The Harbinger Issue 10 2024-2025

STORY STORY

Business teacher Lucas Allen and his father Bart Allen remember their late brother and son, Destry Allen, through shared memories and Bart’s commemorative book: “A Pristine Suicide”

02 THE HARBINGER

NAIL PERFECTION & SPA SALON HOURS

sta list

EDITORS DESIGN

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 Grif th

Paige Bean

Katie Cook

Addie Clark

VIDEO EDITORS

Alex Sajna

Mason Sajna

ASST. VIDEO EDITOR

Preston Hooker

DESIGN EDITOR

Kai McPhail

ASST. DESIGN EDITORS

Sydney Eck

Bella Broce

PAGE DESIGNERS

Ben Bagby

Evelyn Bagley

Avni Bansal

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Ellen Bowser

Ashtyn Ingram

Miranda Liberda

Francesca Lorusso

Addy Newman

Tillie Paisner

Ava Slocum

Lucy Swope

Mya Smith

Lyla Weeks

Adyson Cooper

Sophie Bruner

Clara Burdick

SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL

Julia Campbell

NEWS

Clara Burdick OPINION

Christopher Long

A&E

Evelyn Bagley

SPORTS

Lucy Swope

FEATURE

Miranda Liberda

PHOTO

Mason Sajna

Molly Scott

STAFF

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sylvie DeGalan

Emery Engle

Anastasia Flower

Evelyn Geheb

Vivien Glenski

Rubi Hakes

Caroline Hoffman

Lexi Madden

Tyler Russell

Zac Russell

Alex Sajna

Simon Shawver

Ava Towner

Annie Trenkle

Emma Weidman

Molly McDermed

Reese Dunham

Mary Gagen

Addy Newman

Lila Elwood

MULTIMEDIA STAFF

Ben Bagby

Paige Bean

Mary Gagen

Emma Weidman

Tyler Russell

Preston Hooker

Mac Christian

Jeremy George

EQUIPMENT MANAGER

Mason Sajna

WRITING

STAFF WRITERS

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Reese Dunham

Mary Gagen

Christopher Long

Addy Newman

Mya Smith

Alex Harden

Jeremy George

Sophie Bruner

COPY EDITORS

Avery Anderson

Isabel Baldassaro

Sophia Brockmeier

Larkin Brundige

Addie Moore

Lucy Stephens

Connor Vogel

Emmerson Winfrey

Lucy Wolf

Michael Yi

Grace Pei

Ellen Bowser

Preston Hooker

Avni Bansal

ART EDITORS

Kai McPhail

Avery Foster

ASST. ART EDITOR

Francesca Lorusso

STAFF ARTISTS

Tillie Paisner

Preston Hooker

Bella Broce

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Isabel Baldassaro

Lucy Stephens

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Sydney Eck

Lyla Weeks

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF

Paige Bean

Bella Broce

Clara Burdick

Ashtyn Ingram

Luciana Mendy

Mya Smith

Connor Vogel

Miranda Liberda

Evelyn Bagley

Ava Slocum

Lucy Swope

Avni Bansal

Adyson Cooper

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 con rmed with the sources. The Harbinger encourages letters to the editors, but reserves the right to reject them for reasons including but not limited to lack of space, multiple letters of the same topic and personal attacks contained in the letter. The Harbinger will not edit content though letters may be edited for clarity, length or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 400 or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com.

PHOTO MENTORS

Francesca Lorusso

cover photo courtesy of bart allen

art by francesca lorusso

FORCING

LABELS

Government regulation of identity make schools an unsafe place for students impacted

JOHN DOE SLID into his seat as the bell rang for his first day of school. His teacher pulled out her computer and began to take roll.

“Jane Doe?”

“It’s John,” he said instantly.

John has recently transitioned and hasn’t experienced any pushback from staff or peers. Little does he know, his teachers may soon be unable to legally call him by his preferred name.

A bill is currently being reviewed in the Kansas State Senate that requires teachers to use the name and pronouns on a student’s birth certificate.

His identity has been forced upon him by his state government.

And while John Doe doesn’t exist, this bill does — SB-76 was introduced to the Kansas State Senate on Jan. 27. Not only does this bill target particular students and protect transphobic teachers, but it also goes against the idea of school being a “safe” place.

In the new district strategic plan, specifically the

“Belonging in SMSD” section, there are measures, starting with the bolded first line: “We will intentionally strengthen our unified, equitable, inclusive culture, to ensure belonging for all.”

If the Kansas Senate passes SB-76, all notions of belonging in schools will disappear. This plan for SMSD may as well be stripped from the handbook.

MIT Teaching and Learning Lab claims a sense of belonging at schools is “fundamental” for students to feel academic motivation. It’s psychologically fundamental for students to feel included in schools.

While this bill hasn’t passed yet, the mere idea our state legislature would propose such an incendiary bill is mind boggling. This bill will single-handedly move Kansas back in time 50 years.

According to UCLA School of Law, approximately 2,000 youth aged 13 to 17 in Kansas identify as transgender. This means 2,000 students could be misgendered and there’s nothing the school can do to make them feel safe. No matter how much the school preaches inclusion, it’ll never truly achieve it without proper legislation behind it.

FRACTURED IDENTITIES

Negative experiences that can occur when oneself is not able to express their identity freely

Stress and Anxiety

Isolation and Loneliness

Physical Health Problems

Conflict in Relationships

Low Self-Esteem

Right now, the bill mentions nothing about repercussions for students or staff who decide to use preferred names or pronouns, but it’s only a matter of time before the Committee on Education discusses this topic at a meeting.

Students shouldn’t be forced to put on an identity mask to go to school. Schools should be safe places for learning and growing with your peers

*according to medium.com BILL SB-76

The members of the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those who disagree with the viewpoint are represented by against. for: 10 against: 1

— not places where students must change their entire identity. Preferred names and pronouns shouldn’t be controversial.

Transgender and non-binary students are also more likely to experience resistance outside of the classroom. U.S. News reports that two-thirds of LGBTQ youth have heard their families talk negatively about their identity. School is supposed to be the one place where kids can be themselves without judgment.

It’s already hard enough to be a teenager with full course loads and ever-changing friend groups — identities shouldn’t be up for discussion.

The bill’s ambiguity could cause even more controversy. It says teachers must use the name given on the birth certificate. This means Billy who sits next to you in your science class must henceforth be known as William. No nicknames allowed in Kansas!

The state of Kansas shouldn’t regulate students’ identities. It’s been ingrained into kids’ heads since elementary school to be themselves. Schools can’t switch up their most sacred motto due to transphobia.

It’s important to acknowledge that the process of passing a bill is lengthy and most

bills don’t even become law. Right now, 15 bills have been referred to the Committee on Education alone. It’s possible this bill won’t even get past the committee.

However, the suggestion that the state should be able to regulate students’ identities is harmful and outrageous. It shouldn’t even be up for discussion in the first place.

Educators and students must stand up against bill SB-76. Send letters to the representatives. Educate peers on the importance of inclusion. We can’t live in a society where our educators restrict students from expressing themselves.

The official title and description of the potential bill

Requiring employees of school districts and postsecondary educational institutions to use the name and pronouns consistent with a student’s biological sex and birth certi cate and authorizing a cause of action for violations therefore

federal DEI programs news

2 11 15 this friday

village fire e ects

AN ELECTRICAL

FIRE on Jan. 30

caused 16 businesses in the Prairie Village Shops to close for multiple days.

Firefighters were dispatched around 10 p.m. to a basement near the vacant Macy’s building and Bag & Baggage. The call was for a water flow alarm — an alarm set off when the sprinklers are triggered by fire. Firefighters from three separate counties ended up coming to the scene, according to the Johnson County Post.

Senior Ashley Freund was at the annual cheer sleepover at a house near The Village when they heard four loud booms from the shops.

“We all heard the booms and two girls went to drive by [the village] to see what happened

DOZENS OF FEDERAL agencies have banned the celebration of cultural awareness events to comply with President Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Following the signing of the order, military and civilian intelligence agencies such as the Labor Department and Human Resources Agency departments received memos and emails listing 11 holidays that are now banned.

The Defense Intelligence Agency has already paused all activities relating to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observations” to comply with this order, according to NBC News.

Electrical fire at Village Shops stops over a dozen businesses sales

but there were so many police and firefighters and lights no one could really tell what was going on,” Freund said.

The firefighters were able to contain the fire in

HEARD the booms and two girls went to drive by [the village] to see what happened but there were so many police and re ghters and lights no one could really tell what was going on.

