MHS Mentor Issue 14

M the MENTOR

Dec. 18, 2012

Manhattan High School, Manhattan, Kan.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes amidst controversy Ben Shields Editor in Chief Senior Patrick Day resigned from his role as co-president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes last week when some members voiced the opinion that it violated club rules for an officer to be openly gay.

Senior Caitlyn Webb, FCA co-president, raised the issue with her mother, Susan, and together they called the FCA headquarters in Kansas City to voice concerns.

Initially, a man named Kevin Wade from the Kansas City branch of FCA planned to come and hold an open discussion on the matter with the officers of FCA. But on Tuesday afternoon, assistant principal Mike Dorst caught wind of the issue and called off any plans the club had to debate the matter during school hours or to even entertain the notion of asking Day to resign. This ensured Day could remain copresident, but in the end, Day still decided to cut ties with the club.

Day believes that Dorst acted on what he knew was

right, not merely to avoid controversy.

“It’s [Dorst’s] number one goal to love people. He was doing things in my best interest, not just the school’s,” he said.

“This was not a challenge,” Dorst said. “When you have the direct ability to help stu-

“I would never do anything to hurt [Patrick].

We were just checking guidelines.”

- Caitlyn Webb dents out with your actions, I think that is the most fulfilling part of my job. After dealing with this issue I only feel greater feelings towards our student body. There have been a lot of people who have handled everything real well in this situation. Sometimes, people should look inside a high school to see how the world should be run.”

Susan Webb had the idea of contacting FCA to inquire about their leadership rules and requirements, and Caitlyn provided them with further details about the situation. She stresses that she still loves and respects Day as friend, but at the same time has not backed down on what she believes is right.

“You exemplify whatever you are in a leadership role with,” she said, “and Pat does. But there’s a divergence where the Bible states specifically how it feels and what it says about homosexuality. It says something very complete on that, and Pat was acting in a specific way that contradicted that. [This is] not just a matter of a friendship. When you have a national organization, you do have to look at their guidelines. I love Patrick dearly and would never do anything to hurt him. We were just checking guidelines.”

Worth noting is the fact that for the past three years FCA has failed to complete proper paperwork in order to become an official branch of the club, meaning MHS is not bound to

their guidelines. Webb admits that had she known, she would have elected not to make the phone call.

“The club leadership was definitely divided on this,” FCA club sponsor Dick Nelson said. “I told Pat that I really appreciated the work that he’s done FCA in the past. It’s kind of unfortunate it has to end this way.”

Student Body President Naomi McClendon plans to use her presidential authority to advocate change in school policy regarding discrimination, as it currently does not mention sexual orientation.

She says that, “regardless of what your religion is, which I understand is much better than anyone else’s, discrimination is discrimination and you can’t back that up. Basic human rights override any societal mores.”

This is an idea that, in Dorst’s view, is more complex that it may seem.

“There’s a lot of components that need to be looked into,” he said. “I’m guessing the thing that Naomi is conSee FCA on page 5

News Volume 100 issue 14

Kansas Representative talks about civic involvement

Kansas Representative Sydney Carlin spoke to students Friday, Dec. 14, in the Little Theatre about how high school students could get politically involved in Manhattan. Carlin gave a talk during first lunch and answered questions from students about her political career.

Abby Githens, photographer

USDA changes food requirements again McCarty resigns as principal; effective “There will not be many age group, and a reduction of Kaitlin Wichmann changes to the meals, since foods with trans fat, saturated at end of school year Photo Editor fats and sodium.

Earlier this year the United States Department of Agriculture made radical changes to the nutrition guidelines for the federally-funded school lunch program. Last week, after complaints from students, parents and teachers alike about the limited quantity of food allowed, the USDA decided to change the nationwide rules and allow larger meat and grain portions.

However, the minimum and maximum calorie limits will stay the same (650 to 850 calories depending on age).

there is still the minimum and maximum calorie count interval that we must fall between,” Tiffany Svoronic, dietary technician for USD 383, said.

In order to receive funding for school lunches, the school must follow the national guidelines, called Team Nutrition, for lunches.

Some guidelines that the school must follow include students must be offered fruits and vegetables everyday of the week, increased offerings of whole-grain rich foods, only low fat or fat free milk, low calorie meals that depend on

According to the USDA website, Team Nutrition is an initiative of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to support the Child Nutrition Programs through training and technical assistance for foodservice, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity.

The changes to the guidelines are temporary at the moment, according to Svoronic.

Tre Fuentes Staff Writer

Principal Terry McCarty has announced that he is will resign from his position here at Manhattan High at the end of the school year. McCarty has 20 years of experience being a principal in Kansas. He spent four years at Blue Valley and was the assistant principal at the Manhattan East and West campuses for three years each. He then worked his way up to the head principal for Manhattan High, and has been at it ever since.

“He’s very willing to accept ideas and help others when they need it,” senior student body president Naomi McClendon says. “He is good at what he does, and I think the students are going to miss the structure McCarty brings to this school.”

With 400 new students coming into Manhattan High every year, McCarty’s experience hasn’t always been a walk in the park, but he enjoys getting to know his students and helping them have the best possible experience at MHS. McCarty has a lot of expe-

rience in education and hopes to use his experience in helping students by becoming a school superintendent. But for now, students who are returning next year will have to get used to a new face here at MHS. “There is a really strong community here at Manhattan High,” McCarty says. “The students here are really involved, and they enjoy being at school.”

McCarty’s contract expires June 30, but the USD 383 school board would like to See Resign on page 5

Kansas Career Pipeline to continue for an extended 18 months Sarah Shi News Editor

Sophomore Siera Haug works with kids from around the Manhattan community at the FCCLA event, Santa’s Workshop, Dec.15. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., FFCLA members helped take care of children while their parents were out shopping for gifts.

Jordan Morris, photographer

Clu b Notes Earth Club

The Earth Club hosted their last breakfast on Thursday, Dec. 13. The club had also hosted one on Nov. 29.

They sold cinnamon rolls in the commons for a dollar each starting at 7 a.m. and going to the beginning of school.

“Everyone seemed to really enjoy [the cinnamon rolls.] It’s getting us money. Everyone seemed overenthusiastic about it, even the workers,” club president Nick Donohoue said. “I guess the second one [was more successful]. With all the pre-orderings we were able to have a set amount that we knew we had to make and we were able sell all the extra ones.”

People were able to preorder, guaranteeing that they would get a roll.

Although the breakfast went well, it still had its issues. The cinnamon rolls were made the night before and that task was understaffed with only three students and three adults making them.

Improving awareness was part of the reason for having the fundraiser.

“I still hear people who are surprised and say, ‘There’s an Earth Club?’ Being to have people that at least recognize that there is such a thing will allow them to be able to consider either joining or helping out,” Donohoue said.

- Connor Bliss

Nursing Department

This year, the nursing department has seen an increase in student visits with 17,905 visits to the nursing depart-

ment so far between the two campuses from students complaining about either be sick or hurting. “We have only sent home 669 students this year. That’s keeping about 97 percent of students in school,” nurse Robin Smith said.

“I’m surprised that the number isn’t higher,” Smith said. “Then again students normally text their parents and ask them to get them instead of coming into the nurses office. That needs to stop. We are here to help the students.

Not be avoided.”

The good news is that out of the 17,905 visits to the nursing department none of those have been because of severe illnesses like the flu. And out of the 1,600 students here, only five students have to get caught up-to-date with their immunizations.

The nursing department will be posting a survey on their door sometime soon asking students if they would

Since the cancellation of Kansas Career Pipeline funding Dec. 6, USD 383’s Career and Technical Education coordinator Dawn Lindsley has been trying to get a price quote from the college-planning website’s vendor, Kudor, with some success.

“I called them yesterday and they offered to give us a flat rate of $1,250 for the high school to use the pipeline,” Lindsley said on Dec.12. “It’s a flat rate because the high school has over a thousand students. But for the middle schools, they told us it would $750 to cover the seventh and eighth graders at both middle schools because they don’t reach one thousand.”

