thai and Mexican food.

their meal.

I ended up ordering the City Market Rice Bowl, made with seasoned jasmine rice, braised pork, Asian slaw pickled onion, radish and fried shallot — a dish I felt would encapsulate the food served at Muni due to its array of ingredients

“

Muni takes advantage of the River Market location — filled with concerts and activities year-round — through large windows lining their corner building and an exposed brick interior which mirrors the aesthetic of the River Market.

In contrast with the more minimalistic design concept, the interior showcased ceiling greenery and large pendant lights that add dimension and visual appeal to the space.

After thoroughly admiring the restaurant’s decor and settling into my table, one of the first things I noticed was the length of the menu. With no appetizers, mocktails or desserts in sight, my choices and ability to diversify my experience were limited to the 14 menu items.

I understand the more concise nature of typical bar or restaurant menus but I would’ve loved the option of appetizers or even a small starter to ease guests into

THE CRUNCH

OF the coleslaw and softer rice base contrasted nicely with the beef and various vegetables such as radishes and onions it came with.

without the option of a starter.

The food arrived at my table less than ten minutes later. As I dug in, I was immediately met with an overwhelming level of spice giving the impression I was downing a bottle of hot sauce, possibly cooked into the meat or the sauce. I pride myself on the plethora of hot sauce in my fridge, but this dish was still too much for my spice-loving taste buds. I found myself downing three glasses of water just to get through the meal.

Despite not being able to feel my tongue, I loved the combination of flavors in the dish. The mix of Thai and Mexican was atypical, but they worked together in splendid unison. The crunch of the coleslaw and softer rice base contrasted nicely with the beef and various vegetables such as radishes and onions it came with.

FUSION DISHES

THAIQUITOS

fried spring rolls with braised pork, salsa verde, crema, cotija cheese and lettuce

STICKY RIBS

grilled smoked pork ribs, honey hoisin glaze, spicy peanuts and Asian slaw

The presentation was also clean and well-thought-out. The dish was plated in a simple white bowl with the ingredients separated into their own piles on the bed of rice in a salad-like format with the sauce in a cup on the side. It was easy to mix and in turn easy to eat making it a fast yet delicious meal. At $18, I’m not sure the price was entirely justified but for one night out, I’d say it was relatively worth it.

My favorite part of the whole meal was just how different it was than my typical dinner. The mix of traditional Thai and Mexican flavors stems from the owners’ roots in both cultures and their experience with selling both types of food in their other restaurant Buck Tui, a Thai and barbeque fusion restaurant.

It’s safe to say their experience in the food industry shows in this business because despite how new it is, any kinks typically associated with opening a restaurant such as slow service or a poor interior design are seemingly nonexistent.

Between the comfortable atmosphere, different categories of food and helpful staff who were there to refill my water and check on my table, I’d recommend anyone who finds themselves in the River Market area to make the trip to Muni for flavorful dishes and an exciting dining experience.

Three other dishes that Muni serves

BIRRIA DUMPLINGS

fried birria beef

dumplings, cheese crust, consume, queso

chihuahua and cilantro APRIL

PASTRY PRICING

The prices of the different pastries as well as the average price to expect from the bakery

Review of three pastries from Kukiss Bakery, a local bakery in Overland Park

KUKiSSES

orders where a customer selects a time to pick up their items from Kukiss’s home bakery in Overland Park. Orders are ready for pickup within a day of being placed.

This artisan pastry was worth every cent with the amount of detail clearly put in with the flavor and presentation, and I would definitely consider purchasing again.

I’M A TOTAL sucker for pastries, especially ones with delicious chocolate or vanilla fillings. So when Venezuelaninspired local Kukiss Bakery popped up on my Instagram explore page with a flaky hazelnut croissant stuffed with hazelnut filling, I immediately saved the post so I could go try the treats for myself.

