Volume 102 Edition 4

The mentor Vol. 102 Issue 4 | Manhattan High School | Sept. 16, 2014

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MHS enjoys fun-filled night at Powderpuff football Danielle Cook Entertainment Editor Wednesday night a few of Manhattan High’s ladies, divided into two teams of Blue and White, took the field at Bishop Stadium for a game of Powderpuff football -- a game used as an annual fundraiser for Tribe. After signing up to play just a few weeks prior to game night, girls were divided into the two teams at random, and once each girl was placed on a team, it was time to practice.

According to White Team coach Rodney “Rod” Robison, his team had four practices, during which a goal of his was to teach the girls more about the technicalities of the game.

“A lot of them didn’t know a lot about football, so my goal was just to teach the game a little bit, so they knew when we

were on offense, when we were on defense, which positions they playing,” Robison said. “A little more [difficult] than trying to get our plays down was trying to get the organization down and a basic knowledge of the game to start with.”

Mike Miller, coach of the Blue Team, agreed for the duration of the practice process, simplicity and the value of learning were key.

“The main thing with Powderpuff football is that we have a short amount of time, so we tried to keep it simple, constantly running plays,” Miller said.

The White Team did not come out of Wednesday’s game with a victory, but Robison explained that while the members of his team walked onto the football field with “very competitive” spirit, they came off the football field with a sense of sportsmanship.

“They showed sportsmanship, showed that they were still all friends. Win or lose, it was fun. I think all the girls had fun,” Robison said.

As for the Blue Team’s win, Miller expressed his pride in the girls’ success.

“I’m really proud of the girls. This is my second year coaching, and every team’s a little different, but in the end, they had fun. We came out on top,” Miller said.

Senior Liz Spooner, member of the White Team, felt that her team’s win was due to hard work, but also attributed the win to a focus on fun.

“Before the game, we got really pumped and crazy. We had a lot of fun, and I felt like we were really a team,” Spooner said. “It was my first year playing, and I had so much fun. Winning was definitely rewarding.”

Top: Freshman Meredith Broadwater and seniors Kenzie Miller, Courtney Grice and Kinsley Snyder strategize on the sidelines and work determine what their next play will be. Left: Powderpuff cheerleaders, clad in pink, perform at halftime. Right: Powderpuff team members compete with a smile as the white team works for a touchdown and the blue team fights to grab flags.

PHOTOS BY KESHA JOHNSON AND DANIELLE COOK

Enterovirus D68 attacks Midwest children Girls in STEM make an impact Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer Enterovirus EV-D68 is a respiratory virus that has been ferociously attacking the youth of the midwest over the last month. Manhattan High School Nurse Robin Smith is apprehensive of the virus spreading to the Manhattan area. “[EV-D68] is a respiratory virus that is causing the younger population to become sick with respiratory-like symptoms that progress rapidly and sometimes requires hospitalization,” Smith said.

“Fever, coughing, those are the primary symptoms, and the fever can be significant in respiratory distress where the patient isn’t breathing properly and isn’t oxygenating prop-

erly.”

The Denver Post reported that the Children’s Hospital in Colorado says it has seen more than 900 cases alone. A CDC official reported that out of 22 suspected cases in Kansas City, 19 children tested positive for the rare respiratory virus. In Chicago, 11 out of the 14 cases reported were confirmed.

“There are no confirmed cases at Manhattan High School. Sometimes there are suspected cases, they just treat them systematically if they are not severe.because they laboratory testing can be expensive and the treatment is just systematic anyways,” Smith said.

More than half of the confirmed cases are in children with a history of asthma or wheezing. The virus can be spread by coughing or sneez-

ing and not protecting yourself properly.

“Respiratory viruses are all spread the same way, including this virus, and it is through droplet so if somebody is coughing, sneezing and they are not covering their cough properly or covering their sneeze properly those virus particles are in their respiratory secretions and if it gets on a table and a student touches the table and then touches their hand to their face, nose, mouth, or eyes, then that’s how the virus can affect another person,“ Smith said.

According to CNN, Kansas City Officials have reported over 400 children hospitalized with EV-D68 symptoms.

Fifteen percent of these pa-

SEE VIRUS ON PAGE 3

Madeline Marshall News Editor Around Manhattan High it is not uncommon to see girls pouring hydrochloric acid onto unknown alkali carbonates, flipping through notes on the physiology of the brain, working with derivatives and integrals or determining a new way to design a lab product.

They may be doing this for a class, a club or just for the fun of it. Either way, the young women at MHS are proving just how important it is to get girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

For many, STEM subjects have always been at the center of their interests.

“I’ve always been more into science and math than human-

ities,” junior Rachel Chang said. “It’s just the way that my mind operates, I guess.”

Senior Krista Dix noted a similar sentiment.

“I always thought it was cool because it’s almost like magic,” Dix said. “Scientists were always really easy to look up to because they’re smart and stick to their guns.”

These young scientists have fallen in love with the very nature of the subjects, even though they have heard others regard them as being supposedly less creative.

“It’s like figuring out a puzzle,” Chang said. “A lot of people are going to say that those subjects are uncreative or whatever, but what’s cool is that at some point in the past, scientists and mathematicians were creative enough

to disregard common thought and discover the way that the world works.”

Even more amazing to junior Andrea Lu is what is still left to learn.

“I love learning about the world we live in,” Lu said. “It never ceases to amaze me how much we already know about our planet and its organisms and how much there still is to be discovered.”

While gender has far from dampened these girls’ interest, it has affected how others view them.

“Obviously when it comes to things like engineering and computers and hands-on experiments I feel like people might think I’m a little inadequate, because of my gender,”

SEE STEM ON PAGE 3

Students Against Destructive Decisions record radio ad reminding listeners of dangers of underage drinking Angie Moss Business Manager More than 25 percent of Manhattan High teens admitted to drinking in the last 30 days according to a 2013-2014 survey. Students Against De-

Global News Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor Global news is a vital part of news today and can directly affect MHS students. In order to inform our readers, The Mentor has compiled small summaries describing some of the largest happenings in the world today. We encourage the reader to read about these topics, and others, in greater depth.

