Patriot February 2018

The

Patriot

Volume 52 / Issue 6 / February 9, 2018

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Contents 04

Patriot Staff

News

Newsfeed

Snow Days Girl/Boy Scouts Sweetheart

Q&A with Major and Max Close Boys Swim New Athletic Trainer

Features

Bowling

16 18 19 20

Cover Story: Black History Month South-spiracies Q&A with teacher Lee Dixon 14 Days of Valentines Q&A Staff Editorial Debate: Valentine’s Day

Guest Column with Kate Herrmann Importance of Local Elections

A&E

Internet Trends

26 27 28 30 31

11 12 13 14 15

21 22 23 24 25

Opinion

Cover photo by Cassandra AWAD

Water Fountains

Wrestling

Mission statement

The Patriot is a news magazine that aims to objectively present topics affecting Shawnee Mission South High School, as well as connect with readers on issues concerning the student body. Staff members reserve the right to express their views in the Opinions section. These pieces are labeled and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff as a whole, except the Lead Editorial, which represents the views of the editors. Under the First Amendment and Kansas Law, The Patriot staff is entitled to freedom of the press and neither the school nor district is responsible for any content or coverage. The staff encourages letters to the editor, they will only be published if signed. The editor-inchief reserves the right to refuse or edit any letters for reasons of grammar, length and good taste.

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Sports

Editor-in-Chief

Sophia Belshe Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Avery Woods News Editor

Lily Wagner Sports Editor

Avery Woods Features Editor

Madison Holloway Opinion Editor

Sophia Belshe A&E Editor

Miah Clark Infographics Editor

Madison Holloway Web Editor & Social Media Manager

Nichole Thomas Ads Editor

Ansley Chambers Copy Editor

Addie Soyski Photo Editor

Cassandra Awad Editorial Cartoonist

Lauren Bass Photographers

Trinity Clark, Abby Cox,

Weston Glendening,

Jenica Kolbeck,

Jillian McClelland Reporters

Blake Atkinson, Daniella Campos,

Emma Harding, Ali Harrison,

Gini Horton, Pablo Jimenez,

Parrish Mock, Megan Smith,

Brynn Taylor Adviser Julie Fales

Treat Yo’ Self Beauty and the Beast Oscars KC 1-2-3: Boutiques Culture Corner

Table of Contents 03

newsfeed addie soyski

by Megan smith and Pablo Jimenez copy editor reporters graphic by madison holloway

korean olympics

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orth and South Korea will be marching under a united flag at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, leaving many wondering if this is a sign of hope for future international relations regarding North Korea.

While North and South Korea have marched and competed together at Olympic Games in the past, like the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, the rising tensions between world powers and North Korea means that their participation in these games could have a larger effect than in past years. The announcement that North Korea would be competing in the Winter Olympics came just after threats of nuclear war were issued from both the United States and North Korea. There will be 22 North Korean competitors at the games, competing in five sports including figure skating, cross-country skiing and a unified North and South Korean women’s hockey team.

“I don’t think [North Korea competing in the Winter Olympics] will drastically affect international relations,” gifted teacher and girls basketball coach Terry Tinich said.

These Olympics, while not much different from ones in the past, could have far-reaching implications in the realm of international relations and the world relationship with North Korea.

Superintendent search

Shawnee Mission School District board members are continuing the process of picking a new Superintendent. First and second rounds of the interviews will be done by the end of February. Board members are planning to reveal the final candidates as early as the end of March.

“I am looking for someone who knows what really goes on in school and does what they are supposed to do and sees what their ideas are actually like when they are applied, because the biggest problem with schools is that they have such good ideas, but it doesn’t work out application wise.”

Junior Lexington Link

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, fifth from right, front row, poses with participants of the meeting of the Olympic Committee delegations from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and South Korea in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (Xu Jinquan/Xinhua/Sipa USA/TNS)

“I am looking for someone who can work with the board in a joint effort. The board has certain ideas and the superintendent also has certain ideas, but I want them to be able to work together and not have one person who decides what they want and everybody else goes along with it.”

Librarian Debi O’Brien

photo by weston glendening

kudos 04 News

The Academic Decathlon team won State and will represent South in Frisco, TX in April.

Seniors Charlie Stallbaumer and Townes DeLuca won for their individual categories.

In the WordWright academic challenge, English teachers Tim Williams’s 9th grade honors classes took 13th in the country, Drew Baranowski’s and Joe Cline’s 10th grade honors classes took 9th, and Lindsey McFall’s 12th grade honors classes took 6th in the nation.

tragedy at northwest

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photo by bergen cooper

hawnee Mission Northwest was hit hard last month with the news of two students who died by suicide. In order to show that other South students are standing with them, art classes made a poster for students to sign during lunch with supportive comments.

Students also wore orange ribbons at the varsity boys basketball game against SM West.

“I like how other schools are getting involved and stuff and I think that helps, especially when they sign and write positive notes,” senior Tanner LongChristmas.

kindness counts

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he week of Jan. 22 students participated in the Kindness Challenge. Every day of the week had a certain challenge and the students were encouraged to fill out a sort of bingo game provided by Pep Club that included things like smile at 25 people, sit with a new group of kids at lunch and thank a bus driver or a carpool driver. Two students who completed the challenge were drawn at the end of the week. Winners were sophomore Kelise Moses and junior H Kopp. photo by trinity clark

closed for business T hroughout his campaign and presidency, President Donald Trump has expressed his dislike for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, immigration policy.

DACA allows some individuals who entered the United States as minors to remain in the country and made these individuals eligible for a work permit. However, this policy has been in danger of being repealed for some time, as many Republican lawmakers see it as allowing “illegal immigrants” to reside in the United States. Democrats attempted to make room in the congressional budget for DACA but were unable to, and so the government shut down due to the inability to pass the bill through the Senate. This shutdown, ironically falling on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, has caused many to blame Democrats for

trumpdate

A closed entrance sign is seen at the Post Office Department on Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, after a short-term spending bill vote failed Friday night, sending the government into a shutdown on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)

voting against the budget and causing the government to close. Many people, however, think that blame should be held with Republicans.

“The Republicans are definitely responsible, because they have a majority in the government and still

can’t get anything done,” junior Cynthia Flores said.

This shutdown is one of the three that have happened in the last 25 years due to a lapse in funding. It ended Monday, Jan. 22, as Democrats buckled under pressure from President Trump and the GOP, adopting a short-term funding bill that would keep the government open until Feb. 8. This bill, however, does not include any sort of funding of any immigration policies, but there is an upcoming vote on the subject, according to majority leader Mitch McConnell.

This short-lived impasse had the potential to threaten both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and the discussion concerning immigration, while it will continue, may be more bipartisan in order to avoid another shutdown.

Representative Al Green (D-TX) introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump Jan. 19 Trump signed a bill to end the government shutdown Jan. 22.

Trump said Jan. 24 he will do an interview with Robert Mueller.

Trump delivered his first State of the Union address Jan. 30.

Events as of Feb. 2

News 05

Junior Brandon Holtfrerich gets water next to one of the many broken water fountains at school. The broken water fountain was previously made into a fountain memorial by students.

photo by jenica kolbeck

Water (fountain) gate An unusual amount of drinking fountains have been broken or in disrepair this school year.

By Avery Woods Assistant Editor in Chief Sports Editor memorial on the water fountain sits across from English teacher Tim William’s Room 270, complete with flowers, candles, a skull and construction paper. The fountain was broken by an unknown student in early January, causing it to fall completely off the wall. This water fountain is one of many that have broken this school year, causing puddles and thirsty students everywhere.

“I didn’t see it. I don’t know if they have followed up on it on who did it...

Someone either sat on it or pushed down on it hard enough to break it from the wall,” head custodian Ed Gosling said.

Though this water fountain is one of many, it isn’t a unique case, though the shrine certainly was. The majority of the water fountains, according to Gosling, were damaged by repeated

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vandalism by students. Other water fountains had problems with the lines, which often caused both water fountain units to go out instead of just one.

“The reason it takes forever to get something repaired is that the district only has one plumber and they really should have three,” Gosling said.

“They’re trying to hire more people, but the district’s funds are limited.”

The water fountain with the shrine was broken for more than two weeks. At one point, according to Gosling, there were seven fountains broken at the same time.

“With one plumber and close to 50 buildings, it’s difficult. So that’s why it’s really important that we not vandalize, we not damage things of that sort, because it takes a long time to get it repaired,” Gosling said.

Students often have to work around the amount of water fountains that are broken.

“I would have to look around the whole school to find one that’s actually functioning. It’s really inconvenient,” junior Jessica Martinez said.

Gosling says that the biggest thing he’s worried about is the safety of the students and staff.

“Eventually, someone is going

to slip, and someone’s going to get hurt. And that’s what worries me.

We want the kids and the staff to be safe. That’s our number one priority,” Gosling said.

According to Gosling, the district doesn’t have a big enough maintenance budget in order to install newer water fountains, like the bottle filling station near the auditorium.

Gosling said that that station was installed under the budget for improvements and construction rather than maintenance. However, these bottle filling stations cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000, according to Gosling, so there isn’t enough money to install some around the school.

“We know the kids like to have their bottled water and that’s great, but it’s not all that big a deal to me to just fill it at a regular fountain,” Gosling said. “It’s not a priority to the district because of the cost to replace them.”

Even though it would be nice to have bottle filling stations, the normal water fountains are still temperamental and often have to be fixed.

“You’d think with the amount of money we make we would have enough to fix a water fountain,” junior Cynthia Flores said.

snow for days

Plans for snow days, how to find out, and more.

By Daniella campos reporter

T

he tell tale myths of sleeping on spoons and flushing ice down the toilet sadly do not play parts in the cancelling of school.

