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LSR7 begins vaccine roll-out for teachers and staff pg. 6
March 26, 2021 | Vol. 17 | Issue 10 | Lee’s Summit West High School | 2600 SW Ward Road | Lee’s Summit, Missouri
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CONTENTS
Registered Nurse Ashley Wickman administers a COVID vaccine at yesterday’s roll-out. Photo by Peyton Osborne
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Don’t miss the latest Titan Tv. Click here to watch.
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The importance of Women’s History Month and the reasons behind its celebration pg.
On the Web:
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Taylor Swift begins to release re-recorded editions of her hits
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Sophomore Jake Wilcox anticipates the upcoming season of lacrosse FOLLOW US:
Editorial Policy
Staff:
Editor in Chief: Anna Long Associate Editor: Anna Eulinger Design Editor/Web Director: Madeline Cantrell Photography Editor: Vanesa Nhotharack Chief Copy Editor: Ella Skelsey Advertising and Billing Manager: Christina Jarvis Sports Editor/Web Director: Josh Wood Social Media Manager: Natalee Still Copy Editors: Emily Gerhart Mia Guidolin Hayden Peters Staff Artist: McKenna Bell Campus Photographer: Sarah Hall Sports Staff: Ian McDonald Keaghan McDaniel Social Media: Haleigh Davis Meghan Cox Reporters: Victoria Newman Caroline True Publications Adviser: Carol Ullery Business Adviser: Karrie Smythia Intro Staff: Kennedy Birmingham Ciara Lewis Logan Bishop Conor Lueck Ellie Johnson Ella Melton Jacob Jones Peyton Osborne
Titan Scroll is a student publication of Lee’s Summit West High School. The Titan Scroll is a practicing public forum for student expression. We welcome all letters to the editor, but reserve the right to edit for libel and for space. No unsigned letters will be printed. Letters may be emailed to the editor, dropped off in room 2048 or mailed to 2600 SW Ward Road, Lee’s Summit, Mo. 64082. Volume 17 of the Titan Scroll is published twice each month during the 2020-2021 school year. Student editors make all content decisions. The opinions contained do not in any way represent the Lee’s Summit West faculty, administration, or the R-7 school district administration or school board.
@lswestonline
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Staff Editorial
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Breaking Down Reflecting on the year we never saw coming
It has been over a year since March 13, 2020. The final day we had in school because of COVID-19. Between Christmas and spring breaks, the talk in class was always about some virus that was spreading from China. We saw photos from Italy of people locked in their homes. At the time, this seemed distant. This could never happen to us. It felt like we were watching a movie. The week before our spring break, we were instructed to take all of our belongings home just in case the school was to close. Sure enough, the news broke that after spring break, we would not be returning. The weather was warm and we joked on Instagram about “coronacation” and “social distancing.” Spring break trips were canceled. We were told to quarantine. Yet, a few weeks off school seemed like a score. Then two weeks turned into four, and before we knew it, returning to school that year was not in the equation at all. The fun of a “break” began to wear off rather quickly. Online classes began and we had to watch as our educators had to struggle to transform their curriculums completely. We joined Google Meets. We sat on mute. Even though we had not seen our classmates in weeks, it felt as though there was not much to say. School was no longer a place to connect. All along, there was sympathy for the class of 2020. We felt
horrible for the seniors. Some may have felt lucky not to be in their shoes. Little did we know that an entire year later, not much has changed. We have spent the majority of the school year getting an education on our couches. Then we tried hybrid. Then back to online. Oh and now back to in-person! But, wear a mask, social distance, don’t come to school early, don’t come to school late, fill out a pass wherever you go, and please don’t loiter in the hallway talking to your friends. The school is doing what they can to protect us. However, it is hard not to feel somewhat sad about the cards we’ve been dealt. A year ago, we had never seen this coming. And more than that, how could we have expected this to last so long? In some regards, this experience has made us all stronger. But honestly, that isn’t really what I want to hear. More than ever, we are breaking down. The cry for normalcy seems to be getting louder and louder each day. Looking back on this past year, one thing is especially clear. We had no idea what was in store for us after that March day when we walked (mask-less) out of the school heading off to spring break. With more than 100 years since a pandemic brought the world to its knees, we can only hope this was the big one of our generation and we have survived.
