M the MENTOR
April 16 , 2013
Manhattan High School, Manhattan, Kan.
Boston bombing affects family in Manhattan Sarah Shi News Editor The Washington Post A family connection kept Manhattan High business teacher Paige McCarthy watching yesterday’s 117th annual Boston Marathon, where two bombs went off near the finish line. McCarthy’s sister was one of the thousands who ran the 26-mile race. “She finished the race 15 minutes before the bombing happened,” McCarthy said. “I haven’t heard anything much from her since the lines aren’t really working right now.” According to the Washington Post, two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing two people, sending hundreds of runners scrambling for cover and rattling nerves around the nation, authorities said. The blasts occurred in rapid succession as thousands of people were still running. Video footage showed an explosion off to the side as runners were nearing the finish line,
with some toppling over from the concussion. Smoke rose into the air, and photos of the scene showed a sidewalk In addition to the two confirmed deaths, police said more than 20 people were injured. Other media reports placed the injury toll as more than 100 people. Initial reports of another explosion at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston turned out to be an unrelated fire. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick urged people to “stay out of crowds” as they made their way home. The explosions occurred shortly before 3 p.m. near the intersection of Boylston and Exeter streets. Local media reports said store fronts were blown out. Many of the injured appeared to be spectators who were watching the race. About half of the nearly 27,000 participants had reportedly finished the race when the blasts occurred. The racers came from at least 56 countries and territories.
Boys State aims to understand government, politics Seth Runyan Staff Writer
much as humanly possible. “I plan on being pretty open and invloved so I can meet new Politics in the U.S. can be people and learn about posiextremely intimidating, espe- tions in government,” he said. cially for high school students. Crawford’s attitude is exactly A group of junior boys from how he wants students to look Manhattan High will see that at the opportunity as well. up close when they attend the “It’s one way looking at American Legion Boys State talking about leadership and of Kansas this summer. balance, and it’s another thing Not only does Boys State actually working on it,” he plan to aid in the understand- said. “With their collaboration ing of govof skills, these ernment, but boys are essenalso expandtially the cream ing leadership It’s one way look- of the crop.” roles. The proWith the gram tries to ing at talking about deadline alinvolve students leadership and bal- ready past to in government sign up for the as much as pos- ance, and it’s an- program, all sible, and even other thing actually Wichmann has has them run to do now is their own city. prepare the stuworking on it.” “Boys State dents for what is a week-long they’re in for. program that is “We’ve done a simulation of a first for Boys the state’s govState, which ernment,” Manhattan High is what we’ve done for Girls School counselor Tony Wich- State. The participants from mann said. last year came to speak to the The program involves high boys going,” he said. school juniors across the entire Wichmann said that havstate of Kansas with a GPA of ing past participants for the 3.5 or higher. The purpose is girls greatly helped newcomto see how a city is managed ers prepare for Girls State, and students can even run for which he hopes had the same a positions such as mayor or effect on the boys. After the highway patrol. The program’s participants came, Crawford website, kansasboysstate.org, heard very interesting things. urges students to take part to “I heard that if you were a “distinguish you in the compe- highway patrolman, then you tition for college admissions would ride with actual patroland scholarships” and “estab- man,” he said. lish lifelong friendships” all in The 76th session of Boys one week. State takes place this summer As an attendee, Jesse Craw- at Kansas State’s campus for ford plans to be as involved as its 22nd consecutive year.
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-Crawford
Clu b Notes Business Professionals of America
The bake sale being conducted by the Business Professionals of America looks like a standard fundraiser, but it’s actually because an unexpected snow day left in February changed the club’s plans and left them in a lurch. The big event for BPA each year is the State contest that allows them to compete for scholarships and qualify for the National competition. However, the members didn’t get to attend that competition because of snow storm that shut down school for two days. To make up for not getting to attend the qualifying competition, Manhattan High is helping BPA fund a trip to the national conference, even though none of the members
will compete. Eight students will travel to the national leadership conference in Florida, as well as two faculty chaperones, Debra Kidd and Carolyn Devane. After the two days and one night at this conference, these students and staff get to go to Disney World. -John Riforgiate
This Is Scream
How
I
Student writers and artists have just a few more days to “Let your voice out” by submitting to Manhattan High’s art and literary magazine, “This is How I Scream.” “Right now we are working on getting submissions in because they are due on the 19th, and we are also getting our actual artwork that has been submitted scanned,” TIHIS adviser Rachel Fontenot said.
