The Mentor: Dec. 8

Marching band members perform in The Christmas Parade Friday, Dec. 14.

PHOTO BY DYLAN THOMAS

Volume 103 // Issue 10 // Dec. 8, 2015

the mentor

Scholars Bowl ‘slaughtered’ ANDREA LU

Graphics Editor

Juniors Yusef Ciftci, Leon Li and Eric Higgins practice for Scholars Bowl, yesterday after school. The junior varsity and varsity teams will compete today and Thursday, respectively.

PHOTO BY GRACE WOODS

For the first time this season, Manhattan High’s Varsity Scholars Bowl team didn’t even make it to the semifinals. The team believes the dip in their performance can be attributed to a lack of participation.

“We were shorthanded,” Scholars Bowl coach Ted Dawdy said. “You know, I had a kid who forgot he had a band concert, I had a kid get sick, I had a kid who couldn’t get out of this Hindi test at the University, so we ended up taking three kids, which is plenty shorthanded. I had [senior] Josh Schwartz. We had [sophomore] Stephanie Fu and we had [senior] Arnav Das and that was the three. I was proud of them because you know when you play shorthanded, it’s tough. You can’t go

Earth Club prepares for second semester DAKOTA SANTIAGO

Staff Writer

Earth Club has been busy working on making their school-wide recycling project a reality for spring semester.

“We made this project our key project and we’ve been working hard to be able to kick that off the beginning of second semester,” Earth Club sponsor Andrew Farmer said.

An upcoming faculty meeting on the project will discuss any unaddressed details and

clarify its process.

“Scheduling around the project is going to be interesting, but I think it’ll be okay,” Farmer said. “At most, it’ll take us two weeks into spring semester for recycling to be fully initiated.”

Farmer is excited about the club’s work and the dedication it’s members.

“We have the same core group we had at the beginning of the year and on top of that we also have some people I initially thought just joined to hang out with friends that are

actually sticking around and helping us,” Farmer said. “I’m pretty excited about that.”

Earth Club plans to balance between DIY projects and volunteer work.

“We’re going to make t-shirts, and do tie-dye, and other DIY stuff,” Farmer said. “But the focus is going to be on recycling and cleanups.”

Another project Earth Club plans to work on next semester is building and selling birdhouses out of recycled materials.

Debate competes at KCKCC, places first ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD

Features Editor

Winning teams.

For the first time this season, the Manhattan High School Debate team placed first overall at its Topeka Hayden tournament this past weekend.

“It was a big team effort,” coach Ben Sutherland said.

“They did really well. I was really proud of them.”

In second place for teams, senior Cathy Lei and freshman David Miller went with a 5-0 record, wins to losses, while with

a 4-1 record, senior Sterling Edgar and junior Douglas Kim placed fourth.

“I felt that it was a team effort and we did a very well job at it,” Kim said. “I think [the win] will boost the moral and the team will overall do better next time.”

The win that the students received at this J.V. Debate Invitational put everyone in an excited and hopeful mood.

“It definitely helps, because, I think we don’t have as many trophies this year as we did last year, and so, to have another

GLOBAL NEWS MADELINE MARSHALL Print Editor-in-Chief

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.

Obama speaks Oval Office

from

Sunday night President Barack Obama made a rare Oval Office address following the San

Bernardino shootings that left 14 dead. In the 13-minute address Obama said that the killings were “an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people.”

Obama promised an intensification of airstrikes against ISIL and said that a growing coalition of nations and an increasingly sophisticated effort to capture and kill the group’s leaders would yield significant results.

But the president’s speech was not intended to announce a dramatic shift in strategy or new policies to combat the terrorist threat at home and overseas. Instead it was meant to inform Americans of the administration’s efforts against the Islamic State and to urge people not to give in to fear or language that casts suspicion on all Muslims and mosques.

up against good teams and play shorthanded. And so the good teams got us and we still ended up beating the average team so I was proud that they were able to do that.”

The competition took place at Lawrence Free State on Thursday. This meet was on a much larger scale where only

“We got slaughtered. It was a bloodbath.”

--Joshua Schwartz

big schools, many if not all that are 6A, attended. Unlike previous competitions that were more regional-based, this competition pulled schools from Topeka and Kansas City.

“We went 4 and 3 in pool

SEE SCHOLARS PAGE 3

Caroling for cans Visiting teachers and faculty at home, Business Professionals of America carol for cans that they then donated to the Flint Hills Breadbasket. “We decided that Christmas caroling would be super fun because you just don’t have many opportunities to go caroling and also collect for the Flint Hills Breadbasket at the same time,” senior Emma Devane said.

PHOTO BY MAYA MINOCHA

TARA MAGAñA

Assistant Verbal Editor

one, especially first place, is really special,” Lei said.

This upcoming weekend will be one of the final tournaments for the Varsity members, where they will compete to qualify for nationals.

“I remembered while we were watching Cathy go up and get our Sweeps medal that, just, how long ago it felt at my very first tournament [when] we won Sweeps,” Edgar said, “and seeing Manhattan dominate like that, it was a good feeling.”

While some students stayed in to watch Sunday Night Football, Business Professionals of America took time out of their night to give back to the Flint Hills Breadbasket as they caroled for cans.

“Our service project was just donating some of our proceeds from the school store [last year],” BPA President Emma Devane said. “This year, we wanted to do something that was, like, more meaningful and the fall is our less busy time for BPA because our state [competition] is in February

“We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam,” Obama said.

It was only the third speech Obama has delivered from the Oval Office, a setting meant to highlight the gravity of a subject.

days. Bowdich called the investigation “massive,” saying more than 400 interviews had been conducted and more than 300 pieces of evidence amassed.

Supreme Court will not hear ‘assault weapons San Bernardino shooting ban’ case investigation continues The US Supreme Court has reDavid Bowdich, FBI assistant director in charge of the San Bernardino investigation, said authorities believe that both shooters were “radicalized” but that so far there is no evidence that the killers were part of an international plot.