The website’s menu has three pages filled with a variety of cookies, bread and other pastries. I picked out three croissants that caught my eye — either through its described flavors or appealing visuals. The bakery only accepts online

The bakery is run by María Eugenia who was born in and owned a bakery in Venezuela. She says her passion for baking started with making her kids birthday desserts and now she works “to innovate with new recipes that unite the best of Venezuelan flavors with the favorites of the American market,” according to her website.

FIRST I TRIED the Croissant Rose, and it was one of the best croissants I’ve had. The rose petals and pink chocolate decorating the outer half of the pastry caught my eye immediately. The croissant itself had a sweet taste from the vanilla filling and white chocolate on the outside — dyed pink to match the rose theme. The rich flavor and the thin, aerated layers of pastry made for a fluffy

texture that was straight out of the oven.

Each bite had a mix of buttery flakes and refreshing vanilla filling. This croissant was aesthetically pleasing with the flower petals delicately placed on the outside and had an all-around delightful taste that made the trip out to the bakery for a $7 croissant worth it.

Like the Rose Croissant, I don’t regret spending $7 on this bakery item, as I feel for the amount of flavor in this item the price is justified.

I would say this pastry definitely lived up to it’s price. The delicious hazelnut filling made the $10 croissant a great purchase.

$ 7 7 10 10 AVERAGE

$ $ $

On average across the online bakery most items are around $10.

THE HAZELNUT CROISSANT Roll immediately caught my attention when I was scrolling through Instagram beforehand — the satisfying pull-apart video displaying how the hazelnut filling oozed out, and I wasn’t disappointed. Each bite made for a satisfying crunch from another fresh and fluffy croissant.

I always appreciate when bakeries aren’t stingy with their fillings and was pleased to find this croissant loaded with hazelnut filling. The rich and buttery flavor made it rank high in

breakfast treats alongside donuts, cinnamon rolls or coffee cake in my book. It was like a donut between the chocolate-like filling — but better, because of the flaky crust of the dough.

This will be a breakfast option I’ll be dreaming about until my next visit for the $10 treat — a small price to pay for the exquisite flavors featured in each bite.

THE FINAL CROISSANT

I tried was the Croissant Limone. It was decorated with green stripes, topped by a white and yellow frosted top. The $7 pastry was eye-catching, with a colorful visual aspect that set it apart from other croissants I’ve seen at bakeries.

The creamy consistency was similar to a key lime pie creamy consistency similar to that of key lime pie, accompanied with just the right amount of lemon from the yellow topping. Each bite had a balance of tart lemon and fresh buttery

pieces of croissant.

This might have been different from the sweet flavors of the first two croissants but was a delicious addition to what I tried. The croissant itself held the high standard of the others with the crunchy texture with a $7 price stamp. The yellow topping had a pungent lemon taste that lasted throughout the treat. Overall, each

design by clara burdick photos by maggie condon

story by maggie condon

GABBY ROCK

ICE SKATING

Ice skating lessons for all levels, taught by a three-time national showcase skater. Fun and educational lessons for $64 per hour or $32 per half hour at Kansas City Ice Center.

CONTACT ( 913 ) 313 - 9932

preparation is the key to success in the recruitment process contact us: 816-344-9066

SCAN ME

stats

State qualifications made at the swim and dive meet on March 23 SWIM DIVE

all relay teams

Ella Howard

Riley Scott

Anne Bowser

Emmy Barret

KATE LUCAS VARSITY SOCCER review

WE LOST SEVEN starters, and we lost some big senior captains that could help organize. People haven’t really flled those shoes yet, but people are starting too and everything’s starting to be more smooth, which is good.

recap

A recap of the varsity soccer game on April 2

THE VARSITY GIRLS soccer team defeated Shawnee Mission North-West 1-0 after two overtimes on April 2. The game remained tied for the regulation period and went into sudden death. The first 10 minute overtime period once again went scoreless and after a five minute

halftime the second overtime began. halfway through junior Sylvia MohrSting scored with an assist from freshman Lauren Mercer. The team has had a three game winning streak after this game. Their next game is today at 5 p.m. at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex followed by a JV game at 7 p.m. 4

