MHS Mentor Volume 100 Issue 13

M the MENTOR

Dec. 11, 2012

Manhattan High School, Manhattan, Kan.

Termination of Kansas Career Pipeline leaves CT E teachers missing valuable tool Sarah Shi News Gothic Funding from the Kansas State Department of Education for the Kansas Career Pipeline was cut last Thursday, leaving students and teachers alike on the bottom end of the deal.

Jay Scott, KSDE’s CTE Assistant Director, announced Dec. 6 that the KSDE, Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Board of Regents would no longer provide funding to Kuder, the vendor powering Kansas Career Pipeline.

While acknowledging the substantial loss the CTE teachers would have to face without a free resource to help students plan for college, Scott further explained that budget cuts at the state and federal levels led the three agencies to retract the funding.

On Dec. 31, 2012, the Kansas Career Pipeline will discontinue, leaving a “big hole in our Tribe Time plans for next semester,” CTE coordinator Dawn Lindsley said.

“We were supposed to use it next semester for the freshman and junior English classes to get them to look at what type of career clusters are available,” Lindsley said. “We want them thinking about

post-secondary options.”

Now that Kuder’s services will terminate at the end of the month, Lindsley is not clear on how Tribe Time will look next semester. The first two Tribe Time sessions next semester were to be dedicated to exposing the new opportunities the website provided -for example, the abundance of scholarships available to high school students.

“This year the Kansas Career Pipeline has more than a million dollars’ worth of scholarships that not very many people know about,” Lindsley said. “This is an important thing that the students need to be aware about.”

For career counselor Carolyn Devane, the abrupt cancellation of the Kansas Career Pipeline leaves her plans to help juniors plan their future careers out in the open.

“I was set and ready to go on Jan. 8 to talk to the juniors about the great tools the Pipeline has but the rug has been pulled right from under us,” Devane said. “The pipeline is so great in that the students can use it up to grade 16. It doesn’t just stop after high school. It lets you look at scholarships and financial aid.

It even has the FAFSA form available. It’s very comprehen-

sive. I just can’t believe they would just stop in the middle of the year. I hope we can get the district to pay for another six months so we can finish the year using it.”

“It’s very Kan-

sas-specific and it has such a variety of tools...”

- Dawn Lindsley The Kansas Career Pipeline also provides space for each student to create their own personalized electronic portfolio with a resume, a list of career interests and a cluster of college options. “KSDE gave us a list of other websites that are free career planning tools to use but they won’t be the same as the [Kansas Career Pipeline]. It’s very Kansas-specific and it has such a variety of tools that the other ones don’t have,” Lindsley said.

Business Essentials instruc-

tor, Debra Kidd, agrees the Kansas Career Pipeline is the most complete career planning website she has used in her class. “It has the interest surveys that lets the students know what they would be interested or good at later on after high school,” Kidd said. “I don’t think any other website has anything like that.”

While the person behind the decision to cut funding for Kansas Career Pipeline is still unknown, Lindsley has speculated that it is someone in KSDE. “From what I hear, the KSDE was the first one to stop funding, which left the other two to pick up the slack,” she said. “I assume that they couldn’t do it so they just stopped putting money into it all together.”

However, Lindsley has contacted Kuder to discuss how much it would take to the USD 383 school district to pay for the online program itself, and realizes that if the district were to pay for it, there would be budget cuts from within.

“Right now I’m just not sure on anything,” Lindsley said. “I’m waiting to find out more answers from the people at KSDE and a price quote from Kuder. Anything could happen.”

Clubs celebrate the holidays together at Club Feast

Seniors Sophie Wang, Sam Rozell, Alex Hager, and Jakob Borgen picked from a variety of foods provided by each club who attended Club Feast Dec. 4.

Naomi McClendon, photographer Maddie Ross Trending Co-Editor On Dec. 4 members from all Manhattan High School

clubs met to celebrate Club Feast.

This year Club Feast was put on by the sophomore class Student Council and has

Clu b Notes Scholars Bowl History repeats itself for members of Manhattan High’s Scholars Bowl team.

For the past four years the team has qualified to be on the QUEST TV show and this year it’s no different.

The team traveled to Washburn University to the take the qualifying test to be on QUEST. They were among 60 schools taking the test. Out of those 60 schools only the top 16 schools qualify. Scholars Bowl seeded sixth out of those 16 schools.

Assistant coach Regina Harden said, “They’ve qualified in the past and I think they were comfortable with the material, I think they will be more on their game.”

Scholars Bowl will begin filming episodes for QUEST on Jan. 19, and the episodes will begin showing on KTWU towards the end of March.

Dec. 5, the J.V. team com-

peted at Shawnee Heights, the meet was an eight team roundrobin tournament. Team went 7-0 and got first place and was awarded medals and a trophy.

Harden said, “I am proud of JV, they won 8 out of 8 matches, they were very confident.

By the third match they kind of knew they were going to beat everyone else.”

The J.V. team also have a meet on Dec. 6 at Salina South. The meet was a 24team tournament. The team was placed into four pools of six, went 5-0 in pool play and advanced to bracket play. The team won the quarter semifinal matches but lost the championship match. They ended up placing second with an overall record of 7-1.

This week the Varsity team will have two tournaments on Thursday, one at Rock Creek and the other at Lawrence Free State.

-Julith Perry

been a tradition at MHS for years. The purpose of Club Feast is to bring all studentparticipated organizations together to celebrate the hol-

Physics Tour A group of 16 Manhattan High School Physics students had the opportunity to tour the Kansas State University Physics Department the afternoon of Dec. 2. The students listened to guest speakers, toured the building, played with certain equipment and learned about different pathways dealing with physics.

“It was a great learning experience,” junior Michael Cossey said. “I found out a lot of cool things about physics that I never knew about.”

The students were taken by Charles Mamolo and Chris George, physics teachers at MHS West Campus.

“I thought the students enjoyed it very much,” Mamolo said. “They had a lot of fun working with gadgets and listening to the guest speaker talking about nanotechnology.”

-Dheepthi Perumal

Science Olympiad Science Olympiad raised a successful amount of money last month by selling Panera

idays and form unity amongst the different groups. The event took place in the cafeteria.

Most viewed the event as a great success, and an improvement from previous years. “We had a full house, it was a rousing time,” sophomore StuCo treasurer Trevor Bashaw said.

“The turnout was 10 times better than last year and the food was on point,” sophomore StuCo secretary Molly Bollman said. “The participation was awesome, it was great to see everyone getting out and being involved.”

This year’s theme was Harry Potter and like previous years was potluck style with each club bringing a dish -preferably representative of their club.

“The decor definitely didn’t define the party, but our gold and red tablecloths added a bit of Gryffindor,” Bollman said.

“It was a great success.

There was a lot of food, and a lot of people showed up and if you didn’t show up you should come next year,” sophomore StuCo representative Lisa Zhu said. coupons to fundraise for the club. The coupons were $15 per strip and there were six coupons per strip. There were two types of strips, one with six coupons good for three bagels and the second with six coupons with a various options including three bagels, two cookies, one french baguette, etc. With the funds collected the team will buy practice materials, equipment and pay for transportation to competitions.

Also, when the members have been meeting to prepare for upcoming competitions they invited students from elementary schools to come watch and learn the ways of how the members prepared for competitions.

“It was an experience, they loved coming to learn with the big kids,” adviser Dick Nelson said.

-Dheepthi Perumal

Culinary Bootcamp A few select culinary students are traveling to Kansas City today to take part in a sort of ‘culinary boot camp’ called ProStart Boot Camp in

News Volume 100 issue

KSU loses Upward Bound due to lack of funding Naomi McClendon Entertainment Editor After a federally-funded grant was denied, Kansas State University was forced to say goodbye to its longstanding Upward Bound program and many students subsequently lost friends, tutors and college opportunities.

Upward Bound is a program aimed to help advance students who are economically or educationally disadvantaged by providing them academic and personal support, and preparing them for college, business or other schooling. Every year students from Manhattan, Wamego, Rock Creek and Junction City participate in Upward Bound’s five-week summer program, where they live on campus and take classes to mirror a college experience.

Last summer, K-State’s Manhattan branch of Upward Bound was discontinued.