Bowdich said there was evidence that the shooters — Syed Rizwan Farook, a restaurant inspector for county, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik — had practiced shooting at local ranges in recent

play and did not advance out of pool play,” Dawdy said.

The team tied for third in pool play with three teams that beat them, Blue Valley, Washburn Rural and Hayden -- two of which had won State championships within the last five years.

“We got slaughtered. It was a bloodbath,” Schwartz said.

Typically, six people go to each meet and five participate in each round of the competition. However, the team was short of two members of what they could’ve had each time, and three this time around.

“We lost to three good teams but those are three teams that we can play with when we have a full deck,” Dawdy said.

For sophomore Stephanie Fu, this was her first varsity

fused to take up a case brought by gun owners challenging an Illinois city’s ban on so-called assault weapons. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling that allows local governments some leeway in regulating the high-powered weapons.

Two conservative justices said that they would have heard the case, and had they done so, struck down the ban.

The decision comes days after mass shootings in California and Colorado. The city of Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, passed a law

and we kind of wanted to get everything done in the fall so we didn’t have to worry about it and being stressed and really time consumed.”

After meeting in sponsor Paige McCarthy’s classroom, eleven students filled cars and drove to various teachers’ houses.

“The kids had so much fun,” McCarthy said. “Anytime I can see that, I mean, I just think it was a success because they enjoyed it, and Emma was enthusiastic about it, and then that just trickled down to ev-

SEE CAROLING PAGE 3 that bans semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines in 2013. That law was upheld in a ruling that was challenged by an Illinois gun owners association.

The high court has considered taking on the case for two months, and a delay in deciding whether to take it on seems to be because Justice Clarence Thomas was finishing his opinion. He and Justice Antonin Scalia said the federal appeals court’s ruling “flouts two of our Second Amendment precedents.” In the opinion, Thomas said the Chicago-area ban “is highly suspect because it broadly prohibits common semiautomatic firearms used for lawful purposes.”

In all, seven states plus Washington DC have passed laws that ban the weapons. Since two landmark rulings that ensured the right to own a handgun to defend one’s home, the Supreme Court has regularly turned away challenges to gun laws.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE NEWS CHECK OUT MHSMENTOR.COM

Opinions

The Mentor // DEC. 8, 2015 // MHSMentor.com Page 2

It’s just hair: POLITICIZATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE WILL DESTROY US ALL Stop superficial judgements 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. During a news conference at the COP21 climate conference in Paris last Tuesday, President Barack Obama had some words for the Republicans hoping to win his job: “Everyone else is taking climate change really seriously.” In other countries, he said, “They think it’s a really big problem. It spans political parties.”

The fact that Obama has had to say this time and time again is indicative of the complete politicization of an issue that should be anything but.

At this point, it’s time to face the facts. Climate change is real and it is a global threat, one that should certainly span across political parties, borders, etc.

At this very moment in time the Marshall Islands are close to being submerged completely, glob-

al weather patterns are changing (leading to natural disasters, droughts and more) and countless species of animals and plants are being totally wiped out. And that is just, pardon the pun, the tip of the iceberg.

The fact that the majority of the Republican Party within America chooses to deny science for their own personal gain is, frankly, ridiculous. In holding the needs of their wealthy, oil-loving constituents above the needs and well-being of the globe as a whole, the Republican party is placing their own monetary gain and reelection above the fate of generations to come.

The Mentor editorial board believes that it’s time that America moves past petty politics and selfish goals and focuses on something bigger and more important than all of us: the planet.

Clean energy sources are abundant and we already have the scientific capability to back away from our dependency

Question of the

week:

on oil and move towards solar and wind power.

At this point, politicians chained to big corporations are the weight keeping us from moving forward.

Taking something like climate change, which bears serious ramifications for future generations, and turning it into political fodder is dangerous for the entirety of the American people especially at this particular political juncture. Super PACs, corrupt corporations and their accompanying politicians making climate change a “controversial” issue leads to the possibility that our country could soon be denying climate change’s very existence for nothing more than capital gain.

The capital-centric, highly politicized culture that has grown to control the US must be destroyed in order to have any chance of saving the planet as a whole. After all, money’s value is but a societal construct and if Earth dies, so does it.

What was the best/worst part of Thanksgiving?

“The worst part was the weather. So I have this little tree in my backyard that I call ‘The Charlie Brown Tree’ and the ice was so heavy that the branches were, like, touching the ground. I didn’t think my tree was going to make it. I actually prayed for my tree. But don’t worry, it’s okay! It survived!

-- Jamera Ewing, senior “The best part was staying home and not having school The worst part would be the homework.

-- Alex Lu, junior

“The best part of Thanksgiving was the food, and the worst part of Thanksgiving was when my family members kept asking me about college over and over again.”

--Adanna Okere, junior

“Worst part, I busted a tail light on my car. Best part, I spent more time with my family than I have in a while because I didn’t have work.”

-- Cherokee Hayden, senior

Next edition’s question:

What’s your favorite winter tradition?

“the worst part was not seeing dusty for 5 days :(“ -- Dusty Duntz Fan Page (@DuntzFan)

TARA MAGANA

Blue M Assistant Editor for Verbal Content The other day in first hour Composition I, we played a game where everyone had a piece of paper and wrote a starting sentence and then passed the paper on to the next person who would add to the “story.” This cycle would repeat itself and a different “story” would emerge from each paper.

At the end, we all read the paper that had ended up with us. It was all fun for me until there was a

MEG AUTEN

This article was written as an assignment for the 21st Century Journalism Class.

Sleep. Something we all need, but never get enough of. Many students will agree that amidst the constant stress and heavy workload of high school, it becomes extremely difficult to go to bed at a remotely decent time.

This is why I believe that high schools across the country should enforce a designated time each day for extremely beneficial “power napping.”

Teens on average need eight to nine hours of sleep, but according to the National Sleep Foundation only 15 percent of teens were recorded

to have gotten eight and a half hours of sleep on a school night.

