The Harbinger Issue 2 2024-25

OVER POPULATED.

02 THE HARBINGER

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

online peek

list

PRINT EDITORS

Avery Anderson

Addie Moore

ONLINE EDITORS

Larkin Brundige

Connor Vogel

ASST. PRINT EDITORS

Sophia Brockmeier

Libby Marsh

ASST. ONLINE EDITORS

Luciana Mendy

Lucy Stephens

HEAD COPY EDITOR

Ada Lillie Worthington

ASST. HEAD COPY EDITORS

Libby Marsh

Luciana Mendy

HEAD PHOTO EDITORS

Caroline Martucci

Molly Miller

Clara Peters

Amelie Wong

ASST. PHOTO EDITORS

Will Griffth

Paige Bean

PHOTO MENTORS

Addie Clark

Mason Sajna

Molly Scott

VIDEO EDITORS

Alex Sajna

Mason Sajna

ASST. VIDEO EDITOR

Preston Hooker

SCAN ME WEBSITE

Read about mukbang videos on TikTok, academic pressure and the relation between the rise in inflation rates and upbeat pop

IT’S SEPTEMBER 29,

2008. The stock market will crash today and the Dow Jones Industrial Average will fall 777.68 points. No one is celebrating, yet the Billboard Hot 100 chart is topped with P!nk’s “So What,” “Disturbia” by Rihanna and “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. Other pop artists like Katy Perry and Kesha are on the rise, culminating

Broce

DESIGN EDITOR

Kai McPhail

ASST. DESIGN EDITOR

Sydney Eck

DESIGN MENTORS

Clara Burdick

Zane Laing

PAGE DESIGNERS

Ben Bagby

Evelyn Bagley

Avni Bansal

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Ellen Bowser

Ella Hargens

Ashtyn Ingram

Miranda Liberda

Christopher Long

Francesca Lorusso

Addy Newman

Tillie Paisner

Ava Slocum

Lucy Swope

SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL

Julia Campbell

NEWS

Clara Burdick OPINION

Mya Smith

FEATURE

Reese Dunham

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Caroline Black

Katie Cook

Sylvie DeGalan

Emery Engle

Anastasia Flower

Evelyn Geheb

Vivien Glenski

Rubi Hakes

Caroline Hoffman

Francesca Lorusso

Lexi Madden

Tyler Russell

Zac Russell

Alex Sajna

Simon Shawver

Ava Towner

Annie Trenkle

Emma Weidman

MULTIMEDIA STAFF

Ben Bagby

Paige Bean

Mary Gagen

Alex Sajna

Emma Weidman

EQUIPMENT MANAGER

Mason Sajna

in a phenomenon referred to as ‘Recession Pop.’

Although the country isn’t in a full-swing recession yet, I’d say recession pop is back in full force. I can’t get Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” out of my head and as much as it would’ve annoyed me a few years ago, Brat Summer was one to remember.

STAFF WRITERS

Avni Bansal

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Ellen Bowser

Reese Dunham

Mary Gagen

Preston Hooker

Christopher Long

Addy Newman

Grace Pei

Mya Smith

Carl Sutton

COPY EDITORS

Avery Anderson

Isabel Baldassaro

Sophia Brockmeier

Larkin Brundige

Addie Moore

Lucy Stephens

Emmerson Winfrey

Lucy Wolf

Connor Vogel

Michael Yi

ART EDITOR Kai McPhail

ASST. ART EDITOR

Francesca Lorusso

STAFF ARTISTS

Evelyn Bagley

Bella Broce

Julia

Avery Foster

Preston Hooker

Miranda Liberda

Tillie Paisner

design by sophia brockmeier cover design by addie moore

political cartoon

2016 2024

TrumP is an American HitLer

- J.D. VanCe

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Isabel Baldassaro

Lucy Stephens

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Sydney Eck

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF

Paige Bean

Bella Broce

Clara Burdick

Ella Hargens

Ashtyn Ingram

Zane Laing

Luciana Mendy

Mya Smith

Connor Vogel

ADS MANAGER Michael Yi

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Reese Dunham

CONTEST COORDINATORS

Sophia Brockmeier

Addie Clark

editorial policy

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

art by evelyn bagley

EDITORIAL

ARTIFICIAL

DEMOCRACY

JILLY JANE IS an 18-year-old girl who, prior to this November, hasn’t even dipped her toe into the pool of politics. But this year she’s voting in her first presidential election.

Scrolling through Instagram posts, she sees a poster of her favorite musician, Bobby Bill, profusely supporting one of the presidential candidates and posted by that candidate. The poster is an outrageous depiction of Bill wearing glitzy overalls with a pair of wings shouting that he supports the candidate.

It’s enough to sway Jane’s decision to vote for the supported presidential candidate. But, Bobby Bill never really endorsed the presidential candidate — the endorsement was made by artificial intelligence.

Jane isn’t alone in falling for the fake poster, as millions of other voters encounter political AI across social media.

As the 2024 Presidential Election approaches, the use of AI needs to be eliminated from politics to avoid voters experiencing misinformation through extreme counterfeit images.

On Aug. 19, presidential candidate Donald Trump reposted several AI generated images on X of Taylor Swift endorsing his campaign. He depicted Swift dressed as Uncle Sam and displayed in front of an American flag, with the text “Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump.”

Three more pictures were included of fake fans wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts. Trump captioned these photos “I

accept!”

Swift declared to her followers on Instagram that she’ll be voting for Kamala Harris and supporting the democratic party on Sept. 10. She addressed the AI art in her post stating “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of misinformation.”

Politicians are blatantly spreading false information through AI-generated campaigns on social media about celebrities’ opinion on the election.

Many voters, especially teenagers, can fall victim to the trap of AI imaging, as they don’t know what is and isn’t trustworthy. Social media platforms like X and Instagram are a main source of news for Generation Z and Millennials.

Nearly 46% of Gen Z use social media as their main source of information, according to Forbes, and 35% of Millennials follow this pattern, favoring social media over traditional search engines like Google.

If we can’t trust presidential candidates to be truthful on social media, we certainly can’t trust their other opinions and arguments regarding the election.

If a second-grader were to lie to their parent about eating their vegetables, their parent would likely tell them that the secondgrader has broken the “wall of trust” between the two sides. The same rule should apply to politicians.

Yet, the little AI “mess up” like the pro-Trump Swiftie t-shirts will get swept under the rug and deleted as the news grows old. American citizens will forget about the broken “wall of trust” and hang

on to every single word once again. AI social media posts don’t end at Trump. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has reposted depictions of vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Musk posted Kamala Harris in a communist uniform along with the caption “Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one” on Sept. 2.

Musk’s post takes attacking a specific politician to a new level — creating completely fabricated negative images of them.

Additionally, images of Trump riding a lion with light shining flawlessly onto him and another of him playing a guitar at rallies have plagued his social media platform: Truth Social. Politicians such as Trump use AI to create ideal images that prove to be an unreliable example for high school students.

A high school student can’t justify producing original work on an English essay when the potential president of the United States can cheat in his presidential campaign. The spread of misinformation during the election promotes an idea of fallacy that’s “acceptable.” AI is only bound to improve and grow more realistic. In two years, gone will be the days of six-fingered-hands and crooked faces. AI’s imperfections will be negligible. Nothing’s stopping AI from making a 45-minute long video of Taylor Swift delivering a speech from a mountaintop about a politician’s ideals to an audience of millions by the next election cycle.

Let’s stop the spread of AI in politics and save the credibility of elections to come for new

design by julia campbell art by francesca lorusso

plaza art fair 2024

THE 93RD ANNUAL

Plaza Art Fair — named one of the top 10 art festivals in the nation by Art Fair Sourcebook — will be taking place on Sept. 20 and is expected to bring in over 250,000 visitors locally and nationally according to the Plaza Art Fair.

The fair consumes the Country Club Plaza area, spanning eight blocks and housing 240 art booths. One of

An artist’s perception on the upcoming Plaza Art Fair

these booths will include painting tables made by local artist and East parent Alexis Burdick.

“People come every year to the Plaza Art Fair from all over the country to Kansas City,” said Burdick.

“Getting to do my cute little art edition at this art fair is like, I am still pinching myself. It is such a huge representation of the art community.”

Every year, over 1500 artists apply nationally to take part in this local

inflation down, rates up

NATIONAL INFLATION

IS decreasing and is currently at 2.97%, according to the New York Times, in August compared to last year’s 5.5%.

It’s almost to the point of lowering interest rates, according to a speech from the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, on Aug. 23.

At Goldman Sachs, a global bank economists believe that interest rates are ready to be dropped, Powell feels that with this, comes a risk of recession.

When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, banks

event, but only 240 applicants were selected this year, including the 25 returning artists from previous years. Everyone comes to the art fair for a different reason; whether they are looking for the first piece of art they can afford or trying to add a new piece to a well-developed collection, Burdick explained. According to her, these aspects make the Plaza Art Fair a popular event for art enthusiasts all over the country.

Even with a recent dissension of inflation, interest rates are still up

pay the higher interest rates in order to take money from the Federal Reserve. Those rates are then passed on to people trying to borrow money, according to business teacher Kevin Wiesner.

By keeping rates high, the Federal Reserve decreases demand for borrowing money which causes a decrease in consumer spending and less money to be printed.

In this particular instance, Goldman Sachs economists believe that the reason the Federal Reserve hasn’t lowered interest rates yet is because the most recent business cycle was “weird.”

Wiesner explained coming out of the pandemic, the economy was

afrmative action plan

THE SUPREME

COURT issued a ban over affirmative action in Oct. 2023, forcing colleges and universities to devise other methods to attain diverse student bodies.

According to a study done by Tufts on Sept. 2024, Tufts University saw a 6% decrease in diversity and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology saw a 10% decrease in diversity since 2023 potentially because they didn’t have a solid alternative to affirmative action.

In an Instagram poll of 200 people — the majority being students at East — 67% of voters said

weird because while inflation was high, consumer sentiment was high too.

