MHS Mentor Issue 36

M the MENTOR

May 14, 2013

Manhattan High School, Manhattan, Kan.

News Volume 100 Issue 26

Students receive recognition on annual Awards Night Julianne Harkness Staff Writer Graduation is just around the corner for the class of 2013.

With that comes events that are significant to some seniors, including the annual Student Achievement and Senior Recognition Night on May 6.

At the recognition night, senior academic counselor Dustin Duntz, activities director Mike Marsh and select other teachers delivered awards and scholarships. They also recognized students who placed in certain academic programs.

To start off the night, senior principal Mike Dorst welcomed everyone to awards night. Math teacher Ted Dawdy followed closely behind, introducing the students who received a math award.

Following the math awards came the Science Olympiad, presented by Dick Nelson, and journalism, presented by Kristy Nyp. Many students were recognized for placing in events revolving around these academic programs.

Following recognitions came awarding students with their scholarships and other awards. Scholarships like the Kevin Coffey Memorial Rowing Scholarship, which was awarded to Ramsey Cubie.

“It was an honor to get the Coffey Scholarship, and meant a lot because I was able to wear his bandana in my last regatta as a senior in memory of him,” Cubie said.

Many scholarships were also awarded throughout the evening. A total of 162 seniors received scholarships varying from activity scholarships to memorial scholarships.

Above: Dustin Duntz recognizes senior Austin Canady for achieving a perfect score on both the ACT and SAT “I am very proud of the class of 2013 and they have always Below: Jake Seaton is recognized for his achievements in debate and forensics and always will be special to me,” Duntz said.

Right: Savannah Elcock receives award from Heather Landsdowne a representative from the Manhattan-Ogden Public School Foundation.

Gun found near school determined non-threatening Liz Logback Features Editor No further information is available regarding a handgun found adjacent to the Manhattan High West campus on April 30, although the investigation is continuing.

A USD 383 custodian found the handgun adjacent to the school in Sunset Cemetery on April 30. Riley County police responded to the call

and determined the situation not dangerous. The gun was not loaded and was removed by county officials after being recorded and searched by its call number. The owner of the gun is still unknown.

Resource Officer Brian Swearingen has been assisting RCPD in the investigation.

“It’s a vetting process.

We have been going through surveillance and identifying people and conducting inter-

views,” Swearingen said.

Investigating the case lays mostly in Swearingen’s hands because the found weapon was determined non-threatening and the RCPD receives numerous calls a year regarding found guns.

“It’s not uncommon to receive reports of found guns.

This is a unique situation because it was found so close to the school,” Swearingen said.

“We understand that guns are

BOE votes to change dismissal time for 2013-2014 Maddy Sparks Staff Writer After discussion at the May 1 USD 383 Board of Education meeting, the decision was made to leave the Manhattan High start and end times the same for another year.

A proposal in the BOE packet prior to the meeting dealt with changing start times and end times for USD 383 schools for the 2013-2014 school year, including a potential change of the MHS dismissal time from 2:57 p.m. to 2:47 p.m. The board considered changing school times to create a 189-day school year and a longer school day for elementary students.

Over the years many adjustments have been made to start times, lunch times, and end times for USD 383 schools. Originally times were changed to accommodate

the construction schedule, by starting the school day 10 minutes earlier. Since construction began, times have stayed that way. With construction now complete, and a new school year on its way, the talk of changing when school starts and ends has been brought up again.

“The meeting was a reaffirmation from the Board of Education on when schools will start and end next year,” USD 383 Communication Director Michelle Jones said. “It was a matter of just deciding when the schools will start, how long classes and lunch will be.”

Discussion included different situations that may cause the board to change the time of when a school day starts or ends. These situations included bus transportation, due to the fact that the buses transport more than

just high school students. In the end Board members decided that the only school to change times would be Lee Elementary School. Instead of starting at 8:40 the school will now start at 8:45 to help with transportation. MHS will not be reducing the school day by 10 minutes, but will maintain the current dismissal time.

“It was really just a matter of saying how long a school day will be, and how many minutes each class and lunch is,” Jones said. “Last year the BOE had a discussion whether to switch the times of secondary and elementary school start times, such as the high school starting at 8:40 and the elementary schools starting at 7:40, but they decided in the fall that they weren’t going to do that, so the meeting this year confirmed that we would keep things the same.”

dangerous and we don’t want them landing in the wrong hands so we are being sensitive.”

Although the gun was found in close proximity to the school, Swearingen assures that the situation is not a threatening one and is under control.

“It’s something that would appear threatening at the surface, and we are being sensitive, but there are no known

Forensics places third at State Maddy Sparks Staff Writer Maddie Ross Trending Co-editor After a year of competing, beating teams, and placing in different events, the Forensics team placed at State once again. The State competition was May 3 and 4 at Olathe Northwest High School. The team brought home third place overall. This years state team was composed of only two seniors, Jake Seaton and Naomi McClendon.

As last year’s State champions, Coach Rafferty hoped to defend the title once again this year. Although they only made it to third place, Rafferty says he’s proud of what the team has done.

“We lost a lot of seniors from last year, so to turn around and get third place, I feel pretty good about that,” Rafferty said.

The team had 12 semifinalists and eight finalists.

Jake Seaton was first in origi-

Students awarded opportunity to experience career in education Sarah Shi News Editor Junior Josie Rozell has always wanted to teach others.

“When I was little I would line up my stuffed animals and pretend be a teacher,” she said.

She’ll get a chance to learn more about her future career this summer. Rozell and her classmate Hannah Nelson were among the 80 Kansas juniors selected to participate in the Kansas Future Teacher Academy, a summer intensive camp that allows students to immerse themselves in the challenges and rewards that come with a career in education. The five-day program

will take place at Emporia State University in early June.

Students will participate in seminars on leadership and self-improvement and also meet and discuss education issues with Emporia State instructors, Kansas Master Teachers, National Teachers Hall of Fame inductees, a Kansas State Teacher of the Year, and a National Board Certified Teacher, among others.

For Rozell, the chance to participate in this program was unexpected.

“I didn’t know about it at first,” she said. “Mrs. Devane sent my mom an email about the information and what it is.

From there, I got the applica-

tion.”

Applicants needed to send in a reference letter, a transcript and a short essay why they wanted to teach in the future.

“I’ve always wanted to teach,” Rozell said. She already knows what kind of teacher she wants to be. “I’ve always wanted to be an secondary English teacher. I want to be passive like Mr. Higley and aggressive like Mr. Ficke,” Rozell said. “English is for eternity. It’s something that you use everyday and will remember forever. You’ll end up forgetting history and science and math.”

Like Rozell, Nelson discovered the academy through

threats with the found weapon,” Swearingen said.

MHS Principal Terry McCarty also assured the safety of the situation in a press release.

“RCPD is conducting a thorough investigation of the weapon. We are assisting RCPD in anyway we can,” he said. “We are committed to making Manhattan High School a safe place for our students and staff.”

Devane and immediately took interest.

“I love children and teaching. I always have,” Nelson said. “Teaching is a way to make a difference in a child’s life and help them grow both intellectually and emotionally.”

Nelson hopes to confirm her love for teaching while at the academy as well as make new connections.