The $1,250 will cover the Kansas Career Pipeline serlike a dental hygienist to come here to the school. “The dental hygienist would be here to do cavity screenings and provide free fluoride treatments,” Smith said. “If the students are interested we will pursue it. If not we will just hold on to the idea for future years.”

- Julianne Harkness

Student Council

Manhattan High School’s Student Council celebrated the season with a holiday party last Wednesday night in the cafeteria. StuCo has been busy concluding service projects such as caroling for cans, as well as selling hot chocolate, working concessions and organizing Club Feast. The gathering was a way for the officers to show appreciation to the representatives and all the hard work and effort they have put in toward those events. Although participation was not as high as expected.

During the party, members

vice at the high school for 18 months until the district decides on whether it will stay with Kudor, or leave for another college planning service.

Three agencies -- KSDE, Kansas Board of Regents and Department of Commerce -- were splitting the cost to cover the $450,000 price tag of the Kansas Career Pipeline.

KSDE, the agency that decided to stop the funding Dec. 6, was paying $50,000 a year, while the KBoR and DoC were paying the rest $400,000.

“The thing is that the KSDE had the most [Kansas Career Pipeline] users but they were paying the least,” Lindsley said.

Superintendent Bob Shannon, principal Terry McCarty, and Lindsley continue to discuss the areas where they could get the funding for the Pipeline, but agreed that it

would be from a variety of accounts throughout the district.

“Because the funding of the pipeline stopped mid-year, there isn’t a specific account that we can use to get the money from,” Lindsley said.

“I know that some places are chipping in some money. McCarty decided to give $500 from his own account and iQ Academy is also chipping in.”

Counting students from Open Door -- an alternative to high school, iQ Academy and the Manhattan High -- the $1,250 for the Kansas Career Pipeline will cover about 2,000 students overall, an increase from last year.

“I’m really glad the we get to have more students that get to use it,” Lindsley said.

“It’s something that students should be able to use to plan for college and beyond.”

sang Christmas carols and made paracord bracelets to sell for a future fundraiser.

This was StuCo’s last event of the semester.

- Maddie Ross

Walters said.

French Club

Manhattan High School’s French Club hosted a movie night after school last Tuesday, Dec. 11. There members watched “Shrek” in French and ate an array of different snacks. Many members considered the event a success.

“It went as planned. We watched a movie in French with English subtitles and there were no setbacks,” French Club member sophomore James Walters said.

Some members believe participation in events like this is something the club can work on.

“There were about a lot of people there for a first-time event; however I think we can get French lovers to come,”

-Maddie Ross

NASA

Hearing about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration usually conjures images of astronauts, not high school girls. But NASA is recruiting junior girls to apply for the Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) High School Aerospace Scholars Program.

NASA is looking for current junior females who are interested in becoming the engineers, scientists, researchers and innovators of the future.

“I think this is a once-ina-lifetime chance for interested students,” Manhattan High School counselor Tony Wichmann said. “This is for females to gain first-hand experience with a lot of different opportunities. They get faceto-face interactions with other See NASA on page 5

2

Jan. 15, 2013

the MENTOR

Firewall the firewall Tre Fuentes

staff writer The firewall at Manhattan High School is detrimental and unnecessary in a growing era of technology.

The Internet is one of the greatest resources at man’s disposal. In North America alone, over 200 million people are everyday Internet users.

The Internet is used for entertainment, faster communication, social networking and just about anything else you can possibly fathom.

Surprisingly, though, is the difference the Internet is making in education. More than ever before, the Internet has become an invaluable tool for students of all ages in providing software, documents and research that increases the knowledge students receive as opposed to getting most of their information via book-

work. This structure that the Internet and computers in general bring to public education brings me to one of the biggest flaws of the public school system. This is how little the Internet actually benefits the people who use it. And yes, I am referring to “firewall.”

Most public school systems require schools to use blocking programs to restrict students of Internet access.

But I believe it has gone too far. Instead of living up to its intentions, the MHS firewall is becoming a nuisance.

Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter cannot be accessed with the current restrictions, and while these websites might not be considered the ones students most likely will need in an educational setting, there are benefits of accessing them in certain situations. YouTube has a lot of educational videos, so whether you need help solving a math equation or want to learn more about molecules, Youtube has over 1 billion videos. With all that content and the web traffic with it, you can believe there is plenty of educational content that can aid students in enhancing their

education when one-on-one help isn’t available.

Just about everyone has a Facebook account. And not just people. Most schools, local clubs, businesses and charity organizations have Facebook accounts. This allows students to access important information with whomever they are following.

Twitter is very similar to Facebook with the notable differences being Twitter does not host photos like Facebook and notably shorter posts.

But, unlike the misconceptions, these websites and many more should have a place in a public school setting due to their broader range of beneficial content. Some people believe that schools should block access to Internet sites because there is many offensive or objectionable websites that can be easily accessed.

This can be solved with careful monitoring. Yes, it is really that simple. There is software where a teacher can have access to a master profile and see what all of the students are doing instantly. And it is easy to pinpoint exactly who went to what website.

The problem with the cur-

rent system is instead of letting students access whatever it is that they want, they are restricting everything. And that is not a far off exaggeration.

With a simple google search of “Birthdate of George Washington,” more than two-thirds of the websites will be firewalled -- not because there is abusive content on those websites, but because the website is not on the list of acceptable, approved websites set by the public school systems.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but there are more than 500 million websites on the Internet, and I know the public school system can’t look at all of them and determine if each individual website is appropriate for use or not. What is happening is that students waste more time trying to navigate through the annoying firewall blockage and using less time actually getting to the core of what they are trying to accomplish. This kind of “parental supervision” isn’t necessary.

Instead of being an aid, Firewall is a detriment to productivity and a disadvantage in a new age where technology is constantly evolving.

Candleside Chat with Patrick Many people between the ages of 15-22 go through something that I like to call an extremely-crazy-hormonalawkward-self-centered-internal-dramatic phase. Many of us ignore the fact that these years of our lives are when we go through some of the most difficult decisions and throughts.

We get so worked up over being confused about life, and sometimes miss it as it passes us by. Our minds are constantly consumed with pressures from our culture. The thing that adults can never tell us enough is that these thoughts are okay to have.

It’s okay to be confused about yourself and the world around

you. The best thing about all of it is that it’s a phase. It’s not forever, however much it may feel like that.

In my own life, I am very guarded when it comes to my confusion. I don’t want people to know that I’m confused, because I too often think of it as a weakness. Recently, I’ve been more open about my confusions and it’s actually helping me sort through my thoughts. I’m very blessed to have amazing friends who listen to my insane thoughts and emotions. The best friends that I have don’t try to give me advice when I open up about my confusions, they simply listen and let me know that they understand. Whether

or not they’re going through the same thing, the burden is shared. It’s great!

It make me so sad to think that some people don’t have friends to lay their burdens on. As teenagers, we all go through crap everyday in highschool. Whether it’s parents, grades, work, or sports, all of us have negative emotions sometime during our highschool life. I think of it best when Avatar Aang had to open all seven of his chakras.

A chakra is an energy center that is contained within one’s soul. All seven should flow within each other smoothly without blockage from previous impurities from other chakras. In order to open his

chakras, Aang had to look deep into his past and let go of wrongs that he did, and also wrongs that were done to him.

I believe without the help of the compassionate monk, he couldn’t have accomplished this.

So my challenge to all of you wonderful monks is to be compassionate to someone today. Pick a good friend and ask them, “How are you REALLY doing?” They might tell you something you didn’t expect!

- Patrick Day Student Body Vice President

Don’t tighten gun control laws When an act of unimaginable violence is committed in this country, there John are a great many people who Rockey find it easier to make an outside source a scapegoat so they can feel better about the atrocities.

As a response to the shootings that have occurred in the last decade, such as Virginia Tech, and as recently as the Aurora theatre and Sandy staff writer Hook Elementary shootings, people have found that gun control laws are not strenuous enough and should be aggressively enforced. All these existing felonies inhibit our exercise of the right to bear arms in this country. And that leaves us even more vulnerable now.