“You would usually see if inflation is high, consumers aren’t out, feeling good about the economy,” Wiesner said.

According to the New York Times, controversy between economists and the Federal Reserve has existed forever, but with inflation descending, economists from Goldman Sachs believe interest rates will be lowered next quarter which begins on Oct. 1, when the Federal Reserve feels that the economy is solid enough for a rate drop.

With affirmative action banned, schools are experiencing a decrease in diversity

that affirmative action shouldn’t be banned since it leaves no alternative to maintaining diversity in schools. Affirmative action began when the Committee on Equal Opportunity was created. It stated that federal contractors must use various hiring methods to promote diversity which all fall under the umbrella term “affirmative action.” Most students today know it as a system used by schools to create diversity.

With affirmative action banned, colleges such as University California Los Angeles and Harvard University have shifted to using socioeconomic status aiming to try and keep their diverse environments, according to the New York Times.

“I think that schools had a really

Giving the Lancer community a voice

Q: What do you remember from the Plaza Art Fair?

A: I went with my parents and we got a couple paintings for my room.

Q: What would you hope to see this year?

A: I really like beachy and ocean stuff, it would go good with my room.

Q: How long have you loved art?

A: My mom is an artist, so I’ve always grown up with that in my life.

Q: What artist are you most drawn to?

A: I really like Frida Kahlo’s work.

good idea by wanting to be more diverse,” Sophomore Jamie Wilborn said. “I think that they should have come up with something different to incentivize minority students.”

But identifying students’ cultural identities doesn’t stop at affirmative action, systems such as AP Classroom, the ACT and the SAT all have multiple choice questions at the beginning, asking students their race and ethnicity.

“There’s always that thought in the back of your head, that just because affirmative action was passed that I have a lower chance of getting accepted or a lower chance of my scores being viewed the same as someone else’s would,” Wilborn said.

Q: What art do you like to make?

A: I like to sketch with my iPad, just some digital art.

Q: What do you like to sketch?

A: That could be like a person or maybe an object or something.

Q: Why do you go to the Plaza Art Fair

A: We will look for presents for [my mom and dad’s] birthday

Q: How would you compare other art fairs?

A: I used to go to [the Brookside] one more and now I go the plaza one more because it’s more popular and has more venues.

paisner

ACT

GOES DIGITAL

story by connor vogel

THE ACT RECENTLY announced major changes for the spring 2025 exam on July 15. These include the introduction of online testing, shortened test sections and the removal of science as a core subject from the testing platform.

Designed to modernize the standardized testing experience for college-bound students, the adjustments aim to conform to the modern school curriculum, addressing feedback from educators, students and colleges, according to Forbes.

The most notable of these additions is the introduction of a digital test for the ACT, available starting in April next year. But with the digital tests only available in special testing districts, most schools will continue to offer only the paper format — which will not include the changes — until next school year.

15 JULY

All new changes to the ACT formatting and content were frst announced

Although the ACT unexpectedly announced the changes only two months ago, Alex Pint — member of the National Test Prep Association, owner of Pathway Prep and an ACT tutor for East students — can’t say he was surprised by the new format.

“When the SAT went digital last year, a good number of students just said, ‘Hey, this is two hours instead of three. I should take that one,’” Pint said. “And that was pretty much all the thought they put into it.”

After the SAT officially released their

Timeline of the events and changes with the ACT

online exam, they effectively “forced the ACT’s hand” to release a digital option for test takers, according to Pint. With the ACT suffering over 100 layoffs last year, partnering with a capital investing firm Nexus Capital Management and switching over to a forprofit business model last April, changes to the test seemed inevitable.

This shift to a digital platform is part of a growing trend in education and technology, reflecting the popularity of online assessments in academic and professional settings since the pandemic.

To help students prepare, the ACT produced new preparatory resources and tools, according to NPR. These will include practice tests, study guides and online courses are specifically tailored to the revised test format. The goal is to ensure that students have access to the resources they need to succeed under the new system.

With only six months until the new test rolls out, these resources still haven’t been released.

Though the test will remain available in its current format on paper until fall 2025, according to the company’s website, Pint recommends all of his current junior students still take the “old version” of the test.

“Generally, I feel pretty confident about getting a student ready to take the test within two and a half months,” Pint said. “But the problem is we don’t have any [study] materials for the new ACT. So I would definitely not go into the new one with much less material [in Spring] and study for that one until you’re kind of forced to do it.”

Another significant change — available only on the new digital test this spring — is

WINTER 2022

- SAT announced a digital test

New guidelines for the ACT go into effect this spring, the first major changes made to the test in almost 20 years

the removal of science from the core exam. While the subject will still be available as an optional section students can choose, it will not longer impact the composite score.

These changes may undermine the importance of science in schools and are part of “simplifying” education, according to East Honors Biology and Human Anatomy teacher

Carolyn Bossung.

“To me, [removing science] is almost a disservice to our students,” Bossung said.

“I

FEEL LIKE I spent all this money to try and do good on the test, but it would have been so much easier if I could have just been a junior and taken it next year. Being a junior means you have less of a time commitment to the test, not as much time to lose focus and mess up overthinking the problems.

THOMAS CASEY SENIOR

“In my mind, what tends to happen when we remove things from testing, unfortunately in this country, is they become less prioritized.”

With the absence of the science section, along with shortened sections — cutting more than 44 questions from the test — the scoring system will also be greatly impacted. In return, the new approach provides students with more time for individual questions.

FALL 2023

- First digital SAT

Senior Thomas Casey, who has spent hundreds of dollars for weekly tutoring sessions, believes these changes may be advantageous for students when taking the test.

“I feel like I spent all this money to try and do good on the test, but it would have been so much easier if I could have just been a junior and taken it next year,” Casey said. “Being a junior means you have less of a time commitment to the test, not as much time to lose focus and mess up overthinking the problems.”

The updated ACT represents a significant overhaul aimed at improving the relevance of the test. By cutting down the questions, updating the content, and refining the scoring system, the ACT aims to reflect the skills and knowledge necessary for success in higher education and beyond, according to the ACT website.

But with next to no warning of the changes and lack of resources available for the new test, Pint is not totally convinced, and is considering switching over to SAT tutoring after six years helping kids with the ACT in fear of these changes.

“It’s going to be annoying to learn a new version, but that’s not the end of the world,” Pint said. “I can deal with that. What I’m nervous about is a future where colleges realize the ACT isn’t giving them statistically valid information anymore, and they just stop accepting it. There really is a possibility the ACT could just not exist in 10 years.”

SPRING

2023

- ACT layoff 13 % of employees

SPRING 2024 - ACT goes for proft after 50 years

THOUSANDS

p p a a r r t t dollars a a

story by preston hooker

BROKEN

TDonations based on feeder pattern

- $110,388

The uneven donation amounts being given to East have prompted discussion across SMSD

HE ISSUE OF

disproportionate funding for extracurricular projects by the PTA in East and its feeder schools was officially discussed on Aug. 26 by the Shawnee Mission School District Board.

While hundreds of thousands of dollars are poured into East’s bank account each year through private donors and funding, the same can’t be said for the majority of the district.

In the meeting, the Board presented various graphs put together by the Donations Task Force — a committee established in June by three board members to foster equity between schools through donation data from each SMSD high school and their feeder schools.

One graph accounted for the past three years of donations to East, showing an exorbitant $2.2 million in funds collected by East and its feeder schools. The next highest-funded high school in the district, Shawnee Mission North, received only $250,000 in donations.

Approximately $530,000 of the $2.2 million going into East was put towards the relocation and advancement of Westwood View Elementary — which had been in the works since 2021. North feeder, Rushton Elementary, was occupying Westwood View’s old building directly across the street from the new building just last year — yet their donations totaled just $2,475.

Though this comparison may be alarming to some — especially

because of the schools’ proximity — East parent and benefactor Judith Deedy critiques the accumulation of the data.

“[Westwood View’s] number was deceptive because they knew they were getting a new building, they’ve had a multi-year fundraising campaign to do improvement to the building,” Deedy said. “That number is not counting for the renovations that the schools had. It was accumulated over multiple years, not a one-year fundraising total. It was a one-year donation.”

The same data also doesn’t account for any monetary transactions made for the learning experience, such as an administrator being moved between schools. Donations aren’t accepted for these commodities because they’re inside the classroom.

One way for donors to benefit the district as a whole is to donate to the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation. The SMEF acts as a vessel for those who want to donate to the entire district, rather than to a specific school.

SMEF Executive Director Kimberly Hinkle thinks the differences between the SMEF and PTA-led fundraisers are important.

“If someone wants to make sure that their donation is supporting every kid in the district, [the SMEF] would be a good place to come and make a donation,” Hinkle said.

The issue isn’t stemming from the lack of an organization to donate to, it’s stemming from the exponential

of

amount of cash flowing into individual parent-led fundraisers. These fundraisers are inherently more successful when the income rate is higher in the area, similar to East.

To address the parents’ concerns, the SMSD Board created the task force in June, hoping to be able to appease a wider range of parents and donors all around SMSD.

Composed of Board members Jamie Borgman, Jessica Hembree and David Westbrook — the Task Force held public meetings on June 18, July 19 and Aug. 9. They stated their intended purpose throughout all three meetings, advocating for a sense of philanthropy being fairly distributed throughout the district by analyzing and monitoring districtwide donations.

“Our mission is to provide guidance for administrators and the Board of Education to ensure gifts, donations and bequests support SMSD’s mission of equal opportunity,” Hembree said. “Regardless of a student’s address or the economics of [their] community.”

The task force — collaborating with the schools to maintain their learning standard — can achieve learning standards that donations from parents and sponsors can’t take credit for. This isn’t shown publicly because the majority of the money being moved around is from pre-set salaries of district employees that are already available to the public eye.

design by libby marsh photos by emma weidman

There isn’t a large investment in resources occuring, simply a smaller shift of current resources, which isn’t as noticeable in statistics.

