The Epic - Issue 3

the epic.

Students anonymously discuss cheating at West. pg. 15

PHOTO BY RACHEL HARVEY

8800 W. 85th St. Overland Park, KS November 13, 2014 Vol. 53- Issue 3

Table of Contents Read about the State Champion doubles tennis team pg. 21 Relive the Royals’ season on pg. 22 What’s “American Horror Story?” Find out on pg. 28

PHOTO BY KELSEA LILLA

Look at all the important dates for the next month pg. 6 Read all about students who have some really unusual pets on pg. 13 Learn about the Wilhoit quadruplets that go to school here pg. 18

Staff

“The Epic” is the newsmagazine of Shawnee Mission West, 8800 W. 85th St., Overland Park, KS 66212. It is produced by a staff of high school journalists dedicated to the principles of journalism: to present facts and occurrences truthfully and without bias. Articles of opinion or analysis are labeled and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and/or the publication.

In accordance with Kansas law, “The Epic” staff is entitled to freedom of the press. Neither the West administration nor the SMSD are responsible for any article, advertisement, photograph, illustration or opinion piece in “The Epic”.

“The Epic” encourages letters to the editor, but they must be signed and submitted to room 11. “The Epic” is published monthly. It is printed by the Sedalia Democrat and is distributed free of charge to students. For advertising information call (913) 993-7911.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

CARTOONIST

ADVISER

Max Meyer and Brock Burnett

Alex Ralston

Amy Morgan

ASSISTANT EDITOR

WRITERS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kristin Wells

Isaiah McKay Spence Lassalle Isabelle Frankel Jude Kennedy Colette Balas Karen Barkema

MANAGING EDITOR Drake Mattis

PHOTO EDITOR

Megan Bartlett Sylvia Bryan Kathleen Gartner Lexi Hart Samantha Jansen Logan Peterson

Gabi Chavez Merani Rivarola Maddy Shackelford Kamryn Marshall Grace Armenta Rian Stallbaumer

Nina Williams Maddie Loe Kelsea Lilla Brooke Loiacono Caleb Vering

Rachel Harvey

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Issue 3

Core Issue An opinion of the staff

CARTO

ON BY

JACK W ARNER

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initiative, is a national educational initiative that outlines what K-12 students should learn in school.

It has been adopted in 43 U.S. states and all six territories except Puerto Rico. Common Core was adopted in Kansas in the fall of 2010 and has been implemented in all public school districts since.

First of all, Common Core’s name contradicts what it actually allows states to do. The “Common Core State Standards” are not state standards, they are national standards put in place by the states.

This initiative has been criticized for its belief that basically all students should be taught the same things despite different levels and speeds of learning by different students.

We here at “The Epic” don’t really agree with this belief. We don’t think that all students should be taught and tested on the

November 13, 2014

same things because plain and simple, all students are different.

Individualized learning is something that should be a must in all schools across the country. Students shouldn’t be held back or pushed too far forward in terms of learning approach and style.

Something else that correlates with Common Core is all of the standardized testing that seems to be more of a hassle to deal with than it is a benefit.

There are some pros to all of this however. So far, it looks like Common Core has raised test scores more than NCLB, or the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 did. After about a decade, it miserably failed and never reached its intended goal of raising test scores across the country.

Don’t get us wrong, Common Core does have a lot of perks and upsides, but it seems to have more of a downside than it does positive assets.

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7420 Quivira Rd, Shawnee, KS 66216 (913) 538-6100

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Issue 2

OMG! It’s #AlexfromTarget !

Alex Lee, an average worker at Target with above average looks, became the subject of the media’s attention recently. A twitter user named Abbie tweeted a photo of Lee with the hashtag “#alexfromtarget”.

Things grew rapidly as Lee quickly gained internet fame. This fame even resulted in Lee meeting Ellen DeGeneres.

TOAST -your-

Phone!

The foaster is a prototype invention being funded on Kickstarter right now. It is a phone charger that can charge up to four phones at once. It charges iPhone 5’s, iPhone 6’s and Androids. Oh yeah, it is also shaped like a toaster. Charging your phone is as easy as putting bread in a toaster.

MINION MOVIE

A trailer recently released shows the lovable yellow minions from “Despicable Me” to have their own movie in July 2015.

November 13, 2014

Not #not, Not #hot, but

#Meh

1. Pencils with no eraser 2. Shoelaces with no aglets 3. Sweet Potato Fries 4. Research Papers

FF

R

O UN

B R I E F S

Elections for senator in Louisiana will be delayed until December. The runoff occured because none of the three candidates recieved 50% of the vote.

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NovemberDecember Sunday

monday

tuesday

wednesday

Thursday

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friday

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saturday

15 Clean your refrigerator day

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The Feast @ 5pm

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BREAK

Cyber Monday

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Band Concert @ 7pm

Orchestra Concert @ 7pm

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John F. Kennedy assassinated

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BREAK Thanksgiving

4 Early Release REP Theatre show

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

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BREAK Black Friday President’s Day

5 REP Theatre show

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6 Future Viking Fun Night @ 5pm

11 Choir Concert @ 7pm

Issue 3

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Categories Will Challenge Your Brain

By Colette Balas

Test yourself: a.) Name two countries that border only each other. b.) A sphere is inscribed within a cube. Figure out the ratio of the volume of the sphere to the volume of the cube. c.) Viggo Mortensen stars in the movie adaptation. In which of Cormac McCarthy’s novels do a man and his son travel through a post-apocalyptic wasteland to the sea before the man dies, leaving the boy to fend for himself? (answers at the bottom of the page)

Elaine Williams, Kathleen Landson and Kathryn Brown (left to right) practice for Categories.

Categories is club that tests everyday knowledge about various topics.

Categories welcomes all students who are interested in competing or just want to learn about new topics.

“Normally, the competitions end in about the first part of February, unless the students make the playoffs, then the season extends to the end of February into March,” Pamela Creed, sponsor, said.

There are four competitions in the playoffs.

The prize for winning first place is a trophy and TV recognition.

West has placed second twice in prior years.

The competitions are very similar to the TV game show “Jeopardy”. There is a panel where the students may pick the question type and point value.

“A week before every competition, we have a quiz off. There is a practice bank with questions and the five students with the most correct answers get to compete,” Creed said.

PHOTO BY RIAN STALLBAUMER

There is also one alternate available in case someone is unable to compete.

“I really like the competitions. They are like game shows and I like to compare it to Jeopardy,” Lexie Allen, junior, said.

The students that are not chosen to compete are encouraged to go the competitions and cheer on their team mates.

“We sit in what’s called a green room where we can watch what is going on live to cheer the students on and answer the questions ourselves,” Creed said.

Creed has been the sponsor of categories for four years.

“Ms. Creed motivated me to join categories, without a doubt. I am a SEEK student to begin with and she is an amazing teacher. She really makes the club something special. There is not a better person to sponsor the club,” Allen said.

The club meets every Monday in room 212 from 3:45 to 4:30. Competitions are held at the Indian Creek Technology Center. During the regular season, there are about four competi-

tions.

There are approximately 16 participants this year, however students are not required to participate in all of the meetings.

Categories competes against all of the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley high schools.

The questions range from current events to complex math problems. Students are only allowed ten seconds for the math problems and are not able to use paper.

“I like being quizzed over math. It’s the hardest because there is a 10 second time limit and you can’t use scratch paper,” Renny Ma, junior, said.