According to the program’s directors and advisors, funding was cut due to a perceived lack of need in the area. K-State’s Salina branch, however, was granted funds until 2018. Despite the government-perceived lack of need, participants in the program were devastated at the program’s end. Kansas State’s Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students said that his department was surprised at the news.

According to Manhattan High School senior and three-year Upward Bound participant Sterling Muse, the

program was a sort of hidden gem in Manhattan.

“Upward

Bound shouldn’t have been canceled because it was the perfect preparation for high school student who want to attend college.”

- Sterling Muse “What people do not know about Upward Bound is that anybody can join the program.

It doesn’t matter about race, grades or income. As long as you want to be successful in postsecondary education, Upward Bound should be highly recommended to high school students,” Muse said.

“Upward Bound shouldn’t have been cancelled because it was the perfect preparation for high school students who want to attend college.”

The Upward Bound program is designed to make college a familiar experience for high schoolers, and according to Muse, it does just that.

“It is honestly the closest See Upward on page 5

State Representative looks to inform students on polictical issues Sarah Shi News Editor In an effort to inform the Manhattan High School student body on her democratic issues and beliefs, Kansas State Representative of the 66th district, Sydney Carlin, will give a talk during both lunches, Friday, Dec.14, in the Little Theater.

Carlin, originally an entrepreneur with her husband, came into the political scene in 1988 when the Board of County Commissioners announced that the new County Jail would be 28 feet from the Manhattan Catholic School and the Seven Dolors Church.

Because her children were attending the Catholic school at that time, Carlin was motivated to change the County’s decision. She and a group of parents joined together to form the Jail CORP (Citizens Organized for the Responsible Placement of the Jail) and for the next four years, the preparation for an upcoming competition in February. The students gave up the whole school day to travel to USfoods in Lenexa to take part.

USfoods is a leading foodservice distributor and has administrative offices in the Kansas City area. Students have the option to choose a culinary or management tract to focus on for the day.

“We’re going for the culinary side,” senior Kristie Kutei said. “I think they’re helping us to get ideas for things to cook for appetizers or dishes.

All students learn about industry certifications, food cost, and post-secondary opportunities. This is the first year that the students will attend the camp.

“They didn’t have [the camp] last year, so I don’t really know what to expect,” Kutei said. “I guess I’m looking forward to it.”

The class hopes to gain skills and ideas for the future.

Along with the Manhattan students, there will also be other school teams there to gain information. According to the ProStart promotional flier, the goal of the training

Jail CORP was involved in the election of the three new County Commissioners as well as the success in moving the jail to a new location.

This year, Carlin has pushed forward on stopping cuts to public education. “Education is really important topic for me,” she said.

This fall, Carlin went doorto-door in the Manhattan community asking people what issues they wanted to see fixed. “A lot of what people said was about education.

They wanted to see that their children got the best education.”

For Carlin, talking to young people is a way for her to get to know the Manhattan community better and receive feedback. “It’s important for me to connect because teenagers have a lot of good ideas,” Carlin said. “Sometimes they’re not practical, but we can work with that. It’s the idea that counts.”

is to integrate students and educators with industry professionals to teach industry skills and procedures.

“The main purpose of the trip is to just get more ideas for the competition,” Kutei said.

- Kaitlin Wichmann

French Club French Club will be hosting a movie night today after school from three to five. All members of the club are encouraged to come and bring two friends to enjoy a French movie. The event will take place in Madame Levy’s room E110.

“Anyone can come the movie will be in french but there will be subtitles so everyone can understand,” French Club president Sophia Harms said.

This is French Club’s first major event and many are anticipating the opportunity to come together as a club.

- Maddie Ross

See Club Notes on page 5

2

Dec. 11, 2012

the MENTOR

Student Publications keep school records, preserve memories Kristy Nyp Guest Writer

Finals are just around the corner, the last chance for good grades in some courses.

Schedules overflow with meetings, games, concerts, fundraisers and parties on top of assignments and deadlines.

The season is rife with holidays, necessitating gatherings, decorations, celebrations and gifts. Sub Deb is a mere two months away, and roughly 75 percent of the population here has not found a suitably clever way to ask the person of their dreams to accompany them to the event.

Welcome to December at Manhattan High.

These are the issues students here face. They seem pretty typical of issues all teenagers grapple with, but there are also struggles, solutions and successes every day at MHS that are unlike those anywhere else.

These are the stories covered in your student publications, The Mentor newspaper and Blue M yearbook. A group of about 30 students has worked this semester to compile these stories for the student body to consume, from the weekly newspaper to its online version to the yearbook that you’ll receive in May. They put in hours outside of class time to research, interview, photograph, write, edit and design these publications, all to convey the interesting and important stories of MHS. That’s the reason we have the student press. Your newspaper and yearbook are reflections of the school year and serve as a vehicle to encour-

age discourse – thoughtful, respectful conversations about issues that are important to you, the student body. They are your place to express your concerns and to learn from your peers. Student press gives you a chance to develop your skills in utilizing media for information as well as entertainment and to learn to research issues and support beliefs.

These publications aren’t accidental or random; they are assigned purposes. The Blue M is the historical record of the school. The Mentor is positioned to discuss issues of interest to students more directly than any other media, in addition to promoting school events and creating awareness of school activities.

We’ve been at it for quite a while; Blue M is in its 93rd year and The Mentor is celebrating its 100th volume this year by constantly challenging ourselves to improve and bring our publications to a level of excellence worthy of the achievements of this school.

Kansas ranks high nationally for the quality of student journalism, thanks in large part to the Kansas Student Publications Act of 1992 that provides some of the nation’s best support for student media. The act protects the liberty of the press, requiring school oversight to guarantee quality and prohibiting censorship and prior review of content, all to encouraging student expression.

In the past year alone the student journalists have made significant strides. Last summer Ben Shields, editor-inchief of The Mentor, was selected for the Lead America Digital Media Broadcast and Journalism conference and

Sarah Shi, news editor of The Mentor, was selected to participate in the Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University.

There was also significant recognition at the regional and state competitions of Kansas Scholastic Press Association last spring. Ten entries from the two staffs qualified for State at Regionals in February, and Kayla Dieker, copy editor of The Mentor and editor-in-chief of Blue M, took sixth place in the state of Kansas at the Kansas Scholastic Press Association in May. In September, five members of the staff competed in the Kansas State Fair’s Scholastic Press Corps in the print category, along with a team of three in the video category; the print team earned third place overall for their newspaper depicting a day at the fair and Kaitlin Wichmann earned top story. As evidenced in the article on page 3, Blue M received an Award of Commendation in the AllKansas Yearbook Critique for the 2012 edition matching the ranking of The Mentor, which received an Award of Commendation in the AllKansas Newspaper Critique for the 2012 edition and will be judged in the spring for the 2013 publication.

Not only are these students getting better at journalism, but research shows they’re getting better at everything else. In 2008 the Newspaper Association of America Foundation conducted a survey through the High School Journalism Institute that shows that journalism students get better grades in high school, earn higher ACT scores and get better grades as college

freshmen. While it’s unclear whether journalism involvement a cause or a result – whether students do better because of journalism or journalism attracts better students – what is clear is that journalism students are getting valuable real-world experience applying skills in interpersonal, written and visual communication; leadership and collaboration; critical thinking and problem solving; as well as planning, research, writing, editing, design and technology. It’s a perfect model of Career and Technical Education in action.

But for the student press to do its job, it requires you.

We’re always on a quest to increase readership by providing interesting content.

We also need you to bring us ideas and serve as sources of information for stories, so please take it seriously when a reporter comes to you for an interview. There are also numerous ways for you to engage in discussion. See something you like or don’t like? Write a letter to the editor about it.

Have a new idea that needs expressing? Become a guest columnist. Really feeling the connection? Join the staff in the spring.

The whole purpose of the student press here is you. It’s not the accolades or the reputation. It’s what you the reader gain from it. Make the most of it.

Kristy Nyp teaches 21st Century Journalism, Digital Media Technology, Digital Media, Design and Production, Photo Imaging and Publication Writing at MHS.

Time to ditch the Pledge Connor Bliss

trending co-editor

“Good morning MHS. Please stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance.”