ASHLEY FREUND

SENIOR

the electrical room of origin and preserve much of the mall, only needing to clear hazes of smoke

from some buildings. Businesses were still affected.

The fire left many buildings out of power until electrical repairs could be made, forcing them to close their storefronts.

Some stores like The Little House partnered with other Village shops to sell their merchandise until they could successfully re-open. But, for others, this wasn’t possible.

Giving the Lancer community a voice

Bijin Hair Salon was forced to close for at least a week, according to owner Connie Suss. This put a pause on all services as well as income for the salon.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be released.

Donald Trump signs executive order banning federal DEI programs

Since the order was signed, the state department’s Foreign Service Institute has cut access to thousands of web pages with materials related to DEI used to train diplomatic personnel or any government

LONG

TERM, THIS opens the doors for many other things. Like 50 years from now in an extreme case this could open the door for women to lose the right to vote.

LINCOLN KING

SENIOR

employee involved in foreign affairs.

Senior Lincoln King believes these orders only hurt Americans

and set us back decades.

“Long term, this opens the doors for many other things,” King said. “Like 50 years from now in an extreme case this could open the door for women to lose the right to vote.”

The Internal Revenue Service also deleted the words “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion” from its procedural handbook used to train employees, including from passages on taxes and finance.

The most immediate impact was that employees who worked on any of the DEI programs anytime up to Nov. 5, 2024 — the day Trump was elected — were ordered to be put on leave.

This purge of employees comes as the Trump Administration makes strides to drastically shrink the federal workforce using various measures, according to Elon Musk.

Q: How were you affected by the fire under The Village?

A: I work at Scoobie boutique. I think the fires happened on Thursday and I was scheduled to work that Friday and Saturday. On Friday [my boss] said these been a fire and the powers out and wouldn’t be back on for [that day]. [My boss] texted me and wasn’t sure if there was going to be power, and they didn’t know what it was going to look like the next coming days.

Q: How were you affected by the fire under The Village?

A: I work at The Little House. I was actually scheduled to work one [day], but it got canceled obviously because we didn’t have power. My boss just texted us and said we are closed so no need to come in. I know that RSVP had power, so we actually set up a pop up shop in there.

KC OUTBREAK

ATUBERCULOSIS

OUTBREAK in Kansas City, Kansas has been reported, with 146 cases and two deaths being confirmed on Jan. 31 by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

TB is an airborne infection that spreads through close human contact. The initial stage of the infection is called an acute TB case, which often worsens into a latent case. A latent case happens when bacteria is in the body but doesn’t cause symptoms and can’t be spread.

The infection can then reactivate into an active case, which is when the bacteria spreads and causes symptoms such as coughing up blood and chest pains, according to University of Kansas Health System pulmonologist Kyle Brownback.

“An acute infection can last for a few weeks,” Brownback said. “But if you have a normal immune system, your body will fight it. It doesn’t go away like a common cold, it becomes what we call latent tuberculosis.”

Kansas City is facing a Tuberculosis outbreak but health experts urge the public not to panic

While safety precautions are often taken during any disease outbreak, the student population is at little risk, according to school nurse Stephaine Ptacek.

later in your life if you become stressed,” Brownback said. “A big way that [infection] happens is if you start taking a medication that lowers your immune system.”

ways to keep it from spreading,” Williamson said. “But this isn’t something the majority of the general public, even in Wyandotte County, needs to worry about.”

I THINK FAMILIES affected by the outbreak, the goal is to make sure they understand [the] treatment [needed] and ways to keep it from spreading.

DR. TIMOTHY WILLIAMSON KU VP OF QUALITY & SAFETY “

“You’re way more likely to get the flu or Covid or RSV right now,” Ptacek said. “There’s a [TB] outbreak happening, but it’s probably not something to be worried about.”

Active TB cases require at least six to 12 months of antibiotics which, according to Brownback, can cause many side effects, making the treatment more intense than

danger with latent tuberculosis is that it can reactivate

TB is considered one of the world’s top infectious killers, causing 1.5 million deaths annually, and estimates suggest that a fourth of the global population has been infected. However, according to the World Health Organization, most cases are latent.

Active cases spread by sharing respiratory droplets, making it difficult to become infected, according to the University of Kansas Vice President of Quality and Safety Dr. Timothy Williamson.

“It’s not [spread] by touching stuff, and you’ve got to be around someone who’s infected for a little bit of time [to become infected],” Williamson said. “So it’s not something you’re going to catch at the grocery or at a movie.”

Health experts have been monitoring an increase in tuberculosis cases in Kansas City since the beginning of 2024. The majority of active cases have been reported in Wyandotte County, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the number of infected people is decreasing.

“I think in families affected by the outbreak, the goal is to make sure they understand [the] treatment [needed] and

Although health experts have assured that the chances of TB are low, many still feel uneasy about the recent outbreak, including sophomore Anne Bowser.

“A very lethal disease that could affect people being around is very scary,” Bowser said. “[But] although it’s scary to hear about these diseases and viruses, I know it’s probably not going [to] affect me, hopefully.”

Currently, there is a vaccine for TB called Bacille Calmette-Guérin. However, it’s generally not used in the U.S. due to the low risk of the illness and the potential false positives the vaccine causes while testing, according to the CDC.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has not released the cause of the TB outbreak, but it continues to test for the infection and work to stop its spread.

“The main thing to take away is just that this [will] most likely not affect students or people who are young and healthy,” Brownback said. “But if they were to develop fevers lasting for several weeks, if they were ever to cough up blood [or] they have a known exposure to someone who has tuberculosis, they should visit their doctor

SYMPTOMS & HOW IT SPREADS

What symptoms appear with Tuberculosis and how it spreads

- symptoms include coughing (sometimes blood), chest pain, fever, fatigue

- when infected person coughs, speaks or sings, bacteria enters the environment

- Tuberculosis bacteria can be suspended for hours, depending on the environment

*according to cdc.gov

story by caroline beal

EDUCATION

attend a rally outside of El

PROTESTS AROUND THE U.S.

Different states across the U.S. where there have been protests about the new ICE policy

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

has revoked previous policies that prevented the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency from carrying out investigations within schools on Jan. 21. Students are concerned about the future effects, and the change in federal policy has forced Shawnee Mission School District officials to have discussions with principals about how they cooperate with ICE.

President of Latinos of Tomorrow and senior Kevin Rodriguez said he tries to stay informed of new immigration policies. Although Rodriguez is a U.S. citizen he still feels unsafe with the way current policies are unfolding around him. He is also worried about the undocumented immigrants in his life and the effects the specific policy will have on them.

ENFORCEMENT OR

Students share their concerns over a new immigration policy and the SMSD confirms current protocols will stay in place

guess we could revisit it. But it is written in such a way that it does address any potential issue we might face with a federal agent wanting to come into our schools.”

SMSD Communications Director David Smith confirms that ICE will only be able to investigate within the school if one of the three district criteria is met.

According to Monica Bennet, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, for ICE to get a judicial warrant they have to show probable cause, which would give ICE the authority to search an area.

However, ICE could also use an administrative warrant which would authorize an arrest, but not a search, so ICE agents would still need permission from the district officials to investigate within the school.

According to a Harbinger Instagram poll of 171 people, 79% are concerned about the effects of the new federal immigration policies.

Sophomore Cassidy Graham is also worried about her multiple friends who are immigrants and could be impacted by this policy. Graham said she believes there’s no reason why immigration services should be able to investigate within

prob a ble cause

When there is a fair probability that a search will result in evidence of a crime being discovered

schools.

Board of Education meeting

CALIFORNIA

San Jose and South Bay

“It’s probably one of the most horrible things ever because now you’re not safe anywhere,” Rodriguez said. “I remember growing up my mom would always tell me that there were three places I could feel safe at: home, church and school. Now they are revoking that safety.”

Principal Jason Peres says the district currently has no plans to change its policy on how schools will interact with law enforcement during investigations and interrogations. Despite having no changes, the current school policy, formally known as JCAC, still aligns with the new federal policy.

Legally, the district is required to cooperate with ICE if the agents have a judicial warrant. The current district policy specifies that ICE will only be able to investigate students in the school if a parent or guardian has given permission, a valid warrant has been provided or if there is an emergency.

“Our policy does exactly what we need it to do,” Peres said. “I don’t think it’s likely for us to change our policy at this point. If new information comes about or we start to have a bunch of incidents, I

Regardless, according to Bennet, the Trump Administration didn’t just make it possible for ICE to investigate within schools — it also made areas close to schools, such as sidewalks, parks and local shops, open to enforcement.

Rodriguez met with the administrators to further understand the policy when he learned of the new executive order. However, Rodriguez realizes that school officials can only do so much to protect undocumented students.