Administrators, not only throughout our district, but through many districts, decide on if school will be cancelled due to weather. Information is usually posted on the website, as well as local radio and television stations.

“I usually find out there’s a snow day through other people’s social media’s,” sophomore Griffin Brassell said.

Snapchat stories and tweets are usually the go-to for students, as well as the posts from the school accounts. Following news stations and schools on social media can guarantee your knowledge of these decisions.

If you’re not into following those accounts, leaving it up to your parents is also an option.

“My mom usually tells me in the morning,” sophomore Beau Barnes said.

As for how far ahead schools provide information, usually the decision is made before 10 p.m. the night prior to closing, and is broadcasted on television and radio newscasts. If the decision is made after 10 p.m., the information will be provided during the morning newscasts.

On certain occasions, if weather conditions seem to worsen during a school day, an early release of classes already in session may be necessary.

The Shawnee Mission School District schedules in four days into their school calendar. But, if not all snow days are used up, it’s possible to get out of school earlier. Students’ last day is scheduled for May 25, but the district has only used one snow day. If there are no more snow days, summer break will start May 22.

Students spend their snow days insid, doing homework or binge

Students walking in to school Jan. 23 deal with the snow fall from the night before. The second Thursaday after winter break, Jan. 11, the school district canceled classes because of the ice on the roads.

photo by jillian mcclelland

watching their favorite shows.

“There’s snow outside, so I’ll probably just stay inside and watch the Chiefs,” Barnes said.

While some would like to spend their day catching up on Netflix shows or binge watching movies, others like to catch up on other things, like sleep.

“When I hear that there’s a snow day, my first reaction is usually excitement, then I will probably just go back to bed,” Brassell said.

Rarely do people think about what the rest of the school does other than the students not going to school. Custodians do not follow the same rules as students. Head evening custodian Nathan Larry explains what custodians are required to do on a snow day.

“My supervisors call me and let me know when school is cancelled.

But I’m here every day. Even with the icy roads. Depending on if there’s snow or ice, with ice we put the salt down on the sidewalks and roads,” Larry said.

snow days SMSD Past Snow Days 2017-18: 1 day so far 2016-17: Snow day for teachers 2015-16: Royals Parade Day 2014-15: 0 days If no more snow days are used the last day for students in grades 9-11 is May 22 instead of the scheduled May 25.

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an astronomical weekend School organizations work behind the scenes to get ready for Sweetheart festivities.

By Emma harding reporter hile some students forgot about school Saturday, Jan. 27 StuCo came together and prepared for the Sweetheart dance Feb. 10. It was such a nice day, they created many nice space themed decorations outside. The theme for the dance is A Night in the Galaxy.

The dance committee gets together outside of school for two work days. They build and paint a lot of their decorations, but they also buy items such as light up balloons, blow up aliens and a piñata. Most of the homemade decorations are made from cardboard. Some of the balloons are blown up and are made into planets.

They’re making the centerpiece, a rocket that will be in the middle of the gym floor, from scratch.

Before the couples get to the decorated gym, they have to think about who they will be asking to this traditionally women pay all dance.

“I really like making the poster and thinking of clever things to put on it,” junior Blake Hardesty said.

Hardesty asked junior Nick Velicer with a sign that said, “Let me convince you of this. WPA would be calcuLIT with you.”

“I also really like getting to spend a stress-free night with my date. I like being able to get all dressed up trying new hairstyles and taking pictures,” Hardesty said.

While the dance is a night you can get dressed up and hang out with friends, the day before, the Pep Club assembly excites the students for the game and the crowning later that night. Pep Club member dedicates hours in seminar to planning.

“You have to sacrifice your seminar, but I definitely think it’s worth it. Just for the dedication for the school for all it’s done for me these four years,” senior Jackson Peters said.

Each assembly includes a game and today’s involved balloons.

“We just try to invent some more ideas that we can add to make it fun. We try to come up with a new contest and we just hang out,” senior Francie Wilson said.

Sports teams are also announced during the assembly.

“I like how cheerful and fun all the music is. I also like

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Events 08 News

Tonight

Painting an alien, freshman Sadie Holloway, adds to the decorations for the Sweetheart dance. Sweetheart will be on Saturday, Feb. 10 in the Auxiliary gym.

photo by Parrish Mock hearing about the sports and getting to see all my friends on the team,” sophomore Carter Thompson The people nominated for Sweetheart are announced at the assembly. The winners will be announced at the game tonight.

“I’m very excited that I was nominated. I will definitely make some bold moves at the assembly,” senior Nick Wissel said.

Some of the moves at the assembly will include a Pacesetter-Cheerleading dance combination.

“The Pace captain, Abby Tennant, and I met up over break and went over some dance moves. She had already made up some of it,” senior Grace Reiman said.

Many students appreciate what the captains of both teams have produced.

“My favorite part is what the cheerleaders do. Their routine is a lot of fun to watch. It makes me really happy and excited when they perform,” junior Annelise Garrison said.

Girls varsity basketball game: 5:30p.m.

Sweetheart court crowning: 6:45p.m.

Boys varsity basketball game: 7p.m.

Feb. 10

Sweetheart dance from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.

Tickets for sale in cafeteria $15 for one, $25 for two Tickets also for sale at the door for $15 Theme is A Night In the Galaxy

A list of Sweetheart court candidates is available on smsouthnews.com

scouting for success Students earn prestigious awards while helping the community.

By Megan Smith reporter t Mission Trail Elementary, students can now play together at recess, thanks to junior Meg Blinzler, who constructed a gaga ball pit for her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The most prestigious awards in scouting are the Gold Award for Girl Scouts and the Eagle Scout for Boy Scouts. Scouts put in a great deal of time for these projects, often at least a year, and help their community through service. Only around 6 percent of Girl or Boy Scouts complete these awards because they are extremely difficult and have many requirements.

In order to earn the Gold Award, Girl Scouts have to complete a project that shows their leadership skills and community service.

There are many steps taken to complete the project: identifying and researching an issue, finding volunteers, creating a plan, getting it approved by the Girl Scout Council and carrying out the project with your volunteers.

After being in Girl Scouts since elementary school, junior Meg Blinzler decided to pursue her Gold Award. “[I built the gaga ball pit] to give kids somewhere to play during recess and have a chance to see people they don’t normally,” Blinzler said.

She spent about four hours doing the building portion of her project, and there were at least 80 hours of volunteer effort as well.

Junior Jane Swanberg, who is currently waiting for approval to begin her project, plans to team up with a beekeeper at her church to create a garden to save bees at her church.

“The bee thing is a big problem right now,” Swanberg said.

She hopes that her project will help increase bee populations around Kansas City, as they are rapidly decreasing not only in Kansas, but around the world.

Gold Award projects generally last about one or two years, start to finish, as there are several steps for completing the award, one of them being that you have to submit your project proposal to the Girl Scout council for feedback and approval.

Eagle Scout, the highest ranking in Boy Scouts, requires a project similar to the Gold Award. Before earning their Eagle, Scouts have to rise through the ranks from Tenderfoot to Life Scout and earn at least 21 merit badges. Scouts can earn merit badges for a variety of things, such as camping, cooking and personal fitness.

“An Eagle Scout project should positively affect your community,” freshman Mack Green, who is currently working on his Eagle Scout project, said.

For this project, Scouts must make a detailed plan that benefits an individual or group in their community. For example, junior Ethan Hulen created a brick path at Holy Cross Catholic Church, because he heard from a friend who also did a project there that there was more work to be done. This enabled people at the church, especially Girl and Boy Scout troops, to walk to the firepit without having to walk through the grass.

“My favorite part, looking back, was the problems that I had along the way. They helped me know what to do in the future,” Hulen said.

Scouts who complete these projects help their community by identifying and resolving an issue that they see. They have to gather volunteers and get their proposals approved by a council, and often have to get sponsors to help them complete their projects.

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Constructing the gaga ball pit was one step in the process of completing junior Meg Blinzler’s Gold Award.

Junior Meg Blinzler stands with volunteers who helped her complete her Gold Award project. She built a gaga ball pit for Mission Trail Elementary.

Junior Meg Blinzler teaches students at Mission Trail Elementary how to play gaga ball to fulfill Gold Award requirements.

photos courtesy of meg blinzler

News 09

Artists & athletes

12 34

1. Freshman Katie Swann works on an art project in her fifth hour art class. Swann used a light table to do her project.

photo by Jenica Kolbeck

2. As senior Nick Wissel heads up for a layup, he runs into two Olathe Northwest Raven players and a foul is called.

Wissel led the team with 17 points helping the Raiders win 51-49.

3. Two competitors face off during the rock, paper, scissors competition photo by trinity clark in third lunch. The rock, paper, scissors tournament occurs once a year in all three lunches. Winners from each lunch faced off today in the 4. During the literary magazine’s New Year, New Art Sweatheart assembly.

Showcase, junior Claire Nash reads her poem, “Coffee For Two”. At the showcase Jan. 30, students’ art and poetry was photo by Jenica Kolbeck highlighted as inspiration to submit to the literary magazine, Inscriptions.

10 Photo essay

photo by trinity clark

1. While warming up for the South

1

the throwdown

2

Invitational wrestling tournament, senior Kyle Divine takes a break and watches his teammates.

2. During his match, junior Seth Renfro blocks his opponent.

3. Before leaving the wrestling room for the South Invitational, the team rallies in a group to get prepared.

4. Junior Seth Renfro pins his opponent at the South Invitational wrestling tournament.

5. During a break in his wrestling match, sophomore Marty Levendusky looks toward the scoreboard.

photos by jenica kolbeck

3

Wrestling looks back as they prepare for their final meets of the season.

by blake atkinson reporter fter pulling off a ninth place win at the Fredonia meet, with seniors and team captains Caleb Cossairt and Max Holmes placing second and team captain and senior Kyle Divine placing fourth, the wrestling team looks forward to state.