Lack of sleep can lead to a number of impediments such as limiting the ability to learn, concentrate and solve problems. In an age that values high grades and test scores, sleep deprivation becomes the majority of high schoolers’ kryptonite when school rolls around.

The solution to this aggravating problem is “power napping” -- 20-30 minute napping periods that have yielded many benefits that will improve student performance.

Sara Mednick, Ph.D., a scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies at the forefront of napping research, has identified several benefits to “power napping” which include the bettering of

heart functioning, hormonal maintenance and cell repair.

At Meizen High School in Japan, napping is the new craze. It has become an accepted practice that every day after lunch, teachers dim their classroom lights, put on some classical music and watch the heads drop.

This school has since seen an increase in test scores and a decline in the reports of mid class snoozers.

These short napping periods would also lessen the likelihood of a student reaching for a cup of joe that contains caffeine.

Caffeine can cause increased depression and anxiety, which can be destructive to a student already buckling under the stress of being a teenager.

It can also cause the body

tive judgements known?

Why do we feel the need to possibly hurt people’s feelings?

This is something that I don’t have an answer to. But what I do know is that everyone is different.

Everyone has different experiences and quirks.

What may be weird to you could someone else’s normal, everyday life and vice versa.

So, don’t judge someone based on superficial things like, say, whether or not they shave their armpits. It’s their life, and they can live it however they feel fit. Instead, judge them on whether or not they are fundamentally a good person with good intentions. After all, as cheesy as it may sound, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Musicians not prophets, stop treating them as such

DAVID FLITER

Staff Writer

The alternative and pop scenes nowadays are made up of groups whose lyrical content consists of “hopeful” or “inspiring” words that kids can relate to and help them get through day to day life.

Sadly, these musicians know just how much power they have over their fans.

Kids are being led like lambs to the slaughter to the empty words and false hope that these musicians promote with their music. For instance, Matty Mullins, lead singer of metalcore band Memphis May Fire, was heard

saying, “God blessed me with a panic attack so I can relate to my fans.” I think it is absolutely repulsive to see a mental illness as a blessing and it is obvious that Mullins simply wants fans to feel misguided sympathy for him. Through the mass popularization of being depressed and suicidal, it removes the needed awareness that people who actually suffer from these illnesses need and deserve.

Joel Birch, vocalist of The Amity Affliction, commented on what Mullins had to say.

“I have had depression and anxiety for 14 years.

If God blessed me with it, then I am glad to be an atheist,” Birch said.

I completely agree with Birch. As someone who has suffered from depression and severe anxiety issues, the last thing I want to hear is that I was

blessed with suffering.

Not only have musicians like Mullins ruined the perception of mental illness, but a trend has started from musicians to use their mental illness as a scapegoat. This summer, viner and musician Austin Jones was discovered soliciting underage girls for videos of themselves naked and twerking. Jones later made a video apologizing and saying that he did it because he found that was the only way for him to feel affection. Not only is this complete garbage, but Jones clearly has no shame in using the people that look up to him.

This type of behavior in the music scene is completely unacceptable.

Music is supposed to have legitimate substance and not be made up of empty words to fill a wallet and sexual cravings.

Would you like to see your words in print? Share them with The Mentor for a chance to be published!

The Mentor is an open forum and accepts signed letters and guest columns from students, faculty members and parents. Letters and columns are distinct from each other. >> Letters are in response to content in this publication and are recommended to be no longer than 350 words. >> Columns are a new topic, a call to action or a clear statement of an opinion regarding a school or national issue and are required to be within 300-600 words in length. Anyone interested in contributing a guest column is advised to clear the topic with the editorial staff prior to writing it in order to save time and effort. >> The editorial staff reserves the right to edit for length, grammar and clarity while preserving the original intent. All letters, columns and other guest content must be signed and must be free of copyright violations.

E-mail ideas and submissions to Print Editor-in-Chief Madeline Marshall at mhsmentor@gmail.com. Staff meetings take place every five-day school week on Tuesdays during fifth hour and editorial discussions are Wednesdays during second lunch. Anyone is invited to come pitch ideas.

In-school ‘power naps’ result in better education 21st Century Journalism Student

sentence in one that read “Girls who don’t shave their armpits are gross.”

Unnecessary, right?

And the worst part? Half of the class laughed when the reader got to that part.

That got me thinking.

We live in a society where everyone judges everyone else for the littlest things. It’s so bad that a girl who leaves her naturally-growing body hair to its own devices is shamed.

Why do we do this?

Why do we see people doing something outside of the accepted norm and immediately draw attention to it? Why do people even feel the need to make a judgement on people based on physical appearance? And worst of all, why do we feel the need to make the nega-

to lose calcium, increasing the chances of developing osteoporosis, as well as an increase in blood pressure.

Late bedtimes, all nighters, and early mornings are a rudimentary part of being a high school student. These are all heightened by living in a world that never sleeps; there’s always a new tweet, or Instagram post or YouTube video to see, but at what point are we going to stop condemning students who come to school tired, and start helping them?

Afternoon “power naps” will have a positive impact on not only our students, but our test scores and overall grades.

They are the answer to our exhausting problem and will greatly benefit the students of Manhattan High School.

STAFF MEMBERS: Madeline Marshall -- Print Editor-In-Chief/Opinions Greg Woods -- Online Editor -In-Chief Tracy Le -- News Editor Savannah Cherms -- Entertainment Editor Erick Echegaray -- Sport Editor Elizabeth Underwood -- Features Editor Angie Moss -- Trending Editor Cora Astin -- Photo Editor Andrea Lu -- Graphics Designer/Copy Editor Alan Brown -- Copy Editor David Fliter -- Alternate Entertainment Editor Staff Writers -- Anna Alanazi, David Fliter, Ale Flores, Anna Hupp, Megan Klug, Gavin Larios, Jordan Lutz, Tara Magaña, Maya Minocha, Dakota Santiago Staff Photographers -- McKenna Eilert, Logan Logback, Moriah Presley, Lauren Race, Dylan Thomas

Kristy Nyp -- Adviser Circulation -- Kim Schnee’s fifth hour class: Kristyn Baker, Caleb Barnes, Dalton Blake, Wesley Cattanach, Charlie Dickey, Karl Drown, Rachel Efken, Logan Jones, Lynne Jones, Colten Kirk, Josh Kohls, Douglas McCaskill, Faith A. Parker, Alesha Pearl, Megan Ritthisorn, Bradley Rollins, Mythias Satterfield, Amissa Self, Tedi Stein, Hannah Sullivan and Austin Tatum.