Deedy recalls examples of this movement within schools during her time as a PTA member for Belinder Elementary in 2016. When the district relocated their reading aid to a school with a lower income rate, instead of protesting, the parents pooled their money to hire their own reading aid to still benefit the school as a whole.

“[Lower-income schools] have higher needs than we do,” Deedy said. “Some of us have kids who are benefiting from the reading aid and some of us have kids who aren’t going to use the reading aid. [Parents] could just go hire a tutor for their own kids, or they could pool their money and we could provide a reading aid for our school, and anyone who needs it, whether they donated to it or not.”

This is another reason why East has so much more outside funding than any other school in the district — SMSD knows they are able to accumulate the money to care for itself more so than some other areas.

The Board and task force are completely aware of the economic differences between school zones — and have been expanding their resources accordingly for years, ensuring no real impact to the quality of education at the schools.

Yet this isn’t widely known among parents in the district to all parents in the district, so on Aug. 26, an official statement regarding the statistics on behalf of the SMSD Board was given. They discussed how they don’t have any insight into PTAs and donations specifically, but only the donations made towards capital or staffing needs.

Donations Task Force and Board member David Westbrook wanted to ensure no discouragement of community engagement.

“[East’s funding] is not a big problem, but if we waited for it to become a big problem it would be more difficult for us to address,” Westbrook said. “So I think our job is to anticipate things that are

developing that may become big problems that are more difficult to resolve when they get big.”

The district does not currently, nor will have control over where the PTA money goes, as that’s for the donors to decide. The Board can inhibit donors from altering the environment and learning experience inside the classroom, thus making the funding from parents less advantageous for each school’s academic standard.

Nearly a third of the donations for East also go towards SHARE, a student-led volunteer organization. Though this is also specifically accounted for in the graphs provided, it still technically can benefit SMSD as a whole second-hand.

donation DISPARITIES

The differences in funding of the highest and lowest funded schools in SMSD

EAST

“

“

IF WE WAITED

for [East’s funding] to become a big problem, it would be more diffcult for us to address. So I think our job is to anticipate things that are developing that may become big problems that are more diffcult to resolve when they get big.

DAVID WESTBROOK DONATIONS TASK FORCE AND

BOARD MEMBER

Any parents or donors that are upset with East’s larger donations are able to donate to the entire district through the SMEF, which is another way the district is advocating for the dissipation of resources across the district.

“The foundation believes that in order to truly practice equity, we have to support programs that benefit all kids,” Hinkle said.

The Board reviews these policies again on Sept. 30 at the Center for Academic Achievement, where further updates will be made.

610,424 $ $

RUSHTON

2,475 $ $

*statistics from Donations Task Force

16,

AP

REVAMPED

AP Physics and AP Psychology curriculum and exam revisions, how Brett Karmer and Miles Martin are dealing with changes

story by caroline beal

THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT

Program announced curriculum and exam changes to AP Physics and AP Psychology courses that will take effect for this school year on March 1.

These modifications have forced teachers to update lesson plans from years past, according to the College Board.

AP Physics teacher Miles Martin and AP Psychology teacher Brett Kramer have varying opinions about the changes.

“I don’t think the previous curriculum had any problems,” Kramer said. “I thought it was great.”

However, Martin thinks the curriculum

In addition to these curriculum changes, the AP Psychology course is now counted as a science course and a social science course to allow for more college credits.

AP Physics program revisions were made to all four AP Physics courses, including the two provided at East — AP Physics and AP Physics 2. Along with other minor changes, AP Physics 1 gained an extra unit to the previous seven, called fluids, previously taught in AP Physics 2.

With the subtraction of fluids from AP Physics 2, the units have been renumbered with the units now starting at nine at the beginning of the year to follow the eighth and final AP Physics 1 unit.

A class called ‘Advanced Placement Summer Institute’ was held over the summer to give teachers more resources and information about the changes. Martin learned that the new curriculum is going from strict calculations to having students draw, model, calculate and then communicate what they just did.

“For example...[in class] I had a lot of discussion about what does a position time graph look like, no numbers,” Martin said.

Along with the curriculum changes to both AP courses, the revisions to the May 2025 AP exams have also affected how Martin and Kramer plan to prepare their students

“The writing portion of the [AP Psychology] test is significantly more intense than it was in the previous curriculum,” Kramer said. “It’ll require teaching how to write answers to [the AP exam questions] more so than it did in the past.”

The AP Psychology exam will now include two new free-response

questions, article analysis questions and evidence-based questions. According to the College Board, this will help assess a student’s ability to develop a broader range of writing, problem solving and other important skills.

writing prompts to lay out the foundation of what the writing portion of the exam will look like. He plans to use repetition throughout the year to make students feel more comfortable writing.

EVA LOWRY JUNIOR “

more writing in my psych class and my teacher is still adjusting to the new curriculum. We still don’t know a lot about the test.

to AP Psychology, students, including senior Hartley Graham, have started Kramer’s new curriculum based activities.

“We had our first test, kind of early, and it was open note but it was still kind of hard because it was about research techniques, and that was just something I’d struggle with because although it is a social studies class [it is still] bio-based,” Graham said.

The revised AP Physics 1 and 2 exams will no longer have multi-select questions and will instead add new question types to the free-response questions.

CHANGES

A recap of the biggest changes in the curriculum this year

In 2022, AP Psychology also underwent revisions to the curriculum and the AP Physics courses get major curriculum changes every five to 10 years. The AP Program will continue to revise the AP course structures in the future to ensure the class skills and content requirements are met.

“I think [students will] struggle early on because many of their peers or siblings who took AP Psychology from me under the previous curriculum, and they’ll talk to each other,” Kramer said. “Under this testing, it’s more up in the air, so that poses a challenge.”

More Free Response questions Health & positive psychology were added AP Physics 1 will be gaining a unit on Fluid Physics

Will be receiving exam length increases.

opinion

The average customer spends

$300$600

hot take

Staffer gives their unpopular opinion

AIR HAND DRYERS shouldn’t be used in public restrooms — it’s just a fact.

Every time I enter a public restroom and see the dreaded metal wall attachment, I get disappointed. Their only job is to dry, however they do anything but that. The air dryers never fully dry your hands, in fact, they actually make your sleeves wet by blowing the water on your hands up your arms. I prefer to tear

off a couple paper towels and dry off my hands completely as I exit the restroom.

But air dryers aren’t just inconvenient, they’re a health violation. In an article by the Harvard Health Blog, they tested petri dishes — a shallow round glass or plastic lidded dish — under hot air dryers in public restrooms and found that petri dishes exposed to the air from the hand dryer for 30 seconds grew up to

254 colonies of bacteria. So on top of air dryers failing to blow more than a few drops of water off your hands, they also spread bacteria onto your hands, completely undoing your handwashing through the process.

Knowing some of this new research, anytime I see a hand air dryer, I avoid it at all costs, even if that means drying my hands on my shorts.

comic strip staf ranking

Harbinger staffer ranks concerts of 2024

Drake and J. Cole was the top concert this year, despite the Drake and Kendrick beef, both of them were great performers and it was worth the money.

art by avery foster

Taylor Swift has an average ticket cost of

$1,088 according to CNBC on Starbucks per year

story by zac russell or that? photos courtesy of spotify

Jhene Aiko was very heartfelt with all of her songs, and the effects and setup of the concert made it visually pleasing.

The Smashing Pumpkins takes last place for the concerts. It ended up being a lot of fun for a forty-dollar ticket. this

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*Instagram poll of 380 votes

NO MENU NO WIFI ,

QR codes are impractical and difficult to use for viewing menus and paying in restaurants

AS I WALKED into my local Over Olive Garden with my friends, I was excited to eat my fettuccine alfredo and salad, but when I went to sit down and reach for a menu it wasn’t there.

I asked the waiter for a paper menu, but he informed me the menu was only accessible was from a scannable QR code taped onto the table and refused to hand me a paper menu. The next few minutes were complete

customers because they are difficult to use, cause privacy leaks and are inconvenient to pay with.

And that was even with my Generation Z tech-savvy skills with my phone. For older generations, the QR code menu experience is even worse.

The older generation is likely to have trouble figuring out how the websites works, due to the “advanced technology” of QR code menus. Yet they probably don’t have any issues utilizing a normal menu.

descriptions are defining characteristics of menus and putting these aspects on a small screen make it nearly impossible to figure out what you’re ordering.

I understand that during COVID-19, digital menus became more popular for safety processions, and for good reason — but that was four years ago. Passing around one tiny phone isn’t keeping people away from germs and isn’t practical for customers.

DO YOU PREFER A QR CODE MENU OR A REGULAR PAPER MENU?

*Instagram poll of 308 votes

94% 6%

Then when it comes time to pay, it’s a whole 30-minute process all over again. Scanning the QR codes, entering your card information, and then waiting for everything to load when you could be following the traditional process of just giving your card to the waiter, tipping

There can also be a security risk. According to Malwarebytes, QR codes can redirect payments by using fake QR codes leading to potential risk of fraud. Also, there also can be technical glitches with network issues or app malfunctions can delay the payment

Some banking companies don’t support QR codes when paying, which can lead to not being able to pay, or draining your phone from running out of battery, and if that happens, and you don’t have cash with you,

With that, privacy concerns also come from when QR codes ask for your location. A lot of QR codes ask for your location and can make you put your card info in sketchy websites which could access your personal information without you even knowing. QR codes are just flat out inefficient, and make your experience overcomplicated.

QR CODE

There are many restaurants with QR codes now-a-days. Here are a few to scan

At Sweetgreen you will find seasonal and healthy salads and grain bowls

SWEETGREEN

Olive Garden offers tons of Italian food such as pasta and salads

OLIVE GARDEN

Chili’s has a vast menu of food varying from Mexican to American

You can find burgers, fries, shakes and more at Shake Shack

CHILI’S SHAKE SHACK

design by clara burdick photos by tyler russell

story by vanessa blades

THE

story by avery anderson

ICRITIQUES

T’S EASY FOR the average person to watch a 14-second TikTok clip of their least favorite politician brushing off a reporter and leave a ruthless comment about how awful and disgusting that person is — but they shouldn’t.

