The Harbinger Issue 13 2024-2025

MARCH 31, 2025 design by sophia brockmeier cover design by avery anderson cover art by francesca lorusso

political cartoon

sta list

EDITORS

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

DESIGNERS

Ben Bagby

Ashtyn Ingram

Ava Slocum

Tillie Paisner

SECTION EDITORS

EDITORIAL

Julia Campbell

NEWS

Clara Burdick

OPINION

Christopher Long

FEATURE

Miranda Liberda

A&E

Evelyn Bagley

SPORTS

Lucy Swope

PHOTO MENTORS

Francesca Lorusso

Mason Sajna

Molly Scott

STAFF

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sylvie DeGalan

Emery Engle

Anastasia Flower

since last issue

Catch up on events since issue 12

Evelyn Geheb

Vivien Glenski

Caroline Hoffman

Lexi Madden

Tyler Russell

Zac Russell

Simon Shawver

Ava Towner

Annie Trenkle

Molly McDermed

Lila Elwood

MULTIMEDIA STAFF

Emma Weidman

Mac Christian

Mason Sajna

WRITING

STAFF WRITERS

Caroline Beal

Vanessa Blades

Reese Dunham

Mary Gagen

Addy Newman

Mya Smith

Alex Harden

Jeremy George

COPY EDITORS

Emmerson Winfrey

Lucy Wolf

Michael Yi

Grace Pei

MARCH President Trump released les regarding the assassination of JFK LOCAL NATIONAL

MARCH 18 Tesla Cybertrucks were vandalized at a Tesla dealership 24

MARCH The annual senior “Assassins” water gun game began

MARCH The Royals had their opening game against the Cleveland Guardians

27

EQUIPMENT MANAGER

18

online update

Ellen Bowser Avni Bansal

ART EDITORS

Kai McPhail

Avery Foster

ASST. ART EDITOR

Francesca Lorusso

STAFF ARTISTS

Tillie Paisner

Preston Hooker

Bella Broce

MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Isabel Baldassaro

Lucy Stephens

ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Sydney Eck

Lyla Weeks

SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF

Adyson Cooper

ADS MANAGER

Michael Yi

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Reese Dunham

CONTEST COORDINATORS

Sophia Brockmeier

Addie Clark

20

MARCH President Trump signed an executive order to downsize the Department of Education

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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 by addie clark

story by avni bansal

gallery of the girls soccer jamboree

feature

a math cadet teacher

art by kai mcphail

for: 8 against: 3

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.

QUALITY QUANTITY OVER

IThe Kansas Board of Education lengthening the school year won’t improve education

T’S THIRD GRADE. You’re sitting at your desk, surrounded by bright posters outlining the spelling list for the week and the differences between “their,” “they’re” and “there.” The classroom is hot, not just poor-air conditioning hot — Kansas summer-humidity hot.

That’s because it’s July, and you and your 10-year-old classmates are suffering through year-round school.

While this may, admittedly, be a slight exaggeration, it’s not entirely out of the conversation for the Kansas Board of Education.

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson has recently been urging the Kansas Board of Education to extend the school year by full days, rather than just adding minutes to each day.

A horrifying concept for all kids K-12.

Watson argued adding days onto the school year — by eliminating days from breaks and ending the school year later — would ultimately make up for poor literacy rates and the educational deficit in younger grade levels created by COVID-19.

Watson even went as far as to say he would be in support of year-round school — a notion that won’t go anywhere. Yet summer-lovers needn’t worry yet, as no official actions have been made to enforce this.

But he has a point, education is an issue in our country. According to Think Impact, 62% of fourth grade children in Kansas aren’t reading at their grade level.

Extending the school year, however, isn’t the answer.

While propper education is crucial for the development of all children, so are breaks — time for personal exploration and prolonged periods of reduced stress.

Kansas law requires school years to consist of either 186 days or 1,116 hours in the year. Currently, schools are reaching this requirement by adding minutes onto each day rather than whole days. Watson claims this is useless and those minutes should be repositioned to add up to entire extra days as it’s easier to get more out of whole days than extra minutes.

Among Watson’s proposals was an abstract proposal laying out half-day summer school for children in June and July. These classes would

apply to students in kindergarten through third grade as a way to make up for lost COVID-19 time and get kids back on track. But kids don’t need more time in school, they need effective uses of the time already allotted to them.

And the only grades truly affected by COVID-19 are kindergarten through fifth grade — there’s no reason to make everyone suffer.

The Chartered College of Teaching says more school doesn’t necessarily correlate with better understanding for students. Instead, an efficient and effective method of teaching yields much more positive results than prolonged days or school years.

This means cutting out busy work for older grade levels — bye, bye crossword puzzles for new biology words — and potentially implementing more small group work time for younger grades. This would allow students to get more out of their limited in-class time.

And other states are proof of this.

Kansas has an average of a 181 day school year and is currently ranked 14th in the U.S. for education, according to the National Center for Education Statistics and Think Impact. Additionally, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Hampshire are ranked top three and all have 180 day school years. These numbers show there’s truly no correlation between school year length and test scores.

While other states may have different resources or conditions that allow them to perform higher, we have the same amount of in-school time as states ranking higher than us, meaning we, in theory, have the ability to be every bit as good as them.

Not a single state has above an average of a 185 day school year — it’s simply not part of our culture to be in school that long. Every kid strives for their 3-month ”Phineas-and-Ferb”style vacation where they don’t have to even think about school, let alone attend it.

But the numbers aren’t the only reason longer school years would be detrimental. Kids simply need time to discover who they are without having to worry about grades and tests all year long.

Plus, breaks in the summer and throughout the year are crucial for social development among small children. It’s difficult to form

Countries with the longest vs. shortest school hours alongside their nation’s literacy rates

relationships with other kids while working on silent reading time at school. Better Speech argues social and emotional development helps produce well-rounded, secure and confident children ready to learn.

While school does help with socialization, it’s important for kids to practice these skills in a real-world environment where these interactions are not facilitated for them through group projects and assigned seating. There’s no better time to exercise real social bonding than in their plentiful free-time.

Yes, there are issues with low literacy rates and poor academic performance in the U.S. today. Yes, we need to come together as a people to address the education of our children. But no, we’re not going to solve these issues by adding a few extra days onto the school year or throughout the summer.

Allow children to be children outside of their current school time and tinker with the time they do have in school to most benefit them.

99.35% (as of 2019) 5 hours (as of 2019) school days school days school days

According to macrotrends.net, worldpopulationreview.com, entempo.co

design by julia campbell art by francesca lorusso

news

OVER SPRING BREAK, four private study pods were installed in the SM East library to provide a space for students to work.

Talks of adding private workspaces have been discussed for the past three years. The study pods are called “Privacy Pods” and are able to reduce noise.

The development of the pods was mainly funded by the East Fund, a group that gives monetary grants to support SM East, paid for by donors.

Feedback for the newly added work spaces has been positive with both students and staff. Librarian Jenny Robinson has observed students coming into the library throughout the day just to try out the new pods.

Sophomore Lauren Power used

study pods target boycotts

AFTER TARGET REMOVED

many of its DEI-related initiatives in January, citizens across the country have opted to boycott their stores.

Target’s official statement states several diversity initiatives are being removed: “diversity-focused surveys,” Racial Equity Action and Change Initiatives and DEI goals.

Students who are participating in the boycott, like senior EJ Henley,

Four private study pods have been installed in the library

the pods with her friend.

“I really liked them,” Power said. “They were really quiet, cause the [library’s] air conditioner kind of bothers me.”

Associate Principal Kristoffer Barikmo claims the pods have been full every hour he’s visited them.

“I’ve seen groups of students collaborating [and] students just needing a quiet space,” Barikmo said.

The pods were also implemented to aid in testing by providing a quiet environment.

“We also need opportunities for people to take accommodated tests in a quiet setting. And so if a group of students need a test read aloud, they can go into one of those pods with a special ed teacher or paraeducator, and they don’t disturb the library then,” Barikmo said.

The spaces have also been helpful to teachers like debate teacher Trey Witt who have been able to use the spaces for his classes.

“I like it, especially for what I teach because kids need places to spread out,” Witt said.

Senior Mallory Wilkerson is an ambassador for the East Fund and is glad the spaces can provide a quiet environment after headphones were banned.

“A lot of people, especially in my class, were complaining about [noise] taking away their concentration as seminars can get a little loud,” Wilkerson said. “So it’s great that there’s more of a quiet place to work now.”

Target stores are being boycotted after they removed their DEI initiatives

believe it’s a hard decision to boycott Target since the store is widely accessible.

“It’s a difficult conversation to have cause it’s a place that, unfortunately for a lot of people, is a good, cheap option that’s a little bit more reliable than places like Walmart,” Henley said.

Henley believes the company is hypocritical and guilty of pandering

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

signed an executive order on March 1, declaring English as the official language of the United States.

The implementation of this order relates to members in the SM East community for whom English is their second

Chinese teacher HauIn Lau. She believes that the order is acceptable if it doesn’t impede on the importance of other languages and cultures in

to minorities by marketing towards the LGBTQ+ community and then pulling DEI initiatives.

“Especially since [Target] acted like [they] cared about minorities for a really, really long time and then [they’re] pulling it just because some people are kind of getting a little pissy,” Henley said.

An executive order was signed to make English the official language of the U.S.

“At the same time, we need to have an open mind about learning about different culture and learning different languages,” Lau said.

The order cites the main reason for the change is because historical documents, such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, were written in English.

It was also implemented to promote the U.S. as “a shared home” for citizens, aid in the exchange of diverse ideas, lead to more economic opportunity by speaking English and help integrate immigrants into the community.