This is what I am greeted with every morning when I arrive to class. The people rise around me like robots, their lips mumbling the words they have said since Kindergarten.

Then they sit down to absorb new material. The Pledge of Allegiance is something the children of America are reciting in every school around the country without knowing even that much about their

country.

I was born in Varanasi, India. My parents were missionaries at the time. In our city, I was surrounded by other missionaries from New Zealand, South Africa and China.

These people came together for a single cause and worked past their differences but still acknowledged their diversity.

One of the problems with the Pledge of Allegiance is that it doesn’t seem to accept differences but tries to force people together. It’s forcing the country into more of a melting pot than a mosaic, as it should be.

In India there were no beginning-of-day rituals such as a Pledge of Allegiance. Don’t get me wrong, Indians are patriotic to the point that it becomes idiotic; there have been terrorist attacks from Indian and Pakistani fans on the opposing teams killing several

players.

However, the closest equivalent to the Pledge of Allegiance India had was their National Anthem, which was only sung at special events -not every day. Doing this adds more meaning to the anthem and it does not become the incantation that the Pledge of Allegiance has become.

Not only is the Pledge of Allegiance a repetition of meaningless words but it has become a metaphor for how the American school system works. We have learned not how to think critically and be independent, but rather we are being taught to absorb material and spit it back out two weeks later on a meaningless test. The Pledge of Allegiance is just like how we learn -- we say it everyday but don’t think about the words.

Patriotism in America is no longer pride but ignorance.

Patriotism has now become the acceptance of the propaganda and is rarely the result of an unbiased education. It might be a stretch to call the Pledge of Allegiance propaganda but it certainly feels like it after being required to say it day, after day, after day.

I don’t know if my peers are mature or educated enough to pledge their allegiance to anything -- much less a country.

The Pledge of Allegiance is something you are not required to say thanks to West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. The Pledge of Allegiance is something not to take lightly and if you truly understand the words and believe what they say then go ahead and say it. If you have said it since Kindergarten just because that’s the first thing you learned on your first day, please don’t.

there wondering and hoping that your parent comes home safe. As an Army brat, you have to step up to the plate and help the other parent out with the household. My father has been in the Army 20-plus years and has been deployed four times and is about to leave again next year for nine months straight with no R&R (Rest and Relaxation) break.

In the past year and a half I have been to three different high schools: Radford in Hawaii, Copperas Cove in Texas and now Manhattan High School. Being transferred to these high schools has been

challenging. Each school system is complicated and has made a huge impact on my grades and how well I perform in school. Keeping my grades up and getting used to the environment is definitely challenging. Getting used to the freezing weather here and in Texas is horrible. I never experienced weather below 60 degrees until I moved to the mainland.

Every time my dad deploys it puts a huge weight on my shoulders because I’m the second oldest and live at home while my older brother lives in Texas. I help my mom

and siblings with chores and homework. I have heard people complain about how they are so stressed about homework and ‘blah blah blah.’ I think in my mind, “You have no idea how stressful it is having to take care of everything and myself at the same time while knowing that my dad is fighting for our country.”

Besides all the things I been through in the past years I am blessed to have my dad come home safely and just enjoying the time we have with him because we never know if he will come home or not.

Opinions

Question of the Week

If forced to choose, would you rather have a completely true or a completely false rumor spread about you? Assume the rumor is HIGHLY embarrassing in either case. Can you explain your choice?

“True so I could own up to it.”

- Linda Graham, freshman “True, because I hate it when people lie.”

- Amanda Frakes, senior “False. Rumors aren’t fun.”

- Dean Stukey, freshman “Completely true. I have nothing to hide.”

- Josh Klug, senior “‘I hate rumors.”

- Adelle Sloan, junior “Completely false, that way I could laugh at the people who actually believe it.”

- Skyler Tilton, junior “I would rather it be true, because I know for me it wouldn’t be that bad. If it’s false, it could be terrible.”

- Garret Percival, freshman

“Completely false and embarrassing, because I’m totally unknown and if someone asked if it was me, then I’d be like ‘yes, that’s me.’ I’d be known.”

- Miranda Hairgrove, sophomore “Completely true, because then I know someone is interested in me enough to dig up dirty secrets of me.”

- Levi Jones, sophomore “True rumor, because only liars battle the truth.”

- James Walters, sophomore “I would want the world to know me, so yeah, I don’t care if it’s true or false. I just want them to know my name.”

- Arjun Krishnamoorthi, freshman “True; false ones get out of hand.”

- Wesley Garibay, junior

Want to contribute a guest column to the Mentor?

Contact Editor-in-chief Ben Shields at mhsmentoropinions@gmail.com.

Columns MUST be 300-600 words and entries may be edited as the editorial staff sees fit.

Army brat life misunderstood the Mentor staff Nastajja River Staff Writer

Being an Army brat is one of the hardest things to do in life and not a lot of people understand; at least I think they don’t.

Having to move from place to place and meet new people is not the most fun thing in the world -- especially if you’re a shy person. Army brats are kids that have a parent or parents in the Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force or Coast Guard. When a parent deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan, every day and night you sit

Where has humanity gone?

Seth Runyan

staff writer

Last week, a man was pushed onto New York subway train tracks. Luckily, there were heroic witnesses around to take pictures to post on the internet while he was ran over. That’s correct, instead of helping him get out

of the way, people that were in arm’s reach decided pictures of the situation were far more important.

Seriously? Are we so obsessed with technology and materials that we prioritize them over someone’s life?

It is ridiculous that anyone would hesitate to even think about saving someone from certain death. While it is understandable that a number of people would freeze in shock of what they were seeing, it is still something to be ashamed about. This was such a horrific scene, the subway train had to be stopped because the operator needed medical at-

tention after having the best seat in the house at the viewing of a murder.

It’s not only situations like these where our addiction to technology overpowers our common sense. Sights such as a fight between two students or teachers flipping out on their immature students end up being some of the most popular videos on YouTube. People decide to flip their cameras out rather than taking the mature and sensible approach by putting an end to it. It again is ridiculous. It baffles me why we as human beings find such importance in doing so.

Here’s a situation: you are

in the middle of a tense argument with a stranger. Before you know it, he pushes you into the middle of train tracks.

The only way you can get out is with someone pulling you up. While you are crying for help, the only responses you receive are the red lights indicating the camera is recording and also the blinding light from cameras. It’d be terrifying and you would want somebody to help you get out so you don’t die. So then why let someone else die when you’d prefer the opposite? It’s situations like these that make me wonder where our humanity went.

editor in chief/opinions -Ben Shields news editor -Sarah Shi entertainment editor -Naomi McClendon sports editor -Nick Bandy features editor -Liz Logback trending co-editors Connor Bliss Maddie Ross photo editor -Kaitlin Wichmann copy editor -Kayla Dieker multimedia editor - Dheepthi Perumal business manager - Jerry Sextro adviser -Kristy Nyp

writers/photographers - Tre Fuentes Julianne Harkness Tristan Knott Jordan Morris Julith Perry John Rockey Seth Runyan Derrek Williams editorial assistants - Melissa Bohn Alan Brown Caylie Dunham Ami Landgren Tracy Le Tara Magana Lily Norris Devon Ward Brandon Weir Blake Wewer circulation - Kristyn Baker Leonard Castilow David Clinkinbeard Patrick Falcone Corey Garrison Sam LaFleur Kasey Morris Mallory Morris Kendall Oatney Emma Rowley Austin Tatum Seth Wagner

The Mentor is published each Tuesday that school is in session at Manhattan High School, 2100 Poyntz Ave. Manhattan, Kan. Telephone (785) 587-2114. More than 1,500 Mentors are printed each week and distributed free of charge to all faculty members and students. MHS journalists are members of the Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is an open forum that accepts contributions from the public. E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com.

the MENTOR

Entertainment

Dec. 11, 2012

3

ONE ACT play festival

Ben Shields editor in chief

Sophomore Trevor Bashaw and Senior Jakob Borgen humor the audience in “Dearly Beloved,” a comedy directed by Faith Janicki.

Savannah Eliock, Photographer

December Performing Arts event

date

“Electrified!” tue. 11th Orchestra Concert Battle of the bands fri. 14th apps available Winter Play auditions

7 p.m.

