Issue 5 by The Harbinger

T H e H A R B IN G E R Issue 5 October 27, 2014 Shawnee Mission East Prairie Village, KS smeharbinger.net

PULSE

220 70

OFFBEAT OFFBEAT OFBEAT

written by Sophie Tulp

art by Phoebe Aguiar

Heart conditions can be potentially fatal to high school athletes, sometimes undetectable unless a test called an Electrocardiogram (EKG) is preformed. East students will have the opportunity to be screened for heart irregularities using EKGs and other tests during a clinic in November.

continued on PAGE 27

INSIDE:

East Community Reacts to Attempted Abductions page 6

A Look at LGBT+ Students at East pages 16-17

Review of “The Judge” page 24

KC Royals Success Creates Larger Fan Base page 29

2 editorial

5 o

VOTES FOR - 9 AGAINST - 0 ABSENT - 2

editorial: EBOLA IS NOT A JOKE MAKING LIGHT OF SERIOUS VIRUS CASTS DARK SHADOW ON AMERICAN CITIZENS As Western Africa mourns the tormented ends of citizens from Liberia, Guinea and Sierre Leone, Americans are buying full-body protective gear to wear as Halloween costumes. As humans just across the Atlantic grapple with a full-scale epidemic, Western news media is dramatizing the impacts of singular cases. Our gross intolerance to the terrifying and dreadful deaths of many by Ebola just continents away exemplifies a flaw in the way this country views current events and popular culture. Mass hysteria is bad. But mass paranoia is even worse. The media’s pop culturization of Ebola has not only taken focus away from pertinent issues, but has enflamed the people of America to a climatic dread. The Harbinger believes that the focus on the few cases of Ebola in the US should shift toward the thousands of deaths in Western Africa. Not only is the public politicizing the issue, news networks everywhere have run amuck with misinformation and under-substantiated facts. While this is the most serious outbreak of the virus, it has happened before. Since its first emergence in Zaire during the late 70’s, Ebola has been cropping across the globe in accidental laboratory contaminations, including places like the Philippines, Russia and

even the US. While no humans contracted the disease during the phases, it should be known that the virus isn’t a new issue just now being splashed across American television sets and Twitter feeds. In fact the current outbreak began back in February. According to The Guardian, Sierre Leone has been reporting 20 deaths per day, making the current outbreak’s death rate at 4,500 total around the globe. These deaths should weigh heavily on the shoulders of every US citizen. It is easy to make Ebola a running joke, a current events punch-line, or political slander but Americans should realize that this is both not a joke nor a reason to panic. Instead of letting the media run rampant with frenzied reports and extremist doctors and a villainization of the Center For Disease Control, there should be a general level of respect for the virus and understanding of its seriousness. It appears that attitudes are at two polarities: one of mockery and one of panic. A balance needs to be found to distinguish a healthier and less reactionary attitude as a matter of not only respect for those who have passed but also to keep extremism at bay.

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

harbinger staff fall 2014 CO-EDITORS-INCHIEF Morgan Krakow Sophie Tulp ASSISTANT EDITORS Caroline Kohring Tommy Sherk HEAD COPY EDITOR Pauline Werner ASSISTANT HEAD COPY EDITOR Hannah Coleman ART & DESIGN EDITOR Phoebe Aguiar NEWS SECTION EDITOR Sophie Storbeck NEWS PAGE DESIGNERS Will Clough Will Brownlee

SPREAD EDITOR Aidan Epstein FEATURES SECTION EDITOR Hannah Coleman FEATURES PAGE DESIGNERS Anna Dierks Caroline Heitmann Claire Pottenger COPY EDITORS Pauline Werner Sophie Tulp Morgan Krakow Hannah Coleman Tommy Sherk Audrey Danciger Caroline Kohring Sophie Storbeck Maddie Hyatt Julia Poe Susannah Mitchell Phoebe Aguiar FREELANCE PAGE DESIGNERS John Foster Maxx Lamb

STAFF WRITERS Davis Finke Katharine Swindells Lauren Cole Teagan Noblit Jessica Parker Elaine Chamberlain Stella Braly Kylie Schultz Celia Hack Daniel Rinner STAFF ARTIST Yashi Wang PHOTO EDITOR Annie Savage ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Hailey Hughes OPINION SECTION EDITOR Audrey Danciger OPINION PAGE WDESIGNERS Courtney McClelland Chloe Stanford Ellie Booton

A&E SECTION EDITOR Audrey Danciger A&E PAGE DESIGNERS Yashi Wang Maddie Hyatt SPORTS SECTION EDITOR Will Oakley SPORTS PAGE DESIGNERS Ellis Nepstad Michael Kraske Alex Masson STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Annika Sink Abby Hans Abby Blake Kaitlyn Stratman Haley Bell Alison Stockwell Paloma Garcia Morgan Browning Kylie Rellihan James Wooldridge Joseph Cline

SMEPHOTOS Paloma Garcia EDITORIAL BOARD Sophie Tulp Morgan Krakow Pauline Werner Tommy Sherk Audrey Danciger Caroline Kohring Hannah Coleman Julia Poe Mike Thibodeau Susannah Mitchell Phoebe Aguiar Katharine Swindells ADS MANAGER Celia Hack ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Susannah Mitchell Julia Poe ONLINE HEAD COPY EDITOR Maddie Hyatt

ONLINE PHOTO EDITORS Katie Lamar Callie McPhail

ONLINE A&E EDITOR Katharine Swindells Sean Overton

ONLINE CONVERGENCE EDITOR John Foster

ONLINE SPORTS SECTION EDITORS Michael Kraske Daniel Rinner

ONLINE INDEPTH NEWS SECTION EDITOR Mike Thibodeau

VIDEO EDITOR Matthew Bruyere

ONLINE NEWS BRIEFS SECTION EDITOR Will Clough ONLINE HOMEGROWN EDITOR Katharine Swindells Sean Overton ONLINE OPINION EDITOR Katharine Swindells Sean Overton

PODCAST & RADIO EDITOR Leah O’Connor EASTIPEDIA EDITOR Matthew Kaplan INTERACTIVE EDITOR Mike Thibodeau HEAD WEBMASTER Jacob Milgrim APPRENTICE WEBMASTERS Katie Lamar Katie Roe

LIVE BROADCAST EDITOR John Foster ASSISTANT LIVE BROADCAST EDITORS Ellis Nepstad Katie Roe MULTIMEDIA STAFF Tommy Sherk John Foster Gabe Snyder Katie Roe Sean Overton Leah O’Connor Matthew Kaplan SOCIAL MEDIA Katharine Swindells Tyler Keys ADVISER Dow Tate

editorial

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

FROM THE PRINCIPAL “The truth is that being an adult in high school is very different from being a teenager.”