Athlete Pistorius found guilty South African Olympic

structive Decisions have made it their goal to reduce this percentage to zero.

On Sep. 9, SADD officers went to the radio station Q103.5 and recorded a public service announcement that discussed the dangers of underage drinking and drug us-

age.

Almost everyone listens to the radio at least once a day, whether it’s in their car while they’re driving, on the loudspeaker in a store, or in their room while they’re getting ready for the day, so there’s no question about whether or

not the commercial will reach people.

“The station is going to edit them and then send them to us and then put them out there, so yes I think it will be,” SADD president Alyssa Frey said.

Not many high schoolers get to be heard on the radio, so

the experience was certainly an interesting one.

“I’ve never been in a recording studio, so I thought it was pretty awesome. It was just a room with microphones.

He [the studio technician] was recording basically the whole time we were in there, so that

way he could edit what we were saying,” vice president Katie Dixon said. “He made us say the commercial twice or so, and then we were done. It was easy.”

athlete Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of homicide on Sept. 12 after he killed his girlfriend in February of this year. He shot her in the middle of the night after he mistook her for an intruder. The prosecution charged Pistorius with murder but he was found not guilty of murder. His sentencing for manslaughter will be next month.

for the 10 percent who are undecided on the issue. However, various other polls show slightly different results but with one similarity -- it’s going to be a close call. The vote will take place on Thursday.

If the “yes” vote for independence wins, it will take several months for Scotland to become an independent nation.

ecuted by IS. This action has outraged the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, who said that “they [IS] are not Muslims, they are monsters.” In his press release, Cameron stated his further anger by the fact that the executor in all three of the videos is possibly a British citizen. This is because in the first video depicting the beheading of American journalist James Foley the executor spoke with a British accent.

In following videos, the executor’s voice was altered. The purpose of the video is to warn the UK government against further action in the Middle East against ISIS. Cameron, however, does not seem to be fazed by the threat. Cameron stated several ways in which the UK will work with others to “extinguish this terrorist threat.”

Sanctions on Russia

Chikungunya virus spreads

Scottish independence?

A recent poll has shown an unexpectedly large amount of support in Scotland for Scottish Independence from the United Kingdom. The poll, administered by polling company Survation, has shown that 47.6 percent of voters are against Scottish Independence while 42.4 percent are for it.

Those numbers do not account

IS beheads British Hostage The jihadist Islamic State group has released a video of another beheading -- this time of United Kingdom national David Haines. Haines was kidnapped last year by IS after going to Syria on an aid mission.

Haines was beheaded similarly to the two American journalists who were previously ex-

Fighting continues in the Ukraine between pro-Russian separatist rebels and the Ukrainian government. The Russian government has been accused of aiding the rebels with money, supplies and manpower. The United States and the European Union have imposed new sanctions on Friday against Russia for their involvement in Ukraine. These sanctions greatly hurt Russia’s future plans for gaining new oil sources in the Arctic. These sanctions include prohibiting Western companies from providing goods and services to Russia for exploration for oil.

The U.S. and E.U. have also put sanctions against Russian individuals and companies.

While people in the United States are worrying about EV-68, another virus has been spreading in Central and South America. According to the BBC, Colombia has received its first case of locally-transmitted Chikungunya (CHIKV). CHIKV is a virus that is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and severe joint pain. It arrived earlier this year to the Americas in the Caribbean. The virus has also been found in the United States, particularly Florida, yet safety precautions have helped prevent its rapid spread in the states.

Opinions

The Mentor • Sept. 16, 2014

Prepare teens for adulthood

THIS EDITORIAL IS A COMPILATION FROM A DISCUSSION HELD BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD. TO LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION THAT LED TO THIS PIECE, VISIT WWW.MHSMENTOR.COM

Teenagers are at an awkward place in their lives -- not children but not quite adults.

They’re expected to make decisions as adults but simultaneously are treated like kids.

Teachers still shield them from profanity and violence because they’re “just kids.”

However, these “kids” are at their last stop before true adulthood and need to be exposed to situations they will soon encounter. The Mentor editorial board initially began discussing whether high schoolers should be sheltered when they’re so close to being thrown into the “real world,” but in the discussion we began

question what exactly the “real world” is.

A teenager can take four AP classes, have a job, balance their social and family life and still not be classified as living in the “real world.” At the same time school teachers avoid showing films that have any profanity, we aren’t encouraged to read literature that may have explicit context and our parents have to approve of health classes we take. Why should anyone get to censor what we’re exposed to?

Given, some high school students are immature, but it isn’t really their fault. They behave at the level they’re required to. If they aren’t treated as a mature and capable individual, they’ll never act like one.

Most teens have probably already been exposed the things adults strive to shield us from. When you attend a school with other kids your

age, things are talked about.

You hear about sex and drugs and learn various vulgar terms and their definition, but no teacher will dare address any such topic. If these things were talked about freely and addressed maturely in class, teens wouldn’t feel the need to experience and talk about these things in a destructive manner.

The adult influences in our lives need to treat us as equals as opposed to inferiors. Their goal should be to educate and prepare high schoolers for the life that is rushing at them at full speed. If we aren’t treated as adults we’ll have no idea how to act when we become adults.

State Language Arts course requirement entirely beneficial

I often hear students complaining about having to take an hour out of their schedule to dedicate to their Language Arts credit requirement. It’s always the same cry of “But I’ll never use it! I’m not going be a writer or an English teacher or whatever. I’m going into math/ science/business/art!”

Except, they’ll find out that they’re entirely wrong.

It’s bound to happen. With any sort of career there will always be a factor of communication. How do people effectively communicate? They use words. They use language.

And guess what? That language is most likely going to be English for us.

My grandfather once worked in an industrial chemical plant, and he told me about applicants who were extremely brilliant -- utterly qualified -- yet when they wrote, they wrote like fifth graders. They could not intelligently translate their thoughts into text.

