The Harbinger 19-20: Issue 13

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the harbinger. S H AW N E E M I S S I O N E A S T 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208 M A RC H 3 0, 2 0 2 0 VOLUME LXII ISSUE 13

A WO RLD

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IN TRO

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ED I TORI AL

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NEW S - F EATU R E

COV I D-1 9 S PEC I AL S EC TI O N

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CO M M U NITY CO LU MNS

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0 2 | I N S I D E COV E R

cover design by | lila tulp

ONLINE

PREVIEW @smeharbinger

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

ABOVE Junior Ana-Sophia Lahovary plays the flute during the Spring band concert. photo by | annakate dilks RIGHT Senior Megma Pal dances in Bollywood Dance Club’s act in the Collage Concert photo by | trevor paulus

O N L I N E — I N S I D E O U R COV I D -1 9 S EC T I O N

STOLEN SENIOR YEAR

Scan to read a senior staffer’s reflection on her year cut short by coronavirus

@smeharbie

TERMS AND PHRASES Scan to check out what the COVID-19 terms and phrases mean by | caroline gould

by | jackie cameron

S TA F F L I S T PRINT EDITORS Lila Tulp Carolyn Popper Caroline Chisholm ONLINE EDITORS Ben Henschel Jackie Cameron ASST. PRINT EDITORS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Lauren West Riley Atkinson ASST. DESIGN EDITORS Celia Condon Sarah Bledsoe HEAD COPY EDITORS Carolyn Popper Jackie Cameron ASST. HEAD COPY EDITOR Natasha Thomas PHOTO EDITORS Aislinn Menke Kate Nixon ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Sarah Golder Trevor Paulus Julia Percy VIDEO EDITORS Maggie Schutt Ryan Gossick Lawder DeSantis ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Sydney Williams BROADCAST EDITORS Alex Dinyer Lucia Barraza ASST. BROADCAST EDITOR Natalie Scholz Megan Stopperan PHOTO MENTORS Noelle Griffin Megan Biles Megan Stopperan STAFF WRITERS Lyda Cosgrove Kaia Monaco Caroline Gould Caroline Wood Kate Heitmann

Cesca Stamati Lily Haw Grace Tucker Peyton Moore Kelly Murphy Jilli Foley Campbell Wood Winnie Wolf Sophie Henschel Brynn Winkler Elizabeth Mikkelson Tommy Paulus Lauren Dierks Sydney Newton Emma Brown Lily Billingsley Allison Wilcox Phoebe Hendon Grace Allen Annabelle Moore Lydia Underwood Maddox Mogenson Sydney Decker COPY EDITORS Ben Henschel Lila Tulp Carolyn Popper Jackie Cameron Caroline Chisholm Natasha Thomas Sarah Bledsoe Brynn Winkler Lydia Underwood Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley Campbell Wood Lauren West Phoebe Hendon Jilli Foley Allison Wilcox Sydney Newton Riley Atkinson Lily Billingsley EDITORIAL BOARD Ben Henschel Brynn Winkler Caroline Chisholm Carolyn Popper Catherine Erickson Jackie Cameron Lauren West Lila Tulp Natasha Thomas Riley Atkinson River Hennick Rose Kanaley Tommy Paulus Phoebe Hendon Sarah Bledsoe

Lydia Underwood SECTION EDITORS EASTIPEDIA ONLINE Kelly Murphy EDITORIAL PRINT Tommy Paulus NEWS PRINT Sophie Henschel & Campbell Wood ONLINE Phoebe Hendon OPINION PRINT Annabelle Moore ONLINE Gabby Caponecchi FEATURES PRINT Sydney Newton Jilli Foley ONLINE Brynn Winkler A&E PRINT Elizabeth Mikkelson ONLINE Sydney Decker SPORTS PRINT Allison Wilcox ONLINE Lydia Underwood ADVISORS Lucia Barazza & Alex Dinyer PAGE DESIGNERS Caroline Gould Caroline Wood Kate Heitmann Cesca Stamati Lily Haw Grace Tucker Peyton Moore Kelly Murphy Jilli Foley Sophie Henschel Elizabeth Mikkelson Tommy Paulus Lauren Dierks Sydney Newton Emma Brown Lily Billingsley Allison Wilcox Grace Allen Annabelle Moore Maddox Mogenson STAFF ART EDITOR

River Hennick STAFF ARTISTS Sophie Henschel Gabby Caponecchi Lyda Cosgrove Natalie Scholz STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS MJ Wolf Maggie Merckens Emily Pollock Hadley Chapman Emma Kate Squires Maggie Klump Reily Moreland Elise Madden Taylor Keal Annakate Dilks Lucy Kostner VIDEO STAFF Olivia Olson Natalie Scholz Lawder DeSantis Evelyn Roesner Ryan Gossick Maggie Schutt Sydney Williams Roberto Galicia PODCAST EDITOR Lydia Underwood Sophie Henschel SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Lilah Faye SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Annabelle Moore Maddox Mogenson SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Kaia Monaco Megan Stopperan Reilly Moreland Gabby Caponecchi ADS MANAGER Sydney Newton CIRCULATION MANAGERS Campbell Wood SOCIAL CHAIR Lila Tulp Reilly Moreland CONTEST COORDINATOR Catherine Erickson


EDITORIAL | 03

design by | lily billingsley cartoon by | natalie scholz

THE ERA OF

INFO WARS “Y

ou know I carry, right?” You’ve probably heard this line all over the internet, and they’re often spoken by alt-right personality Kaitlin Bennett — aka “gun girl.” Her politically charged opinions are shown in videos where she approaches college students and beratves them with questions, asking their opinions on widely discussed political topics like abortion, transgender bathroom usage and, of course, gun control. She does them in the name of “self-rule, self-determination and nonaggression” — rich coming from Ms. Aggression. These polarizing videos have made her stand out to be one of the Internet’s most talked about conservatives — it’s pretty rare to be asked on the street if you support “killing babies.” But the take-away of her videos are always unclear, and they seem to make belittling and purposefully instigating petty fights with people a feasible option for political discourse. Every time Bennett asks a question it’s obvious she is trying to rile the other person up, and after a while the only way out of her attacks is to yell back. Why try to educate or understand where “gun girl” is coming from when she’s yelling at me? With the vast amount of ideas available on the internet, shouting your beliefs may seems like the only way to get your voice heard. But keeping cool with calm and polite discussions will always be the best way to win a debate over politics. Her videos that have garnered the most attention are usually the most aggressive ones — go figure. People from both sides of the political spectrum rack up views on Bennett’s unorthodox videos, giving more and more people the misconception that “debates” are what they see on their phone screen — attacks on each other’s character. The students that keep their cool in the face of Bennett’s attacks are the only silver lining of her videos. These people have probably seen — and definitely heard — enough of Kaitlin Bennett’s wacky antics, and when Bennett demands a response from them there are usually two responses. A cold “I don’t care” or a retort of facts and logical reasoning that usually wards off Bennett. These people as a whole are shining examples of how you should respond to aggressive politically charged comments — from both sides of the political spectrum. If someone is asking you about a topic you are passionate about in an aggressive “I’m always right” manner, you should use your

In the current political climate filled with trolls, it’s important to stay rational while engaging in political discourse

knowledge to inform them, and if you aren’t interested — or they are being relentless like Bennett is — simply turn your phone off and save your time. Engaging in this behavior, even if its opposing it, simply isn’t effective — many people already see her as an incendiary troll. Every time she uploads a new video, the reactions are taken less and less seriously. If you’re watching a girl aggressively ask about tampons in a men’s restroom — or even watching her verbally harass a nineyear-old by asking her off-color questions about abortion — you would think there’s no way this girl is actually serious about whatever she’s blabbering about, which is a fair assumption. There are plenty of “you know I carry, right?” memes and sarcastic TikToks with the main premise of portraying Bennett as being loud and aggressive. Thank goodness our world has people with enough sense to know that attacking people during an argument is not the most productive way to hold a conversation about politics. But there is still that idea of effectiveness from hostile arguing that she displays which is somehow impressed in people’s head who want to have a discussion about something political like the 2020 election. If someone with conservative views posts something about Trump’s presidential campaign on social media — most likely in a more rational and less polarizing way than Bennett — backlash from the opposing side is expected. The same can be said with a post about something in favor of Bernie Sanders’ universal healthcare plan. There’s always a fight between which side is “better,” but people like Bennett aren’t helping their case or swaying anyone to support their political direction with their reckless behavior, even if they think they are doing so. These fruitless attacks do not have become the new norm. When you are passionate about a topic

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 contents and views 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 quoted material may be confirmed with 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, libel or mechanics. Letters should be sent to room 413B or emailed to smeharbinger@gmail.com

FOR: 11 AGAINST: 1 The individuals on the editorial board who agree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by for, and those that disagree with the viewpoint of the editorial are represented by against.

in politics you shouldn’t fall back into cowardly retorts attacking the person — ie. Bennett calling someone fat while trying to talk about gun rights — and instead stand up for yourself and try and see why they think that way, and maybe even convince them of your viewpoint using rational, supported arguments. Speaking your mind on any political situation is your personal right and one of the most important factors in causing change. Being able to recognize a person’s ideas without backlash is just as important. It can be difficult to have a conversation about something you d o n’ t personally believe in, or in Bennett’s case trying to prove people wrong, but it’s important to stay cool in the maelstrom of incendiary comments over what people think is right.


04 | NEWS

NEWS

design by | sophie henschel

by kaia monaco

HIGHLIGHTS Catch up on news around the school, the state and the nation

E A S T All Kansas public schools ordered to close due to COVID-19 KANSAS GOVERNOR LAURA Kelly ordered all public schools in Kansas to remain closed through the end of the school year on Tuesday, March 17. The Shawnee Mission School District has chosen to move all classes online, and is extending spring break by a week to work out the details of the new digital learning style. Online learning will begin Monday, March 30. The closure for the school has also included cancellations of major events as the school year finishes — prom, graduation and all spring sports. Despite the importance of these big events, senior Kathleen Deedy says she will miss the little things the most. “It’s not just prom, but all the little things we are missing,” Deedy said. “Like our last day of school, senior skip day,

assassins, going to the center of the gym to sing the school song at the last assembly, senior night, and all the little things that seemed like guarantees almost hurt more than the big things like prom.” Senior Brooklyn Beck believes that although social distancing and quarantine are important to stop the spread of the virus, the decision to completely cancel school was made prematurely. “I think [Kansas] jumped the gun by canceling for the rest of the school year,” Beck said. “We have no idea where this situation will be in a month, and I wish they would’ve allowed for the situation to be reassessed before canceling everything.” Kansas was the first state in the country to declare schools to close statewide for the rest of the academic year.

N A T I O N A L Coronavirus causes stock market to crash

ABOVE Winstead’s famed skyscraper milkshake serves four people. photo by | caroline chisholm RIGHT Two classic cheeseburgers, a skyscraper milkshake, fries and tater tots is a classic Winstead’s order. photo by | caroline chisholm

L O C A L Winsteads files for bankruptcy KANSAS CITY’S ICONIC burger chain Winstead’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 10 after 80 years of business. Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not mean the company is closed forever, it just implies the company needs some time to restructure. Winstead’s will use this time to organize their debts and assets, while not having to sell the business completely. The local chain is known for their art deco style, steakburgers and Skyscrapers — 64 ounce milkshakes that can serve multiple people at a time. In the past three decades, the chain has shrunk from 12 to only three locations in Overland Park, Leawood and the Country Club Plaza. Winstead’s, in addition to their parent company Haddad Restaurant Group, sought

Chapter 11 protection after going $1.5 million in debt. Along with these values, the company owes over $160,000 in taxes to the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Revenue. Winstead’s has provided burgers and shakes to East students for years. Sophomore Megan Angell remembers going to the restaurant for her homecoming dinner, and going there before her father-daughter Sock Hops in elementary school. “When I was in elementary school we used to have this father-daughter dance called the Sock Hop and it was 50s themed so in 1st-4th grade my friends and all our dads would go to Winstead’s before the dance,” Angell said. “I love that memory of my dad and I, and the restaurant is like a part of my childhood.” Winstead’s three locations will remain open, however it is still to be determined for how long.

W H AT ’ S B E E N C A N C E L E D ? :

AS THE NUMBER of cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States surpasses 64,000, the stock market has crashed, causing the government to take extreme measures in order to save the economy. On March 9, otherwise known as Black Monday, the Dow — a stock market index — dropped almost 8%. Days after, on March 12, it dropped another 10% — the worst drop the Dow has seen in three decades, since Black Monday of 1987. As more states declare stay-at-home orders, businesses have had to close their doors, leading the U.S. government to do everything in its power to keep the economy from plunging deep into a recession. Hawaii, Vermont and Wisconsin are the most recent states as of March 25 to declare statewide stay-at-home orders.

T H E E C O N S TAT S :

40,000 STOCK MARKET CRASH CASES

The epicenter of the virus in America has shifted from Washington to New York as the state now accounts for 5% of cases worldwide. Despite the number of cases growing everyday, coronavirus task force immunologist Anthony S. Fauci stated in a press conference on March 18 that the worst of the pandemic has yet to come in America. Hopes for the economy recovering are growing, however, as U.S. senators passed a $2 trillion coronavirus bill on March 25 to boost the economy. The bill will give cash payments directly to taxpayers and loans to small businesses. Along with this package, the Federal Reserve has promised to buy as much debt as needed to keep businesses afloat and the market functioning.

2 TRILLION U . S . S E N AT O R S N E G O T I O AT I N G $ 2 T R I L L I O N PA C K A G E T O B O O S T ECONOMY

STAT ES T H AT H AV E D EC L A R ED STAY AT H O M E O R D ERS STAT ES T H AT H AV E NOT D EC L A R ED STAY AT H O M E O R D ERS *information courtesy of the New York Times *updated as of March 26

I N A D D I T I O N TO S C H OO L C LOS U R E S , A L L S P RI N G S P O RTS H AV E B E E N C A N C E L E D FO R T H E S EAS O N , 2 0 2 0 P RO M H AS B E E N C A N C E L E D BY ST U CO A N D T H E C L AS S O F 2 02 0 S E N I O RS W I L L N OT WA L K T H E STAG E AT G R A D UAT I O N , B U T W I L L B E S E N T D I P LO M AS I N T H E M A I L I N ST EA D


design by | caroline gould photos by | emily pollock

STAY I N G

SA F E A

ABOVE Officers Mandi Bayless and Ray Fleer pose in front of Highlands Elementary School.