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 1,000 Mentors are printed each week and distributed free of charge to all faculty members and students. MHS journalists are members of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor is an open forum that accepts contributions from the public. E-mail us at mhsmentor@gmail.com.

Page 3

The Mentor // Dec. 8, 2015 // MHSMENTOR.COM Entertainment

Theater Coffee House tradition continues Ale Flores

Staff Writer Thespian Coffee House is a tradition that Manhattan High’s drama club has organized for several years.

“We’ve been doing this since I came here as a freshman, so definitely at least for four years, but I think longer than that. It's a tradition,” senior Emma Gallitzer said. “It’s a little bit of a fundraiser we try

to do it one or two times every year but I am hoping that we do more than that this year.”

The purpose of the event is to show different talents that Thespians and other students have.

Thespian officers got together and organized the event to decide when it was going to happen and then advertised it.

“A couple weeks ago we tried to set up a date when there was not, like,

any other things going on senior Savannah Smith and we said. just put S t u up fly- “We just put up flyers, d e n t s ers we w h o a d v e r - we advertise our Facewanted tise our to come F a c e - book and Twitter and had to b o o k thank about how great give $2 a n d or a food Twitter it is becuase it is great.” item to and talk s h a r e -- Savannah Smith with evabout h o w eryone.

T h e y g r e a t it is because it is great,” were allowed to perform

any kind of act they wanted.

“It doesn’t have to be just Thespians,” Thespian sponsor Linda Uthoff said. “It could be anybody from school. I mean yeah, Thespians are hosting it, but anybody that wants to sing or play an instrument or tell a story maybe do something of their original poetry can come.”

The event worked as a

small get-together after the musical and people learned new things about acting and performing in front of an audience.

“It’s about giving people more opportunities to perform,” Uthoff said.

“Anytime you get up in front of people and practice being creative or expressing yourself, it's going to help you no matter what job you go into, so that’s always fun.”

Band, choirs light up holidays

Annual parade celebrates season

Big Blue Marching Band members joined members of the Manhattan High Chamber Choir in participating in the 2015 Mayor’s Spirit of the Holidays Lighted Parade on Friday.

Above: Hannah Craig, senior, dances through downtown Manhattan as part of the parade. The parade began at Manhattan Town Center, traveled through downtown Manhattan on Poyntz Avenue and ended at Triangle Park in Aggieville for the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony.

PHOTO BY DYLAN THOMAS Above right: Juniors Kinsey Levendofsky, Chandler Mixon, Grant Williams and Andy Fitch sing during the evening’s festivities.

PHOTO BY MORIAH PRESLEY Right: The flute section adorn themselves with Christmas lights for the lighted theme. In addition to the performances of the parade, the event collected donations for the Flint Hills Breadbasket.

PHOTO BY DYLAN THOMAS

ARTIST OF THE WEEK How long have you been acting? -“I’ve been acting since sixth grade, and I’ve been in at least 10 productions since then. ” What got you into acting?-“My parents told me I was a really dramatic kid and that I needed to get it all out of my system so they signed me up for a play in sixth grade and the rest is history.”

What do you plan to do as far as acting after high school?-I want to continue acting. I’m planning on majoring in theater when I go to college. I’m not sure where I’m going but that’s what I want to do. “[A] Midsummer Night’s Dream” was really fun. I really enjoyed doing “Mary Poppins” over the summer.

What does acting do for you?-I really like doing theater because it gives me a chance to experience things that I wouldn’t normally get to do and to be people that I’m not.

Theater is a part of me, it’s helped me find who I am. It’s my passion.

ISAAC SORELL

For coverage of the district KMEA conference, visit mhsmentor.com

$17 t-shirts

SUPPORT THE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS AT MHS

STOP BY C107 OR EMAIL MHSMENTORBUSINESS@GMAIL.COM TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!

DEADLINE TO ORDER: THURSDAY, DEC. 17

Carrie Brownstein’s Urie revives Panic! at the Disco memoir stunning

SAVANNAH CHERMS Entertainment Editor

Panic! at the Disco is at it again, and this time band members aren’t holding back. After the loss of drummer Spencer Smith, lead singer Brendon Urie is tackling the album “Death of a Bachelor” almost all alone. Still, with the release of three new singles, it’s clear Urie can stand on his own and still make great music.

The first of the three singles that was released was “Victorious.” Urie’s voice comes out clean and strong, proving that his talent has developed tremendously since the release of their first album in 2005. The song is clearly a party anthem, and with the lyrics like “tonight we are victorious, champagne pourin’ over us,” how could it not be? This is a song that is meant to be blasted out the speakers of your car with the windows down.

The second single to come out, “Emperor's New Clothes,” has much more of a haunting vibe about it. Maybe it’s the fact that Urie turns into a demon in the newly released music video; maybe it’s the low tones of his voice. Either way, this song is definitely one that makes you feel in power. The classic sound-

ing, Sinatra-esque vocals go along the modern beat of the song rather harmoniously. The song also feels like it takes some inspiration from the classic rock band Queen, with its “Bohemian Rhapsody”sounding bridge.

Lastly, the most recent single to be released was “LA Devotee,” an ode to Los Angeles. On this track, Urie really shows off his abilities as a vocalist. The verses are low and upbeat, with vocals that are almost sultry, but you could still easily snap along to it. The chorus is when Urie kicks into the higher pitched notes, still managing for them to sound smooth as can be. If you listen closely in the chorus, you can hear Urie’s impressive falsetto come through.