These applicants did not do

well on their resumes and cover letters; they couldn’t properly convey their qualifications.

As a result, these people sometimes lost out on jobs to people who were just as qualified but were able to communicate through text more efficiently.

Another cry of dissent might come from those who dislike Language Arts. “I understand why we need to learn things like grammar and syntax. But what’s the point of learning about rhetoric or poetry? Why do we have to write literary analyses?”

First and foremost, English broadens people’s minds. In those classes, you are required to read pieces of literature that you probably never cared to read nor ever will care to read. I know I would have never willingly read “To Kill a Mockingbird” in sophomore Advanced English nor “Siddhartha” in AP Literature and Composition. However, once I was prompted to start, and forced, for the sake of my grade, to finish, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed both novels. Not only did those required readings introduce me to styles and subjects that I never thought to care about, they introduced me to new thoughts and ideas.

The same concept is applied to

poetry. I never once cared for poetry until the unit on it in my sophomore English class.

Now, as my AP Literature teacher Regina Harden says, you don’t have to like what you’re assigned to read, you just have to appreciate it. And everything that is assigned to you to read does have something valuable to offer. There is a reason that these books are required.

Analyzing literature, especially rhetoric, is a crucial skill that an unfortunate amount of people lack. Understanding rhetoric and how it works is the best way to not be easily persuaded by it. Also, by analyzing literature, you are developing critical thinking, logical and analytical skills. These skills can be applied to analyzing more than just literature.

You can analyze politics, business offers, human psychology and much more.

I entirely believe that the four year Language Arts credit requirement is more than justified--it’s necessary for shaping students into well-rounded adults. Even if you despise English classes, just grin and bear it, you’ll be entirely better off for going through it.

‘Retarded’ not synonym for stupid

Brainless.

Shortsighted.

Moronic. Dull. Foolish. Dense.

Retarded.

Did that last word seem to fit in that group of words?

Maybe it made you go “oh, uh..” and feel kind of awkward?

Well, it should. Out of those seven words, only six are synonyms for the word “stupid.”

The thing that most people do not realize is that the “Rword” does not mean “stupid.”

This word is misused and misunderstood; it is spat out in anger and it is yelled out in laughter. So what does it actually mean?

According to the immediate results of Google, “Retarded: less advanced in mental, physical, or social development than is usual for one’s age.” Not anywhere is it defined as being stupid or someone being dumb.

I probably do have a biased opinion, considering my own personal experiences

with “the R-word.” My uncle, James Parrick, was diagnosed with a form of Autism called Asperger’s, and along with this life obstacle, he has many other medical issues that make his appearance not exactly up to the status quo. One day as a child, James was playing at the park with his older sister, my mother. While playing, he came across a young girl about his age, and he excitedly asked her to play -- she was just as excited. But as she ran off to the swings, her father grabbed her arm and said, “get away from that retard.”

And there it is. Retard. My sweet uncle went from being a human being, a sweet and innocent child -- a person -- to being lowered to a blatantly arrogant and incorrect term. He was no longer just a kid in the park, he was a thing, an “it.”

I was not there because I wasn’t born yet, but I grew up with this boy who never quite grew up to be a man in the adult sense, but more like a big teenager. I also grew up knowing to never judge no matter a person’s appearance, and hearing that story made me know from a young age that the word “retarded” is not a word you fling around every time some-

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thing makes you unhappy.

For those who think I’m simply overreacting, and that it’s their “right to say what they want,” yes that may be true, but the right to speak and act freely does have a catch. What would one do if you were joking around at the store with a friend and laughed saying “omg you look retarded,” and there just happened to be a child with Down syndrome close enough to hear? Do you apologize? I could drop a plate on the ground, watch it shatter to pieces and then tell it that I’m sorry until I couldn’t speak, but the plate isn’t going to get back together. Sure, I could glue it back together -but is it really the same shape it was before the incident? No, it is not.

So I guess I would love to be able to tell you the next time you get ready to say the “R-word,” don’t hesitantly look around to see if anybody might hear you, to just not say it. But I am well aware that I couldn’t tell a person to do that, so this is me asking you to just use a different word and help educate others about what this really does mean. Retarded does not mean stupid, so stop the confusion.

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Page 2

Question of the Week: What are your thoughts on the ACT? “Glad I’m only a sophomore,” Camille Fellers, sophomore @camillieonn

“The ACT is a good way to figure out what skills you have and show colleges, but there are definitely a few things that could be changed to make is more realistic or reasonable for students and the expectations of them,” Rose Gruenbacher, senior

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Matt Turnley, junior

“The ACT is a terrible few hours spent in the worst way possible in an attempt to improve the rest of your life,” John Riforgiate, senior “It’s a standardized test that supposedly gives colleges an idea as to how smart you are; I’m pretty indifferent,” Emma Galitzer, junior

What should next year’s homecoming theme be?

Tweet your answers to @mhsmentoronline or answer at our website, mhsmentor.com for a chance to be featured in the next edition.

Video games promote violence Elassia CunninghamYounger Staff Writer As I sit at my computer desk, avoiding homework and scrolling through YouTube, I come across a shocking Julian Smith video. The video is simply titled, “Video Games and Violence.”

Because of the controversy surrounding video games I naturally assume that Smith is making an anti-violence statement. However, as the video continues the point of the video becomes blurry. Smith and another actor insist that gaming is bad for their friend who is shown playing an innocent racing game in the video. Smith and the actor then become belligerent. Smith’s character throws a gaming controller at the television set and insists that the violence of the game caused his friend to react violently. Smith’s character then pulls out a deadly weapon. Skip ahead to the last

few seconds of the video when Smith’s character is then shown cleaning the blood of the video gamer off of his friend.

Whether or not this was Smith’s anti-violence statement, or just a satirical video mocking all of the bad blood surrounding video games, it brings up a controversial topic that is a problem in our society.

