Volume 78, Issue 5

BREAKING THE CURSE

The Dart looks into different perspectives from around the community to analyze the wide-ranging impact of professional sports on a city.

St. Teresa's Academy | Kansas City, MO| Volume 78, Issue 5

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contents

News

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4. The Kansas City Mayoral Candidates

table of

February 19, 2019

Perspectives

6. Morgan Wright

21. Insulin must be for all 22. Being clean isn't just about tidying 23. Age does not excuse bigotry

A&E

Sports Feature

Star Spotlight

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9. "Letters to Sala"

Reviews

10. Self-Care Apps 11. "On the Come Up"

Features

12. The KCP&L power monopoly 14. Complimentary mental health apps

Centerspread

16. The effects of a

successful Chiefs season on Kansas City

24. The physical demands placed on STA athletes

Community

26. Art stolen by Nazis in new Nelson exhibit

Last Look

28. A glimpse into the lives of River Market vendors

Photo Essay

30. Religion in Kansas City Cover designed by Julia Kerrigan

letter

from the editors Greetings dear readers, Punxsutawney Phil did not find his shadow on Feb. 2, so here’s to hoping for an early spring. In the meantime, we hope you’ve made it through Valentine’s Day with minimal awkwardness and maximum candy. Here’s a late Valentine — Issue 5 of the Dart.

To: You. From: Our staff.

The primary for Kansas City’s mayoral race is coming up in April, so be sure to do your research on the candidates currently vying to replace Mayor Sly James. Margaux Renee has compiled short bios about each on page four.

Did you know that junior Morgan Wright is a boxer? Check out her interview with Olivia Wirtz on page six.

“Letters to Sala,” STA’s spring play, ran Feb. 13-16 and told the true story of Sala Garnsarz, a 16 year old girl who takes her older sister’s place in a labor camp during the Holocaust.

Read Annabelle Meloy’s story to understand the emotional preparation and sensitivity that

the play called for.

Katie Gregory spent time with four self-care apps and will give you the bottom line about each one on page 10.

Right across the fold, you’ll find Faith Andrews-O’Neal’s review of Angie Thomas’ new novel, “On the Come Up.” Faith actually received a copy on advanced release after sharing her review of “The Hate U Give” with Thomas’ publisher.

Does it seem like social media is flooded with threads about “self care?” Anna Ronan dives deep into the ways that apps and artificial intelligence are influencing the way people approach mental health on page 14.

As devastating as the Chiefs’ loss in the American Football League Championship was, our team had sports enthusiasts and indifferents alike bound in a pride that resembled the Royal’s 2015 run to the World Series. Lily Hart and Mary Massman have captured a slice of that pride and explained its larger impacts on the city in their centerspread, along with Mckenzie Heffron’s photography.

As always, check DartNewsOnline for additional content.

With love,

the staff 2018-2019

Editors-In-Chief Julia Kerrigan Margaux Renee Gabby Staker

WEB

Web Editor Lily Hart Social Media Editor Katie Gregory Social Media Team Maggie Hart, Tess Jones, Rachel Robinson Breaking News Editors Sophia Durone, Mary Massman Multimedia Editor Aspen Cherrito

PRINT

Design Editor Anna Ronan Photo Editors Amy Schaffer, Maddie Loehr Page Designers Anna Ronan, Gabby Staker, Julia Kerrigan, Margaux Renee, Claire Smith, Ella Norton, Amy Schaffer, Maddie Loehr, Lily Hart, Katie Gregory, Olivia Powell, Mckenzie Heffron, Rachel Robinson, Tess Jones, Faith Andrews O'Neal

COPY

Features Editor Ella Norton News Editor Annabelle Meloy Lifestyles Editor Kendall Lanier Opinion Editor Faith Andrews O'Neal Sports Editor Claudia Benge Staff Photographers Maggie Hart, Grace Fiorella Staff Writers Carmon Baker, McKenzie Heffron, Beatrice Curry, Olivia Powell, Olivia Wirtz Adviser Riley Cowing designed by Rachel Robinson

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NEWS Editorial Policies

Ownership and Sponsorship

DartNewsOnline and the Dart are created by the student newpaper staff and are maintained and published by general operating funds of St. Teresa's Academy, a Catholic institution frounded by the Stisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish opinions that contradict the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic church, whether on a diocesan or worldwide level.

Editorial Policy

The Staff of DartNewsOnline and the Dart are subject to prior review by the St. Teresa's Academy administrative team in circumstances that concern Catholic doctrine, student safety or illegal behavior. DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish reviews of sudent work or performances. Personal columns reflect the opinions of the writer, not necessarily the staff or school.

Meet the candidates running for Kansas City Mayor

There are eleven candidates running for mayor of Kansas City. The Dart briefly explores five and their backgrounds and priorities.

Story by Margaux Renee Editor-in-Chief

of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She formerly served as a Missouri State Senator and Senate Democratic Leader. If elected, Justus pledges to create safer communities, provide more educational opportunities and make smart investments that would embrace KC’s growth as a “21st century city.” Justus would become the first openly LGBTQ+ mayor of a major heartland city.

Letters & Reader Interaction Policy

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage the community to post comments on the website. Letters to the editors can be sent in the following ways: in person to Riley Cowing in Goppert room G106; by mail to St. Teresa's Academy, Attn: Riley Cowing, 5600 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64113; by email to rcowing@sttersasacademy.org or to dartpaper@gmail.com. DartNewsOnline and the Dart reserve the right to edit or shorten letters for publication.

Comment Policy

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage readers to comment on all posts. However, DartNewsOnline and the Dart reserve the right to monitor and edit all comments on DartNewsOnline. Comments that disagree with the editorial policy will not be published.

Photo Use Policy

Photo illustrations are conceptual photos that combine drawing and photography.

All photos on the website are free for public use. If a reader is interested in highquality copies of photos, please email DartNewsOnline at dartpaper@gmail.com.

Corrections policy

DartNewsOnline and the Dart will publish corrections as soon as possible after the error is discovered.

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February 19, 2018

JOLIE JUSTUS

Jolie Justus threw her hat into the mayor’s race and then quickly retracted after former Missouri State Representative and Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander announced his candidacy. Kander then dropped out of the race, citing an ongoing struggle with PTSD, leading Justus to rejoin the race. Justus is a firstterm councilwoman representing Kansas City’s 4th district. During her time on the council, she was appointed by Mayor Sly James to serve as Chair of the Airport Committee, Vice-Chair of the Finance and Governance Committee and member

QUINTON LUCAS

Quinton Lucas grew up in Kansas City’s urban core where he experienced homelessness and poverty at

a young age. He persevered, earning scholarships to attend Washington University and Cornell Law School. Lucas practiced law in Kansas City after graduating and later joined the Law faculty at the University of Kansas at age 28. In 2015 Lucas was elected to represent Kansas City’s 3rd district at-large on the city council. Lucas chairs the council’s housing committee and serves on the Neighborhoods and Public Safety, Planning, Zoning and Economic Development, Transportation and Infrastructure committees.

The Lucas campaign website articulates four issue priorities: affordable housing, reducing crime, transparency and city development. According to KCUR, Lucas has backed efforts to encourage developers to build more affordable housing.

STEVE MILLER

Steve Miller grew up in Kansas City and later attended the University of Notre Dame where he played Division I soccer.

He then led MoDot for seven years and chaired the Missouri Highways and Transportation

Commission for two terms. Now a partner at Miller Schriger LLC law firm, Miller believes his background in construction law makes him an “ideal candidate” to guide the city’s many public development projects, according to his campaign’s website. Miller’s website deems Kansas City’s crime rate to be a “national embarrassment” and cites the need for the mayor to draw on government, nonprofits and businesses to address the problems.

