The Harbinger Issue 4 2022-23

is popular at East and

communities, especially after its legalization in Kansas on Sept.

by

by peyton moore

At 7:39 a.m., students sprint in at the sound of the minute music and slip into the classroom, just barely making it to class on time.

At 7:41, the doors to the halls are locked and a line forms in the front office as students log their tardy in Skyward using the office’s desktop computer. They’re sent off with a kiosk-printed pass in hand, but now 15 minutes late and missing class instruction for their first hour. East’s new tardy policy requires all students arriving after 7:40 a.m. to check in on a kiosk in the office using their student ID. After receiving a printed late pass, students are sent to their first hour. After their fifth tardy, teachers are able to refer students to administration, who will have a conversation with their guardians.

After the sixth tardy, students may face “Friday School” —

a two hour detention after school on Fridays.

While the system holds students accountable for being late, students end up missing more class time waiting in line for their slip than they would’ve with the former teacher-reported tardy system.

Previously, first hour teachers counted students tardy on their own, often giving leeway if students arriving after 7:40 were to be counted as late. Now, students who miss the bell by even a few seconds are sent back to the main office to receive a pass, only to wait in a 15 minute line before returning to class.

We understand the effort to decrease tardies. Students should be arriving on time to classes as a sign of respect to the teacher, to not miss any instruction and to form punctual habits. The idea is that if students are held accountable and tardies are made inconvenient, students will make the effort to avoid being tardy. This system may be beneficial to those consistently arriving five or ten minutes late to work as

an incentive to arrive on time, but not suitable for high school students with unforeseen mishaps.

The students whose dog ran out of the house when they tried to leave or whose younger siblings slept through their alarm shouldn’t be made even more late than they already were. They might have had every intention of arriving on time but were slowed due to unexpected and valid setbacks.

Now these students will miss the start of their test that they stayed up late studying for. Students could miss the setup for a group project, leading them to have to work individually. The method of reducing the tardies is ineffective as it only takes up more class time.

In addition, most teachers have their own expectations and policies for their students, which they explain in August. This policy was introduced to students and then set in-place the same week, leaving no time to understand the policy before it was implemented. This abrupt change led many confused on which policy is correct to follow — their teacher’s leniency or

administration’s.

East has already implemented many news systems this year. Juniors and seniors have adjusted to finding a different parking spot each morning. The student section has come up with new chants to replace those banned by administration. And all students have adjusted to having the doors automatically lock at 8:00 a.m.

It’s exhausting for the student body to balance each of these new policies. We feel administration is micromanaging every flaw ingrained in high school life, from the parking lot to sports games and now to the simple responsibility to be on time to our classes. We’ve adjusted to the new policies but now we can’t even be a minute late?

If administration wants to decrease tardiness, administration should offer support instead of penalizing students trying their best to make it to school on time. Instead, teachers and administration should be offering support to help students make it on time.

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Harbinger is a student run publication. Published editorials express the views of the Harbinger

design by avery anderson

A NEW DANCE

T HE SHAWNEE MISSION School District

canceled Chill Ball — cheer and dance team’s formal — due to it being classified an exclusive dance by SMSD.

SMSD classifies it as exclusive as it only allowed cheer and dance team members to participate, so any dance with these groups from this point on will not be affiliated with SMSD. When Chill Ball was an official

Cheer and dance team plan their own dance as a response to their annual “Chill Ball” being discontinued by the district

SMSD dance, it was used as a fundraiser for the hosting school, according to East’s dance team’s coach Bubba Close.

“I do understand where the district is coming from,” Senior and Cheer program captain Evan Jantsch said. “But I think it’s very unfortunate that after many years of this tradition it was completely canceled without warning and there was no chance

to hear from cheer or East’s [perspective] on this situation.”

According to Janstch, alternative Chill Ball plans are still undecided. It will probably be in a rented event space with a DJ and everyone will still dress up and bring a date, but will instead be funded by the cheer and dance teams of East.

“Chill Ball was a super big part of the

CREATING COURTS

LEFT The current outside tennis courts at Homestead Country Club. photo by I julia fillmore

SINCE BEING APPROVED in January, Homestead Country Club’s new indoor pickleball courts are expected to be finished by the end of the month along with a grand opening party on Oct. 22.

cheer team,” Jantsch said. “Everyone looked forward to it. Whatever we end up doing this year will still be super fun and I hope setting up our own Chill Ball will be a new tradition for athletes on the teams because it’s a super fun time.”

RIGHT Layout plans for the new pickelball courts and pool deck at Homestead Country Club. photo by I julia filmore

Homestead member and junior Syl Brundige can’t wait for the new courts to be finished, especially since it will open up another option for East’s pickleball club to play in the winter.

Homestead Country Club’s new pickleball courts are expected to open by the end of the month

Brundige said.

According to Pickleball Co-President Autumn Sun, the sport has gained popularity over these past couple years and she thinks that the KC metro should have more pickleball courts.

AUTUMN SUN

JUNIOR

“It might create more opportunities to play since there aren’t as many pickleball courts around here,”

“I definitely think that pickleball has gained a lot of attention in recent years,’’ Sun said. “I’ve seen a lot of new faces at the pickleball [club] meetings. I have seen a lot more people get involved in playing pickleball, I think it’s an easy way for all ages to get outside and get exercise with friends and family.”

POSSIBLY LEGAL

P RESIDENT JOE BIDEN has started fulfilling a campaign pledge to take action on decriminalizing marijuana.

According to CNN, Thehave been upended because of the U.S failed approach to marijuana control, and that no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.

Sophomore Lexy Aguilar thinks that this new decriminalization is a good thing.

President Biden proposed a law to decriminalize the use of marijuana

“I am glad that Biden did that, and I felt like it should have been done a long time ago whether it was him or a different president,” Aguilar said.

When Biden was announcing his executive actions he believes that marijuana possession leads to lack of employment, housing and educational opportunities, according to an interview on CNN. He also mentions the racial disparities when dealing

with consequences.

“I do feel like there is a lot of racial bias on who gets convicted because of marjuana use, Aguilar said. “I feel like due to it being legalized in a lot more states, there are going to be people crossing state boundaries with possession of marijuana that are used to having it be legal.”

If this law does pass, certain federal and local regulations will change but important

limitations like trafficking, marketing and underage sales laws stay in place.

“I don’t think there should be a lot of regulations because what’s the point of parting with crimes if you’re just going to keep it super locked tight,” Aguilar said.

“I think everything should at least have some sort of regulation, but don’t make the parting of crimes useless.”

I DEFINITELY THINK that pickleball has gained a lot of attention in recent years.

TRANSITIONING FROM A “hype group” to part of the principal’s advisory board, this year’s Pep Club Executives are working with the administration to shift the “Lancer culture” of student sections and their position in the school as a whole.

The current pep execs are seniors Graham Mosher, Audrey Condon, Peyton Moore, Morgan Turpin, Hassan Sufi and Eddie Leopold. Once considered the leaders of senior sections, they are now part of the principal’s advisory board, which includes parents and faculty from the East community who meet quarterly to discuss issues relevant to the school — ranging from half-day schedules to concerns of negativity at East’s games.

The pep execs encourage positive chants and behavior in student sections, discouraging vulgar chants or hurtful terms. They plan pep assemblies to unify the student body, Turpin shared. During the club’s weekly meetings in seminar, they discuss upcoming events and prevalent issues.

“The principal’s advisory board is for the principal to get feedback on current events or things that need to go on our todo list,” Mosher said. “[Mr. Peres is] taking recommendations from people and also taking criticism from people. He’s getting a lot of good input.”

One of their main goals on the advisory

board is to unite the student body through positivity, rather than stir them up, according to Turpin. While they’ll still promote school spirit, pep is no longer their priority.

Instead, they now prioritize East’s reputation, which is “not so good,” according to Condon. East has established notoriety for negative chants about opponents in the past, according to both Condon and Peres. Peres hopes to resolve this by changing the way the student section behaves.

“[Pep club] just wants to make sure everyone’s included and uplifting our own team, not bringing other teams down,” Turpin said.

Principal Jason Peres says that the strength of Shawnee Mission East comes from speaking up.

“Part of what makes Lancer Nation strong is our willingness to speak up when things aren’t as they should be.”

He strongly advocates for positivity within student sections, partially through his work with pep club. Many of the regulations about positivity aren’t only his, but KSHSAA’s rules for sporting event behavior, which are applicable to every school, public and private, within the state of Kansas.

Rule 52 states that any non-supportive cheering, shouting or signage are unacceptable. Attendants respect all

other attendants. — even fans of the other school’s team.

With the help of the Pep Execs, Peres has noticed the student body respecting the rules and behaving more accordingly. Having peers advocating for positivity has proved to be effective.

“[The student body has] done an outstanding job this year,” Peres said. “They’ve been very responsive to any coaching that [faculty] has provided.”

While the changes will restore East’s reputation, Condon feels that there will always be students unhappy with the changes. While this school year has brought more emphasis on guidelines and chant restrictions, she doesn’t believe students have reached a permanent shift in mentality. Backlash is always a possibility, Condon said. When faced with this negativity, she reminds herself that there are many things she can’t control — her peers included.

