Shawnee Mission South Patriot February 2012

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PATRIOT Shawnee Mission South February/ 2012 Volume/ 46 Issue/ 05

Awarding the Alums/ 05 Just Friends?/ 08 Behind the Label/ 11

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CONTENTS 18

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1012 CONTRIBUTORS:

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Editor-in-Chief Ads Design Shelby Johnson A&E Writers Alma Velazquez Trivette Knowles Managing Editor Rachel Rosenstock Griffin Zeller Sports Derek Fuhrmann Casey Lee Miguel Palomino News Garrett Mould Olivia Feathers Luke Holland Opinions Calvin Freeman Adam Mateos Nathan Thimmesch Features Hanan El Shoubaki Hannah Strader Photographers Trevor Gariety Photos Julia Larberg Grace Pritchett Brooke Holmes Web Web Staff Hunter Young Alan Cordry Aaron Whatley PATRIOT Cartoonist Claire Thomas Adviser Julie Fales Shawnee Mission South February/ 2012 Volume/ 46 Issue/ 05

Awarding the Alums/ 05

On the Cover:

Senior Joe Slickman pushes through the water, PHOTO BY /CAROLINE putting energy into the butterfly. See boys swim BUSCH record Page 20 Just Friends?/ 08

Behind the Label/ 11

News /04

Current happenings in and out of school

In the Midst of Death /06

Staff writer talks about the shortness of life and how to treasure it

A Different Approach /07 Staff writer encourages girls to make the first move

Debate /08 Students discuss whether boys and girls can just be friends

Online Blackout /09

The editorial staff speaks out against proposed legislation

Techapedia /10

How two students make a profit while using their computer skills

Stereotypes /11

Students from all walks of life express feelings about labels

Hidden Places /14

The Patriot staff investigates hidden places around the school

15 /The Soloist

Star musician explains the impact of music on her life

16 /Reviews

Recent movies and music, as well as guys’ opinions on chick flicks

18 /Rozz ‘N’ Roll

A profile on one of South’s custodians and her unique talent

20 /Sports Briefs A look into how sports are doing this season

21 /All We Do is Win, Win, Win

A photo essay showcasing all of the wins from the boys basketball games

22 /Basketballin’ An analysis of the basketball team’s performance this season

23 /Swoope’s Hoops An inside look at the varsity basketball team’s youngest player

24 /Spotlight The Improv Troupe jokes around during their last Improv Night

TOC /FEBRUARY 2012/ 03

End of a tradition South forced to say goodbye to CIS program BY /SHELBY JOHNSON evel 1 of Japanese, Chinese and Russian will no longer be offered at Shawnee Mission South to allow for the additional levels to be offered at the satellite locations.” That one sentence, printed in a letter distributed by Associate Principal Ryan Flurry, will change, if it already hasn’t, the lives and high school careers of many South students. It marks the end of the Center for International Studies program, a former signature program. The program was established at South in 2002, after being shut down at the Mohawk Instructional Center. In studying Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Arabic, the students were immersed in cultures that were not their own, and came to be a sort of family.

At a meeting Nov. 14, the Shawnee Mission Board of Education decided that due to the lack of numbers in the language classes, South will no longer be host to all four of the CIS languages at the start of the 20132014 school year. Arabic will be the only CIS language remaining at South keeping all levels of the language, due to the high enrollment compared to the other

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languages.

Instead, the languages will be spread throughout the district. Chinese will be taught at East, Japanese at Northwest, and Russian at North, with Arabic remaining at South.

“It’s a numbers thing,” Flurry said. “We have to have a certain number of students enrolled in order to continue offering a class.”

Over the past few years, both interest and enrollment have dwindled in most of the languages, and CIS students are disappointed with the outcome.

“There are so many opportunities that could help me plan ahead,” freshman Cadence McGary said.

Her view is also shared by junior Gentry Toman.

“I am really upset,” Toman said. “Chinese has really changed my life.”

Toman has been a part of the Chinese program since her freshman year and plans on possibly moving to China and teaching English to students.

“I know that I won’t be affected directly by the change, but it’s sad that others won’t get an opportunity

Masters of music Students show talent at Masterworks BY /GRIFFIN ZELLER harmony of orchestra, band, and singing filled the auditorium on Jan. 26 at the annual Masterworks concert. Once a year, the three musical groups come together to perform. This concert has been an South tradition for 11 years now. The choir, band and orchestra performed well-known compositions by composers such as W.A. Mozart and George Telemann.

According to band director Steve Adams, Masterworks is a concert where the symphonic band and orchestra and top choirs all come together to perform difficult pieces, and feature a soloist from each organization. Senior Taylor Pickering represented the choir; senior Allie Kite played a viola solo; and senior Kristen Jenson played a flute solo.

Others receiving recognition for their talent were Hannah Cantrell, Sam Tankel, Jillian Kincaid, Peter Litzler, Lucas Elliott, Todd Nobles, Andy Hermann, Sarah Stevens, and Heinrich Dettmann.

The concert was divided into three parts: one for Symphonic Band, one for Masterworks

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soloists, and the last for Choir and Symphonic Orchestra combined.

Pickering sang “Carmen” by Georges Bizet.

Jenson played “Concerto in G,” K. 313, and Kite played “Viola Concerto” in G major.

One of the main points of the concert was to showcase the soloists, who are decided by band director Adams, choir director Dustin Cates and orchestra director Jonathan Wiebe.

“It’s pretty enjoyable and eye opening to see the level of talent at the school,” Adams said.

According to sophomore Ben Bernard, the groups don’t really get nervous at this concert.

“You hear a difference when it is just the orchestra playing,” Bernard said. “But this time you’ve had a couple of concerts, there isn’t as much pressure. I think that we will perform well.”

Masterworks, even though it involves more musical groups, isn’t much different than other concerts, according to Cates.

“They play it together, and it is a showcase for the seniors, we just really want to showcase the talent we have at the school,” Cates said.

to learn what I learned,” Toman said.

If students who will be affected by the cancellation of the program wish to continue to pursue a language, they can apply for transfers to the satellite location of their desired language or can attend the designated class period for the language at the other school.

While transferring schools is an option, Toman doesn’t find it to be realistic.

“I don’t think that many kids are going to transfer.

There’s just not enough interest. Even if we had the chance to try and get more enrollment, there’s not much awareness about the program,” Toman said.

At the start of the 2012-2013 school year, level 1 of Chinese, Japanese and Russian will not be offered at South. Levels 2-6 will continue to be offered until the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

“What can the kids gain or lose from this?” Principal Joe Gilhaus said. “That’s argumentative. If you really want to take the language/class, you can. You still have all the options and opportunities.”

The ladies’ choice

Preview of WPA dance

BY /TRIVETTE KNOWLES any hours of preparation have been put in so that this year’s WPA dance could be a success.

Taking place Feb. 4, aspects of the dance have been changed since last year to help further improve the experience for students. The dance committee is different from previous years. Led by senior Erica Lang, the all-girl staff has different focuses and goals than if males were involved.

“We always seem to be on the same page, and it’s just easier for us to come up with solutions and discuss ideas and really make events happen,” Lang said.

Not only is the theme, Kiss Me Good night, different from last year, but several other aspects of the dance had to be prepared and were thought over by the whole committee.

“Sometimes you get into the cafeteria and look at the blank cafeteria and think ‘oh my goodness what am I going to do with this,’” senior Elise Haas said. “[The committee] really goes all out. They work so hard; I’ve seen them in garages putting glitter on stars. Once you get going it gets easier, but it’s a long process and you have to have all the supplies and a game plan otherwise it takes quite a while.”

In preparation for the dance, each day of the week the pep club set a different theme. From tie day to impostor day, all grades participated. Each spirit day led up to the boys varsity game against the Olathe South Eagles.

“I think the spirit week before the dance is very important, because sometimes people don’t necessarily get to go to the dance or choose not to. But at least that week is fun for those who don’t get to go,” Haas said “It also gets the people who are going really excited for the game and after you can get excited for the dance the next day. When you build up spirit it makes things so much more fun.”

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PHOTOS BY /JULIA LARBERG Top: Senior Allie Kite plays a viola solo to represent orchestra.

Bottom: Senior Taylor Pickering represents choir with a solo.

Busy at work Theater prepares for winter play BY /NATHAN THIMMESCH

T PHOTOS BY /SHAI WILLIAMS Left: Old friends Brett Steiner and Steve Smith are inducted together.