News Volume 100 issue 23
Music department scores high at Regionals
Orchestra students share a few minutes of relaxation before competeting in front of judges at regionals last Saturday, April 13. Emmianne Jagosz, photographer Naomi McClendon Entertainment Editor Sarah Shi News Editor For the first time since the school’s new construction, Manhattan High hosted the North Central Regional Solo and Ensemble Festival. Last Saturday orchestra, band and choir students from across the region participated in the annual competition. The Regional festival, which is a huge event for the performing arts department, is a precursor to the State level festival that takes place in two weeks. At the festival, students perform four-minute classical pieces for a musical expert judge, who might be a college professor or a retired director. They are then scored based on multiple categories measuring their musical ability. Students who receive a score of I become eligible to compete in the State competition at Emporia State University. The festival is composed of solos, duos, trios, quartets and small ensembles, which can include up to 24 students. Students are allowed to participate in up to four different
groups, and many students from MHS did exactly that. In addition to performing a solo or a duo, many students participated in a small ensemble, which included groups like Pops Choir and Varsity Choir. There were nine rooms of competition, which were each large enough to support an ensemble, a judge and an audience, which could include parents, directors and other students who wanted to watch performances. As a member of two ensembles – Pops and Chamber Women – junior Sharon Wilson believed that best part of regional was the trust she had put into her small choirs. “In order to be in a small group choir like Chamber Women or Pops, you have to trust each other,” Wilson said. “You have to put your score in the hands of 24 others and just hope that they take this as serious as you do.” For senior Brady Kiracofe, the challenges leading up to regional contest provided that extra push to improve. “Leading up to it, it’s really cool to pull out these more challenging pieces and know you’re going to be graded
on the throughout the state, which kind of give you that little bit more motivation to do better.” For the MHS music department, the regional festival is a primarily student-directed event. “Of course we encourage some students to participate, but for the most part, students are on their own,” band and orchestra director Nate McClendon said. “Students practice on their own and decide on their own what they want to do.” According to McClendon, the chance to compete is a learning experience for students. “To do this takes a lot of courage -- to get up and play a solo for a judge,” McClendon said. “The amount of personal growth that comes from that is the best part of the experience. And the drive it takes to be self-directed and practice on your own is a huge learning experience.” For students, self-directed rehearsing was a change of pace. Junior Patrick Guvele has competed at the festival since his freshman year. “I’ve done a lot of perform-
ing, so I don’t get nervous anymore,” Guvele said. “But the hard part is getting back into the piece if you stumble just a little bit and making sure your stage presence is good in front of a judge.” Without the instruction of a director, students had to motivate themselves. “You have to find your own free time, and sometimes you don’t want to practice,” Guvele said. Orchestra Director Steve Easterday suggested that performing for judges is always a challenge. “It’s a tough thing going into, because you don’t know how the schedule’s going to affect you,” Easterday said. “Some judges start the day harsh and end up easy, others start off easy and end up harsh.” Despite any difficulties, Manhattan High qualified a number of people in multiple categories and all of the MHS vocal groups -- Bel Voce, Chorale, Chamber men, Chamber women, Pops Choir and Varsity Choir -- got a 1. They are preparing to perform at the State Solo and Ensemble Festival April 27.
Weather creates problems for rescheduling MHS activites Danielle Cook Staff Writer Weather can cause scheduling problems during the winter, but last week it proved to be a problem for several Manhattan High athletic activities. Due to wet weather complications, most of the numerous MHS athletic activities scheduled for last Tuesday and Wednesday had to be either cancelled or rescheduled. The Manhattan area received at least a good three days worth of rain, and the rest of the week remained overcast and chilly. According to data from the MHS weather center, from Saturday to Monday, the outside temperature maintained a near constant 75 degrees, dropping to around 72 degrees “Then after the 19th we are going to start developing our layout.” Compared to last year, submissions to TIHIS have been low this year. “Not as much as we want, but we feel like we just need to give it some more time. There was a lot of work in last year’s and we want to live up to that,” senior Ilana Budenosky said. “People can submit anonymously if they are little scared for stuff to be published by their name, but if they want to be published they can do that. [This is] for everyone to submit, this is a one-of-a-kind thing here at MHS.” Submissions of original art, poetry and prose can be made to raf5558@yahoo.com. The deadline for submissions is this Friday. “It’s legitimate publishing, so if you want some weight with your writing or art, you can say you’ve been published,” senior Lora Pellegrin said. The cost of purchasing copies of the magazine is yet to
on Tuesday, when Manhat- tion was a C-team baseball was rescheduled for May 8. tan received about an inch of game against Hayden, which rain. By Wednesday, the temperature took a dive down to 33 degrees. On Tuesday, both a varsity and a J.V. baseball game were scheduled to take place at Topeka West, but were rescheduled to take place May 9 instead. Both a varsity and J.V. girls soccer game that were to take place here against Emporia were postponed. A varsity boys tennis tournament against Junction City, Hyland Park and Marysville that was to be hosted here was cancelled Above are data showing the daily fluctuations of weather temperatures coland rescheduled for lected from the MHS weather center. For more imformation, visit www.weathMonday. For Wednes- erlink.com/user/mhsweather/ or install weatherlink app and search for mhday, the only cancella- sweather station. be determined. “We charge if you’re not in the magazine, if you’re in the magazine you get one free copy and if you want any extras then we charge for that,” Fontenot said. “I think last year we charged like $5, and that got you the art magazine, which is in full color, and the literature magazine which, was like a separate book that is just black and white.” “This is like of the few outlets where you can see the creative work of MHS students all in one place, and so it’s like really nice to be able to look and be like ‘Wow, we have some really talented people here,’” Budenosky said. -Maddie Ross
StuCo Manhattan High School’s Student Council will be very busy in the upcoming weeks. Between putting the finishing touches on prom, class elections, the jean drive and another round of club dodgeball there is much to be anticipated
as well as to be done. Forms for class officers were due last week and a copy of the potential officers’ speeches were due yesterday. Class meetings for the current sophomore and junior students will be April 23. “This is where the actual speeches will take place, the actual voting will be done during activity period on the 24th,” StuCo sponsor Leslie Campbell said. The jean drive isn’t going as well as hoped, but StuCo is still optimistic about the outcome. “At least we have some jeans, so that’s good,” Campbell said. Club dodgeball will be held in the South Gym on Tuesday, April 30.