SCOTT TAYLOR

Scott Taylor has represented Kansas City’s sixth district at-large since 2011. As a councilman, Taylor founded the KCMO Small Business Committee, strengthened domestic violence laws, chaired the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, advocated for veterans and helped raised the age of cigarette sales from 18 to 21. If elected mayor, Taylor would emphasize transparency, JERMAINE REED Jermaine Reed was one of five neighborhood improvement, boys raised by a single mother in basic services improvement, Kansas City. Reed then became education, crime reduction and job growth. Last year, the first person in his family to attend and graduate college at Taylor attended STA’s walkout following the shooting at the University of Missouri. Reed currently represents Kansas City’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. third district where he’s worked with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver to “secure federal For more candidate stimulus dollars to revitalize coverage, visit Kansas City’s urban core,” according to his campaign’s dartnewsonline.com website. As mayor, Reed would focus on supporting families, investing in opportunity across all neighborhoods, lowering the cost of living for elderly residents, fostering a responsive government and advocating for new investments. designed by Mckenzie Heffron

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STAR SPOTLIGHT

Morgan Wright Junior Morgan Wright discusses her love for boxing and how she got into the sport.

Story by Olivia Wirtz | Writer Photo by Rachel Robinson | Writer

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February 19, 2019

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hen did you first get into boxing?

I got into boxing about a year ago, last January right after Christmas. I was seeing a lot of advertising about Title Boxing, and I drove by it all the time.

How did you get into it?

I just thought it would be fun to start up. I went to one class when I was 10 years old with my dad and brother, but I actually hated it. But after I quit soccer, I needed something to stay in shape. It was such a great workout, and I wanted to keep going back.

Why do you enjoy this sport?

I really enjoy it because after a long day at school or any sort of drama, I can just go to the gym and totally zone into my workout.

Also, the sore muscle feeling after a really good workout always makes me feel super accomplished. Since all the trainers have different ways of teaching, I almost always get that feeling.

How often do you box?

I try to go three times a week.

I work out at home on my off days

from Title to work on other things.

I usually take an off day over the weekend.

have to worry about anything except for your feet, hands and protecting your face.

What are the physical benefits of boxing?

It helps people to get into shape, and once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to stay in shape too. Boxing also is great for your heart and whole body to do aerobic exercises.

How will you continue boxing in the future/college?

I probably will continue.

My boxing facility has actually offered me a job for when I turn 18. So I have 7 months until I can go work and be a trainer there.

How about the mental benefits?

It’s great if I need to blow off some steam or get my mind off stressful things like school. It’s also great to know that I have that time to myself built into my schedule.

What was the adjustment period like while first starting boxing?

My first class I thought I was going to throw up. There was no doubt about it, it was hard. But then I wanted to continue boxing so badly, and I also bought 6 months I had to stick with it.

What are the mental challenges initially with boxing?

It was hard to bring myself to come here right after school. But then, I thought about my afterschool schedule and it really fit in well.

If you could tell someone about boxing that knows nothing about it, what would you tell them?

I would tell them that it’s hard to get into, but it’s so worth it.

It almost feels addictive once you’ve done it once.

Lastly, tell us what a typical day is like at the gym?

First, it’s 7 minutes of warm ups, which include high knees, burpees, etc. Then, there are 8 rounds of 3 minutes of boxing with a minute break in between.

Then 7 minutes of core, where you exercise with medicine balls and practice planks, etc. It’s a 45 minute session.

What is your favorite thing about this sport?

I like how it is focused. You can take your mind off of everything outside of boxing. You don’t

designed by Lily Hart

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BITS AND PIECES

PHOTO OF THE ISSUE The Dart chooses a staffer’s photo to be featured each month.

Photo by Grace Fiorella|Writer

my life sucks

Glenn Garrison, an artist, displays a various amount of animal portraits Feb. 3.

“[Freshman Brianna Chirpich] was throwing a basketball in a “I got genetic testing really strange way, so [coach done for this new Andrew Boland] said if Bri made medication. This big the half-court shot, then he’d buy list of medication us all Chick-fil-A. And then, right came off and I as he said that, was compatible she made it and with every single everyone went medication, except for the one crazy.”

I had been taking.”

-Audra Hair, - Eleanor Lee, sophomore freshman Compiled by Carmon Baker Writer

my life rocks

in the news:

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designed by Katie Gregory

The Houston Health Department has identified seven cases of mumps in adults in a Houston ICE detention center. According to the department, there is no evidence that the disease, which is spread through saliva and mucus, has spread anywhere outside the facility. Other detainees who have had contact with those infected have been put into quarantine.

global

A papier-mâché banana sculpture was left at the roundabout between the Volker and Roanoke neighborhoods Feb. 8.

Residents are not sure who left it or why, but some have credited the banana with slowing down speeding cars in the heavily trafficked area, according to KCTV5.

Residents have dubbed the people caught on security camera placing the statue there the “Banana Gang.”

national

local

Compiled by Julia Kerrigan|Editor-in-Chief A Nigerian election commission office in Qua’an Pan, Plateau State, burnt down Feb. 10, 6 days before the Nigerian General Election. The fire destroyed all materials needed to vote, such as ballot boxes and voting slips, according to CNN. A spokesperson for the election was quoted saying that it is too early to suspect sabotage.

A&E “Letters to Sala” brings a true story to life This year’s play “Letters to Sala” gives the cast a chance to explore characters in German labor camps.

Freshman Victoria Andrews waits for the second dress rehearsal to start. This is Andrew’s first play at STA. photo by Beatrice Curry

Story by Annabelle Meloy News Editor

T

he music surrounds senior Lauren Daugherty and her castmates right before the big show. As she stands, they begin to sing to each song together. They move freely to the sound of the music, releasing all of their nerves and thoughts about what might go wrong on stage.

Daugherty does this each night before a performance in order to get rid of the nerves building inside her. Dancing before each show makes her feel as though the performance will go perfectly once she steps out onto the brightly lit stage.

This year Daugherty will dance before performing in the latest play entitled “Letters to Sala” running Feb. 13-16.

The show is a true story about a girl named Sala Garncarz who goes to a labor camp Oct. 28, 1940 at the age of 16 in order to save her sister from going. The play revolves around letters that she receives during her time in the camp. However, she and the others in the camp weren’t allowed to keep the letters, and she must hide them under her mattress for years.

The story is based off of a book named Sala’s Gift written by Ann Kirschner, Sala’s daughter.

Part of the reason theater teacher Shana Prentiss chose

this play revolved around educational aspects. She wanted all of her students to know the importance of the Holocaust and the impact that word can have.

“I learned through talking to students last year, especially freshmen, how many students really didn’t know what happened during the Holocaust,” Prentiss said. “I had students that said ‘I don’t know what a Swastika is. I had to look it up’.’ As an educator, I was very surprised by that, and I know that as they go through St. Teresa’s, they get that education, but I thought this is an area where I can maybe help.”

Ignorance surrounding the Holocaust was shocking to some students as well because their performances for the play are very emotional and difficult to handle sometimes.

Sophomore Elie Roddy plays Sala’s mentor named Ala Gertner, and playing a real person has made her feel a lot of sympathy for what the

characters go through in the labor camps.

“I think it’s important for people to come and watch because you can hear and read about things, but you don’t fully get the empathy than when you actually see the people on stage and feel what they’re going through,” Roddy said. “We cry every day because the story is so awful.”

Many aspects of the play are difficult for the cast, but Prentiss believes that there is a bright side to this year’s play as many different people who have never participated in theater before decided to come and try out.

“I am always so excited when we have new faces that show up, and we really try to get new people involved,” Prentiss said. “I love those opportunities. We have so many talented kids at St. Teresa’s.

They just have to show up for the audition, and hopefully I have something that’s right for them. But keep coming and keep showing up.”

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designed by Mary Massman

REVIEWS

on the come up: a look into young hip-hop Author Angela Thomas takes readers into the mind of a rising hip-hop star and the trappings that come with it.

Story by Faith AndrewsO’Neal Opinion Editor

O

n Kendrick Lamar’s song “DNA,” you can hear an excerpt from a FOX news clip of an anchor lamenting the nature of hip-hop music. They decry it is angry and glorifying drugs and violence. However, it is not often a glorification but a simple observation of the world around them — a community, defined by the outside as one wrought with drugs and violence.

“On the Come Up,” written by “The Hate U Give” author Angela Thomas, is a look into that very world, through the eyes of a girl our age.

