M the MENTOR
April 9, 2013
Manhattan High School, Manhattan, Kan.
Science Olympiad places second at State Dheepthi Perumal Multimedia Editor Working hard all year, the Manhattan High Science Olympiad team competed at State against 30 other schools. Fifteen students along with sponsors Pat Lamb and Dick Nelson travelled to Wichita for a twoday trip. MHS placed second in larger schools and third overall with five gold medals, four silver medals and two bronze medals. The results were very positive for the team, moving up from last year’s third place. “I think we did really well this year,” senior Amy Fan said. “I think this year w e have a really strong, hard working group which I am very honored to be a part of.” “It was wonderful,” Nelson said. “It takes a lot for our
school size to place so high at State.” The students went through a lot preparing for State, with Saturdays sacrificed for experiments and improving models. With over many categories to compete the students tried to improve their experiments from past competitions to put their best for State. “It is my first year, and I got second in elastic launched glider which I am pretty happy about,” jun i o r Sriramana Sankar said. “I did my best and I guess it paid off.” “Austin and I got gold for designer genes,” junior Christine Shiau said. “Although, in Anatomy it was more competi-
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Culinary team gets professional experience at Four Olives
“I think this year we have a really strong, hard working group which I am very honored to be a part of.” - Fan
“During these few days, we all bonded as a team and had a great time.”
The culinary team practices its skills at Manhattan’s local restaurant, Four Olives, under the owner, executive chef and mentor, Scott Benjamin. The team prepped and cooked the dishes they created at the culinary competition for the public last Saturday and Sunday. Kelsey Crawford, photographer
Choir auditions make another round Sarah Shi News Editor
Senior David Garcia, winces as the first drop of blood flows through the tube at the StuCo blood drive. Julianne Harkness, photographer made sure that the Red Cross ones much familiar to the orMaddie Ross and StuCo worked cohesive- ganizers. Co-Trending Editor ly.” “We have had this issue this “Before the blood drive year where it seems to take an Even though spring sports and full calendars usually chal- we always have the woman awful long time before the first lenge the scheduling of Stu- come out from the Red Cross blood sample, but that is not dent Council’s spring blood to come talk to the Student really on us. It is just how long drive, 62 Manhattan High Council,” StuCo sponsor Les- it takes the Red Cross to set students donated during the lie Campbell said. “Then we up,” Campbell said. But these minor glitches drive in the south gym last have everyone sign up for jobs, because there is just so did not faze volunteers as they Wednesday. The event was sponsored much volunteering that we took an optimistic outlook. “We only ran into a couple by StuCo with help from the need to have it run properly. Red Cross. StuCo has made A lot of it is just managing the problems scheduling-wise, and making sure people were in this event a priority in recent manpower, the volunteers.” Many looked to the event and out in a timely manner, years and says their experias another success for the but there weren’t any big caence helps in the effort. “In preparation I had to or- circumstances. “I think what tastrophes this semester,” Nelganize all of StuCo and make went well was that we got a son said. The final totals for the day sure all the people were bring- lot of people in despite spring ing the food that we needed,” sports and it was a pretty ef- included 73 attempted donacoordinator and StuCo mem- fective system since most of us tions, 30 first-time donations, ber Hannah Nelson said. “I working it have been doing it and seven deferrals. “It sure seemed like we got also had to make sure all the for a while,” Nelson said. Despite the successes the an awful lot of people through tables were set up and coordinate appointments. I also problems that occurred are to donate,” Campbell said.
Forensics Forensics meets are usually made up of separate events for individuals or partner groups, but on Friday the Manhattan High forensics team attended an entirely different kind of event, and it resulted in one team member qualifying for Nationals. The National Forensics League Congress was conducted at a church in Topeka. NFL congress is when the group of students and judges
meet in one large room to talk about the different bills that the school has submitted. They usually pass about 10 bills in the eight hours and they are usually about current events. The MHS team members were divided into four groups and had two sessions that were approximately three hours each. There was a final round that the top seven people from each section go to finals. Eight members of the MHS team got into finals and senior Jake Seaton qualified for Nationals
Volume 100 issue 22
tive since a lot more schools offer it.” With State being their last competition, seniors are saying their goodbyes. “State was an unforgettable experience,” Fan said.
Red Cross joins with StuCo for year’s second blood drive
Clu b Notes
News
in June in Birmingham, Ala. “I usually enjoy congress because you get to see other kids from different schools and you have to use teamwork,” sophomore Jina Ok said. - Nastajja Rivera
Tribe Tribe’s current fundraiser, Student in Need Fund, is aimed at helping students who can’t afford to participate in school activities, such as senior graduation or prom. “This was really started to show awareness that we really do have students that can’t afford a cap and gown for graduation or a dress or tux for
Choir auditions have arrived for the 2013-2014 school year and approximately 150 to 200 students will have gone through the audition process by the end. These auditions are coordinated by Choir Director Chad Pape, who continues to use to the two-part system to select future choir students. The first part has the auditionee go to Pape’s website to find sheet music of an until-then-unknown song, then record his or her voice and upload it to the website. The second part, which Pape admits is the hardest of the two, requires the students to read music on-site. “It’s the hardest of the two because they have to read onsite and independently,” Pape said. “It also doesn’t help that the music they’re reading is one that they haven’t seen before.” “It wasn’t too bad,” junior Jaylen Condra said. “What we did was just like board work where we just make the rhythm and draw the notes.” Although Pape holds these auditions annually, he continues to be excited by the incoming students’ singing talents. “The most enjoyable thing about auditions is that it makes me excited for next year,” he said. “This is such a big program and you’re worried that once everyone graduates, you won’t have anyone good left. But I’m always surprised by how good they are.” “I was pretty nervous,” junior Megan Knudsen said.