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College admissions:
A podcast on one student’s take
Click here to learn more about senior Lauren Akason’s opinion of the college admissions process. Photo by Madeline Cantrell Madeline Cantrell
Maddy: When it comes to college, there is no one path that works for everyone. From a 4-year college to trade school to the military, high school students have a lot of options following their graduation. Some choose not to apply to school at all, while others apply to more than 20 universities. The extreme differences in the choices students make interested me. I was curious to know… what underlying factors influenced their decisions? To answer this question, I had a conversation with a high school senior, who took the application process to an extreme. Lauren: Test scores specifically. So that’s why it’s good this year, they went test optional, but test scores specifically are very much rigged to help people who are rich, and pretty much people who are white and whose parents went to college. Because the more money you have, the more money you can spend on tutors. And the more money you can spend taking more tests. Maddy: This is Lauren Akason. She is currently first in my high school class and an International Baccalaureate Diploma student. Akason applied to 23 schools, and for her, the application process made her feel like a huge hypocrite. I’ll let her explain. Lauren: So college admissions are very much rigged in that sense. And then in general, there’s just there’s a ton of drama. Like if you look at the history of college admissions, dating back to when Harvard opened in 1636, and specifically, when the SAT was established in the nineteen hundreds you can see just how they’ve gotten more and more about making money and less and less about actually educating people. Maddy: One factor in admittance to schools is a standardized test score, which can help or hinder admissions to colleges. With COVID-19, however, many state and private schools had what is called test-optional admissions, allowing students the flexibility to not have a test score. For me, my standardized test score only helped me, as it gave me more scholarship opportunities as my score increased. However, as Akason will point out, there is a definite disadvantage to ad-
Lauren: This is really hard, because I feel like no matter what colleges do, they’re going to be right. Like I wholeheartedly agree, I wholeheartedly think that and it’s really depressing to say but I, because essays as much as I did not appreciate writing them, they are a good way to see someone’s personality. But again, like someone who was going into a STEM field might not be the best writer in the world, and that should not harm them. Because are they going to have to write a creative essay for their STEM classes to become the best engineer in the world? No, they’re not going to do that. And it’s great to be a well rounded person, but people have different skill sets. And I think it’s great colleges push this notion of being very holistic, but in reality, to get into a top 10 school, the first thing they’re going to do is look at your GPA and your test scores. And if you don’t meet their criteria, unless you are literally like a famous Broadway actor, they are going to throw away your application. And that’s just how it is like if you don’t meet their GPA or their test scores, they’re probably not even going to skim. They’re your essays. But that’s what I found in the research I’ve done. Maddy: What can we do to fix this? Is there a solution to these problems? According to the Washington Post, again, yes and no. The College Board, the company that owns the SAT and AP, put forward a plan that would take wealth inequality and other hardships high schoolers face into consideration. This plan called the Environmental Context Dashboard, is a numeric value to represent the relative disadvantages a student has had. This plan is a step in the right direction to fixing this problem. Way too late in my opinion; 2019, why are we doing this now? But there is still so much that can be done. In all, college admissions is a stressful, messy process that almost every senior decides to take upon themselves. So keep a senior in your thoughts these next couple of weeks as we apMaddy: proach Ivy Week starting April 6th, I know How else do you think that colleges could, Lauren would appreciate it. you know, engage with their students to un- I’d like to thank Shawn Harrel, Teddie Long, derstand where their skills lie to kind of make and Catherine Ward for their help on this projcollege admissions a more fair kind of holistic ect. For LSWest Online, I’m Madeline Cantrell, view? and we’re on to the next story. missions tied to one test. Maddy: So do you think that with the cost of testing, and even the cost of application fees, do you think that plays a factor in who can actually go to college? Lauren: Oh, definitely, like application fees. I know you can get waivers to have them, like waived, but I do think that definitely makes a difference on who can apply to what schools and what schools they can apply to. And then standardized testing, you feel like if you don’t get this great score, you can’t apply to a great school when in reality, that’s not true. I remember I read an article about a school that had gone test optional. So that means like, students can not submit a score, they can submit a score. And they found that by their sophomore year, the students who did not submit an ACT score had pretty much equivalent GPAs to the students who submitted good ACT scores. Maddy: Although testing is an issue, the other factors tied to applications, namely GPA and rank, tie into a toxic culture that favors predominantly private schools and schools with predominantly white student bodies. Lauren: I know, with AP classes, they’re specifically geared towards doing well on the SAT, because the College Board owns both companies. So in a way, we didn’t have that. But I do think by having a certain day where every single person in the (junior) grade can take a standardized test for free, that’s very much perpetuating the culture of taking standardized tests. And I think kids who don’t do as well on standardized tests get the notion that they’re like stupid, because they didn’t do well. Or like, they’re not smart enough, when in reality, that’s not true at all, like you can do bad on a standardized test and be like the smartest person in the room, in my opinion.
