The Harbinger Issue 3 2023-24

KILLING

nationwide news

A current event at Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas according to newspaper editor

Abi Morris

Texas Legislature introduced House Bill 114 on Sept. 1, banning vaping within 300 feet of a public school campus statewide.

CONSEQUENCES of VAPING

1

2+ 10 DAYS OF IN-SCHOOL SUSPENSION

STOFFENSE OFFENSE DAYS OF ISS INCREASE BASED ON THE EXTENT OF THE OFFENSE

RIGHT Flyers that are hung up on walls that threaten in-school suspension for any student caught vaping within 300 feet of school campus photo by abi morris

PRINT EDITORS

Katie Murphy

Greyson Imm

ONLINE EDITORS

Aanya Bansal

Maggie Kissick

ASST. PRINT EDITOR

Addie Moore

HEAD COPY EDITORS

Greyson Imm

Aanya Bansal

ASST. HEAD COPY EDITOR

Ada Lillie Worthington

HEAD PHOTO EDITORS

Riley Scott

Liv Madden

Kenna Harrington

ASST. PHOTO EDITORS

Caroline Martucci

Clara Peters

Amelie Wong

PHOTO MENTORS

Ryan Dehan

Molly Miller

Paige Bean

VIDEO EDITORS

Abby Lee

Ryder Hendon

DESIGN EDITORS

Veronica Mangine

Bridget Connelly

PODCAST EDITOR

Emma Krause

ART EDITOR

Bridget Connelly

THE RIDER ONLINE

LEGACY HIGH SCHOOL

MANSFIELD, TX

SCAN ME WEBSITE

Visit the Rider Online’s story about House Bill 114

online preview

design by addie moore

cover design by katie murphy

cover photo by liv madden

A look at stories exclusively on the website

SCAN ME WEBSITE

Read a news story about students who received scam emails and view a gallery over the Social Skills retreat to TimberRidge Adventure Center

political cartoon

ASST. ART EDITOR

Caroline Daniels

EQUIPMENT MANAGER

Mason Sajna

MULTIMEDIA STAFF

Mary Gagen

Luke Beil

Paige Bean

Ryan Dehan

Mason Sajna

Alex Sajna

Emma Krause

Preston Hooker

Luciana Mendy

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Mason Sajna

Alex Sajna

Will Griffith

Maggie Condon

STAFF ARTISTS

Larkin Brundige

Kai McPhail

Lorelei Galles

Zane Laing

Will Griffith

ONLINE POST MANAGERS

Sophia Brockmeier

Mary Gagen

Connor Vogel

PRINT SECTION EDITORS

EDITORIAL | Caroline Daniels

NEWS | Libby Marsh

FEATURE | Veronica Mangine

SPORTS | Isabel Baldassaro

OPINION | Kai McPhail

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Maggie Kissick

Bridget Connelly

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Isabel Balsassaro

Avery Anderson

COPY EDITORS

Katie Murphy

Greyson Imm

Maggie Kissick

Aanya Bansal

Ada Lillie Worthington

Addie Moore

Emmerson Winfrey

Libby Marsh

David Allegri

Sophia Brockmeier

Larkin Brundige

Lucy Wolf

STAFF WRITERS

Mary Gagen

Connor Vogel

Libby Marsh

Isabel Baldassaro

Maggie Condon

Luke Beil

Christian Gooley

Neva Hudson

Avery Anderson

Lyla Weeks

Preston Hooker

PAGE DESIGNERS

Emmerson Winfrey

Zane Laing

Avery Anderson

Kai McPhail

Sophia Brockmeier

Lyla Weeks

Clara Burdick

Sydney Eck

Lucy Stephens

Lorelei Galles

SOCIAL MEDIA:

SME Harbinger

The Harbinger

story by kai mcphail

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger staff. Signed columns published in the Harbinger express the writer’s personal opinion. The content and opinions of the Harbinger do not represent the student body, faculty, administration or Shawnee Mission School District. The Harbinger will not share any unpublished content, but quotes material may be con rmed with the sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content thought letters may be edited for clarity, length or mechanics. Letters should be sent to Room 400 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com.

ARTIFICIAL ESSAYS

College essays shouldn’t be abolished despite the growing advancements of artificial intelligence

CHAT GPT CAN write English essays, historical analysis, synthesize sources and even compose music. Some say the next device AI will take over is college essays — rendering them obsolete in a realm of new technology that allows any student to forge an immense personal statement.

But college essays are an essential part of the college admissions process, and they shouldn’t go away just because of the creation of AI. While some universities haven’t made direct policies addressing the use of AI in college essays, others have implied that AI shouldn’t be incorporated into a final draft.

According to The New York Times, the University of Michigan Law School has guidelines that state “applicants ought not use ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools as part of their drafting process.”

College essays provide an opportunity for high school students to describe their background — such as past experiences that have shaped the way they learn or build friendships. Without essays, there’d be no way to differentiate applicants’ personalities aside from quantitative information in emotionless transcripts and number of service hours.

Writing a college essay uses individuality, topics are specific to a person. Grades and ACT scores don’t offer what a personalized essay can. If essays are completely cut-out of the process, an application is simply numbers on a page.

For instance, if a student has struggled in school due to dealing with depression, a college essay gives

a chance to address that. Students can explain a significant drop in grades their sophomore year because they spent more time at the hospital with a relative with cancer than in math class.

Each personalized essay with real-life details can’t be replicated by AI that currently has to be trained on pre-existing writing. As of now, AI is unable to formulate entirely original messages and requires inspiration.

39% of students at East have used an AI powered tool at least once, according to an Instagram poll of 198 votes. The goal of AI is to produce an answer or writing that resembles what a human would — something that requires emotion.

However, just because you enter a few words describing who you are to AI — that doesn’t make anything personal. It’s creating a false sense of how you describe yourself and present yourself as a student. Using AI makes it effortless to create a false personality through your essay — your writing should be about the true version of you, not what a robot comes up with for you.

Plus, choosing to use AI for a college essay runs the risk of being blacklisted from colleges. The main Common App essay specifically is submitted to multiple colleges, so using AI could backfire to multiple potential schools at once.

This risk should be reason enough to shy students away from plagiarism while applying and renders abolishing college essays as a whole an overlyextreme measure. AI checkers like OpenAI Text Classifier and GPTZero have been shown to work 98% of the time, according to Turnitin.

Abolishing college essays would harm students too.

FOR: 8 AGAINST: 1

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.

The purpose of colleges is to educate students, and writing college essays — though awkward and not fun to some — is an important coming-of-age rite of passage for seniors. By hyper-focusing on what makes them unique, each student gains valuable insight into their personality and life goals before starting college.

As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, colleges should regularly reconsider whether essays remain a relevant part of admissions.

If ChatGPT can write nuanced essays with metaphors and greater themes behind compelling passions for math, literature or science, then the college essay should be abolished.

Though, AI is not advanced enough to warrant trashing college essays all together. College essays give students the chance to individualize their writing and describe who you are as a person — instead of a robot doing it for you.

PROS CONS &

Reasons why college essays should and shouldn’t be abolished

- Writing essays is a learning opportunity for students

- Personal essays share important information for admissions of cers

- AI can write essays for students

- Technology will keep improving

- AI checkers don’t always work

KEEP ESSAYS ABOLISH ESSAYS

Briefs . . .

smeharbinger.net/category/news

NEW FASFA RULE CHANGES AID FOR FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE KIDS IN COLLEGE

FREE APPLICATION FOR Federal Student Aid has implemented a new Student Aid Index system to calculate college student loans which will no longer provide increased financial aid for families with multiple children in college. This new system will go into effect in the 2024-2025 school year.

stu dent aid in dex

Under the previous calculation formula — Expected Family Contribution — the amount a family was calculated to be able to pay was cut in half depending on how many kids they had in college at the same time. For example, a family who could pay $10,000 in tuition, if they have a second child enter college while the first is still in it, that amount would be

cut to $5,000 for both students. With the new rules, all children will receive the same aid, regardless of how many siblings they have in college.

About one-third of U.S. college students also have a sibling in college, according to Brookings.edu. Many families at East make up this onethird, including the Lindbergs. The family has eight kids, five of whom will be in college at the same time.

“I absolutely think that the qualification of [aid for multiple children in college] needs to be rethought,” The father Derek Lindberg said. “For anyone in that situation, unless you’re just independently wealthy, five college tuitions at one time is scary.”

One reason for this change is as college tuition prices have increased, many families budget and find ways to afford it. FAFSA claims this makes it unfair to give more aid to families with

multiple kids in college at once but not to families with multiple children further apart, according to The New York Times.

The new system is aimed to simplify the process of applying and includes the benefit of hiding some of a family’s income from the calculation — causing their income to appear lower and lead to an increased eligibility for grants.

But for students like junior Anna Joyce, the changes will cause more harm than good. Joyce will be in college at the same time as her brother and says the change has added stress to her college choice and post-college debt plans.

“It will definitely affect how my family looks at money and colleges,” Joyce said. “It’ll also change how we look at our future and what we have to work towards-debt wise.”

MULTIPLE CVS LOCATIONS CLOSE AFTER EMPLOYEE STRIKE

AT LEAST 12 of Kansas City’s Target-based CVS locations closed Sept. 21 and 22 due to mass numbers of pharmacists calling in sick as a form of strike.