Top: Coach JJ Wannamaker presents Steiner with his award.

Bottom: Coach Ryan Lonergan presents Ted Stealey with his award.

Raiders Remember New members inducted into hall of fame PHOTO BY /TREVOR GARIETY

BY /CALVIN FREEMAN ountless students have walked through these hallways during their high school career and excelled athletically, but a few have stood out from the rest. The Shawnee Mission South Raider Hall of Fame welcomed three new members at halftime of the boys varsity basketball game Jan. 27 against Shawnee Mission West. Ted Stealey, Steve Smith and Brett Steiner were all inductees and each one of them had the credentials to back it up according to Athletic Director John Johnson.

Stealey, class of 1969, is remembered for his performance on the football field.

“He was the very first big time football star at Shawnee Mission South,” Johnson said.

Stealey was named First Team All-League and First Team All-State while attending South.

“As one of his coaches described him, he was ‘Darren Sproles before we had Darren Sproles,’” Johnson said.

Stealey, like Sproles, was a smaller running back who had quick feet and was known for avoiding tackles.

Sproles currently plays for the New Orleans Saints. The two backs had similar running styles and both attended K-State.

Stealey strived to have a “never give up” attitude which earned him a full ride to play football at Kansas State University. However, Stealey’s favorite memory from South didn’t occur on the gridiron.

“One of the football coaches had a study hall and he sat me next to this really cute girl,” Stealey said. “I’ve been married 38 years to her.”

The other two inductees are remembered for bringing state championships to South as a dynamic one-two punch. Steiner and Smith were Cross Country and Track runners during their high school years. Both athletes graduated in 1980 and they pushed each other throughout their seasons side by side.

“We worked together; that’s what made it easy,” Steiner said. “Trying to keep up with Steve made me faster.”

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Despite impressive accomplishments and records set in the high school environment, Steiner’s most remarkable achievement was winning the National Cross Country Championship his senior year in San Diego.

“Winning that event is what really put me on a national scene,” Steiner said.

Senior and member of the 2011 Cross Country state championship team, Michael Gawlick described some of Steiner and Smith’s records as “untouchable.”

The Hall of Fame ceremony is a new tradition at South. This year was the school’s third annual Hall of Fame Night. Three members have been added each year, each one with his or her unique story. A committee of 11 members made up of current teachers, current administrators, past teachers and community members is responsible for deciding who is inducted. Other than Dr. Johnson and Principal Joe Gilhaus the names of committee members remain anonymous.

According to Johnson, the Hall of Fame ceremony is more than just a plaque and a place on a shelf for the inductees. It serves as a chance to have a welcoming reunion back to the school. They get to catch up with old classmates, old friends and past acquaintances.

Previously inducted members include All-State Quarterback and 1973 Kansas State Football Champion, Steve Little; Track and Field athlete and 1980 Kansas Athlete of the Year, Clint Johnson; Kansas 6A Girls Basketball leading scorer and 1995 Kansas State Champion, Kate (Benson) Allen; two time Kansas State Champion Head Football Coach, John Davis; four time Kansas State Champion Head Baseball Coach, Bill McDonald; and three time Kansas State Wrestling Champion, Scott Luschen.

“The level of excellence for each of the athletes and people we have is hard to distinguish one to the other who’s got the best story,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of good athletes that came through this school.”

he theater department has been hard at work these past few months with preparations for their winter production, The Drowsy Chaperone. Students are looking forward to performing this musical within a comedy.

The show follows a nameless narrator, simply called Man in Chair, as he listens to his favorite Broadway musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. As he listens, narrating when necessary to keep the audience informed about the goings-on and actors and actresses, the show becomes more and more energetic.

Those participating in the show feel that the musical is making progress towards a good opening night.

“They learned all the music and choreography before Christmas Break,” said Lynette Williams, theater teacher and director of the play.

For the past two months students have been learning their lines and have recently begun blocking, which is the way the characters move, and incorporating their choreography.

“We have rehearsal after school every day till about 5:30, 6 p.m.. We’ve been working on choreography a lot,” senior Haley White said.

Several other students agree that the musical is advancing towards a successful production.

“We’ve been having rehearsals every week,” senior Christoph Nevins said. “We’ve done all of the dancing numbers and now we’re working on staging and mixing the two.”

The crew, though not having officially met yet, is well on their way to a good production.

“The crew mostly prepares during rep class,” White said.

Williams said, “Right now, crew is pretty much just doing paperwork and the design process is going for some of them.”

Having worked so hard, and still working hard on their production of The Drowsy Chaperone, the theater department seems to be making strides towards a successful production.

The show runs Feb. 16-18 at 7 p.m. in the Shawnee Mission South auditorium. Admission will be free to any Shawnee Mission South student if they come with their ID Card, and will be $10 for adults and students from other schools, and $7 for children ages 12 and under.

PHOTO BY /JULIA LARBERG The cast rehearses a musical number.

NEWS /FEBRUARY 2012/ 05

FLIPPED Sophomore encourages girls to take the lead BY /TRIVETTE KNOWLES

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alentine’s Day is the most overrated holiday introduced since Columbus Day. For years television shows, movies and plays have exaggerated what a guy has to do for the special lady in his life. Why is it that a guy is the one who always forgets the special dates? Not only is it now acceptable for girls to make the first move, but it should be expected. Let me explain; if a guy is getting uncertain vibes from a female or forgets to call her, the girl should buck up, pull her phone out and call him up. Many situations in which the girl goes home, cries and eats ice cream till she feels no one will love her, could be avoided.

Another argument is that women should wait for a gentleman to be a gentleman. This is not the 1950s. People don’t call each other “daddy-o” or hang out with their best friend, Billy, while making a model airplane; nor should gals wait for that male to be their knight in shining armor.

Instead of being Sleeping Beauty, take the Mulan approach and conquer that man.

For every single girl looking for a relationship there’s a single guy looking for the same. No one likes to be alone and when presented with the option of a relationship he or she will accept. It’s not a guarantee that every time a girl asks a guy out he will say yes, but it will happen more often than not. In regards to WPA most girls who took the initiative and asked the guy received a yes. With these odds, girls everywhere should realize a movement needs to be taken towards women’s chivalry.

Everyone knows a girl who has been heartbroken or reached an epiphany and suddenly discovered that all guys are icky. Realization hits these girls when a boyfriend suddenly starts cheating or when he turns into a complete and utter jerk. Real talk: most of the time it’s the girl’s fault. I know it sounds crazy, but usually there are obvious signs for the girls to back out of the relationship. If you have seen his eyes look down at another girl’s money maker more times than he’s looked at yours, if your boyfriend couldn’t care less about 06 /FEBRUARY 2012/ OPINION

your friends or family, if he is texting another girl while you are talking, or if he continuously writes on her wall and keeps tweeting her, I’m sorry to say, but it just isn’t gonna work out.

Therefore, girls why are you still with him even though he continuously shows no consideration for your feelings? A girl I have had the pleasure to be close friends with has had an on and off relationship with the same guy for four years. He treated her right for the first three months but ever since his true colors have surfaced. She has allegedly dropped him like a bad habit, but as soon as he buys her some ice cream or sends a two-page text message it’s all good. Her life has been a roller coaster simply based upon the fact that he is crazy and can’t keep his life in check. She is hellbent on the fact that deep down he is a special guy who sincerely cares. NO, he really doesn’t. He just needs someone when he gets bored on a Saturday night to spice up his life.

The problem with most on and off relationships is the fact that one party starts off nice but turns into the monster he or she truly is. People don’t change and if they do it’s very, very rare. What happens when you wait on one guy to hopefully get his act together and he doesn’t? What about all the other guys who actually would’ve treated you right? You missed your opportunity just because one lucky guy texted you when you were down on a Friday evening and made you feel better about yourself. Don’t wait for a guy who treats you like dirt to switch back into Prince Charming, venture out to more fellows and gents.

A solution waits for every type of person either looking for a relationship or already in one. If you happen to be in a relationship right now don’t be blinded by the perception of puppy love and make sure your boundaries are being respected. If “the one” still hasn’t come knocking on your door, do your part to go find him or her or at least lead them in the right direction. Make this Valentine’s Day an acceptable holiday by taking the initiative and getting your love life in check.

taking initiative CREATIVELY lunch I got on top of a chair 01“At and made a rap, so I rapped it

during lunch. It was fun; it was hard but it only took a little while. I like that you get to mix it up and guys don’t always have to do all the work. “— junior Justice Scales

“After school I had Mr. Bove let me into the pool and I put up a sign. Then in the pool there were little floaties and sea animals, and underneath each one it said ‘will, you, go , to WPA with me?’