“It’s hard to feel safe in the place that you thought was going to be safe,” Rodriguez said. “You can’t blame the school for it, because it’s a law, right? So, it’s hard to feel safe anymore. I know the schools are trying the best they can, maybe by delaying the process or something, but they have to abide by the law.”

The district’s policy also states that school staff must report violations of criminal law. However, illegal immigration falls under civil law, so there is no requirement in the policy for staff to report a suspected undocumented student. The school also has no records of any student’s legal status due to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and its regulations.

“I feel like we don’t really need [ICE] here, we come here to learn, and school’s really the last place ICE should come to,” Graham said.

According to Peres and Smith, the school’s main focus will be to try and maintain the learning environment— meaning they won’t allow ICE agents to disrupt classrooms or the education of other students by roaming the hallways.

However, Graham believes that disruptions will happen no matter what because students will eventually hear about the incident — word travels fast. She also believes that transparency from the school will be necessary in the future if ICE officials enter the building.

According to Smith, the district won’t be giving a public statement about its current policy because it is not necessary. However, he advises students to reach out to their principals if they have any questions regarding the policy

“It may not harm you, but it’s gonna harm your friends being deported,” Graham said. “The best they can do in this situation is just be fully transparent and provide resources as to where we can see this information about policy changes with immigration.”

TOP People

Cajon City Hall protesting the city council’s proposed resolution to allow city police assist ICE agents on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

photo courtesy of MCT Campus

story by luciana mendy

design by christopher long

WP-

NAY

Students missing WPA for sports feel that it’s the most “miss-able” dance

SEVERAL EAST students will be out of town competing in club tournaments and national competitions on Feb. 15 during the Woman Pay All dance.

This year, the WPA dance happens to fall on President’s Day weekend. Since it’s a four day weekend, many students have pre-determined plans for vacation or sports. The Lancer Dancers will be in Orlando, Florida for nationals and students who play soccer for Elite Club National League will be in Dallas.

At the end of January, the Student Council heard many complaints and met with Principal Jason Peres to discuss changing the date to Feb. 22, but ultimately decided against it would cause too many complications, since students already have reservations made.

As the social chair for StuCo, senior and Lancer Dancer Parker Paben helps decorate the gym for every dance this year. Out of town the day of WPA, Paben is assigning other StuCo members like junior Paige Bean and senior Ingrid Blacketer the job. Paben still helped pick all the decorations off Amazon for the Valentine’s Day theme and sent them to Mrs. Diekmann to order.

“I would so much rather be at nationals,” said Paben. “When I found out, I was really sad, but then they were saying it was gonna be moved and I got my hopes [up].”

Dance team senior Ella Hargens was nominated for Sweetheart Court. She was initially excited when she found out, but quickly realized she wouldn’t be able to attend due to dance nationals.

“I was really happy about it initially because it’s such a big honor and something I never thought would happen,” Hargens said. “[It made] me feel really happy and special but I didn’t really realize that I wouldn’t be able to participate.”

If Hargens wins, she plans for a friend to accept the award on her behalf. Her grandparents and sister are all still going to support Hargens. Like Paben, Hargens is sad she won’t be able to attend her last

WPA but wouldn’t want to miss out on nationals after practicing all year for the competition.

Sophomore Lauren Mercer has only attended one out of three East dances since she joined East due to her soccer schedule at Kansas City athletics. Her first Homecoming dance was at Pembroke Hill sophomore year. According to Mercer, it’s gotten easier and easier to miss dances since she does it so often, but still says it’s unfortunate as she still gets slight anxiety missing out on these moments.

Both Paben and Mercer agreed they aren’t mad about missing the hassle of finding a dress, date and making sure they have set plans part.

Sophomore Miles McCune prefers Homecoming because it’s the beginning of the year and the first “big event” of the year. He thinks WPA is unnecessary.

“

I WAS REALLY happy about it initially because it’s such a big honor and something I never thought would happen. [It made] me feel really happy and special but I didn’t really realize that I wouldn’t be able to participate.

ELLA HARGENS SENIOR

“I’d say some pros of WPA are it’s the freshman and sophomores’ last dance of the year so it’s always something to look forward to,” McCune said. “And some cons I would say is the date because so many people are out of town.”

McCune thinks figuring out where to take pictures, eat dinner and where the afterparty is stresses students out, causing them not wanting to go.

“I wish more people were going because that’s kinda what makes it the most fun is being with your friends but we’ll figure it out,” McCune said.

ATHLETIC

These two sports have conflicts with WPA

National Dance Alliance Nationals in Orlando, FL Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Girls Soccer: Showcase in Dallas, Texas

story by vanessa blades

photos by zac russell, molly mcdermed & annie trenkle

57% of Americans donate shoes

hot take

The skinny jeans trend is expensive and it won’t last story by avni bansal

SKINNY JEANS ARE BACK.”

“If Alix wears skinny jeans, I’ll wear skinny jeans.”

These are just a few of the overwhelming comments on TikTok influencer Alix Earle’s skinny jeans ad for Frame, a denim brand.

With 7.2 million TikTok followers, Earle has a serious influence on fashion trends and the clothes people buy — which is exactly why the comeback of skinny jeans is stupid. Influencer hype creates pointless microtrends and we’re being dragged back to outdated fashion.

It’s not just Earle. All my friends have been talking about how the skinny jeans trend is back.

It’s only February and this is just one of the many trends that have dominated my social media feed.

Boho chic, one-piece swimsuits, fur coats. We all know that these trends aren’t going to last.

comic strip

art by bella broce

81% of U.S citizens prefer to shop online believes that Nike makes the most diverse sneakers

We’ve already been through this with cheetah print and ballerina flats, and I don’t plan on going back anytime soon.

Skinny jeans are just another recycled trend. Plus they aren’t even cute. They’re essentially denim leggings — they’re ugly.

Don’t trust the advice of TikTok influencers who don’t have fashion expertise, and don’t get influenced by micro trends. They come and go, so you shouldn’t follow every single one that pops up on your feed and will disappear in a few weeks.

People should make better shopping decisions than spending $148 on a singular pair of Frame skinny jeans just because their favorite influencer told them to. I give this trend two months before we go back to wearing the usual wide-leg jeans (which are actually practical and comfy).

It seems like common sense to have your

personal style, but people still decide to copy popular influencers. If I see anyone wearing skinny jeans when I’m walking to class, I’m seriously going to lose it.

I’m begging anyone who claims to have any fashion awareness to get their own sense of originality and not to be influenced by every trend you see on social media.

*Instagram poll of

Harbinger staffer ranks the best places to work in the journalism room

1

3 sta

If you manage to snag a seat on the gray velour couch in the back of the journalism room, you should consider yourself lucky. Not only is it the most comfortable seat in the room, it’s right in the center of every conversation.

If the couch is taken, but you see an available desktop you can multi-task on another level with the monitors. But if an editor catches you trying to take their seat, you ‘re going to have to move.

2

If the back room is full, the library offers a tranquil space to get a ton of work done. But, you’ll be away from the entertaining conversations that occur in the back of the journalism room.

take our polls

Follow the Harbinger on social media to participate in our polls

*Instagram poll of 454 votes

Sophomore Brody Feldman

CHICK FIL-A

FEBRUARY 10, 2025 design by miranda liberda photos courtesy of adobe ai

story by michael yi

APASSENGER JET that took off from Wichita collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Jan. 30, killing 67 people in the deadliest U.S. air crash in 20 years.

Some of the victims were competitive figure skaters. Some were duck hunting buddies on a guys’ getaway. All were treasured by friends, family and loved ones.

President Trump blamed the tragedy on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hiring.

It seems like every day in this new era of American politics I read something new about the “war against inclusivity” — from government officials with vague connections to DEI being placed on administrative leave to thousands of government web pages being taken down for spreading “gender ideology.”

Voters shouldn’t support those who actively seek to reinstall discrimination in our government under the guise of equality. As previously controversial stances against diversity become normalized, it’s important to remember that social justice can never be taken for granted.

The argument for recent inclusivity cutbacks is that cutting them promotes equality — that by striking down efforts to make our work and school communities more diverse, we are paving the way for an America where merit is the sole factor to success. But is it really a fight for equality, or a crusade to turn back the clock to a period of prevalent discrimination?

Transgender soldiers are being forced out of the military. Haitian immigrants are baselessly accused of eating cats and dogs at a presidential debate. A plane lethally collides into a helicopter and plunges into

the Potomac and the immediate assumption is that a diversity hire in the Federal Aviation Administration caused the crash.