By doing this, they’re just being hypocritical.

In the past few years, the moral and ethical standards we hold people to in the public eye have become inflated through social media. And while it’s tempting to get caught up in the negative comments under your least favorite politician’s video, it’s important to consider the moral standards you hold yourself to before adding to the millions of hate comments on that one post.

Political correctness, a term often misunderstood, is fundamentally about respect and consideration for others. It’s a reflection of a society’s evolving values and norms.

While I understand it’s easy to project an image of perfection onto these larger-than-life figures, it’s important to remember that they’re people too. By holding them to unattainable standards such as constantly expecting them to say the right thing that you deem to be “politically correct,” you’re doing nothing but setting them up to fail.

In theory, political correctness represents a commitment to avoiding language or behaviors that might marginalize or offend others. However, the demand for political correctness often feels like an expectation that everyone must adhere to a set of values — without necessarily applying those same standards to their own actions.

It’s easy for your “politically incorrect” incorrect Instagram post

“flexing” your new Rolex watch to go overlooked. However, the second people learn that Governors get Governers Mansions to live in, people are all over the comments talking about how unfair and wrong that is. But hopping on TikTok to demean people and their actions or lifestyles is pointless.

I understand it’s important to hold our role models and lawmakers accountable for their actions and correct them when something they say or do is considered “politically incorrect.” However, it’s equally important to understand that scrutinizing their every move demeans the purpose of having role models at all.

It’s hard for people to even form idols when the people they see on TV every day are being berated endlessly for simple comments kids have more than likely heard in their own lives.

This type of cyberbullying is also harmful for the mental state of the person being targeted. It can and is damaging for people to open their phones just to see millions of hate comments for something that, more often than not, was an honest mistake.

By the standards we’re currently holding people to, every one of us should be “canceled.”

It’s one thing to demand high standards from public figures; it’s another entirely to ignore the same standards in our own lives. We may not think twice about brushing off a stranger who wants to talk on our walk to work but the second Kamala Harris “ignores a reporter” someone posts a video analyzing the interaction.

This doesn’t mean we should be ignoring blatant racism, sexism or other harmful behaviors and habits in our society. However, with influential people such as politicians and lawmakers, we should stop focusing on the little mistakes and partake in useful discussions over important issues, like

People should focus more on inflicting real change than harassing people who make politically incorrect mistakes online

climate change and racial equality.

Spending our time fighting online about which presidential candidate is better at golf and throwing insults at the candidate you disagree with is much less useful than discussing actual shortcomings of the candidates and how they can be fixed.

The conversation about morality should be inclusive and constructive. Public shaming and “cancel culture” can often be more harmful because they focus on the punishment rather than educating the general public. We need to create spaces where people can acknowledge mistakes, engage in meaningful conversations and learn from their errors.

People who kindly point out a mistake someone made by informing them individually of the issue and making them aware of the situation are much more likely to inflict change than people who comment hate messages on the same post. The former approach promotes growth and reconciliation rather than division and alienation.

To put it plainly, we need to be mindful of how we’re acting before tormenting people who truly mean no harm by their actions and are just victims of their increasingly public lifestyles.

It’s one thing to call out a clearly hurtful or politically incorrect behavior especially when it’s been repeated, but it’s entirely another to pick apart the lives of human beings just so you can be mad at something on the internet.

You wouldn’t want to be judged on how you accidentally acted when you were having a bad day, and neither does anyone else. So let’s keep the criticism constructive and the media a place to discuss, not cancel.

It’s unreasonably difficult to attend any music concert nowadays because of the skyrocket in ticket prices. story by lucy stephens

I’M

A SUCKER FOR

music concerts.

Whether I know all the lyrics to every song or I only know only a few of their number-one hits, any chance I have to see live music has me scouring StubHub, attempting to buy tickets. Attempting is the keyword.

Of the hundreds of artists I wish to see live, only a fraction of them have affordable tickets — “affordable” being anything under $150 per seat. This doesn’t even include the hidden fees, which inevitably come with tickets.

Ticket prices have gotten out of hand. At this point, it’s cheaper to buy a plane ticket to Chicago and a day pass to Lollapalooza — a music festival with a variety of different artists — than to pay for one ticket to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Concerts should be affordable to all who enjoy the artist’s music, not just a select group of people who can spend hundreds on tickets.

When searching for Cage the Elephant tickets on StubHub and Ticketmaster, the cheapest tickets I could find were nearly $200. That’s a lot of money to sit in the very back corner of the Starlight Theater with an obstructed view of the stage.

I’ve had friends who got their Noah Kahan tickets for maybe $30 or won the “concert ticket lottery” by getting ridiculously cheap Zach Bryan tickets. But, I’ve never struck such luck — and neither has the average concert-goer.

When I purchased my Zach Bryan’s Quitin’ Time tour tickets I bought four, assuming my friend group would go with me. This $300 price tag, however, was enough to make one of them drop out.

I normally find myself paying upwards of $100 for a seat with an awkward two-foot space to dance, jam-packed next to the fans on either side

of me who are unfortunately suffering the same fate as myself.

I gave a sigh of relief when my friends and I had two empty seats beside us at Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour. This would mean we could spread out and dance freely to “good 4 u” and “get him back!” without having to worry about being in a random person’s personal space.

But, my excitement plummeted when a couple took the two unoccupied seats next to us. I spent the only hour and a half I would ever have Olivia Rodrigo in my presence practically linking arms with the stranger beside me.

I had to constantly remind myself that this experience was worth the 40 hours I worked at my minimum-wage lifeguarding job — I had to make the best of it.

This mindset was especially hard to keep up during Zach Bryan’s Quittin’ Time Tour. When picking out the seats, TicketMaster failed to inform me there would be a fan sitting behind me filming the entire concert with her flash on, backlighting the entire concert.

Teenagers who make up a big chunk of these crowds, shouldn’t have to drain their bank accounts for two-hours of their life.

The strobe-light-heavy, sensory overload of a concert is fun — in theory. The music is loud, the performance are top-notch. But this experience isn’t worth hundreds of dollars. I guarantee Morgan Wallen will be fine if my ticket costs $50 rather than $250.

Concert tickets have value, as it’s not every day Justin Timberlake comes to the T-Mobile Center.

But I’m not interested in breaking the bank to stand in a hot arena listening to songs you can stream for free on Spotify.

TOO EXPENSIVE NOT WORTH IT

“I hated my experience at the Ed Sheeran concert. I

design by evelyn bagley photo by katie cook

30 days until the national testing day

who’s who in the KEVIN WIESNER

business department?

Meet some of the people who work in business department

MALLORY DITTEMORE

AMANDA DOANE

6 days until the Homecoming

fnancial literacy investing business law

I want to learn how to budget, save and invest

intro to business fnancial literacy business law

TEACHES: TEACHES: TEACHES:

intro to business, marketing principles coffee shop

“ superfan spotlight business resources

I want to learn concepts, principles, and operations of the business world

I want to learn the basics of laws and how they are created I want to learn about stocks and the stock market

I want to learn the basics of marketing and sales

this week in photos

BELOW Sophomore Connor Lahue holds the straw shut on his balloon cable car to stop it from moving in Intro to Engineering Design.

photo by mason sajna

fnancial literacy

intro to business business law investing marketing

SO PERSONALLY AS a pep exec, I try to lead by example. So I feel that’s how I can show my school spirit and hopefully other people want to be up there too and earn prizes and support their classmates and peers.

COLE CHINNOCK SENIOR

RIGHT Sophomore Henry Byrd paints a lid for the trash cans in the cafeteria during environment club so students are more mindful of where they put their trash.

photo by paige bean

design by reese dunham

BELOW Sophomore Caroline Hawkinson minces green onions while making pico de gallo in her foods class.

design by caroline martucci

art by avery foster

PHOTOSTORY

DRIVEN TO COMPETE

Junior Wesley Doyle practices driving a go-kart once a week at an open track in Garnett, Kansas to prepare for competitions this April

LEFT Doyle breaks into the first turn of the track to start a new lap. Doyle’s lap is 27.9 seconds, meeting the required safety time. “You need to be fast enough to not be a hazard on the track,” Doyle said.

photo by will griffth

ABOVE Doyle talks over his lap times on his go-kart’s display with his uncle, Matt Jahnke. “[My uncle] was the one who pushed me to go and make a bunch of money so I could get a go-kart,” Doyle said. “I had a lawn mowing business over the summer with my cousins.”

ABOVE Doyle’s go-kart passes by during a lap. The go-kart’s design is the same as when Doyle purchased it. “[My uncle and I] need to go change the number and all the decals,” Doyle said. ”Working on the go-kart is really fun.”

photo by will griffth

sits on the barrier of the track. “About a year and a half ago, I borrowed my aunt’s sim racing setup and got really into racing through that,” Doyle said. “I also got really into cars and mechanical engineering.”

photo by will griffth

SCAN ME PHOTO

Scan here to view and purchase photos from this photostory

photo by will griffth

TOP

TOP RIGHT Doyle

NEWS-FEATURE

TOO

ON THE FIRST day of school, building substitute John Tapaoan was given a packet of rosters and a schedule.

First hour is health. Second is advanced weights. Third hour is nutrition and wellness. Tapaoan wrote the schedule in black ink on the first page, thinking it was temporary. Fifth hour is another weights class. And finally, sixth and seventh hours are health.

This is a normal one-day schedule for Tapaoan. He is used to filling in for absent teachers in all subject areas. What wasn’t normal was how he was asked to follow this same schedule the next day. And the next.

“I had to write [it] down,” Tapaoan said. “Because you know, I was just thrown in there.”

Almost a full month later, Tapaoan is still following the same schedule.

He has to rely on other PE teachers such as Doug and Maggie Archer for curriculum — he’s used to being given notes for the day, but Tapaoan had no time to prepare for a full month teaching a class — or longer.