The executive order nullifies an order signed in 2000, which required

government agencies and those who were recipients of federal money to translate documents to those who couldn’t speak English.

According to the United States Census Bureau, over a fifth of the nation speaks a language other than English.

Freshman Giacomo Grotto was born in Italy and Italian is his first language. Grotto fears the executive order could lead to rights being taken away from non-native English speakers.

“I think it’s just not right,” Grotto said. “I’m kind of of worried we’re not gonna have a lot of freedom anymore.”

LANCER

VOICES

Giving the Lancer community a voice

Q: How do you feel about the new library cubicles?

A: I think the library cubicles are a very good addition to the library. The library is a popular place at East, and I think that they’re especially good for students to get their homework done because they are soundproof, and if people ever need to take important calls or meetings it will help keep the library quiet. I feel like we still have just as much furniture and stuff in the sitting space, if they were any smaller they would be kind of uncomfortable.

Q: How do you feel about the new library cubicles?

A: Mr. Barikmo is the one that’s in charge of it. He was looking for ways, since you guys aren’t allowed in the conference room anymore without an adult, to have a little meeting space for you guys to use without having an adult. So, he started looking at them last fall.

photos by simon shawver & zac russell

by katie cook

MATH EXTINCTION

THEN-JUNIOR ANNA Ravis

was just one of 13 people to take the IB Higher Level two-year math class — a class that will be unavailable to any SM East students next year. Although the class is challenging according to Ravis, the now-senior recognizes the value of this unique course.

IB HL Math is a math track offered to students who take Honors Precalculus as sophomores and consists of parts of Calculus 1 and 2 as well as some differential equations and statistics. It is a two-year course, with HL 1 offered to juniors and HL 2 offered as a continuation for seniors.

The only option for IB juniors now is Standard Level 2 — a class available to those who either took SL 1 or Honors Precalculus the year prior.

“Along with SL, it’s the only math class in the school where you have to do an internal assessment and write a paper in math,” Ravis said. “That’s a pretty unique opportunity that not many other math classes get to experience. It’s gonna prepare me well for college as I’m covering a very broad range of topics within math.”

IB HL Math 1 and 2 will be unavailable for any students to enroll next year at SM East. These changes can limit opportunities for high-achieving students, according to Christopher Burrows, AP Calculus BC and

former IB HL 1 Math teacher.

“Those classes provide opportunities for students, not only in regards to what colleges they can get into but what scholarship opportunities are provided to them,” Burrows said.

In 2021, Indian Hills began requiring incoming seventh graders to take math placement tests in sixth grade to take Algebra 1 in seventh grade, and the impacts of this requirement are beginning to hit SM East — only [number] sophomores are currently enrolled in Honors Precalculus.

AP Calculus BC — Calculus 1 and 2 combined — is offered to juniors who completed Honors Precalculus, similarly to IB HL. Students who take BC as juniors have the opportunity to take Honors Calculus 3 and Differential Equations their senior year.

According to Ravis, only three students signed up for HL 1 last year, causing the school to phase out this math track, although she wishes they would continue to offer it.

“I think [the school] should continue to offer it because it’s a great class,” Ravis said. “While it is challenging, it has taught me a lot.”

Burrows adds that after these changes were made, his math classes were condensed, creating one large BC class rather than two smaller BC classes — this year his BC class is 28 students, compared to 24 in one class last year and [number] split between two

NUMBERS

The amount of students who’ve taken Calculus 3 and IB HL2 Math in past years

All higher-level math classes will be impacted by a lack of enrollment in prerequisite classes story by ellen bowser 3 10 15 13 7 4 10 11

classes the year before.

Before last year, Calculus BC was typically two smaller classes, allowing both for more flexibility for students to fit the class into their schedule and for one-on-one time with their teacher, according to Burrows.

“I would have to assume that a smaller enrollment in the class would make the class easier for students,” Burrows said. “They get a chance to interact with the teacher more and get their questions answered. A larger enrollment seems more like a lecture hall.”

There are even possibilities Calculus 3 and Differential Equations — the math track after Calculus BC — will be discontinued in the coming years due to the small number of students with prerequisites to take these classes. This upsets Calculus 3 and Differential Equations student senior Clayton Weaver.

“[Calculus 3] might not be as essential as Calc AB or BC, but it’s a very important class, especially for people going into math-related fields,” Weaver said. “Doing something like Calc 3 is a really core class and you’re going to have to go through it again, so having that preparation makes a huge difference.”

In fact, SM East is the only school in the district that offers Calculus 3 and Differential Equations, causing one SM West senior to travel to SM East for the class this year.

The few students that do test into Algebra 1 in middle school must travel to SM East during the first hour to take Honors Geometry, which is no longer offered at the middle school.

Sophomore Molly Chaffee is currently taking Honors Precalculus and was one of the few students who traveled to SM East two years ago to take Honors Geometry. Now, only around seven students on her track remain in the advanced track taking Honors Precalculus.

“[Taking Geometry] was definitely difficult because it made my school day longer because I had to go first period at 7:40 a.m.,” Chaffee said. “That made my school day 7:40 a.m. to 3:45 p.m..”

For now, students who take Calculus BC as juniors will only have the option to take Honors Calculus 3 and Differential Equations if they choose to pursue this rigorous math track, meaning that any IB Diploma students will be unable to pursue the high-level track unless they use their elective slot to take Calculus 3.

“

BEING AT A college like Northwestern where everyone is smart having taken [Calc 3] put me ahead everyone else. It’s really unfortunate that it could be taken away because there are so many students at [SM] East that are a year behind in math than when I was there and in terms of preparedness for college it’s going to have consequences.

photo

ELLA YUN EAST ALUMNA

organize performers for students, such as SM West Ritmo Latino dance group, but it has yet to be determined.

The MCSU has been preparing to showcase cultures from Brazil to Japan since early February and began to work on their stands during seminar in March. The fair has been mainly organized by the students, according to MCSU sponsor Samantha Feinberg.

“A lot of people assume that our school is a lot more homogenous than it actually is,” Feinberg said. “We have people of all kinds of backgrounds at this school. So giving people an opportunity and a platform to highlight their uniqueness and educate the general population of our building about who’s here is really important.”

The fair will follow last year’s structure, with each grade rotating through the gym to view the cultural stands organized along the walls during seminar. However, due to the increase in the number of stands, the fair will now be held in the main gym rather than the auxiliary gym.

It may still be crowded in the gym, according to MCSU President Jamie Wilborn, but students will still see stands with tri-fold posters, pictures, decorations, food and other interactive details to learn more about students with different backgrounds in the

plans to use the stand as a way to share personal experiences about visiting India.

“A lot of the people at our school kind of have one view of the world, and it’s important to have knowledge that there are other perspectives and cultures, and other ideas around the world,” Durgavathi said.

Durgavathi is a returning participant, but there are over 20 new stand leaders who are running the fair for the first time. Freshman Bella Thompson is one of those new participants. She joined the MCSU after her friend recommended it.

Thompson is a second-generation Cuban-American who grew up hearing stories from her grandfather about his enduring experiences immigrating from Cuba. When she learned about the fair, Thompson decided to use the platform to represent her culture.

“Cuba is recognized by the media for being a communist country and just not having the best government, but I want to recognize the culture, things like dance and music that people don’t think a lot about,” Thompson said.

Wilborn has been working to assist newcomers like Thompson with their stands through one-on-one checkins and setting up seminar workshops for stand decorations. According to Feinberg, Wilborn also played a large

design by kai mcphail photos by vivien glenski

art by avery foster

ONE SCHOOL ONE SCHOOL COUNTRIES, 40

The Multicultural Fair is being hosted again this year with new leadership and twice the amount of cultures represented

story by luciana mendy

role in increasing the number of stands due to her extensive recruitment — reaching out to any students who would be open to participating.

This is Wilborn’s first year as president, but she originally got involved in the MCSU during the fair last year.

Wilborn is filling the shoes of former MCSU co-presidents, alumni Katie Murphy and John Mendy, who started the MCSU and organized the first fair last spring as seniors. The fair was the first event celebrating cultural diversity at the school in over 20 years, and according to Feinberg, it received a lot of positive feedback.

“There’s definitely pressure,” Wilborn said. “This year I’ve been trying to delegate the work, but I’m definitely someone who’s pretty independent, so it’s been a bit difficult for me. With last year’s fair especially, it’s been just a lot of pressure to make sure that everything works out this year.”

Although the fair this year will follow the same structure as the previous fair, there will be new information and cultures for students to explore. According to Murphy, the fair is an event that can be repeated annually because there’s always more to learn.

“TRAVEL” & TASTE

DRIED MANGO & TASTE

Cultural foods that will be featured at the Multicultural Fair this year

LUMPIA (FILIPINO)

A unique, thin roll, often compared to egg rolls, filled with ground meat and vegetables and then fried.

“Even if it’s the same person running a stand for the same culture, there’s so many interesting things about all kinds of different cultures,” Murphy said. “There’s already 40 stands, like you can’t fit everything about your culture into, like, one stand in the first place. So it’s definitely not like a one-and-done type event.”

(GAMBIA)

Originally from Asia, dried mango has become a Gambian staple, often eaten with salt and pepper.

COCADAS (PANAMA)

A traditional coconut confectionery found all over the world but particularly popular in Latin America.

design by clara burdick

AIRLINE SHIFT

Southwest changed many of its policies with charging for checked bags and assigning seats being the main concerns

AFTER NEARLY 60 YEARS of free seating and a “bags fly free policy,” Southwest Airlines made the decision on March 11 to change these policies for any tickets purchased after May 28.

These policy changes affect everything from their reward system to tickets for flights being added to third-party websites — changes that have already taken effect. However, the biggest changes were implementing assigned seating and fees for checked bags. This has caused students and alumni to reconsider their flying options.