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Students at West break gender stereotypes Emily Gerhart Ice cream makers, computer algorithms, globes, life rafts, fire escapes, windshield wipers, bulletproof fibers, caller ID; If not for the women behind their creation, all of these would never exist. March is Women’s History month, and a time to truly acknowledge all that women do in society, and at Lee’s Summit West. What started as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, Calif. has turned into a federally declared month of recognition. Women have not always been embraced and appreciated, especially in stereotypically male-dominant fields. However, things look quite different now. “Women should be encouraged to join predominantly male career fields. The idea that women aren’t capable of completing difficult tasks has always been a part of our everyday lives and should be shut down,” sophomore Hadyn Hoggatt said. “We are mentally, emotionally, and physically capable of so much more than we are often presented to be.” Hoggatt is passionate about women empowerment, and said she believes that women deserve the utmost respect in any work environment. Girls at West have continued to break the standard and gain this respect in stereotypically male-dominated classes and clubs. Sophomore Brianna Harmon is among this category, and attempts to break the standard by being a member of “Team Titanium” and en-
rolling in other engineering based courses. The Robotics team is 60 percent male, but Harmon said this only pushes her to work harder. She said the boys are usually in control, so she has worked to prove herself and earn their trust. “I like trying to set an example like ‘girls can do it.’ People sometimes view it as male dominated, which it is, but girls can do it too. I just hope to inspire people,” Harmon said. In her Principles of Engineering course, Harmon said it’s rewarding when she solves the problem before the rest of the class. “We were doing a hydrogen fuel cell car, and me and my partner figured out how to do something before going up. Everyone came to us, and we’re the only girls in there, so it was kind of cool,” Harmon said. She said she has had to, and will continue to, show she is capable of success, but the future outcome will pay off. “I hope it’s worth it because I want to help make a difference in the world and I think engineering is a way to do that,” Harmon said. In Robotics, men hold the higher positions, but Corps Commander of ROTC, Tessa Pultzin, explained that in ROTC the top positions are held by females. “Most of the females are the higher up positions, because we’re the ones that know a lot more than the guys do,” Pultzin
said. “I know other schools are a little bit more like 50/50, whereas in our top five people, four of them are girls.” Pultzin said that LSW’s corps works to give the opportunity to step up to whatever spot you work for, no matter gender stereotypes. As long as you work hard and deserve it, Pultzin said anything is possible for anyone in ROTC.
“We can change the world because we already have” -Hadyn Hoggatt The shift in women’s recognition in male dominated professions in recent years has impressed Pultzin, and Harmon. “I think it’s cool to see how far [it’s come] because girls didn’t have rights that long ago, like it’s still pretty recent. So it’s kind of cool to see how far it’s come. Even if you just look at something like a school activity,” Pultzin said. Although tremendous steps towards equality have been made, Hoggatt said there is still so much to be done. “This is cheesy, but we can change the world because we already have.”
Sophomore Brianna Harmon solders together two pieces of wire. Team Titanium just finished their robot, and are preparing for a virtual competition in April. Photo by Emily Gerhart
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Vaccinating LSR7 Peyton Osborne Locally we have hit and surpassed our one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination roll-outs are becoming a vital part in the process of moving forward as LSR7 and the country try to get back to a pre-pandemic world. The school district made March 25, April 15, and April 16 asynchronous days to allow for
teacher vaccination clinics, while also offering a Saturday vaccination option. The district can not require teachers and staff to be vaccinated. Biology teacher Ashley Jones said, “Obviously, I’m a science teacher, so I felt like I, you know, I did some research on it and I just felt that it was not only good for myself to feel more comfortable coming to work and being around people, but also, I felt like I was doing it for other people.” English teacher, Trisha Carney, said she is excited to get fully vaccinated. “I know that that’s one more step back to normalcy, right. We can get to that herd immunity and then we can start doing things that we’ve missed out on, traveling, that kind of stuff.” Carney received her first vaccination at the Saturday, March 20 clinic. Carney said that she has heard of coworkers getting vaccinated prior to these vaccine clinics, and the school district has been working to accommodate for just the teachers who haven’t been vaccinated. “We were sent a survey before they scheduled this and, you know, those staff members indicated that they would not be receiving a vaccine because they already got it ... they were planning for three clinics, and now because of the amount of staff that opted out, primarily because they already got their vaccinations, they only needed two clinics,” Carney said. Jones was one of the teachers that took advantage of getting vaccinated prior to the district clinics. “I knew the district would be providing something for us, which is great... When they said that teachers were eligible in the state, I was able to get in at another clinic and so I figured the sooner I can get it, you know, the sooner I could get my second, and then go on from there.” As for eligibility, principal Dr. Chad Hertzog said, “every employee of the school district, I believe, is eligible for this.” This does not include substitutes. Even though middle schoolers and high
schoolers in the district are doing learning at take attendance, we have assignments,” Groom home on Wednesdays. The vaccination clin- said. ics weren’t scheduled into those days. “I think Hertzog said it’s crossed his mind that someif the district had that ability they would have. thing like that could happen at the high school. The district is working with Truman Medical “What that tells me is we’re not beyond that Center so it’s not as simple as saying we have to happening at any of our buildings and that just, have one of these days. It’s when can we accom- to me, means that we have to continue to be dilmodate that from the hospital side to do that, I igent, which means control the things we can think that was good,” Hertzog said. control. Wear masks, socially distance as best Hertzog said we can and just use good common sense prache also believed tices outside of school too because that’s where there was an ad- most of these things happen,” Hertzog said. ditional reason In addition to Hertzog, Jones said he also as to why the has concerns as a teacher at the high school. “I school district mean, it’s definitely always in the back of my didn’t incorpo- mind. I think that it’s better to be safe than sorrate the clinics ry,” Jones said, “I think