“The academy is held at Emporia, which is one of the best places to go for that major,” she said. “I will learn truly if it’s what I’m passionate about, as well as hopefully unlock some doors by meeting some of the ‘big dogs’ in the field.”

nal oratory and second in international extemp. Trevor Bashaw and Macy Lanceta were fifth in duet and Haley Heaton and Hanna Hayden were sixth. Kyler Reith was first in poetry, beating the entire Hutchison squad in finals. Naomi McClendon was sixth in oration, Robby Kobza was fifth in domestic extemp and Nathan McClendon was fourth. Macy Lanceta, Trevor Bashaw and Lisa Zhu were all semi-finalists and Flora Riley was also entered in the category of dramatic interpretation.

The season doesn’t end here for the Forensics team, who will head to Montgomery, Ala., to compete for the national title. The students going will be senior Jake Seaton; sophomores Lisa Zhu, Trevor Bashaw and Peter Sang; and junior Robert Kobza.

“I couldn’t be happier about how my four year experience has come to an end,” senior Jake Seaton said. “I am excited for nationals this summer.”

Julianne Harkness, Photographer

Summer school chance to learn John Rocky Staff Writer With the summer turning up and many thinking of various fun-filled plans, there are still students who need help with schooling or a good meal throughout the summer.

June 3-28, Manhattan High School will offer summer school for those seeking remediation in a content area to meet requirements or even for those looking to learn more from a particular subject. The cost is $169 and for those who qualify for reduced fees $83 This years session of summer school will include some changes. Due to classes running for half a day, students will not be getting snacks this year. However, those looking for a good meal can go to Ogden Elementary, Northview Elementary, Lee Elementary, or Theodore Roosevelt Elementary in Manhattan if they are in need of breakfast or lunch.

The summer lunch program has run for the past 24 years in Manhattan and is open to any kids 18 or younger in the district that are in need of a good meal. The program is free of cost and does not require any paperwork.

“It is a great program and it is a great help to families going through economic struggles,” director of Food Services Stephanie Smith said.

Seniors anticipate upcoming brunch Kaitlin Wichmann Photo Editor As the school year comes to an end, special events and privileges for seniors abound.

After the stress of AP tests and finals lets up, seniors are not only looking forward to graduation and new beginnings, but also to senior brunch and Project Graduation.

Senior brunch will take place this Friday right after graduation practice. The brunch is a chance to be with classmates once again and to finally see the senior video.

“I am looking forward to spending time with 400 of my closest friends,” senior Andrew Schulz said. “One thing I want to say at the brunch is that I love you all.”

Senior Da’merius Ford also has high hopes for the brunch.

“I think the brunch is going to be different this year,” Ford said. “I think we’re going to have a lot more people show up than from years before.”

Following the actual graduation ceremony is an event called ‘Project Graduation.’

Project Graduation will last from 9 p.m. ------- 2 a.m. at the K-State Recreation Complex.

The night will include dancing, a DJ, karaoke, an inflatable Velcro wall, volleyball, racquetball, table tennis, food, prizes and senior T-shirts. Everyone is guaranteed a prize and prizes include gift certificates, a dorm fridges, a TV, T-shirts, a digital camera, concert tickets, $500 and more.

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the MENTOR

May 14, 2013

Future Editor-in-Chief ready to take on next edition Liz Logback

features editor

You know, the day I found out I would be editor of “The Mentor” next year, I ran through the school halls naked and screaming... or maybe that was a dream I had. And the excitement of knowing I get to be a part of this wonderful staff and publication for yet another year is enough to make me publish my embarrassing dreams.

I‘m stepping into some big

shoes. Ben Shields has left behind a thriving newspaper and well-organized staff. His dedication to quality work and memorable reviews have set “The Mentor” apart and I am honored to pick it up where he is leaving it. I know Ben doesn’t like mushy gushy, but I speak on behalf of the staff when I say he is a valued member and will be dearly missed.

If you had asked me freshman year if I would be editor of “The Mentor,” or even on the newspaper staff, I would have laughed in your face and said no way. I was content with my band geek life and writing a story every week didn’t sound appealing. Add a few years, some good fortune,

and a bada-bing bada-bang, here I am! Turns out journalism was in my blood and now, saxophone-free, I’m ready to take on the newspaper!

“The Mentor” is a publication for you, Manhattan High.

The school is reflected in our publication, and my hope is that your memories would be cherished in our paper. We work hard each week to ensure each sporting event is covered, everyday people’s lives are shared with you and that the new up-and-coming bands are profiled. Sure, there are some misspelled headlines and letters to the editor that the staff doesn’t always agree with, but that’s what a newspaper is all about. Our goal here in C-107 is to tell the untold stories, dig

up the news nobody wants to talk about, and keep you up to date on everything going on around our special school.

As our 100th volume comes to a close, I am thankful for the past year and all that “The Mentor” has accomplished. I bid the seniors farewell with a few tears in my eyes and plenty of good memories for the years to come. I am excited to take on this position next year. “The Mentor” is a special newspaper, and I am honored to be apart of it. Be careful this summer, MHS. Be nice to your friends, drink lots of slushies and most importantly, read “The Mentor!”

With love, Liz

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief reminisces on year’s progress Ben Shields

editor-in-chief

It’s with a heavy heart I oversee an edition of “The Mentor” for the last time.

What an honor it has been to be in charge of such a talented group of writers and designers for an entire school year. Who could ask for a better job?

Yeah, that last paragraph doesn’t sound like me, does it? In fact, I just felt like I was

supposed to type something sentimental. This is just another article for me to take care of, honestly. I’m simply typing until I hit 400 words.

Bear with me.

Liz Logback is the editorin-chief next year. Is that exciting or what? I can’t think of a better choice -- she’s inspirational, motivating, hardworking and THE best at feature writing. Really incredible talent, folks. I don’t think you realize what a privilege this is going to be. I’m jealous of y’all. The whole staff idolizes themselves just for knowing her.

What has “The Mentor” meant to me? Originally it began as a way to just contribute

smart-alecky reviews. Little by little, though, I’ve worked my way to the top, and I don’t regret it. In all seriousness: I’ve learned that I love when I give feedback to a group and they listen to me. If that’s a shallow final takeaway, sue me. But in addition to that, I can say, in a purely non-sardonic, ingenuous way -- perhaps a rarity for me -- how pleased I am to have met this staff and how fond I’ve grown of them. They’re a solid bunch. All of them have put forth excellent work at least a few times this year, and let me tell you yo-yos out there who aren’t aware: this is a demanding, at times infuriating process everyone goes through in C-107.

I’ve come a long way since my old days as a staff writer.

I seem to recall writing an article about chicken nuggets at one point in time. That’s like an embarrassing photograph from kindergarten. Now, as I exit, I hope this school has enjoyed what I’ve attempted to do with the damn thing. Good luck to next year’s staff, have a safe summer, wear sunscreen, all that. Au revoir.

I’ve run short on required word count. Please excuse some additional sentences tacked on below.

Do you smell that?

I can’t find one of my socks.

The time is 11:22 a.m.

General population fruit priorities skewed Naomi Mcclendon

entertainment editor

Too many times I have walked through the lunch room and come across a so-called “healthy” person munching on an orange, a box of raisins, or god forbid, the devil’s food itself -- a ziplock baggie of grapes.