Tapaoan’s normal sporadic schedule of filling in for absent teachers was replaced this year with lessons about the harms of nicotine in health and taking attendance in one 57-person weights class. Admin has struggled to hire a replacement since losing a PE staff member this June, leaving Tapaoan to fill the gap as a long-term substitute.

Being a building sub, I’m [like] a fireman,” Tapaoan said. “I go toward the fire because that’s where they need me.”

He not only has to adapt to planning assignments and activities for three different subjects, he has to do it while managing largerthan-usual class sizes.

Due to an increase in enrollment, class sizes have increased significantly. Teachers say the more students in a class, the harder it is for teachers to keep students on track and have one-on-one time with each kid. This frustrates already stressed-out teachers.

This year’s enrollment — 1732 students — is 75 more people than last year, according to Principal Jason Peres. This adds up to three more classrooms needing to be filled each hour. Because there are only 94 teachers in the building, more students are squeezed into already filled classes.

I BELIEVE THE district doesn’t want to hire more people to teach more classes, so they overfill them. I don’t believe there is a written agreement for secondary that caps class sizes.

AN EAST TEACHER FROM A GOOGLE FORM

While the number of students has increased, the number of teachers has stayed the same. Chemistry teacher Susan Hallstrom thinks more staff should’ve been hired in response to the large enrollment numbers.

“I find it very frustrating that [the district] keeps adding more and more [students], making our classes larger and larger,” Hallstrom said. “It’s not what’s best for kids.”

Even with the increase, the student to teacher ratio is the highest it can be within acceptable range, according to Associate Principal

Barikmo. The district won’t allocate new staff until the ratio is above 1:18.5, and East is currently at that limit.

When asked to comment on staffing, district officials didn’t respond.

“I don’t know when they’re going to put a cap on that,” Tapaoan said. “When there’s 40 kids in a classroom? That’s ridiculous.”

In an anonymous survey sent out to teachers, class sizes this year range anywhere from three to 68 students.

“I believe the district doesn’t want to hire more people to teach more classes, so they overfill them,” a teacher wrote in the survey.

Since the district hasn’t filled the PE opening, this leaves Tapaoan on the first floor while other building substitute Kristen Ekvall has to scramble from class to class even more to fill each class. If Ekvall is occupied, other teachers have to fill in during their support hour — a class period when teachers are assigned to supervise the hallways, supervise testing rooms and providing students with additional tutoring.

Teachers are allotted five class periods of teaching, a support hour and a plan period.

However, chemistry teacher Susan Hallstrom technically teaches six classes a day. Instead of spending her support hour supervising the halls or in the testing room like other teachers, she is co-teaching Chemistry of Art, leaving her with only one period without a class.

The National Science Teachers Association suggests a maximum of 24 students in a classroom in order to do labs safely. Her largest class has 28 students, meaning she has to have parent volunteers come in to help supervise.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I feel pretty confident with 26,” Hallstrom said. “But

Due to larger class sizes, teachers frustrated with its negative students’

I won’t go past 26, I won’t put my danger.”

According to Hallstrom, more happen during chemistry labs classroom when there are more students.

Plus, her normal seventh hour was moved to fourth hour, and she AP Chemistry seventh hour. Meaning she has to leave the class early to school tennis matches during the fall.

“AP Chem is a rigorous enough people can’t just walk in and teach said.

Increased class sizes are dangerous of the complexity of the subject hazards when dealing with dangerous Hallstrom has struggled to safely with the larger classes.

Substitutes, like Ekvall, aren’t ionization energy or spectral lines, harder for Hallstrom to deliver all

Since Ekvall isn’t under the same contract as all regular teachers, deployed to multiple different classes not requiring a plan period or support

“Sometimes I just get a lunch,” “Sometimes my lunch gets cut short.”

75 MORE STUDENTS ATTEND YEAR COMPARED TO

Ekvall doesn’t have downtime in since she has to run from class to And when she gets in the classroom, have time to relax due to the large students to supervise.

Not only do smaller class

Calculating the average class size based on enrollment and number of teachers

Kristoffer

design by avery anderson

photo by clara peters

teachers are negative effect on students’ educations

story by addie moore

my students in more accidents in a science students.

hour plan period she now teaches Meaning some days to coach after fall. enough course that teach it,” Hallstrom dangerous because subject and safety dangerous chemicals. perform labs

able to cover lines, making it of the content.

same teachers’ teachers, she can be classes a day — support hour.

lunch,” Ekvall said. short.” in her schedule class to fill in.

classroom, she doesn’t large number of

sizes mean

TEACH CROWDED TO CROWDED HALLSTROM’S SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

safer environments, they’re more appealing to teachers like government teacher Jacob Penner. For him, the low numbers allow him to get through content faster and form closer relationships with students.

When he taught at DeSoto High School two years ago, Penner had a class of nine students. Since it took them less time to cover content, the class would toss a globe around and he would quiz the students — a fun activity he couldn’t dream of having time to do at East with classes of 28 to 31 students.

“I’ll always remember that time period with all of my kids I had in that class,” Penner said. “I can still picture all of their faces right now just going through the list of all of them.”

But as Penner’s class sizes increase, there’s less time for fun review games and more time is spent trying to get 31 kids quiet long enough for Penner to finish his lecture slides.

This year, Penner had to replace the seating area in the back corner with a table and chairs to accommodate the, on average, four more kids per class period — removing from the welcoming, relaxing environment and making the classrooms more crowded.

In the social studies department, teachers move classrooms because of the lack of space, according to Penner.

About one in every five teachers in the building doesn’t even have their own classroom, according to Peres. Teachers leave their classroom during their plan or support hours, allowing other teachers to use that space.

A downside to moving classrooms for Spanish teacher Abra House is organization. Most of the teachers that don’t have a classroom have all of their materials on a rolling desk or cart.

TEACHERS/HOUR TEACHING

“I am organized, but I still feel like I’ve never organized,” House said. “I still feel like I’m always forgetting something or something is falling off my cart.”

“WE COME AT the beginning of the year and then put more on your plate, more on your plate, more on your plate. There’s a point where you just can’t keep adding more.

SUSAN HALLSTROM CHEMISTRY TEACHER

House travels back and forth from rooms 512 and 516 during. She constantly finds herself running between the two, grabbing things she left in the wrong room. And since 512 has a minimal amount of Spanish decorations sprinkled among the pre-existing Chinese decorations, the students in that class are at a disadvantage, according to House.

“You do have to feel for the kiddos in that class because they can’t use the [information on the walls in the] room,” House said.

House agrees with other teachers that the larger the class, the more difficult it is to ensure students are on task.

“We come at the beginning of the year and then put more on your plate, more on your plate, more on your plate,” Hallstrom said. “There’s a point where you just can’t keep adding more.”

Susan Hallstrom’s unusually packed schedule for this school year and challenges she faces with this schedule

SCHEDULE

HOUR 1 - HON. CHEMISTRY 1

HOUR 2 - CHEMISTRY 1

HOUR 3 - HON. CHEMISTRY 1

HOUR 4 - PLAN PERIOD

HOUR 5 - CHEMISTRY OF ART

HOUR 6 - HONORS CHEMISTRY

HOUR 7 - AP CHEMISTRY

“MY HONORS CHEM classes are the largest they’ve ever been, to the point where I’ve had to have parents help come in to supervise one because asking the students to be in a lab where we’re using hazardous chemicals and/or fire flames [is dangerous].

SUSAN HALLSTROM CHEMISTRY TEACHER

VIVIAN FRALEY FROM THE

SOLE

Vivian’s shoe collection opinions

Jordan 1 High “Bloodlines”

Jordan 3 “Fire Red”

Nike Dunk Low “Decon Opi Yellow/ University Red”

Nike Dunk Low “Teal Zeals”

Adidas Sambas OG “White Sky Blue”

Nike SB Dunk Low “Paris Bernard Buffet”

Junior and shoe collector Vivian Fraley shares her thoughts about shoe collecting

WHEN DID YOU GET INTO SHOE COLLECTING?

“ “ “ “

I got into shoes the summer before freshman year. The sneaker community is actually a big culture, and I didn’t really realize that until I started watching more shoe content [on TikTok].

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH SHOES TO ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION?

It definitely depends, normally whatever is coming up on the drops in the Nike Sneakers App, that’s where I look at stuff because that’s where I get a lot of shoes from.

DO YOUR SHOES INFLUENCE YOUR STYLE?

Yes, I actually do that a lot. I plan a lot of my outfits around my shoes. I definitely spend more time planning outfits that think will look good with [my shoes].

HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR COLLECTION?

I like to use dawn dish soap and a toothbrush. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but it’s the best thing that works. For the sneaker creases, I like to joke and tell people I’m ironing my shoes. But I’ll stuff them so that the form looks right, to get out the creases.

design by julia campbell

photos by paige bean

LEARNING MOTION in

Psychology teacher Brett Kramer runs into current and past East students as an Uber driver

PULLING

OVER IN Brookside, East psychology teacher Brett Kramer watched as a group of his students from 2018 pile into his black Chevrolet Cruz.

Getting into the car to see their former high school teacher took the now-adults by surprise, but Kramer knew it would be a fun ride. They were safely getting where they needed to — that’s all that mattered to him.

Kramer has been driving for Uber after school and on weekends since 2016.

“I bought a house and I had some other financial goals, and so I just kept doing it,” Kramer said. “It is a little bit addictive.”

Kramer started out at East as a parttime teacher, but even after he started teaching full-time he stayed with Uber for the instant gratification and incentives. The app immediately deposits all the money into a useable Uber card and also has incentives, such as bonuses for

completing a certain amount of rides every three months, creating an addictive aspect to the rideshare company, according to Kramer.

However, Kramer has increasingly cut back on the number of his trips due to limited and a continuously decreasing paycheck from the company. Now, he just Ubers on nights with events like Chiefs games or big concerts, when he knows there’s going to be surges and large crowds.