TH E SA F ETY P LAN ALTERNATIVES | If an alternative exit is needed, a notice will be sent to guardians in a timely fashion NO ENTRY | If there is a cause for a lockdown, students are not allowed to exit, and guests are not allowed to enter MONITOR | Highlands will monitor interior hallways and exterior doors during the day

by riley atkinson year after shots were fired into Highlands Elementary School’s parking lot, a new emergency plan was set into place by the school’s administration. But some Highlands parents are still wondering whether their child’s safety is prioritized by the Shawnee Mission School District after a lack of communication since the incident. On March 1, 2019, Highlands went into lockdown due to an outside threat. An email was sent to parents advising them not to come to the building until it was safe, but many, like parent Jeremy Mai, were worried and went anyways. “At the time we had no idea what was going on, we just saw police tape and some police activity in the parking lot,” Mai said. Communication was a large portion of what Principal Lee Ann Combs felt needed improvement after the incident. But she also knew they could have a much more in-depth safety plan than they had in place previously to prepare for the future, even though the shooting did not cause any physical injury. To improve communication around the district, parent Emily Sullivan suggested a district-wide quarterly or semi-annual meetings to keep tabs on school safety and updates, which has not yet taken off. Sullivan and Mai feel that the district hasn’t communicated enough with the parents throughout the year. “I would completely welcome and applaud any kind of follow up,” Mai said. “If I were to get an email or a letter or even a survey from the district today, where they say, ‘Hey, here’s what we’ve learned, here’s what we’re doing differently,’ that would be awesome . . . It would just be encouraging to hear what’s been processed in the last year, that’s all.” Combs met with a group of parents and teachers who wanted to be involved several times in the past year to develop the emergency plan, and she communicated with different organizations and resources from other schools where similar events had happened. “We took what we already had and then we just made it even more detailed, because what we really want to do is we want to be transparent with our community,” Combs said. “We’re trying to be a lot more diligent as far as communication goes and just with giving people updates on what’s happening.” Now, if there were to be a lockdown, a text would be sent directly to parents or guardians in addition to an email because Combs realized email wasn’t efficient for everyone during an emergency. The detailed version of the emergency plan is available only to administration and parents who come to the building to see it, however, there is a shorter version that was sent in a newsletter to the

NEWS | 05 A year after the Highlands school shooting, a new emergency plan has been implemented

Highlands community. The plan includes several safety procedures — communication plans, building surveillance, indoor and outdoor safety and security, lockdown procedures, alternative exits and a reunification site. After developing the plan, Combs sent it to the district’s security department, where it was approved before being sent out to parents. “I think it’s great that [the emergency plan] was done,” parent Emily Sullivan said. “I think it’s necessary that it was done . . . I think for parents it’s still an issue that is front and center and really important for them . . . It has had a lasting impact, so I still think there is room for more action to come of it.”

The hope was that this could be kind of a stepping stone for other schools to use as a platform to make a plan that works well for their school

emily sullivan | highlands parent Sullivan feels that when something like this happens, it’s an opportunity for social change and involvement on the district’s part. She, along with Mai, wishes the district would have communicated more of a response or kept the community updated in the year that followed the incident. “The hope was that this could be kind of a stepping stone for other schools to use as a platform to make a plan that works well for their school,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know if that’s happening or not.” Additionally, according to sixth grade teacher and parent Mike Torkelson, teachers found an issue with the number of walkie-talkies in the school on the day of the shooting. Although they had one walkie-talkie per grade level, they felt things would have gone smoother on the day of the shooting if every teacher had one of their own. And a year later, the walkie-talkie issue has still not been handled as the district said they would, according to Torkelson. “I think for us teachers, that makes us, I’d say, a little disappointed with the district’s response,” Torkelson said. “That a simple thing like getting more walkie talkies [hasn’t been taken care of].” Despite the lack of district follow up, Torkelson does feel that the principal’s emergency plan is a good one and that his own kids are safe at school. As they reflect on the incident a year later, Mai and Sullivan both feel that Combs is making Highlands as safe as possible. They all feel as though other schools in the district could benefit from seeing the Highlands plan, however each school still has their own individual plan as of now.


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NEWS | 07

design by | sarah bledsoe

Low IB sophomore enrollment raises major questions for the future of the program

I don’t think I necessarily told people not to take it... I can’t make decisions for people. All I can do is share what I know and what I researched.

lily utt | junior “I don’t think I necessarily told people not to take it,” Utt said. “I can’t make decisions for people. All I can do is share what I know and what I researched.” Sophomore Jack Rhodes, who plans on doing IB diploma

jennifer horn | IB teacher taking HL 1 will take Calc BC, before moving into an IB math course their senior year. According to current SL teacher Jennifer Horn, students will miss out on the extra practice that SL 1 and HL 1 gives them in terms of the way of thinking, the grading scale and the specific vocab terms that IB uses. Students will have to catch up their senior year to accommodate for the IB testing style. “I’m not very happy about it,” Horn said. “I think it’s an important class and I think it should be offered to support the program.” If the downward trend continues, the program could be phased out, according to Goodeyon. IB is an expensive program due to the extra classes and teachers needed, and East used to have the biggest one in the district. Shawnee Mission North is currently phasing out their IB program due to the low number of students. Goodeyon, along with new IB coordinator Meredith Sternberg, plan to implement more shadow work with the sophomores next year and more marketing for the program in order to bring the numbers back up. “I don’t know what really happened with the sophomore group,” Goodeyon said. “But we are going to plow forward and I’ve got some new ideas for recruiting.”

diploma pass rate in 2019

211

first nationalities

144

countries

DIVERSE L A N G UAG E S

GERMAN 132

I’m not very happy about it... I think it’s an important class and I think it should be offered to support the program.

77.8%

FRENCH 711

According to IB coordinator Monique Goodeyon, the numbers of students that came to the meetings and the luncheon were the same as previous years, so she was surprised by the substantial decrease of students enrolled. “I’m not really sure what happened,” Goodeyon said. “In terms of recruiting, I did the exact same process that I’ve done for the last couple of years. The numbers that came to the parent meeting were the same. But then after that a lot fewer committed.” One reason for the low number of students is the fear of time commitment, according to IB senior Samantha Glidewell. Glidewell believes that it’s partially the fault of students in IB because they often complain about the large amount of assignments, but is also the fault of AP students telling sophomores to not participate in the program. “If you are not in the IB certificate or IB diploma, you have no right to tell what IB is or isn’t,” Glidewell said. “You haven’t experienced it for yourself, therefore you can’t accurately judge what it is.” Junior Lily Utt is a student taking six AP classes who voiced her opinion about IB. Going into junior year, Utt was set on doing IB until she did research and found out she gained more college credit from AP tests — the national test that you take at the end of the year covering a course’s material — which she shares with students who ask her for advice. According to Utt, many sophomores came to her for advice this year when deciding between the programs.

216

subjects offered

CHINESE 952

I nte r n a t i o n a l B a cca l a ure ate (IB) is a wor ld w id e, n on profi t e duca t i o n p ro g ra m fo u n d ed to give all stu d ents th e opp o r t u n i t y to re ce i ve an e d u cation fit for a globalizin g wo r l d .

diploma candidates worldwide in 2019

S PA N I S H 7 , 5 9 7

international• baccalaureate

166,465

ENGLISH 76,332

A

fter finalizing schedules with counselors, there are 14 sophomores enrolled in the International Baccalaureate diploma program for the 2020-21 school year, with an additional 20 enrolled in IB certificate — the lowest numbers since 2004. This school year there are 23 juniors in the IB diploma class — a decrease from the 39 seniors currently in the diploma program. The downward curve illustrates a drastic decrease in IB student enrollment, which has led to a number of scheduling problems for IB classes.

next year, was disappointed when he found out about the low number of students he would be surrounded by next year. “I expected that there were going to be more people doing it,” Rhodes said. “I was surprised by that. I like being with a large variety of people, but it’s not going to keep me from doing it.” Due to the low number of students enrolled in IB next year, there will be only one section, or period, of several classes offered next year for the students, including IB History of the Americas and IB Psychology. These single sections will result in less room for kids that want certain electives like debate or orchestra, which are only offered during certain hours. For IB certificate students that go to the Center for Academic Achievement during part of their day, the single sections will limit the IB classes they can take. Since only one class will be offered, if the student is at the CAA during that period, they will have to take the AP course instead. “Scheduling is going to be a lot harder,” Goodeyon said. “In the past, I’ve always been able to pretty much get every elective because I could play a little bit more with the schedule then I’m going to be able to next year.” In addition to the single sections, IB SL (standard level) 1 and HL (higher level) 1 math will not be offered next year. Students taking SL 1 will take Honors Precalc and students

people

by sydney newton

* number of

COMES NEXT

IB BASICS

T H E B E N E F I TS !

W H AT

teach students to engage with the rapidly changing world

71%

encurage indpendent learners

HOLA!

make culturally aware students with a second language

of IB diploma graduates enrolled in college within oneyear in 2019

of high-school students in the U.S. enrolled in a college within one-year in 2019

62%

*information courtesy of ib.org


08 | OPINION

design by | annabelle moore

OPINION

HIGHLIGHTS

A look into student opinions and the opinion section

C O R O N AV I R U S O P I N I O N S W H AT IS YO UR O P IN IO N O N T HE CO RO NAVI RU S ?

I think [the coronavirus] is a bit understated in how dangerous it can be. Many people see it as just a bad flu, but it can be extremely worse, and being arrogant about it can also affect others.

jack haulmark | junior

HOW DO YO U T H IN K T H E U. S . S HO U L D B E HAND L I N G T HE CORONAV IRUS?

THE WEEK IN 280 C H A R AC T E R S T H OS E O N T H E F RO N T L I N E S A R E M OST AT R I S K , N OT S I M P LY O F C ATC H I N G T H E C O RO N AV I R U S , B U T O F G E T T I N G I TS M OST S E V E R E F O R M B LO O M B E RG O P I N I O N | 3 / 2 5 / 2 0 PILING ON MORE SANCTIONS WHILE THE CO RO N AV I R U S R AVAG E S I R A N I S M O R A L LY W RO N G A N D LO O KS T E R R I B L E F O R A M E R I C A , W R I T E S T H E E D I TO R I A L B OA R D. N E W YO R K T I M E S O P I N I O N | 3 / 2 5 / 2 0 T H E T R U T H I S , T H I S M O M E N T I S T E ST I N G U S , A N D M A N Y A R E C O M I N G U P S H O RT , A L L TO O R E A DY TO A BA N D O N T H E ‘ W E ’ A N D E M B R AC E T H E ‘ M E . O P I N I O N BY T H E TA M PA BAY T I M E S | 3 / 2 5 / 2 0 T H E U. S . S H O U L D S E E K A H U M A N I TA R I A N T R U C E W I T H I R A N , T H E E D I TO R I A L B OA R D W R I T E S WAS H I N GTO N P OST O P I N I O N S | 3 / 2 5 / 2 0

Honestly I think they’ve been doing a decent job so far, because if they hadn’t quarantined those cruise ships, a lot of people would probably be sick right now. I think we should keep doing what we’re doing — finding those who are sick and helping them.

robert marx | freshman

R E AC T I O N S H OTS A STUDENTS O P IN IO N O N ACT I O N S HOTS O F T HE M S E LVE S

O P I N I O N AT E D p. 9 DO YOU TEND TO FOLLOW TRENDS OF PAST DECADES MORE THAN MODERN ONES? | 194 VOTES

53% NO 47% YES p. 10 DO YOU FEEL PRESSURE TO LIVE UP TO YOUR SIBLING(S)? | 239 VOTES

50% NO 50% YES J U N I O R TO M M Y D RY E R : “ G re a t g a m e fa ce. Wo n d e r fu l g a m e fa ce. I t ’s a l ways g re a t to l o o k b a c k a t p i c t u res [ fro m i t ] a n d se e h ow st u p i d yo u l o o k .” p h oto by | j u l i a p e rcy

J U N I O R G R AC E FA L L E Y: “ [ I n t h i s p i c t u re ] b a s i c a l l y I h a d n eve r e a te n s u s h i b e fo re a n d I wa s n e r vo u s b u t J u l i a wa s te l l i n g m e to j u s t d o i t . S o t h e n I t r i e d i t a n d I e n d e d u p h a t i n g i t . I t wa s fu n ny t h o u g h a n d fu n to m a ke i t ! ” p h oto by | t revo r p a u l u s

p. 11 DO YOU THINK PEOPLE USE THEIR ZODIAC SIGN AS AN EXCUSE FOR BAD TRAITS OR HABITS THEY HAVE? | 243 VOTES

26% NO 74% YES


OPINION | 09

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ST U CK IN THE D ECAD ES A

Staffer believes we romanticize past decades without paying attention to the negative aspects

by natasha thomas

s soon as the eleventh grade IB English teacher whips out “The Great Gatsby” or grandpa starts up his “the good old days” lecture, people are eager to don a flappergirl dress, hop in a Rolls-Royce and head for the drivein. If you or a loved one matches this description, please stop causing people like me everywhere to cringe their eyes out. We love to focus on how good things used to be — how glamorous and exciting the ‘20s party culture was. How the quality of life was far superior before all this obstructive technology infiltrated our lives. Oh yes, things were “much better.” Coincidentally, the Gatsby fanatics always seem to forget that their flapper-girl parties would’ve been accompanied by sexism and racism, and “the good old days” before technology often left people unable to communicate properly. It’s true: I’m the one that rolls her eyes whenever someone says “I was born in the wrong decade.” It’s not cynicism — I just feel incredibly lucky to live in the time that I do. We’re too quick to look to the past for what appears to be “happier times,” while glazing over crippling economic depression or horrifying threats of nuclear war. Instead of romanticizing the past, we should be marveling at all the privileges our current lifetime provides us with.