If the “Hate U Give” acted as a vignette into the lives of students of color in an environment like our own, “On the Come Up” takes us across the Troost divide. The setting was one similar to that of Kansas City’s inner city, complete with the stigma and fear that comes from those not a part of it. Bri lives in Garden Heights, the same neighborhood in which “The Hate U Give”’s Starr resided. She is the daughter of late underground rap legend “Lawless,” who was murdered by a rival gang due to his affiliation. Bri’s dream is to follow in his footsteps, to follow her passion for rap and raise her family out of poverty. She defies many stereotypes in which black kids are portrayed as wishing to rap on a pipe dream. Bri is wellresearched, informed and an accomplished lyricist. She attends a performing arts school in

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February 19, 2019

Midtown, a nicer area, in hopes of receiving a better education.

Driven by her passion for rap as a craft, she majors in creative writing.

Bri, along with some other Garden Heights high schoolers, is bussed in to bolster the school’s promise of diversity, which gave them access to better grants.

However needed those students may have been, that did not stop faculty from disproportionately punishing the students of color, like Bri. In every state in America, black girls are twice as likely to be suspended, according to US News.

Black girls around the country are watched under a microscope and face punitive measures disproportionately compared to their white peers. When Bri rolled her eyes and smacked her teeth, she was written up as aggressive, while her white peers were ignored for doing the same things in less “urban” ways. As a result of this stigmatization, Bri is targeted by school security guards who assume she is a drug dealer, when in reality, she sold candy and snacks to her peers.

Grappling with frustration and seeking a creative outlet, Bri records a song titled “On the Come Up,” in which she claps back at the guards who threw her on the ground and society at large that condemned Bri to an angry gang member.

The song was meant to take the stereotypes thrown at her and deliberately respond by playing into them. However, the (predominantly white) news media took the lyrics at face value, and lamented the negative impacts on “the children.” Bri notes, as so many young black people do, that she is not included in the children whose safety the media is

concerned about.

Bri is a girl my age, in the same grade as I am, getting ready for the ACT. Unlike myself, Bri is also trying to keep the lights and heat on at home, while being attacked by adults and institutions much older than herself. Female rappers face denigration on all sides, from their male peers to “hip-hop heads,” the hyper-pretentious fanbase that invalidates every artist after the 90s except for two Kanye albums. They face a news cycle which seems intent on portraying black artists as dangerous whenever their message is not palatable to white teenages.

Many of them fashion themselves to be “ghetto” whenever they hear tales of life in the inner-city.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. Angela Thomas’s second novel, like the first, gifts us with a voice and tone very rarely seen, let alone one acknowledged by mainstream, YA literary communities. However, at times, this book lacks the focus and character arc previously seen by Starr in “The Hate U Give.” While the central theme is rap, Bri loses herself in her craft, and the lines get so muddled that at times it lacked a sense of direction.

Driven by a need to aid her family and frustrated by those around her, Bri lashes out and at times makes poor choices that make it hard for the reader to support her. However, much like black people, black characters in media are often made to be villains or angels, always onedimensional. Although she may have lost her way, at least Bri was a human being. A sense of finality or growth in Bri’s character would have made the loose ends a little clearer. However, like many our age, Bri is still on a journey of selfdiscovery.

illustration from cover of “On the Come Up” by Angela Thomas

Anyone struggling with their mental health should try apps Self-care apps can aid people in monitoring their mental health, but some of them are more helpful than others.

Story by Katie Gregory Social Media Editor

B

eing a student at St. Teresa’s has taught me many things, but number one on that list is that self-care is necessary in order to be a successful student.

To many, “self-care” brings to mind images of face masks and bubble baths. While those are great coping methods for a stressed-out student, neither have lasting effects on me. I decided to try a few different apps that claimed to aid self-care and see if they could help me.

Happify While Calm features the least amount of features of any of these apps, Happify has the most. Some that I used most were mindfulness activities, meditations and habit trackers. One thing I appreciated about Happify over other apps is that the “tracks” are numerous and target users’ specific issues, including chronic pain, insomnia and leadership.

I really liked that Happify offers two “modes,” where users can either keep their usage of the app private or engage in the community feature of the app.

The way this app is designed allows you to work on specific skills. I was first assigned “Conquer Your Negative Thoughts,” which I really liked because it kept me mindful. The only disadvantage to using Happify is that the design of the app can be hard to navigate and overwhelming at times of high anxiety. Overall, though, this is one of only two apps that I could see myself continuing to use on a daily basis.

From left, “Happify,” “Headspace,” “Calm” and “Sanity & Self.”

Headspace When I first opened this app I was pretty underwhelmed. It seemed to have almost all the same features as Calm, so I didn’t think it was anything special.

However, on my first night of using these self-care apps, I decided to give a listen to one of the guided meditations on this app and was blown away.

Headspace gives you a choice between 3 and 5 minute meditations, and I decided to start with the 3 minute one since I had already done meditation on the Calm app. I’ve always heard how good meditation is for you but had never been able to get into it until I used this app. I’m not sure if it was the vague accent of the narrator or the music I loved so much about the meditations on Headspace, but I found the first guided meditation so relaxing that it almost put me right to sleep. The only thing I didn’t like about Headspace is that, like Calm, it didn’t have many other useful features.

Calm I began with Calm because it is the self-care app I had heard the most about. However, once I downloaded the app, I was disappointed to find that Calm had the most basic features of any of the self-care apps on this list. Features of Calm include sleep stories, guided meditations and calming music.

The pros to using Calm are the easy-to-use interface

and straightforward features.

For someone who is easily overwhelmed, Calm would be a great option. My favorite thing to use this app for is a sleeping aid.

I found the guided meditations helped me decompress after my day, and I used the music section of the app to fall asleep.

However, the popularity of the app built my expectations up and the limited features were disappointing.

Sanity & Self Scrolling through the home page of Sanity & Self, I was excited to see all kinds of features that claimed to help users sleep better, learn to meditate, work on personal relationships and more.

That is, however, until I noticed that almost every program they offer was only included in the premium version of the app.

While the app itself is free, I quickly ran out of programs to work on without shelling out some money. While they do offer a 7-day free trial, the app is $5 a month after that, which is pricey considering a lot of the given advice could have been found for free online.

What I did like about Sanity & Self, though, was that it offered a place to journal, which none of the other apps did. However, the journaling was not enough to win me over and I was ultimately very disappointed in this app.

designed by Amy Schaffer

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FEATURES

A HISTORY OF Kansas City’s sole provider of electricity — now a privately-owned, governmentregulated utility — began with a pool of $4,000 dollars in 1882.

Story and alternative coverage by Gabby Staker | Editor-in-chief Photo illustrations by Maddie Loehr Photo Editor

W

inter Storm Gia descended in the night, spinning heavy snowflakes into ropes on tree branches and artwork onto glass window panes. According to Kansas City Power and Light Company, it painted Kansas City with up to 11 inches of snow. The morning silence of Saturday, Jan 12., broke to the scrape of metal shovels on cement, an occasional snapping limb and the

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hum of generators kicking on as power shut down across the city.

A groan rolled out as neighborhoods woke up to find themselves without power the morning that the Chiefs were set to play the Indianapolis Colts at 3:35 p.m., a game that would send them to the AFC Championship. Kansas City wanted its televisions on.

KCP&L had their trucks working to restore power to more than 200,000 customers.

It had been the second worst storm in company history, according to the company’s Jan. 16 press release.

Kansas City Power & Light Company is a private, government-regulated utility— the only

company in the Kansas City area that generates and delivers power to 47 surrounding counties. Although they have a monopoly over the power grid, social studies teacher Mike Egner says that stiff regulations imposed by the state governments keep prices affordable for homeowners.

Founded in 1882 with a pool of $4,000, the company powered two counties in the Kansas City area. Over the course of the early 20th century, they would acquire several companies, change their name a few times and expand their influence downtown.

J. Ogden Armour bought the then-named Kansas City Electric Light Company in 1900 and operated it in conjunction with his

The Kansas City Live! Block is a popular venue for concerts or large watch parties Jan. 30. The KC Live block opened shortly after the official opening of the Power and Light District in 2008.