I FLEW HOME from Kansas City to Maryland, and I was flying Southwest, and a woman had saved 12 seats, she’d saved four rows

ABI LIMBIRD

EAST ALUM

Anyone flying Southwest has been able to check up to two bags under 50 lbs. free of charge since the airline was founded. Now, only A-list preferred — the highest tier as a Rapid Rewards member, that’s earned through points — or business select members will be offered this service, according to an article from Southwest, outlining the changes.

East-alum Abi Limbird sees this as a cash grab. Limbird attends the University of Maryland and has to fly home and back every break — already having flown three times this year — and almost always uses Southwest. This new policy is making her rethink her airline choices.

“I need to check a bag because I’m so far away for school, but having to pay for that every single time is gonna accumulate and really add up,” Limbird said. “So I’m peeving about that, but because I really only fly Southwest, I don’t know what the bag policies for other airlines are.”

The airline also changed its longstanding free-seating policy. In the past, Southwest has been first come, first serve with who checks into the flight first in regards to seating. It was based on their assigned A, B, or C boarding groups, further broken down by numbers 1-60, which tell what order passengers board to pick seats. The airline will now assign seats on all flights starting in the second half of this year.

It will be structured similarly to other airlines, with passengers who don’t belong to their Rapid Rewards program being charged a fee to select seats or randomly assigned one the day before the flight for no charge.

rap id re wards

a loyalty program where members earn points by flying Southwest, spending on Southwest credit cards and through partnerships with other companies, which can then be redeemed for flights, hotels and other rewards

They also introduced premium seats, which A-list preferred members can upgrade to for no additional costs. Regular A-list — The second-highest Rapid Rewards member tier — members can select their seat free of cost and can upgrade to premium seats for

free 48 hours before take-off if any are still available.

The new preferred seating will take up around 1/3 of the seats on the plane, but no other adjustments will be made to the planes’ designs, according to Lynn Lusford, the Southwest Airlines spokesperson.

“Customers will see refreshed cabins that carry through with our existing design themes,” Lusford said. “The boarding experience will be modified from our longtime A, B or C groups to smaller groups that will make it easier to board more logically in an assigned seating environment.”

Limbird believes this change will make the boarding process easier.

“I flew home from Kansas City to Maryland, and I was flying Southwest, and a woman had saved 12 seats — she’d saved four rows,” Limbird said. “It was causing a pile-up. And it was pretty far back, so people had already passed up spots in the front because they thought they saw all those spots in the back. But she was like ‘no, I’m saving these sorry,’”

The airline explains that its goal is to increase profits as well as retain loyal customers while simultaneously attracting new ones with these changes.

The changes from these recent updates have shown promising results, according to Lusford.

“As you might have seen, we recently opened our flight listings to outside

companies such as Expedia and Google Flights, which exposed us to potential customers who might not otherwise have visited the Southwest website,” Lusford said. “Early results from those moves are promising.”

SKY HIGH PIVOT BAGGAGE FEES

Here are a few of the changes being made to the Southwest airline

- Southwest will begin charging for checked bags

-Select passengers such as rapid rewards members will still receive at least one free checked bag

ASSIGNED SEATS

- All seats will be assigned - You can pay for a premium seat that will offer a more leg room

RAPID REWARDS

- Points rewarded to rewards members will be adjusted

story by emmerson winfrey

37% of Americans fall asleep with the TV on

hot take

story

by

Dconnor vogel

The Ocean is more dangerous than people realize and should be approached cautiously

URING SPRING BREAK, most people imagine themselves in a tropical paradise sipping drinks by the beach and working on their tan. While it’s easy to romanticize the idea of pristine beaches and endless open water, the ocean is far more dangerous and, frankly, not that pleasant.

The blue waves may seem inviting on a sunny day, but the sea is an unpredictable force of nature. Those same waves you swim in can rise without warning, dragging you under rough currents,

Not to mention the creatures lurking beneath the surface — including jellyfish, sharks or just the terrifying unknown in the 95% we have yet to explore.

On top of that, the ocean is increasingly contaminated, making it far less attractive. People have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but pollution is a plague that impacts the entire ocean.

Toxic waste, oil spills and even sewage can find their way into the water. The idea of lounging by the ocean, only to be met with trash, is enough to

Senior Macy Garwood thinks that “Gossip Girl” is the best show ever

art by avery foster

And don’t even get me started on the millions of fish that use the ocean as their own personal porta potty. This disgusting thought may not have occurred to you before now, but it will never be ignored again and certainly keeps me out of the water.

While the ocean certainly plays a vital role in regulating our climate and supporting aquatic life and ecosystems, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a contaminated and unpredictable environment that deserves contempt more than any appreciation.

comic strip

art by preston hooker

90% of studies found that screen use leads to decreased sleep

*Instagram poll of

1

Harbinger staffer ranks gas stations 2 3 sta ranking

With a sea of parking spaces, gas re ll stations and a store comparable to Walmart, Buc-ee’s has soared into the minds of road-trippers as the dream gas station.

Taking a close second place, QuikTrip’s loyalists have helped maintain its status as the second best gas station. Whether you feel like a slushy or a breakfast sandwich, QuikTrip offers quality without sacri cing covenience.

With its innovative, fresh selection of carryaway snacks, Love’s red-and-yellow-heart-branded items offer a step aay from main stream brands that any vending machine could offer.

take our polls

Follow the Harbinger on social media to participate in our polls @smeharbinger @smeharbinger @smeharbinger

*Instagram poll of 261 votes

RIGHT RIGHT CHOICE

Applying to one college can take away the stress of applications and give you more time to enjoy senior year

CONNOR’S TAKE

filled out dozens of applications and wrote a different essay for almost every single college, I had already received my acceptance letter. I was able to sit back and breathe while they lost sleep over pro/con lists.

Knowing where you want to go to school isn’t unusual. Most of the people I know applied to college with a single school in mind before they even finished all of the applications. I only filled out one application, not having to deal with schools requiring additional essays, questions and application requirements. I also didn’t have to worry about retaking my ACT, signing up for the SAT that other

schools require or pay numerous application fees that add up over time.

After talking with several current and former students at Mizzou, while admittedly biased years.

I might miss out on some opportunities for classes and programs available at other schools, but the benefits of getting scholarships specifically for the

I’VE NEVER BEEN a decisive person.

What color shirt do I want? I like them all. What time do I want to meet? Up to you. What do you want for dinner? I’m down for anything.

So, when it came time to apply to colleges, I was no different. I applied to a combined total of 10 colleges both instate and out-of-state. I couldn’t ignore the “just in case” voice in the back of my head that forced me to spam the “Add a college” button on the Common App. Even though most of my friends only

com mon app

A non-pro t membership organization representing more than 1,100 diverse institutions.

applied to one or two colleges, expanding my options outside of just one “dream school” provided me with locations

Applying to multiple colleges opens up perspective and gives choices to students

and programs I wouldn’t have explored without keeping an open mind.

I plan on majoring in English, which didn’t narrow down my college choice at all , given almost every college in the U.S. has an English program. So, I pressed submit for all of the applications I crafted — why not? The Common App already has all the colleges listed for easy access.

Now, I don’t feel stressed about my decision because I don’t have just “one shot” to get into college. If one door closes, another is bound to open.

If I didn’t keep an open mind, I wouldn’t have even applied to my current top choice. After my acceptance, I took the time to further research the school ambiance and the English program. I found out this college has the perfect work-life balance for me and a stunning campus.

You don’t realize how many

opportunities you miss when you limit yourself. Even if the acceptance rate is lower, just apply. You have nothing to lose — except maybe the 50 bucks it took to apply.

apply to more colleges, but I think of my education as an investment of my money and time. Seeing education as one of my top priorities, I didn’t hesitate to spend a few more dollars applying to schools.

choose, college applications are going to be stressful. It’s just a fact. But don’t make it harder for yourself by limiting your options. A college you never considered might just become your home for the next four years.

WORTH THE

story by addie moore

IF I WERE asked about the hardest class I’ve taken in high school, I would say International Baccalaureate Biology with Stephanie Valencia. And if you asked me what my all-time favorite class was, I’d give you the same answer.

I’d spend hours on the verge of tears stressing myself out before each unit test — but I’d still do it all again.

Taking hard classes isn’t only beneficial academically but is also 10 times more enjoyable than wasting your time scrolling mindlessly on your phone after finishing a short assignment in an easier class. Challenging yourself is more rewarding and teaches you the value of hard work.

Being successful after working hard is much more rewarding than just getting a good grade. Going to Panera Bread at 6 a.m. to cram before a test — although not fun in the moment — makes you feel more accomplished than breezing through busy work for completion points.

Think about it — looking back at all of the courses you’ve taken, which ones stand out?

You aren’t going to remember playing 2048 Cupcakes in the back corner of your history class after the assignment only took you five minutes. But you will remember the feeling of opening Canvas and seeing you got a 93% on a test you were sure you were going to fail.

Would you rather get a 100% on a regular chemistry test you didn’t have to

BUILDING

CHALLENGE

Taking more challenging classes is more fun and beneficial than sliding through easier courses

try for, or finally complete the titrations lab after a week of meeting with your Honors Chemistry teacher after school?

Harder classes hold you accountable. If you don’t show up and turn your assignments in on time, you can kiss your straight A’s goodbye. Anyone’s capable of taking hard classes if they’re willing to put in the work. You’re motivated to keep up and actually understand the material, or else your grade will suffer. In a Harbinger Instagram poll of 325 people, 66% of students said they attend their harder classes more often than electives or other easy courses.