In the past few years, there have numerous crimes related to violent video games. Last year, a young boy brutally murdered his elderly grandmother after playing a violent video game, “Grand Theft Auto 3.”

Earlier this year, two middle school students stabbed a friend to appease a demonic Internet meme, “Slenderman,” as seen in the video game.

Mental illness, bullying or abuse may be a factor for the youth related violence we see today, but these children are not fabricating these ideas on their own. Video games, and media as a whole, seem to have

a large influence on the horrific acts of brutality in youths that are common today. It is rare that a child willingly decides to shoot his grandmother, or two young girls decide to stab their friend, without some influence from media.

Studies have shown that people who play violent video games react more harshly and aggressively than those who don’t. There have been weak attempts to limit the availability of violent games to children.

However, these limitations are finite and unenforced.

So, why do today’s youth enjoy the brutality of violent video games? Why is this generation so horror and violence driven? Granted, the world is violent. It is not a sheltered, comfortable place. Real violent acts happen every day, but those are things we can not control.

We can and should control the type of material we let influence us and our generation.

EDITORS:

Kristen Batson -- Print Editor-In-Chief/Opinions Joseph Sell -- Online Editor -In-Chief Danielle Cook -- Entertainment/Content Editor Madeline Marshall -- News Editor Alan Brown -- Features Editor Greg Woods -- Sports Editor Tracy Le -- Trending Editor Anna Hupp -- Photo Editor Marisa Lang -- Graphic Designer Miranda Hairgrove -- Copy Editor Senior Staff Writers/Photographers -- Madison Newman, John Rockey Staff Writers -- Elassia Cunningham-Younger, Darian Foga-Frehn,

OTHER:

Angie Moss -- Business Manager Kristy Nyp -- Adviser 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.

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The Mentor • Sept. 16, 2014

Features

Pregnancy bellies teach lessons Angie Moss Business Manager

Sophomore Jayda Teener wears her pregnancy belly. Students wore pregnancy bellies for an entire day as a project for their Human Growth and Development class.

PHOTO BY ANGIE MOSS

Teen pregnancy has been a recurring issue for decades and there are many ways out there to try to prevent it from happening such as birth control or condoms. Many high schools and even some middle schools offer a class to inform teens on what it takes to take care of a child and what to do during a pregnancy.

Last week, Manhattan High School’s Human Growth and Development class started wearing pregnancy bellies to experience what being in the third trimester of pregnancy feels like.

Being a pregnant teenager isn’t easy to begin with, but adding seven classes to travel to and 1,700 students to get through adds to the struggle, according to Human Growth

and Development teacher Karen Klein.

“Some PE classes are doing stuff that they can do stuff in and some aren’t and if they were really pregnant, well then we’d have to go through and figure out what happens on that but basically their big complaints have been their backs are hurting, desks and things like that, and the comments,” Klein said.

After wearing the belly for a full school day, the students were given a questionnaire asking about other students’ reactions, whether or not MHS is suited for pregnant women, the hardest part about being pregnant at MHS, problems with the belly itself and what the students’ thoughts were when they looked in the mirror at themselves with the belly on.

“It was incredibly huge,” ju-

nior Brianna Petty said.

Teen pregnancy rates have decreased significantly over the last few decades due to many different causes including new opportunities for women, more forms of protection and awareness of how hard teen pregnancy can be.

“I think that it has decreased because it has girls thinking about what they’re doing more,” sophomore Mikela Robinson said.

While the point of the pregnancy bellies was to teach teens what it’s like to be pregnant and what some of the consequences can be to getting pregnant at an early age, a few students didn’t agree.

“I personally found it agitating. It was just there,” sophomore Brooke Lawrence said.

Not all students enrolled in the class want to be parents, which can be awkward when it

comes time to wear the bellies and take the baby home. The pregnancy belly has an added effect to students’ beliefs.

“Every now and then we get someone who’s never going to be a parent -- ‘don’t want to do this’ sort of thing -- and they have their own personal objections to doing it, but attitude does change toward pregnancy after they wear it, and I can tell that their attitude has changed,” Klein said.

Overall, the students learned what it’s like to be pregnant in high school and how hard being a mother at a young age can be.

“There was no good part about it, honestly, and the worst part was probably just having to wear it around school and just having to feel how it is being pregnant,” Petty said.

Exchange student adjusts to American life Madison Newman Senior Photographer A long way from home, experiencing a new way of life and learning the do’s and don’ts of American life, junior Johannes Huy gets his American experience.

“The language, the sports and meeting new people, all of my daily stuff -- like the language, I have to think about the words for a minute,” Huy said. “It’s just different. It’s just not German, so I’m not used to speaking English everyday.

The first couple of days I just tried not to speak because I didn’t want to make mistakes, but after a few days I was like ‘eh, screw that, I’m going to speak anyways.’”

Huy came from Western Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate, Edesheim, which is much smaller than Manhattan. He played many sports but had never played football.

“I played rugby, but that is nothing in comparison to what is going on in the field.

STEM FROM PAGE ONE Around Manhattan High it is not uncommon to see girls pouring hydrochloric acid onto unknown alkali carbonates, flipping through notes on the physiology of the brain, working with derivatives and integrals or determining a new way to design a lab product.

They may be doing this for a class, a club or just for the fun of it. Either way, the young women at MHS are proving just how important it is to get girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

For many, STEM subjects have always been at the center of their interests.

“I’ve always been more into science and math than humanities,” junior Rachel Chang said. “It’s just the way that my mind operates, I guess.”

Senior Krista Dix noted a similar sentiment.

“I always thought it was cool because it’s almost like magic,” Dix said. “Scientists

VIRUS FROM PAGE ONE Enterovirus EV-D68 is a respiratory virus that has been ferociously attacking the youth of the midwest over the last month. Manhattan High School Nurse Robin Smith is apprehensive of the virus spreading to the Manhattan area. “[EV-D68] is a respiratory virus that is causing the younger population to become sick with respiratory-like symptoms that progress rapidly and sometimes requires hospitalization,” Smith said.