Hispanic Club Targeting and supporting hispanics in high school because of the high percentage of them dropping out is the purpose of starting a new club
at Manhattan High. English as a Second Language teacher Eunice Rivera is working on starting a Hispanic Club by the end of the month, but it won’t be official until the 2013-2014 school year. “We want them to get involved in extra curricular activities and encourage them and each other to finish,” Rivera said. They are also going to have a bilangual literacy night once a month where they will have them read in English and translate into Spanish. To help with the fundraising they plan on selling quesadillas, salsa and chips and other types of hispanic foods. Senior Itzel Franco is the current president of the club and is helping to get the club up and running before she graduates. “The fee is $3, we meet every other Tuesday and whoever is hispanic and interested come out and support,” Franco said. -Nastajja Rivera
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April 16, 2013
the MENTOR
Don’t attack the person -attack the issue Seth Runyan
staff writer
Gay marriage is one of the most controversial topics the country faces, which is saying a lot since whether it be women’s rights, African-American rights or gay rights, this country seems constantly divided. The reason gay marriage is controversial is the fact that it contradicts religion. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an extremely controversial time in America, but segregation wasn’t supported by the text
of the Bible or other religious formats. As a Catholic, I am obligated to be against homosexual activity, which I am. But I’m not going to persecute all gays for a choice they made. They are just as human as any one of us; they make mistakes. You can still act out in the manner you’re called to without the harsh treatments gays currently are facing. Hearing all of the news how a human committing suicide or being beaten to death for being gay is just saddening. I believe that when God created man, he gave us all a conscience. This conscience gives us the ability to act on our own, knowing right from wrong. Knowing this, why must we force our own conscience on others? Each person should live their life the way they desire, which is why God gave us that conscience.
Our job is to support others if they’re committing sin, not force them to follow the right path. It’s their job to find the right path, not someone else’s. Evangelizing our faith and practices are something we Catholics take pride in. I’m quite certain Jesus wouldn’t handle this situation the way it currently is, he’d want us to follow his greatest commandment; “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This all applies to all people who claim to be Christian. A person can be homosexual and still live a good, moral life; even a practicing Catholic (you just cannot be sexually active). All of the abuse and persecutions that are occurring are not in God’s name, only hatred. God does not hate “fags,” let alone hate in general. If you know anything about God you’d also know
how forgiving he is, no matter the sin. I believe as a country that was founded on “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” gay marriage should be legal so we can allow every human to live with their own conscience. It’s ridiculous and unfair for a gay couple to lose their marriage license just because they move to another state with other marriage laws. That’s what living in this country is about. We Catholics need to do what God calls us to do and treat them as we want to be treated. Let God guide them in his direction, it has always been his plan, not ours. We can still try to guide them, but they deserve to live their life they way they see fit, just like anyone else.
Choose your future wisely
As you’re going through your last two years of high school, you really start to think of what you’re going to do after you graduate. You have this idea that’s just stuck in your head of what your future will be like. Stop to think: will your future be like what you plan it to be? Will you follow through with your major in college? Will you still be in the relationship you’ve been in all throughout high school? Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to become a dental hygienist. I thought the idea of cleaning teeth and helping people have a pretty smile would be nice and make me feel like I’m helping out. I started working at a dental office at the beginning of the year. I went through training to become an orthodontic and dental assistant. After the training, I actually started helping out, assisting the dentist. But after assisting for a couple weeks, I hate teeth. I
no longer want to be a dental hygienist. I’m fortunate that I got the chance to have this dental experience before I went through school, only to realize I didn’t like working with teeth. Your opinion on what you want your career to be after high school isn’t the only thing that might be on your mind. Do you think the relationship you’re in now will last throughout your college years? You say you’re “so in love” with your girlfriend/boyfriend you’re dating right now, but in a couple years you might not have those same feelings you once did for them. So as you say that you’re going to marry the one you are currently with, is that really what you want for the future? One of the more important things to think about is your actions. Are your actions going to affect the outcome of your
Friendship is one of the most important things in life, or at least I think it is. Throughout my four years of high school I have lost and gained friends because of fights, moving from state to state and even the lack of communication. When going through all this, the big circle of friends you once had will eventually decrease. It’s not a bad thing at all; it happens to everyone at some point but mainly in high school. While in high school I have learned who is there for me and who isn’t. While transfer-
ing from three different high schools in the past two years because of being an army brat, I have made many friends but also lost a lot due to the fact that they weren’t really there for me when I needed them the most. During my freshman year I had this friend who I considered to be my best friend. Once things got weird the friendship diminished. She and I used to be inseparable; we used to sleep over at each other’s house every weekend, go to football games on Friday nights, shopping and anything thing else best friends would do. After moving she got a new boyfriend and he became her new best friend (not to
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.
Letter to the editor Dear Editor: In the most recent edition of The Mentor, an opinion piece was published with the title “Hatred of Country Music [is a] Sign of Elitism.” As a lover of music I had to write a rebuttal to the claims made by Julianne Harkness on April 9. There are many things that one could take issue with in the article. For instance, Ms. Harkness claims that country music is about (I am paraphrasing) overcoming people’s issues. An example of this can be found in Trace Adkins’ poignant 2005 hit “Honkey-Tonk Badonkadonk” where a woman may or may not have been able to “get her britches on” over her implied-shapely buttocks. Thankfully this woman is able (after dressing in the aforementioned britches) to turn the various heads of “good ‘ol boys” who try so hard “not to stare.” This is a woman who overcame a personal obstacle! It is this morally pure songwriting that Harkness finds so heartwarming. I could go on and on, but I will spare you. The real issue that I have with the article is a simple one. This is just the latest example of a sickening tradition: calling people
you disagree with ‘elitists’ and ‘snobs.’ This is a trend that began in politics. In the 2008 election, elitist was used as a derogatory term to discredit Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (even though their politics show the extreme opposite of elitism). Polls at the time showed a general public distrust of ‘elites’ (meaning wealthy, upper class individuals). Cable news networks now beat the term into the populous, causing horrendous misusage of the word. Being elite is not the curse that the media claims it is. We want to be fans of elite sports teams. If we get hurt, we want an elite team of doctors to help us. Being better than other people is not a bad thing. My message is this: people who like different music are not elitists. People who like different music are not dumb. People who like different music have different tastes. This is not a problem. People enjoying (or publicly not enjoying) a different genre of music should not be subjected to criticism. Regards, Eli Redeker
Music censorship unnecessary Kaitlin Wichmann
photo In aeditor country
future jobs? In my opinion, when I have kids and they ask “Did you ever do anything illegal when you were a teen” I’d like to honestly be able to tell them “No, I didn’t, and look how far I’ve gotten because of it.” It’ll make me feel good knowing I made good choices. The next time you are making a poor choice, stop and think how it might affect you in the long run. Many people don’t until it’s too late.