I think it’s fair because the guys always do it,” —sophomore Alexis Bunyarattaphantu

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cousin got fish, and it 03 “My made me think of giving him one and telling him he was ‘the only fish in the sea for me.’ I still think that for homecoming and prom guys need to step up,” —junior Gabe Inzirillo

Death in the midst of

Junior reflects on the importance of a positive attitude BY / DEREK FUHRMANNNN

“If they can’t find out what’s wrong with me, I’d rather die.” These were words I thought I’d never hear come out of my mom’s mouth. It was the summer of 2007 and I was going into seventh grade. The average seventh graders are ignorant with regard to the world around them. They have no true sense of who they are and what their purpose is in life. They take life for granted. I know that I sure did. I did not realize the extent of the pain that my mom endured each and every night.

Her gallbladder was inflamed and was causing her devastating amounts of pain. Her attacks felt as though she was being stabbed repeatedly in her back.

The pain took her breath away, literally. She felt as though she was having a heart attack. Mom told me that she would rather endure childbirth 100 times over than sit through one 20 minute attack. One night, I was awakened by the idling engine of an ambulance parked in our driveway. I had no idea what was going on but I looked out the window only to see my mom on a stretcher being carefully loaded into the belly of the truck. That sight stuck with me.

Years later, she explained the details of those two and a half months. I learned that she requested that the sirens and lights be omitted from her drive to the hospital so as to not scare my brother and me. I didn’t know that she cried herself to sleep nearly every single night. Mom eventually told me the most gut wrenching thought she had while lying in her hospital bed. She said that if the doctors couldn’t diagnose her

problem, she would rather die. Hearing this changed me. I knew at that instant how short life was.

Keep in mind I was only in the seventh grade. My mom was a trooper and pushed herself through that summer. Her operation to remove the gallbladder was successful and she made a full recovery. I will never forget that summer and how close I was to living the rest of my life without my mother.

One of the most popular eighties movies of all time is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. There is an instance in which Ferris speaks directly to the camera saying, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This quote brought the image of my mom and the ambulance to mind. I realized that I had neglected to appreciate all of the little things that she had done for our family.

Little did I know, that in the coming week, Ashton Brunmeier would lose his fight to cancer. Ashton was a junior who attended school at Shawnee Mission West.

He was fighting a rare form of cancer for the last two years. I never had the privilege of knowing him but I do remember playing a number of baseball games against his team. Upon hearing of his death, I was told about a hashtag that was created in his memory. “#ATB” stood for his initials, Ashton Todd Brunmeier.

I immediately created a Twitter account to tweet the hashtag. Although it started small, “#ATB” swept the nation as great influxes of tweets bearing the tag found their way onto Twitter. As the days progressed, I learned more and more about Ashton’s valiant fight.

I also learned how important social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are.

“We created Twitter accounts and were speechless when we saw how much support existed,” Julie Brunmeier, Ashton’s mother, said.

I was able to speak with Mrs. Brunmeier, hoping to learn more about Ashton and the impact that he had on others.

“Seeing Bill Self and the Jayhawks retweet and show their support was amazing,” Brunmeier said.

Other celebrities and businesses such as Jack Stack BBQ, Tech N9ne and Mac Miller tweeted the hashtag as well. “#ATB” was not just three letters and a hashtag. It represented one loss of one’s own, much too soon. I cannot believe that someone could lose his life having been in school only days earlier.

“He would never let cancer take over. Ashton fought all the way till the end,” Brunmeier said.

I believe that Ashton is an inspiration to us all. He lived his life to the fullest each and every day. In this world, it may be hard to find words to live by, words that touch our innermost feelings and absolve our most deepest fears. Mrs. Brunmeier shared a quote with me that came from Ashton’s creative writing journal. I’ve found my words to live by.

“When it’s over, I want to feel accomplished. I want to have made a difference in someone’s life.”

-Ashton Brunmeier

OPINIONS /FEBRUARY 2012/ 07

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DEBATE

BOYS & GIRLS: JUST FRIENDS? PRO

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY /GRACE PRITCHETT

BY /RACHEL ROSENSTOCK Unlike the situation portrayed in Miley Cyrus’s 2006 hit “If We Were a Movie,” being best friends with someone of the opposite gender doesn’t always end in love. But we’ve all seen the movies: When Harry Met Sally, Friends With Benefits, No Strings Attached. These films all portray male and female friends who eventually fall in love. The urban myth is that this situation is true in real life too, but that is totally ridiculous. Life doesn’t play out like a Hollywood movie—the girl or boy you’ve lived next to your whole life isn’t necessarily “the one.” In real life, in guy/girl friendships, rules can be set, boundaries recognized, and romantic or sexual attraction can be avoided. A male/ female relationship can turn romantic, but it’s a choice. Anyone can simply enjoy the company of another person, whether they are of the opposite sex or not.

This is such a disputed topic that

scientists and educators have even done studies, surveys and polls on it.

Almost every time, the research proves that men and women can have nonromantic relationships.

According to pyschologytoday.com, several factors go into consideration. One is that men and women get different benefits from samesex friendships. Women talk, get together and find commonalities in each other. Men enjoy doing activities like sports or video games. By having a friend of the other gender, a person can enjoy these other parts of friendship. A strong population believes that female/male friendships cannot work out in the end, whether they are speaking from experience or not, and this stems from beliefs at a young age.

When you’re in kindergarten or elementary school, being a girl, it’s not cool to be friends with boys, and vice versa. They have “cooties” or are “gross.”

After so many years of this belief, once you get to high school or college, it’s hard to overcome this.

Also, in today’s culture, men and women are steadily becoming equals in work, home and social life, more than 50 or 30 years ago. Acknowledging this, having a crosssexual friendship is way more normal and accepted in today’s society. Fifty years ago, people would have assumed whatever they wanted if an adult man and woman were friends, married or not. But now we live in the 21st century, friendships can be same-gender or cross-gender.

In today’s society it’s completely acceptable and unlike mid-20th century, it’s not safe to assume what is really going on in a relationship. Denying yourself of a friend because of his or her sex is stupid and unnecessary because of a myth.

BY /HANAN EL SHOUBAKI Lustful feelings often get confused with platonic love, which makes it difficult for guys and girls to continue friendships for very long. Friendships between opposite sexes are still relatively new to society, because in the past men and women were separated and only came together to form romantic relationships. The middle ground between friendly feelings and lustful feelings is unmarked territory, and often times it is hard to distinguish the difference between those feelings.

Due to this, there are often difficulties in friendships between men and women.

The possibility of romantic feelings are not the only obstacles teenagers face when having a platonic relationship.

Our peers have an immediate influence on us. Peers will unknowingly put pressure upon a completely platonic relationship, causing unnecessary problems to arise. If not peers, the media produces movies and cultural images, such as the relationship between Chandler and Monica on Friends,

that show viewers that sexual attraction will come between men and women.

In elementary school, boys and girls would self-segregate: boys would play with boys, and girls would play with girls.

They learned to relate to each other that way. According to Psychology Today’s 2001 September Issue, when they’re put together in high school, they often see each other as dating partners, because they’ve never really known each other as friends.

This separation at early childhood makes it difficult to form connections later on in adolescence and adulthood. Despite there having been progress in comparison to the past, men and women still don’t completely understand each other, making it difficult to keep friendships.

In high school, there are hormones playing games with our minds. Our ability to differentiate between lust, love, and friendship is clouded by desire and peer pressure. This internal conflict makes it so a platonic relationship between a

guy and a girl an unlikely circumstance, because although it may begin as a simple friendship, there will be friends to comment and tease, according to Don O’Meara, Ph.D. There will be an internal need to make this friendship something more. Our minds will convince us this is the way it’s supposed to be, because it’s something that happens all the time. It’s inevitable.

Men and women cannot be just friends because there are always some romantic feelings present, whether they are there from the beginning, or form over time.

Sometimes, those feelings are mutual, and the friendship becomes something more, while other times these feelings are not mutual and the friendship becomes unbalanced.

Either way, it is impossible to maintain a platonic friendship, and teens should understand that before they get too attached.