------

place Rezac

main office

3-6 p.m.

Rezac

tue. 18

7 p.m.

Rezac

ADv. Repetory theatre: “Aladdin, Junior” WED. 19

7 P.M.

Black Box

Band Concert

7 p.m.

Rezac

Choir Concert

mon. 17, tue. 18

time

Thu. 20

Blue M wins award Tre Fuentes Staff Writer Imagine you’re responsible for the preservation of the memories of the entire school.

It’s your responsibility to record the events of an entire year of a high school made up of more than 1,600 kids and 130 teachers and staff members. Now imagine that it’s only you and seven other students who have to complete this task.

This reality is both a nightmare and a dream for the members of the Blue M yearbook staff.

The Blue M yearbook staff is responsible for all the smiles, all the laughs, all the academic achievements and above all, the memories each person makes during their unforgettable four years at Manhattan High. With just eight students on the staff last year, their efforts on the 2012 yearbook exceeded expectations, grabbing the Award of Commendation in the All-Kansas Critique that was announced last week.

The award was issued by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, and the Blue M scored four out of the five categories at the Award of Commendation level. The five categories range from concept (theme) and coverage to photography, reporting and design. The fifth category, design, particularly impressed the judges, who awarded it All-Kansas, the highest of honors.

“We sent the yearbook in

for critique because we wanted to verify some of the things we were doing with the yearbook,” said Kristy Nyp, the Blue M advisor. “We didn’t actually think we would win an award of any kind, we just wanted to make sure the yearbook was headed in the right direction.”

Kayla Dieker, a staff member of last year’s yearbook team and the editor-in-chief of the current yearbook in development, says changes were a big part of the yearbook.

“Last year was the first year the yearbook as in all color,” Dieker said. “We also wanted to put the events in chronological order, so everything in the summer and fall was in the beginning of the yearbook, and the events in the winter and the spring would be towards the end.”

With their sights set even higher this year, the current Blue M yearbook staff wants to improve upon last year’s success, aiming for the AllKansas yearbook award. This is no easy task.

“We only have nine members on the current staff this fall. Most schools our size typically have 25-30 members,” explains Nyp. She added that the thirdhour yearbook class is open not just to students who have taken an introductory journalism class but also to interested students who can demonstrate writing and photography skills.

“We could use all the help we can get,” she said.

The annual One Act Play Festival took place last Wednesday and Thursday evening in the Black Box Theatre. Drama students directed, acted and occasionally wrote every play independently. Selections ranged from humorous to dramatic to the avant-garde.

Junior Macy Lanceta directed a psychological drama called “Exit.” Written by Ron Dune, it takes place in a daemonic realm revealed to be taking place inside the mind of a woman with multiple personality disorder at the play’s conclusion. Several men and women were in the realm, but only one was real, the others merely projections inside her mind. Lanceta attempted to slyly hint at that, putting her in a red dress and then hints of red in the other actors’ outfits.

“I was kind of nervous because the part [of the play] I read online didn’t have the ending,” Lanceta said. “So I was really scared the ending would suck. Luckily it was a

good ending. It was subtle.”

This was Lanceta’s second time directing; at last year’s festival, she co-directed a cast of two. “Exit,” on the other hand, had a large cast of seven.

“Being me, it’s hard to kind of get a group and take charge over the people who are my own age or my good friends,” she said. “I think it went well, though, because we sat down and went through it, and I said, ‘this is how we’re going to do it.’”

“Unpleasant Noise,” the final one act, is written by sophomore Trevor Bashaw, MHS alumni Olivia Bashaw and Hannah Atchison, senior Lora Pelligrin and junior Alex Brase. It was conceived in the style of the avant-garde playwright Richard Foreman who wrote provocative dramas often with intent of garnering a reactionary audience. “Noise” follows an abstract “storyline” with elements of comedy such as actor recitation of stage directions and the use of abrasive musical instruments. Originally performed last summer for an experimental theater workshop at the Manhattan Arts

Center, it was tailored for the One Act Festival and directed

by Bashaw and Brase.

“The thing is, whenever you’re performing an experimental theater piece, half the time you’re not really what most people would consider acting,” Bashaw said. “I think that avant-garde is really just trying out new ideas. Watching the same old sob-story or hearing the same jokes over and over gets boring, and that’s what you get a lot of times with theater. Experimental pieces really let you gather what you want out of them. I mean, did you SEE our piece?”

Bashaw is not oblivious to the fact that some people who saw “Noise” did not understand its point or even regarded it with disdain.

“I shake [those people’s] hands and say, ‘Wow! You don’t get it either? What a relief.’ I mean, there’s really nothing to GET. It sounds like gibberish, sure. Probably because it is. I’d just say to stop being so cryptic and just enjoy the show.”

SubDeb rumors confirmed false Kayla Dieker Copy Editor Rumors about the date of the Suburban Debutante dance being moved to March have been floating, but members of the committee assure that is not true.

“That can’t happen. We book the Alumni Center like a year in advance,” senior Jessica Smith said.

The girls are unsure how the rumor got started, but many people thought it was because of a wrestling tournament.

“It’s always been a problem that wrestling can’t go,” senior Annie Roberson said.

“But if we moved it then it would be during a basketball tournament and even more people wouldn’t be able to go, with cheerleaders and players.”

Quite the opposite of being moved to March, the goal is for SubDeb to gradually move toward becoming a first semester dance. The idea is to move it forward a little bit each year.

“It’s probably not going to be anytime

soon,” Roberson said.

“People that are in high school right now probably won’t see it happen, but it’s the ultimate goal to have it be a first semester dance.”

Manhattan High’s lack of a formal first semester dance is the reason for the chance. “Because we don’t have a homecoming dance, people have been talking about moving SubDeb sooner,” Roberson said.

This year, the dance is set for Saturday, Feb. 9.

The very best of Manhattan You’ve spoken, Manhattan High. Following are some of the responses to what you believe are the very best Manhattan has to offer. More results will be published next week. For the complete list of results, visit our website at mhsmentor.com. Prize winners will be announced next week.

Restaurants Category: Place to go for open lunch

First: Chipotle

Second: Jimmy John’s (tie)

Taco Bell (tie) Place to take a date to dinner

First: Olive Garden

Second: Harry’s Ice Cream

First: Cold Stone

Second: Orange Leaf Breakfast

First: Early Edition

Second: IHOP Hamburgers

First: Smashburger

Second: Freddy’s Buffet

First: Sirloin Stockade (tie)

Pizza Hut (tie)

Second: Hu-Hot

Italian

First: Olive Garden

Second: Old Chicago Pizza

First: A.J.’s Pizza

Second: Pizza Hut Mexican

First: La Fiesta

Second: Carlos O’Kelleys Sandwich

First: Subway

Second: Jimmy John’s Bakery/Donut Shop

First: Varsity Donuts

Second: Daylight Donuts Barbeque

First: Famous Dave’s

Second: Cox Brothers Coffee

First: Starbucks

Second: Radina’s Fast Food

First: McDonald’s

Second: Wendy’s

4

Dec. 11, 2012

the MENTOR

Sports

Defense propels boys to winning streak Nick Bandy sports editor The MHS boys’ Basketball team completed its three game home stand last week with a victory over Great Bend, making them 3-0 on the week and 3-1 overall. The key to its victories was its defense, allowing an average of only 36.7 points. “[On most teams] everyone wants to play offense and not defense. On defense you have to stay enthusiastic or you’ll mentally lose it and slowly but surely give up easy points,” senior Johnathan Taylor said.

They also had four games in eight days, making a busy and tiring start to the season.

“It’s not normal and it’s tough on our kids, right at the start of the season when you want time to work on things,” head coach Tim Brooks said.

They started off the week with a 65-42 victory over Word of Life, featuring teamwork as three players had double figures in scoring. Senior Jacob Holloway and junior Winston Dimel led the way with 12 points each. MHS got off to strong start despite the Word of Life team being smaller and faster than expected, but things fell apart as the first half closed out.

“We gave up a run right before half, but the good thing was we didn’t panic and we didn’t point fingers,” Brooks said.

Defense was the story of the second half as the Indians shut down Word of Life, holding them to only 14 points and only six in the fourth quarter, stifling any hope of a comeback.

