The Harbinger: Issue 6

the harbinger.

SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208

NOV 13, 2017 VOLUME LIX ISSUE 6

Freshman “cowbell boy” Zeke Krause assumes the role of “energizer” while playing percussion in the band PAGES 16-17

COVER DESIGN ROBBIE VEGL AHN COVER PHOTOS ELLIE THOM A

THE HARBINGER

2 CONTENTS

table of contents.

peek inside.

editorial

Cheating is wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

A more detailed look at a few stories in the issue

TECH THREATENS PRIVACY

DO WHAT YOU LOVE

PAGE 11 | OPINION

PAGE 15 | FEATURES

NEWS

E

FOOD PARKWAY PAGE 24 | A&E

News briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

District aquatic center breaks ground. . . . . . . . . .

School board election results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 5 6 7

OPINION

Highschoolers need independence. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 College admissions is a money game. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 TECHNOLOGY INFRIGES ON PRIVACY. . . . . . . . . 11 Chronic stomach disease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

A L L SEEING

F E AT U R E S

New product “Amazon Key” continues the trend of technology that infringes on privacy in the home

Teacher with optical disorder uses visual impairment to fuel passion for teaching

A review of two of the new Ward Parkway restaurants in the new food pavilion | Hadley hyatt

| morgan plunkett

A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T

the harbinger staff.

PRINT EDITORS-INCHIEF Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn ASST. PRINT EDITORS Emily Fey Lizzie Kahle HEAD COPY EDITOR Daisy Bolin ART & DESIGN EDITOR Katie Hise ONLINE EDITORS-INCHIEF Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Annabelle Cook Will Tulp PRINT SECTION EDITORS Editorial- Caroline Chisholm News- Lucy Patterson Opinion- Gracie Kost & Scout Rice Features- Lila Tulp & Abby Walker Spread- Annabelle Cook A&E- Grace Padon & Liddy Stallard Sports- Elias Lowland

PAGE DESIGNERS Anna McClelland Carolyn Popper Jackie Cameron Natasha Thomas Gabby Leinbach Brynn Winkler Kaylin McCann Sarah Wilcox Sarah Bledsoe Meg Thoma Elizabeth Ballew Ava Johnson

PHOTO EDITORS Diana Percy Ellie Thoma Carson Holtgraves

STAFF ARTIST Donna Kay

HEAD PHOTO MENTOR Izzy Zanone

COPY EDITORS Mac Newman Madeline Hlobik Abby Walker Harrison Gooley Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc Annabelle Cook Will Tulp Caroline Chisholm Scout Rice Lucy Patterson Alex Freeman Pauline Shaver Daisy Bolin STAFF WRITERS Lucia Barraza Miranda Hack Jackie Cameron Maya Stratman

ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Grace Goldman Print- Audrey Kesler Online- Maddie Smiley SME PHOTOS EDITOR Carson Holtgraves

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Tyler Browning Ellen Swanson Reilly Moreland Luke Hoffman Lucy Morantz Elizabeth Anderson Ava Simonsen Morgan Plunkett Katherine Odell Katherine McGinness Hadley Hyatt Ally Griffith Kate Nixon Aislinn Menke Kathleen Deedy MOBILE MEDIA EDITORS Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman

Feminist club sponsors video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 MR. LAIRD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 .

Band member brings new energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16/17 East veterans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18/19

ONLINE SECTION EDITORS News- Alex Freeman Sports- Jet Semrick Features- Brooklyn Terrill A&E- Kaylin McCann Homegrown- Pauline Shaver Opinion- Miranda Hack Eastipedia- Lucy Kendall Humans of East- Kate Nixon ASST. MOBILE MEDIA EDITOR Brooklyn Terrill VIDEO EDITOR Avery Walker ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Drake Woods VIDEO TRAINING EDITOR Nic Bruyere LIVE BROADCAST EDITOR Peyton Watts WEBMASTER Marti Fromm PODCAST EDITOR Lucy Patterson

ANCHORS Ian Schutt Drake Woods INTERACTIVE EDITORS Will Tulp Annabelle Cook MULTIMEDIA STAFF Ian Schutt Dylan Krieg Maggie Schutt Reilly Moreland EDITORIAL BOARD Grace Chisholm Robbie Veglahn Reser Hall Kaleigh Koc Emily Fey Lizzie Kahle Annabelle Cook Will Tulp Daisy Bolin Anna McClelland Anna Kanaley Lucy Hoffman Brooklyn Terrill Harrison Gooley Caroline Chisholm

Ethnic food review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Messenger Coffee review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 .

WARD PARKWAY RESTAURANTS REVIEW. . . . . . . 24 “Stranger Things” review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

SPORTS

Brian Libeer football videos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New baseball coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Continuing to cheer after a broken face. . . . . . . . . .

Division 1 commits split-page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26 27 28 29

MORE

“Nooses Off” photo story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Glow Show photo story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Fall quiz alt-copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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 contents and views 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 quoted material may be confirmed with 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 though letters may be edited for clarity, length, libel or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 521 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com

WRITTEN BY EDITORIAL BOARD DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLM PHOTOS BY AUDREY KESLER

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

JS SR JT

EDITORIAL

Jack Smith

At Your Fingertips

Can someone send a pic of the worksheet?

Sara Relly

PLZ send the homework... I’m DESPERATE

5

Have you done the homework yet?

2

Don’t copy it word for word

Jim Thomas What was on the quiz today?

ME

I’ll literally pay you please

Help a brother out Cheating has become too common in schools and needs to be reduced I’ll owe you one I don’t have time to do the sheet tonight

FOR:15

E

veryday all throughout school it is evident that students are not upholding an honorable education. We see it in our classes, at Starbucks study groups, on our phones.

Everyday, many students choose dishonesty over integrity in order to achieve higher test scores and better averages by cheating.

Students don’t see following the honor code as a priority anymore; some don’t even realize the homework they are copying down in between passing periods is cheating. Honor codes are supposed to be self-regulating.

It is a student’s job to make honesty a priority. Our generation has changed from students upholding and understanding the importance of the honor code to a school environment based around cheating themselves out of a honest education. Honor codes have lost their value, and we need to take action to restore honesty in education.

Telling a friend about what questions are on the test they are about to take is cheating. Sending or receiving pictures of a completed worksheet due the next day is cheating. Students see these acts of cheating as insignificant – as long as they aren’t copying answers off someone’s test, then they think aren’t doing anything wrong.

While there are more obvious ways of cheating, such as looking at your lab partner’s Scranton, mouthing numbers and letters back and forth with a friend or taking pictures of a completed test and sending it to someone who has to make it up, the cheating that is unconscious is just as unacceptable as blatantly cheating. Parents and teachers need to do a better job of outlining what cheating really means.

Cheating, both conscious and unconscious, has become relatively easy and more tolerated. It happens every single

3

Attachment: 1 image aGAINST:0

day in and outside of school, which could be detrimental to future generations. It happens too often to enforce the consequences that are in place for those who cheat.

Just because it might save you a few hours of studying or allow you to have a night out with friends, does that mean you should do it? The answer is no.

Academic dishonesty has consequences. You’ll get a zero on the Chemistry quiz you spent four hours studying for because your teacher saw you eying your lab partner’s Scranton. Every sprint you pushed through is wiped away when you’re kicked off the soccer team. You’ll have one less achievement to add to your resume when you get blacklisted from joining NHS. You could lose thousands of dollars by being expelled from the college you had spent your life preparing for.

These consequences are more severe than a one-time zero on a quiz or having a meeting with your math teacher, but the repeated offenses of cheating in high school will follow you to college, your first job and the rest of our life.

Cheating continues throughout high school and to college.

In 2016, 85 students at Ohio State University were punished for collaborating on online exams, and for having one student complete the other students’ coursework in exchange for money. Punishments ranged from warnings to dismissals from the school. In 2012, Harvard University investigated 125 students in what it called “the most widespread cheating scandal” in the school’s history. Harvard forced over half of the students involved to withdraw from the school.

The internet has enabled this world of cheating by allowing students to instantly connect with answers or works to plagiarize. By typing one question into Google, students

5 Ways Students Cheat

A few of the ways the editorial board has seen other students cheating

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

are able to access multiple websites and pictures with the entire completed key.

Some students are lazy and aren’t driven to excel in school on their own, but others feel pressured to cheat because of the competitive environment in school. Students are focusing on the bigger picture by studying for unit exams and relying on their friends to send them the assignments due in other hours. Students are so focused on keeping their grades higher than their peers.

The competitive environment entices students to go online and seek out an answer key completed correctly instead of learning the material.

Assignments, tests, quizzes and all schoolwork serves a purpose. It stimulates the brain and forces students to grasp the concept they are being taught, not just understand shortterm. Students are hurting themselves in the long-run.

Unable to fake it on finals, the ACT or on AP tests their scores will reflect the most tragic consequence of all: not retaining the important lessons they are taught everyday in class due to the continual cheating.

We see it everyday, in our classrooms, at Starbucks or Panera, in our group chats, in our quick conversations in the halls. Cheating, collaborating, helping a friend out, whatever you consider it is everywhere. Cheating has become a normality at East, and dire action is needed. Teachers need to devise a better system of monitoring their students tests and assignments like locking screens on online tests. Schools need to stress and teach the importance of academic integrity.

Students need to realize they are hurting themselves by not putting forth the effort to learn something new so they can learn to be successful as an independent student.

Sending or receiving a picture of an assignment Looking off another student’s answer sheet Seeking out a completed key online Writing notes on hands, legs, water bottles etc. to bring into a test Talking to each other during a quiz or test

DESIGN LUCY PAT TERS ON

4 NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF

THE HARBINGER

BY E MILY FEY Assistant Print Editor

EAST

East theater performs production of comedy “Nooses Off” The East Theater Program has completed its run of Nooses Off, directed by Brian Cappello and student directed by Senior Sydney Horton.

The show ran from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. each night.

The production follows a dysfunctional troupe of actors, crew members and a playwright who fail in their effort to create a play based off of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians.”

Junior Davis Vaughn, who played Arnold, said that fall plays in the past have been serious dramas, while Nooses Off is the first comedy they have done this time of year while he has been at East.

“I am glad that they did a comedy this year, as those are a lot more energetic,” Vaughn said.

According to Vaughn, the audience for this year’s fall play was larger than past years due to comedies attracting more of an audience than dramas. Tickets were free for students with IDs, but $7 for everyone else.

Sophomore Lucy Brock, who played Taylor, enjoyed acting in the show because of the closeness of the about 20 cast members.

“It was a really fun production and there seriously wasn’t a weak link in the cast,” Brock said. “There was so much love in the cast it was insane.”

NATIONAL

LOCAL

Prairie Village Police Department adds confirmation lights to two intersections The Prairie Village Police Department has added “confirmation lights” to stop lights on 75th and Mission Rd. as well as 75th and Roe Ave. The two blue lights on each side of the stop lights are there to help police better enforce red light traffic violations.

“When the red light comes on, the light turns blue,” Traffic Unit Supervisor Sergeant Eric McCullough said. “That way an officer can sit from different locations and be able to see violations of the red light.”

The lights at 75th and Mission were placed on Oct. 26 and the lights at 75th and Roe were placed on Oct. 30. The confirmation lights, which have been used in Overland Park, Shawnee and Lenexa already, were placed on these two intersections due to an accident analysis done by the McCullough.

“Every year, I do an analysis of all the accidents in the city and 75th and Mission and 75th and Roe are consistently our highest accident intersections,” McCullough said. “A lot of those accidents tend to do with red light violations, which tend to be more severe accidents.”

The installation of the confirmation lights cost about $2600, and the money came from a grant given to the Police Department by the state. So far, they have no data on the effectiveness of the lights in our city, but McCullough says that studies done by universities and the Federal Department of Transportation prove that the lights are effective in enforcing red light violations.

“I’m trying to keep track of how many citations we issue off of the blue lights and see how that affects our accidents at the end of the year,” McCullough said. “If it seems to be helping [at the end of the year], we may put them up in other locations.”

Largest mass shooting in Texas kills 26, leaves 20 injured

On Nov. 5, Devin Patrick Kelley carried out the largest mass shooting in Texas history. Kelly, 26, opened fire on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, TX, killing 26 people and injuring 20 others. Kelly also died from a gunshot wound. According to local authorities, it is unclear if the shot that killed him came from a selfinflicted shot, or the wounds in his side and leg fired by an armed resident.

The victims killed ranged from a 17-month-old to a 77-year-old.

Among the dead was Kelly’s mother-in-law, Lula White. According to CNN, Kelly had been in contact with White as recent as Sunday morning, sending threatening messages to her before the attack.