We should not be enacting more laws with all the existing felony charges in place for carrying concealed firearms; we should be thinking of the mentally unstable. There should be a serious consideration on all that concealed car-

riers have been able to do to protect themselves and others.

While there should not be less laws, a few common problems that are very apparent can be addressed and made better.

Having even more laws that make it a felony to possess a weapon makes for an even more dangerous society.

The idea that even more control should be exercised is a very dangerous thing. You are punishing a great many good people who own guns and use them with the utmost care -all because of some who do not know right from wrong and have access to weaponry that was illegally obtained from another individual who seeks to profit from the mentally unstable or those who do not care for the establishment of such laws. These criminals are not going to care about the law that makes for dire consequences when carrying a firearm. They are going to try that much more persistently

to take advantage of the fact that there are many people who have been forced to disarm because they will actually uphold the laws.

“But what about all the murder and tomfoolery that get caused by guns?” A fair point, generic white knight.

Yes, there are numerous crimes that can and have been caused by guns. There have been many incidents where one or more people who are normally armed can or cannot stop the offender depending on the laws of the state.

Such crimes do happen in spite of gun control, yet there are still other incidents where what has happened could not have been prevented.

Of the 30,000 people in the United States who are killed annually by firearms, more than a third of those deaths were in homicides. About twice the number of those killed annually are wounded by guns.

So the premise is that such laws would tone said events that happen with guns. That premise has not taken into account that we are a vulnerable and clever species with the gift of choice. If death can be stopped by gun control, that means more thorough background checks on people purchasing weapons and dropping the felonies on carrying guns with exception to parolees and the formerly convicted.

I do not want a world where guns are not used by the upholders of justice or the law abiding citizens. Just do not make it a felony for noncriminals to arm themselves.

Tone down these laws, and remember the responsibility of using guns and why we have been blessed with a “working” judicial branch and the wisdom on common sense.

Opinions

Revamping New Years Resolutions Sarah Shi

news editor

It’s two weeks after New Years and to tell you the truth, I haven’t had time to think about my New Year’s Resolution.

I’m not surprised. Even though I tell myself I’ll follow through with my resolution every year, I never do. So this year, I’ve tried to revamp my resolution by making it much simpler: take time out of my day to learn something new.

Cheesy, isn’t’ it? But from past experience, I know that learning something new, whether it may be picking up a new instrument or learning a new word, has rewarding benefits. In terms of happiness, a close companion of learning is the degree of engagement people have with tasks that provide them knowledge and fulfillment. People who are absorbed in a task can lose track

of time and place. Hours pass like minutes.

But the true benefit of learning is particularly important in promoting mental health.

According to Lisa Berkman, a professor of public policy and epidemiology at Harvard University, our “mind is really like a muscle, and using it is a key” to lifelong mental health.

Because not everyone feels as if they’ve learned something valuable at school, it’s truly important that we take the extra step and learn something new on our own.

However, acquiring lifelong mental health isn’t only the reason why I’ve decided to make this my resolution. As our high school careers come to an end, it’s more important that we know the general idea of what we want to pursue after we graduate. Expanding our knowledge by learning something new everyday is a small step that can help us decide what our options are.

Although the thought of this may seem useless, if we continue to do it everyday, our knowlege will cummulate and the tasks that we have learned in the next months will have a powerful effect in the long run.

Question of the Week

Visit mhsmentor.com to answer this week’s question:

“Would you rather be dumb and appear smart or be smart and appear dumb? Explain why.”

the Mentor staff 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 contributing writer - Patrick Day

writers/photographers - Danielle Cook Kelsey Crawford Tre Fuentes Julianne Harkness Jordan Morris Julith Perry John Riforgiate Nastajja Rivera John Rockey Seth Runyan Maddy Sparks Derrek Williams 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.

Hazelwoo d d ecision reaches 25th anniversary Katelynn McCollough katelynn.mccollough@ iowastatedaily.com The First Amendment grants U.S. citizens five freedoms: the freedom of speech, press, religion, the right to petition and assemble.

On Jan. 13, 1988, which was 25 years ago, the Supreme Court gave its decision on the Hazelwood School District v.

Kuhlmeier case, changing a few of those First Amendment freedoms for student journalists across the country.

The Hazelwood case dealt with a high school student newspaper, “The Spectrum,” in Missouri. The principal of the school chose not to allow the newspaper to print when he did not approve of a teen pregnancy story and a story about divorce.

The court came to the decision that curriculum-based

student newspapers had lower First Amendment rights and were subject to censorship.

The Hazelwood decision was meant to be subject to K-12 students.

“Hazelwood hasn’t really impacted us,” said Mary Gannon, an attorney for the Iowa Association of School Boards.

Gannon explained that Iowa has not encountered many issues with Hazelwood because the state created the Iowa Student Free Expression Law in 1989 as a way to uphold students’ First Amendment rights following the Supreme Court decision.

The Iowa Association of School Boards has also created a Student Publications Code, which acts as a set of guidelines for journalism teachers and principals for student free expression under Iowa law.

However, the Iowa Student Free Expression Law only ap-

plies to K-12 students.

“The whole issue of high school students and how much free speech rights they have is one of the more interesting areas of media law,” said Kathleen Richardson, executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and the director and associate professor at Drake University’s school of journalism and mass communication.

Richardson said that she has started to hear of cases involving students and their freedom of speech about school curriculum or bullying on Facebook and said that this brings forth questions of how far a public school should be allowed to go to censor student speech.

“Even though Hazelwood started out as a case about journalism, it actually applies to any speech involved with curriculum” said Frank Lo-

Monte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.

LoMonte explained that the Hazelwood case has more recently been used as a way to censor not only K-12 students, but is now being seen in court cases involving college students.

One such case took place at Auburn University at Montgomery and dealt with the dismissal of a nursing student, Judith Heenan, who criticized the school’s grading and disciplinary systems.

“It’s insulting and demeaning to college students to not trust them with the Bill of Rights,” LoMonte said, who explained that four out of the 12 Federal Circuit Courts have said that Hazelwood applies to college students.

A university must still prove that any student speech is damaging to educational purposes, but LoMonte said

he sees a “trend and growing level of acceptance” in the use of Hazelwood to censor speech at the college level.

“Universities should be more wide open for discussion and debate than any other place on earth,” LoMonte said. “States can always give you more protection.”

According to Student Press Law Center, California, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Oregon and Iowa have all put into place laws that help to uphold student’s First Amendment rights.

McCollough is a writer for the Iowa State Daily online.

This article was published on Sunday, Jan.13, 2013, at www.iowastatedaily.com/news/ article_7a83c490-5ce9-11e28609-001a4bcf887a.html.

The Kansas Student Press Act was enacted on Feb. 21, 1992. According to the act, “The liberty of press in student publications shall be protected.... student editors of student publications are responsible for determining the news, opinion, and advertising content of such publications.”

This act allows Kansas students publications such as The Mentor to serve as a forum for the student body and protects from censorship.

Entertainment

the MENTOR

Jan. 15, 2013

3

got special

America’s

talent

Manhattan’s special communities take part in fifth annual talent show Seth Runyan Staff Writer

From singing, to dancing, to comedy and skits, the fifth annual “America’s Got Special Talent” show took place last Thursday in Manhattan High School’s Rezac Auditorium.

Classes from Amanda Arnold, Anthony Middle School and the East Campus had students take part in the event with students from MHS

West’s Interpersonal Skills class and special education department. Adults from the Manhattan area special populations also participated. The show is a place for participants to dance, sing and have fun in front of a crowd. It is planned and organized by MHS Special Education teacher Kim Schnee. “[AGST] is a good show of any kind,” Schnee said. “It’s enjoyable to both the audi-

ence and the performers.”

The show is a fundraiser and audience members pay by free-will donation. Last year’s show raised just under $700, and this year nearly $1,200 was donated -- the most raised yet. The money is going to be given to the Manhattan Special Olympics. However, Schnee’s mind isn’t on the money aspect of the show.