To the Students of Shawnee Mission East High School,

“Thanks” is an interesting word. It can be used as a noun, an interjection, or a verb. The idiom “thank you” is, according to dictionary.com, used interjectionally to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgement, as for a gift, favor, service, or courtesy. You probably hear the words “thank you” all the time without really even acknowledging them. When a store clerk hands you your receipt and says “Thank you,” we rarely give his words a second thought. We definitely don’t think, “That person really appreciates me!” When someone holds the door open for us and in return we give them a quick “Thanks,” I doubt many people think “That person clearly feels gratitude!” The good news is that we, the students and staff of Shawnee Mission East, say “thank you” and “thanks” all the time. The bad news is that we rarely mean it in any deep, emotional sense. We’re simply acknowledging that person for their time or effort, and saying “thanks” provides a nice feeling of closure. I say all of this not only to establish a clear definition of the phrase, but also to differentiate between the often-overused versions of thank you from the one I am offering now. In many ways high school is hard. Of course there is the academic component—the curriculum; the homework; the assignments; the quizzes and tests. And there is everything else—what we refer to as the “unwritten curriculum.” This is often the most challenging part. I often joke that being a high school teacher or administrator means that I never have to grow up—I get to go to pep assemblies and football games and plays and dances forever! But the truth is that being an adult in high school is

very different from being a teenager. I get all the perks—the sporting events, concerts, assemblies, etc., without having to deal with the other stuff: peer pressure, bullying, homework, tests, high emotions, and--of course--the hormones. I want you, the students of Shawnee Mission East, to know how proud I am to know you and to be a part of this school and this community. Of course there are occasional missteps and poor decisions—these are just as much a part of high school as homework, dances, and football games! But overall you, the students of SME, do an amazing job of overcoming adversity, focusing on the big picture, working together, supporting each other, putting forth your very best effort, and trudging through this fantastic, infuriating, silly, wonderful, frustrating, and crazy thing we call high school. And for that, I say thank you. Not the kind of thank you you get when someone hands you a receipt; not the kind of thank you you give when someone holds open a door; I offer you the kind of thank you you get when someone is proud of you and genuinely appreciates your efforts. If I had the opportunity to go back in time and return to high school as a student, the first thing I would do would be to grow a mullet because my mom would never let me have one (and they’re awesome)-- but right after that I would enroll in Shawnee Mission East High School, because this is exactly the kind of high school of which I would want to be a part. Thank you freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors of Shawnee Mission East. I am, as always, proud to be a small part of your lives and proud to be your principal. Watch out for each other, take care of each other, make good choices, and remember: It’s always great to be a Lancer.

-JM, Principal, SME

news

4 School, Local and Worldwide News Broken Down photo by Joseph Cline

written by Davis Finke

Drop in Prices

Six-Year-old Shot, Killed in KCMO Drive-by Shooting A six year-old girl named Angel Hooper was shot and killed in south Kansas City. According to a police report issued by the KCMO police department, the shooting happened on Oct. 17, and Hooper died later at the hospital. Hooper had just walked out of a 7-Eleven, when a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting hit her. According to police, she was not the intended victim. They are urging suspects to turn themselves in. People in the local area showed their grievance and sorrow at a vigil that was held on Oct. 19. Likewise, East students also expressed sympathy about the shooting.

“You just don’t usually hear of a six year-old girl getting shot and killed,” junior Halle Connelly said. “So it’s pretty surprising when something like this happens.” Kansas City, Mo. mayor Sly James admonished the shooting in a statement commenting that it was senseless. “This is another reason why we must get strict about gun violence” James said. He later stated that criminals are not just killing each other, but killing innocent children, and that it must come to an end.

Retail Price in KC Regular Gas Price for a Gallon 2.97 2.94 2.91

10/17

10/21

Gas Prices Per Gallon in KC $3.0 5 $ 2.92 as of Oct. 1

Cost of Gasoline in Kansas City Falls

10/19

Date

above Junior Liam Griffin tries to win possession of the ball from an Olate Northwest player in a Junior Varsity game.

as of Oct. 21

US Gas Consumption in Billions 134.5

134.2

In the last few weeks, gas prices all across the country have dropped. The current price for regular gas at a local Kansas City Quiktrip is $2.88. This is the lowest price since 2009, according to a gas price chart from the Kansas City Star. Business-Weekly energy and commodities reporter Isaac Arnsdorf believes this is because people have stopped buying gas; but with the increase in gas production in the U.S., this has caused a price drop. According to East students, this is a good

thing. “It’s pretty nice when the price to fill up your tank drops about 10 bucks,” junior Jack Tyler said. Arnsdorf says people could expect to see the cost drop even further throughout the next few months. “Prices could continue to fall due to so many different factors,” Arnsdorf said. “It is up to oil companies to cut back production if they want prices to go back up.”

above

photo by

A 16-year-old Johnson County teen admitted to killing his father, and has been sentenced to five years in jail, according to KCTV5 news. The teen, Dalton Gay, was switching custody from his mom to his father, when he shot in his car. According to family members, Gay had endured abuse from his father, and they are requesting leniency with Gay’s trials. According to NBC News, Gay’s brother

said that the dad was killed in cold blood, and Dalton wasn’t trying to defend himself. East students are surprised by this event, including junior Liam Griffin. “You have to sympathize with the kid if he was abused, but that still doesn’t make it okay,” Griffin said. According to NBC News, if Gay behaves well during his five years in jail, there is a possibility of early release.

Annie Savage

Junior Lancer Dancer Emily Meiring pumps up the crowd at the soccer senior night game against Leavenworth.

2011

Johnson County Teenager Shoots Abusive Father

photo by

133.5

2012

2013

Hailey Hughes

below

Freshman Natalie Cameron and her friend practice a song they learned in class while they wait for a ride home.