“Fever, coughing, those are

I thought ‘wow this is intensive, it’s long,’” Huy said. “The coaches make it to be like a military drill.”

Huy struggles with learning the plays and, more specifically, the English made it difficult for him. He found he must take the time to process it.

The social atmosphere of Manhattan High School has a wide variety of people making it easier to find a place in the food chain.

“I don’t know about making friends because when I say a ‘friend’ it’s not the same as saying I just know someone, like I know the whole football team, but I’ve got to get to know that person, share some experiences with them, or hang out,” Huy said. “In Germany we [what Huy would consider his close friends] would always sit all together, like I could have thousands of ‘friends’ but only few I would actually consider.”

In Edesheim he was educated about how life in America might be.

“They told us that Ameri-

were always really easy to look up to because they’re smart and stick to their guns.”

These young scientists have fallen in love with the very nature of the subjects, even though they have heard others regard them as being supposedly less creative.

“It’s like figuring out a puzzle,” Chang said. “A lot of people are going to say that those subjects are uncreative or whatever, but what’s cool is that at some point in the past, scientists and mathematicians were creative enough to disregard common thought and discover the way that the world works.”

Even more amazing to junior Andrea Lu is what is still left to learn.

“I love learning about the world we live in,” Lu said. “It never ceases to amaze me how much we already know about our planet and its organisms and how much there still is to be discovered.”

While gender has far from dampened these girls’ interest, the primary symptoms, and the fever can be significant in respiratory distress where the patient isn’t breathing properly and isn’t oxygenating properly.”

The Denver Post reported that the Children’s Hospital in Colorado says it has seen more than 900 cases alone. A CDC official reported that out of 22 suspected cases in Kansas City, 19 children tested positive for the rare respiratory virus. In Chicago, 11 out of the 14 cases reported were confirmed.

“There are no confirmed cases at Manhattan High School. Sometimes there are

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cans would be very friendly and interactive on the surface, even if you hadn’t ever heard of them,” Huy said.

His personal experience has lived up to the ideas from Germany.

“You know when you’re like walking on the street people will say ‘Hello’ but, if that was done in Germany it would be like -- ‘uh, what,’” Huy said.

As for specific things Americans do during their daily life and certain laws that we have that alter the activities one from another country may participate in, Huy has noticed a couple differences.

“The drinking age is very high, there is a lot of fast food, and in Germany fast food really isn’t considered a proper meal,” Huy said. “We’d be like ‘hey we just finished eating dinner let’s go get some McDonald’s burgers’ -- but that’s like a meal here. The quality of fast food is a lot better here, though.”

Huy noticed how proud the students of MHS are of the

school.

“It’s not like that in Germany, everybody hates school,” he said.

Huy has to get used to with the American life is adapting to that the ‘normal’ teenage life is considered here.

“Young people in America don’t have much freedom, like 16 is pretty much being an adult in Germany and you pretty much do whatever you want, but 16 in America you don’t go to bars, parties and clubs,” Huy said. “But in Germany that is a regular thing.”

His transportation ways are limited being a foreign exchange student.

“Back home I had a motorcycle, so I was able to get around the villages in my town pretty easily,” Huy said.

Homesickness hasn’t gotten to Huy too much yet.

However he did have a couple things that came to mind. “I miss German salad, German drinks, German food in general,” Huy said.

Junior Johannes Huy shows off his MHS pride. Huy, a foreign exchange student from Germany, is a member of the football team this year.

PHOTO BY MADISON NEWMAN

FFA postpones tournament Darian Foga-Frehn Staff Writer The FFA Softball Tournament is postponed until 6 p.m. next Tuesday, Sept.

23. The tournament will still be held at Manhattan City Park. All Clubs participat-

ing are reminded to bring a side dish for the picnic afterward. Hamburgers will be served courtesy of the Chapter. All equipment is provided. Look for more information and updates on the Manhattan FFA Chapter Facebook Page.

Sports

The Mentor • Sept. 16, 2014

Page 4

Football routs Seaman, stays perfect on season Greg Woods Sports Editor Junior linebacker Adam AlSoltani said after the game that his performance in Manhattan High football’s 41-13 win over Seaman Friday night was his best to date. Al-Soltani finished with two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and two touchdowns, one via an 85-yard fumble recovery.

“I couldn’t have done it without my supporting defense out there,” Al-Soltani said. “They made the plays; all I did was finish them.”

Manhattan’s first drive of the game resulted in senior quarterback Eric Prockish throwing an interception, but Al-Soltani prevented the Vikings from scoring on their ensuing drive with his first

MANHATTAN

interception on the night. The Indians then marched down the field and took a 7-0 lead via Prockish’s seven-yard pass to senior Chris Martin. “[Martin] doesn’t care what his role is or what his job is; he’s going to do it. That’s a team player,” head coach Joe Schartz said.

On the Indians’ next drive, senior Daniel Izquierdo Jr. completed Manhattan’s longest run since 2012 with a 64-yard touchdown run to put MHS up 14-0.

“I think [the touchdown] really built up the momentum and got the team hyped up,” Izquierdo said. “The first touchdown did the job, but the second touchdown brought up the momentum for us.”

Manhattan brought its 14-0 advantage into halftime, and on its first series of the half, at-

TEAM STATS

SEAMAN

14

First downs

17

252

Rushing yards

190

125

Passing yards

66

10 - 58

Penalties yards

7-45

Individual Stats RUSHING Daniel Izuierdo: 11 rush, 119 yards Chris Martin: 8 rush, 54 yards Keadrian McDonald: 13 rush, 53 yards Eric Prockish: 5 rush, 22 yards Deangelo Gray: 1 rush, 4 yards Blake Wewer: 1 rush, 0 yards

PASSING Junior Blake Wewer looks to the sideline for a play call Friday night against Seaman.