As time goes on, we develop and grow. Life only gets better, so why go back?”

natasha thomas The average citizen has technology that allows them to access nearly unlimited information on the internet. Medications have been developed that allow us to survive numerous ailments that likely would’ve killed us only twenty years ago. People are fighting against discrimination towards race, sex, social class, sexual orientation and other civil rights issues. While there’ll always be room for improve, the trend line is clear — as time goes on, we advance. I’m not demanding you stop watching YouTube videos for decade-inspired outfits or filling your Pinterest with ‘90s aesthetic photos. But before you wish to be a ‘60s teenager experiencing “The Beatles” culture, consider that many of your friends would be developing addictions to “diet pills” full of methamphetamines. And the pot-smoking teenage dream you picture listening to the Beach Boys probably doesn’t account for the violent racism occurring during desegregation. You’re dreaming when you could be living — all the

things we romanticized are arguably more available to us now then ever. You can listen to the Beach Boys. Any time you want. They’re a Spotify click away. I’m not trying to say that people who lived in the past didn’t have good lives either. The ‘70s certainly were groovy compared to the Great Depression. But that just proves my point — as time goes on, we develop and

I’m the one that rolls her eyes whenever someone says I was born in the wrong decade.”

natasha thomas grow. Life only gets better, so why go back? Just look at the passage of time and the development of society. Milena ago we were foraging for food and communicating with each other through grunts and points. Centuries ago we were bleeding people’s arms to cure disease — a treatment that often ended in the death of the afflicted. Even decades ago, our society was generally ignorant or unaccepting of many people’s sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite all of the problems that we find in our current lives, we’re living in the most ideal version of our society — and it continues to improve. As intellectually-advanced beings, we are able to progress and evolve for the better. Decades from now, people may look back at 2020 and reminisce on e-girl outfits and put pictures of young Timothée Chalamet on their walls, but I have to believe society will have advanced overall from modern day. I don’t believe we will ever stop viewing our past with rose-colored glasses. While social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak, it’s easy to long for a year like 2007 when the top news story was Britney Spears shaving her head. It feels better to focus on artificial frivolities, because we don’t want to look back and see the full picture — especially if your current life’s reality is feeling harsh. If you need the emotional therapy of mentally immersing yourself in the iconic ‘80s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”-esqe high school setting, complete with leopard print swimsuits and twisting the phone cord around your finger while you call your sweetheart, go ahead and let your mind wander. But when you get on your smart phone to check Snapchat after the throwback montage, give some appreciation to everything that modern life has afforded you.

H I STO RY T R AC K

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Si in tales crei perena, deat, probus. essendam adthe Me To o movement in 2006 addressed sexual dum condum reister oratatua harrassment and assault.


10 | OPINION

design by | jilli foley photos by | julia percy

perspectives of how the roles in their relationship have changed over the years

FROM OLDEST AS THE OLDEST CHILD in my family, being the leader was a role I took on naturally. I had to be the star of everyone’s life — but it was in a selfish, egocentric way. Playing pirates? I’m the captain. Dressing up like royalty? I’m the queen. Kickstarting a rock band? I’m the lead singer. My 10-year-old interpretation of a leader was a winner. I thrived off the word “victory.” It’s safe to say my family didn’t enjoy playing a lot of games with me. I was the type to chuck the ping-pong paddle across the room when I lost and parade around the table when I won.

I measured my success on paving a path she could follow, but never live up to.

campbell wood | sophomore I hate to lose. I always have. Of course, my biggest competition was always my little sister, Caroline, but all she ever did was scream, “Go Cammy!” at soccer games and give me hugs in the school hallways — she was always supportive, and having her as my cheerleader made me feel accomplished. But at her ballet recitals, while most people would bring a bouquet of flowers to show support, I was the sister whose face went red with envy. Because I never wanted her to be better than me. At anything. I measured my success on paving a path she could follow, but never live up to. With our 16-month age gap, we had many of the same interests — whether it be journalism or student council — so I had the mindset that if I hit the brakes in any form of life, she’d overtake me. I had to “stay ahead” and lead in every facet of life. It took far too long to realize that she has her path, and I have my own — and that the key to sisterhood is supporting one another through our individual paths. Our same interests doesn’t mean we have to try and one up each other, we have different strengths, and I can be the kind, big sister and support her along the way. But before that revelation, there was only competition. And I’m not the only one who

feels that way. Family therapist Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D, says that a majority of first born children have an intense fear of failure and that nothing they accomplish ever feels good enough. Well that explains a lot. My “intense fear of failure,” with time, shifted into a fear of failing as a big sister — as a role model. Even as I relentlessly tried to pin her down and come out on top, Caroline’s unconditional love and support was unwavering. She was always cheering me on from the sidelines, and she figured out the key to sisterhood before I ever could. Caroline always made me feel special, despite my incompetent attitude. And when that realization finally hit me, I asked myself, “Why can’t I do the same for her?” Being supportive is way more important than being the best, I became her partner in crime in summer gym dodgeball, her confidant for high school drama. I’d beat myself up inside when Caroline got a better report card than me, when really I should be congratulating her on her Biology grade. It shouldn’t be “Campbell, you should’ve tried harder,” but instead “Good job Caroline, I’m proud of you.” My unsatisfied personality was harming our relationship, and when I realized that, I changed for the better. I’ve always known Caroline looked up to me, but I was too stubborn and selfish to ever do the same. Once I learned to look up to her, a new Caroline unleashed where she was kinder and more supportive than ever. The task of being perfect is impossible, so I’ve chosen to let my desire of winning slip away. While it frustrates me that not everyone understands the struggles of having a human sequel, I also find great pride in realizing that not everyone knows the unconditional love of having a best friend walking alongside you. And to my discovery, Caroline makes one heck of a captain and sings the song of sisterhood better than I ever will. So what’s the true role of the big sister? Well, it’s not being a leader or being the best. For Caroline, I just have to be there for her. Not as a competitor, lead singer or gold medalist — as a sister.

WHEN IT CAME TIME for my sixth grade class to write our D.A.R.E. essays, I was sure that I would win. Campbell, my older sister, had won the contest the year before which means she was awarded a medal and got to read her essay in front of everyone at the D.A.R.E. graduation — it was an honor. I was fully convinced that I would be the one wearing the medal and presenting my essay when my D.A.R.E. graduation came around. Campbell did it, so I would do it too. I didn’t win. I was shocked. It took me weeks to grapple with the shame and tell my family. I thought I’d only be disappointing them since Campbell won and I didn’t. This was the case for most events in my life: if Campbell did it, I had to do it as well. Campbell was competitive, but also talented — she had trophies and medals lining the shelves of her room to prove it. She was my role model, yet my greatest rival. I felt the need to be just like her — trying to take each task in stride at her level, or better, and often falling short. It’s common for two close-age, same-gender siblings to think they need to act the same. This often results in pressure on the younger sibling, which can lead them to feel “inadequate,” according to parenting specialist Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D. Having a talented older child can make a younger sibling think they need to achieve the same thing to reach a healthy level of selfacceptance and recognition. This was me. I thought that if I wasn’t like Campbell, then I was a failure. So I became Campbell. This wasn’t too hard since we were raised like twins. When she loved unicorns, I loved unicorns. When she played soccer, I tried to play soccer too. This manufactured desire to be just like her left little room for my own unique style and personality. In my younger years, everything I was and did was based off of Campbell. I was her clone — and for a while, I was completely content with it. It was what I was striving for. Through most of elementary school, I was basically Campbell with shorter hair, frequently being mistaken for her and called her name by accident. The constant comparison led me to adopt Campbell’s competitive qualities as well — causing us to constantly compete with one another. The inequality went beyond actual competitions. When we would play, Campbell was always the lead and I was the supporting role — as if the reason for my existence was being a side character in her story. When we were younger, we loved to play with our Polly Pocket dolls and their imaginary high school world was based on our knowledge from “Liv and Maddie” and “Austin and Ally.” Campbell took charge by deciding the plots, making her doll be the prom queen, student body president or child celebrity. It always got on my nerves — my doll was just the sideline best friend. She did nothing.

One day, I finally brought the situation up to her. “Why does your girl always get to be cool? Let my girl do something.” “You have to make her life interesting by yourself, Caroline,” she said. “I can’t do it for you.” And even though it was just a small quip about toy dolls, she made me realize I needed to become my own person, not a copy of Campbell. I needed to ignore the pressure from Campbell and do things because I want to do them. In the years since elementary school, I’ve tried to break apart from what Campbell does and do my own thing, but it’s hard since we enjoy all of the same things. Looking at me now, it may not seem like I’ve broken apart much. We still do the same things, take most of the same classes — like Harbinger. But one thing has fundamentally changed — my mindset. Before, I thought, “I have to do this to be as good as Campbell,” but now I think, “I’m doing this because it is something that I want to do.”

I needed to become my own person, not a copy of Campbell.

caroline wood | freshman My prior outlook hurt our relationship because it led me to resent her for her achievements. Now, I look at her accomplishments and I’m proud. My outlook changed, and now I can be supportive of my big sister. But most importantly, I can be proud and supportive of my own path — self-paved.

TO YOUNGEST

Staffer sisters’


OPINION | 11

design by | caroline chisholm art by | river hennick by grace allen

S

ure, it’s fun to take random Buzzfeed quizzes to find out who your One Direction soul mate is or what ice cream flavor you are all based on your sign. But let’s be honest– Zodiac signs mean absolutely nothing. Yeah, the stars were aligned a certain way when you were born, and they are aligned a certain way right now — but that’s not an excuse for everything that goes wrong in your life. Zodiacs should be a fun thing that people can look at anytime, not something that determines your personality traits. Some people shrug off their worst qualities or bad habits and simply use their zodiac sign as an excuse. “Oh, I hurt that girl’s feelings? It’s because my zodiac says I’m manipulative.” You can’t get away with blaming your toxic traits on being a Pisces. I’ve probably checked my horoscope prediction daily for the past few years, but only out of sheer curiosity. As a Libra, I’m supposedly charming and a great listener, yet indecisive and unreliable. Sure, that may be accurate here and there, but those words definitely wouldn’t pop into my head if you asked me to describe myself. If Cosmopolitan’s Snapchat’s daily horoscopes tell me that I–along with every other Libra out there– am supposed to “find the one” in the upcoming week one more time I think I’ll lose it. I’ve heard that prediction just about a million time. Has it happened? Nope. When you blame what’s bad about yourself on a zodiac sign, that

SIGN OFF

TAU R U S :

Don’t blame bad personality traits on your zodiac sign

THE BUM

Every sign is said to have their bad traits. A Gemini is superficial. A Taurus is stubborn and lazy. But just because your sign gives you a bad deck of cards in the personality department doesn’t mean you can get off the hook for stealing just because “you’re an

S CO R P I O : T H E M A N I P U L ATO R

Aries”.

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bad characteristic will probably never change. I was born on Sept. 24, classifying me as a Libra, but that doesn’t give me an excuse for every time I can’t decide whether to go to Taco Bell or Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Not only does the art of horoscopes leave me baffled, but the fact that some people read into them for anything more than just a laugh is crazy. Every sign is said to have their bad traits. A Gemini is superficial. A Taurus is stubborn and lazy. But just because your sign gives you a bad deck of cards in the personality department doesn’t mean you can get off the hook for stealing just because “you’re an Aries.” If we all believed that every trait a person carried was genuinely determined by the star alignment when they were born, nobody would have the drive to fix their bad traits, or find their actual ones. Not every quality attributed to us by our signs actually applies to our personality. Believe me, my nine missing assignments in Skyward definitely speak against the fact that productivity is supposed to be one of my best traits. Sure, there’s a few traits I can agree with, but just because they apply to me doesn’t mean they apply to every Libra out there. Yes, I think I’m an extrovert. But is everyone who has been born between Sept. 23-Oct. 22 really an extrovert? One of my best friends, who’s also a Libra, is one of the quietest people I know, and my Libra brother would choose staying home over going out anytime. The day you were born has nothing to do with your personality traits — your personality is influenced by your environment, those around you and your morals. Not the position of the stars in the sky when you were born. So next time your mom yells at you for avoiding your chores, don’t blame it on the “lazy” characteristic the stars “gave” you. Own up to your actions and work on the parts of yourself that you don’t like.

C A N C ETRH:E C L I N G E R THE CLINGER

L EO :

T H E B R AT


FO RGOT YO U R C A M E R A? HARBINGER

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FEATURES | 13

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F E AT U R E

HIGHLIGHTS

XO C H I LT S U H F EAT U R E D ARTIST

A NIGHT OF MUSIC B E L O W During the Spring band concert, junior Marco Rios plays his clarinet during the Concert Band’s performance of “Blue Ridge Saga” by James Swearingen. photo by | annakate dilks

XOCHILT’S FAVORITE TOOLS PAINTBRUSHES

QUILL PENS

WAT E R C O L O R PA I N T E R

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ART? “My art is based on my dreams. Once I’ve written down my dream, I’ll go ahead and pick out some part of my dream that I thought was vivid or I want to write down to keep a record of it. Sometimes I’ll do drawings but I usually do paintings of my dreams. I’ll paint a certain scene or something that I found interesting.”

WHAT’S THE PROCESS OF EACH PAINTING? “I usually will go back and I’ll find a specific part of my dream. I’ll sketch it out first so I have a rough idea of what I’m going to do. I have usually two different pieces of paper, one as a rough draft and one as my final project. After I sketch it out,

T O P Assistant band director hugs Emily Babcock after Babcock presented her with flowers as a thank you for her contributions this quarter. photo by | annakate dilks

I’ll sketch it out on a piece of painting paper. Then I’ll paint it. Usually I will start with the big things. I’ll color in the main colors and the background.”

R I G H T The Blue Knights Jazz Ensemble performs “Perdido” by Juan Tizol while Band Director Alex Toepfer conducts. photo by | annakate dilks

HOW D ID YOU COME U P WIT H TH IS ID EA? “It’s

something

that

I

read

about online. It wasn’t about painting your dreams but it was

redwood forest xochilt suh

about keeping a dream journal. I thought that was really interesting and something that I wanted to try. I thought of the idea of painting because I love to paint and I needed inspiration for a painting. I thought it would be a really fun

V I D E O F E AT U R E S

idea to paint some of my dreams.”

WHAT SPECIFICALLY DO YOU PAINT? “I usually paint something like an image from my dream that

SCAN ME | REILLY REVIEWS: SME WATER FOUNTAINS

I thought was really interesting and I want to keep. It’s not

Watch staffer Reilly Moreland review 20 of East’s finest water fountains and rate them based on cleanliness, temperature, and taste. | by ryan gossick

my paintings are images that I thought were really pretty

SCAN ME | A CONVERSATION WITH MY FRIEND PODCAST Sophomore Toby Rodriguez and Freshman Fritz Sullivan handle the conversations and questions had with their guest, also such as an advice column for people wanting with help in any way. | by roberto galicia

one specific thing, but just some object that I liked. A lot of and I wanted to see. It’s normally a scene from my dream.”

WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOUR TRANSFERRING YOUR DREAM TO THE PAGE? “I think it’s really rewarding because it’s very satisfying for me to be able to get the work done and transfer what’s in my head to the paper. I can actually see it. It’s really fun for me and I like it a lot. ”


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I N T RO | SP EC IA L SEC T IO N

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AFFECTED BELOW | WOR L D COVID -19 C AS E MAP AS OF 3/25

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N O C AS E S 10 + 100+ 1000 +

INSIDE T HE SPECIAL SECTI O N SC A N M E : I SSU U

E D I TO RI AL | A MESSAG E FOR THE LANCERS

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FEATURE | POSI TIV IT Y ON SOCIA L M ED IA

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N E W S-FEATU RE | S ENIO RS MOV ING O N 1 7 CO LUM N S | F RO M T H E COM M U NI T Y 1 8 -1 9 SCA N M E: ON L IN E PAC KAG E

T H E ECO N O M I C S | B E N H E NSC H E L N E W S O N L I N E C L AS S E S | L I LY B I L L I NGS L E Y N E W S Q UA R AN T I N E D I Y’S | C AROL I NE WOOD A &E AT RI S K? | SY D N E Y N E W TO N P O D C AST

he first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Dec. 31 of last year in Wuhan, China. What at first seemed like a distant threat began to quickly spread across the globe, burrowing itself into European countries and eventually infecting the lives of millions of Americans. We’ve watched as businesses have closed, colleges have shut down and socialdistancing has been mandated on local and federal levels. The novel coronavirus is no longer oceans away — it’s hit home. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced the closing of all K-12 schools on March 17. For some, the closing means not sitting in the classrooms of East surrounded by their peers until August. But for others, it means having to face the end of conventional high school days two months early. It may seem like the time to say goodbye: goodbye to second breakfasts spent crowding the hallways while catching up with friends, goodbye to sports practices with the teammates we’ve spent seasons holding close and goodbye to the daily routines we find comfort in. But as we say these goodbyes, we must remember the strength of our community and the incredible people within it. There are still stories to tell. There will always be stories to tell. With your trust and support, we plan to keep telling these stories — our stories. The Harbinger staff will continue to serve our student body with dedicated coverage of the world around us. High school days too soon are gone, but nothing is ever truly over. Lancers we are now, and Lancers we will ever be.


E D I TORI A L | S PEC I AL S EC TI O N

design by | lila tulp illustration by | lilah faye photo courtesy of | the CDC

A

virus that originated halfway across the world crept across American borders months ago, rapidly taking away our siblings’ educations, parents’ jobs and grandparents’ everyday lives with it. Our response started as innocent memes poking fun at the virus, but soon transitioned to stay-at-home orders and mandatory quarantines –– protocol only comparable to the brief days following 9/11. But the world has never become a holding cell quite like this. Schools have closed, social activity has been restricted and the business world has reached a nearshutdown — but in this time of uncertainty, we want our readers to know that our voice remains. The Harbinger staff intends to continue what we’ve always done: spotlighting the student body, informing the community with trustworthy coverage and being an outlet for student voices to be heard. While you remain cooped up in self-quarantine, know that you’re not entirely alone, not entirely isolated from the community — we’re still here to connect you with the world around you. We will continue to take on the roles of storytellers, reporters and entertainers. Journalists report. Caretakers provide health care. Assisted living employees work to protect the most vulnerable during this virus. Students take the advised precautions to prevent spread. No matter where you fit into society, we all play an important part in flattening the curve. Youtube set aside an entire folder dedicated to coronavirus-related content on your home page. Every website or social media site you’ve visited since the outbreak provides its own COVID-19 informational button. The rest of the world is staying informed. You should too. Look to the major news outlets during this pandemic. They are spending hours reporting the latest death counts, covering every press conference to separate facts from far-fetched claims and spreading trustworthy advice to adhere to. And although The Harbinger doesn’t have the same capabilities as these outlets in terms of reporting the story first, we can provide in a way Kansas City Star or Wall Street Journal cannot. The East student body is our

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narrow target, allowing us to zero in on what’s most relevant to us as students, whether that be the latest on the online schooling process, a reflection on the loss of an end to senior year or how immunocompromised students are finding unique ways to evade the virus. We acknowledge that we are not professionals. We don’t have employees, we have students. We don’t receive a salary or commission for our work, only the gratification of feedback and impact from our peers. But our publication has the ability to accomplish a feat impossible to the outlets we see on our TV or that we pick up off the end of our driveway. We are high schoolers, writing to high schoolers.

Schools

have

closed,

social

activity

has

been restricted and the business world has reached a near-shutdown — but in this time of uncertainty, we want our readers to know that our voice remains. The Harbinger staff intends to continue what we’ve always done: spotlighting the student body, informing the community with trustworthy coverage and being an outlet for student voices to be heard. Our office is a classroom and the action happens right outside our doors. The Harbinger has the privilege, unlike established news providers, to exist in the middle of our base and connect our readers to each other. We know what issues matter the most because they hit our lives in the same capacity they do yours. As we all marched onto the football field to protest teacher contract inefficiencies, the girl to your left might have been our head broadcast editor. Just before we all stormed the court at the white-out Rockhurst game, Harbinger staffers recorded live updates on Snapchat, for those who couldn’t make it. And while we laughed at nose-blown recorder players and applauded talented singers at the talent show, our editors were in the front row with you all. The past couple of weeks may seem nearapocalyptic. Your community may feel more distant than ever. But even though class is out of session, we can promise one thing. The Harbinger is not.

EVER BE

The Harbinger intends to continue coverage amid COVID-19 cancellations and uncertainty


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N EW S- F EATURE | SP EC IA L SECTION

SOC I A L

Despite widespread fear of COVID-19, people around the world and at East use social media to stay positive and maintain a sense of community

DISTANCE T H ROUGH SOCI A L

MED IA earth | from instagram

ava yun | junior

quincy hepler | junior

michelle obama | from instagram

emily winter | freshman

ABOVE | East students & others post selfies for Instagram’s positivity challenge

by phoebe hendon

AS MILLIONS PRACTICE practice social distancing amid the spread of the coronavirus, social media has emerged as an optimistic reinforcement of community, combating feelings of uncertainty and unease for East students in the midst of a global pandemic. With over 126 cases of the virus in Kansas, Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas announced a 30-day stayat-home order — meaning people must stay in their homes except for activities “essential to health and safety” — starting March 24. Cut off from access to typical pastimes, communities have been forced to find ways to stay busy while maintaining a positive mindset. One of the ways East students are killing time is by taking part in Instagram challenge tags, which began to circulate shortly into spring break. People post pictures of themselves on their stories after being “nominated” by friends, and then tag others to do the same. #PositivityTag, #DrawACarrot and #StayAtHomeChallenge have all been popular as people encourage their friends to carry on the challenges, serving as a break from the constant exposure to upsetting news and statistics on their feeds. Senior Lucy Smith was tagged by a family friend who shared a picture of their dog, asking others to do the same. Smith thought the idea was fun — something to take peoples’ minds off the virus — and shared her dog on her story, hoping to keep the chain going. “I think a lot of people think they’re annoying, but I don’t mind them at all,” Smith said. “I think it’s kind of a distraction from what’s been going on. Everybody’s on their phones and social media because they have nothing else to do, and it’s something to think about other than what’s going on.” While news channels such as MSNBC, Fox News and CNN have been covering COVID-19 for weeks, on Twitter, people around the world have been sharing uplifting videos of communities coming together instead of increasing death toll numbers and confirmed cases. When Italy was first quarantined after a mass influx of cases, videos of Italians gathered on the balconies of their homes, singing and dancing together, went viral on Twitter and Instagram, with viewers praising them for making the best of an otherwise difficult circumstance. Alex Frigerio, who lives in Rome and graduated with East’s class of 2019 as an exchange student, has been staying strong for his community by playing music on his rooftop every night. He claims that even in these difficult times, the city “has never been more alive.” Frigerio, along with his friends, has been using social media to raise money for the research center of the Spallanzani hospital, which is currently working towards a cure for the coronavirus. “With some friends, I started a fundraiser on Instagram, and up to 4,500 people have donated money. We also started a challenge to help the fundraiser,” Frigerio said in an email. “Everyone has to post a story with their friends with #sostengoroma —

that means ‘I support Rome’ — and tag the Instagram page @associata_roma, where in the bio they can find the link to donate money.” Both abroad and at home, health professionals have stressed the cruciality of social distancing and self-isolation for those sick and returning from travel. However, the lack of regular social interaction — as well as general fear and anxiety surrounding the pandemic — can take a negative toll on mental health, according to the World Health Organization. Research from the Center for Disease Control shows being cut off from friends while simultaneously being consumed

My friend Sonny posted on his Instagram story, and at the time I was really stressed about everything that was going on and I felt really alone and lost. I figured if his post made me feel so grounded and calm that maybe I could spread that to other people. henry de coursey | junior by constantly-developing coronavirus news can lead to feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. To combat this helplessness, Instagram accounts such as @feminist, @sh*tyoushouldcareabout and even Michelle Obama have been using the platform to share optimistic updates about the virus and information on how to cope with stress. Junior Henry De Coursey shared a post by @earth on his Instagram story about “staying positive in the wake of coronavirus uncertainty.” “My friend Sonny posted [the post] on his Instagram story, and at the time I was really stressed out about everything that was going on and I felt really alone and lost,” De Coursey said. “I figured if his post made me feel so grounded and calm that maybe I could spread that to other people.” Dr. Joshua A. Gordon, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, emphasized in a statement the importance of “connecting with our friends and loved ones” during the pandemic to cope with anxiety and distress, whether it be through “high tech means or through simple phone calls.” Social media is dominated by news and statistics about the virus, but it is also a powerful tool to use to stay connected with those in your circle, according to both the CDC and Dr. Gordon. The viral videos, tags and positive updates are ways to lessen anxiety and ease tensions during isolation. Even @sme_office, East’s Instagram account, has been sharing uplifting posts nearly every day, with messages like “you are not alone in this” and “it’s gonna be O.K.” “It’s a good distraction and a little reminder that this isn’t the best time, but there are better times coming,” Smith said.


NE W S - F EATUR E | S PECIAL S ECTION

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by ben henschel AS THE TEXTS poured in that Tuesday afternoon, 13 years of built-up elation seemed to evaporate for the class of 2020. The envisioned goodbyes, the time-honored routine of each day and the mainstays of high school had been chopped down swiftly and landed with a thwack in the senior group chat. When Gov. Laura Kelly announced that all KS school buildings would be closed for the rest of the semester, a common sense of shock enveloped seniors on spring break. Senior Lizzie MacAdam was five days into quarantine with her family when her phone blew up with calls and texts, to a point she’d never seen before. Senior Sarah O’Sullivan was at work — the last day before Lumine Salon shut down due to coronavirus concerns — when she found out, grasping the thought that the structure of work and school had dissolved. A handful of seniors were headed to the beach for pictures when they found out, so they threw on their college T-shirts and their parents crafted columbia blue paper graduation caps. Despite having made their own makeshift graduation on calming Florida shores, the reality of it all was overwhelming. The same disarming unease seemed to overtake all of the seniors, according to senior Elise Griffith. And the ache of the situation still hasn’t settled in, she said. East’s senior class is quick to acknowledge that there are many in the world that have it much worse in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But they won’t shy away from lamenting the goodbyes they’d played time and again in their heads for years, trying to find closure in an unprecedented situation with no defined end. Reflection on what they’ve lost and optimistic outlooks on the future have settled in as their high school years come to an abrupt and unconventional close. “The realization that you’re just like, ‘wow, there are so many things that we’re going to be missing out on,’ I’ve felt a lot more through the week,” O’Sullivan said. “And I just know for so many people in our grade, like some of my friends, it’s been really hard to find motivation, and I think, especially for kids where school is kind of their life, and [who are] really involved in stuff, we just need to find a whole new purpose now.” As the days of quarantining and self-isolating drone on, the little details and routines to be lost have piled up, according to Griffith. Senior Gretchen Raedle’s years at East revolved around drill team — after spending thousands of hours in East’s dance room, the withdrawal won’t be one that’s quickly dealt with. Reporting to East for practice no later than 7 a.m. is something she’ll actually miss now. Seniors in choraliers and chamber choir who planned for years — some budgeting every paycheck — to go on a nine-day trip to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava found other plans as the coronavirus swept Europe, and the trip was canceled. But that wasn’t the hardest part at all, according to senior Ben Blickhan. It’s the nostalgic nature of fourth quarter, what all four years build up to — and what senior Allie Erdner will miss the most. The senior slideshow played at the last choir concert and the traditional singing of “Old Irish Blessing” to officially recognize the seniors’ exit was synonymous with what Erdner envisioned her goodbye to be. The importance of reflecting on the situation and digesting what’s been lost as the weeks progress is evident for senior Jack Slaughter. He spent the last year poring over track rankings and rosters to gauge his chances at the state championship. The potential of winning events at state played on repeat in his head, a motivator that made the toughest parts of training seem minor. “It’s like coming up to the season, getting closer and closer, looking at all the rankings and seeing all the people and thinking you’ve got a shot,”

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C L AS S O F 2 02 0: Seniors grapple with abrupt and unconventional end to high school due to COVID-19 school closures

ON

Slaughter said. “That’s the toughest part by far.” There’s a hopeful tint to the future for students like senior Reilly Moreland and O’Sullivan, which they feel is equally important to realize. The coming months bustle with uncertainty amid the coronavirus, with possibilities of a national lockdown looming and an extended stay-at-home order on top of the 30-day order currently in effect. But when the virus is tamed and quarantine orders are lifted, a number of seniors plan to reach out and create their own goodbyes, from mini-graduations to special meetings with teachers. As hard as it’s been to let go of idealized moments like the last pep assembly and the relied upon routine of her days at East, Moreland plans to move forward with adapted goodbyes to fit the situation. “Before I go to college or before schools starts back up, just going back to East, getting that one period of time where teachers have to be there and students are there, and have them sign my yearbook or say goodbye to them is what I’ll try to do,” Moreland said. “I know I’ll see the teachers [that impacted me most] again at some point, it’s just hard to not know when that’ll be.” Moreland found a friend in Mercedes Rasmussen just as much as she found a once-in-a-lifetime marketing teacher — and despite the ups and downs with some seniors she’s had, Rasmussen wants to keep relationships strong in transition to online schooling and into summer. “Personally, it’s a little bit devastating since I have mostly seniors...and I made a lot of very personal connections with the seniors, we spent a lot of time together, we got to know each other on a very personal basis,” Rasmussen said. “I think my main concern is to reach out to kids that need some connection and have everyone know that I’m here, that kind of thing...with the positives and negatives and whatever, I felt very close to this senior class from the beginning.” As unprecedented as the situation is, it’s comforting to think that the hurried conclusion isn’t exclusive to East, Blickhan and Griffith said — and the silver linings

are important to hold onto for O’Sullivan. The bright sides of the situation, like more time to learn instruments like guitar and to spend reading and writing, are certainly advantages, she said. And despite the difficulties of the cancellation, it offers an opportunity to build the class’s strength through adversity, Blickhan said — to weather the bad times with each other one last time in an offbeat, but resonant sendoff. Although isolated from one another, the circumstance pulls them together in a way, according to Moreland, as something that can be looked back upon as a positive point of inflection.