SENIORSGIVE BACK

news

First annual senior service day, sponsored by SHARE, was held Oct. 15 written by Caroline Kohring

for more photos of Senior Service Day, see a corresponding photo essay on page 12

STUDENT PROFILE DAN WALKER PROJECT PROFILE AFTER THE HARVEST

enior Dan Walker got roped into Senior Service Day only 24 hours before the project. Despite the last minute plans, Walker is glad he was given the opportunity to spend the day volunteering. Walker, along with over 100 other seniors, participated in the popular apple picking project, After the Harvest. Spending the day with people he doesn’t normally have classes with was his favorite part. “I liked getting to hang out with my friends,” Walker Walker places edible apples into the collection bag said. “I sat with them on the photo by Mackenzie Hanna bus, picked apples with them and ate lunch with them.” “The bad apples were gross,” Walker said. The hardest part of the “I thought it was funny to put them in my project, according to Walker, was knowing friends’ faces.” which apples were acceptable to pick and which weren’t. Many seemed “good” at first glance, until he picked them up and saw they were covered in bruises or rotting.

ith over 100 seniors participating, the most popular Senior Service Day project was After the Harvest. Students went to Cider Hill Orchard in Bonner Springs to pick apples that were Byers laughs with fellow seniors Max Sanborn and Brett Faulconer while later delivered to picking apples. photo by Annie Savage local food pantries. After the Harvest is Wiggins said. “Kind of like going to the a nonprofit organization that provides fresh fruits and vegetables pumpkin patch when they were in kindergarten.” to people in need in Kansas and Missouri. Senior Max Byers enjoyed the service day Initially, SHARE coordinator Krissie Wiggins struggled to find a service spot for 100 because he got to spend it with his friends. “It was nice having a day off of school,” high schoolers with short notice, since Wiggins had started her position as coordinator Byers said. “But getting to hang out with evonly seven weeks prior. Wiggins was directed eryone and know I was helping other people to After the Harvest by Rockhurst’s service made me feel like I didn’t just waste my day day coordinator after reaching out to him for off.” help. “We knew it would be fun for the class to participate in one large project together,”

EXEC PROFILE MACKENZIE SWEAT SPONSOR PROFILE KRISSIE WIGGINS

lthough approximately 250 seniors participated in Senior Service Day, no one was more involved than the seven SHARE executives. Coordinator Krissie Wiggins said these seniors were more effective in planning than many adults she’s worked with. “The executives were absolutely critical to the day’s success,” Wiggins said. “I knew they would have to carry the banner to inspire their fellow seniors. Their insight was critical in helping me understand the best way to organize and promote the day so the seniors would buy in.” SHARE executive senior Mackenzie Sweat has been preparing for this day since Sweat signs thank-you notes during SHARE class the beginning of the year. She and the other photo by Annie Savage execs visited senior seminars to promote the event, and also contacted service sites. Sweat, along with the other execs, is On the day of the event, Sweat worked at pleased with the way the day went. The turnHospice House with nine other seniors. There out of students exceeded their expectations. they received a two hour training session on “I think the service day benefitted those how to help individuals in hospice. who haven’t ever had the chance to serve in “Not many people signed up for that projthe community,” Sweat said. “It was great seeect, so as an exec Krissie asked if I would work ing the senior class all come together to do there,” Sweat said. “It wasn’t the most popular something for someone else.” project, but I’m so glad I went.”

SHARE coordinator Krissie Wiggins spent seven weeks preparing for Senior Service Day, and although she was overwhelmed at first, she said the day was a huge success. “All credit to the senior class,” Wiggins said. “They weren’t required to be in school that morning and yet “The SHARE execs and I are just so impressed and so grateful,” more than 250 showed Wiggins said. photo by Annie Savage up. What a precedent they’ve set for future After this year’s success, Wiggins can’t classes.” wait for next year. She is glad to have more On the actual day of the event, Wiggins time to plan, and also intends to involve staff stayed behind at East to be the “hub”. Accord- members in the planning. ing the Wiggins, there were a few “hiccups” “I hope to create more opportunities for throughout the day, so she was glad to be the students to challenge themselves and there. move out of their comfort zone,” Wiggins “I was sad not to get to see the kids at work said. “I’d love to see the class of 2016 show up at the service sites,” Wiggins said, “But I’ve in even greater numbers, though I’ll always really enjoyed the pictures. When the kids have a special place in my heart for the class returned, I sought feedback from them and of 2015.” some of the adults who went along.”

news

Almost Take

A local attempted kidnapping reminds parents that they can never be too careful written by Claire Pottenger photos by Katie Lamar

tanding between a rack of neon running skirts and sports bras, sophomore Mazie Brooke impatiently waited for her mom. Finally, her mom seemed have made up her mind; she had found exactly the type of pepper spray she wanted her daughter to have. While walking to the Dick’s Sporting Good’s checkout, Brooke couldn’t help rolling her eyes thinking, I live in Johnson County- is this really necessary? What prompted the new security measures was when Brooke’s mom heard about an attempted abduction. According to fox4kc an 18-year-old woman was almost abducted from a driveway in Overland Park She told the police she was grabbed from behind by a man. As soon as she screamed, the suspect ran. “After my mom heard about the girl getting taken from the driveway she bought me pepper spray and started talking about signing me up for self-defense classes.” Brooke said. When incidents like this occur parents are not the only ones who make changes, the school district will often take extra safety precautions as well. “A lot of times when events like this happen, the district and principles will send information out warning people to be careful and giving kids tips on what to do in stranger danger situations,” SRO officer Eric Mieske said. Earlier this school year a middle school student was approached by a man in a SUV at 87th St. and Glenwood. SMSD sent parents a report telling what had happened and advising them to be on the lookout. For the next few days, the Prairie Village Police also sent extra men out on patrol to show the community they were aware of the situation. Schools will give students reminders and tips on what to do if they see a suspicious vehicle or person approaching them. In the weeks to follow, after hearing about the abduction, parents may stop letting their children run at night. They buy their daughters pepper spray; Kids that normally walk to school

are driven. But after a couple weeks Mieske says the “freak out” time passes and people relax; normal safety routines return. Brooke admitted even after about a week her mom stopped reminding her to carry pepper spray and the self-defense classes were never brought up again. However some parents take safety precautions all the time, despite living in a safe neighborhood. Sophomore Libby LeGard has never been allowed to run at night. She admits it can be frustrating when she wants to exercise, but her parents won’t allow her because of stranger danger. Sometimes she would argue with her parent that living in Mission Hills was safe and that nothing was going to happen to her. She claimed they were being unreasonable and overprotective. But once she heard about attempted abductions happening near her home, she began to understand her parents’ reasoning. She now realizes that her parents have her best interest in mind and only want to keep her safe. “Being abducted is one of the scariest things ever to think about,” LeGard said. “I would obviously prefer to miss a run to keep myself safe. Sometimes it is easy to forget even though we live in a safe neighborhood, crime can still happen. According to Mieske running alone isn’t completely unsafe but advises to run with a friend if possible. Other alternatives include carrying pepper spray, carrying your cell phone and always letting someone know how long you plan on being gone. “I think it is wise to always be conscious and aware of your surroundings,” Mieske said. “People probably don’t pay as much attention to [abductions] as they should. There is kinda a false sense of security with all crimes in this area.”