But this sickening behavior can go on no longer. It’s time that we, as conscious individuals, recognize and appreciate nature’s purest creation and God’s gift to us all -- the apple.

In today’s unfortunate society, apples are not given the respect, let alone the admiration, that they deserve. Apples, which are undoubtedly unchallenged in the race for the best fruit, are certainly not treated that way. How many times have you seen uneaten apples on the cafeteria tables, or worse, in the cafeteria trash

cans? How many times have you left an apple in the bottom of your backpack to be forgotten and to rot away?

How many times have you passed up the opportunity to eat an apple? The answer to each of this questions -- far too often.

In a well-executed survey on the highly regarded website Yahoo Answers, 26 people from around the globe answered zeldagirl65’s question “Wat is ur favorite fruit?” Not a single person out of the obviously uneducated 26 declared apples to be their favorite.

You may be wondering, as I certainly was, why nature’s greatest gift is so often mistreated and under appreciated. I am convinced that the reason why apples are not utilized and regarded as highly as they should be is simply that we are unaware of the plethora of benefits that apples provide.

The most obvious perks of apples are its health benefits. Unlike oranges, and strawberries, apples have a low sugar content. Apples are also an excellent way to whiten teeth and freshen breath -- chewing apples fights plaque buildup in the mouth. Furthermore, the fiber in

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.

apples helps ease both diarrhea and constipation. There’s also a chemical in apples that cures cancer.

But health benefits are just the beginning. I’m not an advocate for violence, but if they needed to be, apples could be an excellent weapon.

If you ever needed to throw something at someone, and fruit happened to be your only choice, apples would be your best bet. Think about it. Oranges are soft, pears aren’t aerodynamic, berries are too small to hurt, and melons are too big to throw. Apples are perfect. And if you ever needed to poison someone, the seeds from 45 apples would do the trick. Apples can also be used for target practice, face-masks, potpourri, crafts and baking. And they’re a great way to trick horses into taking their medicine.

I sincerely hope that one day, hopefully very soon, the human race will educate itself and accept apples as the miracle they truly are. Nature’s gift to us, apples make the world a better place. So next time you’re about to ingest one of the other lies that we consider food, ask yourself -- “shouldn’t I be eating an apple?”

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.

Opinions

Letters to the Editor Library just right Dear Editor,

From the moment I enrolled in Manhattan High School, I have seen and met truly amazing people. From my fellow classmates to the teachers, the school counselors, the secretaries, the janitors, the teacher aides, and even the parents of the students here, I haven’t found anyone that doesn’t deserve my and others’ respect. The librarians are some of the nicest adults I have ever had the pleasure of encountering in and out of MHS. So, to have their character be brought into question troubles me greatly. The librarians, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Hettenbach and Mrs. Mush, have always been the highlight of my day.

Through their sense of humor, intellect and whatever treats they have in the back for their aides’ birthdays and special occasions, it’s a great start to my day. Whenever I have a question or am having trouble with something, I know I can always go to them for help.

The faculty at MHS are there to help students, and the librarians are no exception.

It bewilders me to have

fellow classmates complain about how the librarians would be so mean as to ask if they had a pass from their teacher to be there and to send the students back to class if they did not. It’s their job to ask and make sure a student is not using the library as an escape from class. They would be in trouble if the library was the source of truancy for the hundreds of students who go in and out of there every day.

I would submit to all of you reading this that those who have not tried to be friendly, talkative (because the librarians do love a good topic to talk about, books especially) or to just simply reach out and get to know them a little better, are the ones who complain about the library. I would even go out on a limb to say that you would just be plain cruel and selfish to outwardly bash on them publicly, when they truly are wonderful people. I have known nothing but care and comfort whenever I enter the library. So before you decide to throw out word jabs at them, try to get to know them first. You won’t regret it.

Sincerely, Ethan Schmidt

Library too noisy Dear Editor, A library tends to be a place of quiet serenity and a wonderful place to study.

Well, any library besides the Manhattan High library.

We easily have the loudest, most unwelcoming library around. Students all across the school can agree that the library isn’t a pleasant place to be.

Within the library, we have rude librarians who seemed to be confused of what their job is supposed to be. Our librarians tend to spend hours gossiping about students, yes, students, and other teachers alike. While this may happen in other areas of the school, the librarians do it in front of students.

Not only that, they disrupt the entire library with their obnoxious voices. Rather

than whisper, the ladies of the library holler to one another, using their “outside” voices.

This makes the library counterproductive and rather irritating. Rather than being able to focus on studying for my AP US History final, I instead hear their inappropriate gossip!

Frankly, they’ve become disruptive dictators in their past policy and closing during finals. It seems as though they don’t want students there!

Above all that, if you ask for help – say to find a book or aid in simple computer tasks – the attitude of the librarians’ shows their obvious annoyance directed at the students.

I’m not asking for much, just a little quiet and professionalism.

Fed Up, Hannah Nelson

Question of the Week

What is the saddest thing about the end of the year?

“I’m graduating and it’s almost a sick feeling because I won’t be returning to MHS. ” -- Taylor Bonnette

“I’m going to miss all the seniors that are graduating even though most of them are annoying.”-- Kelsey Crawford

“The fact that I have to come back in three months.”

-- Michael Melgares

“Realizing that I just wasted the last four years of my life..”

-- Naomi McClendon

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

cartoonist - Halsey Camera writers/photographers -- Danielle Cook Tre Fuentes Julith Perry John Riforgiate Nastajja Rivera John Rockey Seth Runyan 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.

Entertainment

the MENTOR

May 14, 2013

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Easterday leaves his mark on Manhattan music Naomi McClendon Entertainment Editor Manhattan High’s longeststanding music director will end his 36-year teaching career this year, but his influence on the school will remain, and he will continue to make a difference in Manhattan’s community.

Steve Easterday has had a long, diverse and successful career in both music and education, but will soon pursue another passion -- animals.

Easterday began playing music as soon as he could hold an instrument, and will continue to play until he can’t.

At age 2, Easterday began violin lessons, at age 3 began piano lessons, and continued to add on to his list of instruments throughout high school.

Besides playing instruments in school, Easterday played ev-

ery team sport and ran marathons.

Despite his musical background, Easterday wanted to pursue post-secondary education in Veterinary Medicine and work with animals. Due to financial complications, Easterday instead went in to music education.

“Truth is, if I had money in college, I could have gone to vet school, but I had to rely on musical scholarships,” Easterday said. He

graduated from K-State in 1977 with a Bachelor’s degree

in music and violin.

If Easterday had been able to pursue his passion in college, the world might have another great vet, but it would lack an educator who has had an effect on almost every music program in Manhattan.

Easterday began his teaching career at Burlington High School instructing the band and choir. Not long after wards, Easterday met the woman whom he calls “the love of his life” and found a job in Manhattan to be close to her.

“It was a band job, and I had really studied orchestra,” Easterday said. “But my wife had a job and we didn’t want to move away.”

Easterday has held nearly every music education job in Manhattan.

“I’ve done Marching Band, Concert Band, Freshman Choir, Sugar and Spice,

Strings, Middle School Orchestra, Full Orchestra, Jazz Band, Elementary School Strings and Elementary School Band,” Easterday explained. Of the variety of different classes he’s taught, strings classes are his favorite.