I just know for so many people in our grade, like some of my friends, it’s been really hard to find motivation, and I think, especially for kids where school is kind of their life, and [who are] really involved in stuff, we just need to find a whole new purpose now.

sarah o’sullivan | senior For O’Sullivan and Moreland, gratitude that the situation isn’t nearly as bad as it could be and the belief that the senior class will be stronger dealing with the high emotions is paramount. “I mean, I think it’s really ironic, because most of us, we’re considered the 9/11 babies, the babies that were brought into this world when that huge tragedy happened, and now that we’re going out of high school, in a pandemic, it’s just like, ‘what’s next for us?’” O’Sullivan said. “But I think that we’re going to have so much character development during this time, and I think we’ll be more sensitive to people’s issues. People have it a lot worse, so it’s important to keep going and I think we’re going to be better off for going through it.”


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CO LU M N S | S P EC IA L SEC T IO N

FROM B E YOND THE

COMMU N I TY East alum speak to how coronavirus has affected their college and work experiences

D A N YA ISSAWI

| WRITER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES | LIVING IN THE EPICENTER OF NEW YORK CITY

IT BEGAN QUIETLY Mere whispers in the streets, among the cars and the people and the buildings. “Will it hit here? Will we get sick?” Most of us were fearful. The clerk behind the counter at my local hardware store who said he doesn’t know what they’ll do if they have to close. My friends who booked oneway tickets out of the city. The grocery-goers who donned surgical masks and gloves as they piled their carts high with bread and cans of soup. Of course, there were those so brazen and odious in their belief that this too was a “hoax.” They couldn’t bring themselves to see how this virus had ravaged other cities on seemingly faraway soil, built strong and proud and sturdy just like ours. This is New York CIty. This is supposed to be undoubtedly untouchable, holy land. A city this great and grand isn’t supposed to crumble. But the whispers grew legs and a voice. They spread so quickly and became so loud, and right alongside them came swift and seemingly immediate change that has shaken New York City to its core. Change came in the form of groups slowly being sent home indefinitely from The Times’s office in midtown. Change came in an email, asking me to detach from my regular work and join the team tracking the spread of this outbreak in the U.S. Change came in the shuttering of restaurants and hardware stores and coffee shops. Change came in the absence of people and cars and sound in a city that was previously so ruckus and noisy it had once kept me awake and wide-eyed at night. Change came like a wave, crashing over this town all at once, leaving us floating in fear. Looking out the window from my apartment in Manhattan, it’s easy to feel like a sitting duck — like this virus is slowly closing in on me and those I love most. It feels inescapable. The creaky swingset below our apartment creaks no more. The children that once ran and laughed in the square outside our complex are gone. Even the garbage truck that clatters and shatters just a few dozen feet from my bed at 7 a.m. comes less

frequently. From my room, I can see the Brooklyn Bridge, usually teeming with tourists and locals that look like small, colorful moving blobs, now stands empty and bare. The cars that once traversed its long path between burroughs honk no more. These constant reminders are ubiquitous markers of worry. As of right now, New York City is home to a third of all the positive cases in the nation, and every ounce of my body is telling me to be selfish and flee; to hop on a plane and go home. But, alongside that dread, there is gratitude to be found among this insurmountable amount of change. Sure, there is a sadness that lingers in the air — a sense of nostalgia for a simpler past and hope for a more blissful future. But this sudden shift signals a sense of deep camaraderie. Those of us, who are young and healthy, are either staying indoors for our elderly neighbors or offering to go on grocery runs for them. Friends are offering up free childcare to those who find themselves working from home and now assuming the role of parent and teacher. Many New Yorkers who are lucky enough to have

Change came like a wave, crashing over this town all at once, leaving us floating in fear.

danya issawi a steady income are tipping their delivery men and women tenfold what they normally would to help keep them afloat. No one knows how long this will last, or how the caseload will grow in the city, but there is a deep and universal understanding that as New Yorkers, we must look out for one another when we can. We must try and help in both the big ways and in the small. Yes, the inhabitants of this town are rough and tough and maybe even sometimes rude, but when it comes time to band together, I’ve never seen anyone come together like New Yorkers can. In this fear and in this change, there is solidarity in this city, and that has been my beacon of hope guiding me through these otherwise dark waters.

ANNABELLE

COO K

| FRESHMAN AT UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI | JOURNALISM/STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

EVERY WEEK, MY group of friends in my freshman dorm at Mizzou does a round of “Rose Bud Thorn.” Essentially, you tell a positive thing that happened to you, something you’re looking forward to and something negative that happened. It looked a little different this Sunday, as our usual floor lounge hangout took place over a Zoom video chat instead. Rose : I got to sleep in until 3 P.M. and finally top off season two of Game of Thrones. Bud : Not sure. How was I supposed to know what to look forward to when I didn’t even know what the future held? Thorn : Well, it’s pretty obvious. My freshman year of college, and millions of others across the country, had come to a screeching halt. In my mind, I had every reason to be peeved. While I had already met so many people and made so many memories, there were a gazillion more I felt like I missed out on. The spring was supposed to be the time that held the rest of these opportunities: whether they were within my handson (now not so much) journalism classes, social life, clubs, sorority or even my dorm. My bank of optimism was about as empty as the Costco toilet paper aisle. However, this case of cabin fever forced me to take a hard look at my vantage point. Was I so busy in isolation that I didn’t have the time to start seeing the brightside? The day I drove back to Columbia, Mo to pack up my dorm room, I realized I needed a perspective adjustment. Me complaining about school ending was the higher education equivalent of Kim Kardashian crying about her diamond earring getting lost in the ocean during her trip to Bora Bora. Sure, it sucks that as a college freshman, in the middle of a transitionitional period of young adulthood, I had to revert back to life at home. But I can’t say it sucks as bad as if I were a high school or college senior, let alone someone whose health or family was impacted by the virus. We’re all learning to adjust. For some (*cough cough* my dad), that means attempting to buy out Hen House’s supply

of ground beef in the name of “quarantine preparation.” For others, it’s going on Twitter rants blaming the media and other countries for the pandemic. For me, it’s been eating dinner with friends over Facetime, tuning into Instagram Live book clubs and taking lengthy strolls around Fairway — keeping 6 feet between my fellow pedestrians, of course. Whatever it may be, I take comfort in knowing everyone is in similar boats. Most of the situation is out of our hands, but it’s been astonishing seeing them link together for the greater good. Pushes to collect canned items for families with food insecurities, neighbors conversing from across their lawns and news outlets breaking down their paywalls to make Corona coverage free to all. Just hearing that Tom Hanks is already recovering from his COVID case brightened my day. Within the walls of my home, it’s been an opportunity to slow down and reconnect with family — but not without our fair share of arguments over who gets TV jurisdiction or a dinner we can all agree on. With all of us being at school and traveling all over the country, we don’t know the next time we’ll get an extended period of time together, so we’ve tried to make the most of it. I’ve also now had the free time to reinvest in a renaissance of my hobbies like cross-stitching, knitting, baking, “exercising” and checking movies off my Netflix bucket list. Although I hate having to keep 6(00,000) feet away from Mizzou, I’m grateful that I’m in good health and getting the opportunity to relax, spend time with my sisters, and have an epicly long summer rather than be worried about getting to an 8 A.M. class across campus or deciding which dining hall I’m sourcing my next grilled cheese from. The newfound optimist in me knows that when life goes back to semi-normal, all the people and memories we’ve yet to encounter will still be waiting there for us in our next action-packed fall semesters. Sayonara, freshman year!


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COLUM N S | S PEC I AL S EC TI O N

MORGAN | JUNIOR AT BOSTON COLLEGE

B I L E S | COMMUNICATIONS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

WHEN MY FRIEND first told me that the coronavirus started spreading outside of China, I wasn’t initially worried. I wasn’t going to let a little bug stop me from enjoying my semester abroad in Amsterdam. But by late February, the mood in Europe started to shift. What’s that phrase? We make plans and god laughs? Well I hope God got a good chuckle when I woke up on the morning of March 12 to dozens of texts, missed calls and even some frantic Facebook messages. While I had been sleeping, Trump had announced he was banning travel from Europe. Cool, cool, cool, cool. By the end of the day, I got the email from my home university: all abroad programs, including mine, were cancelled. First, I drowned my sorrows in €3 wine, then I cried and finally, I packed up the past six weeks into two small suitcases. Goodbye Amsterdam, hello….Kansas? The selfish part of me was angry of course (‘if there was going to be a global pandemic, couldn’t it have, like, waited a few months so I could complete my goal of consuming my body weight in stroopwafels, fries, and poffertjes?’). But the rational side, the side that has at least an ounce of care for my fellow humans, cringes at this selfishness. Sure my time abroad was cut short and yeah, that sucks. But, in reality I’ve been lucky. I flew home from my six weeks of frolicking in Amsterdam, without having to worry about the cost, greeted by parents who are healthy and still employed, to a home stocked with food and toilet paper (not too stocked though, my family isn’t that type). Really, my biggest dilemma in quarantine is deciding what I should name my sourdough starter — which is nothing compared to the doctors having to decide over who gets a ventilator. Now, listen I don’t want you to think that amidst this global pandemic, my only thought is how #blessed I am. It’s not. As upset as I was about having to leave, I’m even more angry that people aren’t taking social distancing seriously , hospitals can’t get basic supplies and there are people in Washington who care more about their stock portfolios than the lives of millions of citizens. With as much time as I spend reading The New York Times or scrolling through Twitter, I should be a cynic. But try as I might, I can’t help but not be an optimist, so forgive me as I try to scrape a

silver lining out of this mess. In my experience, the things I regret are rarely things I did, but rather things I didn’t do. When I started my semester abroad, I set a goal for myself to not overthink things so much. I didn’t want to leave abroad with a case of the woulda, coulda, shouldas. As much as tried to stick to this mantra, I still falsely kept thinking I would have more time. As a 21-year-old it’s easy to feel invincible. To feel like there’s nothing but time. To make excuses for not going out on a Wednesday night or not going to the museum on a Friday morning, because hey, there’s always next week. But as this situation has taught us all, sometimes next week we won’t have the choice between

As a 21-year-old it’s easy to feel invincible. To feel like there’s nothing but time...But as this situation has taught us all, sometimes next week we won’t have the choice between going out and staying in.

morgan biles going out and staying in. Sometimes there’s not a next week at all. I regret that I won’t get to see Amsterdam in the spring, especially after spending all of February biking through cloudy, freezing days with 20 mph winds. But I don’t regret the nights we closed down the karaoke bar or the people who stayed friends with me even after they heard me sing. I don’t regret the ‘family’ dinners cooked on my little hot plate, the seaside hot chocolate, or the afternoons I strolled solo around museums. As much as I wish there could have been more time, the time I had was enough to fill journals of memories and for that I can’t complain. When this is all over and our world starts spinning at a normal speed again, I hope to go back to Amsterdam. And when I go, I’ll go with an even greater appreciation for whatever time I have there. Which brings me to that silver lining: This too shall pass and when it does, let’s try to not let time pass us by any more. Squeeze in that coffee date. Bike that extra mile. Hug your friends and grandparents a second longer. You’ll have the time.

TO M M Y

SHERK

19

| SENIOR AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY | BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MAJOR

THIS WAS A bad year to start reading Steven King. As I sit in my once-bustling, now-vacant university piazza, I cannot help feeling the eerie surreality that is now my life. Like, Jesus — am I in “The Stand”? My friends and teachers have virtually disappeared. My final course of college is cancelled, my work shifts remain unscheduled, and those coveted postgrad interviews have ceased to take place. Maybe if I was actually in Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic novel, there would be some meaning to all of this. But, alas, I am no biblical protagonist defending the remainder of society from Lucifer incarnate. I’m simply a final-semester university student who had the glory days cut short. Now, I know — boo-hoo for me. The world is going through an unprecedented tragedy in which no one is unaffected and many lives are lost. But I have been asked to tell my side of the story, and you can hold your pity at the door if you so please. In fact, you should hold it… save it for me later. Because I do not think those of us who are (virtually) graduating college in May have fully felt the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. In reality, I don’t think many of my peers have even realized the potential economic struggle that may come for us. Half of my friends have returned home indefinitely, and exist in some sort of pre-college vegetative state in which their mother still brings them hot pockets while they play Xbox. I see this sort of mandatory comfortability, validated by the quarantine, as a dangerous mindset for those of us attempting to breach the job market. Meanwhile, the other half of my peers have

turned their rejection of the situation into a rebellion. I hear these students vowing in defiance “We will not be robbed of college!” as they make margaritas at 1 pm on a Monday. I mean, no employers are looking for new employees right now, right? … right? The truth is, I don’t have the answer to what happens next. I always thought that graduation from college is supposed to be a symbolic representation of a young person becoming an adult, having to figure life out on their own. Maybe my peers and I are in that exact position, just in a much more dire circumstance. As a generation that is perpetually labeled as over-sheltered and unscathed, I wonder, how will we react? We are now given the chance to overcome a real struggle that even the Boomers cannot deny. Will we slink back into our parents’ homes until we turn 30? Will we repeat history and drink away a Depression? No, I don’t think we will continue to behave this way forever. While there may be a sharp learning curve for us to develop some resilience and grit, I believe our generation’s eventual response to this worldwide pandemic will be as unprecedented as the disease itself. We will find ourselves in the workforce one way or another and shape the world based off of our experiences like each generation has before. We’ll learn to swallow the anxiety and push on. I think this prophetic protagonist complex is finally getting to me. I’d better retreat back into my quarantine safe space and continue to think about the future. Maybe I’ll make a margarita.

U N I V E RS I T Y G R A D UAT I O N P L A N S Universities across the nation have different approaches to commencement amidst the pandemic

1 DELAYED

UNDECIDED

VIRTUAL

Postponed, in some cases to the same date as the 2021 graduation

Most universities, including Chapman, are still formulating a plan

An online ceremony performed on the currently scheduled date


20 | PHOTOSTORY

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DA N C I N G T H RO U G H

Q UA R A N T I N E Freshman Mary Cronin and her sister Bridget, Irish Dancers at the Driscoll School of Irish Dance, performed on their driveway on St. Patrick’s Day to make up for their 19 scheduled performances at parades and restaurants across the metro that were canceled due to COVID-19

A B OV E Indian Hills seventh grader Bridget Cronin does a leap in her reel, a soft shoe dance. photo by | kate nixon RIGHT During her treble jib, freshman Mary Cronin is on toe. photo by | kate nixon

F A R A B O V E A crowd of neighbors, friends and family gather in the street in front of the Cronin’s house to watch the performance. After public performances at parades and restaurants were canceled, a neighbor of the Cronin’s posted on the app Nextdoor advertising their driveway performance as a way to showcase their hard work in a safe, socially-distanced way. photo by | kate nixon A B O V E During their performance to “From Now On” from “The Greatest Showman,” Mary and Bridget Cronin do low clicks. photo by | kate nixon


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With a release date of March 6, “External Atake” is the second studio album by rapper Lil Uzi Vert. The album received widespread popularity, becoming the rapper’s second U.S. number one album.