PHOTO BY DANIELLE COOK tempted a fake punt and came up short of the first down marker. However, on Seaman’s ensuing drive, the Vikings drove down to the Indians’ 15-yard line before Al-Soltani returned a fumble 85 yards for the Indians’ third score.

“The opportunities were there for Adam, and that’s what we expect all of our players to do. When the opportunity is there, we expect them to make a play,” Schartz said. “Adam had a nice game. I

think it’s one he’s always going to remember.”

Manhattan’s attempt at pitching a shutout ended on Seaman’s next series. The Vikings’ 58-yard drive ended with a touchdown and cut the MHS lead to 21-7, but Martin’s 27-yard touchdown run pushed the Indians’ lead to 28-7 with 8:33 left in the game. Seaman later scored on a 19-yard run from junior Reid Fehr, but Manhattan put the game out of reach with

Prockish’s touchdown pass to sophomore Keadrian McDonald. Al-Soltani came away with a pick-six later, scoring MHS’ final points of the game.

“It was a pretty good game for me,” Al-Soltani said. “I had a bad penalty and one bad drive, but other than that, it was pretty good.”

The Indians will host Hayden on Friday, a team that beat Seaman 56-7 two weeks ago.

Eric Prockish: 6/10, 125 yards, TD Chris Martin: 1/1, 12 yards

receiving Gus Pease: 2 rec, 56 yards Keadrian McDonald: 2 rec, 42 yards Chris Martin: 1 rec, 12 yards Kaden Frasier: 1 rec, 8 yards Jake Olson: 1 rec, 7 yards

Golf swings into first place finish at Salina, nabs first tournament win Joseph Sell Online Editor-In-Chief The Manhattan High girls golf team pulled out its first win of the season last Tuesday at the Salina Municipal golf tournament. The team scored a 169, followed by Hays whose team shot a 174.

The top scorers for Manhattan included senior Kylie

McCarthy with a 40 to take second, freshman Macie Myers with 41 to take third, and senior Kelsey McCarthy shot a 42, taking fifth. There was a strong feeling that the tournament could’ve scored better.

“This one particular hole I did bad on which would’ve given me the lead or would’ve made me win the tournament,” Kelsey said. “But it was a good

learning experience.”

The wind from the storms made it so the players had to change the way they played. “[The wind] made the putting more challenging than usual as you’re trying to maintain a solid base and then find yourself getting blown around by the wind,” head coach Chris George said.

The girls ended up shooting

Cross country continues success at Emporia John Rockey Senior Photographer Every week following the success at Emporia means a willingness for Manhattan Cross Country to practice harder each week during the season.

“Our practices are going to be harder. They have been harder each harder each week,” senior Megan Ochoa said.

The team continued with their goal of closing up their pack distance and, against stiff competition from small schools, the boys took third in the Varsity meet and fourth in the J.V. meet while the Varsity girls brought home their second first-place victory of the season and the J.V. girls took second.

As the team goes on with their season, coach Susan Melgares has different goals lined out to take home more wins with each meet of the season

while also knowing of the high points to take from Emporia.

“The kids have been really good about fighting for placement,” Melgares said. “We just keep looking to get closer to the front of the pack.”

As the team prepares for their overnight travel to Joplin, Mo., one of their biggest points to training for each meet is closing up the distance between runners and putting themselves to the front of the other teams. Joplin is one of their biggest meets of the season with a collection of schools from several states including a few schools from Kansas.

“This week, we’ll be running a 5K. Our times will be different for sure, but I would just like to see our pack time decreasing with every meet as we get closer to State,” Ochoa said.

Volleyball knocks off two foes Miranda Hairgrove Copy Editor The Junior Varsity volleyball squad played Junction City and Seaman Thursday at Seaman. The J.V. girls won against Junction City in two games and won against Seaman in three games. The team won the whole match.

“Our toughest thing was working together for the first time. Communication was a big part of it,” junior Raegan

Terrill said. “Once we got the hang of it, though, we started working together really well -- like a team.”

The Varsity team will play Clay Center and Rossville at home on Tuesday. The J.V. girls will play Clay Center, Riley and Wamego at home on Thursday, the same day that the freshman team will play Junction City, Council Grove and Rock Creek at Council Grove.

UPCOMING schedule Today: Lawrence Invitational 8 a.m.

higher than they expected.

“I was kind of disappointed in myself because I honestly thought I was going to win, because I did last year,” Kylie said.

The girls were presented with multiple chip shots, shots that are near the green.

“Our chipping wasn’t bad, but we didn’t have enough up and downs to score where we

wanted to as a team,” George said.

At the end of the tournament the girls played strongly.

“Getting me second place, I made a 50-foot putt for birdie on number nine which made me really, really happy and I really wanted to go play another nine, because the last three holes I was on my game,” Kylie said.

The girls played well through the tournament and it payed off at the end.

“I was happy overall with our performance though as half of our team score came from ladies who have only competed in two varsity tournaments,” George said.

The Junior Varsity girls have a tournament at 3 p.m. on Thursday in Salina.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK JUNIOR ADAM AL-SOLTANI

Saturday: Missouri Southern Stampede TBA September 23: Toganoxie (J.V.) 4 p.m.

September 27: Rim Rock TBA October 4: Junction City Invitational 10 a.m.

Al-Soltani picked off the Vikings on their first drive of the game on Friday and set up MHS for its first touchdown on the night. The junior later recovered a Seaman fumble and returned it 85 yards for a Manhattan touchdown. He added a pick-six to his statstuffing night, capping off the Indians’ rout in style.

Tennis competes in Topeka, prepares for showdown with Washburn Greg Woods Sports Editor Last Tuesday, the Manhattan High School girls tennis team traveled to Topeka for a quad with Topeka High, Topeka West and Shawnee Heights. Junior Tracy Le and freshman Neely Allen played No. 1 doubles, and seniors Danielle Miller and Ale Andrade played No. 2 doubles.

Junior Cathy Lei played No.