“We’re dealing with sickness and injuries, but as the season goes on, some of the young wrestlers are gaining experience and it’s getting better and it seems like the pieces are coming together,” wrestling coach Joel Rios said.

State, which will take place Feb. 24 and 25 in Wichita, has tough criteria to meet. Wrestlers must place in the top eight at regionals to move on, where they will face some of the best wrestlers from other parts of the state. In getting ready for state and regionals, everyone must make sure that they are as ready as they can.

“I think state is going to be pretty tough, since I’m ranked sixth, but at regionals, I think I can get at least top 3,” Cossairt said.

With the season coming to an end, it can often be a time of looking back on good memories for seniors. Divine is one of four seniors on the team.

Although wrestling is an individual sport, it can lead to lots of memories and bonding.

“Sophomore year, we all went to IHOP the morning before the South invitational wrestling tournament and everyone got food poisoning from the pancakes there. It was pretty funny that the entire team got food poisoning,” Kyle said.

Sophomore Kiersten Divine, who is a manager for the team as well as being Kyle’s sister, also has memories to look back on with the seniors leaving.

“My favorite memory was at a meet not that long ago at DeSoto and my brother was telling me that I was the reason he would lose, and he won all his matches by pin and then he apologized to me and said I was his good luck charm,” Kiersten said.

Often times seniors leaving can be a sad time and can also put pressure on the team to make sure that they can find someone new to look up to.

“I think it’s not going to be as fun not getting to annoy him and stuff, but it’s also gonna be a little bit harder because there’s gonna be a lot less people,” Kiersten said.

No matter how the team does at state, it’s important to remember the past and look forward to the future.

“It feels kind of good, because I’m going to continue wrestling in college, but also kind of sad because I’m going to miss Rios and the other guys I’ve wrestled with,” Cossairt said.

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Sports 11

QA &

junior

with

freshman

major and max close

These varsity basketball-playing brothers just got a whole lot closer.

by trinity clark photographer photo by trinity clark

What is it like playing with your brother?

It’s fun going against each other during practice.

It’s pretty competitive and we are always trying to make each other better.

Do you guys enjoy playing together?

We don’t play with each other because we play similar positions, but when we are on the court together it’s fun.

Yeah, because I usually play on my own team and it’s fun to see how we compare with each other and see who is better.

Did you like playing more before Max started playing or do you think that it is more fun now?

I mean I don’t think so because I was on a different team last year, but it’s not like Max has made the experience a lot worse or better.

Do you think that it’s hard with people saying that your younger brother is “better” than you?

Oh no. I mean, I don’t really care, because it’s not like I focus on basketball being my main sport. I mean he obviously can’t guard me.

12 Sports

Do you take pride in being able to say that you get to play with your brother?

Yeah, because it’s just fun saying that we are on the same team and we are brothers.

When you guys are at home do you argue about who plays better in games?

I don’t think we really argue about who played better, because you can just tell like if one person had a bad game, and it’s not like we shove it in each others’ face. We just kind of understand that if you had a bad game, you just had a bad game and we move on.

Do you think you ever get too competitive?

I don’t think you can ever get too competitive and you always want to get better, but it’s always healthy competition because we want to be better than each other.

Do you think you have more pressure on yourselves to be better than each other?

I mean, for me, yeah, because I am the older brother, but I don’t really care.

Who is the better player?

I obviously am going to say that I am.

Well, I’m going to have to say myself.

I don’t know. Major is better at guarding a guard and I am better at guarding a post or like a big man, and I am a better driver and he is a better shooter.

Yeah, I would say that is pretty accurate.

Senior Marc Almloff takes a breath while practicing the breaststroke.

Almloff placed fifth in the 200 free at the Blue Valley West Invitational meet Jan. 25.

Sophomore diver Jacob Held prepares to jump backwards off the diving board during practice. Held placed fourth at the Blue Valley West Invitational meet Jan. 25.

photos by abby cox

swimming into state A look back on the swim season as the team prepares for state.

really, and having good coaches,” Turk said.

Now, with the seniors leaving, it’s going to be up to the rest of the team to work together and to keep going, though the seniors seem confident with what they will by pablo jimenez achieve next year. reporter “I am confident that the swim team will do well with ith boys swimming coming to an end, placing all of us seniors being gone. I mean, we got some good third in the district meet and the Lawrence swimmers so I think we will do just fine,” senior Shawn Free State Invitational helped take the sting out Kennedy said. of having the flu.

One of those swimmers includes Krause who won the “We have been fighting the flu and various other 100 backstroke against SM West. problems that have prevented us from having workouts “I will miss swimming now that I am leaving, with like I’d like, but all in all, we are steaming ahead,” Coach everything I’ve done and Bruce Bove said. achieved,” Billigmeier said.

But swimmers kept The final varsity meet We have had several ups and going strong to improve happened Friday, Feb. 2. this season. downs; I’m hoping that we’ll get Results were not available at “Each year I was press time. over all the illness we had and improving my times “We have had several fairly well and getting ups and downs; I’m hoping we can have good performances better at each stroke,” that we’ll get over all the in state. - swim coach Bruce Bove senior Ethan Billigmeier illness we had and we can said. have good performances in Swimmers who have state. It’s hard to tell right qualified for state as of Feb. 2 are seniors Joe McAtee, now,” Bove said.

Shawn Kennedy, Adam Zahnd, Mark Almloff, Jeff Nasse After 43 years of coaching, Bove has seen all types of and freshmen Charlie Krause and Joe Turk. Divers swim seasons. sophomore Sam Aldeguer and senior Spencer Held also “[This season] has been good. I think participation has qualified for state. been an issue and it has kind of been getting worked out, “It is cool to me as a freshman to make state. I know a so I think we are doing good now and we will do good at lot of people don’t, but I kind of have been training for it state,” Turk said. for a long time so it is just a good accomplishment,” Turk Bove appreciates his swimmers. said.

“I am proud for the people who have worked hard and Turk qualified in the medley relay with Krause, Nasse improved in this season for state,” he said. and Zahnd at the SM West meet Dec. 7. Turk won both State is Feb. 16 at Topeka Hummer Sports Park. the 200 IM and 100 breast.

“During the summer, I would practice for 5 hours a day with my team, two practices a day. Just a lot of practicing,

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Sports 13

New athletic trainer Whittney Findley tapes wrestling coach Kelsey Blackman’s wrist before wrestling practice. She started her position here Dec. 4.

photo by abby cox

by Ali Harrison Reporter

working with whittney A look at the newest member of the South staff.

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ou’re in the stands watching the big Friday night basketball game. All of a sudden, the gym goes silent. One of the Raiders is down with an injury. Who is there to save the day? New athletic trainer Whittney Findley.

Growing up, Findley had a passion for sports, which is what led her to a career as an athletic trainer. She got her Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training and from University of Central Missouri and her Master of Arts in Teaching Health Education at East Carolina University. Then she began working with a professional rugby team near Denver, Colorado as well as at several high schools around Kansas City.

Now she’s here at South.

“South has been amazing.

Everybody has been very welcoming and great to work with. I feel very fortunate that I was chosen to be here,” she said.

As much as she is thankful to be at South, South is thankful to have her.

Gifted teacher and

girls basketball coach Terry Tinich works with her almost every day. He understands how busy her schedule is during the winter sports season, but he appreciates her hard work nonetheless.

“I’m in constant contact with her with any injuries. If I need to know something, she’s really good about coming up and talking to me about it, or contacting via text or email,” Tinich said.

During winter sports, she treats

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14 sports

Take care of your body. Performing well is much more important than daily training and practice. How you fuel your body has a huge impact on athletic performance. Eat a balanced diet... Don’t skip meals. Limit sodas and other sugary foods as much as possible. Also, make sure you’re staying hydrated every day.

”

a lot of ankle and foot injuries from basketball as well as shoulder injuries from swim. Every day, athletes go to her with injuries, and she evaluates them. Most of her photo courtesy of karen wagner

day is spent practicing evaluation and prevention of injuries. This includes doing procedures like taping athletes as treatment or precaution for injuries.

Sophomore girls basketball player Kristina Bermond has experienced her treatments firsthand. She has had knee problems playing basketball this year, but Findley has diagnosed it, treated it and helped her cope with it while playing.

“She diagnosed that I had jumper’s knee. She helped me do some stretches, and I do those every day now,” Bermond said. “She was kind and she really put in effort to make sure I was OK.” Bermond’s experience with Findley’s kindness and effort comes from Findley’s love for the athletes she works with every day. In fact, it’s her favorite part of the job.

“I appreciate their love for sports and drive to always improve and play at the next level,” Findley said. “Also, high school students make me laugh every day. They’re just fun to work with.”

As much fun as she has with them, current and future athletes will certainly have just as much fun working with her, too.

the incredi-bowl team With district approaching, the bowlers are on a roll.

by avery woods assistant editor in chief, sports editor with contributions by brynn taylor reporter owling is a sport known for family fun time and quite intense competition, but to these South students, it is something that will stick with them for a lifetime.

“It’s just super fun and you get to meet new people, getting to learn a skill that lots of people do later in life,” senior Danielle Hoff said.

Hoff says that she likes how it can be competitive but also a good time.

“We are all just super close and that’s really good,” Hoff said.

The bowling team is captained by seniors Anya Horton and Rhys Jones. Horton and Jones both compete on their respective varsity teams. Jones’ best series was a 571.

Horton’s best series was a 603.