“After Hours” is the fourth album by the singer and was released on March 20. The album made it to the Rolling Stones’ U.S. Top 200 list, with a review of 3.5/5 stars overall from the company.

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Staffer’s take on different fast food chains competing for the reputation of having the best chicken

WE

celia condon

WHEN IT COMES to meals, I’d say chicken is the American go-to. I mean, there have even been memes created from this meal: ‘When you ask mom what’s for dinner and she says chicken… again’. A classic. We grow up with cravings for chicken nuggets that never really go away. And there’s an extensive list of fast food and sit-down restaurants based solely around chicken. It can come in any form — sandwiches, nuggets, biscuits, salads. I could go on forever. Now I’m someone who could live off chicken nuggets, and I really kind of do. And that’s why I’m here to break it down. Is the goto chicken joint the classic ChickFil-A? The trendy Popeyes? Or the dreamy Cane’s? Now, Chick-Fil-A is a little too easy-access — in the best way possible. If someone offered me a list of all the money I’ve spent at Chick, I think I’d have to decline, just to avoid the guilt. As I know I’m not the only East student who’s dropped a pretty penny at the Ward Parkway ChickFil-A, there isn’t a whole lot I can say about it. It’s amazing. It’s heavenly. It’s the food I crave the second I’m done eating it. That’s it. That’s the review. When Popeyes won the hype at the beginning of this school year, I was excited to give it a try. And my experience was similar to everyone else fighting to get their hands on a sandwich at the time. The half-hour wait to get a sandwich seemed excessive,

considering Chick-Fil-A comes in a matter of minutes. And the sandwich is nothing short of, well, pretty average. It’s good. Don’t get me wrong. But the social media rage hyped it up to be a sandwich that was going to change my life. And it just didn’t. Then there’s Cane’s. Which is hard to compare to the last two, because chicken isn’t the only thing I go there excited for. Cane’s Texas Toast has been in my dreams more than once.

I’m someone who could live off chicken nuggets, and I really kind of do. And that’s why I’m here to break it down. And the sauce that Cane’s has to offer — it truly doesn’t get a lot better than that. The 20-minute drive from East I take to get to Cane’s is one that I’m willing to take, as long as I get my hands on chicken and toast. All-in-all, I’m a Chick-Fil-A girl at heart. Perhaps under different circumstances I’d feel differently — maybe if Cane’s was as close as Chick, or if the Popeyes line was as short as every other drive-thru. But at the end of the day, who am I to tell you which heavenly fast food hot spot has the best chicken? Once we’re all easily able to leave our houses, go test the Three Musketeers of chicken for yourself.

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S TAY H O M E S TAY A L I V E V I RT UA L TO U R S DESPITE BEING QUARANTINED to my bedroom, so far I’ve been to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Modern Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul all from the comfort of my bed. Many museums are offering free virtual tours so you can walk through museums and see famous artists’ work — all while you’re still in your pajamas. So no need to worry if you’re missing out on your regular dose of the Nelson-Atkins, you can still get your art fix. Even if you were the kid who incessantly complained when your parents would drag

SCAN &

TO U R

by rose kanaley

I GOT BORED about 20 minutes into quarantine. Two hours in, I’d already loaded up $1000 worth of random junk into my Amazon shopping cart, from a crochet kit to dinosaur grow capsules — yes, the ones from first grade — even though I knew I wouldn’t buy them. And we hadn’t even hit day two. After that, I realized it was about time to

find some other (aka free) options to cure my boredom. Yes, the coronavirus has left a lot of us stuck in our houses with no one but our immediate family — the horror. But lucky for you, the widespread social isolation has forced companies to find alternatives to what they normally offer consumers, allowing them to still meet our fitness, social and entertainment needs.

FITNESS you through art or history museums, the virtual aspect means you get full control of where you go, what you see and how much time you spend there. Not to mention it’s free, so no need to feel bad or get yelled at by your mom if you only spend five minutes looking around. The virtual tours aren’t just for museums either. Colleges are adding more tours and features to their preexisting virtual tours, which are perfect for students who are missing out on college visits and still have a decision to make by May.

Scan this code to take a virtual tour of the Van Gogh Museum.

Scan this code to take a virtual tour of the Musee D’oray Museum.

O N L I N E C O N C E RT S WITH HUNDREDS OF concerts and music events from Coachella to Billie Eilish’s tour cancelled or postponed — apparently it’s kind of difficult to practice social distancing with thousands of people in a mosh pit — music artists have found a new way to perform. On social media platforms like Instagram Live, you can watch artists like Hozier, Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus give mini-concerts from their homes for their followers. No, sitting hunchback on your bed may not be the same atmosphere as the Sprint Center packed with screaming fans and the glow of flashing lights, but you don’t have to spend over $50 on a ticket and the music feels a little more personal from the comfort of your own home. Billboard has released schedules of times different artists plan to hold the mini-concerts, meaning you can plan your favorite artist’s live performance around your regularly-scheduled sitting around — even if it’s via phone.

Bored during quarantine? Look no further

P E R FO R M E D | F RO M E D E N , TA K E M E TO C H U RC H , TOX I C ( COV E R )

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A RT I ST | @ M I L E Y CY R U S A N D @ B I L LY R AY CY R U S P E R FO R M E D | H E ’S G OT T H E W H O L E WO R L D I N H I S H A N D S ROS E ’S R AT I N G |

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At first I was skeptical of attempting the online class, but each video shares the same soothing music and voice of an instructor — and there’s even a few participants on the screen going through the class with you. It can’t replace a real class, but being able to break a sweat at home is so much better than aimlessly walking laps around your family room. As long as you have enough space and can dig up the yoga mat, or even a towel, from your basement, you’ve got all the equipment you need.

NEED MORE?

C H EC K O U T | G O TO PAG E 2 9 F O R M O R E AT H O M E WO R KO U T IDEAS INCLUDING CELEBRITY LED WO R KO U T S A N D LO C A L G Y M ’S WO R KO U T P O S T S .

N E T F L I X PA RT Y

A RT I ST | @ H OZ I E R

ROS E ’S R AT I N G |

WITH ALMOST EVERY workout studio closed and schools’ spring sports ending abruptly, I got a little antsy. You can always go for a run to let out the energy you’ve built up from trying not to yell at your siblings all day, but now there are several new, athome workout options at your disposal. You may not be able to go to a Core Power Yoga class at their studio, but their website offers 16 free video yoga classes that range from 30 minutes to an hour, as well as four free five-minute guided meditations.

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SOCIAL DISTANCING DOESN’T exactly allow for going over to a friend’s house to watch your favorite episode of “The Office” together during quarantine, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still chat about the funniest Michael Scott jokes. Netflix’s newest addition, Netflix Party, lets you share a link with friends to connect your Netflix accounts so you can all watch a show or movie at the same time. The pause, fast forward and rewind controls are connected between anyone using the same link so no one gets behind when someone needs to pee again or run and grab

another snack. There’s even a chat bar on the side to talk to friends while you watch so you won’t miss out on hearing each others’ guesses at who the murderer is in “Murder Mystery” or whether Hotch and the team are on the right track to finding the serial arsonist in “Criminal Minds.” Though it’s extra convenient now, I have a feeling my use of this feature will last longer than quarantine — I’ve already made a pact to use it with my sister once she goes back to college.

PA RT Y F EAT U R E S

T RY T H E S E

S I M U LTA N EO U S P L AY

TIGER KING

C H AT B OX D U R I N G M OV I E

SELF-MADE

C H RO M E EX T E N S I O N

I ’ M N OT O K AY W I T H T H I S

A D D I T I O N A L I D EAS O RGA N I Z E YO U R RO O M

TA K E U P A N I N S T R U M E N T

READ A NEW BOOK SERIES

H O S T A Z O O M PA RT Y


A&E | 23

design by | elizabeth mikkelson photos and information courtesy of | the basement kc

THE B SEMENT by cesca stamati

DRIVING THROUGH KANSAS CITY’S eerily quiet West Bottoms at the end of winter gives the look and feel of a ghost town in a 1980’s horror movie. So it’s no wonder this town-frozen-in-time is home to the top-rated horror-themed escape room in the country. Grab your medical face mask and make this your first stop as an exercise for your sleepy brain once released from quarantine. Unlike your average escape room, The Basement KC adds a live-action aspect to solving the breakout puzzle, featuring fully-makeuped performers with fake blood dripping down their faces who silently creep around and freak you out even from across the room. But to give you a little hint, the tall, bloodcovered man pacing the room and wearing an ominous long overcoat is actually a key step in escaping — and won’t hurt you, I promise. The horror-themed escape rooms offered here — minus any ghosts, zombies, or vampires — immerse you into the role of a person trying to escape the clutches of the made-up psychopathic killer Edward R. Tandy. The fear factor really goes a long way in engaging you more in the situation you will have to escape — or face the wrath of the taxidermyobsessed murderer. The Basement KC has two escape rooms, both with the same psycho-killer chasing after you. If you manage to escape Edward Tandy then you can move on, only to wind up deeper in the twisted story in the second chapter, “The Study.” While a 45 minute timer ticks faster and faster and your palms are drenched in sweat, you will have to solve puzzles, put yourself in the shoes of a potential victim and make quick decisions with your team in order to break out in time. To take this horror challenge, one person in the group must be 18 or older while the rest sign consent for their doom — or for safety validations. They recommend getting there a few minutes early and making sure you have all the paperwork and such you need to play.

“THE STUDY” ESC AP E ROO M THE NEWEST ADDITION to The Basement KC, “Chapter 2: The Study,” is the only other room available so far in what is eventually going to be a four-room series to complete before escaping. “The Study” assumes that you have somehow escaped the basement and moved on to the upstairs area of the house — only to be forced to hold in your screams and face the live actors once again if you want to escape. The same backstory is continued — you are locked in an area decorated as Edward’s personal study, set in the upper levels of the psycho killer’s family home. During the pre-game introduction, it was explained that I had arrived at the study after running up to the second floor of the house instead of racing out the front door (like anyone with common sense would). But in hindsight, with my lack of directional awareness I would probably go to the second floor too on accident if ever faced with this scenario in real life. The staff member joked that this choice seems to be the death-foreshadowing one that everyone makes in classic horror movies. But the comparison of the game to a thriller went deeper than that — the whole game felt like my Oscar winning debut of a fright-night horror film. Even though he wasn’t with us during the whole game, the live performer added a whole new layer to the experience. My fightor-flight mode was activated the moment he started grabbing my hand and whipping his gaze around the room with wild, terrified eyes. Luckily, I chose to fight — or at least calm myself down enough to stay and listen to what he had to say.

RU LES OF TH E G ME 4 5 M I N U T E S TO ESC A P E W I T H U P TO 1 0 P EO P L E I N T H E ROO M AT O N C E SCAN ME | VIDEO Scan here to watch the trailer for “The Basement” Escape Room

***** *****

The Basement KC’s newest escape room is a twisted, chilling mind game only for the brave to endure

4 /5 D IFFICULT Y 4 /5 INT ENS IT Y

SUCCE S S RAT E OF ABOUT 3 4 %

If you’re worried that you’d be too scared to focus on the game or get caught up thinking about dying the whole time, just remember to be paying close attention to what the actor says — it may end up being useful in breaking out. Or you might end up making the same mistake I did in and accidentally releasing the actor into a bloody murder screaming-state, sending me flying to the direct opposite side of the room — only to realize, it was another step and clue to getting out.

My fight-or-flight mode was activated the moment he started grabbing my hand and whipping his gaze around the room

cesca stamati | freshman Unlike some breakout rooms, you can’t just call out for a hint from the operators whenever you get confused. Even when we’d get stuck as minutes flew by and the performer slid by the walls of the room unbothered, they only gave assistance when spending too much time on a dead end or an actual game malfunction. After five minutes of dangling half my body upside down through a small hole and searching for another clue even though we had already found one inside, the staff member chimed in and said there was nothing left there that we would need. So even without structured, convenient hints popping in every 10 minutes, they still helped me along the way when I got too off track. While my friends and I didn’t end up breaking out and the live actor froze from across the room, looking like he was about to kill us right when the game ended, we were told that we had made it close to the end. Unfortunately, they didn’t reveal the rest of the steps to escape the room, leaving me curious, unsatisfied and wanting to go right back in again and finish it. No matter how much of a scaredy cat you think you are, this escape room is worth it. Just be careful not to become Edward Tandy’s next murder victim

OT H ER KA NSAS C IT Y ESCA PE ROO M S TO TRY FULL MOON ESCAPE 1401 W 13 St | DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY BREAKOUT KC 1 14 W 3rd St | RIVER MARKET

THE ESCAPE ARTIST 408 E 18th St | DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY TICK TOCK ESCAPE ROO M 6398 College Blvd | OVERLAND PARK ESCAPE ROOM KC 30 W Pershing Rd | UNION STATION


24 | A&E

M O R E T HA N

design by | rose kanaley photos courtesy of | imdb

OKAY Staffer reviews new seven-episode Netflix series “I Am Not Okay with this”

he breakdown of Netflix originals is simple — they’re either a huge hit or an embarrassing miss. “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”? Big miss. Way too cheesy. But “Stranger Things”? 100% hit — it baffles me how I lived my life before watching it. So when “I am Not Okay with This” was advertised on my Netflix homepage, I was skeptical as the series’ title didn’t offer much description. “Dear Diary” were the first words I heard after clicking play. Complete cringe and disappointment fell over me as I realized this show would be like all the other Netflix original flops — coming of age films with a quirky main character who doesn’t “fit in.” But my worries soon melted as Sydney, the main character, went on to explain how she was a simple girl like everybody else — ironically as “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” by the Kinks played.

Despite the dark elements of reality the show brings, it’s equally balanced with lighthearted adolescent experiences like normal teenage parties and after-school hangouts at diners.