prom,” Tribe sponsor Cindi Nivert said. However, the Student in Need Fund is not something new. The fund previously had money but was depleted when a student approached Nivert telling her that she couldn’t participate as an honorary for homecoming because she couldn’t afford a dress. “I talked to the [Tribe] officers about it,” Nivert said. “There was only about $40 in there and we used it all for that situation.” The fundraiser started April 1and will run everyday for the whole month. Students must donate at least $1 to enter their name into the raffle drawing in hopes for getting a
“But I just got over it. It’s was my third time auditioning so it wasn’t that bad. We did something different this year, though. We had time to write in the rhythms and stuff before we did our music reading.” However, for transfer students who are auditioning to be on one or more of the four audition choirs, Pape occasionally does run into a few bumps in the road pertaining to the
“It’s the hardest of the two because they have to read onsite and independently.” - Pape student’s lack of sight reading or music skills. “We usually have transfer students who come and audition for the choirs and sometimes when I put the sheet music in front of them they just stand there and stare because they haven’t done something like that before, or by themselves,” Pape said. “I expect different things from newcomers or transfer students than my repeat ones. If a student doesn’t know how to sight read, I just talk to them about what we can do to fix that.”
$100 gift card from Tribe. For Tribe participants, the fundraiser has gotten a positive response. “I think it’s a good idea to raise money for those in need,” 2013-2014 secretary Kennedy Felice said. “I hope we can raise enough money for all student on our list.” Junior and next year’s Tribe Vice President Madison Long agrees. “The best part of this is knowing that it goes to a good cause.” - Sarah Shi
StuCo Student Council is holding a jean drive for their second semester service project.
Students help run elections, gain important insight Kaitlin Wichmann Photo Editor Last Tuesday, senior Diana Palomino was given the opportunity to not only miss a day of school, but also to earn up to $120. Palomino, along with several other select students from Manhattan High, served as election judges in last week’s election. The judges did tasks such as directing the voters to the polling booths, checking identification and having the voters sign their names. The overall experience seemed to be very valuable to the students who took part. “I benefited from the experience by getting to see how everything works,” Palomino said. “I thought it would be interesting to find out what the election process was like.” For junior Jerry Sextro it was his third time taking part in the elections as a helper. “I’ve had quite a bit of fun doing it the other two times, and it’s pretty good money,” Sextro said. The students worked nearly 14 hours (starting at 5:45 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m.) in order to make the election day run smoothly. Even after a long day of work, Palomino still the thought the day was well worth it. “I would definitely do it again, and I would recommend others to do it,” Palomino said. “I think if you understand what happens on the inside, then you will be more interested in voting.” Organizing the effort are sophomores Megan Ochoa and Dheepthi Perumal. “We have done a coat drive before and we wanted to do something different. That’s how we got the idea to make it more specific and collect jeans,” Perumal said. Collection boxes will be placed in the main offices of both east and west campuses. “We will have boxes for each grade to put their jeans in and whoever has the most donations will win a prize,” Perumal said. Donations will be collected through the end of this week. - Maddie Ross
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the MENTOR
April 9, 2013
Opinions
Talent overrated Naomi Mcclendon
entertainment editor Our idea that talent is the sole determinant of what we can do or who we can be only limits us. This notion that we all have some magical hidden ability that we need to find in order to be successful prevents us from actually developing talents, and ironically, prevents us from truly finding success. It’s pretty clear that our society is stuck on talent. As soon as we’re old enough -- I’m talking a whopping 2 or 3 years -we’re quickly thrown into art classes or sports teams or dance studios — whatever we show promise in — instead of developing passions for anything. And how many TV shows do we watch that are based
solely around the idea of talent? We’ve The second thing our idea of talent got “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The does to us is exactly that — tells us what we X Factor,” “America’s Got Talent;” the list can or can’t, should or shouldn’t do. For just goes on. The media throws talent in example, I currently have a C in physics our faces and almost forces us to obsess — but it’s not my fault. I’m just not natuover it. rally gifted in that area — which means I So what’s wrong with that? Isn’t talent shouldn’t try to get better, because physa good thing? Shouldn’t it be ics will just never be my thing. celebrated? Of course the anOn the other hand, I have an swer is yes, but often, we are too “The idea of A in English, I always have. blinded by our obsession to see Which also means I shouldn’t the problems that our obsession talent... tells try to get better, because I can actually causes — and what our get by naturally. Either way obsession causes is a huge prob- us what we you look at it, our idea of tallem. causes a severe lack of can or can’t, ent The first thing our idea of progress that’s otherwise easily talent does is forces us to com- should or avoidable. Award-winning acpare ourselves to others. Judith tor, musician and hot-guy (yes, Orlorff, a psychiatrist, describes shouldn’t do.” he won an award for being hot) us as a dysfunctional society Johnny Depp almost fell to the of comparison junkies. If you vice of talent. In an interview think about it, we’re always he said, “I was convinced I comparing talents — who’s better at what. had no talent at all. And that thought took It seems ridiculous to imagine people com- away all my ambition.” Luckily, something paring passion, or hard work, or dedica- changed his mind, but too often, that’s not tion, which are all part of the true nature of the case. success. According to Orlorff, comparing Luckily, the two-part solution to the ourselves to others leads us to believe that problem is something we all learned when we’re either better or lesser than a person we were kids — follow your dreams and — which only leads to a self-induced limita- practice makes perfect. The first thing we tion. Comparing ourselves to others makes need to do in order to get over our obsesus think there are certain things that we sion with talent is to learn to follow our can or can’t do. dreams instead of our talents. Albert Ein-
Religion puzzling, comforting force in world John Rockey
staff writer
According to my religious beliefs, about 1,980 years ago, a man claiming to be the Messiah was crucified by Pontius Pilate as being the King of the Jews. Now we, his disciples, go about spreading the word of God and make up the largest religion today. All because of one man. All because of one deity that promises answers as to why the earth continues to spin with the good and bad souls living and acting out of
free will. But that isn’t why people follow God all the time. It is because of the beliefs they’ve become aligned with due to a select few reinterpreting scripture into a twisted Word of God. I am a Catholic. I am by no means devoutly practicing my faith, but I still like this source of comfort that many people spend their lives searching for. Many people I know get questioned why they practice our faith and why the Catholic Church takes the stances it does on issues like abortion, same sex marriages, secular interests, the disgusting nature of evil people and why they are still breathing the same air as us. I honestly do not know why. There have been fanatics in history that use words from the Bible to justify their wick-
ed actions. Today, people like the Westboro Baptist church members, for example, preach that God hates gays and has condemned them to hell. Take away God. Now look at the world around you. At the moment of conception, the notion of “You” existing because of your father’s sperm is one to 300 million. That’s just from your father. There is your mother, grandparents, great-grandparents, your ancestors, and then the genetics that make up you. But going further and further. Past the land that makes up your home, and your state, country, planet, galaxy and then the entirety of the universe. With no God, is this all supposed to be the most elaborate coincidence that you should read my column about the religion I follow that promises answers to why the world spins with the good and bad souls living
and acting out of free will? There are other religions. Often, people are born into their religion and don’t have a say on the matter. I was born and raised on the idea that God lives to shape the world around us. Others are of different denominations that promise the same such goal. We all choose to follow religion because there is comfort in knowing that a supreme being or supreme beings have created and then run the world around us. If you do not follow a religion, then I should not tell you to follow it for comfort. I’m just telling why others follow the religion that makes up their lives.