Ma grew up watching Categories at Indian Creek on TV. “It kind of amazed me when I came to West that something I saw on TV was actually a real activity that I could be a part of,” Ma said.

The categories team won their first competition against SM South.

a.) Dominican Republic/Haiti, or United Kingdom/Ireland b.) Pi to 6 c.) The Road

November 13, 2014

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@SMWjournalism 8

Issue 2

Expecto Patronum!

A new club pairs Harry Potter and volunteering

By Sami Jansen

Volunteering club, soon to be renamed Volunteer Vikings, was started last year by senior Rachel Harvey to make volunteering more accessible for students.

“Last year was our first year getting started, and we had a lot of interest in the group, but getting schedules together is difficult,” Harvey said, “so we were hoping to get this year started off strong.”

English teacher Annie Flurry, the sponsor for the volunteering club, said that Harvey felt there was a need for the school to have a volunteer club to make volunteering opportunities more accessible to students who want to better the community. They then began the process of creating a new club.

The first step was writing a proposal letter to principal Dr. Julie Crain.

Once Crain approved the letter, she set up a meeting with Harvey and Flurry to discuss the logistics of starting the new club. The first year was a trial run to plan out future projects and to see how much interest there was.

“Volunteer club is for anyone in the staff or students that has an interest in volunteering,” Flurry said.

The club currently consists of about 30 students ranging from freshmen to seniors.

“I’ve gotten many opportunities to help others. It makes me feel like a better person knowing that when I am volunteering I am making someone’s day a little easier,” Senior Katy Koepke said.

There are many ways joining volunteering club can benefit you.

Community service hours can be used on job applications, college applications, scholarships, and there are many awards (like the presidential award) that can be earned with a certain amount of community service hours.

“I think everyone has an inner desire to want to serve and better their community,” Harvey said.

Volunteering club is planning to accomplish many things this year.

They have cleaned up creeks in the past, and plan on bringing meals to the Ronald McDonald House. The volunteering club spent a day at a local Hen House selling pre-packed foods bags for Operation Breakthrough, an organization that cares for the needs of inner city families. These bags were provided by Hen House and Harvesters. They sold 56 bags and they are still selling.

“We are planning on doing a project soon where we live the lives of homeless teens for a day,” Koepke said. “It is to help raise awareness for homeless teens and I feel like the experience will really change me as a person.”

The volunteer club is currently working on a project with an organiza-

tion called the Harry Potter Alliance.

The H.P.A. takes ideas from the Harry Potter books and turns them into volunteer projects that help to solve problems in our community.

Over the summer The H.P.A. created a movement called Equality for the Win. During this movement, The H.P.A. got bands to create an album that supports social justice. They related the discrimination between muggles and wizards in the books to economic, educational, racial and sexual identity discrimination we experience in everyday life.

West is joining forces with the Harry Potter Alliance this fall in a fundraiser called Accio Books. Accio is the spell that summons an object from a distance; the idea of this project is to collect as many book donations as possible. The volunteers are divided into groups based on the houses in Harry Potter: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Their goal is to get more people to donate books to their house than any other house.

The collection boxes will be set out in early November and the end date will depend on how well the project goes but the estimated date is the beginning of December.

“The volunteer club this year is hoping to have a major influence on the community while having fun with their love of Harry Potter,” Harvey said.

and the Book Drive The Harry Potter Alliance makes volunteering more interesting by mixing it with elements of the Harry Potter Universe.

November 13, 2014

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Opinion

Passing the Torch An Opinion by Isaiah McKay

I

n middle school, you always heard about how exhilarating and big high school is.

While that is very much true there are so many things that people don’t tell you. You could say that I’m kind of an expert now (with me being a senior and all).

High school is truly a weird combination of unnecessary drama, clogged hallways, paper-thin patience, and hormonal teens. Each student walking into school carrying their own invisible baggage, yearning for the bed they were forced to get out of to get here on time.

Over my three years of being a student here, I have been submerged into a wide variety of situations forcing me to create a list of things I wish I would have known coming into high school. Let’s get started: 1. High school is NOTHING like you see on tv or in movies.

We’re all likely to relate what we see on a flat screen tv to what we (might) encounter in real-life situations. If you learned something in “Mean Girls”, I applaud you. Cliques that color coordinate their clothing based on the day of the week or friends who hang out just to “sabotage” their enemies are not a high school thing. Never have I seen a student get hit by a

bus, break their spinal cord and then show up to a school dance weeks later. I’m not saying that I didn’t quote “Mean Girls” for the next 10 years, all I’m saying is that it was not an accurate portrayal of high school. Bursting out into song every 30 minutes is arguably the most unrealistic thing to happen here, but thanks to “High School Musical”, we hoped for it. Without knowing what I would encounter during high school, I wish TV didn’t play to my often gullible nature.

2. Food is essential.

“Food is good, food is good.” Whether your mom packed it, you stuffed into your backpack or just decided to call for delivery, food is vital to your attitude and morale throughout the day.

If you’re hungry, you’re most likely not happy or cooperative. Focusing also becomes almost impossible with lack of food. You never want to be that kid who didn’t pack enough food and your stomach is letting you know about it (that was me).

3. Teachers have lives outside of school.

Teachers are here to teach. I had assumed that most teacher’s sole responsibility was to cater to my educational needs. For the most part that is true, but only in the 55 minute

class periods given. You can’t walk into class, pay little attention, then expect the teacher to reiterate the lesson to you the day before a big test - not going to happen. After a few attempts, one of my teachers told the class, “I have a life outside of school and kids, so don’t expect to respond to e-mail on Sunday night just because you didn’t pay close attention in class on Friday.”

4. You don’t have to be everyones friend.

While this remains a struggle to most students, one thing you must realize is that some personalities don’t merge well with other personalities. Therefore, you won’t always agree or even like many of the things one person says. In that case, you should just respectfully agree to disagree and continue with your life.

We are in each class for a total of four and a half LONG hours per week, so of course you are stuck with those whose accompany you may not enjoy. Best advice: Get over it.

Basically the point I’m trying to make is that in order to fully understand something, you must experience it for yourself. If you only focus on what others tell you or what you see, you won’t successfully feel comfortable and be prepared when trying new things.

Unemployed Tattoos An Opinion by Jude Kennedy

“Y

our body is a temple, so why not decorate the walls?”

Tattoos have been around for thousands of years. They are used in religion, culture, and to show strength. There are many types of tattoos.

New School tattoos have bright colors and bold lines. Asian style tattoos usually show Koi fish, cherry blossoms, Buddha and lotuses. Other tattoo styles are portraits, realistic and tribal, and many more.

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Everyday more and more young people are getting tattoos. This makes me think; should businesses be more lenient with tattoos?

According to statisticsbrain.com, over 36 % of people, ages 18 to 25, have at least one tattoo.

For me, when I turn eighteen, I plan on getting tattoos, and I don’t want my tattoos to limit my opportunity to get a job. Of course, businesses don’t really care if you have tattoos as long as they are obscured, but why? Does it make

people uncomfortable? Are they a distraction?

When I get my first tattoo, I know I want to show it off, and thats what I am going to do; Job regardless.

With more kids getting tattoos, I think the restriction of showing your tattoos, while on the job, should be eradicated completely. Something that I pay all that money to get, needs to be shown off.