The song makes me think of coming home after being away for a long time and seeing all your old friends. “LA Devotee” makes me miss the city of its namesake, and I have never even been there.

With the release of these singles, the hype to Panic! at the Disco’s new album, “Death of a Bachelor,” has become even greater. From the looks of these singles, this album will really showcase Urie’s vocal talents, leaving all of the bells and whistles behind with past albums. Whether as a frontman or a lone member, these singles have shown that Urie can stand alone and that he can make it on his own in the music world.

ANNA HUPP

Staff Writer

Outsiders can see Carrie Brownstein’s life events online , but they don’t know why any of them happened. Brownstein sang as part of the legendary indie-punk trio Sleater-Kinney from 1994 to 2005. Then she quit, and a few years later wrote and co-starred the show “Portlandia,” a light series of sketches about Portland’s adamantly hippie culture. In 2014, Sleater-Kinney reunited, singing their new songs with the same grappling passion as their earlier anthems. (The band is touring currently.)

Why did Brownstein quit Sleater-Kinney? Why did the band reunite?

The answers lie within Brownstein's stunninglywritten memoir, a story about a girl who couldn’t fill up her loneliness and despair even with the music that saved her.

“Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl” begins with Brownstein’s relationship, or lack thereof, with her parents. Her mother was anorexic; her father was secretly gay. According to Brownstein, he felt guilty about his secret and tried to hide it from the world. Because of this, he was a remote father.

Brownstein describes her childhood home as dis-

tant and detached. She felt like she was drifting and wanted a home, a sense of belonging.

Part two of the book chronicles Brownstein’s fumbling moves forward to the formation of Sleater-Kinney, and then tells the story of the band itself. Sleater-Kinney had problems, but it was a solid place to belong in a way Brownstein had never experienced before.

But even the music that welcomed her wasn’t enough to fill Brownstein’s loneliness. There was something in her she couldn’t escape. Brownstein was a tight, messy knot of two wires: depression and anxiety.

The end of the book is a little hard to understand.

It leaves the reader with a vague sense of closure because Brownstein finally gives up on the life she couldn’t handle, even though she still loves rock ‘n’ roll. There is sadness in Brownstein’s decision, but also freedom.

“Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl” opens a door into Brownstein’s psyche. It is painfully intimate, though recorded almost scientifically, like Brownstein is describing something that happened a long time ago that she doesn’t quite want to remember but must recount. The reader can feel both Brownstein’s precision and artistry in every line.

Brownstein’s account is powerful and penetrating. It combines a strange, distinct personality into a cohesive, tragic whole.

Sports The Mentor // DEC. 8, 2015 // MHSMENTOR.COM Page 4

Wrestling loses first meet of season, steps up in dual ERICK ECHEGARAY

Sports Editor

While wrestling isn’t all about the winning as a team, the Indians would have liked to score more points as a team in their first competitions.

The Manhattan High wrestling team failed to come away with the victory in its first two meets of the season. They first fell short against Washburn Rural on Thursday night in their opening competition and their second in the Gardner-Edgerton meet where they ended up fifth.

Their opening dual against Washburn ended in a narrow loss for the Indians as they lost by a point after all the matches were over. Senior Carlos Martinez, juniors Ma-

son Wallace and Devin Norris, and sophomore Jalin Harper all won their matches, among others.

“The first dual we got up to a slow start.

A couple of kids didn’t make weight but we can’t blame it on that because we knew we would lose the duel before it started and we knew what we had to do,” Harper said.

Next on the schedule was the Gardner-Edgerton Invite that took place on Saturday morning.

The Indians traveled and competed away from home. Despite losing their first two meets, juniors Eldon Picou and Mason Wallace and sophomore Harper all placed second after they all climbed in the 285 lbs., 145 lbs., and 138 lbs. divisions respectively.

“We [Wallace and Harper] wrestled two of the best kids in the nation and you have to wrestle the best know where you are,” Wallace said. “So we just have to keep working hard and work toward our goals every day.”

Manhattan ended up with 138.5 accumulative points placing fifth out of the 16 teams that went to the competition.

“We did well at the tournament, we placed as the highest Kansas team which, yeah fifth isn’t good and it’s not what we went for, but it was a good step and I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Harper said.

The Manhattan wrestling team will compete again Saturday when they host the Manhattan Dual Tournament.

The celebration was only possible because of the Indians’ effort against the fifth-ranked team in 6A, a roster stocked with nine seniors, all of them 6-2 or taller.

It was also a team senior Gabe Awbrey gashed for a career-high 32 points.

“He is a consummate, quiet assassin. He’s the not the most vocal guy in the world; he just goes about his business,” George said. “From the time he was a freshman, he practices every practice like it’s Friday night at 7:30.”

The 32, half of which Awbrey registered at the charity stripe, arrived at perhaps the most opportune time Manhattan has encountered on the young season. The senior said he picked a good night to set a career-high.

“It’s fun to score; it’s

fun to win championships,” Awbrey said. “So, put it all together, and it’ll definitely be a game that I’ll remember for a while, from a team standpoint and individually.”

Before Saturday, the Indians had not yet encountered a team with the size Olathe North possesses. Thankfully for Manhattan, George had a blueprint spelled out for quelling the Eagles, including 6-4 senior R.J. Smith.

“We thought maybe we could get [Smith] into some frustration fouls, and we did. He got in foul trouble, and that was a huge factor for us,” George said. “Guards, frustrate him; bigs, frustrate him, and just, really, plan on them having an off night from the arc.”

Much of the frustration was engineered by Manhattan’s 2-3 zone, per-

Senior Carlos Martinez and sophomore Jacob Renteria wrestle during practice in preparation for the Manhattan dual that will take place at MHS on Saturday.

PHOTO BY GRACE WOODS

Boys basketball clinches Hays City Shoot-Out title GREG WOODS

Online Editor-in-Chief Behind the closed door of a locker room Saturday night in Hays, a quiet chorus of Manhattan Indian voices began to cheer in unison. The cry, subtle at first, quickly crescendoed into a roar, and chaos erupted.