CON

08 /FEBRUARY 2012/ OPINIONS

Word on the Street

“It won’t get complicated because you don’t have affectionate feelings for each other.”— sophomore Weston Searcy

“I think guy and a girl can only be friends if they haven’t had a past.”—junior Meg Horner

“Everybody has friends that are the opposite sex, and it doesn’t mean anything. We can all be friends.”—junior Gabe Guild

“There might be an attraction, but if they don’t act on it they can be friends.”—senior Kelsey Ling

Editorial Board

Headline Removed by SOPA Quite often, the blue, red, gold and green Google logo is decorated with something festive, be it flashy colors, a distinct artistic style, or a series of well-known historical symbols. These variations of the logo, known as Doodles, are clever bits of graphic design put together to honor both individuals and significant days in history, while adorning the Google home page simultaneously.

On Jan. 18, 2012 however, none of these fun, witty caricatures could be seen on the multi-million dollar search engine’s home page. Instead, a thick black bar was pasted ominously over the familiar serif masthead.

At around the same time, frantic students turning to Wikipedia for late-night cram sessions experienced something unexpected. Anything they typed into the search bar was met with the same pop-up preventing

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SHOULD THE MUSIC AND MOVIE BUSINESSES PURSUE LOST PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF UNCENSORED INFORMATION?

them from accessing their easy info. This page showed an enlarged, leering letter “W” with the eerie question, “Can you imagine a world without free knowledge?”

The answer for most students was obviously “no.”

Recent outrage over PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) has created quite a buzz in the internet community. Dubbed “the war between Hollywood and Silicon Valley,” the entertainment industry and web giants are at odds: should the music and movie businesses pursue their lost profits at the expense of an uncensored information source? This new legislation makes all websites liable for pirated content, allowing private institutions to sue and the government to shut down search engines and public forums at violating copyright. This means things as seemingly harmless as YouTube videos, song lyrics or even movie stills, could cause popular sites to shut down under copyright infringement. Monitoring this type of traffic is not only a hassle, but it’s also virtually useless; there are ways around the laws. Another concern lies in allowing the government to filter online content—it

could be a slippery slope depending in whose hands the power falls.

Besides this, the idea in principle contrasts freedom of speech and intellectual liberty—values our nation was built on. Because much pirated content is generated in foreign countries, these laws would limit our access to international sites. Simply hiding illegal material and forcing websites dedicated to providing unrestricted content to suddenly intercept results will do nothing except promote censorship. From a journalistic standpoint, it would essentially be utter chaos.

It can be argued that censoring web content, whether illegal or not, is in truth tantamount to blaming a publication for the printed opinions of others, whether positive or negative. This has been a right bequeathed to journalists for decades now, particularly in the United States.

The Patriot believes, therefore, that while piracy is a crime and should be accordingly punished, the world of unlimited information should not suffer in order for justice to be served.

CARTOON BY /CLAIRE THOMAS

OPINIONS/FEBRUARY 2012/ 09

GETTING TECHNICAL

Two Seniors get a head start on a future career in electronic repair BY /HUNTER YOUNG

W

hen most high school students look for a job, they go to fast-food restaurants, clothing outlets or grocery stores.

Seniors Eric Groves and Jay Michels, however, weren’t content with flipping burgers or bagging groceries. They had bigger and better plans -starting a business of their own.

Their business, Techapedia, specializes in everything from website design and networking, to gaming console and mobile phone repairs. Started last January, their enterprise has grown in leaps and bounds.

In their first year, Groves and Michels estimate they’ve made anywhere between $10,000 to $12,000 total, but given the increase in business recently, they may make even more this year.

“Right now I have five websites I’m making,” Michels said. “It’s definitely growing a lot. Just in the last three months it’s been like, boom.”

December was particularly busy for their business Groves said.

“At one point, I’m pretty sure I had 11 jobs stacked up at once over the holidays,” Groves said, “and I had to cram through all those as quickly as I could.”

Techapedia didn’t always have that steady flow of customers, though. Like all entrepreneurs, Groves and Michels had to start somewhere. But their love of technology has remained constant from the start.

“I started freshman year repairing Xbox 360s after I got the red ring of death, and I kind of fixed

my own and it just went from there,” Groves said. “I started fixing it for other people, then it expanded into fixing iPhones and computers over the next few years.”

Michels said, “I started business in eighth grade summer, where I was making websites for people.

Then we both realized that if we combined all that, we would have a bigger market base.”

And so, Techapedia was born.

“We just kind of went for it,” Michels said. “Put a website up, put some ads up, paid for everything; it’s just us.”

Jay’s mother, Zelma Michels, says she wasn’t surprised when he first told her about his business venture.

“As a parent, I am very proud of Jay’s entrepreneurship,” Michels said. “They both work hard and look for ways to improve and expand their business.”

Getting started was easy for Michels and Groves. The real challenge?

“Gaining popularity has been the hardest part,” Groves said.

Despite this, Techapedia is beginning to take off.

“It’s not like we’re a household name,” Michels said. “But we’re starting to get that networking effect, where people are saying, ‘Oh I heard about you from a friend of a friend.’ ” Michels and Groves have seen a wide variety of customers in Techapedia’s relatively short history.

“Everyone. Literally anyone you can imagine,”

Groves said. “We get most of our [business] through Craigslist, so we get pretty much every type of person. There’s people that you don’t want to let in your house; there’s people that show up in these really unique cars and clothing. A guy once wore an all-jean outfit, with a jean jacket that had a dragon-thing on the back, but you can’t judge them based on who they are.”

With business on the rise, Michels and Groves have expressed high hopes for Techapedia’s future, and wish to continue operating through college and beyond. The duo have also considered opening a store after graduating, but the costs coming out of college are Groves’ biggest concern.

“Starting a store and everything is a lot of initial start up cost,” Groves said, “and if it fails it could be pretty bad. I’ll probably go and work for a bigger corporation, like Microsoft or Google or even Apple.”

Their advice to anyone following in their footsteps? Follow the tried and true formula of dedication and hard work.

“If you want to do it, at least try it,” Michels said. “There’s nothing wrong with getting out there and trying it. If it fails, it fails. If not, then maybe you’ll make some money along the way.”

Groves said, “The biggest thing is you can’t give up on it. If you’re trying to follow through with it you have to dedicate a lot of time to it, in order to gain a name.”

PHOTOS BY /TREVOR GARIETY Seniors Eric Groves and Jay Michels collaborate on a project for a customer 10 /FEBRUARY 2012/ FEATURES

BREAKING THROUGH Getting to know the students behind the stereotype

BY /HANNAH STRADER

S

chema is a word not often heard outside of a psychology classroom, but it’s something used every day. The definition of the word “schema” according to merriam-webster.com reads, “a mental codification of experience that includes a particular organized way of perceiving cognitively and responding to a complex situation or set of stimuli”. In other words, it is the grouping of things based on similarities done subconsciously. Schemata help to interpret information and organize it in a way that provides easy access. Schemata also differs from person to person. The word “jock” or “cheerleader” may have different connotations to different people because the kind of experience a person has had with a “jock” or a “cheerleader” is different. Cheerleaders themselves may associate themselves with school spirit and pep, but if for instance you are someone who was punched in the face by a cheerleader, your perception of a cheerleader is probably not as nice.

The problem with these preconceived ideas is that they don’t apply to everyone. Just because you were bullied in fourth grade by someone who played basketball doesn’t mean all basketball players are jerks who want nothing more than to make other people’s lives miserable. It’s only by getting to know the person behind the stereotype that these misconceptions are proved wrong. Having a bad experience with a cheerleader doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with another. That is the beauty of individuality and where our schemata fail us most often: in reference to people and who they really are.

PHOTOS BY /JULIA LARBERG

FIND YOUR PERSONALITY 01/WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER DO? A. GO FOR A RUN B. GO TO A FOOTBALL GAME C. STUDY FOR A CLASS D. WATCH A MUSICAL 03/WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF ATTRACTED TO? A. INTELLIGENT B. CARING C. ATHLETIC D. ROMANTIC

02/WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN THE FUTURE? A. TRAVEL THE WORLD B. CONTINUE WITH A SPORTS CAREER C. FIND A CURE FOR CANCER D. START A FAMILY 04/WHICH KIND OF MOVIE WOULD YOU RATHER WATCH? A. HORROR B. ROMANTIC COMEDY C. ACTION D. ART FILM

FEATURES /FEBRUARY 2012/ 11

IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY A’S, B’S, C’S,

THE CHEERLEADER THE BOOKWORM

PHOTO BY /GRACE PRITCHETT

IT DOE

Just hearing the word “cheerleader,” it’s hard to keep Hollywood images from coming to mind. The short skirt-wearing girls from Bring It On probably come to mind, followed closely by a few more cinematic portrayals of popular girls with no ambitions in life besides wanting to be at the top of the pyramid. It doesn’t take much to figure out that this stereotype isn’t necessarily true.