stein said it best — “I have no talent. I am only passionately curious.” Now obviously, the man’s talented -- a genius, even. But his true success came from following his passion and fulfilling his talent on the way. The same goes for the genius behind Star Wars, George Lucas, who described talent as “something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in.” But the solution to our talent obsession has two parts — it’s not as easy as simply doing what you love. We also have to accept that practice really does make perfect. Think about child prodigies — Mozart, Tiger Woods — raw talent, right? These people do have a common factor — but it’s not just super talent. These masters both began their careers while still in diapers and spent years developing their skills. Perhaps the most noted study on talent vs. hard work was done by Anders Ericsson of Florida State University. After years of research, Ericsson published a landmark paper suggesting the true nature of success — deliberate practice, a concept which says that nobody can be exceptional without hours of specific and difficult practice. I can’t decide if the idea is inspiring or depressing — anybody can do anything, but nobody, even the most talented, can do anything without practice.
The Mentor is an open forum and accepts letters and guest columns from students, faculty members and parents. Letters and columns are distinct from each other. Letters are in response to content in this publication and are recommended to be no longer than 350 words. Columns are a new topic, a call to action or a clear statement of an opinion regarding a school or national issue and are required to be within 300-600 words in length. Anyone interested in contributing a guest column is advised to clear the topic with the editorial staff prior to writing it in order to save time and ef-
Hatred of country music sign of elitism Julianne Harkness
staff writer
“I will listen to any music except country.” This sentence annoys me. People say it on a daily basis and then when you ask someone why they say that they usually end up saying “because it sounds stupid” or “the beat sucks.” Country music is not about the beat or how fast someone can talk. It’s about people’s issues and how they overcome them. It’s about expressing yourself and having fun with-
out doing unnecessarily bad things. Every country song has a meaning. You just have to listen for it. I’d rather listen to a wellplayed guitar rhythm and well-thought-out, heartfelt lyrics than someone screaming at me or speed speaking about what they do on their mother’s couch. Another thing that just irks me is when someone says “only hillbillies listen to country.” That is not true on any level. I know hillbillies that listen to rap and rock more than they do country, and I know “gangsters” who listen to nothing but country. Not to mention that half the people who say they don’t listen to country music know more country songs than any other genre. Just because you dress a certain way or talk a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t listen to different genres of
music. Music is for everyone. Country, in my opinion, just hits home for a lot more people and sounds so much better than dubstep or rap. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, don’t judge music by its genre. Just because the album art is a guy in a cowboy hat and boots and his CD is in the country section doesn’t mean you should just bypass it and not give it a try. You never know what you will like when you try something new. I used to hate country with a burning passion. But that’s the old banjo poppin’ country. The new “Outlaw” stuff hits just as hard as the music everyone listens to on the radio. The only difference between country and all other genres is that country songs have meanings and are wholesome. I have yet to find a country song that is inappropriate for people of all ages to listen to.
Take “Stand” by Rascal Flatts for example. The song from the very beginning tells you to pick your head up and keep going. That no matter what you can make it though it. The chorus of the song states “When push comes to shove you taste what you’re made of. You might bend till you break cause it’s all you can take. On your knees you look up, decide you’ve had enough. You get mad you get strong. Wipe your hands, shake it off when you stand.” If you think you are “too cool” to listen to a song that encourages you to keep going through everything life throws at you then maybe you shouldn’t listen to country. Country music keeps a lot of people going with it’s subtle reminders and life lessons. No one is ever “too cool” to listen to it.
Calculators stunt learning John Riforgiate Staff Writer The teaching methods of today perpetuate the problem of calculators taking away from learning. Remember being a kid and doing 15 + 18 in your head or on a piece of paper? Now, however, we solve every problem with a calculator. Calculators obscure the concepts we need to learn, alienate math from the user and leave much room for user error. Often students don’t learn how to solve problems without calculators. Teachers argue that teaching students with-
out these devices would be difficult and take up a lot of class time, but understanding the concept should be more important than being able to type it into the calculator. If a student doesn’t know what he or she is doing without a calculator, that person might be in quite a tight spot when his or her battery runs out. Calculators separate math from the user as well. For example, matrices confused students with strange brackets and odd arrangements before said students learned how to plug them into a calculator. Many still don’t know what they mean or how to use them.