Issue 3

Opinion

Quite Frankly An Opinion by Isabelle Frankel If you would’ve asked 14 year old me what a feminist was I probably would’ve described a man-hating, bra-burning radical who thinks women should rule the world. Since then I have learned what feminism is really about, but many others still think these misconceptions are true.

I recently learned the real definition of feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men.”

Since my eyes were opened to the social injustices in our world today, I haven’t looked at anything the same. It doesn’t take much to just turn on your tv and see how women are treated by the media. I see a commercial for something as random as a Texas BBQ Thickburger from Hardees that shows Hannah Ferguson and Paris Hilton in bikinis cleaning a car and eating this burger. Hardee’s is blatantly using women’s bodies to sell their food and it’s dehumanizing and disrespectful to women.

Could they not have found some better way to make people want to eat their food? I mean, who doesn’t love the Subway commercials

where the people fight over who likes avocados the best? People justify these offensive ads by claiming “sex sells.” I think this is untrue though. If sex really sold there would be advertisements in women’s magazines of half naked guys trying to sell lotion or something, because women buy products too. But there aren’t. Instead there are advertisements of half naked girls in women’s magazines. Things like this create a mindset that women have to look a certain way to please men and need to constantly compete with other women.

Another social norm that bothers me is the double standard between the sexes.If you’re a woman your worth is constantly being determined by your private life. Women who have a lot of sex or have had a lot of boyfriends are ridiculed and called sluts or whores. Men who have a lot of sex or have a lot of girlfriends are praised by their friends. Think about Barney Stinson from “How I Met Your Mother”. Now think about what it would be like if Barney was a woman. She would be ostracized by her friends and labeled as worthless.

I think that in order for there to be change in society there needs to be widespread support.

A lot of women are reluctant to call themselves feminist due to fear of being accused of radically hating men. If people want these negative stereotypes to stop they have to be proud of calling themselves feminists and be willing to educate friends who don’t understand the basis of feminism. It is also important for men to get behind feminism. You should care about how society is treating your peers and society can’t move forward unless you get behind that movement.

Feminism is on the rise in today’s society.

I have heard so many people say, “If you would’ve asked me a year ago I would say I’m not a feminist, but now I have a different view.” Hearing that so many people have been educated makes me very optimistic about the future. I think if enough people learn what the actual goals of feminists are eventually we can all work to make the world a better place for everyone.

More Than A Sport An Opinion by Kristin Wells

When I tell people that I run cross country, I am greeted with a variety of responses.

“Wait, cross country? As in running more than a mile at one time?”

“Why in the world would you want to do that?”

“I could never do that! You’re crazy!”

To which I respond with, “It’s really rewarding once you get into it!”

However, I feel my simplistic response does not justify what cross country truly is for me and for those of us who have come to love it.

Though some people think we are insane, cross country is my sanity. I can pound the

November 13, 2014

stress out of my body and into the concrete. I can clear my head of the negativities of school and focus instead on immersing myself in the run. It’s a feeling of freedom.

In races, once I cross the finish line, I usually feel absolutely horrid. But, about two minutes later, I realize that my race is finished, I’m done.

It’s quite a beautiful feeling.

But see running isn’t about what place you get, or if you beat your PR (personal record) or not. It’s about the work you put in to achieve your goals. A quote that Onnen said to us this season was how we had to fall in love with the process of becoming great in order to become

great. This is cross country in a nutshell.

It’s the reason I run a mile warm-up and then the workout. It’s the reason I force my legs to move faster than I think they can. It’s the reason I get up at 5:00 every Saturday morning.

I’m falling in love with the process of becoming great.

To me, cross country is more than five practices a week and a meet on Saturdays.

It’s the miles I struggle through and the ones that I fly through. It’s the deep talks on runs, the injuries I take with a grimace. It’s the heart that’s poured on into the pavement.

It’s all about the process.

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Merriam Office: 5746 Antioch Rd Mission, KS, 66202 913-362-3937

Hours: Monday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Thursday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Accepts most insurances Friday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Closed Sunday Oak Park Mall Office: 11383 W 95th St Overland Park, KS, 66214 913-599-4393

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Issue 3

Peculiar Pets HEADLINE

Some students’ pets are anything but ordinary

By Kathleen Gartner and Lexi Hart Subhead

Chameleon - Use tail like a fifth leg - Color reflects their mood - Can be eight to twelve inches long - Lay 35-85 eggs at one time - Tongue can be more than 1.5 times the length of their body

M

any students remember begging their parents for a puppy. Junior Jenna Wilson, on the other hand, asked her parents for a chameleon. And on her sixteenth birthday, she got a veiled chameleon, which she named Scarlett, or Scar for short.

“There was a YouTube video that I saw, that was ‘True Facts About Chameleons’ and it was a really funny video. I watched it a couple times and thought chameleons were really cool. I saw them at PetCo and I talked to my parents and said, ‘Well it’s my sixteenth birthday and I’m not asking for a car, so would you mind getting me a chameleon?’” Wilson said.

Since that moment, Wilson has been dedicated to learning everything she possibly could about this reptile. She can now tell you not only about what food Scar eats, but how chameleons

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change color and how far their tongues can stretch out.

“Chromatophores are the cells that change the color of the chameleon. They grow and shrink which makes the color change,” Wilson said.

Although she doesn’t ever have to take Scar on a walk, Wilson still has to do chores like cleaning out the cage and feeding her. Chameleons can eat a variety of insects, but Wilson mainly feeds Scar crickets and mealworms.

“I buy crickets about every two or three days, and then if the crickets are all gone before the two or three days are up, then I feed her mealworms in between. I give her about five or eight mealworms everyday and then she will eat a couple of crickets, but she’s mainly been eating crickets,” Wilson said.

Two months ago, Wilson got a scare; she thought that Scar had broken her leg. Chameleons require special lighting to maintain body heat and provide calcium. Without UVB lighting, reptiles’ bones can become very brittle and can even result in broken bones.

“The UVB lamp helps her bones because they have a disease that makes their bones really brittle, and you have to have a UVB light to make sure that their bones don’t break, and it provides strength for them,” Wilson said.

Once Scar regained her strength, Wilson was able to hold her. Now, Scar has grown very comfortable with Wilson and even climbs on her arms, legs, and head.

“If she’s happy, she’ll turn a really light green and you know that you can hold her,” Wilson said.

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Hedgehog Sam Brown is another student who has a pet that is anything but typical.

While at the Great Plains Mall pet store, Brown saw hedgehogs and fell in love.

“We wanted an animal, and I said a hedgehog. We were going to make a trip out to somewhere next to Topeka and go get one, but then we found him impromptu and got him,” Brown said.

Brown’s hedgehog is named Frodo. He lives in a cage similar to a guinea pig’s, and eats rodent or cat food. Frodo also has a love for watermelon and carrots.

Although petting a hedgehog may seem like a prickly endeavor, Brown explains otherwise.

“As long as you go with the grain he doesn’t spike up,” Brown said.

Because hedgehogs are nocturnal, Brown often hears Frodo rustling around his cage at night. He even enjoys playing with toilet paper rolls and sticks his head in them.

However, as long as he’s not woken up from a nap, Frodo is happy to be held during the day.