“The point of the show is to show the community just

Manhattan students excel in State T hespian Conference Ben Shields Editor in Chief Over winter break, over 30 members of the Thespian troupe traveled to State Thespian Conference in Wichita at the Century 2 Convention Center. They were awarded the GOLD Honor Troupe Award for excellence in community service, quality of stage productions, troupe PR and membership numbers. But the big event for MHS wasn’t the troupe awards. It was the individual honors, namely by seniors Da’Merius Ford and Alex Tolar.

Ford raked in big at State Conference, winning a highly competitive scholarship for his Senior Audition. Senior auditions are performed in front of numerous big-name theatre and music colleges, including the New York Film Academy and the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Auditions can only be 90 seconds long, with the option of two monologues or one monologue and a song. Ford performed a monologue from Brighton Beach memoirs and the song “Lost in the Wilderness” from “Children of Eden.”

“These pieces are in my repertoire,” Ford said. “I did those pieces at my audition for WSU’s Musical theatre program a month ago, so I figured, why change it up? I would rather work on something than try to learn something new over break.”

Ford hesitates to describe his audition preparation process as “winging it,” but rather a “just do it and get it over with” attitude.

“It helps with confidence,” he said. “I usually sing, talk a lot, and drink lots of water to warm myself up.”

The scholarship wasn’t Ford’s only big takeaway from State Conference. His musical duet, “Bare,” with senior Alex Tolar won a “Superior” rating, the highest honor. “Bare” is from the eponymous musical of which an MHS student-produced version ran last summer starring Ford and Tolar as two misfit, homosexual Catholic school kids. The song comes toward the end of the show in which Jason (Tolar) attempts to regain the affections of Peter (Ford). Peter rejects Jason, and Jason ultimately kills himself after overdosing. “Bare” has come a long way; rehearsals

began in parking lots before the cast and crew were able to gain resources.

“It was really nice to see our long work recognized,” Tolar, a State Thespian Officer this year, said. “Especially from college professors judging us next to many of the great performers in Kansas and seeing us as a Superior.”

State Conference is an annual Thespian event. Students take part in workshops, dances, improvisational exercises, costume designing, pantomime to music, and watch several plays. Many seniors went this year for their fourth and final time. Tolar is one of them.

“State conference is the one place in Kansas where 1275 fantastically strange people take over a hotel, sing random songs from ‘Book of Mormon, ‘Les Mis’ and ‘Avenue Q,’ and speak in different accents to try to fool the hotel staff,” he said.

“Conference has made me a better actor in so many ways, whether it was learning how to shag [a style of dance], look for an audition piece, or becoming my character in more than just lines and costumes.

Conference evolved me into a more refined actor.”

how much love is on the stage and how awesome they all are,” she said.

The audience connected to the performance and was eager to get involved.

“We had four students come up and ask to help. They just said that they want to be part of the movement. This show is just one more step in awareness,” Schnee said.

Senior Emma Miller, a member of IPS and a per-

Three of the most popular student bands at Manhattan High may not be able to compete in this year’s Battle of the Bands due to the enforcement of a long-standing eligibility rule.

FUMA, White and Nearly Flightless all have a member who does not attend Manhattan High. According to the rule, which has been in place for many years, all members of the competing bands must be in high school. Recently,

exceptions have been made to allow one member for each band to attend high school somewhere else, but non-students are not allowed.

“The rule goes back historically when the school was trying to bring Battle of the Bands back.

Consequently, one of the conditions to bring it back was to ensure all members attend high school,” Student Council

Expo from Page 1 eign language and there is a lot of room for many more students to enroll at an early age.

And there are a lot of kids that regret it,” German teacher Elke Lorenz said. “If they take a foreign language as a freshman their brains are more like a sponge and they take it in a different way. If they’re in a foreign language early on they can even have the opportunity to take two foreign languages or go all the way on to AP.” The Expo will take place in the cafeteria starting at 9:30 a.m. and lasting the entire school day. Students at the West Campus can walk around and view the different exhibits during their appropriate lunchtime. Eisenhower, Anthony, Luckey Junior High and Flint Hills Christian School students will all arrive in different groups by bus. Depending on space and time,

Riley County, Wamego and Rock Creek students might be able to attend.

“There’s going to be the ability for them to walk around and we will also have [Career and Technical Education] students who will take students on tours, like out to F-hall to see the lab areas and up to C-hall to have them see the computer labs and some of the more hands on areas and the facilities that they will be able to use when they come up here,” Lindsley said.

Students should attend the Expo with an open mind and a goal of shaping their future.

Lorenz wants to help students learn a language early.

“I have never met a person in my life who regretted taking a language and I have people tell me almost every day that they wished they would have stayed with a language,” Lorenz said.

sponsor Leslie Campbell said.

“The idea was to come together as a school and to do that it was decided the bands should be strictly MHS.” Administration declined to comment further about the rule.

Although this rule is inconvenient to the bands, they are finding ways to still be eligible to perform.

“We found out that we could only have one member that is

Schulz was the backstage sound technician and also took part in many skits on the stage. He hadn’t previously helped with the show, and was grateful for the experience.

“This was an experience of a lifetime, we are all a family and always will be,” Schulz said. “Since joining the class I’ve learned that if you ever need a friend, there’s always one in the IPS room.”

Jordan Morris, photographer

Award winning broadway musical comes to McCain Seth Runyan Staff Writer The McCain Performance Series at Kansas State University starts the New Year off with a nine-time Tony Awardwinning Broadway musical, “A Chorus Line.” The book was written in 1975 by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante while the original Broadway production was directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett. When the show closed in 1990, it held the record for the longest-running Broadway production with 6,104 performances. It then became revived in 2006 and is currently directed by Baayork Lee who has directed “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The King and I.” “A Chorus Line” focuses

Battle of the Bands fights to stay alive Maddie Ross Trending Co-Editor

former in the show agreed that AGST had a huge impact on all involved. “This was one of the best experiences of my life. Meeting all of the different special education people and making new friends and also raising the most money was humbling,” Miller said.

The Interpersonal Skills class joined special education students on the stage and also managed the technical aspects of the show. Senior Andrew

not a student here, which is sad. But I think we can work around it,” StuCo vice president Patrick Day said.

Others plan to audition despite the rule and are hoping for the best.

“We would really like to do Battle of the Bands. We plan to audition and just see how it plays out,” senior Adam Hagedorn said about his band, Nearly Flightless.

Applications were due yesterday and auditions will take place on Thursday. Battle of the Bands will be on Feb. 21 in Rezac Auditorium.

Editors Wanted Applications for editorial and staff positions on next year’s Blue M and The Mentor staffs are available in room C-107.

Applications need to be back to Mrs. Nyp by Jan. 22.

on the unsung, underpaid heroes behind the curtains of a Broadway show. The main characters of the show are the people who back up the stars or make the stars look even more fabulous. The production takes its viewers through the final audition for a new Broadway musical with 16

people left. The audience witnesses the intense competition and each character’s background on how they came to be on Broadway. By the end of the show, the audience will know what it takes to be in a Broadway production and just what it takes to pull one off.

The production is also backed-up with music by the late Marvin Hamlisch. Hamlisch is a legend in the musical world, has won nearly every award possible and is one of 11 EGOTs (those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). He is also only one of two who also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well. With songs such as “I Hope I Get It,” “And” and “Sing,” the audience will never find a dull moment in this Broadway with such great music scores.

The music isn’t the only well known factor in this revival, with a cast containing prominent performers such as the Australian Dance Award winner for Outstanding Performance, Josh Horner.

“A Chorus Line” is set to open its curtains at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 to its Manhattan audience. Tickets can be purchased from the McCain box office on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or by phone with the number 785-532-6428.

Sub Deb “Come Away with Me” February 9th, 2013

Buy your tickets for $30 a pair from any of these girls:

Annie Roberson Jessica Smith Blake Fingalsen Kayla Shields Jessie Kujawa Alaina Schroeder Morgan Dreiling Hannah Livsey Aubrey Jung Aly Holloway Caroline Ballard Kinsley Snyder Lindsey Hageman Matty Mahan

Jenna Stigge Lexi Able Bailey Snyder Tyler Hoyt Maddy Johnson Alyssa Smith Kaci Cink Emma Samenus Makenzie Huslig Sarah McCann Francie Kndoffel Kenzie Miller Mai Mizuno Molly Bollman Savannah Thaemert

4

Jan. 15, 2013

the MENTOR

Sports

boys basketball defeats hayden and avenges the football team’s loss to Junction City Nick Bandy sports editor

The Manhattan High boys basketball team won 55-36 last Friday over their biggest rival, Junction City, avenging the football team’s loss and advancing their record to 2-1 this semester and 5-3 overall.