“Everyone sees movies and sees the captain of the cheer squad. She’s usually not nice to people. I think some people just look at me like that. I’m very approachable and I’m not mean at all. I don’t try to be,” said senior and varsity cheerleading captain Megan Donnelly.

While Donnelly may be the captain of the cheer squad, she maintains that she doesn’t fit the mean girl stereotype. Much like Donnelly, senior Cody Matthews agrees that cheerleading is more than just an attitude or personality.

“If I was younger and knew my life ahead of me, I would have never thought I would have been a cheerleader. I would have never guessed it.

But then I tried out and I made it and I fell in love with the sport. Not the girls or the attention,” said Matthews, who is also a part of the varsity cheer squad. “I try to stay away from as much of the drama and the stereotype [as possible].”

Both girls firmly believe that cheerleading is much more than the stereotype. It’s a sport and hobby, something they both dedicate hours of their life to. Being a cheerleader doesn’t make them any less human than anyone else. On the contrary, both girls want to make it clear that their sport does not necessarily reflect who they are as a person.

“Sometimes I think people look at me and they think ‘Wow, she’s such a bitch. I would never want to talk to her.’,” Donnelly said. “But I’m insecure about what people think of me. I have a lot of insecurities and I don’t think people see that.”

Matthews also believes that there is more to someone than what a stereotype might suggest.

“If I have one thing to say, it’s get to know them before you judge them.

Walk in their shoes before you just say something about them.”

Everyone has that moment in some point during their high school career when the assigned seats are rearranged and you end up sitting next to someone you never realized was even in the class. After a few days of observation, you finally come to the conclusion that the reason for this is because the person beside you is actually extremely smart and not very sociable.

This is not always the case.

“They think that I’m really smart and the smartest person they know. In real life, I’m not,” junior Rachel Sutcliffe said. “I’m not that smart; I just study. I have a life and I hang out with friends and procrastinate just like everyone else.”

It may be hard to come to this conclusion by observing people like Sutcliffe in a classroom environment, but these girls do not dedicate their entire life to school work. Sutcliffe is adamant when she says not to equate studying and working hard to inherent intelligence. On the contrary, she insists that she’s not an encyclopedia of answers for whomever asks for her help on homework.

Girls who sit quietly in the corner of the class may seem unapproachable, but the reason behind their silence is probably something extremely practical, like not having any close friends in the class. This, for example, explains sophomore Ginny Friedrich.

“Part of the reason I’m quiet is because most people don’t have the same interests as I do, so I don’t really have anyone to talk to about that,” Friedrich said. “In some of my classes I talk a lot. But in some of them, when I don’t have any friends, I’m very quiet.”

Putting labels on girls like this takes away the chance to get to know them as a person. At first glance, they may seem timid, but it’s only by delving deeper into their lives that you get to know the true girls behind the books.

PHOTO BY /JULIA LARBERG 12 /FEBRUARY 2012/ FEATURES

OR D’S

ESN’T MATTER THE GAY GUY

“[Some people think] we’re just kind of sexual leeches that latch on to anything abnormal,” senior Kirby O’Neal said, referring to the degrading gay label. The stereotype O’Neal described was exactly what you would expect: rainbow flags, leather clothing and Lady Gaga obsessions.

“I definitely fit the label of gay, and I’m proud to say that, but I definitely don’t fit the label of what people think interests me and what I live my life doing. Because even though I may be gay, I live my life as a human and not as a gay person,” O’Neal said.

While some go about expressing their sexuality in flamboyant ways, not all do. In fact, there is a majority of homosexual men who don’t live what would be considered “the gay lifestyle,” often in fear of ridicule or lack of acceptance. O’Neal wants to make sure that any misconceptions about himself and the gay stereotype are cleared up.

“Almost all of my friends are straight guys,” O’Neal said. “I think the biggest misconception is that every gay guy comes on to every guy in the world, especially straight [ones]. The thing is, if you’re a [straight] guy, you’re not going to be attracted to every girl you see. I’m not going to be attracted to every single guy in the world. And we’re not as conceited as some people think. We have respect for other people’s space and other people’s priorities in life.”

One thing that may be true for homosexuals, however, is the fear many of them have to tell others about their lifestyle. Acceptance from loved ones like friends, older family members, and even siblings can be stressful and sometimes hard to obtain.

“This is the family that’s known you since you were born and you were young. They have memories of you from when you were just a little kid and not a grown adult, living this lifestyle,” O’Neal said.

Acceptance is something everyone wants, but is hard to accomplish due to such harsh stereotypes. When it comes down to it, a person should be judged not by sexual orientation, race, religion or gender. They’re a human being, and that’s all that really matters in the end.

PHOTO BY /JULIA LARBERG

THE JOCK

A big, burly boy sits in the back row, shoulders slumped and head on the desk. Automatically, many minds will turn to a jock, exhausted after too many sprints at football practice. This cliché that all “jocks” care about is sports and girls isn’t hard to disprove. In fact, many of the boys who would be considered “jocks” at school are more involved than playing basketball or football.

“I think that at Shawnee Mission South, [we are] really good about having a mixed group of kids, and I think nobody in South really meets a specific standard,” Gabe Guild, a junior football player, said.

Guild feels that the “jock” label doesn’t fit his team members at all, especially when it comes to schoolwork and other activities. The boys on the football and other sports teams are just as dedicated to their class work as any other student, and sometimes more so to stay eligible to play.

“I know there are a lot of guys on the football team who are really dedicated to school work and are really good at what they do, and that will probably get them farther than anyone at South with [just] football,” Guild said.

Although being considered a football jock isn’t what Guild would necessarily want to be viewed as, he feels content with himself and wouldn’t want to fit any type of label.

“I feel like any actions that you take as far as involvement and what you’re doing, people will stereotype you and make assumptions before actually knowing you. I think just involving yourself in something will contribute to that,” Guild said.

Although he admits it’s hard not to group people into a certain group or stereotype, he encourages getting to know someone before making quick assumptions based off of first impressions.

PHOTO BY /GRACE PRITCHETT FEATURES /FEBRUARY 2012/ 13

BEHINDLOCKEDDOORS PHOTOS BY /GRACE PRITCHETT AND ADAM MATEOS

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01 A space in the Little Theater is set up as a backstage control center for visual and audio effects.

02 Hidden in the depths of the main office, a room is available for administrators and faculty to hold meetings.

03 The auditorium holds a secret upstairs room, rumored to be the home of theater ghost “Duncan.”

04 The girls dressing room backstage in the auditorium gives actresses space to prepare for their roles.

05 While a rooftop may not necessarily be “secret,” it does have a great view for anyone lucky enough to see it.

06 A space in the kitchen stores food for future use.

07 “The Cage” is home to members of KSMS and their sound equipment.

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WOODWIND WHIRLWIND Masterworks soloist discusses the importance of music in her life BY /NATHAN THIMMESCH

04 years

A

thousand pairs of eyes bore into the soloist’s forehead. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, feeling their stare as she goes up to begin her solo. She knows the music forwards and backwards, and could perform the piece in her sleep, but still she clutches the music tightly in her hand, just to make sure it is with her for her solo. She puts the music on the stand. After weeks and weeks of practice and preparation, this is it.

Her big solo. Slowly, she raises her flute to her mouth, and…

All of these things could be racing though the head of a soloist as she goes up to perform her solo. Senior Kristen Jenson knows this feeling all too well. As one of this year’s Masterworks soloists, she knows the necessity of practicing for a big solo. But this didn’t all begin overnight. Hours and hours of preparation went into this one piece for this one night.

First is the audition. An aspiring Masterworks soloist need only pick a piece to perform, then practice, practice, practice. Jenson decided that she would perform Mozart’s Concerto in G for her audition.

The auditions are held right around Thanksgiving.

The soloists go before three judges: choir director Dustin Cates, band director Steve Adams, and orchestra director Jonathan Wiebe, all teachers in the music department at Shawnee Mission South. “[Soloists] prepare a piece and they have to go through the nervous process of playing before the teachers,” Adams said.