- Have about 5000 spikes - Nocturnal animals - Babies are born blind

- Author Jan Brett paints a hedgehog into most of her books

Sugar Gliders - They are marsupials - When full-grown, they only weigh 4 ounces - Can glide up to 150 feet - In their natural habitat, sugar gliders rarely touch the ground

Sophomore Miranda Houston has started her own family, but not in the way one might imagine. She owns four sugar gliders including a mom, dad, and two babies. Their names are Inglebert, Suki, Ollie, and Lena.

Sugar gliders are unique in that they are marsupials. This means that they carry their young in pouches. Another distinct feature is a set of “wings” between their arms. These flaps of

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skin allow them to glide up to 90 meters.

Houston says that her rambunctious pets often jump and glide around their cage or the house.

“They actually escaped this morning, apparently they somehow unlocked the door. They were just jumping everywhere,” Houston said.

However, because sugar gliders are nocturnal, they are much calmer during the day. They

spend much of their time curled up in a cloth pouch that mimics their natural habitat in treetops. Houston can even stick one in her hoodie.

“They’ll just sleep your pocket,” Houston said.

Sugar gliders can be entertaining pets, but be forewarned- they can live to be 20 years old.

PHOTOS BY CALEB VERING

Issue 3

Cheaters Never Win.

Is cheating really as black and white as copying answers?

Students and teachers discuss cheating inside.

Written by Kathleen Gartner and Brock Burnett Photo by Rachel Harvey November 13, 2014

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Just as there are millionaires in the world that make their fortunes through illegal means, there are students at West that have created their academic success in less than savory ways.

In elementary schools, cheating was mainly confined to sneaking looks at the test of your adjacent peer or “blowing your nose” in order to get up and scan other tests, but by the time students reach high school, cheating evolves and becomes much harder to detect.

“Me and two of my friends sit in the same row and we’ll make a cheat sheet the class before that. The kid in the middle has his binder and we’ll hide the cheat sheet under the binder and then during the test we’ll whip it out,” Jeff Johnson* said.

Although not every student goes this far to cheat, many students admitted in a survey that they have cheated in the past. For some, the pressure to do well in honors classes causes them to stoop below their morals. For others, it is a lack of motivation.

“Cheating is more of me being lazy and not applying myself,” Clarence Cooper said.

Students’ opinions vary greatly on what exactly cheating is, and where the line should be drawn. Some believe that using someone else’s notes or an old test is a helpful study aid while other say that this is blatant cheating.

“I don’t think copying notes is necessarily cheating. It depends on the context. If you were in class and just weren’t paying attention but use your friends’ work, I’d say that’s cheating,” Clarence Cooper* said.

“I believe that using someone’s notes to prepare for a test isn’t considered cheating,” Teresa Thompson* said.

Laptops have allowed students easier access to many learning materials including online tutors and textbooks, but this easy access can also be taken advantage of.

“If teachers are not sitting behind the students while they’re taking a test on the macbooks, you don’t know what the students could be on. They could be looking up answers. And even when they’re sitting behind the computer, if they aren’t actually paying attention, students can still switch between pages to look up answers. It’s absolutely a lot easier to cheat with

the laptops,” Thompson said.

Some students believe that the laptops haven’t had such a large impact on the cheating.

“I think for the most part it hasn’t really affected the cheating too bad, but I think in some situations if you’re supposed to be using your macbook for typed up notes, you could easily be searching online for the answers,” Cooper said.

What is defined as cheating becomes especially hard to distinguish when tools like Sparknotes, CalcChat and Google Translate are mixed in.

Some students say using these resources is morally objectionable, but others feel fine with using them.

“If you would have read the book Sparknotes is going to give you the exact same information that you would have gotten from the book. It’s just more short and condensed. It helps you understand the book more than if you had just read it,” Thompson said.

Cheating isn’t just a moral dilemma for the students. It creates problems in the classroom for teachers as well. Teachers deal with cheaters almost daily, but they struggle with determining when it is appropriate to confront those students.

“You know the trouble for me is that normally I can kind of see what goes on. I don’t feel comfortable embarrassing somebody in front of the class. I may talk to them outside of class but they’ll almost always deny it,” Ron Walker, history teacher, said.

Like many major issues, there is no simple solution. According to some students, it may be easier to prevent the problem than to attempt to crack down on cheating.

“With old tests I would say teachers could change what’s on the tests year to year. With daily homework, make sure to ask everyone specific questions about their homework to tell if they actually did it,” Clarence Cooper said.

Opinions on cheating differ greatly at West, but it’s obvious that cheating is a much more complex issue in high school, especially with the introduction of laptops.

*All student names are substituted with fake names to keep their identities anonymous.

70% 16

of students agree that the laptops have made cheating easier!

82.5% 42.6% 100% 29.1% 7.9% 94.8% 54.4%

of students believe copying notes is not cheating!

of students cheated before having the laptops!

of students think searching up answers online is cheating! of students used Google Translate in a foreign language class

of students have been caught cheating!

of students do not consider themselves cheaters

of studentsthink using past tests is not cheating

How often do you cheat?

Daily

3.6%

Weekly

16.7%

Monthly

12.5%

Rarely

67.9% 17

quad squad

The fraternal four take West

By Karen Barkema

O

n April 29, 1999, four babies were born, all within 3 minutes of each other to the same family. The Wilhoits are the only quadruplets in the school. Noah was first and then came Ben, Mia, and Zach.

“It’s pretty awesome having three siblings because you can annoy them and it’s fun,” Noah said.

“Our parents nicknamed us the “quad squad” and it’s basically like living with three best friends,” Mia said. She enjoys having all brothers because there isn’t as much drama.

“Sometimes it’s hard having three siblings your own age because everyone wants to be their own person,” Mia said.

All four of them play soccer in their free time, but only Ben played for West. Mia will be trying out for girls’ soccer in the spring. Zach, Noah, and Mia ran cross country this past fall.

“Before high school, the quads had always done the same sport all together. I love watching them cheer on each other on during

18

the different activities and sports that the other siblings are involved in. West is my alma mater so watching my kids thrive there makes me

“If you ask anyone who knows the four well, they could tell you which one is the driven one, the funny one (though they are all hysterical), the peacemaker, and the quiet one,” Jeannie said.

super proud.” Jeannie Wilhoit, mother, said.

“Outside of our house we all work together, however at home it’s all about competition,

” Zach said. Even though it’s great having three best friends with you all the time, being a quadruplet isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.

“The worst thing about have four siblings is that all your friends are the same, there’s a lot of competition on a daily basis, and you never get a ton of time alone,” Ben said. Each of them know how to annoy the other sibling.

“We have gotten in arguments, actually we argue every day, but we get over it pretty quickly,” Zach said.

Each one of the Wilhoits love to joke around with each other, which keeps life at home pretty lively.Their favorite thing that they did while growing up was playing sports.

They played indoor soccer on the same team for four years.

“I have a ton of inside jokes between each of my other siblings. When all of us are together, we are the life of the party,” Noah said.

When they go out to public places, no one suspects that they are all the same age

Issue 3

because they are fraternal quadruplets.

“The amazing thing about having multiples is that they are each very distinct from the other sibling in both looks and personality. If you ask anyone who knows the four well, they could tell you which one is the driven one, the funny one (though they are all hysterical), the peacemaker, and the quiet one,” Jeannie said.

“Sometimes people think that Noah and I look alike at first glance, but for the most part, our personalities are so different that almost no one gets us confused,” Zach said.