“It felt good because they were talking about football and we got them back in basketball,” junior Alex Stitt said.

The game was close in the first quarter, as several questionable fouls hurt MHS, but the Indians played strong offense led by the physical post

play of sophomore Peyton Stephens.

Junction rallied in the second quarter to draw within two points but the lead only grew after that as MHS began to pull away. A difficult reverse layup by senior Blake Saville with 10 seconds left sent MHS into halftime with

Junior Alex Stitt shoots a free throw in last Tuesday’s game against Hayden. Making free throws in the fourth quarter was crucial as MHS pulled out a one-point victory.

Kelsey Crawford, photographer

a 22-15 lead.

The third quarter might as well have been the fourth quarter as MHS basically won the game by out scoring Junction City 18-2 in the third.

“We just needed to come out strong out of halftime and bring a lot of energy,” Stephens said.

In addition to a smothering defense that held J.C. to only two points, MHS also dominated the third quarter by sharing the ball on offense.

“We stopped taking quick shots and we worked the ball around,” Stitt said.

The Indians finished the game with nine different players who scored. They were led in scoring by senior Chris Hudgins’ 15 points, followed by senior Jacob Holloway and Stephens who each had nine.

In the fourth quarter all MHS had to do was hold on to their large lead and they won 55-36.

A big part of their success on defense was shutting down J.C.’s 6-foot-5-inch-tall allleague player Cedric Johnson, who the Indians held to only six points.

“Coach gave us a good

scout on him. We took away his strengths,” Stitt said.

One of the Indian’s goals coming into the season was to sweep J.C., and they are now halfway done as they will travel to J.C. on Feb. 2.

Earlier this semester, while many students at MHS slept their way through winter break, the MHS boys basketball played a hard-fought game against Shawnee Heights on Jan. 4. The Indians got off to a hot start and held the lead throughout most of the game.

They entered the fourth quarter up by 10 points but lost their momentum and allowed Shawnee to rally and tie the game, sending it to overtime.

“It shouldn’t have gone into overtime if we had taken care of the ball and played better defense,” head coach Tim Brooks said.

In overtime the Indians allowed Shawnee to score 10 points in four minutes and was never able to come back and they were defeated 64-58.

One bright spot of the game was the return of Stephens, who was not able to play first semester due to knee surgery. He scored 18 points

and grabbed eight rebounds in his first game back against Shawnee.

Last Tuesday MHS battled Hayden looking for a bounce back win. This game couldn’t have been any more different from the Shawnee Heights game as the Indians rallied after being down 5 going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter the Indians buckled down defensively and executed well on offense.

Despite a buzzer-beater shot

by Hayden, MHS won 45-44.

Holloway and Stitt led the Indians in scoring, each scoring 10.

This crucial win helped the Indians keep a winning record and kept them in the middle of the pack in the Centennial League standings.

“If we go out and play like that we’ll be tough to beat. We played with a lot of energy and played inspired basketball,” Brooks said.

This week MHS will enjoy a short break before leaving on Thursday for the three-day McPherson tournament.

Wrestling continues to win Girls undefeated streak over tough competition ends but they bounce Athlete of the Week back to beat Junction City John Rockey Staff Writer

Coming back from winter break, the Manhattan High wrestling team continued to work hard and give results that show it. Competing at home and in tournaments at home and other Kansas towns, they continually showed improvement.

“We wrestle most everyone often so we need to be able to take care of ourselves,” junior wrestler Kian Clemens said.

On the Jan. 3 here at Manhattan High, the wrestlers defeated Clay Center 73 to nothing in the Clay Center Dual for both the J.V. and Varsity teams. On Jan. 5, Varsity went off to compete against 10 other teams in the Salina South invite. In an exuberant finish, Manhattan finished first over the other teams with a total 142.5 points. There were several wrestlers that finished first overall in Salina South, including Jase Stone (113), Kian Clemens (120), Davis Matthews (145) and Austin Chauncey (160). During the match, Kian Clemens was able to beat Kevin Perez of Junction City, who was originally number one in the state in the 120 pound weight class.

That then put Clemens at first in state overall in his class.

The J.V. team saw two separate meets in Marysville and Seaman the same day as the Varsity were in Salina South.

At Marysville, Nick Adams and Christian Fleury both placed first and following in second place in Marysville were Nathan Shank, Matthew Hendrick, Brian Coughlin and Deshawn Horton. Seaman saw Eric Sanchez, Sterling Shimp, Blake Wewer and Dalton Jueneman all placing first with Esteban Foster and Alan Cain placing in second.

“We do a good job of working hard, but we can always

Maddy Sparks staff writer

Kian Clemens Clemens has higher standards than most when it comes to his wrestling performance. Clemens placed first in the Salina South meet that included more than 10 different schools. He also recently claimed first place at the Newton meet this past weekend and currently ranked first in state in his weight class.

Q: What inspired you to start wrestling?

A: In seventh grade, Josh

Mullin told me to try out for wrestling, and I liked it.

Q:

What contributions do you think you bring to the team, that makes the team better?

By bringing in points

A:

be working harder. You can never really stop improving,” Kaden Fraiser said.

Coming back to school, everyone prepared for Varsity to go to Newton, Kan. and for J.V. to head to Hays.

“This weekend, if they find themselves in a particular situation, they will know what to do,” wrestling coach Devin Schwartz said.

At Newton, Varsity competed from the 11th through the 12th against 32 teams and finished in seventh place overall with 123 points scored. Of those that went to Newton, those that placed in their classes were Jase Stone (113) placed third, Kian Clemens (120) placed fifth, Dallas Vesta (126) placed sixth, Davis Matthews (145) placed second, Michael Leeper (152) placed

and wins in every tournament and having leadership.

Q:

How do your teammates help you be the best you can be?

Everybody pushes everybody to get better and to get better to be on the podium at Regionals and State.

A:

Q:

What individual goals and team goals do you have for the rest of the season?

My goal is to get first at the rest of the meets. The team goal would be to get another State championship.

A:

Q: Who do you want to win the Superbowl?

A: The Ravens Q: Who is your favorite athlete?

A: Wrestler Cael Sanderson from Iowa State.

fifth, and Austin Chauncey (160) placed third.

The Hays Tournament saw Manhattan’s J.V. team taking first place as a team with 186.5 points scored. Blake Wewer (120), Caleb Gorman (126), Derek Forrest (152), and Kurtis rich (160) were all able to place second overall in the tournament on Saturday.

In addition, DeShawn Horton (138 B), Erick Sanchez (145), Nathan Shank (160 B), Anthony Renteria (195), and Emir Murphy (220) all placed in third with Dalton Jueneman (106), Sterling Shimp (132), and Glenn Bennett (160) placing in fourth.

Later this week, the Varsity will be competing in the Blue Valley Northwest Invite this weekend while J.V. will sees action in Seaman tomorrow.

New year, same success Alan Brown staff writer With a new year comes new traditions, but that’s not the case for the Manhattan High swim team. They’ve decided to stick to an old tradition: winning. True to form, they did a lot of winning Wednesday afternoon.

“For the Christmas break we were able to get some great training done,” MHS head coach Jerry Carpenter said. “Those guys who were in town and came to practice reaped great benefits.”

The benefits revealed themselves clearly during the most recent home meet. Last Wednesday, MHS scored a total of 247 points, providing a comfortable margin over Olathe South’s 145 and Great

Bend’s 120 points. The team also featured seven first place finishes, only two shy of the previous meet’s total. Cameron Beauregard, Evan Olson, Brett Bandy, Zane Hayden and Jordan DeLoach each claimed a first prize in individual events. DeLoach, Beauregard, Bandy, Ryan McHenry and Levi Jones claimed first in relay events as well.