Calculators make getting the correct answer less difficult than understanding the question, the more important part of the test. In addition, calculators also create problems of their own when solving equations. Missing just one of the parentheses while inputting an equation can spell doom on a math test with over 400 percent error. Students often ask how these math problems matter to them in real life, but how will they know when they can apply them if they don’t know what the equations even mean? If students don’t know what they are solving for in a
given equation, they can’t possibly find out when they can use one. If you don’t know what a tool does, how can you possibly try to fix something with it? Next time you go to use your calculator, pause to reconsider the consequences of forgetting the math you know.
fort. E-mail ideas and submissions to Editor-in-Chief Ben Shields at mhsmentoropinions@gmail.com. Staff meetings take place every five-day school week on Tuesday’s during fourth hour. Anyone is invited to come pitch ideas.
the Mentor staff editor in chief/opinions -Ben Shields news editor -Sarah Shi entertainment editor -Naomi McClendon sports editor -Nick Bandy assistant sports editor -Michael Melgares 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 -- Danielle Cook 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.
the MENTOR
Entertainment
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Connor Bliss Trending Co-Editor Club booths lined the commons of Manhattan High as students lined up to eat jabaneros, sing karoke, play “Guitar Hero” or walk the cake walk. Students Against Destructive Descisions sponsored this year’s Spring Fling to a large turnout. SADD marketed Spring Fling around the school with posters and one thing that was on all of them was laser
Senior Dre’Vel Taylor applies Henna to a Spring Fling-goer.
tag. The marketing appeared to work as students got out of a game and went right back in to continue shooting their friends and try to win. “I thought the turnout was excellent...I think alot of people came because they wanted to play that(laser tag),” SADD sponsor Kari Quiton said. Sophomore Taylor Jones attended Spring Fling and when he got out of laser tag he got right back in line. "I wanted to win,” he said. Although laser tag drew
BSU members teach students to line dance.
April 9, 2013
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3 1 0 2 the largest crowds it also took the most work and troubleshooting. Originally when SADD memebers were testing laser tag they only had one line this was later changed due to extremely short games. “The laser guns were a little complicated so we did alot of trial runs before,” Quiton said. SADD plans to keep laser due to the large numbers it drew. For the event to be pulled off it took volunteers and SADD members to run the prize table and other activities.
SADD members had to contact clubs to sign up and make sure they had an idea of their activity. They also had to get prizes for the prize table and also sign up adult chaperones. “The SADD students did an amazing job. They worked really, really hard from right after school to almost 11 at night,” Quiton said. “The officers were responsible for contacting the clubs...Those officers work hard to get that event ready, they did a great job.”
Students take a snack-break before returning to the festivities John Rockey, Photographer
FILM FESTIVAL Aspiring filmmakers make public debut Ben Shields Editor in chief The annual film festival took place Friday night during Spring Fling in Rezac Auditorium. Of five submissions, Justin Brown took the grand prize, with his film “A Bad Day for Eggs.” Criteria for entrance is very loose -- “I leave it up to the kids,” head of drama de-
partment Linda Uthoff said. Other than basic standards like school appropriateness, competitors are free to choose genre and subject matters. The required length is at least 30 seconds and no longer than 30 minutes. Judges, usually from the video and media production department at Dole Hall at K-State, score contestants based on editing quality, direction, acting, concept and
art direction values. This was the ninth film festival to date. Normally there are between four and 10 entries, some of them made for other class projects and others specially for the festival. Originally it was a stand-alone event but recently has been integrated with Spring Fling by request of school administration. “We decided it would be a
nice community service thing for the school,” Uthoff said. Though a modest public attraction, it is one of the best opportunities the school has to submit original work, particularly in this medium. Second place winner, sophomore Abby Sachnik, took advantage of the festival to show the public her work for the first time. Her three-minute film was inspired by a TED
IPS dines at Local
To celebrate the end of basketball season, and therefore the end of collecting for the Emergency Shelter, the Interpersonal Skills Class made a trip to local to eat together Friday, March 29. The class chose to go to Local because all proceeds from that week went to Manhattan Special Olympics. Kayla Dieker, Photographer
2pm-5pm Mon-Fri
Talk by Cesar Kuriyama. “[He] filmed a second of every day of his life and he said it helped him remember things so I wanted to do that,” Sachnik said. Sachnik has been into film her whole life, appearing in home movies filmed by her mother since childhood, but only recently began making them herself. “I watch a lot of YouTube,
so I was really inspired by that,” she said. “I watched a lot of movies when I was younger.” Sachnik wants to be a “jack of all trades” when she starts a career in film and try her hand at direction, producing, screenplay writer, etc. “I encourage people to get into film,” she said. “I really enjoy it and I think other people would enjoy it too.”
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the MENTOR
April 9, 2013
Sports
Track pulls off close victory in Topeka Tre Fuentes Staff Writer The Boy’s Track team had one last relay for the night. To take first at the Topeka Invitational, they needed to place in one of the top three spots in the 4x400 Meter Relay race against some of the top talents in Kansas. To make matters worse, the outside conditions were less than ideal. “It was extremely windy outside,” senior Evan Williams said. “Anyone that does a lot of running knows that is not a good thing.” Led by juniors Patrick Guvele and Henry Bieber, sophomore Chris Martin, junior and senior Evan Williams, the Indians got third place in the 4x400 Meter Relay. The boys scored a total of 120.5 points at the meet to put them in first place. Leavenworth was second with 120, showing what a close meet it was. Williams placed first in the boys 800 meter run, was part of the boys 4x800 meter relay team that got first and the 4x400 Meter Relay team that got third and allowed the Indians to take home first
place in the boys events. “It was kind of a unique situation for us,” Williams said. “We are used to being ahead and in the lead. But with five events left, we were like in sixth place overall. The Leavenworth kids were already celebrating. But somehow we came back and managed to get first.” “Everyone on our team is so competitive,” head coach Jesse Woodard said. “Even if our players get second or third, they are disappointed and find ways to get better. Not everyone can get first, and I think that fuels a lot of our runners when they don’t get it. They try even harder and get better than they were before, even if they were already really good.” There was a lot of success for the team. The meet consisted of only three of the top athletes in each event from each school. There were more than 10 schools, meaning every event was very competitive. But that didn’t stop the Indians. The girls were also dominant for the Indians, taking 119.5 points on the afternoon. Topeka was a far second with
96.5 points. Previous to Friday’s meet, Rejoyce Bryant had placed first in the girls 100 Meter hurdles in every race this season. Even with the challenges of the weather, Bryant was able to keep the streak going. “The wind was really bad,” Bryant said. “It was going like at 18 mph or something crazy like that. It’s tricky to jump well with the wind pushing on your back like that. But overall, I was pretty happy with my time.” Not only did Bryant get first, but her time of 15.89 was a personal best. “I just think that whatever it is you want to do in life, you should try your best at it,” Bryant said. “I just don’t like to lose. Why be average when you can be great?” With their only home meet of the season coming up this Friday, both the boys and girls will be eagerly anticipating putting up a good performance against their home crowd. “Everyone is still improving on a daily basis,” Woodard said. “The meets will start to get tougher, but so are we. Our team can handle anything that is thrown at them.”