Since Mia is the only girl out of the four kids, she has more of an opportunity to define herself without any competition. She thinks that being the only girl has it’s pros and cons.

“Being the only girl rocks because I get my own room, however I’d like a sister to share clothes with,” Mia said.

Usually schools don’t put siblings in the same classes to allow them to develop separate identities. However, each of them have had a class with one sibling each year, but never have all four been in the same class.

November 13, 2014

“If all of us were in the same class together, I’d feel bad for the teacher,” Ben said.

“I enjoy having a sibling in class because it makes homework a lot more simpler, ” Zach said. All of them have similar classes and most of the same teachers.

“Anywhere we go we make everything fun and always get in a lot of trouble, but it’s okay because the blame is spread out among four people and it’s making some pretty cool memories,” Ben said.

The Wilhoit’s lives are crazy and busy, but it helps keep life moving at a fast pace. However, they know that they can always count on each other.

Odds of having quads

1/ 571,787 pregnancies

Below: The Wilhoit quadruplets left to right, Zach, Ben, Mia and Noah.

PHOTOS BY BROOKE LOIACONO

19

Feature

The story of August DeMarea

By Megan Bartlett

In the term LGBT, the T stands for something a little bit different. It stands for Transgender, or Trans, which relates to who you are rather than who you’re attracted to.

August DeMarea is a senior who has gone through a transition from female to male. He only recently became open about his gender, but people go through their transitions at different times during their life.

“Everyone has a different story in the trans community. It’s all about self discovery,” DeMarea said.

For him, he knew there was something different about him as early as elementary school.

“It probably hit me in fifth grade when I started questioning some things.

In middle school I was actually questioning who I was because of what was going on with my body. Why other girls were starting things that I hadn’t started, and going through things that I wasn’t,” DeMarea said.

Only for the past year has DeMarea been open about being transgender to his family and friends. Although he is open about it, there are still some bumps in the road.

“My mom, dad, and grandmother are the only people that know that are in my family. It’s hard for them because they’ve known me as a female for so long, and it’s hard for them to come to terms with it,” DeMarea said.

“But they also want to try and work with it too, which I think is really cool. They go and see my psychologist because I feel like they want to know more, even though they’re still in denial.” DeMarea said.

Identifying as trans can be a huge relief to some because they know who they really are, but it comes with it’s own problems as well.

“For me it’s nice because I can feel comfortable with myself, but for some who are transgender it can be really difficult. Sometimes its hard to get a job, and it’s dangerous because there are so many hate crimes against the transgender community. Specifically more towards transwomen, which are male to females,” DeMarea said.

Just 20 years ago, identifying as transgender wasn’t nearly as common as it is today. It’s taken time for the trans community to feel comfortable with it, and for everyone to be accepting.

“Now you have people like Laverne Cox leading this transgender movement into making it more public. it’s changing hopefully for the better, because even now like I’ve said before, there are still hate crimes,” DeMarea said.

“It’s just something that we’re learning about as human beings. That we can be better people, and that we’re all not the same, but we do need to accept the differences in each other and in ourselves,” DeMarea said.

If you want to know what it’s like to be trans, there is a documentary called “The T Word.” It’s hosted by Laverne Cox and it’s about six transgender teens.

“It gives a very good perception of a transgendered lifestyle with different situations and settings. It’s something different,” DeMarea said.

Trans Terms

Transgender Woman: An individual who has transitioned from male to female

Transgender Male: An individual who has transitioned from female to male

Gender Identity: An individuals internal sense of being male, female, or something else

Gender Expression: How someone decides to express their identity to others

Genderqueer: Someone who identifies as neither male or female

Intersex: people who are born with a reproduc-

tive or sexual anatomy and/or chromosome pattern that does not seem to fit typical definitions of male or female

Transition: The time when a person begins to live as the gender they identify as opposed to the one they were assigned at birth

Photo by Gabi Chavez

20

Issue 3

Sports

The Queens of the Court Katherine and Josephine Cao are state champions and have something to say about it

By Logan Peterson After a lot of preparation and a dominant season, Katherine and Josephine, juniors, finished their season in excellent, by winning the state championship for girl’s tennis.

“We’ve played since we were six years old,” Katherine said. The sport of tennis has made a big impact on their lives and, the sport was introduced to them, almost out of the blue.

“Our uncle and our cousin were playing one day, and we wanted to join them,” Josephine said.

From then on, their love and talent for the game only grew. From a young age, it was known that they had a bright future ahead of them.

“I’d say we realized we were really good when we were eight or nine, when we placed at our first tournament,” Katherine said.

Great tennis playing is in their blood. They have a large family history of great tennis players.

“Our cousin, Vinny Pham played here, and we’ve had a few other cousins play here that have graduated,” they said.

Although their love for the game runs deep, they are not too fond of playing each other.

“When we play each other, it’s very intense and competitive and I don’t like to lose to her (Josephine),” Katherine said.

“There’s a lot of screaming,” they said.

“We’ve played each other at tournaments before and it’s very annoying,” Josephine said.

During the season, their practices can be quite rigorous. They condition by running suicides and doing hill runs.

“We do what’s called ‘physio,’ which is different cardio and physical training,” they said.

These practices are not for the faint of heart.

Their work doesn’t stop once the season is over, though. They play at the Overland Park Racquet Club during the offseason.

November 13, 2014

“It’s fun to play in the winter because there is a lot more people to hit with,” Josephine said.

“I also love to play at the Plaza during the summer,” Josephine said. “(During the season) It’s really fun playing Shawnee Mission South,” Katherine said.

“Not to sound rude, but it’s fun playing the bad schools because we can just mess around and have fun.”

Both of them also have professional tennis players that they look up to.

“I like Roger Federer,” Josephine said.

“I like Novak Djokavich, but I cannot stand the Williams sisters,” Katherine said.

Playing at state was a huge experience for them.

“It was very nerve wracking. You don’t want to lose because there are so many people that come and watch,” Josephine said.

“We had a lot of support from other schools,” they said. “Shawnee Mission East was rooting for us,” they said.

Katherine and Josephine’s journey to winning the state tournament has been a long one. It has taken a lot of practice, preparation and a lot of hard work. They were willing to give advice to anyone wanting to try out for any sport in the future.

“Get ready to work,” Josephine said.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it, but you can’t forget to have fun,” Katherine said.

The Cao sisters play in a match earlier this year.

21

Our Time

A look back at the Royals’ incredible season An Opinion by Max Meyer

As high school students, we have only enjoyed a winning season by the Royals three times, and we have never seen the Royals play in the postseason. We’ve seen the likes of Angel Berroa, Tony Pena Jr. and Gil Meche. Now the roster is cluttered with All-Stars and Gold Glove winners. Not only was this year a winning season, but it was one of the best seasons in Royals’ history.

Coming into the year, many fans had very high expectations for the team. Coming off of their first winning season since 2003 and having a lineup filled with young talent, it seemed more than likely that the Royals would make the postseason this year. A few acquisitions in the offseason seemed as if it would bolster up the lineup. Nori Aoki was brought in from the Milwaukee Brewers to fill a void in right field and Omar Infante was to fill a gap at second that had been the biggest weakness of the team for years. Jason Vargas was also brought in to sure up the starting rotation.