To help resolve negativity, football and basketball coaches have encouraged positivity within their teams by discussing any and all concerns. This includes any doubts, drama or anxiety when it comes to game day. In turn, student athletes encourage more positivity towards East’s own teams, and less aggression towards opponents.. Pep Club sponsor Shannon Nolan believes the coaches have made a significant impact on the perspective of

many students and teachers in terms of the need for positivity.

“The coaches have given me and Pep Club, as well as a lot of seniors, some perspective of what is going to make [our teams] improve, and the ultimate goal is to win,” Nolan said. “What is going to uplift our players to win?”

To ensure the student sections uplifts the players, the “number three rule” was born. The rule ultimately says that there can be up to three negative chants, or the section receives a strike. If all three strikes are obtained, a chaperone will speak with a Pep Exec, with a reminder of the regulations. While Pep Club discourages negative chants through redirection, it can be difficult to control their peers’ excitement, Mosher explained.

With the beginning of each negative chant, the cheer team begins their own positive chant to redirect the student section. By doing this, students are given a place to express their excitement and cheer on their peers without negatively impacting or discriminating against others. Nolan has seen the impact of these efforts to boost positivity.

“The student section looks great,” Nilan said. “They’re loud. They’re cheering. They’re rowdy. It’s just what we want to see. And again, we’re just trying to uplift our team.”

Pep Club Executives work with the administration to create a positive Lancer Culture

story by mary gagen

Pep Execs cheering at the Lancer Day Game

Pep Execs sending emails to administration and coaches to plan the homecoming pep assembly

design by ada lillie worthington photo by rachel bingham & mj wolf

design by marissa liberda

TANK TANK

EAST KANSAS STATE Assessment test scores have dropped after the COVID-19 pandemic. With students learning through a screen and not being able to take the assessments during the 2020-21 school year, East has developed a plan to get them back on track.

“We’re in the human services business and when you don’t have human beings in front of you, learning can slow down a whole lot,” Assistant Principal Kristoffer Barikmo said. “I think our test scores proved that.”

The Kansas Assessment is reported in four different levels, with level one showing a student has a limited understanding of the subject and level four showing a student has an excellent understanding of the subject.

In the 2018-19 school year, 44.01% of students were in the level three range for the ELA portion and only 7.89% in the level one range. However, in the 2020-21 school year, 32.31% of students scored in the level three range and the percentage of students in the level one range tripled to 21.88%. Similar statistics were shown in the math

assessment.

SMSD has developed a plan involving resources like Delta Math for high schoolers and IXL for middle schoolers — these two online math programs help strengthen students’ abilities in math by quizzing them.

“We got access to different resources that we now have the ability to use and purchase to make some of those gains back academically,” Barikmo said. “These are resources that we didn’t have access to before COVID.”

Along with utilizing key learning resources, teaching in the classroom has also changed. Teachers have had to take in a style of teaching that focuses on assessing and re-teaching in hopes that every student will understand the subjects thoroughly.

“If we do that across every course, our State Assessment data will reflect that, our ACT data will reflect that, our school performance data will reflect that,” Barikmo said.

This new plan seems to be working according to Barikmo. Although the

official numbers aren’t public information yet, he says East has already seen a rise in assessment scores in 2022.

In order to further test score improvements, teachers have formed Professional Learning Community teams within their subjects. They meet once a week to exchange ideas for strengthening their teaching and assess things like quizzes and tests to determine how their classes are going.

“[Professional learning communities] used to consist of lesson planning together, and now it’s more of, ‘Are they getting it? What do we do when they don’t get it? And how can we help them get it?’” English teacher Ann Flurry said.

According to Flurry, there are some negative effects to the concept of assessing and re-teaching such as a slower process of getting through the class syllabus and having to put aside other independent forms of teaching.

“I feel it’s a necessary evil because mastery is what we want to get to in subject matter,” Flurry said. “I think a detriment to that is that we have to put

aside more enriching projects and more real life learning assignments.”

According to Head principal Jason Peres, East has adequately prepared students to score higher assessments. He believes that another reason scores were lower in the past was due to students not always understanding why they were doing the assessment.

“It is still a test for which students are not held accountable, therefore students need to understand the purpose behind it,” Peres said. “That’s always been our challenge.”

Teachers who administer the assessments are now explaining the purpose of them to students and even Peres himself has visited ELA classes to express to students why they should take the tests seriously. Peres believes it is vital because it exhibits that Shawnee Mission East is one of the top schools in Kansas.

“A single test can never be a measure of how well a school, community or student is doing academically,” Barikmo said. “They’re snapshots in time that give us a sense of how a student is doing.”

story by luke beil

design by addie moore

photo by amelie wong

THINK

NK

ENTREPRENEUR AND EAST parent

Liz Benditt is partnering with the American Cancer Society for her business, Balm Box — an online gifting site that sells care packages for cancer patients nationwide.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Balm Box will sell two specialty products in a $50 package to combat tenderness during breast cancer surgery recovery and treatment. The first is a T-bone-shaped pillow to tuck under a seatbelt, and the second is a side pillow to cushion beneath arms. Benditt — who has been diagnosed with cancer four times

in 10 years — was inspired to include these products due to the chest pain she experienced after her own surgery.

“They’re the kinds of things you don’t realize you need until you need them,” Benditt said. “Especially when you’re going through breast cancer surgery and various treatments, your chest and upper torso [are] really tender and the weight and friction of the seat belt can be really painful.”

At the end of the month, 15% of the sales will go to the ACS. Balm Box will sell boxes at the Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk through downtown Kansas City on Oct. 22.

Through these products and other

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS FOUNDATION

SENIORS SARAH McCONWELL, MJ

Wolf and junior Ellie McDermed will host a bake sale fundraiser and raffle on Oct. 18 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As SHARE project chairs of the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation Fundraiser, the three students have partnered with Summer Salt Ice Cream in Corinth Square to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Awareness Foundation. From 3-9 p.m.,

customers can contribute to the cause by buying ice cream, with 15% of the proceeds going to the foundation, according to McConwell.

While the event was hosted during East football games at the North stadium in past years, the cancellation of games during the pandemic resulted in a need for relocation. According to McConwell, this has allowed them more flexibility, adding a bake sale to the fundraiser this year.

During the fundraiser, parents and

specialized care packages, Benditt aims to provide functional gifts for cancer patients.

Before launching in October 2020, she sent out a survey to patients of varying cancer diagnoses to determine the most useful items during treatment and recovery. In her boxes, she sells the highest-ranked items — lip balm, lotion, fluffy blankets — as opposed to inspirational products.

“When you ask gift buyers, ‘What do you mostly buy cancer patients?’ it’s mostly flowers, food and ‘kicking cancer’ logo stuff,” Benditt said. “And I thought, ‘Wow, there’s this real disconnect between what cancer patients actually want and need and

what people are buying them. And wouldn’t it be great if I could close that gap with the business?’ That’s how Balm Box came to be.”

While the company is doing a special promotion this month, its products are available year-round at thebalmbox.com as gifts for patients with several types of cancer — including the four types of cancer Benditt experienced: melanoma skin cancer, thyroid cancer, basal cell skin cancer and breast cancer.

students will sell treats with 100% of proceeds going to the cause, and rafflers can enter to win a $50 Summer Salt gift card. Both the raffle and baked goods will be sold outside of Summer Salt during the entire event.

Since the event’s location was switched to Summer Salt, the project has surpassed the fundraising record by $300 each year. McConwell attributes this to the ease of community members buying locally instead of at a football game.

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ON CAMPUS

THROUGH THE AMERICAN Cancer Society on Campus, seniors Paige Zadoo and Sofia Blades partnered with SHARE to raise $289 at an East soccer game at the Shawnee Mission Athletic Complex on Oct. 7.

Blades and Zadoo recruited seven student volunteers from various grades for a “Miracle Minute” fundraiser. As a timer counted down from a minute, volunteers ran through the student section with buckets

to collect donations. After the timer rang, the announcer broke down statistics of the average number of people diagnosed with cancer each year, day and minute.

Donations went to the society, which funds research, programs and services for cancer survivors, according to ACS Senior Development Manager McKenzie Marshall, who sees the event as an efficient way to raise funds and awareness at the community level.

“The miracle minute is representing that

life lost each minute and taking a minute out of halftime or a minute in between sets at a volleyball game or something where we’re already there for something that’s brought us together,” Marshall said. “We’re taking that stat and saying, ‘OK, for 60 seconds we’re gonna try to raise as many funds as possible.’”

The project also partnered with Student Store to distribute all profits of their pink breast cancer awareness T-shirts to the ACS. The shirts cost $10 and will be available all

“It’s easier to get people to come to an ice cream place and buy stuff, not just a football game, because it’s just kids normally at a football game and they don’t really pay attention to [the fundraiser],” McConwell said. “Now, everybody in the community [comes] and it’s really rewarding.”

This year, McConwell projects to raise over $200 more than last year due to the addition of the bake sale.

month while supplies last.

The fundraisers are the first of a series of events that the chapter founders will host throughout the year through their ACSC chapter. Once a month, volunteers will help with small fundraisers, according to Zadoo, such as a silent auction with student art pieces or a relay race for breast cancer awareness. Applications for chair roles to volunteer and set up events are available on the club Instagram, @smerelayforlife.