1 singles, and senior Kristen Fraley played No. 2 singles. Le and Allen went 0-3; Andrade and Danielle went 1-2, and Lei and Fraley both went 2-1.

“There are only three of us on Varsity this year who were on varsity last year,” Lei said.

“The transition from J.V. to Varsity is tough. I think [the new varsity members] still need to get adjusted to that.

They’re on a good track.”

Though the team did not

perform as well as they would have preferred, Le appreciated the experience.

“We didn’t do as well as we did in our first meet, nor as well as we would have liked, but I had an amazing time with my teammates and [head coach] Allen,” Le said.

The team has a meet today, a quad with Junction City, Washburn Rural and Marysville. Lei explained that the setting for the meet will prove

advantageous.

“We are playing Washburn, and that’s always a tough school, especially for doubles,” Lei said. “Since it’s a home meet, that should help.”

“I’m hoping to play better and improve but no matter what happens, I’m sure I’ll enjoy every minute of it all the same,” Le said.

COMING UP NEXT FOR...

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

boys soccer

Hayden

Clay Center/Rossville

Friday, 7 p.m.

Bishop Stadium

girls golf

girls tennis

cross country

Shawnee Heights

Salina (J.V.)

Today, 5 p.m.

Today, 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, 3 p.m.

Junction City/ Washburn Rural/ Marysville

Missouri Southern Stampede

MHS North Gym

Bishop Stadium

Salina

Today, 3:30 p.m.

City Park

Saturday, TBA Joplin, MO

Features The Mentor The www.mhsmentor.com Mentor • Sept. 16, 2014

Page 5

Entertainment

U2 makes comeback, Fall Homecoming brings new traditions to MHS stronger than expected Marisa Lang Graphic Designer

For one week only, the ‘80s are coming back to Manhattan High School.

This year’s fall Homecoming theme is “‘80s Neon,” and everything from the classroom door decorating contest to the dance on Saturday will be centered around this theme.

Initiating the Homecoming planning was MHS Tribe, and club members have been working hard planning events to get MHS into the Homecoming spirit. They encourage students and faculty to dress up during spirit week. Each day has a different theme -Monday was matching day, Tuesday is Tie-Dye, Wednesday is dress like a superhero day, Thursday is wear plaid day and Friday is school colors.

To further help students and faculty get into the Homecoming spirit before the big game, Tribe has planned new events for the pep rally on Friday during school.

“We’re having a teacher relay during the pep rally. So that’s different,” said Tribe member Alyson Holloson.

The way students voted for Homecoming candidates was a change from previous years.

Instead of voting on slips of paper in class, students were able to vote for the candidates on the Naviance website at home.

New events this year also include a Homecoming dance, which will be hosted at the West Campus on Saturday from 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Tribe sponsor Randy Nivert noted that Manhattan High School hasn’t had a Homecoming school dance since he was in high school.

“We’re bringing something back that we haven’t had for 25 years,” said Nivert.

The theme of the dance will be ‘80s Neon, so students should come to the dance dressed up in ‘80s clothes, neon or a mix of both.

“It’s semi-formal but with an ‘80s theme,” said Tribe member Makenzie Miller about the dance.

On Friday night, the Manhattan Indians will take on the Hayden Wildcats during the Homecoming football game.

The crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen will be at the game at halftime.

This year, Homecoming brings new events and traditions to MHS, all with a fun, throwback theme, making this Homecoming one to remember.

Monday Matching

PHOTO COURTESY OF U2.COM

Tuesday Tie-Dye

Wednesday Superhero

Thursday Plaid

MHS Friday Class Colors

GRAPHIC BY MARISA LANG

Last week, Apple released U2’s new album, “Songs of Innocence” as a free download to over 500 million iTunes users. While fans of the band rejoiced, critics looked at the release as an act of desperation for an aging band trying to stay relevant. The grand release appears to have put a target on the band’s back, as the album has received mixed reviews.

While “Songs of Innocence” is certainly nowhere near the stature of many of U2’s classics, such as “The Joshua Tree” or “Achtung Baby,” many of the sour reviews that it has received from the international press are simply off the mark.

The album is a quality addition to the band’s already extensive collection.

Overall, the album certainly is deserving of respect. Bono clearly hasn’t lost a beat vocally, and the album’s production, while overpowering at times, is of high quality. Unlike the stadium rockers or defiant songs of the U2’s past, “Songs Of Innocence” is much more personal. Much like The Beatles did while creating their “Magical Mystery Tour” album, U2 looked to their childhoods for inspiration. “Cedarwood Road,” for example, describes a street Bono remembered as a boy. This approach is interesting, and makes the songs lyrically appealing.

After a few listens, it becomes apparent that the album is clearly top heavy.

Structured by garage band gristle and a poppy energy, opening track “The Miracle

(Of Joey Ramone)” cements itself as the anthem of the album. Smooth rockers, “Every Breaking Wave,” “Song For Someone” and “Iris (Hold Me Close)” bring back the energy and sound of the U2’s classic hits. Not to be forgotten is “California (There is no End to Love),” a song as sunny and cheerful as its name implies.

The album’s first half gives off an optimistic vibe that builds a connection with the listener.

While the album begins with a bang, it leaves with a whimper. While none of the concluding songs are terrible, they leave something to be desired. “Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” and “The Trouble” are lifeless and seem to float endlessly. “This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now” is far too bland and repetitive. The melancholic “Cedarwood Road” doesn’t make a lasting impression either. The occasional uninspired lyric, such as “tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide” and “Northside, just across the river to the Southside” leave listeners scratching their heads. Bono’s awkward falsetto in “Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” isn’t impressive. The unconscious, dreamy effect that that band was trying to produce with their final songs simply falls flat.

“Songs of Innocence” is certainly a mixed bag, with the first and second halves sharply contrasting one another. But considering that this marks the band’s 13th studio album, the outcome is actually quite impressive. Even though the critics have been quick to label this album irrelevant, that is not the case at all. U2, while not as consistent as they once were, prove that they are still very much alive and capable of producing quality music.