In an investigation of the shooter, it was found that Kelly had been dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force due to assaults against his wife and toddler stepson. Kelly’s long history of abuse was not reported properly into the federal database that licensed gun dealers are required to check before selling someone a firearm. Under federal law, Kelly would’ve been restricted from buying the rifle he used to kill the 26 congregation members.

According to a statement released by the Air Force, the Air Force Inspector General is conducting an investigation into how Kelly’s domestic violence record had not been recorded, along with several other misfiled reports.

The shooting, which is not linked to terrorism, has brought light to the large issue of mental illness in our country. U.S. citizens are starting to question “if anywhere is safe anymore,” junior Gia Hense said.

“I’m not necessarily scared to go to church,” Hense said.

“Obviously what happened was really scary but that shouldn’t stop me from going. It only makes me want to go more often so I can pray for all the crazy people in the world.”

PHOTOS of the WEEK

ABOVE | Sophomore Ian Boyle and Nick Arensberg cut

tissue paper for their Day of the Dead ofrenda in Spanish class. | A islin n Menk e

ABOVE | Junior Holly Frigon smiles at the

audience during cheer’s first competition of the season. | K at h e r i n e ODe l l

ABOVE | Sophomore Lilly Tuner pours Junior

Nat Nitsch a cup of sparkling grape juice during Latin Club. | K at he rine O De ll

DESIGN CAROLINE CHISHOLM

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

NEWS

DIVING IN

5

SMSD broke ground for a new Aquatic Center in Lenexa

BY BROOKLYN TERRILL Assistant Multimedia Editor

S

MSD broke ground on Oct. 26 to begin building the new $27.8 million Aquatic Center in a partnership with the city of Lenexa. The center will be located at 87th St. and 1-435 in Lenexa. Construction will start this winter or early spring, according to Superintendent Kenny Southwick, and should be open to the public by the summer of 2019.

The idea for the project came about in 2012, but wasn’t voted on until 2015 as part of a $223 million bond. Along with the Aquatic Center, the money was also assigned to the reconstruction of several elementary schools, including Briarwood and Trailwood.

The project was supposed to be part of the South Stadium renovation, but this changed after Lenexa gave SMSD a $1 million plot of land that will be part of a the Lenexa City Center, a massive retail and restaurant construction project co mpleted by the city.

“The concept behind the partnership is that we both serve the same people,” Southwick said. “If we can share the tax dollars and leverage those together then it makes sense to work together [with Lenexa].”

Both SMSD and Lenexa hope that the facility will bring in people for large swim meets in the local area and region, and possibly the state high school swim meets. The new pool even has the potential hold Olympic qualifying meets, according to Dunlin.

This partnership was created through the Lenexa system of land banking that started 30 years ago, when the city acquired large amounts of farmland. They have used this land for the new Lenexa City Center, an area for “people to gather and get all of the services they need,” according to Assistant to the City Administrator for Lenexa, Danielle Dulin.

The Aquatic Center will consist of an Olympic sized 50 meter pool with the potential to contain 23 practice

lanes going across the 25 meter width. The facility will be a “state of the art pool” according to both Dunlin and Southwick. It is estimated to hold around 1,500 people and could be used practice of all five high school swim teams at the same time.

“We are very excited for the new district pool, especially when it comes to hosting meets,” Assistant Boys’ Swim Coach Colby Dischinger said. “With the amount of work our boys put into practice, they should be able to showcase their speed in high quality pool.”

The concept behind the partnership is that we both serve the same people. If we can share the tax dollars and leverage those together then it makes sense to work together [with Lenexa].

K EN N Y S OU T H W I C K SU P ERI N TEN DEN T The boys will mainly train at the East pool during the week, but will use the district facility when time allows, according to Dischinger. The pool will not only be used for high school practices, but also swim lessons as part of the elementary school curriculum.

“We know among young kids, drowning is the second leading cause of death,” Southwick said. “The vision was that we wanted to create a space that all of our kids across the Shawnee Mission School District can learn how to swim.”

SMSD wanted to take a step to prevent drowning according to Southwick, due to the fact that one in

five people who die of drowning are under 14 years old according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I think adding swim lessons to the elementary P.E. curriculum is a great idea,” Briarwood P.E Teacher Jenea Ledou said. “It is a great way to make water safety and basic swimming available to all district students. Swimming is also a lifelong fitness activity that is so healthy for your body.”

Though the new Aquatic facility is being built primarily for use by Shawnee Missions schools, the partnership between the city of Lenexa and SMSD will benefit both parties by bringing in people to this massive facility to rent.

“We use public dollars and we serve the taxpayers,” Dunlin said. “Having the aquatic center there benefits us by bringing in people to our services and gives them a space to have the Aquatic Center.”

Lenexa wanted to be intentional about what they were doing with the land, and thought SMSD’s facility would be able to bring in revenue by attracting people for major swim meets in the region according to Southwick and Dunlin.

SMSD will be covering the entirety of the cost of the Aquatic Center and will splitting the cost of a 4.4 million dollar parking garage, which will house up to 200 cars.

The parking garage will be public parking for the both the Aquatic Center and the developments done by the city of Lenexa.

SMSD has another partnership with Johnson County Parks and Recreation who will be in charge of running the facility for SMSD. However, SMSD will have priority when it comes to scheduling practices and meets according the Southwick. When the district is not using the pool, the space will be run and rented out by Johnson County Parks and Recreation to local swim teams as a source of revenue for the district.

v ted

DESIGN GRACE CHISHOLM PHOTOS COURTESY OF HE ATHER OUSLEY AND M ARY SINCL AIR

6 NEWS New SMSD board of education members were voted into office last Tuesday

BY ANNABELLE COOK Assistant Online Editor

THE HARBINGER

HEATHER OUSLEY IN MARCH OF 2013, civil rights attorney Heather Ousley set out on a 66 mile trek from Merriam to Topeka. Baring the frigid Kansas weather and staying with friends along the way, the journey took three days.

“It hurts. Physically it’s difficult. I don’t think I fully appreciated the first time I did it just how difficult it really would be,” Ousley said. “But by the fifth time I did it I feel like I had it down.”

Ousley completed this walk in five consecutive years to raise awareness about unconstitutional funding for Kansas public schools.

For Ousley, the 20-mile days, sore legs and blistered feet were well worth the cause.

Last Tuesday, Ousley was elected to the atlarge seat in SMSD’s school board. Her initial interest in public education and policy began in 2012 due to statewide funding cuts. At Ou-

sley’s daughter’s school, a teacher was let go, causing class sizes to increase from 20 to 30 students. She decided to run after Tomahawk teachers came up to her at her daughter’s sixth grade musical, voicing concerns about the district and convincing Ousley to run.

In her new position, Ousley plans to prioritize putting a new superintendent in place, returning the board to it’s original structure of two meetings per month, working on diversity and inclusion issues and implementing a program that provides dinner to students.

According to Ousley, one of the big concerns in the district is a lack of trust between educators, administrators and legislature.

From hearing concerns of teachers to marching 66 miles to build awareness of education funding, Ousley believes that because she has been a public education advocate for five

AT-LARGE MEMBER

years, her experience will be beneficial on the board.

“It will be helpful to have someone on the board who has a relationship with educators so that they feel like they have someone they can go to if they have an issue,” Ousley said.

A graduate from Shawnee Mission South and the parent of an SMSD student, Ousley has been involved in the SMSD community for her entire life and hopes to put the district back on a trajectory that provides more “opportunities for success” for students.

“My roots are here,” Ousley said. “[My family] did not leave in part because we know Shawnee Mission to be an excellent district.

There’s plenty of places you could settle in Kansas. Blue Valley is a lovely district. Olathe is great. But Shawnee Mission is where the tradition is, it’s where we began.”

casting the percent

percent

were aware of the election last Tuesday

of registered voters planned to vote

percent planned to vote for Mary Sinclair

percent planned to vote for Heather Ousley

Seniors’ election knowledge and preferences FROM A HARBINGER SURVEY OF 97 SENIORS ON NOV. 6

MARY SINCLAIR DURING THE RACE for the East-area seat in the SMSD school board, The SinclairHuffman family had been going door to door for weeks, passing out flyers and putting up yard signs. The best part for newly-elected East-area school board member Mary Sinclair was standing alongside her family as they cast their votes. Even Sinclair’s son, a junior at the University of Georgia, texted saying he had dropped his advanced ballot in the mail that same day.

“I’ve been advocating for other people’s campaigns so being on the other end of it and having [my] own name on the ballot is pretty powerful,” Sinclair said. “especially with my daughter, who is voting for the first time.”

But her work with public education didn’t start with this election. With a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sinclair

EAST-AREA MEMBER

was a principal investigator with a research team focused on student engagement and dropout prevention. Parent to senior Ally Huffman and 2015 grad Sam Huffman, she’s also been actively involved in the Highlands, IHMS and East PTA’s.

“Quality public education has always been something I’ve been passionate about as a professional, but as a parent as well,” Sinclair said. “I want the best opportunities for my own kids as well as for other kids in Kansas. As a parent, it just gives you another perspective on how the district is doing and how schools are doing.”

As a legislative liaison for the PTA, Sinclair’s voluntary job description involves bridging the gap between parents and legislation in Topeka, helping patrons to understand what new legislative actions and policies mean and

how they will impact students directly. Sinclair hopes this will help community members, parents and teachers make more informed decisions when it comes to voting.

On the board, Sinclair wants to increase transparency and communication between the district and its patrons. She also wants to provide resources for teachers and principals to create quality classroom environments, which would be the result of better funding allocation.

“That really is where I’m going to draw a lot on my experience advocating for the state for sound educational policy,” Sinclair said.

“Shawnee Mission has been cut $30 million in the operating budget just in the last couple of years. We really need to hold our legislators accountable for their responsibilities to uphold the state constitution.”

DESIGN ANNA MCCLELL AND PHOTOS T Y BROWNING

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

NEWS 7

DEFINED

SEX TRAFFICKING

THE THREAT OF TRAFFICKING

BY S CO U T RICE Copy Editor

A

fter 10 people were arrested in Kansas City as part of a nationwide four-day FBI sex trafficking initiative, area youth officials continue to educate and warn students of the dangers of sex trafficking.

Geographically, KC is a prime spot for trafficking. Major highway intersections of 35, 29 and 70, and the international airport, MCI, give criminals easy access to transportation routes, according to a local FBI agent.

Elizabeth, who asked that her last name not be used, has worked in investigations of sex trafficking minors. According to her, Oak Park Mall is suspected to be at the center of many sex trafficking cases – the primary place the minor victims are susceptible to traps by men who praise their beauty or offer money or drugs.

“They say to the bigger girl at the mall, ‘You’re so beautiful, can I get your number?’” Elizabeth said. “And they start charming her, and she may have never experienced that before and falls for it because she doesn’t have the confidence. It eats away at her.”

Elizabeth works directly with survivors of sex trafficking and their families. She says that many people in society view sex trafficking as a child kidnapped and taken to other countries and sold, but it is happening

Sex trafficking occurs when someone uses force, fraud or coercion to cause a commercial sex act with an adult or causes a minor to commit a commercial sex act

C O M M E R C I A L S E X AC T:

prostitution, pornography and sexual performance done in exchange for any item of value

Sex trafficing is a considerable danger in Kansas City

in Johnson County – Prairie Village included.

“In Prairie Village, there’s a high school, there’s money, and that’s just it,” Elizabeth said. “People think of it as a lower class thing, people in the ghetto recruiting, but no. It becomes an even bigger system of money and people who have money. People are willing to pay the money for it.”

Senior Ellie Van Gorden is aware of the threat of sex trafficking as a teenage female. She always carries pepper spray in case of an emergency, is a purple belt in karate and has taken multiple self-defense classes.

When walking outside and in parking lots, she remembers to stand tall, chin up and walk purposefully to portray confidence and not look like a person to be lured in.

“We just don’t see it. We are in a bubble,” Van Gorden said. “And it’s hard to even think about places like Oak Park Mall as a scary place, but it is in terms of where we are right now.”

Other than in-person attempts to lure minors in, social media has been increasingly used to attract minors into sex trafficking through charm and identity deception, said Russ Tuttle, founder of the Stop Trafficking Project KC. A 2013 Arizona State University study reported that 106,624 Kansas City metro-area men responded to an online sex ad in a two-week time span posted on Backpage. Backpage is a popular online website that is a “craigslist for buying people,” according to the specialists.

TRAFFICKERS FIND VICTIMS THROUGH: SOCIAL MEDIA HOME NEIGHBORHOOD

Because of the growth of media outlets like Facebook, Tinder and texting apps such as Kik, traffickers can more easily attract victims, Tuttle said.