My junior year, I struggled to get up in the mornings on odd days. I could find the lessons and assignments for my first hour class on Canvas, so why even bother making it there on time if I can do it at home? If I don’t show up to class I can easily get it done later. But on even days I popped out of my bed the second my alarm went off. Not only because I couldn’t miss the content in IB Biology — because I wanted to be there.

The perk of challenging

SKILLS

Skills Addie learned by taking IB Biology

WORK ETHIC

yourself is that not many people do. I wouldn’t have survived if my IB Biology class had more than 25 students, but the 17 of us were able to create a strong relationship with each other and our teacher.

Frankly, the main reason I did well in that class was because of the community. Yes, we had one of the basic group chats where we sent homework answers and panicked when someone asked when the next test was, but it went much deeper than that.

Our Instagram account — @bio. ib.baddies — helped my classmates and I really lean into the curriculum. Whether it’s photoshoots with a botched pig heart postdissection or an obituary for a dead snail in our isolated environment, we turned a

If you procrastinate in classes like this you’re instantly lost

STUDYING

I would do study groups for about 10 hours before every unit test PERSEVERANCE

The feeling after completing a unit you thought was impossible is unmatched COMMUNITY

On test days when our scores were posted at the beginning of sixth hour, we would all find each other in the hallway, compare scores, then rush to Valencia’s room to immediately do corrections — whether someone got a 56% or a 98%, we would do whatever we could to improve. That’s commitment.

I know I sound like a nerd — but that’s the point. The more you lean into the nerdier side of things, the more fun you’ll have.

I would’ve given up at semester if I didn’t make friends to trauma bond over homework with

MARCH 31, 2025

DRIVEN

TO

OPINION

There should be more awareness around distracted driving, considering Kansas had the second-most distracted driving deaths in the country in 2024

DISTRACTION

story by lucy stephens

COLD AIR RUSHED

out of my 2007 Lexus GS300 air vents onto my clammy face. I sat with near-perfect posture in my grey leather driver’s seat, white-knuckling the black steering wheel.

The temperature was nearing triple digits, the sun was shining through my sunroof and I was on the way to my lifeguard job. I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket from various apps, but nothing — not even a text from my friend or a call from my mom — could take my eyes off the road.

Normally, I’d quickly open my friend’s Snapchat while driving down Mission Road or pick up my phone to change a song on Spotify. But after my childhood best friend died after being involved in a distracted driving car accident, it was time for me to recognize the seriousness of driving.

But it shouldn’t have taken the death of the girl I played Barbies with in preschool for me to be attentive on the road.

We are all told in Driver’s Ed not to text and drive but at some point it becomes normalized to pick up your phone at a stoplight. I’ve definitely seen my parents and friends responding to a “quick” text while stopping for thirty seconds.

Distracted driving is a prevalent issue and there must be more awareness surrounding the topic. Especially in Kansas.

Based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Kansas has the second-most fatal distracted driving accidents in the country, with 110 in 2024.

And, my friend and her family were involved in one of those 110 accidents.

On June 10, my friend and her three family members were on their way to Warrensburg, Missouri for a family trip. They were stopped at a stop sign when a truck drifted from an adjacent highway, becoming partially airborne before T-boning their SUV.

Two of the four passengers in the car were killed on site, and my friend and her sister were airlifted to a nearby hospital. My 16-yearold friend was pronounced dead two days later, but the other 16-year-old truck driver walked away from the scene with minor injuries and no charges.

He told the Missouri highway patrol he fell asleep at the wheel.

After hearing this, I was outraged. How could someone legally licensed to drive a vehicle fall asleep while behind the

wheel?

Sure, I can drift off while learning the pH scale in AP Chemistry, but not when going 70 miles per hour down the highway.

While sleepiness isn’t what comes to mind when thinking about distracted driving, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimated that there’s 328,000 drowsy driving crashes annually. My driver’s ed instructor told me not to text, eat or call at the wheel, much less take a nap.

Not to mention, driving drowsy can have the same effects as driving drunk. The National Safety Council reported that driving after going more than 20 hours without sleep can have the same effects as driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%.

Driving with a BAC of 0.08 could result in a DUI in the state of Kansas.

However, the people driving without any sleep won’t get jail time like they would for a DUI.

Texting and driving accidents are even more common, and the “don’t text and drive” law is there for a reason. I bet most of us can admit to checking a message or plugging in directions at the wheel — myself included.

While it may

seem like you just take five seconds to read a message or send a Snap, at 55 mph the NHTSA reported it’s the same as traveling the length of a football field blindfolded. And that’s just five seconds.

Every state — no matter what — should at least have some sort of law regulating handheld devices in the car.

“

IF YOU HAVE a license, you should never drive distracted. Anything from eating a snack to watching a TikTok can wait until you arrive at your destination. No text is ever more important than someone’s life.

I would never wish for someone to lose someone they love in a car crash, but trust me, if it happens to you, you’ll also be more attentive on the road. So next time you get a simple notification, ask yourself if checking it is really worth the risk.

REACT

Effects of various distractions on response time

design by evelyn bagley photo by lila elwood

LIT

PARTY

AP Literature and Composition teacher Dr. Amy Andersen held her annual class donut and movie party to celebrate her students finishing their senior papers

ABOVE Senior Mary Gagen shows her senior paper to Dr. Andersen for advice. Gagen wrote her paper on feminism in literature.

Seniors Poppy Root and Emmy Barrett work on their eight-page-long papers.

“During class I read through my paper one last time, printed it, and finally turned it in,” Barrett said. “It was such a relief because we had been working on it all semester and Dr. Andersen gave me a high-five”

Krispy Kreme donuts sit on seniors’ desks as they finalize their senior papers. Final copies of their printed papers were due on Thursday, March 13 by 3 p.m.

ABOVE

photo by clara peters

photo by ava towner

RIGHT

photo by molly scott

35% of East students participate in spring cleaning

meet the international club

Meet some of the members of International Club

CATE

GALLAGHER

PRESIDENT

FRANCESCA

LORUSSO

TREASURER

about the club

LAUREN GANTT

KATE

COFFLAND

TREASURER

MARGO LEWIS

SECRETARY

The benefits of annual spring cleaning, according to clevelandclinic.org reduces stress and anxiety enhances focus and productivity boosts mood & energy gives a sense of renewal

1 day until April Fools’ Day

The club has been around over 25 years and was founded to help with fees for exchange students and to introduce them to the school International Club usually meets every third Wednesday after school

The club’s fundraiser, the Lobster Sale, has been around for decades and usually happens in September

Mrs. Emily Lopez now sponsors the club after Ms. Brenda Fishman retired

this week in photos

BELOW Seniors Georgia Wikoff and Maggie Condon dissect sheep hearts in Anatomy 1. photo by francesca lorusso

BELOW Junior Tatum Anderson shows the guinea pig to kindergartners in the environmental education class. photo by annie trenkle

RIGHT Junior August Chapman shows a hedgehog to the visting kindergartners in the environmental education class. photo by anastasia

design by miranda liberda

design by lucy swope

photo by sylvie degalan

THE REVIEWER REVIEWER

story by christopher long

WHEN THENSOPHOMORE Anna

Ravis walked into social studies teacher Robert Bickers’ room for her first AP Microeconomics class, her attention was immediately drawn to his expansive LEGO collection.

Ravis was captivated by the classroom walls neatly lined with LEGO battleships, colosseums and cathedrals — all fitting for a history and economics teacher.

Only they weren’t real LEGOs.

Bickers acquired each piece by reviewing LEGO imitations on the product-reviewing subdivision of Amazon, Amazon Vine.

“I feel like he would like to help other people decide what to buy and just help other people in general,” Ravis said. “He’s very interested in the economy, and I could see that [reviewing] definitely helps someone know what they should spend their money on.”

Bickers began reviewing over seven years ago. He was extremely dissatisfied after reading “Aloha Betrayed” by Noe Noe K Silva, a short book on Hawaiian history and ethnography that he bought on Amazon.

Wanting to ensure that no one purchased the book, Bickers visited Amazon’s website and wrote multiple agitated paragraphs followed by a two-star review.

Later that day, Bickers received an email from Amazon asking if he was interested in their review program, Amazon Vine.

Certain the email was a scam, Bickers searched for a reason why Amazon would reach out to him. He noticed that because 49 people found his review helpful, he was offered a reviewing position.

Economics teacher Robert Bickers spends his spare time reviewing Amazon products

Bickers knew this was a unique opportunity, so he clicked the link in the email, answered several questions and digitally signed his name to confirm his contract with Vine — in exchange for a free product, he must leave a review in order to continue getting products.

“I’ve relied on reviews of things to make decisions,” Bickers said. “And so I figure, if I can help other people with that, why not?”

Although Bickers gets to keep the products he reviews, it doesn’t come without a catch.

Since each item is considered “payment” in exchange for a review, at the end of each year, Bickers has to pay income taxes on those products.

After his first reviewing year, Bickers’ wife, Elisa Bickers, asked him to review fewer items and be more selective about picking products that will be useful long term.

Along with the taxes, Bickers must meet his quota of reviewing 60% of all items received from Vine per six months.

Currently, he logs on to Vine’s website whenever he has spare time and skims through over 76,000 different products with the ability to review up to eight per day.

“Sometimes you get something, it just doesn’t work or it has little actual usefulness or just doesn’t match up with the description at all,” Bickers said. “I do try to be polite in the wording but saying basically ‘this is junk and no one should pay for this.’”

For Bickers, Vine has offered an opportunity to get hold of LEGOs for his hobby without their steep retail price.

Through Vine, he’s discovered off-brand alternatives to LEGO such as Jie-Star, a

Chinese brand that specializes in specific sets that are popular amongst LEGO collectors or gobrick, a Korean company that makes highquality bricks but doesn’t sell sets.