It’s clear from the 2024 elections that the majority of Americans support this regression of social values. But recently, I find myself wondering how we have reached the point where the voting majority is once again unconcerned with the issue of discrimination. Could it be that, in modern America, we no longer need to fight for equality?

Of course not.

I’ve spent 11 years in SMSD, and I’ve never felt like our community was colorblind — not when I was in second grade and classmates wagged the “Chinese middle finger” in my face, not when I was in seventh grade and peers hurled insults such as “dog eater” and “ch*nk” at me and received laughs. Certainly not here in high school, where it feels like the ongoing phone ban is more incendiary than the racial assault last year in the hallways.

I’ve heard transgender classmates ridiculed behind their backs and seen black students stereotyped and caricatured by their own friends. Even in our socially liberal community, our serious lack of diversity of cultures and experiences leads to prevalent stereotyping and microaggressions.

Discrimination is still an American problem. Codifying it back into legislation is not the solution.

As a 16-year-old second-generation Chinese immigrant, this is the first time in my life that I’ve worried about whether the country I was born in had a place for me. Because even though I’ve never been exposed to a large Asian American community, I’ve

INCLUSION of BENEFITS DIVERSITY

FIRE under

INCLUSION FIRE

We shouldn’t be supporting stigmatizing

WHYthe PAUSE?

story by ellen bowser

IT WAS A dark and stormy Sunday night. I was cowering on my couch as I peeked through my hands to watch the horror movie, “The Nun,” on Prime Video.

I shrieked in horror. An ad about a new dry dog food popped up on my screen in the middle of a graveyard scene. An ad.

I understand the purpose of ads on Youtube or Tubi TV, free video platforms, but the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard is for streaming services’ viewers to pay on top of viewing ads. Do you not make enough money already?

Prime Video already costs $15 a month, and renting “The Nun” tacked on another $4.99. So, I think it’s quite reasonable for me to shiver at the Pantene commercial on my screen.

Once upon a time (before 2016), Hulu functioned similarly to Youtube — except instead of creator-made videos, it housed movies as a free streaming service with ads. Now that Hulu has been absorbed into the Disney conglomerate, they charge $10 a month with ads and a pricey $19 without ads for their content.

On top of the ads, streaming services have also raised prices over the past 10 years. For example, Apple TV+ cost only $5 a month a few years ago, but has doubled their monthly fee since. Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu also hiked their monthly prices up by $2 in the fall of 2024.

As someone who loves to immerse themselves in the movies they watch, I feel somewhat betrayed when a streaming service runs back-to-back ads in the middle of an intense or emotional scene. The whole appeal of streaming services back in the day was the absence of ads that typical cable had, especially for movies that were never meant to have them.

Most streaming services have raised their prices in the past few years, but adding more expensive, ad-free tiers is just a lazy cash grab. People shouldn’t have to resort to paying an extra $6 a month —

which may not seem like a lot, but will add up — just to keep the benefits they should already have.

The truth is, these streaming behemoths have realized that running ads will generate more profits than their ad-free options, even if it upsets the customers who value the experience of watching a movie.

The beauty of streaming services is that I don’t have to drive all the way to Town Center to watch the latest blockbuster. I can instead watch movies from any time, coddled up in blankets with my favorite — normally-priced — snacks on standby in my basement, or better yet, my bed. Even so, when I go to the movies I get much more immersed in the story than I do at home with “paid interruptions.”

My experience watching “Interstellar” shouldn’t be diminished with a double ad break during a high-stakes scene — even if I’ve already seen the movie 20 times.

Streaming services have continued to raise their prices higher and higher, so they might as well remove ads for all while they’re at it. But that’s wishful thinking. By 2028, according to

?Ads on streaming services are unnecessary, given that these services already charge monthly fees on top of the ads

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ad revenue will make up around 28% of the money that streaming services make.

Even the Disney+ $16 dollar ad-free tier is less profitable than the option with ads — which is what about half of Disney users opt for. Many users are already complacent with the idea of ads on streaming services, so they’d rather opt for ads than be charged extra.

This isn’t something that’s going to change because it brings in the checks for companies like Hulu and Amazon Prime, but my

biggest pet peeve will always be a sponsored interruption on a service that already charges a monthly premium.

At the very least, platforms should run all ads at the beginning so it doesn’t interrupt the actual plot of the movie or show.

In all honesty, I’d rather live out a reallife horror movie with ads than be forced to watch my favorite scary movie with a “brief interruption.

prime video

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

REA-AI-LLY art not

REA-AI-LLY

AI art shouldn’t be considered real art

COMPARING WORKS

Adobe AI’s recreation of an East student’s artwork

“pomegranate” by sophomore vivian lee

aspects of vivian’s piece:

spring or summer themed vivid and colorful highlight the beauty of pomegranates and swans

adobe AI’s recreation of “pomegranate” prompt typed into adobe ai:

“create a colorful drawing of

a woman surrounded by flowers, swans and pomegranates”

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

East students give their opinions on AI art

story by grace pei

YOUNG GIRL’S HAND catching fireflies, sunset in a forest, painted style. In just one click and about three seconds, I’d “created” a highly detailed and professional piece of artwork on Magic Studio’s AI art generator website.

The lighting in the digital painting gave a warm glow to the girl’s face and the dense forest around her made the scene magical.

But something was wrong. The girl had six fingers instead of five, a mistake human artists don’t make.

AI-generated art shouldn’t be considered real art. It takes away value from human-created artworks and completely opposes what art truly is — an authentic form of expression that conveys a deep meaning and message.

Additionally, AI art generators shouldn’t be compared to human artists as they don’t require nearly the same amount of skill, time and effort.

Different forms of art include painting, music, literature and dance which are rightfully considered art — but AI is not part of that category. The difference is that art created by humans is a form of expression and creativity, something AI simply doesn’t have. Even though someone carefully typing out a prompt can be interpreted as a form of expression, they aren’t creating the art. AI is.

Obviously, art can’t be strictly defined in one way or another, but it’s clear that a faceless robot generating art is completely different from an artist spending countless hours on their craft.

AI art is also in no way unique. It uses an algorithm called a neural network that finds patterns gathered from large datasets on the Internet, according to Adobe, with its own AI art generator. Given a prompt to generate a girl, for

CHLOE CALDWELL FRESHMAN

“ART IS SOMETHING that’s really neat. Just because someone took the time to make something really cool. The more that just AI art is used, it just becomes normal. So it’s [art] less appreciated as a whole.

example, AI will generate the girl to the best of its ability based on what it’s learned from humancreated art online. So without the creativity of human artists, AI art wouldn’t even be possible.

There’s no skill required to type a prompt for AI and let it do the work for you, the same way you can’t throw a blob of paint onto the canvas and call it “abstract.” Anyone can do it.

Since anyone’s able to use AI to create a threesecond masterpiece, real artists are put out of jobs because the value behind their artwork disappears. AI art created solely by a prompt isn’t protected by copyright, according to the United States Copyright Office, which means that legally people using AI can’t claim ownership of the artwork they generate. If “artists” who generate AI art don’t even have a copyright over their artwork, it can’t be considered theirs and they shouldn’t be regarded as real artists.

And, even though the aesthetics of artwork are important, the story behind these pieces is what gives them meaning. I can describe a scene with a young girl catching fireflies for an AI generator but it won’t know why it creates the piece — it only knows how to.

Only human artists can capture the nostalgic feeling of running around their backyard barefoot as a kid, peering into the dark for a blink of light and then blindly grasping for the insects. They’ve experienced it.

Even as the use of AI becomes increasingly popular, AI art shouldn’t be used to compete with human art. If people really want to create meaningful artwork that AI can only attempt to imitate, they should do it themselves instead of asking a computer to do it for them.

EVAN KELTING

FRESHMAN

IT’S NOT CREATIVE ,they’re more of images if anything. If you put a prompt into a website and get an image out of it, there’s no creativity behind it. There isn’t the time or the human touch to it that actual art has.

photo courtesy of adobe ai & vivian lee photos by mary gagen

71% of East students celebrate Valentine’s Day

valentine’s traditions

We asked students what their favorite Valentine’s Day traditions are

LILY IVES

JUNIOR

“ON VALENTINES DAY my dad gets me and my sisters Valentines when we wake up in the morning. It is usually a candy of some sort and another small gift.

GABBY MARTINI

JUNIOR

“WILLOW AUSTIN

JUNIOR

“MY MOM WILL go and buy the Valentine’s Day pizza from Papa John’s and we’ll do a little dinner with my family she also gets me and my brother a little gift to wake up to and have.

ideal the

4 days until Valentine’s Day

MY FAVORITE Valentine’s Day tradition is galentines with my friends. We have a cute brunch and wear our Valentine’s Day pajamas and take photos.