It was the sound of the Manhattan High boys basketball team, a sound inspired by its 80-72 win over Olathe North, capturing the 2015 Hays City Shoot-Out tournament championship.

As video posted online just minutes later proved, it was also the sound of players reacting to head coach Benji George doing “the dab.”

“I had to have our managers teach me how to do it, but I did it,” George said. “It was kind of fun.

I did it a few times.”

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

haps most notably in the first quarter: the Indians forced the Eagles into a 1:18 first possession, concluding with senior Grant Munsen picking off an Olathe North pass inside.

The defensive scheme revolved so much around Smith that junior Cade Roberts consulted graduate Pierson McAtee for his prescription.

“He told me to just stay bodied with [Smith],” Roberts said. “Stay lower, and push him out of the lane.”

McAtee may have known a thing or two: Manhattan’s backcourt curbed Smith to just four first-half points, a period in which the Indians raced out to a lead.

Manhattan managed a four-point lead after the first frame, but the separation that swelled in the second half stemmed from the second quar-

PHOTO BY CORA ASTIN

GABE AWBREY

the final frame, securing the title for Manhattan and sending the Indians back home with the tournament hardware.

The hardware includes medals for Awbrey and junior Tommy Eckart, who were named to the All-Tournament team, as well as for senior Cole Gritton, who was named to the All-Academic team.

MHS improves to a perfect 3-0 with the win, and the Indians will get nearly a week off until hitting the road again next Saturday for a matchup with Dodge City.

For now, though, the Indians will savor the championship.

“We came here wanting a title,” Awbrey said.

“And we got a title.”

Swim and dive compete in first meet JORDAN LUTZ

Staff Writer Gabe Awbrey likes scoring points.

So much so that the senior tallied a career-high 32 of them Saturday night in the Manhattan High boys basketball’s win over Olathe North. The win captured the Hays City Shoot-Out championship for the Indians.

Awbrey logged half of his 32 at the free throw line, including nine in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

“It’s fun to score; it’s fun to win championships,” Awbrey said.

“So, put it all together, and it’ll definitely be a game that I’ll remember for a while, from a team standpoint and individually.”

The last Indian to post 30 points in a single game was Connor Brooks in the 2010-11 campaign, when Brooks registered 34.

Whether or not Awbrey tops that number, the Indians are set to take on Dodge City on Saturday.

ter. Between triples, free throws and forcing three turnovers, the Indians entered halftime with a 37-23 cushion.

Manhattan’s stifling of Smith continued in the third period, so the Eagles turned to others to claw back into the game.

Kenny Byers and Storey Jackson combined for 14, and the momentum was snatched from the Indians’ grasp. Their lead was down to nine on the threshold of the fourth quarter.

That’s when an element of the game Olathe North had yet to exploit came into play: the long ball. Danny Baker connected on three of them, the last of which brought his team to within eight with three minutes to play.

But Awbrey parried the comeback attempt by hitting 9-of-10 free throws in

Setting off for Topeka on Wednesday, the Boys Swimming and Diving team participated in their first meet of the season.

The team was ready for the challenges that they face during competition.

“We’re bloodthirsty this year,” senior swim captain Matthew Bandy said. “I see my teammates trying to beat as many people as possible in-

stead of worrying about the time so much. It’s a style of swimming I like to see.”

Overall, the team competed as expected for their first meet and received fourth place.

“It was a typical first meet and we have many new members,” coach Jerry Carpenter said.

The team is depending on their new members to step up and fill in spots where no experienced people are available.

“We really need our new guys to step up and do events they might not feel super comfortable with yet,” junior Trey Hafen said. “We don’t have enough experienced people to cover all of the events sufficiently.”

The boys will have two meets this week, a home dual meet against Lawrence Free State and an away meet at Olathe.

Bowling team looks ahead at season GAVIN LARIOS

Staff Writer

The Manhattan High bowling team has more expectations than they did last year.

“I expect from myself and the team to be some of the top bowlers this season,” senior Frank Felber said.

Felber is a veteran on the team and has been to all tryouts for bowling

since his freshmen year, “It’s not about individual scores, it’s about the team but I have been bowling well so I am excited to get into it,” junior Dustin Wichman said.

Wichman was first in the team rankings last season.

As for the girls on the team, they‘re in need of one more competitor.

“The girls need one more person so that they

can compete,” Felber said.

The team looks to overcome the lack of bowlers for the season.

“Well we lost a couple people, so it’s going to take some work in the beginning but we’ve got really good coaches so I think in the end we will make some progress,” Wichman said.

Girls stifle Great Bend on way to Hays Shoot-out Championship Title GREG WOODS

Online Editor-in-Chief Manhattan High girls basketball coach Scott Mall knew Great Bend was not like the other two teams his Lady Indians had faced in the first two rounds of the Hays City Shoot-Out tournament.

Manhattan’s defense had carried it to wins over TMP Thursday and Newton Friday, earning a spot in the title game Saturday, but the Lady Panthers threatened MHS with offensive weapons not seen earlier in the weekend.

Fortunately for Mall, whatever worries he had over Great Bend’s offense vanished quickly.

Forcing Great Bend into seven first-quarter turnovers, Manhattan claimed the 2015 Hays City Shoot-Out tournament with a 57-27 rout

of the Lady Panthers, a game MHS seized control of from the word “go.”

The defense that turned Great Bend over 18 total times didn’t allow a Lady Panther not named Carley Brack to score until late in the second quarter. Brack logged her team’s first 10 points before Camryn Dunekack took the weight off Brack’s shoulders with a layup.

By then, though, Manhattan had already built a sizable lead. The margin was 15 in the final seconds before the half, but freshman Garrin Williams acrobatically tipped a ball into the basket as she fell to the hardwood before the buzzer shrieked.

The Lady Indians entered the break with a 3013 advantage.

Senior Madison Mittie, who along with junior

Gigi McAtee was named to the All-Tournament team, carded six of her 12 points in the first half, including a triple in the first frame. She said shutting down Brack was an emphasis early on.