Halsey Camera, cartoonist As the year is ending, think about these questions. You mind might wander and think of different things you could be doing the next couple years. Your options are open. Choose them wisely.
Friendship all about commitment Nastajja Rivera Staff Writer
Opinions
sound jealous or anything), meaning she basically cut me out of her life and it was like I never existed. Yes it hurts, but every time she needs help I am always there and that is just the type of person I am. But now when I need her the most she is never there. I’m not saying that having best friends is bad but sometimes it tends to drift apart or they aren’t there for each other anymore. I always thought that having a best friend meant that no matter how far you are apart from each other you will always be there through the ups and downs, the good and the bad. Even though she is no longer my best friend I’m always there for her when she
needs it. Of course I still have three other best friends that never drifted apart even though we are thousands of miles away from each other. We still find that time to talk when we need each other and that’s what I think being best friends should be about.
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 effort. 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.
of free speech, there comes a limit. TV shows, movies and songs played every day that are altered, edited and modified before they are aired. When you turn on the radio you hear songs about all types of drugs and illegal subjects, yet they still manage to censor out the cuss words. Sometimes, the censoring is so non-chalant that you think that the edited version is the real song. And that’s where the problem begins. It’s not fair to the artist that they have to change their song, or at least have someone else edit it, in order for it to be played on the radio. I went to Europe last year and there was no such thing as censoring the music. The music you heard there was exactly how the artist wrote the song: straight and simple. Just because you hear cuss words in songs doesn’t directly correlate to how much people cuss. If adults don’t want their kids to listen to songs with
profanities then don’t let them listen to those radio stations. I know I wouldn’t want my kids being exposed to certain songs. I personally don’t like a lot of cussing in my songs, but that doesn’t give me or anyone the right to change an artist’s song. Music is about expressing emotion through song lyrics. If the artist incorporated cuss words or other inappropriate things into their lyrics then that’s how the song should be released and played on the radio. Authors aren’t forced to censor their books, so why should artists have to censor their music? If we are going to censor out the swear words, then shouldn’t we also edit out all the drug and sex references? Then it comes down to where the limit is on what is considered “inappropriate.” If you are one of those people who listens to the radio a lot, then you get used to hearing the edited versions. Sometimes you can’t even tell that the song is edited, and the editing often times changes the meaning of the song. A lot of people never even know the true versions of the song, only the PG radio-edited one. Swearing makes songs what they are, and just because you listen to songs with cursing doesn’t mean that you enjoy cussing. It just makes the song
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 meteorologist - Eli Redeker
cartoonist - Halsey Camera 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
3 April 16, 2013
Spring brings new starts for local bands Four Manhattan High student bands -- Fuma, E.R., The Jakas and White -- bring in new music and new members FUMA
This spring, local indie-rock foursome FUMA brings a new drummer and a new set of tunes. In addition to playing as many shows as they can, the band plans on releasing their second full album over the summer. “We’re excited to play a new set of songs, the other ones are getting kind of old for us,” senior bassist Andre Middendorf said. “And having a new drummer makes it cool, because we are writing an album together as a band.” Since each member of the band will be moving away next year, FUMA plans to hit the music scene hard over the next few months. “We’ve played a few shows this month and we have like three more in April,” Middendorf said. “We’re not too wor-
E.R.
FUMA ried about anything anymore, we’re just trying to make good music and have fun before we break up next year.”
FUMA will play at Sisters of Sound April 20 and Aggie Central Station April 25.
The Jakas
Sophomore Jina Ok and senior foreign exchange student Jakob Borgen are combining their talents and their names to form “The Jakas.” The acoustic indie duo began at a party, where they were partners in a Wii tournament. “We wanted a team name, so we combined ours to create the Jakas,” Ok said. “Then we were like, ‘hey, that’s a catchy band name.’” Later at the party, the two were asked to show off their musical ability, and that’s when they discovered their musical chemistry. The Jakas are currently a cover band, creating their own takes on bands like Beirut, Vampire Weekend and the Kooks. The band current-
t h e JA KAS ly has a YouTube channel and a video with a few hundred views. They hope to write a
few original tunes before Borgen goes back to Norway in June.
songs, and it’s easier to work around schedules,” Hugunin said. “On the other hand, it’s hard because we can’t play live shows, which hurts our
ability to get a reputation.” E.R. plans on getting a CD released by the end of the year and possibly looking around for a record contract.
Sophomores Courtney Grice and Sammi Adams, and junior Serena Beltz audition their dance pieces they will perform in their upcoming recital. Tara Magaña, photographer
know [what song] yet but it’s going to be jazzy.” Also auditioning is Washington Dance Studio’s Senior Company, who will be performing two dances. The studio usually participates in the Variety Show, although they didn’t last year. “It’s already dances we’re using for recital so we’re just showcasing them,” sophomore dancer Courtney Grice said. Two groups from Manhattan High School, the Varsity Choir and colorguard, are also going to audition. Colorguard has had an act every year but this will be the first for the new Varsity Choir.