BALM BOX East parent Liz Benditt partners with the American Cancer Society for her business, “Balm Box”

Seniors Paige Zadoo and Sofia Blades fundraise at an East soccer game for the American Cancer Society

Seniors Sarah McConwell and MJ Wolf and junior Ellie McDermed will host a bake sale fundraiser and raffle at Summer Salt

East students and parents host fundraisers and run businesses contributing to Breast Cancer Awareness Monthstory by francesca stamati

SCAN ME

takes on

design by paige zadoo

one thing I

that Jeffery Dahmer was defnitely such a successful serial

because of American police having a racism problem, not because he was brilliant. So basically Jeff is an example of white privileged guy.

@harshit_ca

go after Kim Kardashian

shilling a crypto but not Nancy Pelosi

insider trading her way to a hundred millions dollars.”

@ParikPatelCFA

in Miami

in

touted squad, the Bills

issues and reasserted themselves as a Super Bowl

GEORGIA

KESSLER

by

kate

A MAJOR DECISION

WHAT ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY?

Not too sure.

“Well how about design, you are so creative!”

What if I don’t like it?

“Try math!”

Wait, that was a joke, right?

I have this discussion on a daily basis. My parents desperately try to help me scour through my interests to find a potential ma jor at my dream school — Cal Poly.

How am I, a 17 year old, supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life? How is that something colleges can expect from me? Most people don’t figure out what their life’s purpose is until they are having a mid life crisis. Yet, I am having a quarter-life cri sis trying to the extremely difficult question:

“Who am I supposed to be?”

My interests span through dozens of pos sible majors, ranging from anthropology to design to philosophy. It seems impossible to narrow my choices down to one singular study, especially without much knowledge on any of them.

College applications are already stress ful enough, but when you add the existen tial stress of choosing a major, it makes the stress loads worse.

Unlike my top school, most colleges don’t require incoming freshmen to declare a major. But many colleges consider them when applying. This is most common with large public universities with multiple de partments, for example, the University of California system. This school system has

limited slots for each major, which creates differences in admissions rates, causing many applicants to use their major as a backdoor into the school, by choosing one with a higher acceptance rate.

It’s tempting to choose an unpopular major in, say, pre-European studies, with the plan of switching into a major I actu ally like. Unpopular majors do have higher acceptance rates at some schools, but however tempting, switching majors is a feat within itself. And what if I don’t like the major I switch into? If you can’t be undecid ed and get into a school based on merit, should you really be there?

Having an undecided major on your college applications can be beneficial in the long run. Although you might think you know what you want to do, 80% of college students change their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statis tics. So why waste valuable time pursuing, researching and stressing over a major that will probably be changed anyways?

credits they won’t use. People who declare their major early are actually less likely to graduate on time than those who decid ed later due to the time it takes to actually take all the classes required, according to hechingerreport.org. That means more stu dent debt and more school.

VOICES OF EAST

SPENDING MONTHS pursuing a major you thought you would love just isn’t efficient. You can’t entirely base college and future careers off classes you liked in high school.

LILY SIMMONS

SENIOR

Spending months pursuing a ma jor you thought you would love just isn’t efficient. You can’t en tirely base college and future ca reers off classes you liked in high school. I love English class, but would I ever major in it? Maybe, I won’t know until I take college English classes.

Declaring a major is a great choice for those who are abso lutely certain about their future goals. In some cases it provides a head start on pursuing a degree, but again, most people change their major. So, if you’re not certain, like most 18-year-olds, why wouldn’t you allow your self time to think and try new things? After all, that is the point of college.

Some schools even enforce the explora tion process like the University of Chicago and Tufts University. These colleges require all freshmen to go in undecided, giving them time to determine which field fits them best.

It’s also smarter money-wise. Since each major requires its own set of credits, drop ping or switching leads to expensive excess

Honestly, I should be encouraged to ex plore majors, not forced to limit myself this early in my education. I am still just a teenager trying to savor my last few months before I enter the real world, and that time shouldn’t be interrupted by unnecessary stress of deciding my whole future. Let me take one step at a time.

SENIOR

Students shouldn’t have to decide on major when applying to college to reduce stress and provide room to explore interests

story by lily simmons

SENIOR

I AM APPLYING undecided, because I don’t know exactly what I want to do and where my skills ft best.”

HENRY STECHSCHULTE

WITH A MAJOR, I have decided to follow a path that I had invested myself in from a young age.”

HARRY TREML

East seniors give their opinions on choosing your major before starting college

I CAN ALREADY picture it: it’s the middle of winter and I’m surrounded by unfinished math homework in an unmade bed, with clothes that need to be put away or laundry that I haven’t done yet, and no motivation to do it.

My phone lights up: “Time to BeReal. 2 minutes left to capture a BeReal and see what your friends are up to!”

There’s no way I’m posting myself like this.

Instead, I’ll open the app and click on the icon in the top right corner to “View all my Memories” to reminisce about the sunnier days, before the seasonal depression had kicked in.

I couldn’t tell you what I was doing on June 8, but BeReal is able to remind me that I was squished in between friends in a hammock, a memory otherwise forgotten.

I’m so happy I waited to do my BeReal instead of doing it as I was walking out of my front door.

This way I’ll always have a memento of the prime summer night.

And thank goodness for myself six months ago for using BeReal as a time capsule of moments I knew I wouldn’t want to forget

— capturing my favorite part of each day. BeReal should be used to encapsulate the most memorable, fun or interesting part of the day, not me in my sweats working on my endless pile of chemistry homework at my desk. Someone could say this makes me fake — defeating the initial purpose of BeReal — but it gives me something to look back on.

Sometimes I scroll to mid-May to see a picture from when my team won the lacrosse championship. Then I look at the Lumineers concert or a selfie in the Badlands of South Dakota.

Then I scroll some more to the BeReal from July when I’m standing in the glass box on the 103rd floor of the Sears tower in Chicago. The notification informing me I had two minutes to “BeReal” may have gone off hours before, but I wanted to share and remember a fun part of the trip — not sitting in my car on the eight-hour drive there.

Many use the app to truly “be real,” but others use it to show the most memorable part of their day. Some would say that it goes against the point of the app, but like any social media, it’s really up to the user.

“ONE OF YOUR friends posted” is the notification dominating everyone’s lock screen from the social media app BeReal. I quickly become annoyed with myself thinking that I missed the BeReal for that day — until I go onto the app and see that someone has posted 20 hours late.

When I first downloaded the app in March of 2022, I didn’t quite understand the hype. Why do these screen freaks care to see a selfie of myself? Now I find myself frantically rushing to take a selfie whenever I get a notification that there are two minutes left to post the BeReal. Although the concept still baffles me, nothing perplexes me more than the person who can walk around confidently after posting 20 hours late.

I WOULD

time. While I have had some embarrassing BeReal moments like right when I get out of the shower or using the bathroom, I’ve never found a justification for waiting.

Posting embarrassing moments is what makes the app unique. I automatically assume that you have something to hide if you aren’t okay with showing your true self. Show me the pictures of you with a double chin. Show me the moments when you are staring at the ceiling. Do not show me when you and your “bestie” watching a movie that was most definitely paused to get an aesthetic photo.

Posting on time has become a point of pride for me, unlike those who reserve the BeReal for the one moment in their day that they aren’t lying in bed. Don’t lie to me, it’s almost a proven fact at this point that if you post anywhere over five hours late to the BeReal, you are a boring person. You can’t hide from the BeReal, and you can’t hide from the truth.

BEN BRADLEY

SENIOR

Waiting to post until you’re at a party or concert is what Snapchat and Instagram are for. BeReal is not the app for looking cool, it’s for being real. I will grow physically ill if I see one more person putting a picture up of someone that has a timestamp of 13 hours late.

Although I may not always post right on time, I would rather not take a BeReal at all than take it 23 hours late. I hold myself to not being fake in real life so why would I be fake on the app? If you always take a BeFake, then

even have BeReal at all?

The app is called BeReal for a reason, you are supposed to upload your photo in real

by

by ben bradley

design by elle gedman

by nora lynn

PROPERTIES

story by isabel baldassaro

ANOTHER DETOUR? DRIVING through Prairie Village, I’m now used to seeing dump trucks and construction cones blocking the roads and hearing the construction sounds throughout the surrounding area. During high traffic hours, I’ve had to swerve to avoid more than one truck — making the drive twice as long.

Renovations can benefit communities by allowing older houses to be updated and more people to populate the area. But when building companies squeeze large homes into small plots of land, tearing down trees and clogging streets, it can easily ruin the appeal of modernizing homes and allowing change. Preserving homes maintains the traditional charm of historic neighborhoods.

In recent years, houses have more demand which increases the amount of houses being built in the Prairie Village area compared to previous years, according to East parent and Principal of SFS Architecture Dana Gould.

As a result, neighborhoods that used to have an early-tomid 1900’s classic look are now filled with brand-new modernbased houses in spaces between houses that

have little similarities, causing these houses to stand out when viewing the neighborhoods.

While some renovations and rebuilds can be beneficial as they bring change to neighborhoods, they are more challenging to the Prairie Village community as they take away many of the captivating qualities of the houses.

The Prairie Village area is a great location to live in for its history and attractive house designs which is why so many seek it out. Many inhabitants have lived in the same area for years without renovating, giving these neighborhoods an older, more classic look since they were built over twenty years ago.