“I’m partial to the strings -- chamber orchestra, pit orchestra,” Easterday said. Of course, not every class can be the favorite. “As far as my least favorite to teach, it really depends on the day. Yesterday

it was Jazz Band,” Easterday joked.

Despite any difficulties, Easterday has enjoyed his long-lived career. “I’m going to miss the students the most,” Easterday said. “They re-energize me -- they have so much more energy. And there have been a lot of neat individuals.”

Besides t h e s t u dents, Easterday’s favorite part of his job is the performance process.

“With performing groups, each piece is like a project, you get to see it develop, and have that feeling of accomplishment,” he said.

Besides teaching, Easterday enjoys gigging -- he’s played with various bands for over 30 years -- and most of all, playing with his pets. Easterday

has four dogs, two cats and a four-foot snake.

Easterday has already made plans for his years after teaching.

“I’m most excited about not having to wake up at six,” he said.

While Easterday won’t be waking up as early, he’ll certainly still be busy.

“I’d really like to find a job in vet practice, and be accept-

ed as a vet or a vet’s assistant; I really love animals.”

FUMA joins local musicians to raise money Maddie Ross Trending Co-editor

Garden of HOPE

Members of the local band FUMA are among the acts performing in a benefit concert May 17. The event will be hosted by the Manhattan Arts Center to raise money for the charity Comfort the Children.

“It’s a benefit concert for the Garden of Hope team out of Comfort the Children International. Comfort the Children is a bigger organization that does fundraisers for the Garden of Hope team,” FUMA member Naomi McClendon said. “The team will actually be traveling to Kenya this summer to help build and sustain a community garden in a village and also other community improvements like teaching kids.”

Nearly Flightless records album

Nearly Flightless singers and players perform their new songs at Jardine Carnival on Saturday. The band is releasing their first album through iTunes in June.

Naomi McClendon, photographer

Tre Fuentes Staff Writer Seniors Sam Rozell and Adam Hagedorn are among the Manhattan High students who collaborate and dedicate time to improving their musical skills.

Together with took bass guitarist Austin Craston and vocalist Jackson Meyers, who do not attend MHS, they form the band Nearly Flightless.

Hagedorn is the drummer and Rozell is the lead guitarist.

The band has just recorded an album. Titled “All Things that are Good,” the album consists of five songs and is set to be released June 14.

“We all feel very strongly about music, and spend a lot of our free time practicing our songs and we enjoy playing in front of live audiences,” Rozell said. “So we felt the next logical step would be to record our own album”.

Nearly Flightless will also be going on a summer tour, performing the songs from

their brand new album in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.

“Hopefully we can make a name for ourselves,” Hagedorn said. “We spent a lot of work into our new album, and we think a lot of people are going to enjoy it.”

With their summer tour, Nearly Flightless is taking steps toward gaining a lot of attention. But they aren’t stopping there; the band has already recorded their second album, but they do not yet have a

Pandora’s limitations frustrate students John Riforgiate Staff Writer For two consecutive months, Pandora’s user base, with regards to other forms of radio listening, has dropped again. According to Pandora, from the 8.48 percent of use in Feb., it has dropped all the way down to 7.33 in May. A few months ago, Pandora added a 40-hour music streaming limit to mobile devices that resets monthly. This may be the reason for the decrease.

“It really irks me when I reach my 40-hour maximum,” sophomore Danielle Miller said.

Some users of Pandora have switched to different sites to bypass this limit. Stations such as IHeartRadio, Slacker

Radio, Spotify and Grooveshark come to mind.

“I like Grooveshark because you can choose whatever song you want,” junior Lane Sorrell said.

Despite this new limitation, many users stay with Pandora for its features and comfortable user interface, in addition to its potential for adapting to fit the user’s styles (it uses over 400 different musical attributes to distinguish users’ tastes in music).

“It catches your personality through music,” sophomore Baili Rowe said.

Other users like the ability to search for specific types of music, even though they don’t know what they are specifically trying to listen to.

“You can discover a lot of different types of songs,” sophomore Shaylyn Hubbell said.

Another reason some are staying with Pandora is because all the current features, in addition to no advertisements and unlimited streaming, justify paying for a subscription.

“If you want to search by genre, you’ve got genres,” junior Eryk Hayden said. “ If you want to search by artist, you’ve got artists.”

Hayden and his family are subscribed to the paid version of Pandora.

Although there are many different options, and the 40hour mobile streaming maximum bothers some, there are still quite a few loyal listeners.

release date or a title for this album. Their first album will be available on iTunes for $5.

With a full schedule already, Rozell expects more action from the band in the future.

“All of us want to continue doing this for as long as we can, and eventually would like to have a deal with a record label,” Rozell said. “Once we do that, I think we can really start to reach what we are capable of.”

This Charity is especially close to the hearts of two of the band members, McClendon and Andre Middendorf.

These two Manhattan High School seniors will travel to Kenya for two weeks in June to help in the charity’s efforts towards the improvement of the quality of life.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity not only to broaden my own mind and horizons but to help people with a need,” McClendon said. “The culture shock we are going to experience is going to be an important and much needed thing for us selfish Americans.”

This benefit concert is not the only effort the two have made in fundraising for both the trip and the charity.

“Andre and I are going on

the trip and so we have been doing lots of different fundraisers and agreed this would be a good one not only for the cause but also for us to play,” McClendon said.

FUMA will not be the only ones taking the MAC stage.

Two other bands will be joining them in the fundraiser.

“We are playing with two other bands, the Thundering Cats, which is a 20-piece big band with brass and guitars and stuff, and the other is an acoustic duo out of Iowa,” McClendon said.

The event will be free of charge but donations are encouraged and very much appreciated.

“We will have food and drinks, and also a really fun raffle,” McClendon said.

App Store reaches milestone Seth Runyan Staff Writer Manhattan High School students are among those who have been tapping away at their Apple products ever since the release of the App Store since in July of 2008.

Now the Apple App store is nearing 50 billion download.

Apple is not taking this event lightly, either, just like they did with the 25 billionth download in February of 2012.

According to Apple.com, whoever downloads the 50 billionth download will receive a $10,000 App Store gift card.

Then, the people who download the first 50 apps after the 50 billion mark will receive a $500 App Store gift card.

MHS math teacher Ted Dawdy explored the probability of winning the $10,000.

To find the probability, the number of people with Apple Products and rate of apps being downloaded must be found. Once Dawdy looked at those, he found that the Internet did not provide enough information to figure the equation out for the probability.

However, the countdown is getting closer to the goal. As of 7:30 p.m. yesterday, the total number of app downloads was 49,896,011,690.

With such a great amount of money that will go to a store where many products vary from 99 cents to $5, spending $10,000 should prove to be difficult. “If I won the prize, I’d probably put it in the family account to spend easier,” Dawdy said.

“Business Insider” writer Kevin Smith wrote an article featuring 15 of the most expensive apps found on the store. One such app is “VIP Black” which costs $999.99 and allows users to receive VIP accommodations within a certain group. However, to claim those they must show that they have an income over a million dollars. There are more useful expensive apps such as “DDS GP Yes!” priced at $499.99 that dentists can use to show patients a procedure, and “3D Nasal Vista” at a cost of $199.99 views the nasal fossae in 3D. To make an entry to the contest, entrants must be over the age of 13. They can enter the contest either by purchasing an app or entering on www.apple.com/itunes/50billion-app-countdown/entryform. Each person can only download 20 apps a day to have the entry count towards the contest.