“I don’t do nearly as many as I used to, the pay has become very, very insulting, really,” Kramer said. “But they get away with it because people will still [Uber for the money].”

Despite cutting down on his number of trips, Kramer still manages to run into East students — both past and present.

Senior Lucie Black is one of the students who has coincidentally snagged a ride from him.

One night, she was out with friends

story by emmerson winfrey

and needed a ride from one of her friends house to another. Black held her sleepover bag in one hand and opened the car door with the other, unaware her junior-yearpsychology teacher was in the driver’s seat.

I WASN’T PAYING attention to my phone, I just ordered the Uber and continued to hang with my friends — I want to say he didn’t have a profle photo.

LUCIE BLACK SENIOR

“I wasn’t paying attention to my phone, I just ordered the Uber and continued to hang with my friends — I want to say he didn’t have a profile photo,” Black said.

For Kramer, driving students isn’t weird or awkward to him — they ordered a ride

sort of a funny coincidence.”

After he got to Black’s destination, fellow students came rushing out to greet him while he got out of the car, making sure to chat with each of his students.

While senior Danny Romer hasn’t been lucky enough to catch a ride from Kramer yet, he consistently uses Uber and has always hoped he may end up with Kramer as a driver after being with him for study hall.

“I remember he would put airplay up on the TV and play [games] with me so I wouldn’t get bored,” Romer said.

Romer believes Kramer would be more fun to have than a normal driver due to his “good-time” personality and the fun memories he’s heard from other students.

And while Kramer does try to make the rides enjoyable, he’s just thankful his students are being responsible and he can help them get where they need to go safely.

Stats about Kramer’s Uber career

“I’m just happy they’re being responsible enough to order a ride, you think that for anyone but especially anyone you know,” hours a week 40 years working for Uber 8 rides completed 8,000

photo by simon shawver

design by sophia brockmeier photo by sylvie degalan

GRAPHING

THE CALCS

Sophomore Esther Walker is three years ahead in math taking Calculus BC at Shawnee Mission North this year

story by libby marsh

RATHER THAN walking to her sixth hour, sophomore Esther Walker leaves early from her choir class, skips lunch and takes a 12-minute car ride to SM North.

After allotting extra time to get lost and deal with lunch time traffic, Esther sits in the parking lot eating her lunch of Made Good Bites and a granola bar. Then she goes inside for her math class Calculus BC — a math class she should be taking three years in the future.

The lack of Stanleys and Lululemon bags in the halls make Esther stand out among SM North students.

“I feel like I stick out, awkwardly [at North],” Esther said. “I haven’t seen a single person with a Stanley, for example. And [on] the first day I was just walking around with my hands too full of Starbucks and a Stanley and a lulu bag, I looked really stupid.”

Even though Calculus BC is offered at East, due to a scheduling conflict with choir, Esther goes to North for math with a class of only seven other people, all a year older than her. And she takes yet another math class at East — AP Statistics.

“So I feel like that one isn’t as demanding.”

Finding the derivative of sine and cosine graphs is usually a topic reserved for college students. The value of the imaginary number i is something people are introduced to in their junior year of highschool. Finding a complex theory discovered by mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1740 connecting the two is something far far outside of most students’ typical math track.

But Esther has already completed all of the above. In sixth grade.

IT’S JUST KIND of enjoyable, the problem solving and aspects of [math] and seeing how, especially learning different topics and seeing how they all ft together.

ESTHER WALKER SOPHOMORE

By fourth grade, Esther began to work ahead in math with a tutor and was often pulled out of class to work on sixth or even seventh grade level problems. That was when she began asking “What if...?” questions. Esther often took these questions about trigonometry

and imaginary numbers to her dad, Timm Walker, who would explain the patterns she saw in math — until seventh grade when she began asking questions beyond his knowledge.

“After basic arithmetic, she started taking an interest in asking questions about things like polynomials,” Timm said. “And [when] she would learn something, she would say, ‘Well, what if we did this,’ that kind of, inquisitiveness about math, and so she was definitely on her own, taking it the extra mile and really wondering.”

These questions, and her outstanding math performance, led her on the advanced math track, originally being set to take Algebra 2 her freshman year.

But, her eighth-grade geometry teacher Ryan Oettemeier — after receiving an email with a question about quaternions that even he couldn’t answer — decided that wasn’t advanced enough.

q ua ter ni on the quotient of two vectors in a three-dimensional space

“She was very self driven, and she would explore concepts that were, what I assume were very, very high level calculus questions,” Oettmeier said.

Esther studied and applied her knowledge of Algebra 1 concepts to Algebra

GRAPHING

FOR

“KATHERINE

2 — careful to avoid matrices because of a well established hatred for them — and took a test to skip the class. Now she’s taking AP Statistics and Calculus BC.

Despite her already-vast knowledge of calculus, according to Esther, a lot of her strengths come in “useless” fields, also known as “pure math.”

“I’m usually a lot worse at things that are real world things than [questions] like, solve this math problem that you’re never gonna see and you’re never gonna need,” Esther said.

After investigating a “useless” theory, Euler’s theorem, for nearly seven months, Esther was able to connect the pieces of math she had taught herself.

“I feel like [Euler’s theorem] helped me get a different perspective on [math],” Esther said. “I kind of taught myself everything that I knew about [the theorem] and so it just, [gave me] a better understanding of, everything that I had learned before when I did that.”

Esther will continue to ask these questions and learn more “useless” math concepts.

“It’s just kind of enjoyable, the problem solving and aspects of [math] and seeing how, especially learning different topics and seeing how they all fit together and everything,” Esther said.

JOHNSON” FUN

All about Esther’s winning submission for the Global Math Art Contest in 2022 WHAT’S THE CONTEST?

Held by Desmos, an online calculator company, artists create art on a coordinate plane made up of functions ESTHER’S ART

players’ interactions with everyone around them.

I could see defender Elizabeth Ball and forward Kristen Hamilton chatting with a few customers. Their approachable demeanor instantly transformed the typical coffee-buying experience into something special. They were lively, enthusiastic and genuinely seemed to enjoy connecting with fans and newcomers alike.

I was able to talk to a Mace, Hamilton and Ball, as they shared the process from the pitch to the coffee truck, explaining how this venture began due to their mutual love for coffee.

Fish On The Wall

russell

The KC Current coffee truck pops up in diferent spots all around Kansas City

TOP From top left, Hailie Mace, Kristin Hamilton, Vanessa DiBernardo, Desiree Scott and Mallory Weber pose for a photo inside their coffee truck photo by katie cook

story by luciana mendy

photos by rubi hakes

story by larkin brundige

RING ON IT

Having a smart ring is helpful with motivation and keeping your health on track

THE VIRAL OURA

ring — a ring that tracks your heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen, activity and even stress. But it will cost you over $300.

Even though the ring's appeal is compelling due to its features, the price is an immediate no — especially for a high school student who can barely afford the $3 coffee in the Columbia Brew coffee shop.

Smart rings caught my attention when I started wondering what my quality of sleep was really like during the night and if I’m getting enough rest, especially when I feel exhausted during the day.

After some ring hunting on Amazon, I found the perfect one for me. The ring had all the same accessories as the the Oura ring, but without the $300 price tag.

The Oulencu ring tracks all aspects of your sleep including how long you’re in each stage of sleep such as REM, light or restful sleep. It also provides a sleep quality score every day, ranging from poor to excellent.

The rings are available in sizes from 6

to 13, in gold, black, and silver and include a considerable size range, especially for adults. The ring cost $119 — a significant improvement over the Oura ring which you have to have a subscription for and pay monthly for the app.

You heard that right, after buying the ring you have to pay even more money. Even though Amazon options were cheaper, the reviews on this ring were hard to beat compared to the disappointed buyers complaining that their ring from a different brand never charged or the app crashed.

When I received the ring, the instructions were easy to follow: download the app, Da Rings, and pair the ring to your phone. The app itself is straightforward. You can immediately see your activity for the day: steps, calories burned and how long you’ve moved for.

The battery life is standard, lasting two to three days before it needs to be charged. The ring comes with a charger and has a small circle on the inside that’s plugged into the charger. Even when it does need to be charged, it takes less than an hour to charge completely.

The ring is sleek and simple. In appearance, it looks like a normal ring band, but it’s thicker in width. This makes it easy to wear day to day and even comfortable

when falling asleep wearing it.

However, the thickness made the sizing tricky. Thinking I would wear it on my middle finger, I ordered my size accordingly, which I thought would be a seven but it ran small. I now wear it on my ring finger because I can barely squeeze it onto my middle finger.

I was shocked to see what all the app had to offer and how such a small object could track all of it. Along with activity and sleep, the ring can even track stress through multiple sensors.

The best part of Da Rings is that after a couple of days of wearing the ring, the app will give you recommendations of things to incorporate into your daily routine based on your activity.

Even though the app is easy to navigate, there’s one major issue — it lags. When trying to look at my heart rate levels during the day or scrolling through my daily suggestions, the app will freeze, forcing me to swipe out of the app and go back in. It’s become a routine.

Now, each morning, I check the app to see how my sleep really was, down to the minute I wake up. It’s astonishing to see that I’m actually getting seven hours and 30 minutes of sleep or eight hours

of sleep instead of my self-calculated nine hours of sleep.

Tracking my activity gives me an incentive to take more steps or get up and stretch, according to the app’s suggestions. When I’m at school for seven hours a day, my ring notices when I’ve been sitting for long periods of time, making me realize I need to get up and move.

I’m also able to log my day, giving myself the chance to reflect on my mood, what I’ve eaten, what entertainment I’ve had, what kind of exercise I’ve done and any extra details I want to add. It’s like my own personal diary.

It’s refreshing to see what I need for my own health and how I can accomplish it. I have motivation to get my step count in and get a good night's sleep — and enough of it. It’s safe to say I’m a big fan of this ring and prioritizing my well being. It’s been well worth the investment.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

LET’S TACO ‘BOUT TAKo TAKo

A

of

SCROLLING THROUGH THE canary yellows, lime greens and striking white text of Tako Tako’s brightly-lit website, I was inspired to try the new Sonoran-style restaurant’s fresh-looking and inviting menu.

so•no•ran

a cooking technique that includes simplistic seasonings and minimal ingredients.