that they made a good on Wednesdays. decision at the middle school because when ... “The second rea- you’re gonna have to teach almost half of your son I think is kids in class and the rest of them are in quaranthe second vac- tine, it makes the most sense to just go back to cine. The second a way where you can facilitate instruction to all vaccine, there is of your students.” enough data out With the second round of vaccinations set there to support that there is a large number of for mid April, comes another step closer to the people who have complications or just after ef- pre-pandemic routine of school. fects one they’ve received it, which is why they did those two days of AMI. So I think having it backed up to a weekend made a little “I know that that’s one more step back more sense than doing it on like a Wednesday and Thurs- to normalcy, right. We can get to that day,” Hertzog said. herd immunity and then we can start Jones said she feels like doing things that we’ve missed out the district did a good job of making the vaccination on.” - Trisha Carney clinics work. “I honesty feel like the district has put a lot of thought into how to make this work, when it comes to substitutes, when it comes to making sure that teachers are able to not have to come to work, they’re not feeling well, so I do think it is good. I know schedule changes are always hard, but at this point, we’ve had so many schedule changes this year and it is kind of just flipping some asynchronous days,” Jones said. At Summit Lakes, the 8th grade class learned virtually for two weeks as positive cases and contact tracing spread across the grade. Early in March, it got to the point where the grade wouldn’t be able to function reasonably unless they were virtual. 8th grade English teacher at Summit Lakes, Beth Groom, described teaching through the virtual learning as difficult, but she said it was the right decision. “Every hour we have a Google code Photo by Peyton Osborne that they have to get in, we
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Staff Commentary
The workaholic mindset: A take on the five day workweek and why our jobs don’t necessarily need to be our greatest focus
Anna Eulinger I can’t tell you how many times I have heard There are 168 hours in one week. Of those an adult in my life say that they wish there 168 hours, roughly 40 of them are spent work- were more hours in the day, or more days in ing, dividing out to eight hours per day of the the week. The thing is, that’s completely doable. five day workweek. Even then, some people may The solution is a four day workweek and three find themselves working 60 hours per week for day weekend. Yes, we can’t necessarily add days more demanding jobs (with 12 hour work days, on to our week, but we can rework the time we six to seven days a week) according to CNBC. already have to essentially make more time. I know that was a lot of math and numbers Also, I know some of you may have scoffed all at once, but stick with me. After subtracting at that statement. I can practically read your out the average amount of time an adult works minds. “You’re just lazy,” “You don’t even have per week from the 168 hours we are given, we a real job yet,” “We can’t just change the workare left with 128 hours. Not bad, right? Well, we week.” have a few more factors to add in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t make me the bad According to the CDC, the average adult guy, though. It’s not my fault we’ve all been so needs seven hours of sleep per night. In one conditioned to think that work is everything. week, that’s 49 hours of sleep. Now we are left Don’t get me wrong. I think going to work with 79 hours to is completedo whatever else ly necessary we want. That and a four day amounts to a little workweek is over three days’ just not an opWORK worth of time. We tion for some may be thinking, people. It’s just “That’s plenty of how the world time!” Is it really, functions. We WORK though? need to work There are so to have money many factors that for food, bills, WORK can play into how household newe spend our cessities, bills, time. For some taxes, hobbies, adults, that extra bills, children, WORK time may consist pets, vacations, of commuting to and bills. The and from work, list doesn’t stop WORK taking care of there, but you children, cooking get the point. dinner, running I hate to say errands, mayit, but money RELAX be finishing out kind of is evschool — the list erything. We goes on. like to think What gives? Is that it’s not PREPARE FOR THE WORKWEEK that extra 79 hours because, yes, really enough moments and time? I’m hesitant memories are to say that Amermore importicans have been “brainwashed” into thinking ant, but unfortunately, pretty much everything a five day workweek and two day weekend is else costs money. I also believe that the phrase acceptable, but let’s be honest with ourselves “money doesn’t buy happiness” is a complete — we have kind of rewired our minds to think lie. I’m going to be honest and say that the bigthat’s okay. gest things that have made me the happiest in
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my life all had to do with money. I used to be a dancer and that made me happy, but it cost a pretty penny. I also love to travel and we all know that can get expensive. My pets make me happy every single day, but guess what? They come with a price. Going back to the concept of a four day workweek and three day weekend, just hear me out. I get it — some people love to work and that’s great for them. I honestly envy people who have a job they like that pays well. However, I know that going into adulthood, work isn’t going to be everything to me. Personally, I need fulfillment. My worst nightmare is waking up in a suburban home every single day, going to work, coming home, making dinner, and going to bed just to do it all over again. I don’t want to be on my deathbed thinking how I spent most of my life focusing on work and dreading all of the time I could have spent doing more things I love. I know I’m just a naive high school senior and any adult reading this may roll their eyes, but I want to meet people and make connections, fulfill my hobbies, and see as much of the world as I can. Will I need to work hard to get to that spot? Absolutely. Maybe I could even find a job that involves traveling so my dreams and income can go hand-in-hand. We live on a floating rock in the middle of space that stretches on for lightyears. Our lives are so insignificant to the rest of the universe, so why not enjoy ourselves a little more? We. Don’t. Need. To. Work. Five. Days. A. Week. Just looking at our own little LSR-7 community, I think that most students and teachers in the middle and high schools can agree that having Wednesdays off has made a world of a difference. We’re able to use that extra day to catch up on work and get things done, which makes it easier to fully enjoy ourselves on the weekend. I think most of us could also agree that the pandemic has taught us to appreciate the simpler things in life, like hanging out with friends and family, going out to eat, and doing small activities that make us happy. So, yes. Working matters, but I think it would be completely reasonable to ease up on the time we spend working and allow ourselves to relax and enjoy life a little more. Tomorrow is not always promised and we deserve to live fulfilled lives.