ELLIE MOILANEN

JUNIOR

“A VALENTINE’S TRADITION I have is my dad always has flowers and a candy or chocolate for me, my sister, and my mom to wake up to downstairs.

this week in photos

BELOW Environmental education students practice presenting to their classmates for when the elementary school students come to see the animals.

by caroline hoffman

Here are some gift idea you can get your loved ones

flowers with a note chocolate box personalized playlist framed picture day gift cards gift basket personalized ceramics

BELOW Sophomore Ava Murray smooths out the spirals on her coil pot.

RIGHT Sophomore Yunus Shakatov works on his project in Robotics class.

photo by annie trenkle

design by miranda liberda

photo

photo by reese dunham

LIBBY LIBBY

MORRIS

PreteenMISSKANSAS

WHEN DID YOU START COMPETING IN

Before COVID, I received a letter from the National American Miss Kansas Preteen, and attended an open casting call for them.”

WHAT DOES A PAGEANT

“MORNING IN THE LIFE” LOOK LIKE?

Mornings are full of glamorous chaos. First, I lay my out ts out, then organizes my binders, then I go see a hairdresser and do light makeup touch ups.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY/MOMENT OF COMPETING IN PAGEANTS?

“

Probably winning Miss Kansas Preteen.”

AGE 11 GETS LETTER FROM NATIONAL AMERICAN MISS AGE 11

COMPETES IN FIRST PAGEANT AGE 13

ATTENDS CALL AGE 11

design by lyla weeks

photos courtesy of libby morris

Freshman Libby Morris competes in pageants, expressing her love and admiration for both glamour and chaos

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

MARKETING FUTURE the

Next year’s student store and coffee shop teams look forward to working in the businesses

“COFFEEshop

applicants staff members

“

WE HAD SO MANY amazing applications that we took the best team [and] it was obvious who we wanted to have on our team and we just couldn’t take any less than those 19. And so we decided to increase a position in social media and a position in our new product development team.

what are you looking forward to about coffee shop?

JOSIE MANGINE JUNIOR

“

JUST HAVING IT as my rst hour, I think it’ll be fun, also, something different to start the day, because always have math. So I think having that, and also, I feel the group of people [is good]. I’m excited.

WHAT PEOPLE DON’T understand

is that we don’t need 25 designers. We needed ve designers, but then we need social media, promotion people and we need outgoing, creative, thought processed people and salespeople, and so those are all very different personalities.

MERCEDES RASMUSSEN

STUDENT STORE ADVISOR

what are you looking forward to about student store?

do you have any fun stories from your coffee shop interview?

JACKSON FOWLER JUNIOR

“

THEY GAVE ME a card where they said I had to sell hot coffee and spray cheese, like together and it was really interesting. It really took me off guard, but I think I sold it pretty well. It was de nitely and interesting part.

STUDENT

store

115 applicants

24 staff members

what was your reaction to getting on student store? “ HANK HENDON

JUNIOR

I’VE JUST HEARD how fun it is from my brother who was in it and now some friends that I have, they’re on it. All they talk about is just how much of a blast it is.

LJ MORRISSEY JUNIOR

“

I GOT UP, jumping, screaming and hugged my mom. It was a really fun time for both of us cause I mean, the energy was just so high and we were both so happy and it was great.

& copy by libby marsh & bella broce

photos by tyler russell

AMANDA DOANE COFFEE SHOP ADVISOR

MAXIMIZING FREE TIME

MAXIMIZING

story by preston hooker

WHENEVER I GET to leave early it feels like I’m released from the shackles of East,” senior Reagan Solenberger said. “The senioritis is hitting, and it’s really awful.”

A reduced schedule is a luxury available to seniors who either already have all their graduation requirements, or have them scheduled in their current class, giving them free hours where they don’t need to be at school.

Solenberger works two separate jobs while simultaneously being a physics cadet teacher,

62 % OF SENIORS HAVE A REDUCED SCHEDULE

an IB Diploma student and a violinist for East’s orchestra.

Solenberger only has one less hour than the typical seven-period schedule to teach herself calculus-based physics and get everything else done. But for her, it makes all the difference.

On Mondays, she has an extra 50 minutes at her disposal, which she typically uses to run errands or finish chores around the house.

On Tuesdays, Solenberger makes a stop at the gym before going to her first job and teaches swim lessons to elementary and pre-schoolers. Thursday, Solenberger comes home to crank out as much homework as possible before heading to her second job at The Little Gym in the Village.

To qualify for a reduced schedule, students are required to have no other commitments within the school that might impede their ability to take a class off such as journalism or debate.

Inversely, senior Gabe Anderson has only one hour in his entire senior year schedule — English 4.

But Anderson hadn’t planned on having a reduced schedule — it just so happened that the electives he chose throughout his high school career filled up every requirement except for an additional English credit.

“I let my counselor tell me whatever classes I needed to do that year,” Anderson said. “I signed

up for all those and then whatever area I had left, I filled the classes that I actually wanted to do, which happened to fill my requirements.”

Anderson works at Kansas City Country Club and can pick up nearly eight additional hours every day thanks to his reduced schedule. All of his earnings are budgeted for college in the coming fall, with some room being left for personal expenses.

On the contrary, some seniors have full course loads, Senior Ashley Freund runs the Student Store for two class periods on top of being an assistant editor for the yearbook for an additional two class periods. These leave no room for any nongraduation requirements, as the remaining hours are all core classes.

“It’s definitely harder to go to school when you know all your friends are able to go home all the time,” Freund said. “It’d be nice to be able to nanny or work or just rest like everyone else, but I can’t.”

“

IT’S DEFINITELY

HARDER to go to school when you know all your friends are able to go home all the time. It’d be nice to be able to nanny or work or just rest like everyone else, but I can’t.

ASHLEY FREUND

SENIOR

A large contributor to a reduced schedule is planning for them ahead of time. Likely, students won’t pick every single class needed to fill every single requirement, like in Anderson’s case. This causes them to have to take more classes they don’t like in their senior year instead of having a free period.

Classes like Financial Literacy and Health are

“I know a lot of kids don’t like taking a bunch of filler classes that they [aren’t] really interested in,” Anderson said. “Being able to go out into the real world, whether that’s an internship or more hours at work, I think is really beneficial.”

Things seniors do during their free period according to Instagram poll

SLEEPING WATCHING TV CLEANING

BREAK TIME ACTIVITIES WORK BABYSITTING INTERNSHIPS

design by photos by

WHO

DUNNIT?

Forensic science teacher Emily Lopez emphasizes the importance of being informed about criminal systems through her classes

Lopez said. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching, but I really open up and I really become animated whenever I’m teaching forensic science. I have finally found my class. I have found the class

LAB ANALYSIS ANALYSIS

A few of the labs done in Lopez’s forensic sciences classes

mock crime scenes

ngerprint ink analysis

blood type analysis

luminol demo

IF YOU CAN see how we investigate evidence and how things are done, it makes you more informed about what is going on [through the criminal justice system].

EMILY LOPEZ FORENSIC SCIENCE TEACHER

microscope hair lab

DNA paternity

bullet and ammunition analysis

ID of skeletal remains

story by larkin brundige

PHOTOSTORY

LEFT Forensic science 1 and 2 teacher Emily Lopez points to agarose gel in an electrophoresis chamber. Forensic 2 did an electrophoresis lab to solve a mystery by comparing separated DNA samples. “I strive for two to three labs per unit, so we’re doing [labs] pretty frequently,” Lopez said.

photo by caroline martucci

BELOW Sophomore Cassidy Graham plugs an electrophoresis chamber into a power source to get the electric current needed in order to push the DNA across the gel.

photo by caroline martucci

TOP Sophomore Gemma DeSimone uses a micro pipette to drop a small amount of sample DNA into a section of agarose gel in an electrophoresis chamber. “It was really cool to see how [the DNA sample] travels deeper in the gel,” DeSimone said. “You couldn’t see [the DNA move] in real time, but looking back at [the chamber], [the DNA] moved really far, and now I understand why it moved far.”

photo by caroline martucci

RIGHT Sophomore Amani Wambura watches as sophomore Haven Rofkahr collects a precise sample of DNA into her micro pipette.

photo by molly miller

& e garden house cafe

Country

Album

Country

I WAS REALLY, annoyed that she won it and dissappointed, I was watching the grammys and they said that beyonce won the country music album of the year and I was like are you joking?