Ways To Stay Safe

Be aware of your surroundings. Being alert and attentive can keep you safe

Say “no” to strangers. Even people whom you think you know can pose a threat

“no.”

Carry mace or a repellent spray. Being prepared with the correct materials will help you in a dangerous situation

Learn self defense. A class in your area can teach you protective moves

Share your concerns. Letting someone know you feel unsafe can be very important

photos by Paloma Dickey

written by Celia Hack

“I think that it will really allow [students] to connect with us and also allow us to see their point of view with things, so that when we are planning events, for like Student Council or even just other clubs at East, I think we’ll be able to understand where they’re coming from and maybe they’ll also understand where we are coming from, so we can create events that will help each other.”

Kyle Baker

“I think it can help for the reason that we can provide a new perspective that might not originally be seen before and in addition to that, we’ll be doing a lot of community service, so of course that will help the community and people around.”

Max Keeter

“I’m honestly just hoping to accomplish helping the community and growing as a person myself.”

Denisa Butas “I want to help other people. I’m in other groups that do stuff, like a youth group, and it’s another way to give back to the community.”

Gabe Altenbernd “I think getting the perspective of politically active youth will bring fresh and innovative ideas that can help PV.”

Ali Dastjerti “It will be a youth’s point of view on topics, so it’s not all adults making decisions. I think [us being there] will make [council members] be more open to ideas and realize that kids have ideas too.”

Bailey Riecker

the

students’

news

city council

East students get involved with the Prairie Village government Prairie Village is starting a new program: integrating teens into the political system through the Prairie Village Teen Council. Made up of six East students, the council will have the opportunity to participate in city government and to get involved in city council meetings and other city proceedings with the mayor and city council members. Councilwoman Jori Nelson came up with the original idea for the council, bringing it up at a council meeting several months ago. However, the entire city council came together to create the Teen Council. “It was created to expose students to the workings of municipal government and to promote mentoring relationships with the elected officials,” asst. City Administrator Kate Gunja said, “The city council persons.” The six students selected for the program are senior Ali Dastjerdi, senior Max Keeter, senior Denisa Butas, junior Kyle Baker, junior Gabe Altenbernd and sophomore Bailey Riecker. Nine students applied for the six spots. Each Teen Council member will be assigned to a ward, a subdivision of the city, and each ward has two city council members. That means that each member will have two city council “mentors” for them to learn from. “As opposed to sitting in the audience and watching as an audience, they’ll be able to sit next to their council representative,” Gunja said. This is where the teens can have the most impact on the city, according to mayor Ron Shaffer. He believes that there is a possibility for the teens to change their council member’s mind on issues that appear in meetings, because the teens sit right next to their two assigned council members. The Teen Council will help the six students participating as well. The members will have an opportunity to experience real life workings of

the municipal government, skills that they can take back to Shawnee Mission East or to their own lives. “I think that [Teen Council] will really allow them to connect with us,” Baker said, “And also allow us to see their point of view with things, so that we can create events that will help each other.” The relationship between the Teen Council and the city council members will be symbiotic. The program is meant to help the kids and the adults, so they can share ideas that normally wouldn’t be shared. “I think it will make them be more open to ideas and realize that kids have ideas too,” Riecker said. Baker agreed with this, saying that the City Council hears more from older citizens and adults, but it’s difficult for them to find out what problems kids are having. Baker hopes to see the overall management of the city, as well as how the city solves everyday problems. In his experience with student council, learning how to solve small problems that arise at the worst times would help him a lot. When planning a tailgate, Baker had to call around at the last minute to find a caterer, after their initial one canceled. “I would just like to see what [council members] would do in situations like that,” Baker said. “They’re not planning tailgates, but they are doing community events that need food. I’m excited to learn different ways to stretch time and make things fit together right.” Besides sitting with their assigned council person in at least four Council Meetings, the Teen Council members are also required to attend three committee meetings, participate in a Prairie Village Police operations tour and ride along, and set up a Public Service Project, among other activities.

2 3

council member memos

Attend four Council meetings

PV Police operations tour and ride along

6 7

Attend a Community Involvement meeting

Attend three Committee meetings

Meet with City Staff and the Mayor Association

Go to a Public Works operations tour

Do a Public Service Project

2,200 members of the community will see this ad. Contact us for information on advertising with the Harbinger smeharbinger@gmail.com 913-993-6688

www.odelayoliveoil.com

* Discounts for High School Students!

BREAK-IN BAD written by Jessica Parker

The Grays never lock their doors during the day, but always secure them at night. School Resource Officer Chad Boling said that vehicle breakins have been common in the neighborhood. Many have been due to unlocked cars, few times it is a broken window. “Most of the cars made now have electronic locks and are very difficult to pick unless specifically trained,” Boling said, “Even a locked car will urge intruders to bypass, because breaking a window creates a lot of noise.” Officer Boling advised students to park in a well-lit and easily seen spot, due to the fact that most break-ins occur at night. He said that break-ins commonly take place when an item could be easily and quickly stolen. “Lock your cars up,” Boling said. “Make sure all valuables are either hidden or, better, taken out of the car.”