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Taylor’s version Mia Guidolin Taylor Swift has been the topic of many news articles and public debates. In one of these major stories, the main characters were Swift, and two music executives, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta. On June 30, 2019, Taylor Swift posted a Tumblr post talking about her problem with the two men, and her fight to own her music. For years, Taylor had wanted to buy her old master records, but the founder of Big Machine, Scott Borchetta, had refused. From her debut album to her 2017 album, “Reputation,” Taylor had been a part of Big Machine music label, but in November of 2018, Taylor was part of a very public switch to a different label, Universal Music Group’s Republic Records. Although the deal with the new label was big news, the public was under the impression that this was a peaceful farewell from her old company. This was until Taylor made a Tumblr post calling out Braun and Borchetta for being manipulative and toxic. Swift talked about her relationship with Braun, and said all she could think about when she found out that her music had been sold to Braun, was the “incessant, manipulative bullying” that she had faced at his hands. Swift also said that Borchetta had known what he was doing when he sold the company over to Braun. “Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to,” said Swift. Swift continued by saying that this was her worst case scenario. “This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept.” She ended her message saying she was thankful that she was now part of a record
label that thought she should own her own music and be able to decide what to do with it. After this post, many musicians including Halsey and Iggy Azalea tweeted with the hashtag, #WeStandWithTaylor, congratulating Swift for her strength in speaking up about the music industry. The standing issue is that Scooter Braun still owns all of Taylor Swift’s old music. This means that anyone who wants to make a copy of her songs, or play her songs on the radio must ask the owner, aka Braun, and pay him a fee.
found out that Taylor was rerecording her old songs, she was very excited. “I absolutely hate what happened to her and how her music was stolen from her, so I’m really happy that she can gain control over her music again,” Miller said. On Feb. 12, 2021, Taylor released her first re-recording: “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” and the feedback from fans was very positive. Although they had heard the song many times before, fans still listened to her new recording multiple times. “She did a really good job of recreating her younger voice in the re-recording of Love Story, and I am so excited for the “Fearless” album to be released on April 9th,” Miller said. The new version of “Love Story” was very similar, but fans have noticed subtle differences. One obvious contrast was the way Swift’s voice has changed over the years. In her 2008 version, Swift still had a country vibe to her song, while in the new recording her vocal maturity and style has changed a lot. Another difference was the guitar in the Recently Taylor Swift announced dropping her background of the muprevious record label. She is now in the process sic. In the 2008 version, of re-recording her old songs again. the guitar was more tangy and not as fine Photo by Mia Guidolin tuned as the one in the latest version. Regardless of the dif Swift’s contract with Republic Records ferences, fans are excited to hear what the lets her own the rights to her music and de- rest of the albums have in store. cide what to do with it, but unfortunately “I am most excited for “Speak Now,”” Millfor her, this only applies to the albums she er said, “That’s my favorite album and I’m made with them: “Lover,” “Folklore” and excited to hear how much her voice has ma“Evermore.” tured.” So now, Taylor Swift has started the pro- With re-recording her songs, Taylor cess of recording all her songs before “Lov- Swift hopes to regain some of the control to er,” the first re-recorded album being Fear- her music that Scooter Braun now has, and less. hopefully her new record label will be a betSophomore Kara Miller has been a fan ter fit for her than the one before. of Swift for years now, and said when she
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3.26.21
Review