On Friday MHS put on their home uniforms once again in order to play Dodge City. The game was as physical as expected and it came down to the wire as MHS squeaked out a 34-30 victory.

Senior Chris Hudgins demonstrated his clutch gene down the stretch, making five of six critical free throws in the fourth quarter.

“I tried to focus as much as I could, I knew those free throws would determine the outcome of the game,” Hudgins said.

Less than 24-hours later the Indians came back onto the court, this time against Great Bend in an attempt to complete an undefeated week.

They were led offensively by an usual combination of Holloway’s outside shooting and Dimel’s tough, physical play under the basket. They held Great Bend to only three points for the first five minutes before giving up a run to Great Bend that was ended abruptly with a Holloway buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter. Holloway also had a second buzzer beater to end the second quarter as MHS went into half leading 23-16.

After halftime the Indians

came out just how they had left off, with Holloway shooting a three-pointer. The defense allowed some easy shots early on, but they soon reverted back to their usual playing style, coming up with key steals that turned into easy points. The Indians hung on to win in the fourth quarter, with good offensive play by Hudgins, who finished with nine points. The defense left no hope for a rally as juniors Alex Stitt and Darian Taylor each had huge blocks as time wound down for Great Bend.

Holloway continued to get steals, and he finished with four steals and led the Indians in scoring for the fourth straight game with 16 points.

The J.V. team also defeated Great Bend 52-34, mainly due to stout defense and offensive rebounds.

“It was a great weekend for us,” J.V. coach Chris George said, “but we need to improve our offensive execution.”

This week the Indians will enjoy a longer break as they don’t play again until this Friday. Both varsity and J.V. teams will travel to play at Emporia, who is ranked second in the state in class 5A. “Emporia is probably one of our biggest games of the year. They are a good team and they’re returning four of five varsity starters from last year,” Taylor said.

Senior Johnathan Taylor goes up for a layup against Dodge City. Taylor played a big role on both offense and defense to help the Indians to three home victories last week.

Diana Chilton, photographer.

Athlete of the Week Swimming takes second Tre Fuentes staff writer

Austin Chauncey He has been wrestling for a long time, ever since he could remember -- and he is very good at it. Last Saturday, Manhattan had a dual meet with Shawnee Heights.

Chauncey wrestled in five matches and won all five.

He has one of the best records on the team this year, and keeps improving.

Q: When did you start wrestling?

A: I started when I was 4.

My dad encouraged me to give it a try, and I liked it.

Q: How do you train to be the best you can be?

A: I just try to wrestle hard

at practice. I’m also in a wrestling camp during the summer, so I get to practice and prepare year round.

Q: Who inspires you to be a good wrestler?

A: My teammates, Mike Tyson and Chuck Norris.

Q: What are your expecta-

tions for the rest of the season?

A: I would like to place at State, and for our team to win the rest of our dual matches.

Q:

Do you have any goals of wrestling after high school?

A: I would like to wrestle in college, I just don’t know where I’m going to college.

Q: Who is your favorite Athlete?

A: Rex Burkhead, running back for Nebraska.

Q:

What is your favorite meal before your wrestling tournaments?

A: Pasta

Several MHS swimmers prepare to start at the home meet last Wednesday.

The team placed second of the three teams.

Kelsey Crawford, photographer.

Wrestling wins tournament John Rockey staff writer The wrestlers of Manhattan High School saw a dynamic weekend and change in their wrestling this last week on Wednesday, Dec. 5; Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8.

From their first meet to the end of Saturday’s meet left them with much improvement as a team and as individuals.

But it also left them seeking to improve more in different areas of performance.

To start off their meets for this last week was the Junction City Dual on Wednesday between JC and MHS. In a tense match for the two teams, JC went on to win the match with the final dual score 44 to 21 points on MHS. Wrestlers Kian Clemens, Dallas Vesta and Chance Drake were able to win their matches that night. Clemens won on a fall in his second match after four minutes and 23 seconds.

Vesta won his match seven to two points. Drake also won on a fall in his second match after three minutes and 53 seconds.

The result of Wednesday’s dual was met with swiftness in ambition of getting better as the season progresses.

“We just need to get back in the mat room and work harder this season,” junior wrestler Gavin Sedlacek said.

Another meet around the corner, every member, coaches and athletes alike, sought to make themselves better in every aspect of their performance. There was still the next two meets that weekend for the team to look forward to at Emporia and Abilene.

“We got to execute and we’re going to have to run our moves that we know,” Austin Chauncey said.

Then the matches arrived Friday evening in Emporia and Saturday morning in Abilene for Varsity and Shawnee Heights for the J.V. On Saturday, Manhattan placed first overall in the Manhattan Dual Tournament with 45 to 24 points against Abilene, 51 to 24 points against Shawnee Mission East, 55 to 13 points against Smith Center and then 51 to Goddard’s 15 points scored.

Alan Brown staff writer Last Wednesday the Manhattan High Swim team took part in their first home meet of the year, coming in second only to Lawrence Free State.

The team also participated in an Olathe meet Friday.

“This was a great meet for us,” MHS coach Carpenter said, discussing Wednesday’s meet. “Both Lawrence teams are very solid so I was pleased with our team standing as well.”

Upperclassmen Cameron Beauregard, Brett Bandy, Ryan McHenry and Jack Hubler-Deton each performed well, with Beauregard finishing in second place in the 200 IM. Sophomore Levi Jones and freshman Matt Bandy were the top MHS underclassmen, each finishing in the list of top eight MHS swimmers.

Big impacts also came from seniors Jordan DeLoach and Brett Bandy, who are both team captains this year.

“Wednesday was a decent meet,” DeLoach said. “I swam the 50 and the 500 freestyle, an odd mix of distance and sprint.”

DeLoach placed first on MHS’s top performer’s list, finishing with high scores in each of the events in which he participated. He placed first in the 50 freestyle and second in the 500 freestyle. Along with Beauregard, Jones and Brett Bandy, he also placed first in the 400 freestyle relay.

“It’s fun to be fast and lead the top lane, but a ton of credit goes out to Brett Bandy, Cameron Beauregard, and Levi Jones,” DeLoach said. “Year’round, in the pool and out, we’ve been training so that we can each do our best.”

Like DeLoach, Brett Bandy also had an excellent day, finishing first in the 100 fly and second in the 100 freestyle.

According to DeLoach, he was only a mere half second from making the state cut.

“Brett had been practicing great Sunday through Tuesday and it paid off on Wednesday,” DeLoach noted.

Not only did the team perform well, but they were also able to experiment, placing swimmers in a variety of different events. In the end this will probably benefit the team, especially the newcomers.

“Several of our new guys tried new events and gained valuable experience,” Carpenter pointed out. “There is nothing like racing to put skills into perspective.”

This Wednesday, the team will once again be competing in a home meet, but this time battling a pair of Salina teams, as well as Junction City. If MHS continues to have solid performances, several of the team members could find themselves in very favorable positions by the season’s end.

Girls stay undefeated Tre Fuentes staff writer After an impressive first game against Derby, the Manhattan High Girls Basketball team dazzled in their opening home debut, winning three straight games and improving to 4-0. The Lady Indians started their home debut Tuesday night against Word of Life.

They opened the first quarter with 26 points, more than Word of Life put up the entire game. The lady Indians went on to win that game 86-25. Junior Darby Price led with 18 points.

That momentum continued into Friday night, as they took on Dodge City. That game also ended in a W for the Lady Indians. Senior Elayna Spilker accounted for 18 points, while teammate Price had 16. They were able to continue their dynamic offense, spread the ball around and wait for two of their best players get open. The final score was 51-38 in Manhattan’s favor.

Lastly, their Saturday oppo-

nent, Great Bend, also proved to an easy victory. The final score was 59-50, Manhattan.

The game was not as close as the scoreboard indicated. The Lady Indians kept their stride and dominated virtually the entire game. Great Bend tried to comeback in the fourth, but was unsuccessful. Price led the team with 19 points, and sophomore Caroline Ballard came at a close second with 17 points. The lady Indians now improve to 4-0 on the season.