BOTTOM RIGHT Senior Claire

Goettsch performs an inward 1 1/2 somersault tuck. The Lancers won the meet with 1,050 points and less than a week later, on March 29, Goettsch qualified to compete at state.

photo by addie clark

BOTTOM Junior Gracie Tackas enters the water on dive 401 C. Senior Riley Scott was the only dive competitor from East to qualify for state at this meet.

photo by addie clark

BOTTOM Sophomore

Abby Hunt performs dive 101 C, a forward dive tuck on March 23 at the varsity district meet.

photo by addie clark

STINGING COMPETITION

The Kansas City Stingers, a new professional pickleball team, is coming to Kansas City with their season starting later this month

THE NATIONAL PICKLEBALL League added the Kansas City Stingers as a part of a six-team expansion for the 2024 season, adding to Kansas City’s reputation of the “most pickleball obsessed city,” according to offers.bet.

Stingers co-owner and owner of the SW19 pickleball facility on State Line Daryl Wyatt says pickleball’s popularity is displayed by the quantity of facilities and courts around the metro-area.

“It creates a lot of excitement for Kansas City Pickleball and for the club,” Wyatt said.

The NPL is made up of 12 teams and was established in 2023. The league will play monthly weekend-long tournaments in various facilities across the country, which will be live streamed either on CBS Sports or the NPL’s YouTube.

“We’re really excited about the growth of pickleball,” NPL co-owner Michael Chen said. “Our mission has really changed lives and people are sticking to the game of pickleball.”

CHICKEN N’ PICKLE PICKLEBALL PARTNERSHIPS COORDINATOR “

EVERY SINGLE person that I met in Kansas City was just a die hard fan of all [KC professional] teams, So I think it’s a natural ft to have those built in die hard fans for pickleball as well

LINDSAY VERMILLION

Pickleball Club Co-Captain Autumn Sun is excited about the new team and the 50+ age requirement for the Champion-Pro league.

“I think that Kansas City’s a big pickleball hub

and the fact that [we’re] getting a team doesn’t really surprise me,” Sun said. “The [50 years and older age requirement] is really different and that makes the team super unique for the city.”

com•bines

an athletic competition to test skills to identify top player in a sport

Wyatt originally wanted to join the league as just a player, but after talking to other members of the league, he noticed there was an opportunity for him to make his own team. Eventually, Wyatt got on a waitlist until one team dropped out in mid-January — making the Kansas City Stingers an official NPL team.

After combines in Florida and Texas and a local combine in KC last month, the league is set to draft players later this month. According to Chicken N’ Pickle President and East mom Kelli Alldredge, Kansas City has a high amount of pickleball courts compared to other cities.

“Kansas City has proven over and over again that we’re a sports town,” Alldredge said. “[With all of] our professional teams, I have no doubt that we’ll take our Midwest values and support this pickleball team like we do everything else in the city.”

According to Wyatt, the intention of hosting a local combine along with the league-wide ones was to give locals a chance to be on the team and bring in more local attention from players’ family and friends.

When Chen had the idea to start the league in 2022, he contacted Vermillion and Chicken N’ Pickle — a Kansas City-based pickleball entertainment venue with eight locations nationwide — for assistance with kickstarting

NEW to the COURT

The five other new teams who joined the national pickleball league

COACHELLA VALLEY SCORPIONS

SEATTLE UNITED PICKLEBALL CLUB

PRINCETON BRUISERS

New Jersey

HUSTON HAMMERS

COLUMBUS HOTSHOTS

Ohio California Texas Washington

“

WE’RE REALLY excited about the growth of pickleball.Our mission has really changed lives and people are sticking to the game of pickleball.

MICHAEL CHEN NPL CO - OWNER

POISONOUS

Freshman Clementine Gogol shares the significance of her roller derby name

DOWN &Derby

Freshman Clementine Gogol plays on the junior roller derby team for the Kansas City Roller Warriors

THEN-10-YEAR-OLD

CLEMENTINE GOGOL sat in front of her mirror, streaking vibrant hair chalks into her brown hair and painting intricate makeup all over her face. She was replicating the character’s looks from the graphic novel “Roller Girl’’ — a book highlighting a female protagonist learning the sport of roller derby.