1639 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, KS 66103

New cafe brings flavor to Kansas City

AS I OPENED the door to the Garden House Plant Shop and Café, I was immediately struck by the smell of coffee and soil grounds.

This coffee shop — located on Southwest Blvd. — sells various potted plants, thrifted clothes and Kansas City made goods.

Before ordering at the front, I took a look at the locally made jewelry section filled with bright earrings and animal-print claw clips.

After thoroughly reviewing all the jewelry and ordering a lavender matcha and an iced vanilla latte, I went down a small flight of stairs and spotted a large display of potted plants ranging from pocket-sized to plants so large they couldn’t even fit in my Jeep Wrangler.

While waiting for my drinks, I headed to the racks of clothes, which, according to the barista, were all locally thrifted.

Sifting through the sweaters and Levi’s jeans, I was immediately drawn to a suede bomber jacket stitched with a Lancer logo.

Although the jacket looked faded, it was

Watch out for these upcoming new movie and

in perfect shape and even said “SM East” on the back. After doing some research on my phone, I found that a similar style was being sold in the 1960s, making the jacket almost 70 years old.

Once my excitement about finding the vintage jacket had subsided, I went to the front counter to get my drinks.

At first glance, both drinks looked perfect, the sage green matcha and medium brown coffee.

But, when I took a sip of each, the overly sweet lavender and vanilla syrup was potent, leaving very little coffee or matcha taste. I barely made a dent in either drink, and my stomach was in knots from the sugar overload. I quickly set the drinks down, deciding I was done with both of them.

Even with the disappointment of my drinks, the atmosphere’s appeal alone is worth the visit.

Jaden Smith

Kanye & Bianca Censori

Chappell Roan

TOP The rooms inside of the store displayed pieces that contributed to the calming feel of the store. photo by addy newman

LEFT A vintage 1960s Shawnee Mission East jacket hung on a clothing rack inside the cafe. photo by addy newman

TOP The store featured numerous glasswareand antiques avaliable to purchase.

TOP The shop was softly lit and the warm wooded seats

YOU’RE CORDIALLY

“You’re Cordially Invited” is a hilarious take on wedding clichés that’ll get anyone laughing

story by avery anderson

EVERYONE LOVES A good wedding movie. Drama and disaster surrounding the most important day of someone’s life? I’m in.

But if you feel stuck watching the same old pairs of love birds planning, fighting and tying the knot, look no further than Prime Video’s new movie “You’re Cordially Invited” for a way to spice up your movie night.

Released on Jan. 30, “You’re Cordially Invited” is what every cheesy wedding movie should be — short, funny and dramatic, with plenty of classic wedding toasts mixed in.

The entire film was like watching all my childhood wedding movie favorites like “Mamma Mia!” and “The Wedding Singer” rolled into one.

The movie follows two different families attempting to plan their respective weddings at the same venue, but thanks to a mixup, the weddings are scheduled for the same weekend.

The Caldwells are nearly identical to the family in “Father of the Bride.” Their dynamic revolves around a father too attached to his daughter, unwilling to let her get married. His fears of her leaving him force him to go to insane lengths to keep her close but — spoiler alert — ultimately just pushes her away.

The Buckleys are “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” reincarnated. The bride-to-be has a difficult relationship with her family — specifically her mother — who is, of course, opposed to her future husband. It doesn’t get much more cliché than that.

INVITED INVITED

These all-too-basic plots work with the movie and don’t seem too overused thanks to the overarching conflict — how these two families are supposed to have their weddings on the same day. Plus, the main characters aren’t the brides and grooms. For once, the father of the first family, Jim, played by Will Farrell, and the sister of the second bride, Margot, played by Reese Witherspoon, are the stars of the show.

Despite coming to an initial agreement to split venues and time slots for the ceremony, both Jim and Margot quickly fall into a game of sabotage, attempting to ruin the other’s wedding.

Thanks to this, the majority of the movie is filled with glaring side-eyes, aggressive plotting, spying on mischievous guests and a little bit of wedding cake.

The movie is by no means groundbreaking. It’s not going to make you rethink your relationship with your parents, get down on one knee and propose to your significant other or even cry at the thought of your own single life. And with across-the-board mediocre scores on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB and Prime Video, you shouldn’t expect it to.

But it will make you laugh.

The absurdity of every cruel plot, backhanded comment and family feud is bound to get viewers of all ages cackling. And as one of the more chaotic rom-coms that’s come out in the last few months, you won’t be falling asleep during this two-hour film.

Father-daughter duets to romance songs

like “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, vengeance-filled boat drivers, collapsing docks and alligators are enough to keep any viewer entertained for the entire movie.

It even focuses on family relationships. Specifically, those between parents and their children and fosters healthy mentalities about age and marriage. One underlying message is that you don’t need to be married to someone in order to love, live and laugh with them — something I think is important for all 2025 audiences to see.

And if none of that appeals to you, let the cast list be what draws you in. In addition to Reese Witherspoon and Will Farrell, the film stars Jack McBrayer, Rory Scovel, Peyton Manning and even Nick Jonas.

If you’re currently stressing over wedding planning, this movie might not be for you, but anyone else should give “You’re Cordially Invited” a try.

movies like “You’re Cordially Invited”

10, 2024

MOTHER of PROBLEMS

The “House of My Mother” book by Shari Franke is a devastating novel that reveals shocking and true stories of child abuse

GStudents who are familiar with the family and their reactions

READ THE BOOK

I THINK THE daughter does a really good job of talking through the whole story and showing how crazy the mom gets.

WATCHED THEM GROWING UP

“ NOLA FRANK SOPHOMORE

WHEN I FOUND out about everything I went back onto YouTube and watched videos that we’re still up and I did [notice the abuse] in some videos. “ CATHERINE SULLIVAN SOPHOMORE

ROWING UP, EVERY night before bed I’d grab my iPad mini, head to the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel and watch their newest videos for hours on end. The family-friendly YouTube channel was the highlight of my night. Ten-year-old me and millions of others watched clips of their “picture-perfect” internet lives.

Little did I know, hidden behind the cameras and 8-person family morning routines was years of child abuse at the hands of the “8 Passengers” mother, Ruby Franke.

In September 2023, the famous YouTube star and mother was arrested alongside her mental fitness Connexions business partner, Jodi Hildebrand, for aggravated child abuse.

The oldest child of Ruby, Shari Franke released her book — “The House of My Mother”— on Jan. 7, highlighting the hidden verbal and physical abuse she faced at the hands of her mother growing up.

Having watched countless hours of their lives on YouTube, and with my internet childhood memories now crushed, I headed to Barnes and Noble and purchased a copy, ready to dive into the raw story.

But nothing could’ve prepared me for the disgusting truth about Ruby Franke.

Shari starts the book off by introducing Ruby’s life growing up. She was the oldest child raised in a strict, conservative home and a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah. Ruby’s childhood was more responsibility than play, as she took care of her four younger siblings growing up. Reading about these details helped me better visualize the true Ruby and “mother” that was shown in videos — short-tempered and controlling.

Ruby then headed to Utah State University where she met Kevin Franke, got married at 18, brought six kids into the

world and somewhere along there, chose to manipulate and misuse all six of them. Disgusting, honestly.

It all started from YouTube or “Mommy Blogging,” as Ruby called it. Ruby recorded her family’s everyday lives, exposing personal moments like shaving for the first time or starting a period to millions online. The kids were constantly in front of a camera and often forced to play along for the videos.

Hearing Shari’s point of view as the oldest child made my heart break as she was deemed the “experimental kid” for the shaving videos or other personal content, due to her age.

Ruby was a strict parent nonetheless. If her kids received a “C” on their report card, their phone was taken for the whole summer. If there was a heavy snowfall in Utah, the kids would still have to walk a mile to school.

Shari was raw and honest when revealing her family’s truth — she didn’t hold back. She made sure everyone knew the truth about the abuse.

Shari revealed when her youngest sister was in kindergarten and forgot her lunch at school, Ruby refused to bring it to her, causing her to skip a meal she needed at 6-years-old. Then, she went on a rampage about how this would teach her a lesson to be more responsible in the future. Strict parenting or not, any 6-year-old shouldn’t be held to this much responsibility by their mother.

When the cameras were rolling, the screaming, slaps to the lip and ear-pulling that happened when the kids talked back or refused orders stopped. The kids even learned to use Ruby’s easy-going camera personality to their advantage and asked to hang out with their friends during filming — Ruby couldn’t deny the extra content for

her viewers.

Imagining the monster Ruby turned into when filming stopped was horrifying for me and I imagine any reader. Ruby seemed like an earth-shattering bomb, and they never knew when she would blow next.