“What is really important for teens to understand is that, like it or not, the primary way that teens are lured into this life is by social media,” Tuttle said. “That gets really complicated because we all use social media so much, right, it’s a huge part of our lives, how we interact with people, how relationships happen.”

The Kansas City FBI worked with local police across Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri to locate and arrest sex traffickers in an effort to complete Operation Cross Country XI. The operation is a national initiative throughout 55 field offices by the FBI. Of the 120 traffickers arrested nationwide, 10 arrests were made in Kansas City.

An FBI press release indicated that truck stops, casinos, motels and social media websites are the main locations for the various stings nationwide.

The average age of the victims recovered during this years operation was 15 years old. The youngest victim rescued was a three-month-old baby.

In Kansas City, the three victims recovered were 16-17 years old.

“Obviously we are in the Johnson County bubble, but at the same time, there are girls a couple miles [east] that are extremely vulnerable because they are dropping out of school or need money and have nothing to do,” Van Gorden said.

CLUB S OR BARS INTERNET SCHOOL

the average age of a child entering sex trafficking is

years old

estimated Sex Ad customer population Kansas City compared to Las Vegas, Miami and New Yor City

106,624

21,514

99,910

140,184

information courtesy of Shared Hope International and ASU School of Social Work

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DESIGN JACKIE CA MERON

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

INCENTIVE INDEPENDENT Learning the concept of independence and selfreliance at a young age proves beneficial for the future

bowls and if I’m lucky a shirt from Urban Outfitters that I’ve had sitting in my online cart for a month.I have these jobs because I make money, and in turn the importance of t seven-years-old I was independently managing time and money. I don't have to ask boiling water and cooking for your mom's credit card or scavenge for spare change in myself Kraft mac and cheese the couch cushions when I want a Chai Tea from Starbucks. without parental assistance. By ten- Knowing to responsibly manage money is essential, because years-old, I was setting my own my parents won’t be filling my bank account with a surplus of alarm on my Cinderella alarm clock spending money when I’m living on my own. and getting myself ready for school.

Being independent isn’t just earning your own money At seventeen-years-old, I am a self- but also having the ability to listen to your own voice and be dependent high schooler. confident in your decision making. If a friend suggest you I have been taking care of simple tasks, like cooking and send them the test answers, say no because you think it’s a cleaning, all by myself since a young age. I'm not asking for any bad idea. Being self-dependent allows you to learn to take applause – this story isn't compliment bait. It's a public thank responsibility for your actions. If you drink underage and you you to the woman who taught me I get in trouble, the only person you could and should be independent: my can blame for your actions is yourself. mom.

Being independent is simply When I’m sick, I dial my being able to take care of yourself. doctor’s number and schedule an On your own. appointment. I drive myself to the Two years from now, I will be a By completing tasks on my own, doctor’s office on 75th and Metcalf I have found a new boost of self freshman in college. I can already and go to the pharmacy in Corinth imagine teaching my roommate confidence. It is extremely empowering Square afterward to pick up any how to use the coin-slot washing prescriptions. The only help I need to know that I have complete machines; I will probably have to tell from my mom on a sick day, is for her control over the path I take in life. her that whites go by themselves and to call the attendance line. And trust delicates should be hand-washed. I me, I’d call attendance if I could. can envision the divide between my AVA JOH N S ON By completing tasks on my side of the room with my perfectly JUNIOR own, I have found a new boost of made bed and folded clothes, and self confidence. It is extremely her side of the room, will resemble empowering to know that I have complete control over the a disaster. For dinner, I will be able to microwave a pack of path I take in life. ramen noodles without even looking at the instructions while It is time we start making our own turkey sandwiches for my roommate goes out to be served. lunch every day, and folding our own t-shirts and shorts into So the next time you can't stand the pile of dirty clothes clean piles because we’re off to college within years – or for in the corner of your room that has been there for three some of us months. It is time that we learn to do these things weeks, take them down to the washer and teach yourself on your own because nobody is going to be there to do it for how to separate your lights and darks and put in the proper us when we are miles away from home. Our parents should be proportion of detergent for your load. there to guide us while we are growing up, not do the growing Even taking small steps like that toward independence up for us. will move you in the right direction for your future. There will I nanny three days a week and work at Addie Rose, a come a day when my mom won't just be a hallway away, but I clothing boutique, on the weekends. Making a salary of know that I'll be just fine. around $100 a week gets me a tank of gas, a couple of Chipotle

BY AVA JOHNS ON Page Designer

A

OPINION

9

ON YOUR OWN STATISTICS A look into East’s self-sufficency

45%

students make their own lunch

32%

Lunch

parents make lunch for student

19% buy lunch at school

3% other/family members besides parents

37% parents pay for gas

31% pay for gas themselves

Car

30% don’t drive/have car

2% other/family members besides parents

50% parents do laundry

49%

Laundry

students do their own laundry

2%

other *survey of 412 students

DESIGN LUCY KENDALL

THE HARBINGER

10 O P I N I O N

the game of

AdM i s s i ons The college admissions process is too expensive for most students and families

BY ABBY WALKER Copy Editor

M

y junior year I was warned about how expensive the next year and a half could be — ACT/SAT tutors, Embassy Suites hotel rooms, college essay editors. The list goes on and can add up to thousands depending on how much you can spend to guarantee college admission.

This is fine if you come from a family that has $150 per hour to spend increase your ACT score from a 26 to a 30, $400 on an editor, $200 per session on a college counselor.

It is unfair to expect someone who has to shower at school or be on reduced lunch to afford these substantial costs.

In 2009, the New York Times examined the correlation between household income and SAT scores. They found that test-takers from homes earning over $200,000 a year scored more than 100 points higher in all testing sections than students in households earning less than $20,000 a year. Tutors make a significant difference, but not everyone can afford one.

Some families opt for “add on” costs like essay editors and tutors, sure, but there are significant baseline costs to applying anywhere. As I submitted my November applications, I personally made a $679 dent in my mom’s credit card bill: $171 to take the ACT three times, $78 to send those three scores to two additional schools, and $430 to

START To take ACT Must pay $46.00

CongratS college acceptance

To take ACT with writing Must pay $62.50

Washington University Application, must pay $75

apply to six schools.

As much as I love the schools I applied to, they take part in the growing gap between socioeconomic classes.

Most schools require the ACT or SAT, then College Board requires payment to send official score reports to schools you’re applying to. And then those schools charge an

The more money a family has, the more they can spend on the “extra” tutors, editors and counselors in an effort to augment their student’s chances of getting into their dream school.

AB BY WALK ER SEN I O R average of $50 to even submit the application — but top schools, like Stanford, can charge up to $90.

The more money a family has, the more they can spend on the “extra” tutors, editors and counselors in an effort to augment their student’s chances of getting into their dream school.

Families consider the hundreds they pay for an ACT

Need ACT tutor, must pay $100-150 per hour

Butler Application, must pay $0.00

Need college counselor, must pay $200 per session

tutor worth it. It is an investment: the higher their child’s score, the better chance they have at getting into schools and the higher merit-based scholarship they can earn from it. But for families that can’t afford to pay $150 an hour twice a week, this is just one more place they fall another step behind.

I’m guilty of falling into the system. I spent spring break last year road-tripping to five of my favorite schools. But what about the kids who couldn’t afford that? I applied to every school I wanted, even if I didn’t think I would ever end up there. What about the kids who can’t pay the fees?

I paid for four different ACT prep books over three tests to improve my score. How about the students who have to choose that over eating dinner?

Kids who have money for tutors, to visit every school on their list, and people they can pay to look over their work simply have a better shot at their dream school — even if their natural abilities are less than the kid who has worked tirelessly with the few resource they have.

No matter how you look at it, college admissions is linked to money — the more you have, the more places you can apply, with a better application. The system favors money, and right now it’s almost impossible to get around, but as more and more high school classes graduate, and more and more students are subject to these sizable unfair fees. There will be a day when climbing fees are just too high. In my opinion, that should be tomorrow.

To send ACT score Must pay $13-17

Need application Kansas University editor, Application, must must pay $285-400 pay $50

THE ROAD OF COLLEGE EXPENSES

$$$

A look through Abby’s “game of admissions”

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

AM A ZO N’S OTH ER ADVANCE MENTS

Additional groundbreaking Amazon initiatives

DASH BUT TON

Small remote controllers placed around the house. User pushes when low on an item, which is then automatically delivered

a m a zon

f re sh

Same day fresh grocery delivery, available in LA, San Francisco, San Diego, NYC and Philadelphia

pr i me ai r

Delivery in under 30 minutes, via unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

To be implimented in the near future

fi re tv

Similar to Apple TV and Google Android Roku, Amazon Fire TV held 30% of the streaming TV box market in 2015

f i re pho ne

Amazon’s smartphone, which features a 24-hour customer service app and 3D perspective, and supports Android

AL L S EEING

G

oogle Maps knows you were speeding ten over on Tomahawk this morning.

Snapchat knows whether you snuck out last Friday night or stayed home like you were supposed to. Alexa knows you belt “Love on Top” like you’re Beyonce while shampooing in the shower.

Technology follows every click, every purchase and thanks to GPS, every step we take. The only boundaries I have left are the walls of my house. And now Amazon wants to invade those with technology, too.

Amazon’s newest innovation, Amazon Key, opens your front door with a code, and displays a live feed of your entryway with an in-house “Cloud Cam.” The $250 system is meant to curb package theft and provide friends easier entry; mail carriers can leave your package inside, and neighbors can use a code instead of a spare to get in – even when you’re not home.

Count me out.

I’m a “live-on-the-safe-sideof-things” kind of girl. Whenever I hear the doorbell, I creep along the walls of my house so the mysterious figure outside can’t see me and always look in the peep-hole before unlocking the deadbolt. It could be a murderer or a burglar, or God forbid, a Jehovah’s Witness.

There’s no chance I’m giving anyone I don’t know a peek into the place where I do my homework and binge “Stranger Things” season two. The last-minute Halloween biker

costume I bought with Prime has a price; safety and privacy don’t.

This product gives a $90.6 billion corporation a roundthe-clock look at my dog, Coco, and the (horrendous, outfitcoordinated) family photos circa 2004 hanging on the wall by my front door. But it also shows an empty house, a perfect target for burglaries – and there are 3.7 million burglaries in the U.S. annually.

With Amazon Key, breaking into a house doesn’t require the cliche crowbar or bobby pin. Hackers could unlock my door or see inside with just a few strokes of the keyboard. We don’t need to install technology that’ll make hacking into our homes as easy as hacking into Macbooks, especially when Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit reports that a million people a day fall victim to cybercrime.

Recent breaches of Yahoo, the Democratic National Committee and the National Security Agency remind us even the most guarded personal information isn’t always safe in the hands of passwords and green “secure access” locks that appear on Safari. There’s no reason to add our homes to the list of things people can break into with a click of a button.

Besides, Amazon’s trying to fix a package theft problem that hasn’t proven true. According to an article from the Atlantic, mail carriers don’t track statistics on package theft. The NY Times also said there are no national statistics on thefts. There’s no hard evidence; nobody really knows whether package theft is an epidemic or not, so why bother trying to fix a problem that might not exist?

DESIGN ANNA MCCLELL AND

O P I N I O N 11

Even if package theft was an issue, giving carriers the key to your front door isn’t the answer, especially when 65 percent of burglary victims know their offenders, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Delivery workers know our habits – when we’re home, whether we have a dog that barks, how many cars are in the driveway at any given time. I shouldn’t have to doubt my loyal mailman or UPS guy of 15 years.

Amazon has thought about some of the potential problems with this new product, I’ll give them that. They claim the system will notify users every time the door’s unlocked, but sometimes we can’t look at our phones. I can’t get to my iPhone during soccer games or musical rehearsals. More often than not, Amazon Key users may be seeing someone was in their house hours later, removing the sense of safety that may come from monitoring entries.

Funny thing though, Amazon’s already come up with a better solution to the “problem” of package theft: Amazon Hub. It’s a series of lock boxes with individual units that can be opened only by unique code, currently only available for residential buildings like apartment complexes.

Instead of making privacy obsolete, Amazon should offer a special Amazon box with a onetime code for package deliverers OUTSIDE of your house. Only you and the people dropping off your mail can get into your box.

Let friends and neighbors in the old-fashioned way – spare key or garage code.

So the next time you hear your doorbell ring and tiptoe to answer it like me, hope you don’t have Amazon Key. The person you were going to spy on may have already opened the door.

DESIGN LIZZIE K AHLE PHOTOS ALLY GRIFFITH

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

O P I N I O N 13

FROM BEDSIDE TO

MANNER Battling a chronic illness has provided inspiration for a future medical career

BY LUCY PAT TERS ON Copy Editor

I

didn’t have blisters on my feet from walking down Main Street to Union Station. I didn’t get a high-five from Salvy. And I didn’t scream “MOOOSSEE!” with 799,999 other Kansas Citians during the World Series parade.