“I believe the whole team is playing well together,” head coach Scott Mall said. “Everyone is working with each other, and they are doing a good job finding the best open option.”

The entire team is playing well and playing together.

Price, in particular, has been especially impressive. In her last three games, she has put up 18, 16 and 19 points, respectively. “Price has been doing a great job lately,” Mall said. “I think the team as a whole is doing a good job getting her the ball, and she is proving that she is capable

Week 2 12/3 The Monstars 73 ................................................. Hydro Circus 30 Flyin Flamingos 34 . ............................Coconut Bangers Ball 49 Flyin Hawaiians 43 ...................................................Dino Might 42 Bandy of Brothers 44 ....................................Rainbow Nation 38 Baked to Perfection 24 . ............ Jesse Crawford & the boys 46 eLemonators 7 ...................................Wild Men Yeeyee 0 forfeit Stiff Competition 7 . .............................................. Elite 0 forfeit Team Pain 52 ............................. Los Grande Basquetbolistas 26 My Dixie 38 .............................................................................JED 26

12/5 Dumbledie’s Army 0 ..............................The Basketball Team 51 Vatos Locos 7 . ............................................. North Star 0 forfeit Divalicious Devils 21 .......................................The Pink Ladies 47 Quidditch Rejects 7 ..................Yao Know What I Ming 0 forfeit Par’s Team 27 ...............................................................Hoopers 35 Team Meatballs 32 ........................................................Beaches 8 Dirty Cheetahs 10 . ............................................. Free Ballers 59 Dirty Troy & the B Boys 43 . ......................................... The VPs 26 Badgers 44 . .................................Hunter & the British Gents 12 Honey 27 . .........................................................................Brickz 26

12/6 Vatos Locos 13 . ............................................... The Runner Ups 31 Balling for Soup 25 ............................................The Lollipops 34 The Jack Jacks 27 ..........................................Swagon Dragons 22 The Manhattan Ballers 56 . ........................ Flying Squirrels 38 Hot Pockets 49 .............................................. The Whistle Pigs 23 The Basketball Team 44 ............................Divalicious Devils 13 My Dixie 40 ................................ Los Grande Basquetbolistas 37 Team Pain 53 ..........................................................................JED 28 Elite 21 . ............................................................... eLemonators 50 Stiff Competition 7 . ...................The Wild Men Yeeyee 0 forfeit

Box Scores J.V. Boy’s Basketball: vs. Dodge City (Won 43-36) vs. Great Bend (Won 52-34) of making plays when she has the ball.”

“We are really pumped up and excited to start each and every game,” Price said. “We put a lot of training, time and effort into performing our best, and it is exciting to see that our work is paying off.”

Price’s words ring true; their work is paying off. With a strong start under their belt,

J.V. Girl’s Basketball: vs. Dodge City (Won 55-41) vs. Great Bend (Won 54-34) they now are challenged with not letting their recent success sway them from continuing with their string of domination. Price put it best when she said “The farther along the season we get, we are going to be playing some better teams. By playing good teams, that will only make us better and help us see how capable we really are.”

the MENTOR

Features

Dec. 11, 2012

5

Cutting the year short Liz Logback Features Editor Walking across the stage and receiving a diploma after four years of high school is usually a much-anticipated moment. For 41 seniors at Manhattan High, though, there are bigger adventures that await them. They have made the atypical decision of graduating at the end of their first semester and are moving on to the next steps of their lives.

When the opportunity to travel with a family friend to do mission work came up, senior Ada Davis-Nouri couldn’t resist. On Dec. 21, she will leave America and her high school career for an adventure of a lifetime.

Davis-Nouri will spend some time in Sweden with family before making her journey to the Philippines. After her semester in the Philippines, foreign exchanging during

a gap year is a possibility.

Teaching impoverished people life skills and English is far more important to her than any dance or her graduation.

“It’s something not only for me. I’ll get to see the other side of life,” Davis-Nouri said.

“I’ve always wanted to. I’m not a fan of the American education system. I have had senioritis since junior year and I’m ready to leave.”

She will stay in a small village about the size of Wamego, without electricity or other common conveniences known to many in the United States. Davis-Nouri will teach children English in a classroom setting and then teach families valuable survival skills outside in the village. During the fourto five-month stay, DavisNouri will also conduct a photojournalism project that portrays a culture many have never seen.

Although she will miss her friends, Davis-Nouri plans

to make two trips back in February and July. Davis-Nouri plans on returning to college after her gap year, probably at the University of Kansas.

She would like to study Cultural Anthropology and ultimately use the degree for field work.

W h i l e Davis-Nour i is traveling to a third world country, senior Kassidy Scroggs is using her free semester to get a head start on college.

Scroggs is moving to St. Augustine, Fla., where she will attend St. John’s River College.

“I’m ready to move on and start with college,” she said.

At first her parents were iffy about their daughter leaving

early, but Scroggs feels they are both on board now. She will be

back to walk at graduation but is confident that she won’t miss anything seniors normally do during second semester. With many of her friends in college, there isn’t much Scroggs feels she is missing out on.

Graduating early was a decision for Scroggs and Davis-Nouri, but for

Writer on the rise Julianne Harkness Staff Writer

“It was an afternoon like any other. I was in my office when my partner, Brian, came in. Brian is a young werewolf of the height and stature which is common to werewolves, five feet two inches. His hair is dark brown, a known dominant trait to werewolves among their equally dark eyes.”

Senior Katie Mauldin started writing a series of books called “Assassins” back in the ninth grade for an english assignment.

The excerpt above is from her book “Hybrid Queen.”

“I told Mrs. Baker I didn’t want to continue after I turned in the 1,000 word story for an essay,” Mauldin said.

“But I was hooked.

The next day I came in with a binder about three inches thick full to the top of just this one story.

By the time I finished writing ‘Hybrid Queen’ it was a total of 2,000 pages handwritten.”

After writing “Hybrid

Queen” Mauldin wanted to continue the storyline with a sequel.

“The entire thing just took off,” Mauldin said. “I didn’t want to quit writing. I loved it. The main character Angel

was based off a couple friends of mine. My friend J.J. gave me the idea. Angel’s attitude is a combination of J.J. and myself and her appearance is

that of my friend Julia. I tend to refer to her as my body and in a way she is.”

Mauldin finished “Hybrid Queen” by the time summer rolled around her freshman year. Half way through sophomore year “Elfing King,” Mauldin’s second book, was written.

By the time “Elfing King” was done it was a total of 3,000 pages, handwritten. “I sent them to a publishing friend of my mom’s to have them look at it,” Mauldin said. “He corrected it for me and told me he loved both books. He wanted to help me publish them but wanted me to wait till I turned 18. He also told me because of the fact that my manuscripts were handwritten he couldn’t do much for me just yet. Ever since I’ve been working on typing them up. It’s just taking longer than expected.”

After Mauldin sent off both books she started writing the third in the series, “Guardians.”

“Guardians” was handwritten and was around 3,000 pages

as well. “I really do not like to type my stories. I feel like they are better when they are handwritten,” Mauldin said.

“It makes them more personal for me. It helps me get closer to my story line and to tie in with my characters. When I’m writing I like to feel like I am the character and when I’m stuck I think ‘if I was Angel what would I do in this situation?’”

“Guardians” was finished and sent off to a publisher come winter break Mauldin’s junior year. “Assassin’s is my only completed series so far. I do plan on having them published once I turn 18,” Mauldin said. “The only thing I don’t want is for my books to be made into movies at any point. The publicity would kill. In my books I mention parts of them taking place here in Manhattan and I don’t want my home town overrun by paparazzi. I wouldn’t be able to handle that. I come home so I’m not noticed. I don’t want to be followed everywhere when I’m here to see my friends and family.”

Right now Mauldin has part of her book “Hybrid Queen” on writerscafe.com keyword Katrdid. This website helps writers get discovered and is viewed by a lot of publishers.

FFA get their hands dirty on field trip Cow sperm -- that’s what the Animal Health class dealt with on their first stop of a daylong field trip on Wednesday, Dec. 5, where they travelled to different places and learned about veterinary techniques.