Manhattan High’s annual Battle of the Bands was cancelled this year, but the show will go on!

5 MHS Bands will be featured at Arts in the Park in City park this summer.

Aug. 9

CITY PARK PAVILLION

4

May 14, 2013

the MENTOR

Sports

Baseball secures two seed for Regionals Nick Bandy Sports Editor

A member of the MHS baseball team goes up to bat against Highland Park. The Indians won both of their games against Highland, which were also the Indians’ last home games.

Kelsey Crawford, photographer

Golf ready for State Alan Brown Staff Writer The Manhattan High golf team had a busy schedule this week, participating in three varsity meets. Each meet was on the road, taking place in Emporia, Junction City, and Lawrence. Overall, the results of the meet were satisfactory.

“Overall this year, we’ve struggled to get better,” said coach Brad Ficke. “But this week, I saw improvement.”

The team took 1st at Emporia, 3rd at Junction City, and 5th at Lawrence. While the results from Lawrence appear to be the least impressive on paper, the competition at the meet was significantly more difficult. Alvamar Course, in western Lawrence, is also one of the most difficult courses in

Kansas.

“The Lawrence meet is basically a state preview,” Ficke said. “We placed better than we’ve done in a long time.”

David Woods led the team with a low score of 76 at Lawrence. He was followed by Scott Woods (78), Drew Casper (80), Pierson Mcatee and Cole Dillon ( tied with 83). Dylan Gros, who finished with 80 points at Emporia, played with the varsity team for the first time this week. Recently, he has impressed the coaches with his improvement.

“The challenge for next year is to improve earlier,” Ficke said. “We’re expecting most of the guys back.”

To finish off the year, MHS played at Regionals yesterday and will take part in the state meet next Monday.

“We placed better than we’ve done in a long time.”

- Ficke

They were tired. They were stressed. Their Regional seeding was on the line. Under all this pressure the Manhattan High baseball team stepped up to win all six of their games last week and secure the two seed in their Regional tournament.

“It was a long day at the ballpark and it was stressful.

There were a lot of emotions but we managed to stay focused enough to play well,” head coach Don Hess said.

The Indians started off last week with two lopsided wins at home over Highland Park on Monday.

“It was a nice day at the ballpark. It was a lot of fun and everyone got to play,” Hess said.

They played against Washburn Rural on Wednesday in two crucial games because Washburn and MHS were fighting for a higher seed in the Regional tournament.

The Indians stepped up big and won 2-1 and 2-0. The 2-0 win was a historic one for MHS. Junior Henry DeNoble pitched the first-ever seven innings no-hitter game in MHS school history. There have been other no-hitters, but they were all only five innings due to the mercy rule. That win was also Hess’s 300th win, but the coach was very humble about the accomplishment.

“It just says I’ve been blessed to have great players and great coaches around me.

It was a true program honor more than an individual honor,” Hess said.

The dramatic week contin-

ued as MHS played Topeka West on Thursday, the final two games of their season.

They won both despite their fatigue, making them a perfect 6-0 in a very important week.

“We were a little tired and we didn’t play real sharp but we pitched well,” Hess said.

On Saturday the Regional seeds were announced -- MHS had done enough. They secured the two seeds, meaning they host one of their region’s two pools. If the Indians win their pool they will advance to the State tournament. Last year they did go to State and took fourth. In this year’s first round of Regionals on Wednesday MHS will play Topeka High at home, a team that they beat twice earlier in the year by mercy rule.

Soccer wins three straight to end regular season John Rockey Staff Writer Three wins in the past week, including a down-to-thewire triumph over Junction City on the Bluejays’ home turf, wrapped up the Lady’s Indians’ last week of regular season play.

Last Monday the soccer team had a tough match against Emporia, where the Varsity scored a single point to win their game.

“We had a lot of opportunities, but we couldn’t finish,” senior Willie Stockton said.

Last Tuesday was their match against Junction City.

The J.V. started the night with a six to zero win prior to the Varsity game, which turned into a skirmish where Junction’s Jessica Schellhase went up for a 50-50 ball with Courtney Payne and the two girls ran head on into each other. Schellhase then left in an ambulance while the game continued.

“You could tell we wanted it,” junior Emma Samenus

said. “It’s been forever since Manhattan lost to JC in soccer, and it was frustrating getting so many opportunities and not taking them.”

The game came down to a goal from Jennifer Then in the final 36 seconds in a second overtime.

“Both games we could not finish,” Samenus said. “We had a greater drive for the JC game; but the Emporia game should have been an easier one.”

Last Thursday marked Seniors’ Night for the Lady Indians’ at home against Shawnee Heights. The girls took to the field and played together as a team for the last time in the regular season.

“It’s a great group. It’s sad to see them leave, but I know they’re going to do good things on the next level,” coach Mike Sanchez said.

J.V. finished the game early on with a nine-to-two victory over Shawnee.

“We went hard through the beginning and we went hard throughout the entire game,”

junior Jennifer Gross said.

Varsity followed the J.V. win and the congratulations to the senior class before the game’s start. The girls went after another tough match that ended two to one by the end of the night.

“I feel like we all worked really hard together to win as a team,” junior Lani Fischer said.

The girls’ remaining

games consist of Regionals on Tuesday at home in what may turn out to be their last game of the year. Worse comes to worse, they will have played as a team.

“It’s kind of sad, but it’s good to go out with a win,” senior Bailey Snyder said. “At the beginning, we didn’t have a lot of chemistry. But as the season went on, we worked better all together as a team.”

Junior Emma Samenus kicks the ball past a defender.

John Rockey, photographer

Softball ends season with 11-9 record Athlete of the Week Dheepthi Perumal Staff Writer

An MHS hitter squares up to a pitch as MHS comes up short to Washburn Rural.

John Riforgiate, photographer

Due to weather cancellations Manhattan High’s softball team played three doubleheaders this week. The girls played six games in a row Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with Friday being their senior night.

The series began with a tough double header on Wednesday against Washburn Rural where the girls lost both games, 1-9 and 0-5.

“They were a tough team to play,” junior Aubrey Jung said. “We tried our best, though.”

With the loss on Wednesday the girls rallied to win both the doubleheaders that followed against Highland Park and Emporia, with four wins 16-1, 22-3, 11-1 and 9-4.

“It was tiring but we played as a team to win all of our games,” senior Allie Massenet said.

“It was amazing that we played our best Friday,” Jung said. “We were competitive and we worked as a team to beat Emporia.

The girls ended their season with a 11-9 record. This week the girls play Topeka High on Wednesday for Regionals. Earlier this season the team split a doubleheader with them.

“If we play the way we played this week we can definitely beat them,” Massenet said.

“We just need to win,” Jung said. “We have a chance to go to State this year if we do.”

If the girls beat Topeka High their next game will be against Washburn Rural, the team they played last Wednesday and lost both games to.

“If we can get it out of our heads that it’s Washburn we are playing I think we will beat them,” senior Tyler Hoyt said. “If we play the way we know how to play.”