The reason behind this is to protest recent corporate decisions within the company. These include cutting the number of hours a week a pharmacist can have a technician — a pharmacist’s assistant — on hand, according to The Kansas City Star. The stores are open 64 hours per week and are only allowed a technician for 20 of those hours, meaning pharmacists are filling prescriptions, taking calls, talking to doctors or caring for walkups with no help.

Many CVS’s located within Targets are also mandating workers to go help at stand-

alone CVS locations. The pharmacist’s increased load of work has led to more errors.

Angela Summers*, a worker at one of the closed stores believes this issue should be an easy fix.

“The workers are simply protesting unfair working conditions,” Summers said. “They’re not asking for anything that would put the company out.”

For Target location employees, being pulled to other stores can look like driving all the way to Columbia, Missouri where they’re months behind in vaccines and prescriptions. Since the Target locations are more successful than stand-alones these movements are to help backed up stores get caught up.

Some locations report having one pharmacist working an entire store, according to KCTV5. The pharmacists have no intention of ending their strike until the issues are fixed. All closed locations reopened on the 23, Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS, told Supermarket News as she did not respond to our request to comment.

*names changed to protect identity

The measure of a family’s financial ability to pay for college

PLAZA

COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA employees, including East parents, worry about the safety of the entertainment district following shootings on Aug. 25 and Sept. 2 on the Plaza.

Reckless street behavior, violent crimes, theft and vacant buildings contribute to the unsafe environment the Plaza has become, according to East parent and lawyer on the Northwest side of the Plaza Jared Rose.

Rose’s office building has been broken into twice in the 11 years he has worked there. Ten years ago a thief stole his computer and this summer a pack of cigars was stolen off of his co-worker’s desk.

“I’m like ‘What are you doing? You’re committing a felony just to take some cigars,’” Rose said. East mom and employee who works near the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain Lisa Rasmussen has experienced oddities in proximity to her workplace — including seeing naked men on the street and one of her co-workers having a piece of wood thrown at her face.

“I don’t feel like I see a lot of security officers or police officers,” Rasmussen said. “Hopefully, that’s something that’s getting ramped up because I don’t

feel as safe as I did, and I’ve been working down there for 23 years.”

Plaza Security declined to comment on the safety conditions.

On Aug. 25, an armed man came into JD Sports with the intent to shoplift. While leaving the store with stolen merchandise, a 17-year-old employee tried to stop him — the employee was shot and suffered from non-life-threatening injuries.

Eight days later on Sept. 2, a juvenile standing outside of Shake Shack was shot in the leg in a driveby shooting.

Kansas City, Missouri police officer Alayna Gonzalez believes these shootings are being highlighted in the media more than shootings in other areas because the Plaza is a popular tourist and family destination.

“[A lot of] people go there,” Gonzalez said. “The Ritz Carlton used to be there, baseball teams stay there. There’s all kinds of things that bring a majority of people into that area.”

The Spanish-styled shopping center has been a popular place for families and shopping since it opened in 1929, currently housing large businesses such as Urban Outfitters, Nike, Capitol Grille and

over 150 other shops and restaurants. In an Instagram poll of 238 students, 80% said they enjoy going to the Plaza.

According to crimegrade.org, the West Plaza district received a “D,” on a scale of A-F, property crime as well as scoring in the 16th percentile for safety for an average U.S. neighborhood. The South Plaza district received a “F” for total crime and the property crime rate is 5% higher than the national average.

Gonzalez believes offenders are more likely to commit a felony without guaranteed jail time. And the KCMO Police Department doesn’t have a jail. In order to hold someone prosecuted in the area, they have to be sent to Johnson or Vernon County to be incarcerated. Most criminals are let out on bonds until their court date.

The increase in crime is also closely associated with the increase in vacant businesses, according to Gonzalez.

The Plaza was sold to Taubman Centers and The Macerich Company in early 2016 for $660 million, which contributed to the problem of vacant buildings. According to The Kansas City Star, the companies were in default on $295 million from the original

Due to recent events, Country Club Plaza employees have questioned the area’s safety

loan taken out for the sale in May of this year. The companies’ debt caused the rent of businesses on the Plaza to increase, making it harder for businesses to stay there.

“If you have no empty storefronts, and they were getting better revenue, [Plaza officials] could spend a little more on security,” Rose said.

Since 2020, the Plaza has lost many of its large corporations such as Victoria’s Secret and Foot Locker, along with Nordstrom which was planning to build a store in a three-acre lot on the west side of the Plaza — leaving a large hole in the shopping center.

According to Gonzalez, the police department has taken measures to ensure the safety of the Plaza — off-duty officers on weekends, extra patrol units and security cameras watching every inch of the area — to ensure safety for all of the families who frequent it.

“Vacant businesses attract the wrong kind of attention because there’s not as many people that are coming down there for the right reasons,” Gonzalez said. “If you’re wanting to go do something that you’re not supposed to do, where are you going to go? You’re going to go where you don’t want to get caught.”

design by avery anderson

photo by clara peters

story by addie moore THE HARBINGER

story by aanya bansal

photos by molly miller & gia tuso

RECAP

Students from other schools reveal why they attended the conference and what they learned

StuConnections

East Student Council hosted their first KSHSAA conference giving StuCo members a chance to discuss ideas and connect with others from schools in Eastern Kansas

BONNER SPRINGS

EXCEL GRAY SOPHOMORE PRESIDENT

NOT EVERYONE IN our student council was able to go to the conference so I took notes and I’m going take what I learned here to my student council so we can learn how to become better as a group.

KIAHNNA MERZ

FRESHMAN REP EUDORA

EAST HOSTED ITS first annual Kansas State High School Activities Association Student Council Regional Conference on Sept. 18. Over 30 schools and 670 middle and high school students attended the conference which provided a space for StuCo members from across the state to exchange ideas with fellow student government enthusiasts.

Mostly planned by StuCo sponsor and history teacher Brenda Fishman, the hippie-themed conference — involving colorful tablecloths, napkins and T-shirts — lasted four hours and took place in the main gym, auditorium and commons.

“We had to figure out all the registration, what activities to do and what food we were going to get,” senior and Student Body President Jack Kessler said. “The majority of that credit goes to Ms. Fishman who spent a lot of time coordinating with KSHSAA, doing all the registration and directing all the StuCo members who came in on their own time to set up decorations.”

I ATTENDED TO learn more about how to be a better leader and to bring new things to my school.

MELISSA DIAZ

SHAWNEE MISSION WEST

SENIOR EXEC

Freshman Class President Braxton Jeffrey was assigned to direct incoming buses and vans to the Mission Road Bible Church down the street from East. The normal parking lots was filled with student and teacher cars because all nonStuCo students were attending classes as usual.

“I was holding the ‘park here’ sign playing ‘Pump Up The Jam,’ and I was just dancing the whole time for 45 minutes,” Jeffrey said.

I WAS LOOKING forward to meeting people and getting more ideas because we really need help with getting students involved in our spirit weeks and all that.

Other StuCo members were stationed outside the gym entrance with the cheerleaders and band to greet the visitors. Blue Valley Northwest senior and Student Body President Saraphina Wambi was impressed with East’s warm welcome.

“It was cool to see how interested East’s student government was to just say ‘Hi’ to us right off the bat,” Wambi said.

The StuCo Execs and Sophomore President Paige Bean called local grocery

stores asking if they would donate food to East for the conference, but Bean was the only one that managed to get a response. She called the Price Chopper on 95th and Mission, and they told her they’d donate 30 bananas. However when Bean went to collect the bananas the night before the conference, they had way more than that ready for pick up.

“I guess they wrote down the 600 students that were coming and somewhere in between it got lost in communication, and I ended up with 600 bananas,” Bean said.

When the conference ended, StuCo members took the hundreds of leftover bananas to the teachers lounge. Students were encouraged to stop by and take some home.

“There were enough bananas leftover to feed the rest of East,” Sophomore Treasurer Luke Taylor said.

The conference also included guest speaker Ben Grannis who spoke about his biking trip across the country.

“He talked for a long time about himself and his story,” Jeffrey said. “I don’t understand how that related to student council. But he was a motivational speaker that had been to a bunch of schools to talk about his journey which was great.”

Following the guest speaker, the Lancer Dancers performed a dance routine in the main gym. While dancing, senior and Lancer Dancer Marin McElhinney was startled by the awkwardness of performing in front of non-East students. Normally greeted by roaring applause, the silence was surprising.

“I’ve never heard a gym so dead silent with that many people,” McElhinney said. “But it was still really fun to perform for other people besides just East students.”

A highlight for Taylor was the Recreation Education Attitude Leadership Money and Service discussion sheet which listed ideas like dress-up days, staff appreciation and volunteering. Some

schools presented the idea of boosting game attendance by announcing a fan of the week while others focused on cultural awareness by organizing culture committees.

Taylor was interested in meeting students from a range of 3A to 6A schools and noticed that at smaller 3A schools student councils were able to plan more personal activities like staff award dinners where StuCo members dress up and wait on tables filled with teachers.

“So many great ideas were flowing,” Taylor said. “It was just a fun time to see everyone from different schools who was a part of something we all cared about.

During East StuCo’s next weekly Wednesday morning meeting, members discussed their conference takeaways and shared ideas like teacher banquets, spirit points for individual grades and reducing ticket prices for dances.

“Every StuCo kid participated,” Fishman said. “We had everybody assigned to do something before they got here. We had every kid assigned to be a group leader to lead small groups, and everyone showed up. It was amazing. Perfect attendance by StuCo.”