TIPS ON HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOUSE SAFE FROM INTRUDERS

Deadbolt locks should be used on all exterior doors Be sure outdoor lighting illuminates all entrances to the home

news

photo illustration by Morgan Browning

n early October, the Prairie Village Police Department stopped a home invasion for the second time in a month. According to an online police report from the PVPD, the squad was able to stop a forced back-door entry after receiving a call mid-morning from a neighbor. Officers arrived to find one intruder still in the home, while the other had escaped in a vehicle. However, the fleeting intruder did not make it far because of a collision with a passing motor vehicle; taken to the hospital with minor injuries. East students residing in Prairie Village have taken steps to make their home and vehicles more secure in light of recent break-ins. Sophomore Porter Carroll explained that her family makes it routine to always lock their doors since the break-ins, especially at night. Although living about eight minutes away from the previous break-in, talk within the neighborhood informed the residents. Some took actions to more carefully safeguard their house, other’s took the information and continued life with open doors. “We’ve had a closer look on things after we heard about the multiple break-ins; making sure we lock our doors, and keep our garage closed,” Carroll said. Prior to knowledge of break-ins in the neighborhood, the Carrolls would leave their garage open and even the backdoor to their house. Carroll explains that with two brothers, and even more friends running in and out of the house all day, it was common to keep the house unlocked and at risk. According to PVPD Chief Wes Jordan, his squad has arrested five people for committing two burglaries in the past month. Overall, burglaries in Prairie Village have been down within the last few months. However, in Mission Hills the numbers have recently been increasing. Chief Jordan reasoned that most burglaries occur during the evening and at night. “Residents can help by keeping lights on when they are not at home,” Jordan said in an email statement. “Close blinds if televisions are visible from the street, lock vehicles and don’t leave valuables in plain view--really just common sense approaches.” Sophomore Mallory Gray, who also lives in Prairie Village, expressed that the recurring break-ins have not drastically changed the way her family secures her house. “My dad believes that our dog is our watchdog, and will keep us safe,” Gray said.

SAFE HOUSE

PRAIRIE VILLAGE HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ATTEMPTED BREAKINS

Keep windows and doors locked at all times

Never hide or store keys or tools outside photos couretsy of MCT Campus

Shawnee Mission Girls Lacrosse Fall Ball Lacrosse Conditioning and Skill Development

All high school females interested in playing lacrosse are invited to join our offseason fall workout program! Work on drills and skill development before the 2015 spring season with players and captains from the team.

Sunday Oct. 19 & 26 12pm-1:15pm Linwood Park (99th St. and Mission Rd.) $25 per player (cash or check made out to Shawnee Mission Girls Lacrosse Club)

Equipment Required: stick, mouth guard, eye protection For more information visit smgirlslacrosse.com

opinion

A Tackled Tradition

photo illustration by Kaitlyn Stratman photo illustration by Kaitlyn Stratman

opinion by Phoebe Aguiar

rom, open lunch for seniors, three art classes and convenient parking are a few of the things that most of the upperclassmen here at East look forward to, aside from the guaranteed ability to call seniority over the lesser sophomores and freshman. Of all of these perks we gain for surviving the first few years of East, the one I looked forward to the most-- yes even more than not having to park in the sophomore lot -- was Powderpuff. For those who are unaware, Powderpuff is football for girls, and here at East it has historically been the junior girls versus the senior girls in a “touch,” which usually ends up being tackle, football game. This is not exclusive to East. Other Shawnee Mission Schools as well as out of district schools have a similar activity for their upperclassman girls. Usually the requirements to participate are: you are female, junior or senior, you attend the practices and don’t hurt each other too badly. That was all you needed to be on a team and to play in the games. You don’t even need an extensive knowledge of the game of football. Last year Powderpuff became exclusively for cheer and drill teams, for reasons that are still unclear to me. To my dad, who is, in the best way possible, obsessed with football but left without a boy he can live vicariously through, I have always been the “one who should have played football.” Ever since I learned what Powderpuff was from my babysitter in first grade, I wanted to play to prove that I too could play football. I had more reasons for wanting to play besides proving

Despite years past, only Spirit Squads are allowed to participate in Powder Puff Football, leaving out a majority of girls in the junior and senior class

a point. High school is stressful and Powderpuff would be an outlet for some stress release. Very rarely are girls able to tackle each other to the ground without a trip to the SRO office. I’ve also been involved in sports and I’ve gone to State more times as a track athlete than our football team has, so I would think I’m fairly athletic and could be a star Powderpuff player, although my catching ability may be called into question. Aside from my personal issues, I can’t seem to grasp why all of a sudden more than 90 percent of East upperclassman girls are no longer able to play Powderpuff. Maybe it’s organization, inability to plan. Or is it simply reinforcing the stereotype of football players teaching the cheerleaders and dancers how to do more than just wave pom poms. Does East really want to be the school where if you want to be part of something you have to a cheerleader, dancer or football player? It seems unusual for a school so focused on being so open and friendly, unless maybe it was the case of egos and clichés. Girls who can cheer and dance are far from unathletic but it doesn’t give them superiority, true. I can’t do back handspring or dance-- at all. Being able to coordinate the school

song with kicks and flips, while impressive, doesn’t mean they can throw a spiral any better than a softball pitcher. A basketball player might take a hit better than flyer. So many of the school’s best athletes who have school records, state titles and college careers ahead of them, as well as all the girls who just want to be active and have some fun are cut out of trying their hand at football, which they will most likely never play. Maybe the changes last year are because of logistical issues of time, team size and t-shirt design. It only takes a few minutes and a series of mouse clicks to make a group on Facebook and one person to lay out the schedule and decide on a Comfort Colors t-shirt. It might take more work than just googling the cheer and drill team rosters, but it’s easier than most homework assignments. As a senior, it’s too late now for me to get a chance to play football, and while I may hold a grudge for a while, maybe something will change. For now I can support the girls who are playing this year because along with tackling each other they are playing to collect cans for charity. Possibly next year there will be another change and more girls will have the chance to beat down on each other in the name of sports.

opinion

Making Best SicklySituation the

of a

Sophomore Ellie Booton deals with having Mononucleosis

“Do you want some?” I asked as I passed the chocolate ice cream to my best friend’s brother. He nodded and took a bite. I dug the spoon back in the carton and swallowed a chunk for myself when he slowly looked up at me. “Oh, and by the way, I have mono”. * * * There are three definitions of mono: The social definition: “The kissing disease.” Because Susie kissed Bobby and now her throat is sore! Ah! The medical definition: Mononucleosis. An abnormally high proportion of monocytes in the blood. MY definition: A lymph-node swelling, spleen rupturing, boy-repellent where two golfballs block the path between my tongue and my trachea. I’m cursed with a sub-par immune system, so I get sick as often as a “Friends” marathon runs on ABC Family. So, sitting on the waxy paper in the doctors office didn’t phase me. What would it be this time? Bronchitis? Strep? Maybe just something viral. But when a nurse jammed her elongated Q-tip down my throat to test for strep and the results came out negative, having mono became a more realistic fate. That’s when I started to worry. Could I really have mono? I don’t even know how I would’ve gotten—oh my god. The ice cream. I shared the spoon with an, at the time, unknowingly sick boy. After I swallowed the frozen chocolate, my paranoia kicked in. I convinced myself that running my tongue under a tap-waterfall would erase any bad bacteria from my system. I was wrong. Sure enough, the results of a blood test confirmed that I would feel mono’s wrath for the next 2-4 weeks.