Danielle Cook staff writer

Jake Seaton Senior Jake Seaton won first place at the Regional tennis tournament and went on to compete at the State tournament, where he placed 11th, making him the top finisher in the state outside of Kansas City. Seaton’s success as a tennis player is something to be proud of; however, he continues to work hard for success at all his goals and aspirations.

A:

I practice. I just try to hit as many balls as possible.

I practice all the different shots: forehand, backhand, serve, return and try to mentally prepare myself for the competition.

Q: What’s something that you like about tennis?

A: I like the fact that you

compete individually, so you’re able to measure your own progress, but also get glimpses of success as a team, which is that much sweeter.

Q: How did you get into Q: What’s something tennis? always trying to imA: I decided that I was go- you’re prove on as a team? ing to try it in seventh grade and my interest in it just A: This season, we worked kind of took off.

Q: What do you do to prepare for important tournaments?

a lot on the basic tennis skills because a lot of the members of the team are pretty young, and so we’re trying to prepare them the best for the next four years.

Track team wins 6th Tennis takes third, straight League title qualifies five for State Tre Fuentes Staff Writer Since the beginning of the season, the philosophy of the Manhattan High Track team was to improve on a daily basis. Last Friday, the Indians continued to make strides of improvement as the boy’s took the League title for the sixth year in a row, and the girls claimed it for the fourth consecutive year.

Many Indians continue to have high expectations in their respected events, and with Regionals this Friday and then State after that, the stakes have never been higher.

Among the standouts for the Indians were senior Gabe Caldas, throwing for 47 ft. 3 in., easily taking first in shot put.

“I just knew I had to throw my best that day,” Caldas

said. “There was a lot of tough competition and now is time of the season where everyone is trying to step up just like our coaches have taught us.”

The competition is only going to get harder, as Regionals features some of the best teams from 6A. The Indians, widely considered as one of the premier track teams in the state, are up to the competition, with many athletes eyeing first in their events. Staying focused is going to be key for the Indian’s success this year at State.

Junior Stephanie Shanower placed first in discus, throwing over 125 ft. As a freshman, Shanower placed eighth at state in discus. With high expectations the next year, Shanower believes she had a down year as a sophomore, and is looking to come back

strong this year.

“I think the expectations I had for myself as a sophomore got to me, and I didn’t perform as well as I wanted,” Shanower said. “Now I think the expectations I have will just motivate me even more. If I don’t get a personal best for myself, I just use that as motivation to keep getting better.”

Shanower is currently ranked second in the state at discus, and like many Indians, is hoping for good performance at Regionals and State.

Last year, two Indians were State champions. With talent in multiple events, the MHS Track team could secure even more this year.

Danielle Cook Staff Writer

Coming out of last Monday’s Regional tournament, the Manhattan High boys tennis team placed third overall, with five players qualifying for State. These five players included two doubles teams -junior Jonathan Turnley and freshman Kirkland Lambert, and freshmen Ben and Matt Turnley -- and senior Jake Seaton, who earned first place in the singles division at the Regional competition.

Head coach Charles Kipp believes that this year’s regular season was a successful one for the Indians in regard to the impressive turnout of the team’s State qualifiers.

“Three freshman and a junior qualifying for State bodes well for MHS tennis in the future,” Kipp said, “and this

was an excellent for Seaton.

This was a pretty good outing for the team. As well as the matches were played, there were some areas that needed improvement, but having five players qualify for State is excellent.”

The State tournament was held on Friday and Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka. The doubles team consisting of Ben Turnley and Matt Turnley played the first round of the tournament, eliminated after a few hard matches on Friday.

“Ben and Matt have improved this season and played some tough competition,” Kipp said.

Doubles team Lambert and Jonathan Turnley also made it to the second round of the tournament, falling out only after making it to the quarterfinals and going up against

the top seed of Shawnee Mission East. Seaton, MHS’ only State-qualifying singles player, along with one of the two qualifying doubles teams, competed on both the first and second days of the tournament. Seaton, playing the third seed, took eighth place and moved on to the next round where he won his next two matches against Dodge City and Olathe Northwest.

Seaton went on to take 11th place at State, overall, making him the top finisher in the state outside of Kansas City.

“I’m proud to be the top person outside Kansas City because that means I made the most of the opportunities I had,” Seaton said.

the MENTOR

Features

March 14, 2014

5

Grad reflects on trip to Philippines Ada Davis-Nouri is a 17- yearold who recently graduated from Manhattan , Kansas High School. She spent 5 weeks in the Philippines volunteering for the HELP Foundation. This is one of her stories.

As a HELP Foundation Volunteer in Talakag, Bukidnon, Philippines, one of my first jobs was working with the Mother's Health Education Class. The program (taught

by Thola Saliring, RN, and Ernilou Amor Kesigon, RN) is based around teaching mothers in poverty, basic health education in order to be able to diagnose, prevent and treat basic ailments for their children and other family members.

Mothers would meet once each week to cover a new lesson topic. The basic lesson plan covered items such as treating coughs, diarrhea, asthma, pneumonia, fever, tuberculosis, and intestinal parasites, among many other diseases. The classes also covered the basic food groups, vitamins, human anatomy and making herbal medicine from native plants.

Thirty-two women graduated the program and were awarded Certificates of Achievement. As an added incentive to attend the classes, there was also a feeding program for their children. The Feeding Program focused

on children ages 0-6 years program ran from Aug. 1, band (a farm laborer) works old who were are either un- 2012, to March 11, 2013, and odd jobs and has no regular derweight or malnourished. has been a huge success for income. She grew up in a The program catered to 170 the children, mothers, and the shack with her grandparents, children, with 59 being recog- program. mother, siblings and other relnized as malnourished.

I got the chance to inter- atives. Her father left when she Three days a week, the view some of the mothers was quite young, and she was mothers would meet and cook enrolled in the program to forced by her grandmother to for the chilquit school afdren.

Each ter the second meal was a grade because high calorie, "there was noextremely nubody to help tritious stew her wash the that was preclothes." Dursented to the ing her childchildren in hood, she was a large cup. sexually asThe children saulted by her also received mother's new daily vitamin partner. supplements Grace’s throughout child was the program. born premaThe children ture and was had their having trouweight monible gaining tored on a weight. One monthly basis day, a neighto track the bor who is also progress of participating weight gain. in the health Of the mal- Senior Ada Davis enjoys a local delicacy from the Philippines. class came Courtesy Photo over to bornourished children (dirow a cooking vided into the knife, which is categories "severe" and "mod- gain their insight on both the how Grace learned about the erate"), nearly 64 percent of Health Education Class and programs. Since enrolling in the moderate and 70 percent the Feeding Program, as well the program, she told me she of the severely malnourished as sharing their personal lives believed she'd learned lots of children showed an increase and stories. One of the first information that will be vital in body weight, with 20 previ- mothers I spoke to was Grace in helping her raise her first ously malnourished children Balinado, a 19 year old with a child. Prior to the program, rising to a completely normal 15-month-old baby boy. She her child didn't have much of and healthy body weight. The is unemployed, and her hus- an appetite. However, since

administering the vitamins provided by the program, his appetite has increased and he has begun to eat normally and is gaining weight.