Manhattan High School cheerleaders host cheer camp for kids in the gym at West Campus on Saturday

PHOTO BY ANDY GABBARD

‘Hairspray’ pit orchestra prepares for performance Elassia Cunningham Staff Writer

From the theatrical drama students, to the technical crew who work on the set back stage, the entire performing arts department is working to make the fall musical, “Hairspray,” a success.

Manhattan High School musicians have also picked up a special part in the musical.

There are a total of 28 students that have dedicated time to practicing and rehearsing for

“Hairspray” in pit orchestra.

These students are committed to making wonderful music for the production. Though they will not be seen in the production, they will be heard.

The orchestra includes strings, woodwinds, percussion and a rhythm section.

Students are the main musicians, but occasionally professionals are asked to join the group. The orchestra is directed by Cody Toll, the middle and elementary school orchestra director.

“He does a really good job,” Orchestra and Jazz Band Director Nate McClendon said.

“The kids enjoy him.”

Practice began Sept. 10 for the students. They rehearse for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday and will increase rehearsal times as the performance date nears.

Pit Orchestra music has, in the past, been mainly classical music, but “Hairspray” is a mainly rock- and jazz-based musical. This change in styles has made the music signifi-

cantly more difficult for the group.

“Practice went well,” percussionist and senior Danny Aramouni said. “It was was definitely harder than last year.”

The pit orchestra music was written at a professional level. This means the students are required to play more than one instrument. These instruments are new to many of the students playing them.

“That’s the challenge for this year at a musical stand-

point,” McClendon said.

There are about 50 songs in the musical score that the group has to learn between now and Nov. 9. The score includes all of the songs from the original musical, such as, “ Welcome To the ‘60s,” “You’re Timeless to Me” and the popular song “You Can’t Stop the Beat.”

Fischer and Aramouni have been involved in every musical production since their freshman years and have high hopes for this year.

“I hope the show goes well,” Fischer said.

“I’m excited,” Aramouni said.

The musical will begin on Nov. 9 and will have showings on the Nov. 11, 13 and 15.

“That gives us September, all of October, and the first week of November to put it all together,” McClendon said.

“It’s the biggest production that our performing arts department puts on.”

Trending

The Mentor • Sept. 16, 2014

Page 6

TECHNOLOGY: IS IT IMPORTANT? ACCORDING TO HUFFINGTON POST

IN 2013, 78% OF KINDERGARTEN THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS AGREE THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR CLASS. ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

AS OF 2010, 97% OF SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAD INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.

ACCORDING TO DAILY RECKONING

ACCORDING TO A 2012 SURVEY

BY PEWRESEARCH INTERNET PROJECT

78% OF TEENS OWN A CELL PHONE. 37% OF TEENS HAVE SMART PHONES. 23% OF TEENS HAVE A TABLET COMPUTER. 93% OF TEENS HAVE A COMPUTER OR ACCESS TO ONE.

THE NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS INCREASED TO 2.4 BILLION IN 2012.

GRAPHICS BY MARISA LANG

TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME. IT HAS BROUGHT ADVANCEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE, ENGINEERING, INDUSTRY, AND ENTERTAINMENT. IT HAS CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE COMMUNICATE AND BROUGHT BENEFITS TO HUMANS BOTH MEDICALLY AND EDUCATIONALLY. BUT JUST HOW IMPORTANT DO STUDENTS AT MANHATTAN HIGH THINK IT IS?

M

any people, including students at Manhattan High, believe that advances in technology have brought along endless benefits.

“I think technology is really important to our society today,” junior Emma Galitzer said. “It’s kind of like the invention of the printing press before the Protestant Reformation, really.

We can spread ideas faster, and it’s easier for more people to have access to information. Like I can have access to information about stuff that happens in different parts of the world through the internet, or I can call my friend to ask about homework, or I can research online to find way more about synesthesia, for example, and far easier than flipping through an encyclopedia and a stack of books that would take me too long to read to find whatever I wanted to know.”

Junior Kailey Koopman agrees.

Mitchell Toetz-Pearsall, junior, also benefits from the different components of technology.

“I use it all the time, every day. We use it to cook our food, get around town… It’s very important. My life would certainly be a lot harder [without technology] and I feel like it would change the way we act,” Toetz-Pearsall said. “I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Especially when you think about how we can advance technology and how we can explore space and do all these things like cure diseases.”

“It’s a lot easier to communicate with everybody,” Koopman said. “Technology also makes learning a lot easier and information is much more accessible… You wouldn’t have the luxuries that you have that benefit life without technology.”

Through the disadvantages, Koopman, Carney, Urbaez, Toetz-Pearsall and Galitzer all see technology as advantageous.

“Besides the obvious ‘the adults make fun of us for using technology in a different way than they did,’ which is really, really irritating, the only thing [disadvantage] I can think of is the ease at which people can prey on teenagers or cyber bullying or something like that,” Galitzer said.

The importance of technology is something sophomore Peri Carney sees eye to eye on as well.

“It is very important and I think most people take it for granted,” Carney said.

“It’s a blessing.”

Junior Emely Urbaez said. Urbaez, like a large number of people, is affected by technology daily.

“I use technology every day,” Urbaez said. “It really helps, I don’t think we could live without it. It helps with work and school and everything really.”

Without technology, Urbaez and Galitzer believe that life would be incredibly different.

“Medically speaking, a lot of the ways we can save people with the technology we have today wouldn’t be possible, and in terms of everyday technology that we have, we wouldn’t even be able to do this interview,” Galitzer said.

“I think that technology has changed us, overall for the better. Back to a more personal level, had it not been for the Internet, I would not have found the feminist movement as easily as I did, and I know that that has changed me for the better, and I think that there are other people with similar experiences -- finding something they really enjoy now that they didn’t know about before, people with suicidal thoughts can go to chat rooms with professionals if they need it, the whole Made With Code project. I think that all of these are really positive effects of technology.”

BY TRACY LE