Ben Shields Editor in Chief
chrane said. “We’re also planning on recording the new album.” This time, the band aims to involve all members in the
writing process, which was not the case in the old White. “We want to go in to in with an open mind and not let genre labels limit our music.”
fany Davis said, “and all of a sudden the whole room was in tears. And that was really cool to see high school students really grasping the power of it and being emotionally pulled by it. That’s when I knew Mrs. Uthoff and I had chosen the right people for it.” Due to an illness in the family, head of drama department Linda Uthoff was gone all last week. This meant Davis was forced to assume her classroom and directorial duties, a big responsibility in the
last week before opening. Davis did not expect having to take the reins, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to. Her experience includes directing a production of “Annie,” a series of one acts in high school and membership of a theater group that wrote a directed their own plays. “I have just kind of been watching the plays and giving a little direction on acting technique and blocking,” she said. “And just kind of being there
as the adult to make sure every things running smoothly.” “The Crucible,” like Miller’s other masterwork “Death of a Salesman,” is an allegorical drama, this time about McCarthyism and the Red Scare, using the Salem witch trials to draw parallels. It debuts Thursday at 7 p.m. and additional performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
FUMA performs at KSU carnival
Top right Seniors Naomi McClendon and Andre Middendorf and alumnus Noah Schmidt perform for a crowd of K-State students. “I think our greatest success is writing and recording our own original album,” Schimdt said. Top Right Senior Andre Middendorf jams out on his bass. Bottom Senior Naomi McClendon sings “Let the Credits Roll.” Senior Carly Tracz auditions for Variety Show on the piano. Tara Magaña, photogrpaher
The hard-rock fivesome White underwent a few changes the past few months. In addition to adding two new members, the band is working on a completely new set of material. “We have a new drummer and we’re looking at a few options for a new singer,” junior Albert Cochrane, new drummer of White said. “We know who we’re leaning towards for the singer, but it’s still confidential.” The band, which has been performing around the Manhattan area, is taking a break from shows until they have a full new set. “We’re writing a whole album worth of material, and then we’re going to start playing shows again,” Co-
Upcoming play Crucible to debut T hursday For a lot of theater enthusiasts, Arthur Miller emblemizes the American theatrical Ideal, using his plays for sociological commentary while creating characters with huge spaces in the lexicon of world drama. Thespians will debut Miller’s classic play, “The Crucible,” on Thursday evening. “We were reading one of the scenes from the play,” drama class student teacher Tif-
Auditions for this year’s Variety Show are Monday through Wednesday after school and in the evening. There are only 11 acts (three fewer than last year) and six stage crew currently signed up to audition. All of the acts signed up at this point are musical. Senior Summer Senn, who also participated in the last two shows, is auditioning with her father, who is a professional musician. “We are doing a jazz song,” Senn said. “We don’t quite
E.R.
White
Students audition for upcoming variety show
Kayla Dieker Copy Editor
After almost two years of name changes, member changes and trouble finding musicians, E.R. has settled down and begun to record an album. Juniors Lukas Hugunin and Ian Miller are the only two members of E.R. and have been writing and recording songs for the past few months. The band has released two songs, which are available on SoundCloud and YouTube, and is about to release three more. The band’s new and final sound is somewhere between alternative and rock, and consists of electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, organ and drums. According to Hugunin, having a twomember band has its ups and downs. “There’s not as much confrontation, it’s a lot easier to figure out where to go with
Ben Shields, photographer
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April 16, 2013
the MENTOR
Sports
Track wins only home meet Tre Fuentes Staff Writer
Junior Chris Melgares and senior James Leblow lead the pack in the 1600 meter race. They finished first and second and they helped the Indians win the meet by over 30 points. Tre Fuentes, photographer
Last Friday the Manhattan High Track Team hit the field at Bishop Stadium, marking their only home meet of the season. In the previous meet at the Topeka Invite, both the boys and girls took first place in their respected events and strived to do no less at the Manhattan Invitational. “It definitely boosted my confidence level and self-esteem,” junior Alaina Schroeder said. “It was nice having everyone you know out there and supporting you.” Maybe it was the home crowd. Maybe it was the weather. But several Indians took Friday’s meet as an opportunity to break seasonal and alltime records. Schroeder has placed first in the 1600 meter race all season long, and, in addition to getting first, got
Baseball swept for first time Nick Bandy Sports Editor For the first time this season the Manhattan High Baseball team was swept, losing both games to Shawnee Heights last Friday in Manhattan. Their record is now 3-3 on the season. “We didn’t pitch very well and the defense wasn’t very good. I think we just stood around and didn’t fight back and compete the way we normally do,” head coach Don Hess said. The Indians lost their first game 12-0 after only five innings due to the run rule. Senior T.J. Giller pitched the
first three innings and was replaced by junior Ethan Fabrizius, who pitched the final two innings. Giller, the Indians ace, has struggled so far and is only 1-2 in the games he has started. “He’s spent a lot of time on the mound over the years. We’re counting on him to get better and better and we’re still looking for some great things from him,” Hess said. Part of the reason the Indians were unable to score in the first game was the excellent pitching by Shawnee. Their pitcher, senior Jordan Floyd, has signed to play baseball with Kansas State next spring and is currently one of the
best pitchers in Kansas. Shawnee also has returned almost all of last year’s team. “They looked very effective. Hopefully we’ll get that way also,” Hess said. “The level of competition we’re going to face is going to continue to go up. Shawnee Heights was a good barometer for the type of team we are going to face in the playoffs.” Behind the pitching of sophomore Jesse Steinbring and junior Henry DeNoble, the Indians made the second game much more interesting, but still came up short as they lost 5-2. The hitting was also improved. Giller batted in junior Michael Leper for
their first score, and then they scored again after hits by senior Josh Klug and junior Jacob Biller. “We had fewer walks and fewer errors, our defense was better and we kept the game close to give ourselves an opportunity to come back at the end but we weren’t able to pull it off,” Hess said. The Indians will move on to play Junction City on Tuesday in Manhattan and hope to show improvement over last’s week’s performance. “We’re going to get there it’s just taking us a little longer than we would like,” Hess said.