RIGHT Junior Clayton Weaver sets out stacks of bananas to prepare for the conference. “There were over 600 bananas and it took forever to set up all of the food,” Weaver said.

photo by alex sajna

design by veronica mangine & kenna harrington

SCAN ME PHOTO Scan this QR code to view pictures from this event

ABOVE In order to gain new ideas for improvement, student council members fill out a discussion sheet. “It was a really great way to see things from a new perspective and garner new ideas,” senior Abi Limbird said.

photo by kenna harrington

BELOW Student council members from all levels of school gather from across the state. They were separated into groups and prompted for activities and discussion.

photo by alex sajna

LEFT Senior Laynie Manning dances to the electric slide among all other participants. “It was super interesting to hear their points of view,” Manning said. “Being able to learn from all the students.”

photo by kenna harrington

RIGHT Students from Olathe Northwest walk among the cheerleaders and band before heading into the conference. Band, cheer and other East students welcomed other schools coming into the conference.

photo by caroline martucci

design by zane laing story by avery anderson photos courtesy imbd

DUAL ACCUSATIONS DECODING

Trump turned himself into the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24 for his attempts to reverse Georgia’s election results.

After his surrender, some of Trump’s counterparts such as Trump 2020 Campaign Official

Mike Roman and pro-Trump lawyer Robert Cheerly also turned themselves in. Despite this recent development, Trump still plans to run in the 2024 election, but some people, however, are doubtful that he will recover from this blow, according to CNN.

“I’m sure Trump has lost supporters because of his recent incident,” said junior Maggie Wells. “People who never supported him are using his arrests as leverage to get him away from politics.”

Trump surrendered on account of over a dozen charges for trying to overturn election results but only spent 20 minutes in jail after his bail of $200,000 was posted, according to CNN. Although Trump was released from custody, he’s currently facing a potential indictment for 13 charges and will be tried in Georgia on Oct. 23.

With these countless charges, senior Rowan Gibson doubts

How Trump’s newly acquired jail time and Biden’s impeachment inquiry will affect the upcoming election

Trump’s ability to maintain his voting numbers — but adds that his support network is right alongside him.

“I think it will slightly [affect] the voting demographics that are undecided,” Gibson said. “But I think for his republican base, they already view the charges against him as fraudulent so that won’t affect them.”

As a part of bail, Trump agreed to refrain from commenting on social media in any way that would negatively talk about his co-defendants or witnesses, according to BBC.

These 13 charges include accusations of racketeering, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, soliciting a public official to violate his oath of office, making false statements and conspiracy to commit forgery.

His surrender quickly hit the media and people were seen flocking to the jail he was held in. This is not his first surrender of the year, it was his fourth, according to the BBC. Earlier this year, he was arrested multiple times on account of a money scheme, mishandling of classified documents and involvement in a plan to overturn the 2020 election results.

His campaign for the 2024 election is still underway, and a memo sent to local donors from Gov. Ron Desantis says his approval rate is remaining stagnant in some states while

What does all of this government jargon mean?

a person is given formal notice that it’s believed they committed a crime

ra•cke•teer•ing when someone participates in dishonest and fraudulent business dealings

the first step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea

HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN McCarthy proposed an impeachment inquiry on President Joe Biden in an attempt to subpoena Hunter Biden’s bank records on Sept. 12. Officials have been conducting an investigation into his potential abuse of power for months and the impeachment inquiry is to be a next step in the process of convicting him, according to NBC news.

While the name could be deceiving, this recent development doesn’t necessarily mean the president is or will be impeached. If it passes, the impeachment inquiry will open a formal investigation into potential illegal activity from Biden, but will still not guarantee an official impeachment vote.

While the investigation has been proposed, other house speakers such as White House spokesman Ian Sams are claiming McCarthy doesn’t have enough support in the house to carry out the inquiry. It’ll require a vote to be truly put into place, but without support from the majority of the house, Biden’s crimes can’t be officially inspected under an impeachment inquiry.

With former business partner of Hunter Biden Devon Archer testifying on July 31 that his bribery allegations are true, this

leaves questions for democratic voters and unease for people planning on voting for him, according to junior Anna Ravis.

“I really see no viable options for the upcoming election and feel uneasy letting people with so much potential criminal background lead our country,” Ravis said. “I think a younger candidate would benefit us. I guess we’ll just hope for the best.”

Some voters are even questioning the morals and motives behind the inquiry. McCarthy announced the inquiry after fellow house members pressured him to make moves against the President.

“I don’t think it affects [Biden] at all because I think the populus knows that the inquiry is purely political,” Gibson said.

Biden still plans to run in the 2024 election, but some voters believe that his numbers will be down due to his recent troubles and potential involvement in illegal international affairs.

“A recent poll had Joe Biden down ten points but I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff about how that’s possibly misleading,” Gibson said. “It’s very up in the air. I’m predicting and hoping that Biden wins.”

im•peach•ment

the process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing

an investigation into possible wrongdoing — a step toward potential impeachment

FORMER UNITED STATES President Donald

photo by liv madden

smeharbinger.net/opinion

Opinion hot take

story by kai mcphail

Pugs are not only unattractive but just lacking in general

PUGS ARE GROSS. Sorry, but someone had to say it.

Whether it’s the revolting black, dotted wrinkles covering the face of the poor animal, or its gremlin-like form, pugs are at the very bottom of my list when it comes to all things dogs. They snort, have a little piglet tail and look like they just ran into a wall at full speed. I’d prefer an actual pig than a wrinkled pug.

Its short and compressed face and even shorter legs make it look as if it’s levitating when I see one walking down the innocent sidewalk. The

ENDLESS LIST

typical gray asphalt pavement seems like a velvet runway unfit for the musty dog breed that it is. Something about the pale, lifeless and beige fur just sends shivers down my spine. Why not get a dog that isn’t actively killing itself with its lack of breathing space? Seriously, any other dog would be better to get, there are far more species that are more affectionate, athletic and better-looking like a border collie or even a cockapoo.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a naked terrier and has a single hair on the top of its head, anything is better than a pug.

How school feels to students who pull all-nighters

trending topics

Popular items that are found frequently at school and around East

Beyoncé

The popstar on a world tour came to the T-Mobile Center in KC on Oct. 2 and performed hits like “Halo.”

TikTok Shop

Social media giant TikTok’s in-platform online marketplace, known for low prices and wacky products, has taken off.

stanleys

A popular water bottle in lots of classes this year, in tons of colors and customizations.

cartoon by caroline daniels

design by kai mcphail art by caroline daniels & kai mcphail

HEAD HIS IN

IPUT AN overflowing scoop of Ryse Baja Blast pre-workout containing 390 mg of caffeine into my Bucked Up shaker bottle and vigorously mix. I get into my car and crank the volume up, waking up my neighbors with the roaring bassline of “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame on my way to lift copious amounts of vulcanized rubber.

Yes, I’m going to the gym for the fifth time this week. But not to get stronger — it’s because I can’t bear the thought of my chest being small. All I can think about is looking like my idols on social media.

Seeing Shizzy Lifts, Alex Euebank or Max Taylor — all bodybuilding social media influencers — have amazing muscle mass while still retaining toned physiques makes me feel skinny and fat at the same time.

I pull into the gym parking lot. I feel ants crawling under my skin from the absurd amount of caffeine that the fitness industry convinced me would make me stronger. I throw Beats headphones on and crank up the screeching chords “Adele - Set Fire To The Rain [Hardstyle Remix]” on SoundCloud. With my eardrums on the verge of bleeding, I open the doors to Genesis feeling strong enough to flip a car over a skyscraper.

It’s chest day, it’s the best day.

Repeating that phrase in my head, I position myself under the incline-press barbell. I try to convince myself that I’m fine. I’m OK. I attempt to convince myself that I’m mentally sane by looking past the homework, projects and college applications I need to complete, hoping I forget the last 12 dreadful hours leading up to right now. I now have one task: lift weights until my arms fall

For motivation, I turn to my pent-up emotions. Self-disgust, elementary school insults about my always-reaching-for-another-cookie build and now frustration that my weight on the scale isn’t increasing. Instead of trying to talk about my emotions, I bunch them together and use them as motivation to help me lift more. Does it work? Yes. Is it good for me? I tell myself it is but I know I’m lying to myself.

I know I’m lying because I lay in my bed, crying because the number on the scale is wrong. I know I’m lying because instead of talking to someone about my feelings I shove two fingers down my throat because I ate too many calories. I know I’m lying because I have nine burn marks on my arm that tell me I am.

Preparing for my workout, I load 185 pounds on the bar.

the safety bars.

I take a deep breath and then look in the mirror. I see someone who shoves a cup of Greek yogurt down his throat in the morning when he isn’t hungry. It can’t be me, right? Four McChickens and a half a gallon of milk for dinner. Someone who would rather strain his body from physical exercise rather than talking about his feelings. Is this what I’ve become?

GET HELP

As my hands grip the bar, I let my thumbs recede to the same side as my other fingers: suicide grip. The cold bar digs into my callused hands, and I push the bar up and down until my arms shake. The weight, the stress, the pressure of trying to impress my parents, and working every waking hour to please them forces me to drop it on

Take off 20 lbs and repeat.

155 pounds: “When you hit failure your workout has just begun,” I hear Bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman say in my head.