Top boys bowler sophomore Jayden Dewey’s best series was a 610.

“I shoot over 200, but it’s not what I want. I want 230 average, but that’s hard to do,” Dewey said.

Dewey said that he has a lucky charm for every game.

“My grandma buys me skittles every time, because one time at a meet, she gave me Skittles and I did really

Top bowlers of the day come together to celebrate a win Jan. 31.

schedule

B

2.9 2:00 p.m. @ Mission Bowl Olathe 2.13 9:30 a.m. @ Mission Bowl Olathe 2.14 12:00 p.m. @ Crown Lanes

photo by deanna harris good,” Dewey said.

Top girls bowler, sophomore Nichole Thomas, performed best at the match Jan. 25, scoring a 610 series.

This was her best series this season.

“I’ve won three out of five of my meets, and gotten top five in the other two, so I’ve been doing pretty good,” Thomas said.

Thomas’s favorite part of the sport is how like a family it is. She’s worked hard to improve this year.

“I have been working on my attitude and being more positive and I think that has really worked out well,” Thomas said.

Also at the meet Jan. 25, Horton scored a 603 and Lauren Moreland with a 510 series. For the boys, sophomore Hayden Moreland scored a 581 series, Tucker Kramer scored a 563 series and Gavin Harris scored a 534 series.

All in all, the bowling team is a family sport with a tight-knit team.

“I like how close we all are. The team is like a family and we hang out after practice. It’s just a really chill sport to join,” Thomas said.

athlete snapshots

photos and quotes gathered

by Abby cox

What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing this upcoming seaon?

freshman Lucy Foley girls soccer “Trying to balance school, and soccer conditioning, and also club soccer.”

sophomore Preston Holliday baseball “Dealing with all the different types of attitudes and mentalities towards the common goal of just winning the game.”

junior Katie Schultz softball “Last year we struggled with numbers, so really just getting people to sign up.”

senior Aaron Wilson track “There are some schools looking at me so I have to put my best effort into everything I do.”

sports 15

Cultural connections

Black Student Union hopes to unify school for Black History Month.

“No

By Addie Soyski Copy Editor

W

hile the flow of students leaving the building freshmen are black despite the slows to a trickle, associate principal Josie fact that 15 percent of 18 year olds Herrera and junior Anissa Grady crouch and are black. Among top colleges, the squint at a school project under the harsh fluorescent disparity between the amount of lighting of the arts hallway. Snippets of “We want black people and those enrolled everyone to be able to identify with something” and in college increases. In 2015, 3 “Make sure we have mixed race” drift down the hall. percent of University of California Teachers and students alike stop to peer at the giant freshmen were black. board.

For this reason and others, This project is for Black History Month, a month Black History Month is increasingly devoted to celebrating scientists, musicians, athletes being treated as a month for social and activists who are often forgotten in the books of activism. Since the inception of American history. It’s a month set aside to appreciate social movements like Black Lives the contributions of Matter, Black History African Americans who Month has moved aren’t discussed during beyond simply being much of the rest of the a time to remember year. a few staple names “All of the [cultures] of the Civil Rights are very important and Movement; it has need to be recognized evolved to promote and understood,” Grady more comprehensive said. discussions about “I think it’s great race and African that we have February heritage. to honor black history, The current black people and the political climate has great things black fueled a notable people have contributed -junior Anissa Grady response from to American society African Americans and the world,” college and others about counselor Jasmine Morgan said. “I think it’s also President Donald Trump’s handling important to recognize that it’s not just in February that of race. we recognize black history and the accomplishments of “Ignorance is just what it is black people, but that we do it every month.” when it comes to [Donald Trump]. I Not only does Black History Month offer an occasion understand that he’s fighting for his country and he’s to celebrate important African American figures, it very devoted man to his job and he wants the U.S. to g also offers an opportunity to recognize the role of far, but you kind of can’t make the U.S. go far if you’r race in modern day America. Much of the general putting down a percentage of the country, because we public is unaware of how race contributes to unequal do have African Americans and we do have Hispanics, opportunity in education, inequality in healthcare junior Superia Johnson said. services, socioeconomic status, voting accessibility, bias Students are also a driving force of renewed politic in the criminal justice system and general safety. In activism. College students have been turning out to a Pew Research Center survey, 38 percent of white protest racial inequality in droves. High schoolers acro respondents said enough changes have already been the country have been forming their own activism made to address racial inequality. groups and addressing racial issues in their communiti “I think it’s very important that we recognize that At South, a new club, Black Student Union (BSU) is race is a major factor in our everyday society. How we offering an inclusive outlet to talk about race. go forth in the world and how people see us is by our “I think it’s great that our black students and all of race,” Morgan said. our students have a place where they can be themselv This issue of equal opportunity is receiving the talk with each other, and feel open and in a very safe national spotlight more and more frequently. According space,” Morgan said. to the U.S. Department of Education, BSU is working on projects to promote racial only 6 percent of America’s college awareness and acceptance by creating a visual

“All of the [cultures] are very important and need to be recognized and understood.”

16 Cover Story

Hist occ impo Ame offe to r of r Ame

ot only does Black tory Month offer an casion to celebrate ortant African erican figures, it also ers an opportunity recognize the role race in modern day erica.”

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representation that calls attention to the similarities between different kinds of people “The project that we’re doing is a plaque and it’s where we’ll put inspirational quotes and a represent a few cultures,” Johnson said. “We’re gonna have strings that are hanging or sitting in this little bin, and you can take a string out and wrap a string around a word that means something to you or the country that you came from.”

Students can wrap string around pegs that represent them and create a crisscrossing web that intersects the strings of other students.

The month serves as a reminder of hardships and is often thought of as a celebration of famous African American leaders. However, an element of Black History Month that is often overlooked is exploring the history and culture of Africans and African Americans as a whole.

“It’s a month where I and other African American students can learn about their heritage

and that we didn’t just come from slavery and that we did actually come from a very astonishing background. We just have a lot to learn about ourselves,” Johnson said.

During February, many also ask “If we have a Black History Month, why don’t we have a White History Month?” These calls for a White History Month have been met with a range of responses from the black community, but the most common is the criticism for further promoting a group whose history and culture is taught year round.

“I think the whole reason for Black History Month is that we’re a minority in the United States and I feel like when it comes to White History Month, for most of U.S. history, white people have been in control and it has been their history,” sophomore Scott Hatfield-Snyder said.

This sentiment is shared by many black Americans and others who feel race is still a relevant issue in America today.

“I’m obviously an African American student trying to make it in the world and trying to do better, because there’s a lot of people who believe that I won’t go anywhere due to my race,” Johnson said.

“it’s great that our ... students have a place where they can be themselves, talk with each other, and feel open and in a very safe space.”

-counselor jasmine morgan

Cover Story 17

South-Spiracies

by Miah Clark A&E Editor

A satirical look at South’s best rumors. photo Illustrations by Weston glendening and trinity clark

I

n 1969, the Shawnee Mission Environmental Science Lab (SMESL) became the home of the beautiful wildlife that sits beside Shawnee Mission South, but an ongoing conspiracy suggests that it has also been made the home of Environmental Education teacher P.J. Born.

“I’ve been hearing about this [conspiracy] since the dawn of time,” junior David Vieyra said. “It’s like, ‘Who’s out there playing with all those critters?’”

Born is not too taken aback by such accusations though.

“If the conspiracy was true, I’d be very happy,” Born said. “I love the SMESL. If it was legal, or right for me to live there, I would.”

Although Born neither confirmed nor denied living in the SMESL, his optimism towards the matter is a motivating factor to those who support and believe the conspiracy.

“I think he should,” Vieyra said. “He’s the hero the SMESL needs.”

T

he most well-known and fully developed South-spiracies all belong to a very special category: StuCo-nspiraces. The name was coined by StuCo themselves, having to deal with wild accusations so often.

“Rigging the elections, to choosing lunch items, to choosing when or who gets to go to open lunch. All those things have been spread around as to what StuCo has control over,” StuCo sponsor Joe Cline said.

The largest of the StuCo-nspiracies is the belief that StuCo secretly chooses or rigs who is nominated and who wins the elections for dance courts/royalty. The theory was largely developed last year by a former student.

“Some person made a spreadsheet... and it had every [former] senior’s name on it and was very detailed, and he tried to guess who would be elected based on connections and stuff, then he took a picture of it and put it on Twitter,” StuCo president and senior Elena Kernen said. “He was like, ‘How do you explain this, StuCo?’, and we were like, ‘That’s a list of people’s names.’”

While StuCo faces these accusations alongside others year after year, they are always very quick to shut down the spread of StuCo-nspiracies.

“It’s kind of sad, because it would be fun to be like ‘Yes, [StuCo sponsor Cynthia] Hartwell and I get together at the beginning of the year to decide who’s going to win [elections],’ but no; we don’t pick who wins, we don’t pick the lunches,” Cline said. “We actually kind of have a sad amount of power, honestly.”

A

18 Features

fter 52 years of hard work, overflowing journalistic integrity and respectable reporting, the reputation of South’s own newspaper, The Patriot, has been put at stake by the conspiracy that its stories all fit into the disgraceful category of journalism that is “fake news.”

“I think that I maybe started that rumor,” Editor-in-Chief Sophia Belshe said.

Belshe gave a more serious statement regarding the deeming of her publication as “fake.”

“I do think the jokes are only OK when people on staff make them,” Belshe said.

“If people are serious about it, it’s annoying, because we put a lot of hard work into the paper. To say that what we make is fake is stupid.”

With the production of each month’s Patriot hidden from the outside in Room 168, it does raise the question as to what goes on inside, but even past staff members, having been released from the newsroom’s grip, can clear the rumors.