a season best with a time of 5:10. Along with Schroeder, Chris Melgares, Michael Melgares, Megan Ochoa, Rachael Beach and Nick Bandy also placed all-time and seasonal best. “It’s not always glamorous,” distance coach Susan Melgares said. “A lot of our runners were practicing during the winter in single digit temperatures, whether we were conditioning or not. But in the middle of the season now, it’s rewarding to see that kind of preparation and commitment pay off.” The distance runners found a lot of success at Friday’s meet, but they weren’t the only ones. The senior boys took a clean sweep on the javelin throw when Jacob Holloway took first, Ryan McHenry took second and Brady Kiracofe took third. But whatever event was going on, it was the
level of intense practice and preparation that lead to their success. “We always go over tape at practice,” Holloway said. “We analyze our throwing position, what was good about it, and pick apart what we were doing wrong. It takes a lot of work, but it is worth it.” Both the boys and girls took first place on the afternoon out of the 10 teams in attendance, and with the competition expecting to get tougher, the MHS track team continues to improve on a daily basis. “Consistency is very important,” Coach Melgares said. “You might get nervous and begin to think about state and all of that, but at the end of the day, you have to put one foot forward and then the next. I think our runners are ready and are in good shape to take on the rest of the season.”
Soccer defeats Seaman John Rockey Staff Writer The Lady Indians’ soccer team rebounded from their recent losses and defeated Seaman last Friday. When the team started off last week, they had to deal with losing to Washburn Rural and Blue Valley-Stilwell the week before. They prepared for the Emporia game that was scheduled last Tuesday, but that match ended up being cancelled. That left the team more time to practice on things like transitioning defensively. “We need to work on winning the ball out of the air, controlling the ball and keeping calm,” senior Kayla Faust
said. The team then bounded toward Topeka with a desire of getting back from their losses. J.V. finished off the game six to nothing and the Varsity to finish at two to nothing. “We played really well and with the things we worked on, we just played better,” sophomore ReShawn Fadul said. To start off this week, they will play today against Blue Valley West at Anneberg Park. Friday the team will be at Wichita East, and they will start off next week with at Hayden on Monday. “We’ve been playing with a chip on our shoulder since we lost those games, so we’re trying to get back on track this week,” Faust said.
Golf fights through cold to take fourth Alan Brown Staff Writer This past week, the Manhattan High golf team com-
pleted two meets. The Indians finished in second at Manhattan with 319 points, and placed fourth after losing tiebreakers at Wamego with 336
Junior David Woods hits an iron shot out of the rough at the Stagg Hill gold course in Manhattan. Reid Beer, photographer
points. “It was one of the coldest meets I’ve ever been through,” MHS coach Brad Ficke said, discussing the Wamego tournament. “We weren’t satisfied. That was partially due to the weather, but in the end we are certainly capable of shooting 320 or better.” At the home meet, Cole Dillon had the top score out of any team, totaling 71 points. Also participating for the Indians were players Drew Kohlmeir (80 points), Pierson McAtee (84 points), David Woods (84 points), Drew Casper (85 points) and Scott Woods (85 points). Against Wamego, Dillon (80 points) and Woods (81) were the top finishers for MHS. “As the saying goes, golf is 90 percent mental. That’s something that will be a focus,” Ficke said. “Being a good competitor is important too. It’s all about making better decisions, being optimistic and having a good attitude.” While the team’s results have been solid, the golfers
still feel that they are capable of achieving much more, and they still have several meets to allow time for improvement.
As the weather becomes more consistent, and the golfing conditions improve, individual results are expected to improve.
The team will also have an entire week to prepare for their next meet, at Topeka West. It will take place April 22.
Sophomore Dillon Gross studies the green before he attempts a put. The Indians finished second at that home meet with 319 points. Reid Beer, photographer
Swimming takes first by over 200 points Softball comes final score because they were swimming exhibition, meaning that team or swimmer had The Manhattan High not swam that event yet and School girls swim team was were swimming just to find able to pull off a big win at the their official time. Of the 53 top 10 placings, home meet on Wednesday, scoring nearly a third of the to- 21 of them were from just six tal points of the meet. With no swimmers in relays and indiswimmers from MHS placing vidual events. “I’m really excited,” senior last in any events and seven of Brittany the events Jones said had MHS when she in first p l a c e , “We did really well as found out that in all M H S four of her r a c k e d a team. It was a pretevents she up a final ty big win for us.” placed top score of out of 467 points, - Holloway ten every one beating at the meet. Topek a “I didn’t West High School in second place by think I did that well.” “We did really well as a over 220 points. There was a close battle for second through team,” said sophomore Alyfourth place with a difference son Holloway, who had three top 10 placings and an 11th of only 16 points. With all 11 events having a place. ”It was a pretty big win total of 53 MHS placings and for us.” But the meet did not go as relay teams in the top 10, the team was able to dominate well for everyone. MHS had the meet. However, 16 of the he second most disqualificaplacings did not count in the tions with a total of seven. Derrek Williams Staff Writer
more than just winning; it’s about focus, teamwork and setting goals.
up short against Shawnee Heights
Q: What are your expecta-
Dheepthi Perumal Multimedia Editor
A:
Splitting wins in every single game this year for Manhattan High Varsity Softball, the girls put up a battle against Shawnee Heights last Friday. Even with such a fight, the girls lost both games, 3-5 and 5-9. The girls lost to Shawnee Heights last year also. “We fought really hard, and hit pretty well,” junior Aubrey Jung said. “We just had some hits straight to people and they made the plays.” “The had good defense,” senior Allie Massanet said. “But their pitching wasn’t all that great.” Jung pitched well for the games, with one rough inning. Even with the pitching mound conditions being below average for both games.