135 pounds: “Who’s gonna carry the boats? Or the logs?” Navy Seal David Goggins yells in my ears.

105 pounds: “The only place to go from failure is to win,” Bodybuilder Tom Platz tells me as I have to drop the bar on the floor to get it off me.

My chest is on fire, there’s not a single drop of strength left in me.

I look in the mirror again, and I see myself. I see a person who has gained 20 pounds of muscle in the last year but has gone crazy while doing so. ***

It felt like I was in a spiral. I hated the way I looked, ate because I hated the way I looked and then tortured my body with excessive workouts because I hated what I ate — I couldn’t escape. I would spend hours looking in the mirror scanning my skin for any remnants of muscle growth, even rice-grain-sized stretch marks, anything to show progress.

I was surrounded by media that promotes completely unrealistic bodies that are made from high doses of steroids. How could my poorlymixed protein shake mixes compete with that?

At some point between deciding to lose some weight and eating two Chipotle burritos for dinner, the gym became not just a fitness tool, but an addiction. No matter what I tried I couldn’t get away from it. My every thought would be a new workout to do or which protein powder I should buy next. I couldn’t separate life from the gym.

I’d delete Tik Tok, then I’d scroll through Instagram Reels. I’d delete Instagram, then I’d watch YouTube shorts. I’d delete YouTube, and then I’d see the note in my Notes app telling me my weight down to the ounce for the past four months. No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape the thought that I should be working out at every moment of the day.

I still lift any chance I get and drink energy drinks, but ultimately, I know stepping back from the gym grind society and its unrealistic body standards is what’s most healthy.

A staffer’s story on how he struggled with and learned to manage his body dysmorphia

design

NO MATTER WHAT I did, I couldn’t escape the thought that I should be working out at every moment of the day.

FOR AS LONG as I can remember,

I’ve always wanted to be like my two older siblings. I watched my sister cheer from the bleachers and cherished the times when my brother let me hang out with him and his friends. I spent all of my childhood longing to be older so I could be exactly like them.

Initially, having them as role models felt like winning the lottery. I mean, who wouldn’t want a roadmap highlighting all of the opportunities to take advantage of and the missteps to steer clear of?

But reality had a different plan. I started setting crazy expectations for high school, thinking I’d be this schooldance loving, party-hopping, weekend warrior. When that didn’t click, I was left grappling with a mix of sadness and frustration as I realized my high school experience wasn’t mirroring what I grew up watching.

Before I knew it, wanting to be like them turned into pressure to copy their every move.

Since my older brother aced calculus, I shouldn’t be struggling to find limits or derivatives. They both went to the University of Kansas — guess I have to go there too. And don’t even get me started on majoring in business — that’s

PRESSURE

practically a family tradition.

I’m in a never-ending loop of comparing my high school experiences to theirs, from ACT scores to 100 meter butterfly times. And even when I do achieve something, like an All American recognition at cheer camp or a first place journalism award, it feels like nothing compared to the promotions and scholarships they received.

Everyone tells me that I’m so lucky to have older siblings to learn from. But after watching them for so long, everything I do carries a sense of déjà vu — like I’m reliving their experiences instead of making my own. I question if any moment is truly my own or merely a less-interesting version of their narrative.

But I don’t need to be a replica of my siblings to be worthy or successful. It’s unfair to listen to criticism from myself or others that I’m not like my siblings.

It’s frustrating how some people don’t see me as my own person, but rather an extension of my siblings. When I hear teachers compare me to my siblings, adults commenting on how much we look alike or college kids pressuring me to go to KU just like they did, I can’t help but want to feed into these assumptions. But there’s no need

for me to listen to this.

I didn’t realize that the experiences I’ve had that are different from my siblings — Harbinger deadlines, field trips to Timberridge with the social skills class and tumbling on the track in front of the student section at football games — are more valuable than simply trying to mimic their every move. As I’ve begun separating my life from theirs, I’ve realized there’s still plenty out there for me to experience.

They’ve achieved great things, and I applaud them for it. But it’s time for me to create my own experiences — accomplishments that I can call my own. It’s unfair for me to compare myself to them when we’re completely different people.

To any other younger siblings, don’t give in to pressure from yourself or others to mirror what your older sibling did. You aren’t defined by your siblings’ accolades, and it’s OK to want to have your own experiences.

If you try too hard to be like your older siblings, you’ll lose your own personality and lack the opportunity to find things that you truly enjoy. Don’t be afraid to branch out because if you’re anything like me, you’ll be glad you did.

KISSICK’S COMPARISONS

How Maggie’s interests and acheivements compare to her siblings

photos by maggie condon

Don’t give into pressure to be like your older siblings because you won’t have the opportunity to find things you truly enjoy

design by lyla weeks art by caroline daniels

smeharbinger.net/category/feature

WHAT’S

IN STORE?

Student store staffers share their favorite current item

photos

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

MY FAVORITE ITEM is the SME newspaper sweatshirt because the back is cute and I like the simplicity of the front.

SENIOR

GRACE MILROY | sales

JOIN THE BREAKFAST

CLUB

A quick word from the founders and sponsor of the new breakfast club

SUSAN HALLSTROM SPONSOR

THE BREAKFAST CLUB consists mostly of juniors, and it’s a social club where they can build relationships and celebrate being a Lancer.

CAMILLA SIMMONS JUNIOR

WE GO TO breakfast every other Thursday, and we vote on where we’re going. We all hangout and talk to people we might not know as well. It’s really fun, and we always have a good time.

THE LANCER ERAS tour shirt is my favorite because students can wear it to support their school and their favorite artist.

SENIOR

WILLIAM NORRIS | sales

SOPHIA BEEDLE JUNIOR

PEOPLE SHOULD JOIN the Breakfast Club because it’s a great way to interact with your classmates and meet new people.

TOP Senior Bella Bisson holds Monty, a Savannah Monitor lizard, as Environmental Education teacher Rusty Debey clips its nails.

photo by amelie wong

BOTTOM Senior Jack Kessler hands the Lancer of the Week bag to senior Gary Super.

photo by maggie condon

ABOVE Junior Nate George observes his hand during a skin lab in an anatomy class.

photo by caroline martucci

photos by will griffith & alex sajna

WITH A MARLBORO cigarette luxuriously dangling out of the corner of her mouth, senior Jen Hart* feels like a thirty-something businesswoman on a New York City penthouse balcony celebrating closing a $1 million deal.

Wisps of smoke swirl into her nose reeking of sweet nicotine and deliver a buzz almost strong enough to make her forget where she really is: alone on a dim patio outside a house party among wilting potted plants and crushed Bud Light cans.

Hart smokes cigarettes solo on mostly the outskirts of parties or on her balcony after her parents are asleep. Either way, she feels cooler than an 18-year-old high school student.

“When I’m holding a cig, I feel sophisticated,” Hart said. “Like one of those pretty women in an old vintage ad.”

As studies show and students report that smoking cigarettes is increasingly “cool” again, experts warn against the harm cigarettes continue to cause teens.

Teen smoking nationally dropped to an alltime low of 2% in 2021 — down from nearly 23% in 2000 — but it’s been rising since, according to the University of Michigan. In an Instagram poll of 278 students, one in four reported that purely the aesthetic of cigarettes is cool, and 11% reported being current cigarette users. In comparison, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest annual report, 4% of high schoolers nationally smoke cigarettes.

Executive Director of Kansas’s American Lung Association Linda Crider is greatly concerned by this trend, which she believes is sparked by the popularity of teen vaping in the past five years.

“Teens are drawn to shiny things, which vaping was,” Crider said. “Vapes could be hidden, they were that cool new thing. We have found that teens that were vaping have now turned to cigarette smoking because [vaping] was really a launching pad.”

Both Hart and senior Holly Gates* started off as solely vape users before picking up cigarettes. In an Instagram poll of 302 students, 44% now be -

lieve that smoking cigarettes is cooler than vaping. Gates believes that she wouldn’t have been able to handle the sheer nicotine punch of cigarettes — one hit being fifteen times more nicotine than one hit of an E-cigarette — if she hadn’t become numb to puffs of her Vuse vape that “barely” get her buzzed anymore.

“Whether it’s a combustible cigarette or the vaporized kind of cartridge and E-cigarettes, both contain nicotine,” Crider said. “And at the end of the day, nicotine is still highly addictive, causing lung cancer and lung disease.”

Hart and some students who smoke cigarettes buy them with fake IDs, while others are supplied by older friends. Gates smoked her first cigarette at a local college tailgate in February — now she chain smokes five or six cigarettes every few weekends. All of her college friends smoke, and now some of her high school ones do too.

“In elementary school, I’d be like, ‘Who would ever do that?’” Gates said. “But cigarettes are good vibes. They’re very Lana Del Rey core. Plus I’ve been vaping for so long that they don’t get me buzzed anymore, and cigarettes always make me tingly and dizzy in a good way. I do feel cool.”

Cigarettes remain prevalent in pop culture, with 88% of 2020’s top-grossing movies including tobacco depictions, according to the National Opinion Research Center. Singer Lana Del Rey smokes cigarettes while on stage during concerts and posts photos with cigarettes for her 9.1 million Instagram followers. Other influencers like celebrities Miley Cyrus and Bella Hadid also flaunt their smoking habits publically. Teens who are exposed to cigarettes on social media are twice as likely to start smoking, according to Truth Initiative.

The CDC predicts that 5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 will die early from a smoking-related illness if cigarette smoking among youth continues at the current rate.