“We are getting great leadership from our seniors and returning State qualifiers,” Carpenter said. “We have become a very tough team.”

That toughness goes beyond the team’s leaders. Carpenter is also pleased with the depth of the MHS roster.

Several swimmers, including Casey Hoffman, Josh Chapman and Michael Chappelle, saw significant decreases in

their season low times in the 50-meter freestyle event. Also worthy of note were Pat Zenk, Seth Gotchey and Andre Middendorf, each trimming their times in the 100 meter freestyle. Several other swimmers dropped time as well.

This coming week, the team turns its attention to the upcoming meet against Newton and Emporia. According to Carpenter, intense training will be vital if their winning is to continue. MHS has been successful during the last few meets, but that is no reason to overlook its opponents. The Indians know that they have difficult tasks ahead.

“Emporia and Newton are traditionally tough teams,” noted Carpenter. “I am sure we will have a challenge.”

Tre Fuentes staff writer

The Manhattan High Girls Basketball team has been a model of consistency all season long. The Lady Indians started the season 5-0, and on Jan. 4, they were able to improve their record to 6-0 and two straight victories in the Centennial League with a win over Shawnee Heights.

The game was relatively close for the first three quarters of play, but Manhattan sprinted away in the fourth quarter. The Lady Indians outscored the T-Birds 16-4 in the fourth quarter, led in scoring by sophomore Caroline Ballard and junior Darby Price who each had 15 points.

Senior Elayna Spilker had 12 points.

Tuesday, Jan. 8, may have been the lone dull spot on an otherwise bright season for the Lady Indians, who gave up their first loss of the season to Hayden. It was still a hardfought effort by the MHS girls, who rallied for a 10-point deficit at halftime to tie the game going into the fourth quarter.

But the Lady Indians missed six three-point attempts and went on to lose 22-29 for the first time this season. The game was still a lot closer than the scoreboard may indicate, Hayden was winning only by 1 in the final three minutes of the contest. The Lady Indians had their lowest scoring game all season long.

“We didn’t shoot,” head coach Scott Mall said very simply about his team’s performance. “We missed very makeable shots, especially in the second quarter. We could have done a better job making good decisions and knowing where to go with the ball.”

With that sour taste in their mouth after their first loss, the Lady Indians “avenged” their loss with a strong outing against their biggest rivals, Junction City.

“I was very pleased with the way the girls were able to control the game,” Mall said.

“We were able to come out

aggressive and we had more focus and control of the ball than we had in the past.”

The Lady Indians came out with a 14-2 lead, and it never stopped from there. Defense, offense and rebounding were all in the Indians favor.

The Lady Indians are 7-1 and 3-1 in the Centennial League.

Unfortunately, the celebration of beating their biggest rival can’t last forever.

“At this point, our main focus is to keep improving,” Mall said. “We have a lot of good teams left to play, starting with Washburn Rural.”

At the beginning of the

season, Washburn was ranked first in the pre-season to take the Centennial League crown this season. And even though the Lady Indians are reigning Centennial League champs, they were stuck in the middle of the division.

“It has a lot to do with pride. Our goal is to repeat our success from last year.

And it starts by playing well in every game we play in and every player doing their best to step up.”

The Manhattan High girls are looking to add to their success when they play Washburn Rural today.

Week 4 Wed 1/9 eLemonators 35 .......................................................... My Dixie 27 Bandy of Brothers 7 ............................. The Monstars 0 forfeit Stiff Competition 41 . ............................................... Team Pain 38 Coconut Bangers Ball 58 ...........................................T Icicles 41 Dino Might 61 . .......................... Los Grande Basquetbolistas 40 Elite 7 ...................................................Flyin Flamingos 0 forfeit JED 7 ...........................................................Hydro Circus 0 forfeit Honey 7 ................................................. Rainbow Nation 0 forfeit Flyin Hawaiians 51 ..................................Baked to Perfection 41 Badgers 7 ................................Dirty Troy & the B Boys 0 forfeit

Thur 1/10 Brickz 50 .............................................................Sucks to Suck 25 Hot Pockets 37 ..................................................... The Lolipops 33 The Jack Jacks 40 ..........................................Balling for Soup 25 The Manhattan Ballers 7 .....................Swag Masters 0 forfeit The VPs 28 ....................................Hunter & the British Gents 22 Swagon Dragon 71 ........................................ The Whistle Pigs 22 The Basketball Team 29 .................................The Pink Ladies 24 Hoopers 32 . ..................................................... The Runner Ups 24 Team Meatballs 7 ........................................Par’s Team 0 forfeit Quidditch Rejects 7 .................................Free Ballers 0 forfeit

Bowling team keeps improving Danielle Cook staff writer The Manhattan High bowling team travelled to Topeka last Tuesday to compete in their second league tournament of the season. The Girls Varsity took third place while the Boys Varsity took fifth.

Both the boys and girls J.V. teams took fourth place.

“I thought everybody did a good job,” sophomore Katherine Eimer said.

The team did, in fact, as

a whole, place higher at the Topeka tournament than they did at their first tournament of the season at Wichita the previous Saturday, at which the girls took 11th place, and the boys took 18th of the 26 teams competing.

Bringing in the new season by already placing better than last year in the first two tournaments, Miranda Dooley, girls Varsity captain, believes that this year will include better tournament results over all.

“We did okay. We could have done better last year, but I think we’ll place a lot better this year; we have better bowlers.”

Though a team goal, according to Eimer, is to keep improving placement in tournaments, bowling is about more than just competing.

“Our team is like a family; we look out for each other,” Eimer said.

The next bowling tournament will be in Topeka on Thursday, Jan. 17.

5

the MENTOR

Features

Jan. 15, 2013

Collin’s cause and effect: Community awareness and donations lift cancer patient’s spirits Liz Logback Features Editor It was back.

The cancer was back, this time attacking his spine.

Junior Collin Rowley was devastated. After conquering his battle with brain cancer, he thought he had survived the impossible. Now he sat in his doctor’s office hearing the worst.

“I didn’t want it to look like it bothered me in front of my family, but when the doctor told me the cancer was back I was just thinking ‘Why is this happening to me?’” Rowley said.

Rowley is on a long journey.

In 2010, his freshman year, he began to feel very sick. After numerous tests and scans, the doctors determined he had Medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.

He left school temporarily to undergo chemotherapy in Denver for six months. The intensive treatment made Rowley nauseous and performing simple tasks like walking and running were much more difficult. At the end of treatment he was declared cancer free and returned to Manhattan High with renewed strength for his sophomore year.

But halfway through the year, Rowley found himself back in his doctor’s office, hearing the news he and his family had dreaded most.

His battle with cancer wasn’t over yet, and this time doctors would only be able to do experimental treatments.

Inseparable Friendship Junior Sydney Snyder was at work when she noticed she had missed numerous calls

from her friend, Rowley.

“My stomach dropped. In the back of my mind I just knew [the cancer was back],” Snyder said. “I cried the entire way home and once I told my mom we immediately packed and went to Denver to be with him.”

When Rowley and Snyder met in seventh grade, they became fast friends. They walked their dogs (both named Tootsie) together, went swimming in the summer and attended Sub Deb with each other last year. And when Rowley was first diagnosed with brain cancer, Snyder drove to Denver to support him through his first surgery.

“He’s my best friend. My absolute best friend,” Snyder said. “I know it’s weird for a guy and a girl to be so close, but he’s my absolute best friend. It’s the hardest thing in the world to come to school and him not being here, and not being there for him while he’s doing his treatment.”

Rowley was sent to Utah where he could receive more specialized care. He tried spinal taps and different drugs but the doctors have determined none of it is working, and have removed Rowley from treatment.

With his fight for survival weighing on him, Rowley and his family are considering expensive overseas medical work that isn’t approved in the United States. “It’s hard relearning to walk and not being able to play sports, but my mind set through all of this is do what you have to do to live,” Rowley said.

Collin’s Cause is Born Snyder knew the medical bills had begun to pile up

from Rowley’s first round of treatments and she figured they would grow much higher with the second wave of cancer.