But when Jodi — the family life coach and creator of Connextions Counseling — came into the picture during Shari and Chad’s teenage years, Ruby became a calmer version of herself. Jodi tried to “better” Ruby and her kids’ lives with therapy sessions. It was like her abusive tactics had been taken down a notch. But never fully gone.

The two teamed up, becoming an inseparable duo, taking over the Franke children’s lives with their twisted outlook on living life. Shari explains how Jodi would call her selfish and uncompassionate, making her think there was something in her head that needed to be fixed.

Reading about her therapy sessions made me sick. Jodi was gaslighting the children.

After many attempts of Shari calling the Department of Children and Family Services, they still did nothing, even after countless concerns about Ruby’s child abuse. These poor kids were trapped living with monsters, fighting for their lives.

It wasn’t until March 2023 when the youngest Franke son finally escaped and was seen by the neighbors with duct tape around his wrists and ankles and noticeably starved. Police were then sent to the Franke household and Ruby was arrested. Finally.

As these poor kids eventually emerged from the abuse, their lives will be impacted forever, considering the majority of it is on the internet. Ruby changed her kids’ lives and not for the better. The “House of My Mother” helps bring attention to child abuse in households and is a strong informational novel with a heartbreaking story.

design by tillie paisner

story by lucy wolf

photos by rubi hakes

photo courtesy of imdb

story by jeremy george

The Weeknd’s latest and possibly last album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” is a worthy ending to his careert the end

I’LL NEVER FORGET the countless nights spent in my room during the pandemic. The world outside felt distant, but “Blinding Lights” filled the silence. Half a decade later, as I listen to Hurry Up Tomorrow — The Weeknd’s new album — it’s surreal that his music has continued to be the soundtrack for my personal moments of reflection and growth.

The first song of the album, “Wake Me Up,” couldn’t have been a more terrific start with the transcendent vocals. When the beat dropped at 1:48, I thought I was listening to Michael Jackson for a moment, and not without reason.

Throughout this track and his career, The Weeknd has demonstrated a rare ability to blend vulnerability with bold, genre-defining production.

Drawing inspiration from artists like Michael Jackson’s emotive vocal delivery and Prince’s seamless genre-blending, he crafts songs that serve as both an emotional opening statement and a declaration of his place in modern music. This was a genius move, as it allowed him to create his own unique style while also honoring the greats.

The second track, “Cry for Me,” instantly took me back to The Weeknd who filled the silences with haunting melodies, the atmospheric beats and the raw emotion. But this time, it felt fresh — like he’s taken that signature sound and twisted it into

THE TRILOGY CONCLUDES

“Hurry Up Tomorrow” concludes The Weeknd’s album trilogy, which spanned from 2020 to 2025

Pop/R&B

released: released: released: March 20, 2020 genre: genre: genre: R&B/Soul Jan. 7, 2022

Jan. 31, 2025

R&B/Soul

design by francesca lorusso

photos courtesy of GENIUS

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

DISSECTING

CLASS CLASS CHINESE

A breakdown of the only Mandarin Chinese course offered in the district

CURRICULUM

Explore the four levels of Mandarin Chinese classes offered at East

MANDARIN CHINESE 1 - Students are introduced to the phonetic system. They develop skills in listening and speaking through audiovisual materials. They read and write 100 Chinese characters.

MANDARIN CHINESE 2 - More emphasis is placed on reading and writing. Students learn 200 more characters. To promote language pro ciency much of the class is taught in Chinese.

MANDARIN CHINESE 3 - Students develop listening, speaking, reading and writing through the use of dialogue, grammar, vocabulary and readings. Learn about the Chinese-speaking world.

MANDARIN CHINESE 4 - Emphasizes increased depth in listening, speaking, reading and writing. More focus about the Chinese-speaking world. To promote language pro ciency the class is taught in Chinese.

*INFO ACCORDING TO THE HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM PLANNING GUIDE

STUDENTS

Chinese students share the reason for taking the class and their opinions on the class overall

“ BURT SHEETS SOPHOMORE

MY SISTER TOOK [Chinese] for a couple years, and she really enjoyed it, and now she’s on like year eight of taking Chinese in college, so I decided I’d follow in her footsteps.

ELIZABETH BRUNER SOPHOMORE

“WE HAVE A curriculum, so we get a new worksheet every day, and then we get to ll that out. Then sometimes we watch movies in Chinese to help us expand our knowledge of how people talk with the tones and stuff like that.

CHINESE CLUB

MANY CHINESE STUDENTS are also involved in Chinese Club. The club hosts events, including a lunch at Bo Lings. They focused on talking to the workers in Chinese to get more experience. Also, they host an annual event for Lunar New Year. This year it included activities, such as fortune telling sticks and tai chi. Snacks like rice crackers, pineapple cakes and dumplings were offered as well.

“ JAMES QUANCE JUNIOR

READING IS PROBABLY the hardest part of [the class], like, being able to understand the characters. I’ve been learning it most of my life, and I still can’t do it that well.

CHINESE CLUB PRESIDENT

design by sydney eck photos by paige bean, alex sajna & molly scott

SHINDIG

East’s annual western-themed “Shindig” fundraising party was held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Milburn Country Club to benefit East Fund

SCAN ME PHOTO

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LEFT East parents, Megan and Paul Barbre, grab food from the vegetable tray at the start of the night.

photo by paige bean

TOP RIGHT JV Lancer Dancers and juniors Jordan O’Brien and Claire Polanco chat while waiting for more parents to arrive so they can greet the attendees. “This was my first year [volunteering]”, O’Brien said. “I did pennant sales so I was selling tickets for the ‘Hats and Chaps’ game as parents walked in.”

photo by paige bean

ABOVE Junior Claire Polanco holds a bucket full of sheriffs pins to sell to parents to participate in the game of ‘Hats and Chaps’.

photo by paige bean

RIGHT Sophomores Hannah Myers, Caroline Hoffman, Anne Bowser and juniors Chloe Harmon and Tatum Anderson perform their routine to a western song choreographed by sophomore Caroline Hoffman.

photo by anastasia flower

RIGHT The Lady Lancer Basketball package sits with the rest of the auction items. Proceeds from the auction go to the East Fund to provide funding for classroom programs and enhancements.

photo by anastasia flower

Charlie Halloway placed overall in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of

LEFT Sophomore Cole Person turns into the second half of the 50-yard breaststroke in the 200- individual medley. Person placed first overall with a time of 2:08.19. photo by sylvie degalan 4 days until the lancer dancer’s nationals begin

WE PLAYED GOOD, but we need to work together more as a team. Everybody played pretty well, you know, I think we played really good defense. And I think we moved the

ABOVE Sophomore Annie Trenkle receives the ball in the corner of the court and looks to pass to her teammate. photo by molly mcdermed

Junior Grant Kimmel completes dive 5122, a forward 1 1/2 somersaults with a half twist in the free position.

BELOW Sophomore Brooks Dillon dribbles to the basket while the Rockhurst student section yells at him, trying to distract him. photo by amelie wong

ABOVE Junior Fina Kessler guards the ball from the opposing team. photo by paige bean

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

CHASING OPPORTUNITIES

story by addy newman

TGirls soccer players are shifting towards Super Cup teams provided by ECNL clubs instead of playing high school soccer

HEN FRESHMAN NATALIE

Scobie stepped onto the hot turf field for the last game of the season — the state championship against Mill Valley. The daily cycles drill and passing drills at after-school practices led to the 2023 season’s final game.

teams, but she made her own personal decision to stay with her club.

Benefits of playing school soccer

Getting a new perspective of coaching Making new friends

Exposure to local college scouts

Potential leadership opportunities

The season consisted of the passed-on traditions of biscuit basket — where one player leads the chant of “biscuit basket”, a passedon tradition before every game. Then some weeks gifts were exchanged to other teammates at practices in a tradition called rally girls and team dinners were held.

Scobie’s club coach, Colin Bulwich, insisted on having the entire Sporting Blue Valley 2008 Elite Club National League (ECNL) team play for their club’s Super Cup team to get the team further in playoffs and for their personal college recruitment opportunities. Scobie had to miss out on her sophomore season of high school soccer for Super Cup.

“I was stuck on Super Cup,” Scobie said. “It kind of sucked, but at the same time I felt like I was able to focus on myself and my own development as a player before my social life.”

ECNL clubs offer this alternative choice for players with the option to choose high school soccer or stay with their club. They also do this for “trapped players” — players in eighth grade while the rest of their teammates are freshman in high school.

drills including rondos and scrimmages. However on Super Cup team, players get the opportunity to play alongside multiple different age groups within their own club.