“Am I concerned for myself?” Hart said. “Maybe a little. I think there’s more pertinent things to worry about than smoking though. Like gun violence and world hunger.”

Science teacher Susan Hallstrom is much more concerned about teen cigarette use — both her dad

and grandpa passed away from lung cancer caused by smoking.

“When I was little, my little brothers and I all begged my father to quit,” Hallstrom said. “After he was diagnosed, he told us, ‘I always meant to stop, I just always thought there would be time. And now I’m out of time.’”

One of her first memories is sitting with her grandpa as he coughed and asking him what was wrong. He told 9-year-old Hallstrom that cigarettes were killing him.

“He lifted up his shirt and showed me these big, ugly-looking scars from lung surgery covering his chest that hadn’t healed well,” Hallstrom said. “And then he died a few weeks later.”

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, according to the CDC, as more than 70 of the 7000 chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer and damage alveoli found in the lungs.

In an Instagram poll of 195 students, 46% reported that themselves or a family member have been negatively affected by cigarette smoking. Sophomore Clara Breneman is against smoking because her grandparents on both her mom and dad’s side passed away from emphysema and lung cancer.

“Anytime my parents see people smoking out somewhere in public, they lecture about how much pain they went through with hospice and all the health care with their own parents and how I shouldn’t smoke,” Breneman said.

East parent Jenn Miller was close with her grandma growing up, loving to practice cooking and discuss English literature together on the weekends. But lunch dates soon turned to hospital visits when Miller’s grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer when Miller was 19. Six months later, her grandma passed away.

“It’s a horrible way to watch somebody die,” Miller said. “She lost a tremendous amount of weight. My father and my brother were smokers, and the one thing that she asked of them on her deathbed was to quit smoking.”

Cigarettes can spark emotional damage too. Sophomore Becca James* has increased tension in

her relationship with her father due to his refusal to life. He started in college breaks about twice an hour vows to never pick up a cigarette

“The ‘cool cigarette cringe,” James said. “I’m out in public and my friends rettes. It’s not a ‘Lana Del is one of the most damaging your lungs. I know I can’t derstand when they don’t been seriously affected by

Senior David Kelly* doesn’t bers affected by cigarettes boros nearly every weekend He acknowledges that his but still doesn’t care — lights up while drunk.

“If I was sober, the consequences lot more prevalent, but Kelly said. “And vaping now compared to cigs. I’ve high schoolers smoking A lot of people seem willing thing.”

SRO Officer Tony Woolen creased cigarette smoking

“Last week, somebody of the bathrooms, and administration inside,” Woolen said. “In body found cigarette butts

Crider is concerned that to smoke at a younger age negative influences from Hills Middle School seventh-grader smokes cigarettes and reports older students.

“At the skate park and

design by greyson imm photo by liv madden

story by katie murphy

AAs smoking becomes increasingly “cool” for teens again, cigarettes cause harmful effects on students and their families

*names changed to protect identity

her to quit smoking her whole college and still goes on smoke hour due to cravings. James cigarette herself.

cigarette aesthetic’ makes me “I’m almost pained when I’m friends start smoking cigaDel Rey aesthetic.’ Smoking damaging things you can do to can’t make [my friends] undon’t know anyone who has by cigarettes.”

doesn’t have family memcigarettes and has smoked Marlweekend since freshman year. his habit is “kind of nasty” especially since he only

consequences would be a drunk cigs don’t count,” is a more douche-y thing I’ve definitely noticed more now than when I started. willing to try it, it’s a cooler Woolen has seen signs of insmoking at East.

somebody smelled smoke in one administration found ashes another situation, somebutts in the toilets.”

that students are starting age due to social media and from older students. Indian seventh-grader Brett Ward* reports being influenced by and stuff, everybody [is]

GUN

smoking cigarettes,”

Ward said.

Companies use social media and marketing directed towards teens to hook new customers by romanticizing cigarettes, according to the CDC. The 2022 Federal Cig - arette Report reveals that total advertising and promotion funds spent by cigarette companies has increased from $7.84 to $8.06 billion in one year. National cigarette sales increased for the first time in 20 years during 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

“On social media, the consequences of cigarette use are not conveyed,” Crider said. “There’s no education going along with the sales pitches.”

She and Hallstrom agree that teen smoking needs to be denormalized through education in order to prevent a new generation of addiction. According to the CDC, nearly nine out of 10 adults who smoke cigarettes daily first tried smoking by age 18. Crider’s advice to young people is to not start smoking — but for those who already have, contact trusted adults and visit lung.org for help quitting.

“When I became a parent and teacher, I understood that some young people make poor decisions because of a lack of mental maturity,” Hallstrom said. “But as you age, you realize how superficial being ‘cool’ is. That cool factor is nothing, it truly isn’t important. I wish kids would focus more on the type of human being they are than the superficial message that they send by smoking.”

Pulling up in her silver Honda minivan, East parent Alexis Burdick gathered her arsenal of paints, glitters and sand art boards out of her backseat. A birthday party with little girls eager to make rainbow seahorses awaited.

Alexis’ side hustle — on top of being an art teacher at Shawnee Mission North — is being a mobile art party teacher. She gets hired through the Moxie Art Party website to create custom-designed sand art boards and guide projects for children’s birthday parties. She’s designed space mermaids, rainbow giraffe donuts and any other over-the-top theme a 7-year-old girl could come up with.

Ten years after her first party, Alexis is finally gaining stability by opening her own studio space for art classes. She spent 10 years dreaming, three years searching for the perfect location, six months of negotiations with the realtor, 30 days in waiting period and renovations delayed by a Covid-infected contractor. But finally, Alexis is nearly ready to open Moxie Art Studios in Overland Park in the coming weeks.

“I never know what I’m walking into [at those parties],” Alexis said. “Now I get to control what I’m walking into because it’s the space that I’m creating. And so every time

HER EVENTS

Burdick’s past art parties, workshops and events featured on her Instagram @moxieartstudio

BURDICK’S GOT MOXIE

someone comes into the brick-and-mortar space now I can create that Wonderland.”

The studio will offer art classes and inperson art projects where clients can make and take it with them within the hour on weekdays, with reserved parties and events on weekends.

Alexis’ classes are meant to be a space where anyone can create without judgment. Especially when they’re not as confident in their skills or trying ceramics or painting for the first time — the “nominally creative” as Alexis would say.

I’ve never been a big artist,” Swob said. “But Mrs. Burdick is really good about letting each kid do what they feel comfortable with in their artwork.”

“I’m trying to be patient,” Alexis said. “I want to hold my excitement till the construction is finished, but there’s always going to be something that’s going to throw a curveball into your plans.”

She’s worked hard on her own for years to build her party business. But Burdick won’t be working alone at the studio. Her oldest daughter and East alum Adya Burdick will help at the studio while growing her own small business and studying graphic design at JCCC.

“I’ve been designing T-shirts and sweatshirts for fun,” Adya said. “But when the studio space is open, I’m going to branch out with the birthday parties and offer classes where they can make sweatshirts and pick out their own designs.”

“I say ‘nominally creative’ people, meaning the people who want to be creative but haven’t had the access or the experience or the opportunity,” Alexis said. “You feel anxiety over it, and that kind of holds you back, but having an inclusive and judgmentfree creative space where you don’t have to be the world’s best artist allows you to enjoy [Moxie Art Studio.]”

The independence of running her own business is something Alexis hasn’t always had as a teacher at North. The district’s structured curriculum doesn’t always work for a subject that should allow students to express their creativity and use it as an outlet for their stress, according to Alexis.

Her teaching style adapts to each student and has had an impact on her kids even if they just took the class for a graduation requirement. SMN sophomore Maci Swob is grateful for that relaxed environment that Alexis’ class gave her — the opportunity to make her own art without restriction.

“I actually never wanted to do art because

Even with all the preparations for their studio, Alexis and Adya are still balancing lives of their own. Adya is in college, on the school dance team, and working as a part time dance instructor at Miss Maria’s while Alexis is still handling a full time teaching job while also taking care of two other kids.

“People work during the day,” Alexis said. “They’re doing the same thing we’re doing during the day. So the studio is open after school hours for students. It’s a great little niche that can be built around our current schedules.”

For Alexis, teaching art has always been about putting her students first and making her classes something anyone can enjoy. Now, the Burdick’s hope to finally open Moxie Art Studio in order to share that experience with even more people.

“My daughter asked me why I like the word moxie,” Alexis said. “It’s because I feel like to be an artist you just have to jump in and have competence and courage to just take chances and trust that it’s gonna be okay. That’s what I want [Moxie] to be.”

East parent and art teacher Alexis Burdick has turned her passion into a business with new store Moxie Art Studios

design by lorelei galles photo by kenna harrington

story by connor vogel

LEFT Alexis and Adya pose inside their new studio space located at 10362 Mastin St. Overland Park photo by kenna harrington

mox•ie

force of character, determination or nerve.

GETTIN’

JIGGY

Sophomore Millie Byerley qualified for the Open Championships level of Irish dancing last May opening new opportunities for her performing career

SOPHOMORE MILLIE BYERLEY stood anxiously huddled around by her friends on the carpeted floor of the ballroom, only feet away from the podium that would determine her fate.