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” brings MCU action back to the screens superheroes with the government, he turned in his shield and the U.S. government asked Walker to step up. So far we can see how the MCU would adapt this to fit in the next phase. This is where things get a little more complicated. In the comics, Walker is much more impulsive and eventually more aggressive than our American Sweetheart Steve Rodgers ever was. This leads to his capture by Flag-Smasher, and eventually, his hanging up of the uniform for Steve to step back into, while Walker turns into U.S. Agent. Some fans believe that this means Steve could still be alive since we never actually saw him pass, but I think it’s safe to say that he’s not coming back. Flag-Smasher is a villain who we’ve already met in the first episode when an Air Force buddy of Sam Wilson/The Falcon calls. That buddy then tells Sam he disobeyed orders and went into action, Where does Marvel go meeting Flag-Smasher. Sam then sees that the government has named a new from there? Captain America against Steve Rodgers’ With no renewal for season two of last wish for Sam to take over the gig. WandaVision, and Olsen confirmed to The question then lies, will be on “Doctor Strange 2,” I think it’s reaSam try and reverse the sonable that we may only be seeing her in upcoming movies playing a leadership decision or stick with his role for the new generation of Avengers. new life of being a civilian One of these possible “new” Avengers is and aiding the governJohn Walker. ment when necessary? Warning: everything I’m about to say I think it shouldn’t come as too much is a theory and I won’t be held responof a surprise if Sam does nothing to stop sible for possible spoilers. Back to our Walker’s promotion as the series opens scheduled programming. up with Sam turning in the shield and According to the comics, John Walkturning the job down. We then follow er was a super fan of Captain America’s his life as he returns home to New Or(we’ll clarify and call him Steve Rodgleans from his superhero work as the ers), but also highly critical. When Steve Falcon. We meet his sister and nephews disagreed with an agreement made by and hear about his deceased father and Ella Skelsey A new uniform, a new shield, a new Captain America? The newest Marvel T.V. show, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” should cover all of this and dive deeper into what once were side characters, and are now leaders of the “new” Avengers. The show picks up around the same time as “WandaVision,” which just released its final episode on March 5, approximately three months after “the blip.” For those unfamiliar with “the blip,” it’s the five-year time period after Thanos’ snap before the Avengers were able to bring back the 50% of people that were wiped out. However, Natasha Romanov/Black Widow, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and Steve Rodgers/Captain America are all still gone. “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is the second show in the MCU’s newest phase. “WandaVision’’ kicked off phase four with a sitcom-action mix that fans received well. The finale saw Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch battle it out with Agnes/Agatha Hargreeves before fans were left with an end credits scene where Wanda was flying through pages of an old book. I believe that we were able to see Wanda learning about her magic from old texts she might have taken from Agatha. After seeing Wanda walk back into the house, we see another version of her in her Scarlet Witch getup, floating and casting runes.
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his relationship with the town. Sam tries to help his sister keep their boat and business but banks won’t even give loans to superheroes after the chaos of the blip. In the middle of episode one, we got to see how Bucky Barnes/ T h e W i n ter Sold i e r ’s adapting and s o m e possible foreshadowing for later episodes. Bucky relives a nightmare from his time under Hydra and then goes to a therapy session where we learn he hasn’t been talking to Sam, one of the only people he should be able to trust. He then goes out with one of his elderly friends (he is 106 after all) who sets him up on a date. On the date, she asks questions he can’t answer (at least without a lengthy explanation of his whole life story) which triggers some trauma and guilt he’s been holding. Bucky then leaves, presumably to go deal with that trauma, but never does.
This is the only section we see Bucky in, and he and Sam are never together. I’m assuming that they will eventually team back up to help Walker fight Flag-Smasher but only time will tell. I think we can expect a lot more action than WandaVision offered, but that also comes with fewer easter eggs and fan theories. While there are three fewer episodes than WandaVision, I personally can’t wait to see what the MCU has up their sleeve, for Wanda, Sam, and Bucky’s futures as leaders, not side characters.