Metropolitan Street Railway Company. In 1916, to detach from the railroad company, it became Kansas City Light & Power Company. Joseph F. Porter was hired as the first company manager while Armour was on his way out of the business in 1917. The company finally settled on the name Kansas City Power & Light in 1922.

Porter expanded the service area from western Missouri to eastern Kansas and commissioned the building of a new headquarters. In 1931, the 32-story Kansas City Power and Light building opened — at the time, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

Throughout the mid-1900s, KCP&L incorporated smaller companies and generating stations, including Wolf Creek Generation Station, a nuclear power plant, in 1985.

According to the company website, KCP&L now “serves residential and commercial customers in 47 counties in northwest Missouri and eastern

Kansas....Providing safe, reliable and affordable power to our customers is our ongoing priority, as it has been from the very beginning.”

Senior Leah Dorris was one such customer, whose power blew around 5 a.m. Saturday morning. It wouldn’t turn back on for nearly five days. She used her mom’s rewards points to stay at a Holiday Inn as temperatures in her house on Dartmouth St. plummeted into the 30s.

Each day, her mom called KCP&L. Each day they reneged on their word. The power would be on the next day. Next day.

Next day.

“It was super stressful,” Dorris said, recalling how she had to throw her groceries into a cooler and leave her cat behind.

Dorris and her family were just three among 800,000 Kansas City Power and Light customers.

Because KCP&L is the only power utility in the 18,000 square-mile service range of Kansas City, they have to be

strategic about which lines they choose to repair first.

“They want to repair the lines that affect the most people, and those are in the inner city,” Egner said. “So the people that suffer the most are the people that live in the outlying areas. If somebody lives on a farm and they’re the only one on this stretch of road for a mile, they’re going to get their [power] restored later. Because it takes the same time to restore power to 2,000 people as it does one family.”

Both Egner and Dorris remember the ice storm that placed a week-long paralysis on the city in 2002. Dorris was barely a two year old, and she’s heard her parents recount numerous times what it was like that week; they were moving houses the day the storm hit.

Egner believes that although this most recent storm was less severe, KCP&L is “better off now in 2019 than in 2002 to address those kinds of issues.” H

designed by Gabby Staker

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FEATURES

SELF-CARE to SELF-TREATMENT

Self-care was the most searched term in 2018 — now, it’s being used to privatize mental health treatment through cell phone apps.

Story and alternative coverage by Anna Ronan | Design Editor Photos by Maggie Hart |Photographer

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PR’s “The Millennial Obsession with Self-Care” states that “millennials might be the generation of emotional intelligence.” That emotional intelligence is obvious in social media; from Twitter threads on what kind of bath bomb is best to YouTube videos detailing breathing exercises for relaxation, it is hard to go on any social media site without seeing the word “self-care” somewhere.

One of the ways people are accessing self-care is through apps for smartphones. As The Guardian states, “there are more than 500 mindfulness apps, offering meditation soundtracks, relaxation techniques and pearls of wisdom, not to mention the many fitness/self-optimisation apps making forays into mood tracking.”

According to Apple’s Best of 2018 list, self-care was the top trend last year. The app Calm is currently standing at #2 on the health section of the app store, #1 in the self-care section and was picked as best app of the year in 2017. Calm’s description on the app store states it is the “number one app for sleep, meditation and relaxation,” and that it is helping people with

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“experiencing better sleep, lower stress and less anxiety with [their] guided meditations, sleep stories, breathing programs, stretching exercises and relaxing music.”

Self-care apps can range from tracking a sleep schedule, guided meditation or tracking healthy eating habits to connection to suicide hotlines and emergency contact.

Personal Counselor Amanda Whitcomb fully believes in the efficacy of self-care apps.

“I regularly use Calm for myself, personally,” Whitcomb said. “It’s wonderful, the guided meditations are fabulous. If I’m having trouble sleeping I will try to do one of those.”

Whitcomb has her students try apps, just as a way to relax and seek help when they can’t get in touch with a therapist.

“I have suggested them and students say, ‘That’s the dumbest thing ever I’m not using that,’ and I think that’s okay, that’s normal,” Whitcomb said. “I have had students that that is the first thing they reach for. As long as your phone is charged and you have internet, you are good to go.”

Students in the STA community are beginning to incorporate self-care apps into

their extracurricular activities.

Freshmen Claire Fanning, Abby Leardi, Bella DeZeeuw and Madonna DiMartino recently developed a suicide prevention app that collects typed responses to questions relating to the user’s mental health. The app was created for eCybermission, a U.S. military sponsored program that inspires middle and high school students to create prototypes for science. Science teacher Renee Blake supervises the program at STA, and the group signed up to be a part of the competition at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.

“We chose suicide prevention because we see people who are stressed and overwhelmed everyday around us, and we have learned that it is an issue of teens that has been occurring more and more,” Fanning said.

The app is geared towards people of all ages, with some questions relating directly to students. Fanning and the group worked with Whitcomb to write appropriate questions, such as, “Do you get extremely nervous when getting a grade back?” or “Do you feel totally consumed by your feelings when you’re nervous about something?”

“We ended up figuring out that [mental illness] was a big issue, and it’s something that we are able to try and help as freshmen in high school,” Fanning said. “It’s a big problem facing teenagers today, so our app could be helpful.”

Senior Elise Malone, who is also a supporter of self-care apps, found herself using them to distract herself in periods of stress.

“It really helped me in instances where I was feeling overwhelmed or like I couldn’t control anything,” Malone said.

“It helped because it was like it was specifically designed for my situation.”

The app that Malone used primarily, Calm Harm, has four categories of care: distract, comfort, express yourself and breathe. According to its App Store description, It was developed specifically for teens and uses a treatment technique called Dialectical Behavior Treatment, or DBT.

According to Psychology Today, DBT is “an effective combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies.

The goal of DBT is to transform negative thinking patterns and destructive behaviors into positive outcomes.” DBT is used with patients of all backgrounds to regulate emotions and aid de-stressing. While it is generally used in face-to-face therapy, self-care apps are finding ways to incorporate it into their code.

Calm Harm specifically uses DBT to steer people away from the urge to self-harm. However, Calm Harm themselves state on their website that they are not a replacement for professional treatment.

Whitcomb believes in the usefulness of apps, but also recommends students to seek therapy when necessary.

“You want to make sure you have other coping mechanisms, especially ones that allow you to be around safe, comforting

RUNNING THE NUMBERS:

people,” Whitcomb said.

Malone also believes that apps can only go so far in the treatment of mental illnesses.

“It’s just an app,” Malone said.

“I think people just need to realize that the app is just a coping mechanism rather than actual treatment.”

Malone and Johnson’s thoughts on therapy versus apps are common in the medical field; the American Psychology Association cautions people using online forms of therapy to find other support systems as well as their apps. Their article on choosing online therapy argues that there hasn’t been a lot of research on these apps, and seeking professional, face-toface support might be the better option.

“Technology is getting smarter, but it doesn’t experience human emotion,” Whitcomb said. “When you’re talking with someone face to face, they can empathize with you. I think that’s far more powerful than any [artificial intelligence].”

student opinions on self-care apps The Dart surveyed 201 students to get their opinions on self-care apps.

72.1%

have heard of apps such as Headspace or Calm survey of 201 people

“Sometimes I feel as if it takes too much time that I don't have to participate in these apps. I know that's essentially the point of the apps, to give you more time to be calm and reflect on yourself, but it's difficult to do when I'm already preoccupied and distracted by stress.”

-Arwen Dickson, sophomore

“I love using the app calm. I use it almost everynight before bed to help me fall asleep, and whenever I feel stressed out or anxious. It really helps me.”

-Anna Coble, junior

26.4%

use self-care apps to help with meditation or mental health treatment

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designed by Anna Ronan

CENTERSPREAD

The Dart looks into different perspectives from around the community to analyze the wide-ranging impact of professional sports on a city.