Athlete of the Week Tre Fuentes staff writer
Chris Melgares
ond place by almost 20 seconds. Not only is Melgares one of the favorites to place high at State this year, he is also known by his teammates and coaches as one of the hardest workers on the team and strives on a daily basis to get better on each passing day. Q: What do you like so much about the MHS track team? A: It’s a great family. Practices are fun, and its a really great environment.
Melgares participates in the 1600 and 3200 meter run. He has gotten nothing but first in both of his races all season long. Last Friday’s meet featured the top three athletes from each school in each event. Melgares finished with a time of 9:52.83 in the 3200 meter run, beating sec-
Q: What inspires you to push yourself on a daily basis to get the most out of your abilities? A: My teammates are really supportive and it’s easy to practice with them. The long distance coach happens to be my mother as well. It’s hard not to be motivated by someone you live with and who shares the same desire about running as you do.
Q: What are your goals this season? A: I would like to place in the top five at State in both my races and lead the team to a top-3 finish. Q: It is still really early in the season, do you feel you are on par with reaching your goals? A: I believe I am. We are still improving at every meet, and I am surrounded by a bunch of great people that want to help me fulfill my goals as well. Q: What do you do to mentally prepare for a race? I try not to think too much about getting first or the possibility of not performing how I would like to. I try to stay relaxed and just enjoy myself. I enjoy running, and I perform better when I don’t stress to much about it.
Soccer comes up short at home Golf takes first Alan Brown Staff Writer The Varsity Golf Team recently participated in its first meets of the season, including a trip to Salina, where it finished in first place. The Indians brought in a total of 321 points, two less than Newton (323) and four less than Salina Central (325). Leading the Indians was junior David Woods, finishing third individually with 77 points. Sophomores Cole Dillon and Drew Casper tied for fourth overall, each scoring 78 points. Finish-
ing with 88 points was junior Scott Woods and senior Drew Kohlmeier. It was an interesting day for the Indians, whose major challenge was to fight through the harsh spring weather. Wind speeds were said to have been as high as 35-40 miles per hour. As well as participating in the Salina meet, the golf team took part in their only home meet of the year at the Manhattan Country Club Monday. The team will now go on to compete April 11 at Wamego and April 22 at Topeka West.
Baseball splits with Hayden Nick Bandy Sports Editor
The Indians stretch and listen to head coach Mike Sanchez before their game last week at Anneburg Park. John Rockey, photographer
John Rockey Staff Writer In the past week the Lady Indians soccer team came back with one win out of their three games over the week. Starting off the week last Tuesday, the Indians competed at home against Salina Central and defended the home with nine points scored by the J.V. team and then one point scored to win the Varsity game. But Washburn Rural proved tougher in another win in the week. The J.V. lost with one goal scored on them. Following behind with the Varsity fighting but then losing five to nothing. Players immediately set about fixing the mistakes they made. “We had a tough time with combining passes and with team chemistry,” junior Ally Taylor said. Saturday was bright and smelled of spring at the time of the Blue Valley Stilwell game at Anneberg Park. The J.V. team went after not letting Blue Valley get the worst of
them, but they ended up losing three to nothing. “We tried very hard, but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough,” sophomore Savannah Roberts said. Varsity went in looking to fight and got a fight. They ended up losing the game two to nothing. “I think we haven’t come out with as much intensity as we needed to,” head coach Mike Sanchez said. “We were having a tough time in the first half, but got better in the second half.” From player to player, the Lady Indians are looking at how they can improve at their game. “I think once we got going, overall, we played hard and kept going,” senior Bailey Snyder said. The next games this week begin here today against Emporia. Friday, the team heads to Seaman and then are back home against Blue Valley West. “We tried very hard, but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough,” Roberts said.
Tennis battles League teams Danielle Cook Staff Writer
Junior Emma Samenus kicks the ball past a defender. The Indians won one out of their three games last week . John Rockey, photographer
Softball fights through 14 innings Dheepthi Perumal Multimedia Editor With their first home game being cancelled due to bad weather, Manhattan High Softball girls had their first home meet of the year on April 5. Playing against Hayden by splitting wins in the varsity double header but coming away with two J.V. losses. The varsity girls won their first game 7-6 and lost their second game 1-6. The J.V. girls lost both games with the scores of 2-6 and 2-4. “We have split the games
every single time,” junior Aubrey Jung. “It kind of getting old.” The girls put up a battle with 14 innings in their first game against Hayden. J u n g pitched the whole first game. “We had a long battle the first game,” senior Tyler Hoyt said. “We put up a fight.” “I had a pitch count of
If you saw Jesse Steinbring play last Friday, you wouldn’t know he is the only sophomore on varsity. His solid pitching led the Manhattan High baseball team to a 5-4 victory over Hayden, after they lost 13-12 in the previous game. “We came out more determined,” Steinbring said. “We had a mentality that the only team that can beat us is ourselves. We knew they didn’t beat us, we lost it, and that was the spark to our fire to win the second game.” In the first game, MHS got 17 hits to Hayden’s 10, and every one of their starters got a hit. But Hayden matched them point for point and defeated the Indians 13-12. “We hit the ball well, but we didn’t pitch it very well,” head coach Don Hess said. “We couldn’t keep the other team off the scoreboard.” Their struggle was mainly pitching, as they began with
junior Jacob Biller on the mound, but he was replaced after one inning by junior Chris Klug. Klug pitched several innings and then junior Henry DeNoble was brought in as the closer. “We struggled with walks and not throwing strikes all night,” Hess said. Steinbring was the starting pitcher in the second game, and he helped the Indians build a 5-4 lead. The game ended early after only five innings. The stadium was too dark to play due to its lack of lights. After splitting the games with Hayden MHS now has a 3-1 record on the year. “Hayden is always one of the top four teams we’ll face all year. They’re always a tough test for us,” Hess said. MHS moves on to play another league matchup at Topeka West on Tuesday. “We will work out the kinks and come fired up on game day,” Steinbring said.