When all the soloists have performed their pieces, the three judges pick three soloists to perform at the Masterworks concert; one for choir, one for band, and one for orchestra. Jenson was one of those soloists they chose this year.

“It was an honor to be selected,” she said.

Now that Jenson has been selected as the soloist for the Masterworks concert, it’s all about practicing and

MOLLY LITZLER OLIVER L’ESPERANCE

PHOTOS BY /JULIA LARBERG getting ready for the concert. There is also more to be played as a soloist rather than just doing an in-class or band concert solo.

“Being a Masterworks soloist, I play a whole concerto solo instead of just a normal few measure-long solo in band,” Jenson said.

Adams knows how demanding being a soloist can be, and he understands Jenson’s commitment and sympathises with her.

“Well certainly the requirements are much higher, you have to be amazingly prepared and have the flexibility to give and take with the ensemble,” Adams said.

However, Jenson is not alone in this endeavor. Her family supports her in this, and wouldn’t any family?

However, what’s different about Jenson’s family is that they are all musical themselves, so they know what it’s like to take on an entire solo.

“My family’s really musical,” Jenson said.

Her mother, Judith Jenson, understands what it’s like to be a soloist, having done many violin solos herself.

“I played for my first time as a soloist in 7th grade,” Jenson’s mom said.

Jenson’s mother helps and encourages her daughter any way she can so that she can perform to the best of her abilities.

“I would say most of the encouragement came from giving her the resources she would need, the music teacher, the practice space,” Jenson’s mom said.

Jenson’s mother also knows what the practice schedule can be like for a soloist, though she acknowledges the differences between her violin playing and Kristen’s flute playing.

“In high school I practiced three to four hours a day and no woodwind player does that,” Jenson’s mom said.

Jenson understands that being a soloist is a huge commitment, and she was hard at work on the piece and

shaping it up for the concert.

“It’s been a lot of work. I’ve had to practice on my own and with the orchestra and just putting together my solo plus the orchestra,” Jenson said.

While the work for the concert was hard, Jenson also became more familiar with what being a soloist entails, because of the collaboration as a soloist with an ensemble.

“Playing by yourself is different than playing with other people,” Jenson said.

Also, Jenson learned that being a soloist is much more demanding because there are certain parts that require more practice than others.

“There are some parts that are faster, so they’re more difficult to play than the slower parts so I work on them more,” Jenson said.

Now that all the preparation for the soloist is complete, it was finally time for the big concert. On Thursday, Jan. 26, all the students from the orchestra, choir, and band gathered for the Masterworks concert.

Jenson prepared for her solos. Since she was chosen in November, Jenson had been working hard to prepare for the concert.

“I try to at least play through my solo every day. If not, I’ll practice as long as I can,” Jenson said.

After the concert, Jenson wants to go even further with her musical career. She wants to join band in college, and hopes to perform solos there as well. She hopes that the concert goes well, and she knows that all the practice she has put in will pay off. She knows the music almost perfectly, but she says that she will continue practicing until the day of the concert just to perfect all of the more difficult parts of the piece. As for the solo itself, she can only hope that nerves won’t hit her as she is performing.

“I’ll just be thinking about all the stuff that I’ve practiced, hopefully I won’t get nervous,” Jenson said.

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REVIEWS: THE LATEST IN MUSIC AND MOVIES

MOVIES

Man on a Ledge BY /LUKE HOLLAND Asger Leth’s Man on a Ledge provides more thrills than an hour and 42 minute film about a man, well, standing on a ledge would seem to deliver. The repetitive trailer really didn’t do the movie justice; the story and character development are filled with twists and ingenuity. With superb acting, an engrossing storyline and an original plot, this may be one of the highlight action thrillers of 2012, with only two minor restraints: a lack in change of scenery, with most scenes taking place in the same three or four places. The music is generic, and hardly noticeable among the suspense. But that in itself emphasizes the capacity that the movie has to hold the audience’s attention within limited locations.

Ex-cop Nick Cassidy [Sam Worthington] has received a 25-year prison sentence for supposedly stealing the Monarch diamond, prized possession of millionaire David Englander [Ed Harris], despite the fact that he claims he was set up by Englander. But through the death of his father, Nick finds an opportunity to escape prison and prove to the world that he is innocent. He plans to distract New York City with a staged suicide long enough to create a diversion for his brother, Joey [Jamie Bell], to orchestrate the actual theft of the Monarch to prove Nick’s innocence, while trying to gain the trust of negotiator Lydia Mercer [Elizabeth Banks]. However, not everyone is exactly who they seem to be, and the full story cannot be completely comprehended until the end.

Worthington proves his ability to play just a normal guy, taking a break from portraying unstable half-robots and rebellious demigods. Without his superhuman abilities he turns into, for the most part, a powerful orator with whom the audience is really able to empathize and root for. The movie continually dishes out surprises in a compelling story filled with action, emotion and extraordinary acting. Even in the predominantly dialogue-oriented scenes, there was never a dull moment, despite a general lack of change in environment and setting. So before you throw Man on a Ledge out the window and into the streets below, take the time to go see it for yourself.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

BY /RACHEL ROSENSTOCK Extremely Sad and Incredibly Depressing is a better name for this drama starring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and Thomas Horn. The movie, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Froer, opened in Kansas City theaters Jan. 20. The movie opens at the funeral of Thomas Schell [Hanks] after his death on 9/11 and the confusion of his son Oskar [Horn] over his death.

It then flashes back to before Thomas’ death, and Oskar’s search for the “sixth borough” of New York City. The film then flashes back and forth increasingly to the morning of September 11 and a year afterwards, when Oskar is trying to cope with his father’s death. A year later, Oskar finds a key in an envelope with “Black” written on it in his father’s closet, and then goes on a months-long search over New York City for anyone named Black. Oskar, inevitably, conquers some of this fears of crossing bridges, riding the subway and talking to strangers.

While the film is uplifting, in that Oskar learns to deal with his dad’s death, it has sob-worthy anecdotes about 9/11 around every corner. The story is narrated by the Oskar, and the entire film is filled with his astonishingly intelligent ideas and stories, that are often hard to believe coming from a nine year old. The dialogue is often funny and witty, and evokes a few laughs in the otherwise depressing theme. It’s hard to appreciate the great acting of Hanks and Horn and the intricacy of the plot when everyone in the theatre around you is crying his or her eyes out. The flashbacks to 9/11 are heartbreaking and relive some moments unnecessarily. It’s hard to stomach certain scenes between the mother and son, because of the reason for their grief. For those who don’t want to relive 9/11 from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy, don’t go to see this movie. If you can get past the incredible sadness, the acting is superb, and the plot line detailed and intriguing. Just make sure to bring tissues.

CHICK FLICKS: ACCORDING TO GUYS BY /MIGUEL PALOMINO Lots of times guys think chick flicks are all the same: a single girl hopelessly looking for love, eventually discovers that the perfect guy for her was her best friend the whole time or something ridiculously stupid like that. But not all chick

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flicks are like that, some are deep and make us think about life, some make us laugh till our stomachs begin to burst, and some are just pretty good movies in general. So we shouldn’t be so quick to judge them. If your girlfriend asks

you to go to see Love Actually or something, don’t completely cringe at the thought. Give it a chance, but if it does suck she could just have bad taste in movies. If it’s good, then congratulations.

You just saw a good movie.

BY /DEREK FUHRMANN Tim McGraw has dubbed his most recent release Emotional Traffic “the best he’s ever made.” For a man who has sold over 40 million albums and has released 11 consecutive No. 1 albums, he had best be able to back up such a statement.

The album is not significantly different from his past work. McGraw is known for his ability to blend honky tonk tracks with sentimental ballads. He also possesses the ability to step outside the box and dabble in different genres, such as his 2004 duet with Nelly, or singing “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure With You” which was co-written by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback.

There isn’t all too much that sticks out on this album, although there are exceptions. “Felt Good on My Lips” is perhaps the most recognizable track due to radio popularity. It has a summer-esque quality about it that makes the listener want to belt the lyrics aloud with the windows down. Like any McGraw album, Emotional Traffic has it’s share of textbook ballads that seem to have been put out with minimal effort such as “I Will Not Fall Down,” “Better Than I Used to Be,” and “Right Back Atcha Babe.”