“Once the initial luster of ‘Oh, look at all the stuff I’m getting’ wore off, I started looking for stuff that is actually useful,” Bickers said. “But, I did not expect [reviewing] to lead me to over 100 fake LEGO sets.”

Even though Vine’s convenient way to receive LEGO-like products has only been available to Bickers in the last seven years, he’s been collecting LEGOs since he was in college.

Bickers’ newfound interest surrounding LEGO alternatives has become a talking point with fellow LEGO enthusiast and business teacher Jessica Krievins.

“He’s always like, ‘Hey, come see this, I just put something new up in my room,’” Krievins said. “We’ve kind of talked about how he could use LEGOs in class for econ lessons, so sometimes it’s educational.”

Even before Bickers shared he was moonlighting as a reviewer in his free time, Krievins always knew his personality was aligned with wanting to aid others with their purchases.

review,” Krievins said. “He knows the brands that make the good bricks and the ones that have the good instructions.”

Although Krievins prefers real LEGOs, she appreciates Bickers’ many alternatives to LEGOS that he has discovered since taking up reviewing.

Bickers, however, refuses to purchase something from LEGO if he can find an alternative on Vine.

“It does take care of some of my need for retail therapy,” Bickers said. “Instead of spending $150 on something, I can find something on Vine to kind of scratch that itch that will cost me $20 instead.”

She explained that Bickers is always up on the current and best LEGO alternatives and enjoys sharing them with fellow LEGO collectors such as herself.

“When we talk, he’s like a walking

PAWSITIVE

IMPACT

Senior Alex Shrock spends his free time volunteering at KC Pet Project, where he helps care for dogs

story by mya smith

OVERANALYZING

EVERY

MOVE

with trembling hands, senior Alex Shrock cautiously scooped up a timid puppy from its cage. It was his first day volunteering at Kansas City Pet Project, and Alex was terrified of messing something, anything up.

“I was worried I was gonna drop a dog or flood a room,” Alex said. “It’s really not possible, but I was concerned that I was gonna destroy everything.”

Contrary to Alex’s expectation that he would drastically mess up, all of the volunteers and managers at KC Pet Project made his first day enjoyable by welcoming him into the community and teaching him how to get dogs out of their shell.

“The people there are all really nice,” Alex said .“It’s a really fun community. They do a lot of community events like fun runs, bar crawls, things like that, that you can volunteer at. Sometimes people bring in treats for volunteers, which is always fun. It’s just a positive place.”

Alex originally needed to rack up more service hours, since he needed 15 hours per semester for National Honors Society. Brainstorming ideas

with his dad, they landed on KC Pet Project because his dad had heard about it from his students. Just a few weeks after, Alex was at the hour and a half long orientation for new volunteers.

For as long as Alex can remember, he and his brother, Willan Shrock have been close. When Alex started volunteering, Willan could easily notice that it was something Alex loved.

“He [ Alex ] loves dogs,” Willan said.“ It’s a great way for him to play with dogs and get service hours while doing so.”

But Alex never expected to be spending his Saturday mornings with puppies instead of his friends. Alex does many things like holding puppies, feeding dogs, cleaning up kennels and making treats for the puppies and interacting and playing with shy dogs.

“Puppies can’t be set onto normal floors because their immune systems aren’t fully developed,” Alex said. “So when they get their kennels cleaned, you either have to put them in a space that has been deep cleaned, which takes about 10 minutes or you have somebody in a sterile gown and gloves who just holds them, which is what I do.”

Alex’s love for animals has always been a defining part of his personality, growing up taking care of his two mutts, Ziggy and Floyd, and planning to major in marine biology. Alex was thrilled he would get to help more animals, especially puppies.

Besides assisting out with small chores around the campus, and bearing with the smell of wet puppies, Alex finds the most happiness when helping puppies that have come from a household that was unable to take care of them, or puppies who may not have had a home at all.

In October, a few months after Alex started volunteering, he met a dog that would show him why he loves volunteering. Gulliver, one of the first puppies that Alex helped, was timid and frail, and had no interest in interacting with any of the other volunteers or puppies.

“By the time that I left that day, which was probably three or four hours later, he was barking and running

Three main things new volunteers must do at their orientation day at KC Pet Project

design by ben bagby photo courtesy of alex shrock

design & copy by miranda liberda photos by molly scott

Melinda

Melinda DiGirolamo has not only been recognized for the All-Star Teacher Award, but also for her outfits

DiGirolamo

Q: How long have you been teaching for?

“I’ve been a teacher my whole career besides taking off here and there to take care of my kids when they were very young. I am coming up on 30 years of teaching. I have been at Shawnee Mission East for 13 years and have been ever since.”

Q: What do you do outside of school?

“So I have been the school’s National Honors Society sponsor since I started working at East. The job opened just as I became a teacher here, but I also work part time for my friend who owns a business called Casey Cocktail Company and she does a lot of venues and events.”

Q:

What’s your role as National Honors Society sponsor?

We work in the summer to get the next year’s candidates invited. We will go through periods where it’s super busy and then it slows down. We’re headed into a busy time because we’re gonna do a service project in April to support Ronald McDonald house. I would say the biggest aspect of being the sponsor is overseeing induction, where we have the new candidates become inducted into our chapter.

Q:

Who’s your biggest style inspiration?

“I’ve always loved style and I’ve always liked to put out ts together. I love to shop high-end brands like YSL to something as simple as Walmart. I have two daughters who are close in age they’re 18 and 20. I oftentimes look to them and say “hey, does this look okay?” and often times we share clothes so I would say they inspire me.”

The All-Star Award

Presented at the district board meeting, the All-Star Award is way to shed light to SMSD team members

DiGirolamo was the rst out of three honorees

Presented during the superintendent’s part of the board meeting

Embodies the mission of SMSD by serving learners and our community with excellence

Goes to a team member that goes above and beyond to ensure all students achieve their personal best

WONDER THE

WOMEN

The lunch ladies go through a lot of preparation before serving lunch while acting as a friendly face for students

THE SEEMINGLY 20-foot line stretched to the cafeteria entrance doors as students waited for their hard-earned chocolate cake, pizza slice or dumplings. On the other side of the counter, food service assistant Norrol Smith hovered above the steam wells, quickly scooping fried rice into paper boats as students picked them up and placed them on their trays.

“I’ve got my nose in a steam well, trying to dish out food as fast as I can,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of times I don’t get to say ‘Hi’ to some people or see them, even. It can be very hectic.”

Two days earlier, head of the kitchen bakery Kristina Santa Maria, converted a one-cake recipe provided by the school district to make five chocolate cakes. Combining the ingredients that kitchen manager Connie Sprague-Stiers had ordered a week earlier, Santa Maria made the batter and baked them for an hour.

After making the frosting the next day, she spent two hours frosting and cutting the cakes — the whole process spanning three days — for what she and her coworkers call “cake week.”

But the lunch ladies don’t only prepare, clean and cook. All seven of them are friendly faces to the

like late deliveries or an understaffed lunchroom compared to previous years.

Many of the students favor certain check-out lines after connecting with a familiar lunch lady.

Sophomore Ella Lewis encourages Santa Maria by telling her she’s doing a great job, and junior Militza Almoney calls SpragueStiers her “lunch lady friend.”

Sophomore Christian Tippie exchanges conversations with Smith about her kids or their plans for the weekend.

“These ladies are positive every time I see them,” Tippie said. “They’re always smiling or laughing or something. Seeing that, it brightens up my day a little bit.”

However, students often blame the lunch ladies when a food item they want is out of stock, according to Almoney, due to delivery issues. In several instances where deliveries from Pizza Hut had been late, the lunch ladies served their backup pizza, kept in their freezer known as “Big Charlie.” But, according to Sprague-Stiers, students don’t usually like the backup pizza as much.

food and cleans the steam wells. Joanna Clark, head of the salad department, wipes down the registers while they all pitch in to wash the dishes.

“We’re all cross-trained so we can do everything in the kitchen,” Sprague-Stiers said. “So if somebody’s not here, somebody else can go over to another department and help out.”

There were 12 people on SM East’s kitchen staff when Smith started working here nine years ago. After COVID-19, their numbers decreased dramatically, making it necessary for the pizza to become self-serviced and have less lunch ladies supervising areas.

As a big help, the custodians work closely with them, whether the oven has broken down, there’s a spill in the lunchroom or they need to clean up in between lunches.

offered with similar amounts of the same items.

we’ll cook in between lines,” Sprague-Stiers said. “We’ll grab more of a product out, and make sure it’s ready for the other [lunch]. So we have to do it in a hustle, but we can do it.”

“It’s completely out of my control, where something will happen on [Pizza Hut’s] end, where they don’t get a dough delivery, and if they don’t get a dough delivery, we won’t get pizza at all,” Sprague-Stiers said.

After beginning the day at 6:30 a.m., the lunch ladies stay until 2 p.m. to finish their duties. Sprague-Stiers records money deposits and how much food was served and left over. Smith puts away the leftover

“I came to the school district with the mentality that a nice, clean, fixed environment is the best environment for teachers to teach in and students to learn in,” Custodial-Building Manager Chris Garrett said.

It’s most challenging for Smith and Sprague-Stiers to determine how much food to make between lunches, taking into account many factors, such as students’ preferences that lead to leftover food or not enough.

After first and second lunch, head cook Anna Paredes takes inventory of the remaining food, ensuring each lunch is

Having been at SM East for two years, SpragueStiers has become familiar with students’ preferences. She’s learned to expect student orders from knowing a student will get a cherry lemonade with a chocolate cookie to nicknaming another student “randomized guy,” because he would tell her to randomize whatever beverage or snack she gave him.