Nice. I knew it would suck, but I wasn’t prepared for my skin to freeze over in a perpetual state of goosebumps. I wasn’t prepared for glands I didn’t know existed to swell. And I especially wasn’t prepared to feel light-headed after a lap around the classroom. Nor did I know I could hibernate. Seriously- I have never slept so much in my life. But even still, the three flights of stairs at school are my personal Mt. Everest. The only thing that sets them apart is that I don’t feel accomplished at the peak, I just want a chair and an inhaler. Falling off the academic grid for two weeks hasn’t helped my grades much, either. My Skyward account’s missing assignments are racking up, and going to school just feels like I’m wandering through a maze. I don’t know what lessons I’ve missed, what quizzes I have tomorrow or how I should magically learn all the Algebra 2 I’ve been gone for. So, instead of learning quadratics and reading Shakespeare, I’ve been familiarizing myself with the obscurities of the Scifi channel and rekindling my love for Agent Reid from Criminal Minds. I’ve made one too many Snapchat videos of myself trying to recreate the KitKat commercials and discovered what my cat really does all day--sleep. (Anti-climatic, I know). And so do I. Averaging 13 hours a day now, my sleep count is at an all time high. But, on the days that my throat doesn’t feel like a freshly-used punching bag, I emerge from my basement, splash my dry skin with water and make it to school. My day goes something like this: “Oh hey where’ve you been— wait do you have Ebola?!” “Don’t breathe on me or touch my food.” “You need to be at least five feet away from me at all times.”

A closer look at Mononucleosis 77%

77 percent of patients with Mono are between ages 15 and 50

38%

written by Ellie Booton photos illustration Abby Hans

38 percent of high school and college students take more than two months to recover

3 Steps

to Treating Mono

Even my teachers cower in my presence. A friendly “Hey Mrs. ____!” follows with a sidestep to the left and a look so harsh, you would think I ate God’s children. But the worst is my own old man. Only the other night, I woke up from my nap to watch a recording of “The Voice” with my family. My dad held a fresh-popped bowl of Orville Redenbacher’s and I, naturally, swooped in and grabbed a handful. Right as my fingers hit the butter-caked kernels, he cringed and hugged the bowl like a preschooler attached to his prized teddy-bear and shrank back to his bedroom to eat them in peace. So, dear friends, family and administrators: unless you shove your tongue down my throat, are somehow at the other end of my spit-drop game or we exchange straws at lunch--I can’t get you sick. Shocking, huh? A hug, handshake, heck--eye-contact is permissible, so don’t mistake me for the grim reaper. And as if I didn’t already know how lifeless I look, I still get friendly reminders. “Wow. Are you sick or something?” “Aw Ellie, is everything okay?” “You just look a little tired.” Yes, I am sick “or something”. And if you disregard my inability to swallow anything, then yeah, I’m okay, thanks for asking. And yes, I am very, very tired. For the time being, I can only wait for the day my tonsils shed their white patches and shrink back down to their normal state. It’s only a matter of time before I can climb a flight of stairs without my spleen exploding. And if you can’t find me in a week from now, hold the Amber Alert--I’ve probably molded into one of my basement’s futons getting way too into “Wheel of Fortune”.

Avoid Exercise Drink plenty of fluids Get Lots of Rest

HEAPS of HELP

Photoessay

Seniors spent their day off on Oct. 15 volunteering at Cider Hill Apple Orchard to collect the windfalls for the less fortunate. The orchard is a you-pick orchard so the windfalls (apples that have fallen off of the trees) often go to waste. This is SHARE’s first year doing Senior Service day. The idea was an alternative to having seniors miss school due to sophomore and junior testing.

above Sophie Paulk is in awe at the size of the windfallen apples. “I personally had so much fun picking apples for Senior Service Day. It was a little dirty being on the ground finding apples that had fallen, but it was very rewarding and it was so much better than being in class all day,” Paulk said. “I think Senior Service Day is something that should be carried on for the next senior classes because it was a great way to give back to the community with our friends.”

photos by Annie Savage

above Max Sanborn and Garrett Bloom carry bags combined with everyone’s apples to be loaded into the trucks. “I think [apple picking] went great. We didn’t quite reach our goal of filling 8 bins, but I had a lot of fun doing it,” Sanborn said. “It was a great experience for an even better cause. It should definitely be an annual event.”

left Evan Rose sits on the back of a car waiting anxiously to leave the orchard. “I like how this year’s SHARE is already doing new things,” Rose said. “It was awesome seeing how many people they got to sign up.”

left

Mary Locascio and Lauren Gibbs pack up the apples into boxes before sending them away in a truck. “I think that [apple picking] brought us closer together as a class,” Gibbs said.

above

Gracie Guignon takes a bite into an apple she picked while seniors gather around and watch. “It was a really fun event to do with the senior class and seeing everyone help out on their day off was really cool,” Guignon said. “I also ate some of the apples and they tasted better than I expected.”