If Millie placed first at this Irish Feis dancing competition, she would move up to the highest level of Irish dancing worldwide: Open Championships. Open Championships is what Millie woke up at 6 a.m. for every competition day, and it’s what brought her to her studio, O’Riada Manning, for nine hours every week for classes and rehearsals.

At this specific competition hosted by O’Riada Manning last May, the dancers had two opportunities to perform, earning an initial ranking between routines before the final standing was announced — Millie was originally in third. Millie stood — nerves flooding through her body — while she waited for the announcement hoping that her correct execution of each move would keep her on the podium.

The announcer started speaking, “Third place goes to...”

Ok, that’s not me.

“Second place goes to...”

Ok, still not me.

“First place... Millie Byerley!”

Millie was in shock. Had her Slip Jigs and Treble Jigs really been that good? Her friends cheered loudly for her as she walked up to the top podium. She stepped up on the highest platform of the podium, grinning while the announcer placed a gold sash stating “O’Riada Manning Championships First Place” over her head and handed her a golden trophy.

Just like that, Millie was launched into a new era of Irish dancing. Her performing credits include the annual Kansas City Irish Fest, St. Patrick’s day events, a Maverick’s hockey game and an event at the Kauffman Center.

Millie has been Irish Dancing at O’Riada

Manning since she was 5 but wasn’t on the top level of seven until winning that competition. The tears Millie shed out of fear at her first Irish dance classes with her dance teacher Joseph Manning seem miniscule compared to how far Millie has come today.

“It is funny because when she started with [Joseph] as a teacher, she was very hesitant when she was little,” Millie’s mom Acacia Byerley said. “She’d always come up to him and cry because she’d get really overwhelmed and he’d laugh and he used to call her the weepy one. It’s funny to see how far she’s come from the first few dances that she did with him to now.”

Millie qualified for the Open Championships after two first place finishes at other competitions the year prior.

feis

“She’d been looking like an Open Champion in class for a couple of months and so I was waiting for it,” Manning said. “She was close for a while. She just kept knocking on the door.”

The levels of Irish dancing consist of First Feis, Beginner One, Beginner Two, Novice, Prize Winner, Preliminary Champions and Open Championships. Each level has different criteria that dancers have to meet in order to move up through the different levels.

As a dancer reaches higher levels of Irish dancing, it becomes harder for the dancer to move up. For example, the transition from Novice to Prize Winner could be harder for a dancer since the qualification for Novice is to place first, second or third in one dance but in order to move up to Prize Winner, the dancer must place first in every dance.

“I’m really proud that I’m in Open Championships,” Millie said. “I actually qualified for the Open Championship level in

Kansas City, so that was special because you’re up against people who have qualified and placed at world competitions, which are extremely hard to get into. So it was just very special that I placed that round.”

Every year, Millie attends eight to ten feiseanna a year located around the country. Last year, she attended competitions in places like New York, New Mexico and Florida.

“Each kid does three dances [in Open Championships] and it can be a variation of the main four types [of dance] as well as one that’s more personalized,” Millie said. “They usually take about three hours per group. It definitely makes for a long day.”

As part of the Open Championships level, Millie now competes against more dancers and will have longer competition schedules.

“[The morning of a competition] I have to wake up usually around 6 a.m. which is not very fun, but I wake up and I get ready,” Millie said. “Then my mom helps me because I wear a wig [that is] really curly. And so my mom will help me put that on and then a full face of makeup on as well and my solo dress which is really the dazzle that I wear for competitions.”

Although the new level comes with many challenges, Acacia and Manning believe that she’s ready.

“I think she is very determined when she puts her mind to it,” Acacia said. “She has decided that this is what she wants. She really goes after her goals. She knows what she needs to do to get the results that she wants.”

MILLIE’S ESSENTIALS Some of Millie’s essentials for her Irish dancing competitions

DRESS BOBBY PINS SHOES

For

Millie uses two different types of shoes for competition. One soft shoe dance and two hard shoe dances.

design by clara burdick photos by amelie wong

story by ada lillie worthington

At Millie’s studio you have to “earn” the dresses, and in order to get a custom dress you have to place first at two different competitions.

Millie’s competition hair, she uses about 30 bobby pins, two hair donuts, and then secures her wig in with clips on the sides.

An Irish dancing competition, an Irish festival

TEA MANAGED TO A

GIVING THE PLASTIC cup a quick mix to reveal its yellowto-red gradient, sophomore Shubra Durgavathi places the fruit tea on the counter and calls out: “One Stagmangosaurus.” The mango-strawberry boba tea is a fan favorite at the local boba tea shop Duragavathi took ownership of in August 2023 — Tea-Rex.

For the past year, Durgavathi has taken responsibility for the shop by working multiple shifts weekly, training new employees and managing the shop — all to earn the position of the owner.

It was June 2022 when Duragavathi first stepped foot into the shop, located in Mission. She had heard about the new boba store from a few friends who were already employed there, one of whom being the owner’s daughter. She ordered a bubble tea from the wide selection of different types of teas and flavors and sat down by the counter, chatting with two employees, who happened to also be her friends, right as the manager, Clay Griggs strutted through the door.

“You might as well work here if all of your friends do too,” Griggs said with a laugh.

Before Durgavathi could even process what Griggs had just said, both her friends chimed in, convincing her to apply. Durgavathi was 15 years old, just about to start high school and never had a real job before, but she reluctantly agreed.

Just seconds later, Griggs sat down right in the middle of the shop and began interviewing her for the job. He asked her a few questions, handed her an apron and Durgavathi began her first shift.

“It was a small business, so rules were significantly looser than they would be anywhere else,” Durgavathi said. “He kind of just threw you right into it and you would figure it out as you go.”

That summer, Durgavathi started working regular Saturday four-hour shifts at the shop. However, as Griggs increased his staff due to low employment numbers and frequent job

BOBA- SAURUS

offers to any patron that entered the shop, many employees wouldn’t show up to their regular shifts. Durgavathi quickly became one of the few reliable employees who worked regularly.

Griggs noticed her hard work and started joking about making Durgavathi his “manager,” teasing other employees by saying if they had any complaints to take it up with her. As time went on, he became more serious about Durgavathi’s title of manager and gave her the responsibility of scheduling all his employees, checking the shop’s inventory and determining staff pay — all tasks she enjoyed.

“It’s always a lot of fun to be able to make sure everything in the shop is running smoothly,” Durgavathi said.

Durgavathi worked as the manager alongside Griggs until August 2022, when Griggs became burnt out. Planning on selling the shop, he noticed that Durgavathi truly enjoyed working for the shop so he offered Durgavathi the company along with any machinery and products that were left over.

Preparing to start her sophomore year of high school, while keeping up with her commitment to the marching band, Durgavathi didn’t know if she would be able to manage the demands of the company, while keeping her outside life in shape. However, she didn’t want the company to go under, so she decided to take up Griggs’ offer and accept ownership of Tea-Rex.

Most of the employees left when the location was closed but two employees,

BELOW Durgavathi pours the Thai-rannosaurus Milk Tea into a cup with tapioca after making the drink.

sophomore Kai Campbell and junior Ash Hattrup, stayed and planned to support Durgavathi’s visions to keep the company running.

Being the shop owner gave Durgavathi all new responsibilities, including getting the necessary permits to sell food, running the social media and managing events where she will sell her drinks for promotion. The promotion to shop owner inevitably made Durgavathi improve her time management skills.

“The consequences of not being good at time management have doubled as the owner so it’s just become so much more important to me to have all the different aspects all figured out,” Durgavathi said.

While Durgavathi is still searching for a new physical location to house her boba shop, she and her two other employees serve their tea at local farmers’ markets in Mission and Overland Park and cater events upon request. These requests can be made by direct messaging the shop using their Instagram @tearex.mobile.

Campbell likes the relaxed environment Durgavathi provides for her employees, making shifts manageable and infrequent. Because of this, he’s still able to keep a job during the busy school year with the pop-ups she organizes.

“I thought that I could help [Durvagathi] with the pop-up and it would be pretty infrequent but it would still be a job and I wouldn’t have to be pressed to find a new one,” Campbell said. “I feel like it would just

THAI-RANNOSAURUS SPECIALTY

brown sugar tapioca pearls

thai milk tea

blueberry and peach tea

lychee jellies

be a more relaxed situation than having to go find a job at a commercial store.”

At the pop-up events, they set up their shop, lemonade-stand style with a table to prepare drinks. They bring all the supplies needed, including their boba tea sealer, fruit juices, boba pearls and ice chest. They typically bring enough supplies to sell 50 drinks each hour.

Durgavathi plans to own this business throughout high school and pass it down to someone else when she graduates. But if she can’t find anyone willing to take on the task of owning the shop, she’ll continue running the business out of her passion for the company.

“I’m having so much fun honestly, it’s a lot of work, but it’s fun,” Durvagathi said.