A year after Scobie’s last freshman debut at East, then-freshman Bella Tilgner was in almost identical circumstances as Scobie in spring 2024.

Tilgner took to the cool turf field, unsure of whether or not this would be the last game of the season. Shawnee Mission East faced Mill Valley in the second round of playoffs. No one was hoping for this to be the last game of the season.

Shawnee Mission East girls varsity faced the undefeated Mill Valley and lost 0-2.

High school offers the same feature of playing with and against different age groups. However, some games may not be as elite as ECNL games since players come from different clubs and leagues.

again for the benefits that high school offers.

“You’re getting new friends and you’re getting new coaching experience instead of having the same coaches or similar coaching styles,” Tilgner said. “Also having to be able to communicate with new teammates or people that you might not know as well and playing with a lot of different age groups and playing with people that you’ve never talked to or never met.”

All four players believe that Super Cup will

SCHOOL SUPER CUP SOCCER

During the Super Cup season, the team travels and plays other Super Cup teams that are also playing Super Cup for their clubs instead of high school soccer.

In just four months, a brandnew team dynamic was formed.

Over the next year, Scobie hoped to continue spending her spring season with high school teammates from East and competing against other high school

Many East girl players chose to do Super Cup their sophomore year of high school and come back to play high school after they are recruited just like Scobie will be doing her junior season after she recently committed to Clemson University.

College coaches are allowed to contact players in June after their sophomore year, making most recruitments happen after sophomore year and into junior year for soccer players. Before June coaches can only email players about upcoming camps they are hosting.

Sophomore Mia Mosher started her first Super Cup season as an eighth grader, the same year she joined her first ECNL team at Sporting Blue Valley on the same team as Scobie. She wanted to play at the highest level possible, and the best path for her to make a college soccer team was playing ECNL for every year of high school.

“I’m going to continue doing Super Cup because I think that since I was already behind, it’ll just be what’s good for me,” Mosher said.

The Super Cup season closely resembles the regular fall club soccer season as they have similar practice times and

More girls are starting to stay with their club soccer teams and play Super Cup to get more college recognition, like sophomore Lauren Mercer. She chose to play Super Cup with her club, Kansas City Athletics instead of playing another year at East

“As a sophomore, I would for sure do Super Cup because Super Cup is beneficial if you’re wanting to go to the next level,” junior Natalie Scobie said. “I also think playing high school freshman year you get to meet new people and new friends. It really impacted the friends I have today since freshman year because of [the] high school season.”

During the regular fall club season, players on ECNL teams get the chance to travel to multiple showcases all over the country in places such as Seattle, Phoenix, Florida and San Diego. At these showcases, hundreds of college coaches come to watch players for recruitment.

Players that do Super Cup get the chance to travel to more showcases. These showcases can be the difference between a player being selected for a college-level team or not.

“If you’re in your recruiting year [sophomore year], I would definitely do Super Cup, because you get to go to a whole other showcase, and be in front of 200 extra coaches,” Mosher said.

Tilgner enjoyed her freshman year of high school soccer and is choosing to play

continue to grow and be more popular in years to come for high school girls.

For now, players are shifting towards Super Cup to compete at higher levels during their recruiting season so they can be spotted by more college coaches and to prepare with their club teammates for playoffs.

“If you want to get exposure and if you’re preparing for playoffs, then I would say Super Cup is way better,” Scobie said.

Benefits of playing on a Super Cup team

Regional and national tournaments

Broad range of scouts available for recruitment opportunities

Consistent workout patterns

Specialized training

design by julia campbell photos by evelyn geheb

stella

SOPHOMORE STELLA

KAUFMAN

dribbled toward the right corner of the field, took a small step back, and launched the soccer ball straight into the left corner of the net. She’d scored the last point of the East girls JV soccer season. Stella’s teammates cheered as she ran to the sideline, going right to her injured twin sister Preslei, who was sitting on the bench.

The Kaufmans have been playing soccer together since they were 4-years-old. From daily 90-minute practices to weekly team dinners and trips to Italy and Spain, they’re always together.

The pair’s positions — Stella as forward and Preslei on defense as a center and outside back — force them to occupy

preslei

opposite sides of the field at practices and games. But this doesn’t stop the twins from being a constant source of competition for each other.

“If we’re doing one-on-ones and I have to defend her and she wins, I get angry,” Preslei said. “If one of us has a really good game and the other doesn’t, one of us gets butthurt.”

Last year, the Kaufmans participated in four days of tryouts, consisting of mile-long runs, scrimmages, juggling and one-on-one drills. This was the most competitive they’d ever been with each other because they both wanted to make the best team possible.

On the last day, Stella and Preslei were both placed on the JV team. While unsurprised by the placement due to their similar skill levels, the two still wanted to one-up each other.

Being on the team together meant

having a permanent practice partner, but also constant critiques of one another. The criticism isn’t always well received, and the two often get frustrated with each other.

“Sometimes she’ll be in the mood, or I’ll be in a mood where we just want to fight,” Stella said. “But other days, we’re happy for each other in the long run because we’re happy to see each other succeed.”

Stella plays at the front of the field and has broken her shoulder twice and her wrist once. Preslei has clubfoot (a defect where your foot turns inward) and had a broken ankle for the majority of East’s season last year. Although Preslei couldn’t play, she came to all the games to support Stella.

“After I [get] hurt, she always makes sure I’m okay,” Stella said. “And after I score she always runs up to me or I’ll run to her. It’s never really a lonely sport.”

Two pairs of twins reflect on their experiences and impacts of playing the same sport on their relationship

FRESHMEN REESE AND

PERBECK

Brynlee Perbeck stood in front of a long mirror at their dance studio, practicing their choreography. Their expressions were fierce and their body language was tense.

The Perbecks were rehearsing their contemporary duet, an intense two-minute routine that uses bold movements to portray a rivalry onstage.

They’ve performed three jazz duets together, but this will be their first contemporary duet.

“We were both so nervous competing our duet for the first time,” Brynlee said. “But when we got on stage and finished it, I remember being so happy and feeling so proud of myself and Reese. And now we can experience this one together, which is special.”

Dancing since age 4, they started at St. Teresas, spent six years at Dancerz Unlimited and have trained at Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice for the past three. They’ve done jazz, tap, pointe, lyrical, hiphop and modern dance together.

With two-hour practices Monday through Thursday and five-hour practices on Sundays, they prepare for seven dances, including their contemporary duet, an eight-minute 100-person production piece and five smaller group dances. They’ve been prepping since August to perform the dances in March.

Last April, the twins tried out for the Lancer Dancers. Every night during the week-long process, they practiced for two hours straight, even using a long window as a mirror and moving their living room couch to give them space to practice.

“It was really hard because we had to learn from videos, but it all went well and we made it,” Reese said. “It was a really

fun night when we opened our phones and made JV.”

Now, juggling two dance teams and their first year of high school classes, the twins have minimal downtime. They get home at 3 p.m., immediately start on homework and go to dance at 4 p.m.. Since Brynlee and Reese take similar classes and have a similar workload, they help each other with their homework, chores and, of course, dance.

“I feel like not a lot of people can say they have someone that close to you that does the same thing,” Reese said. “That’s really special for us because dance is always something that brings us together. I know if we’re having a bad day or fighting, we go to dance and afterward we’re best friends again.”

design by libby marsh

photos by molly scott

stories by avni bansal

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

on staff on staff

Staffers share their plans for Valentine’s Day

“ AVERY ANDERSON SENIOR

[ME AND MY boyfriend] are probably just getting Chik-Fil-A and then going to the East basketball game to support our friends. I’m not typically a Valentine’s Day kind of person, but it’s a nice excuse to hang out with people I love.

“ EVELYN BAGLEY SOPHOMORE

I’M SO EXCITED because literally love dressing up cute with my friends. We’re bringing breakfast foods and wearing pajamas and I’m going to bring brownie donuts.

X’S O’S

not getting anything for your friends or signi cant other

xx not celebrating Valentine’s Day because you don’t have a partner xx deciding to go on a rst date

57% of Valentine’s Day gifts are owers

The do’s and don’ts of Valentine’s Day

oo getting your partner something special and love- lled

oo celebrating with friends if you don’t have a signi cant other

oo take advantage of the opportunity to confess your feelings

DayValentine’s statistics

71% of East students celebrate Valentine’s Day

35%

52% of Americans celebrated Valentine’s Day in 2024 of celebrators online shop for Valentine’s Day gifts

25%

of East students feel sad they don’t have a valentine

*stats from qlarant. com & instagram polls

by kai mcphail