Another mother I interviewed was Mona Magno, a 29-year-old mother with four children, ages 8, 7, 3 and 15 months. She was recruited by the Barangay Health Worker to join the Health Class and Feeding Program. All four of her children are underweight, but only two are enrolled.

However, she brings food from the Feeding Program home for her two older children. Both she and her husband are unemployed. They survive on income from working odd jobs wherever they can find them. She told me the program has been a tremendous help as almost all of the health related knowledge was new to her. Her 7 year old has many developmental challenges. She excitedly told me that since administering the vitamins and bringing home food, the child has begun to speak both words and phrases. The child also has frequent convulsions that she previously didn't know how to handle. Since joining the Health Class, she's learned the knowledge needed to deal with them. Her other children have also shown an improvement in weight and overall health since the program.

The final mother I interviewed was Juliana Butcon,

a 39-year-old single widowed mother with two boys, agse 15 and 4. She is from a family of 10, and was only allowed to reach the fifth grade before her mother pulled her out from lack of money. The schooling of her 15-year-old son Jason is sponsored through HELP Foundation by the Stansbury family from Smith Center, Kan. She learned about the Health and Feeding classes from her son Jason. She is unemployed and living with her parents who are farm laborers.

When she learned about the program, she enrolled herself and her 4-year-old son, Gerome. Gerome was born with multiple health problems. She hopes that with the program’s help, she will be able to bring Gerome to a real hospital to get him a CT scan and surgery to drain the water from his brain. Despite his many ailments, she was happy to report Gerome has increased in weight and overall health and is hopeful that she will someday have the resources to get him the treatment he needs.

These are but a few of the stories from mothers in desperate need of assistance.

I have learned that HELP Foundation reaches out to the “poorest of the poor” and through their many programs, they are improving the lives of these special people.

Senior accepted to alternative college Kayla Dieker Copy Editor With an acceptance rate of only 9 percent, the College of the Ozarks has an incoming class of approximately 300 freshmen. Manhattan High senior Brittany Jones was lucky enough to be one of those accepted.

Jones first heard about the school from her grandparents, who organized tour groups to Branson, Mo., when she was in seventh grade. She has been working to apply for it ever since.

“You don’t pay tuition for your classes,” Jones said. “Instead you work on campus as gardeners or librarians or janitors and things like that. How many hours you work is like you paying off your tuition.”

The College of the Ozarks has been nicknamed the “Hard Work U” because of this unique work-study program.

“As a freshmen they assign you jobs,” Jones said. “If I got to pick a job I’d like to be a librarian or a florist, because I like flowers.”

The school does this to provide an education for those who may not be able to afford a traditional university, and the only cost for students is an estimated $7,000 for room and board and books.

“They pay people to come in by how much income your family makes,” Jones said.

“They pick people who are passionate about school and people that are willing to learn and who can’t afford normal college.”

The application process isn’t easy, and the school receives over 3,000 each year.

“It was a long process [to apply],” Jones said. “I had an interview during the winter.”

Now that Jones has been accepted, she’s thinking ahead to life after college.

“I want to be a Christian counselor,” she said. “I’ll be able to get a degree in that going there. I’m hoping to be majoring in psychology or social work. And I’m going to minor in music performances.”

Julith Perry, photograhpher

Diehard Kansas State fan following in family footsteps Julith Perry Staff Writer Tears were streaming down senior Ashley Wells’ face as she saw the Kansas State football team charge onto the field for their Spring football game.

“I began crying when they came out,” Wells said. “It was just everyone and everything around [me]. It was just this amazing feeling.”

Wells’ classifies herself as a hardcore Kansas State University fan. She attends most K-State games.

“When I'm not doing something K-State related I'm thinking about K-State,” Wells said. “I have so much K-State stuff at my house that pretty much all I have to do is look up and theres something K-State, so it’s always on my mind.”

Wells’ admiration for KState began as a part of family tradition. With most of her family attending K-State, she has grown very fond of K-State the local university. “It was a family thing. My grandpa and grandma attended K-State.

My mom is currently attending K-State,” Wells said.

Like any true K-State fan Wells’ has a deep admiration for football coach Bill Snyder.

“I haven't met Bill Snyder but my mom has. I am like a huge fan,” Wells said. “At the Spring game, I was like two feet within Bill Snyder and my mom's boyfriend told me I could have waved at him but Julith Perry, photograhpher

I had like the biggest attack of starstruck that I just sat there and grinned.”

Wells’ stepdad is the son of Jon Brake who is the owner of the Manhattan Free Press and the Blue Rapids Free Press.

Wells’ and her family help him out by taking pictures and doing some writing for the Manhattan Free Press free of charge. “My grandpa had heart surgery earlier in the year, and he hasn't been able to work on the newspaper that much so I kind of just do it to help him out,” Wells said.

Despite not getting paid, the family enjoy the perks of the press passes.

“When you're a fan being in the stands is one thing but being on the sidelines is completely different. That's like real world. Being on the stands you don't get that feeling. It’s more of a screen thing.

You're constantly looking up and down at the screen,” Wells said. “When you're on the sidelines you're actually there, you get trampled by the players, you know that’s real world. You know that it’s really happening and it’s just an amazing feeling. I like that.”

One of the biggest perks that Wells and her family have enjoyed this year was getting press passes to the 2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. “I didn't get to be down on the sidelines for the entire Fiesta Bowl so I kind of got both worlds’ perspective. I got to be down there for a little while and see up at how many fans were there and then I got to be with

the fans looking down at the game,” Wells said.

It hasn’t always been fun and games for Wells. As a child, she attended Randolph Elementary School in Topeka, where she was constantly bullied. “That was the worst time in my life and it just made me realize that no one ever wants to feel like that,” Wells said.

“There were times where I would pretend to be sick so I wouldn't have to go to school.

I would lay in bed for days because I didn't want to deal with it. Now being in high school, its totally changed my perception. I know what it’s like to be on that side. I know not to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

Leaving the bullying in the past, Wells moved here at the beginning of this year.

“It was intimidating and I didn't want to move here, but since moving here I regret not coming before,” Wells said. “I love MHS. It’s just a good feeling that this school has been so accepting.”

Following in her family’s footsteps Wells’ plans to attend K-State for undergraduate studies and then attend the University of Kansas for graduate school. “Ever since elementary school I’ve wanted to become a doctor. The only thing that has changed is what type of doctor I want to be,” Wells said. “I've actually done a lot of research on pediatricians. I'm set on it. I love working with children and I just think helping them health-wise is one way I can help them benefit.”

6

the MENTOR

May 14, 2013

Trending

‘Gatsby’ better on screen than off Nick Bandy

sports editor

For once the movie is better than the book, and it was one of my favorite books ever.

“The Great Gatsby” follows the storyline of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel perfectly and improves on the areas that I disliked in the book.

The book’s problem is that none of the characters seem completely likeable or dislikeable. Nick Carraway seems quiet and full of himself in the book. Jay Gatsby seems lovable at times but for the most part seems no better than anyone else, and Tom Buchanan, supposedly the villain, shows he is not such a bad guy at times.

The movie fixes these issues by turning the characters from gray to black or white. Gatsby is the charming hero, whose

only flaw is his never-ending love for Daisy. Tom is the pure evil villain, and Nick is Gatsby’s loyal sidekick.

These adjustments from the book make the movie more emotional and dramatic.