GuidingGreatness

A Day in the Life

Wiseman drives her kids’ soccer carpools and attends her husband’s soccer games Wiseman meets with students every 30 minutes during the day Working out with her friends helps Wiseman to clear her head

“If they’re going to come in and say ‘I need help.’ I want to give it to them in any way that I can,” - Wiseman said. photos by Annika Sink

he young man towers over her. He is such a nice kid. He’s tall. Maybe 6-foot-4 inches. His father is dead and his mother is in jail — for murdering his father. He’s just been arrested for possession of marijuana. Guidance counselor Becky Wiseman has to tell him he is going straight to jail this time. He’s not mad that he got caught. He’s ruined because he couldn’t imagine himself in jail. That place wasn’t supposed to be for him, the place where his mother is. And it’s Wiseman’s job to give him advice, then send him off to the detention center. It breaks her. She shuts the door and cries. But she doesn’t stay behind that door for long. She has to pull herself together. She has a job to do. * * * Over ten years later, her office has humble decorations. Family photos, colorful tiles. A lamp in the corner replaces the harsh, institutional lights in the ceiling, creating a warm glow within the room. Centered at her desk, Wiseman leans forward onto her elbows. And smiles. “We all have a story,” Wiseman said. “We all have things going on in our lives.” She listens to young people’s stories, but she doesn’t internalize them. “I’m there with them,” Wiseman said. “And I’m there beside them but I can’t absorb that because it’s not fair for them and it’s not fair for myself.” She doesn’t take the stories to heart because they’re not hers to take. And she’s heard a lot of stories. Both good and bad. Back in high school Wiseman was growing up in Andover, KS. Her graduating class of 125 was nothing but sameness. The students looked alike and talked alike. They were from suburban and farming communities, conservative and happy. Wiseman’s career in counseling started during those years, before she knew it’d be her life. It was her nature to care, to help. She began to notice that even in her happy town, there were still issues affecting her peers. “That’s kind of where this whole thing started because I had some friends in high school with some severe family issues and I was their therapist at the time,” Wiseman said. “I didn’t know that. I was just a good listener.” A few years later, Wiseman officially began her career in therapy. She was 21 and studying human development and social work at the University of Kansas. The brown-haired girl from the sheltered small

feature

Inside the mind of Guidance Counselor, Becky Wiseman written by Morgan Krakow

town decided to work in a home for troubled youth called “The Shelter.” Wiseman had only known a world of respect. Respect for teachers and friends. No one cursed or yelled, everyone followed the rules. When Wiseman first started at “The Shelter” she quickly learned how different her growing up was from these teens. Fourteen kids, co-ed. Boys on the top floor. Girls on the bottom. And here, rules seemed like they were meant to be broken. Some had been arrested, some had been removed from unsafe home environments. “Walking in that first day,” Wiseman said. “It was sink or swim.” There, Wiseman had the best and worst experiences of her career. It was there she realized that she loved working with teens. She developed a heart for it. She marvelled at how much they had been through, the walk-out fathers, the violence, the drugs. It was foreign to her, but their stories didn’t just show their weaknesses, they showed their strength. At “The Shelter,” she developed a thick skin against insults and curse words and learned that building a relationship with young people was easier than fighting them. “A lot of times I look at their insults, their rudeness, their comments, that it wasn’t about me,” Wiseman said. “It was about what was going on in their world. They were unhappy with their life.” She then went to work as a court mandated counselor and then transitioned to guidance counseling after having two children of her own. For Wiseman, East is a stark contrast to her previous jobs. Students are dealing with a totally different set of issues. Instead of gang violence and drug problems, Wiseman now helps students who have experienced depression, anxiety or family issues. “[I see] a lot of kids going ‘I should be the happiest kid on the planet. I’ve got two parents. I’ve got a car. I’ve got food, clothes. but I’m not happy what’s wrong with me?” Wiseman said. According to Wiseman, the kids in the “The Shelter” were forthright with their issues. They rarely hid their problems, and would discuss them openly. Among East students she perceives a different attitude. “Kids feel they need to be high functioning at all times.” Wiseman said. “They feel a sense of ‘I need to look good, I need to sound good, I need to be good and that’s all there is to it.’ And I think that’s a lot of pressure.” Wiseman thinks that secrecy hurts students. Sometimes it’s hard for them to overcome, but oftentimes students just need to speak with another human. And being that other human isn’t easy. But that’s why she’s here. Wiseman will have days when she can’t fix someone’s problem. There will be times when she has no idea what to do. She’ll still feel that she’s doing it all wrong, that she should quit. But quitting isn’t her style. Instead of giving up, she checks in with herself, she goes to the gym. She plays with her kids, takes them to soccer practice. “I try to keep myself very healthy,” Wiseman said. “I can’t come in being a mess.” Because Wiseman is here, every day, in that corner office, smiling and ready to help the students who stream in and out by the half hour. “If they’re going to come in and say ‘I need help,” Wiseman said. “I want to give it to them in any way that I can.”

Spread

AView LGBT+ students share their coming out stories

from Inside the

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Spread

*Names changed to prtotect identity “Who’s the girl? Is she cute? Are you dating her?” Senior Nick Grossenkemper’s just returned from a phone call, and his friend Cade Wright wants to know who with. Nick tries to get Cade to back off, to get back to the video game they’re in the middle of, but Cade keeps pushing. Nick realizes there’s no way he can get out of this. He’ll have to tell Cade that there’s no girl, that there’s never going to be a girl. He’ll have to tell Cade he’s gay. Trouble with class. Exams. Grades. The Human Rights Campaign has research that shows that non-LGBT+ teenagers list these things as their biggest problems. But when the HRC asked LGBT+ students the same question, the answers are dramatically different. Not feeling accepted by family. Bullying at school. A fear of coming out. Coming out: revealing one’s sexuality or gender identity to family, friends or even total strangers. For many LGBT+ young people coming out for the first time is a crucial moment in their lives. Although many are supported by those who love them for who they are, some are met with disbelief, judgement or abuse. Research from the CDC shows that six out of 10 LGBT+ young people have felt unsafe at school. LGBT+ young people are more than twice as likely to commit suicide than their straight peers. On the other hand, LGBT+ students whose homes and schools are safe and supportive environments report the lowest rates of depression and suicidal thoughts of any student group, including straight students. Nick was one of these students affected by the worry of what people at school would think. He was 12 when he knew, when he realized why he couldn’t join in with his friends when they

talked about girls. But it wasn’t until his junior year that Nick finally mustered up the courage to come out. For a while he refused to acknowledge his sexuality, as though not thinking about it would make it not true. Throughout middle school he felt distant from everyone else, constantly in fear that someone would find out.