160,” Jung said. The second game was not so good for the girls -- losing by five runs with bad hitting from MHS and many errors in the field that hurt the score. Hoyt pitched the second game along with short stopping the first game. “We just made terrible contact with the ball and couldn’t
“We had a long battle the first game. We put up a fight.” - Hoyt
get on base to score,” Hoyt said. “We got very tired, and lost momentum,” senior Kylie Smith said. “Last year we swept Hayden away, but this year wasn’t so great.” The girls next game will be April 12 at Shawnee Heights, one of their top competitors. “We have to work on defense this whole week,” senior Jenna Stigge said. “ And work hard as a team to have a good rhythm and momentum for hitting.”
The Manhattan High Boys Tennis team faced Washburn Rural, Topeka West and Topeka High at a varsity tennis quad hosted by Washburn Rural on Tuesday. Varsity singles players and doubles teams competed in this Centennial League competition, where the Indians fared well. According to head coach Charles Kipp senior Jake Seaton, representing Manhattan as the number one singles entry, finished with a 2-1 record, his only loss coming out of a match against “a very talented Topeka West player.” “This was Jake’s first 2013 outing,” Kipp said. “It was an opportunity to play a quality opponent in a competitive environment.” As the number two singles entry in the tournament, senior Dustin Hayes went undefeated, finishing with a 3-0 record. “Dustin played with confidence and will be a factor in League and Regional play,” Kipp said.
On the doubles end of things, junior Jonathon Turnley and freshman Kirkland Lambert represented Manhattan in the number one doubles division, coming out of the tournament with a 1-2 record. Kipp said that this pair played well together and continue to improve. “They’ll contend for an opportunity to play at the State tournament if they continue to develop their games,” Kipp said. Junior Tyler Belin and freshman Carter Nelson, the number two doubles division team entry, also finished with a 1-2 record. Though arranging the most successful doubles teams is a bit of a challenge, Kipp has faith in his pairs’ abilities to become stronger players as individuals. “This was an excellent opportunity for the team to see Centennial League competition,” Kipp said. “Manhattan has a deeper group of varsity players this year; the difficulty is to find the combinations that will provide the highest level of success.”
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5 April 9, 2013
Football player trades pads for pom-poms Julith Perry Staff Writer In a pyramid of bows, skirts and pom-poms, sophomore Kendrick Rivera stands out as the only male cheerleader on the squad. “I decided I was not going to play football next year anyway and upon observation, I realized that the girls didn’t really have a lot of stability in their base and so I was like ‘Hey I should try out for cheerleading’ and so that’s what I did,” Rivera said. The decision to give up football wasn’t just a whim for Rivera. “I decided to focus on my wrestling career instead but I didn't just want to lay around and get fat during the fall,” Rivera said. With wrestling starting in the winter, Rivera plans to just cheer during the fall. After deciding to hang up his football gear to become a cheerleader, Rivera had to endure what everyone else has to do before they can officially become a cheerleader -- clinics and tryout week. “The first day was really tough on my body [because] my body wasn’t really used to going into those different formations,” Rivera said. “But as the week went on my body got used to it and it became a lot easier.” Learning the formations and choreography might have been tough on Rivera but he adapted quickly and well. “He picked up the material really well, I was watching him throughout the clinics,” sophomore Kali Killingsworth said. “He was picking up the choreography better than I was and I was really surprised by that.” Apart from learning cheer formations, Ri-
vera has also received some unnecessary criticism from his peers. “I used to get crap about it but as tryout week went on a lot of people came around to it,” Rivera said. With cheer proving to be almost too much to take on Rivera almost didn’t do it. “I thought about backing out, I just decided to just go for it and I liked it,” Rivera said. Despite the negative comments from peers, Rivera’s main priority is the safety of the girls. “My main concern is dropping somebody right now, that’s my main concern,” Rivera said. “It’s more about their safety, I really just don't want to drop anybody and hurt them.” Two big supports for Rivera have been his mom and the cheer girls. “My mom, when I told her I wasn't going to do football and then I told I her was going to try out for cheer, she was all on board for that,” Rivera said. “[The cheer girls] love it, they absolutely love the fact that I'm doing cheerleading, they were the ones that were all for it.” Rivera has brought hope to the cheer girls for potentially more male cheerleaders in the future. “I think he might set an example, since he was a football player,” sophomore Mallory Prater said. “Maybe other football players might want to join. It depends on how much you care of what other people think.”
Something in common Danielle Cook Staff Writer Going through the commons to get from one class to another is part of most everyone’s daily routine. Buzzing and crowded with talkative students, the commons are seemingly never quiet. Laughter and chatter fill the crowded commons during passing period, but what goes on when the bell rings, calling for passing period to be over and for the next class to begin? The commons become quieter and emptier, and scattered throughout the space are a few students who are perhaps better acquainted with the quieter, emptier com-
mons. During fourth hour every day, mainly seniors can be found in the commons, simply skipping class and hanging out, but for junior Kendra Chandler, the empty commons served a single-day purpose as a conveniently quiet place. At a table on the edge of the noiseless cafeteria, Chandler sat perusing her copy of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” “I’m supposed to be in class, but this is kind of a onetime thing,” Chandler said. “I just have to read this book for AP English.” Chandler explained that she chose the commons as a place to read because they’re
quiet; the serene atmosphere was a necessary aspect in the completion of Chandler’s task. “I have to finish ‘The Great Gatsby’ by tomorrow,” she said. On the other side of the commons, seniors Jenna Stigge and Kylie Smith lounged with some other friends in a circle of chairs outside the library. “We come out here all the time. Sometimes we do during third hour, too,” Stigge said. Stigge and Smith explained that they’re comfortable hanging out in the commons because it’s somewhere to be besides class, minus getting in trouble.