Instead of watching the parade, I was looking up at the ceiling of the operating room in Children’s Mercy Hospital where “comfort bear” was hanging by a few threads. Instead of high-fives, I held my mom’s hand as needles poked my arms. Instead of screaming with other fans, I was given an IV full of anesthetic.

As I lay in the hospital bed, I recounted all of the events I had missed this year: leaving my first homecoming dance early, never “going bananas” in the stands at my first high school football game, missing yet another freshman choir class. And it was all thanks to one thing: my stomach.

My social life was first taken away from me in March of 2015. My family was in the car, going to see the liveaction Cinderella movie. I sat in the back seat, my head against the window, praying that I could just make it five more minutes. I had been fine five minutes prior, but it suddenly felt like I couldn’t control my body. My parents were convinced I was fine, as I tend to be an injury-prone child, and gave me an Advil — the cure for every ailment according to my family.

But soon I found out that I wasn’t fine — and wouldn’t ever be again.

I was a 5’6” soon-to-be freshman that weighed a mere 90 pounds. I lost all the color in my face and was unable to go a day without crying on my bathroom floor from the burning, throbbing pain in my abdomen.

My pediatrician suggested that I remove dairy from my diet. Removing Winstead’s grilled cheese sandwiches and post-swim meet ice cream helped, but the pain didn’t quite subside. I was referred to a gastrointestinal doctor at Children’s Mercy. I waited a full three months until my appointment in October, living off of toast and continuing

to spend hours binge watching episodes of “The Office” when I couldn’t get out of bed.

After an X-ray, blood work and a stool sample, the G.I. concluded that I had irritable bowel syndrome and prescribed Bentyl and a special diet that eliminated common foods such as tomatoes and red meat.

But I still found myself hovering over the toilet and seemed to only to be able to digest simple foods such as pretzels, applesauce and deli turkey. I was constantly tired and rarely had enough energy to leave the house.

After several more prescriptions, more blood work and an MRI, the doctors concluded that I needed to have a biopsy of my esophagus and stomach as well as explore my entire digestive tract. Hence, the colonoscopy and EGD on Nov. 3, 2015.

I will always have this disease. While laying in a hospital bed in the ER, I came to a realization. Instead of lying in bed, feeling sorry for myself, why not turn this into a career. I want to be a nurse.

LU CY PAT T ERS ON JUNIOR January of 2016, the results came back. My parents and I sat in a small patient room of Children’s Mercy along with two doctors and a psychiatrist. The surgery had concluded that I have Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Colitis — try saying that five times fast.

My intestinal tract was producing too many white blood cells and attacking every food I ate as if it were a foreign antibody, making it seem like I was allergic to every food. The condition is extremely rare, and little is known about it.

I was prescribed 12 pills I still take today, including Zoloft for anxiety, a large trigger for many G.I. conditions.

I stopped eating all dairy and gluten (I haven’t touched Goldfish since). Through trial and error, I added eggs,

cranberries and cucumbers to a seemingly endless list of foods I couldn’t eat. Gone were the days of coming home to fresh lasagna and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Instead, I was confined to eating food out of the “Lucy Only” section of the cabinet.

I didn’t get to swim in my state swim meet. I loathe watching my family eat delicious, gooey, hot monkey bread on Christmas morning while I eat Cheerios (they’re gluten free!). I’ve cried in my parents bed because I hate my illness. And how my mom and I laugh every time we have had to park the car on the “turquoise train” level of the Children’s Mercy parking garage.

But I’ve also found my life’s calling through my illness.

I will always have this disease. While laying in a hospital bed in the ER, I came to a realization. Instead of lying in bed, feeling sorry for myself, why not turn this into a career. I want to be a nurse.

I remember in my post-surgery fog, the nurse telling me to feel better as she wheeled my wheelchair back to the car. I remember the ER nurse holding my hand as she pumped my body full of more medication. And I remember the nurses telling me how sorry they were that I missed the Royals parade.

I want to be there for the kid who is scared because they can’t control their body. I want to be there for the high school freshman too sick to make it through a full day of school. I want to be there for the patient, confused as they come out of anesthesia. Because I’ve been there and know the path far too well.

I still miss copious amount of school for sickness and doctors appointments. I still can’t eat gooey cinnamon rolls. And I have yet to swim in a state meet. But these days are starting to become fewer – thankfully. I made it to all of homecoming this year and can even eat eggs on rare occasion.

There will be days when I am too sick to study for nursing exams and days when I have to leave class to spend an hour in the bathroom. But it won’t stop me from reaching my goal of helping kids so that they get to attend the next Royals parade — hopefully sooner than 30 years from now.

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS GRACE GOLDM AN

THE HARBINGER

14 F E AT U R E S

FEMINIST CLUB SAYS Feminist club creates video “No More,” to promote sexual assault awareness and prevention

BY ELIZABETH BALLEW Staff Writer

“A

re you a feminist?”

“No way.”

“Do you believe in the equality of the genders?”

“Yes.” “Then you are a feminist.”

“Well . . .”

Feminist club presidents and seniors Ellie Van Gorden, Iman Jaroudi, Hazel Carson, Isabella Kloster and senior secretary Dean Gray have heard this over and over again. When they founded feminist club freshman year, their goal was to not only start a dialogue, but leave the conversation about feminism and sexual assault open for years after they graduate.

In the early stages of feminist club, 45 people crowded into Mr. Klein’s room to discuss feminist issues and share their personal experiences with gender inequality.

Now, the club is doing more than talking; they hope to make a lasting impression with their video entitled “No More,” a project to combat and raise awareness for sexual assault.

The video will premiere in advisory the Wednesday after Thanksgiving break. The opening will be a compilation of headshots of students wearing a black shirt and holding a sign reading “No More.”

The video will feature interviews with students about their experiences with sexual assault.

After seeing the entire school wear black for the “Wear Black to Stop Attack” movement last October, the club realized sexual assault was a powerful issue that could bring the student body together.

The club leaders never guessed

they would have over 200 students sharing their personal stories of sexual assault. The amount of responses empowers the group to work harder to make a quality video that will be published online and leave a permanent digital footprint.

“You never know when the person sitting next to you in class could be a victim,” Jaroudi said. “This video is going to show it has happened to the people you know and care about in these walls. If you don’t care about it now, this is the time to start caring about it.”

Van Gorden has taken Video Productions and is doing the editing, but as Jaroudi puts it, it’s a real “grassroots” project because they’re making it by themselves without a budget or an advisor. They enjoy that aspect of it because it shows that the video is student-born, student-made and coming from their hearts.

In order to stay strong for the girls, Van Gorden tries not to cry.

But it’s hard. The victims are sharing a deeply personal instance that she can’t do anything to change what has happened. Phone interviews are the hardest because it’s hard to comfort victims through the phone. “[The victims] are always like ‘Thank you so much’ and it’s like ‘No, thank you for showing me that everything does turn out OK, and that people aren’t alone,’” Van Gorden said.

The club leaders will work to find replacement presidents, but they don’t have control of what will happen after graduation. To Van Gorden, it’s not necessarily goodbye, but her final stamp on the club.

“We want to have a lasting impact and that’s what this video is going to do,” Van Gorden said.

ABOVE | Senior Lauren McCaskey

poses for her shot in feminist club’s “No More” video.

SEXUAL ASSAULTS in high schools by the numbers In a given school year,

58%

60% of high school

boys find it acceptable to force sex on a girl in some circumstances

of 7th-12th graders experience sexual harassment

in 20 1 sexually 39% of sexual harassed girls switch schools each year because of it

assaults took place at school

information courtesy of Aljazeera America from a study of a Louisiana high school

DESIGN LIZZIE K AHLE PHOTOS MORGAN PLUNKET T

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

Teacher's experience with visual impairment fuels passion for teaching

BY CAROLYN P OPPER Page Designer

U

.S. History teacher Steven Laird holds his laptop four inches from his left eye, the glowing Apple case shielding him from the class’ view. His booming voice reads the notes aloud, and abruptly stops. Setting his orange-cased laptop next to the binders, folders and stacks of papers that clutter his desk, he walks to the light switches. A flip of the switch turns the room pitch dark — and exposes the students with iPhones in their hands, light from the screen illuminating their guilty faces.

He wouldn’t have been able to see the phones or the faces without this ploy. He flashes a toothy smile, his half-lidded eyes barely visible behind the wisps of curly red-brown hair. The culprits knew they had been caught.

Laird was born with a genetic disorder called Ocular Albinism, meaning he is both near and far sighted.

“Basically, I could only see the big E on the eye chart.”

He knew that kids picked on him in the classroom because he had to wear sunglasses indoors due to his light sensitivity and he always had class aids hovering around. He knew his manager at Little Caesars didn’t see him fit to work the cash register, because couldn’t read the menu from where he stood.

But now, years later, he does just fine handing out tickets at basketball games and grading papers. Junior Ryan Anderson swears Laird has eyes in the back of his head.

He often forgets Laird can differentiate his students by the sounds of their footsteps.

Lack of vision heightened his other senses, which makes him a better teacher, Laird said.

Standing in line at McDonald's, the menu’s fine print blurred together. The Big Mac looked no different than a happy meal, so he snapped a wide shot of the menu and zoomed in. The words became clearer as he held the phone closer to his left eye. Laird doesn’t like to ask for help, he’d rather rely on himself.

Being legally blind, he has never been able to drive. His wife drops him off in the morning at East, before her shift at the Optical Eye Department at Costco begins. After school, his ride home varies — sometimes it’s Mr. Wagner. They argue about politics, discuss NEA board motions and share perspectives on social studies “nerd things,” as Mr. Wagner said.

Sometimes he’ll need a ride to board game night with the three chemistry teachers, if Laird isn’t hosting.

He can’t walk past Mr. Wagner’s second hour without hearing an all-tooclear “MR. LAAAIIRD,” from senior Keith Barry. Once, Laird told then-junior Robert

Tilden, that Tilden added a nice creative side to the class. Laird didn’t know it, but Tilden didn’t hear that from many teachers.

Being appreciated felt pretty cool, Tilden said. He knew that Laird had a respect for his students, even the ones like him, who weren’t audible learners — whose brains weren’t wired to learn a specific way. The ones who learned next to nothing from a note taking method.

“I may not be the best student he’s ever had,” Tilden said. “But he’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

To him, there are barely enough minutes in an hour to develop the kinds of relationships with each student he wants.

The kind that make learning easy, not a chore.

“I’m a big advocate for students with exceptionalities,” Laird said. “Just because you look different, or have to do things a little different, doesn’t mean you should be treated any differently.”

He gave up the culinary career he had pursued since placing 13th nationally in a cooking competition, with lots of pushback from his friends. When he worked at the Marriott, he was making customers happy, but not helping them — not the way he helped his students.

Now, he knows he is helping students the way he had always wanted to. Laird sits in his classroom for lunch, meticulously planning innovative ways to involve students in his own teaching style — projects, straight notes, videos, reports.

He has enough time outside of school to travel to boxing matches in Vegas and Atlantic City. The other regular boxing blog writers greet him when he arrives to a fight.

The boxers know him too. Maybe he saves his lunch hour to work so there’s time for Karaoke night with his friends. There are only so many hours in a day.

To Laird, the teachers that mold and guide students to prepare them for the adult world are the best kind — the kind he tries to be. East is full of them, he said.

What matters to him, is the future of the kids sitting in his classroom, who will one day be running the country.

Since he could remember, Laird wanted to help people the way his orchestra teacher helped him in high school. Sometimes Laird couldn’t see the notes on the sheet music, and his teacher would print the notes larger just for him. That was when he knew he wanted to spend his life helping those around him.

“At the end of the day, there are more important things than the content in my classroom, it’s preparing them for society and adulthood,” he said. “They are the future. Not me.”

F E AT U R E S 15

THIS PHOTO | Mr. Laird helps

junior Sophia Scarlett during U.S. History.

DO

THIS PHOTO | Mr. Laird laughs

with his students at his cluddered desk.

THIS PHOTO | Mr. Laird laughs

WHAT

with junior Marin Taylor as the class works on their laptops.

THIS PHOTO | Mr. Laird holds his

YOU

computer close to his eyes so he can read the small print.

LOVE

MORE

DESIGN ANNABELLE COOK PHOTOS DIANA PERCY AND ELLIE THOM A

THE HARBINGER

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

DESIGN ANNABELLE COOK PHOTOS DIANA PERCY AND ELLIE THOM A

16 F E AT U R E S

W O C l l be

F E AT U R E S 17

BY GABBY LEINBACH Staff Writer

F

reshman Zeke Krause couldn’t stop breaking instruments.