Then she laced up her roller skates in the middle of her living room and attempted the complex moves illustrated in the book — usually running herself into walls, tables and chairs in the process.

Now-freshman Clementine applies streaks of eyeliner, topped off with a layer of glitter for all of her roller derby bouts — just like the characters from her book that initially sparked her interest in roller derby. She completes her look with a pair of fishnet tights, rainbow knee and elbow pads and her shiny gold helmet.

“I’m a person who dresses in a very alternative style, and a lot of times I didn’t feel a lot of sports allowed a safe space for that,” Clementine said. “A lot of other sports have a certain body type associated with them and out of all the sports roller derby is definitely a more body-positive one.”

In the past two years, Clementine has leveled up to the highest level of junior roller derby at KC Roller Warriors — the only roller derby club in the KC area. She finds roller derby to be a sport catered to her passion and style, something she hasn’t found in any other sport.

Roller derby is a fast-paced contact sport played on a skating rink with roller skates, according to Clementine. The game’s premise is to have the one jammer get around the rink as many times as possible while the opposing team’s blockers are doing everything in their power to stop the jammer.

“I’d say [roller derby] is analogous to football,” Clementine’s father, Peter Gogol,

said. “There’s hitting and contact, but there are also rules about how to conduct yourself when you’re playing.”

Clementine has been playing roller derby for two years. In 2021, she went to Skate City to practice her roller skating skills but still wasn’t confident enough to play roller derby yet. It wasn’t until her friend finally pushed her to join that her parents signed her up for KC Roller Warriors in Jan. 2022.

KC Roller Warriors has three different levels ranging by skill — 100, 200 and 300. Starting in the club, she was ranked at level 100 and after only a few months at the club, she was moved up to the 200 level due to her natural skill for the sport. She was also offered to practice with the 300s.

A LOT OF other sports have a certain body type associated with them and out of all the sports roller derby is defnitely a more body-positive one.

CLEMENTINE GOGOL

FRESHMAN

She’d come home with sore muscles and bruised legs from training with the older advanced players. But despite the struggle, she learned many essential tactics through training alongside the more experienced players. In the advanced practices, she learned how to communicate effectively on the rink, yelling out to her teammates about what they should be doing and footwork strategies to use when blocking or jamming.

She was even noticed by the other team’s coaches, which eventually led her to win MVP blocker at an away bout in Oklahoma — an

award the hosting team’s coach voted on.

“I was experiencing a dip in self-esteem at that time and I was trying to counteract that by doing the best that I possibly could in that bout,” Clementine said. “It was a confidence boost for me because winning MVP blocker at an away bout feels great to anyone.”

She started playing in more advanced bouts when she was in eighth grade, while attending her first “St. Patty’s Day Smashup” — an event where roller derby clubs around the region play in a series of roller derby bouts.

At that point, Clementine had only been playing roller derby for one year and only expected to play in the beginner bouts. She watched the advanced players from the stands pushing and shoving each other against the sides of the rink — leaving bruises on their opponents arms and legs to win the jam.

Until her coach called her over: “There’s not enough players, we need you to play in the advanced bout right now.”

Clementine’s heart was racing as she skated out to the court. This would be her first time playing against older players in the highest level of bouts, allowing fewer penalties for roughhousing and harder plays she had little experience with.

“It was extremely chaotic and I was very nervous,” Clementine said. “I felt like I had no clue what I was doing, but the people on my team definitely helped me a lot.”

Whether it’s a bout she has been anticipating for months or a bout she was thrown into during halftime, Clementine’s immense training for roller derby allows her to be recognized as a crucial aspect of her team. She hopes to continue her love for the sport and eventually play for the adult league.

“I’m just happy to see her out there on the floor,” Peter said, “I think it’s fun when she is skating alongside the teammates that have been on this journey with her.”