“Our teacher knows we’re out here; it’s fine,” Smith said. Agreeing, Stigge said that along with chatting, the commons is also a place to do homework if need be. “But mostly we just like to socialize; it’s better than being in class,” Stigge said. Nearby, almost in the heart of the commons, the Adaptive P.E. group was all smiles, enjoying the sunny space in which they played various games. The group uses the commons as their activity space every day, unless half of a gym is available. “We play a lot of games with balloons, beanbags and racquetballs, so there are a lot
of things we’re not able to do out here because of the glass library windows,” Terri Akin, a coordinator of the Adaptive P.E. group said. Akin explained hat even though there are many kids in the group and certain activities are limited by the structure of the area, the commons are a “good, positive atmosphere for the kids.” “Other kids will say hi to the kids in my group when they walk through here, so that’s really nice. It’s just a neat, open, bright space for us to use, and it really is a happy place for the kids,” Akin said. On the outskirts of the commons, seniors Kain Blaha, Hannah Miller and Kil-
lian Gorman sit on the bottom few steps of the stairs near the south gym. “We’re out here basically every day, at some point,” Blaha said. Miller added that the commons are a good place to hang out if you don’t have a class to go to. “I’m just an aide for a class this hour, so I mean, I don’t really have anything else to do, so I come out here,” Miller said. Gorman said he likes to entertain any passersby in the commons with card tricks.
New country, new challenges
Online ordering for the 2013 Blue M yearbook is now closed. However, a limited number of extra yearbooks are available. Bring $64.83 (including tax) to C-107 or the main office to reserve your copy before they’re all gone.
With nothing but “hello” and “goodbye” memorized in English, junior Raquel Vinueza moved from her familiar Ecuadorian home to Manhattan High School. Vinueza’s mom received a scholarship to learn English at Kansas State University for eight months and then return to Ecuador to teach English. Raquel made the move with her mother and will stay six months before
returning, too. Although her time here is short, Vinueza has high expectations for her stay in the United States. “I felt good that I was coming to the United States to learn English and many more things. I want to learn English so I can teach it to my friends and later my kids,” she said with the help of a translator. Adjusting in a new country and school has been difficult but being away from her friends and family has been
one of the hardest things for Vinueza. “The hardest part I would say would be to leave my friends behind and my family. I communicate with my friends through Facebook and my family on Skype,” she said. The familiar Ecuadorian culture has been difficult to be away from as well. “There’s a lot of junk food. In Ecuador we don't eat much junk food,” Vinueza said.
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Vinueza is used to fresh produce and homemade dishes. One of her favorites is a crab dish that her mom would prepare for her and her family. Her mom wold bring home crab from the store, wash it and lay it on the table. When everyone got home they would choose their own crab and stuff it with onion, tomatoes and lemon. Obvious challenges of living in a different country like learning the language and ad-
justing to the different culture have been new experiences for Vinueza, but something she wasn’t expecting were the vast differences between the schools in the United States and Ecuador. “[School is] completely different. Over there the schools are small, we wear uniforms, we have a different subject everyday and every Monday we lined up in the courtyard to sing the National Anthem,” Vinueza said.
Extra-curricular activities and clubs are organized differently in Equador too. “There are sports offered but not many people join them because it’s after school and it’s difficult for people to participate,” Vinueza said. Looking ahead, Vinueza hopes to return to the United States for her senior year and possibly college. She plans on continuing to learn English and is looking forward to making friends.
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April 9, 2013
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Ebert’s work an inspiration I’m not going to spend 500 words of your time reminding you what Roger Ebert did for the film industry or get nostalgic over a few of his great one-liners. People who care already know or can find out in
every single American newspaper. Instead, let me just a say, briefly, why Ebert matters to me. When I read a good Ebert piece, I feel like a slightly better person for doing so. That’s not hyperbolic; in fact, it’s the thing that stands out most for me about his writing. Reading him isn’t like reading anybody else. Usually, criticism inspires me to be think deeper or be more attuned to detail. But Roger’s work inspires me to be a good human. I really don’t know how to explain that any further, but it’s how I feel. Some folks, in and out
of the industry, were never comfortable with this style of criticism. I reject that, but I also get it, too. In fact, I took part in the “I’m above Ebert” thing when I was a young cineaste (oh, to be 13 and know everything again!). That should tell you something: there are a lot of really smart people out there who condescend Roger’s legacy, which is indicative of an adolescent, insecure sense of intellect. If memory serves me right,
“Toy Story.” Another animated sequel that will hit theatres in 2015 is “The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun.” The first “Tintin” was a compilation of several of the comics but the new one will be purely focused on the comic “Prisoners of the Sun.” Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson directed the original adaptation but Jackson will take the reins of this project entirely. 2015 is packed with just as many superheroes as 2012, if not more. There will be a “Fantastic Four” reboot, “Avengers 2”, “Justice League” and last, and probably least, “Ant-Man.” “AntMan” shouldn’t be counted out though because of the man who is at the helm, Edgar Wright. Wright directed “Hot Fuzz,” “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” His style of di-
recting should fit in with the campy nature of the recent Marvel films. “Star Wars: Episode VII.” Speaking of breaks between movies “Episode VI” was released in 1983. I wrote a story last year when Disney bought out Lucas but that was before J.J. Abrams was named director. Abrams now has control of both “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.” During the long break the actors weren’t kept in homeostasis and have aged greatly. This should make for a very mature Luke Skywalker. Take as many flu shots as possible and avoid any incoming North Korean nuclear bombs just so you can watch all the movies; after that feel to go hiking in the demilitarized zone.