While many of these houses are still in great condition, many buyers seek the modern flair when looking for their next home, leading them to demolish old homes and build new ones on land meant for a smaller home. The construction debris harms the environment, and the new homes ruin the overall attractiveness the older houses used to have.

Building homes on land meant for smaller houses affects the allure these

communities usually have — from an open yard space to the privacy gained from having greenery between neighboring homes.

It also harms the wildlife. The Natural History Museum explains how Green Spaces help to better the effects of pollution and how the “Urban heat Island effect” is when heat gets trapped in built-up areas. Explaining why when heat gets trapped in areas with less greenery, it will worsen the pollution in that area.

A considerable amount of landfill waste comes from construction sites, according to the World Green Building Council. They disclosed that around 32% of landfill waste transpires from construction sites and 13% of materials that are delivered for construction sites end up in landfills without ever being used.

Even if you don’t mind small yards, it can be irritating to neighbors to spend months listening to the new home’s construction.

Residents of tighter street areas like culs-de-sac experience increased traffic and struggle leaving and entering their driveways.

Sophomore Helen Jones is tired of her neighbor’s ongoing 5-month construction project. In fact, her brother’s car got trapped in the driveway, causing other issues on top of the constant sound of hammers putting nails down.

Building big houses on plots of land meant for smaller ones ruins the appeal of both the neighborhoods and city of Prairie Village, causing these changes to be more detrimental than positive to the surrounding community. Instead of tearing old homes down and sticking shiny grey castles in their place, our community should preserve the charm that comes with older Prairie Village homes.quonsil conloct urnimpl icaedis contem im

ON THEIR s de

ABOVE Junior Sylvia Bunde stands in position in front of teammates and coach, all wearing East’s Dig Pink shirts that were available for purchase at a fundraiser for Side Out Foundation.

photo by I mason sajna

RIGHT Pink roses are handed out to the players’ family members affected by breast cancer during the recognition ceremony.

“People just have a lot of fun with the whole event. It’s a really great opportunity to honor those that have been affected by cancer. It’s always good to find an opportunity to do that,” said coach Volleyball coach Alex Henton.

photo by I claire goettsch

design by hadley chapman

East partners with Side Out Foundation for their annual Dig Pink Night, an organization that fund raises for unprecedented analyses to metastatic breast cancer patients and their oncologists

ABOVE Freshman Bekah Slaughter, senior Rachel Bingham and junior Emaline Handzel link arms as relatives who battled breast cancer are recognized with a rose. “[Dig Pink Night] brings people together and acknowledges a condition that can be very important to people”, said Handzel. photo by I claire goettsch

ABOVE Junior Eva Galicia hugs her aunt, a breast cancer survivor, during the recognition ceremony. “I wanted to honor and win these games for all my teammates and I’s family members who have passed from or survived cancer,” Galicia said.

photo by I claire goettsch

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THIS WEEK IN

FREQUENTINGfanatics

Students in the

“Frequent

A look at what’s happening inside the halls of East

LEFT Senior Josie Gowen sells a sweatshirt to sophomore Gray Sullivan from the student store during lunch. photo by I caroline martucci

BOTTOM LEFT Freshman Brooke Kennison and senior Carmen Lukaszewski work on a puzzle during free time in choir. photo by I julia fillmore

BELOW Senior Ava Black laughs with her friend during a throwing project in Ceramics. photo by I clara peters

LANEY RUPP

CANDY”

GRETCHEN GARBE

KURT FREEMAN

FAMILY

Students with the same last name are often

THEY GET ASKED

AT THE START OF freshman year, so many people kept coming up to us, asking if we’re cousins. We think it’s really funny and we love joking around about it.

RACHEL CONDON

SOPHOMORE

ON THE FIRST DAY of school every year, I’m asked if I’m related to more people in Rachel’s family than my own sister. We’ve be come friends because of how of ten we joke about it.

LOLA CONDON

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photos by molly miller & lili vottero

FELLOWSHIP FINDING

“HAVE I NOT commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. For the Lord God will be with you wherever you go.” Juniors Conor Folger and Tony Murphy take turns reading from The Book of Joshua — passage 1:9 — tracing the letters with their index fingers. Together, they quickly check Folger’s TikTok comment section and jot down the comments they find.

As other students trickle into room 524, Folger glances up from his Bible to greet them.

“Welcome to the Club of Christ,” he says.

Murphy and Folger created the Club of Christ in order to help spread Christianity at East. Together they share words from the Bible that are uplifting or helpful to students. With the help of other Christians on TikTok as inspiration, the boys hope to grow their club in order to touch others with their words.

Despite founding East’s new club to connect with Christian students, Folger has not always been a Christian. In fact, his parents discouraged practicing religion, since they had always been atheists.

hundred total, so when I got as many as I did, I gained a lot of confidence.”

Folger records himself reading a short Bible verse every couple days and connects it to life. For example in Galatians, the Apostle Paul describes “The Beatitudes:” nine qualities he asks Christians to show every day — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, selfcontrol — Folger then pointed out how these quantities are relevant to anyone.

Within a day, his first video about his conversion to Christianity received 1,400 views.

In his comment sections, users debated and shared their thoughts on the Bible. He took this as a sign to make more videos.

THE REASON WE started this club is to get the most pe0ple possible in volved, to bring the most people possi ble closer to Christ. My biggest hope is that in the next two years it will grow enough to where it will outlive me and continue well past my graduation.

TONY MURPHY

But freshman year, his views on religion when he found the Bible at his grandparents house and flipped a few pages. He realized how relevant the passages were to him, even 2,000 years after it had been written. Since then, he’s opened up a bible every night to read and to pray.

JUNIOR

Like Folger, TikTok was Murphy’s main source of encouragement to grow his faith. In the comment sections of videos like Folger’s, Murphy spent hours discussing his faith and religious questions with other Christians. He met his mentor — Milo — during a Tik Tok livestream.

Scrolling through TikTok one night, Murphy came across Milo’s TikTok live about preaching the gospel. Milo’s analysis of certain passages in the Bible intrigued Murphy. As he asked questions about wearing religious symbols such as a cross, he and Milo FaceTimed after the livestream ended to keep talking. Since then, the two talk almost every day and Murphy has moderated many of Milo’s streams.

much more difficult. When his parents discovered his TikTok videos, they were concerned and forced him to take them down. After losing his main outlet for sharing his beliefs, Folger felt his faith fade.

“It was really hard for me to find ways to build my [faith] during that time,” Folger said. “A combination of being isolated because of COVID and a fear of talking to other Christians on TikTok kept me completely locked away from my faith.”

Murphy proposed the plan for the Club of Christ to Folger and English teacher Lauren Lawrence. Inspired by the conversations he had on TikTok, Murphy wanted to bring these same conversations to East students in the classroom. Both of them jumped on the idea.

“The reason we started this club is to get the most people possible involved, to bring the most people possible closer to Christ,” Murphy said. “My biggest hope is that in the next two years it will grow enough to where it will outlive me and continue well past my graduation.”

Since the first few meetings, the club has grown from two to six members and the founders are looking for ways to augment their growth. They’ve stapled posters throughout the school halls and created an Instagram account to promote both the club and Folger’s new TikToks.

Folger began to study his Bible more intently, feeling the need to share his new found passion with others — something he decided to do on TikTok.

“I was honestly stunned,” Folger said. “I just wasn’t expecting to receive so many views so quickly, I thought I might get a few

“[Milo] helped me to build a relationship with Christ and helped me to understand things I couldn’t,” Murphy said.

“Oftentimes people would send passages from the Bible in the [livestream] comments that seemed messed up and caused me to doubt my faith. But Milo taught me to go back and take these quotes in context and, afterwards, they made sense.”

Folger’s journey to a strong faith was

“Starting the club made me realize how much I loved spreading the Gospel,” Folger said. “I plan on continuing to make videos well into the future.”

T HE CREATORS LIGHT

ONY

The leaders of TCOC and their

began watching videos about religion on Tik

connected with others in comment sections learned from a mentor

CONOR FOLGER

found bible at his grandparents house felt inspired started posting short vidoes of reciting verses on TikTok

TOGETHER

proposed club idea to teacher Lauren Lawerence started meetings and promoting the club to the school

Juniors Conor Folger and Tony Murphy created the Club of Christ after strengthening their faith this past summer

design by afa akwankaa

story by tristan chabanis

photos by sabrina dean

NUMBERS, NOT LETTERS.

Those numbers were all senior John Smith* could think about in English class. A $10 bet. A $1,000 win. A three-month betting spree. $6,000 of debt.

Smith’s losses have resulted in death threats from bookies — college students that placed his bets illegally — whose numbers he’s blocked to avoid paying losses. But that didn’t keep the bookies friends from taunting him over text. As a result, Smith works overtime at his $12-anhour job and asks his parents for money — saying it’s for McDonald’s — but still can’t pay off his debt.

Smith isn’t the only teenager who wagers money. In the past year, 6080% of high school students reported gambling, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. In the wake of Kansas legalizing sports betting on Sept. 1, the practice has become more accessible and prevalent among students at East and nearby schools, despite it still being illegal for anyone under 21.

At East, Smith and his friends gamble by faking social security numbers on betting websites that have opened after the legalization. It was senior Arthur Garrett’s dad who showed him first the illegal betting websites and then the legal sites that Kansas residents can now use. He has friends whose parents place their bets now, too, he said.