McGraw’s distinct retro sound may appeal to his core fan base, but songs such as “Touchdown Jesus” and “Halo” fail to please. “Touchdown Jesus,” brings up images of Tim Tebow on one knee or the famous Notre Dame monument.

Unfortunately, this song is strictly allegorical. It has nothing to do with football. In regards to “Halo” it can only be described as a Coldplay ripoff. And believe me, I am not the only one who has coined that description.

This summer, McGraw will embark on a nationwide stadium tour with fellow superstar Kenny Chesney. They are scheduled to stop at Arrowhead Stadium June 10. Needless to say, both singers have plentiful amounts of material to choose from. It sounds like a great show and I would definitely recommend purchasing tickets.

MUSIC

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Tim McGraw: Emotional Traffic

Lamb of God: Resolution BY /GRIFFIN ZELLER I’m going to be blunt, I do not usually listen to hardcore rock groups like Lamb of God. But, these dudes are pretty bad in a good way. In their sixth studio album, Resolution, there is a lot of screaming so instead I chose to jam out to the hardcore instrumentals. The album’s producer, Josh Wilbur also produced the band’s fifth album Wrath, and is known for recording tough metal music.

While there is a large amount of screaming, the drummer manages to show his talent by pounding through the screeching vocals. Each song just keeps coming at you hard, fast and loud. The whole album is just an epic of guitars, drums and screaming. Every song basically sounds the same.

One of the songs which sounds a little different from the others would be “King Me,” where there is about a two minute period where lead singer D. Randall Blythe yells “AH!” and breathes very deeply for the last minute of the song. I tried to look up the lyrics to see if there was a deeper meaning behind them, but unfortunately they were nowhere to be found. Another song which differed from the rest was “Barbarosa.” It’s a surprisingly melodious instrumental, and is my personal favorite on the album.

Throughout the album there is an onslaught of relentless guitar riffs and heart pounding drums. The tempo of the songs and the instrumentals were good, especially if you enjoy metal. Lamb of God have proven to be popular in Canada where they are first in Billboard charts, topping such artists as Adele, Rihanna and Drake. The only other metal band that I’ve listened to, System of a Down, was infinitely better. If you are a fan of Justin Bieber or Bruno Mars, or want something you can sing along to you would not like Lamb of God’s hardcore sound on Resolution.

Overall, for my first experience with metal I appreciated the instrumentals, but I just couldn’t really listen to the yelling for more than a minute.

04 THE TOP

Titanic (1997)

The Notebook (2004)

“Great, romantic love. Who wouldn’t want that to happen to them?”—junior Oliver L’esperance

“Outstanding.

I wish I was in love.”—freshman Brendan Brooks

Serendipity (2001) He’s Just Not That Into You (2009) “The situations in that movie are absolutely magical. It’s weird but it’s cool at the same time.”— junior Ahmed Alasmar

“Lots of diversity. It isn’t cheesy and it follows the guys’ points of view not just the girls’.”—senior Brandon Jenkins

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MOPPING UP the competition First place talent show winner reflects on musical abilities BY /LUKE HOLLAND

T

he crowd was silent as the unknown woman approached the mic, saxophone around her neck. She began to play, with the attention of the crowd fixed intensely and solemnly on her. The mood quickly changed as the song progressed, and as custodian Rozz Smith performed a beautiful arrangement of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel, the students began cheering and clapping to the beat, rising in standing ovation well before the song was over. The overall reaction from the student body was clear: claiming first place in the show, the song was a complete success.

“I was surprised by the performance; I liked it a lot,” sophomore Ernesto Lopez said.

He thought Smith’s performance was a good addition to the show, surpassing many of the other acts. Lopez was not alone.

“I was surprised because of how well the song was played; it made me want to work really hard in life,” freshman Nanae Urano said.

Smith is a self-taught saxophone player and has been for the past 20 years. She also plays drums and piano. She has performed at Northeast High School, as well as in Topeka, Wichita and New York.

Smith contacted senior Erica Lang about the possibility of playing for the talent show, and Lang believed there was no doubt that she would be a great addition.

“Seeing her at auditions, I knew right away it would be a spectacular performance. It was neat to see her come alive in front of the students,” Lang said.

Smith is obviously attached to her instrument. She recalls having the same sense of delight and joy that she always gets when she plays the sax.

“When I have the sax around my neck, it’s like I’m a completely different person,” Smith said.

She also added that one of the reasons she enjoys excelling at the saxophone in particular is the fact that it is often a maledominated instrument, and she enjoys the competition.

Being a staff person that not many knew, it was a huge step to perform in front of the school. But the risk was worth it. It just goes to show that the students often don’t know the faculty as well as they would like to think they do.

“Sometimes we just don’t think that the staff has other lives; for instance, we tend to see teachers only in the classroom setting,” Lang said.

There was an even deeper purpose behind the performance, according to Smith. She chose “Bridge Over Troubled Water” specifically to send a message.

“That song is very deep, and in a lifetime if you can find a person you can call a friend, it is really a remarkable thing,” Smith said.

Top: Smith performs at the annual talent show. Bottom left: Smith demonstrates her playing abilities. Center: Custodian Rozz Smith.

Bottom right: Smith wows the crowd with her jazzy rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

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POP sax BY /KIRBY O’NEAL

D

espite disappearing with the fading popularity of jazz on the radio, this past year served as a resurrection of the sax. Here are just a few of the hot artists who have used the saxophone in their latest hits.

“Midnight City” by M83 “Edge of Glory” by Lady GaGa “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry “Mr. Saxobeat” by Alexandra Stan

February 4:

Sweetheart Dance 8PM

9:

Conferences (4:30AM-7:30PM)

10:

[NO SCHOOL]

11:

ACT Test

15-18:

Winter Musical 7PM

20:

Presidents’ Day [NO SCHOOL]

23:

Late Start, 9:40AM

27:

Spring Sports Start

Boys (Left to Right): Max Wagner, Eric Weber, Brett Schauwecker, Glenn Luke, Peter Litzler, Duncan Stanton, Kirby O’Neal, Max Eddington. Not Pictured: Josh Persechini, Joseph Slickman.

Sweetheart

Sweetheart Canidates Kelly-Anne Agee Alex Alfaro Emmy Allen Molly Bartlett Shira Bernard Anastasia Gough Lauren Johannes Mary Madden Abigail Slovick JeriAnn Ward

PHOTO BY /GRACE PRITCHETT Girls (Left to Right): Lauren Johannes, Kelly-Anne Agee, Molly Bartlett, Anastasia Gough, Abigail Slovick, Emmy Allen, Alex Alfaro, Shira Bernard, JeriAnn Ward, Mary Madden

Max Eddington Peter Litzler Glenn Luke Kirby O’Neal Josh Persechini Brett Schauwecker Joseph Slickman Duncan Stanton Max Wagner Eric Weber

Candidates

sports briefs

CURRENT AS OF /January 30

bowling

girls basketball

Record: Varsity boys- 6-1 Varsity girls- 4-4 Most Memorable Moment: Varsity boys defeating Bishop Miege by six pins and our Varisty girls sweeping St. Thomas Aquinas, Blue Valley North, and Blue Valley West in our last meet Stand-out Players: seniors- Eric Steffee and Jacqueline Young, juniors- Shelby Johnson and Jessie Steffee sophomore- Nia Madison Upcoming meets and what to expect: Feb. 1, vs. SMNW and SMN, Feb. 2, at Olathe East vs.

Olathe South and Lawrence -- Coach Kent Thompson

boys basketball

Senior JW Pabst wrestles opponent from [school] during the SMS invitational. He took first place in the tournament.

PHOTO BY /GRACE PRITCHETT

Record: 10-2 Most Memorable Moment: Our trip to Chanute (South took third place after beating Joplin 65-27) Stand-out Players: Dylan Christie, Josh Pedersen, and Dainan Swoope Upcoming games and What to Expect: Tuesday, Dec. 13 at Shawnee Mission North, Friday, Dec. 16 vs. Shawnee Mission Northwestshould be two good games -- Coach Brett McFall

Record: 6 - 6 Most Memorable Moment: Beating SMNW at their place and the team trip to Quick Trip in Columbia Stand-out Players: Emmy Allen is averaging a double-double and Taylor McDowell is making about 3 three pointers per game. In the Columbia Rock Bridge tournament that included numerous Division 1 recruits, Emmy made the all tournament averaging almost 16 ppg and Taylor averaged 14 ppg and hit 13 threes in 3 games Upcoming games and what to expect: Jan. 30 vs. Olathe North, Feb. 2 vs Olathe South, Feb 7 vs Olathe East, Feb 10 vs Leavenworth. We are 3 - 0 in league and will start playing the best teams in the league in the next few weeks.