Athlete of the Week Danielle Cook Staff Writer
Hannah Funk
tions for the rest of the season? I’ve made it to State already with my times, so I’m planning on going to State. We have a really, really solid team, and hopefully we’ll have a good State team this year.
Of the 64 swimmers who competed in Wednesday’s girls swim meet, only one can say she placed first in the most competitive event in the running. Senior Hannah Funk placed first in the 400 yard freestyle race, also placing first in the 200 yard medley relay and the 200 yard freestyle relay. But for Funk, swimming is about
Q: Who’s your favorite athlete? A: Michael Phelps, obviously. That’s just a typical swimming answer.
Q: What do you do to prepare yourself for a meet? A: I just hang out; I really
don’t do much. Some people have really big routines. I just kind of chill. I just stay focused. I don’t talk a lot at meets.
“I came back from my one rough inning,” Jung said. “The conditions were just terrible.” Despite the bad conditions and hits going straight to defense, the girls did hit three double plays. “As a high school team, it’s great that we hit three double plays,” senior Tyler Hoyt said. With over three games this week against Wichita northwest, Derby, Junction City and Topeka West, the girls have to pull it together. “We just need to all stay well rested, so we can get some wins this week,” Jung said. “The plan is to win and take care of ourselves, mostly the pitchers,” Massanet said.
the MENTOR
Features
April 16, 2013
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Incoming assistant principal prepared to be only woman on administrative staff Maddie Ross Trending Co-Editor In addition to a new head principal, another new administrator will take the halls of Manhattan High School for the 2013-2014 school year. Angela Messer is joining the administrative team as an assistant principal. Messer interviewed for the principal position in February and did not make the cut, but was presented with another chance to become a part of MHS. Messer was thrilled to have received another chance at joining the MHS faculty. “I love Manhattan. I have lived within 14 miles of here my whole life, and I am very excited for the opportunity to
be a part of MHS,” she said. Interviewing this time around was easier for her, since she had just gone through the process. “The interview process for the assistant job was much shorter. Also I opted out of the school tour since I had done that recently with the other interview,” Messer said. Not only will Messer bring a new face to MHS but also a new perspective. Messer will be the only woman on the administration team, and although MHS has had a female in this position before, it will be a first for many of the faculty and students. “I don’t really think about it much. I am a female and I am an administrator. I think
it will be good to have a wellrounded groud, and be able to give a different perspective to students,” Messer said. “Where I currently work [Junction City Middle School] there is only one male amongst us administrators, so this will definitely be something different.” Messer started her career off as a math teacher at MHS, where she worked alongside newly hired principal Greg Hoyt, who was also a math teacher. “I am entering my 20th year of teaching. I love education because I have the opportunity to impact lives and help students make a difference,” Messer said. “I have the ability to help
students reach their goals what ever they may be.” Messer describes herself as a hard worker, and someone who is very passionate about her work. She hopes to relay this passion in her every day life and through her leadership at MHS. Messer is looking forward to experiencing the students here and observe their extracurricular activities. “I feel a strength of this school is the tradition of excellence. MHS has long been known to be well at many things whether it is sports, academics, journalism, debate and forensics or performing arts,” Messer said. “I am excited to be a part of it.”
Q&A
with recruiters
Q: What can I do in the Army?
Julianne Harkness Staff Writer Being in a military/college town, many Manhattan High students have taken part in asking the local recruiters questions like “Do I have to leave home or can I be stationed at Fort Riley?” or “What does the Air Force do”? Recruiters hear these
questions almost every day. John Allen, Joshua Pannell, and SSgt Michael Shoptaw took the liberty of answering some of these commonly asked questions. Q: Do I have to leave home or can I be stationed at Fort Riley? A: You would have to leave
home for basic training whether you go active duty or reserves. With the reserves you would be stationed
A: The Army has 150 entry jobs. The availability of those jobs depends on the persons qualifications and the job vacancies of the Army. Q: What does the Navy do?
Q: How do I become a Marine? A: Marines are part of something bigger than a branch of military service; a part of something greater than themselves; a part of
something older than the very nation that they defend. Why wouldn’t I want to be a part of that group? Q: What was the most memorable part of boot camp? A: The most memorable moment of my LIFE was October 3rd 2003. That was the day that my Drill Instructor placed the Eagle, Globe and Anchor in my hand and said, “Congratulations Marine.” It was and always will be the proudest moment of my life.
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 are all gone.
locally. We need permission to station you any further than 50 miles from your home or school. With active duty it depends on your Duty MOS and the needs of the Army.
A: The Navy has special forces and Special Ops that conduct world wide missions. We also have what we call the ‘Dirt Navy’ that is the Construction Batallions which doesn’t stay on the Navy Ships. We also work with all branches. For example we give the Marines rides to the locations they need to go for deployment.