MATCHA-REX

brown sugar tapioca pearls

matcha milk tea

Different drinks on the “Jurassic Menu” and their dinosaur-inspired names

design by addie moore photos by amelie wong

story by lucy stephens

Sophomore Shubra Durgavathi owns and manages her own boba tea shop called Tea-Rex

GRILLING

Pack of Pals held their annual grill out to kick off their SHARE volunteering project

WITH

PALS

SCAN ME GALLERY

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ABOVE Junior and Pack of Pals chair Lincoln King plays corn hole with a friend he invited to the grill out. “Pack of Pals is special to me,” King said. “Partly because I’m a chair of it and because I’m able to help integrate kids that may have trouble finding friends, help them find friends and hang out and just make them feel welcome.”

photo by clara peters

LEFT Senior Ginger Hawes puts ketchup on senior Annabelle Stinson’s hotdog after waiting in line to get food at the grill out. “I was really involved with it last year, and I hadn’t seen them all summer so it was good to connect with them again,” Hawes said.

photo by molly miller

RIGHT East alum CeeCee Baylor draws with chalk on the concrete with other students and SHARE volunteers. photo by clara peters

ABOVE Lincoln and freshman Guy King sit with freshman Owen Wagstaff after getting food from the grill out. They were provided with hotdogs, chips and various drinks.

photo by caroline martucci

A E . . . &

smeharbinger.net/category/a&e

NEW RELEASES

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR

Release Date: Oct. 13

Where: Theatres Genre: Music Documentary

I’M SO EXCITED

to see the movie especially since I went to the Eras Tour when Taylor Swift came to Kansas City this summer. When I saw the trailer, I knew I had to go see the movie once it came out. I want to learn more about how she does her costume changes so fast and how she got all the light effects to work during the songs.

GRACIE BLACK FRESHMAN TV SHOW

ARE YOU PLANNING ON WATCHING TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR?

*Instagram poll of 256 votes

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

Release Date: Oct. 13

Where: Apple TV+ Genre: Drama Episodes: 8

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mark your calendars

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

See freshman Bianca Thornburg’s tapestry showcasing her love for The Rolling Stones

EVER SINCE MY mom gave me a bunch of CDs when I was little, I have loved The Rolling Stones. I made the tapestry by ripping the canvas off of a normal painting frame and sketching on the logo and cursive lettering in pencil. Then, I painted the lips and black background with acrylic paint to nish it off. It took me about two weeks to complete, but I worked on it mainly after school and on the weekends. I get most of my inspiration from museums because the art there really sticks with me.

BIANCA THORNBURG FRESHMAN

WORD SEARCH

A puzzle containing Taylor Swift albums and phrases — words can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal

EVERMORE FEARLESS FOLKORE LOVER MIDNIGHTS REPUTATION RED SPEAK NOW SWIFTIE TOUR WORD BANK

photos by caroline martucci and imdb design by sophia brockmeier

TOO

The fifth installment of Spy Kids, “Spy Kid Armagaden” is lackluster

MANY KIDS

ASK 9-YEAR-OLD me what my favorite movie was, and I’d immediately answer: “Spy Kids.”

The fifth installment of my favorite childhood franchise released on Netflix on Sept. 22, and I wish I hadn’t blemished my former respect for the series by straining my eyes to its chaotic plot and acting.

The first four movies — “Spy Kids,” “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams,” “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” and “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World” — were iconic and original, not venturing into each other’s plotlines.

Yes, “Spy Kids: Armageddon’’ is centered around the classic plot of two siblings, Patty and Tony, with spy parents who get kidnapped by an evil villain trying to take over the world. But the plot is embarrassingly predictable and familiar.

The kids discover their parent’s secret spy status — shocker — and have to become spies themselves in an attempt to save their parents and the world. Spoiler alert: they’re always successful.

In the newest movie, the parents Nora Tango Torrez and Terrence Torrez are played by actors Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi. Previously seeing Gina Rodriguez in well-known shows like “Jane the Virgin,” added to my overall enjoyment

of the movie, making it slightly more bearable when I first saw the familiar actress I adore.

While these spy kids weren’t saving the world from an invasion of a “spy kid army” or stopping the “Timemaster” from speeding up time, the villain Mr. King, steals the Armageddon code — a code that can hack into any device on the planet. I could barely keep all the villains straight as the plot jumped between the Torrez home, secret headquarters and the video game virtual world.

While at times I was confused and overwhelmed by the overall flow of the movie and the many different aspects, such as the video game, the kidnapping of the parents and their adventure into the actual game, the video game based storyline reminded me of “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over,” which also had its fair share of video game villains.

Still, moments in the movie that paralleled my favorite classic scenes in the original “Spy Kids” films were nostalgic to watch.

One parallel scene I appreciated took place at the Safehouse: the secret house the kids have to go to in order to hide from evil characters in the video game. The main characters had the line, “We never use our full names, they are too long” — a tasteful

LUCY’S RANKING

Lucy ranks her favorite of the past four Spy Kids movies

nod to when Carmen Cortez said the same line in the first film.

While the movies have other similarities like the “How to be a Good Spy” book that Tony and Junie Cortez read in both movies, or the small robotic crab “Bronson” similar to “Ralph” the robot spy bug that helped Junie, “Spy Kids: Armageddon” really just made me reminisce on the early 2000s series I missed.

And of course, one of the final scenes had to be the classic — and possibly too overdone — family spy battle against the evil villains of the movie. However I enjoyed the well-scripted battle scene because by the end of the scene and movie, it got the message across: kindness, honesty and being good always win in the end. If there was one scene I felt satisfied by it was the final battle — ending the movie on a positive note, not a chaotic one.

While the video game filled-movie’s plot began to slow down, it almost felt like I was in the movie myself, I was tired and overwhelmed trying to keep

up with the busy and detail-filled plot. While I love a good spy movie based on saving the world, this new release made me want to stick with my comforting and original “Spy Kids” movies. 1 2 3 4

I love the aspect of the mysterious island and the features of the new spy kids

I love watching them become spies and explore Floop’s castle

I enjoyed the new generation of spy kids and the features of the original ones

I didn’t enjoy much about this movie, the video game aspect was too much

design by sydney eck

photos by ryan dehan & IMDb

MORE THAN

A LIBRARY

LIBRARIES CAN SEEM unnecessary with limitless information quickly available on the internet, and going to the library isn’t an after-school activity I’ve indulged in before. But the KC Central Library has made me reconsider — nestled downtown on W 10th Street.

LIBRARY LOCATION

Getting a library card only took five minutes, and I now have access to resources for five years. Even without visiting inperson, I can download free ebooks, movies, music and media.

I was pleasantly surprised to find extensive first-hand, peer-reviewed information about journals on different areas of research and all sorts of trade publications that I can’t get from a Google search. My new card gave me hours and hours of information in the palm of my hand.

Included on the main library website is an automobile search engine where you can look up any car to find manuals and maintenance tips. Business and law resources are also provided online for basic study as well as convenient LinkedIn

Learning master-classes of video content — completely free. Normally, I think of something more old-school when I picture a traditional library.

Looking at other libraries I’ve been to, there isn’t one that quite compares to the eyecatching architectural feel of the Central library, making me want to go back as soon as possible. I also find myself checking the website more often now, just to see what I have access to.

Something I really loved on the site is its full ethical hacking course, a 40-hour course on data analysis, and just about every major programming language available. There are additionally full courses on accounting, business development, customer service, sales and so much more. The abundance of these great references make the library that much more useful, being a convenient spot to sit down and go through these programs.

When you go to the actual library, the peer-reviewed sources that the attentive staff will point out will be helpful for your next school report or essay. Though founded in 1873, the library is only 35 years younger than Kansas City itself but has been remarkably updated to stay relevant today.

Integration of 21st-Century technology to the library in the basement provides even more entertainment: a 35-ton steel vault movie theater. Family-friendly films from “The Muppet

Movie” to more mature features like “Pan’s Labyrinth” are played during the week free of charge, or you can pay $65 to watch a private screening in the 28-person theater. Adjustable lighting and curtains lead to the undisturbed atmosphere to accompany the chosen film, plus watching from inside a steel vault makes me feel like the heroic main character of a James Bond movie.

The more traditional part of the library has a classic cozy vintage feel with a light wood interior, complimented by a brightly skylit third and fourth floor. Books aesthetically line the walls, making it easy to get lost in the endless spines. I thoroughly enjoyed spending my time getting lost in them.

The library proves itself to be more than traditional, with modern integration of a checkout system that’s easily accessible to all as well as modern architecture, it’s sure to check all the boxes a library enthusiast could ever ask for.

Along with reading, there’s no mundane atmosphere to discourage efficient studying, as you can even go out on the top floor terrace and bathe in the sun, accompanied by a beautiful view of downtown KC. If you need a break, you can play chess with the large full-scale set out on the roof.

The Central Library is so much more than I expected and should be a more well-visited local gem for students and their families.

design by maggie kissick photos by mason sajna

story by preston hooker

The wide variety of books and materials at the Central Library in downtown Kansas City makes it a worthwhile visit for students

AMANDA CELLO

Freshman cellist and pianist Amanda Sun shares her talent and passion for music

HOW AND WHY DID YOU START PLAYING CELLO?

I’ve been playing since I was eight. I picked it up after [I saw] a Yo-Yo Ma concert where I got really inspired. I remember he played a concerto and the Bach suites, which was really inspiring to hear played live, and it really made me want to learn cello.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO CONTINUE PLAYING THE CELLO AND PIANO?

As a pretty competitive person, I like having something to work towards, whether it’s winning a competition or becoming a higher chair, it’s very fun for me.

WHAT MAKES PLAYING PIANO DIFFERENT FROM CELLO?

One thing I like about piano versus cello is that you can play tons of repertoire. I love all the piano concertos. But I like the cello because you can do it with [more people]. It’s not solitary like piano. For cello, I was in a quartet last year. And I think I’m going to be in a clarinet trio. You can also be in an orchestra, and I think it’s more fun to meet other musicians.