Bright white walls, flashes of red furniture and Latin pop music greeted me as I walked into the spacious restaurant. Having never tried the simplistic cooking of Sonora, Mexico, I was interested in giving it a taste. I walked up to the first of four ordering screens, ecstatic to try these tasty dishes.

I decided on the chicken taco, along with a steak quesadilla and steak burrito. Curiously clicking on the “sides” tab, I noticed the fire emoji titled “IYKYK super spicy salsa.” I couldn’t resist the mystery — I immediately added it to my order.

After boosting my parents’ monthly credit card bill by $27.62, I began the wait. Four minutes later, my phone lit up with a

text message indicating my food was ready. I tried the steak quesadilla paired with the side of onions first. It came in red and white checkered paper on top of a cardboard container, bringing back memories of food trucks.

The flaky crunch of the speckled brown flour tortilla and the thoroughly cooked steak paired with the white Chihuahua cheese to create a balanced bite. The quesadilla was flavorful, but not overpowered with extra spices and salt.

Crunchy, tender and savory. The complimentary side of grilled onions are a must-try. And putting them on top of the quesadilla? My mouth was watering. The subtle sweetness of the tortilla and the crispness of the onions were exactly what I was looking for.

After a few satisfying minutes, the quesadilla and onions disappeared and my hand was already reaching for the taco. Skeptical due to the limited ingredients (chicken and a corn tortilla), and the size — it was barely big enough for three bites — I tentatively took a bite.

The lack of ingredients left the taco bland and tasteless. Fresh tomatoes or a squeeze of lime would’ve done wonders, but it was just a stale corn tortilla with plain chicken on top.

But, I was still hopeful that it could redeem itself. I dunked the rest in the greenish IYKYK salsa, hoping it would add flavor. After three seconds my tongue started to feel the satisfying burn. The taco tasted better paired with the kick of the salsa, but even I — a fifteen year-old girl who barely knows how to brown taco meat — could make a better taco than that.

Disappointed with the chicken taco and almost full, I stared at the steak burrito. It didn’t look very appetizing. It wasn’t even wrapped like a normal burrito with the ends tucked in — it was just steak and cheese rolled in a tortilla.

The delicious crunch of the bite-sized steak and salty, melted cheese proved my hesitation wrong. Like the quesadilla, it wasn’t overpowered by spices. Unlike the taco, it was full of smokey and buttery flavors. I finished the burrito by dipping it into the IYKYK salsa and enjoyed the salty and spicy combination.

The simple, but flavorful method Tako Tako uses to make their food works well. I’ll definitely be back quesadilla or burrito, but next time I think I’ll skip the taco.

A star rating of the three chosen items

The spice level of their signature IYKYK sauce gets an $9.50 8/10

review

three food items from Tako Tako, a recently opened Sonoran restaurant

design by lucy swope photos by vivien glenski

story by avni bansal

SONORAN STYLE CHICKEN TAKO WITH TORTILLA

STEAK, CHEESE AND FLOUR TORTILLA

BE E T L E J U I C

‘DThe new “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” movie is overwhelming because of the over-detailed plotlines

story by lucy wolf

AFTER 36 YEARS,

the long-awaited sequel to the iconic “Beetlejuice” movie, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was released on Sep. 6. This time, with new characters, chaotic storylines and the return of fan-favorite Michael Keaton.

From the looks of the trailer constantly popping up on my TikTok For You page, the plot centered around three generations of the Deetz family returning to Winter River, while Lydia’s daughter Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. I was immediately intrigued. So I went into watching “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” with high expectations.

While the original “Beetlejuice” remains a Tim Burton classic — a married couple dies, turns into ghosts, then tries to scare away their new homeowners — the second installment left me feeling overwhelmed and confused at times due to the over-detailed plotlines.

The sequel featured characters Beetlejuice, Delia Deetz and Lydia Deetz, that were all in the original. Yet, Burton added new characters, Astrid Deetz, Delores and Wolf Jackson, to replace Adam and Barbara Maitland from the first movie who sadly don’t return.

While Jenna Ortega — who plays Astrid Deetz — brought the brooding teenager touch with her sardonic personality, Monica Belluci and Willem Dafoe — who play Delores and Wolf Jackson —

had storylines that felt unnecessary and irrelevant, dragging the movie on longer than it needed to.

As Belluci played Delores — a soul-sucking villain — and Dafoe played Wolf Jackson — the ghost detective — the movie would’ve been easier to follow and more enjoyable without these new additions. The constant switching between Delores obsessing over her ex-husband, Beetlejuice, and Wolf Jackson sneaking around graveyards as a detective made me uninterested in their plotlines.

Since so many years have passed since the 1988 film, I was worried that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” would be drastically different from the original with the new technology and improved animations. But it wasn’t.

As I watched anxiously, I was comforted by the familiarity of the movie’s overall execution — the dark, striped costumes and ghost makeup resembled the first movie — and production as the sequel relies heavily on practical affects and minimal CGI to make the digital affects similar to the original.

When it came to seeing Beetlejuice and other underworld character’s faces expand and shape shift like they did in the first film, I felt the classic Burton touch that the old movie was so jam-packed with.

At times when I was bored by Wolf Jackson interrogating Beetlejuice or Delores sucking the souls out of many characters, I did however enjoy the connections

Tim Burton made between the two movies.

When Beetlejuice stretched his wedding guest’s faces into their phones, I was reminded of Adam Mailand’s stretched-out face scene in the original. Or even the second movie, I noticed the small detail of Delia Deetz having the same sculpture placed in the front of her house as it was in the original.

When it came time for the wedding scene the officiant broke out into song. I was cringing at the singing, along with the additional dancing aspect, as I watched the characters dramatically twirl and throw themselves around.

However, getting to see two of my favorite actresses — Winona Ryder and Ortega — in the wedding scene made the unbearable theatrics slightly more enjoyable. While the weird dance moves were a hard-watch, they surprisingly fit the scene.

While the storyline of the first movie is about a couple who dies, turns to ghosts and tries to scare away their new home inhabitants was easier to follow, I’ll give credit where it’s due. The second movie was productionally creative through its usage of costumes and special affects, but overcomplicated through its storylines.

played by jenna ortega • teenage daughter of lydia deetz

DELORES played by monica belluci • beetlejuice’s ex

If you’re a diehard fan of the original “Beetlejuice” movie and are looking for a new storyline, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” may be for you. But personally, I’ll just stick with the original, more simplistic version.

played by willem dafoe • detective for matters in the afterlife

WOLF JACKSON

photos courtesy of IMDB art by avery foster

4 days until the Shawnee Mission South varsity football game

game recap

VARSITY BOYS SOCCER

Varsity boys soccer defeated Mill Valley 3-1 on Sept. 5, putting the team record at 1-0-1 as the team eases into the season with new player leadership. Juniors Stephen Hlobik and Carter Santa and senior George Hartman scored goals.

“Me scoring to put us up 2-1 was a great feeling, especially with our striker Lars [Alsin] who’s been hurt,” Hlobik said. “Getting to win that game for him was awesome.”

According to coach James Kelly, the smooth transition to the current

Varsity boys soccer won 3-1 against Mill Valley on Sept. 5

season was assisted by the experience of captains seniors Lukas Lowry, Quinn McCarthy and Hartman — captains that were almost unanimously elected.

“These guys have been on varsity for three years now, so they obviously have that experience,” Kelly said. “They know what it takes to be able to step into these games and help the guys that are newer to varsity.”

With the varsity team almost entirely seniors, Hartman says that the whole team can be leaders for each other, helping them jump right back into the year and into training.

ARE YOU PLANNING ON WATCHING A GIRLS VOLLEYBALL MATCH THIS SEASON?

SCAN ME PHOTO

Scan here for more photos like these from our online photo galleries

1st place JV XC team ranking in the Greg Wilson Classic

coach check-in

Coach Kelly reflects on the mainly senior varsity boys’ soccer team

LEFT Senior JJ Paben drives the ball towards the goal. Paben was blocked by a Mill Valley defender by directing Paben out of bounds.

photo by alex sajna

COACH

JAMIE KELLY SOCCER

I THINK WHAT’S NICE about having so many seniors is that they know what the expectation is. And with these guys having played together since middle or elementary school, they can really be on the same page to be able to go out and perform.

MIDDLE Freshmen Max Sullivan and James McLarty celebrate after scoring a touchdown.

photo by francesca lorusso

design

RIGHT Junior Carter Santa headers the ball across the field at the Mill Valley game.

photo by will griffth

art by avery foster

DISSECTING

Learn the basics of Automotive Technology classes and students’ opinions on the class

CURRICULUM

INFOGRAPHIC

AUTO-TECH

TEACHING AUTO

Learn about the Auto-Technology teache r Discover the differences between the AutoTechnology classes

AUTO-TECHNOLOGY 1

LEARN THE EIGHT areas of the cars that you’ll be tested on during Automotive Service Excellence exam. Topics include shop operations, engine repair, suspension, brakes, electrical systems, heating, air conditioning and engine performance.

AUTO-TECHNOLOGY 2 & 3

STUDENTS ARE ABLE

in Auto-Tech 1 while getting hands-on experience. They learn the necessities for entry-level employment or post-secondary education for Auto-motives.

CURRENT CARS

BRIAN GAY HAS been the Auto-Technology teacher at East for the past 15 years. Ever since he could hold a Hot Wheel, he knew he wanted a career in cars. Before he started teaching he was a mechanic and worked his way up to become a BMW Master Tech. He then decided switch careers to become a an AutoTechnology teacher.

Auto-Technology classes, ongoing projects and car brands

STUDENTS ARE ABLE to work on anything from race cars to pickup trucks. They’re encouraged to bring in their own cars to work on also.