*****

P L O T L I N E | 4 . 5 S TA R S S O U N D T R A C K | 5 S TA R S C I N E M AT O G R A P H Y | 4 S TA R S

struggling, trying to decide if she should just give into the darkness like her father as well. This relates to many more people than just those with super powers, as it symbolizes genetic mental illnesses or diseases that run in families, leaving children left to worry if they will end up the same way. Sydney always seemed to have a stronger connection with her father — choosing him over her mother — which creates the all-too familiar mother-daughter tension. Despite the dark elements of reality the show brings, it’s equally balanced with light-hearted adolescent experiences like normal teenage parties and after-school hangouts at diners. Although it’s never formally revealed, the show likely takes place in or is inspired by the 1980s brought on by the use of VHS tapes, vintage styles and vinyls. Normally, I would think that this setting is overused, but the aesthetic works really well with the cinematography, such as the town’s scenery and establishment shots. The soundtrack consists of totally rad bands like the Pixies, Prefab Sprout, Roxy Music and Paul Young. The music perfectly reflects the time setting and overall theme of the show — it puts you in the 80s in a small town in Pennsylvania with “Syd” and “Stan.” And I was impressed — the creators came up with an entirely new band solely for the show. Bloodwitch is introduced in the first episode, as a conversation and bonding piece for “Syd” and “Stan.” But this band only has one album, and it was composed by Graham Coxon — who also wrote the music for Netflix’s “The End Of The F*cking World.” A second season has not been confirmed, but it should be expected because the fans, including myself, are holding out for Sydney — the cliff hanger, abrupt ending wasn’t sufficient.

SCAN ME | ALBUM Check to listen to part of the show’s soundtrack “Bloodswitch.”

Staffer’s soundtrack favorites

DNE

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That statement was soon revoked when it was revealed she could do things with her mind, like accidentally killing her little brother’s pet hedgehog. This development was far-fetched enough to work, and it led to an interesting plot line for the rest of the seven 20-something minute episodes. And to be honest, I wish the season consisted of 20, 40-minute-long episodes so my new-found favorite characters and developments had more screen time, but the short episodes guaranteed action-filled entertainment every time. Life for Sydney now involved navigating her dysfunctional family, sexual orientation and super powers. Stanley Barber or “Stan” is the goofy, living-in-hisown-bubble, free of judgment, love interest of “Syd.” But he might not be the only one. Sydney is also in love with her best friend Dina, a feeling developed through her diary entries. Although, it seems these feelings are one-sided as Dina is overly concerned with her goldenboy, quarterback boyfriend. Sydney mentally battles with her inability to decide her feelings between both — torn between the familiar friendship Dina offers and the new, exciting adventures Stanley brings. And on top of juggling her telepathic powers, Sydney is left to look after her younger brother due to her mom’s hectic work schedule and her absent dad who committed suicide nine months before the show picks up.

Maybe the superpowers aren’t too relatable, but the trauma each family member is left to deal with, shown through Sydney’s perspective and voice-over, and the struggles of their family dynamic creates a sense of connection between the show and the audience by showing the relatable internal and external struggles the characters face. We later find out the reason her father committed suicide, and this only leaves Sydney with more mindspiraling confusion. After finding this out, she is left

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by sydney decker

TOP

5

P L AY L I ST P I C KS

“ I ’ M N OT L I K E E V E RY B O DY E LS E ”

by The Kinks

“ T H E K I N G O F ROC K A N D RO L L” by Prefab Spout

“ F LY ”

by Bloodwitch

“ I S H O U L D N OT B E S E E I N G YO U ” by Connie Conway

“ H E R E CO M E S YO U R M A N ” by Pixies


A&E | 25

design by | celia condon photos by | sarah golder & kate nixon

A T R I P TO 1

F I E R I ’ S FAVO R I T E S

A few more of Guy’s reviewed KC spots, and his rating

F L AV O RTO W N A review of Guy Fieri’s favorite KC restaurants from show “Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives”

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4

BANKSIA

9.4/10 TACO COMPANY

9.4/10

uy Fieri might be a harsh critic, but it’s no secret he has one of the most developed palates in the food industry. So when I heard he made a few stops in

C U PI NI’S JAROC H O AS THE CASHIER’S thick Italian accent described the most popular menu items at Cupini’s, it didn’t take long to decide on the authentic Italian margherita pizza and homemade lasagna — after all, Fieri praised it for having “everything you want in lasagna.” After placing my order I was directed past a refrigerator filled with pre-made pasta and cheesecake to the dining room in the back and found a seat under the pinned-up newspaper articles and pictures of Fieri. Within 10 minutes of ordering, my lasagna and margherita pizza were served, the heat burning my throat with my first bite. I could tell the thick-cut noodles in the lasagna were cooked to “al dente” and the light marina sauce with small chunks of tomatoes certainly didn’t come from a can. There wasn’t too much ground beef — the perfect noodle to sauce to meat ratio. I would’ve preferred a little more ricotta, but adding parmesan did the trick. Passing on a side of garlic bread is probably a smart idea — the six layered five-by-five piece of lasagna was much bigger than I expected. After trying the pizza, I realized that I had only ever tried American pizza — and Italian pizza isn’t heavy on grease and the cheese is always freshly grated. There wasn’t much sauce — which is customary to Italian pizza — allowing me to enjoy the taste of the homemade crust and cheese without sauce dominating the whole pizza. The savory basil taste and fresh mozzarella certainly improved the quality of the pizza, but the crust pulled it all together. The

***** C U P I N I ’ S | 5 S TA R S

1809 | WESTPORT ROA D K A N S A S C I T Y, M O | 6 4 1 1 1

best part was the thin crust — cooked just until crispy and not at all doughy. It’s already hard enough to find quality Italian restaurants in Kansas, but Cupini’s showed me what authentic Italian cuisine should look like. Not only did I develop new pizza standards I’m afraid Waldo Pizza’s greasiness won’t live up too, but I realized Fieri was right, the lasagna is “funkalicious.”

AT FIRST, THE THOUGHT of combining Mexican and seafood just didn’t seem right — no good restaurant serves both enchiladas and

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J A R O C H O | 4 S TA R S 7 1 9 | K A N S A S AV E N U E K A N S A S C I T Y, K S | 6 6 1 0 5

clams. But surprisingly enough, Jarocho managed to prove my theory wrong. The bright pink and blue walls painted with sea animals created an aquatic, seafood restaurant type atmosphere, that looked straight out of the Caribbean. While items like fresh guacamole and fish fillet kept the two types of food separate, options like shrimp chipotle and Mexican soup with shrimp combined the cuisines together in one dish — something that makes this restaurant unique. Looking for an option of each type of food, I chose the guacamole, two grilled shrimp tacos and six oysters — something that would test Jarocho’s ability to execute true seafood in Kansas well. With half the booths in the restaurant full, I was surprised when the waiter served everything within a few minutes of ordering. I was hesitant to try the oysters — the sliminess and concept of raw fish has never sounded appealing to me. Even though the oysters were prepared well and seasoned, one was plenty for me. The salty taste left in my mouth was reminding me of the sea with every swallow for the next hour. Now it’s no secret that guacamole is essential to every Mexican restaurant. While Jarocho’s could’ve used more lemon juice and wasn’t as flavorful as Chipotle’s, it still met my constant guac craving. Each taco was filled with at least four pieces of shrimp, Mexican slaw and chipotle sauce. The grilled shrimp left a charred taste that added to the taco as a whole and the garlic and cilantro enhanced the flavor. Not often do you find a restaurant specializing in two different types of food, especially two that are polar opposites like Mexican and seafood. Jarocho offers fresh seafood from crab to octopus, while including traditional Mexican dishes like queso and guacamole. Next time you can’t decide between fish and quesadillas, make it easier for yourself and order a combination at Jarocho.

2 5

THE BRICK

9.9/10 PIGWICH

9.5/10

3 6

GRINDERS

10/10

EXTRA VIRGIN

9.8/10

Kansas City on his hit food review show “Diners, DriveIns and Dives,” I decided to try out three of the featured restaurants — Cupini’s, Jarocho and Woodyard Barbecue.

WOODYARD JUST THREE BLOCKS away from Woodyard Barbecue there was no chance I’d get lost. Arrows and signs were planted on the streets of northern Merriam, KS that led me to the sweet smell of beans and burnt ends. They finally directed me to the outside of the restaurant that looked like an old shack with a hard-to-find, fading spraypainted sign out front. The smell of true Kansas City barbecue immediately reached my nose as soon as I stepped out of my car, likely from the piles of different types of wood — from applewood to hickory — in the back lot of Woodyard. After all, the joint got their name by being a “wood yard” and selling specialty wood to other barbecue restaurants in KC. The “dining room” was bigger than I expected and could easily seat 50 people, even though I was the only one there — which seemed unusual for a Friday afternoon. After browsing the menu, I decided on the pulled pork sandwich with a side of burnt end chili. When the sandwich was served I was surprised by the amount of pulled pork that was piled on the bun — the meat must’ve added

*****

W O O D YA R D B A R B E C U E | 5 S T A R S 3001 | MERRIAM LANE K A N S A S C I T Y, K S | 6 6 1 0 6

at least two inches to the sandwich and was spilling outside the bun onto the tray. While the smoked pulled pork itself could’ve had more flavor, the trip to the self-serve barbecue sauce station made a major improvement. Burnt ends are a delicacy to KC barbecue and not every restaurant is able to execute the dish. That being said, I wasn’t sure Woodyard would match my expectations of a flavorful piece of meat that’s perfectly cooked — not chewy but still fullycooked. But upon trying the chili, it became clear why it was one of Woodyard’s best-sellers. The big chunks of meat weren’t at all dry and the chili, thankfully, wasn’t spicy enough to have me reaching for my water with every bite. Woodyard Barbecue is the definition of KC barbecue. The hickory smoked smell and home-made sauce proved the authenticity of the barbecue. As a Kansas City native, trust me when I say you don’t know true barbecue until you’ve tried Woodyard.


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SPORTS | 27

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S P O RTS

HIGHLIGHTS

Concluding thoughts, updates, schedules and quotes about the beginning and quick end to the 2020 spring sports season from players and seniors

STUDENT POLLS

L I V E WO R KO U T S

HAS IT BEEN HARD FOR YOU TO BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE DURING QUARANTINE? | 293 VOTES

Companies offering free live workouts via Instagram and Facebook L U L U L E M O N | F E AT U R I N G Y O G A , W O R K O U T S , M E D I TAT I O N &

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CHECK IT OUT CO R E P OW E R SCAN ME | V I D E O Check out CorePower Yoga’s live workout streams on Youtube.

S E N I O R TA K E

PLANET FITNESS SC A N M E | V I D EO Check out Planet Fitness’ live workout streams on Youtube.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SPRING SEASON COMING TO AN END? L E F T | Senior Karoline Nelson clears the ball during the Blue and Black scrimmage. photo by | megan stopperan

so ft b a l l I’m really sad that the season ended so soon because we had a really solid team this year and I think we would’ve played really well. Also I was super excited to get to play for one last year with all the girls on the team.

jenna thiemann | senior

b oys tenni s I’m bummed. We were working so hard to win another state title this year. I’m proud of our team and know they will do great next year.

jake louiselle | senior A B O V E | Senior Isabella Velez struggles to keep control of the ball during the Blue and Black scrimmage. photo by | megan stopperan F A R L E F T | Junior Cade Eldred takes off his cleats after a 20-0 win against Lawrence High School’s varsity lacrosse. photo by | noelle griffin L E F T | During their lacrosse first game, Coach Leff talks to the players in a huddle during halftime. photo by | noelle griffin

g i rl s so ccer I’m really sad about it because our team had so much potential and now we won’t be able to play together. For some of these seniors it was their last season of soccer taken away from them which really sucks.

karoline nelson | senior


SPORTS | 28

design by | lily haw photos by | mj wolf

IN HONOR OF RICH NITSCH Senior Wade Fuggitt is awarded the first ever Rich Nitsch Service Academics Wrestling Scholarship award

S

by kelly murphy

enior Wade Fugitt felt his eyes water as he made his way up to the cafeteria podium. All he had to do was hold the trophy long enough to take a few photos before letting his emotions take over. Fugitt had just won the first ever Rich Nitsch Service Academics Wrestling Scholarship. “This award goes to someone who wrestled with Coach Nitsch in eighth grade, became the team manager while recovering from an injury and volunteered to be an assistant coach at Indian Hills Middle School,” announced Kansas City Wrestling Club Coach Marc Erickson. Fugitt had been following along with every detail about the award’s mystery recipient in Erickson’s speech, and to his surprise, each one described him. When Erickson announced Fugitt as the winner — and it was all he could do to hold back his tears while he posed for pictures, hoisting the trophy in the air. “It’s a lot easier for me to cope [with Coach Nitsch’s death] just knowing that we’re keeping his memory alive this way,” Fugitt said. The Rich Nitsch Service Academics

It’s a lot easier for me to cope [with Coach Nitsch’s death] just knowing that we’re keeping his memory alive this way.

wade fugitt | senior

A B OV E Senior Wade Fugitt opens a gift enclosing a framed newspaper. photo by | mj wolf A B O V E Senior Wade Fugitt smiles with Rich Nitsch’s wife and club coach Marc Erickson after winning the Rich Nitsch Academics Wrestling Scholarship. photo by | mj wolf

Wrestling Scholarship was created this year by his friends and family to commemorate Rich Nitsch, the late Indian Hills Middle School and Kansas City Wrestling Club (KCWC) wrestling coach who passed in 2018. Service, academics and wrestling were three of the biggest components in Nitsch’s life, so a $6,000 scholarship for a young wrestler who lived by those core values seemed fitting, according to Erickson. The scholarship recipient also had to have wrestled with Nitsch as their coach at Indian Hills and continued wrestling through high school. “[Fugitt’s] just been really unanimous among the coaches,” Erickson said. “He was an easy choice because he is somebody who’s really been dedicated to wrestling.” Nitsch coached Fugitt in eighth grade at Indian Hills and KCWC. Fugitt was never the best wrestler on the team, but Nitsch always cared more about everyone’s well-being than he ever cared about their performance on the mat, according to East’s head wrestling Coach Chip Ufford. “Nitsch believed in him, and when you have somebody that believes in you, that makes a world of difference in everything you do,” Fugitt’s mom Robin Fugitt said.