LISTEN NOW

SCAN ME PROFILE

SHOWCASE

Photos from Amanda’s favorite recent performances

KANSAS CITY YOUNG CHAMBER MUSICIANS

INDIVIDUAL RECITAL

UMKC’S WHITE HALL

HEARTLAND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Follow Amanda’s Instagram account dedicated to cello videos and pictures, @amandasunmusic

photos by riley scott and from amanda sun

design and copy by greyson imm

design by isabel baldassaro

Sports . . .

smeharbinger.net/category/sports

LEFT Senior Davis

Muther speeds around a corner, approaching the last uphill section of the course in the last half mile of the race. Muther finished with a time of 19:42:51 and scored 60th overall in the boys varsity race.

photo by alex sajna

BOTTOM LEFT

Freshman Christain Tippie smiles as the boys junior varsity runners huddle for their pre race pep talk.

photo by alex sajna

BOTTOM RIGHT

Freshman Molly Scott closes in on the finish line, finishing her race with a time of 22:16:75 a few seconds later. Scott scored 33rd overall in the girls varsity race.

photo by alex sajna

countdown days left 8

varsity golf regionals

nut cup recap

A rundown of the Friday, Sept. 22. Varsity Football Nut Cup Tournament game

V ARSITY FOOTBALL won the Nut Cup Tournament 28-21 on Friday, Sep. 22, securing their first win of the season. Senior Charlie Carroll says Coach Simoneau’s pep talks to get them excited before their

game motivated them to play well and give it their all — leading to their win. After the game, the team cheered and danced in the locker room and later got together to celebrate.

IS GIRL’S GOLF UNDERRATED?

GAME REVIEW

Varsity football player and senior Charlie Carroll’s view of the Nut Cup game and how Head Football Coach Mark Simoneau influenced the team’s win

END

EVERYONE WAS EXCITED to have our rst win of the season. Coach Simoneau’s pep talks [before the game] were electric.””

First year playing as Tight End on Varsity after playing Defensive End for past three years

CHARLIE CARROLL VARSITY TIGHT

Varsity Football @ SMS

Varsity Soccer @ MVHS

JV Tennis Match @ Harmon Park

MEMORY LANE

A rundown of Kelly’s three most memorable games from his 18-year career

WINNER x200

WHEN SOCCER COACH Jamie Kelly became the head Junior Varsity Coach in 2005, he expected to coach varsity soon.

“Coach Ricker said, ‘Hey, I’m going to step down in two years, so why don’t you coach the JV team next year,” Kelly said. “‘Then when I step down that’ll mean those guys will move up with you.’”

After coaching 17 teams with two state finalist teams, Kelly made school history on Sept. 14 with a win over Gardner Edgerton as the first soccer coach at East to win 200 boys varsity games.

His long-time friend and former college teammate Brent Williams has been right by his side as assistant coach all 17 years and continues to be there going into their 18th season.

holding on for dear life,” Kelly said. “With barely any time left, they missed a penalty kick during the end of regulation.”

The game was sent into overtime after an East player got a penalty and was removed from the game until penalty kicks. In what Kelly called an “almost impossible” feat, one of his defenders snuck outside the box and volleyed the ball into the upper 90 of the goal. Shocking the state with an upset no one expected. This set the tone for Kelly’s career.

Five years later in 2012, Kelly brought his team to the state tournament for the first time since 1996 — another of his pivotal memories, but this time a painful loss. The “devastating” defeat to Washburn Rural in the semi-finals sent East home earlier than expected, placing fourth despite being seeded first.

“In hindsight of losing the game, taking that team to state and being a part of that first state run in so long meant so much to me,” Kelly said.

Another six years went by before one of the best teams Kelly has ever had came through East — the 2018 boys. Throughout the playoffs, they didn’t allow a single goal until placing third at the state tournament. Losing in penalty kicks in the semifinal game in a match against Manhattan High School marked the second time in East history that the boys soccer team placed third at state.

“When he first got the head coaching job, he reached out to me to be his assistant because he knew that I played goalie, and then I could help train the goalies and defense,” Williams said. “I wasn’t that interested in it at first and didn’t know if I would stay, but here we are.”

Out of his wins, Kelly has three that stick with him the most. One is a playoff game 17 years ago when his team had a 7-9 regular season record.

Due to what Kelly considered a lackluster record and low seed, the team was facing a strong opponent at the time: Olathe East.

“We were able to get a goal and go up on them one to nothing and then we just worked while we were

“Third is the best they’ve ever done, so to equal that was really amazing,” Jamie said. “Also, to not give up a goal in the playoffs. And with that team we had, we knew we were good enough to win state that year.”

Kelly’s goal is to win state while making sure to turn his “boy players” into “good men” that are successful in all areas of their lives.

“He’s just genuinely a really nice guy and off the field he is someone I can come to for a lot of things,” senior and varsity soccer player Conor Neusel said. “He helps me out. Not only in sports, but also in school.”

design by bridget connelly photo by will griffith

story by christian gooley

IN HINDSIGHT of losing the game, taking that team to state and being a part of that rst state run in so long meant so much to me.

JAMIE KELLY SOCCER COACH

Jamie Kelly breaks 200 career wins and shares his memories

FUN SERVING UP

BACKHAND RACQUET

BABES

SOPHOMORES JORDAN

O’BRIEN and Maggie McCarthy should be paying attention to their tennis match, not talking about dinner reservations for Homecoming. They should be concentrating on their foot placement, not talking about purchasing a corsage for O’Brien’s date. But nonetheless as the tennis ball flies onto their side of the net for what feels like the thousandth time, O’Brein and McCarthy are distracted.

“Tennis is a lot less serious for all of us,” O’Brien said. “We’re not the best team but none of us really care about being the best. We just like having fun together since we aren’t concerned about winning or losing.”

MEET THE TEAMS

The

KISS MY ACE 3.0

This season the Backhand Babes want to make a new tradition of sharing a meal together — lunch at a restaurant or dinner at someone’s house. O’Brien knows the little moments her team has made this season is the reason why they have had a successful year so far.

Chemistry teacher and Head Blue/White Team Coach Susan Hallstrom has noticed the conversations between the girls on and off the court.

“The [Backhand Babes] is a team with a good mix of personalities, and they’re all very social with other Blue/ White teams,” Hallstrom said. “They’re very supportive of everybody and will do anything when I ask them to help out with matches.”

Jordan O’Brien

Iris Chabanis

Emma Carolan

Maggie McCarthy

Sarah Stein

Kirsten Meredith

Ellie Thelen

STRUGGLING TO FIND

her tennis ball on the court, sophomore Kinzley Frey started to feel a throbbing pain in her head. At first she dismissed it as a small headache — a result of several matches in 100-degree weather with little water. But as her vision tunneled she realized it may be more than just dehydration.

Standing just meters away from her, sophomore Scarlett Stamos could tell that Frey was in pain, the look on her face was enough. Jumping up to replace Frey in the match Stamos played the rest of the time for her teammate — even though she didn’t have to.

“I felt really horrible that day, like I was going to faint, and knew I couldn’t finish my doubles match,” Frey said. “Later I found out I had a small bit of heat exhaustion, but luckily my

teammate Scarlett Stamos was able to sub in for me and finish off the game.”

Hallstrom has seen the individuals encourage each other throughout the season.

“They’re a good group of leaders that are always supportive and a huge help,” Hallstrom said. “I always see them cheering each other on and staying until the very end to help out around the court.”

From subbing in with little warning or cheering on teammates during 5 p.m. matches, Frey feels like her team has the most connection between players.

“Our team is super welcoming of each other and we don’t hold each other to our faults,” Frey said. “One week we’ll do super well and the next we might lose, but that’s okay because we all work as a team to get closer to each other.”

Abriale Buenneke

Rosa Sosland

Scarlett Stamos

Kinzley Frey

Mia Stamos

Audra Gibbs

Lillian Harris

SENIORS LAUREN

PEUGOT and Leah Sherry give each other a quick glance as they walk onto the court for their first Blue/ White team tennis match of the season. The crowd became quiet as Sherry raised her hand to serve the ball — only adding to her nerves. Peugeot whispers in Sherry’s ear that they’re ready for this. After all, they’ve trained all summer.

Taking lessons from 2023 state champion and East alum Greta Stechschulte last summer, Sherry and Peugeot learned how to improve their volleys and tips on how to lead their team to victory at the annual Blue/White team tournament.

“Whenever Lauren and I are stressed in a match or anxious about what move to make next we always say to each other, ‘What would

Greta do?’” Sherry said. “She helped us to improve our tennis game, but we also grew closer as teammates and friends this summer.”

Kiss My Ace 3.0 is a generational team: growing over three years. Throughout this time, the girls have added many new members and friends to their group. Four freshmen joined their team this year, making the current team a blend of veterans and new players.

Senior Addison Jones, who joined the team last season, feels the passion and enthusiasm the team passes on each year.

“We wanted to continue the legacy of our team, so we added four freshmen and now they can form Kiss My Ace 4.0,” Jones said. “Our main goal for this season is just to win the tournament as a team.”

Leah Sherry

Annie Sandstrom

Caroline Beal

Lauren Peugeot

Neva Hudson

Addison Jones

Charlotte Spears

Adelyn Newman

roster of each of the three teams

“MOST DISTRACTED” SCIENTISTS

“MOST SUPPORTIVE”

“MOST DEDICATED”

A feature on three of the Blue/White tennis teams and their traits this season