Story by Lily Hart|Web Editor Mary Massman|Breaking News Editor Photos by Mckenzie Heffron|Writer

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A fan takes a picture of Arrowhead Stadium from the Visitors Center Jan. 20. Many people stopped at the center to capture this historic moment.

February 19. 2019

January 20, Senior Gabriella Mesa put on four pairs of pants, five shirts, and a red sleeping bag.

She was among 77,034 people in 20-degree weather attending the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs would face the New England Patriots. This game would secure the Chiefs’ spot in what would be their first Super Bowl appearance since 1970 when they won their first and only NFL title. For a city with a losing streak, this could change the game when it came to city spirit.

“Loud,” Mesa said. “Adrenaline.

Excitement. You could almost feel what the game meant to everybody.”

Although she attends almost every home game with her dad, she admits that there are many things you miss when you’re at the game rather than watching it on TV. “When Tom Brady threw the interception, we all thought it was the last play,” Mesa said. “There was a 10 second delay between when the flag was thrown and when everyone in the stadium realized that the flag was thrown.

Even the players didn’t know.”

This confusion and momentary feeling of winning intensified an already heartbreaking loss for Kansas Citians who still had to make the cold trek home.

“When we got the interception, everyone started celebrating and my dad was chanting ‘Super Bowl’ and everyone was hugging and high-fiving,” Mesa said. “There was a whole 10 seconds before we realized we weren’t going to the Super Bowl. That hurt more than I think it would have if we had just seen the flag from the beginning.”

Despite the loss, Mesa still has hope for next season and so does stadium tour and ticket sales seasonal assistant for the Chiefs Lauren Lanter.

“I definitely think this is just the beginning,” Lanter said. “For one, we’ve made it farther than we’ve made it since 1993. People always thought we were cursed...

It’s a good stepping stone so the next hump is winning the AFC championship.”

Lanter has worked with the Chiefs since August and handles their two revenue generating duties apart from selling tickets: organizing stadium tours and coordinating the Arrowhead tailgate suites during the season.

“Since I have two brothers, that was kind of always the thing that our family did together was go to baseball games, football games,” Lanter said. “I played sports growing up so it was always something that was the center of my family life. So then, when I was in college it clicked that I could get paid to talk about and work around sports.”

She attributes the Chiefs’ success this season to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “[Mahomes is] a lot different than the quarterbacks we’ve had in the past,” Lanter said. “Alex Smith was very reliant on the rungame, so shorter passes and then running backs running [the ball] shorter distances. Mahomes can basically throw the entire length of a football field with ease. The running backs and tight ends are utilized a lot more and the receivers as well.”

In her line of work, Lanter has observed firsthand the effects that a successful pro sports team has on a city.

“I see that the tours are a lot more high-demand now that the team is good,” Lanter said. “Our sales goal was far exceeded this year just because we’re almost always packed when we have a home game. In general I think the fan engagement is obviously very high this season.”

Despite the Chiefs’ previous losing streak and alleged “playoff

curse,” in 2006 voters approved a sales tax increase to help pay for renovations for Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals, according to ESPN. The fear was that without “state of the art” facilities, both teams would have the freedom to leave Kansas City in 2007.

However, 2006 wasn’t the first time taxpayer money has gone to support the Chiefs. According to the Kansas City Star, in 1967, Jackson County voters approved general obligation bonds to build stadiums for the Chiefs and the Royals, together estimated to cost $43 million, a number that rose considerably due to cost overruns and project delays.

Former Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier considers both the new stadium “coming to life” and the Chiefs’ 1970 Super Bowl win as what set Kansas City on pace to become more of a major league city. This made the tax burden worth it.

However, the benefits of a highprofile sports team don’t solely go towards the players. Local companies, such as Kansas City based t-shirt company Charlie Hustle, see a clear benefit for the local economy. Charlie Hustle experienced a surge in sales after a Royals play-off game in 2014, when actor Paul Rudd claimed he wouldn’t take off their “KC Heart” icon shirt until the Royals lost.

“You look at January, and most people want to be inside and don’t really want to go out because of the elements,” Chief Marketing Officer of Charlie Hustle Katie Martincinch said. “With the Chiefs doing well, and playing more weekends, I think there’s more socializing and spending.

We see on the retail side of things people get in this excitement phase, and they don’t really care where their dollars are going.”

Still, Martincinch admits that the brand is wary of becoming too economically reliant on the

designed by Claire Smith

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success of the Chiefs or Royals.

“We try to distance ourselves so that it won’t be too detrimental if they lose,” Martincinch said. “We all know sports can be hot and cold at times, so we’re also trying to build our brand around other civic establishments that aren’t so up and down, because that can be an exciting game to be apart of when you’re winning, but if it’s your sole bread and butter, it makes depending on it really tricky.”

Outside of potential economic benefits and risks, the Chiefs affect and engage with the community through player and franchise outreach. Lanier won the NFL Man of the Year award in 1972.

According to the NFL, this honors an NFL player for “excellence on and off the field and significant impacts in their community.” The Chiefs have had more players named NFL Man of the Year than any other team in the league.

“It's worth giving back and trying to be positive to assist others in achieving their goals,” Lanier said. “It becomes a positive way to show your appreciation to those who come to recognize you. You have an interest in where you work, where you live, where your kids grew up, where people ahead of you have done things that are positive outside of the playing of a sport.”

This outreach continues with player initiatives. Current quarterback Patrick Mahomes is

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forming a charitable foundation for kids at risk. In addition, the Chiefs Ambassadors, a group of former players from throughout the club’s history, support the city through scholarship programs, charity golf tournaments and numerous charitable visits and appearances.

According to the Chiefs’ website, the Ambassadors are the only group of their kind in the NFL and inductees into the group are hand-picked based on tenure and their willingness to participate in Ambassador outreach events

"Patrick Mahomes is a difference maker, and you don't find them every single year" Cherry said and meetings. Former Chiefs safety and Hall of Fame inductee Deron Cherry recalls being drawn to the program because of the camaraderie of the group and the opportunity to give back to Kansas City.

“I think the Ambassadors are impactful because of the connection for the community of former players who played here, a lot of them very successful on the team,” Cherry said. “When current players aren’t available, former players can step in and

help out and have an impact on the community, going to hospitals, visiting patients, supporting multiple organizations that are affected by many different things.”

Cherry also emphasized the importance of current professional athletes using their platform to promote positive change in the community or drive people to Kansas City that have an interest in making the city better. He feels that these teams should be adequately supported in order to make a city more recognizable or visible and uphold its identity as a major league city.

“I think current players have a huge platform that they can use to go out to support those causes that are close to them and causes that affect many human beings in their daily life,” Cherry said. “Patrick Mahomes is a difference maker, and you don’t find them every single year. We have to take advantage of his talents and his leadership.”

Lanier, considering these philanthropic efforts, doesn’t feel the Chiefs can negatively impact the city since they serve a larger purpose in the community and wins take time.

“It’s people who are reaching to express their skills and their ability with

A fan at Tanner’s Bar and Grill looks up at a television Jan. 20. After the leadchanging touchdown, those at Tanner’s sang chants for minutes on end.

February 19. 2019

A fan at Smitty’s Garage experiences the highs and lows of the AFC Championship Game Jan. 20.

no guarantees, and what it does, it gives the indication that effort must be extended constantly to have an outcome,” Lanier said.

“So I think the positives is not just the win itself, but it's all the other benefits that come from the team being in a community, the individuals raising families in the community, being able to go to schools and churches and other social organizations, being a part of everything that goes on and trying to continue to inspire.”

Lanier is still hopeful in face of the AFC Championship loss that the team will carry their skills into the next season and positive they will continue to give back to the

community and keep on what he calls the “never-ending quest” to reach the Super Bowl for Kansas City.

“I have a ring that I wear today from the Chiefs win in 1970 that's 49 years old,” Lanier said. “So the reality is that the Chiefs have not achieved another ring like this in 49 years, but they've continued the effort year in and year out, trying to present the best product, trying to offer the fans of Kansas City a competitive organization as one that was just the most exciting of the NFL season.”