BRANDS:

07 PORSCHE

PORSCHE 911

MAZDA 3

CHEVROLET S-10 PICKUP

PORSCHE BOXSTER

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Auto-Technology students’ explain their favorite part of the class

“

I DEFINITELY ENJOY WORKING on cars, and every day is something different. There’s a lot of special cars that get brought into the shop to get worked on. My favorite to work on is the Porsche.

MY FAVORITE PART is being able to work on my truck and learn new things on my truck. We are able to bring it into class, and there’s a lift that were able to use to lift it up.

design by sydney eck

photos by molly scott

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

SENIOR

Varsity boys soccer team roster has 20 seniors for the 2024 season story by addy newman

AFTER A SUMER full of blazing hot kickarounds and a 10 a.m. soccer camp, the boys soccer players were ready for their first day of tryouts on Aug 19.

Typically, head soccer coach James Kelly takes four days to roster Varsity, JV and two C-teams. This year, Kelly spent an entire week observing players and creating potential rosters before making his final decision — adding an extra day to his tryout process.

“We’re so deep as a program,” Kelly said. “It’s so hard to make [cutting] decisions. I feel like we could try out for two weeks and we’d still have hard decisions to make.”

For the 2024 season, Kelly rostered 20 seniors, and only 3 juniors on varsity.

“WE’RE

SO DEEP as a program and it’s so hard to make [cutting decisions]. I feel like we could try out for two weeks and we’d still have hard decisions to make.

JAMES KELLY HEAD SOCCER COACH

juniors who had not yet make varsity were placed on JV. Only three juniors were placed on the Varsity roster. Over 20 players were cut in total.

on the team is rare and hasn’t happened in over 10 years.

surprised many players, newly appointed team captains George Hartman, Quinn McCarthy, and Lukas Lowry all support Kelly’s decision.

Hartman is certain that the three varsity juniors Stephen Hlobik, Andrew Hastert, and Carter Santa will contribute just as much as any senior player to the team.

“[They are] getting more and more experience every game,” Hartman said. “I think they’ll all contribute a lot.”

Kelly confirmed the juniors on varsity will help the team step into their positions they play and bring the team to their highest level. He knows they can go out and play just as good as everyone else. The whole team is pushing for a 2024 state championship win.

First-year varsity member and senior Landon Romero plans to quit club soccer after this season. He hopes not only for a state title but to cherish every moment of his last year.

“I want to make it far in the playoffs, but my personal goal is just to have a good time doing it,” Romero said.

After losing in the quarterfinals two years in a row, the whole team believes they have the team to do it this year. According to Kelly, the talent found in the senior class this year was the reason for the senior-heavy team. They all believe in each other and are rooting for each other.

really wants to win it this year, and that’s why he has all the seniors.”

Their intense work and determination start from the practice field. Every practice the team has is crucial to the team’s success, starting with their first game against SM West on Aug. 31.

This was a special moment for the start of Lowry’s last high school season. The excitement of driving to the SMAC field and the countless drills the boys performed to be ready for the moment their cleats hit the turf on game day.

“Everyone was committed, everyone was engaged,” Hartman said. “It was fun. It was hard to get up in the morning for six days and practice, but once we did, it was fun, and I had a good time.”

McCarthy took in the first game of the season as a special moment to start his senior year season. Walking onto the field with the student section decked in all white cheering them on, he took in the moment.

“Just the energy of the first game was insane,” McCarthy said. “The first five minutes with all the students there, it was very exciting.”

Lowry sets the expectation for the team, as team captain he must lead the team to work at a high level and intensity and to make sure that he keeps everyone focused and working

design by ellen bowser photos by caroline hoffman

THE FIELD

Out of the 20 seniors on varsity, seven made the team for the first time this year

#21 EVAN GOULD MIDFIELD

#24 LANDON ROMERO OUTSIDE BACK #16 COOPER HARDIN OUTSIDE BACK #17 NICK TRUE CENTER BACK

#7 CHASE KOENEMAN FORWARD #22 BRADY NEUMAN FORWARD

design by molly miller

VOLUNTEERS

Seniors involved in National Honors Society gathered at the Country Club Plaza to volunteer as course monitors for the 14th annual 10K

ON THE COURSE

out the opportunity for

because it’s such a great way to get your hours in before they are due,”

RIGHT Senior Avery Anderson cheers on hundreds of runners as they pass by there assigned station on the Plaza.

photo by caroline black SCAN

LEFT Seniors Ingrid Blacketer, Mae Bledsoe, Avery Anderson and Maren Dickerson clap and chant for runners while monitoring the course.

photo by molly miller

LEFT Senior Maren Dickerson’s dad, Brian Dickerson, runs past and highfives NHS members in the first stretch of his race.

photo by molly miller

TOP Senior Ingrid Blacketer and NHS representative senior Mae Bledsoe show their volunteer event shirts. “We wanted to put

the NHS members

Bledsoe said.

photo by molly miller

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

WHITE-OUT

ON SEPT. 20, East takes on rival SM South for the white-out Homecoming football game. Students should come decked out in white gear, and can level-up their outft with white body paint, white beads or any other white accessories.

THAT’S THE Spirit!

9/20

WESTERN VS GARDNER

EDGERTON (AWAY)

10/18 VS SMS

Upcoming themes for football games and their dates

JERSEYS VS ON 9/27

10/4

THE LANCER STUDENT section takes a trip to the Wild West as East takes on Gardner Edgerton on Oct. 4. To ft the theme, students can wear flannels, denim, bandanas, cowboy hats and even cowboy boots.

PIRATES VS

PINK-OUT VS

OE (HOME)

THE ANNUAL PINK-out football game is against Olathe East on Oct. 20. Every year, pink floods the student section as students dress themselves in pink from head to toe, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

SMW (HOME)

10/10

TO SPICE UP the traditional black-out theme, Pep Execs declared the theme against the SM West Vikings to be pirates. Although this isn’t a theme that students may have clothes lying around for, according to Pep Exec and senior Maggie Condon, Pep Execs will be at the game handing out eye patches and pirate tattoos to any students interested.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for an on-budget theme, jerseys is the theme for you. Grab any jersey from your closet and come to Olathe District Activity Center to cheer on the Lancers as they take on the Olathe North Eagles.

10/25

COSTUMES VS

OS (AWAY)

“IT’S FUN WHEN everyone [goes all out] because it just builds on it,” senior Maggie Condon said. “It just makes the student section feel very humorous and lighthearted for that game which is fun.”

design by kai mcphail photos by rubi hakes

S CCER ON THE SIDE

story by reese dunham

SPORTS LANCERS ON THE FIELD

A closer look into three rec soccer teams started by East students for some friendly competition

BST SOCCER

SHOWING UP IN sunglasses, tracksuits and headphones for their first game on Sept. 7 — consisting of juniors Georgia Boyd, Henry Saylor, Hudson Weaver and 15 others — the soccer team was ready to start their first season with this humorous tradition. They got their first win of the season against another high school team, and Weaver scored four goals in the 11-2 win after only one practice.

“It went pretty well,” Boyd said. “It was a little shaky for a couple of us because we hadn’t played in a while, but we actually picked it up really fast. And I think it’s going to be a really fun year.”

Boyd was a designated team captain and signed the team up for the Brookside soccer league at Swope Park. She’s been in charge of making sure practices and games line up with the players’ schedules.

“I think my favorite thing will just be getting back

to a sport I played for my whole life,” Boyd said. “I think it’ll make me closer with everyone and I think it’ll just be fun to get out there and play a sport with my friends.”

Players on the team enjoy not having to stress over performance and just being able to spend time with friends while having traditions such as matching shorts and eye black for the games.

“I think it’s just being able to go out there and have fun,” Saylor said. “There’s no stress. Most of my sports have all been stress-induced, and you have to be the best you can be. But [with rec soccer] you can just go out there and you can just have fun.”

Playing their personal playlist during warmups and team dinners after games will be an essential part of the team, hopefully bringing the friends closer together.

“We’d definitely be interested in doing it again or we’ve even talked about maybe doing a rec basketball league with the same team,” Boyd said. “So we definitely are all very intrigued to do another one [season].”

SPRAY TAN TRAFFIC CONE MONKEYS

EVEN AFTER GETTING

kicked in the face during one of her rec soccer games, sophomore Ellie Burgess laughed it off and received her team’s Player of the Game award.

The sophomore recreational soccer team, Spray Tan Traffic Cone Monkeys, started during the spring season in 2024. Even though the team finished their season 1-7, they loved being a part of a soccer team so much that they plan to do it every spring for as long as possible, according to Charlotte Hardy.

Freshman year, Hardy formed a co-ed team composed of her friend group: Ellie Burgess, Coco Reiser and Hallie Pfeiffer plus 20 other sophomores.

When Hardy scored her one and only goal last season, the entire team ran over to high-five and celebrate with her and enjoyed branching off from her usual cross-country lifestyle to try something new.

“ We all do different sports, so we don’t really get to play sports together, so we thought doing a soccer

team together would be fun,” Hardy said. “It’s the group that I used to do soccer with when I was in elementary school, so we thought it would be fun to do a little reunion.”

The team was scattered throughout different elementary school teams, but they reunited in middle school when they decided to form the team.

This team has numerous players who switch in and out of games depending on schedules. But they developed a special tradition of choosing players of the game based on who had the most memorable plays like when player Coco Reiser hit a header into the goal and scored for the team, throughout the season.

“It’s super fun, and since we’re so old, no one takes it personally and no one’s upset if we lose,” Burgess said. “It’s a way to have fun with your friends and we lose every game, but it still feels like we win every game because it’s so much fun.”

A look at another rec team, The Comeback Season, in action

ABOVE Senior Josh Woofter chases after the ball in the first half of the game. Woofter scored the team’s final goal, tying the game 3-3

by clara peters

photo

ABOVE Senior Ingrid Blacketer cheers for her team at the start of their game

photo by clara peters

ABOVE Maggie Condon high-fives senior Molly Miller as they sub photo by clara peters

design by ella hargens

photos by clara peters