“We get the kids when they’re at the happiest of the day,” Sprague-Stiers said. “You know, everybody’s happy to go to lunch. It’s a fun time. It’s their favorite subject.” AT THE BEGINNING of the year [the students] won’t look at me, and at the end of the year they say ‘hi.’

PATTIE PURINTON WORKED AT EAST FOR 9 YEARS

A few of the lunch ladies respond to an interview question

IT’S REALLY NEAT to see [the kids] come out of their shell, especially the introverted ones.

CONNIE SPRAGUE-STIERS

12 YEARS AS A LUNCH LADY

design by bella broce photos by will griffith

story by grace pei

concerts coming soon

local spotlight

TUCKED BEHIND A bland strip mall on the corner of Metcalf Ave. and W 103rd St., Tous les Jours — meaning every day in French — seemed like any other mundane café with dozens of vacant tables and little-to-no line. However, as I made my way through the doors inside, my face lit up. In front of me was an impressive display case, reaching from the front door back to the kitchen of the café, full of freshly baked sweet and savory goods.

Unlike the aforementioned cookie-cutter, bland cafès, customers swarmed the shop. The interior held multiple tables, a padded bench and chairs. The side wall had a description of the bakery’s bread selection, and baskets of sweets lined the other wall. The soft lighting paired with the huge windows bringing in natural light and the cedar wood with the bright orange hue made for a homey vibe.

I was overwhelmed and excited by the spread of pastries in the sizable case. In front of the pastry case were trays, already lined with parchment paper, and tongs for convenience to serve customers.

I decided on a vanilla cream donut, garlic sausage block, strawberry croissant and a chocolate

design by evelyn bagley

10348 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66212

The $3.50 vanilla cream doughnut was topped with an adorable chocolate piece that said “Tous les Jours.” This deep-fried fluffy doughnut had a rich cream that mixed well with the doughnut. The glaze on the outside was just the right amount of sweet, and the overload of vanilla cream made my mouth water.

To balance my pallet, I tried the $3.75 garlic sausage block. The mozzarella cheese and garlic cream flavor hit me immediately. The sausage was well-cooked and added to the melted mozzarella cheese.

The next pastry I tried was the strawberry croissant. The croissant was flawlessly baked, and the delicate crispy layers inside were placed evenly with the whipped cream throughout the treat. Three strawberries lined the top making for an Instagramworthy picture and a delectable snack.

And to end my meal, I had a $4.15 chocolate croissant. Half of it was dipped in creamy chocolate and topped with almond pieces. The chocolate added the sweet taste and smooth consistency the croissant needed, and the touch of almond added a crunch.

Tous les Jours made for a delicious breakfast treat, and if I could I would come every single day.

Tous les Jours has over 150 breakfast pleasures and a unique way to serve yourself

story by addy newman

ABOVE Sugar coated donuts stuffed with vanilla cream and chocolate lables placed on top.

Golden brown croissant filled with fluffy whipped cream and delicantly topped with fresh stawberry slices.

Rows of sweet and savory pasteries line the shelves inside the case in the cafe.

design

by

libby marsh photos

by

evelyn geheb

THE HARBINGER

MARCH MELTDOWN

MCDONALD’S, HOME OF the infamous Shamrock Shake, was my first stop on the green drink tour, and to avoid a lengthy essay, let’s just say I was disappointed

The Shake, according to the McDonald’s website, features vanilla soft serve, corn syrup and a garnish of whipped cream swirled on top. I took my first sip of the electric green drink, and my initial, raw reaction was “ ew .”

It cost a whopping $5.03. McDonald’s is supposed to be the haven of $1 fries and burgers, not overpriced, sugary, melted ice cream. The Shamrock Shake could only be described as a melted key lime pie with an extra 25 pumps of sugary syrup topped off with a glob of overly-sweet whipped cream. The Shamrock Shake utterly failed at tasting like a key lime pie. If that wasn’t enough to make your stomach churn, the

story by sophia brockmeier

AFTER MY HARROWING experience at McDonald’s, I was ready for a redemption drink, and Sonic delivered. The Limeade Slush was everything I wanted and more — a strong flavor, refreshingly cool temperature and a delicious aftertaste.

It was my first time ordering at Sonic, and the old-school pull-up restaurant was a fun touch to the overall experience. Initially it was very sour, and I was scared it would be too much to finish the drink. However, the sourness became more addicting as I drank the Slush and became used to the taste. According to the Sonic website, the beverage is made with real, freshly squeezed limes. I don’t buy that Sonic is really using limes — there’s no way employees are in the back getting juice from the fruits.

The lime’s tart taste reminded me of Minute Maid Soft Frozen Lemonade cups that are usually found at zoos and carnivals. These lemonade cups are one of my favorite parts of summer, so Sonic’s Slush brought me right back to many nostalgic memories at the pool and Theater in the Park.

The Limeade drink is a must-try item at Sonic and an even better celebratory March

A review of three green, Marchthemed drinks from fast food restaurants

I CAN ALWAYS count on the Starbucks matcha to be a perfect drink for any moment — a morning pick-meup or an afternoon refresh. So when I saw that Starbucks had released an Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha for a limited time, I was ecstatic.

The presentation of a foamy, lavender-purple layer and classic matcha-green drink was flawless, but that’s about where the compliments end. The first sip was purely bubbly foam. Although I do enjoy the different texture and unique lavender taste, I wanted matcha — not bubbles.

So I kept on sipping to reach the matcha that I’ve grown to adore. Spoiler alert: it tasted like grass. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a strong grassy Starbucks matcha that isn’t pumped full of sweet syrup, but the Lavender Cream Matcha tasted like it was sourced straight from my backyard. This matcha was nothing like my tried-andtrue drink.

Already disappointed with the powerful taste, I was jarred by the color of the Lavender Cream Matcha. Instead of a classic dark green I was met with a disgusting shade of green-brown. If I’m going to be drinking grass water, Starbucks could at least not make it look like dirt.

The aesthetics and taste of the Lavender Cream Matcha

MMOST MEDIOCRE

OF THEM ALL

AGIC MIRROR ON the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

I can tell you it’s surely not the live-action remake of Snow White. The film, released on March 20, delivers a mediocre production and a whole lot of offset drama.

The remake follows the classic Snow White storyline — the evil queen, played by Gal Gadot, is jealous of her beautiful stepdaughter Snow White, played by Rachel Zegler, and attempts to kill her. After Snow White narrowly escapes the queen’s huntsman, the queen disguises herself as an old woman and brings Snow White a poisoned apple, knocking her into a coma that can only be broken by a true love’s kiss.

The original Disney film lacked the depth to Snow White’s backstory that was added in this film.

In the remake, both of Snow White’s parents passed away, leaving her in the custody of the evil queen.

After the initial casting, Zegler faced wildly unnecessary backlash for receiving the role as someone with Columbian-Polish heritage and darker skin. This eliminated the “fairest of them all” aspect in regards to skin color but also led critics to, ridiculously, suggest that she wasn’t fit for the role.

Accordingly, in this film Snow White’s name wasn’t inspired by the paleness of her skin — it was because she was born during a blizzard.

Zegler’s ethnicity has nothing to do with her ability to act or sing, and she is phenomenal at both.

Rather than just searching for her knight in shining armor, Snow White leads a rebellion against the evil queen. While this strays pretty far from the initial plot line, it was one of the few redeeming qualities of the

film, making for a much more action-packed movie and opposing gender stereotypes in a historically sexist storyline.

More progressive and inclusive changes were also made to the film, but four years of controversy — beginning with the casting — overpowered these improvements.

While I recognize the outdatedness of the original Snow White movie, it’s important to remember that it was made in the 1930s and is ultimately based on a children’s story written centuries ago.

Zegler faced even more backlash after making numerous criticisms of the original movie during interviews and on social media. She believes that the movie focuses too much on the love story, calling the prince a “stalker.” Public criticism of Zegler’s casting and the controversies surrounding the original movie itself only led to horrible box office sales.

Further drama was started over the idea of having actual people with dwarfism play the role of the seven dwarfs. Filmmakers opted to use CGI instead — which seemed to be the case with many details in the movie.

The empty Cinemark I went to was proof that these countless issues scared away audiences. No one pre-ordered tickets and there were maybe 20 other people in the movie theater, far less than expected from the opening week of a movie.

Empty movie theater and outside drama aside, the film was nothing astonishing. Especially for its $250 million budget.

After the first half hour of the movie, the character Snow White began to annoy me. Maybe it was the writing or Zegler’s acting, but her self-righteous personality and demeaning tone made me roll my eyes every time she lectured the group of bandits and dwarfs on the importance of “being good.”

A BAD FIRST

Disney’s remake of Snow White was underwhelming and overtaken by unnecessary controversy

story by libby marsh

What’s not “good” is the number of headaches induced by her various monologues on morals and apple pie. Thankfully, the love interest Johnathan, played by Andrew Burnap, was there to poke fun at her attitude and make it a little more bearable.

However, he wasn’t a prince, but rather a rebel bandit living in the forest. This was yet another change meant to frame the movie as more progressive. I appreciated this but then again Disney, at its core, is based around a princess being saved by a prince.

Sure, it’s a dated point of view but it’s also a fairytale , and what’s a fairytale without a knight in shining armor? The love interest could’ve had more depth without being changed to an entirely different character.

The dynamic between Zegler and Burnap made it very hard to believe that any sliver of a love story would save her. Minimal flirty banter and one dramatic love song later, the two were ready to be married, but their acting hardly showed it. Sparkly pink dust and slow-motion close-ups weren’t able to mask the lack of chemistry between the two.