Smith and Garrett have seen most of their friends start betting within the last two years — as past upperclassmen had encouraged them to bet — placing bets through their college-aged bookies.

While students have gambled long before legalization, incentives and ads marketing sports betting can encourage more people to gamble, according to licensed professional counselor Whitney Ide, who specializes in addictions in Prairie Village.

Smith didn’t expect to crave the feeling of winning $20 on Chiefs games when he started gambling. Most of his friends put money on NFL games, too. How could he get addicted? After all, he said, everyone does it.

“It started off with almost every single boy just in a fantasy football league, and probably a lot of girls, too,” Smith said.

“Now the boys, they still do fantasy, but

almost every single one of them is just now watching football because they’re betting on it. It’s huge. It’s completely taken over Shawnee Mission East.”

Each time he texts his bookie to place a bet, Garrett knows the 50% chance of success. But for him and Smith, the prospect of winning it big and raking in thousands outweighs the odds.

Garrett was skeptical at first. He had rarely heard of his friends winning bets. But two years ago, in the spirit of the Chiefsversus-49ers Super Bowl, he thought “Why not?” and placed a $10 bet on the Chiefs. Knee bouncing and fingers drumming with anticipation, he watched the game, sucking in a breath at each interception and puffing his chest at each touchdown. Sunday night football wasn’t just about entertainment anymore. He was watching to win.

Then he saw the green checks marking his wins. The Venmo transactions came through. $100. $150. $200. $250. He was hooked.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this addictive in the beginning,” Garrett said. “But it totally is. It gives you something else to look forward to with sports.”

When teens like Garrett experience winning streaks, they often make riskier bets that increase their odds of losing, according to Ide. In recent years, she’s noticed gambling addicts placing frequent wagers instead of sporadic bets.

Many addicts ignore the odds simply for the money, Smith said.

“When you get a [win] on a bet, and then you get a ton of money, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is why I do it,”’ Smith said.

The motivation to gamble is deeper than this “wow” moment, Ide said. Placing a bet releases dopamine and serotonin, the same chemicals that result from ingesting drugs or alcohol, creating a similar addictive effect on the brain as a physical or chemical substance.

However, despite being highly addictive, sports betting is often considered more socially acceptable than other forms of gambling, according to Smith and Garrett.

Ide attributes this normalization to marketing. Incentives and advertisements promote sports betting as an easy way to profit off of sports knowledge instead of a serious, potentially addictive form of gambling. Companies like Caesars Sportsbook advertise on billboards a

“covered $1,250 bet on any sport as a welcome bonus.”

“[Sports betting is] not something that if you do, people are going to look down on your side as taboo,” Ide said. “It doesn’t have this negative connotation in the news and media around it, which can result in more people doing it and not realizing what can happen.”

Sports betting ads can now appear on the Instagram feeds of underage teens in Kansas after the state’s legalization.

As a result of the legalization, Garrett, Smith and Ide agree that teens have easier access to betting. While the change allowed Garrett’s dad to place his bets legally, it made betting more straightforward for students like Smith, who easily faked his age on websites like BetMGM and Barstool Sportsbook.

Garrett and Smith have seen the effects of prevalence in betting firsthand at school. Whether it’s during lunch table conversations or sports practices after school, betting is a popular hobby among their friends.

Sports betting isn’t just an East phenomenon. It’s also prevalent at schools like Pembroke, Rockhurst and nearby universities. Students at schools near East often use the same bookies and bet on the same playbooks. Rockhurst senior Thomas Lee* started betting after one of his friends won a bet through an East bookie. Between schools, he’s seen betting methods travel by word of mouth, making sports teams and games to bet on common hallway discussions.

“It all started with friends of friends of friends talking about it,” Lee said. “Now, when you walk through the halls, you constantly hear people talking about sports betting, or you’re in class, and guys are talking about what they’ve got money on.”

Some students use this popularity between schools to make a profit. After a year of betting with an East bookie, Pembroke senior Jeff Scott* created his own playbook website to rake in extra cash. Collecting 20% of his friends’ winnings is worth the risk of having to cover losses people may not pay, he said.

Because sports betting begins before the legal age of 21 within these schools, it can be common for students to continue betting with the same bookie in college. According to Ide, betting at a young age results

in an increased likelihood of gambling throughout life. Still, some students believe they’ll “grow out of it.”

“The older people get, the wiser they will become and maybe realize that it’s kind of stupid,” said Smith. “But I’m still committed. I’ve dedicated my life to it.”

But at the University of Kansas, East and KU father David Jones* observes students betting as a widespread hobby. While visiting his son at KU, Jones frequently hears former Rockhurst, Pembroke and East students discussing the $5 they’ve placed on a Chiefs game or the best player to bet on in an upcoming MLB game.

Whether they rake in thousands or lose even more, those in sports betting — like Smith, Garrett, Lee and Scott — continue actively betting and wagering. The reason many addicts continue betting comes down to the obsession with winning after having good luck once or twice, according to Ide.

“There’s still that hope that maybe, next time ‘I’ll do it,’” she said. “When you first get into anything that’s addictive, it feels great, and you think it’s wonderful. And then you end up going to a negative place, and people continue to do it, no matter what the addiction is.”

real-world

story by christian gooley

THIRTEEN STUDENTS PLUG into desktops with their Adobe products open, putting together potential logos for the school’s coffee shop.

Jennifer Hair has been the digital design teacher at East for six years. She started teaching the higher level Digital Design Project Management classes right when she got the job. For Hair this class isn’t just design, it’s about learning how to manage clients and go out in the real world and talk to clients and deal with their needs.

“It promotes your external communication skills, you need to be professional and polite and timely when you’re not talking to your best friend beside you,” Hair said. So we have a client facing communication and then we have internal communication.”

“A senior night program normally takes upwards of 10 to 15 hours just for a draft before getting edits and small details fixed,” Connelly said.

They also have to learn to problem solve while using new programs and come up with completely new designs constantly.

The students are also diversifying from their typical InDesign and Photoshop programs. Currently, they are making video board animations to be shown at all of the district stadiums during football games.

“It’s a very relaxed class. There aren’t super strict deadlines, but I still get to be creative and work on projects,” junior Emma Kuhlman said.

IT’S A VERY relaxed class. There aren’t super strict deadlines, but I still get to be

Hair first plans to take field trips to three different design firms. The first will be to Design Farm — an architecture and interior design creative agency founded by Brad Black.

JUNIOR

Going on these field trips will make an easy way for Hair to be able to show the students what doing design in the real world is like and how you have to act.

The class has recently become an official club, to allow for even more creative freedom and time with the projects they create. They’re currently brainstorming how to get donations, which will allow them to purchase new programs and go on more field trips to design firms to get the students out into the real world.

This years’ class is composed of 13 students — a normal amount considering the difficulty of the class, Hair said. Their projects range from varsity banners to senior night programs, according to junior and Digital Design student Bridget Connelly.

After being assigned a project from Hair, students contact their clients and determine what they would like to have made.

The students then find out exactly what the client’s vision is, hoping to create a product as close to that as they can. They will send their drafts to the clients, receive feedback and tweak the designs until it meets the customers expectations.

Once the client decides which option that they like the most, the students complete any minor changes that are needed for the design.

Their most recent project is with Belinder Elementary School, designing a new approach to being a leader with the nationwide program “Leader in Me.”

A team of three students are creating posters to go up all around Belinder to remind the students what it means to be a leader both in and out of school.

According to Connelly, the project will take upwards of seven months to completely finish due to the amount of time it takes to have all of the posters made and for the school to decide which ones they like the most.

and work on projects

KUHLMAN

Teacher Jennifer Hair’s Digital Design Project Management class teaches students how to find design jobs outside of school

design by bridget connelly photos by molly miller

design by kai mcphail photo by madi maupin

Temporary TEACHING

ROBERT HERERRA

ROBERT HERRERA

Señorita Lind’s Spanish student teacher — listens as a student flawlessly pronounces “perro” and “baño” — words she’d previously stuttered over. Herrera has always thought of himself as a helper ever since he was called a “teacher’s pet” in elementary school. Helping others is something that brings him joy and a sense of purpose — and now he can officially call himself a helper. “I’ve always had a passion for helping and teaching,” Herrera said. “I have that desire to see people who maybe don’t learn or are struggling in something. Being able to see how that comes to fruition and see them grow means a lot.” After teaching next to Señorita Lind for the past two months, Herrera has discovered the qualities he wants in his classroom environment when he becomes a full-time teacher — an estimated 33% speaking, 33% writing and 33% listening. Out of the classroom, Herrera

delivers groceries as a side job — another aspect of his passion for service. Herrera knows this job brings assistance and relieves stress in people’s days, making it something he can look forward to.

“People are very grateful that I take the time out of my own day, even though I do get paid,” Herrera said. “I have this one elderly lady — super sweet — and she’s just like, ‘I’m so thankful for you, thank you for helping me out so much.’ That’s what I live for. I love to be the guy who helps.” At East, Herrera has learned the impact of his help. Growing closer to his current students, he finds the line between being able to crack jokes here and there to also ensuring that each student is grasping the pronunciation and spelling of each word in their writing. “I need to remember we can only teach students so much,” Herrera said.