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Lifesyle change for athletic success Hayden Peters “He has a natural talent and work ethic that not a lot of others have, that’s what makes him a great lacrosse player,” West boys lacrosse coach Jay Hertzler said. Hertzler refers to sophomore Jake Wilcox, a varsity starter this season who has a new outlook on the sport. Wilcox said that he owes his success and growth as a player to his new, healthy lifestyle, sparked by lacrosse. Last summer, Wilcox began a rigorous and extensive diet and workout routine pushing himself to go to the gym six days a week and continue to keep a balanced diet. “I remember wanting to turn my lifestyle around and wanting to make an effort to lead a healthier life. I was ready to be better,” Wilcox said. That was May of 2020. “Exercising really affects my mentality. I’ll be down, having a bad day, and after I go to the gym and work out I’m a completely different person in the best way,” he said. Wilcox sees la-
“I remember wanting to turn my lifestyle around and wanting to make an effort to lead a healthier life. I was ready to be better.” — Jake Wilcox
crosse as an escape from every day struggles, and uses it to better himself. “Personally, I’m proud of my work ethic and never allowing myself to quit. I just knew that it would pay off when it came time,” Wilcox said. And pay off it did. This season he is starting varsity as a midfielder, sometimes playing attack. As a sophomore, this is his first season playing for West, after five years playing the sport. In the beginning, Wilcox did not have his sights set on being a star lacrosse player. He was originally introduced to the sport in sixth grade, but with no interest in playing the sport seriously. He signed up due to his lack of interest in baseball, looking for something new to try. “When I first started, it was a challenge for sure. Lacrosse is difficult to learn but I happened to take to it naturally. It was a great feeling to be good at a sport and I was very confident,” he said. As the years went by, Wilcox continued to have success and played for club team United. He was set to play his first season for the school last year, but was pushed back due to COVID. Weeks prior to the start of his shift toward a healthy lifestyle, Wilcox said he experienced a low period, which according to him, was a rare occurrence at that time. “I’m always open about Wilcox is a varsity starter for the 2021 lacrosse sea- my emotions but last sumson. He prepared over the summer by lifting weights mer I was feeling low and really depressed with the and changing his diet. absence of lacrosse in my Photo by Hayden Peters life. I had no motivation,
and not many people knew about it except for my parents and a couple of close friends,” Wilcox said. In this time of mental struggle, he decided to use it as fuel to come back to his next lacrosse season better than ever. Junior Stephen Bush, a teammate of Wilcox, said that his progress paid off, and it was very noticeable once they hit the weight room prior to the start of their 2021 season. “Once we got to the gym I was shocked. He had improved so much since the last time we lifted together, and I was really proud of him,” Bush said. Some life difficulties helped to also strengthen and push Wilcox as he coped with deaths in his family. In September 2017, Wilcox’s aunt passed away after losing a long battle with epilepsy. He said they were very close and he was caught off guard by the sudden loss. During the months following her death, Wilcox learned how to cope as it was his first time dealing with the pain of losing a family member. Then nearly a year later, he lost his grandfather to cancer. “It was a tough time for my family and I, of course. I had never lost anyone I was close to and to have it happen to close together was really hard to handle,” Wilcox said. Wilcox said that he channeled that pain into his motivation for a healthier lifestyle last summer. It gave him something to build on and look back on when he needed inspiration for progress. He also found new motivation in his religion and relationship with God on his journey to continued success. “I was raised Catholic, and it’s important to me to stay close to my faith when things get rough, it is a big part of who I am as a person,” Wilcox said. According to Wilcox, prayer and maintaining his values helped push him to achieve his goals and stay hungry for the success he was craving. “Without my low points and determination to build on the positives in my life, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today,” he said.
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“Gambling on your own greatness” Players around the world take control of their careers
Josh Wood From the beginning of professional sports, the importance of the individual player has dramatically increased. Sport to sport, organization to organization, the professional athlete has been at the heart of a franchise’s operations since the beginning. In recent years, the star athlete has garnered much more power and control over their own career, and I believe this started with LeBron James in 2010. “The Decision” where he publicly announced live on ESPN his decision to join the Miami Heat rattled the foundational belief that players belong to their organization to its core. In 1987, the NFL players union and the NFL could not reach a deal to raise pay and increase pensions, so many of them decided to strike. The franchise owners did the only thing they could do, and hired replacement players. What followed was half a season of boring, sloppy and hard to watch football, but more than anything, it marked the pinnacle of the owner’s power over their star players. In recent years, players like Ezekiel Elliot, Le’veon Bell, and Earl Thomas have all held out to gain leverage in their negotiations, something that would have been totally unimaginable 30 years ago. In soccer, the player-owner relationship is much different, yet still the power of the player has been rising. Compared to years past many more players are demanding transfers away from their clubs, and it’s working. Star players are attracting so much attention that records for transfer fees (how much money a team gives another for the rights to a player) are seemingly being broken every year. Soccer player, Paul Pogba broke the overall record in 2016, Virgil Van Dijk set the record for a defender in 2017 and in 2019 Henry Maguire broke the record for the highest transfer fee for an English born player. Also in 2017, Neymar shattered the record for highest transfer fee in his move to PSG, breaking Pogba’s record by a whopping 100 million Euros. Another way players gain leverage is by the length of their contracts. Classically, a team would sign their best players for as long as they could, but with the power players have these days, that is no longer the only option. NBA and MLB players now are constantly taking shorter contracts valued at less long money long term, so they can have even more agency in their careers. Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets called it “betting on yourself,” and while he was far from the first player to do it, he was one of the first non-All-Star level players. This idea of gambling on your own greatness is what got us LeBron signing with the Lakers and Kevin Durant with the Nets. Trevor Bauer couldn’t have dreamed of signing with the Dodgers if he didn’t take that gamble, and it could give us even more mind bending moves later down the line. The essential question to all of this is how does it affect professional sports as a whole? It can be hard to know, but I would venture to say it means more player movement from team to team, and many more interesting offseasons to come. All I can really say with much certainty is that I am excited to see not only how these dynamics change in the future, but how they change professional sports as a whole.