The movie successfully pits good against evil in a way lacking in the book.

In the first half of the movie, the audience, or at least those who hadn’t read the book, feels sure that the hero Gatsby is going to steal Daisy away from evil Tom. Gatsby knew and loved Daisy once, but he had to leave to fight in the war and Daisy married Tom. Tom has an affair with a girl in New York, and he has had others in the past, and he just generally seems like a horrible person. Daisy clearly married him for his money.

Gatsby never forgot Daisy. In fact, his life has revolved around getting her back. The scene in which he is reunited with Daisy after five years is perfect. He changes from his normal cool self into a bumbling awkward

fool, providing one of the few funny scenes of the movie.

not enough. He wants to erase the last five years by having

Soon, however, he is back to his charming, romantic self, and Daisy falls in love with him again.

At this, the movie changes from a sappy romance to a tragedy. Gatsby shows his fatal flaw: Daisy loving him is

Daisy tell Tom she never loved him. Gatsby wants to create the perfect life he wished he always had. From here, things spiral downhill quickly to the classic tragic ending.

The well-chosen cast performs perfectly. Leonardo

Summer movie preview Connor Bliss Trending Co-Editor

DiCaprio is the perfect Gatsby, as he plays the wide range of emotions that go with this difficult role.

He is cool, awkward, romantic, sad, and shows the n e v e r e n d i n g b o y i s h optimism that is the center of Gatsby’s c h a r a c t e r.

And he has the winning smile.

N i c k is played by Tobey Maguire, who is wellsuited for a character who mainly watches the events, but also shows his sense of humor and occasionally shows strong emotions. Carey Mulligan plays Daisy and tries her best, but comes up short.

She should be an angel; two men are fighting over her

Horoscopes Dheepthi Perumal

Summer is hot and crowds flock to cool places to relax like the theatre. If the heat isn’t enough to drive you into the theatres maybe the traditional heap of summer movies will do it. But for some movies maybe you’re better off just getting skin cancer at the pool. photos courtesy of rottentomatoes.com Pixar is known for their delay between sequels and they are staying true to that with “Monsters University.” While the trailers promise more scaring, it’s lost something special that the original had -- that being Boo, the human element that kept it grounded and made it a real journey for home. The trailers show a generic college movies except swapping in monsters. It needs originality not parody.

“Star Trek Into Darkness” is easily the movie on the list that I am the most excited for. If it is anything like the first J.J. Abrams “Star Trek” then it has to be good. This might be the last “Star Trek” movie we see for a while with Abrams taking the reigns of “Star Wars”. This movie will definitely still be a “Star Trek” with Abrams getting the word this year that he was doing “Star Wars” until early this year.

“After Earth” is not the first film Will Smith and his Jaden have done together their first one being “The Pursuit of Happyness”. While “After Earth” may have entirely different post apocalyptic personality it still seems to play off the relationship between father and son.

While this movie has it’s action scenes it seems to manipulate the fear of putting children in danger a la “Jurassic Park”.

misses Hits and

Multimedia Editor 1. Taurus (April 20 May 20) You need to learn how to twerk.

2.Gemini (May 21 June 20) This summer, you will meet some amazing people. Just kidding, people are stupid.

3.Cancer (June 21 July 23) You need to go on a mission....maybe the zoo. And pretend you are a zebra. Yes, a zebra.

- Caleb Loop

Hit: Horse-racing

America’s whitest

Hit:Finally some

citizens. - Eli Redeker

Spring weather.

- Laura Sapp, math teacher Hit:

Hit: Scottish

DiCaprio

schools don’t require transcripts

Hit: Charles

so they don’t have

Ramsey’s

any evidence of

detective skills.

my senioritis. -

- Jack Hubler-

Kayla McClintock

Dayton

in “Great Gatsby.”

- Hannah Nelson

Miss: Trevor Miss: Mark Sanford returns to politics. - Eli Redeker

Bashaw never won athlete of the week at least once. - Jina Ok

5.Virgo (Aug. 23 Sept. 22) Go tan, you’re kinda pale.

6.Libra (Sept. 23 Oct. 22) Some kid will look at you, and just to let you know in advance, he/ she doesn’t like you.

7.Scorpio (Oct. 23 Nov. 21) Go out of your bubble, life is fun.

8.Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) You should think about the little things in life, like when you go pee.

do something crazy.

10. Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) Chill out, go have some ice cream. It will definitely chill you out.

11.Pisces (Feb. 19 March 20) You think you know who you are.... but really you don’t. Don’t ask me, though, because I really don’t care about you.

12.Aries (March 21 April 19) I bet when you are reading this you think I am going to give you advice in life. But nope, so bye.

A&E’s ‘Bate’s Motel’ hot, trashy fun

enough Caleb.

entertainment for

making out with a random person.

4.Leo (July 24 - Aug. 22) This month romance 9. Capricorn (Dec. 22 will come your way, - Jan. 19) and that does not mean Just live. Have fun. Go

Miss: Not

and hockey provide

and Gatsby has devoted his life to her. Instead she seems unworthy of the attention. She seems confused and dull as she can’t make up her mind because she loves two men and struggles to tell either of them how she really feels.

The background of the movie is the weakest point.

The setting feels just like 2013. It struggles to transport the readers back in time to the 1920s when the movie is set. The colors everywhere are bright and vibrant, and the music and dancing at the parties seem modern.

The soundtrack of the Great Gatsby changes from horrible to excellent. Early on, modern pop songs are constantly playing, and their lyrics seem very out of place.

But the music switches to fast violins as it helps build the drama and it made my heart pound, even though I knew what was going to happen.

“The Great Gatsby” ends leaving the audience feeling sad because it’s a tragedy, but it also leaves them with an important lesson that is the theme of the movie and the book- You can’t repeat the past, old sport.

Under the radar on television is “Bates Motel,” a prequel-but-not to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960 film “Psycho.” The series is set in the present but tells the story of Norman’s childhood, when he was just a normal, horny teenage boy -- almost. He also occasionally blacks out and proceeds to go on dangerous rampages that may or may not involve murder.

Maybe I’m softening a bit, but I haven’t missed an episode of this show -“Dallas” is off again and even early release doesn’t get me home in time for “Young and the Restless,” so if you’re looking for a hot, mindless drama, it’s hard to go wrong with “Bates.” It’s like if Ryan Murphy did “Twin Peaks” (though this isn’t nearly as good as “American Horror Story”), set in a strange, isolated town with a killer cop and and an Asian sex slave, all with a pinch of high school hormone drama.

Vera Farmiga is just perfect as Norman’s nutterball mom. As a non-fan of “The Departed” and “Up in the Air,” this may be the most I’ve ever enjoyed one of her

projects. Depending on her facial expression, she has the ability to look either 30 or 50 years old, and though playing an unlikeable character, she has a real elegance as an actress.

Freddie Highmore, a child actor I’ve detested from “August Rush” to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” is Norman, and I’ll admit he’s pretty good (though his upper lip is pushing a decade as my least favorite upper lip of all time). Other cast members include Max Thieroit as Freddie’s reckless, handsome older brother, Olivia Cook as Emma, his partner in crime and Nicola Peltz as Bradley, the unrequited love interest who may pay later. Mondays at 9 p.m.