In October, she decided to start fundraising for her friend, using her grandfather, Bill Snyder, head coach of the Kansas State football team, as a resource. With a $50,000 goal in mind, she knew she had a long way to go, but was determined to raise the money for Rowley.

“I want his parents to focus on saving his life rather than paying bills right now,” Snyder said.

Through numerous efforts, Sydney has raised $38,000 for her friend.

Coach Bill issued a plea through press conferences and his radio show, making Rowley’s cause known. In addition, Sydney set up a fundraiser at the First Presbyterian church. Fees were charged at the door and once inside, attendees were given the opportunity to talk with Rowley via Skype or place an offer for signed footballs and tickets by Coach Bill.

“It means a lot that I have all this money to fall back on for future or past bills,” Rowley said.

A website was also made in honor of Rowley, and it didn’t take long for hundreds of well wishes and donations to be posted on the site from friends and members throughout the community.

Staying Positive Snyder’s fundraising efforts have proven beneficial, but it might be her constant support of Rowley that is keeping the teen going. With the doctors at a standstill on what to do for him, Sydney has been sure to

Juniors Collin Rowley and Sydney Snyder explore Denver, Col. Snyder traveled there to support Rowley through a surgery during his first term of brain cancer.

Courtesy photo

talk with Rowley every day through text messages, phone calls and Skype dates in hopes to keep his spirits lifted.

“I just make it a point to have high hopes around him.

He is so strong and so positive

even though he doesn’t have to be, and he’s happy so that’s a good thing,” Sydney said.

Staying happy is exactly Rowley’s goal.

“If you have the mindset that all your tough times are

worth it, then you can do, and go, through anything,” Rowley said. “I just remember that God has a plan for everyone and I’m going through all of this for a reason.”

Longhorns ‘hook’ Leonard up Kayla Dieker Copy Editor

Para Anna Stramel presents junior Leonard Castilow with a shadowbox that displays gifts given to him by the Texas Longhorns.

Courtesy Photo

In a sea of purple, he stands out in orange.

Texas Longhorns superfan, junior Leonard Castilow, got the experience of a lifetime last semester when he met the Texas football team when it was in Manhattan to play the Kansas State Wildcats.

Castilow never expected anything more than a normal afternoon at Job Skills, where instead of class he goes to his job at Early Edition for the afternoon. However, when picking up a fellow student from his job at Vanier Sports Complex, he got the shock of his life.

“We saw the Texas Longhorns equipment truck parked outside,” Castilow’s para Anna Stramel said.

“Leonard is most definitely the biggest Texas Longhorns fan outside of Texas, and

Blogs used to help teachers connect Connor Bliss Trending Co-Editor As the Internet has evolved it is constantly becoming easier for people to share their opinions. Naturally the educators of the world got in on the action.

At Manhattan High School there are at least three teachers who have blogs of their own. Their posts range from an analysis of Kansas State University football to a post that begins with, “Nothing exists without the nonexistence of everything else.”

Choir teacher Chad Pape runs a blog called “Things I Should Not Have Said to My Choirs.” His first post was on Nov. 13 of this year. So far he has posted 13 times. His most recent post was entitled “Be Gracious and Humble, or ‘Mr. Pape’s Shoeshine Theory” Where he quotes Henry Bieber saying “Some people are born on third base and think they hit a triple.”

“There is a long-standing tradition of conductors writing letters to their students so my blog is my way of doing that,” Pape said.

He shares his post through his public choir Twitter account and his private personal Facebook account. You can read his blog at thingsishouldnothavesaidtomychoirs.blogspot.com Dawn Lindsley runs a Tumblr blog that is aimed toward educators who are interested in Career and Technical Education, which is something that MHS is making a push towards with a main topic of Advisory period being career clusters.

"I started after taking a grad class which gave me the idea,” Lindsley said.

She started her blog 30 weeks ago and means to post every week but has not always been able to due to the chaotic school year.

Language Arts teacher Tim Higley posts his thoughts on religion and his musings on “Dog Heads in The Ice.” The tagline of the blog reads “The Rhetoric of Sublimation, the Subliminal, and the Sublime.” He started his blog on March 18, 2011, with the first post being, “Why I Am Not An Atheist.” Higley originally started his blog after National

Public Radio shut down its message boards. So he started his blog to keep in touch with the friends he had made there.

In 2011 he posted 15 times but in 2012 he only posted three times, all early in the year.

“Once I realized that some students were interested in this, I might consider starting it back up again,” Higley said.

when he saw that big orange semi-truck with the Longhorn logo on the side, he flipped out.”

Castilow jumped up on the still-moving bus and ripped off his purple work shirt, revealing the Longhorns shirt he was wearing underneath.

Castilow, Stramel and Amy Shimkus, another para, ran out to the bus.

“We chased them down,” Castilow said.

The equipment managers who were in the bus opened up the back and gave Castilow free team gear. He got a hat, a T-shirt and gloves. He also toured the team’s locker room.

“All that would have been plenty to make Leonard the happiest kid on Earth, but it only got better for him,” Stramel said.

The next day Castilow helped sell programs at

the game to benefit Special Olympics, which got him in to watch for free. After the game, Castilow was able to get into the locker room where he got to meet all of his favorite players and head coach Mack Brown. He also got autographs and lots of pictures.

“I think it’s safe to say he didn’t even care a bit that they lost that game,” Stramel said.

Castilow can’t explain how happy the Longhorns’ generosity made him. “I almost cried,” he said.

Stramel agreed. “He was so happy; that day will probably reign as one of the absolute best days of his life and he really hasn’t stopped talking about it since,” she said. “I am so glad this all happened for Leonard. He is probably the kindest and sweetest person I know and certainly deserved to have this dream come true.

It was really wonderful for

me as his para to see him so happy and getting all that he deserves. Leonard was not the only one beaming from ear to ear.”

Interpersonal Skills teacher Barbara Crooks decided to make Castilow a shadowbox to keep all of his free gear in, and the box was presented to him in front of the IPS class the week before winter break.

“It was a great idea as a way to display all his autographed Longhorns gear and his photos and really keep those memories alive for him to look at and appreciate every day,” Stramel said.

Castilow was thrilled with the box and the unique way to display his gifts. “I love it,” he said.

Students of the month Andrew Mohana Shultz Chakaba rti

Rotary Club rds Richa Lucas Miller Emma

Optimist Club

Skateboarder reaches 1,500 hits on YouTube Julianne Harkness Staff Writer Off the streets and onto the board -- skateboard, that is.

Skating is a hobby for most, but for sophomore Brady Wisdom it is a way of life.

When he isn’t working or in school you can find him at the local skate park over by CiCo park. It’s safe to say skating is his passion.

“I love skating. It’s something I’m good at,” Wisdom said. “Skating is my life. I want to make a profession out of it. Either going pro or opening up my own skate shop.”

Wisdom has been skating for five years. Back in October, Wisdom withstood an injury to his lower region, making it so he wasn’t able to skate for a month and a half. “I was doing a jump and the board landed perfectly between my legs and I popsicled myself,” Wisdom said. “It hurt really bad. The doctor told me it was a one-ina-million chance. Thankfully, because of that I was cleared to skate a month or so later.”

Ever since Wisdom was cleared to skate again he hits the park every day he gets the chance. Rain or shine Wisdom will be perfecting his moves for his YouTube channel.

“I started making videos before the accident, but ever since I’ve taken it more seriously,” Wisdom said. “I think the most views I got was 1,500 on one video. About a week after that my dad took my channel down on accident.

Hopefully I will be getting it back up shortly.”

When Wisdom skates he likes to push his limits, always aiming to get better and better. “I think eventually I could go pro,” Wisdom said.

“I mean, I still have a lot of improvement to make but I can get there by the time I graduate. Hopefully.”

Even though Wisdom was

off the deck and grip tape and onto flat ground for a month and a half he never once let the idea to quit skating cross his mind.

“Ninety percent of my friends skate,” Wisdom said.