He knocked the head off of a tambourine during a marching band competition. He broke a pair of drumsticks in half playing the snare drum in the Harry Potter half-time show. In an attempt to protect these delicate instruments from Krause’s game-time antics, band director Alex Toepfer decided to give him something that even his tenacious playing style couldn’t break — a cowbell.

So began the phenomenon of the boy in the front of the band section, always smiling and jamming out with his cowbell, known by the student section, Lancer Dancers and cheerleaders as the “Cowbell Boy.” Krause’s love for music is why he jumps side-to-side banging his head along with the cowbell during Friday night varsity home football games and why he belts out the school song at 10 p.m. on the bus ride home when the rest of the band is exhausted. His goal is to make others share the excitement he has for the music, and according to freshman band member Max Bunte, he has done just that. “[Zeke is] definitely one of the most energetic people I’ve ever met,” Bunte said.

“He always hypes people up in the drumline and everyone in the band. I can always tell when the student section is getting all hype, looking at Zeke.”

Krause moves his cowbell up to his right shoulder, then left, his right hip, then left to the rhythm of the fight song blaring behind him, band members bob their instruments to the beat of the cowbell, people in the crowd smile at him and some of the cheerleaders from the sidelines yell, “Yeah Zeke!” Krause often gets high fives from band members, friends, Lancer

LEFT | Krause plays in the

Kendrick Lamar-themed halftime show with junior Sam Sokoloff.

MIDDLE | Krause plays his cowbell enthusiastically in front of the rest of the marching band.

Freshman Zeke Krause brings a new energy to the marching band through his postive personality

RIGHT | Krause screams right

after his halftime performance as he starts walking back to the student section.

Dancers, cheerleaders and people telling him, “I love your energy, that’s why I love going to games.”

Toepfer first recognized the energy that he describes as “nuclear” upon meeting the Académie Lafayette transfer at band camp over the summer. Toepfer placed Zeke in auxiliary percussion, the group of instruments that “add the flare” to the music. Krause brings with him an 11 year drumming career, starting on his tiny drum kit at four years old.

“He brings a lot of joy to what he does, and it’s infectious,” Mr. Toepfer said. “The whole band this year has had a lot better vibe. It’s been a lot more energetic, more enthusiastic, and that’s kind of what we want in a band.”

It’s really fun [being in a band with Zeke]. It’s always something new, something fun happening. [He makes] everyone happy and smile. He just has that charisma you know?

M A X B UN T E F RES H MAN Krause wants everyone to share his excitement in and out of the band room — the excitement that has him walking down the hall with headphones in, dancing and grinning to “Madness” by Muse. So when Krause sees one of his bandmates standing around, he gets their spirits up the same way he gets the crowd into the music — by dancing until they start dancing, too. He walks up to them, humming one of the songs playing in his head all day, and starts swaying back and forth. If they join in, he makes it into a competition of who can get more into it.

“It’s really fun [being in band with Zeke],” Freshman Max Bunte said. “It’s always something new, something fun happening. [He makes] everyone happy and smile. He just has that charisma, you know?”

Senior Sid Choudhury, Zeke’s section leader, says that when the band sees Zeke being happy, they feel happy, too. During one of Sid’s pep talks to the band, Zeke shouts back to him, “I won’t mess up! I’m ready!”

Soon Zeke’s jumping up and down like he’s in a moshpit, and then Sid and the rest of the drumline join in — the noise level of their cheers causing assistant principal Britt Haney to remind them there was a game going on.

Krause doesn’t mind the attention, or possible judgment, that comes his way. People may be taking Snapchats of him pretending the cowbell is a guitar, or giving him weird looks while he whips his honey brown hair from side-to-side, but he never gets embarrassed — he’s just happy to be doing what he loves. “[Playing music] makes me feel a lot more free, who I am,” Krause said. “I don’t really care what people think about me, in negative ways, but I do care in positive ways.”

At practice in the back of room 210 Krause remains as invested in the music as he would at the Shawnee Mission North district stadium. He keeps his eyes locked on the music of “Sleigh Ride” in front of him while he hits sleigh bells in his hands.

Whether he is crushing the cymbals together at the halftime show or banging the cowbell in the stands, Krause brings his enthusiasm to the Lancers.

“He makes us remember that it’s not all serious,” Toepfer said. “That you can have fun, and enjoy what you do, and not be afraid to dance a little bit, or to be more light or joyous.”

SID’S

He has a lot of fans, I know that. There’s this group of girls that are just looking at him in awe, and he’s just going at it, going ham. Whenever we start to play any song, it’s the same amount of energy. Or it’s like when the drumline gets a beat, he gets even more hype, you can’t even imagine.

S I D C H O U D H U RY SENIOR

MUSIC PROFILE HE HAS BEEN PLAYING THE DRUMS SINCE HE WAS 4-YEARS-OLD

FAVORITE BAND:

MUSE

FAVORITE GENRE:

INDIE ROCK

DESIGN S COUT RICE AND CAROLYN P OPPER PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

18 F E AT U R E S

RON FERGUSON Army SEcurity Agent in

VIETNAM

“‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ will not be presented tonight, but will return next week at its regularly scheduled time. And now, the Draft Lottery: a live report on tonight’s picking of the birth dates for the draft.”

Jerry Weakley’s birthday, March 26, was selected seventh out of 366 during a CBS Special News Report. He was being immediately called to duty for the Vietnam War. After graduating from East in 1966, Weakley headed to Baker University, where he played baseball for one year and went to school for the other three. He then went into the ROTC program at the University of Kansas to pay for grad school and go into the Army as an officer. The only rule given by the ROTC was that he had to go basic training every summer while he was at KU. The only problem with being drafted was he was married with a son. So, he made the conscious decision to go through the ROTC program at KU so he could be deferred and go in as an officer. While at KU, he blew out his knee playing intramural softball, so he was deferred another nine months. But this time, deference wasn’t a blessing – he had to

THE HARBINGER

LANCERS In 1961, Ron Ferguson was looking to destroy the player across the line of scrimmage during his senior year football season. In 1968, he was listening to the voices of the Vietcong, protecting the men behind him.

After graduating from East alongside David Richwine, Ferguson played football for Oklahoma State.

While he was at the University of Kansas, he talked to the Vietnam War draft board to tell them he was still in school and couldn’t be drafted. He didn’t want to be drafted and wasn’t planning on going to war any time soon. He only needed one more language class to graduate, so KU agreed to let him graduate if he went to the Army language school to learn Vietnamese.

But the military came calling sooner than he thought. When he was drafted in

uphold his obligation to his country. By 1973, the Vietnam War was winding down, so he was put in the Army Reserves.

Weakley was sent to Fort Gordon in Augusta, GA, where he graduated basic officer training and was chosen to be a member of the Mobilization Designee. He was permanently assigned at Fort Gordon, mobilizing and demobilizing units who were being deployed.

During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he was called to active duty.

He was in charge of Mobilization Plans and Operations, a top secret unit used to create plans in case of a war or national emergency.

He helped reserve units with logistical support, transportation plans and medical logistics to clear them for deployment.

In the Army, there’s no small role. And the same goes for theater. At East, Weakley was a thespian. Through theater and speech classes, Weakley learned self confidence. He learned how to look a person in the eye and speak in front of crowd, which, according to him, set him head and shoulders above most of the people at his level, allowing him to lead his comrades.

1966, he decided to join the United States Army Security Agency, the top 10 percent of soldiers in the Army, according to Ferguson.

Everything he did during those two years was classified for 45 more years, and he still won’t talk about it today. There were secret code words to get into every building he went to.

He was a “spy boy.”

Ferguson was sent to Vietnam in 1968, where he was on the front lines. He and four others would travel in front of larger platoons, scoping out potential hiding spots for the North Vietnamese. He would get as high in the canopy as possible, listening for the sounds of footsteps or AK-47 rounds being loaded.

“If we were found, everyone behind us would die,” Ferguson said. “It was our job to keep the guys behind us informed on where the enemy was.”

But he always felt a little guilty he wasn’t out there fighting with the men he was deploying.

He was called back to active duty in 1991 to demobilize a C-5A from Kuwait, the largest transport aircraft in the military, and put together their “welcome back” ceremony.

“That was tough,” Weakley said. “Those guys fell on their knees, kissed the ground, and here I was, just a lowly major welcoming them back after this service they rendered to their country.”

Even though he didn’t fight, Weakley did his duty. He fulfilled his obligation to his country. He knew what he had to do and he got it done. He said he’s glad he was able to service the U.S. After 23 and a half years in the service, Weakley retired. He became a stadium announcer for the Baker University football team and then did color commentating on the radio for the team. Now, he spends his days traveling the world with his wife and working as a marshal for the Masters Golf Tournament.

During the latter part of his deployment, Ferguson flew planes “across the fence,” into Laos to gather intel on the position of the North Vietnamese army. None of the other soldiers with him knew what they were doing, only that they had “fancy gear” and were “different.”

“We liked to keep it that way,” Ferguson said. “No one could know what we were doing.

Very little can give away a lot.”

He was decommissioned in 1970. He stepped off the plane to a mob of “hippies” protesting and booing the soldiers.

He went from being a spy in Vietnam to living in sunny Oceanside, Calif. His life isn’t a secret anymore, except for the two years he spent in the jungle. He spends his days riding his Harley along the coastline and traveling to tend to his farm in Oklahoma.

ey l k

J

ea W US y r r Army e Reserves

DESIGN S COUT RICE AND CAROLYN P OPPER PHOTOS DIANA PERCY

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

in ARMS

“Tossin’ and Turnin’” by Bobby Lewis blared through the speakers of a cherry red ‘61 Bubble Top Chevy Impala. Tensions

Joseph Cline and his battalion stepped off the bus into the 93-degree sun after 25 hours of driving. For a month, they spent every day driving from the “hide” to firing stations, practicing deployment situations.

Cline graduated East in May of 2016.

A month later, he was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for the Army’s basic training.

He hadn’t grown up with pressure from his family to join and he wasn’t a victim of conscription. He joined for his own good.

Cline was headed down a bad path.

His grades were falling, he couldn’t focus on schoolwork. He knew he couldn’t afford college, but even if he could, he wouldn’t be able to keep his grades on track and felt he would end up regretting his decision anyways. Enlisting was a way to get away from home, all while working toward his future.

During his first couple years at East, Cline was a reserved, quiet kid. He didn’t go out much and wasn’t too keen

F E AT U R E S 19 Four East alumni served their country after graduating

BY HARRIS ON GOOLEY Copy Editor

were rising between the North and South Vietnamese overseas while the East and South rivalry was just beginning. The Lancer football team was two and seven.

Dave Richwine was 18 years old and graduating with the 1961 senior class at East. Five years later, he was fighting in the Vietcong-ridden jungles of Vietnam.

His choice to join the service wasn’t solely a personal decision. His father served as a Naval patrol pilot in World War II and told him there was a price to pay for living in the United States. “[My dad] sat me down and told me, ‘America is a great place, and living here doesn’t come free,’” Richwine said. “‘You owe your country some service for the privilege of living here.’”

East played a large role in Richwine’s success in the military. Wilma White, his senior English teacher, taught him how to organize his thoughts on paper, which, according to Richwine, paid off the most for his military career. His football coach and gym teacher, Jack Hammig, showed him how

on opening up. Once he joined The Harbinger, he became more outgoing and talkative. He wasn’t sitting at home.

He was in the journalism room, singing along with the lyrics of loud music and helping the younger staffers with their work.

“After a year or so, I really opened up,” Cline said. “I felt unstoppable. I could talk to anyone or go anywhere and not feel intimidated anymore.”

According to Cline, communication is key in the Army. A soldier has to be able to receive orders and give information so the mission goes as planned. Without the help of The Harbinger, Cline said he wouldn’t be able to communicate or become friends with his comrades.

After graduating basic and advanced individual training, he became a 13M, a Rocket Specialist, where he drives a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System truck.

He spends his days at Fort Sill waking up at 5 a.m. for breakfast and going to

to behave and work as a leader.

Richwine went to the University of Kansas, and went through the naval ROTC program, which gave him the option of entering as an officer into either the Marine Corps or the Navy. Following graduation and completion of ROTC, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

In 1966 Richwine was sent to Vietnam where he served as a platoon commander for six months, a company executive officer for six months, a company commander for one month – and a battalion logistics officer for three months.

He saw his first heavy combat in July of 1966 during Operation Hastings, a fourday and three-night fight. They were being heavily assaulted by the North Vietnamese from the west, when he was given the opportunity to command the company as a second lieutenant, which is normally the duty of a captain.