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The MENTOR
April 16, 2013
Trending
4‘ 2’: a biopic that delivers Nick Bandy
sports editor
No, Harrison Ford isn’t dead. While he may not be running around cracking a whip he still provides one of his best performances ever in the new movie “42.” Based on the story of Jackie Robinson’s life as the first black to play major league baseball, “42” is an excellent combination of a racial struggle and an emotional sports movie. Ford is the best character in the movie by far, as Chadwick Boseman, who plays Robinson, has little to say and seemed to be too happy for an athlete who was hated by almost every white person in the country. Boseman’s best fea-
ture was the fact that he looks identical to the original Robinson. Ford plays Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers who decides to bring a black player up to the major leagues. Ford does an excellent job as he shows every emotion from tears of sadness when he comforts Jackie to his normal tough-guy attitude as he forces everyone into accepting his outrageous idea. The acting by Ford carries the movie to success, past the other characters whose acting is more mediocre. The plot of “42” was different than I expected. Less than half of the movie is about Robinson’s career on the Dodgers; instead it focuses his journey to the major leagues as he leaves his Negro team and spends one year in the minor leagues. I was disappointed in how little adversity Robinson is faced with in the movie compared to what history tells us. Besides booing from the fans and being hit by pitches, the movie compresses all that hate he faced into one emotionally-packed scene that was
by far the best of the movie. wants a black player so he can racial prejudices. As Robinson prepares to bat, bring in more fans, and this Besides being a story of the opposing team’s manager idea is repeated several times, battle against prejudice, what screams an endless wave of ruining the idea of Rickey as makes this movie good is it’s racial slurs and vulgar phrases a crusader against racism and also a classic sports movie. at him. Boseman is at his best instead making him seem like Robinson is fearless as he here, as he plays perfectly how a double-dealer. Only near the stares down pitchers before Robinson must slowly force end does he suddenly admit zooming off to steal a base himself to walk away without that he does actually have mo- from right under their noses or retaliation. It may be the most tivation that includes ending hits a deep homerun. But the heroic movie scene ever of the hero forcing himself not to act out against his enemy. The emotions continue as Robinson walks away and breaks down in tears under the dugout, until Rickey arrives to save the day as he convinces him to not give up the fight. One flaw with the movie is how they portray Rickey’s motivation. In Chadwick Boseman stars in the new movie “42” as Jackie Robinson Photo courthe beginning he tesy of WarnerBrothers.com mentions he only
movie is weakened by portraying Robinson as unrealistically good. Only two times in the movie does he get out without scoring a run and in one scene he scores after stealing three bases. Robinson was really good, but the movie makes him seem superhuman. Any sports fans can appreciate the feelings some of the scenes portray. Near the end of the movie Robinson comes up to bat against a pitcher who hit him in the head with a pitch earlier in the season. Robinson calmly hits a homerun that sends his team to the World Series, providing one of the most emotional sports scenes ever, right up there with Rudy taking the field. Despite average acting jobs and some glaring weaknesses, “42” is one of the best movies of the year. It is emotional from start to finish, and the audience feels what it would be like to become a hero by not fighting back. The fact that “42” is also a good sports movie completes the package of an excellent movie.
Student Teacher Cassie Gerstner’s Hits and Misses Miss: The Kansas State University spring football game is the same day as Prom.
Hit: Prom is less than two weeks away.
Hit: Warmer weather means it’s time for Tad’s Tropical Sno! Hit: Wisconsin dad’s plea to stop bullying gets over 900,000 likes on Facebook.
Miss: Aubrey Plaza rudely interrupts Will Ferrel during his acceptance speech for his MTV Golden Popcorn Comedic Genius award.
Miss: Gloomy weather all week.
Hit: Former President George W. Bush becomes a grandpa. Graphics by Dheepthi Perumal
Youth Court Want an interesting volunteer experience??? Sign up to be a jury member for Youth Court.
Youth Court is a program for first time, low level offenders who appear before a jury of their peers. As the juror. you will assist in deciding what sanctions an individual will receive. Youth Court is held at Riley County District Courthouse the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6pm. You will have the opportunity to earn 3 hours of community/volunteer service each Youth Court Session. For more information or to fill out a volunteer application go to www.rileycountyks.gov , click on Community Corrections, then click on Youth Court.
‘BattleBlock T heatre’ a bizzare experience look like any other platformer except with a colorful backround. This is proven wrong the minute you “accidentally” push one of your friends into some water and then all hell breaks loose. Soon after you’ll find your self finding ways to frustrate your companions through exploding frogs and fireballs. Not only does the game hold itself up through frustrating your opponents,
the bizzare features that the story mode has. While it has the basic multiplayer modes like king of the hill and just a straight up brawler but it also has some unique fun additions -- those being a basketball game where you play with a soccer ball and the same scoring system of football, or another where you’re supposed to take the opponent’s horse that looks like a pig back to
Bizzare. That’s “BattleBlock Theatre” in a nutshell and that’s what keeps the game going througout the experience. Being Bizzare is also what seperates it from the platforming genre that has been in games since “Mario.” Hatty Hattington and his pals crash onto an island with a mysterious theater. A hat is forced onto Hatty’s head by the cat security guards turning him into a The bizarre gameplay of “BattleBlock Theatre” Photo courtesy of battleblocktheater. crazy warden. As com one of his pals you must traverse the literal stages set up by the cats to rescue Hatty and escape the but it also features great level your pen. The bizzare theme of design of its own. Sometimes prison. This whole tale is told it has the difficulty of “Super “BattleBlock Theatre” carries uniquely from cutscenes cre- Meat Boy” and other times throughout the entire experiated by puppets and narrated the puzzles can rival any puz- ence. “BattleBlock Theatre” is by an improvised omniscient zle game out there. If all the a fresh new take on the platnarrator who tends to rattle levels of the campaign aren’t forming genre that has been off a little too many poop enough for you, then it also around since the begining of jokes for my taste. The jokes comes with a whole level edi- gaming. It combines the twitch are sometimes a little too ju- tor which is very easy to use skills of “Super Meat Boy” and venile even for a game where compared to most editors but the puzzles of “Portal.” “BattleBlock Theatre” is a truly enthe prison guards are cats and isn’t as dynamic as most. When you move away joyable bizzare experience the main character’s name is from the bizzare story mode that doesn’t empty your wallet Hatty Hattington. At first glance the gameplay you can navigate into the with a pricetag of only $15. of “BattleBlock Theatre” might arena mode which features all