Despite these various issues, the movie still managed to maintain some of the traditional Disney charm with adorable animals and stunning nature views. The dwarves were one of

my favorite parts of the movie with their sibling-like arguments, including witty remarks from Angry and Sleepy falling asleep at any given moment.

Gadot was another saving grace of this film and fit the role of the evil queen perfectly. She spoke in the commanding, possessive tone expected from an evil queen. And her makeup was on point with over the top eyeliner and black lipstick.

Even the charming dwarves and Gadot’s performance weren’t enough to save this movie. Ultimately, with the $250 million budget, amazing actors and the classic storyline of Snow White, I expected way more from this remake. But all I really got was Snow White and seven cases of too much drama.

Controversial comments made by Rachel Zegler about the new Snow White movie

1.

Zegler said the prince in the 1937 movie “literally stalks” Snow White

She said her version of Snow White wouldn’t spend her days “pining over a man” 3.

She referred to the 1937 version as “outdated”

PHOTOSTORY

design by caroline martucci

NOT

IT’S

ME IT’S YOU

Catherine,

at freshman

WilsonHead,

Thomas, as Thomas makes up excuses during their breakup.

“I get really upset and steal his guitar and then I have that for the rest of show,” Scruggs said.

ABOVE Props from the show sit on a restaurant table after the performance. “It’s Not You, It’s Me” was one of twelve studentdirected performances and the last Frequent Friday of the school year. Oligmueller began preparations on Feb. 11, four weeks before the show. “We start planning and finding our scripts our junior year, and then we start actually performing them senior year,” Oligmueller said. “The energy of the cast was really cool, because they all kind of knew each other beforehand. In between rehearsing, they would just be cracking jokes and messing around, and it was really funny.”

photo by francesca lorusso

Senior Lucy Oligmueller directed the performance of “It’s Not You, It’s Me” in room 208 after school on Thursday, March 13

ABOVE Senior Lucy Oligmueller gives her director’s speech to the audience before the performance, where she thanked her teachers, parents and cast. “I was very nervous for [the director’s speech] especially. don’t like public speaking, and my hands were shaking the whole time was doing it,” Oligmueller said. “I added a little something in mine about my grandma because she passed this year, and that was really hard for me. She had been to all of my stuff, so the fact that she couldn’t be there was kind of sad for me, so I just thanked her at the end.”

photo by francesca lorusso

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ABOVE Freshman Salem Wilson-Head sticks their head through a square window, challenging the actors in the scene to not react when making loud noises. Students did this during a mock run-through to help prevent the actors from reacting to loud noises made by the audience.

photo by molly scott

LEFT

Sophomores Lila Scruggs, Bella

BenevidesBowley, Ella Valverde, Maggie Myers, Becca Whalen and freshman

Salem WilsonHead bow to the audience after finishing the Frequent Friday.

photo by molly mcdermed

RIGHT

Sophomore

Lila Scruggs, who plays the main character

looks

Salem

who plays

photo by annie trenkle

photostory

JUMPING THE SHARK

A PAINLESS WATCH

“Novocaine” is a humorous attempt at a superhero thriller movie story by isabel

IMAGINE BEING SHOT, stabbed by an arrow and a knife, beaten and then burned.

Oh, and getting your fingernails ripped off by pliers and your hand completely torn off the bone, hanging solely by skin. The catch — you don’t feel any of it.

The action and thriller movie “Novcaine,” released on March 14, tells the story of Nathan — Nate — Caine, an assistant bank manager. Nate suffers from congenital analgesia, a disease in which an individual is born with the inability to feel pain.

Growing up, Nate was held back from sports and other activities to avoid the risk of life-threatening injuries he couldn’t feel. This created the introverted and awkward personality he carries into his adult life.

Though I understand the commitment to safety from injury, Novocaine was often unrealistic and over-exaggerated.

The opening montage walks viewers through Nate’s daily routine at work, avoiding every hot surface and pointy piece of furniture with tennis balls cut to cover sharp corners.

A bit much if you ask me.

After successfully avoiding all things “risky,” Nate finds himself swooning over his employee, Sherry Margrave, who he’s been eyeing across the office for months.

Sherry is the epitome of any movie girl in her early twenties just trying to keep her office job — witty, pretty and, of course, late to her work meeting.

While the romance entertained me, it often made me grimace from the constant cringy scenes.

One of Sherry’s first quotes is something along the lines of “Sorry for being late, am I going to lose my job?” followed by a pouty face that made me bury my face under my sweatshirt.

Another movie attempting to make a boss-employee relationship feel fun and not weird at all. Wow, I’ve never seen that in a movie before.

The two go out for lunch and are met by one of Nate’s childhood bullies. It’s here that the nickname “Novocaine” is revealed, a name given to Nate growing up when kids could beat him up without him feeling it.

One cringy scene where Nate reveals his book-obsessed nerdy boy personality at his house with Sherry, and now the pair decide they are obsessed with each other. So realistic.

That is, until Sherry is taken by a group of thieves as a “hostage” in a massive robbery and shooting at the bank where they work, which left many, including Nate, injured, if not dead. Immediately, I’m nothing but confused.

Hoping to save his 24-hour-lover, Nate has to chase after her. He may be left beat up and bloody after the attack — but you know, he’s fine.

Between stealing a cop car and enduring an uncomfortable amount of injuries, Nate somehow makes it to Sherry’s location. While I always love action movies, the constant bloody scenes made this one repetitive. However, the ongoing seemingly painful attacks that Nate couldn’t feel added a humorous element to the movie. Like when he purposely burns his hand in hot oil, but acts as if nothing happened.

The whole movie is basically a montage of gory action scenes and a measly attempt at a superhero movie. What certainly didn’t help — the random side characters. Between calling a random friend to come help for maybe thirty minutes of the movie and the killing scenes that took up 75% of the movie, the movie felt dragged on and random at times.

It was easy to expect what happened next, and was so unrealistic that even people in the movie theater were loudly expressing their confusion with loud “Ews.” Nate gets probably every bone in his body broken and has at least three open wounds at the end of the movie, yet he can still get up and fight a jacked bad guy?

I’m no doctor, but come on. I have to give it to the directors, the movie plot of a unique superhero was creative. But it was hard to appreciate the creative element when so many random events took place. For instance, we find out one of the characters is essentially a psycho who was plotting against Nate the whole time.

This whirlwind of a movie was fun to watch solely for its humorous gore and unrealistic romance that made me both giggle and raise an eyebrow at times.

Examples of times “Novocaine” exaggerated the drama and was overly unrealistic

1.

2. patched up a bullet wound with glue leaves open wounds bleeding for hours on end

3.

used an AED de brillator to shock another person and the other guy feels little effect

design by addie moore

photo from imdb

baldassaro

1 day until the varsity boys tennis duel

perfect bracket tracker

ESPN’s track of perfect brackets left in the men’s March Madness tournament

CATHERINE SULLIVAN SOPHOMORE

I USUALLY DON’T do well because I don’t follow the teams during the normal season. But this year, I’m rst in my family’s bracket, which is crazy because I kind of picked random teams. I had a perfect bracket for a while but it’s so hard to keep those up.

upcoming events mark your calendars

1

is the Varisty Boys Golf Invitational

Girls varsity soccer plays against St. Aquinas, Lee’s Summit North and Sion in a tournament

8

4 GIRLS SOCCER TBD @Aquinas SOFTBALL 4 p.m. @SMAC

10APR.

BOYS TENNIS 8 a.m. @ Baldwin

14APR. GIRLS SWIM

photo by emma weidman LEFT Sophomore Coco Reiser gets boxed out by an SM South player trying to get the rebound on a free throw.

RIGHT Senior

in an attempt to score a goal.

Eudora’s goalie caught the ball.

BOTTOM RIGHT Freshman Henley Ganz runs down her opponent as she approaches St. James’ goal.

photo by anastasia ower

photo by addie clark SCAN ME SCHEDULE

Take

TOP

Violet Striker shoots the ball

THE HARBINGER design by ashtyn

photo

by

ingram

mary gagen

MOHR

HISTORY HISTORY

story by mary gagen

GO SYL! Every single one of senior Sylvia MohrSting’s matches start with her dad Ian Morhmann shouting these words. And her final match, competing for fifth place, at the Kansas State High School Activities Association state tournament began no differently.

MohrSting began her warm-up, just like always — ten matches early, by herself in a corner of the gymnasium. She gets herself in the zone as she jogs and stretches while preparing for her match, repeatedly visualizing her success, hitting her shots and taking her opponent down, until it’s time to approach the mat.

“I always tell myself that I’m going to win,” MohrSting said. “There was never a thought that I was going to lose that match.”

She founded the girls program with current teammate and best friend, senior Abi Contreras in their freshman year, 2021. MohrSting was the first female wrestler from East to qualify for the state tournament. And she completed her wrestling career as the fifth in the state — the first girls state placer in East history.

The match began with hand fighting and shots — both approaches used to try to take down the opponent in order

to gain points — for the majority of the first two periods, which are two minutes each. Points are given for controlling her opponent on the ground. MohrSting defended a shot in the second period and earned three points.

In the third period, her opponent attempted to hit another shot. MohrSting defended it and stayed on top of her opponent. To win the match, she had to stay on top and ride out — control her opponent, preventing an escape or reversal — for a minute.

Finally, the whistle blew to signal the end of the match. Her dad embraced her, eyes brimming with tears.

“I was just so excited for her,” Mohrmann said. “She set out with these goals in mind — competing, starting something that was very intimidating and walking into a wrestling room with no one else before her — to accomplish her goals.”

This match secured MohrSting’s title as first girls wrestler in SM East history to place at the state tournament — her third time setting a precedent for the girls wrestling program — earning fifth place.