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MAIN ED Win or lose, the Chiefs progress signals huge growth for Kansas City Despite their loss in the playoffs, the progress the Chiefs made this year has brought the community close together in a way that softens the blow.

W

hen the Royals won the World Series four years ago, the streets flooded with fans decked in blue from head to toe. Every news segment was filled with overhead shots of people parading across Union Hill and eager fans talking about their childhood memories of the Royals, or the baby they had while the game took place or the wild bet they had with a buddy.

After all the excitement of the World Series not far in our rearview, it’s no wonder the city had collective visions of the streets once again filling with people decked in red for a Superbowl victory parade. Even for the casual jersey wearer or non-fan, the excitement going into the playoffs was electric. For the first time in years, it felt like we had a real chance at even making it to the Superbowl, which we hadn’t won since 1970. Our lineup was amazing, the timing was long awaited but felt deserved and we had a strong opponent to prove ourselves against.

The Chiefs lost the game, and there’s no question about it. You can debate calls, the zeal of fans

and even the direction the winds blew until the next season but that won’t change the fact that on paper, we lost.

However, and at the risk of sounding entirely corny, the loss isn't the absolute end of the road for the excitement about the Chiefs or Kansas City. The feelings of excitement from a potential big win are something Kansas Citians have the strength to carry through the rest of the year, even without a title. Senior Gabriella Mesa, who goes to see spring training, expects the training sessions to be very crowded next year with fans eager to see players old and new ride the wave of excitement into the new season.

All it takes to know that this excitement isn’t fickle or fading is to look around at the incredible growth the city is undergoing.

Even Arrowhead itself is set for renovations this year, including new chairs and an enhanced scoreboard according to Chiefs President Mark Donovan. We even earned ourselves a feature article in Vogue showcasing our industrial history and unique Midwestern culture.

RIGHT ON TARGET Iris Kline, Freshman Everyone has a lot of hope now and our team got really good because of Patrick Mahomes. I think next year, since we have a new defensive coordinator, we're going to do a lot better because our defense was having problems.

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February 19, 2019

The publication described the city as a "sprawling, real-time manifestation of the American experiment," and nothing showcases that like the past month as Kansas Citians from all backgrounds gathered together in celebration of players like Patrick Mahomes with t-shirts emblazoned with sayings like “Patrick is My Homie.” Just the streak we had, up until the last game, was enough energy to bring people together.

There is no doubt about how a win would have had a major positive impact on Kansas City, but the buildup to the final game was enough to show exactly what this community is made of. We are a city of bundled-up tailgaters, deafening cheerers and dedicated fans filled with excitement about a potential win or loss.

Mary Kate Gallagher, Sophmore I wasn't a huge sports fan, well I am, but I didn't watch football religiously. Even though we lost, everyone was still talking to each other and I felt like everyone was closer because we all had something to talk about and relate with.

Insulin must be for all Story by Anna Ronan Design Editor Advocacy for those struggling with diabetes is necessary in this time of exponentially rising insulin prices.

I

nsulin is a pancreatic hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood.

For people living with Type2 diabetes, their pre-existing insulin doesn’t perform well enough to regulate the glucose in the blood. For people living with Type-1 diabetes, their body doesn’t even make insulin.

After some research, I found that top-selling brands, such as Lantus or Humulin R, are charging upwards of $191 per vial of insulin, which, according to the Washington Post, needs to be purchased up to six times a month. In fact, one 20mL bottle of Humulin R insulin can cost up to $1,862. There is no affordable option. GoodRX. com, a website that displays real-time prices for prescription drugs at pharmacies, states that the price of insulin has increased 64 percent between January 2014 and September 2018. Between 2002 and 2013, prices tripled.

It astonishes me that these prices are continuously rising.

Insulin is a life saving drug, and diabetes is a slow death. For people to live a healthy life

PERSPECTIVES

The fact that this has not been while suffering from diabetes, passed yet astonishes me — the they need insulin. However, for some people, giving themselves act is requiring accounts of the prices at which pharmacies the correct dosage of insulin is sell insulin. not an option because of how I am new to diabetes expensive it is. This is where the advocacy, and I am certainly term insulin rationing comes not an expert nor am I diabetic into play. myself. However, I have seen As Gail DeVore, a Type-1 the struggles of family and diabetic, wrote in her article friends that have diabetes and for ASweetLife, “Why is insulin the worries they have about so expensive? The short answer their insulin. I think people is… we don’t know.” Gail’s words rung loud and clear in my need to be more aware of this problem, and how they can ears. The fact that people who work towards remedying it. are in need of this drug don’t Multiple movements, such as even get to know why they are #insulin4all and the Affordable paying so much is inhumane Insulin Project, have been and degrading. established in the past few Some point to the years to encourage advocacy. complicated chemical Being a part of these makeup, some to the FDA movements could bring about and others to health insurance that price transparency that the companies for the expenses. To Colorado General Assembly attempt to get to the bottom lobbied for. of the question of insulin prices, I believe that calling the drug transparency laws have American people to advocate been proposed in states like for lowering the prices on Colorado, but to no avail. insulin is the only way to fix this The Diabetes Drug Pricing problem of insulin rationing.

Transparency Act, introduced Advocacy is accessible to in the state of Colorado in everyone — taking part January of 2018, was later in marches, donating to introduced and ignored by the associations such as the House. The proposed bill never National Diabetes Association made it to the Senate. or signing petitions for drug The act was written to transparency laws are easy require pharmacies to “submit ways to fight for people with annual reports to the state diabetes. It is the choice of the board regarding prescription American people if they wish to insulin drugs used to treat be a part of those movements. diabetes,” according to the Colorado General Assembly. designed by Faith Andrews-O’Neal

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PERSPECTIVES

Julia Kerrigan Editor-in-Chief My journey from being a messy person to a clean person took a lot more than just sweeping and organizing.

I

used to be a very messy kid. I never saw the surface of my desk, never folded a single shirt and had a drawer filled with my “spy tools,” which ranged from ciphers to the occasional stray candy cane.

I remember a distinct day in middle school where I looked around my side of the room (I shared it) and thought, this is absolutely not working. I couldn’t see my favorite books, couldn’t quickly access my binoculars and could never find the right shirt. I resolved to be clean for the rest of 2015.

If you’ve ever gone through the same shift, you know that your former messy self is never gone. She lurks in your subconscious, looking for surfaces to place random items on and unseen parts of your room to hide a pile of clothes.

She finds you in unexpected places. Messy beasts don’t browse the aisles of Target for storage solutions, right? Wrong.

Those “solutions” let me keep more papers and organize more knick-knacks.

In 2015 my mom showed me

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February, 19 2018

Being clean isn’t just about tidying a copy of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” The author, Marie Kondo, asks the reader to hold an object and ask if it “sparks joy.” I didn’t think much about the catchphrase, but with Kondo’s growing popularity due to her Netflix series, I have begun to reassess how I think about my space.

Through Kondo’s decluttering method, I’ve realized that it’s not messy nature that creates clutter around me, it’s my habit of collecting anything that could have significance. I’m a pack rat, a magpie and an archivist rolled into one. Messy Julia has been gone for a long while now, but Collector Julia needs some attention, especially because in six months I’ll be going to college.

What does it mean for something to spark joy? It can be hard to distinguish. I held a shirt in my hand and could think of nothing but its practicality. I wasn’t sure if I was mistaking its usefulness for joy, until I realized that usefulness was a joyous thing. Gleefully, I put it on my keep pile. By the time I got to sentimental items, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what joy was to me.

When I opened one particular drawer I wanted to sink into the floor and quit decluttering. I’ve kept almost every letter that’s been given to me. Something about having

a little piece of someone’s handwriting has always been super special to me. For a moment I thought that maybe Marie wanted me to toss them all in the recycling, until I saw my scissors.

Decluttering isn’t about tossing things out, it’s about maximizing the amount of joy the items in your life can bring you by paring them down and treating them with care. Did I care about the corny greeting card exteriors? Absolutely not.

I took to them with scissors and carefully cut out each note, and pasted those into a journal.