“I knew there was one person in our school who was out and nobody liked him,” Nick said. “So I was just afraid that would happen to me.” In high school, Nick discovered a forum for LGBT+ teenagers on Reddit, a social-network website. It was full of personal stories, advice and encouragement. Seeing positive stories of coming out gave Nick the resolve to do the same. Even after he’d made the decision to come out, it took him three weeks to build up the nerve to tell his mother, and even longer to face the prospect of coming out to his friends. Thinking back, it seems silly now. Cade never judged Nick, never questioned him. “I was so worried,” Nick said. “I had no idea how they would react. But they were all so supportive.” The fact that his family and friends were there for him helped Nick come to terms with being gay, but he can’t help but think that maybe if he’d grown up knowing that his sexuality was OK, finding acceptance wouldn’t have taken him so long. He wouldn’t have spent five long years afraid to tell anyone who he really was.

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“Hi, I’m Maria. Bisexual.” Senior Maria Lawson* introduces herself at East’s Gay Straight Alliance club at the beginning of junior year. Her voice is full of false confidence, trying to cover up her nerves. It was the first time she’d said her sexuality out loud. For her, this was a huge step in affirming her identity. It hadn’t been until Maria was 15 that it began to dawn on her that when her friends talked about their ‘girl crushes,’ they didn’t mean it in the same way she did. It took her some time, and a lot of Google searches, to decide that bisexual was definitely what she was, and towards the end of sophomore year she began to identify as such. She was never ashamed of her sexuality, but she was very aware that being bisexual could have a big impact on her life, and the way people saw her. “I didn’t really realize until the day I introduced myself at GSA how much it killed me keeping such a huge part of myself secret,” Maria said. “I know it’s ridiculously cliche, but I felt really free. It was like a weight off my shoulders.” She left school that day and considered the possibility of coming out to her parents. Although Maria knew they would be supportive, she worried they wouldn’t take her seriously. She was worried they would consider it

a “phase,” and wanted to wait until she had a girlfriend to tell them. “Thinking back, it was such a screwed up concept,” Maria said. “This idea that my words and feelings weren’t enough, that I had to somehow prove my sexuality.” She had resolved not to tell them, but then that evening her dad made an offhand statement that changed her mind. “He said something along the lines of ‘... someday when you have a husband,’” Maria said. “It just made me feel so weird. I hated the idea that only hours before I had felt so comfortable, and now I felt like I had to deny a part of myself to my family. So that night I just pulled myself together and told them.” Maria hasn’t yet come out to her school friends, and a part of her really wishes that everyone knew, because she doesn’t like the idea of having to hide parts of herself. Some days she really considers coming out to her school friends, and she’ll feel really ready to do it. But then something will happen and her resolve will be right back to square one. It’s little things, offhand statements about how bisexual girls are just going through a phase or can’t be trusted not to cheat on their partners. “People don’t realize the effect of the things they say,” Maria said. “They don’t realize that I’m standing there feeling sick to my stomach.” And for Maria that’s the real struggle, her fear of all the preconceptions and prejudices that come along with her sexuality. She says she wants to be seen as a person, with hobbies and opinions and ambitions, she’s terrified that she’ll be reduced to the bisexual label and nothing more. For the time being she’s just not ready to give up just being a normal kid. She’s not ready to live her life as somebody else’s stereotype.

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Freshman Aidan Alison can’t assign himself restrictive labels. In eighth grade Aidan realized that, despite being born a girl, he was not either male or female but both, at different times - an identity known as genderfluid. Aidan asks people to call him by either male pronouns, he/him/his, or the gender neutral “they” pronoun. He leans more towards male than female, and can often go weeks as a guy only for something to shift. He then spends a few days in what he describes as a “random girly moment.” Aidan says it’s really hard on days when he is male, because he feels as though this body doesn’t fit who he is. Aidan will wear baggy pants and sweatshirt, binds his chest and contour his face with make up to look more masculine, but it’s not enough. “ I feel really self conscious,” Aidan said. “Like everyone’s going to look at me and say ‘aren’t you a girl?’ My body isn’t masculine at all, so I just feel like everything is wrong.” Aidan has also known since 7th grade that he is pansexual, gender doesn’t affect who he

is attracted to. For him, pansexuality is about freedom, it’s about not limiting himself. “I don’t care if you identify as male, female, agender, anything,” Aidan said. “If you like me and I like you, I’ll date you.” Aidan has told his mom about being pansexual and genderfluid, but is unable to open up to her because he feels she doesn’t understand. When asked, Aidan’s mother is hesitant to comment. “She is my child, and whatever decision she makes, those are her decisions,” Aidan’s mother said. On days where Aidan is a male, he stays in his bedroom, he can’t face constantly being referred to as “she.” “It’s disheartening, and it really knocks my self confidence,” Aidan said. “It makes me feel like my mom doesn’t know me.” Aidan gets his support from close friends at school, who are very accepting of Aidan’s gender and sexuality. Many of them are also LGBT+, so understand what it’s like. At school Aidan is open about his gender identity, but other students struggle to understand. “People will ignore it and call me a “she” when they know I want to be a he,” Aidan said. “I always explain to them, and tell them what pronouns I like. They just don’t get it. But my fingers are crossed for the future.”

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Coming out can be a relief, can bring the sense of freedom that comes with not having to hide. But experts stress that there is no shame in staying in the closet. Lily Knepper is a volunteer at LikeMe Lighthouse, an LGBT+ organization and community center in KC, MO. “Don’t ever be ashamed of who you are, but consider your own safety,” Knepper said. “Don’t feel like you have to come out into an environment that could threaten your physical or emotional safety. You can always just be out to yourself.” For Nick, Maria and Aidan, and for the hundreds of thousands of LGBT+ high school students across the country, coming out is about more than just telling your family or friends. It’s about self acceptance, about realizing that your sexuality and gender identity doesn’t define who you are, or limit who you can be.

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Terms Defined

Sex Refers to a person’s biological status and is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex.

Gender A person’s innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man,

woman or some other gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth (e.g., the sex listed on their birth certificate)

Gay A person who is emotionally, romantically and sexually attracted to people of their same gender

Bisexual A person wwho is emotionally, romantically and sexually attracted to people of the same or othe genders, though not necessarily simultaneously in the same way to the same degree

Pansexual A person who experiences emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to people reguardless of their sex or gender, often characterized as “gender-blind”

Asexual A person who experiences emotional and romantic attrraction but little or no sexual attraction to people

Tansgender A person whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned

to them at birth (e.g., the sex listed on their birth certificate). Not all people who are transgender undergo a sex change

Straight A person who is emotionally, romantically and sexually attracted to people of a different gender, who supports the LGBT+ community Ally and chllenges discrimination against them