Making it look easy Sarah Hall Raegan attended Mizzou Academy, an on Junior Raegan McGee said that balancing line program at the University of Missouri, school and competitive tennis can be hard which allowed her to work independently. to maintain. With being so busy, attending the Mizzou “I do my homework on the way to prac- Academy gives Raegan McGee time to comtice, but usually right when I get home, I plete schoolwork while still doing tennis. have a schedule. I take a shower, then eat, “The courses at Mizzou were incredibly and then just do school work,” Raegan Mc- challenging, and she learned early on that Gee said. getting behind wasn’t an option because of McGee said she started tennis when she the stress it caused,” Robyn said. was seven. “My parents were like ‘let’s just “School will always come first, and that’s try it,’” and she did. “I like tennis, but it’s a a no-brainer. At any time grades drop, tensport about mistakes, so it’s so hard on you nis then is out of the equation. Raegan has mentally, and I don’t think people realize it’s to play a lot of tennis to maintain her skills one of the most mentally tough sports out or play even more to improve. That can be there,” McGee said. too much sometimes, which then takes the Raegan’s mother, Robyn McGee, said fun out of tennis,” said Coach Marco Rodrikeeping busy with tennis has been one of guez. the best things for her. Tennis has helped her overcome challenges that she has had to Rodriguez has been working with Raeface. gan McGee to help her reach her goals. He “She was diagnosed with ADHD and works with her on the court, but he says he generalized anxiety disorder in third grade, helps motivate her to keep up with school. and she started playing tennis shortly after With tennis being such a big part of Raethat diagnosis. Staying busy, especially with gan McGee’s life, having social time can sports, has been her way of coping with it,” help keep her motivated and on top of her her mom said. game. Having free days is essential, espe She said that tennis had encouraged Rae- cially with maintaining the proper balance gan McGee to try new things and make new and motivation. friends worldwide. Rodriguez said, “Motivation comes from “She also recently started volunteering within herself. I, as her coach, can only hope with the Stephanie Waterman Tennis Foun- to inspire her.” dation, which is something she has wanted Raegan has worked many hours to help to do for a while now,” her mom said. improve her game inside and outside the The Foundation is a tennis program that court. provides inner-city youth with free tennis, “She learns to work hard, stay discilife skills, and opportunities to succeed in plined, and understand the work ethic that’s the sport. needed daily to be competitive and succeed “All of these activities make her who she in the sport. That carries over into her daiis, and I love that even though she some- ly life, such as school, or finding a job and times suffers from debilitating anxiety, she hopefully for the rest of her life,” said Coach still puts herself out there to try new things Marco Rodriguez. and keep herself busy. When you are faced with the kind of anxiety that Raegan has, the best therapy for that is not allowing yourself to sit Junior Raegan McGee plays five practice sets around and think about your to prepare for more tournaments. She’s been insecurities. You have to stay playing tennis since she was 7-years-old. busy and productive Photo courtesy of Raegan McGee and work toward your goals,” Robyn McGee said. Due to her schedule, Raegan’s mother and father try their best to communicate the importance of good time management skills and no procrastination. Robyn McGee said, “[We] also think open communication is important. She needs to let us know when she needs a break or needs help with her schedule. There are some days when tennis or playing in a tournament just isn’t an option because of school.” Schooling can be difficult with tennis, so
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Staff Commentary
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Winter sports wrap-up Boy’s Basketball The boy’s basketball team had a final record of 13-9, including a tournament win in the Summit Grill Shootout. The team finished strong with a tough loss to Lee’s Summit in the Disrict Championship. Seniors Mike McKnight, Luke Jordan, Ian McDonald and Colby Baggett received all district honors. Jordan and Baggett received all conference honors.
Boy’s Wrestling After a tough season, the Boy’s Wrestling team had seven wrestlers — Seniors Roman Juarez and Andrew Smith, Juniors Ruben Miller and Brock Donnelly, Sophomores Nate Moore and George Long, and Freshman Zach Pruitt — qualify for sectionals.
Girl’s Swim At the state championship on Feb. 19, the Girl’s Swim team took 5th overall in the 200 yd medley. Individually, Senior Peyton Easley took 3rd in the 50 yd freestyle and 4th in the 100 yd freestyle. In the 100 yd butterfly, Freshman Laney Weatherby took 5th and Sophomore Lydia Grider took 11th.
Girl’s Wrestling Senior Kaylee Harker finished up her high school career by qualifying for state for a second year in a row. Harker will continue her athletic career at William Jewell college next year.
Girl’s Basketball After winning a third straight district championship against Ray-Pec 57-43 and beating Blue Springs at sectionals 62-44, the Girl’s Basketball team took a tough loss against Staley in the state quarterfinal. Seniors Morgan Pietig and Brooke Ellis, Sophomore Bailey Burns, and Junior Taisha Johnson all represented West on the all district team. Photo by Anna Eulinger