Now I have a clear drawer and a great collection of handwriting sitting neatly on my bookshelf, which has far more empty spaces now.

My decluttering process would’ve been easier if I had focused on all the things I was keeping: so many striped shirts that make me grin, a beautiful anthology of Greek Myths and everything else I could want or need. Getting past the first few hours of grimacing while putting childhood chapter book after childhood chapter book in the giveaway pile was all it took.

I don’t see myself stopping this habit anytime, so to any future roommates: watch out, because you might wake up and I will have decluttered half our mugs and all of our coffee table books.

Age does not excuse bigotry

Story by Rachel Robinson Writer It’s time to stop letting your relatives get away with racism and homophobia.

L

ike a lot of people in my generation, I’ve heard elderly people in my family say upsetting things about minorities for most of my life.

I’ve also watched other family members give them a free pass for being raised “in a different time” for just as long. I was around 10 years old the first time I heard a relative say something that registered as racism, and it wasn’t until I was 15 that the excuse of a “generational gap” stopped making sense.

About a year ago, I was at a family dinner and someone told a story that I still can’t quite wrap my head around. She talked about how one of my elderly relatives had recently moved into an assisted living facility. When the relative found out that her nurse was a black man, she locked herself in her room and called her daughter demanding to be transferred out of the facility. The whole story was told and received like a joke.

I was the only person who didn’t seem to think it was very funny. I still don’t understand how every adult in the room heard that story and

thought, “This is meant for my entertainment.” I find it very concerning that a person can get away with aggressively racist behavior just because they were born before the civil rights movement. But based on discussions I’ve had with Baby Boomers — they can.

The 2016 election had a huge influence on the common topics of conversation in my extended family. Nearly all of my relatives are either active Trump supporters or they hate his guts. It’s impossible to avoid talking about him because he is one of the most infamous people in this country.

Still, most of us don’t like to talk about politics with each other unless someone else brings it up. The only people that will consistently bring up something they heard on FOX News last night are the most senior members of the family. No one else’s opinion is respected and no matter how offensive the things they say are, they’re always defended and forgiven immediately. It makes me feel like my opinion doesn’t matter and it allows older people to justify their actions.

From a young age, I’ve been told that I should always respect my elders because they are wiser than I am. I’ve also been told that it’s rude to correct them when they say something

offensive because they don’t know any better.

Those two things seem contradictory. It’s unfair to non-bigoted elderly people to say that none of them have enough critical thinking skills not to be racist and homophobic.

I do respect my older relatives enough to have a rational conversation with them about the issues with what they’re saying.

However calm and respectful these conversations may be, it’s important to realize that you often won’t be able to change someone’s mind. Sometimes people are so set in their ways that it is impossible to help them, but what matters is the fact that you said something. There’s a very good chance that most people aren’t going to listen to anything you have to say, but there will always be a few that will.

The discomfort of the many should be well worth the reward of the few. I do understand that that might not be the case for everyone and that for some people, arguing with their family members could be a threat to their safety. You shouldn’t be held accountable if this is the case for you, but for everyone else, I feel there’s no excuse for avoiding family confrontation because you’re uncomfortable with it.

designed by Faith Andrews-O’Neal

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SPORTS

Athletic Trainer Lisa Gross wraps an injured student’s ankle Feb. 4. As STA’s on-site trainer, she cares for student athletes’ injuries. photo by Olivia Wirtz

The physical demands of sports can have lasting efects The passion athletes have for their sport can lead to pushing themselves too far.

Story by Kendall Lanier Lifestyles Editor Photos by Olivia Wirtz Writer

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ophomore Abbi Hennessy spends hours after school running three to nine miles through the Kansas City area each day with her cross country team. After that she heads to her club team soccer practice to do more running

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Febraury 19, 2019

and training, rounding out her athletics for the night at about nine each night in the fall. The culture of girls’ high school sports has become students’ main focus after academics.

Being at a competitive level requires a large amount of rigor which can lead to injury.

During the fall club soccer season, Hennessy was turning to kick a ball in a game and tore her ACL. This injury ended both her club soccer and cross country seasons.

“I think I was leading up to the [injury],” Hennessy said.

“There was a lot of stress on my body I was playing two sports at once.”

High school athletes put high demands on their body day after day. This calls for a staff of trainers who can watch the players closely to make sure their body is properly taken care of, according to Wilson.

Former Athletic Director at University of Missouri Kansas City Carla Wilson says, “The biggest thing is realizing girls’ bodies are different than men’s. Men have more muscle mass, they are stronger, so making sure they

don’t push them to levels the same as the men so we usually had different coaches for the women and the men.”

Female athletes tend to injure common parts of their body. St. Teresa’s Academy has an on-site athletic trainer Lisa Gross, to care for these injuries.

According to Gross, the most common injuries seen are lower leg pain that typically originate from jumping into a sport when out of shape and hip mal alignment due to the growing teenage body.

With athletes practicing everyday, tournaments and games on the weekends, a close relationship with their coaches and trainers is essential.

“They definitely care a lot about my recovery, safety is always first with them,” Hennessy said. “They want me to take my time to get back to where I was.”

The coaches and trainers keep a close eye on the athletes and have the final say on whether they will be able to play and push through an injury.

“If the trainer says they’re out, no matter how bad the coach needs them for a big game, they’re out,” Wilson said.

“They always have the final say.”

Athletes may push themselves too far due to the question of whether or not they will make it to the next level of playing a college sport.

“The amount of pressure that student athletes put on themselves especially when they’re competitive and really gleamed on, you have to watch them [hiding their injury],” Wilson said. “Also, the

length of your career can cause even more damage. You have to watch that and say ‘When is it enough?’”

The safety of athletes’ bodies can often conflict with their love for the sport.

Junior Molly Sexton has had two concussions from playing soccer. From one of the concussions, Sexton rushed her recovery and came back to playing too soon.

“I definitely wanted to get back because I wanted to play... but that also made me realize it’s important to take care of yourself.”

- Molly Sexton “I definitely wanted to get back because I wanted to play soccer and play with my team but that also made me realize it’s important to take care of yourself in order to play,” Sexton said. “It was hard for me to play because I wasn’t fully recovered.”

While injuries at a young age may feel temporary, they can have lasting effects on the body.

“The age for lower body joint replacements, especially knees, has been steadily becoming [more common at a] younger [age] with the normalization of sports specialization, playing sports

year-round without adequate rest and athletes playing a high school sport and club sport simultaneously,” Gross said. “It can be hard to think to the future at this age, but joint replacements do not last forever; a new knee at 35 means another replacement at 65, and so on.”

In some sports, life long injuries are more prevalent.

According to Sexton, in her sport, head injuries are very common, not more than the NFL with CTE but with her injuries she has begun to realize how much that can affect you later in life. She has found it is more important to take care of your body.

The help of a strong athletic team and athletes being mindful of the stress they are putting on their bodies leads to fewer injuries.

“I think we know a lot more now than we used to,” Wilson said. “There’s more [equipment] we can provide.

It’s really hard to prevent it if the coach and the athlete don’t have a good enough relationship to tell them what’s going on.”

Being an athlete, taking care of your body can be a full time job. Not only do athletes have to worry about their body during the game but also before and after.

“If I had a game the next day, I would always make sure I got enough sleep and ice baths,” Sexton said. ”So I think it’s just making sure [that] after playing a sport for a few hours you don’t just go do homework, but take the steps to take care of your body.”

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COMMUNITY

Reclaiming culture: the restitution of Nazi-looted art The Nelson-Atkins features artworks confiscated by Hitler’s forces during and prior to World War II intended to either be destroyed or featured in the Führermuseum to glorify Nazi ideology.

A close up view of the expressionist painting called “Masks” from 1867 by Emil Nolde. Emil is a member of the Nazi party, but the work is marked “degenerate” based on its modern style.

Story by Sophia Durone|Breaking News Editor Photos and alternative coverage by Claire Smith|Writer

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pen until Jan. 26, 2020 at the Nelson-Atkins, the Discriminating Thieves: Nazi-Looted Art and Restitution exhibition features four artworks that were displaced during the Nazi art looting during and prior to World War II. MacKenzie Mallon, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art provenance specialist, detailed each work’s path across the world and purpose of its confiscation

by Hitler’s forces in her talk, What Once was Lost: Nazi Art Looting and Allied Restitution.