“The Patriot is not fake news. They search out the most interesting things going on and authentically retrieve interviews and write stories,” former reporter freshman Brett Conner said.

While the spread of “fake news” interrupts world media, it can be considered sad that these accusations find themselves affecting high school journalism.

“We get that print media is boring, but that doesn’t mean you have to ignore us,” Belshe said. “We make this paper for the student body, so it sucks when they don’t appreciate it.”

QA &

with Lee Dixon

By GIni Horton Reporter Photo by Jillian McClelland

Latin teacher is your classic renaissance man with unique hobbies, pets and a cool oven.

What fun things do you bring to your classroom to make lessons fun?

I would say a lot of my lessons are very weird. I like [them] because they hold a student’s attention. Just last week, I had a lesson where I was introducing the words cow, doctor, pierced, through and blood.

I was like ‘oh this is a cow, where does a cow live?’ blah, blah, blah, and I just threw it at the backboard as hard as I could and my students were all like ‘oh my god, the cow, the cow’ and I pretended to be concerned for the cow and I asked for a doctor, which is when I ran and got on a fake beard and a lab coat and I was giving the cow CPR and brought the cow back to life. I like doing stuff like that where it is just completely ridiculous, but you can’t help being interested and you can’t help wanting to interact.

What are your hobbies outside of school?

I bake a lot of bread, so I would say that is sadly really my only hobby right now. We have a very large garden so in the summer, I do that. I am also a teacher, so I can’t afford to pay someone to fix my house, so I fix everything that breaks in my house or anything that wasn’t built right in my house, which is a lot of stuff. I enjoy working on my house even though I have to, and I guess you could also consider gardening to be a hobby.

Tell me about your outdoor bread oven?

Yeah, I have an outdoor oven. I built it myself. It’s pretty complicated, but it’s basically just a mud oven with some bricks on the floor. I’ll build a fire in there for about two hours, and then I pull the coals out and I put the bread in and it contains the heat for about two to three hours. This style of oven was used by the British natives during the Great Occupation and I was interested in the history and archeology of it and I wanted to try baking the way ancient people did.

How did you get into beekeeping?

That was more of my wife’s hobby. I was kind of interested and she got super into it. We have a really large garden. Lawrence is a very agricultural focused town, so there are a lot of people with large gardens. My guess is we have the largest garden in a residential plot of land in Lawrence. With a large garden there is a large benefit of having bees because they pollinate everything. We also like to try to have an ecosystem in our yard, so we have the garden, chickens, bees, and I have my oven that was mostly built out of stuff from my garden. So the bees are a big part of the garden.

What is the story behind the caribou head in your classroom?

His name is Karl. We call him Karl the classroom caribou. My wife lived in Alaska and her grandfather would go out and kill a caribou for food for the winter and Karl was a rather impressive caribou so he had him taxidermied, and when he died, my mother in law sold him to a curiosity shop, and my wife was upset, so I went downtown and I brought him to my class because my house is very small. He is a very good addition to the classroom and my students have grown very fond of him.

Visit smsouthnews.com to hear the rest of Dixon’s answers.

Features 19

conversation sweethearts In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, seniors Karoline Shelton and Nick Wissel sat down to talk about their relationship.

How long have you guys been dating?

Like a year and a half.

Describe the first time you met and what was your first impression of each other?

by lily wagner news editor

We met at a basketball game in eighth grade... I was like ‘Oh, this guy is cool and he plays basketball, probably not as good as me though.’

Yeah, probably.

What is your favorite thing about the other person?

My favorite thing about Karoline is probably that she is better than me at basketball, because it just pushes me to be a better human.

That was your favorite part about me? That I’m better than you at basketball?

You funny.

My favorite part about my dear Nicholas? I don’t know. I like all your parts about you. I think you’re just overall a wonderful human being.

Thank you.

What is your favorite date you’ve been on?

My favorite date we’ve ever been was over winter break. We started dating at Funhouse Pizza, and so we went back there for dinner and then we went ice skating at Town Center after. But then I got food poisoning and threw up everywhere. He laughed and put it on his story.

I did put it on my Snapchat story. It’s OK though, she bounced back strong.

What is your favorite memory of each other?

Respon

So, the day that I threw up, I was mad at Nick, because he wasn’t coming over to my house early enough, but then he ended up showing up with flowers five minutes after I yelled at him on the phone.

ses:

Karoli ne Nick

What is one thing the other person doesn’t know about you?

I faked having an eyelash in my eye for like three months because I sat in the back of the classroom.

I couldn’t see the board because I needed glasses, but I didn’t want to admit that I needed glasses.

Harrison [Polen] and I had a crush on each other in fourth grade and I would always take my glasses off because I didn’t want him to see me in them because... they were really ugly. They were wirerimmed.

You were probably cute.

No, I was so ugly.

How do you guys feel about Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day is cool. Last year we got Chick-Fil-A and just hung out.

Oh, that was fun.

I like Valentine’s Day. I like chocolate. I got something I gotta do for it special this year, she can’t know though.

20 Features

photo by cassandra awad

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To hear the entire interview, visit smsouthnews.com

Staff Editorial: Fake news

O

n Jan. 27, 2018, President Donald Trump released his “2017 Fake News Awards.” The article, posted to the GOP’s website, shows stories published about Trump and his family that were deemed, by Trump, to be false. This continues Trump’s attack on the media that has lasted the entirety of his campaign and presidency. Trump has created an environment that is hostile and intolerant to the news media.

As a news publication, The Patriot is dedicated to reporting articles that are accurate, relevant and, at times, controversial, with the goal of educating students and sparking meaningful conversation. Some stories may be considered false because of facts that supposedly attack a viewpoint or person. In our January issue, two columns, both clearly labeled as opinion, received severe backlash for their viewpoints. The point of the Opinion Section is to give reporters an opportunity to present their ideas on a public platform. It is understandable, even expected, that not everyone will agree with the viewpoints shared in this section.

And we acknowledge that, of course, people have every right to voice disagreement. But the disrespectful, personal attacks on writers were unnecessary, and had little to do with the content of their articles.

There was also criticism about our publication as a whole, even though it clearly states in our Mission Statement that “[opinion] pieces are labeled and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff as a whole.” Drawing conclusions about our publication based on a few articles is ignorant, immature and insulting to our staff, whose right to express their thoughts in the Opinion Section is protected under both the First Amendment of the Constitution and the Kansas Student Free Expression Law. This incident reflects a severe lack of media literacy within the current generation. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze and evaluate media. Media literate people are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from television, radio, the internet, newspapers,

Editorial Cartoon by Nichole Thomas

magazines, books, music and any other form of media.

Social media has greatly impacted the news media, and in turn media literacy, because information moves at such a high speed that it’s become increasingly difficult to discern what is true and what is not. This has also impacted the ability of the public to understand how the media works.

People are looking at this information without critically thinking, and moving on so quickly that it leaves the public in the dark on many topics.

Every news media outlet, The Patriot included, has clearly labeled columns that are the opinions of the writer, and are intentionally biased.

They aren’t required to create a balanced report of the facts; they are expected to give their opinions, based on facts and events.

While “fake news” is a term first used to describe fabricated, propaganda news stories, Trump has co-opted it and uses it to describe genuine, accurate stories. But there is genuinely fake news out there; that is, fabricated stories. With the increasing reach of the internet, it is easier than ever to come across false reporting. It is important in all situations to check the facts you read, and make sure they are correct before making an assumption. Check other sources to

make sure that the story is consistent before you form an opinion. Calling a news story “fake” because the information does not agree with your political views is ignorant and lazy.

Even if they report accurately, media outlets can still be biased, because all media is created by humans. And as long as humans create media, there will be some level of bias in everything you encounter.

It is important, then, to make sure to follow multiple media outlets to get the correct information and be able to have an informed opinion.

Though inaccurate reporting is an unfortunate byproduct of the journalism industry, good journalists are always going to report the facts, regardless of bias. With the increase in communication and the internet, politics has influenced every part of life -- and that includes the media.

So the next time you hear the words “fake news,” try to decipher whether the reporting is false or the opinion is disliked.

9/9 editors agree with the views expressed in this editorial

Opinion 21

The Debate: Valentine’s day Pro:

Con:

By Emma Harding Reporter Photo by trinity clark

T

he best part of Valentine’s Day is waking up in the morning with a nice text, a present on the table or knowing you have plans with your loved one, family members or friends.

Valentine’s Day began at the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day. Ever since, couples around the world have been celebrating this day with their loved ones.

Valentine’s Day is such a big hit, because, out of 365 days, there is one day selected in the middle of February that men and women can celebrate with their family members, significant others or friends.

A lot of people don’t like the holiday because they’re single on that day, but you don’t always need a significant other on Valentine’s Day. You can celebrate with so many other people like family members or friends. According to ABC News, on Valentine’s Day, 79.3 percent of women say that you don’t need a companion on Valentine’s Day, and 78.1 percent of men say you don’t need someone on Valentine’s Day; more than two thirds of each gender don’t think being single is a problem. About half of the population is single, so that’s more than half of the world

“...you don’t always need a significant other on Valentine’s Day.” that doesn’t have a significant other. If you’re single, just go out to dinner with friends or family. You can still have fun with other people.

For the people who aren’t single, then one of the best parts of the holiday is getting to spoil your significant other, as well as them spoiling you with chocolates, flowers, stuffed bears and jewelry. If you and your partner don’t like gifts, then you both can just spend the day together, getting some dinner or watching a movie. The main idea is just spending time together.

When people have a significant other on Valentine’s Day they do tend to appreciate the holiday a little more than the rest. For girls especially, they have an excuse to buy a new outfit and dress up really nice.