I wanted something original and I wanted something with alliteration and to be something with pixie. At frst I thought of “poisoned pixie” and then I thought poisonous pixie would be better because it implies that I’m poisoning people, not the other way around.

FRESHMAN CLEMENTINE GOGOL

SWIMMING

FOR GLORY

Girls swim aims to place in the top two at state this year following their lowest team finish in over a decade last year with a third place finish

THE VARSITY GIRLS swim team is aiming to rebound from an unsatisfying season last year — placing third at state, the lowest team finish since 2009 — and placing in the top two at state.

For most teams, finishing third at state is a major accomplishment, but for East, it’s only average, according to girls swim head coach Chris Copeland.

“We had lost quite a few seniors the year before,” Copeland said. “So [last year] we just didn’t have the depth that we have this year.”

Team captain and senior Ella Howard believes the reasoning for the disappointing finish was adjusting to a new coach. In addition to having to learn Copeland’s style of coaching, the team also lost valuable swimmers when the class of 2022 graduated. “ We had lost quite a few seniors the year before,” Copeland said “So [last year] we just didn’t have the depth that we have this

year, while normally the team has closer to 20 swimmers, according to Howard. Fellow captain and junior Emmy Barrett believes the new freshman class has added to that depth.

“All of the freshmen have been really, really good right off the bat,” Barrett said.

Freshman Anne Bowser has already qualified for state along with three other freshmen — Addie Clark, Coco Reiser, and Vada Walsh — who had state consideration times.

To qualify for state, a swimmer must record a certain time, which differs between events. A state consideration time is a couple seconds slower than the state qualification time.

The current success of the freshmen, along with the success of previous freshman classes allows for the team to continue to be among the best teams in Kansas over the coming years, according to Copeland.

Because of the larger team, there are a variety of swimmers who are skilled in

competitive team, according to Copeland

“Our team is a little bit more diverse this year in terms of specific stroke capabilities,” Copeland said. “So we’re a little bit more well-rounded.”

The roster has gone through some changes this year with the addition of the freshman, but the coaches are still focusing on helping swimmers who are struggling, by giving them tips, or helping them with their techniques one on one, according to sophomore Natalie Jones

“It feels like everything we do is super team-oriented, especially for an individual sport,” Jones said.

So far the team has had four meets, winning their district meet by over 700 points and winning a dual meet against former state champions Lawrence Free State by 27 points. East then finished in second at the Olathe Invitational, with seven more meets until state.

“We’re just trying not to [think ahead] on

ABOVE Varsity

STATE CUTS

The girls that have qualified for state so far

Varsity

design by mya smith

photos by caroline martucci story

Girls Swim Captain junior Emmy Barrett starts backstroke for the medley relay race.

Girls Swim Captain senior Ella Howard dives off the block to begin the 200 freestyle race.

WE’RE BOTH ON the baseball team. We’ve been friends for a long time, about six years. “

WE BOTH WANT to make it to the end so that we can beat each other in the fnal. That way we can make it even more intense.

MATTHEW YARLAGADDA

MOST KILLS

As the annual senior assassins water gun fight is underway, senior players nominated each other for superlatives via a Google Form poll

MOST LIKELY TO WIN

I DEFINITELY WANT to win. But I think that there’s a lot of other really good competitors and people that are good at not doing a whole lot.

EASIEST KILL OUT FIRST DAY PATRICK FLINT LAUREN GAHAGAN

IVA RODRIGUEZ

I WENT TO Chipotle for lunch on the very frst day, which I should not have done. [Margot Beaver] knows that I go to Chipotle for lunch a lot, so she came in and shot me.

58% OF SENIORS ARE PARTICIPATING IN ASSASSINS PLAYERS GOT OUT DURING THE FIRST ROUND

SCAN ME VIDEO

Watch The Harbinger’s predictions about the senior assassins YOU HAVE TO fgure out what their plans are for the week, and I usually hide in their front yard and wait for them to come out.