-- Coach Brendan Curran

09

wrestling Record: 8-4 Most Memorable Moment: Having six medalist at BVNW tournament Stand-out Players: First Place at BVNW Reis Humphrey Upcoming meets and what to expect: Shawnee Mission Districts and League --Coach Joel Rios

PHOTOS BY /CASEY LEE

sports game highlight/ swimming South’s freshmen athletes have become major contributors to their teams and have been impressing many. Freshman Ryan Sweat has been a key role in the success of the varsity swim team this season.

“My team motivates me,” Sweat said.

On average, Sweat practices two to three hours a day, six days a week. All of the dedication and hard work has brought winning results; he’s already breaking school records.

“The 100 fly, 200 free, 200 IM and the 100 backstroke,” Sweat said.

Even with breaking so many records and winning so many meets, Sweat still has his own goals and other records he wishes to break.

“I want to break the 500 free and 50 free,” he said. “I feel I’ve beat some personal goals. I want to make state.”

He’s only a freshman but he’s already planning for his future.

20 /FEBRUARY 2012/ SPORTS

BY /CASEY LEE

“I want to try and get a scholarship for swim. I’ll try to make the Olympics, or at least want to make it to trials. If I don’t, I’ll just swim all through college,” he said.

Record: N/A Most Memorable Moment: I’ve had several state championship teams and lots of state champions.

Stand-out Players: Tommy Leach, Ryan Sweat, Joe Slickman, Kenny Bergman and Will Cockriel. They have a good supporting cast. Jackson Conrad is the top diver and has already qualified for the state meet.

Upcoming meets and What to Expect: Feb. 5, Saturday 8:00 a.m. at League Finals Mission Trail MS, Feb. 6, Monday, JV Dive Invitational -- Coach Bruce Bove

boysbasketball vs. Joplin 65-27 vs. Mill Valley 67-34 vs. Chanute 69-26

vs. SMW 44-32 vs. SMN 43-39/61-46 vs. SME 55-31

vs. Lawrence Free State 60-53 vs. SMNW 55-33/43-32 final record: 10-2

01 03

04

02

03

05

06 01/ the team huddles together to get pumped before their game against Shawnee Mission North West 02/ the cheerleaders and team line up at the Shawnee Mission North West game during the national anthem 03/ junior Josh Pedersen delivers one of his many dunks against Lawrence Free State 04/ South fans cheer as the buzzer rings after a 55-31 victory against rival Shawnee Mission East 05/ senior Eric Weber jumps into Ra’Keim Abdul during introductions 06/ the fans eagerly welcome the players on the court to begin the game PHOTOS BY /GRACE PRITCHETT SPORTS /FEBRUARY 2012/ 21

if you’re WINNING and you know it...

The boys basketball team improve their winning record 10-2 BY /CASEY LEE

W

ith packed stands and the support of a full gym the boys basketball team puts away another win. The team started its season with a winning record, and have hopes for a promising season. With a winning record of 10-2, the team is hopeful to continue their winning streak.

“We have seven straight games with the seven top teams in the league. As long as we take care of business we’ll put ourselves in a good position,” head coach Brett McFall said. “If we take one game at a time we’ll be fine.”

Their success hasn’t come easily. The team practices three hours every day after school, and even Saturday mornings.

“They’ve been working real hard. I push them a little I guess you could say,” McFall said with a smile, “and they bust their butt.

They do a great job.”

The team puts in a lot of time to make sure they’re always on top of their game. Practicing six times a week leaves little time for rest, but all the dedication has brought success, and their hard work shows.

“We’ve worked really hard at practice especially since McFall really likes to win,” senior Eric Weber said.

Despite the addition of younger players, this season is the farthest thing from a rebuilding year; the team is filled with a lot of young talent. But that hasn’t brought a disadvantage to the team in any way.

“We’re a young team this year. With only two seniors we’re going into every game not so much with experience, but with raw talent,” senior fan Avery Boyle said.

With high winning scores, the team makes it look easy. Scores

like 67-34 and 61-46, along with beating school rival Shawnee Mission East 55-31 the team has impressed many. The coaches and players agree that by far, the East game has been their most satisfying win.

“The last three times we’ve been over there we’ve beat them pretty handily. We’ve beaten them over 20 the last few times we’ve played them,” McFall said. “Also just being able to come out of the gates and bury them from the get go, it’s fun to be able to come out and establish ourselves from the beginning.”

Even though the score was a blowout, the game itself was still exciting. Freshman Dainan Swoope had countless three pointers and put in most of the teams points. However, fans would agree the most exciting moment of the night was junior Josh Pedersen’s dunk.

“To be honest I don’t really remember it. Everything happened really fast,” Pedersen said. “People said that the fans just went crazy, but I wasn’t really focused on that.”

The games wouldn’t be as upbeat and exciting without the fans. South’s “crowd control” calls out the chants and gets the fans cheering. The cheers give the players that extra push and extra ounce of energy to finish out the game. Having nearly an entire school of support and cheering when you completely dominate the other team feels pretty nice too.

“My favorite chant is the one toward the end of the game and we are winning, ‘If you’re winning and you know it clap your hands...,’” Boyle said. “That chant is kinda like a slap in the face to the other fans.”

PHOTO BY /GRACE PRITCHETT 22 /FEBRUARY 2012/ SPORTS

SWOOPE there it is

Freshman starter makes an impact on varsity BY /GARRETT MOULD

T

he crowd chants, “Swoope there it is!” as number 32 weaves through the defense, and hits yet another three. The game against Shawnee Mission East was only his third as a Raider, but he put up a total of 20 points, and made it seem effortless. Freshman Dainan Swoope has made a name for himself through his performances in recent varsity basketball games.

This wasn’t his first big game, but he admits it had a unique feel to it.

“It was loud and crazy, but I knew how it was from being in the stands. It felt great to beat East by that much,” Swoope said.

With Swoope’s help, the Raiders beat East 55-31 and improved their record to 4-1, with impressive wins over league opponents, including Shawnee Mission East and North. Even though the team makes it seem easy, the wins haven’t come without hard work and excessive preparation.

“We usually go over our plays, and discuss our next opponent,” Swoope said. “If we mess up at all, there is a lot of running. It’s not easy, but definitely worth it.”

Throughout the season, Swoope has showed skills in every aspect of the game, especially his shooting ability and ball handling. Even so, Swoope realizes the importance of improvement.

“I need to work on handling the pressure. I need to get used to the atmosphere,” he said.

Head Coach Brett McFall expressed his positive thoughts about the freshman starter.

“He has become a consistent shooter. Anyone

can be a good shooter; it’s just a matter of being consistent. On the other hand he needs to work on handling the pressure. He is still a freshman, and he will obviously grow into it.”

After sinking one of his multiple threes during the East game, the crowd chanted, “He’s a freshman!” He’s a freshman!” This is part of the crazy atmosphere Dainan is still getting used to.

Along with the freshman chant, the crowd created their own chant for Swoope during the East game.

“I think it’s pretty funny. I’ve had at least seven people say they made up the ‘Swoope there it is chant’,” he said.

Many see the similarities between Swoope’s style of play, and Will Spradling’s. Spradling graduated in 2010, and is currently a sophomore playing basketball at Kansas State University.

“They both shoot very well and they both pass very well. Will’s more of a point guard, and Dainan is more of a scoring guard,” Coach McFall said.

Despite the fact he is only a freshman, Swoope has played a major role in the team’s reoccurring success. In six games Swoope has averaged 11 points, including 16 against Shawnee Mission North. On top of his high scoring performances, he has played exceptional defense so far, compiling five steals against North. The Raiders have been playing all around great basketball this season, and with the help of freshman Dainan Swoope they are working hard for a Sunflower, and hopefully, a state title.

PHOTOS BY /GRACE PRITCHETT

SPORTS /FEBRUARY 2012/ 23

SMS

SPOTLIGHT

“

THERE IS A RUNNING JOKE THAT KYLE MOVES FUNNY, SO WE DEVELOPED IT INTO A DANCE, THE KOFO. —SENIOR MAUREEN BARRY