Almost as good as the day itself is the day after when all of the candy is on clearance. Even if you don’t celebrate the day itself, you’re still getting a great deal on candy, and it doesn’t get much better than cheap candy.

Valentine’s Day gets a lot of negative attention and is criticized as being a “Hallmark holiday,” but in reality, the day holds a lot of potential to love and be loved, no matter your relationship status.

22 Opinion Raider Response:

By Blake Atkinson Reporter Photo by cassandra awad

V

alentine’s Day is a day of love, where people give gifts to show their affection. However, the history of Valentine’s Day is dark and long. The Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia from Feb. 13 to 15. During the Feast, men would draw a random woman’s name from a hat and then sacrifice a goat and dog. The animals would be skinned and then the men would run around beating the women with the skins to make them more fertile. The feast was made illegal during the 5th century for being unChristian.

This was quickly replaced with St. Valentine’s Day, a day to remember multiple men, all by the name of Valentine, executed by the Roman Empire for attempting to spread Christianity. During this time, it also became related to love and fertility, due to Feb. 14 being seen as the beginning of mating season for birds in many western European countries. Sometime in the 1400s, people began using written Valentines. However, it took until the 1800s for these to catch on, as new printing methods made Valentines more affordable for the average person to buy them.

“...it ends up being a holiday that can cause more harm in your life than it does good.”

While this might be seem like a good thing at first, this creates a pretty big problem. Valentine’s Day is the second largest holiday for sending cards. Large corporations have taken the emotion of love and put it onto a piece of paper for sale. People have gone to a point of feeling they must drop lots of money to be able to show they love their significant other. You are often backed into a corner where consumerism will ruin your relationship when you don’t have the perfect gift or don’t receive the best gift.

Valentine’s Day has also been taken from love to emotional porn. Around this time of year, overly dramatic romance movies tend to show the “perfect” relationship.

You will have to feel like you need to have that same relationship they have, that you love each other no matter what and do everything for the other person. In the end, these have the same plot with different names and locations.

You can celebrate Valentine’s Day if you want, but just remember that it ends up being a holiday that can cause more harm in your life than it does good.

Pro: 63%

Poll of 60 voters via SMSPatriot on Twitter.

Con: 37%

A school divided Political conversations should be respectful instead of hurtful.

By Kate Herrmann contributing Columnist Photo by abby cox n important principle of American society is the idea of free speech and being able to express your opinions without anyone preventing you from sharing them. But here we are, in a state of political disarray, because the leaders of our country can’t seem to listen to one another, which in turn, funnels down to people who follow along with politics, causing many people to mimic this immature behavior.

Of course, not everyone has to agree; that’s just not in human nature, but one thing is certain: nothing will get done in politics if you don’t listen or respect other people’s opinions. Political discussions are bound to happen, there is no getting around that. But who’s to say that it has to involve harsh, disrespectful personal attacks? The political parties are very different, but the people involved with them are still people, same as anyone else who believes something different.

With the Democrat and Republican clubs re-emerging and becoming more popular at our school this year, political debates have become much more prominent, which is a fantastic. But the one major downside is that we get so involved in what is being argued about, that it turns into a contest of who can come up with the most cruel and creative insults. Criticizing the elements of an

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opinion is one thing, but criticizing the person stating the opinion is an entirely different thing. Too often between political parties, there are general blanket statements that are applied to a group of people, negating the fact that the group being referred to is comprised of hundreds of thousands of people who aren’t bad. So phrases like “all Democrats are arrogant and entitled” and “everyone who voted for Trump is a racist” end up causing more problems than they solve. Which isn’t difficult to do, because general insults like that solve zero problems.

In fact, many reporters from The Patriot who have written political opinion articles have received unkind messages through word of mouth and social media.

Although these articles are undoubtedly controversial, they are in the opinion section of the newspaper, so they don’t have to be neutral like other sections. Reporters are encouraged to share their opinions because it gets people talking about heavily debated topics. But the way to debate them is not with hateful words. Instead of posting a video on your Story, you could submit a letter to the editor, or actually contact the editor and ask to do a guest column.

This is a respectful outlet for strong opinions that the whole school gets every month.

It’s great that people are passionate about something so relevant to today’s society, but that passion can’t be directed into words of hate and disgust. Obviously, nobody is perfect and we’re all mean to each other every once in a while, but discussing politics would be a lot easier and less of an issue if the conversation wasn’t filled with personal attacks after every opinion shared. My main point is just please try to be nice, even if you don’t agree.

Maybe the favor will be returned.

Photo illustration by Abby Cox

Opinion 23

Rocking the midterm vote The presidential election isn’t necessarily the most important one.

By Ali Harrison Reporter urprise, it’s election year. Everyone knows about the presidential election every four years, but what many don’t know is that there’s an even more important election every two years: midterms.

The midterm elections are for the House of Representatives and the Senate. As outlined in Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution, “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.”

In modern words, Representatives run for their specific district in their state, and Senators run for the entirety of their state. There will also be 36 gubernatorial elections, which is the election for governor. There are other local legislator elections in some states too.

Specifically for Kansas, there will be a major election for all four congressional districts and governor, as well as some other legislator elections. The gubernatorial election will be intense, because although Kansas is traditionally a Republican state in every election, after seven trash years of former Governor Sam Brownback, there’s a slight possibility a Democrat will take over.

In theory, we could have a new third of the Senate and an entirely new House after this election. However, without a no term limit rule, Congressmen are eligible for reelection every year. Incumbents, the sitting representative running for reelection, can win a limitless amount of terms -- two years for Congressmen, six years for Senators. The nonexistent term limits are currently a debate within the country.

The reason these election are so important is because Senators and Representatives are both voices for the people who voted them in. These elections determine who represents the people of a state. Each candidate has different issues they want to fight for in D.C. and different ways to do so.

Many people don’t pay attention to candidates for local elections, or just ignore them all together because it’s not a national election. That is a detrimental habit. It is absolutely crucial to the wellbeing of a state to know when the elections are and what the candidates’ intentions are before voting. Simply choosing Republican or Democrat won’t necessarily get the changes voters want to see in their state.

With that said, I highly encourage you to educate yourself before heading to the polls for both the primary and general elections. You can go to campaign websites, watch debates or go to local political events and rallies. Thanks to the internet, you can do online research via campaign websites or social media. It’s important to know exactly who and what you’re voting for before you ever even enter the voting booth, and it’s very simple to do so. This year, make a conscious decision to cast an educated vote.

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24 Opinion

Photo by Cassandra Awad

Elections

U.S. Representatives Governor and Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Treasurer Insurance Commissioner All seats in the KS House of Reps.

Eight KS Court of Appeals Judges Local trial court judges

Primaries: August 7 General: November 6 Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

How to register - Online registration is available at www.kdor.ks.gov - Paper forms are available at the county election office, Secretary of State’s office, or at various sites around the state.

- Fill out the information carefully, and make sure to have your driver’s license or other ID ready.

- Residents must be 18 by the day of the general election.

- Registration closes 21 days before any election.

Tide-ying Up The Internet How Google is handling dangerous internet challenges.

by Ansley Chambers Ads Editor rom fake news to the number of likes a picture receives, we live in a world where the internet rules.

YouTube challenges and internet trends are the new craze, but is this the sort of behavior we want to promote?

Many challenges have proven to be unsafe, such as the cinnamon challenge, salt and ice challenge and Kylie Jenner lip challenge. The most recent of these, the Tide Pod challenge, a challenge in which people post videos of themselves eating, or at least pretending to eat laundry detergent, has become one of the most dangerous.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were more than 12,299 exposures to laundry pods in 2017. Over the past year, 220 teens were exposed to laundry pods and 25 percent of these cases were intentional. So far, in 2018, there have been 37 cases, half of which were intentional. Consumption of laundry pods can result in vomiting, diarrhea, unconsciousness, breathing difficulties and worse. Common effects of being allergic to laundry detergents are rashes, hives and difficulty breathing. Some stores have locked up the laundry pods to make the dangerous product less accessible to unwise teens. YouTube has taken down many videos of people consuming laundry detergent, yet some videos still remain on the internet for the world to see.

Recently, there has been much controversy regarding YouTube and censorship. Many people are questioning how good of a job YouTube has done at removing videos such as dangerous challenges and the Logan Paul scandal. Around 300 hours worth of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, according to Fortune Lords. Is it truly possible for the company to fully review every video uploaded to the site?

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YouTube has also been trying to censor and remove more political, in particular right leaning, content.

YouTube is very quick to put videos from sources such as Prager University, an educational conservative channel, on restricted mode, which makes them harder to access.

It’s unclear why these videos are deemed inappropriate, especially in comparison to videos showing people performing dangerous tasks or even dead corpses.

Ironically, there isn’t an issue with YouTube removing liberal videos. YouTube’s censorship policy includes removing “hate speech,” but the problem with this is that there is no standard definition of what “hate speech” is.

Who’s to say what the whole world is supposed to find offensive? It seems like anything conservative is classified as “hate speech.” It could be argued that YouTube is discriminating against right wing video makers to push their leftist agenda.

This begs the question of whether or not Google’s censorship priorities are in order. Should companies really be more concerned with potentially offensive material than disturbing videos showing deadly challenges and gruesome videos of corpses?

Many teenagers have attempted these stunts, hoping to gain online popularity. While these videos may be entertaining, they are stupid. Nobody should burn their skin with salt and ice, bruise and pop blood vessels in their lips with a shot glass, eat tablespoons of dry cinnamon or eat laundry pods. There is a fine line between innocent challenges, such as the Chubby Bunny challenge, a challenge in which people stuff marshmallows in their mouth, and performing life threatening stunts.