“I’m not a God. I can’t teach them everything. But I’ve learned to love the small moments.”

CAROLINE GAMBILL

TEACHER Caroline Gambill

excitedly observes biology teacher Stephanie Valencia mix water and vinegar in a graduated cylinder, noticing the slight pauses and added comments she will have to reteach the next period. She shakes the nerves off and remembers why she’s here — her love for science and biology.

“I love a kind of lab environment and I really like to work hands-on with science,” Gambill says. “But I think the connections and the relationships are most important to me and those aren’t always super available [with students].” Gambill switches between Valencia and other biology teacher Jennifer Davis’ classrooms throughout each school day. Observing both Valencia and Davis has taught Gambill about organization and how she will one day structure her own

class.Time management with classes is huge,” Gambill says. “Knowing when to transition through different parts of a lesson are kind of difficult things to grasp but they’ve been really good at helping me with that. ” When not presenting a lab or studying for her undergrad degree at Kansas State University, Gambill loves listening to Phoebe Bridgers or Fleetwood Mac and spending time with her pet gecko in light of her love for animals — giving her something to connect with her students about. “It’s awesome to see kids who like the same kind of artist or are wearing a shirt of an artist and I’m like ‘Oh my god, I love that,’” Gambill said. “And I really love animals, so that obviously translates really well into the science classroom.” Gambill believes forming these connections is the best way to engage students — even the “non-science lovers.”

MICHAEL SCOTT

M ICHAEL SCOTT

WALKS a struggling student through a complex momentum formula, remembering when he was in the student’s place five years ago. Scott now sees the teacher to student connection from a new lense as he student teaches for physics teacher Miles Martin in Physics, AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. As a full-time teacher, Scott hopes to build a studentcentered classroom — one where students create the problems to make sure they really grasp the content and material. While Scott’s interests are physics and science, his favorite hobby is running. After being a runner himself and coaching

for the last four years, Scott brings some of his experience in his running shoes to the classroom.

“I think there’s definitely this coaching mentality that I take in[to the classroom],” Scott said. “Practice makes perfect in sports, and I [also] see it in the classroom.”After Scott’s high school experience, he felt it was his duty to teach, connect with students and aid their learning process.“I had a great high school experience and a lot of my teachers had an impact on me, and I know how important learning is as anyone grows up,” Scott said. “I would also like to play a role in these students’ lives to help them learn how to learn for themselves.”ext!

Student teachers Robert Herrera and Caroline Gambill write notes on the board for class.

story by anna mitchell

THEY’RE FINALLY HERE. Ground and whole coffee beans arrived at his front doorstep like gifts wrapped in three one-foot-by-one-foot packages. To anyone else, it was July 19, 2021. But to third generation entrepreneur and Shawnee Mission North senior Ben Cloud, it was Christmas.

“When I held the [coffee] bag in my hands, I swear to God it was hot,” Ben said. “I just didn’t even have words. I was so excited.”

Ben’s childhood dream of owning a business was now in reach. After twelve months of extensive Google searches, sleepless nights to make legal deadlines and hundreds of coffee samples, this marked day one of operating his first startup — Cloud’s Coffee Company.

“All the hard work was [in the bags],” Ben said. “It was tangible. I could feel it. I could see it. I don’t think I stopped smiling for the next couple days. It was seriously one of the happiest moments of my life.”

s cor•po•ra•tion

a business that is taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code, meaning they don’t pay income taxes

After founding the company in April as an S corporation — a company exempt from income taxes — Ben could finally sell his first product: Bali Blue, a specialty grade coffee bean he orders from Bali, Indonesia. Ben established himself as the CEO and sole owner of the company’s stock. In one year, he’s sold over 2,500 12-ounce bags of coffee beans.

Cloud’s Coffee is available in whole bean or ground 12-ounce bags online at cloudscoffeecompany.com or through sporadic pop-ups at local shops like Made in Kansas City.

But his company is ready for its next step: investing.

After taking Entrepreneurship, Business Management and Marketing Principles at North, Ben enrolled in East business teacher Kevin Wiesner’s Investing class to help take Cloud’s Coffee to the next level.

North didn’t have enough student interest to offer the class, so Ben travels to East three times a week for second hour. Learning about the stock market and investment opportunities, Ben sees the class as his “extended research” to fuel Cloud’s Coffee’s short-and long-term goals.

In the next year, Ben hopes to increase the volume of wholesale customers overall by targeting larger clientele that may buy the 12-ounce bags in bulk to sell on their shelves or the grounds too prepare as a cup of coffee in a cafe setting.

Alongside his five-year plan of establishing roots in the community with larger wholesale customers, Ben hopes to use his knowledge from Weisner’s Investing class to invest his profits in the stock market. After saving his profits, he wants to open a cafe or public roasterie.

“My class could help him start forward thinking more,” Weisner said. “Thinking not just a year from now, five years from now, 15 years, 30 years... because with people his age, that’s what you need to be thinking about: how can I set myself up long term and make sure [I’m] financially secure long-term?”

North business teacher Cody Fothergill has taught Ben in three classes since the research stage of building a company. In January and February of 2021, Ben brainstormed business ideas — like a clothing line or bamboo products — while Forthergill acted as a facilitator and guide. But, once he

found the specialty grade coffee market through hours of google research, he knew his business plan.

In his sophomore year Entrepreneurship class, Fothergill guided Ben on running a business, including “the details” of the distributional process and legal aspects. In Business Marketing class, Fothergill taught him that entrepreneurship means managing employees, not just himself. This year, in Marketing Principles, Ben already knows much of the details of business management and marketing strategies, according to Fothergill.

As a 17-year-old CEO, Ben is still learning about the business world, including mutual funds and Roth IRA investment accounts. But for a teenager, Ben has proven his keenness for entrepreneurship through his professional presence and extensive business knowledge, Fothergill said.

“From a business perspective, Ben’s always seemed like an older person,” Fothergill said. “He just understood what it would take. He knew it would be incredibly difficult, and he was able to make his business venture a priority. There aren’t a lot of high schoolers that would or could do that.”

Ben spends weekends at his wooden desk in Blip Roasters, a roasting company in downtown KC, stamping each coffee bag with its roast date and ensuring orders are shipped the same day they’re roasted. But on weeknights, Ben huddles by the lamplight on his bedroom desk, googling investment opportunities and managing his 12 person team for Cloud’s Coffee. This diligence is what makes Ben a successful business owner, Forthergill said.

“Ben has done it all,” Forthergill said. “He can get unmotivated or procrastinate on some other things, but when it comes to his xbusiness — it’s part of the expression — but he’s all business.

He knows it inside and out.”

HEAD IN THE FEET ON THE GROUND

LOUDS,

SCAN ME INSTA

Shawnee Mission North senior Ben Cloud learns business skills at North and East to run Cloud’s Coffee Company

Scan here to view Cloud’s Coffee’s official Instagram

Senior Ben Cloud pulls Bali Blue coffee beans to roast at Blip Roasters.

photo by I riley eck

story by peyton moore

ABOVE Cloud adds roasted coffee beans to a bag, ensuring there are exactly 12 ounces of beans per bag. “We’ve distributed about 2,000 pounds of coffee in the past year,” Cloud said.

photo by I riley eck

LEFT Before packaging his products, Cloud adds stamps, stickers and business cards to personalize each delivery.

photo by I riley eck

TOP LEFT Senior Ben Cloud prepares the machine to press lids on individual coffee servings.

“They’re only roasting two times a week for maybe 2-3 hours, but the roaster does about six batches per hour.“

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ABOVE Blip Roasters, Cloud’s roasting company, has lines of Bali Blue coffee bean bags, which they package and distribute to customers after roasting. photo by I liv madden

LEFT Entrepreneur and senior Ben Cloud finishes the final touches on his order and stamps it before placing it in the bag. “The whole process is very repetitive, but the final touches are my favorite part,” Cloud said. photo by I liv madden

WHAT SONG SHOULD BE MORE POPULAR THAN IT IS?

SOPHOMORE

JP

RUBY

DEHAN

I’VE

one for fear, plugging my ears and crying during “The Conjuring” and clenching my eyes shut inside of my neighbors haunted garage in second grade.

Even though being harassed by men with fake bloody chainsaws isn’t the ideal way to spend my Saturday night, my friends still drag me to the same two downtown

haunted houses every October: The Beast and The Edge of Hell. Since I still can’t get through those two without running out of the house screaming and more often than not crying, I’m forcing myself to discover some lesserknown haunted houses around Kansas City to hopefully impress my friends with less screams and dry cheeks.

NIGHTMARE

Local haunted houses provide enough scares for the entire season

story by maggie kissick

MACAB

AN EERIE, VACANT warehouse sits in the West Bottoms. It’s dark, five stories tall and boasts the name Macabre Cinema. Each room inside this house is based on iconic horror movies and it’s owned by Full Moon Productions — the same company that owns the Beast and Edge of Hell.

As I entered the house, I was prepared to handle any goblin or ghoul that came my way. The first thing I saw was a room full of faux spiders and cobwebs. I giggled to myself: this can’t be that bad, right?

RMy confidence dissolved almost instantly — the first room was not an equal measure of how frightening the rest of the house would become. Every five seconds a killer clown taunted me with a bloody knife or a psycho orphan demanded to play a game with me. When they jumped out, all I could do was shake in fear and run away from them as fast as I could — which they took as an invitation to chase me.