It was an average start to the year for the Royals, going 14-12 in March and April. However, after April the Royals would go through their worst month of the season. They went 12-17 in May and fell to three games below .500. Third baseman Mike Moustakas was demoted to AAA Omaha, and they were swept by one of the worst teams in baseball, the Houston Astros.

This season for the Royals was a huge rollercoaster. They fell below .500 in May and July, but also held first place in the AL Central Division in June and August.

After a rough May, the Royals had their best month record-wise going 19-10 in June. During June, they had a 10 game winning streak that propelled them into first place passing the Detroit Tigers. The stint in first-place only lasted three days, but it was a huge boost for the team. During June, the Royals took three of four from the Tigers after starting 0-5 against them. After falling out of first place, they would start a downward spiral that would last until the end of July.

22

July was a rough month for the Royals. They saw Eric Hosmer, first basemen, suffer a stress fracture in his hand that would hold him out till September. Also, as the trade deadline loomed on July 31, the Royals remained very quiet while many of the other contenders in the American League made some huge moves. The Tigers were a part of a three team deal between themselves, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners. The deal brought the 2012 Cy Young winner of David Price to Detroit. The Oakland Athletics also sent slugger Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox for Jon Lester. The lone trade the Royals made before the deadline was sending infielder Danny Valencia to the Toronto Blue Jays for catcher Erik Kratz and pitcher Liam Hendriks. It was a trade that raised many questions. The Royals already had an All-Star starter in Salvador Perez at catcher, so it seemed odd to trade for Kratz when he would only be used sparingly. Hendriks had spent most of the year in AAA and appeared to have been brought in in case of injury to one of the Royals’ starting pitchers.

All signs pointed to the Royals not making the playoffs at this point, but surprisingly they would have one of their best months in years. The month began with a trip out to Oakland to face the team that at this point in time held the best record in baseball. They would have to face the newly acquired Lester, but the Royals took three of four from the A’s. This was in the midst of a 30 game set from July 22 to August 23 where the Royals would win 24 of 30 games and move to 16 games above .500. Also, during this time the Royals would acquire Josh Willingham from the Minnesota Twins gaining the bat they so badly needed. The Royals would regain first place again, and hold it through August.

September was an average month for the Royals, but they did enough to win the first AL Wildcard spot. They would host the one game Wildcard matchup against the A’s in Kansas City.

They finished the year with a record of 89-73.

Issue 3

Next came arguable the best eight game stretch in Royals’ History.

The Wildcard game lasted 12 innings and had as many ups and downs as the Royals’ regular season. In the top of the first inning pitcher James Shields gave up a two-run homerun to the designated hitter for Oakland, Brandon Moss. The Royals would go on to take a 3-2 lead before pitcher Yordano Ventura gave up a three-run home run to Moss in the sixth. The A’s scored two more runs to take a 7-3 lead. The Royals battled back and were able tie the game in the top of the ninth with a sacrifice fly from Aoki. Then, we saw the emergence of Brandon Finnegan on the mound who threw two plus scoreless innings in the 10, 11 and into the 12.

Perez would end the game with a base hit down the leftfield line scoring Christian Colon, infielder, from second. In this game the Royals tied a postseason record with seven stolen bases.

The Royals moved onto face the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series (ALDS). The Angels had the best record in the MLB of 98-64. The series started off with two more dramatic, extra inning games. In game one, Moustakas hit a homerun in the top of the 12 inning that would prove to be the difference. In game two, Eric Hosmer, first baseman, hit a two-run homerun in the 11 inning. that would win that game The Royals would win game three to sweep the series.

They would face the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). The late inning heroics continued for the Royals in game one of the ALCS with another extra inning homerun from Moustakas. Alex Gordon, leftfielder, added a two-run shot that would solidify the win. The Royals would also take game two in Baltimore. When the series moved back to Kauffman for games three and four the Royals won both games and swept the Orioles. This was their eighth straight win, and that tied a record for most wins to begin a postseason. Ned Yost also became the first manager to win eight straight games to start his postseason career. Lorenzo Cain brought home the the ALCS MVP award.

The World Series brought the Royals back to earth. They were to face the San Francisco Giants who were making their third trip to the World Series in five years. They lost game one because of a dominant

performance from Madison Bumgarner. The Royals were able to swing the series with wins in game two and three. Games four and five were won by Giants with a complete game, four-hitter thrown by Bumgarner in game five. In game six the Royals showed off their offense, scoring seven runs in the second inning. In addition to that every Royals player had a hit by the third inning. This huge second inning essentially locked up the game and the Royals cruised to a victory. With the win by the Royals the series was tied at three games apiece and the series would come down to a game seven in Kansas City. The Giants took an early lead going up 2-0 in the second inning on sacrifice flies from Michael Morse, designated hitter, and Brandon Crawford, shortstop. The Royals would respond in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. One came off of a double by Gordon scoring Billy Butler, designated hitter. Then, Infante hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Gordon. The Giants would score again in the fourth on a broken-bat single by Morse. The Royals would be locked down the rest of the game by Bumgarner who had a rare five inning save.

Despite ending the season with a loss this year for the Royals was a success. They had the best possible record in the postseason that a team can have without winning the World Series in today’s postseason format (11-4). They had their second winning season in a row and most of the players from this year will be returning next year. It appears that only Butler, pitcher James Shields and Aoki will not be returning. The Royals will be the team to watch for years to come.

Then vs. Now

Take a look at what life was like in 1985, the last time the Royals made the postsason A popular movie: “Rocky IV”

Cost of a movie ticket: $1.09

Price of a gallon of gas:

President: Ronald Reagan

TICKETS

$1.20 PHOTO BY: HELLO-BERLIN.NET November 13, 2014

PHOTO BY: WIKIMEDIA.COM

23

Sports

More Than a Game

Two athletes have traveled across the country for their sports

By Karen Barkema and Lexi Hart

B

eing a student athlete consumes every last “My favorite place that we have gone But now I’ve gotten used to being super busy,” second of a 24 hour day. School takes up to has got to be when I went to Las Vegas, Witters said. The time spent on the road and about 8.5 hours, if homework time is includNevada over the summer in late July for a at games is a huge factor to traveling but also ed. Then after school practice takes 2 more tournament. We were there for a week and the money spent on all the gas or plane tickets hours, which leaves about 13.5 hours left. On had a lot of free time to tour Vegas,” said is the other. average teenagers should get around 8-10 Witters. In addition to playing multiple games “My parents have probably spent thouhours of sleep each night, which then leaves of basketball, the team went to all the casinos sands of dollars on fast food and gas money 4.5 hours. That’s not even counting the hours it and walked down the strip. and I’ve spent a hundred hours doing hometakes to eat, shower, do chores, or relax in front “The most memorable times happen both work in airplanes and cars,” Witters said. of the TV. Add in traveling for a sport and then on and off the court. All of my teammates are When he isn’t traveling, Witters is practicing the 24 hour timer basketball twice a runs out. Being a week for three hours traveling student with his team. athlete takes a ton “I hope that all of commitment and my hardwork will organization. have paid off and Sophomore that I’ll get a basketZach Witters has ball scholarship to been playing basa division 1 school,” ketball since he was Witters said. four years old.

Junior Sinclaire “Basketball was Miramontez, is an the first sport I tried athlete that does a when I was a kid lot of traveling for and people told me the sport she loves.