First, to see where cows get artificially inseminated, they stopped at the Kansas State Agriculture facility. The student watched how they test the sperm and how they pour liquid nitrogen to freeze it to preserve it until they have a customer. The classes were shown how they get the sperm

to inseminate the cows. “They had a fake cow rear-end and he just jumped on that,” sophomore Brady Wisdom said.

They use the same technique on other large farm animals.

Their next stop was a facility that had pregnant horses that were having ultrasounds done that day. They were all showed the steps that had to be taken before they could do the actual ultrasound. Once they went through all the preparation they performed the ultrasound and showed the colt inside of the mom. “The guy had to put a full arm glove and reach in

the horse and pull the poo out of the horse because it could get in the way and mess it up; he had to stick his entire arm in there. Then when they were going to do an ultrasound on a second horse she took care of that for them, and got it on a girl,” sophomore Kendrick Rivera said.

Before they left Doug Muller, the Animal Health teacher, decided to have some fun with the students by flinging poop at them.

After seeing the ultrasounds the classes went to Vet-Med and watched what they do there and the processes that they go through when they

have animals come in. They were shown how they treat different animals and different conditions.

Their final stop was at Sirloin Stockade. “That was really all I was wanting to go to, I wanted that food,’’ Wisdom said.

Although there were some students who were not so interested in the trip, some were. “I actually really enjoyed the trip, and I learned a lot that was actually really interesting and I learned a lot about some jobs that I was looking into,” sophomore Haile Patterson said.

Upward from page 1 closest thing to living the college life,” Muse explained.

“Students stay in college dorms Sundays through Fridays for six weeks straight and you take classes all around campus as if you are actually a college student. You eat at breakfast, lunch and dining centers and you encounter different activities with the program.”

While summer school is not typically seen in a positive light by high school students, Upward Bound was an important program for its students and faculty. Like many others, when Muse heard the news about the program’s discontinuation, he was devastated.

“At the time, I was very disappointed. I was expecting the summer program to be the best summer with my Upward Bound family,” Muse said. “I envisioned success for the academic side of it and the different places we would go to

spend time with one another.”

According to Muse, the program’s end created an unfortunate missed opportunity for high school students.

“Kids will miss out mainly on the academic and collegiate advantage during the summer time, mentoring of current college students to give you advice about college life and the bonding/friendship with different kids around the state of Kansas,” Muse said.

Despite the surprise and unrest over the program’s end, there are no current considerations of bringing back funding. The program’s grant is solely in the hands of the federal government. The program’s end, however, doesn’t outweigh the benefits from its many-year run.

“I was sad to hear that they couldn’t do anything about it,” Muse said. “I soon became happy, though, because I realized that after attending Upward Bound for three years,

it taught me so much about the academic life for college students and the preparation of the real world in order to become successful.”

en my leadership background and experience.”

Applications were submitted in mid-October, and three students per school can be selected to participate.

“I strongly encouraged students to apply because HOBY is beneficial to enhancing their leadership skills,” career counselor Carolyn Devane said. “When students get to HOBY they are able to forget their differences, thus opening their eyes and gaining knowledge on how to be an effective leader.”

Students who have previously participated have mixed feelings but insure it is a good experience.

“I suppose the best part was the actual leadership conference and the handson experience,” former participant senior Sophia Harms said. “My least favorite part was that they made us march around and sing, and everyone was so peppy which isn’t

Derrek Williams Staff Writer

HOBY from page 1 Sophomores Mai Mizuno, Dheepthi Perumal and John Riforgiate have been selected to attend the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership seminar.

HOBY Kansas will be at Kansas State University May 30 June 2, 2013.

HOBY’s mission is to inspire the global community of youth and develop a sense of innovation, leadership and service. Every year over 9,000 sophomores are chosen from across the country to participate in the leadership seminars in each state.

“I was pretty excited to be chosen. I worked really hard on my application, and I am glad my hard work paid off,” Riforgiate said. “It sounds like a great opportunity to broad-

senior Paden Smith , it was a requirement. She was told she would be moving and consequently was forced to end high school early. The original plan was to move to South Korea, but after that fell through, Kentucky became the new destination.

Smith will move with her family at the end of December, then proceed to find an apartment and get a job. She hopes to enlist in the Air Force soon after.

“I plan on attending Prom with my boyfriend [junior] Kyler Reith and then staying with friends to walk with my class,” Smith said.

Luckily for Smith she completed many of her credits sophomore year as a homeschool student, so extra work wasn’t necessary for her. Scroggs wasn’t as lucky.

She was missing a credit of English, so Scroggs is currently enrolled in two English classes.

“Both of my classes are covering Shakespeare right now, so that’s freaking fun,” Scroggs joked.

These girls and others graduating early all have separate reasons for their early departure and various paths ahead of them. Many question why they would want to miss senior prom or graduation, but as Davis-Nouri feels, there are things far more important in life than a single dance or walking across a stage.

“Anybody chastising me about missing senior year needs to know that this is one of the best experiences of my life,” she said.

Graphic from: princessofscrap.blogspot.com

Pathfinder donates to fulfill Adopt A Family wishlist The Pathfinder, an outdoor equipment store located on Poyntz Avenue, has generously offered to donate bikes to one of the families adopted by Interpersonal Skills this holiday season. IPS raised money last fall for Adopt A Family and went shopping Nov. 28 at K-Mart for the four families that they adopted. Because they only had a limited amount of money to spend, they couldn’t buy everything on the families’ wish lists, and students made the decision to get multiple less-expensive gifts instead of spending all of the money on the bikes. The family the bikes are for has three children and recently moved to the area from Arizona with nothing.

Kayla Dieker, Copy Editor

Dheepthi Perumal, graphic

Students of the month

really me.”

- Maddie Ross

NCK Technical from page 1 Have you ever wondered how to fuse a fiber optic cable? Or wanted to learn how to setup a server? These are a couple of the things demonstrated when North Central Kansas Technical College telecommunications department hosted a meeting in the counseling department conference room on Nov. 28 during

fourth hour.

Six students signed up with counselor Dustin Duntz to attend the NCKT meeting, four of which were seniors like Alex Murph. The demonstration, instead of just discussion about the school, was what held the most appeal.

“I was actually considering going to that school. It seemed kind of cool,” Murph said.

-Julianne Harkness

with drink

$5

6

the MENTOR

Dec. 11, 2012

Trending

‘ Far Cr y 3’: p erfe ction Seth Runyan

staff writer

The long-awaited sequel to 2008’s “Far Cry 2” has finally been released. In this installment, developer Ubisoft takes us back to the series’ roots: The Jungle.

Rook Island’s jungle is

the most beautiful scenery ingame this year. The first time I reached a high position in the game, my jaw dropped for minutes as I was no longer in my room, but in the middle of a wild, living and breathing jungle. This is what makes “Far Cry 3” so amazing; you begin to feel that you are actually in the game. Ubisoft put so much effort in making sure you have that feeling, between the fantastic graphics, outstanding voicework, extremely mature emotions, an in-depth open-world and everything inbetween.

“Far Cry 3” begins with a vacation gone wrong with a

group of friends when they are kidnapped by slave-trading psychos. Jason Brody, the main antagonist (or you), and his brother begin to escape from the bamboo cell to save the rest of the group. It is obvious early on that it will be a long road for Jason as he cries out each time his brother kills a guard. This is part of the mature tone that Ubisoft tries to imply. You start with a character who cannot emotionally handle killing a man but as you progress throughout the game, Jason begin to slowly show signs that he might be just as insane as his group’s captors.

The “Far Cry” series has mals such as tigers, crocodiles, komodo dragons, always been an openbears and sharks, world RPG game, there will never but there might not be a dull moment be a single game that in the jungle. gives you so many This game is options and choices perfect in every such as this game. factor, which is Instead of the usual extremely rare for route, where you a game. There is gather money and never a false step loot to buy upgrades, as you traverse you are forced to go farcrywikia.com and explore the out to hunt the wild animals and use their hides to gem of an island. The outmake the upgraded versions. standing features of this game The hunting is so exciting that are the voice-acting and the the “Cabela’s” games should graphics. The voice-acting in be frowned upon. That is how “Far Cry 3” is something you exciting hunting is, with ani- almost never see; not one char-

Movie tie-ins: landfills and birds Connor Bliss

trending co-editor

Denny’s recently launched their “Hobbit” menu to coincide with the release of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” featuring dishes such as Gandalf’s Gobble Melt and the Hobbit Hole.