“To Hitler, the Nazi art looting campaign was personal and exacting,” Mallon said. “He had a specific agenda for what to steal and how to use it to achieve Nazi objectives. By targeting Jewish art collectors, he worked toward the complete annihilation of his enemies, both physically and by destroying their artistic heritage,

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February 19, 2019

depriving them of what he most coveted.”

Along with hundreds of thousands of other artworks, the paintings’ journeys began when Adolf Hitler first used art as a political tool, conveying Nazi principles through the works he glorified.

“Hitler used art as a means to disseminate his agenda and to describe the superiority of the Aryan race, the power and strength of Nazi Germany and the authority of himself and his Nazi leaders,” Mallon said.

He favored works that celebrated the German people and followed a Naturalistic style, depicting landscapes and human activity as accurately as possible.

However, he was not satisfied with simply supporting German art.

“He was equally resolute in his determination to suppress art of which he did not approve —

namely art that might undermine Nazi ideology and damage the vision of Aryan supremacy that the Nazis were promoting,” Mallon said.

Hitler labeled these pieces “degenerate” and desired to purge his land of everything he believed supported his adversaries. This prompted the Nazi art looting campaign.

“In 1937, a Nazi committee led by painter Adolf Ziegler began removing these degenerate artworks from Germany’s own national museums,” Mallon said.

“The confiscated art was either destroyed or sold in order to raise funds for the Reich. This especially included works in the Abstract, Cubist and Expressionist styles that were favored by Contemporary artists.”

It is estimated that one third of the art deemed degenerate was burned during the looting before it could be disseminated across Europe. The Nazis also looted artworks not for the purpose of

This is a marble statue of Jean-Francois Ducis by Augustin Pajou, a French sculptor, 1779. It was looted from a private Jewish collector in France and hidden in the Herrenchiemsee Palace.

Mackenzie Mallon speaking at the Nelson-Atkins Museum regarding the “Discriminating Thieves” art exhibition on Jan. 29.

destruction but to feature in Hitler’s new museum intended to enhance German glory.

“The Führermuseum would include paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and objects of decorative art, stolen from collections throughout Europe — many of which were owned by Jews,” Mallon said.

To avoid advancing Allied forces, the artworks destined for the Führermuseum were frequently shuffled between castles, churches, mines and private homes throughout Germany and Austria. This process was later threatened upon the Allies’ recognition of the immense

cultural destruction of the war and creation of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program, the MFAA, in 1943.

“The 350 men and women of the MFAA were charged with preserving cultural heritage, historic buildings and works of art in the war areas,” Mallon said. “Today, we refer to them as the Monuments Men. They included art museum directors, conservators, historians, dancers, poets, many were draftees that had been moved to the MFAA from other sections of the service and many of them were volunteers.”

When the Allies entered Hitler’s

territory near the end of the war, they found the large stashes of artworks looted by the Nazis. The Monuments Men set up collection points to identify artworks using Nazi records and worked years beyond the end of the war to return the pieces to their rightful owners. However, not everything stolen by the Nazis could have restitution.

“Many recovered objects could not be returned to their pre-war owners because there was no one left for them to be returned to,” Mallon said. “Entire Jewish families had been wiped out during the Holocaust and no heirs were left to claim their property. In these cases, artworks were returned to their countries of origin and it was left up to the governments as to what to do with them.”

More than 70 years after the end of the war, the restoration of both the artworks and culture the Nazi art looting campaign destroyed still continues. The Nelson-Atkins will host speaker Corine Wegener, director of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, on March 7 and later show three films to advance the conversation regarding the four previously looted works featured in their exhibition.

“By exploring this history and sharing our finds, we hope in some small way to contribute to the ultimate resolution of the Nazi art looting,” Mallon said. designed by Olivia Powell

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LAST LOOK

A WALK AROUND THE RIVER MARKET The River Market is a staple of Kansas City culture. The Dart did a quick Q&A with various vendors.

Story by Aspen Cherrito|Mulimedia Editor Claudia Benge|Sports Editor Photos by Grace Fiorella Writer

Al Habashi Mart Is the shop locally-based? Do all of your products come from Kansas City?

The shop is locally-based.

Part of our products come from local businesses, but most of it comes imported from overseas.

Where are most of your products imported from?

Most of our import comes from the west coast.

How long has Al Habashi Mart been at the River Market?

We have been in the market for about 29 years. We were the first Middle Eastern store to open in Kansas City.

What do you mostly sell?

We get imported products

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like spices, teas, desserts, coffee and anything you could ask for.

Is the River Market a unique environment?

I think the River Market is very unique. We get people from all over the country and this is a historical place. You can get fresh produce and anything you could think of.

Bloom bakery Is your shop locally-based?

This is our only location in Kansas City and we make everything from scratch inhouse.

Where do your ingredients come from?

We try to get the majority of our ingredients from Kansas City, but we do get some other things that are a little harder to come by from different places.

How long has bloom bakery been at the River Market?

The shop opened in 2011. The owner was a nurse beforehand and decided she wanted to open a bakery.

What kind of baked goods do you sell?

We tend to be in the French tradition. We do a lot of danishes, croissants and puff pastries. We also do the

Musician, Doug Kellis, performs on the corner of Global produce Feb. 3.

Many people stop to see Kellis perform throughout the day.

Two girls prepare burritos for their customers at Burrito Brother on Feb. 3. Burrito Brothers is located in the City Market in the River Market District serving burritos, tacos, bowl, and quesadillas.

macaron, which not a lot of people do. We are one of the couple of places in Kansas City that makes macarons. But we also do some more common things, like brownies, cupcakes and cookies. We also have a wide selection of bread that we make here.

Is the bakery seasonal?

It is very seasonal at the River Market. We have a lot less people coming into the bakery during the winter months. I think a lot of people think that the shops close, but we are open all year-round. What keeps us busy during the slower months is working with restaurants and bringing them our bread and pastries.

taste Brazil Is your shop locally based?

Yes. How long have you been at the River Market?

Five years.

What products do you sell?

Typical Brazilian street food, it’s a mix of their mother’s food and Brazilian street food.

Are you from the KC area?

The owners are from South Palo, Brazil.

What brought you here?

[The owners] came here

to study at Park University and worked several jobs and had a dream of opening a restaurant.

After saving up some money they opened up.

Have you found success in the River Market?

Yes, we started a food truck this year and did some renovations.

Do you think the River Market is a unique environment?

The biggest draw is all the international people and tourists due to the Steam Boat Arabia. There is a sense of community, everyone puts their heart and soul into everything.

Check out the interactive map on dartnewsonline.com

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designed by Margaux Renee

PHOTO STORY

RELIGION IN KANSAS CITY Photos by Carmon Baker Writer

Muslim Anya Asjad closes her eyes in prayer at her house Jan. 27. It is part of Muslim religious practices to pray five times a day.

A statue of a menorah sits outside the Anna and Max Zalcman Chabad Torah Learning Center.

This Jewish center is located in Overland Park.

A statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola sits outside of the Greenlease Library at Rockhurst University Jan. 27. Rockhurst is a Jesuit university.

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page design by Maddie Loehr

A cross hangs on the altar at the Country Club Christian Church Jan. 27. The Church holds three services every Sunday morning.

A Hindu woman laughs while talking to a group of friends at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Feb. 2. In addition to offering religious services, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan offers cultural classes in subjects like language and music.

ON THE

DNO

River Market Map

Story by Claudia Benge

In defense of part-time jobs Gallery: Father Daughter Dance

Column by Mary Massman Photos by Amy Schaffer Stargazer: The Fallis Twins Gallery: Robotics

Podcast by Ella Norton

Photos by Olivia Powell

@dartnewsonline

/dartnewsonline

@dartpaper

/dartnewsonline

@dartnewsonline

@dartnewsonline designed by Tess Jones

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