I was good, so I just The name of her kept playing. As I club soccer team kept playing, I startis Sporting Blue ed wanting to play Valley ECNL 97/98. as much basketball ECNL stands for as I could” Witters Elite Clubs National said. He plans to League. play ball for as long “ECNL is, from as he can. Witters what I understand, has been playing the top girl’s league and traveling with in the world. It’s the KC Jayhawks elite, as in your Sinclaire kicks the ball past a defender. since he was in 3rd entire club has to grade. very good friends, so that makes it all more qualify to get into the league, not just a single “The KC Jayhawks consists of high schoolfun,” Witters said. team,” Sinclaire said. ers from all over Kansas, however none of my The KC Jayhawks mostly travel during the Sinclaire has traveled all over the country to teammates from the traveling team go to West. summer, but sometimes they travel during the play. She has been from St. Louis to Sanford, Most of them are from Lawrence and KCK,” school year. It makes for a busy season and Florida all to play ECNL games. Chicago is her Witters said. semester, yet he has only missed one day of favorite place to go with her team because of Over the past 8 years, he has traveled for school for out of town games. the activities and fun atmosphere. tournaments to Memphis, Vegas, Texas, Min“Juggling homework, after-school activities, nesota, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma. and practice, while wanting to have a little Arkansas, and Missouri. down time to myself was really difficult at first.

22

Issue 3

“There are a lot of things we can do as a team there. This last time we went and walked around the city and Michigan Avenue, and we went to The Bean and stuff like that. All the trips are fun, but it’s just like what area you’re in and the things that you’re able to do there,” Sinclaire said.

With all of the traveling, time does not come cheap for Sinclaire. She had to master balancing school, friends and soccer.

“I have very minimal offtime. They change ECNL scheduling every single year and they push your entire conference season to the fall basically. From like the beginning of September to the beginning of December, I played at least one ECNL game every single weekend,” Sinclaire said.

Then adding travel on top of that adds for more full weekends, which causes her to miss fun activities.

“In the month of October, we traveled three out of the four weekends, which made for missing a lot of events such as football games, homecoming, all that kinda stuff,” Sinclaire said.

Balancing school on top of all that is not easy. She has had to learn how to get her work done in between games and in the car.

“You have to get your assignments ahead of time and you have to schedule when to make up tests, whether you do them before you leave or once you get back. Then you’ve got to learn how to do homework in a car for an eight hour ride,” Sinclaire said.

Minus the chaos and in the big picture, traveling this much has really had a good affect on Sinclaire and her team. Not only does it have an affect on Sinclaire, it has an affect on her parents as well. It isn’t always easy, but they both love to see their daughter play.

“We used to divide and conquer when there were three kids traveling, but now that we are down to one kid, we both(my husband and I) try to go as much as we can,” Jane Miramontez, Sinclaire’s mother, said.

Long drives or flights always wear people out, especially if you have work or school the next morning.

“When we get home really late on Sunday’s I’m extremely tired for work on Monday’s but I still enjoy going,” Jane said.

Traveling this much isn’t cheap, but when you invest all your time in something you love and you choose to do it, you find ways to do it.

“It’s very expensive, but we choose to do it. We tend to drive more than fly because of expenses,” Jane said.

“A good affect about it is because we travel just about every weekend, it really makes for a good cohesive team because we have to spend so much time together that it really helps with team building and teamwork.

On the field it’s easier to anticipate what one’s moves are going to be, and also with playing at such a high level, it really helps to elevate your game and getting college looks and offers is unbelievable,” Sinclaire said.

When they go to National events it is possible for her team to have 50 or 60 college coaches just watching one game.

Of course on the flip side there is a negative affect.

“With traveling, you can get behind in school work and it makes it really hard to catch back up. Also when you have to travel on Friday’s and be gone all weekend, you don’t get to do as much social things or hang out with your friends as much as you’d like to,” Sinclaire said.

November 13 , 2014

Witters shoots a three-pointer in a game against Blue Valley North last year.

Sports

Travel Spots of Witters: Memphis, Tennessee Las Vegas, Neveda Texas Minnesota Indiana

Iowa Nebraska Oklahoma Arkansas Missouri

Travel Spots of Miramontez: St. Louis, Missouri Denver, Colorado Chicago, Illinois Milwaukee, Wisconsin St. Cloud, Minnesota

Sanford, Florida Phoenix, Arizona Dallas, Texas Seattle, Washington

25

A&E Drake Mattis’ Review of Alt-J’s "This Is All Yours" Alt-J is an indie band from Leeds, England which was formed in 2007. They released their first full-length album, “An Awesome Wave”, in the spring of 2012 and recently dropped their second album on September 22, 2014.

Their newest album, “This is All Yours”, has 14 songs that make the full album length about 55 minutes.

This album features fresh sounds and deep instrumentals. The content itself is reflective of their previous work but definitely sounds renewed and refreshed.

The vocals in this album are something to definitely be praised.

The lead vocalist, Joe Newman, has a voice with a huge range and boisterous potential.

Some of the tracks have an almost haunting bass line that will fill your ears with a deep, brisk sound that will surely beguile you.

At the end of “Arrival in Nara,” you will hear a fly that deceives you into thinking that it is not a part of the actual song and it is outside noise, but that is not the case. This is another element that makes the album unique in its sounds and tiny details.

The majority of the songs on this album were written on Alt-J’s world tour. One city in particular, Nara, Japan, influenced the group

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to write three songs named after the city, those being “Arrival in Nara”, “Nara” and “Leaving Nara”. These songs specifically, gave me a sort of eerie feeling with the calm, soothing lyrics and vocals.

Something that is different in this album from their last is the larger amount of upbeat songs like “Left Hand Free” and “Every Other Freckle.” There are still plenty soft, easy songs like “Hunger of the Pine” that will chill you out.

“This is All Yours” has a great song flow with fantastic intro and outro songs. The order the songs were placed in, or possibly written in, must have been incredibly thought out because the continuity is something to be highly credited.

One of the best features of “This is All Yours” is the bonus track, “Lucky Day” which is their own version of Bill Withers’ 1977 classic.

This album was one of the most highly anticipated alternative albums of the year and in my opinion, it lived up to all the hype.

Overall, “This is All Yours” was a great album. If you aren’t used to or if you aren’t a fan of indie or alternative music, this might not be for you. But if you are, I highly recommend a listen.

Issue 3

A&E Alex Ralston’s Review of Alt-J’s "This Is All Yours"

S

Alt-J is an English indie folk band that gained critical acclaim back in 2012 with their debut “An Awesome Wave,” which showcased a unique but accessible style of music (once you’re able to get past the eccentric vocals from Joe Newman) and also helped them win the Mercury Prize.

Their style can be hard to pin down because it blends so many genres together: baroque pop, electro, English folk, and plenty more.

After two years, they’ve released “This Is All Yours,” an album that seems slightly different from “An Awesome Wave” not because they dropped their willingness to cross genre boundaries, but because they seem to have focused less on poppiness. There were a string of widely-played singles off their debut, such as “Breezeblocks,” “Fitzpleasure” and “Tessellate”; on their sophomore effort, the singles seemed to enjoy less time on the airwaves.

But for what it lacks in singles it makes up for in ballads and epic soundscapes, occasionally creating some amazing walls of sound.