“Oh my gosh,” MohrSting said. “I did it.”

According to MohrSting, self-talk is the most important part of the sport.

Senior Sylvia MohrSting is the first girls wrestler to qualify for and place at the state tournament

She attributes much of her growth to her self-talk over the years, which is a large part of her warm-up routine. While she did have success in her first two years of competing, her senior year proved the most statistically successful of all, with her winning over 40 matches and being ranked in the top six 140-pound girls in the state for the majority of the season.

“I think she’s the gold standard for East wrestling, for boys and girls,” Girls coach Tanner Laird said. “Not because of her accomplishments, but her character, her work ethic and her personality.”

According to Laird, MohrSting and sport.

“She shines in everything that she does,” Contreras said. “She taught me a lot. I learned some sort of work ethic from being her friend.”

Laird believes that MohrSting and Contreras have both become an integral part of the program and will leave a long-lasting impression. According to Laird, MohrSting’s sustained joyous demeanor, work ethic and encouragement pushes the team to grow as a whole.

“There’s not enough ink to put on the pages to talk about how great Sylvia is,” Laird said.

Each and every teammate, coach

Stats based on MohrSting’s state wrestling competition

CONTINUING THE LEGACY

IT WAS A typical night after dinner when SM East parent Monica Mallory was sitting at the kitchen table, anxiously waiting for her son, freshman Mark Mallory, to get home. Varsity lacrosse cuts were being made that night.

Around 8:30 p.m., Monica got the ping of an incoming text, then flipped her phone over to see a message from Mark.

“I MADE VARSITY!”

Then, around an hour and a half of waiting, Mark arrived home, pulling out his jersey with the number “29” on the back.

“It felt like all my hard work had paid off,” Mark said. “I was super excited to be playing with some older kids on another level of lacrosse.”

In SM East lacrosse, the number 29 is handed down yearly to a freshman who has shown incredible talent and a strong work ethic in tryouts, according to former number 29 and sophomore Ben Bagby. The jersey recipient is passed down each year by the former number 29.

Ben knew going into this season he’d have to decide the next number 29 of four freshmen on the team — Mark, James McLarty, Thomas Vanice and Mac Christian.

Ben had gotten to know Mark through their shared lacrosse club, Prairie Village Outlaws, the past four years. Ben had only briefly talked to him at games but had often seen Mark training and staying after practices for over an hour to do extra work for years.

“He’s always in the weight room, always shooting,” Ben said. “You can tell he’s put a lot of time into lacrosse, and not just time, but a lot of focus and practice. He’s intense about it. He’s focused and he’s a great leader to the younger guys. I expect he’s had a great start to the season this year, [and] I think he has a super bright future.”

Mark Mallory is one of the four freshmen on the varsity lacrosse team and was passed on the jersey number 29 story by reese dunham

Mark has been playing lacrosse since fifth grade — a later start than most other players who start around second to third grade. Because of this, he dedicated large amounts of time to conditioning so he wouldn’t fall behind the more experienced players, according to Monica.

During last year’s club season on the Outlaws, Mark’s practice was canceled due to a large storm. Even though it was pouring rain outside, Mark begged his mom to take him and his brother to Indian Hills Middle School to get in over an hour and a half of shooting and passing practice.

“I remember this because then they got in my car, like wet dogs,” Monica said. “You can’t fault them for getting in the extra reps because they didn’t want to miss out on a day. In their mind, they were committed to playing some lacrosse. He was committed to getting some time in.”

According to Monica, Mark knew that making varsity was just the beginning of a larger commitment and that would only be a checkpoint in his high school lacrosse career.

“Even if I didn’t get that number, I would still go hard at practice and work for being on varsity because I know that’s a privilege,” Mark said.

James has been playing with Mark on the same club team for three years. Initially, James and Mark were more rivals than friends at practice, both finding each other annoying, according to Mark. Then after about two months, they grew out of their opposition and realized it would be better to cooperate, since then they’ve been able to form a bond.

“He’s really gritty,” James said. “He’s willing to do a lot of stuff that other guys aren’t really willing to do. He’ll be more physical than a lot of other guys, and as someone that’s played against him, it gets annoying.”

James remembers that after team

JERSEY TRADITION

Players that have received jersey number 29 in past seasons

scrimmages, when all the other players would leave and go out to eat in past club seasons, Mark always stayed behind, shooting and tossing the ball around, even if he was alone.

When Mark made varsity, he was eager to start the season and get to playing. He wants to treat the legacy of the players who have worn number 29 before him right by making sure he doesn’t disappoint the team or himself with his performance.

“Ever since I started playing Outlaws and went to my first SM East game, I had always looked up to those guys, and I wanted to come to more games and more games,” Mark said. “I knew since I started playing in fifth grade that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up.”

Hamilton Ben Bagby

design by sophia brockmeier

photos by paige bean

Jack

MARCH 31, 2025

bumpin’

The Boys Volleyball Club aims to create a fun environment for boys to play volleyball without the stress of a cut team

spiking

POPULARITY POPULARITY

Statistics about the growth of boys volleyball in the U.S., according to

PARTICIPATION GREW SINCE 2005 , FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS , by 10% in 2024 from 77,257 to 85,255 players boys volleyball has been the fastest growing high school team sport in the U.S. participation has nearly doubled

SPORTS

design by michael yi photo by molly mcdermed

AROUND

story by addy newman

FEET SHUFFLE ACROSS

the sand at Nall Avenue Church of Nazarene’s outdoor volleyball courts as a volleyball flies over the net after a powerful spike made by junior Jack Reeves. The six boys, all amateur volleyball players, on the other side of the net prepare for the next move, yelling to each other as the ball flies towards the ground.

Junior Mete Ozkan dives with his hands extended to stop the ball from hitting the sand. The ball is brought back up and junior Grant Kimmel spikes the ball back to the other side.

The ball plunges into the ground — Ozkan and Kimmel’s team have won the point.

“It just gets intense,” founder and junior Christan Shaw said, “It’s kind of like in [our] blood.”

The crowd of four friends goes wild while the song “Eye of the Tiger” blasts loudly from a speaker.

“It’s a lot of fun to score points and set people up on a spike,” Reeves said. “It’s a great atmosphere. Everyone loves it. [Everybody] always has a great time, and it gets competitive too. It’s just so fun.”

Back in the fall, Shaw and Kimmel came up with the idea of starting a club where boys could play volleyball without demanding practices and stressful tryouts.

“I feel like every other sport has a boys team at East and volleyball was the only one [that doesn’t],” Kimmel said. “I didn’t even know East had a [boys volleyball] team, to be honest. We were just like, it’d be a fun, cool sport to [make a club for].”

Just after Shaw and Kimmel came up with the idea, Reeves was added to a group chat for the club before it started. He was skeptical at first and wasn’t sure how many people would want to join. After more and more friends showed interest, Reeves helped

kick off the club by recruiting social studies teacher Alex Henton as their club sponsor and coordinating their meeting times.

“

VOLLEYBALL

IS KIND

of a lesser-played sport. think a lot of people want to learn how to play and just have fun. A lot of people do it in gym class and have fun with it, so [the founders] wanted to take it outside of school.

METE OZKAN JUNIOR

Ozkan isn’t a founder, but is at the club two to three times a month, attending the matches. After joining the team GroupMe and showing up to the courts for the first meet, Ozkan decided to continue attending. The funny comments made throughout the whole game, points being won with comedic celebrations and the overall camaraderie encouraged him to keep showing up.

“Volleyball is kind of a lesserplayed sport,” Ozkan said. “I think a lot of people want to learn how to play and just have fun. A lot of people do it in gym class and have fun with it, so [the founders] wanted to take it outside of school.”

The Club Fair, held on Dec. 3, gave them recognition. This helped the club recruit students who weren’t just juniors. After being able to connect with other grades, their GroupMe went up from their small group of friends to about 80 students.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of guys said they wanted to play volleyball,” Reeves said. “So we tried to make that a reality as much as we possibly could.”

Members usually meet about two to three times a month, and meeting lengths vary from one to two hours, depending on how much everyone

enjoys it.

At the first meeting, about 20 juniors showed up. The ball was knocked around jokingly, but quickly rivalries and competitiveness began to escalate.

“Sometimes it can get a little heated,” Reeves said. “I usually play against Ozkan and Kimmel. It’s a lot of fun, you get pretty riled up.”

The team captains, Kimmel and Shaw, chosen randomly, had picked the teams prior, trying to make them as even as possible by dividing the boys by skill level so one team didn’t dominate the other entirely.

Shouts from both sides brought immense competitiveness as the scores made their way closer to 25 for the win, and the scores were neck and neck the entire game.

Team leaders will send fun texts on team group chats to coordinate everyone to wear the same color shirt for their match. Now, more students from other grades have begun to show up.

Kimmel, Shaw and Reeves hope their club can start playing in one of the SM East gyms, and they plan on hosting a tournament with more members. They also aim to have school-wide tournaments with fundraising opportunities.

“ We’r e jus ta clu b that’ s tryin g t o have fun,” said Shaw. “The whole thing is so anyone can play, instead of having to try out or do something silly.”

SPRING BREAK

KEEPSAKES KEEPSAKES

CHARLOTTE

WISSEL

JUNIOR

DAVIS RACHEL

JUNIOR

East students re ect on their spring break experiences by sharing the souvenirs they collected

WHERE DID YOU VISIT? London &

“It was a book my dad would read me when I was little.” WHY IS IT SPECIAL?

WHERE DID YOU VISIT? Dominican Republic

SOUVENIR: Bracelet WHY IS IT SPECIAL?

“I bought it from a church who was raising money to buy an air conditioning unit.”

design by lyla weeks

photos by francesca lorruso & the hauberk