Companies such as Google need to reassess their priorities. People aren’t going to stop making unwise choices, but Google can control what content is seen by and allowed to influence these people. Instead of filtering propaganda to fit their political agenda, these companies can filter videos to keep the world safe and undisturbed.

Through The Years: Internet Challenges The Cinnamon Challenge

People swallowed a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds, without drinking anything.

People poured ice water on themselves

The Hot Pepper Challenge

to raise awareness for ALS.

Videos of people eating hot peppers such as Habenero or Ghost Pepper.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge

Participants sucked a shot glass onto their lips to make them swollen.

The Salt and Ice Challenge

People poured salt on their bodies, usually their arms, and then put ice over the salt, creating a burning sensation.

Opinion 25

treat

yo’

self

Focus on self love by indulging in sweet treats, powerful music and DIY projects during Valentine’s Day. by nichole thomas web editor

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reat Yo’ Self Day is dedicated to all of the lonely, single people. This was created by the characters Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford from the show “Parks and Recreation.” They wanted a day unlike any other holiday, to buy whatever makes you happy, no matter how flamboyant. Although this informal holiday is Oct. 13, singles can celebrate its main ideas and principles on Valentine’s Day. After all, single people need something to celebrate during the Valentine’s seasonw too. Donna and Tom indulged in expensive treats and designer clothes, but not all of us have the money to do so. Instead, make a bath bomb, turn up a killer playlist and pamper yourself with cheap skin care products.

female empowerment playlist Single Ladies - Beyonce New Rules - Dua Lipa Feelin’ Myself - Beyonce Just a Girl - No Doubt Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys That’s My Girl - Fifth Harmony Run the World - Beyonce Sorry not Sorry - Demi Lovato Titanium - David Guetta When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls So What - P!nk

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hophush.com is a cosmetics and shopping app for iOS and Android. Many of the brands the carry are ones you can also find at CVS. They also offer a wide selection of cruelty-free products. Hush is very convenient, as shipping only takes a few days, and is always free. For Valentine’s Day, you can order face masks, nail polish, new makeup or other skin care accessories to treat yo’ self. Make sure you read the ingredients in the products before buying to make sure the formula won’t harm your skin.

nichole’s favorites

Indulge in some alone time with a freshly fragranced

bath bomb

ingredients:

1 cup of baking soda 1/2 cup of epsom salt 1/2 cup of citric acid 1/4 cup of cornstarch 3 tsp of almond oil 6 drops of rose essential oil 6 drops of eucalyptus essential oil dried roses 1 1/2 tsp of water bath bomb molds (muffin tin can work too) whisk or spoon a large mixing bowl

steps:

1. Combine dry ingredients: Baking soda, epsom salt, citric acid and cornstarch. Make sure you whisk everything.

2. Add dry roses. You can buy regular rose petals and grind them up with your hands.

Distribute the roses evenly throughout the mixture.

3. Mix wet ingredients together: almond oil, water, rose oil and eucalyptus oil.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients SLOWLY. It will fizz and bubble, this is normal.

5. Whisk ingredients. If you need to, drop the whisk and start mixing with your hands. The consistency should be similar to wet sand. If it is too dry, add a tbsp of water.

6. Fill the molds. Make sure to pack them full. Let them harden for at least an hour.

relax and enjoy!

Sheet mask by Farm Stay $1

24K Gold Collagen Crystal Eye Mask by Wink $4 Waterfall Aqua Cream by DABO $14 Hydrating Body Oil by Measurable Difference$15

26 A&e

graphics by bath bomb recipe nichole thomas from lifeonsouthpointdrive.com

Hair and makeup crew for “Beauty and The Beast” practice makeup transformations for the show. Senior Patrick Sturm as the Beast, junior Mason Hoyt as Cogsworth, senior Katherine Petersma as a wolf, and senior Kaitlyn Fields as the wardrobe. photos courtesy

from beauty to beast

of kayla islas

Professional makeup artist? $6,000 costumes? South’s theater crew is stepping up their game for the winter musical.

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by daniella campos, reporter he Beast, played by senior Patrick Sturm for the upcoming production of “Beauty and the Beast,” has to undergo quite the transformation - from man to beast. Senior crew heads Amatista Rodriguez-Rush and Kayla Islas are in charge of the appearance of not only this Beast, but the rest of the actors and actresses as well. Such intricate makeup is hard to do without the experience, so for this show they’ve recruited some professional help. “[Associate Principal Josie] Herrera’s son, Seto, comes in to help us,” Islas said. “We drew out what we thought things would look like and then he approved it for us. He teaches us as well as just mentors us. He used to do high school theater. He’s done lots of other theater productions, so that’s where he gets his talent from. He also does drag, so that helps him know how to do it.”

The girls aren’t the only ones in charge of makeup, though. An entire makeup group helps the actors through the process.

“We have an entire crew. There’s like 15 of us, I think, and they’ll be doing pretty much everyone else’s makeup, specialty wise, and then the plain townspeople will be doing everything on their own with our help,” Rodriguez said.

Not only are they bringing in professional help for makeup, but for costumes as well. Unlike “Footloose,” where the costumes were pulled from the costume closet

playing in pit

and some of the actor’s own pieces, “Beauty and the Beast” will be renting from Ibsen Costumes.

“It depends on the show. So like for ‘Footloose’ we pulled from upstairs and last year’s ‘Little Mermaid’ we made it all by hand. So for this show things are rented, but there will probably be things we have to make if things don’t work or don’t fit,” Rodriguez said.

As for being able to afford all of this renting and makeup, the cast and crew do some fundraisers throughout the year.

“We actually set up a Patron Drive, which consists of having your parents donate, having your work donate, having your grandparents donate, just family members and stuff. So they get perks around the school year as well as them giving us money to actually put on shows,” Islas said. “The original price was $6,000 for renting costumes and buying makeup.”

This show will be challenging not only for actors but also for the crew. Such a big cast creates difficulties and issues that are usually easier to deal with when you have a smaller cast, but both girls say it’s worth it.

“I really do think this show is the most challenging and this year is the first year I’ve been in charge of making sure everything goes smoothly,” Islas said.

“Beauty and the Beast” will run from Feb. 14 to Feb. 17 with doors opening at 7 p.m., as well as an additional 2 p.m. matinee Feb. 17.

Music plays a huge role in the production of a show. It provides emotion, transitions, suspense, and tone. For pit orchestra players, there is a lot of pressure to do good, because, after all, the show depends on them.

“It’s definitely a smaller amount of people [playing]. You can’t see the audience and the audience can’t see you. You’re also miked, so it’s a bit more nerve racking. But it is generally more rewarding,” junior flute player August Chowning said. photos by cassandra awad

“Beauty and the Beast” will run Feb. 14 to Feb. 17 The cast will host a Tea Party Luncheon Saturday, Feb. 17 in the main gym lobby.

A&E 27

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shape of water

eading the pack with 13 nominations, director Guillermo del Toro’s “Shape of Water” is making waves this Oscar season.

The story follows Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute woman who works in a government laboratory and falls in love with a top secret, man-like creature being held in a tank. Though the concept sounds strange, it’s beautifully acted, with standout performances from Hawkins, Octavia Spencer as Zelda, Elisa’s confidant, and Michael Shannon as the truly despicable Strickland. The film is lovely, whimsical and creative, with intense drama as the plot thickens. The stunning water imagery throughout creates a common thread from scene to scene. The Academy generally rewards unique concepts, and this film is certainly out of the box, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it picks up several wins at this year’s awards.

C

lady bird

oming of age stories have long captivated the hearts of movie-goers, and director Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” gives this timeless genre a face lift. Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) is a high school senior who has to navigate both high school drama and a lovingly turbulent relationship with her mother, all while pining for a life on the East Coast. Ronan’s character is lovable, flawed, endearing and frustrating, all at once, which makes her utterly relatable. Gerwig has managed to create a hilarious, heartfelt story that’s fresh, exciting and witty. Anyone who has experienced the whirlwind of high school can recognize the unadulterated truth of this film. It may not be the frontrunner for the Academy Awards, but it was my favorite film of the year.

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and the

oscar goes to

A review of all nine films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. sophia belshe opinion editor 28 A&Eeditor inby chief,

call me by your name

irector Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me by Your Name” tells the story of 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet), who falls in love with Oliver (Armie Hammer), a graduate student staying with Elio’s family for the summer. I often judge movies by how much I think about them after I’ve left the theatre, and “Call Me by Your Name” hasn’t left my mind. With the background of a gorgeous Italian summer, this film is beautifully balanced, attractive and easy to watch. The relationship between Oliver and Elio never feels forced or faked, but comes naturally, from genuine human emotion, which makes it believable and relatable. Of all the awards it’s nominated for, I’d most like to see Chalamet take home Best Actor, though it’s not likely, as Gary Oldman (“The Darkest Hour”) seems almost sure to win.

The Disaster Artist

After winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, “The Disaster Artist” star James Franco seemed a lock for a nomination for Best Actor.

But with recent sexual assault allegations, his film has been shut out of every category. I don’t necessarily disagree with the Academy on this one, but it’s an odd occurrence.

who got

Wonder Woman

“Wonder Woman,” the highest grossing film of the year, is the first superhero film since “The Dark Knight” that’s created Oscar buzz. I get it, superhero movies just aren’t as prestigious as the more serious films, but this film was shut out of every category, not even being thrown a technical nomination.

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dunkirk

n May 1940, Germany advanced into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Under air and ground cover from Britain and France, Allied troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel. Director Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” details the military miracle from the perspective of the trapped soldiers, who’re seemingly left to die. From the first scene to the last, the film is full of palpable tension. There isn’t a moment of relief for the characters or the audience, as they are constantly fighting for survival.