“They got me into it and I am grateful. They all have been supportive of my skating and always helping me improve with games of SK8 and teaching me new tricks that they learned.”

Wisdom is determined to keep skating. “I will aways skate. No matter what happens,” Wisdom said. “It’s my passion and my life. Why would I give it up?”

6

the MENTOR

Jan. 15, 2012

Trending

Mayhem at the Golden Globes Tarantino’s ego is an awards show Mentos-and-Coke), but Ben the 2013 Globes will be reShields membered for Jodie Foster’s Cecille B. DeMille acceptance speech.

The speech was a whirlwind of incoherence, earnestness, girl power and intoxication. And I don’t mean with alcohol. It’s one of the best editor-in-chief things ever televised on an award show, and anyone who Very tricky, Hollywood cares about popular culture Foreign Press Association. should memorize it. If you Very tricky. Sunday night’s gagged at the brief appearGolden Globes telecast was ance of Zooey Deschanel, set up to be just another whose “quirkiness” is exactly round of the awards show no what’s wrong with Hollywood one takes seriously, but HFPA and the modern woman celebthrew a Jodie Foster-shaped rity, brush up on the career of curveball at us this year. Nor- Jodie Foster. The most impormally, the only reason to tune tant thing about this speech into the Gold Globes is it’s the isn’t that she came out of the only award show to serve alco- closet; it’s that it was pretense hol (and indeed, it delivered free. Awkwardness chic has on that account once again come to dominate “alterna-- adding alcohol to Quentin tive” culture, yet no one is actually moved by “(500) Days of Summer.”

As one very smart woman put on Twitter: “Jodie Foster gave a weird speech with some touching moments because she’s weird Photo courtesy of nbc.com & touching. Not

awkward. Recognize.”

McCarthy never got to blackThough the three-hour list this clown. show was two-and-a-half hours The funniest moments too long, Foster was far from are easy: Taylor Swift’s splitthe only highlight. Tina Fey second death glare at Adele and Amy following her Poehler Best Original were typicalSong win was ly excellent, simply great. extinguishBut we knew ing all fears Tommy Lee of the Steve Jones was Martin-Alec trouble when Baldwin he walked syndrome in, and the (“When it look upon his comes to torface during ture, I trust Farrell and the lady Wiig’s failed who spent routine was three years as good as his married to performance James Camin “Lincoln.” eron” -- line Probably betPhoto courtesy of nbc.com of the night!). ter. It even As usual, many actors, films beats Meryl Streep’s drunken and shows got robbed, but it announcement a few years was a pleasure to see several back that she was changing well-deserved wins: “Girls,” her name to T-Bone. my idol Lena Dunham, JuliHFPA didn’t do bad this anne Moore. Will Ferrell and year. I’m impressed: hamKristen Wiig’s award show mered speeches, Jodie Foster spoof started out funny but and no Ryan Seacrest, all in then tanked so hard, I almost one night. We can work on the wanted Billy Crystal to show actual awards next year. up. Ditto that for Ben Affleck and Sacha Baron Cohen’s genuinely painful, hammy speech that left the crowd laughing nervously. Too bad

Graphic by Dheepthi Perumal

Nastajja’s Hit and Misses ‘Les Misérables’ does justice to Broadway show Miss: Notre Dame loses to Alabama 42-14

Julith Perry

Hit: Super Bowl is almost here!

staff writer Miss: Flu season is a killer!

Hit: We survived 2012!

Miss: Winter break is over and it’s back to the studying.

Photos courtesy of rolltide.com and freegraphics.com

Hit: Only four and a half months until graduation. Yeah!

Consumer Electronics Show, technology makes leaps and bounds sions had been revealed be- extended batteries add an exfore CES, this is the first time tra two hours. Razer has said where they that it will be have rereleased in the 2013 just started but with ally been first quarter of that brings a whole new slew showed off this year but the of new gizmos and gadgets. A to the pubkeyboard case large portion of those gadgets lic and the needed to play were announced at the 2013 press. many of the Tablets Consumer Electronics Show game and use in Las Vegas, Nevada, from are everyas a proper PC at Jan. 8 to 11. From new tele- where will be released visions to tablets to phones, CES with Photos courtesy of kickstarter.com in quarter three technology is making leaps demos of the for $199. new Surface Pro and the abiliand bounds at CES. Some items this year at In the past two years at ty to charge your phone by set- CES were funded by kickstartCES, 3-D televisions are what ting it on the back of a Sam- er.com. One of those products sung Galaxy being the Pebble Smartwatch. was beTab. Razer, The watch can be tethered to ing maa company an Android phone or an Ipjorly prothat special- hone and will vibrate when moted izes in gam- you get a message and will by every ing PCs and show you the message. This technolperipherals, will also to allow you to conogy giannounced trol your music. The watch is ant. This their own completely customizable with year the Windows 8 the ability to download watch push is tablet called faces from the internet. While for “4K” Photo courtesy of razerzone.com the Edge. the Razer Edge battery lasts televisions. “4K” televisions have When released it will be the only an hour the pebble batfour times the resolution of an world’s most powerful tablet. tery lasts for seven days and is “HDTV” with 1080p resolu- It is more of a PC then a tablet waterproof. tion. This high resolution al- because it runs the PC version lows for extremely large tele- of Windows 8 and will allow visions including a 110-inch you to play full PC games. But display made by Westinghouse, it does have its downsides; which will run you $300,000. the most basic version will Although some of the televi- cost $999 and will only have one hour of battery but the Connor Bliss Trending Co-Editor

Phenomenal.

That’s the word to describe the newest film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 French novel, “Les Misérables.”

With “Les Mis” having been produced on Broadway as well as on West End (London’s version of Broadway), there were many high expectations for this film. Granted, most of them were from me but with a story as famous as “Les Mis,” one can’t help but be judgmental. With an estimated budget of $61 million I expected this movie to be nothing but perfect.

The most famous production of “Les Mis” to date is the 1980 musical adaptation by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Oh how I wish I would have alive back then to see it. However, I was fortunate enough to get to see the 2006 Broadway revival at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York. The experience was surreal for me; it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Tears filled my eyes as I enjoyed every minute of the three hours and 15 minutes that was “Les Mis” on Broadway.

Up until this point I thought that nothing would ever beat that performance and nothing has, but after seeing the newest film adaptation of “Les Mis,” I can say that it came pretty darn close. I haven’t been so in awe of a movie since

I first saw “Funny Girl.” Ev- expectation that I had and has erything from hit it big the actors to in the the costumes box ofwas pure perfice. Its fection. opening The cast weekend was remarkit made able. Hugh an estiJackman had mated me crying $28 milwithin the l i o n , first five minwhile utes of the worldmovie, and he w i d e played Jean it has Valjean so g rossed great. Anne an estiHathaway was mated Photo courtesy of itunes.apple.com just flawless. I $ 1 8 4 could feel her million pain as she sang “I Dreamed according to Deadline.com. a Dream.” Russell Crowe gave Huge props to director Javert a completely new mean- Tom Hooper for recreating ing, and whenever I think of “Les Mis” in a way so beautiful that it had the audience fighting back tears, dreaming along with characters for a better tomorrow, hoping that the inevitable does not happen and loving every minute of this movie.

If you plan on going to see “Les Mis” bring tissues and wear Photo courtesy of online.wsj.com waterproof masJavert now I will think of him. cara. I kid you not: by the end Newcomer Samantha Barks of the movie you will be bawlstole the spotlight in every ing your eyes out. scene she was in, especially Congratulations to when she sang “On my Own.” Something most people don’t the winners of the know about Barks is she previ“Best of Manhattan” ously played the role of Éponine in the West End 25th Anparticipant drawing niversary concert production.

Two very special actors $25 iTunes giftcard: who just stole my heart were • Brooke Parker Daniel Huttlestone and Isabelle Allen, playing Gavroche $10 iTunes giftcards: and young Cosette. These • Roger Ogden two kiddos were amazing. I couldn’t help but cry my eyes • Michaela Braun out as young Cosette suffered • Adelle Sloan and as Gavroche was shot to Come to C107 to pick up your death. prize.

“Les Mis” met every single

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