With the release of a movie of the caliber of “The Hobbit” comes movie tie-ins from action figures to collectible cups.

This year we had “Avengers” colognes, “Dark Knight Rises” Mr. Potato Heads and some weird laptop commercials with Daniel Craig running through them. In the past, though, there have been even stranger movie tie-ins.

What many people consider comic book greatness is the “Watchmen.” When the movie came out in 2009 it might not have been critically received as well as the comic book had but hopefully their

scores weren’t held back by his famous lines, “E.T. phone the special “Watchmen” con- home.” After the movie came doms. The slogan on the pack- out Atari saw the incredible age read “We’re society’s only box office earnings and decidprotection.” The ed to make condom was a video blue to match game. The Dr. Manhattan, game was an extraterresstuck in netrial blue super gotiations hero who most to secure of the time walks the rights so around naked. the lone deIn 1982 peosigner was ple flocked to only given the theatres to five weeks watch “E.T.” fly to create it in front of the Photo courtesy of toucharcade. in time for moon and say com the holidays.

Kaitlin’s Hit and Misses Miss: No Heisman for Collin Klein

Hit: Tomorrow is 12/12/12 staff writer

Hit: Daniel Tosh is a K-State fan, or at least a bandwagoner Hit: Scholarships

Miss: Filling out scholarships

Miss: It’s freezing outside, yet there’s no snow.

Photos courtesy of bleacherreport.com, twitter.com, bestclipartblog.org

Ben Shields

editor-in-chief

A brush-up for new readers (skip to next paragraph if you’re already hip): I rate on a standard grading scale from A to F. A-grades are worth purchasing, and B-pluses are normally one song away from an A-minus (A-minuses typically have no more than two mediocre songs). B-grades usually give me pleasure to listen to and yet don’t inspire much thought afterwards (and therefore are the hardest

to write about). C is getting pretty awful and D is trash. F I rarely use as I think it should be reserved for genuine musical incompetence.

The batch is good this time, two A grades and a few other very decent collections too. I’m still suffering from indie-rock fatigue, but one ace album from this round is giving me hope. It’s the time of year where I have to play catch-up and hear everything I can before compiling my infallible list of the year’s best in early January, so a few of these have been around for a couple months. I’ll say right now I really detest the Muse record (readers should be able to guess that), but not nearly as much as I hate the Mumford and Sons album.

AT-TE with the face of a pig.

The game came out on Nov. 8 right after Halloween but they released outfits for kids before Halloween. Outfits ranged from red Luke Skywalker bird to Darth Vader Pig. Movie tie-ins won’t be stopping anytime soon but hopefully they don’t involve birth control or create landfills in the future. Hopefully sensible tie-ins like limited time menus are what companies use to cash in on movie fame.

Catfish an eye-opening journey Julith Perry

Album Reviews

The game sales hit $25 million dollars but ultimately lost $100 million dollars in the end.

Atari had produced so many copies that it was rumored that they were dumped in a landfill in New Mexico.

“Star Wars” is the king of movies. It managed to throw science fiction into the mainstream and revolutionized computer graphics.

“Star Wars” is also the king of movie tie-ins. This year we were greeted with “Angry Birds Star Wars” which not surprisingly jetted to the top of the charts. With that came Jenga sets shaped like giant

acter was done poorly, especially Vaas, the psychotic man slave-trader you first come in contact with. Each encounter with him you not only see how insane he is, but you also hear it which makes you truly fear him.

“Far Cry 3” is one of those select few games that truly stand out from all the games in past years. Every feature from the the single-player campaign, multiplayer and co-op portions are completely flawless and are nothing to miss out on. “Far Cry 3” is a game to not miss out on. It would be a great idea to put this on your Christmas list.

It’s a typical Sunday night and you are just sitting there going through your Facebook news feed when a friend request from a hot stranger pops up; you accept it because why not? For the people on MTV’s new reality TV show “Catfish: The TV Show,” it all starts with accepting that friend request. The people on the show all come with their own story, but the one thing they all have in common is that they have all fallen in love with someone they met online.

As described by MTV producers, a catfish is “a person who creates fake profiles online and pretends to be someone they are not by using someone else’s pictures and information.” These “catfish” people have managed to create a reality that seems so real for the people viewing their fake profiles that no one would even think of questioning it.

The idea for “Catfish: The

TV Show” came from the 2010 documentary film “Catfish” in which Nev Schulman falls head over heels in love with a woman named Megan.

Nev accepted the woman’s friend request because of a painting an eight-year-old girl from Michigan sent him.

Abby is a child “prodigy” who after seeing one of Nev’s pictures in a magazine sends him a painting of his picture. Impressed with the child’s painting, Nev becomes friends with her and her family on Facebook. Megan appears to be Abby’s step-sister and talented herself. Nev, having no reason to doubt her, becomes quick friends with her and two eventually start a romantic relationship. In the end, Nev gets his heart broken when he finds out that Megan is really Angela, a married woman in her late forties who is Abby’s mother and also the painter of the various paintings sent to Nev. Nev manages to forgive her for lying to him and decides to help other people like him meet their true love.

Each episodes starts with Nev reading a letter from a person, who after seeing Nev’s story unfold on TV, wants his help in meeting their true love for the first time. After reading their letter Nev webcams the person seeking his help and has that person tell him about their true love and how they met. From there Nev and

his filmmaker-friend Max Joseph find out everything they can about the “catfish” and eventually set up a time where both parties can meet. Nev guides each person as they either get their heart broken or find true love. In the end, Nev gets the “catfish” to tell him exactly why they make up these profiles and lie to people.

For most of these people, making a fake profile and lying to people comes easy because they have been driven to do so to get revenge on people who have wronged them. Blinded by the need to get revenge, these “catfish” have no mercy for who they go after or shame in messing up someone else’s life.

Watching the show every Monday and seeing as every single person gets their heart broken when they realize that the person they thought was their true love is really nothing but a “catfish” is really an eye-opener. It makes you question who you are friends with on Facebook; you may have mutual friends but that doesn’t mean anything unless you know them in real life.

They could easily be another “catfish” searching for their next victim, and that person could be you.

Muse: “ The Second Law” Killer Mike: “R. A. P. Music” To be honest, I only listened to this for an excuse to give Glenn Beck’s favorite band a D. D

Photos courtesy of kendricklamar.com, muse.mv

Rihanna: “Unapologetic”

Ty Segall: “Twins” I am deeply in love with this record. It’s so sexy, exhilarating, daring -- exactly the opposite of anything Pitchfork -approved nowadays. There’s that beautiful chthonian Sonic Youth quality too, yet Segall is above looking to the past for inspiration. The perfect antidote to Jack White’s “Blunderbuss.” A

She remains underrated for being admittedly less interesting than Beyonce and for essentially embodying the feminist nightmare. The best songs are scat- Photo courtesy of killertered evenly through- mike.com out: “Diamonds,” Kendrick Lamar: “Good “Pour it Up,” “Love Kid M.A.A.D. City” Without Tragedy.”

“Right Now” is my I wanted so bad for favorite, with the just this to be an A. Having right amount of ohnever heard of him until oh-ohs David Guetta this year, I was anxious for wub-wub-wubs.

B a new hip-hop cultural figMINUS ure to emerge. But I have yet to play this whole thing through in a sitting. B

Photo courtesy na7.com

of

Best rap album of the year. I could go on about the lyrics to “Reagan” or ElP’s production style, but what’s sucking me in again and again is Mike’s amazing flow. Anyone still obsessed with Odd Future, get a clue. A

Rihan-

Dobie: “Nothing to Fear... But Fear Itself” Highly enjoyable. The music follows the title perfectly, beginning uptempo and then ending with an unsettling, soundtrack-esque conclusion in the second half. Nifty as the effects are, I’m worried it will sound as dated as Pink Floyd’s “On the Run” in 20 years. B PLUS

Photo com

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dragcity.

Rihanna’s “Diamonds” video makes me cringe.

However, to my shock, I’m beginning to give the Fiona Apple album a reconsideration. But still not a Frank Ocean fan.