Movies of 2015 Connor Bliss Trending co-Editor The end of 2012 was met with a sigh of relief as humanity walked away still alive. Now they just have to live until the end of 2015 so they can watch all the movies -- a list of blockbusters that keeps getting larger. Recently the sequel to “Finding Nemo,” titled “Finding Dory” was set to release in 2015. The original “Finding Nemo” came out in 2003, making it 12 years to “Finding Dory.” Pixar has done this with several of its franchises including “Monsters Inc.” and
I came around sophomore year when I read Roger’s onestar review of “Blue Velvet.” This is a movie that truly changed my life. I was infuriated as soon as the webpage loaded and I saw that single, little red star. To think anyone could not appreciate this masterpiece offended me (again, how adolescent). Then I read the damn thing and was immediately initiated into the Ebert cult. I admired how
principled his response was. Though I disagreed with the assessment, his perfect articulation of exactly why he hated the movie, point for point, was so disarming that I rewatched “Blue Velvet” the following day to see if he was right. That’s the Ebert way. Though a very emotional man (he once said seeing a really good movie produced a tingling in his spine), the animal of criticism really wasn’t about intuition. It was about whether the movie passed the test or not. Either thumbs up or thumbs down, period. I certainly am not calling him predictable, but getting to know
his writing means getting to know a very methodical code that he adhered until the last hour. He and I had very different cinematic ideals, but I can’t ever think of a time when he was unfair to a film, director, actor, writer, etc. There is a real integrity in that. Ebert is the most influential film critic of all time. That’s a controversial statement for some among the serious film crowd, but that’s just because of their huge egos; it’s really not debatable. But we can’t expect snobs to give due credit to the man who spent a career showing us all how not to be one. Sail on, Roger.
Jerry’s Hits and Misses VOTE Hit: Facebook announces “Facebook Home” to take over Android home screens. Hit: 31.5 school days until summer.
Miss: Only 6,930 of 34,597 registered Riley County voters cast a ballot in last Tuesday’s election.
Miss: Long wait during recent blood drive. Miss: Sequel to “Finding Nemo” announced.
Photos courtesy of flicker.com, fanboy.com, josef-semon.devioutart.com
Hit: Apple iTV speculated to be released this later this year. Graphics by Dheepthi Perumal
‘Evil Dead’ lives up to original When the original “Evil Dead” came out in 1981, director Sam Raimi used as little money as possible and got praised. With the original now known as a cult classic, Fede Alvarez and the producers from the original movie, including original star Bruce
Campbell, have reimagined it. With money to spend this time around, Alvarez stuck to the original’s theme and roots to give fans the ultimate scare. The best part about this remake is that much has changed while still following the original plot. From the first five minutes of the film to the very end, you see the true horror that lies within the infamous “Necronomicon” and immediately shows you what type of
ride you’re in for. The story follows a group of old high school friends that have gathered at two of the members’ birth house. Instead of partying, like in the original, they have a much more serious task at hand. Mia (Jane Levy), David’s (Shiloh Fernandez) sister, plans to end her drug addiction once and
“From the first five minutes to the very end you see the true horror..”
for all as they play “cold turkey” over the weekend. They inevitably find the “Book of the Dead” in a forgotten room (which you see in the opening scenes) inside a trash bag with barbed wire tightly wrapped around to discouarage any unlucky soul to read its unholy phrases. This premise is actually quite brilliant because once Mia becomes inevitably possessed, it takes a lot for the group to realize what’s really going on. Until the group takes a closer look at the strange book they found, they find out they are no longer dealing with withdrawl. Once Mia begins to worsen, Alvarez doesn’t give the audi-
Mindless Behavior allows mindless listening this group; each boy has their own unique sense of style, which projects each of their personalities as well as their astonishing dance moves. Their new single “Keep Her On The Low” resembles the music of B2K, which they have been compared to. If you have heard B2K’s music and listened to Mindless Behavior’s music you would realize that they had the same kind of hip-hop/pop flow in them and the same style of dancing. Even though I wouldn’t be their number one fan, or listen to them on a daily basis, I would listen to their music to get pumped, or maybe even just to dance to. Hip-hop music isn’t my kind of music, but to others who are interested it, I would highly recommend that you take a look at these four talented boys.
Maddy Sparks Staff Writer Mindless Behavior is a teen pop group, ranging from ages 15 to 17. Although they started their careers back in 2008 touring high schools across the country, they are finally fulfilling the potential that was once seen in them. They're now hitting it big by going on tours with well known performers such as Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, Janet Jackson and the Backstreet Boys. They came out with their first single "My Girl" in 2010, which brought in 14 million views on YouTube. The song was also nominated for a 2011 "Viewer's Choice" BET Award. Mindless Behavior has a very unique style behind them. Their style of music is a mixture of R&B, pop
and hip hop. Music isn't the
only thing that is unique about
Photo courtesy of gomoxie.com.
ence enough time to breathe after each gruesome and cringe-inducing scene. “Evil Dead” will push your stomach to the limits as some of the most disturbing scenes unfold. However, all of these terrifying scenes are shot beautifully. The bathroom scene is one of the most well-choreographed and frightening scenes in modern horror. Alvarez also does a wonderful job of playing with your feelings towards the end as you constantly begin to think it’s finally over, until you realize it’s not and then repeats that pattern until the famous ending all “Evil Dead” fans love occurs -- with an added twist. With much more profes-
sional acting than the original, “Evil Dead” is a definite success on keeping up with the original. The only downside to this film is the absence of Bruce Campbell or even the character Ash. This in no way affects the overall quality of the film as you soon forget as you see an arm being cut off with an electric bread knife. You’ll keep guessing until the very end on who will be the last man standing, which is quite a treat once you find out. For all “Evil Dead” fans, you will greatly enjoy this re imagining of such a cult classic. Plus, if you’re big fan of “Evil Dead” or love Campbell, you will adore the after-credits treat.