“Dunkirk” explores the complexity of war, both the horrors and the heroism, neither or which are shied away from in a great feat of storytelling.

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get out

ketch comedy alum Jordan Peele makes his directorial debut with “Get Out,” a thriller following Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams), an interracial couple going to stay at Rose’s parents’ house. While the genre is unconventional for a Best Picture nominee, it’s more than a horror movie. It’s brutal, smart and well-made, in addition to shocking and funny. It also offers a thoughtful, compassionate look at race in America, making it profoundly more frightening than most horror flicks. “Get Out” earned four nominations, including a well deserved Best Actor nomination for Kaluuya, and a Best Director nomination for Peele, who was cut out of the category at the Golden Globes.

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the post

his historical drama follows the story of the Washington Post’s involvement in the printing of the Pentagon Papers, a top secret government study detailing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, specifically from the point of view of publisher Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep). Directed by Steven Spielberg, “The Post” hinges on the idea of the free press and transparent government, topics making headlines today. It’s a classically made movie that feels true to the time period it’s set in. Streep gave a very Meryl Streep performance, which means it was fantastic, but it frankly wasn’t anything audiences haven’t seen from her before. It’s not likely to win Best Picture, but it’s a must-see for its relevance to today’s political landscape.

snubbed

Call Me by Your Name

While this film got four nominations, including Best Picture, director Luca Guadagnino was skipped for Best Director, and actors Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg were both overlooked for their performances. Hammer’s costar, Timothée Chalamet, received a Best Actor nomination, but Hammer and Chalamet’s performances relied heavily on each other, so it doesn’t make sense to nominate one and not the other. Stuhlbarg, who played Elio’s father, deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination based on his last scene alone.

And the film would not have been as beautiful as it was without Guadagnino at the helm. Best Director is always a tight category, but Guadagnino deserved recognition.

darkest hour

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he second of two World War II films nominated, director Joe Wright’s limitedscope Winston Churchill biopic “Darkest Hour” showcases a stellar performance from Gary Oldman as Churchill. Oldman is very convincing as Churchill, from his appearance to his voice to his mannerisms. But beyond Oldman’s character, “Darkest Hour” is relatively slow, and would have benefitted from a shorter run time. It’s a compelling story about significant points in WWII, but it becomes meaningless if the audience has lost interest due to the slow nature of the film. It’s hard to see how this could take the biggest award of the night, but it seems likely Oldman will take home Best Actor.

phantom thread

D

irector Paul Thomas Anderson is a renowned filmmaker, but his most recent work, “Phantom Thread,” is not one of his best. It’s a twisted kind of love story about dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) who meets his newest muse, Alma (Vicky Krieps). While it’s a strong performance from Day-Lewis, and clearly a well made film, that’s about all I liked about it. I found this film to be quite lengthy and slow, without much solid plot or point to the wandering story, and with a pair of simply unlikable characters in the lead. While I can appreciate “Phantom Thread” for its artistry, the plot and characters left a lot to be desired.

sophia’s pick

three billboards outside ebbing, mo

D

irector Martin McDonagh’s latest darkly comedic and dramatic feature “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” showcases some of his best work yet. Months have passed without a culprit in Mildred Hayes’s (Frances McDormand) daughter’s murder case, so she takes the matter into her own hands by painting three signs leading into her town with a message directed at the police. Mildred is bold, brassy and complicated, yet McDormand still shows her heartbreaking grief.

Violent Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) starts off as a despicable, corrupt police officer, but becomes more than that. It’s so sharply written that it cuts, and moves at a blistering pace, keeping the audience on their toes. It begins with cleverness and wit, but becomes raw and unapologetically human. Many aspects of this movie seem simple on the surface, but become ambiguous. This ambiguity is never uncomfortable or dishonest, though. It’s troubling, but challenges the audience, rather than pushing them away. McDonagh created a quirky and emotional masterpiece of storytelling, a puzzle that hearkens back to some of the most profound human truths. “Three Billboards” seems poised to take Best Picture, as it should.

a&E 29

KC1 The

23

: boutiques

Find cute, vintage and trendy shops in the area.

threshing bee

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by jenica kolbeck. photographer hreshing Bee is the perfect clothing store for Kansas City fanatics and hipsters alike. While they have a plethora of Kansas City merchandise, they also have the perfect things for the person who refuses to be seen in anything “mainstream.” The prices of the clothes may seem expensive at first glance, but you are also paying for the location. Threshing Bee is located in the newly built Prairie Fire shopping complex on 135th Street. It is the perfect place to shop and hang out with friends whether you want something for a Chief’s game or a dress for the Sweetheart dance.

Photos by jenica kolbeck

midcoast modern

west side storey

I

by brynn taylor. reporter f you are looking for in-fashion KC merch or the best vintage cameras, pins, books and more, make sure you check out hip boutique Westside Storey. The building was built in the 1920s and operated all the way through the ’30s by the previous owner Victor Stern. He was born in 1878 in Hungary and immigrated to Kansas City and decided to sell ladies and men’s furnishings under the name of Stern & Company. The vintage-modern mix up is located in a neighborhood with an “eclectic mix” of many local restaurants and Victorian homes. As their website states, “Life in the Westside is an expression of those who have chosen to live here, a celebration of creativity and diversity,” which many who have been there could not have agreed more.

30 A&E

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by miah clark, A&E editor or the edgier Kansas City lovers, Midcoast Modern is the perfect shop to peruse. Having originally located in the Crossroads area, the store moved to Westport for a larger building to hold more items. Almost all of the things sold here are made by local Kansas or Missouri brands, including store owner Matt Bramlette’s own “Bear Soap.” With its welcoming blue and yellow atmosphere and its wide variety of midwest-appreciating products, this boutique is the perfect place for anyone willing and wanting to support small business in the most stylish way.

other kc boutiques sincerely ellis

1409 W 135th St Kansas City KS 66224

simply shine

11809 College Blvd Kansas City MO 64111

bunker

4056 Broadway Blvd Kansas City MO 64111

Culture Corner art

photo by abby cox

gini horton nelson’s new picasso exhibit by reporter

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hrough the Eyes of Picasso is a wonderful new art exhibit located at the Nelson-Atkins near the contemporary art hall. The exhibit is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.

The exhibit showcases his work from 16 places around the world. Posters throughout the room describe his impact and how he lived his life. The exhibit is built to show his fascination with other cultures.

The majority of the art was from Africa or inspired by African culture. It is fascinating to see the ways he was inspired by places around the world. Walking through the exhibit, one can truly see how he challenged the human form and the impact it had on art. Picasso used unique shapes to show form and emotion, and different colors for moods.

A Kansas photographer, David Douglas Duncan, took photos of Picasso in his home that show a different side of Picasso. The first picture taken was of Picasso bathing, it is a unique addition that makes Picasso truly seem human.

parrish mock patriot upcycle by reporter

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ead, cut, plaster, repeat. Freshman Sam Pena has taken newspapers from around the Kansas City area and the school newspaper, The Patriot, and is making a massive collage. Her inspiration came after the first issue this year came out, and she felt like her walls were really empty. Pena cuts out headlines from the newspaper and mashes several together to get fun unique new creations. Then she puts them on the wall and eventually paints over everything.

Pena feels like it is a way to express herself.

“It is usually messy when I make collages and there is paint everywhere and I just think it looks pretty,” Pena said.

At the moment Pena is into artistic stuff like music, writing and drawing. She does art in her free time but she isn’t devoting her whole life to it. Also, her huge newspaper collage is so big it is already hard to keep up with it.

chinese new year

photo courtesy of sam pena

by parrish mock reporter hinese New Year marks the beginning of a new lunar moon according to the traditional Chinese calendar.The year of the Dog is said to have characteristics like being loyal, honest, kind and cautious. Dogs have a strong sense of loyalty and sincerity. They will do everything for the person who they think is most important to them. Dog’s also tend to be very active and very easygoing when is comes to work and school. South is made up of Rabbits (1999), Dragons (2000), Snakes (2001), Horses (2002) and Goats (2003).

Rabbits are decent, noble and elegant. Dragons are enthusiastic and confident, and tend to take risks. Snakes are the symbol of wisdom; they are intelligent and good at communication even though they say little. Horses are extremely animated, active and energetic. Goats tend to be gentle, mild-mannered and shy.

The animals act as a horoscope for everyone born in a certain year.

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year of the dog2018

A&E 0331

T E A C H E R EDITION South Speaks:

“Tell me a funny story.”

english teacher Lindsey Mcfall

By Madison Holloway features & infographics Editor

Photos by Cassandra Awad Photo Editor

Gov & econ teacher Tony budetti

“This year actually, I got home one night and the whole back of my dress was ripped. Oh my gosh, it was awful!

And I had even left school early that day to go to a meeting at my son’s school and I didn’t find out about my dress until I got home.”

“One time I had a student that was afraid my closet was haunted, so every day I had to open it to show her that there was nothing in there. Well, one day I opened the door and two bare-chested guys from my class jumped out at me. I turned around and everyone was laughing- the whole class was in on it.”

english teacher travis gatewood

principal’s secretary donna callewaert

“Ms. McFall and I serenaded legendary Will Skoog in clown outfits at the China Buffet in Leavenworth after a soccer game for his birthday celebration. Yeah, he was completely embarrassed, but strangely enough, the staff [of the restaurant] didn’t seem rattled at all... I guess it was a normal occurrence.”

32 Features

“One time I walked in the front door and walked right in between two wet floor signs and slipped and just waxed it big time. Yeah, they got it all on front [security] cameras and I could never live it down.”

What do you want to know? Got a great idea for the next question?

We’d love to hear it! Submit your ideas to @SMSPatriot on Twitter.