He was climbing the ranks faster than a usual officer would because of the major loss of American life during the war and

physical training, then makes his way to the shop to work on the truck. The rest of his day is spent sitting in a military classroom at the local United Service Organization, learning how to evade capture and going through HIMARS drivers safety courses.

Cline has never been out of the country, so he’s looking forward to his upcoming deployment, though he can’t say where or when he’s going. He’s ready to see the world and experience real war, not just practice missions.

“I hope we see some action,” Cline said. “After spending days learning about tactics, I’m ready to put them to work.”

Cline’s entrance to the Army was a complete turnaround from high school. He was thrust into a life with drill instructors yelling in his face, always making sure he was on task. His unmotivated side is gone now. He’s on the right track now, he said.

his performance on the battlefield. He was promoted to captain in seven months, a promotion that usually takes one and a half years.

And even when the war was over, Richwine continued to move up. For the next 26 years he went through aviation school, amphibious warfare school and commanding F-4 Phantom squadrons until he reached major general, the third-highest rank in the Marine Corps.

Once he was promoted to major general, Richwine worked three jobs at the same time, from Chief Informant Officer to Director of Intelligence.

After retiring from the Marine Corps, Richwine worked for Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association for three years and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for four.

Now, he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, still working with veterans as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Carolinas Freedom Foundation.

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DESIGN SARAH BLEDS OE PHOTOS ELLEN SWANS ON

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

A&E

21

BY SARAH WILCOX Staff Writer

M

ethnic Eateries empanadA madness

helped me sort through the menu which offered “arepas” and “tequenos.” We ordered nachos and of course, empanadas. For those of you who are as uncultured as I am, I learned during my visit that an empanada is fried dough stuffed with either chicken or beef. After trying the flaky, buttery empanadas, they immediately surpassed even my go-to tacos as one of my favorite foods. As for the heaping plate of crunchy nachos with extra cheese,

grilled chicken, beans and fresh pico de gallo, they were gone within five minutes.

Even with every table filled, the family-run business brought our food out in fifteen minutes. The cost is reasonable— about $8 a person, so it beats a Chipotle burrito in price.

Even though it is a 20-minute drive for me to go downtown, I will make the trip for empanadas as good as theirs and the friendly people.

I’m a picky eater, so I was worried that Elsa’s Ethiopian food was past my boundaries. Our waiter and his wife, a couple from Africa, own the restaurant. It was nearly empty at 7 p.m. with only one other couple, but the paintings of Ethiopian children hanging from the wall made it homey.

Although the quietness of Elsa’s didn’t bother me, the menu was a problem. The entrees were dishes like “Gomen Besiga” and “Miser Wat” and the waiter’s thick accent

made it hard for me to understand his explanation. He suggested popular dishes and we ended up with split peas, lentils, cabbage and chicken. Ten minutes later the platter came with no silverware or plates in sight; I didn’t have the first clue how to eat it.

The waiter showed us how to unroll the bread and use it to pick up the food, but I felt like I was eating baby food in a tortilla. When my mom resorted to a fork, our waiter rushed over to re-explain how to

eat. I appreciated he wanted us to experience the culture, but I was ready to bolt so I could eat in peace.

The cabbage and chicken were mildly spiced and fresh, but I didn’t eat the lentils, because they were too spicy. My biggest complaint was with our waiter; he was pushy and came back five times during the meal. I felt I had a better taste of Ethiopian culture, but not one I plan to relive.

If

Center. Instead, the dark, beigepatterned wallpaper felt dated.

The menu was traditional Vietnamese, boasting dishes like quail and rice noodle soup. My sister and I shared chicken stir-fry noodles along with fried rice. I was disappointed because I wanted sides, like miso soup or crab rangoon, but they only came in an entree.

I expected a steaming plate that would resemble lo mein. I was pleasantly surprised; it had all the same ingredients, but was

homemade, without the soy-flavor I’m used to. The noodles were boiled and plain, so it seemed healthier than the greasy takeout, and the leftovers were devoured by the rest of my family. I felt like it was a little overpriced because entrees were $10 and we had to get an entire order of fried rice since they didn’t offer sides. Nonetheless, the food was better than takeout and the whole restaurant resembled sitting in a real Vietnam cafe.

vietnam cafe

Empanada Madness on Southwest Boulevard in downtown KC did not look promising from the outside. Yellow paint peeled from the building, metal bars covered the windows, and my younger sister and I were catcalled on the sidewalk — I was concerned for my safety. Once inside, I was immediately relieved by the bubbly waitresses and families crammed in the little restaurant after Sunday church.

My trusty Spanish 4 vocabulary

elsa’s

Ethnic Restaurants in the KC area bring fresh flavors and new cultures for adventurous

there was only one type of food I could eat forever, it’d be Asian.

Before going I was pumped to order some sesame or orange chicken, but I soon realized authentic Vietnamese food was different from my standard orders.

On the outside Vietnam Cafe looks a little dingy with brown shutters and a faded red sign. I expected a more modern atmosphere since it’s in a developing area of Kansas City, located by KU Medical

y little sister and I regularly rockpaper-scissors to decide between Panda Express, Chipotle and ChickFil-A during the week while my kitchen is under construction. It’s only halfway through first semester, and I’m already tired of the predictable fast food joints we always seem to pick. To switch things up, I decided to scope out a few local, authentic restaurants to avoid the hordes of construction workers surrounding my refrigerator.

HARBinger rating Empanada madness LEFT | A shredded chicken empanada served with a side salad and choice of three sauces

star rating

4/5 Stars

elsa’s

LEFT |

Collard greens, chopped cabbage, red lentils and prime beef are paired with bread.

star rating

1.5/5 Stars

vietnam cafe

LEFT | The chicken stir fry noodles included chopped carrots, onions and cabbage.

star rating

4/5 Stars

DESIGN GRACE PADON PHOTOS REILLY MOREL AND

THE HARBINGER

22 A & E

MESSENGER

COFFEE Messenger Coffee offers an intimate atmosphere and quality drinks

BY SARAH BLEDS OE Staff Writer

E

very morning when I roll out of bed and slip my Birkenstocks over my fuzzy socks covered with small mugs of coffees, I have one thought running through my head: where’s the coffee and how can I get some? Naturally, when I heard about a new coffee shop, Messenger Coffee, which had opened on Oct.14 in downtown Kansas CIty, I knew I had to try it to achieve an ongoing goal of mine to find the best coffee in KC. Trust me, I’m glad I did.

Messenger Coffee was built with the idea of having an open concept layout without any closed off rooms. The construction started from scratch and took three years to finish.

Customers can see the freshly baked bread in the display case, and the roasted coffee smell drifts around the room as you sip your latte with the reassurance that everything is completely fresh.

The main idea of the business was to have the highest quality coffee; and the best part: they’ll DELIVER coffee to you. Not only can you buy coffee and pastries at the store, they also sell T-shirts, totes, and bags of coffee to take home.

The employees lay their heads to get a better view on the counter sifting through the coffee beans checking for imperfections; only the finest coffee beans are used in production, while the owner makes sure every batch of beans is tasted and perfected.

I could see the baristas sifting through beans checking for imperfections; the owner told me that she tests every single batch of coffee that gets shipped in. I knew the heart shaped foam on top of my mocha and the freshly baked croissant would be a new addiction of mine simply by the look of it.

I thought I was being sneaky by going on a Sunday morning at nine and would miss the afternoon rush, but the line was already wrapped to the back of the store. As a result, I stood behind around 42 people, waiting to go inside.The line went by quickly as I eavesdropped on the small conversations talking about the amazing food as my fingers grasped sample after sample of sesame bread passed around every few minutes.

Stepping up to the cashier, I ordered a

mocha latte, chai tea, and an “Everything Croissant” stuffed with homemade cream cheese. To top off an amazing meal, I hopped back in line to get some chocolate mocha truffles after glancing at them in the window display. It didn’t matter that the line was long because I was craving more. The truffles turned out to be my favorite menu item.

While I️ sat there sipping on my mocha, the homey environment and overall care of the employer’s hospitality makes this coffee shop one in a million.

My chai tea latte had just the right amount of cinnamon and whipped cream on top to make every sip better than the last. The “Everything Croissant” topped with sesame seeds, nuts, and seasonings crumbled in my mouth with whipped cream cheese inside.

The mocha chocolate truffles had me hooked one bite in. The rich chocolate pierced my tongue and I couldn’t get enough.

Messenger Coffee is a highly efficient company. On average, they sort about 3,000 pounds of coffee beans for production from all around the world each week to ship out online and to sell in their own shop. If you walk up to the second floor, you can watch as the coffee beans are turned, sorted and packaged to be purchased on their website or tasted at their store. This made my whole experience more personal. Messenger decided to open a location in Kansas City after researching the rapidly growing coffee market and designating the metro as the prime location for the newest addition of the chain.

I must admit that the empty Starbucks cups still rests in the passenger seat of my car, but everyday when I have to shell out $5 for my tall coffee, I feel the pain of my debit card swiping away the new pair of shoes I was saving for. But at Messenger you can get a 16 ounce coffee and a freshly-baked pastry for only $6. The price and value that Messenger offers is one of the many things I love about my new go-to coffee shop.

If you are looking for a new coffee shop to get your homework done on a Sunday afternoon or a cute brunch date with your best friends, Messenger coffee is for you. It has definitely jumped the list and is ranked number one on my list.

ABOVE LEFT | An in-house coffee bean sorter in Messenger Coffee.

LEFT | An employee makes a cappuccino for a customer.

BELOW | A sitting area overlooks parts of downtown Kansas City.

WHERE THE CUP COMES FROM

Messenger Coffee’s coffee comes from the seven countries below

USA El Salvador Colombia

Papua New Guinea

Nicaragua Peru

Ethiopia

DESIGN DIANA PERCY

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

P H O T O S T O R Y 23

LEFT | Sophomore Henry

Morgan, playing Marvin, is pointed at by the rest of the cast in an attempt to divert attention from themselves during the play.

“The experience overall was wonderful,” Morgan said.

“Two months with some of my best friends!” | e lle n swa ns o n

The theater department put on “Nooses Off” for their fall play this year

NOOSES OFF

ABOVE | Senior Lily Swanson

and freshman Ellie Freeman play the characters Estrella and Assistant in “Nooses Off.” “I was one of the only people who actually had a really elaborate costume,” Swanson said. “I had a giant unibrow, it nowhere near matches the actual color of my eyebrows, and a giant mole.” | k at herine o d el l

RIGHT |

Sophomore Lucy Brock applies makeup before the show. “In the RIGHT | Junior Davis Vaughn and second half, I had to wear this senior Claire Evans play the characters bright pink lipstick and this crazy Arnold and Kaylie, the “stereotypical eyeliner,” Brock said. “And I also annoying couple in the play,” according had this really crazy costume. . . to Vaughn. “In the first act, we are it’s this skin tight leopard print super lovey dovey, but in the second dress.” | m a dd i e smi l ey act, things go crazy and we hate each other,” Vaughn said. | e l l e n swa n s o n

ABOVE | Junior Luke Knopke plays the butler.

“You have to think about the character’s mindset,” Knopke said. “To get that emotion you have to pull from your real life or else it’s just fake emotion.”

| k at he rine o de ll

ABOVE LEFT | Sophomore crew chief Ben Blickhan and sophomore Gracie Schwabauer set up the door in the play’s set. | m o rga n plunke t t

DESIGN E MILY FEY PHOTOS HADLEY HYAT T

THE HARBINGER

24 A & E

Two restaurants in the Ward Parkway Pavilion are new options for casual dining in the area

BY GRACE PADON Section Editor

Charelston’s

1 Smitty’s Garage

2 2.5/5

Charleston’s specializes in American classics such as chicken, sandwiches, ribs and a variety of specialty salads. Although Charleston’s is a nice break from my family’s usual rotation of the Tavern, BRGR and Urban Table, I wouldn’t want to become a regular.

The interior of Charleston’s is straight out of an Upper East Side penthouse study with its masculine dark wood paneling and leather seats. The expansive dining area is split into multiple sections, including a main dining room and a fullystocked bar. Natural gas lights illuminate both rooms to reveal an elegant setting. We sat in the bar and were instantly greeted with a boatload of “yes, sir” and “thank you,

ma’am” by our server who was the poster child for southern hospitality.

Our food took about 25 minutes to come, delivered by our overly polite waiter.

I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with monterey jack cheese on an egg bun for $13, and I was stuffed halfway through the juicy, tender sandwich. My taste buds were more than fulfilled before I could try the fries.

I managed to take a bite of my sister’s chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes without her seeing and I wasn’t too impressed.

I enjoyed the black-pepper chipotle gravy, but the chicken itself was a little too tough for my liking, and I’m not one for skins in my mashed potatoes. There was more than enough food on my sister’s plate, but $15 still

seemed a little extravagant for one meal at a casual weeknight family dinner.