The intro for “This Is All Yours” is around 4:30, featuring some signature aspects in Alt-J’s style–choral harmonies; tribal and sometimes warlike drumbeats; thick, distorted basslines; and generally reverb-soaked instrumentation. They come together to create a mostly dramatic and awesome (in the true sense of the word) intro, essentially setting the tone for the remainder of the album.

There’s quite a few “big-sounding” tracks on this album that feature the usual reverb-soaked instrumentation and vast arsenal of instruments they tend to add to their songs. For example, “Nara” starts out slowly but builds itself into a massive chorus. This song also displays a nice, organic progression, something that you’ll see a lot of on this album (which basically depletes its songs of any basic pattern in their song structures). This dramatic presentation is also evi-

November 13, 2014

dent in “Hunger Of The Pine” (which shows off a few samples, including one of a Miley Cyrus vocal), “The Gospel of John Hurt,” and “Bloodflood pt II.” These ones ended up being some of my favorite songs off the album, in addition to “Every Other Freckle.”

As far as the lyrics go, they’re difficult to decipher with their lofty references and vague content. In fact (and I may be trying to read into it too far), I’ve been wondering if there really is some backstory that I’m not able to pick out from these songs. There’s definitely some repetition of themes throughout this one-hour beast, like some city he’s visiting, a city named “Nara,” a duel he mentions that I’m presuming is caused by some love triangle in “Left Hand Free,” and possibly a love interest in a handful of other tracks. Joe Newman also has some pretty funny lines interspersed, like “Chest burst like John Hurt” and “Escher wanna draw sh*t / I pop clips / I draw my piece to my hip.”

All in all, Alt-J worked diligently to create a great album with some beautiful, gripping, and epic tracks; even its slower moments are still moving. They managed to come up with an amazing follow-up to “An Awesome Wave,” while still retaining their signature style and continuing to make different, dynamic, and sonically-interesting songs. I can see myself replaying this album for quite a long time to come.

E D I B

Grade: B+

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WELCOME TO THE FREAK SHOW “American Horror Story” returns for what could be its scariest season yet

By Logan Peterson

Grab some popcorn and dim the lights, because “American Horror Story” has made its grand return to television.

For those of you who’ve yet to experience this phenomenon, “AHS” is an anthology series, meaning that each season has a new plot, with a new setting, and a new group of characters. Each season is even creepier than the next.

This show took the world by storm a mere four years ago. The first season was centered on a dysfunctional family moving into a home in present day California, that was haunted by the ghosts of the previous inhabitants.

Season two takes place in an insane asylum in 1960s Massachusetts, and season three is centered on a present-day witch coven in Louisiana.

In the short run of “AHS,” it has featured so many amazing characters, frightening storylines and exciting plot twists. Actors such as Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and Emma Roberts have dominated the small screen during the show’s reign.

The show has now returned for it’s fourth season, dubbed “Freak Show.” This season was highly anticipated and for good reason. It is set in Jupiter, Florida in the 1950s, following one of America’s last remaining freak shows.

The “freaks” range from the Bearded Lady, Lobster Boy, and the tallest woman in the world. But, the stars of the show are hardly the most essential characters.

Lange plays the would-be movie star and owner of the troupe, Elsa Mars. Throughout her endeavor to make the greatest freak show of all time, she comes across conjoined twins Bette and Dot. Mars believes that they are the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Lange owns the role of Mars. On the outer shell of her character, she’s charming, conniving and has the ability to control the people around her.

But, once you break through the shell of Elsa, you see her struggle to find stardom. Now that she’s reached her elder years, you know her window of opportunity is closing.

Although Mars’ story is intriguing and fun to watch, the real fun comes from the storyline that centers around Dandy Mott, the spoiled man-boy who thrives to cure his boredom. He verbally abuses his mother, kills animals and drinks liquor out of a baby bottle. Did I mention he’s an adult?

Dandy is played brilliantly by Finn Wittrock, who portrays him in such a way, that I would compare him to Anthony Perkins’ performance as Norman Bates in “Psycho.”

But, the scariest character has to be Twisty the Clown. Not much is

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known about this psychotic clown other than his apparent love for murdering his unsuspecting victims.

Although he’s not as emotionally perplexing as Dandy, his brooding demeanor and creepy clown costume will bring chills down your spine in an instant.

It’s worth noting, that a few of the actors portraying the freaks actually have different physical deformities. For instance, Jyoti Amge, who is the world record holder for world’s smallest woman, has a role of one of the freaks.

“AHS” has grabbed the attention of viewers (including myself) with it’s spectacular characters, intelligent writing and scary thrills. If you don’t watch the show, you must start immediately, because you don’t know what you’re missing.

Grade: A

Twisty The Clown

Issue 3

My Strange Netflix-ion 47 students were surveyed about their Netflix usage

Instant Queue

31

By Lexi Hart and Spence Lassalle

The number of students who preferred watching Netflix at night.

5

Five students preferred to watch during the day and 11 students don’t watch Netflix normally.

What’s New

2-4

The number of hours 12 students watched per week, the most common amount watched.

8+

Eight students said they watched Netflix eight or more hours, the second most common.

Popular on Netflix

5+

15 people said they shared their account with five or more people.

4

The number of students who prefer watching TV shows on Netflix.

10

Nine people share their account with four people.

Action/Adventure

31 November 13, 2014

The number of students who prefer watching movies.

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You NEED to hear this!

Must listen music as chosen by staff writer Isaiah McKay

Hozier “Hozier” This debut album give listeners a taste of alternative-indie music, which features sultry vocals, thoughtful lyrics and slight instrumentals. Hozier shows his passion for music and his undeniably raw talent.

Sasha Keable “Black Book EP” British singer Sasha Keable utilizes calm, soulful vocals to take calm, chilling music to the next level. Keable shows us that she is worth the listen after collaborating with Disclosure on the hit single “Voices”.

Tink “Men” A brooklyn-raised singer/rapper that has been redefining barriers for women in hiphop. For the single “Want It”, the wonderful instrumental layer gives Tink an easy foundation to produce her signature vocals along with singer-songwriter Kelela.

Taylor Swift “1989” Although skeptical prior to the release of this album, it showcases Swift’s bubbly vocals and catchy choruses. It’s a sharp contrast from previous albums, which successfully breaks her country persona.

Double Take

r Nick Jones, Junio 30

Actor Henry Win

kler, “The Fonz” Issue 3

faces in the hall

By Sylvia Bryan

BASEBALL OR FOOTBALL?

NAME AND GRADE

FAV. THANKSGIVING FOOD?

KCMO OR KCK?

FAVORITE ANIMAL?

TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM?

Freshman Erin Smith

Football

Apple Pie

KCMO

Rabbit

Instagram

Sophomore Genny Sherard

Baseball

Rolls

KCK

Horse

Twitter

Junior Mason Alcorn

Football

Ham

KCK

Llama

Instagram

Senior Skylar Stuke

Football

Mashed Potatoes KCK

Duck

Instagram

X HOT OR NOT You sent us what you thought was #hot and what was #not. Here is what you said

@SMWThespians

@_gabichavez

@HuntsTheKing10

the fall play! #HOT

Hosmer #HOT

The Roy Boys #Royals #HOT

Madison bumgarner #NOT

Hunter pence #NOT

Giants #NOT

@Cute_Kat_123

@laurenbrown232

@JMmaster022

@KatARiedel spray tans are #NOT, but the fall play is #HOT

November 13, 2014

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BACKPAGE

By Alex Ralston