And if the bloody zombies following me weren’t scary enough, the house was impossible to

navigate. The nauseating strobe lights, dark rooms and hidden doors made it difficult to make it from one room to the next without running into something. I couldn’t even tell that each room was based off of a horror movie. All I saw was darkness and sadly, no visible means of escape.

The 45 minutes I spent dodging mummies and running into doors was scarring; I won’t be back next year.

AFTER MACABRE, I strayed away from the traditional indoor haunted houses and visited the Exiled Trail of Terrors, a one-mile outdoor haunted hike in Bonner Springs.

My palms were sweating as I waited in line, distant screams were echoing from the forest. As different ghouls and zombies taunted me in line, I was already on edge for what the actual haunted experience would bring. Once I was in the forest, I was most concerned with how I would find my way through. The trail wasn’t

12829 Loring Rd, Bonner Springs, KS

lit, and no phone or outside flashlights were allowed. All they gave me was a small, red LED flashlight that did nothing to help me navigate. But shockingly, the trail was actually easy to follow — with ropes along the sides to prevent you from straying off.

There was also a ton of variety — with tents themed like abandoned hospitals, narrow tunnels to crawl through and even a bus that you could climb over.

The beginning of the forest wasn’t too bad. Zombies and psycho priests were jumping out at me, but it wasn’t anything abnormal after my nightmares following Macabre Cinema. I found myself actually enjoying it.

The entrance to Exiled Trail of Terrors features several practical effects to entertain people waiting in line.

But this confidence didn’t last long: a dense fog engulfed me, making it impossible for me to see anything in a five foot radius. A man kept banging on a metal barrel, demanding that I continue moving.

Just as I was taking my sigh of relief after making it through the fog, a chainsaw scraped across my leg. I looked down, which only made it scarier. A man with bloody eyes was laughing hysterically with the chainsaw in his hand, saying he wanted to chop my head off. This was when I decided it was my time to go.

It may take a lot of convincing, but I’d go back next year.

design by sophie lindberg photos by clara peters

One

Exiled Trail of Terrors’ actors

opening.

design by katie murphy

Greetings from

IN 1953, FRANK Stober started this now-13 ton-ball in Cawker City, which has held the Guinness World Record for the largest ball of twine since 1973. The ball now contains around 600 miles of twine — the distance between Kansas and San Francisco — and it’s still growing.

You may have just missed the annual “twine-a-thon” in August where anyone can contribute their own twine to expand the ball, but Cawker City is in the spirit year-round with twine-themed artworks in business’s windows and painted stripes of twine along the sidewalk.

IT ISN’T EASY to wear the “I’m from Kansas” label with pride. Cows, tornadoes and the Wizard of Oz may not be as boast-worthy as New York’s skyscrapers or California’s beaches, but I sought out some Kansas oddities and attractions worth bragging about.

No other state has the world’s largest ball of twine, or the second largest electric shovel. And there’s definitely

MENTIONS

WHO NEEDS TO visit Philadelphia to see the real Liberty Bell when we have our very own Kansas-version? Made entirely out of turkey red wheat straw, this life-size replica of the Liberty Bell is housed in the Mennonite Heritage and Agriculture Museum located three hours west in Goessel. If you feel like staring at some straw to ignite your Kansan pride, the Wheat Liberty Bell is a must see.

From left to right are images of the Wheat Liberty Bell, Columbus Museum, Twine Ball, Big Brutus, Atomic Annie and Truck Henge. photos courtesy of I iStock images

“A” photo by I audrey condon

nowhere else with a museum dedicated entirely to barbed wire.

If you find yourself bored over the upcoming threeday weekend or are looking for unique ways to spend your Thanksgiving break, fill up the gas tank, open Google Maps and discover a few of Kansas’s hidden gems.

TRUCKHENGE

HIGH ON MY bucket list is visiting Stonehenge — the oldest wonder of the world, known for its prehistoric arrangement of stones in the English countryside. While it’s not nearly the same, I can take a step closer to that dream by visiting Truckhenge — Kansas’s very own wonder of the world — just an hour away in Topeka.

Off I-70 and down the Seward Avenue exit is Lessmen’s Farm — a plot of land-turned-eclectic-passion-project by owner and artist Ron Lessman. I came for the arrangement of six antique and graffiti-covered trucks jutting out from the ground but stayed for the roaming peacocks, chainsaw wood carvings and fences covered in long lost shoes and bowling pins. Throughout the property were similar arrangements known as “boathenge” and “bushenge” — both equally as quirky and photo-worthy.

IF IT ISN’T in your schedule to make the four-hour drive to Cawker City, where the real deal is displayed, the world’s second largest ball of twine is only two

hours away in the Columbus Museum.

The 826-pound and 468-milelong ball of string may be nothing compared to the world record holder, but the museum’s slew

of artifacts dating back to the 19th century — including vintage clothing, tractors, farm equipment and sporting goods — make it a historical and uniquely-Kansas stop.

TOWERING OVER MILES Towering over miles of the plains that stretch on through southern Kansas, this towering electric shovel known as “Big Brutus” can be seen in the horizon as you approach the small town of West Mineral. As their website puts it, “Big Brutus put the oooohs and aaahs in the backyard of the Heartlands!!!” and I couldn’t agree more.

Instead of posing in sunflower fields or the Plaza steps, why not have a photo op in front of this 16-story tall, 11 million-pound Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric shovel?

For a small entrance fee of $8.75 for adults and $5.50 for kids, you can take all the BeReal-worthy shots you want, and the non-profit’s admissions are donated to Mining Heritage of Southeast Kansas.

A road trip review of unique locations in Kansas

story by lyda cosgrove

I’M GLADI’M GLAD

I READ THISI READ THIS

story by greyson imm

GROWING UP IN he early 2000’s, nine-yearold me was constantly glued to the TV after school obsessing over the latest episode of the Nickelodeon hit show “iCarly.”

When I saw Jennette McCurdy — the actress who played Carly’s eccentric best friend Sam Puckett — released a memoir, I immediately drove down to Barnes and Noble and picked up a copy of “I’m Glad My Mom Died.” Any preconceived notions of this book being just another surface-level celebrity memoir skimming the surface of her life were blown out of the water.

The authenticity and detailed description of her uniquely traumatic childhood in Jennette’s writing pays off, making it an incredibly rewarding read.

The book opens with a scene of Jennette and her family sitting beside her mother’s hospital bed, in critical condition after a breast cancer relapse. The family takes turns sharing big news of getting engaged and buying houses in hopes of waking her up from her coma.

Then it’s Jennette’s turn.

“Mommy. I am… so skinny right now. I’m finally down to eighty-nine pounds.”

Finally down to the goal weight her mom set for her, she was positive that this news would wake her comatose mother — a point of view which shocked me. She kicked her feet up and laid back in the hospital room chair.

Through these raw and borderlineunbelievable vignettes of Jennette’s life, I felt like I was living Jennette’s childhood through her eyes.

and bends to the will of her mother, who she sees as this infallible figure incapable of being wrong.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the last time she pulls this on her daughter. Signing up for 30+ hours of dance classes a week, insisting on bathing Jennette until she was 16 and even forcing her to practice pogo stick-ing for weeks until she could do 1,000 jumps in a row after she got denied a role for not being able to use a pogo stick were just a few examples her mother’s overbearing, controlling nature.

Throughout the book, Jennette’s toxic codependency with her mother worsens. It’s seen again as her mother teaches her a “trick” at age 11 to delay puberty and get more child-star roles — calorie restriction.

Meanwhile, she was still performing on “iCarly,” with millions of viewers — including third-grade me — oblivious to her off-screen hardships. Reading this gave me more insight into the behind-the-scenes world of Jennette McCurdy instead of just making me feel outright bad for her: a refreshing memoir-writing style.

As she grows up, her hardships grow along with her. Through the filming of “iCarly,” “Sam and Cat,” a short-lived country music career, a bout of alcoholism, anxiety, depression, a handful of boyfriends and endless motherinduced trauma, she hits rock bottom.

Then her mom dies.

JENNETTE MCCURDY

Since she was a child, Jennette and her mother had an unbreakable bond. They knew everything about each other — well, almost everything. One of the first things Jennette asserts in the book is that she hates acting, a shocking truth to read as someone who loved watching her on “iCarly” and “Sam and Cat.” However, we learn in the book that Jennette’s actions are not her own choices, but rather motivated by her mother’s manipulation — a sad, yet common trend throughout the book.

This is demonstrated when ten-year-old Jennette is at Dairy Queen with her mother, and when she orders cookies and cream instead of her usual nutty coconut, her mother is shocked.

“You don’t want nutty coconut?” she says, eyes welling with tears and posture softening. “Nutty coconut’s been your favorite for eight months. You’re changing, growing up.”

It’s due to this guilt trip Jennette changes her mind

I remember reading and rereading this part of the book because of the simple power Jennette writes with. What particularly affected me is how she put it: every year on her birthday she wished for her mother to live another year as she blew out her candles. In her wake, Jennette was listless, locked in a state of devastated mourning, complicated further by their atypical relationship.

I have a certain appreciation for the book’s “tobe-continued”-style ending, proving that even though Jennette is removed from all of this trauma now, she’s still coping with its effects and works every day to get better and take back control of her life — a cliché, but honest message she leaves with readers.