By far my favorite food item at Charleston’s was the sweet and flaky honeycoated biscuit that I managed to snag from my dad’s salad, and I was tempted to order a dozen more of these southern delicacies to take home.

Charleston’s is definitely on the pricier side, with even a slice of key lime pie being $8 — good thing my dad was buying. The creamy and tart lime filling meshed perfectly with the graham cracker and walnut crust to create the slice of pie I never knew I needed in my life. Although other items on the menu didn’t always hit the mark, the biscuits are one good reason to come back.

Street signs and neon bar signs that are taller than my 5’5” stature cover every available wall. Sparkly red and silver vinyl plaster the booths. Thirteen flat screen TVs show football games, while six more display the menu above the counter. Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” plays throughout.

I’m nowhere else than Smitty’s Garage at the Ward Parkway Pavilion.

Smitty’s is a burger and taco joint where 95% of the menu is under $7. And did I mention it’s incredible? Because it is. The salsa, hamburger, tacos — all of it.

Ordering is easy and hassle free.

Customers order and pay at the counter, grab their drinks — I opted for a Jarritos Strawberry soda — take their number and find a seat. A quick 10 minutes pass by

as they wait for their food to be served by someone in a blue and white striped 1950’s gas station attendant uniform.

The Chicken Fajita Tacos were more than reasonably priced at $6.99, and came with a side of chips and salsa. The chicken was grilled and tender, topped with grilled onions, jalapeños, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

My sister ordered “The Classic” hamburger with mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. I snagged a bite before she finished, and I can safely say that was the tastiest burger I’ve had out of all of my burger endeavors. The one-third pound patty was grill-smashed and perfectly complimented by the slightly buttered, toasted bun, and all for $4.99. Other burgers on the menu feature

more out-there toppings, such as peanut butter, avocados and pineapple salsa.

The fries were an additional $1.99, but I didn’t mind because they rival Five Guys’s version – a.k.a. the (once) best fries on the face of the earth. Each fresh-cut fry was seasoned with a sweet-tasting mixture and balanced out with the right amount of salt.

There are five places to get a hamburger along the stretch of State Line between 75th and 95th Street – Wendy’s, Five Guys, McDonald’s, Culver’s — and now Smitty’s.

The latter is by far the superior option.

Even though the other options are quick, I’m always willing to sacrifice time for taste, especially for a burger THIS spectacular.

atmosphere

casual and inviting

BEST DISH Pulled Pork Sandwich address 8817 State Line Rd, KC, MO

1

the RESTAURANT rating

4.5/5

2

atmosphere

family environment

BEST DISH Chicken Fajita Tacos address 8811 State Line Rd, KC, MO

DESIGN GRACIE KOST

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

SPILLING

SECRETS

25 25

ABOUT

F E AT U R E S

Review on the new season of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things

BY M ARTI FROMM Webmaster

T

he four days prior Halloween was one of my biggest challenges of patience and selfcontrol to date. My all-time favorite series, “Stranger Things,” released its newest season on Netflix on Oct. 27. However, I knew my Halloween would drastically improve if I resisted temptation and saved my five bowls of popcorn-cotton candy mix for Oct. 31 — and man, was it worth the wait.

The series wouldn’t be so incredible if it weren’t for Matt and Ross Duffer, the writers and directors.

Their taste in horror music is unparalleled, using a raspy whistling sound to cue a man-eating monster or a tall, dark shadow approaching. The costume choices are so spot on it makes me feel like I should be driving a 1980 Ford Pinto while I’m decked out head-to-toe in denim. The Duffer’s are cinematic and screenwriting geniuses, and it only shows more in “Stranger Things 2.”

If you haven’t watched the first season of “Stranger Things,” first of all, you’re a fool. Second of all, let me catch you up. The series is set in Hawkins, IN during the early 1980’s. Will Byers — one of the four main characters along with Dustin, Lucas and Mike — went missing in the first episode, and the plot for the rest of the season is centered around finding him. Spoiler alert: Will is rescued from the fourth dimension, or the Upside Down.

In the second season Will becomes the main

character, unlike the first season where he may as well have been an imaginary friend to Dustin, Lucas and Mike. This season, the Duffer’s showcase more of Will’s character — the socially awkward, traumatized kid who only grew to creep me out with his flashbacks of the Upside Down. The entire season focuses on Will’s recovery and how the Upside Down continues to occupy his mind and body. As the season went on, I grew to love Will’s character because of how well Noah Schnapp — the actor who plays Will — executes the storytelling aspect of Will’s memories from the Upside Down.

The other character that gains attention throughout the second season is Eleven — a young girl with psychokinetic abilities who was raised in the Hawkins National Laboratory. Throughout the season, the Duffer brothers allow us to learn more about Eleven’s background, instead of just the crazy little girl who can telepathically smash a coke can.

Eleven’s history is primarily revealed through her mom, Terry. Terry thinks that Eleven is still alive, and Eleven’s character develops through Terry’s determination to find Eleven. I had complete admiration for the Duffer’s because of how they could show who Eleven is through another character.

Throughout the rest of the season, Eleven is individualized rather than apart of the Will, Dustin,

Mike and Lucas clan. I thought this was a good way to capture her as a character and for the audience to learn more about Eleven as an individual.

However, I liked the concept of her being more apart of the group of boys that presented itself in the first season.

What also emerges in the second season is Nancy’s — Will’s older sister — reciprocated love for Jonathan, a creepy classmate who has been infatuated with Nancy since the beginning of the series. Nancy dated Steve — a tall, dark-haired drink of water that I am in love with — in the first season and a little into the second season. However, in “Stranger Things 2,” Nancy moves in on Jonathan.

Nancy and Steve’s relationship gave me hope that I could have a love as powerful as what they had.

Now that it’s over, my love life doesn’t stand a chance.

Nancy, if you think Jonathan is a better catch than Steve, you’re delusional.

Aside from Nancy going completely AWOL and leaving Steve, “Stranger Things 2” exceeded my expectations. I didn’t think the monsters could be nearly as terrifying or the characters intriguing. I can’t imagine what new monsters and supernatural powers “Stranger Things 3” will bring. The Duffer brothers deserve a gold medal for their production of the best TV series to hit Netflix.

SHOULD YOU WATCH STRANGER THINGS? WHO LIKED STRANGER THINGS?*

ENGAGMENT & INTEREST FOR STRANGER THINGS VS. OTHER NETFLIX ORIGINALS* ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

57%

69%

STRANGER THINGS MAKING A MURDER

FEMALE

AGES 15-35

2.8M

**Sources: Forbes “ListenFirst” & 4CInsights

8.6 M

15.1 M

DESIGN NATASHA THOM AS

THE HARBINGER

26 S P O R T S

FILMING to fire them up

East parent shoots motivational videos for the varsity football team

LIBEER’S KEYS TO VIDEO SUCCESS PICK ONE

MAIN IDEA AND

NAIL IT

SLOW

DOWN THE

IMPORTANT

SHOTS

SET A MAIN

GOAL

FOR EACH NEW

VIDEO USE

MUSIC THAT

MOTIVATES

BY LIDDY STALL ARD Section Editor

T

he lyrics “It's not for you, this one for us!” from The Weeks' "Gold Don’t Rust" blasts through the weight room speakers. The eager varsity football team crowds around the racks at their routine Thursday night pre-game meeting. They are getting the first view at one of Brian Libeer's weekly hype videos.

Libeer can be found in the back of the room staring blankly at the speckled gray and black floor during the three-minute video. Immediately after the video ends he looks around avoiding eye contact to make himself look busy.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the kids,” Libeer said.

He makes one video of highlights and one motivational video each week to share with the football team, coaches and his 522 followers on Twitter.

Libeer started making the actionpacked motivational videos in 2010 when his oldest son Jake was on the sophomore football team. He made the videos for fun, and to share with the parents of the team. The next year his son made varsity and the father of another team member asked him to make the varsity team’s videos. The original goal was for Libeer to make an end-of-season football banquet video, but he ended up filming every football game, and turning each week’s footage into a video.

His sons Jake and Joe graduated and former football coach Chip Sherman left, but Libeer can still be found crouching down on the sidelines with a camera every football game. He was nervous that current

varsity football coach Dustin Delaney wouldn't embrace the idea like coaches had in years past, or that he wouldn’t have the same up-close access to the players on the field and in the locker room.

“He totally embraced the idea and let me do whatever I wanted to do,” Libeer said. “Then it’s just kind of become a thing where they ask me every year to do it.”

Now, four years since he had a son on the football team, Libeer still shows up early to every game, camera in hand. He creates two videos for the team every week. With every new video Libeer reaches twitter fame in the East community.

Although he occasionally gets stuck thinking of a new theme for each video and feels like he has already used up all of his ideas, Libeer always looks forward to sitting down at his computer and meshing together the videos that are viewed by everyone from grandparents of players to middle school boys who dream of the day that they will get to lace up their cleats and play football with the Lancers.

“There are sitcoms that have run for 15 years and they have new ideas all the time so I can come up with new ideas,” Libeer said. “It’s fun to challenge myself to come up with a new idea, and sometimes it’s a swing and miss, but sometimes you hit a home run.”

Libeer keeps a notes folder in his phone with ideas for videos and after printing it out, he realized his accumulation of ideas totaled six full pages. He has been keeping track of them since he started making the videos, so some of the ideas written down don't even make sense to him anymore.

The brainstorming for his newest video starts right after a game on the ride from the stadium to his house in Prairie Village. He tries to think of a song that captures the mood that best fits the last game.

“It may be just me that gets it,” Libeer said. “An inside reference for me that no one else would really know.”

He then uploads all the videos, plugs the song into the timeline and starts to piece the highlights of the games together from beginning to end. Coach Delaney provides Libeer with a word or two that he wants to convey at the next team meeting and from there he has free range to create the videos.

“Throughout the week and after the game he stays up late working on them,” his son, sophomore TJ Libeer, says. “We are like his critics or guinea pigs.”

It takes Libeer an average of two hours to edit the three-minute videos.

His favorites are put together much quicker, but if he isn't feeling inspired by a video, it can take him up to four hours to finish.

“My favorite videos just click together like I’m putting a puzzle together and I know where everything goes,” Libeer said.

Although Libeer wishes he could be invisible when the team watches his videos, the football boys love seeing their highlights and the motivational messages that go with those moments.

“It’s pretty cool that we are the first ones who get to see them each week before our next opponent,” senior football player Jack Workman said.

“It's a motivator that we will watch throughout the next 24 hours before the game.”

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

DESIGN LIL A & WILL TULP

EXCITED

S P O R T S 27 experience and over 10 years of coaching high school and college players I should be able to show the players what it takes on the field and off to continue their baseball careers after high school if they choose that path,” McRae said, “This is another opportunity for me to teach the game of baseball to the younger generation and give back what I have learned about the game from my stops along the way.”

Coming off of three consecutive Sunflower League championship wins, with last year’s 11-0 record, McRae hopes to maintain their streak and impact the players as they decide whether or not to continue is an MLB path like himself.

for the

ASSISTANT

Baseball team gets new coach for upcoming season

BY LIL A TULP Features Section Editor

A

fter coach of seven years, Jerrod Ryherd, resigned from his position as the head baseball coach at the end of the 2016 season, the East athletic department announced on Nov. 3, that former Royal’s Baseball player, Brian McRae, is expected to join the new coaching staff as the assistant coach for the team.

“Excited to welcome Brian McRae to the SME Baseball Staff! 9yrs of MLB experience and great leadership to our young men,” first year coach Will Gorden wrote on Twitter last Friday.

While as of last Wednesday his position had yet to be confirmed during the ongoing hiring process according to Athletic Director Debbie Katzfey, the team is excited for

the new addition to the program.

In addition to McRae, Gorden confirmed his position as head coach for the Lancers last April in place of Ryherd this season. Before East, Gorden coached at Rockhurst, Bishop Miege and spent one and a half years coaching Major League Baseball in China in 2015.

However, this is not the first time the two have worked together. McRae initially heard about the job from Gorden, who he met several years ago while working together at a summer youth baseball programs.

Both coaches have professional baseball experience; McRae spent nine years in the major league, playing center field with the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs and the Toronto Blue Jays. Along with his position on the East staff, the 50-yearold coach is keeping his job as the general manager for the Kansas City Sluggers minor league team and as manager for the Canadian Harbor Cats minor league team as well.

In his assistant coaching position, McRae will be working most closely with hitters and outfielders, focusing on power in throws and swings.