“We thought that we could make her go left, but obviously she kept driving on us,” Mittie said. “And then we got in foul trouble, so we couldn’t foul her whenever she drove.”

The foul trouble began to mount in the third period when Mittie was whistled for her third. She took a seat on the bench moments later, but the damage had been done: even when the senior sat, her team led 42-17.

That was the luxury Manhattan enjoyed Saturday evening. With McAtee too playing with two fouls, the Lady Indians found other ways to

extend their lead, even with the advantage on the scoreboard.

Those ways were named Kia Wilson and Haleigh Harper. The freshmen, on top of forcing the issue on defense, kept the offense humming. Wilson posted four points in the third frame, and Harper made her statement in the fourth.

Riding her team’s 44-21 lead entering the period, Harper tallied all 11 of her points in the fourth frame, several of which came via breakaway layups in the closing minutes.

Mall was pleased with the production he got Saturday from the four freshmen on the roster.

“I thought all those freshmen came in and did good things. It was good to have a chance tonight to let Taylor [Johnson] play a little more,”

Mall said. “[Harper] did a really good job, I thought, in the fourth quarter of being aggressive but staying under control. And then Garrin made big plays, just like she did the first night, made big plays for us tonight.”

As satisfied as Mall was with the freshmen, however, he was also pleased with senior Tarrah Bammes’ defensive presence over the weekend.

“I think Tarrah Bammes should have been on the All-Tournament team,” Mall said. “Her defensive work, especially the first two nights, was probably the best defensive work of anybody in the tournament. The fact that she didn’t make it means other people don’t recognize that she took the best player from TMP out of the game the first night; she took their point guard

away from getting the ball the second night, and made some huge plays and got some rebounds and stuff tonight.”

The Lady Indians will be fresh off a championship in Hays next Saturday when they take on Dodge City on the road, another school more than two hours removed from Manhattan. Mittie, however, said she doesn’t mind the hours on the open road.

“I think we kind of like the bus rides,” she said.

“We get to bond with each other and grow closer, so it’s kind of fun.”

But for now, the Lady Indians get to rest.

And relish a perfect 3-0 start and a championship, of course.

Page 5

Sophomore dedicates eight years to gymnastics

The Mentor // Dec. 8, 2015 // MHSMentor.com

SAVANNAH CHERMS

When the smell of foam, vinyl and sweat follows you everywhere or all your clothes have a dusting of white chalk, you might call yourself a gymnast.

If you have copious pairs of spandex shorts or a massive collection of medical tape, you might call yourself a gymnast.

Sophomore Lacy Fisher knows this struggle well.

Fisher has been a gymnast for eight years and is a member of the Manhattan High cheer team.

Fisher began her journey at Gymnastics Plus and then moved to Kat’s Gymnastics in Wamego.

“I enjoy the environment; it’s home-y. It’s comforting,” Fisher said.

Because gymnastics has been such a major

part of Fisher’s life, she believes that the sport has brought more than just flexibility to her life.

“It has helped me be more humble. I don’t take for granted how much effort I have to put into things,” Fisher said. “I know that in order to be really good at something you have to put a lot of time into it.”

Fisher’s experience in gymnastics, through tumbling especially, has helped her succeed in cheerleading as well. “[Gymnastics] helps with the discipline and the tumbling and jumps obviously. I don’t think people realize that cheer is not easy and you have to be really into it for you to do it for a really long time,” Fisher said. “You have to be really dedicated to it, and I think being in gymnastics has really helped me with prioritiz-

ing when I had to do certain things.”

But Fisher says that gymnastics isn’t all work, in fact it is mostly play.

“It’s fun. It’s fun to get to work on stuff and then show it off and make it look easier than it is,” Fisher said. “That’s my favorite part, when people are like ‘you make it look so easy,’ it is really not at all. It takes a lot of effort and I think it’s kind of nice when people appreciate the effort sometimes.”

Despite everything that gymnastics has done for Fisher, she has decided not to seriously return to the sport.

“It’s a really big time commitment and it is really hard on your body,” Fisher said. “So if I did pick it up again it wouldn’t be as competitive and I wouldn’t be as dedicated to it.”

activities.

“I think the biggest reason is the foreign exchange students have been busy,” junior member Angelica Lang said.

“I think it’s good that the students are getting involved in more things. I don’t really think of that

as a bad thing.”

After a long break between successful events, AFS has planned a trip to Kansas City after some interest from students was shown.

“It’s just a fun thing,” Levin said. “We asked [the students] if there is

one thing the AFS Club would like to do and one of those things was to go to Kansas City. There’s a lot of things in America and we are just a school club. So, yeah, it’s just one of the fun things that they just want to do.”

Entertainment Editor

Performing with the MHS cheer squad during the fall homecoming pep rally, sophomore Lacy Fisher uses her gymnastic skills to better her cheer quality.

PHOTO BY SAVANNAH CHERMS

Features

American Field Society sees major decline in club activities Jordan Lutz

Staff Writer

In past years, the Manhattan High American Field Society has done many different activities as a club to show exchange students the American culture.

This year, however, is not like those, as the club had fewer activities happen due to schedules not synching.

“There’s just that the students are very active in what they do and a lot of times they have other plans,” senior Ethan

Levin, AFS Club president, said. “We just have to get the word out better.”

Many club members want to have the exchange students themselves participate, but they have been busy in other various after school

Club Feast ‘best one yet’: behind the scenes of preparation ANNA ALANAZI Staff Writer

Preparing for an event can be hectic; one must know their audience, pick out a theme and manage the food service.

However, for the Student Council sophomore class, whipping out an event like this is nothing.

Following tradition, the sophomore and freshman classes worked together to prepare the annual Club Feast. The freshman class is in charge of decorating and decided on “Under The Sea” as a theme.

“We start out from the drawing board,” sophomore Ella Bahr said, “[and decide] what we want to do for a theme and then carry out assigning people to different boards.”