Jennette handles difficult topics of eating disorders, mental health, childhood trauma and sexual assault with the humor I’ve only seen her pull off.

Jennette puts it best on the inside cover blurb of the book: “Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.”

Review of former-Nickolodeon star Jennette McCurdy’s memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died“

WHY DO WE

the

honest about them?

moms, they’re the most romanticized of anyone.

design by mia vogel

s p orts.

ZOE

CHANEY

Sophomore Zoe Chaney looks up to the high bar before doing a kip up. photo by I charlotte emley

HIGHEST SCORE:

Girls gymnastics won the District Championship this past week and

have the

to

at State on Oct. 22 at Olathe South

JILL RICE

Senior Jill Rice smiles at the beginning of her beam routine, where she scored an 8.000. photo by I audrey condon

KAY BLAKE

Freshman Keeli Blake warms up before performing on bars. photo by I seri steinbrecher

ROUTINE SONG: “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber

ACHIEVEMENT:

place at State on bars

CAREER LENGTH:

years

ANDI

PRENDIVILLE

Freshman Andi Prendiville jumps to perform her vault routine. Prendiville scored an 8.4, a three-way tie with seniors Jill Rice and Caroline Gorman. photo by I audrey condon

ROUTINE SONG: “Sax” by Fleur East HIGHEST SCORE: 9.775

CAREER LENGTH:

LIVIN’ THE

IT WAS GAMEDAY and the Kansas City Chiefs were playing the Las Vegas Raiders. Junior Hudson O’Neill had completed his stack of math and physics homework, but that didn’t mean he was about to turn the game on. O’Neill has watched barely 10 football games in his life.

Though he would rather do his AP Cal culus BC homework than watch a football game, he still joined a Fantasy Football league with his friends — but just for kicks. In fact, eight of the ten people in his league aren’t avid football fans either.

“I just play Fantasy Football to do something fun with my friends,” O’Neill said. “I don’t really care about football.”

For O’Neill, the motivation to turn in a fantasy lineup each week comes from the chance to beat his football fanatic friends. So far, his record is 3-1, placing him second in his division.

Junior Alex Tiedt, O’Neill’s fellow league member, didn’t even attempt to pick his players. He just clicked the auto-draft button and called it good. The sport of football bores him — he’s been trying to convince his friends to do fantasy soccer instead.

O’Neill and Tiedt believe that spending time researching injuries and skill levels isn’t worth it. Neither one did any research

prior to drafting their team, and O’Neill sim ply picked players based on their projected points.

“I really don’t think that trying has that much of an impact,” O’Neill said. “It’s pretty much luck. You pick good people, and then you put in the people that you picked and if they score well, they score well and if they don’t, they don’t.”

Like Tiedt, junior Lauren McGuire, and fellow member of their league, also au to-drafted. She participates in Fantasy Football for the competition — she gets a thrill in seeing if she wins or loses every week. Her record so far is 2-2. According to McGuire, if she put time into selecting her players, it wouldn’t be based on their stats or projected points.

“If I were to choose [play ers], I’d probably choose based on how cool their name sounded or how attractive I found them,” McGuire said.

McGuire, O’Neil and Tiedt aren’t in it to win, but instead they’re focusing on not losing to avoid the embarrassment of wearing an outfit selected by their friends to school — their league’s punishment for the losing girl and boy.

“Sometimes I think maybe I should try, but in the end, I don’t care that much,” Mc Guire said. “I just care about the Chiefs win ning.”

20 TOUCHDOWNS, 2,750 pass yards and 18 interceptions. That’s not good enough. I need a better quarterback.

players. He spends at least two hours every week scanning through player info and keeping tabs on available trades. On Sundays, he watches a variety of foot ball teams.

“I spend [Sunday] watching the Chiefs and then I watch whatever other games are on if I have time,” Mazza said. “So I spend at least three hours watching games.”

LAUREN

All off-season, juniors Sam Burns, Anthony Mazza and Beck Retten maier had been looking forward to drafting their fantasy teams. Ever since their first fanta sy league in 8th grade, they can’t get enough of the pro cess of selecting players and constantly refreshing their scores. It’s become a favor ite hobby of theirs, whether it’s looking up statistics on ESPN or discussing player injuries with each other.

“Sometimes when I don’t know what to do I’ll go on and just go through all my players or talk to my friends about it,” Burns said.

Burns, Mazza and Rettenmaier play for money — all eight of their league members put in $20 at the start of the season, totaling $160 with $120 awarded to the winner and $40 to second place.

Prior to the draft, Mazza read up on the ESPN fantasy app and researched

Rettenmaier noticed that after starting fantasy, he’s inclined to watch football more frequently — he en joys watching games that his fantasy players are in, as well as staying informed about other fantasy teams as well.

“Fantasy has definitely helped me ex pand into more of a football fan than a Chiefs fan,” Rettenmaier said.

The incentive of a cash prize has their entire league jumping at any opportuni ty to trade players and gain more points.

Unlike O’Neill, Tiedt and McGuire, their life for the next four months will revolve around their fantasy league.

Juniors Hudson O’Neill, Alex Tiedt and Lauren McGuire do Fantasy Football for the friendly competition

blades photos by charlotte emley

Juniors Sam Burns, Anthony Mazza and Beck Rettenmaier

J OCK GIRL!”

As art teacher Jodie Schnakenberg jogged past her college dorm hall, students yelled out their windows mocking her about her daily runs she fit into her busy college schedule. She was used to the comments — running wasn’t a common pastime for students at the Kansas City Art Institute.

25 years later, Schnakenberg continues exercising between cleaning paint brushes and working at her art studio. Only now, she’s at the front of the room instructing fitness classes at Woodside Country Club. For Schnakenberg, art and fitness tie together — both providing creative outlets for her — with art being a priority during the day and fitness at night.

What marries her two worlds together is her love for music. Whether it’s 7 a.m. or 6 p.m. in her studio, music is constantly playing. She experiments with new genres every now and then, but usually sticks to her alt-rock roots.

“The music is what makes her class different from others, she chooses it very carefully,” cycling participant Kristen Tucker said.

Schnakenberg kicks off Friday evenings with a 4:45 p.m. cycling class. For “new music Fridays,” people who attend her workout classes scribble song suggestions after class and place them in a blue Halloween bucket she sets out for October. Last Friday’s suggestion was, in her opinion, the most annoying song ever written: “Cotton Eyed Joe” by Rednex.

As she sets up for her Friday night class, she skips and twirls around the room in bright yellow leggings and a neon pink top with a yellow headband — a sportier outfit, but just as comfortable as the mom jeans and colorful sweater she wears when teaching art classes.

Though the intensity levels of her art and fitness classes differ, she sees correlations between the focus and determination in art and fitness — yet, there’s a difference in creative focus and focus in exercise.

“I wish I could show each class to each other because I talk a lot about my art life while I’m teaching

fitness,” Schnakenberg said.

During her cycling class she smiles out at everyone and continues to cheer them on throughout the ride with words of encouragement like “keep it up!” and “let’s go!” Her goal is to keep the class engaged and maintain high energy — making sure the class gets the very most out of their rides. In art she does the same, supporting her students’ ideas for projects and helping them create what they’ve envisioned.

“Her class is always challenging but better than that, it’s entertaining because she’s hilarious and she spouts out a ton of music trivia while she teaches,” Tucker said.

To Schnakenberg fitness demands fearlessness, whether it’s trying something new or creating something of your own, rejection is inevitable — just like it is in the art world. However, Schnakenberg wants to avoid anyone feeling nervous or judged in her class. She hopes others will feel welcomed by the community she’s created.

“I think a lot of people can start off intimidated or they feel like there’s some sort of competition happening when there really isn’t,” Schnakenberg said. “But really it’s about the community and coming together and helping each other get through it. And I think that’s what makes it special.”

Wherever you find Schnakenberg — maybe at Woodside setting up her Halloween candles for her next class or queueing her newly found rock ‘n’ roll song for her first hour art class — she’ll be channeling her love of fine arts and fitness to make sure whoever is with her finds their passion too.

by larkin brundidge

by

Schnakenberg

Senior Bella Lynch gained nursing experience in the medical field working at Merriam Gardens long-term care facility as a part of the CAA’s medical program

How did you frst get involved with the CAA medical program?

I’ve known that I wanted to do something in the medical feld for a really long time. So, when the counselors from the high school visited the middle school and talked about the CAA [classes], I started thinking about what I wanted to do. I’ve planned all my classes since freshman year around this program.

Do you have any memorable or funny stories from the CAA lab? Our mannequins are not the best, and so you’ll be trying to change their shirt and their arm will just pop off, or they’ll just slump to the ground, and they’re so heavy, and you have to hoist them back up. It’s always funny to watch people struggle with them.

What do you like about working at Merriam Gardens?

I work one-on-one with my residents, so it’s getting that connection with them. I’m not going to be working with [my current resident] for that long, so I may not make that big of an impact on her life, but she’s going to make a huge impact on my life, because I’ve already learned so much from just working with her these past couple of days. [Working with people] is so different than working with mannequins in a lab.

An overview of Bella’s schedule working at Merriam Gardens long-term care facility

design by greyson imm photo by riley scott