Thanks to Nitsch, every wrestler always had a ride to and from practice — whether he personally drove them or found them a ride. He even set up a tutoring program to help his athletes succeed in the classroom. “He put more time into helping us than coaching even though we did do really well with him as our coach,” Fugitt said. “He had a ‘you first, team second’ attitude.” Fugitt only doubted Nitsch’s unwavering dedication once. At the eighth grade wrestling banquet, Nitsch — a retired FBI agent — decided to give out FBI challenge coins to reward wrestlers for their hard work and instill confidence in them. Nitch gave everyone FBI coins, except Fugitt, whose coin he forgot at his house. Fugitt thought Nitsch had completely forgotten about it after a few months had gone by. Then one day, he pulled Fugitt to the side at KCWC practice and gave him the coin along with a handwritten letter. “The letter said how proud he was of me for getting through the whole season and wrestling for those two years in middle school,” Fugitt said. “It was a bittersweet moment.” Throughout high school, Fugitt wrestled through all the highs and lows that came with the sport. Of course it was exhilarating when he cheered on a teammate fighting hard at an all-day tournament or won a match in front of a huge crowd of enthusiastic parents. But there were many days when Fugitt sat in class and considered not going to practice, knowing he’d get yelled at by his coaches and pinned down again. Every time he showed up anyway — not just to prove to himself that he could do it, but also for Nitsch. Nitsch’s passing during Fugitt’s sophomore year made him seriously consider not finishing out his high school wrestling career. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I really want to keep doing this,’” Fugitt said. “Then I just thought about what I’d be doing if he were still here. So I made it my focus to wrestle for him and do it because he’d want me to.” As a result, Fugitt won 16 of his 25 matches this year and finished second in a tournament for the first time. “Fugitt’s definition of champion this year as a senior was to finish the season, finish the season healthy and finish the season wrestling,” head wrestling Coach Chip Ufford said. Now that wrestling season is over, Fugitt’s slowly moving on from the sport. He plans on using the scholarship money to help pay for his Johnson County Community College tuition as he pursues his childhood dream of becoming a firefighter. “I think [Coach Nitsch] would have liked that I want to help the community and give back like he did,” Fugitt said.


SPORTS | 29

design by | jackie cameron

WO R K ( O U T ) F RO M H O M E

Local workout studios host livestream at home workouts while celebrities take to social media to share their own at home workout routines

H EA LT H HOU SE HEALTH HOUSE, a fitness center with locations in Prairie Village and Leawood, Kan. is offering at-home workouts via their Instagram, @health_house. The details — times, descriptions, equipment, etc — for virtual classes are listed in a recent post, with updates as the weeks go on. The on-average-50-minute workouts have been adjusted so that equipment you would typically use in the studio like

DA I LY C L AS S E S

weights, treadmills, rowing machines or any other gym equipment are not necessary. There’s still the option to use equipment you have at home, but it’s not required. You can tune into the classes through their Instagram live as real Health House instructors walk you through their classic workouts like “Medicine Man,” “Hiit It,” “Arm Party” and “Sweat It Out” all int he comfort of your

O R AN G E THEORY ORANGETHEORY FITNESS has moved to hosting daily at-home workouts through their Youtube feed. Their Youtube channel — linked in their website — provides customers free, easy-access videos created by trained instructors in order to stay fit during quarantine. Orangetheory’s new at-home workouts incorporate around-

FUSION FITNESS, a local fitness studio with three Kansas locations is hosting a new program, “Fit Fest”, in collaboration with Sweatlab Fitness to encourage customers to stay fit while in quarantine. The program includes classes such as Fusion Mix, Hiit, Tnt, Cardio Core, Btw and Barre — all of which were previously offered in person. In order to participate in the

own home. As for the music, they include songs playing in the background

SCAN ME | WEBSITE Scan here to visit Health House’s website

of the Instagram lives to keep you on track and on beat to replicate the same in-class workout environment.

F R E E C L AS S E S

the-house objects to use in place of gym equipment like weights — ranging from soap jugs to suitcases

SCAN ME | CHANNEL Visit Orange Theory’s YouTube channel full of at-home workouts

to a box of pretzels. Their goal with the unusual equipment is to

F USI O N FI TNESS

HIIT, ABS, ARMS

by sophie henschel

OKAY YES, your favorite workout studio closed for quarantine — right when you decided it was time to get in shape — but on the bright side now they’re streaming live classes that you can do from the comfort of your bedroom. And celebrity vloggers may not be posting gym selfies — instead they’ve shared their favorite ways to burn some cals without leaving the house. So don’t worry there’s plenty of fun at-home-workouts, meaning quarantine is not an excuse to stop physical activity.

T H E CE L E B SCOO P FITNESS HAS ALWAYS been a driving trait for Brittany Lynne — girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. As the recent social restrictions have lead to more people looking for direction as to how to stay fit from home, Lynne has used Instagram as a platform to share her workouts and encourage others. With the help of her videographer, Preston Smith, she films her workouts from home and posts them to her Instagram page, @brittanylynne. Lynne attaches detailed descriptions as for what you’ll need and how to participate at home. Her workouts use household items like a chair or bench instead of gym equipment. Lynne attaches three different modifications of the workout in order to help cater to each person’s abilities and to help provide options for how they’d like to work themselves according to their target goals.

USE STAIRS TO EXERCISE

S OA P W E I G H TS

show that it doesn’t take much to stay active in these times, and anyone can participate. Since March 19, they have been posting their 30-40 minute at-home workouts, each with different workout circuits including everything from planks to burpees to lunges galore.

@BRITTANYLYNNE squat to front kick single leg hip thrust glute bridge to knees out hamstring curl push-ups

SWEAT WITH THE CELEBS W E E K E N D C L AS S E S

workouts, Fusion Fitness has been posting on their Instagram, @fusionfitnesskc, the times, instructors and description of each class. The classes take place on live streams — both on Fusion’s Instagram account and Sweatlab’s: @sweatlab. The lives feature one instructor in an empty studio with nothing but a yoga mat, water and a few light weights. Although Fusion

A LS O @ SW EAT L A B does still advise certain equipment for their workouts, they are not

see other celebrities that are sharing their workout routines during quarantine @ashleygraham

SCAN ME | VIDEO Visit Fusion Fitness’ Instagram channel to find scheduled live workouts

@jessicaalba @chrishemsworth

necessary to follow the instructor through the workout.

SCAN ME | STORY Scan this QR code to read staffer Riley Atkinson’s review of different at-home workouts


30 | SPORTS

design by | lauren dierks photo by | megan biles

S P O RTS C U T S H O RT by brynn winkler

AFTER KANSAS GOV. Laura Kelly’s executive order to close all K-12 schools for the remainder of the school year, KSHSAA’s cancelation of all spring athletic events soon followed. We talked to seniors representing each spring sport about what their season could’ve been, and their thoughts on losing their last season of playing as a Lancer.

Seniors share their thoughts on their spring sports season being cancelled due to COVID-19

JENNA THIEMANN | SOFTBALL What were you looking forward to most this season as a senior? “I was really looking forward to just being a team leader for girls because I’m the only senior, and I was looking forward to getting to know the freshmen and the new players.

JOHN WEEDMAN | BASEBALL Was the group of seniors a tight knit group? How would this relationship impact your season? “We were pretty close. I mean, as every senior class would be, but I feel like we definitely all had the same mindset and determination this year. And I think that would have taken us further than maybe some years when the senior class is really talented, but not as close and not as determined to win as a team. But I think this year’s group of guys was really good, and we all knew what we had to do. I’m lucky enough that it’s not my last season playing baseball, but for the rest of the seniors, you know, you kind of feel for them because their last games were taken away from them, and they never even got to play this year. It would have been a lot of fun just competing as a class one last time.”

WILL HARDING | GOLF What were you looking forward to for this season? “A bunch of [us have] all grown up playing golf together and we’ve all talked about playing at State and maybe having

And also getting to know the coaches too, because they’re both new — except the JV coach — and then just getting to play for one last year before I go to college.“

JA K E LO U I S E L L E | T E N N I S

What’s your favorite memory from East tennis that you’ll miss this year?

“As a senior I’m very bummed that I didn’t have the chance to play my last season. I would say high school tennis was one of my favorite memories of high school and I built many friendships. I would say just being on a team was probably my greatest memory and working together. For tennis, when you play tournaments on your own house season you’re playing with just yourself as an individual and competing against other players. When you play high school tennis on a team, you’re working together, training together, playing together to try to win a tournament or match, and each match counts to win a duel or a tournament. So it’s not like you’re just competing yourself on something in a tournament you’re competing to win as a team and for East.”

L I Z Z I E M AC A DA M | T R AC K

the opportunity to win State, and so I was really looking

How does it feel to not have your senior track season?

forward to doing that. I’ve played with Wesley Costello,

“At first, it wasn’t like I was rolling on the floor, sobbing and super upset about it, but I was

Walter Honnald, Thomas Gogel, all those guys probably

just thinking about the small things that I wouldn’t have any more. Like we have group

for 10 plus years now, just through junior golf and stuff like

meetings on Monday where they hand out the medals from the week before and we

that around Kansas City. And it’s just a bonus that we all

all clap for whoever got medals. Or like bus rides to away meets, stuff like that. Meets that

went to the same high school and we were all looking

would go to like 2 a.m. and then we would all bring the speaker and blast music on way

forward to doing stuff like this. You spend a lot of time

back. Thinking about all of that just made me so sad.”

with your team every day after school at practice and then on the road at tournaments and you just miss out on moments like that and it just sucks.”

What were you looking forward to this season? “What I was most looking forward to was, obviously since I’m a senior this year, you finally get to be in that leadership role. When I was an underclassman, track was such a family. I felt so welcomed and so accepted when I went there, and I wanted to create

What were the team’s expectations heading into the season? “I think we had an overall really positive attitude and we were

that for the underclassmen this year.”

J OS E P H I N E M CC R AY | S O C C E R

expecting to have a lot of fun, but also work really hard. And the

What would this soccer season have likely looked like?

expectations were to hopefully win State, and I think we

“Honestly, I think everyone on the team thought that we had the best chance this year

probably would have done that because we had a lot of really

of either making it to State or possibly winning State. We had a lot of returning players;

good talent and a lot of really hard workers on our team. I think

we basically had like three spots open. So we were all super, super close. So I know we

because of that, and the depth of our team, too, we probably

would have had a lot of good team chemistry and I can’t really say for certain that we

would have won. [The season’s cancellation] was really sad at first and it was honestly hard to process it, but after thinking about it for a while, I’m hoping that when everything calms down we’ll still be able to do some team bonding stuff and finish some traditions that we’ve always had outside of the pool.”

would have won a lot of games or whatever, but I know that we would have had just a really fun season as a team just being around each other.”


PHOTOSTORY | 31

design by | kate nixon photos by | sarah golder

DODGE FO R A C AU S E

KLIFE, a youth ministry, hosted their annual dodgeball tournament to raise money for various KLIFE-sponsored programs

A B OV E L E F T Sophomore Hayley Ives prepares to attempt to get an opponent out. A B OV E R I G H T At the start of a game, senior Brooklyn Beck sprints towards the line to get balls. “I’ve been competing in [this dodgeball tournament] with the same girls since we were in seventh grade so this being our senior year, we really wanted to do well and we ended up winning,” Beck said.

A B O V E R I G H T After winning their match in the tournament, parents and other teams watch as a high school team celebrates. R I G H T The KLIFE dodgeball bracket rests against chairs on the side of the court. The tournament raises money for KLIFE itself, which then goes to paying leaders, providing scholarships for retreats and other costs associated with running events.

A B O V E A team of freshmen wait for the ref’s orders at the start of a game. L E F T Senior Elizabeth Long looks at her opponents in preparation to dodge balls. Long, on the “Dodging Peter’s Roses” team based off of The Bachelor, “was dressed as Peter from the bachelor. It was kind of embarrassing walking in and having all these people stare at you. I honestly thought it was worth it because it made the team chemistry and our team a lot better,” Long said.


32

design by | celia condon information & photo courtesy of | the CDC

IN FOGRAP H IC | SP EC IA L SEC T ION

T H E FAC TS :

COV I D

19

An overview of the need-to-know information regarding the Coronavirus

THE WO R L D A look at how COVID-19 is impacting countries worldwide in numbers (as of March 25, 2020)

TH E SY M PTO M S

NO REPORTS 1-500

THE STATS

501-1,000

O F AC T I V E C AS E S , 95% O F PAT I E N TS A R E

1,001-10,000

I N M I L D CO N D I T I O N , A N D 5% A R E I N C R I T I C A L CO N D I T I O N

O F C LOS E D C AS E S , 87% O F PAT I E N TS H AV E B E E N R ECOV E R E D , A N D 13% H AV E D I E D

K A N SAS I S T H E O N LY STAT E W I T H A L L S C H OO LS C LOS E D FO R T H E E N T I R E T Y O F T H E AC A D E M I C Y EA R

I DA H O, N E B R AS KA , I OWA , A N D M A I N E S C H OO LS A R E S C H E D U L E D TO S OO N C LOS E FO R T H E W H O L E Y EA R

T H E R E M A I N I N G 45 STAT E S A R E S C H E D U L E D TO R EO P E N N EA R L AT E M A RC H

A SPIKE IN

TEMPERATURE

DEVELOPMENT OF A COUGH

A SHORTNESS O F B R EAT H

10,000+

TH E E N D

1 2

T H E V I R U S W I L L S LOW D OW N W I T H WA R M E R W EAT H E R COVID-19 thrives in 50-70 degree weather. Doctors and scientists predict the virus will decrease during the summer months.

E V E RYO N E W I L L G E T S O M E FO R M O F T H E V I RU S

Some scientists believe that everyone on Earth with get COVID-19, in some form, and some people wont even realize it.

3

There’s a hope that a vaccine will be discovered. If one were to develop, it would be a year or two before it is easily accessible.

4

Doctors will study the DNA of recovered COVID-19 patients to try and duplicate the antibodies that helped fight off the virus.

A VACCINE MAY BE CREATED, AND ACCESSIBLE IN 12-24 MONTHS

VIRUS SURVIVORS WILL BE STUDIED TO FIND NATURAL IMMUNITIES

O R EA R LY A P RI L

THE S PR EA D A F T E R B E I N G EXP OS E D TO COV I D -19, I T

COVI D -19 IS S PR EAD T H RO U G H :

C A N TA K E H U M A N S 2-12 DAYS TO S H OW A N Y SY M P TO M S

1: UNCOOKED MEAT The way the virus began

3: PHYSICAL CONTACT

The easiest way to spread the virus

T H E AV E R AG E R ECOV E RY T I M E FO R PAT I E N TS I S 2 W E E KS I F T H E C AS E I S M I L D, A N D 3-6 W E E KS I F S E V E R E

*information from nbc

2: SHARING DRINKS The fastest way to spread the virus

4: TOUCHING YOUR FACE

The easiest way to infect yourself


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