“By having 15 years of professional baseball playing

CLAIMS TO FAME List of McRae’s baseball experience PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE - KANSAS CITY ROYALS - NEW YORK METS - COLORADO ROCKIES - CHICAGO CUBS COACHING EXPERIENCE - HEAD @ MOREHEAD CITY MARLINS - ASSISTANT @ PARK UNIVERSITY - ASSISTANT @ UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI - HEAD @ VICTORIA HARBOURCATS

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DESIGN ELIAS LOWL AND PHOTOS K ATHERINE ODELL

BROKEN BONES

28 S P O R T S

THE HARBINGER

spirit sustained Cheerleader continues to compete after breaking a bone in her face

BY K AYLIN MCCAN Section Editor

W

ith her arms flexed, freshman Olivia Johnson prepared to catch a cheerleader who was doing a flyover. At 6:45 a.m., in the East gym, it took significant effort to ignore her yawns and focus on the stunts and the girl about to fall into her arms. Just seconds after the cheerleader came flying down, the weight of the flier landing in Johnson’s arm brought her and another base together, But this time rather than the swift catch, settle, let go, their heads collided. Johnson left at 7:15 a.m. with a surgery needed later that day.

Clutching her right eye, Johnson couldn’t feel her face. Shock overcame her when she tried to process what happened. She could barely move. As cheerleaders gathered around her immediately after it happened, pain shot through the right side of her face.

“I went to the nurse and was nauseated from the pain of the injury, so my mom came to get me not knowing what happened,” Johnson said.

The nurse and her mother lifted her into a wheelchair and wheeled her out of school. After attempting to go home and rest for an hour, she was throwing up all over her house and couldn’t look up or down due to the pain in her eye. When her family arrived at Children’s Mercy at 10 a.m., they learned Johnson had a broken orbital bone after looking at the CT scan.

During the cheer stunt, the bone pinched the muscle that controls the movement of her eye, which made it nearly impossible to look up or down. They needed to perform an orbital floor fracture repair, a surgery in which the doctors would move the pinched muscle back into place and insert a plate to keep the muscle from moving.

“I didn’t really have a good feeling for how serious or not serious things were,” her mother, Angie Johnson, said. “Ultimately I just thought she had a bad headache, but it was a lot worse than I anticipated.”

Around 6 p.m., just 12 hours after the injury occurred, surgeons prepared Johnson for her operation. She threw up 14 times before she reached the operating room.

severity of the spirit A breakdown of facts about the sport of cheerleading

Cheerleading is No. 1 female sport and No. 2 in catastrophic injuries when compared to all sports – only American football ranks higher.

United States Sports Academy

Her family gathered around her before she went into surgery. Her grandpa, who is a pastor, said a quick prayer over the phone. Johnson was then taken into the operating room and her family sat and waited.

“We weren’t really expecting them to say that I was going to have surgery, so when they came in and told us, I was pretty freaked out because the thought of someone working on my eye was scary,” Johnson said.

The nurse removed Johnson’s IV and she was sent home. By 7:30 she was at home resting.

Johnson was relieved to see that all she was left with is a swollen and bruised face. She was told she needed to ice her eye, put warm moist packs on and apply antibiotic ointment nightly to speed the recovery process.

Her surgery happened on a Wednesday night and after a lot of rest she was back to school

by Monday. Since this was her first year being a c h e e r l e a d e r, she wanted to see what potential she had. She refused to let this injury set her back. On Friday, she attended the competition practice. She was taken out of the competition routine due to her injury but added back in just to do dances and choreography.

“I feel like when the time comes to stunt again I might be a little scared, but I’m ready to go back slowly,”Johnson said.

65.2 percent of all catastrophic injuries in youth sports occur in cheerleading.

National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research

Overall injury rates among cheerleaders are lower than most other sports, but the injuries that occur tend to be more severe.

American Academy of Pediatrics

x-ray courtesy of Johnson Family

Cheerleading ranked second in the proportion of injuries that resulted in an athlete being benched for at least three weeks.

American Academy of Pediatrics

DESIGN K ATIE HISE PHOTOS IZZ Y ZANONE

NOVE MBER 13, 2017

S P O R T S 29

Jack Schoemann

Junior Griffin Fries clutched his iPhone to his chest as he waited anxiously on his living room couch.

It was Sept. 1, “call day” for hopeful Division One athletic commits and the day his childhood dream would hopefully come true.

Fries stayed up late that night because he knew that according to the D1 recruitment rules, schools were able to start calling at midnight. The first call he received was from Marquette University at 12:05 a.m.

“We see you as a Golden Eagle, do you see yourself?” read the countless handwritten letters Fries had remembered seeing from Marquette’s head coach. “[The coaches] showed him that they wanted him to be a part of the team and made him feel like he could really make an impact there as soon as he got started,” Griffin’s mom, Elizabeth Fries said.

Since decommitting from the Air Force Academy on Aug. 31, where he committed to play before his sophomore year, Fries has been

Senior Jack Schoemann signed last Wednesday to play Division I basketball at Colorado State University.

The work that he has put into the sport has allowed him to achieve his goal of keeping up the family legacy. Jack has been training with Victor Williams, former Oklahoma State basketball player, and playing for his club team, Rush, since eighth grade.

“It’s hard to find a guy who has a height like him with the ball handling and passing skills that he has,” Williams said.

Jack has been playing basketball since the age of four through his senior year, where according to Jack, he has received a great deal of support from his East teammates as well as his coaches.

Jack’s commitment to play Division I basketball allows him to

continue one of his passions, as well as keep close ties to his family.

His grandfather coached his own father and played in college himself at Springfield College in New Jersey; his dad did the same for him. Jack hopes to coach basketball after his time in college, just like his relatives before him. Jack feels as if he is keeping the legacy going and hopes to keep the strong line of basketball coursing through his family’s blood.

“I grew up with my dad coaching and even before that, [basketball] has always been in the family, so it’s cool to carry that on” Jack said.

Jack was given the opportunity to apply for early admittance with a basketball scholarship to Colorado State, whereas some athletes have to wait until April to apply. The university offered him this in hopes to make him feel more excited about

COMMITTED scouted by Boston University, Rutgers University and the University of Massachusetts.

Fries thought that Marquette was the best fit for him, versus Air Force Academy, who he had previously verbally committed to. The reason behind his decommitment and recommitment was his reprioritization of what he is looking for in a college. This included the social aspect of having a large sports team as well as the ability to feel at home while at college.

“The way they handled the recruitment process really appealed to me,” Fries said. “They flew out and were at our doorstep at 9 a.m. the day after they gave me the call.”

Though his talents were sought out by many schools, his recruitment process stood out compared to other recruits across the country.

Unlike lacrosse hotbeds on the East coast like Maryland and New York, Kansas is not considered one of the top lacrosse states, making him a rarity from the Midwest.

Not only is Fries’s commitment a look into his soon-to-be future, but it also represents Kansas as a state. Fries’s commitment has created a path for others in the area hoping to get recruited by D1 schools, according to his East assistant lacrosse coach, Dan Leff.

“Griffin’s commitment to a big time D1 program is so much bigger than Griffin,” Leff said. “He is really a trailblazer and someone who has now put the state of Kansas on the map for lacrosse.”

Kansas, so far, has been falling behind in the growing trend of the sport compared to other cities such as St. Louis and Denver according to Leff. Though Fries will be an outlier in a big pool of East coast lacrosse players, he knows that he is wanted and will fit in well with the team.

“Marquette showed him that he would go there and immediately be able to make a difference for the team and on the field,” Elizabeth said.

joining their team, compared to other offers, according to his mom, Kristine Jack.

To Jack, his mom is the “toughest person he knows.” She also plays a role in the basketball legacy, being the “coach’s daughter,” the coach’s daughter whom Jack’s father happened to be dating. “[Basketball] is a good anchor for his overall college experience and will hopefully keep him goal oriented as it has so far,” Kristine said.

In his commitment to Colorado State, Jack hopes to be able to continue the family legacy, all the way from the Colorado courts.

“Basketball has been a part of my family for my whole life and it means a lot that now I’ll be able to play in college just like my dad and granddad before me” Jack said.

BY MEG THOM A Staff Writer

Athletes commit to Division I schools for their sports

Marquette

U Q E R TT E A M

Griffin Fries

DESIGN ELLIE THOM A

THE HARBINGER

30 P H O T O S T O R Y

LIGHTS OUT

Wrapped in Christmas lights, the Marching Band and Lancer Dancers perform in their annual Glow Show ABOVE |

Seniors Quincy Stanford and Emma Renwick laugh as they prepare for the show.

“It was a much more carefree environment than our typical performances,” Stanford said. “Plus, we got to wear silly glasses.” | Ellie

ABOVE | During the performance,

junior Will Chamberlain grabs onto freshman Ethan Enderle. ”Normally we stand still during the show,” Enderle said. “But Will grabbed my shoulder and was telling me to put my instrument down and dance.” | E llie T ho m a

Thom a

RIGHT | The

LEFT| Junior drum major Nat Nitsch directs the band during

Lancer Dancers gather around as coach Alexis “Bubba” Close gives the team a pep talk before the performance.

the show. “I always worry that I’m going to get electrocuted or catch on fire,” Nitsch said. “I braided my hair with the lights which was a little uncomfortable, but it was worth it.” | E llie T ho m a

| E l l i e T hom a

ABOVE | Sophomore Christopher Short carefully decorates his trumpet as the band sets up for the Glow Show. “Even though it doesn’t sound that exciting, putting on the lights was pretty fun,” Short said. | A is l i nn Menk e

ABOVE | Junior Becker Truster holds a ABOVE | Freshman Jalen Chamberlain, sophomore Colton Weaver and

freshman Jacob Rubesch joke around as they warm up. “It was different because we didn’t have to be as formal,” Weaver said. “It was fun to mess around on the field and have a good time after a semester of working hard and being focused.” | E l l i e T ho m a

glow stick up to junior Ben Colvin’s face to show him what he would be conducting with. “Me and the other drum majors went to the discount section of Target and found a whole bunch of Halloween things on sale [to conduct with],” Truster said. | E llie T ho m a

COME SUPPORT THE LANCER FOOTBALL TEAM AT THE

PLAYOFFS sub-state: friday november 17 @ 7:00 pm state: saturday november 25 @ 1:05 pm

DESIGN LIL A TULP

THE HARBINGER

32 A LT- C O P Y THANKS TO THE DISTRICT, SMSD students have been blessed with nine days of Thanksgiving break this year. So dust off your fall decorations and bring back the pumpkin spice, because it’s still fall and we need to make the most of it. Take the quiz below to find out what you should do over break.

GIVING US A BREAK

BY BRYNN WINKLER Staff Writer

START GO OUTSIDE

WARM OR CHILLY

WARM

MOVING OR RELAXING

FREE OR PRICEY

MOVING

RELAXING

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE

STAY INSIDE

SOLITARY

CHILLY

SOCIAL OR SOLITARY

SOCIAL

PRICEY

EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL

NIGHT OWL

GET COZY IF YOU HAVEN’T READ “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio, you need to. But, if you’re not much of a reader, don’t worry – the story comes to life in theaters on Nov. 17.

“Wonder” is about a boy with facial deformities named Auggie, who is played

by Jacob Tremblay in the movie. This story captured my heart after I read it for the first time in 4th grade, and then again after I read it in 5th grade. But don’t be mistaken; the message behind it is applicable to all ages. A touching story of friendship and kindness, this movie is sure to get you in the Thanksgiving mood.

FREE

EARLY BIRD

SWEETS OR VEGGIES

SWEETS

VEGGIES

GET SOCIAL GET ACTIVE GET COOKIN’

GET YOUR FRIENDS together and plan a potluck Friendsgiving. Add a new twist to this fall trend by adding a few unique elements: Thankful cards: think secret santa with a turkey twist. First, have everyone draw a name of someone else at the party. Then have them write something they are thankful for about that person.

Warm up inside with a Friends Thanksgiving episode marathon. These iconic Thanksgiving episodes are a staple to the 90s sitcom and are perfect to watch surrounded by your own friends.

THIS ONE’S FOR all the athletes out there – or those who want to work off their impending turkey calories to come. Get active on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 23, by running in the KC Turkey Trot. Grab some friends or family members and head over to the starting line at Arrowhead Stadium.

This 5k and 8k is for both running and walking participants, and starts at 9 a.m.

Kick off the day early and actively – the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce can wait.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING to stay in for a day, try out a new fall recipe. My personal favorite and easiest, are apple pie dumplings using Pillsbury crescent dough. Roll the peeled and sliced apples inside the dough, place them in the pan, and pour the cinnamon mixture on top. The recipe requires only six ingredients and the prep time is 15 minutes. For a sweet and easy bonus, serve on top of ice cold vanilla ice cream.

Scan the QR code for the full recipe.