During the preparation process, the chairpersons looked at last year’s complaints and worked off of those to achieve an event that they hope will be filled with cheer and a great time.

“We listened to what everyone said last year,”

FROM SCHOLARS PAGE 1 meet and she felt the team did the best they could do given the circumstances.

“It wasn’t really nerve wracking and [there wasn’t] much pressure because I know our team was strong and that was probably the best we could’ve have done with Blue Valley,” Fu said.

On Saturday, two Scholars Bowl members headed to Washburn Uni-

FROM CAROLING PAGE 1 eryone else.”

After collecting around 50 cans from faculty and teachers, the carolers met back in McCarthy’s room for hot chocolate and cookies.

“BPA is just a lot of different people who wouldn’t normally hang

Colburn said. “People commented that there weren’t as many people there and it didn’t last very long and it was boring, so that’s what we’re trying to fix by having more games and inviting more people.”

After brainstorming, both freshmen and sophomore broke off into committees to plan the event. All StuCo classes are assigned to bring something to contribute to the feast.

“I sent out an invitation to all of the club sponsors the day before Thanksgiving break,” sophomore Lily Colburn said, “and I’m getting games together and delegating where everyone’s supposed to go.”

Colburn hopes more people show up after school today at 6:30 p.m. and for Club Feast to become a constant event club members attend and look forward to.

“We have a lot of club representative,” StuCo sponsor Leslie Campbell said. “I think it’ll be the best one we have yet.” versity in Topeka where they competed in hopes of qualifying for the televised game of Quest. The team scored 1490 points, 10 more that last year, and are awaiting the results as to whether they qualify or not and where they rank among other Kansas schools. In December, 65 to 70 Kansas schools will compete independently to try to make it to the top 16, which will then be featured on Quest. out together and then when we’re all put together, it’s really fun and you get to know each other really well overall,” Devane said. “So, Christmas caroling was kind of the perfect activity for us just to make more of a warm atmosphere to get to know people.”

Page 6

The Mentor // Dec. 8, 2015 // MHSMentor.com

Trending

It’s the holiday season and you know what that means! While most of us associate the holiday season with receiving gifts, we also need to remember that giving back to our community is vital during this time of the year. There are millions of people around the world who are without a family or loved ones during this time of the year -- and that can get lonely. That’s why it’s important volunteer and give back as much as possible. Whether it’s working at a soup kitchen, making care packages or sending letters to deployed soldiers, anything you can do to brighten someone’s day is amazing. We’ve compiled some resources for you guys to check out if you’re interested in giving back.

Build a care package

Write a letter to a deployed soldier CORA ASTIN

Photo Editor

This time of year can be hard for soldiers deployed because they are so far away from their families and friends. One way you can spread the joy of the holiday season overseas is by writing letters to them. If you know of any soldiers abroad you are encouraged to send letters directly to them. But if you don’t know of anyone serving overseas and you don’t have any connections (like friends, and/or friends whose parents may know of anyone who is abroad) to find people overseas, there are organizations that you can send your letters to. Here’s a small list of the many organizations out there:

david fliter

Staff Writer

There are plenty of people who will be stuck outside during the frigid winter holidays. Care packages are a great idea for a gift that will not only make another person feel well, but yourself too. These are some items that would be useful:

A Million Thanks (amillionthanks.org): 17853 Santiago Blvd. #106-355 Villa Park, CA 92861 Operation Gratitude (operationgratitude.org): 17330 Victory Blvd.

Van Nuys, CA 91406 Here are some helpful hints about writing letters: • Use generic greeting -- unless the letter is going directly to someone you know of • Wish them happy holidays • Express gratitude • Be creative when you write your letters • Don’t share personal information

>> non perishable food (peanut butter crackers, cookies, etc.)

You can also write letters to veterans who are retired or new recruits. Just remember that by writing these letters it makes the soldiers feel more at home if they are near or far.

>> blankets >> plastic water bottle >> deodorant >> toothbrush/toothpaste >> baby wipes >> first aid kit >> hairbrush

Help a Volunteer family TRACY LE

>> hat/gloves

News Editor

Flint Hills Breadbasket http://breadbasket.manhattanks.org/volunteer. shtm

>> socks >> pain meds >> feminine hygiene products

maya minocha

Staff Writer

>> sunscreen >> chapstick Putting all of these into a backpack would double as more than one gift as the person could carry their belongings in it.

The holiday seasons can be very busy. The weeks of December are filled with finals, finding the perfect presents and making gifts for your friends. While you are making a wishlist to give to your family, or trying to find the perfect gift, you should keep in mind that the holidays are easier for some than others. Lots of families in our community struggle to provide their families with gifts or a holiday meal on christmas morning.

The Salvation Army has started the “Angel Tree” at their locations to help provide families with the perfect Christmas. All the Salvation Army locations have a tree with paper angels on them. The angles include information about the family and their likes and interests. You can select an angel from the tree and Christmas shop for a family.

Another way you can help a family in need this holiday season is with the Adopt-A-Family program sponsored by The Junior League of Flint Hills. Participants will shop for gifts, wrap the gifts and deliver them to the family’s home. This is a great service project for clubs, church groups and families to participate in. It can help provide a family with a Christmas that otherwise might not be able to celebrate them. For Adopt-aFamily, information contact jlfhadoptafamily@gmail. com

Manhattan Emergency Shelter http://www.mesikansas.org/volunteer-opportunities.html City Snow Partners http://cityofmhk.com/2255/City-Snow-Partners Riley County Seniors’ Service Center http://www.seniorsservicecenter.org/volunteer. html Purple Power Animal Welfare Society http://www.purple-paws.org/kansas-animal-rescue-volunteers.html FIT Closet http://www.flinthillsvolunteercenter.com/volunteer-opportunities/ Habitat for Humanity http://mahfh.org/volunteer/

Via Christi Hospital https://www.viachristi.org/giving/volunteers/ volunteer-opportunities-via-christi-hospital-manhattan

Youth Volunteer Corps http://www.yvc.org/volunteer/